*WARNING Birth Scene, not too gruesome
Natasha shot awake as she felt a strong tightening in her abdomen. She gasped and grabbed on to the blanket. She closed her eyes as she waited for the pain to subside. She heard Stark whimper at her hand and him bark for Jamie, who apparently wasn't in the room. She breathed out when the contraction passed. She opened her eyes and saw Stark staring at her worriedly.
She pets him on the head and says, "I'm alright baby. How about we go find Jamie?"
Stark barked in response and she slowly stood up from the bed. She glanced at the clock, she had only been asleep for about an hour and a half. She started to walk to the door and whistled for Stark to follow.
He jumped off the bed and walked to her side. The house was still dark, but luckily she was used to it. She walked down the hall passed Cam's room and the nursery.
"Jamie?" called.
No response. She looked at Stark, "Where would Jamie have gone?"
The puppy stared back at her blankly.
"Yeah yeah yeah. I know you were with me the whole time. Let's go downstairs."
She entered the downstairs to find it also completely empty. She walked into the living room and sat on the couch.
She had been sitting for a bit when she heard the back door open. Stark jumped up and started growling.
"Easy boy."
Jamie walked in covered in snow, "Oh you're up."
She nods, "Yep. And you ditched your very pregnant and in labor wife for what exactly?"
"I went to check the outdoor circuit breaker to see if we just blew a fuse, but I'm pretty sure the powers down in the area. It's still snowing heavily. I also went to check that we had the supplies if Frankie decides to make her arrival tonight. Wait? Did you say you're in labor?"
She swallows and nods, "Pretty sure. I've been having contractions every ten minutes since I woke up about a half hour ago."
Jamie raises his eyebrows, "Ok then. I'm going to change and then I'm going to see how far dilated you are. Ok?"
She nods, "Don't take long."
He gives her a reassuring smile and leaves to get changed. Honestly, he doesn't think he's moved faster in his life. The fear on her face unnerved him. He hadn't seen her so scared, even though he knew he had no reason to be worried. Well, as long as there were no complications. Which he couldn't predict.
He sighed as he finally got his boot off. He already knew it was going to be a long night.
He walked back into the living room and Natasha's eyes were closed. She was gripping the couch with one hand and her stomach with the other.
Jamie walked over to her and sat down on the arm the couch she was grabbing. He placed a hand on her back and began rubbing circles with a little pressure. The hand grabbing the couch reached for his hand, which he willingly gave. They stayed like that for about twenty more seconds when the contraction ended.
Natasha leaned into his side, "Don't take your hand off my back."
He gave her a concerned look, "You're back still hurting?"
She nods.
"Ok," he says as they stay still for a few more minutes.
"Nat?"
She hums in response.
"I need to check you."
She groans, "I don't think I can make it upstairs."
"It still hurts that much?"
She nods, "It's not as bad as it was during the contraction but it still hurts."
"Scale of one to ten."
Her face scrunches up, "Maybe like a four."
"During the contractions?"
"Seven or eight. Definitely worse than the contraction itself."
Jamie internally groans and says, "Ok, babe, I think you're having some back labor. It can make your labor a little longer and a little more painful than usual."
Natasha rolls her eyes, "Of course."
Jamie smiles, "It'll be fine."
She nods and he kisses her forehead, "I know. I trust you."
"Good. Do you want to stay here or go to bed?"
She hesitates, so he says, "I won't make you stay on your back unless I'm checking you or you're pushing. Promise."
She nods, "We can go upstairs."
He got up and extended her a hand. She stood and took his hand. His other arm wrapped around her for support. They slowly started to make their way to the stairs.
Wordlessly, once they got to the stairs, Jamie reached down and picked Natasha up.
She looked up at him as he began walking up the stairs, "I never said I couldn't walk."
"I think you saying 'I don't think I can make it upstairs' implies that."
She was about to retort when he felt her tighten in his arms and grip the back of his neck.
"Breathe Nat," he says gently as he continues to the bedroom, albeit slower this time.
She stays silent and he feels her grip tighten as the contraction intensifies.
"We're almost there," he says as he gets to the top of the stairs. He continues walking to the bedroom and he nudges the door open. As he walks closer to the bed her hears Natasha breathe a sigh of relief, indicating the contraction was over.
"Can I put you down on the bed?"
She nods and he gently sets her down on the bed. She immediately leans back into the pillows, looking for some sort of relief for her back. She closes her eyes as she tries to block out the ache in her lower back. Stark jumps on the bed and instinctively curls up next to her in order to comfort her.
