A/N: This story is a sequel/companion piece to my other story, The Christmas Wish. Chapter one of this story runs parallel to that one and shares some of the same dialogue, but this one is told from Martha's POV as opposed to Tony's. Chapter two picks up after the other fic ends.
Martha Jones had played a lot of roles in her life. Daughter. Sister. Doctor. Companion. For the past few months she had adapted to another role. Wife.
It all began when the Asgardian known as Thor battled dark elves in Greenwich. UNIT was deployed to tend to the aftermath but they weren't the only ones. Thor was an Avenger and wherever the Avengers went S.H.I.E.L.D. was soon to follow.
Martha had crossed paths with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents a few times following the Battle of New York, but before Greenwich she had never met an actual Avenger. As fate would have it, it wasn't the God of Thunder whose acquaintance she made in London. Instead, it was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s newest scientific consultant, Tony Stark.
"You know you're not supposed to be down here, yea?" Martha asked when she found Tony lurking in the tunnels beneath the Tower of London. Clearly, the allure of the Black Archives had proven to be too much for him to resist.
"Wherever here is," Tony replied, looking slightly confused. If Martha were to hazard a guess, he had actually managed to find a way inside only to fall prey to the archives' memory altering security protocol. "What's the place again?"
Martha folded her arms across her chest. "It's restricted."
Tony met her eyes. "That doesn't really help."
"I'm not here to help. Just to collect you," Martha shot back.
"So you know who I am?"
Martha nodded her confirmation. "Yes. You're a trespasser. Admittedly a high profile trespasser, but a trespasser nonetheless."
Tony smirked at her retort. "I usually answer to Tony. Mr. Stark, if you're feeling formal."
"Martha," she replied, extending a hand to him. "Dr. Jones, if you're feeling feverish."
Tony didn't even bother to be subtle about checking her out as they shook hands. "Dr. Jones it is then."
Martha didn't really see herself as having a specific type. But if she were to have one, she was almost certain that Tony Stark wouldn't be it. And yet, somehow, she allowed herself to be drawn in by the charming futurist. Over time, Martha slowly began to realize that his Iron Man suit wasn't the only bit of armor that Tony donned on a regular basis. Once she was able to strip away the bravado, the man behind the mask emerged as a kindred spirit.
Martha was sure that she would carry the scars of the Year that Never Was with her until the day she died. It was without a doubt the worst time of her life and not many people could understand the effects that sort of trauma could have on a person. Her mum and dad understood and her sister Tish and best mate Jack did as well. They had all endured that horrific year aboard the Valiant as the Master's slaves. Luckily, her baby brother Leo and his wife and daughter were spared a similar fate. Martha was thankful for that. She was also thankful that her family and Jack had one another to rely on for support during their ordeal.
The isolation was probably the worst part of that year for Martha. That and the overwhelming feeling of helplessness whenever she failed to save those around her. In her darkest moments, Martha wished it would have been her instead. If her own death could have spared even one life, then she would have welcomed it with open arms.
Before she met Tony, Martha had never told anyone that about herself. Not even her therapist. More than just sympathy, he could empathize because he had experienced the same emotions in his own life. The days following the tragedy in Sokovia were some of the worst.
At that point, the two of them had been dating for a year and a half and living together for about six months. Martha recognized the unique form of tension when she saw it because she had lived with it before herself. The only difference between them was that Tony's sorrow was colored by the guilt of his own pride and complacency.
"Do you know what the worst of it is?" Tony asked her when she found him sitting alone in his workshop in the middle of the night with a half empty bottle of scotch. "I created this mess. Me. And not because of Ultron. No, long before that…those kids…the twins…Wanda and Pietro… My weapons killed their parents. And they hated me so much…so much that they let Strucker and his gang do who knows what to them just so they could take me down." He stared into his glass and laughed mirthlessly. "Maybe everyone would have been better off if they would have succeeded."
"I wouldn't have been better off," Martha said as she took the glass away from him and clutched his hands between both of hers. "Not without you."
"You would have been safer, which is naturally better because bad things happen to the people around me," he replied.
