A/N: Hello again! I'm happy to hear that everyone was content with last chapter, and so far no one is ready to maim me over leaving you hanging for three weeks... Although some of you might want to hurt me if I leave you waiting with the end of last chapter for too long.

Which is half of the reason for me getting this up earlier than I'd meant to; the other half is that I'm actually really inspired right now just for writing in general. It comes and goes in spurts, but this week I just feel energized to write.

So, for the few that have reviews so far, here are your replies:

DAIRXOXO: thank you for the kind words c: I like to think my Tony is pretty spot on, if only because I always have such fun writing him! I hope you also have an amazing week, and never thank me for the story, but thank YOU for reading!

Mero: Hello guest friend! I'm glad you like the story, and hopefully this next part will be good!

Ilovesquidnugget: Hello again! I love seeing repeat reviewers, it's like having regulars c: I'm honored that you saved a part of my story for your phone! Aw gosh... I'm blushing thanks to your praise, seriously, I blush at all these really good reviews like "that's not for me... is it?" Here's your update, and thank you for the patience!

Black' Victor Cachat: Hello! I feel like you're an old friend, by now, because I've seen your name so frequently on the review updates I get! I'm glad you liked the proposal! The tshirts- for anyone who liked that scene, not just you -was actually a last minute edit in because I decided that the guys had to have some antics. The shirts may see some cameos in the near future... but no spoilers on that c; I agree that it felt fitting to have Natasha take some charge on the proposal. She's just a take charge kinda gal. It is sad about Pepper, but as of lately I've found myself toying with ideas for what Tony should end up doing/ who he should be with. Pepper is a good candidate, but she always seems so reluctant towards his life style, so I don't know. I may bring her back, I may take a different course, who knows! I don't... yet... P.S: I laughed way too hard at the Mandarin Forces quip... just saying.

Alright! So, this chapter is going to skip a bit to after the honeymoon and then dip into that wonderful cliff hanger I left you with last chapter. We'll see how things go from there! Enjoy!

Step-By-Step

Chapter Seven: Biological Changes

"Thanks again for staying here while we were gone, Tony," Natasha said as she watched the man pack up the last of his things. She and Bruce had just returned from their honeymoon- a gift from the man before her and a week's trip to a resort in the Caribbean -to relieve Tony of his puppy-sitting duties." It was nice to know that Demi and Luka were in good hands..."

"Well, hopefully one day I'll be babysitting for you guys instead," Tony said with a boyish grin. Natasha didn't correct him, which Bruce noticed, but he figured that not many knew about the secret she had told him so many months ago.

"We appreciate the sentiment," Bruce jumped in, patting Sky on the head as she passed by to sit beside her owner." How have you been holding up? I know the tower must be pretty lonely, now..."

Bruce didn't elaborate, but everyone in the room knew what he meant. Even now, what with Sky being as amazing as she was and the entire team- new and old -rallying behind Tony, he had his moments where he seemed to be thinking hard about something sad.

"I'm okay..." Tony said, and he sounded genuine with that word." It's still hard what with Pepper-"

His words were interrupted by Sky making a low growl at the name.

"Hush, baby girl!" Tony said, but his eyes were amused at how well the dog had picked up on things." Anyway, it was really hard, at first... The wedding helped, and being here helped... But I think I'm going to start having Capsicle bring the newbies over to the Tower more, and start work on a bigger leg for Sky since she's growing so fast. This time, I want to do these things, not do them just for a distraction. So, that has to count for something, right?"

"It does," Natasha said, glancing at Bruce to see her surprise mirrored on his face. That had been a rather mature statement for Tony- the king of immaturity in their group -and both parties were a little surprised." Well, you know you're always welcome here... I mean we decorated a room for you in the basement..."

"You mean we gave him a room and he ended up claiming half the basement," Bruce interjected with a happy grin. It was true, originally the downstairs of the house- a great area that they had renovated so there were four bedrooms, a bathroom, and an open game area -had been half taken over by Tony. Originally, they had told him to take whatever room he wanted, for when he visited; but then the scientist decided to knock down a wall between two rooms and make a room/lab combo, and still take up half the game room with equipment for him and Bruce to toy with. Neither Nat or Bruce minded- since, really, the two story ranch house had more than enough room for everyone in their group, even staying there all at once -but they loved to rib Tony about it, constantly.

"Well, some of those tools take room you know?" Tony teased back." And you should be thanking me, taking that room and making it two really opened up your downstairs floor plan!"

