Steve gave her a sad smile, nodding quietly and holding his hands in his lap to try and keep them from shaking. When he heard the little slap, louder in the quiet room than he was expecting he lent forward, letting the little boy crawl in to his lap instead. The baby was quick to climb against his chest, curling up with his head against Steve's shoulder and arms spread as wide as they could around his neck, almost like he was trying to hug the bigger man and curl up for sleep at the same time. And some of Steve's resolve melted at that, sniffling softly as he held on to the little boy, kissing his hair lightly.
"Sorry buddy." he whispered, holding him close to his chest as carefully as he could.