This chapter comes with a trigger warning- brief and NOT DETAILED mentions of rape and abortion. I have it marked with *** if you feel the need to skip it, the start and end of that part will be marked with ***. Thank you!
The third time Steve listened to Jennifer's phone ring from her bedside table without it being answered, he finally decided to pull his head from underneath his pillow and roll over to see why she had not answered; It was very unlike Jennifer to not answer her phone, especially as she was a very light sleeper. He felt around in the darkness, finding himself alone in the bed. Head still groggy from being jarred awake, Steve squinted into the pale blue light from his girlfriend's phone to see the caller ID: NAT ROMANOFF
"This better be good, Romanoff." Steve yawned into the phone.
"Well, good evening to you, too, Captain." The spy laughed on the other end of the phone.
"It's after two in the morning." Steve growled in reply.
"Then good morning." Natasha corrected. "Can I please speak to my doctor?"
"Well, normally I'd say yes but..." Steve looked around the room, searching for some sign of where Jennifer may be. "I am not sure where she is."
"That explains why it took three calls to get an answer." Natasha replied, sounding just a bit annoyed.
"You okay? And Bruce? Babies?" Steve said, clicking on his bedside lamp. He sat up and propped the phone to his ear with his shoulder and rubbed his eyes.
"Fine, fine. We're all four fine." She assured him. "I just had a quick medical question, is all. Bruce isn't qualified to answer."
"Mmm." Steve grunted, swinging his feet out of bed. "Well, I will see if she might be somewhere around the apartment. We're in mine, or were when I went to sleep but she doesn't need nearly as much sleep as we all do, and since her eighteen hour nap last week she hadn't needed to sleep too much lately..." Steve explained, slipping his house shoes on. "If she isn't here, I'll poke around. She has to be somewhere."
"Thank you, Steve." Natasha replied. "No real rush, just... If you find her, have her call me?"
"Of course." Steve confirmed, hanging up the phone. He was a bit more awake now, and curious as to where his little doctor may have wandered off to.
He moved through his apartment, but finding everything still, dark and silent, he moved on to hers, which was equally undisturbed. A bit more alarmed at this, he stopped to think. He had passed through the common area on his way from his apartment to hers, and she was not there either, so he knew that was out. "FRIDAY, can you give me a location on Dr. Ford?" Steve requested.
'Dr. Ford is out on the south lawn, Captain.' The AI replied.
"Thanks." Steve replied, even more concerned now. He doubled back to his living quarters and grabbed a blanket from his couch to take with him, before heading out to see if she was okay.
The night was bright, the nearly full moon illuminated the grounds well enough that Steve did not need the flashlight he had grabbed, so he simply stuck it in his pocket. He found Jennifer sitting on the edge of the koi pond Tony had installed the last spring, cross legged on a bench. She was still in her pajama shorts and a tank top, her feet bare and covered in little pieces of grass from where the lawn had been mowed a few days before. Steve approached quietly, and gently wrapped the blanket around her bare shoulders, to protect her from the cool night air.
"Hey, doll." Steve whispered gently, noticing she looked very troubled.
***
"Hey." She rasped back, and from the sound of her voice he could tell she had been crying.
"Are you okay?" Steve ask, sitting down close and pulling her into his embrace.
"No, not really." She replied honestly. "I, uh,-" She paused, swallowing back the tears that tried to come back up. "I've been thinking a lot and Bruce and Natasha's situation and fight and then the amniocentesis he had me do on the twins- all brought some things up. Things I probably should've told you about before we got this serious."
"Okay." Steve said, stroking her arms gently up and down in comfort. "Well, I am here to listen if you are ready now, and if not... Well, I'm usually around." He tried to give a bit of humor to lighten the mood.
"Its just- you know h-how... polarizing... the topic of pregnancy... and birth control... can be?" She said, hesitating on her words as she tried to control her crying to speak.
"I do." Steve nodded.
"And you know how, sometimes things from a person's past can completely change how you see them? And how that isn't always a good thing?" She added.
"Sure, yeah." Steve nodded again. "But it isn't always bad, either. I have to tell you, Jen. I'm in a bit too deep, now. I don't think there is anything you could tell me that would cause me to not love you, even a little less." Steve assured her.
"When I was fifteen, I was raped." She started, trying to explain what had her so upset. Steve's body tensed, and his grip on her grew tighter, but he stayed respectfully silent, allowing her to speak. "Before you pull another, well, you- he's already dead. I had an uncle who was already in stage four cancer, he decided to just skip the judge and jury, and shot the guy himself. It was my dad's younger brother. He was a wonderful man. He died at home, 'waiting' on his court date, which kept being put off so he could be home. Small towns allow a little wiggle room like that." She said with a sad smile. "My uncle Beau."
"Sounds like an amazing man." Steve replied softly.