Natasha opens her eyes and looks at Jamie, "Do I need to change?"
He shakes his head, "Just need your pants and underwear off so I can see. Do you want help?"
She nods and he gently slides her lower garments off.
He reaches for a pair of gloves that he had in his medical bag, which he had thankfully brought upstairs earlier, and puts them on.
"Ok, I need you to open your legs," she nods and does as she's told. He checks her while she watches him with worried eyes.
"Everything ok?" she asks when he looks up.
He nods, "Yep. You're about four centimeters dilated."
"Great six more to go," she said as she leaned back against the headboard.
He gives her a sympathetic smile, "Once your water breaks, the labor should go faster."
"Fun."
They sit in silence for a few moments before Natasha starts to shift around to get comfortable.
"Your back?"
She nods and he walks over to her, "Sit up."
She does so and he slides behind her. He puts pressure on her lower back and he hears the audible sigh of relief.
"I'm not looking forward to this pain getting worse."
He smirked, "I thought the Black Widow doesn't feel pain."
"This is a whole different type of pain that she is very much feeling," she says as she feels another contraction started.
His smile fades as he says, "I know. I'm sorry I don't have anything to help with it."
She gripped his hand and said, "Talking helps."
"Um...ok. About what?"
She shrugs as she breathes out a breath and leans back against him, "Anything. Tell me more about Aaron and Cami."
"Ok...Aaron and Cami were three years older than me, twins. Aaron's facial structure looked like Cam but his features were mine. Cami, was naturally a platinum blonde and always tried to make the best of the situation. They used to tell me stories about life outside the lab, well at least what they remembered. They were about four when we were taken there. My parents had worked on the super soldier experiment. They needed people to test it on so my parents volunteered us for a stipend of a couple million."
Jamie begins to feel Natasha's abdomen contract again and pauses to put pressure on her back.
When the contraction was over Natasha says, "I'm sorry they did that."
He rubs circles on her stomach as he says, "I'm not. Not really. I wouldn't be the man I am today without my experiences there. I would have never met Fury or you or had Cam. All the bad was worth it. I mean, I wish Aaron and Cami were here but I can't change that."
She leans into him and he kisses her forehead, "I wouldn't change a thing, either."
He smiles, "Good."
She shifts and asks, "How...how did they die? If you want to talk about it."
Jamie shrugs, "Um...it's ok. The lab was pretty secure and kind of like a prison. I was about sixteen when SHIELD breached its walls. The scientists grabbed my siblings and I and tried to sneak us out. Fury managed to grab me but they got my siblings. They got onto a plane and the guy crashed on purpose. He survived but Cami and Aaron didn't."
"I'm sorry, again," she says.
"Thanks. It's not something I talk about very often."
Natasha nods in response but the climax of the contraction stopped her response.
Jamie switches the conversation back to her by saying, "Your contractions are getting closer."
She nods in agreement, "They're about five minutes apart. My water's still haven't broken yet."
"That's fine. Labor works differently for everyone. If you want we can do some walking for a little bit. To help things progress."
She nods, "That's not a horrible idea."
Jamie slides out from behind her and extends a hand, "Shall we then?"
She smiles, "We shall."
She takes his hand and he helps her out of the bed, "Where do want to go?"
She shrugs, "Wherever."
He nods and gets a slight glint in his eyes. She looks at him, "What?"
He smiles, "I have an idea."
Minutes later they're up in the attic looking at the snow fall down. Jamie had cleared an area of the attic and they were sitting on a blanket. Natasha was leaning back in his arms and both of them were surprisingly calm.
She looks up at him, "I didn't know this was up here."
Jamie smiles, "Yeah well we kind of just through a bunch of junk up here. I found it the other day when I was…" he trailed off when he realizes what he was doing.
She raised an eyebrow, "You were doing what, exactly?"
"Um...well...I...was…" he stutters.
Nat's eyes narrow but before she could interrogate him further, a strong contraction hits her and she groans.
"Breathe Natasha," he says grateful for once for the contractions.
She grabs his hand hard and he winces, "Don't tell me to breathe! That's what you've been telling me to do for the last several hours!"
He rubs her back but decides not to comment, considering that even though Natasha was in labor she was still a trained assassin. Someone still had to be there to deliver the baby and he had a feeling she didn't want to deliver a baby by herself.
