"Hey," Bucky's soft voice made you look up. You were certain your eyes were bright red from all the crying you'd been doing. "You okay?" You shook your head and broke down in sobs again. Bucky got down on the floor next to you and wrapped his flesh arm around you. "It'll be okay." You nodded and leaned closer to him. You and Bucky had gotten really close since you were hired as a doctor by S.H.I.E.L.D. It was one less thing for Bruce to worry about.

After crying for what seemed like days, you pulled away from Bucky and stood up. "I have to go pack. The funeral is in a couple of days. Try not to break yourself while I'm gone." Bucky let out a soft chuckle at your attempt at humor. He watched you walk toward you room and sighed. He'd never seen you so down before. Then again, he imagined that's how anyone would act if they just got news their sibling died. He just hoped you'd be okay.

You finally returned home a week later. You sighed in relief as the limo pulled up to the Tower. It had been a long week and now, life as you knew it was going to change. You opened the door and were immediately greeted by Bucky, Steve and the Maximoff twins. "Welcome home!" You smiled softly, although there was very little joy in it. You were too tired. "Hey, guys." You turned and reached back into the car and, to the surprise of everyone, you pulled out a baby carrier.

"Vhat is zhat?" Pietro asked and you fought the urge to roll your eyes. "That would be a baby, Piet. My nephew." They all stared at you in amazement. "There was no one else in the family who could take care of him. I decided to do it myself." Steve came over and hugged as best he could. Over his shoulder, you could see Bucky frowning. "That's admirable, Doll," Steve whispered. "Thanks. Can someone grab the diaper bag? My hands are full."

Wanda quickly grabbed the diaper bag and the five of you entered the Tower. "Hey, Doc! How's it- is that a baby? Why is there a baby in the Tower?" Tony asked and you explained what had happened. Before you knew it, the carrier was taken from your hands and your nephew removed from it by Clint. You couldn't help but chuckle at how quickly they all forgot that they were supposed to be mighty heroes. The only person that wasn't anywhere near the baby was Bucky.

The rest of the day, the baby was passed around between the team, everyone helping to take care of him. You were grateful for the help. You left your nephew with a few members of the team and took Steve and Bucky shopping for baby things with you. The looks the three of you kept getting flustered Steve, but you merely laughed at him. Bucky had yet to say anything about the baby, but having him there was comforting.

You never thought the Avengers would be so difficult to get a baby from. After the new nursery was set up next to your room, you tried to get your nephew and put him to bed. The others did not want to let him go. It took several firm words from you, Pepper and Natasha in order to get the baby and take him to his room. By that time, you wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen.

A sharp cry in the middle of the night woke you. It took you a minute to remember that you had a baby to take care of now. You groaned as you got out of bed and made you way to your nephew's room. You stopped short when you saw a large form in the room. You were about to scream when you heard the familiar soothing voice of your best friend. It was Bucky. Bucky Barnes, former Winter Soldier and brilliant assassin, was rocking and singing your nephew to sleep.

"Buck?" you whispered and he gently shushed you. You closed your mouth and waited for Bucky to return the boy to his crib. You had to admit that it was an adorable sight. Bucky laid the baby down and turned back to you with a soft, albeit embarrassed smile. You quietly left the room and closed the door. "You're really good with him. I wasn't able to get him back to sleep all week." Bucky just shrugged. This was a side to him you weren't used to, but you couldn't help but think you liked it.

*time skip*

If you thought time passed quickly before, it did so even more now that there was a baby in the Tower. Your nephew was just over a year old now. He had just started walking and was working on talking. It was nice to have the team helping you out, but you had fallen into the role of "mother" and, to your shock, Bucky had ended up in the fatherly role. Your nephew seemed to prefer Bucky's calm and stoic presence.

"Hey, Bucky?" you called out as you tried to fix your nephew's dinner. Bucky poked his head in the kitchen. "Yeah?" You gave him a smile. "Sorry to bother you, but can you get Y/N/N in his high chair?" Bucky flashed you his million dollar smile and nodded. Since you brought your nephew home, Bucky had come out of his shell more and more.

In truth, Bucky loved spending time with the boy and, by extension, you. When he saw how quickly you'd jumped into the maternal role for your nephew, it made Bucky's heart melt. If he hadn't been in love with you before that, he certainly was now.

Bucky picked up the boy and placed him in the chair. While he was strapping him in, Y/N/N was trying to grab Bucky's metal arm. Bucky got the tray on the chair and backed away. Y/N/N immediately began to cry, startling both you and Bucky. "Dada!" he cried, reaching his arms out to Bucky. Your eyes went wide and you glanced at Bucky. He was sporting a similar expression to yours.

"Did he just..." You nodded as the baby repeated his word. You were used to Y/N/N referring to you as "Mama" but he'd never called Bucky that before. Y/N/N kept repeating his new word over and over until Bucky went over. The boy put his hand on Bucky's face and grinned. "Dada." Once he was happy, the boy turned to you and signed "food". You put the boy's food on the tray and glanced back at Bucky.

He was standing there in shock. "You okay, Bucky?" He nodded. "He called me 'Dada'." You couldn't fight the giggles that came out. You'd never seen Bucky so surprised. "Yes he did." Bucky sank down into a chair. "I'm not sure how to process that." You placed a hand on his shoulder. "We can always correct him, Buck. It's not a big deal." You smiled at him and kissed his temple.

"What if I don't want to?" You arched a brow and he continued with a sigh, "It's not like I'm going to get the chance to have any kids of my own. Why not let this little guy think of me as his dad?" He looked up at you, his eyes full of fear and little bit of sadness. "Bucky, that's not true. I'm sure you'll have plenty of opportunities to be a father. I bet loads of women would just love to be the mother of your babies."

Bucky snorted out a laugh. "Yeah, maybe, but I love this little guy. I love his new mother even more." He muttered the last part, but you heard it anyway. "Y-You what?" Bucky's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to respond. He didn't get a chance before a glob of pureed food hit is face. You had to bite your lip to keep from laughing. You didn't want to encourage Y/N/N to throw food, but the look on Bucky's face was priceless.

Bucky glanced at you and smirked. "You think that's funny?" You took a step back, but his arms wrapped around you and he rubbed his face all over yours. "EW!!" you cried, no longer able to contain your laughter. In an instant, you were both laughing hysterically and Y/N/N was giggling too. When you stopped laughing, you caught Bucky looking at you with admiration.

"I love you, Y/N." You grinned at him. "I love you too." You kissed him and Y/N/N let out a shriek of delight. You broke away from Bucky and looked to see Y/N/N covered in his food. "Bath time?" Bucky asked. You nodded. "I got it," he offered. He gave you another peck on the lips before he washed his face and left the room with Y/N/N in his arms.