"Fellas," Steve whispered, leaning over the three bassinets lined up next to your hospital bed as you slept, "now let's get one thing straight. If you guys think that was funny, it's going to be a long few years under my roof, understood? Hiding your sister like that was a good joke on us, I'll admit that, but let's not try to outdo ourselves here. And you, little lady," he smiled down on her with a tickle under her chubby chin, "with two prankster brothers, you're gonna have to not let them push you around like that. Your mommy will teach you all about it. She's been dealing with us boys for a long time now and she's the strongest person that I know."

He paused and looked up you when you stirred, holding his breath as he watched and waited to be sure that he hadn't woken you. He had arrived to the hospital just after you, and promised to let you get at least a few hours of sleep before talking about everything that had happened. When you turned over and continued your slow and steady breaths of sleep, he turned back to his new children.

"That was a close one, huh?" Steve crossed the room and picked up one of the reclining chairs, grabbing a few extra pillows before bringing it to your bedside. "Okay, now don't laugh," he struggled, picking up one boy and then the other, stopping to decide how to pick up his girl, "this is my first time, and I'm still in a little bit of shock. But we can do this if we work together..."

One of the boys gurgled and cooed as he was held, sounding as if he were trying to offer an idea, much to Steve's amusement. "No, waking up mommy to help us isn't an option." Finally, he leaned back slightly and rested one boy on his shoulder with the other in the same arm, using him to help hold the first in place. His open arm scooped up the girl, then he quickly but cautiously sat in the chair, breathing a sigh of relief as he laid them over his lap atop a group of pillows.

"And now, we sit here forever," he groaned, realizing that getting up would be much trickier. "Oh, this is something, huh? I've never been more relieved to live with your aunts and uncles all in one place than I am right now. How are we going to do this?"

"Together."

Steve looked up at the doorway to see Tony standing with his arms folded and leaning against it, watching the scene in front of him silently. "How long have you been there?" he whispered.

"Long enough to know that if I don't take a picture of this, I'll regret it for the rest of my life," he replied, taking out his phone and aiming. "Yep, that's a winner," he smiled, checking his work. "She'll love it." He moved to Steve's side and pulled another smaller chair over slowly, watching you to be sure he too didn't wake you. "One hell of a day, huh? Can I...?" he motioned towards the babies.

"Yeah, grab whichever one you want," Steve nodded.

"You know," Tony paused, taking one of the boys from Steve's lap, "this would be easier with names, rather than calling them 'this one' and 'that one'."

"We have it down to only a couple for the boys, but now we have to come up with something for her."

Tony held the tiny baby out in front of his face, studying the boy's features and making cooing baby noises at him until he finally opened his eyes for just a brief second. Once he had what he wanted, he tucked the baby into his arm and reached out to Steve for another. "So tell me, how did they miss our surprise girl over there? Seems really strange that they'd miss a whole baby."

"They said it's really rare, but sometimes they're positioned just right that they hide behind another one. I've decided that she's going to be our troublemaker."

"Whatever. She's gonna be a daddy's girl, look at you," Tony smiled, "you haven't taken your eyes off of her since I got here."

"Would you? She looks just like (Y/N)."

"No," Tony sighed, taking the second boy in his other arm. "I never knew (Y/N) when she was this little. I adopted her when she was five, so that attitude we all know and love was well on the way. I'm sure that's where this one gets it from."

You stirred again and the two men froze in place with wide eyes staring at each other as you moved. Tony's eyes drifted down to the two little boys in his lap and he gave them a warning glance, while Steve watched his girl. Once again, you rolled over and continued to sleep, with the two of them relaxing at their fortune.

"Hey, do you think it would be okay if I stole a few minutes?" Tony whispered. "Just me and the kids?"

"Yeah, sure. I could use a minute to go talk to everyone, let them know they can go home." Steve stood cautiously and took one of the boys back from Tony, allowing him to take the vacated recliner. Once he was settled and each pillow was in place, Steve set the two into his lap and grabbed his own phone, returning the favor of snapping a few pictures. "This looks good on you, Tony."

"Thanks, Cap."

Steve nodded a quiet reply and stood steady, watching Tony settle into the seat and find a comfortable spot with the three babies resting on his lap with you sleeping next to them. He knew that Tony's words meant more than just a thank you for his comment; it went much deeper into his desire for family, both with his grandchildren and with the team. They were two words that meant that they were healing and could move forward, and that the three little bundles he was holding had found the answer that none of them had been able to see.

~~~

Vision had been sitting in the hospital's obstetrics ward lounge for over an hour now, completely unmoving and speaking to no one. Sam tried, keeping with a simple check on how he was doing, only to be met with silence; Scott dropped down into the chair next to him to offer congratulations on a job well done, but Vision sat immobile. It wasn't until Steve appeared before him that he chose to come back to life.

"Captain Rogers, please allow me to-"

"Hey, Vision, I want to thank you," Steve broke in, reaching out to take his arm in hand. "You did an amazing job with (Y/N) and the babies, and really, I can't say enough or do enough to repay you for that."

"Oh, you are very welcome," Vision nodded, "but I must apologize for my actions."

"I'm sorry?"

"There are certain...trusts...between a man and his wife...and I feel as if boundaries were breached-"

"Hold on," Steve laughed gently, "I think I know where this is going. Viz, it's not like they could have come out of anywhere else. There was no way to get around it, and believe me, neither of us are giving it a second thought. We're both just so relieved that you kept a level head, and I owe you for keeping my family safe."

"Well then, yes, if neither of you will find our future interactions marred by my intimate knowledge of your wife's-"

"Please, for the love of God, stop," Scott interjected from the table behind him, his face contorted into a disgusted expression. "How many times do I have to tell you not to use that word? It's just inappropriate, man."

