The second baby should be easier, Natasha repeated to herself, already cradling the baby's crowning head.
Truth be told, she was pretty sure that her second baby's delivery would have been easier, if she wasn't already bone tired and aching all over.
"Natasha?" Steve asked softly. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," she sighed. "I'm exhausted, I hurt all over, and I just want this baby to be born already, but I'm alright."
"You're almost done," Steve promised. "Twenty more minutes, and then you can sleep for the rest of the week."
Natasha smiled wryly.
"Oh yeah?" she asked. "And who's going to clean the baby, cut the cord, feed both babies, and then hold them while they sleep?"
"Fair point," Steve chuckled. "But Tony said we should have the wall down within the next hour, so-"
Natasha cut him off with a cry of pain as another contraction made itself known.
"Okay, Nat, just breathe," Steve coached. "You're doing great, honey, just breathe. It's okay, you're almost there."
Sure enough, another twenty minutes of pushing had Natasha crying again as the pressure of the shoulders being delivered nearly caused her to collapse.
"One more push, Tasha, you're almost done," Steve encouraged.
"I can't!" Nat wailed as another contraction washed over her.
"Yes, you can," Steve said sternly. "Nat, just one more push and you'll have our second baby."
Natasha nodded tearfully and gave one more firm push, sobbing in relief when the second baby slid from her tortured body into her hands.
Quickly, she cleared the baby's airway and cradled it to her bare chest as it began to cry.
"What is it, Nat?" Steve asked.
"A baby," she joked.
"What gender?" Steve persisted.
"A gorgeous baby girl," Nat smiled, eliciting another round of loud cheering from the Avengers.
Half an hour later, Tony, Vision, and Wanda managed to get the debris from the collapsed wall removed, allowing Steve to rush into the bathroom and take in the surreal scene in front of him.
The front half of the bathroom was completely destroyed, and there was a huge bloodstain in front of the sink where Steve assumed Natasha had delivered one of the babies. There were two placentas on the floor, and there, in the center of it all, was Nat.
She was pale, sweaty, and disheveled, with her red hair plastered to her face, wearing nothing but stained sweatpants and a sports bra. She had a tiny, red faced infant in each arm, and she looked ready to collapse at any moment.
Still, her face bore the biggest grin Steve had ever seen, and he thought she looked positively radiant.
"Steve," she said softly. "This is your son," she nodded to the infant on the right. "And this is your daughter." She nodded to the infant on the left.
Taking a closer look at his children, Steve saw that the newborn in Natasha's right arm- his son, he marveled- had a shock of red hair just like Nat's, while his daughter had little wisps of blonde hair covering her tiny head.
As if they could sense their father looking at them, the twins simultaneously opened their eyes, revealing that the boy had green eyes just like his mother, and the girl had blue eyes, just like her father.
"It's funny," Nat commented, almost as if reading his mind. "I always assumed that if we had a boy and a girl, the girl would look like me and the boy would look like you, but it turned out to be the complete opposite."
"Well, not completely," Steve speculated. "She's got my eyes and hair, but she's got your nose and chin. And he's got your eyes, hair, and nose, but my mouth and ears."
"I think it suits them," Natasha decided.
"It does," Steve agreed.
Unfortunately, Bruce ruined the picture-perfect moment by bursting in, medical bag in hand.
"Natasha!" he exclaimed, "Thank God you're alright. Tony! I need you to help me get Nat down to the medical bay ASAP!"
Wordlessly, Natasha passed a shocked Steve his children, allowing Tony to lift her and carry her to the medical wing.
Steve fumbled for a moment to keep the newborns comfortable, not quite sure how to hold them securely without breaking them. They just looked so… fragile to him!
Luckily, Wanda stepped in to help him out. She picked up the girl, cradling her gently in one arm to show Steve how to do it.
"Make sure you support his head," she instructed. "Don't worry, you won't break him; they aren't as fragile as they look."
Once he had his son in a firm but gentle hold in the crook of his right arm, Wanda gently passed him his daughter, not transferring her whole weight until she was sure that Steve had a good hold on her.
"Thanks, Wanda," Steve sighed gratefully. "I was terrified I was going to drop them!"
"You weren't," Wanda soothed. "But you looked uncomfortable, so I thought you might want some help."
Steve nodded his thanks again, then hurried down to the medical bay so the twins could be examined.
Two hours later, after Natasha and the babies had been fed, changed, given a clean bill of health, and had a short nap, the Avengers gathered in their hospital room for the reveal of the names.
Steve was standing next to Natasha's bedside, holding his daughter with pride written all over his face.
"Everyone," he began. "We'd like to introduce you to our daughter, Melina Claire Rogers!"
The room burst into quiet applause, everyone worried about potentially causing distress to the newborns.
"And this," Natasha smiled. "Is our son, James Phillip Rogers."
After some pictures were taken, and the babies were passed around the room, the Avengers filed out, leaving the new parents alone at last.
"I am so proud of you," Steve said, laying down on the bed next to his wife, careful not to disturb the now sleeping Melina.
"I'm pretty proud of myself," Natasha acknowledged. "But, all in a day's work, I suppose."
"All in a day's work," Steve smiled.
Slowly, Natasha's eyes drifted closed after a long, exhausting day. Steve, smiling, took the baby from her arms, settled them both in the bassinet beside the bed, and pressed a gentle kiss to Nat's forehead.
"Sweet dreams, my love," he whispered.