A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS EXCEPT MRS. FRITZ AND BABY JORDAN. MARVEL OWNS BUCKY AND STEVE. THE PLOT IS MY OWN.
Christmas in Brooklyn was always beautiful. Being able to look out the apartment window on the third floor from the living room was what James (or what he liked to be called Bucky) and Steve liked to do most. Sitting on the couch with Steve wrapped up in Bucky's arms watching the snow fall in silence with hot cocoa and both lightly rubbing Steve's growing stomach. The two of them could spend hours doing this, getting lost in the moment. "This is how I want to spend the rest of my life Steve, right here beside you, watching the snow fall and growing old with our child. It's the perfect life. Yeah we may not have much and we just get by, but it's true happiness and it's all I need." Bucky said as he kept rubbing Steve's stomach that was bulging with child.
Steve smiled. "I want that too Buck, though I wish we didn't have to live in secret and lie to everyone about the baby. I wish we didn't have to sneak around. I wish it was a time that we could be open about our relationship and it was acceptable that men can have babies too. I'm no different than any other man, but because I can have kids and be attracted to the same sex means that there is something wrong with me. It hurts knowing that we can never really be ourselves and be accepted." Steve ranted as he sadly looked down at his stomach that his best friend/boyfriend was rubbing.
Bucky stopped rubbing Steve's stomach, grabbed his hand and looked at him and said "Stop worrying about the things that you can't change Stevie. It's not healthy for you or the baby to stress out and get worked up over the ignorance of others. Plus I think it's time that we make something to eat. I'm hungry." Bucky rubbed the back of Steve's hand, gave him a kiss and got up and headed to the kitchen.
From the couch laughing, Steve called out "Do you need help? I do like having a place to live you know."
Answering back, Bucky said "You need to relax and stay off your feet. I can manage making something to eat for us you know."
After what felt like hours of sitting waiting for dinner to be done, Steve heard "Shit!" That made Steve sit up to the best of his ability and said in a concern "Bucky, is everything okay? Are you hurt?" When he didn't get a response, Steve waddled his way out to the kitchen to see Bucky cleaning up a mess and running his hand under cool water. Walking over to his boyfriend, he said "Bucky are you okay? Let me see what happened."
Looking over at Steve, he turned the water off and dried his finger off and said "Steve I'm fine. Honestly it's just a little hot water got on my finger when I bumped the pan off the stove. It's okay. Plus, what did I say about you needing to relax and stay off your feet? You're eight months pregnant and with your health worries, you're a high risk for something not only happening to you, but the baby." Bucky said as he sat Steve at the small two person table they used as a kitchen table.
As Bucky continued to make dinner, there was a sudden and loud intake of air and Steve dubbed over in pain. Not even a minute later, Steve cried out as pain shot into his stomach. Rushing over to him, Bucky was freaking out "Steve, Steve baby what's wrong?"
"Buck, I…it hurts so much! I don't know what to do. Help me. I don't want anything to happen to our baby. Please." Steve was desperate. He didn't want anything to happen to their baby. He wasn't worried about himself at this point.
"I'll be right back Stevie. I'm going to get Mrs. Fritz. Remember she said she will help us with anything that we need. We can trust her. I'll be right back. Hang tight and don't move. Okay? I love you." With a quick kiss to Steve's head, Bucky ran out of their apartment and across the hall to Mrs. Fritz's apartment. He pounded in the door of the middle aged woman until she answered. "Mrs. Fritz I need your help. Something is wrong with Steve. Please help us." He was begging. He couldn't let anything happen to his Stevie or his baby.
"James you know I would do anything for you two. We have to hurry. Come on darling." Mrs. Fritz and Bucky hurried back to the young couple's apartment to find Steve still sitting in the chair, but now there is a puddle on the floor and Steve is drenched in sweat. Seeing this, Bucky races to his side and tries his best to stay calm and at the same time calm Steve. He kept whispering sweet words to Steve "Stevie, just stay calm. You're in good hands with Mrs. Fritz. She knows what she is doing." He kept rubbing the back of Steve's hand as Mrs. Fritz coached Steve on what to do.
"James, we need to move Steven to some place comfortable." The middle aged woman looked at Bucky.
"I can move him to our room on the bed. I think that would be the most comfortable place we have that he can stay relaxed." Bucky kept looking at Steve. He was terrified of something happening. Steve only weighs 95lbs and his health isn't great, and now he went into labor a month early. He has to stay strong for not only himself but for Steve. "Okay Stevie, hang on tight. I'm going to lift you up and carry you to bed to make you more comfortable. Hear we go."
Once they got to the room, Bucky situated all the pillows to where Steve was propped up and looked much more comfortable despite the immense amount of pain he is. "All right Steven I need you to keep taking those deep breaths for me. I also need to examine you." Mrs. Fritz was a head nurse at the local hospital. She delivered her fair share of babies and this one will be no different. As she was examining Steve, she called Bucky over. "We have to get this baby out now, we can't risk his health deteriorating. If that happens we could lose both of them. So what I need you to do James is keep him breathing slow steady breaths and keep him awake. No matter what, he can not fall asleep." Bucky nodded at what the she told him.
