Natasha managed to calm herself down after a while. It was hard though. Harder than usual. She had almost gotten used to Steve comforting her after a bad nightmare. He had always been there and it was strange to not have his arms surrounding her when she felt like this. She missed him so terribly and it had only been a few hours. Painful hours. She went to the bathroom, washing her face before looking at her reflection in the mirror. She could still hear the echoes of the song in the back of her head. She shook her head a bit, taking a deep breath. It was just a dream after all. She'd been through much worse. She changed into a pair of sweatpants and a white top. She didn't plan on sleeping anymore tonight. Not until Steve got back at least. She sat down on the couch, wrapping her body into a blanket before turning on the Tv. Natasha was relived to feel that the baby had stopped kicking and she tried to focus on the bad shows on Tv to stay awake. There wasn't much good stuff to see in the middle of the night and her mind was too tired to even take in the information from the shows.  After almost two hours, she simply couldn't keep her eyes open and she slowly fell asleep again.
Steve was on his way home from the mission that went successfully. They took down two of The XX's hiding spots in a matter of hours. He was sure that it would have been done quicker if Natasha would have been with them of course. Steve missed her so much during the missions. It just wasn't the same without her and he couldn't wait until he could crawl down beside her in their bed, keeping her close to him for the rest of the night.

As Steve walked through the door, his gaze was immediately drawn to Natasha on the couch. The Tv was on, as well as all of the lights in the apartment. He had really expected her to be asleep in bed. It was as if she had been waiting for him. He glanced at her for a while, smiling. He really wanted to walk up to her and kiss her forehead, but he figured he'd wait with waking her up until he was going to bed as well. He quietly tip toed to the bathroom, not to wake her. He wanted to take a quick shower before he went to bed. That's when he heard Natasha mumble something before she suddenly screamed. Steve rushed back to the living room, only now noticing her pained expression and heavy breaths. He quickly grabbed her arms, trying to make her sit up. "Natasha.. Hey Natasha.." He said softly before embracing her. His dirty suit left grey spots on her white t-shirt as he wrapped his arms around her body. She tried to get loose at first, as if she had been caught by something. "Natasha.. It's okay.." He said softly and as Natasha opened her eyes, they were already in the middle of a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing herself into his chest. It was an overwhelming feeling to have him so close again after so many hours.  Especially because of her dream. She was so thankful to just have him there. To have him safe. This nightmare hadn't been half as bad as the previous one, but waking up with his arms around her was such a familiar feeling and she immediately felt safe.
Steve held her tightly for a few minutes and kissed the top of her head a couple times before Natasha took a deep breath, breaking the comfortable hug. "I'm so glad you're home." She said, looking up at him. Steve couldn't help but to feel a bit happy as she mentioned the word "home". It was strange to know that after so many years of loneliness and pain, he had found himself a home. Natasha was his home and with Natasha, he would start a family. His heart screamed of joy at that thought. He couldn't wait to spend a lifetime together with this woman. "Get into bed. I'll be there in five minutes." He said softly, giving her a small smile and a peck on the lips. Natasha nodded and Steve hurried into the shower. Natasha dragged off her sweatpants and shirt, crawling into bed again. It didn't take long until Steve joined her. The empty side beside her was now as it should be, not empty at all. Steve wrapped her arms around her body, letting one of his hands lay on her baby bump. "I'm sorry I was gone for so long." Steve said as he kissed her shoulder. "How did the mission go?" Natasha asked. "It went great. We took down two of their hiding spots. I wished you were there though. What did you do tonight?" He asked and Natasha sighed. "Nothing. But I found out that the baby stops kicking if you sing." She said and Steve smiled brightly. "Really?" He asked excitingly and smiled at the image of Natasha singing to their child. Natasha nodded. "It's not as fantastic as it sounds. It's tiring." She mumbled, dragging him to her a bit more so they laid tightly pressed to each other. "Did you get any sleep?" Steve asked, frowning a bit. "Soon." Natasha said and Steve nodded, kissing her cheek before burying his face in her neck. Natasha fell asleep for the third time that night with Steve close to her. To her luck, not a single nightmare entered her mind. Third time's a charm.

• • •

Natasha woke up to the smell of waffles. She stretched out on the bed that was as awfully big because of the fact that Steve had woken up before her. By the burning sun that was let in through the window, she had been sleeping for a while. Besides, she didn't feel so tried. She slowly got out of bed, grabbing one of Steve's t-shirts, putting it on. She looked down at her belly and you could see the baby bump through the wide shirt by now. She bit her lip a bit before tiptoeing out to the kitchen. Steve was busy making some waffles as she sat down on a chair by the small kitchen island. All he wore was a pair of pyjama pants as he was so focused in making, what Natasha already figured, would be the best brunch of her life. Steve was happily humming, pouring up some orange juice in two glasses. He put down the juice and turned around. He almost  hit down the glasses to the floor as he jumped. Natasha smiled brightly at the scared expression on his face. "I smell waffles." Natasha said, chuckling. Steve tried catching his breath for a few seconds before smiling. "I was.. I was going to give you breakfast in bed." He said, one hand on his chest and one on the kitchen counter. "You scared me." He said, smiling. "Oh I had no idea." Natasha said, jumping down off the chair. She walked up to him, giving him a long kiss. Steve smiled onto her lips. "I just called Clint." He said and Natasha raised her eyebrows a bit. "Why?" She asked, stealing a small piece of a waffle. "I thought we could go and visit the Barton's." He said and Natasha frowned. "But what about work? Your missions?" She asked and Steve bit his lip a bit. "I was coming to that. I decided to not join the next few missions." He said and Natasha frowned. "What are you talking about? We need all we can get for those missions." Natasha said seriously and Steve nodded. "I know, but I'm needed more at this mission." He said, putting her hands on her belly, smiling brightly. Natasha couldn't help but to give him a small smile. "Besides, Lila already know that we're coming." Steve said, and Natasha bit her teeth together. "Fine." She said, still smiling before taking another piece of a waffle.

Steve and Natasha ate the very good brunch. Natasha hadn't been wrong, it was indeed the best brunch she had ever had. It either was because of Steve's cooking skills or the fact that she was hungry all the time now that she was eating for two. She figured both of them made sense. Unfortunately, she didn't get to keep it. The waffles tasted way better coming down than coming up. If there was one thing Natasha absolutely hated, it was morning sickness. "And Laura.." Natasha said as she gathered up some things for them to bring in a bag. "The due day must be any day now." Natasha said, smiling. She couldn't wait for another member in the Barton family. "Oh that's right." Steve said. "I hope it's a girl." Natasha said, smiling. "You just want them to name her Natasha." Steve said, chuckling. "Well, yes." Natasha said as they walked to the car.