"Don't you have Steve waiting to take you home and talk about shared custody with the new team?" Bruce ribbed his friend as Tony started out the door. Tony flipped Bruce the bird with a good natured grin as he left, leaving both Nat and Bruce chuckling and happy to see Tony back to normal.

"I hate to be the party pooper," Nat said as Bruce started to unpack their things," But I actually have to get into town too... I have an appointment with Helen, she and I were talking about working together on this project she has. She thinks maybe the serum in my blood form the Red Room might do some good for her idea... You gonna be okay for a few hours without me?"

"Of course," Bruce said stopping his unpacking to scoop Nat up into a tight hug. He gave her a soft kiss- his need for PDA and touching Nat had only grown now that they'd had a whole week alone on an island where no one knew them. Natasha returned his kiss- growing more comfortable with all of his touches and acts of showing the world she was his." Just hurry back... You know I miss you."

"I adore you," Natasha said fondly, giving him a last hard kiss before turning to get her coat.

"Not nearly as much as I adore you," Bruce said in return, his lips quirked up in their own secret phrase. Nat made her way out to the barn- where they kept both their cars now as to keep the yard clear for puppy play time -and set off towards the city. She hadn't been lying per say, when she said Helen wanted to work on something... She just hadn't told Bruce that it had been her they would be working on. In the two weeks since their wedding, Natasha had been in to see Helen twice at her New York Office, and had another three Skype calls, four phone calls, and hundreds of emails going over the details of what exactly Natasha was asking.

Natasha thought back to the first office visit, and the conversation that she and Helen had about her question at the wedding reception.

******This Is A Flashback!******

"Natasha you realize this has never been done, not even by my technology," Helen said staring at x-rays and CAT scan photos of the damage done by the Red Room." I'm not saying it's impossible... But in theory this is really-"

"Crazy?" Natasha asked. She was laid out on a medical bench, wearing one of those horrible medical gowns that never quite closed in the back and made her remember far too many bad memories.

"Well, yeah!" Helen said blowing her black bangs back in thought." Is Bruce pressuring this? Because I'm sure he would have gone over all of these possibilities before-"

"Bruce doesn't know," Natasha admitted. She fiddled with the edge of her gown and avoided Helen's gaze." He hasn't said anything, but I know that he's going to want this one day... And I've never even thought about kids because it's never been a possibility... But then I was going over some of Tony's files for him- organizing his chaos and what not -and I found some of your trial research... The trials that mad Tony notice your work and start funding it to what it is today..."

"What do my trials have to do with-"

"You started by creating small scale cradles that could 3D print replicas of organs," Natasha said in flat tone," It made me wonder if that was possible with the larger cradle, and with an entire system, not just an organ."

"Well yes, in theory it can be done," Helen said in an exasperated tone." Actually, in theory is a rather simple procedure... I mean we'd have to open you up and treat it as a regular surgery, then use the cradle to sew you back together..."

Suddenly the woman wasn't talking to Natasha, but making notes on her x-rays and scan photos. She started murmuring to herself and yanked out a book with pictures of a normal reproductive system. She glanced up at Natasha after a long moment, hope and eagerness in her eyes.

"Natasha... This could work..."

"I thought it might," Natasha said a bit smugly.

"No, you don't understand..." Helen said excitedly," I mean this is great news for you, but think bigger Nat! If this works, we could end infertility, we could reconstruct cancer victims, we could give people back their lives!"

"You could even create donor matches for those who need transplants," Natasha offered," You know, if you were to make miniature versions of your cradle and get the schematics right... Hell this could put an end to a lot of problems, Helen."

"This is... damn this is amazing," Helen said leaning back in her chair and catching her breath.

"So does that mean-"

"I'll do it."

******End Flashback******

The procedure was going to happen today if everything went as planned; according to Helen and all the research her team had done while Natasha was away, it would only take two hours at the most. She wouldn't need any recuperation time, and she would be a whole woman once more. Natasha was both excited- for what this could mean for Helen and her -and scared; she had never thought of motherhood before, and she had never allowed herself the fantasy of family or babies. But this past week, away with Bruce, and with the surgery approaching, she had.

Natasha had imagined toddlers with red and brown curls, blue and brown eyes; a girl who was as smart as her father, and a boy who was a strong as his mother. It was these images that made Natasha move faster through traffic, quicker up the stairs to Helen's office, and calmed her during the prep for the procedure.

"So, we're going to numb you with a mock epidural," Helen was explaining," Which basically is going to numb you from the waist down for the first hour. Once the initial printing is done, the closing up is only a few moments. The reason we'll keep you for the extra hour is to check that your body takes to the new system and- god forbid -doesn't reject this change..."

