A/N - Hello, hello! I'm in the middle of a whole week of family birthdays, but I can't keep away from this story for too long when it's getting to be so. much. fun. PracticallyAnAvenger - MUCH LOVE! We can't wait to see how you handle this one! Enjoy!

Chapter 123 - You And Me And Baby Makes Three!

Kate felt like, for the first time, Nate was able to breathe - and so, she was able to breathe. It had been almost a month and a half since James had been shot, and she had even been blowing off JJ despite the fact that they were on the same side in the quest to unmask SHIELD's machinations. Everything felt like it had come grinding to a halt when James got hurt, and now, slowly, they were all starting to come out of the fog of panic and try to remember what normal felt like.

It had come faAster for other people, obviously, but Kate loved Nate, and she couldn't stand to see him look so crushed. She knew how much he openly worshiped his big brother, and she knew that he would do literally anything in his power to help James. So she'd spent, what, five, six, seven weeks taking care of him? It had all blurred together; she'd lost track of time. It hadn't mattered, anyway. What mattered was making sure she had Nate's back so he didn't fall apart while he tried to be everything for James.

But she'd also been hit hard by what happened to James, especially because before he'd been shot, the last thing she'd done with him had been to argue with him when he was trying to keep her safe. She'd gotten so upset with him, and she didn't even have a good excuse.

Kate frowned as a thought occurred to her that, frankly, she had been ignoring for a while. It was unusual for her to miss a period here and there when there was so much stress from her job. She'd skipped two from the stress of everything that happened with Viper, and that in itself had screwed with her anxieties on a level she hadn't thought possible. And she just figured she was stressed.

But…

She went to her calendar and flipped through it, counting the weeks since her last period. She'd already been a little late when the shooting happened, so…

She swallowed hard. This… this was…

She sat down and scrunched her hand in her hair, staring at the calendar. Eleven weeks. That was how long it had been since her last period. And, god, if there was a reason for it beyond stress and if James had known, it would explain so much. Her head was spinning as she tried to pin down when, exactly, James had starting acting like an overprotective pain in the-

"I think I'm gonna throw up," she said out loud - which was of course horrible timing, because that was when her mom had let herself in without Kate hearing her. Kate had been keeping Nate going, but Natasha had been fueling Kate. So she was instantly worried when she heard Kate say that.

Too late, Kate registered her mom's presence, and she dropped the little planning calendar she had in her hands, tried to catch it, missed, and couldn't even try to play it off. "Gah!" She bent down and picked up the calendar, blushing with frustration. "Sorry. I just… hi. I didn't hear you coming."

"Clearly," Natasha replied with one eyebrow ever so lightly arched. This could quickly slip into an interrogation.

Kate gripped the calendar tighter until it bent slightly, and then she set it down. "It's okay. Probably a false alarm. So let's start with that and not panic, right? That's the smart thing to do here is not jump straight into assumptions."

"What exactly are we not jumping to conclusions over?" Natasha asked, keeping her expression and tone neutral.

"Oh. Well. Um." Kate took a deep breath and let it out. "It's just… and please, Mom, remember what I said about maybe this not even being a big deal because I've been stressed out and-"

"The more you talk like that, the more it sounds like something to be concerned over."

"Okay, you know what, that's fair. I'm sounding a lot like Dad and that's not a good sign, right? Dad says it's a tell. I'm trying to work on it. You're totally right."

"Spit it out, Katherine."

She winced and pulled her shoulders close to her ears. "I… skipped a period. Um. Twice."

"That's not usually how this works." She barely blinked. "Have you taken a test?"

Kate shook her head. "No, I … I just did the math. I just figured it was stress, right? It's got to be stress. I missed two after Viper. It's just stress. Nate can't - I don't want to tell him unless it's actually something to be worried about because he doesn't need anything else on his plate right now and - I mean, what if I get all worked up for nothing and that's not helping anybody, really-"

"Take a test," Natasha said. "Then you'll know if it's something to be concerned about."

"Right. Yeah. That makes sense." Kate took a deep breath and tried to get it together. "Sorry. You literally walked in right as I did the math. I'm still processing this."

"Does anyone else know? Or suspect?"

Kate bit her lip. "I can't be sure," she said slowly, "but I think James at least suspected. He was flat-out playing bodyguard in that last fight."

Natasha sighed, letting her shoulders drop. "Test. Now."

