8. Catching Up On What I Missed (Steve's POV)

          An hour after Nick had left with Katie, there was a knock on my door. Sure enough, sitting in the hallway, there was a box. I took it inside and placed it on the kitchen counter. Once the box was open, I saw that there was a note sitting on the top and read it:

Katie would love to officially stay with you. The choice is now yours, but here are some memories that may help you make a decision. ~ Fury

I looked back into the box and found a DVD and DVD player and some rolled-up papers. First, taking out the rolled-up papers, I decided to look at what they were. The first one I unravelled was a drawing from 2004 of Captain America and the Howling Commandos standing together. I smiled at how detailed it was for the drawing of a three-year-old. Next, there were three pictures from 2002, one of a butterfly garden, one of a night sky, and one of what looked like a turtle at the beach. I continued to look at all of the drawings, paintings and even the pictures Katie had just coloured when she got a little older. They were amazing, and I loved them all. There were quite a few of Captain America that Katie had done when she was 7 or 8, and I thought they were very endearing. It was nice to know that Katie looked up to me, even without knowing about our connection. Once I had gone through all of Katie's artwork, with a smile stuck on my face, I picked up the DVD and DVD player. I brought them both into the living room and attempted to figure out how the DVD player worked. After about 10 minutes, I finally figured it out and picked up the DVD to place it into the player. The DVD loaded, and a contents page appeared. There was a whole list of different special moments from Katie's life. I scrolled through the list to get a look at all of the videos:

First Halloween - Oct 2001First Christmas - Dec 2001First Birthday - Jan 2002First Steps - Feb 2002First Words - Dec 2002Singing & Dancing - Aug 2003Hide & Seek - April 2005First Training Lesson - Sept 2006First Training Take-down - March 200710th Birthday - Jan 2011

Scrolling back to the top, after a bit of struggle, I started watching the videos in order. The first was Katie's first Halloween. Nick and Agent Hill had dressed her up as Snow White, and she was holding a mini pumpkin basket for her candy:

(Oct 2001)

"Look at Uncle Nick with the camera, Katie," Maria cooed with baby Katie sitting on her lap.

"Ready for trick or treating, Katie?" Nick asked from behind the camera. Maria tickled Katie, and she started giggling.

The next video started playing, showing Katie sitting in Nick's lap, who was dressed as Santa Claus:

(Dec 2001)

"Merry Christmas, Sweetheart," Maria said while handing Katie a gift from beside Nick. Katie giggled and grabbed a hold of Maria's finger while Nick held the gift. They opened the gift for her and moved on to the next one.

"Mine is under the tree," Phil stated, pointing from behind the camera. Nick sat Katie down next to the tree and guided her toward the present from her uncle Phil.

"Go get it, Katie. You can do it," Nick encouraged her. Katie started crawling toward the tree but started heading toward the plate of cookies on the coffee table instead. Everyone started laughing, and Nick picked Katie up again. She laughed when she saw everyone else laugh too.

I was smiling at seeing Katie so happy. Nick, Maria and Phil had done so much for her. Katie's first birthday was next. Katie was sat in a high chair with a small pink cake in front of her:

(Jan 2002)

"Happy birthday to you, dear Katie, happy birthday to you," everyone sang. Maria and Phil helped her blow out the candles, and Nick helped her have a bit of cake. She raised her hand and was about to smack it down onto the cake.

"No, no, no!" Nick and Maria yelled, but it was too late. Pieces of cake flew at Katie, Nick and Maria's faces while Phil laughed. Katie started laughing at her uncle and at the mess she had made.

I started laughing with Katie at Nick and Agent Hill's expressions. Once that video ended, the screen showed Katie standing with the help of Agent Coulson. He was bent down while she held onto his shoulders:

(Feb 2002)

"Come to Uncle Nick, Katie. You can do it. Walk to me," Nick called.

"Go on, Gumdrop," Phil and Maria cheered. Katie hesitantly removed her left hand from Phil's shoulder and reached toward Nick. She had an adorable look of determination.

"That's it," Nick said to her. She took a step toward Nick with her hand still on Phil's shoulder. Then, she took another step and let go. Slowly but surely, Katie started walking into Nick's arms, and once she had made it, he picked her up and gave her a hug.

"Good job, Katie!"

I continued to simply watch with a giant smile on my face. Seeing Katie laugh and experience all of these things made me so happy.

(Dec 2002)

Katie was standing in the living room, and Nick rushed in with the camera.

"What did you say, Katie?" Nick asked her, "Did you say your first word?"

Katie giggled and started running toward the coffee table. When she stopped, she turned back to look at Nick, pointed at the TV and shouted,

"Captain!" Katie did a little hop as she said her first word while seeing Captain America on TV.

"That's right, Katie! Great job!"

(Aug 2003)

Maria was walking down the hall, laughing behind the camera. She stopped at Katie's bedroom door and peeked in. Phil and Katie were listening to 'Cry Me a River' by Justin Timberlake. They were both dancing around the room and singing. Katie had a toy microphone and was singing incomprehensible words as her vocabulary wasn't too advanced yet.

(April 2005)

The video was of Nick sneaking down the hallway. Maria was asking where Katie could be from behind the camera, and Nick turned to shush her. As they got closer to the laundry room, Katie's giggling could be faintly heard.

"Where are you hiding, Katie?" Nick asked, causing Katie to giggle even more. When Nick opened the door to the small laundry room, the laundry basket was moving.

"I could have sworn she was here," Maria said in a fake, defeated tone. Suddenly, Katie popped out of the basket, laughing.

"There you are!" Nick picked Katie up, and they continued to laugh.

(Sept 2006)

"Ok, Katie. Are you ready?" Maria asked her.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Katie stated with determination. Maria then proceeded to show Katie the different types of punches, such as right hook, left hook and uppercut. Katie then performed the punches with Maria wearing protective punching gloves for practising. With pure grit, Katie began to do the punches. After a few, Maria started to falter due to Katie's strength.

"That's my girl!" Maria encouraged when they were done. Nick then gave Katie a high five that she had to jump for.

(March 2007)

Maria and Katie were both in a fight position, ready to have a practice duel. On Nick's command, the two began fighting. Katie dodged and got a few hits in. Maria was able to get at Katie only a couple of times. To finish, when Maria stepped forward, Katie slid under her legs and knocked Maria over. Katie then started jumping up and down in excitement after helping Maria stand up.

"Well done, Katie!" Nick proudly said while clapping for her.

(Jan 2011)

Everyone was gathered around Katie, who sat in front of a table with a birthday cake sitting on it. Natasha and Maria were right next to Katie on either side. Barton stood next to Natasha, and Phil was beside Maria.

"Alrighty," Nick started, "Everyone squeeze in." Nick then ran around the camera to stand behind Katie. They all sang 'Happy Birthday' while Katie held a huge smile on her face, looking at her family. She blew out the candles when the song was over, and everyone clapped.

All the videos were over, and I noticed that I had been hunched over, watching the videos intently, so I leaned back on the couch. My expression was filled with joy from watching Katie grow up. Looking over at the box in the kitchen with all of Katie's drawings and turning my gaze back to the TV screen that held Katie's smiling face, I had a realization. There was no way that I was going to miss out on the rest of Katie's life. I had been gifted with this amazing little girl, and I was not going to give her up. Katie was my daughter, and I wanted her in my life.