AN: Another one I wrote... I should just make this a whole new story... yes?
Baby Steps
Pepper awoke to the sound of crying. Turning over, the clock read 1:30, in the morning. She gave a sigh and got out of bed, walking over to the bassinet set up not too far away. She could see the infant, now only a few days old, fussing, uncomfortable being in the crib. Pepper picked the little girl up and cradled her in her arms.
"You're okay Madeline, Mommy's here." Pepper looked down at the little girl and turned back to notice Tony wasn't in the room. She knew exactly where he was. Rolling her eyes, she made her way out of their room and down the hall into the kitchen. Madeline still cried.
Wondering if her little girl was hungry, she took a seat in the chair, and fixed her shirt so she could try and feed her daughter. Pepper wanted to be able to breastfeed Madeline, but she hasn't been able to yet. This made her feel inadequate as a mother and she wasn't even a week into it yet.
Struggling while trying to breastfeed, Pepper couldn't understand what was giving her so much trouble. It wasn't like she didn't have enough of something. Hell, the pregnancy hormones that she had gotten, made her two bra sizes larger, which she knew Tony liked. And she wouldn't deny that it was actually kind of nice. Although, she was upset that she wasn't able to do what she was supposed to.
Madeline struggled and cried some more. Pepper sighed and looked down at the little girl. "What's wrong baby, what is Mommy missing?" She asked, fixing her shirt and getting up, then started to rock the baby.
As the baby cried and cried, she wondered what she was doing wrong. Things were not as wonderful as they had been a couple days ago, she was now starting to feel the pressure. Pepper then made a bottle with formula and went back to the bedroom, sitting in the rocking chair that was next to the bassinet.
Starting to rock, Pepper put the bottle in the little girl's mouth and was relieved when she started to eat. "That's a good girl." Pepper smiled and kept rocking. She knew this was a big change, but something else made her nervous, she wasn't sure if she was doing this right. She never really prepared for this, but she doesn't regret it one bit.
Once Madeline had made it halfway through the bottle, she took it out for a minute. The infant whimpered some. "I know, I know," Pepper said and gently burped the baby. Pepper smiled once she heard what she needed and then went back to feeding the baby.
"I love you so much," Pepper looked down at the little girl. "Madeline Maria, you are going to be part of a giant loving family." She smiled and thought about all the people that would be there for her, to protect and love her every step of the way.
As the bottle quickly emptied, the baby let out a big yawn and Pepper smiled, taking the bottle and burping the baby one last time. Pepper then rocked in the chair again, humming a little tune and helped the baby go back to sleep. Hopefully she would be alright the rest of the night.
Although the baby had fallen back asleep, Pepper stayed in the chair, rocking back and forth. She was lulling herself back to sleep, barely hearing Tony walking through the bedroom door.
"I'm so sorry, I was down in the shop and I didn't hear the monitor." Tony said and looked at Pepper, still in the rocking chair. "Here, let me." He went to get the infant, but she shook her head, carefully getting up.
"I've got it, I just got her down." Pepper said and carefully placed Madeline back in the bassinet. "It's not a big deal, but you done for the night?" She asked turning to him. Tony smiled and nodded.
"Yes, now to bed we go, you're exhausted." He said and pulled her back to the bed. Once they were in bed, Tony pulled her in close and wrapped his arm around her waist, kissing her cheek in the process. "I love you."
"I love you too," Pepper said and closed her eyes. "You get her next time." She said as sleep quickly took over.
Tony chuckled to himself and closed his eyes. He still couldn't believe this wasn't a dream. And he was loving every minute of it.