Well hello there!
Here I am, back again because of those two (or should I say, three now?). I've thought about this little thing for quite a while now, and I couldn't prevent myself from writing it.
This work follows "And a Very Happy 30-ish(?) Birthday".
Cyan, thank you for always supporting me through my ideas, and for making this headcanon become totally canon in my mind with our endless conversations since the finale. you're amazing, and I'm so grateful for you. if agents of shield and season 7 has brought one amazing think to my life, it has to be the holy church, and consequently our crazy headcanons.
As always, English isn't my first language, and I am too lazy to beta read myself correctly (sorry!). I'm so sorry for all the eventual grammar mistakes!
let me know what you think about this little thing, who knows, I'll maybe write a little more? xx
"LEOPOLD JAMES FITZ!"
The sound of his wife calling his name had Fitz flush from head to toes, freezing in his tracks at the entrance of his daughter's room. In his arms, Alya looked up at him with a puzzled look, and he immediately kissed the tip of her round little nose.
"Mama's mad at daddy for something" he whispered, throwing a look from above his shoulder to make sure he hadn't been overheard. No need to make the situation worse than it already; apparently, was. But an entire corridor and stairs separated him from the entrance of the room, and he found that he was safe for now.
His four years old giggled at that, leaning her head to the side as he put her down and back on her feet. "Why?" she asked, as she very often did these days.
Alya was as bright and curious as both her parents, and she was also her pride and joy. She always made sure that her parents were busy enough with her, her young and curious mind never satisfied enough by the knowledge she found at school and always asking for more the moment she walked through the door. Her never ending energy from the moment she'd taken her first step in a spaceship somewhere in a galaxy far far away, as Fitz liked to put it, was something they quite didn't grow accustomed with yet.
Which was why they'd both been amazed —and a little frightened, if they admitted themselves— when Jemma had surprised Fitz with a special birthday present not so long ago. They hadn't been quite prepared (nor ready, really) for a second child in their lives, but they'd been delighted just the same by the news. Their joy had been nothing compared to Alya's though, and both Fitz and Jemma had watched her run around the house in glee when she'd learned that she was going to be a big sister. She'd told them the following day that her friend Jessie was extremely jealous, something that seemed to delight her.
Earlier in the day, Jemma and Fitz's mum had gone to see the midwife and get a glimpse at the baby for the very first time, since Fitz had a conference to give —and no matter how hard he had tried, he just hadn't been able to move it— and couldn't go with her. A couple of months after moving in, Fitz and Jemma had agreed on looking for part-time jobs, something that would allow them to stay at home most of the time but would also allow Alya to get used to the idea of not having them around all the time. It was a difficult thing to process for her, just as much as it was for them really, but it eventually worked out just fine. Fitz had found a teaching job at the nearby college that allowed him to be home most of the time, apart from two afternoons a week, and Jemma still occasionally worked with Daisy and the "Astro Ambassadors", as both Daniel and Alya liked to call them. Fitz's mind however, didn't stay unnoticed for long, and soon enough he was asked to hold various conferences; one of which ended up taking place during his wife's first ultrasound.
So he'd had to pass on the first doctor's appointment, and had used the opportunity to pick up Alya from kindergarten on the way home. Which found them waiting for Jemma and Margaret to come home while playing Alya's favorite game, the space cowboys. Even after a year on earth, she hadn't quite moved on from her space fascination, something that didn't surprise either of her parents in the slightest. It had after all been a huge part of her childhood, and all the wonders of Earth couldn't quite compare with the galaxy to her little eyes.
Just as Fitz wondered for the tenth time in a few seconds if it was really worth coming downstairs considering his wife's anger, his mother appeared in the doorway and crossed the room to crouch down next to Alya.
"Hey there, wee thing" she whispered, the little girl throwing herself at her with a shriek as she always did when she saw her grandmother. Probably because of the endless sugary sweets she provided, Fitz thought. From the moment Margaret had learned that she was a grandmother, there had been countless tears (and a few curse words Fitz didn't believe she'd uttered out in front of his child ), and his mum had been more than happy to be a regular part of their lives as they'd moved to Perthshire a little over a year before. "You and I are gonna play together, while mama and daddy talk, alright?"