"Yes. Right." Kate got to her feet and scooted out of the living room, making a beeline for the bathroom. She had a couple tests because, well, she and Nate weren't idiots, and they knew birth control could fail, even if they were careful. And she'd always sort of figured the tests were for peace of mind; she'd never gotten a second line.

It took her a few tries to get the stupid wrapping off of the stick, because it was hard at the best of times. But even after she waited the few long minutes she was supposed to wait, she didn't actually want to see the test results either.

She peeked over and let her shoulders drop. "Okay," she said, nodding to herself a few times. "Okay, so… so this is happening now." But she didn't leave the bathroom for a few minutes, either, because she knew her mom was going to be furious - but in her quiet way, where Kate knew someone was going to get murdered and she didn't actually want that either.

She made her way to the living room, where Natasha was waiting on the couch. The groceries were already put away, and Natasha was watching every move Kate made. It looked like she already knew the answer.

Still, Kate tried her very best to spin this in a positive light. "So, ah, want to be my plus-one at the doctor's appointment? Can we go to Hank and make him swear not to tell anyone or is that wildly optimistic?"

Natasha took a calming breath. "He'll be discreet."

"Okay. Okay, that's good," Kate said. She took a deep breath to calm herself down too. "Mom… don't kill him, okay? You've known for a long time we've been having sex, and we're on birth control and everything, so we were safe, and-"

"I don't make promises I can't keep, and I don't plan to start doing so now."

"Yeah, but I don't want you to kill him," Kate said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"Let's just get you to see Hank," Natasha said.

Kate was wringing her hands the entire way to Hank's room. He wasn't even in his office, since it was the evening. But this felt like the kind of thing they needed to talk about in person. And Kate suspected her mom thought she would chicken out if they didn't start acting on it now.

Which was true. Kate wanted nothing more than to pretend nothing was wrong and go back to living her life. Which she knew wasn't a thing. Sooner or later, she was going to start showing.

And she still didn't know what she was going to tell Nate.

She hoped to god this was just a false alarm. If it was, she was going to tell him that. They could laugh about it and curl up with some popcorn and talk about a future when they would be ready. Because the whole marriage and kids things was totally in Kate's plans… long-term. Not short-term.

When Hank opened the door, Kate untwisted her hands long enough to wave and then went almost right back to twisting them. "Hey. Um. How - um - how likely is it that I got, like, a false positive on a pregnancy test? Tell me good numbers, Hank."

Hank raised an eyebrow and readjusted the glasses on the end of his nose. "Near zero." He cleared his throat as he watched Kate hold her breath. "That's not to say it is zero, but the liklihood of someone your age getting a false positive with the possible other outcomes is rather slim - and generally far more unwanted."

"Okay. So… second question." Kate was trying to hold it together, but she genuinely didn't even know what emotion she was feeling. It felt like all of them at once. "Can you tell me… y'know… when…?"

"My dear girl, I absolutely can. In my office. I'm not as adept as Logan was at estimating without the proper testing supplies." He smiled to himself, trying to lighten the situation a little. "It was stupidly frustrating."

"I actually didn't know he could do that," Kate admitted.

"No one could surprise him with that particular brand of news unless they simply hadn't approached him leading up to the discovery themselves."

"Huh." Kate bounced slightly on her toes. "So, um, listen, I haven't talked to Nate yet or anything-"

"Ah. Understood. As always, matters of privacy are of the utmost concern. You're secret is safe with me until the time you choose to share it."

"Thanks." Kate brushed underneath her eyes.

Hank took a moment to rest his hand on her shoulder and met her gaze. "Kate. You'll be wonderful. I'm sure of it."

She gave him a tight smile. "I'm really not ready for this, Hank."

"No one ever is. Even if they go into it thinking they are."

"Yeah, well, at least that's consistent." Kate took a deep, steadying breath. "We… um… we sort of talked about… it's not like I don't want to be a mom someday but I'm, like, eighteen and…" She swallowed. "This is crazy, right? This feels crazy."

"It's actually not that crazy," he promised. "A bit hurried, but not crazy." He couldn't help but tease Natasha. "Though most people can't wait until their seventies to start having children, it is a bit fast. But not uncommon."

Natasha smirked. Barely. "Not everyone has my patience."

"Yeah." Kate wrung her hands. "I… I'm still processing it. Maybe… let's… go to your office? I think I want to … I just…"

"Of course," Hank said.