After the contraction passed Natasha fell back against Jamie, exhausted. She gave him a slight glare as she said, "So we're clear, if I wasn't exhausted and about to give birth, I would hurt you for avoiding your hormonal wife."
He rubbed her arm, "I know and for the record, it was on Tony's advice."
She rolled her eyes, "Of course it was."
They both laughed but then felt a liquid underneath them.
Natasha stiffened and Jamie couldn't help but smile as he said, "Babe, I think your water just broke."
"I think so too," she says softly.
Jamie's eyes wandered over her face, where he could see tears shining in her eyes, "Hey, what's wrong?"
"I'm scared," she whispers.
"Why?" he asks as he pulls her closer to him. She rests her head on his shoulders and breathes out. She waits for the contraction to pass, them being only a few minutes apart now. Considering that, Jamie wanted to go back downstairs, but he also didn't want to pressure her.
She breathes out and says, "No one like me has ever had a baby. What, what if something happens to her? What if she doesn't adjust to the real world and dies or my womb kills her when she's trying to make her entrance?"
Jamie pulls her into a tighter hug and rests his chin on top of her head, "Nat, our little girl will be fine. I will do everything in my power to help her. And if something is wrong with her, well her godfather is Tony Stark. I'm sure between him and Pepper she will be ok."
He feels her nod and they sit in silence as another few contractions pass. He asks her quietly, "There's something else? Isn't there?"
She nods and he can tell she's crying by the sound of her breathing but he doesn't push. It takes her a few breaths before she says, "I've been through this before. In the Red Room, before my graduation ceremony, they needed to make sure I could go through with seducing someone. I did, but I wound up pregnant. They made me carry it to term, hoping that they would be able to have an assassin raised from birth. When…" she swallows before continuing, "When I went into labor they locked me in a room for twenty four hours. I went through all of that and I didn't get to see the baby. He ended up being still born. I had the graduation ceremony after that."
"Natasha...I'm so sorry," Jamie says quietly, "...you should have told me."
She shakes her head as tears now fall freely down her face, "I couldn't. I couldn't tell Clint or Laura or you. I didn't want to relive that. I couldn't ...I couldn't protect my son," she says, her voice cracking, "Even...even when I was normal...I couldn't do it."
She breaks down in his arms and he holds her for a few moments. He then lifts her chin so she's looking at him and he says, "Natasha, listen to me. Your son's death was not your fault. It's the monsters who abused you and missed treated you. It is not your fault that he's dead. Ok?"
She gives him a slight nod as he continues, "And this baby who's trying to come into the world right now is very much alive. I intend to keep her that way. You can do it."
She nods as another contraction grips her. She grabs onto Jamie's arm and he just rocks her back and forth.
When it ends he asks quietly, "Do you want to stay up here or go back into the room?"
"Up here," she says as she prepares for another contraction. He rubs her back as he slides from behind her.
"Ok, let me go get my bag," Jamie says. She nods and he quickly climbs down the stairs. He reaches the bedroom in record time and grabs the medical bag he had left there. He also grabs a blanket and some towels from the closet. He closes the door and he sees Stark looking at him.
Jamie shifts his load back into his arms, "Hey buddy, everythings okay, despite what you heard."
He hears Natasha bite back a scream from upstairs and he glances back at Stark, "Well I guess it's showtime. Stay here buddy, we'll be down soon. Uh...hopefully soon."
He sprints back up the stairs to find Natasha leaning back against the wall and her body obviously tense.
She looks at him and says, "I want to push."
"Ok let me check you to make sure it's ok," he says in a bit of a rush.
He looks her over and says, "You're ten centimeters. You can push on the next contraction."
She nods and he says, "One, two, three!"
She pushes and screams. This goes on for a bit before any real progress is made.
She pushes again and he feels the head and he smiles, "Good job Nat, I have the head. Big push."
She creams and he feels the shoulders slide out. Jamie makes eye contact with Nat, "Babe, one more push. You got this."
She sits up and pushes again. It's silent for an agonizing few seconds before Natasha and Jamie hear a cry.
Natasha lets out a breath as Jamie cuts the umbilical cord and wraps up their newborn daughter.
Frankie cries as Jamie walks her over to Natasha but settles down as soon as she's in her mother's arms.
"Hi," Natasha whispers to the newborn, "I'm your mama. I promise to protect you, always."
Jamie leans over and kisses Natasha's forehead, "I know you will."
He looks down at his newborn who had opened her eyes and was now looking at her parents, "Welcome to the world Anastasia Francis Romonova Wilde."