Martha scoffed softly. "Bad things happen to everyone."
"You deserve better than that."
"What I deserve is not to have to listen to you wallowing in your own self-pity," Martha countered. "You messed up quite spectacularly," she admitted. "I'm not going to deny that. But your mistakes don't make you a bad person, love. Alright? For starters, you actually feel remorse and trust me when I say the real bad ones don't feel a stitch of it." She gave his hand a quick squeeze. "So instead of focusing on the bits that are beyond your control, why don't you think about what it is that you can fix, yea?" Tony stared at her wordlessly for a long time after she finished talking and, as usual, she wondered what was going on in that head of his. "Say something."
"Marry me," he requested suddenly.
Martha stared at him in disbelief. "What? You me to…to marry you?"
"Yes." Tony nodded. "Marry me. Now. Well today," he amended upon looking towards a window and realizing the sun hadn't even risen yet.
"Are you bloody serious?"
"More serious than I've ever been," Tony insisted. "I love you and for whatever reason you love me back. I can't promise you perfection. In fact, I can pretty much guarantee that I will screw up continuously and probably on a grand scale. But what I can do is promise that I won't ever stop trying to be the man that you think I am. So I'm asking you take a gamble and bet on me…no…bet on us. What do you say?"
"I say…" Martha faltered. She was feeling overwhelmed by the abruptness of his proposal, but her love for Tony was never up for debate. "Yes."
The wedding itself was simple. There was certainly none of the pageantry one would expect to signify the grand end of Tony Stark's bachelorhood. It wasn't exactly what Martha would have pictured for her big day either, but she didn't regret marrying Tony on the spot.
Rhodey naturally served as Tony's best man, but Martha didn't have anyone to stand up for her. Her family was a huge part of her life, but Tony didn't have any family of his own left so Martha sometimes thought that made it hard for him to see things from her perspective. But occasionally, Tony managed to surprise her by proving just how perceptive he could be. For example, when decided that they should move to London immediately after getting married to be closer to her family while the Tower underwent restorations.
Martha was anxious to call her mum and let her know about their sudden nuptials, but Tony insisted that they let their arrival in London be a surprise and focus on jumpstarting their honeymoon during their flight instead. Unfortunately, their wedding was front page news by the time they landed and Martha's mum was understandably cross.
"First, the Doctor and now him?" Francine Jones asked with an exasperated sigh. "I swear it's a bloody habit with you." She shook her head and regarded her new son in law distastefully before returning her gaze to Martha. "You're not pregnant, are you?"
"Not pregnant, mum," Martha told her. "Just in love."
"Love she says," Francine huffed. Her eyes flashed back to Tony. "And what do you have to say for yourself? Hmm?" Her tone was accusatory and Martha couldn't help feeling as though Tony was on trial. It wasn't unexpected. That was just her mum's personality. She imagined that Francine would treat her children's suitors as if they were guilty until proven innocent even if she wasn't a lawyer.
Tony glanced at Martha and she gave his hand a supportive squeeze. "Honestly? I think your daughter is too good for me."
"I'd say," Francine quickly agreed.
Martha sighed quietly. "Mum, please," she pleaded weekly.
"Well go on then," Francine retorted, gesturing for Tony to continue. Martha had forewarned him about her mother, so he knew better than to employ his usual charm tactics. Or at least she hoped he wouldn't.
Tony turned his full attention to Francine. "I've never really been a person who's put much stock in faith. I don't know if it's because of the way I was raised or maybe it's just the scientist in me, but I've always relied on facts. Things I could see and touch. Things I could control. Or try to control. And then I met your daughter, who by all accounts should be the most cynical person in the world. And yet…" His eyes locked on Martha's. "This beautiful, smart, funny, kind woman is one of the most optimistic people I've ever met. She has so much faith in the world and so much faith in me. More than I've ever had in myself and definitely more than I deserve. But she just has the light about her that makes you want to be near her. It makes you want to be the person she thinks you are." He shook his head and faced Francine once more. "I don't know if I can ever really be that guy, but damn it if I won't die trying to be."
