Disclaimer: Marvel owns these awesome characters.

Author's Note: This takes place approximately two years into Tony and Natasha's marriage at the end of Fire and Ice.

It was a surprise to no one that Steve and Sarah were the first ones to have a child. They had taken a year to enjoy being newlyweds and after that first year, the announcement was made and Sarah was shifted over from an active field agent to desk duty. By the time Kyle was born, everything had been planned and Natasha had stepped up to act as the temporary Avengers leader while Steve took a month off of paternity leave.

Natasha was still ambivalent about the thought of having a family. Part of her simply didn't believe that she would able to be a good mother. She was aware others saw her as cold and in control and for the most part, it was true. She wanted to believe that she was different with Tony, but she was afraid that those warmer feelings wouldn't necessarily translate to a child of theirs.

Tony, for his part, tried not to be pushy with his wife. He himself remembered feeling unimportant to his parents and recalled that up until a few years ago, he honestly had not even believed his father cared much for him. He was determined to do his best to be different with his own child, but in his moments of insecurity he too feared he would somehow manage to screw it all up.

And so they both wavered, occasionally speaking about it, but neither one willing to make a concrete decision.

Until Natasha was given the results of a routine medical examination by S.H.I.E.L.D.

"I'm what?" she asked in disbelief, pinning the doctor with an icy death stare.

The doctor actually flinched back from her. At another time she might have been amused by his reaction but right now she was more focused on seeking clarification. "The pregnancy test is positive, Natasha. You're going to have to schedule a follow-up appointment with one of the OB-GYNs, but my estimate is that you're just over 4 weeks along."

She glared at him in response, but was intelligent enough to not question the accuracy of the medical test. "Thank you," she managed to bite out, stalking away from the medical wing of the S.H.I.E.L.D. compound.

Natasha hadn't felt this panicked since she was running for her life away from Hulk.

Tony was currently banned from S.H.I.E.L.D. Although he maintained his innocence, Fury knew that somehow he was the one responsible for his office being full of Rogaine hair growth products and the screensavers that had appeared on all the networked computers depicting Fury wearing wigs of different colors and lengths.

Tony had helpfully pointed out that even if he had been responsible, keeping him off the property would do no good because he (theoretically, of course) had remote access to the S.H.I.E.L.D. network and could order things online and have them shipped there as well.

It was just as well, anyway, because Tony felt more at home in his own lab and he was making repairs to one of his suits. He was contentedly working on the suit with his music blasting when Natasha arrived home.

Tony stopped the music, then removed his safety goggles and smiled at her. "Hey, baby," he greeted her as she got out of the car, his gaze roaming over her figure. When she wasn't on field duty she wore business clothes and he admired the way her blouse and skirt hugged her curves.

"Hey," she said, walking up to him and giving him a kiss.

He studied her, knowing that something was wrong. She had on her poker face and that in and of itself was a warning sign. Although she sometimes became stressed, she hadn't looked that way since he was first trying to get her to give him a chance at dating him.

"What is it?" he asked, concerned.

The urge to say 'nothing' rose but instead she bit her lower lip. "It's uh… I got my medical exam today."

"Is everything all right?" He knew that she had been experimented upon in Red Room to make her a better soldier and some of the 'enhancements' – particularly those to her brain – were too dangerous to undo so there was always the concern of it causing problems for her.

She nodded, her gaze oddly blank. "Yes, everything came back normal except… except the pregnancy test."

"The pregnancy test is abnormal?" he asked, and then his eyes widened as he suddenly understood her meaning. "You're pregnant?" At her nod, he cheered and lifted her up, spinning her around the room.

"Tony!" Natasha said, but his enthusiastic reaction warmed her and eased some of her shock. "Yeah, I'm pregnant." She frowned slightly; it still seemed so odd to stay and felt surreal.

Tony set her back on her face and caressed her face. "How far along?"

"I'm not sure. The doctor said he thought about a month but that I needed to make an appointment with one of the OB-GYNs. I'm sure they'll tell me more then."

"So you do want to have it?" he asked, studying her face carefully.

"I… uh… yeah, I think so." She looked uncertain. "I mean, I don't not want it. I just… I don't know."

"It's your choice, Tash, but I'd… I'd really like for us to have a family."

"I know," she said softly. "I just… failure is not acceptable to me and I feel like I might fail as a mother. What do I know about mothering or being maternal?"

"You aren't going to fail. I don't know much about being a father, but we'll figure it out together. And we'll see how Steve and Sarah do it and learn from them, too. You do care about others. You looked out for Steve and you take care of me. It's not mothering exactly, but it's taking care of others."

His words touched her. "And to think I had called you selfish, self-absorbed, and narcissistic before."

"Oh, I'm all of those things," he assured her. "Maybe not as much as before, but they're still there. Still a part of my personality. But with all that's happened to me, and especially being your husband… I want to be better for you. And now our baby." He smiled.

"We already have a baby. What if Maks doesn't like to share?" she asked, beginning to smile.

Tony looked over at their Russian Blue cat that was asleep on a pile of papers on one of his desks. "Oh, he'll be fine. He's a smart cat, remember? Though I still wish you'd let me name him…"

"No. He's a Russian Blue, so he gets a Russian name," she answered calmly.

"I'm going to lose out on naming the baby too, aren't you?" he asked and she smiled sweetly in response.

"No," she said. "We'll figure that out together. We have plenty of time, at least."

"That's true," he said, sliding his arm around her waist. "Come on, let's go upstairs. The suit can wait. Let's order take out, and think about how best to share the news of an impending baby Stark."

Natasha smiled, feeling much better… and thinking this might actually turn out well.