He went up to Steve and did what Mrs. Fritz said to do. "Hey Stevie, you're going really good baby. I'm so proud of you! I need you to keep doing what you're doing okay. I need you to keep breathing deep long breaths, nice and slow." Bucky encouraging Steve to keep going.
An hour has past and things were vetting more intense with the delivery. "Buck I can't…I'm tired. I just need a minute to rest." Steve said. His eyes were dropping, he could barely stay awake.
Shaking his head, Bucky urgently says "No, no, no Steve, you have to stay awake. You can sleep all you want after the baby is here, but not before. Please Steve, can you do that for me? Steve? Stevie? STEVE?!" Bucky gently shook Steve's shoulder trying desperately to wake his boyfriend. With tears flowing, Bucky continued "Please Steve, you have to wake up. You can't sleep, please don't leave me punk." Looking through tears, Bucky looked down at Mrs. Fritz who was trying to get Steve to push before he passed out.
Slowly opening his eyes, he looked over at Bucky who had his head down crying "I'm here jerk."
Smiling through his tears, Bucky reached up and kissed Steve and then said "Don't you ever do that to me again punk! I can't lose you, not now, not ever." Bucky instead of crying out of sadness, his tears were now of joy and happiness.
"Alright Steven honey, I need you to give me a good push. Can you do that?" Mrs. Fritz asked Steve. Him passing out isn't a good sign and she needed to get this baby out now before things take a turn for the worse for both of them.
Shaking his head, Steve says "I can't push. It hurts too much. I can't do it. Buck tell her I can't." His breathing becomes erratic. Steve starts to cry and panic in fear.
"Shh, shh, shh it's okay Stevie. You need to slow your breathing down. Remember long deep breaths baby boy. There you go. Now I know it hurts, but you need to push for Mrs. Fritz. You want to hold our baby right? You can only do that if you give her a good hard push." Bucky is coaching Steve and he is the only one that Steve will really listen too.
Steve indeed pushed for the nurse. He did it and it hurt. Coming from the bottom of the bed, Mrs. Fritz was encouraging him, and from the side, Bucky was telling him how good he was doing and how proud he was of him. Gathering up strength, he pushed for the second time. After he pushed, he dropped back on the pillows spent. "Buck, I hate you. I hate you so much you stupid jerk. Never touch me again, you hear that! Better yet, don't ever look at me again. You're cut off." Steve said looking at his boyfriend.
Laughing, Bucky answered "Sure punk, whatever you say."
"Honey, I need you to one more time give me the biggest, hardest push you can muster. If you can do that you'll be holding your baby." Mrs. Fritz said to Steve.
"I just want to hold my baby, but I can't push again. I feel like I'm ripping apart down there. It hurts, please make it stop." Steve said to anyone that was listening.
"Just one more baby and you can hold our baby in your arms as long as you want." Bucky said to Steve. It has been hours since Steve went into premature labor. It was light out, and now the street lamps lit up the night sky as snow still fell.
Screaming, Steve pushed as hard as his little body could muster. When he stopped and clasped back on the pillows, the only thing anyone could gear was a little cry and then Mrs. Fritz asked "James would you like to come do the honors here?"
Bucky nodded his head and went over to where Mrs. Fritz was waiting with their baby. Bucky ended up cutting the cord and helped the nurse wash the infant for the first time. Once they were done, she announced "Steven, James I want to introduce you both to the newest addition to your family, your baby girl. What would you like to name her?" She asked as she gently laid the baby that was now laying quietly in Steve's arms.
Steve looked at Bucky who again had tears of joy in his eyes and nodded his head. "Her name is Jordan Elizabeth Rogers-Barnes." He looked up to Mrs. Fritz to see her reaction to the name.
"What a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl. She'll be strong just like her parents." She said with a smile on her face.
"Mrs. Fritz, you have been a family friend of both our mothers and have looked after us as a mom since our moms past away. We, Steve and I were wondering if you would like to be a grandmother for Jordan. We know you have children of your own, and we don't want to pressure you into anything." Bucky said to the English woman.
"I would be honored to be this precious little girl's grandmother. I told both your mothers that I would take you to in as my own, should anything happen to them, and I meant that. Anything at all, you come to me, alright?" Mrs. Fritz put on her best motherly voice.
"Yes ma'am." Both Steve and Bucky replied at the same time.
Washing up everything, and making sure that the small family was settled for the night, Mrs. Fritz went home. "Thank you for giving me this perfect little girl Buck. I love you jerk."
Laying beside his boyfriend who still held their daughter, Bucky replied "I should be the one to thank you for giving me this precious little girl. And I love you too punk."
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. Until next time….