"He was." Jennifer nodded. "So anyway... Like I said, I was fifteen, and that had happened to me. I didn't- I couldn't make myself keep... My sister took me to- to- Steve..." She looked up at him, her large brown eyes completely flooded with tears. She looked absolutely broken. "I-" She stopped and broke into thick sobs, and Steve drew her close into his chest, gently stroking her hair. He knew exactly what she meant, and he wanted to let her know he still loved and supported her.
"Baby, I am so so sorry that happened to you." Steve whispered, his own voice cracking with pain. His heart ached for her, for the fact she'd faced this sort of trial and that she felt like he might think less of her for it. "I swear to you, Jennifer... I don't think of you any differently. Other than it only makes me want to protect you more. I'm glad you had someone to help you, baby. You are so, so damn strong. I cannot imagine having something so hard happen so young." He kissed the top of her head. "I love you so much."
"I love you, too." Jennifer croaked, pulling away just enough to wipe the tears from her face. "I should've told you all of that before, I think. I mean, I would've been devastated if you'd been disgusted with me, or you know, anything like that." She shivered and he pulled her closer, and tightened the blanket over her arms.
"What happened with that part was your business, and it is vile that it was something you had to face. I hate it so much, that you had to face it so young, or at all, even, but that is what doctors are for." He reminded her.
***
"You're wonderful." She sighed, nuzzling into his embrace deeper.
"No, you." He laughed, kissing her hair again.
They fell into a comfortable silence for a while, listening to the water gently moving with the breeze and the sound of crickets chirping in the nearby woods. Occasionally an owl would call out, or a bat would shriek, breaking the quiet and calm.
"Would it be selfish of me to ask you to not ever bring this up again, now that you know?" Jennifer ask, pulling away to look Steve in the eye.
"Not even a little. Consider it filed away." He said with a gentle smile. He reached out and stroked her face. "Are you okay?"
"Much better now." She sighed. "I had wanted to tell you for a long time, because you know... Not- Not that I'm rushin', darlin', but... you know, maybe one day..."
"You thinking about having my babies, Dr. Ford?" Steve ask with a mischievous wiggle to his eyebrows. Jennifer laughed and gave him a playful push.
"Maybe one day." She confessed.
"I've thought about that, too." Steve admitted. "More than once. I like that idea. One of these days."
"Sorry I wasn't there when you woke up." Jennifer apologized. "What did wake you up, anyway?"
"Oh!" Steve said, eyes wide all of a sudden. "Natasha called. And called, and called."
"Is she okay?!" Jennifer ask, alarmed.
"Yeah, no they're all fine." Steve waved her worry off. "She said she had a medical question that Bruce wasn't 'qualified' to answer and ask for you to call her back when I found you. Of course, that was over an hour ag-"
"Did you bring my phone with you?" Jennifer interrupted. Steve took the phone from his pocket and handed it over to her. Jennifer went to her recent calls and hit redial on Natasha's contact.
Natasha moaned as Bruce worked on her feet, his thumbs firmly pressing into her soles as he massaged the peppermint foot cream into her skin. She was so engrossed in the relaxation of the massage that she jumped when her phone rang and startled her.
"Took him a while to find her." Bruce chuckled. Natasha cut her eyes at him, and he laughed harder as she answered the phone.
"Hey doc! Sorry to call so late, but thank you for calling me back." She said cheerfully.
'Sorry it took so long to get back to you!' Jennifer apologized. 'Are you feeling okay? Bruce okay?'
"We're all great, I promise. I just... I need to ask you something super awkward, okay? I am pretty sure I know the answer, but you know how my big ole' worry wart is over here..." She looked down at Bruce where he was sitting at the foot of the bed, still rubbing her feet. He smiled back at her.
'Oh, alright. What's up?' Jennifer ask, almost humored. She had made a guess about the nature of the call.
"Hang on, I'm going to put you on speaker as proof, okay?" Natasha said, pulling the phone from her ear and activating speaker phone mode. "Can you still hear me?"
'Yes ma'am, whatcha need to know?' Jennifer ask. Bruce chuckled a little at the younger doctor's voice.
"That accent sure gets thicker when you're sleepy, Jen." He commented.
'Yeah, so I've been told.' She laughed in agreement.
"So anyway, I won't keep you since it's so late... or early, as Steve pointed out when he answered. But basically- I just need medical clearance. Or rather, given the last few days we've had- we both need medical clearance."
'For?' Jennifer pressed, not wanting to assume and be wrong.
"Sex, Dr. Ford." Natasha snorted. Bruce's face turned beet red and Natasha had to keep herself from laughing at his embarrassed reaction.
'Well, as your doctor, I say yes. To both. Except,' Jennifer paused, to yawn, before continuing. 'Bruce, try to keep your heartrate in the back of your mind. If needed, I'm sure Nat can keep a hand on your wrist or carotid. Don't let it run away, I've already been your life support system once this week.' She laughed, and Bruce gave a nervous chuckle.
