Since you have told Bucky about the great news about your pregnancy, he had been nothing but a happy, supportive husband - on the outside. On the inside, he was scared. He didn’t want to tell you, he was anxious that you would start to doubt him being a father too. And he didn’t want to worry you. You deserved all the happiness of the world, especially while carrying your baby.

But it had been hard for Bucky to let you into his heart. He needed a lot of time and plenty of reassurance until he trusted himself around you. He wasn’t the winter soldier anymore, but it still felt like a small, dark part of him. And with every day that passed and every bit your baby bump grew, he got more anxious. What if he hurt the baby with his arm? What if he wasn’t able to protect them?

Right now, you were lying on the stretcher while the doctor moved the ultrasound device over your bump. Your eyes were glued to the monitor, trying to see something, to recognize your baby. Bucky gave your hand a reassuring squeeze, but he was equally excited - if not more. And then, you heard it. A faint heartbeat. It was quick but powerful, causing Bucky’s own heart to skip a beat. “Is this…?” He whispered, looking at the doctor, waiting for confirmation. She smiled warmly and nodded. “This is the heartbeat of your baby.”

Images flashed through Bucky’s mind. Glimpses of how his future would look like. Him holding his baby in his arms, rocking it to sleep when it was crying at night. How he held your daughter’s hands while she did her first wobbly steps. How he cheered on your son when he rode his bike the first time, and how he gentle applied a bandaid to his bleeding knee afterwards. How he held your daughter in his arms when she cried about her first heartbreak and how he patted his son’s head proudly after graduation. “Everything’s alright?” Your soft voice pulled Bucky back into the present. He looked at you, his eyes glassy from the tears in them. But he couldn’t hide his smile, even if he wanted to. “Everything is perfect, love.”