NOTES:
I mentioned to the_wordbutler that the next time we really get to see Nadia Rogers will be when she's four. This is apparently unacceptable; therefore, I was charged with the idea of letting you all see at least little glimpses of her first full calendar year of life. Being a sucker for sweet family moments, I couldn't say no. This starts in January of 2014, which is four-and-a-half months after Wishes and Nightmares. The plot of Overload will be mentioned, since that mostly takes place in April 2014. Thanks to the_wordbutler for not only making my words readable, but for encouraging me to indulge in my fictional universe. Nadia Rogers is mine, the rest are Marvel's.The New Year was rung in surrounded by their friends. Tony and Pepper invited everyone over for an evening of too much food and endless games. When midnight hit, Steve snuck a kiss to the corner of Natasha's jaw below her left ear before brushing a kiss against Nadia's forehead. The baby slept her way through the commotion in Natasha's arms. His wife—still weird to think about—looked up at him and smiled, and Steve couldn't help but wonder what this year would have in store for them. He wasn't delusional enough to think it wouldn't include some rough patches, but it certainly seemed the most promising start he'd had in a while.
February brought the first major injury after Nadia's arrival. Natasha awoke in the medical ward at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters with a monster headache to see a worried Steve trying to contain a squirming Nadia on his lap. When Natasha spoke to her, the six-month-old lunged from Steve's hold toward the bed. Her father made sure she didn't get tangled up in any of the tubes or wires monitoring Natasha's health when he settled Nadia next to her side. "What did I miss?" Natasha asked as she ran fingertips all over Nadia's exposed skin, a greeting started when she was first born to make sure everything was okay.
"Valentine's Day," Steve answered. "Since you decided to be unconscious for it, I ate all your chocolate."
March was pretty quiet. The month contained Nadia's first extended visit to S.H.I.E.L.D. daycare. Darcy Lewis had assumed nanny duties once Natasha was fit to return to work, but she'd gone with Jane to a conference in Switzerland, and Nadia's beloved uncles all had things of their own to do. Thus, Steve and Natasha were introduced to the hell that was dropping off your kid at daycare for the first time, and the even worse punishment of said kid coming down with a double ear infection a week later. Just in time for Nadia's two bottom teeth to appear.
The beginning of April brought around both the start of a fresh season of baseball and mobility. There was a mad dash to baby-proof the Tower, which Natasha snarked was somewhat similar to Tony-proofing things. She stayed home the first Saturday of the month to make sure outlets were covered and hard edges padded while Steve took Nadia to her first game. They should've had it done already, but neither was ready to admit that their daughter was big enough to move about freely on her own just yet. Natasha had a sinking feeling that denial over Nadia's development might become a common theme for their family's future.
May was an adjustment period. Steve and Natasha, especially Natasha, were still figuring out the best way they could help Clint transition into his life with hearing loss, both as a family friend and as a member of the Avengers. What delicate balance the couple worked to establish between their duties and a still-fragile home life was capsized. The month left them feeling strained and inadequate at being both teammates, parents, and whatever versions of spouses they'd become. Neither being great at communicating their feelings, emotions were pushed down or brushed aside. Trying to survive the day became more important than healthy confrontation to keep things from blowing up in their faces.
June was better. Things seemed to settle a bit, rough patches smoothed down into something more tolerable. It was also the start of swimming lessons for Nadia courtesy of her Uncle Phil. It was the only time the ten-month-old enjoyed being in water. Natasha offered to pay Phil anything he wanted if he took over bath duties; she did not find his chuckling refusal an appropriate answer. The other uncles seemed determine to teach the baby things too—Clint taught her signs he was learning himself, Tony built her interactive toys, and Thor was determined to coax her first word out of her. Bruce's lesson wasn't so much for Nadia as it was for her parents; he was the one who finally convinced them that it was okay to have a kid-free vacation for a few days to celebrate their first wedding anniversary.
With July came first words and steps. Nadia called out for "Mama" while Natasha was flying home from an undercover mission with Pepper as Natalie Rushman. Thankfully, Steve made sure she heard it thanks to video chatting. More words came quickly. Nadia already could sign a number of things to communicate needs, but hearing their daughter call out for them using titles they never thought would apply to them was something else entirely. Words became a little less fun when Nadia learned "no" and "uh-oh." Both were used with alarming frequency, especially once she got the hang of walking and, too soon after, running.
August celebrated a first birthday. Steve and Natasha spent most of the weeks leading up to the event adding to the list of things Tony was not allowed to do or buy. Eventually the celebration took shape as the first of many birthdays spent in a quiet corner in Central Park for games and cupcakes. With Nadia's hatred towards baths, Steve feared it would take days and multiple boxes of wipes to clean all the icing out of her hair from when she was given a cupcake to eat all by herself. His fears were not really unfounded.
September included Steve and Natasha going on a mission together. Normally it would've been Clint, but he wasn't allowed to do anything beyond Avenger work after suffering hearing loss five months before. It wasn't that Natasha minded working with Steve—they made a formidable team—it was just that sometimes, she needed a break from family life. But that was hard to get when, even while pretending to be someone else, the man you were married to was right next to you. Granted, that could lead to some fun private experiences, but a fair amount of time Natasha found it to be suffocating.
October brought around the decision for Halloween costumes. The previous year, the then ten-week-old had sported a tiny suit to dress up as her Uncle Phil. Clint suggested that all the uncles be put into rotation, but the idea was quickly nixed. Instead, Nadia wore a red dress with black polka dots and a black headband with Styrofoam black balls attached to live up to her nickname of Bug. She was only allowed to trick-or-treat a few doors, but she still brought home quite a haul of candy, not that she could really eat very much of it.
The month of November saw the third annual Thanksgiving dinner with the team members. But first, disguised in sunglasses, hats, and heavy coats, Steve took Nadia on a daddy-daughter date to watch the Macy's parade go by. She, like her Uncle Tony, was disappointed that Spider-Man was the only superhero present in the line of oversized balloons. While at dinner, the group ate too much and laughed too hard, each of them grateful they had their own version of a dysfunctional family to spend the holiday with.
December brought another undercover mission for Steve and Natasha to deal with. It also saw Steve's first major injury. Thankfully they were both home and healthy by the time Christmas Eve, Steve's favorite night of the year, rolled around. Keeping to the holiday tradition, everyone trucked out to Brooklyn to attend Midnight Mass. The year before, Natasha was forced to take a sobbing four-month-old out to the car so as not to disturb the parishioners. This year, her challenge was to keep shoveling Cheerios into her daughter's mouth to keep her from constantly and loudly asking "What's that?" in broken Russian about every single object in the cathedral. The following morning, Nadia opened her presents and, like most toddlers, was more interested in the boxes the presents came in than the actual gifts themselves. Once an exhausted sixteen-month-old was put to bed, Natasha and Steve settled onto the couch. He held his mug of hot chocolate out to toast against her cup of tea. "To surviving."