Pepper stares at the Avengers and Jane as her mind tries to process the information.. But what was getting her was the last part of their explanation; the 'Darcy may or may not be pregnant' part. "You're joking." She gets out.
Jane sighs sadly, her eyes never leaving the floor. "I wish we were, but we're not."
Pepper stares, completely horrified. "But this can't be happening. She's so young."
Bruce cuts in. "Considering how young she is her body might not be able to conceive a child this early. Yes, it is possible, but there is also a large chance that she could miscarry. Especially after what she went through, her body isn't fit to carry a child in her state."
"So what happens now?" The CEO asks.
"Brucie here," Tony says, patting Banner on the shoulder "is going to take blood from Darcy and test it. The test will tell us if she's baking a bun or not."
Bruce rolls his eyes at the way Tony phrased it. "Despite Stark's phrasing, he is right. We need to find out if she's pregnant with a clone of Steve or just another super soldier."
"What if she is?" Pepper presses. "What then?"
Natasha butts into the conversation, securing the sleeping toddler more firmly in her arms. "That is for Darcy to decide whether she wants to terminate the pregnancy, keep the child or put it up for adoption. It's none of our concern, and we definitely cannot convince her of what she should be doing. It's her baby, so it's her decision."
"Now wait a minute," Tony says, holding a hand out as he walks to stand behind his girlfriend. "We're talking about this as if it's happening, which it's not."
"But it might." Jane counters. "And if it's happening, we need to be prepared to-"
"To what? We don't need to be prepared of anything because she hasn't even taken the test. We need to be certain about it before we start discussing solutions and how to fix this." Tony replies, his arms going up in exasperation.
"We," Natasha says, emphasizing on the word. "Don't need to be certain about anything. Darcy does."
"Whatever. The point is, we don't need to be talking about this now. We'll talk about this, with Darcy, when we know. And until we do there should be no discussion of this." Tony declares.
"Stark, you cannot act as if this is not happening." Thor says, surprised at his teammate's attitude.
"I'm not. I'm just saying that it's better for all us to discuss this when we know the answer. She might not be pregnant, so what would be the point of worrying ourselves now?" Many mouths open to protest, but Tony continues before anyone could get a word out. "And she may be. So let's cross the bridge when we get there." The others share glances with each other while Tony stands waiting for their assent.
Pepper shoves him away. "So when are the tests?" She asks Bruce.
"In a couple of days. It'd be too early to test her now." Bruce replies.
Pepper sighs, "Okay, so we just wait."
"Wait and be prepared." Clint says crossing his arms. "Hydra's still out there. We may have destroyed their main headquarters, but we cannot be certain that they won't come back. Enemies don't back down."
"But for now," Natasha says, "We shouldn't worry too much. It could possibly take years before they're up to fight again and when it's time we'll be ready. And," Natasha strains herself to say the last part, "hopefully, we'll have Steve back to fight alongside with her." The others automatically knew what she said was a lie, but they didn't call her out on it. Despite getting their team leader back, they are extremely sure that they will miss their miniature sized Captain. And now with Hydra out of the way for now, Bruce, Jane and Tony have nothing stopping them to find a cure to bring Steve back.
Sighing, Natasha stares down at the small, peaceful looking child, watching him sleep for a moment. She definitely the most reluctant to chang Steve back. Although she knew she had to in order for the Avengers to get their Captain back, she didn't want to lose her baby. And she didn't want to lose the feeling of motherhood. Despite being a cold blooded assassin, she's learned to love this part of her life. She loves being mother to Steve. And Steve loves her being his mother. It will break her heart when she has to say goodbye to her little принц, her little prince.
Natasha bends down to plant a lingering kiss on Steve's forehead before turning to face the others. "I'm going to go put him to bed then take a nap." As Natasha walks towards the hallway she passes Bruce along the way. She stops behind him and whispers into his ear, "Come with me."
As Natasha whispers her lips make contact with Bruce's skin and he can't help the shivers that ran down his spine. Natasha smirks at him before walking into the hallway. Bruce's feet follow after her unwillingly, although he doesn't fight against it.