Kate followed Hank down to his office, watching her hands while he got everything set up. Her mind was going a hundred miles a minute. On the one hand, this felt too fast. It was too early. There were too many other things going on. They weren't even married, and their families were old-fashioned.

But… this was actually what she wanted. And she genuinely didn't have any other plans for her life besides being an Avenger and having a family with Nate. Like, that was her whole life plan. So it wasn't like anything was stopping her, either.

And it could be fun, right? Totally hard and exhausting and frustrating - she'd seen her parents with their kids and knew that part. But it was an adventure.

But on the other hand, she knew Nate's family's hangups about teams and kids…

At some point, Hank was ready for her, but she didn't register that fact until he put a hand on her shoulder and she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Sorry, sorry. Just got a lot on my mind," she said quickly.

"Yes, I'm very sure you do," Hank said warmly. "I'll give you some things to read - what you should be aware of, vitamins to take - all of that. But after we give you a few tests that are more specific than yes or no."

"Yeah, if you could give me a date range, that would be nice," Kate agreed. "Because I kind of did some math, but my whole brain is a cotton ball, so who knows what my math skills are like."

"This kind of math is particularly stupid," Hank assured her before he simply got started with everything she needed to know - and everything he needed to know to advise her properly.

Kate was in a little bit of a daze, though she did pay attention to the ultrasound that would give them a better idea of the date - just in case she had skipped a period from stress somewhere in there. But, no, she was very pregnant. Heartbeat, little features, the whole nine. According to Hank, in a few days, she'd be in her second trimester.

He wrote "March 6" on the printout he gave her, which she clutched to her chest for a long time. Then, she launched herself at Hank and wrapped her arms around his neck in a deep, long hug. "This is… a lot," she said, hiding her face in his fur.

"Yes, but you'll make it work in your favor, I'm sure."

"Yeah, you know me," she agreed, though she stayed in the hug for a long time. Then, finally, she turned toward her mom. "So, ah… now what?"

"Now, I'll reserve my judgment until I see what his reaction is."

"Thanks, Mom. That definitely makes me feel better." She wiped her eyes again and swallowed hard. "I… I just want to go home and sleep. Can I do that?"

"Yes, you probably should," Natasha answered in a more warm tone.

"And then… and then we should tell Dad," Kate said. "But after I don't feel like I'm drowning, okay?"

"Oh, he'll likely figure it out before you tell him," Natasha said.

"Just let me tell him myself. In the morning. Over coffee."

"I didn't say I was going to tell him," Natasha said. "I said he'd figure it out himself."

"Hide your plans to kill Nate," Kate couldn't help but tease.

Natasha scoffed. "As if I'd write any of that down."

"Love you too, Mom," Kate said before she practically buried herself in a hug with Natasha.

Kate put the picture from Hank's office in the back of her drawer and then paced in her room for what had to have been half an hour as she tried to figure out what she'd even say. She was still in shock. She and Nate had been so careful. She was on the pill and everything, and - and she wasn't sure she was ready for this. She'd just started being an independent adult and now this?

Finally, after her thoughts had circled around from panic to excitement to horror to terror back to panic again, she sat down on the edge of her bed and watched her feet as she kicked them back and forth a few times. She and Nate were supposed to go on a date that night, and she couldn't just cancel, because her Mom knew now, and - and-

Yeah, this was bad.

She got up and went to the dresser again to pull out the ultrasound picture. She didn't feel pregnant, but there was the proof, looking like a little person in there. Hank said she was about twelve weeks in… that was so fast. And there was a little person in there.

She stared at the picture for a long time, at the outline of the head and - and the notations on the bottom of the picture about due date and oh Lord, she had a due date. She had six months to figure out how the futz she was going to do this, and she wasn't anywhere near ready for it.

A knock on the door caught her attention, and she shoved the picture back into her drawer, slammed it shut, and rushed over to let Nate in, her voice higher-pitched than usual as she brushed her hair back. "Oh, hi!"

"Hi," Nate answered. "Are you alright? You sound a little … tense."

"Oh, I am super stressed, but that's a whole thing," Kate said, her eyes wide as she nodded along to every word she said.

"Okay…. So … is this a super stressed don't want to go anywhere or a super stressed lets get out right now?"

"Let's get out right now," Kate agreed, taking his arm. "Please, oh please."

"You know all you have to do is say so," Nate promised with a crooked smile as he offered her his arm, and Kate hung onto him tightly as they headed out - in inducers, as usual - to her favorite Korean barbeque place.

