I'll Be There

Alex had begun to drum her fingers against the wood of the table as she sat impatiently awaiting the male's return. "What is taking so long?" she mumbled as she drummed her fingers harder.

"Alex relax; he'll be back soon," Tony reassured. "Just be patient."

"Dad, I don't know how much more of this I can take!" Alex snapped in a hush tone. "I know that there's not much I can do, but I can't just sit here and—"

"I'll find out where he is. You stay put," Tony interjected as he began to get up from his seat. Just as he stood up, he saw the man that Alex had been waiting impatiently for which led Tony to sigh in relief. "I see him coming," Tony mentioned as he sat back down and heard Alex whisper, 'Thank god.'

"I'm so sorry to keep you waiting," a male voice apologized as he approached the two.

Alex turned to face him and smiled as her eyes caught a glimpse of what she had been waiting for. "It's fine," she grinned. "This is definitely worth the wait."

"You just said—" Tony began to say before he was nudged in the ribs by Alex.

The man had smiled at the two as he placed two large white dishes in front of them. "Garlic mussels marinara for the gentleman and a pasta carbonara for the lady. Enjoy."

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"And did you get the package I sent you?" asked a female voice.

"Yes mom," responded Alex as she lifted the oversized plush bear in front of her laptop's camera so that her mom could see it through their video call. "Although, I read that infants shouldn't sleep with stuffed animals for the first few months. You know this so I don't know why you sent it to me."

Alex heard a small gasp from her mother accompanied with a fake face of shock.

"Mr. Tyler is not an 'it'," Christina replied as she pretended to sound offended. "And he's not for squishy; he's for you."

"Okay, mom," Alex scoffed.

"Honey, I'm serious. I know that that argument you had with Steve is still bothering you and you won't be able to get over it until you've talked with him which will be lord knows when," Christina explained. "But I don't like seeing you upset which is why I sent Mr. Tyler to you. He used to make you smile when you were sad as a kid; I thought that maybe he could do the same for you now."

Christina's response caused a small smile to form on Alex's face as she unconsciously gave the soft stuffed bear a small squeeze. "You're such a mom," Alex sighed. "Thank you for the bear and thank you for not getting mad when I told you what I did."

"Of course I'm a mom, Alex. I'm your mom so. How can I not act like one?" replied Christina in a 'matter-of-fact' tone. "And as for what you did, it must have hurt you more than anyone so of course I'm not going to get mad. I was a little heartbroken to hear it, but there's no need for me to be mad," she said sympathetically.

"I know but—" Alex began before she was cut off.

"Give him time, Alex. He'll come around just like you did when you were mad," Christina interrupted.

Before Alex could respond, her attention was directed to the halls of the apartment where she could hear the front doors being opened.

"I guess that's dad back with food."

"What did you make him get you this time?"

"Well, I wanted lasagna, but since he took me to an Italian restaurant yesterday, I settled for ramen," Alex explained.

"Well, you enjoy your food and make sure you take your vitamins. I love you, sweetie."

"I love you too, mom; and I will," Alex said as she waved 'good-bye' to her mother and closed her laptop. She then placed the large stuffed animal to the side of the bed after giving it one final squeeze and made her way to the kitchen area.

"I hope you remembered to get chopsticks," Alex called out as she approached the kitchen, inhaling the scent of the ramen along the way. "I know you don't like them because you suck at using them, but I still like—"

Alex stopped mid sentence and gasped at the sight in front of her. Instead of seeing her dad in front of her with the bag of food resting on the counter, she noted that two bowels had already been set, the ramen had already been served, and chopstick have been placed next to each bowl. However, the most surprising part had not been the prepared food, but the person that Alex could only assume had served it. Her hazel eyes locked with baby blue ones as she examined them; she looked for any traces of the anger that she had seen the last time that she had looked at them. She had said nothing, unsure of the right words to say after not seeing or hearing from him for the last few days.

'Should I ask what he's doing here?' she thought to herself. 'No. It's obvious he wants to talk. He even set up the food that dad brought which means he's making this a non-hostile situation.' Alex opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. 'No. I can't ask him how his mission went. That will make it look like I'm deflecting away from the situation and I can't make him think that that's what I'm doing.' She pressed her lips together unsure of what to say, however, she didn't have to think too long since Steve spoke first.

"Hi," Steve greeted with a small smile on his lips, his words breaking her train of thought.

"Hi," she greeted awkwardly as she tried to force a smile. "Uhh…" she mumbled still unsure what to make of the situation. She could in Steve's eyes that he no longer held the same anger he did during their last dispute. His lack of anger was also made evident by the two ramen bowls of ramen placed next to one another. She also noted a certain look in his eye that made her think that he felt conflicted.