"Yeah, agreed. Can do." Bruce confirmed.
'And just... Go slow. It's been a while, and pregnancy makes your pelvic floor super sensitive. But its actually very beneficial for pregnant women to experience orgasm. Otherwise, have fun! If anything weird happens- Don't hesitate to call me. Don't be embarrassed. I can only assume poor Bruce is as red as your hair right now.' Jennifer teased.
"Worse than that." Natasha laughed. "Good night, doc. Thanks again."
She hung up the phone and tossed it on her vanity beside her bed. She looked down at the scientist, who had just finished the massage on her slightly swollen feet. He smiled at her as he crawled off the foot of the bed, taking the lotion back to the en suite bathroom and washing his hands. He came back to find she'd shed her pajamas.
"Hey, you." She winked at him. He grinned and propped up on the bathroom door frame, taking the sight of her in. She'd stripped down to deep purple lace bra and panties. Bruce was nearly breathless at the sight of her, the changes to her body as she carried their children only making her that much more beautiful to him.
"You had this planned all evening, huh?" Bruce laughed.
"Maybe?" she purred, waving him over. Bruce crawled up on the bed, but simply propped up on an elbow and continued to look at her with a dreamy gaze.
"You're so beautiful." He sighed, stroking her hair.
"You're too clothed." She growled in reply, and Bruce laughed. She dove forward and began kissing him hungrily, but after a few moments, of wandering hands, he pulled away.
"Listen, Gorgeous," Bruce said, sitting up. "There is nothing in this world I want more than you, right now, in this moment."
"There is a very disappointing 'but' coming, isn't there?" Natasha groaned.
"Only for me." Bruce said, taking her hand in his. He placed her pointer and middle finger at his pulse point on his neck, and she could feel the rapid thumping of his heart, the rate well over a hundred beats per minute. Natasha looked close to tears.
"Bruce..." She said, her lower lip quivering. Bruce quickly pulled her to him and kissed the lip to steady her.
"I mean, it was the first thing she warned us about, baby." Bruce reminded her. "I know I just got here, but I'm really hoping to see these kids get here, and I honestly don't know what cardiac arrest would look like on me and Hulk. I am so sorry."
"Don't apologize!" Natasha exclaimed, tearing up. "I didn't mean to like... pressure you. I just... I missed you so damn much."
"Hey, shhh." Bruce soothed, kissing the tip of her nose. "I know. I missed you, too. And believe me, I want to make love to you so bad. That, actually, is part of the problem. You make my heart run away..." He laughed. "I mean, damn, Nat. My pulse started to elevate as soon as I saw you like this. Holy shit are you sexy..." He ran his fingers along her bare leg, up her hip, abdomen and up to her jawline, where he pulled her to him to kiss her again. "I always thought you were the most beautiful woman in the world, but damn. Seeing you carry my children..."
"Yeah?" She ask, grinning. "I was a little afraid you wouldn't be into the chub, to be honest. And it's only going to get worse." She laughed.
"I cannot wait." He sighed against her cheek before placing a kiss against it. "And I know your hormones have you so wound up right now. I would love to give you some relief."
"No." She said, laughing as she pulled away to gather her pajamas back up and pull them back on. She crawled back up the bed beside him.
"No?" He ask, looking at her with an eyebrow quirked up. "Why not?"
"As much as I love how gifted you're hands are, and as talented as being multilingual as made that tongue..." She laughed and winked, "I don't want to if you can't finish, too."
"Well, that is kind of precious, but also- Don't do that. Let me please you..." He said, wrapping her back in his arms as she snuggled in close.
"No, I really don't want to without you. I want our first time back together to really, really just... make love. Is that sappy?" She ask, her nose wrinkled at herself.
"God, I love you, Natasha." Bruce breathed. "That is just..."
"I love you, too, Doc." She replied.
"It isn't sappy, by the way." Bruce answered, as they snuggled down into the covers, and he reached over to turn out the light. "It is probably the sweetest thing I've ever heard."
"Mmm." Natasha hummed. "I am known for my romantic tendencies..." She joked, then winced.
"You okay?" Bruce ask, tone alarmed.
"I have to freaking pee." She groaned. "Gah, I cannot believe we're only halfway there."
"Aww, baby. Think of it more like- Woo! We're halfway there!" He reminded her. She rolled her eyes as she climbed down from the bed to head to the bathroom.
"Promise me, if we decide to do this again... You carry them." She joked as she entered the bathroom.
"Sure thing!" Bruce laughed, falling back into the pillows and closing his eyes. He took several deep breaths, willing his heart to calm down. By the time Natasha made it back to the bed, she found him sound asleep. She smiled and climbed back into bed, snuggling into his side where he instinctively wrapped his arm around her without waking.
Thank you all so much for reading! Be sure to follow!