Kate traced her fingers over the menu several times, trying hard to keep Nate out of her head when all she could think about looking at the food was "Okay, which ones am I allowed to eat again?" and "Something about seafood?" and "Was there something about… I don't even remember what the list said!"

She decided to get whatever she felt like, and she'd just be careful… not to let Nate know… except… he needed to know…

This was going to give her a headache, she was sure.

And he was looking at her weird, so …

"Are you even hungry for this stuff?" Nate asked, frowning a little deeper than just dinner conversation would have been.

Kate glanced up and cleared her throat. "Yeah, um. So. Yeah, I just… am stressed. And, um, Hank said I need more iron or I'll be wrecked, so… this is good, I think. Yeah."

Nate raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing all of it. "O… kay… is that all?"

"Well, he's, um, you know, worried about some… health...stuff…" Kate twisted her hair around her finger a few times.

Nate had propped his chin on one hand as she faltered. "For as stressed as you are, this feels more like an ice cream conversation."

"Maybe, yeah," she agreed, glad for the excuse to postpone - and glad that Nate fell into easy, relaxed conversation about how things were going with their friends, plus some updates on how Kamala and her friends were doing in training.

It was enjoyable, the kind of date that she loved going on, and she almost forgot that she was carrying around a whole extra person by the time they went to ice cream. Except she didn't, because that wasn't something she could forget.

"To go?" Nate suggested quietly.

"Yeah," Kate said. "Back to my place?"

"If that's what you want to do," Nate agreed. "You're making the calls, gorgeous."

She smiled at the nickname and took his arm again, though she barely thought about anything but what she was going to say to him as they headed back. And even then, the ice cream was gone by the time they reached her room, so she didn't have anything left to hide behind.

So, she sat down with him and laid her head on his shoulder, curling up into his side as she'd been doing for a while now.

She was starting to get tense again, and out of nowhere, Nate shifted and got up. "I'll take care of your trash if you're done," he offered, looking like he usually did when he was running little errands like that.

"Thanks," she said, automatically handing him her wrapper.

Nate smiled as he took it, then zipped off to the next room over, though he was slow getting back to her. When he did come back though, he looked like he wasn't sure of where he was going for a moment. Then, he redirected to Kate's side of the bed, drew in a deep breath with a crooked smile and then got down on one knee. "So…I think it's time to go there. It's been … crazy lately, but … Katie, even though this is earlier than we talked about, would you consider marrying me?" He had the ring box in his hand, though he hadn't opened it, instead waiting for her to react at all first.

Kate stared at him for a long time, her lips barely parted, shaking her head in pure disbelief without fully realizing she was doing it. "Oh, God, Nate. Do you know?"

"I … know I'm waiting for an answer," Nate countered carefully. "I mean, if you want to look at it first before you decide, that's fine… sure."

"I don't care about the ring, and I wouldn't if this was- this isn't-"

"Well damn."

She shook her head. "It's not that - I mean I'm not shallow enough to say no for a ring, you jock."

"Okay," Nate said slowly, though he had lost some of the smile.

"Tell me the truth, Nate. Do you know?" she said, outright ignoring the box in his hand to meet his gaze.

"For the record," Nate said. "I had brought this with tonight for a reason. I didn't know anything until you were panic-projecting. This was my plan anyhow, so I was trying to be tactful and not … nevermind."

Kate shook her head, one hand over her mouth. "It's just… it's just a lot, Nate," she said through her fingers. "It's a lot all at once, and we're still teenagers."

"Yeah, okay. That's fine. Whatever you want."

Kate let her shoulders fall when she heard his tone and then slid down to join him where he was still kneeling. "I do love you, though," she said. "Just so you know. So we're clear. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, sure. I know. And I know you're upset, so … I'm sorry?" Nate shrugged one shoulder up. "I don't know what you need to hear from me. Or what you want to hear from me."

"I don't know either," Kate admitted. "This is all… it's all kind of terrifying," she admitted, finally finding words now that she didn't have to tell him. "I mean, there's a whole person in there. Right now. A whole person."

He took a chance and kissed her cheek. "So tell me what I can do."

She let out a breath and leaned into him. "I don't know," she said. "I've never done this before."

"Yeah, I think I would have noticed if you had," Nate teased.