"Can we talk?" Steve asked as he gestured for her to take a seat.

She followed his lead and she sat beside him and stared at the food in front of her to avoid meeting his eyes. She hesitantly reached out for the chopstick, knowing that it wasn't the right time for that but unsure of how to fill the silence between them.

"You don't have to wait," Steve said. "I'm still trying to find the right words for what I'm about to say," he sighed as he watched her eyes flicker in his direction.

A wave of guilt hit Alex and, out of frustration, she roughly placed her chopsticks on the table and spoke. "No, it's okay, Steve. You don't have to filter yourself. I know I'm a terrible person and I deserve every hurtful word you have to say about me. But don't hold it against squishy. I know I messed up us, but it's not his fault so only be mad at me," she explained as tears began to form on the brim of her eyes as she tried to hold herself together. Steve placed a hand on Alex's shoulder which caused her to look up at him.

"Why would I say something that might cause pain to the mother of my future child?" he questioned.

"Because she's the same monster that tried to kill him," she said softly; her voice broke as she spoke. Steve could hear the regret laced beneath her words and sighed.

"You're wrong, Alex. You're not a monster. You're the woman I love who was faced with a situation that involved making a difficult choice." His explanation caused Alex to furrow her brow in confusion. Steve noticed this and continued.

"Listen, I know that the way I reacted wasn't fair and it hurt you, but I understand now that it definitely wasn't easy for you and that it killed you to have to make that choice."

"You have no idea," Alex scoffed as she continued to hold back her tears. "But that's okay. You don't have to pretend to be fine with it—"

"No, Alex. I really do understand. I know exactly what went on in your head and I'm not mad at you because of it."

"How could you possibly know what was going on in my head?" she asked.

"Because I told him everything," stated a female voice coming from the hall. Alex turned her attention to where she heard footsteps approaching and her eyes widened at the sight in front of her.

"No way," whispered Alex in disbelief. "How are you even here?"

"After all this time, that's the first thing you say to me?" Annabelle teased as she watched her friend approach her and give her a hug.

"I'm sorry," apologized Alex as she now allowed the tears to flow from her eyes. "I missed you so much. I just can't believe you're really here."

"Well, you have Steve to thank for that," began Annabelle. "S.H.E.I.L.D found me and sent him to find out what was going on with Red Skull. I agreed to come and answer S.H.E.I.L.D's as well as Steve's questions if they let me see you which is why Steve knows everything that happened."

Alex remained silent. She was unsure of how to feel about her friend revealing what had happened and her wish to die to Steve since it was something that Alex herself had struggled to come to terms with; it was definitely not something that she was not ready to discuss with her fiancé yet. Thankfully, any negative and uncertain thoughts that Alex had were washed away when Steve once again spoke.

"I already told you, Alex, I harbor no ill feelings," he explained. "And as far as we go, you didn't ruin 'us'. We still have a child on the way and I want us to be a family if that's what you want."

"Yes!" she exclaimed as she began to sob. She wiped away the tears as she rushed to Steve's side. He immediately embraced her and tried to calm her down.

"It's okay Alex," Steve smiled as he placed a kiss on top of her head.

"I love you Steve," she mumbled into his chest.

"I love you too," he replied.

"And I love the both of you," Annabelle teased, ruining the moment between the two. "And now that my job is done and the two of you made up, I'll be heading out."

"Wait! I finally get to see you after all this time and you're already leaving," Alex half-whined.

"There are a few matters with S.H.E.I.L.D that I have to deal with," Annabelle explained which caused Alex to frown. "But, I promise to see you soon to catch up. For now, enjoy your time with your family."

The couple watched Annabelle leave before turning their attention to one another. "So," began Steve. "Shall we eat, Mrs. Rogers?"

"Slow down, Mr. Rogers. I don't recall marrying you and changing my name," Alex replied with a sly smile. "But I'm glad that that's not something that's off the table." Steve smiled at her response as he pulled the chair forward for her.

"Well I'm glad that you're still open to the idea of being my wife, even with everything that happened."

"If you're willing to be my husband, I'm more than willing to be your wife," Alex replied as she thought about what he had said. Steve's words made Alex think of the broken frame in the nursery. After it shattered, Alex was left to literally pick up the pieces, but she realized that the frame was something that was mendable just as her relationship with Steve was.

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Extra!

"What's with the bear?" Steve asked he gestured to the oversized stuffed animal.

"Oh that's Mr. Tyler. Mom sent him to me," Alex replied.

"Why did you name him ?"

"Because he has a tie. Tie, Tyler," Alex explained. "I was such a clever child," she grinned.

Steve chuckled at her cleverness and enthusiasm as he thought of how much he loved her.