Special thanks to Inubaka88 for the information about air pistols! You rock! Also Coulson never dies in my stories. I refuse to accept the fact that he's dead. Coulson lives, Fury lies. End of Story. Also also I love all of my readers who got the NCIS reference a few chapters back; I love NCIS and I love that you guys love it too.


Natasha fired off another round from the air pistol, smiling as it completed the perfect circle in the center of the target. The air pistol didn't have the same feeling as her usual gun, but it was safer for the baby's developing hearing so she would make the sacrifice.

She glanced at the clock as she put down the air pistol, frowning slightly. It was just after one in the morning and Clint still wasn't home from his mission. It was the first mission he had gone on since she had been put on maternity leave; the thought of someone else watching her husband's back made her palms sweat in worry. She knew he wouldn't put himself in danger, but she didn't know if she could trust whomever he was partnered with. As much as she loved her child, she missed being in the field with Clint.

Natasha placed her hand on her rounding stomach as she walked over to the elevator. "If your father's not back in time for the doctor's appointment, I'm going to murder him myself," she muttered to the baby as she stepped into the elevator. The faint fluttering she felt in her stomach made her heart jump in response, a faint smile spreading across her lips. She still hadn't felt the baby kick yet, one of her worries she would have to bring up with the doctor, but she constantly felt a fluttering sensation, as if her stomach was filled with butterflies. It made the baby seem more real to her, more than just a dream in everyone's mind.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking myself to the doctor alone," she continued talking to the baby as she stepped out of the elevator. "You know your mother. But your father promised to come along with me. We're supposed to find out if you're a boy or a girl. We're supposed to see you. If he's not on time, he's sleeping on the floor."

"Natasha?" Tony called, poking his head out from the kitchen. He could hear her talking quietly, her words barely distinguishable, but he wasn't sure who she was speaking to.

Natasha spun around quickly as she heard Tony's voice, internally cursing herself for not realizing he was there; her senses were slipping. "Yeah, it's just me," she answered easily.

"Who are you talkin' to?" he asked, walking out of the kitchen, a glass of water in hand. "I heard you talking a few seconds ago, but no one's…you were talking to the baby, weren't you?" he said, a smile stretching across his face. Natasha opened her mouth to reply before closing her mouth; she still wasn't the best at interacting on a personal level. "It's cool," Tony added as he noticed her discomfort, shrugging his shoulders. "I used to do it all the time when Pepper was pregnant. I'd talk to Alex late at night when I couldn't sleep. He didn't seem real to me, ya know? Talking to him helped and Pepper said he liked my voice. Anyway I'm gonna head back to bed. Night, spider lady," he said, heading down the hallway back to his and Pepper's room.

Natasha watched Tony walk away before shaking her head and heading toward her room. After all this time, Tony still managed to surprise her.


Clint slowly opened his bedroom door, trying to be as quiet as possible. He finally got home two hours later than he promised Natasha; he knew the odds of having a gun pointed at his head as he walked in were pretty good. He sighed in relief when he found her fast asleep, laying on her back to help with the constant heartburn the baby gave her. 'Not even born and the kid's a handful already,' he thought, dropping his bag in the corner of the room and changing out of his uniform.

He climbed onto the bed gently, trying not to shake the bed and wake his sleeping wife; he'd end up sleeping on the couch. "Hey baby," he whispered, placing his hand on her rounded stomach, the baby bump prominent through her tank top. He scooted down the bed until his face was level with her stomach, kissing the side of it softly. "Your mom's gonna murder me in the morning when she realizes how late I got home, so I might as well talk to you now while I still have the chance," he said quietly.

Clint slowly rubbed his hand across her stomach, the gentle shoosh of the fabric filling the silence of the room. "It's not my fault that I'm late though; it's SHIELD's fault. Like always. So you've gotta plead my case with your mom; tell her you don't wanna grow up without a dad so that way she won't kill me. She's still gonna injure me pretty badly, being pregnant hasn't slowed her down, but she won't kill me. Can you do that, squirt? I wanna be alive for the appointment tomorrow so we can find out what you are." Clint smiled as he remembered the debates the Avengers had over whether the baby would be a boy or a girl; the house seemed pretty evenly divided.

"How come you aren't kicking around in there yet, squirt?" he asked, his voice filled with worry. He knew from Jane and Pepper's pregnancy that babies were usually kicking or squirming by now; the most Natasha had felt was fluttering in her stomach. It was enough to keep him from fully panicking, but he was still worried; Abby had said the pregnancy would be difficult. "Just do me and your mom a favor and give her a swift kick to the ribs or her bladder or something, okay? You're the child of two trained assassins; you've got to have some of the moves down." He leaned his forehead against Natasha's stomach, praying to whoever might be out there that his child was okay. "I'm gonna get some shut eye, squirt. I'll see you in a few hours. I love you."


Reviews please! What do you think Clint and Natasha are having?