She smirked and let out a chuff of a laugh. "No kidding," she agreed. She rearranged herself so she was curled into him better and then kissed his cheek in return, echoing his attempt to calm her. "I don't know. I just - I don't know. I wish I did, but I don't."

"It's alright, Katie. I didn't mean to pressure you."

She nodded, though for some reason, she was starting to tear up. "It's just a lot," she whispered.

"I know. It's okay. It'll be okay. I'll do whatever you want me to - whatever you need."

She nodded again, fruitlessly wiping her eyes. "Maybe… maybe ask me again after this is over, okay? I can't - I can't handle one more big thing or I'm gonna lose it, Nate, I swear I am."

"How about I leave it open and if and when you decide you want to, you can wear the ring whenever you're ready. And if you don't want to, that's okay, too."

Kate sniffled but nodded. "Okay, yeah. Yeah, that would work." With that, she simply leaned into him a little more, though they did end up curling up on her bed instead when the floor got uncomfortable.

Eventually, Nate did head back home, since neither of them were particularly in the mood to say or do much of anything, both of them still reeling in their own ways because of how that had gone down. Kate did kiss him goodbye, but once he was out the door, she curled up in bed again with the blankets up to her ears - and Nate drove back to Westchester in a daze.

Kate curled up in a ball and was so caught up in her own head that she honestly didn't notice her phone going off - until Billy teleported in looking concerned and immediately rushed over to where she was.

"Kate!" Billy said, still looking like the rug had been pulled out from under him. "What is even happening? You haven't answered anyone's texts; you ignored the Summers Support Group chat…. What is even happening?"

Kate sat up and tried to wipe her face, but it wasn't doing any good. "Oh, hi, Billy," she said with her best attempt at a smile.

"That's all I get? 'Hi, Billy'? What … did you two break up?"

"No," Kate said quickly, then hedged. "I don't think so?"

"How do you not know?"

"He… there was… Billy, it's… complicated…"

Billy made his way over to sit down with her. "So uncomplicate it for me."

Kate sighed and leaned on his shoulder. "So, um, that's not really possible," she said.

"Fine. What has gotten so complicated? I thought you were madly in love with your not so superior Summers."

"I am," Kate said. "I'm just not ready to, you know, rush off into domestic bliss and be barefoot and pregnant or whatever," she muttered.

"Who said you had to?" Billy asked with his nose scrunched up. "That doesn't sound like him - not when he's staring in awe at you every chance he gets while you're sticking baddies with arrows."

"Well, no, he didn't say anything like that. I'm just… freaking out."

"Because what? You just realized he's hopelessly in love with you? Kate."

She sighed and picked her head up. "He proposed, Billy."

"How is that a bad thing? I wouldn't mind a proposal."

"Yeah, well, your guy didn't bring a ring to a pregnancy announcement," Kate muttered, looking away so she didn't have to see Billy's reaction.

Billy paused at that. "Wait, what?" he said, then tipped his head to try and catch her gaze. "You did a what now? Who … what?"

"You heard me," Kate said, still avoiding his gaze, biting her lip because she was emotional again and she hated it.

Billy sat back and let it process for a long moment. "Are you sure?"

"Hank confirmed it today," Kate whispered softly.

"And it's you."

"Billy, I had jelly on my stomach. There's a whole futzing person in there with a head and hands and everything."

"A whole futzing Summers."

"Yeah, I know." Finally, Kate picked her head up to look at him. "And I love Nate and all, but I literally can't deal with even thinking about anything that big because I still can't wrap my head around this."

"Okay, so I guess that's an alright reason to ignore us for a minute," Billy said as he pulled her into a better snuggle.

"Yeah." She fell silent for a long time before she spoke up again. "I always figured we'd get here, it's just… so fast and too soon and a lot."

"So … the Summers has rubbed off," Billy said slowly. "You're upset that your plans aren't going to itinerary … and you didn't make enough plans to back up your plans in case of deviation … from the plan." He turned his head toward her. "You lettered your plan instead of numbering it, didn't you?"

Kate laughed and shoved his shoulder lightly. "No, I'm upset because I wasn't ready."

"Well what do you need to be ready?" Billy asked. "And you can't say time, because I can't fiddle with that without making a big mess."

"I don't know," Kate said. "I've - I mean, I helped Mom and Dad with my siblings, and Dad's pretty much always teasing Mom that since she's still so young, they can keep going, so it's not like I don't know what to do with a baby? I just don't know what to do with one inside me, Billy. It's freaking me out thinking about it!"

