The fluorescent lights of the bustling hospital halls were one of the many factors that were starting to get on Tony's nerves. He was so anxious to finally see his newborn daughter after helping Pepper get through a five hour experience of the 'miracle of life'. He didn't have much time to sneak a peak of his newborn as the hospital staff rushed her away for cleaning and other mandatory care only moments after she had came into the world.
Tony re-entered the room and glanced at Pepper who was exhausted after enduring five hours of what sounded to be excruciating pain. She laid on the white bed covered in sweat, but her breathing became steady as she was relieved for it to be over. Tony couldn't help but smile at the sight of her right now in this moment. He knew she had always been strong, as she had saved his life countless times in the face of danger, but there was something about the fact that she had just given birth to their first child that made him cherish and look up to her even more.
"Pepper?" Tony asked as he reached to place a hand on her shoulder, noticing that she was starting to nod off.
"Hmm, what is it? Is she back yet?" Pepper sleepily questioned, as she began to regain her consciousness.
"No, not quite yet, but I think they're coming back soon and I wanted you to be awake for this. After all you did all the work." Tony laughed out, trying to ease her mood as he had just woken her up.
Just like magic, the handle on the door to their hospital room began to turn and a smiling nurse wearing pink scrubs had entered the room carrying his most treasured gift...their newborn daughter. Pepper proceeded to sit up at attention at the sound of the handle turning and covered her mouth unable to speak out of pure joy at seeing her daughter for the first time. Tears trickled down her face when being presented with their baby girl, and with loving open arms Pepper gladly welcomed her daughter into her embrace. Tony stood up from his seat next to his wife to get a better view of the newest addition to the Stark family.
"Tony, look at her. She's beautiful" Pepper beamed teary eyed, as she stroked her daughter's cheek.
Tony was still speechless as an immense feeling of pride resonated throughout him just from gazing upon his daughter for the first time.
"The baby is completely healthy. She is 6.2 pounds and is 20.47 inches tall. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Stark, your daughter is doing great and will be ready to go home in a few days' time. Have any ideas of her name yet?" The bubbly nurse inquired as she looked up from the clipboard she was reading the information from.
Pepper looked up from their daughter and up to Tony then nodded. Tony knew they had discussed about naming their child Morgan ever since he had that dream and proposed the name to Pepper, as he thought it was a sign. Pepper graciously agreed, so this nod was her green light for Tony to answer the nurse's question.
After a few seconds of silence, Tony spoke up.
"Yes, I believe we have agreed on her name. We're going to call her Morgan." Tony proudly stated.
Pepper then handed Morgan off to Tony to which Tony delicately accepted. He knew he was going to be an overprotective father from the moment they had found out about the pregnancy. He had already baby proofed the estate from top to bottom, double checking his work. But, now that she was real, and, in his arms, something came over him that caused him to vow to fiercely protect and care for his daughter even more. With her big blue eyes looking up at him, he had already been wrapped around her tiny finger.
It only took two days of staying at the hospital making sure the staff could monitor Morgan until they deemed her clear to return home with her parents. Tony didn't mind the nights spent sleeping on various wooden chairs strewn together to form a makeshift bed, the really crappy food and coffee served in the cafeteria, or even the sleepless nights due to Morgan's cries. None of this mattered as he was now a father and all he was concerned with was the well-being of his girls: Pepper and Morgan. Sure, entering parenthood was going to take some time adjusting to, but Tony would do whatever it took to make sure he was going to raise Morgan to the best of his ability.
Finally, they could leave the hospital and give Morgan the homecoming they had been waiting for.
*Peter Parker's POV*
After months and months of waiting, the time had finally arrived. Peter Parker had been highly anticipating the birth of Tony's child, so he took it upon himself to calculate the timeframe that the baby would arrive. Peter's genius plan that had helped him pinpoint the date even more accurately was the constant badgering of Tony's assistant, Happy; to annoy him as much as possible until he gave updates on Pepper's state. He wished he'd known more such as the baby's gender, but unfortunately Mr. Stark didn't trust him or even Happy with that confidential information.
It was the first day of June when Peter had gotten a text message from Happy that informed him of Mr. and Mrs. Stark's departure to the hospital. Peter knew that the baby would be born soon, so he decided, and somehow managed, to get Happy and Aunt May's permission for him to fly out from New York to Malibu to surprise Mr. Stark when he arrived home. Peter was eager to meet the new baby and wanted to be the first. He figured Mr. Stark would have invited him to see the baby sooner or later, so why not just head on over and do it now?
Peter arrived June third and was welcomed by the heat of the beating California sun once he had stepped off the plane. Happy was waiting for him by baggage claim and drove him to Mr. Stark's house.
The car ride was a tad awkward as Happy drove in silence, but Peter wanted to start up a conversation to pass the time by.
"So, has Mr. Stark told you yet if the baby was born?" Peter sheepishly spoke out as he looked away from the view of endless palm trees outside the window to Happy in the driver's seat in front of him.