Francine pursed her lips in response. She looked back and forth between the two of them before finally relaxing her posture. "Tish said he was a smooth talker."
It wasn't perfect, but was a start. Over the next few months, she found herself being a go between of sorts between her mum and husband. Not always successfully.
In the aftermath of the battle against Ultron in Sokovia, there was a push for more accountability from the Avengers. No formal charges had been made, but, in light of the recent events, the United Nations was looking into other avenues to counteract the growing impact of the Avengers on global affairs. The decision was a derisive one.
Some people felt as though the Avengers were heroes and were acting in everyone's best interest. But a very vocal minority, felt as though they were overstepping their boundaries and endangering the public. They also felt that with people like Tony funding their efforts, the Avengers would never be held to any real standard of justice. Some local tabloids went as far as to imply that having a lawyer as a mother in law was to Tony's benefit. Even Martha's connection to the United Nations through UNIT had been suggested to have lessened his punishment. Francine hadn't outright blamed Tony for the smear campaign against her and her daughter, but the already cold reception he usually got from her seemed to be even icier as a result.
"It's official. You mom hates me," Tony said as he curled up in bed with Martha after a tense dinner at her mother's place.
"She doesn't hate you," Martha replied.
"Well she definitely doesn't love me."
Martha sighed softly as she lay back against her pillow. "She's not very keen at the moment, but I promise she'll come around."
"I'll believe it when I see it."
"It'll happen," Martha insisted. "She'll realize how happy you make me and she'll grow to love you just like the rest of my family and I do."
"The rest of your family loves me?" Tony questioned.
"Don't sound so bloody shocked. Leo thinks you're practically best mates."
"He's no Rhodey, but he is kinda like the kid brother I never wanted," he joked.
"Not to mention Tish has gotten more PR work off of you," Martha added.
Tony frowned. "And charged me double her usual rate."
"Well you're probably twice the trouble of her usual clientele."
"Touché."
"Plus, Keisha adores you!" Martha added with a bright smile.
"Yea…" Tony smiled at the mention of Martha's niece. "She's a good kid. And so smart. Do you know she asked me if we could build another arc reactor?"
Martha laughed softly. "And what did you say?"
"I told her to ask her grandmother."
"And let my mum be the bad guy?" she teased while shaking her head. "Not the best way to win her over, love."
Tony curled himself around Martha. She snuggled into his embrace and closed her eyes. "I want one," he told her after a prolonged silence.
Martha opened her eyes and lifted her head off her pillow. "Want one of what?"
"A kid."
Martha shook her head, certain that she had misheard him. "What?"
"A kid." He shrugged casually. "I think we need one."
Martha pulled away from him and sat up in bed. "You think we need a child?"
"Yea, I need an heir. I'm not going to live forever. Someone needs to carry on the Stark legacy." Tony sat up as well. "Think about it. My brains and your looks? Our kid would rule the world. More to the point, I love kids and, despite my best efforts to smuggle her away from them, Leo and Shonara keep insisting that I give Keisha back. Therefore, we need a kid of our own."
Martha huffed in response to his cavalier attitude about a rather serious subject. "You do realize that a child isn't a puppy, yea? It's not like we can just pick up a baby from the shops on the way home one night."
"I think you're underestimating just how much you can buy with the type of money I have."
"Yea? Well I didn't marry you for your billions, playboy," Martha retorted playfully as she poked him in the chest. "Besides…" She flattened her hand against his skin and stroked the spot where his arc reactor used to be. "I reckoned you'd be keen to make a baby the old fashioned way."
Tony wrapped his arms around Martha, pulling her closer and kissing her deeply. "I'm keen," he assured her between kisses. "Very keen. The keenest."
Martha returned his kisses fervently. Physically, she was definitely on the same page as him, but her mind was still reeling. So before things could go any further, she pulled back and placed her hands on his shoulders to keep them separated long enough for her to pose the question that was plaguing her. "Do you really want to have a baby?" she asked seriously.
Tony looked Martha in the eyes and nodded slowly. "Any child I had with you would be the best thing I've ever created."
