Phil let's out a disgruntled sigh as a nurse checks his blood pressure for the fifth time.
"I know you feel fine, Agent Coulson, but policy is policy." Says the nurse as he pumps, before recording the results on a clipboard chart. Phil is sitting on a chair in Stark's penthouse kitchen. In front of him is a table with a tub of warm water on it, and in the tub Phil rests his hand, the one that had been calloused by the beam. The nurse places a towel on the table.
"Ok, how's the hand?"
Phil lifts if up, and brings it to sit on the towel. The nurse pats it dry and lathers some moisturizer into it. Phil speaks.
"So, I just keep doing this and it'll go back to normal?"
"Or therabout, yeah." The nurse signs one more box on the chart and packs up the gear. "Ok, that's you all checked out. Once the SHIELD doctor clears you, you're free to leave the building."
He smiles and nods, and the nurse dismisses himself. Phil stands and walks over to the window, where he stares at the cityscape, but he isn't seeing it. He's deep in thought. In his mind the images he has witnessed fly before him. Natasha- slouched in a pool of her own blood, while medics rush a blue faced baby girl to the crash NICU set up in a laboratory of Stark Tower. He recalls his clothing- he has since changed- splattered in blood and mucus from the first child he himself delivered into the world.
The door slides open, and he turns to see Tony, Steve, Thor and a freshly barbered Clint, hair trimmed back to it's original length, walk in.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but that was the best post-mission physical I *ever* had to endure." Tony says, leering. "Nurse Trixie. I wonder if that's her real name..."
Tony goes to pour some drinks while the others find places to sit down in the lounge.
Thor opens the conversation with news.
"I managed to pry Jane away from her most important work for a moment to inquire about the health of our dear Black Widow".
Phil and Clint look up at him, wearing no expression, but full of expectation.
"She is in what Jane called"Recovery" but I am lead to believe this does not mean she is recovered as such, but is no longer being intensely treated."
"Yeah, that means she's out of surgery." Phil responds. Thor nods thoughtfully.
Clint speaks "Did she say anything about the girls?"
Thor pauses for a moment, obviously thinking- and then visibly brightens.
"Why yes! The elder sister is doing wonderfully and has not shown any excess growth in the past hour. All is well,and she is thriving. Jane said you may see her."
Phil and Clint grin in relief. Thor's face falls, though, as he continues.
"The news is not so fair for the younger sister..."
He is about to explain the situation to the best of his understanding when Bruce walks in, looking haggard, cup of green tea in his hand.
"Hey guys." He says by way of greeting. Phil and Clint immediately stand and both start speaking over the top of each other and at breakneck speed. Bruce is taken aback by the rush of of it as they're asking questions of him. He holds his hand up to stem the verbal flow. They want to know about the younger baby.
"Please Bruce, anything you can tell us at all..." begs Clint.
Bruce's lips are set thin, but he speaks.
"She's not out of the woods. She's in an incubator and will need oxygen for a while, she's not breathing quite strongly enough...but-" he says, noting Phil, Thor, Clint, Steve and Tony-with-Martini's downcast faces.
"But...she can breathe on her own"
They all slump with relief. Tony downs the martini and goes to mix another.
Bruce continues his report.
"She's stable. As long as she doesn't face any more complications, there's no reason she shouldn't make a full recovery. We've already recalibrated her hyper cell regulation, so the rest is up to time and tlc"
"Can we see her?" Phil asks.
Bruce raises his eyebrows.
"Huh? Yeah- didn't they tell you? Yeah, go for it- they're in the same room, go on-go for it!" He downs his tea- it had gone cold long ago- and waits for the others to can't move fast enough. Phil and Clint are out of the room in seconds flat, followed by Bruce. Steve hangs back.
"I think I'll give them some quality time before I barge in on the moment" He says, looking back and frowning just as Tony glances at Thor and tinkles the second martini he holds in his hand, Thor breaks into a mountainous grin, nods and joins Tony in the first of what will probably be many toasts. Steve rolls his eyes.