By the time he reaches her, she's opening Steve's bedroom door. She looks over her shoulder at him, a light sparkle in her eyes as her eyes run over him. She hums, walking into the bedroom and placing Steve on the bed. She tucks the child under the blankets and when Steve, subconsciously, raises a hand to suck his thumb she quickly places a pacifier in his mouth. "There you go, my love." Natasha coos, sitting on the bed and brushing Steve's hair out of his face as she caresses his cheek. Steve starts to stir when he feels Natasha's soft hand press against his cheek, but Natasha shushes him back to sleep. "Ssh, it's alright. It's just me, go back to sleep." Soon the child's body goes limp as he drifts back under. "There you go, time to sleep. Mommy's here…" Natasha glances back behind her, expecting to find Bruce standing there, but is mildly surprised to find that Bruce hadn't moved from his spot in the doorway. He's staring on, but not moving an inch from his place at the door. Their eyes meet and Natasha motions for him to come forward, but he rapidly shakes his head in fear. He was scared. He didn't want to lose control again. It takes a couple of gestures from Natasha before Bruce slowly starts making his way towards her. After a minute Bruce stands behind her, tense with his hands shoved firmly into his pockets and his shoulders square. Natasha smiles at him before turning her attention back to Steve, "And so is Daddy." She can feel him stiffen behind her, but she doesn't turn around to acknowledge it. She only continues to soothe Steve, planting soft kisses his face and rubbing circles into his back.
"Natasha." Bruce whispers. Natasha glances back behind her to look at Bruce's expression to see what she's getting herself into. The doctor looked pained. 'Uh-oh.' After planting another kiss on Steve's forehead, she gets off the bed and turns to look at him. His eyes said everything words couldn't. He didn't want this because he didn't think he deserved it.
"Don't." Natasha says, putting a hand on his chest. "Don't say you don't deserve this, Bruce. Don't say that Steve should just pick another person to be his father because he shouldn't. He chose you." Bruce stares down at her, biting his bottom lip hard. His hands were starting to shake. She reached down and grabbed his hands from his pockets. She holds them as tightly as she could, as she tries to remain eye contact with him. "He loves you, Bruce. Despite seeing the Hulk, he still loves you. You want to know what Pepper told me? When we got back and I took Steve from her, you want to know what her first comment was?" Bruce remains silent, afraid that his voice would fail him if he tried to speak. Natasha takes his silence as an opportunity to continue. "She told me that Steve, after he realized we were gone, started crying out."
"He always cries when you leave him." Bruce counters, trying to take his hands out of Natasha's grasp with no avail because she holds on even tighter.
"No, he wasn't crying out for me." Natasha replies, immediately which makes Bruce stop his struggling against her and stare down at her in confusion. She smiles up at him. "He was crying for you… for you, Bruce. Not me, you. Of course some of the tears were for me, but he was saying your name and calling out to you."
"But.. But- I-I.. that is.." Bruce starts stuttering, completely lost for words. He hasn't expected to hear that. To hear that, even after what Steve saw him become, he was calling out to him when they left. Bruce mentally prepared himself for Steve to fear him. He prepared himself for it and now hearing that he didn't need to was a big shock.
Natasha smiles up at him and her smile becomes larger when she realizes that the shaking in Bruce's hands has stopped. She releases her tight grip, but still keeps them in her grasp. Taking a step closer to him, she looks up at him. "He loves you. He doesn't hate you. He told Pepper that he loved his daddy and that he wanted to see him again. He wanted you to be the first one to hold him when we came back, but you were too busy with Darcy. And it sort of flew out of his mind when he saw Darcy lying in the hospital bed. But the point is, he loves you Bruce and he wants you to be his daddy. Why can't you just say yes?"
"… I don't want to hurt him." Bruce whispers.
"You aren't going to hurt him." Natasha says. "I know you, Bruce. He trusts you and I trust you. And they're going to find a cure to bring him back. So you won't be a dad forever. So just please say yes. Please, it would mean everything to him if he had a father. "
Bruce bites his bottom lip before sighing and slipping his hands out of Natasha's. He digs the heel of his hands into his eyes, shutting them tightly. Natasha does move from her spot and takes a step closer. Bruce seems to notice her closeness because he removes his hands from his face and looks down at her. Natasha was almost touching him and he could feel her breath on him, vise versa. Natasha's eyes are practically pleading with him and no matter how hard he tries he couldn't say no. To her and to the child that needs him. He lets out a long sigh and nods his head, his eyes expressing how weary he is. "Yes."
Natasha smiles and leans up to peck a kiss on his lips, her hands gripping the collar of his shirt. "Good." She whispers, against his lips starting to pull him away from the bed and towards the door. "Now I'm tired. I'm going to take a shower and go to bed." She comments heading towards her room. Bruce stays rooted in his spot near Steve's door and he takes that moment to close it when he notices Natasha walking away. When she doesn't hear him following her, she looks over her shoulder at him smirking. "And you're joining me."