Fitz felt his stomach clench in an unpleasant knot.
"Is everything okay?" He asked immediately, worry taking over fear. "Is something wrong with the baby?"
But when his mum looked up at him, there was no trace of fear in her eyes. Instead, she looked quite amused with the situation. "You should go see Jemma" she said, her secretive smile never faltering. "This promises to be interesting."
Confused, if not a little worried still, Fitz immediately hurried downstairs. He found his wife pacing in front of their couch, brows creased together in frustration.
"You" she said as soon she saw him, her arms crossed over her chest. "Have some serious explaining to do."
Her swollen belly seemed even bigger as she stood like this, and Fitz was struck by how beautiful she looked when she was pregnant. He'd almost forgotten, in four years. She was glowing, and his belly fluttered with how lucky he was to be the one who'd married such a wonderful person. But now was definitely not the time to point it out.
"Is everything okay?" he asked instead, unable to shake the worry sitting heavy at the bottom of his stomach. "With you, and the baby?"
"Oh everything is fine, Leo" Jemma said through gritted teeth, and Fitz realized with a start that he was in deep . No matter what he'd done, he was probably sleeping on the couch tonight. The use of "Leo" never failed to make him shiver unpleasantly from head to toes, and this time was no exception. "In a matter of fact, the babies are doing amazingly well!"
Fitz slowly exhaled in relief. "Well, that's amaz— Wait, what?"
The look of pure anger Jemma threw him told him that no, he hadn't misheard her. His heart suddenly felt like it was trying to leap out of his chest, and he had to sit down on the couch heavily when he felt himself get a little dizzy. Spots danced in front of his eyes as he stared at the few toys Alya had left lying around the living-room.
"Oh no no no" Jemma said, planting herself in front of him."You don't get to faint now."
"I just need a few seconds to process the information!"
"Well maybe I could have had time to process the information as well, you know, if you'd told me that you had sets of twins on your mother's side!"
It took Fitz a minute to process what she was talking about. He'd never had any real knowledge of his family, but now that he focused a little more, he did remember his mum talking about twin brothers and sisters in her cousin's family.
"How was I supposed to know that we'd get twins though!" he gasped, "I didn't even think you'd get pregnant again, especially so soon!"
Jemma's eyebrow twitched. "Well, that's what happens when you say ' don't worry Jem, don't take the pill again so soon, I'll pull out ' but you get too overwhelmed to actually do it."
Fitz felt his cheeks heat up immediately. "Could we maybe talk about this when my mother is not in the house?"
"I'm pregnant with twins, Leo . I think she knows how babies are made." Jemma bit back.
"Also," Fitz kept going stubbornly "I forgot to pull out one bloody time. It's not like I knew this one single time would get you pregnant, especially not with twins! It's not like the cosmos has been on our side for most of our couple life, I didn't think he'd actually come back to bite us in the arse like tha'!"
Jemma threw her hands up in frustration, and Fitz had the presence of mind not to blurt out how gorgeous she looked at the moment. Jemma was always beautiful to his eyes, but she always did look even more breathtaking when she was upset, her cheeks flushed pink and eyes shining with anger. Which was not something he'd admit to anyone, ever. He valued his life enough, thank you very much. Eventually though, after watching Jemma walk back and forth in front of the couch one more time, he sighed and stopped her pacing with a hand against her lower belly.
"Listen, Jemma. I'm sorry I never told you about the twins in my family, because I genuinely forgot about them. I'm also sorry we didn't plan for this baby… or these babies, in the first place." Fitz ran a hand down his face, "But I'm not sorry for the outcome. I have actually no idea how we'll handle two more Fitzsimmons in this house when we already feel outnumbered enough with one as it is, but… if there's one thing I know, it's that I'll never regret having children with you."
With a heavy sigh, Jemma sat down on the couch next to him, chasing his hand with hers immediately. "I know" she whispered, her voice breaking. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm just so scared." She swallowed heavily, her free hand coming up to cradle her belly. "I feel like I wasn't prepared for another baby so soon already, but two?"