"Obviously give it a few months and start evicting," Billy teased. "Don't think about it too much. You have other things to think about."

"Like what? The fact that my dad's going to turn into an overprotective mess?"

"Oh, he's not an overprotective mess?" Billy challenged. "Here ... " he took the time to concentrate hard, doing his best to keep his spell non-verbal, though he ended up covering his mouth so Kate couldn't catch it right anyhow. And in no time, there was a perfectly wrapped purple gift box. "I'm going to guess I'm the first to congratulate you, because even though it's a lot, you're going to be amazing."

Kate shook her head at him and then pulled him into a hug. "Love you too," she said - though when she tore open the box, she just started to laugh, because inside was a perfect replica of her uniform - but as a onesie set of jammies. And for good measure, there was a replica of her dad's, just so either Hawkeye style was represented. "Nice, Billy," she said, still grinning.

"See? It'll be okay. Just … I don't know. Go one step at a time. You can talk to my mom if your mom loses it. My mom loves little kids and babies. It's ridiculous."

"My mom already said the only reason Nate is still alive is that she likes Scott too much to give him a heart attack," Kate said, and Billy laughed.

"Sounds like her."

Kate smiled and leaned on him again. "Thanks, Billy. You're a good friend."

Billy wrapped her up in another hug. "Love you too."

Now that James was starting to act more like himself and at least remembered on his own who he was and who the others were, Scott was trying to help him along without making it feel like a chore - and that ended up being a game night between the two of them.

What had started as friendly ribbing had escalated once they'd gotten into arm wrestling, and while they'd been low-key teasing each other over that, Scott had off-handedly mentioned that Annie had been wiping the floor with some of the older X-Men in board games…

Those were good for mental exercise, too.

So, between Annie's stash of board games, a ton of junk food, and the occasional thumb war, the two of them had honestly been having a good time.

Which made it that much more concerning when Nate walked in, looking dazed. He looked at the two of them and then shook his head, deciding he didn't want to interrupt what looked like a good thing for James. He was glad to see it. He was. He'd been hoping for more progress like that. But he just didn't have it in him to do anything but try to walk past them, going around James's side because he figured James wouldn't try to stop him like Scott would.

"Hey," James said, and reached out to get a hold of Nate's arm before he got to his feet. He didn't say anything more for a long moment as he frowned, taking a few seconds to process the scents and Nate's demeanor before he took a hold of his arm again and pulled him over to very carefully wrap him up in a bear hug - and held on to him.

Of course, as soon as that happened, Nate latched right on, practically burying himself in the hug, since it had been way too long since he'd felt like he had his big brother. He couldn't find the words to explain his situation, but having James there meant the world.

"What happened?" James asked, whisper quiet just for Nate.

Nate tried. He really did. This was the most James had felt like James, and Nate wanted to rise to the moment. But what happened instead was that he just kept hanging onto James tighter and shook his head with a muttered, "She just…" that didn't explain anything at all.

"Okay, you wanna go out on the dock?" James asked.

Nate nodded. "Yeah." He stepped back and let James lead the way, still feeling numb. He could see Scott watching the two of them, but it was plainly apparent that Scott didn't want to get in the middle of their moment either, not when James was the one reaching out to help. Still, Nate knew the look his dad was wearing and knew they were going to have a talk when this was settled.

He'd kind of expected that, though. Even if things had gone well, he'd have needed to tell his dad. This was just… well, Kate was right when she said it was "a lot."

The two of them sat down at the end of the dock, feet dangling over the dark water as the sounds of frogs and insects rose up quietly. James didn't push, wanting to give Nate a chance to breathe, to find his voice a little, and to decide for himself which direction this was going to take. He knew that he hated it when someone else would tell him how it was going to be discussed - whatever it was. Especially when he was overwhelmed. And Nate was definitely overwhelmed. But finally, when it was clear Nate was still in shock, James tried a different angle to open discussions. "So … I am very sure Dad doesn't want me to drive anywhere, but … if you're game, the Jeep is here, and when we crash, no one will be surprised."

Nate almost couldn't help but snort a quiet laugh at that approach, and he grinned and shook his head. "Yeah, we probably shouldn't give Dad a heart attack like that," he laughed.

"I'll even tell them I did it …" James said with a crooked smirk.

Nate leaned back, smirking in response and shaking his head. "No, but I appreciate the offer," he said. He took a deep breath and let it out. "So. Um. You probably already… I mean, maybe you've picked it up when she's visited… but… Kate's pregnant."