"Yes, it happened yesterday." Happy quickly replied, not wanting to lead into more conversations with the boy.
"Cool, cool. Do you know if it's a boy or girl?" He nervously asked, sensing the annoyance in Happy's body language as Happy gripped the wheel harder.
"No, it will be a surprise when they get home, which should be tomorrow." He sternly answered back, still keeping his eyes glued to the road ahead of him.
"Oh, well then I guess he will get a surprise too with me being there since he doesn't know about it, right? You didn't tell him." Peter worriedly addressed.
"Nope."
Peter was relieved, and he decided that he should stop asking Happy any more questions to assure that they would make it to the Stark's home in one piece, as he could tell Happy was getting more and more irked. Now all Peter had were his thoughts and the road to keep him company as they journeyed onward.
Peter had known about Mr. Stark's big news ever since he revealed the fact at the base with all Avengers in attendance. He couldn't have been happier for Mr. Stark upon finding out that he was going to be a father, but something was lingering in the back of his mind.
Of course he viewed Mr. Stark as a father figure in his life, but now with Tony actually having a son or daughter of his own, would his relationship with Mr. Stark begin to dissolve? He could not help but worry about this, so that's why it was so important to him to personally come out to California and be one of the first to be there for Tony after the birth of his child.
He was sprung forward by the stopping of the car, alerting him of their arrival. He had never been to Mr. Stark's house before, so it was quite the sight pulling up in front of an enormous seaside mansion. He was in awe of everything surrounding him, and quickly discovered that the inside was even more extravagant than the outside.
"Ok kid, so they're not going to be home until tomorrow, so you can just take one of the guest rooms on the third floor for the night. Do not, and I repeat, do not touch, play or even breathe on something that looks like you shouldn't. Understand?" Happy demanded, pulling Peter out of his starstruck state from looking around the house.
"Uh, yeah sure. Got it" Peter agreed as he slowly stepped back from one of Tony's early Iron Man suits that was on display in the foyer, already following Happy's requests.
Happy soon left after giving him a quick tour of the house, but it was getting late so Peter decided, after raiding Mr. Stark's fridge for a fulfilling dinner, to head upstairs to bed to get a good night's rest before the Starks and the baby came home the next day.
*The Next Day*
Peter did not sleep that well, being in a new and unfamiliar place all alone; he could not turn his mind off as he went over all the scenarios of meeting the baby and confronting Mr. Stark.
He woke up at 9am sharp, got dressed, and went downstairs to hopefully scrounge up some breakfast. Thankfully, he had found a box of Frosted Flakes in the pantry after a couple of minutes of searching. He grabbed a bowl from the cabinet, a spoon from a nearby drawer, and obtained a carton of milk from the fridge and then began to scarf down the cereal. As soon as he was halfway done and moved his spoon downward for another scoop, he jumped at the sound of voices down the hallway.
Tony and Pepper had just came home from the hospital and there Peter was sitting in their kitchen, mouth gaped open, spoon sitting next to a splash of milk on the granite island table top. A surprise indeed.
"Peter? What are you doing here? In my house, sitting and eating, wait what is that? My Frosted Flakes!" Tony demanded, his voice rising as he spoke.
"Tony, hush! You'll wake her." Pepper interjected, making Tony realize that he was holding their sleeping daughter in his arms.
"Her? You had a girl. A daughter?!" Peter excitedly asked as he walked forward to see her, ignoring the fact that Tony had been upset at his out of the blue showing up in his household.
"Yeah, we did. You want to see her?" Tony asked, ultimately easing up at the sudden surprise of Peter's presence.
Peter approached the newborn and felt overcome with happiness. She was so cute asleep in Mr. Stark's arms. He smiled as he noticed that she had Mr. Stark's brown hair, but there was another pressing question he had to ask.
"So, what's her name?" Peter asked looking up at Tony.
"Her name is Morgan." Tony quietly replied, reminding Peter to keep a hushed tone as the baby was indeed asleep at the moment.
"I like it" Peter whispered back looking between Pepper and Tony.
Tony smiled as he could see the fondness expressed on Peter's face as he got acquainted with his daughter. He put the whole asking how he ended up in his house aside and just took in the moment as Peter, Pepper, and himself as well, marveled at Morgan, who he had placed in a crib in the living room.
"So, is it ok if I treat her like a little sister or something? I've always wanted to be a big brother" Peter proposed, looking back to Tony who was sitting on the couch behind him.
"Of course, kid. There's nothing we would like more. Plus, this means you'd be okay babysitting whenever, right?" Tony spoke out for both him and Pepper, strategically adding the last part in himself.
"I would love to" Peter joyously replied and smiled, turning his sight back to Morgan peacefully sleeping in her crib.
Upon spending more time with Morgan and the Starks that day, Peter realized that he had nothing to worry about with the new baby affecting Mr. Stark's and his relationship because he had been quickly infatuated with her and that Mr. Stark would still be there for him no matter what. Plus, he now had a little sister to look out for and that would be an adventure in itself.
