You didn't know how long you had been asleep, but when you woke, the lighting in Steve's room was different and had a warm glow that you didn't recall when you had laid down next to him. For all you knew, it could be just the mood you were in, feeling secure and peaceful for those few minutes or hours or however long you had been nestled under his arm.

A small group of nurses came in and began to work around him, taking various readings and looking at his wounds, pausing to allow you time to move out of their way while offering you a hand when your own injury slowed your movements. His surgeon came in just after the group, pushing his way past them to see how Steve was doing with his own eyes.

"We have one more small surgery that we need to do, something that we already had planned," he paused, looking at you purposefully, "so don't worry. I'll have him back to you before you even realize that he was gone."

"You have no idea who you're talking to, do you?" Steve chuckled weakly, his hand reaching out for yours beyond the nurse who standing at his side, "come here." You took the few steps to get back within reach of him, but he glanced over your shoulder and through the window behind you as you approached, nodding his head to draw your attention to what he was seeing; Anna and Tony were standing together just on the other side of the glass and watching the two of you. "Go ahead, I'll see you when I get back."

"Okay," you hesitantly agreed, reluctant to let him out of your sight again now that he was finally back in it. With a gentle but purposeful nudge against the nurse who wasn't getting the hint to move, you leaned over the bed to give Steve a kiss before he was again taken from you and your feeling of security was stripped away. You watched them strap even more equipment to him, and push medications into his body that had him asleep within seconds.

"Alright, let's go," the doctor ordered, following behind the nurses as they pushed Steve's bed through the door. "Ma'am, I'll come talk to you as soon as I'm done. Shouldn't be more than an hour."

"You're on the clock," you nodded, feeling the flood of helplessness come over you as Steve got farther away until he was out of sight, leaving you with nothing more than the crushing need to have him back, and to get home once and for all as he had agreed. It wouldn't be wise to get too comfortable, you thought, knowing that any time you saw that little light at the end of the tunnel, something came out of nowhere and extinguished it. You wanted to take the doctor at his word that this would be easy and quick, but history had taught you to take belief with caution.

Tony took Anna's arm and nodded towards you, encouraging her to move ahead; she paused and gathered her own emotions so that she could focus on you and yours. Slow and even steps brought her next to you, though she wasn't sure If she should reach out to you or hold back. When nothing felt like the correct option, she simply stood steady and waited for you to guide her. "He'll be okay, (Y/N). He's a very strong man."

"I know," you whispered, both for her and yourself. "It's hard to not worry after everything. We haven't seen our children in days, and I can't get the thought out of my head that I can't go home without him. My stupid brain keeps showing me so many terrible options, and I can't imagine what I would tell them if they never grew up to know him. Why does my mind keep torturing me? I thought I was doing better."

"You're under an immense amount of stress. You should be proud of how well you're doing with everything."

"Yeah, I suppose," you sighed, turning to look back at Tony, only to find that he had left the two of you alone. "So, did things go okay with the babies? I heard that Viz and Wanda took over so you could come here?"

"It went really well," she smiled, "they're adorable. But I do wonder if...Vision?" she questioned, "is that right?"

"Yes."

"I wonder if Vision has ever seen a baby before. He was really studying them."

You stifled a small laugh at the memory of Vision and your children, and how he had struggled with his feelings about your experience afterwards. Now that you had calmed his worry and embarrassment, you were anxious to see how he would behave around them. "Oh, he's seen them before. Vision actually delivered all three, and he did an amazing job."

"I can't even imagine..."

The conversation paused and she watched you quietly, noting that your eyes had yet to leave the doors that Steve had been taken through, seeing you watching with slow breaths that were in contrast to the anxiety that controlled your body. "He's going to be fine, (Y/N). You heard the doctor."

"Yeah, but that really doesn't make me feel any better. We've been through too much for me to take much comfort in empty promises." You startled slightly when she took a chance initiative and made contact with you; her hand grazed over yours with barely a touch, but she then decided to take the leap and grasp it fully within her own.

The woman had done nothing but betray you from the age of five, abandoning you without so much as a goodbye. She hadn't contacted you in all of these years, but now, here she stood in front of you and opening herself up to finally support you. She had apologized many times, explained herself even though she knew her reasons for leaving were never enough, and had now even spent time with your children when you couldn't care for them yourself. For the first time, you believed her desire to change and be a part of your life, and something in the sense of touch pushed you to her; in a cathartic wave, you turned to her and wrapped your arms tightly, breathing a shaky sigh of relief when the action was returned.

Even though Tony had left your sight, you were still in his; he stood in one of the other empty rooms, behind a curtain to hide himself so that he wouldn't sway your conversation but enough to still watch you protectively. He knew first-hand how much the woman had hurt you, and him to a point, and he hadn't been completely ready to let that go until now.

