Ch. 1

Natasha and Clint had thought long and hard about going to Steve. It was a lot to ask of anyone. With Steve being both male and a super hero, it was an even tougher thing to ask.

What pushed both of them over the edge was Natasha's third miscarriage. She and Clint had been trying for a baby for quite some time, both wanting to step out of their roles at SHIELD to start a family. This last time she had been pregnant for three and a half months when she lost it.

Of course, Natasha was devastated. Clint was too, but he tried to keep it together for his girlfriend's sake. When she finally recovered, they made their move.

00

Steve was working out in the fitness center when Clint and Natasha approached him. He had been doing pull ups when he saw his teammates walk in.

"Hey," he greeted them, letting go of the bar.

Thinking that maybe this was a bad time, Natasha began to back out.

"We're sorry," she said, taking a step back, "You're obviously busy. We'll talk another time."

Steve looked at her like she had three heads.

"I was close to done. You know I always have time for my friends. What's going on?"

Clint and Natasha looked at each other nervously before turning back to Steve. Having this conversation seemed scarier than all of their past missions combined.

"We have a favor to ask of you," Clint started.

"A huge favor. Massive," Natasha added.

"O...kay. Shoot."

"Well. You know how we haven't been around much lately?" Clint asked.

"Well, yeah. But I figured you guys had some important work to do together or something."

Clint and Natasha looked at each other again, and Clint wrapped an arm around the redhead.

"It wasn't... It wasn't that," Natasha said, unable to look Steve in the eyes. The whole experience was still painful to her and she feared she might cry. "It was... We...I had a miscarriage."

Steve's eyes grew wide.

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry, Tasha... And Clint...I had no idea."

Natasha shook her head.

"We were keeping it secret. There were two others in the past. We felt that if we got to four months it would be safe to tell everyone, but we only made it three and a half."

Clint hugged Natasha a little harder.

"I'm really, truly sorry to hear that," Steve replied. "But what does this...Oh."

Clint sighed.

"You carried Lizzie for nine months and she came out fine, and you're super strong and most of all we trust you."

Natasha nodded in agreement.

"That is the biggest thing. You are a good man. Besides being physically capable of doing what I cannot, there is no one else who we would trust more to carry our child. That is, of course, if you agreed to it."

Steve took a deep breath and chose his words carefully.

"I'm honored that you would consider me for something so personal to you, but I really need to talk it over with Tony first, if that's alright with you. I mean, it's a huge responsibility, and I'd have to step down as Captain of the team, and Tony would have to deal with me being pissy and moody for another nine months."

The last part of Steve's statement made Natasha smirk.

"Absolutely. We understand. Let us know what you decide. We would obviously help out in any way possible, so Tony would not be alone in dealing with you, for lack of better words."

Steve rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah. Yeah, let me talk to him. I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

"Alright," Clint agreed. "And thank you, for at least considering it."

Steve forced a smile.

"Of course."

00

"I think you should do it."

Steve raised an eyebrow. He had just told Tony about Natasha and Clint's proposal. Even though Tony was a genius, he figured that the man would at least consider everything for more than a minute.

"You know what this would entail, right?" Steve asked.

Tony nodded and took a sip of his drink - scotch on the rocks.

"You being moody and fat for a few months. Yeah, I get it. But you'd be doing a really good thing."

"Since when do you care about doing good?"

Tony frowned and finished the drink off.

"To be completely honest, ever since we had Lizzie, a lot has changed. I've never loved someone like I love her, or like I love you. It seems wrong to not help two people who want to experience the same thing."

Steve was taken back by this.

"You really mean that?"

"I do. Besides, you're kind of cute when you're pregnant. Wow, it feels weird saying that." Tony shook his head and poured himself another glass. "The main thing that you should be concerned with is the pre-eclampsia. Not sure if you'd really want to go through another few months of bed-rest if it happens again. It would be totally understandable if you didn't, by the way."

"That's a good point," Steve agreed. He leaned back against the bar and looked out across the room. Lizzie was sitting near Lokitty, reading to him from a storybook that Tony had bought her. She was only three and a half but she definitely had Tony's intellect.

Steve stared at his daughter for a moment. Tony was right. He knew it. At the very least Natasha would probably make a good mother, and he would survive any complications from the pregnancy, so realistically it would just mean a few months of discomfort.

"I'll talk to Bruce about it," Steve finally said. "They said they wanted me to carry their baby, so I guess that means it would really be theirs. DNA and all that. I'll see what's involved with it and go from there."

Tony smiled at him.

"Sounds fair to me."