Fitz framed her face with the hand that wasn't currently holding hers, turning his head to push a small kiss against her forehead.
"We'll work it out," he said eventually. "We always do. Remember the alien virus? And Hydra? And the bloody time loop? Or even the damn Chronicoms, and a whole new timeline?"
Jemma chuckled wetly. "Yeah, well. Weirdly, two more tiny us running around the place sound way more frightening than any of this."
"Well" Fitz whispered back, wrinkling his nose. "You're not wrong."
They stayed like this for a little while, embracing each other silently. Fitz moved his hands from her cheek to her belly, caressing it slowly as he lost himself in his thoughts. When it was true that they hadn't planned another baby (let alone two), he couldn't have suppressed his happiness when Jemma had presented him with the positive tests. Alya had been an accident, neither of them thinking about condoms when they'd landed from Izel's ship and found themselves alone for a couple of hours before the welcome home party their friends had thrown. Jemma still had her IUD back then, but a year in space and various time jumps had deregulated her efficiency almost entirely. Something they'd found out when they were already deep in space with Enoch, and working tirelessly to save their friends —and the world.
After saving SHIELD once more and reuniting with Alya, working with Daisy to put her in the system officially, the following months had been a mess of administrative papers and signed deals until they officially settled down in Jemma's dream cottage. Then came the rest, including signing Alya up for school after making sure she was ready for it, thinking about finding a part time job and eventually finding said job, and they hadn't really given a thought to Jemma's now nonexistent contraception method. Something that was most definitely coming to bite them in the ass now.
"For two scientists, we sure don't know how to handle birth control" Jemma eventually said, shifting a little to rest her legs on Fitz's lap.
It startled a laugh out of Fitz's throat. "That's true" he said, humming against her temple. "But I think we did alright, didn't we? Especially given the circumstances. Alya's amazing."
"She is. Even though she's probably going to be a lot to handle when she grows up."
Alya definitely had her temper, something that was equally amazing and frustrating. Amazing because Fitz had often wondered how Alya would grow accustomed to Earth and most importantly other people, how she would handle authority and other children, but also frustrating because she shared more of their mutual traits than they'd anticipated. Their little girl was sweet and kind, something they were extremely proud of, but she also had a mischievous side they liked to blame on Daisy. Her curiosity was endless, and so were most of the ideas she had and never really wanted to give up on. The moment Alya had discovered the existence of dogs because of her friend Stacy at school, it had taken a whole month for Jemma and Fitz to dissuade her from getting one the day after. When she hadn't exactly given up on the idea, she had at least agreed upon giving her parents half a year to think about it seriously.
As Fitz looked down at his wife's swollen belly, he realized that the puppy would eventually have to wait. Just when he'd managed to work Jemma around the idea.
"She's worth it, though" Fitz whispered. "And these two will be worth it, too."
Jemma shook her head, another tear falling down her cheek. "But what if we can't handle two? Fitz, what if my body can't handle this pregnancy?"
Not being strong enough to handle a pregnancy had been one of Jemma's biggest fears when they'd found out that she was expecting for the first time. After Maveth, the torture she'd gone through with Ward, plugging herself into the Framework and time travel, she had immediately wondered if it would put her baby in danger. Her entire hormonal system had proven that it had been shaken up enough to allow her to get pregnant in the first place, and she feared that her body would not be able to handle a pregnancy to its term. Up in space, it had been quite a stressful time for the both of them, right until Alya was safe and sound in the crook of her arms.
"Jemma" Fitz interrupted, ignoring the way she tried to avoid his eyes. "There's nothing to worry about."
"Twins have a higher risk of preterm labor" Jemma kept going, ignoring him. He could feel her anxiety rising, her chest heaving incredibly fast. "They have higher degrees of respiratory issues, too. What if my body's too weak to handle a double pregnancy, Fitz? What if I'm putting them at risk?"
Her voice cracked at the end of her sentence, and Fitz immediately framed her face with steady hands, forcing her to look at him in the eyes. Her warm caramel pupils bore into his blue ones, and he smiled at her reassuringly.