In a welcome surprise to all of you, only forty-five minutes had passed before Steve was brought back through the doors, no doubt a result of his fast healing; he was even already awake and talking to the nurses at his side, smiling at you as they passed by.

"I have to go," you told her as you pulled away, "but I'd like to talk more. We have a lot to catch up on, and until Steve gets to leave, I'll have some time."

Anna simply nodded with a faint smile, releasing you readily when you turned back towards the door of his room. She watched you as you took your place next to Steve, her eyes sad at the sight of the suffering that you were still going through. Tony took the opportunity to move up next to her with a strong hand on her shoulder to keep her in place as he spoke.

"If you still want that nanny job, it's yours. It looks like you two are on your way to maybe a real relationship?"

"Yeah...maybe...I don't know..."

"I'll get you set up with permanent quarters at the compound. You can be on the same floor as (Y/N), I'll just have Bucky move to a different level, I'm sure he won't mind. I think it would be best to have the family together, at least at first, as you get used to living there and while the kids are so young, agreed?"

"Sure," Anna whispered, still watching you and only partially hearing Tony, "right, um, listen, I need to go for just a bit, but I'll be back in a few hours if that's okay? I think she's going to be pretty tied up with him, so I'll use the opportunity."

"You need a ride somewhere?"

"No, thanks. My hotel is just around the block, so I think I'll grab a quick nap. I've been flying all day."

"Actually, that sounds like the best idea that I've heard today," he readily agreed. "Tell you what, text me when you wake up and I'll order dinner for everyone." She agreed silently and walked away to leave him there outside of Steve's window, watching the two of you finally being back together with a sense of calm that he hadn't felt in weeks. Everything was falling into place, and he couldn't wait to get his family back under the safety of his own roof again.

~~~

"Hey, I kept my promise," Steve smiled, kissing the back of your hand, "I even came back early. I should get extra points for that."

"Points given."

"Hmm, that was actually easier than I expected..."

"Did you want me to take them back?" you smirked, taking your hand from his.

"No, ma'am, I need all the help I can get!" Steve laughed and scooted to the edge of the bed again, just as he had done earlier, lifting the blankets to allow you in and at his side. Once you had gently climbed in next to him, he pulled you in tightly with a contented hum in his chest with your head resting against it. "Hey, doll, what do you say we shack up in here? I've got plenty of room for you. No reason to have a whole room to yourself when we know that you'd rather be here anyway, am I right?"

"Of course you're right."

"Great, it's settled. Next, I'm starving, so I think that as my new bunkmate, you should buy our first dinner together." A loud growl from Steve's stomach only confirmed his words, laughing at the perfect timing and grabbing his belly with a shrug. "I told you!"

"Oh you big, baby, I'll take care of it. I'll just have Dad order out for us."

"Dad? Have you finally made the switch from calling him Tony?"

"Well, if I'm going to have my mom back in my life, I think it's about time that I acknowledge them the right way," you replied definitively. "Tony has wanted me to call him that for so long, and he deserves it. I think Anna will get there."

"I'm happy for you, doll. It's about time we catch a break."

~~~

After a few hours, Tony fulfilled his promise of dinner, stopping by the hotel to grab Sam and Scott too so that they wouldn't feel left out. It was their last night before flying back home to the compound so he thought that a little goodbye dinner would be a nice gesture to prove to them that no one harbored blame about you and Steve anymore. With the two men in tow, he knocked on Anna's door, but there was no reply.

"Maybe she headed over to the hospital already?" Sam offered.

"Yeah, probably," Tony agreed, reaching into his pocket with his free hand to check his phone for her text. "Here," he said, pushing the bags of take-out into Scott's hands, "make yourself useful, Lang." His fingers danced over the screen at the sight of Anna's name in his voicemail; he was so busy that he hadn't even heard it ring. He brought the phone up to his ear and listened as the message played, his eyes darkening and his face growing red with rage as each word passed by. "Goddammit," he hissed, shoving the device into his pocket, "I'm such an idiot."

"What," Sam asked with a curious look to Scott, "what makes you and idiot this time?" His jovial tone was immediately silenced when he locked eyes with Tony, startling so much that he actually took a precautionary step back. "Stark?"

"How am I going to tell (Y/N) again?" he groaned, rubbing his hand over the stubble that prickled his skin. "She left. How the hell do I tell (Y/N) that her mother just abandoned her for the second time in her life, when I'm the one who convinced her to try to trust her? She's going to hate me, Wilson, and I just keep proving that I don't deserve for her to call me Dad. How have I let this happen to her twice?"