~~~

"Alright, I'm going to call you Bug, because that's how this all started," Tony snickered under his breath, "you're going to be Peanut, because why not, and you, pretty girl, you're going to be Princess, because that's what you'll always be to me, no matter what they name you. There. Now I feel like I can talk to you guys."

You opened your eyes but stayed still, not trying purposefully to spy on the man, but more that you didn't want to interrupt his moment by letting him know that you were now awake. He sat quietly with the trio for a few minutes, but you waited, knowing that a talk like this, even if he thought he was alone, was difficult for him.

"I want to share something with you guys, because we're buds, right?" he began. "Now, I may be your grandpa, but I don't want you to ever feel like you can't come to me with stuff. I'm a cool grandpa, and let's be honest, I'm about to spoil you beyond what may be acceptable, but that's my job. Tell ya what, I'll start the trust with my own little admission, how about that?"

The one he called Peanut gurgled and cried a little, but then stretched and quieted quickly when Tony pulled him up to rest on his chest. "Come on, kiddo, I haven't even started yet. All I wanted to say is that I really don't know how to do this baby stuff, but I'm going to learn for you guys. I've let your mommy down a lot over the years, I admit that, but I won't make that same mistake with you. You don't know how lucky I am that she agreed to let me into her life again, when I thought that this would be something that I'd never be a part of. I promise, I'll never take you or her for granted, and I'll go to my last breath to protect you."

"Tony."

"Oh, hey, sweetheart, did I wake you? I'm sorry, I was just talking to the new recruits."

"They'll be recruits over my dead body," you groaned, pushing yourself up to sit despite the pain and fatigue that still held their grip over you. Watching him stand slowly, gingerly placing each baby in their bassinette, you felt like you were seeing a new man in him; the emotions bubbled up faster than you expected with tears freely running down your cheeks.

"What's going on?"

"I'm just emotional, I guess. And exhausted."

Tony moved to your side and sat on the edge of the bed, taking your hand and gently stroking his thumb over the top. His eyes were tired but you could see that just being in the room with the four of you was keeping him at ease despite the crazy day you had all just been a part of. "I'm proud of you."

"I'm the lucky one, Tony," you sniffled, "I was a terrible kid, and you would have had every reason to kick me out on my ass back then."

"Hey, language."

"Seriously? Too much time with Steve."

"There are babies here," he scoffed, pointing back to the three, "their little brains are like sponges." He turned back and studied your shifting expressions, growing more concerned rather than relieved, and no longer buying the excuse that you were simply emotional and tired; his awareness was piqued and he wasn't about to let go so easily. "(Y/N), talk to me."

"Really, I'm just tired," you lied, "I need to get some sleep before we take these guys home and the fun really starts. Hey, I heard you named them yourself?"

"Yeah...yeah, I thought anything was better than assigning a number."

"You named them?" Steve asked as he re-entered the room with two coffees in hand. "Please tell me that you're joking."

"What? You don't like 'Bug', 'Peanut', and 'Princess'?" Tony smiled, standing to meet him and taking a cup readily. He lifted the lid to a face full of steam, drinking without care to the heat and burn in his mouth just to get the much needed caffeine. After he was satisfied, he turned to you and extended the cup to share, which you eagerly took. "So let's hear 'em. What names are you working with? Maybe I can help?"

"We could each name one?" you offered with a shrug. Handing the cup back to Tony, you leaned over to your bedside table and found a pen and paper, scribbling down the list of names that you had narrowed the list to. "Here, any variation of these will work. You two take the boys and I'll take the girl."

"Sounds fair," Tony agreed, taking the list with Steve looking over his shoulder. The two mumbled back and forth, questioning choices and combinations until Tony had finally made his decision. "Alright, I choose...Grant James."

"Wow," you smiled, "I thought for sure you'd go with Anthony."

"No, I'm taking that one," Steve nodded. "Anthony Scott."

"You sure, Cap? You want your kid named after me? That's a lifetime of association."

"I'm sure, Tony."

"Okay," you sighed, fighting tears again at their renewed friendship, "my turn." You reached out and yanked the list from Tony's hands, giving it one last look before coming to your choice. "I choose...Brooklyn Maria."

The three of you looked to each other and agreed wordlessly, that the babies had just been named. Tony smiled and clapped his hands together softly, leaning in for a kiss on your cheek before going out to text the news to the team. You watched Steve as he stood over the bassinets again, telling each baby what their new names were.

Even though this was one of the happiest days of your life, and you were looking at your love talking to your perfect children, you couldn't push away a sadness that had taken hold of you. One of the nurses told you that it was expected with the sudden change in hormones after delivery, but it felt heavier somehow. There was a hazy darkness over your mind, and the world was muted; it was uneasy and wrong.

And it scared the hell out of you.