"You think it might?" Natasha asked rather calmly.

"No," Helen said honestly," But we've never done anything like this before... So who knows? Bodies reject organs all the time. Who's to say that your body won't reject an artificially printed reproductive system?"

"Always the realist, you are, Helen," Natasha joked as one of Helen's assistants started poking her with the needle for her "mock epidural". It was going to be a very long two hours...

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

In the end, the surgery was the easiest part about the entire endeavor. The entire hour of agonizing over what could or would happen, became worth it to see the look of pure joy and hope on Helen's face when everything was perfect. Natasha was almost more happy for what this meant for Helen's work, than she was for what it meant for her and Bruce. But, of course, it did mean something to her and Bruce. Something that narrowed down into two pink lines four months later.

She hadn't told him what she had done; not because she didn't want to, but because she wasn't sure that it had even properly worked. She, instead, decided to tempt fate a bit and just go about their lives as they had before. The only noticeable change in her body, had been the periods she got; because of the reconstruction, she had been getting regular periods since the surgery. Given this fact, she found it a bit odd when she didn't have a period three months after having is- on time and regular -for the months prior. She shrugged this off as her body getting used to the new system and getting her flow regulated, up until she started getting sick around certain foods.

Suddenly peanut butter made her gag, even if it was only traces of it, or if Bruce had eaten a sandwich of it for lunch; similarly raw onions made her run for the bathroom and any sort of chicken made her sick on the spot. She began to think maybe something had gone wrong- or right if her suspicions had been correct -when in a last ditch effort, she asked Wanda to go with her to the grocery store during one of their nights out. Wanda had become a big part of Natasha and Bruce's life- taking them as her adopted parents of sorts with everything that happened -and the girls had made every other Friday their night. On this particular night, Natasha had finally broken down and told Wanda what she had done, after the movie they went to made her cry; real tears and everything.

"So you have not yet told Papa Bruce?" Wanda asked with wide, surprised eyes as she and Natasha tried to decide what test was the best.

"I... I wasn't even sure it had worked until I got my first period in twenty plus years..." Natasha admitted softly." And by then it was still a fluke this could even happen! God damn it! Why in the hell do they make so many of these forsaken things! Why can't we just have one and be done?"

"Just grab two of these," Wanda said pointing at one on the shelf in front of Nat. The box advertised one of the most accurate results on the market, and Natasha saw this as good a reason as any to buy it; otherwise the girls would be here all night and then spend a fortune on one of every test there was. They paid for the tests- an awkward encounter in and of itself -and then went to the nearest gas station to get it over with- Natasha's words, not Wanda's." It says you have to pee on the tips, and then wait for three minutes..."

Natasha made a face she was sure that mirrored the disgusted one on Wanda's face, but took the two white sticks and did as she was told. Three minutes and much complaining from Natasha later, and they were faced with identical tests: both sporting two bright pink lines.

"Mama Tattie..." Wanda said in a soft and careful tone. Natasha didn't answer the endearment that usual made her happy, but instead she tossed both tests into the garbage, then covered them in paper towels for good measure.

"We don't talk about this until I talk to Bruce..."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Talking to Bruce became Natasha's least favorite thing in the three minutes it took for those white sticks to turn her entire world upside down. Within the next month, she was sick almost every morning, and craving bacon at just about any hour. She had tried on three different instances to talk to her husband about everything, and failed all three times. She had even enlisted the help of Wanda and Helen- who had been informed about an hour after Wanda and Natasha took the tests -but nothing seemed like the right way to do things. Now, two months into her newfound pregnancy and a month into agonizing over this, she was sitting in Helen's office, with Wanda, waiting for the test results- to determine if she was healthy and indeed pregnant -to come back.

"Well, old Green Bean knocked you up," Helen said as she set the labs in front of Natasha." No more avoiding the topic, you're two and a half months pregnant. You're going to be showing soon, and he'll be noticing something is up."

Even hours later, as she made dinner for her and Bruce, she was thinking just how screwed she was if she didn't get the courage to tell him soon. She gagged a little as she flipped his burger onto a bun with mustard, lettuce and onions, before shoving another piece of bacon in her mouth- meant for her burger but she'd made a whole plate for a reason.

"You okay?" Bruce asked as he came over to get his plate and hand her some fries that he had just pulled from their deep fryer." You look a little pale, and you look like you might gag..."