Martha returned his gaze in silence. She could see the sincerity behind his eyes. He knew how important her family was to Martha and that was why he tried so hard to win her mum over. But in that moment, she realized that it was about more than just appeasing her. He wanted to build the family that he didn't have before with her. And Martha wanted it as well.
It was a few weeks before Christmas when Martha's life was posed to change once more. By then, she and Tony had left London to return to New York and the fully restored Tower. But despite their best efforts, there was no immediate need for a nursey. All of the pregnancy tests Martha had taken until that point turned up negative. So she was understandably shocked when a routine visit with her physician revealed that it wasn't a virus that had been making her feel ill.
Martha was feeling out of sorts when she got home from her appointment. As a doctor, she knew that there wouldn't be any visible changes in her physical appearance just yet, but she caught herself lifting her shirt and inspecting her belly in the mirror more than once. Even with the ultrasound image, she was still struggling to believe that she and Tony were going to be parents soon.
Now she just had to figure out how to tell her husband.
On Christmas Eve, they were due to be at a Maria Stark Foundation sponsored toy drive at a local orphanage. Tony had seemed to be a bit on edge for the last few days prior to the event, but once the evening rolled around he was able to relax into a more philanthropic role. Tony had always been up front about his love kids and spending time with the children at the orphanage only seemed to increase his desire for them to be parents.
When they returned to the Tower, Tony had surprised her once again by flying the entire Jones clan to Manhattan for the holidays. In that moment, Martha decided she should return the favor with a surprise of her own.
"I've got some others we can open with the family tomorrow, but this one I wanted you to open in private," Martha announced as she delivered a flat package to Tony while they prepared for bed later that night.
Tony smirked as he began to unwrap his gift. "Private, eh? Is this one of those boudoir photographs?"
Martha rolled her eyes playfully. "You bloody wish."
"I really do."
"It's not a sexy photograph," she replied. "Think of it sort of as a blueprint of your greatest creation."
"Hmm?" He muttered absentmindedly as he finally freed the frame from its wrapping. When he flipped it over, he saw that there was a printout of a sonogram displayed behind the glass. Tony's breath hitched and his eyes flashed up to meet Martha's. "How is this possible?"
Martha couldn't help laughing. "Well you were there!" she teased. "I shouldn't have to explain how that bit works. You've always seemed to be very familiar with the mechanics and very thorough, might I add."
Tony flicked his hand dismissively. The man of a thousand quips was completely serious at the moment. "No, I mean you took a test."
"I know. It's was a false negative. They're actually more common than false positives." She shrugged. "Anyway, do you remember when I was ill a fortnight ago? Well I went to see my physician and when they checked my blood, there was no denying it then. I rang up my gynecologist to schedule an appointment. She told me I was already two months into the first trimester. So we did the sonogram right then and there. I've been absolutely bursting to tell you and racking my brain to think of the best way to do it. I figured it'd make for a nice surprise. So…surprise!"
"So we're having a baby?"
"We're having a baby," Martha confirmed with a nod.
"And by next Christmas we'll have a little Antonia or Tony Jr. running around?"
"By then, little Martin or Martha Jr. will only be about two months old in which case we'd be lucky if they can even hold their head up on their own let alone attempt feats of advanced motility."
Tony scoffed. "Maybe for average children, but this kid has Stark genes. I built my first circuit board at four," he reminded her.
"And I was already sure I wanted to be a doctor at that age."
"Fine. We'll compromise. Biomedical engineering," he offered as a suggestion. "I can see it now an entire division devoted to bionics and surgical implants. Junior could usher in a whole new generation of Stark Industries."
"Or…" Martha cut in. "We can let our child be born first and then let them decide the path they want to take."
Tony set the frame aside and pulled Martha onto his lap. Martha wrapped her arms around his neck and he gave her belly a gentle caress. They spent the rest of the evening talking about the future and they didn't even realize it when the sun came up.
Martha knew that she needed the rest now more than ever, but she was too anxious to tell her family the big news. She and Tony shared a quick shower during which Tony kept caressing her presently nonexistent baby bump. Once they were dried off and clothed, the two of them went out to greet her family for breakfast and an important announcement.