"Listen to me, Jemma Simmons" he said calmly, his thumbs caressing the side of her face, "you are strong, in fact you're one of the strongest persons I know. I know that because I've seen you carry a baby in a spaceship for 9 whole months, and give birth all by yourself without epidural anaesthetic or even proper doctors after 15 hours of labor. So a pregnancy here on Earth, with doctors and drugs and everything that could ensure that it will indeed go well?" he shook his head. "There's nothing to worry about. And I trust you, I trust your body and I trust your incredibly pigheaded mind. Because once you've set it onto something, you don't give up until you've succeeded. Which is why I know everything's gonna be just fine."
Jemma let out a wet laugh that turned into a sob, pushing her face against his neck. Fitz shushed her, rubbing a reassuring hand against her back as she let go of all her fears and sobbed quietly. He had the presence of mind to be grateful that his mother was there and taking care of Alya upstairs, because he knew it was something Jemma needed at this moment, and Alya would have been too worried and inquisitive to allow Jemma to properly let go.
"I'm sorry" she whispered as she eventually pulled back, wiping away her tears with the back of her shaky hand. "I think… I think I needed this."
"Don't ever apologize" Fitz countered, "You know I'm here for you, always, right?" He looked down at her baby bump, mentioning it with his chin "as crazy as it is, we're in this together."
Jemma's eyes were soft as she looked at him from behind her long lashes, some of them stuck together with tears.
"Yeah. Yeah we are."
When Margaret eventually walked down the stairs with Alya a few moments later, she didn't mention Jemma's puffy eyes, nor did she ask about Fitz's matching one. Instead, immediately set herself to bake something for the little family, disappearing in the kitchen and granting them some privacy to tell their daughter the good news. At this very moment, Fitz had never felt more grateful to have his mother an hour's drive away from his house.
Telling Alya was easier than they thought it would be. Their daughter was smarter than kids her age, something they'd picked up quite quickly, but they sometimes forgot exactly all that it entailed.
"See Alya" Fitz said as Jemma moved away a little, allowing him to take his daughter in his arms and arrange her on his knees just like he used to do when she was little, "Your mum and I have something to tell you."
"Is it about the baby?" Alya asked immediately, tiny hands pointing at her mama's belly. From the moment she'd found out about Jemma's pregnancy, she'd be utterly fascinated with the process of pregnancy. Something that eventually led to awkward dinner questions, which Daisy found hilarious when they'd facetimed her a month back and told her all about it.
Jemma smiled. "Yes honey, it's about the baby. See, mama and daddy had quite a little surprise when we went to see the doctor this afternoon."
Alya's frown was adorable as she looked up at the both of them, studying their expression.
"See, sometimes a mommy can have a baby in her belly" Jemma kept going, squeezing Fitz's hand, "and sometimes—"
"Sometimes they have two, or three!" Alya explained, her eyes widening in surprise. "Mama, do you have multiple babies in your belly?" Her gaze fell on the bump, an expression of pure wonder on her face as she framed it with her tiny hands, as if to judge its size.
Jemma's breath caught in her throat as she stared at Fitz hopelessly. All he could do was shrug awkwardly, just as taken aback by Alya's enthusiasm and eagerness.
"Yeah, sweet girl" Jemma caressed her daughter's cheek tenderly. "Mama's got two babies in her belly."
"That's awesome" Alya whispered in awe. "Do you think they're in separate sacs? It means it could be a girl and a boy! Oh mama, Jessie is gonna be so jealous that I get two babies!"
Margaret, who had been on her way out of the kitchen, let out a small chuckle.
"Only you two" she said, looking pointedly at Jemma then at her son "could make a wee one like that."
As she sat down next to them on the couch, Alya babbling excitedly about babies and wombs and placentas , Fitz felt like his heart had suddenly grown ten sizes too big for his chest. When Jemma squeezed his hand softly, he turned his head around to look at her and saw the same exact happiness mirroring his.
Yeah , he thought as he looked at his little —expending— family, they'd be alright .
You can follow me on twitter /keptinonzebridg or on my fanfiction related account /phlebotinum! xx