"Just the onions," Natasha said honestly," They're really strong and it's not a pleasant-"

"You usually like onions, Nat," Bruce said, but didn't push. They ate while watching an old kung-fu move they both loved, but Natasha found herself getting lost in her own thoughts rather than the scenes and bad choreography, per usual. She tried to think of different ways she could tell Bruce what was going on, but all of them fell flat after she dropped the bomb about her getting a whole new reproductive system and forgetting to mention it to him.

"Have you ever thought about kids?" Natasha asked suddenly, during one of their favorite fight scenes. Bruce choked a little on the french-fry he had just tossed in his mouth, but composed himself quickly and turned to stare at Nat.

"Um, a bit?" Bruce admitted, not meeting her eyes." I mean, I'd thought about what it could mean for us to adopt later on... Or maybe have a surrogate... I'm sure Wanda or Maria would offer if we asked... But it would be tricky for either of them so I... I don't really know, Tash... Why?"

"Well," Natasha said, too far into this topic to turn back now," Helen and I have been talking."

"Yeah, you guys have been working on her new project?" Bruce asked, curious but not prying. Natasha nodded and took a breath to calm herself.

"Yes... She has been working on her cradle but on a much smaller level," Natasha said, easing into the topic as best as she could.

"What? Like doing body parts? Cadavers maybe?"

"More like organs and bodily systems," Natasha said slowly." And I volunteered to be her first patient... See if everything worked out..."

"Well that sounds great but really dangerous!" Bruce said, concerned for his wife, now." What did she want to-"

"I wanted her to reconstruct my reproductive system," Natasha blurted out. " And she did."

"Tasha! That was extremely dangerous!" Bruce cried in shock." I mean, how are we to even know if the surgery would work? Or if the system would then be in working-"

"It is," Natasha said in a voice that felt much higher than her normal one." Because I'm pregnant, Bruce..."

There was a loud thump followed by Natasha giving a sigh and pulling out her phone.

"Tony, you're gonna need to drive up, tonight... Bruce just fainted and I'm currently carrying precious cargo, so I can't lift him."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"He fainted because you told him you were-"

"Pregnant, yes, pass the vanilla you ice cream hog!"

"Nat, ice cream and bacon should not work... Why did you make me try it so now I know it's amazing?"

"I'm pregnant, you're just stupid."

"That still sounds weird, Nat..." Tony said wincing as he took another bite of the ice cream-bacon mix he and Natasha had been sharing for the past hour while they waited for Bruce to come to." I mean, good for Big Guy for knocking you up, but how-"

"We went over this..." Natasha sighed," Red Room, really bad initiation, Helen and her genius machine, then lots of birds and bees, Tony."

"You're crazy you know that?" Tony said watching as Bruce tried to rub the grogginess out of his eyes." But I still get to be godfather, just saying."

"I was thinking you and Wanda," Natasha said thoughtfully," But Clint would be a great godmother too..."

"You're terrible," Bruce said in a flat voice, but he was awake and obviously more with the situation, at hand." Did that all really happen?"

"If you meant Nat having a bun in the oven yes," Tony said," If you meant me dropping you halfway up the stairs, then no. Totally didn't happen, and you have no proof."

"I'll save that for a later date," Bruce said softly. He turned back to Nat, watching her and glancing down at her stomach as if she had just started showing." Suddenly a lot of things make sense..."

"Like the gagging at your lunch and crying during our movie nights?" Natasha asked softly. Bruce nodded and reached out for her hand." You're not mad at me, are you?"

"I think I'm too happy to be mad..."

There was a long silence, one that made Natasha blush and smile widely at her husband, allowing herself to think about the next couple of months and then years.

"I sort of like the sound of Tony Banner, you know?"

"We're not naming our child after you, Tony."

"Killjoy."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

A/N: So, be sure to read this last note, because it will give you guys some insight on when to look for next update, and a chance to help me with the story!

I won't be updating for about a week, maybe a week and a half, because I'm going to put a poll up on my profile. I want everyone to go and take a vote, and the option with the most votes will be what happens at the beginning of next chapter!

So the options range from just a boy or a girl, to twins and what gender twins. Let me know what you guys think! If I get to the end of the week, and not enough people have voted, I'll wait longer. Or, if I get a lot of answers really quickly, I'll update sooner.

So really it's in everyone's best interest to go and vote now, because if I get the votes I want you get another chapter! Hopefully you guys liked this, because I LOVED typing this chapter, it came really easy and was fun to write.

As always, please leave me a review, and let me know what you think! And this time, go vote! Vote now on the poll so that you guys get a quick update! Go, go, go!

Ciao!