"I knew I'd be babysitting sometime in the near future..." He says. "But this is not quite what I meant." Still, he's laughing as he goes to join them.
-
They enter the lab-turned-NICU, where the medical team hover about, keeping a close eye on everything. Jane is sitting on a stool between the incubators that rest side by side. She has her eyes focused on a chart in one hand, but her other hand is sitting through the access hole in one of the cribs, where the elder sister lays making those cute but odd grunting noises little newborns do. She's only wearing a baby-beanie, socks and a disposable diaper but the crib is warm, and Jane has a hand resting on her chest, which is settling to her. The other incubator has a smaller baby in it- laying still. As they get closer, they can see her stillness is due to her sleeping. She has a naso-gastro tube in her nose, but she's breathing well with the oxygen-rich air being slowly cycled through her incubator. Phil and Clint wander closer, eyes intense with emotion. They're smiling. Bruce walks close behind, with his hands in his pockets. The three of them feel quite accomplished, and the exhaustion is showing. Phil yawns.
"Oh! Gosh, when did you guys get here?" Jane says startledly, realizing they're standing before her. She holds the chart out so a nurse can take it from her hand as she smiles up at them. She keeps one hand on the baby, rubbing her chest gently.
"Skin-to-skin contact is essential for baby development in the first hours of life." She explains,looking up at them. "Seeing as their mom isn't quite out of recovery yet, would you guys like to step in as surrogates for a moment?"
Phil and Clint look between each other, not exactly certain what she means.
"It's easy." She says, gently removing her hand from the elder baby's chest, who grizzles slightly at the lack of contact. She stands. "Ramirez-" She says, addressing a nurse. "Record in the book- I, Dr Jane Foster, authorise Agent Phillip Coulson and Agent Clint Barton" She folds her clipboard and grins up at them, a great twinkling in her eyes.
"for kanga-cuddles."
"I...what?" Phil asks, taken aback.
"The heck is a "kanga-cuddle?" Clint asks, bemused. The dragging of chairs alerts their attention to Bruce, and another person- pushing two recliners over to the incubators. The second person speaks.
"It's a special cuddle for NICU babies- well, any baby really- but especially NICU babies." She says by way of introduction. She realises she hasn't formally met them, and continues
"I'm Dr Shivani Ramakrishnan- the Neo-natal specialist Fury brought in."
She holds out a hand, Clint shakes it first, then Phil. He can't help but feel a tingle of happiness at the smooth, chocolately warmth that eminates from this woman's hand. A genuinely friendly soul. Her eyes crinkle as she smiles at them, before gesturing to the recliners. "Please, take a seat- oh, and remove your shirts, please- we'll bring you some gowns in a moment. It's to keep the area as sterile as possible."
She walks over to a trolley and from underneath it grabs two blue gowns, open at the back. She hands them to the two men.
"Normally these are worn the other way around-" Jane says. "But if you guys just put them on with the open part to the front, that'll be perfect."
Soon, the two men are standing there, feeling slightly awkward with their mismatched, slightly too tight gowns, but they're still curious- so they await instruction.
"Ok, now- if you don't mind, can I check your chests for temperature?" Dr Shivani asks.
Phil coughs, Clint just smirks while she feels each chest, palm flat against the surface.
"Mhm...well, there we go" She says. "Agent Coulson has the warmer chest- we'll put Baby B with you. Agent Barton, if you follow Dr Foster's lead, she'll show you what to do. Agent Coulson-"
"Please, Phil is fine-"
"Alright, Phil." She says, eyes twinkling as she leads him over to the chair. "I'm going to take the baby out of the incubator. Nurse Ramirez is going to have the sling ready, and I'm going to gently place the baby against your upper chest. Then, while you're still standing, Ramirez and I will strap her so tight to you, she'll feel just like she was in the womb again."