E8E8E8E8E8E8E8E8
When he feels someone lay a hand on his shoulder, his eyes instantly shoot open in alarm and he shoots up in bed. He doesn't calm down until he hears the familiar voice of his mother speaking to him, "Hey, why so jumpy? It's alright, it's just me."
Steve looks over at her and a smile automatically makes its way across his face. He climbs out of the covers and into Natasha's lap when she takes a seat on the edge of his bed. "Morring, Momma."
"Good morning, my boy." Natasha squeezes him close her to chest and that's when she realizes that he's warm. Way too warm for her liking. Pulling Steve away from her chest, she raises a hand to rest it on his forehead. He was hot. "Sweetheart, how do you feel?" she asks, concern layering her tone.
Steve looks up at her, still not fully awake. He leans his forehead against her chest, "Ucky mama. Hurts." He says, his hand coming to rest on his head.
"Your head hurts?" Steve nods. Natasha presses her lips together in a tight line before slipping Steve off her lap and going into the bathroom. She comes back a moment later with a pacifier and holds it out for Steve to take. "Open for Momma." She requests and when he does, she places it in his mouth. Steve happily begins to suck on the pacifier and reaches his arms out towards Natasha. She scoops him in her arms, pressing his body against her and kisses his forehead. A few minutes pass before she hears a beep confirming that his temperature has been found. "Can I have the pacifier, Steve?" She requests, holding out her hand. Steve nods and pulls it out of his mouth placing it in the middle of his mother's palm. Turning it over Natasha breath hitches in her throat when she sees his temperature.
99.9- Definitely a fever.
"Oh, my love, come here." She immediately held him even closer, resting her cheek on his hair.
Steve, who seemed too out of it to even care about how uncomfortable and hot he felt, yawns, leaning his forehead against Natasha's shoulder. "Mommy," he says between a yawn. "I go night- night?" he asks, his eyes already droopy.
"Yes, baby. You can go night- night." She says, kicking herself for waking him up in the first place.
"Otay." He says, already drifting back under. She settled him in his crib and tucks him back in. When he notices her start to walk away, he reaches out to grab onto her shirt. "Momma stay?"
Natasha looks down at the sleepy child and nods. "I'll be right here when you wake up." She promises. With a last sigh he fell back asleep. And as soon as he was deep in sleep Natasha couldn't help but start freaking out. 'He still has the serum in his body, how can he conjure up a fever? It's impossible. Steve told me before that it was impossible for him to get sick and despite him being a child, it should apply both ways. Unless…' There was another possibility that could explain why he's running such a fever, but Natasha pushes it out of her mind as fast as it came. No. She didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to believe that this might be a sign that they might be getting their Captain back sooner than later.
Stark did say that Steve might come back on his own without them needing to find a cure. That whatever turned him into a toddler would be gone in a couple of months and there are many ways to decipher if he's turning back or not. He gave them many ideas of how Steve could turn back.
In his sleep. When old memories started flooding into his mind abruptly. Sudden pain and feeling of lost would bring him back. Extreme intensity of nightmares. And lastly, it could all start with a fever.
With that last thought in mind, Natasha rushed across the phone and pulled out her phone. She dialed in Bruce's number as quickly as she could and pressed the phone to her ear. It may have been a bit silly to call him when he was on the same floor as her, only a door away, but she'd promised Steve that she wouldn't leave. Besides, she didn't want to leave him in his vulnerable state.
"Natasha?" Bruce calls when he answers on the third ring.
"Bruce, I think its happening."
"What?" he asks, utterly confused.
"I think its happening. I woke him up this morning and I found he was running a fever and I couldn't help, but remember what Stark said about him changing back on his own. And so I just thought-"
"Wait a minute, Nat." Bruce says, cutting her off before she could continue ramble nonsense that made no sense to him. "What are you saying?"
"Steve. He's running a fever." It took a while, but Natasha calmly explained the situation and Bruce's immediate question shocked her.
"What were his nightmares about?" He'd asks. She tells him about the two main dreams Steve always seems to have. Ice and losing Natasha and Bruce.
"I'll be right there." He says before hanging up the phone. After the phone call she retreated to the rocking chair where she watched the steady rise and fall of his chest. She didn't know how long she sat there watching him like a Hawk, but it was the knocking at Steve's bedroom door that took her out of her trance.