"Oh. That."

"Yeeeeaah." Nate drew the word out and looked out toward the water.

"Sorry, it took me a while to put together what it was, and I might be an idiot, but I know blurting that out would be wrong."

"Yeah, not your fault," Nate promised. "She's just freaking out at the whole idea, you know?"

"Totally understandable."

"Right, obviously. It's just…" Nate winced as he prepared to tell him the rest. "I … proposed."

"From your elation, I'm guessing she said no," James said dryly.

"Yeah, good guess," Nate said just as dryly. He blew his breath out from his cheeks.

"She's in shock, too," James said, then tapped the side of his nose.

"Yeah, she… said something to that effect. More or less."

"It's thick enough it's still clinging to you, so I'm going to guess you totally backed off?"

Nate swallowed, not entirely sure how to classify what had happened. "I… well, I told her I'd do whatever she wanted me to do. And she freaked out at the proposal, so I just… kind of… gave her the ring. So she could be in control, I guess? I was trying to say it's on her timetable?" He sighed and dropped his head in his hands. "I screwed up, James."

James reached over to rest a hand on Nate's shoulder. "No, I don't … there probably isn't a right way to approach a spazzing out Hawkeye."

"Probably not," Nate agreed without picking his head up.

James gave him a few moments as he figured out how to move them both forward. "So … what's plan two?"

Nate shrugged. "I mean, the ball's in her court now, isn't it?"

"Yeah … but … be irresistible."

Nate picked his head up, smirking in spite of himself. "I am?" he laughed.

"You wish."

It was such a James response that Nate couldn't help but grin, even though he was the target of the teasing. "Yeah, yeah," he said, still smiling.

"I just mean …" James tipped his head slightly. "Be more irresistible. Baseline ain't gonna cut it."

"Yeah." Nate sat up a bit straighter. "I'm gonna give her a little space first, you know? She's still freaking out. I mean… it was bad."

"Put yourself in her shoes," James said. "And look in the mirror. Anyone with half a brain would be terrified of your giant head."

"Ha ha," Nate said dryly, bumping James's shoulder with his.

"Pour on the charm, little brother. Concentrated Summers. Be adorable and attentive, lay it on thick, but don't expect a thing back from it. That's what you want to do, I'm sure. And that will remind her of why she was stupid enough to fall for you."

"You know, you were doing so well until that last bit," Nate teased him.

"Brain damage."

"Oh, sure, use that old excuse." Nate laughed and then, unexpectedly to James, just grabbed his big brother into a hug. "Thank you. I needed to break out of my head."

James wrapped him up tightly in response. "I can pull you into the lake if you still need help." And he even went so far as to start leaning forward, threatening to do exactly that.

Nate laughed and held onto James tighter to offset his leaning. "No, no, I'm good." He grinned and let go, then rubbed a hand down his face to reset himself. "So. Right. The plan is to give her time to get her feet under her again and then just… be there for her. For everything."

"Charm the shit out of her."

Nate laughed. "Yeah, that, too."

"You might need lessons from Rachel," James said as they got to their feet, slightly off balance at the upward rush.

"I think I'll manage," Nate said, automatically moving to put his arm around James as they turned to go inside. "Any tips on how to keep Dad out of a heart attack range when I tell him Kate's pregnant? You've had good advice so far."

James sighed as he thought it over. "He can't possibly be that surprised. He can't."

"I mean…" Nate bit his lip. "I think part of why Kate's freaking out so hard is she's been picking up so much slack while everyone else has been having five-alarm fires all over the place, you know? Dad's been talking with Wanda and trying to help Annie get used to Westchester and plan a wedding and all that, you know?"

"So we'll take some stuff off her back," James said. "She doesn't need to push herself that hard. I'll … figure something out. Make it a little easier for her. Any way I can."

"Yeah, me too," Nate agreed as they got inside - where Scott was, in fact, waiting to see what the story was, one eyebrow raised as he took in the sight of the two of them.

"He was going to throw me in the lake," James said - just to get Nate to laugh.

Nate laughed, as expected, and lightly shoved James in the shoulder - but not enough to send him reeling when he was cheating with telekinesis. "Snitch!"

"I was going to take you with me," James said. Which, was incredibly believable with the way the boys had always roughhoused. "Not the first time. Pretty sure."