And without more than a moment to nod his head, it's happening. Dr Shivani is exquisite in her handling of the infant, who with all her tubes and monitors, she manages to place firmly against Phil's chest. She guides his hand up to support her head as she assists the nurse in strapping her in with the pink sling. Soon, she's strapped tight to his chest, curled up like a little jelly bean, head resting on it's side, arms tucked up. Sitting against the warmth of his chest, she seems positively comfy. Phil's hands reach up and gently cradle his precious cargo.
"Ok, now sit down very slowly- she's still hooked up-" He does so, and once he's fully sitting, the nurse reclines the chair for him. Sitting back like this, he has a great view of the little baby, breathing away peacefully in her sleep. It's then that he remembers exactly whose baby this is- Natasha's- and it brings an extra ping of warmth to his heart.
Then he remembers the *other* detail. The role he had in their life- not just their birth, but their conception. He knows it's not technically his place, but he allows himself the brief guilty pleasure of looking down at the little girl's sweet face, and thinks to himself-
"You made her."
He glances up in shock when he realises that his thoughts had been said out loud- but not by him. He looks over at Clint, who winks, and smiles down at his own bundle.
"This one too. How does it feel?"
Phil just sighs and shakes his head, eyes welling. He doesn't know if he can ever explain these strange emotions.
"I mean, I know that we're technically just the godfathers," Clint continues."but you know- they're gonna grow up looking a bit like you. Thinking a bit like you. Without you- if it was some other random donor out there- they wouldn't be these exact baby girls we're- and you can't deny it- falling head over heels for."
"He's right you know-" Comes a croaky voice from the doorway. They both break into great grins of delight at the sight of Natasha on a gurney, being wheeled in by Bruce- he must have left while they were being "kanga'd up." as Jane kept referring to it.
"Tasha!" Clint says joyfully, his voice in awe. She's wheeled over and her gurney is lowered. Phil can't help but think how utterly terrible she looks- run over by a train ten times over, exhausted, smelling faintly of blood and immensely of disinfectant, hooked up to bags of fluids, and her eyes. He thinks she has this look in her eyes as she gazes down at those girls and it's...
Well. It's the most god-damn beautiful thing he's ever seen.
"The look suits you guys, by the way. Remind me to snag a couple of those slings for myself."
Clint chuckles. "Man, she is strapped in so tight, I could do backflips off a building and she'd be right happy."
Natasha smiles and chuckles- but it's obvious laughing causes her discomfort.
"Sorry. Stitches in really...really uncomfortable places. TMI"
Clint waves his hand dismissively.
"Nothing will ever be TMI between us ever again after today-" He brightens "I..I'll even go buy your sanitary supplies like you always wanted me to."
Her face doesn't light up again at the joke. In fact it softens, her eyes fill with sadness.
"Actually, that's not gonna be a problem anymore." She points to her lower abdomen- where her baby bump is still very evident. "I'm meant to be the perfect specimen, but years of damage by the serum, combined with sudden uterine growth, birth and all that jazz- it took it's toll." She sighs deeply.
"They couldn't stop the bleeding. They had to give me a hysterectomy."
Clints face drops, and Phil speaks. "I'm sorry to hear that, Natasha."
She shrugs, as best she can. "I'm not overly fussed, you know?" She says, voice still soft and raspier than usual. "I never ever thought I could have kids of my own- and now I have two- oh my gosh..."
She pauses, suddenly it has dawned on her, the utter immensity of this moment. Her mouth gapes in awe and her eyes are watering.
"I have two daughters!" She laughs once. "Aha- I have two daughters! I'm a mother!" Her face crumples and she breaks into tears, sobs heaving. She tries to take a breath- she looks distinctly uncomfortable, yet full of joy at the same time.
"Ahh...ow...it *sob*...hurts- *heave* to cry tears...ow...of joy." Clint, not being tied to machines by tubes, stands up slowly and moves to stand beside her, one arm cradling the bundle on his chest, the other slowly tracing her hair with his hand gently. He turns to the Doctors.
"Mom's here now, can she have a go?" He says, pointing to baby.
They nod and assist him in handing the little girl over.