Standing from her spot she made her way towards the door and opened it. "He's asleep." Is the first thing she said to the doctor when he entered the room. "But he woke up feeling terrible and he went back to sleep."
"Do you think…" Bruce starts, trailing off, unable to finish the sentence. He looked over at the sleeping child and made his way to the crib.
"I don't know. And I'm worried because I don't want to lose him." Natasha admits, coming to stand beside him.
"We could be blowing this out of portion." Bruce says obviously trying to keep the idea of losing baby Steve out of his and Natasha's mind. "Just like Stark said before, we shouldn't worry about it. It could just be a fever. And I'll treat it as such. We won't lose him."
"You don't know that." Natasha says, biting her bottom lip, looking down in the crib.
Soon arms encircle her and Bruce's chin is placed in the crook of her neck. "I don't, but I'd rather look on the positive side rather than the negative. Right now, we'll just be there for him when he needs us. And when it's time to say goodbye," Bruce places a soft kiss on her temple, holder her closer. "We'll be okay."
Natasha leans into his touch, closing her eyes and nodding her head. Turning his hold, Natasha braces her hands on his chest and pecks his lips softly. "Thank you."
"For what?" Bruce inquires.
"For being you. For being there for me and Steve." Natasha replies earnestly.
"I'll always be there for you and Steve. Especially you." Bruce says, his eyes and words full of so much sincerity that Natasha is slightly taken back.
She stares up at him, trying to process what was just said to her. She's never been told something like that. Something so full of love that is was overwhelming. The only person she was certain of that she loved was Steve, but her feelings for Bruce were definitely strong. She didn't know how she felt about him, only that they were stronger than regular friendship feelings. She knew that Bruce loved her, but it was just hard for her to let him love her. Especially after what she had done in the past. Which is what posses her to look into his eyes and ask, "You really do love me, don't you." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
"I do." Bruce replies. "I love you so much, Natasha." He leans down and plants his lips gently against her's. Without hesitation, she kisses back and her arms wrap around his neck. The kiss said everything that Natasha needed to say and Bruce got the message.
If it was their decision, they would've stayed like that for a long time. But they were soon broken away by the sound a whimper and a soft, "Momma… Dada." Natasha's and Bruce's head snap to the crib where they found Steve barely waking up. He blinks sleepily up at them.
They pull away from each other and simultaneously bend down by the crib. "Hi, sweetheart." Natasha greets, caressing his cheek.
"Hey buddy." Bruce whispers, smiling down at him.
"Daddy?" Steve questions, blinking his eyes a few times to get his vision back.
"I'm right here, bud." Bruce assures, reaching out and placing a finger in Steve's small hand.
Immediately Steve's hand close around the index finger and a smile spreads across his face. "Daddy." Two arms reach out in his direction. Natasha notices his hesitation almost instantly and gives his shoulder a soft squeeze. She whispers a soft, 'It's okay', in his ear reaching into the crib and grabbing Steve. She then holds the child out in his direction. He's hesitant at first, but slowly reaches out and takes the child in his arms. As soon as he's in Bruce's arms, Steve rests his head on Bruce's shoulder grabbing tight handfuls of his shirt. He lets out a sigh of relief and closes his eyes, cuddling closer to the man. "Daddy." He whimpers.
"I'm here, bud. I'm not going anywhere." Bruce's automatic response passes his lips before he knows what he's saying. He tightens his arms around the toddler and kisses the top of his head while he sits at the edge of adult Steve's bed.
Watching the two of them together makes Natasha's heart swell with love and she can't help but bend down in front of them and kiss both her boys. "I wub you mama." Steve says softly.
"I love you too honey." Natasha replies immediately.
"I wub you dada." Steve says planting a weak kiss on Bruce's cheek.
"Love you too, Son." Bruce says, acknowledging for the first since Steve's transformation that he was his son. No matter what. And he will always be his son, even when he turns back into an adult.
The next time Steve falls back asleep, he has a large smile on his face. His family is complete. He not only has a momma that loves him, but also a daddy.
Hey guys, CaptainRogersGirl here! (: Just wanted to know what you guys think of this chapter and I wanted to know what you guys want to see.
Do you want Darcy to be pregnant or not?
And if she is going to be pregnant, with what? An exact clone of Steve or just a regular super soldier?
I'm letting you guys have full control of how this story is going to continue and end. Review, P.M, or e-mail me what you want to see. It's majority of the votes wins! (: Much L.O.V.E to you all!
- CaptainRogersGirl0829