"Definitely not," Nate agreed, then looked toward Scott, who was still watching both of them closely - though he was smiling at that point because it was great to see the two of them getting back to normal together. "Hey, Dad. So, um… how do you feel about being a grandfather? Like… soon?"

Whatever Scott had been expecting to hear, a pregnancy wasn't very high on the list - though, to his credit, it had been in the back of his mind since the Fourth of July; he just hadn't had time to think about it with everything else that had been going on lately.

"He's so happy he can't talk," James said in the space of stunned silence from Scott. "Awwww."

"Of course he is," Annie said from where she had been in the doorway with a fresh bowl of popcorn for the game night. She was grinning widely as she watched the three Summers men teasing each other back and forth. This was much more like the family she had been excited to marry into. "He's a family man through and through; who wouldn't be happy?"

Something about the way Annie emphasized the word "wouldn't" prompted Scott to clear his throat. "Right," he said, though he was having a hard time deciding what to address first: the pregnancy or Nate's reaction to it.

"So are you going to have them call you 'grandpa' or 'pappy', what with all the Southern flair around here?" James asked, since he knew for sure Nate was in need of the bolstering.

Scott shook his head. "We'll talk about that later," he said, focusing on Nate. "You alright?" he asked.

Nate nodded.

"Is Kate alright?"

Nate nodded again, though he added, wincing, "She's still… in shock, really."

"No kidding. You're both eighteen," Scott said, shaking his head and running his hand through his hair. "I thought you were being careful!"

"We were!" Nate shot back. "I swear, we were."

James stepped around Scott to stand next to Annie to watch, looking toward the ceiling as he tried to work out a little math in his head, then leaned toward Annie to corroborate the numbers just so Scott had a whispered background of discussed failure percentage rates, even when everything was perfect. And Annie was sure to add to their whispered discussion a case or two she knew of personally that this had happened to - with near perfect care.

"And what's the plan now?" Scott asked, gesturing broadly with both hands. "You're past the shock, and now-"

"I proposed, Dad," Nate cut in, which got Scott to fall back into stunned silence. And when Scott wasn't pressing for more information, Nate explained, "She's not ready for anything like that right now. She's barely processing the fact that she is pregnant. Right now, I just need to be there for her. We'll talk plans when she's ready, okay?"

Scott searched Nate's expression for a good long time before he finally let his shoulders drop and then stepped forward to pull Nate into a hug. "You'll be great," he promised, pulling Nate tighter. "That kid will be so lucky to have you both."

"Thanks, Dad," Nate whispered, latching on hard to the hug. He needed his dad there, and he hadn't realized how badly until he was hugging him.

It took a minute, but finally, Scott stepped back - just in time to see James handing a twenty dollar bill to Annie. "Really?" he said dryly, and Annie just blinked at him in perfect innocence.

"What are you talking about?" James asked, keeping a more straight face than he ever had before.

"This has nothing to do with you," Annie agreed, her grin turning crooked. "Go hug your son again; he needs it."

Scott honestly couldn't figure out how to react to the two of them being in cahoots, especially because he could clearly see that Annie was thrilled to bits to be bonding with James like that. She'd wanted so badly to get to know him more and to feel like part of the family, and there she was, conspiring.

How was it that everyone that came into his family managed to so quickly learn how to tease him?

He shook his head, smirking to himself, before he put his arm around Nate's shoulders and pulled him deeper into the boathouse. "We've got a pretty competitive game of Boggle going…" he said. "James keeps throwing in engineering terms neither of us knows, but Annie has some older English words no one uses anymore."

Engineering terms? Nate projected to James, already suspicious.

Totally fake, James projected back, though he kept a flat expression. Waiting for them to catch on. Getting more ridiculous as we go.

Might take a minute, considering Dad's so thrilled you're acting like yourself that he's willfully blind, Nate teased.

Yeah, well, apparently if I eat like a pig and sleep for a week, things start to fix themselves. Weird.

Yeah, weird. Nate grinned and sat down at the game table between his dad and James. "Okay, so, definitely can't cheat and steal James's new words, right?" he teased.

"Just because they don't know them doesn't make them new," James said evenly, then waved one hand lightly. "I already told him to go ahead and look them up if he doesn't trust me."

"I think I might," Annie teased as she started to shake the box to get the letters settled.

"Go for it," James said, though that had Nate smiling wider because it was getting hard to see when James was lying.

Yeah, this was going to be fun.