"Oh my goodness, hello my beautiful one-" She says as her arms are filled with the now bundled up form of her eldest child.
"You're Sofia. Yes you are." The baby gazes up at her with squinting eyes- and lets out a big yawn. Natasha's eyes are filled with tears, her mouth a gorgeous warm, white-toothed smile as her eyes crinkle with laughter.
"Copy that, Agent." She says sympathetically "I know exactly how you feel."
She hugs her in silence for a moment before looking over at Phil. She wipes a tear from her eye.
"and you have my strong little soldier-"
"Yana." He finishes for her. "Yes. I have Yana" He says, looking down at her again. Natasha's mouth puckers into a most gracious, appreciative smile.
"You remembered."
He nods.
In moments, the Doctors are over again, removing the little one from him, and carefully manouvering the gurney around so that Natasha is able to hold both her daughters at once.
"Hey girls." She says, voice thick with emotion. "See? Together again."
Her eyes are flowing freely (dabbed at by a hovering Clint). She marvels at the two little ones in her arms, and she soaks in every piece of information that the doctors are telling her. She is thrilled to learn that Yana will be off the machines within a few days- and her nasogastro-tube will be removed this evening. She can even start breastfeeding them.
Hours pass this way, taking turns to cradle them. Moments where they're back in the cribs, asleep. First feedings. First diaper changes (Jane had the honour,but promised the next turn to Clint)
Natasha is cradling Yana a while later, when she looks up at Phil and Clint with a deep, trusting look in her eyes. Bruce is standing there as well, gazing down at little Sofia, after finally being convinced to "live a little" and hold her.
"You're her godfathers." She says to them at last.
Phil and Clint nod. "Yeah, you said on the jet-"
"The three of you."
Bruce looks up in shock. "Na...nuh-uh, I...I'm not really..." He fumbles with his words, chuckling nervously as he glances between everyone and the baby in his arms. "I...I'm not the fatherly type..."
"You were there. You did so much of the-"
"I did what any doctor would do-"
"You were more than a doctor, you were a friend-"
"I can't- I..."
"Come on-"
"I Hulked Out!" He cries finally, a little tensely. Sofia grizzles a bit and he breathes in and out slowly, calming himself and rocking her back into a lull. He looks up at the others, wearing an expression as if to say "See?"
"You did." Phil says. "But even the Hulk helped out."
Bruce raises his eyebrow. Phil is encouraged to continue.
"When the Hulk was thrashing around, he looked down at Natasha- realised she needed help- and pulled me into the job. I delivered Sofia, but you made sure she came into the world protected."
Bruce looks astonished. He was stumbling over his words.
"Well, that's...I mean that's...that's..."
Natasha smirks. "Incredible?" She offers.
"Yeah." He says, breathing out in a smile as he gazes at the little girl, whose lips are smacking as she snuggles. He sighs again.
"But that was still only in part-"
"Fine. Half-godfather then."
"I...what?"
Natasha is wearing a serious expression. She means business.
"Half-godfather. I won't settle for less. You shouldn't either."
Phil and Clint are egging him on. "Come on, Brucey- join us." Says Clint. "Best godfather trio in the world. They'll never be without awesome in their lives."
"Ahhh man-" He says, shaking his moppy head back and forth." I guess I have to now..."
They all cheer, slapping him on the back- and Natasha pulls him down to give him a light, platonically chaste kiss on the lips. She looks at the other two.
"Both of you- over here. Let me lay some lovin' on the godfathers."
They both bend down for their pecks. At that moment, the room is electric. Almost a buzz with energy and warmth. The whole world could have been a great big toasty room, and the whole world was that room.
"I think we just became a family." Phil says, looking at everyone. His heart is full to bursting. Everyone nods.
The babies, snuggling in loving arms look like they agree wholeheartedly, as they are passed back and forth between their mother, who showers them with affection, and their Two and a Half Godfathers, who have never known love like this before.
A/N
Finished!
There will be an epilogue coming soon! I hope you enjoy the update. Read and review 3
