Continuing this thread with @imxthexhandler
Steve gently held her hand, and Amelia lightly squeezed his in turn. She looked down at their joined hands, subconsciously physically relaxing slightly as his thumb gently rubbed her knuckles.
She silently took in a deep breath, then looked up to meet his gaze, faintly smiling. “You’re okay with this?” Amelia asked softly, repeating the same question for what seemed like the thirtieth time since they went into the conference room at the courthouse, waiting till their case was called.
“We’re doing the right thing, right? I mean, this… This is a big step. You aren’t doing this just to please me, right?” she rambled.
Granted, since the very first night they took Gabriel to their home, Amelia fallen completely in love with the little boy. When Child Protective Services came to pick him up originally, Amelia nearly broke down into tears only to blissfully be given back the child when he simply refused to leave the pair.
She was ecstatic, excited… Anxious. Very anxious. Amelia was always a worrier, and while she had no doubt how much she loved Gabriel and wanted to give the child the very best life she could, she still worried about her ability to be a mother. Not surprisingly, she sought comfort from her husband.
Amelia was nervous and that was understandable. Steve was nervous too but was better at hiding it than his wife. Something about facing countless enemies and bullies in battle helped with that; pushing emotions deep down so they didn’t interfere with the decision making process. Right now, he was aware he didn’t need to do such a thing. He could be honest with Amelia, he should be honest with her in fact.
“We’re doing the right thing,” he said, fully confident with what he was saying despite his own collection of nerves.
There was one point in his life when he was certain he wasn’t going to be a family man. He had thought that part of him had been left behind in the ice and focussed on the job of being Captain America instead. But then he fell in love with Amelia and then Gabriel came into their lives. Now, more than anything, Steve wanted his family to be whole and for that to happen, they needed to complete Gabriel’s adoption.
According to their lawyers and social workers, the adoption was a formality. But there was still potential for problems to cause a delay of Gabriel officially and legally being their son. That was what was making Steve nervous. The rest? He could figure out with Amelia, he was sure of it.
“Yes, I want this. I want Gabriel to come home with us and for us to raise him.” He leaned in closer to Amelia. “You’re going to be an amazing Mom, I just know it and Gabriel knows it. That’s why he chose you.”