There are a lot of things that are common knowledge about having a baby, but there's also a lot about pregnancy which is never discussed. It wasn't as if Natasha had expected the general public to chat about the nitty-gritty, but coming from her en suite bathroom in the Avengers facility and flouncing down onto the bed, not even bothering that she had just showered and would end up wetting the bed covers, she could only think about how she'd discovered the impossibility to shave her own legs. She had tried leaning around her belly to get at her calves and ended up nicking the skin instead. A piece of toilet paper was currently stuck against the wound and she felt so frustrated by it all, everything about going to a wedding felt wrong today. If destiny and fate had existed then they were giving her every not-so-subtle sign that attending the wedding was a bad idea.

Natasha stared at the ceiling watching the blades of the fan turning very slowly and silently. This wasn't how today should have been happening. Of course, no one ever envisioned Tony getting his ego in check long enough to marry, but a lot of things had changed since she first observed the arrogant Billionaire.

She found herself breathing heavier than normal, she could hear her breaths as if she had a cold but this had happened a few times when getting out of the shower. She became a sort of light-headed, heavy breathing lump, feeling like every movement was an effort until she could sit down. Blood pressure - that was what doctor google diagnosed as the issue - that, and a tad of intercostal pain she still felt on her right side.

The dress she planned to wear that afternoon was placed on its hanger which in turn was clawed to the curtain rail. The curtains were a pointless design, the type that was sheer material and not even wide enough to cover the window. When Natasha looked at the dress she saw the same pointless attempt at class and sophistication. She had yet to make up her mind about who was going to attend the wedding, whether she was going to use a pseudonym and good quality, human-hair wig to get through the day. This was the big outing, she knew it was a paparazzi's Disneyland with not just the celebrity that came with Tony Stark but their vomit-worthy spreads on the womanizer who turned his life around were highly likely. There would be everyone from science journals and high-end wedding websites to the classic gossip sources and local news reporters all in attendance. Natasha wasn't sure if she was really worried about her shocking size taking over the attention of the press at Tony and Pepper's wedding but she was happy to go with it.

After the events a few days ago she knew the whole thing had lost its eyes-only status, she knew world security had flagged her hospital records. Before now there had been no reason for them to care, there were bigger issues for the world than a pregnant superhero but after the last hospital admission with two broken ribs, let's just say they had all had their eyes opened to the child not being as typical as they had believed so far.

She took a breath in, holding it while she fought through the moment of pain needed to get into a sitting position. The world didn't spin this time, she had given enough time for her blood pressure to adjust, that was a plus. Her eyes fell to her feet, she wiggled bare toenails almost teasing herself because she knew there was no way they were getting painted. She was flexible, but not that flexible, and the idea of waiting for Steve to arrive and asking him to paint her nails, that was laughable. No, she had a pair of pantyhose in their packet on her bedside table. They were the type that was supposed to shape your body by clinging tight to your figure. She'd never worn these sort of things before if anything there were times she wished to be able to add body fat when the outline of muscle on her stomach and upper arms gave a hint of suspicion to an informant. Part of Natasha knew that these things weren't supposed to be used when pregnant, but she also hated that the little guy could no longer be hidden under clothes.

There was no hiding now, not in any form.

Wakanda, March 2018

There was a feeling Natasha had begun to associate with the aftermath of battle, a haze that filled her body where the world felt suddenly calm and still, allowing for the smoke of gunfire and WMD's to float in the air. The fractured particles of bullets were allowed to fall to the ground parachuted in the smoke that dispersed into the atmosphere. Despite the ringing in her ears, something that years of shooting various gun types had taught her to ignore, the world felt quiet. The calm after the storm was very much real but the calm wasn't relief, it was suspicious.

In the haze Natasha felt the most alert, this was the time to look closely at the shadows, at the treelines and to keep your feet away from the reach of the arms of the wounded. This calm, it didn't have to mean their victory, and the surprising lack both of bodies and of living and wounded soldiers was never a good sign. Watching out the side of her eyes to movement just beyond the edge of the trees Natasha dropped the spent magazine in her handgun, swapping it out for a fresh one in her belt. She didn't need to look at the weapon to do this, the weapon was something she could trust but the figure coming in her direction was not.

She twisted, turning her body further from the figure, making them believe she hadn't seen their approach. As her body moved she winced, feeling pain for the first time in her stomach, likely a bruise or scrape gained in the fight. She hadn't felt any pain before, the adrenaline of the action they had just faced must have masked it, and she didn't have time to focus on it now. The figure was getting closer.

Natasha reached into the front pocket of her belt, drawing out a small black mount for the pistol she held. The mirror allowed her to see the figure better although the approaching person would believe she was oblivious to her approach. The figure was tall and broad, so likely male and unlikely to be an off-worlder.

There was a roll of pain across her abdomen, a tightening pain which was both like her internal organs were huddling together and forcing themselves out at the same time. She bit into her bottom lip, the pain was dull but strong enough to disturb her focus.

"Nat?"

She recognised the voice of the figure just as a third wave hit. Natasha gasped, the pain becoming sharp as well as strong, her hand went to her stomach, trying to press her palms into the pain, hoping if there was bleeding under her vest she could keep it staunched. She knew it wasn't a laceration, she knew it was internal but this was not the time, she had to deal with this pain, ignore it until the situation allowed her to feel it.

The voice was one she knew well, and the fact it belonged to Bruce Banner gave her even more reason to hide the pain. It would break his heart, it would cause arguments that the team didn't need. They needed to regroup, they needed a plan and a way out of here, and if she came clean the agenda would be pushed.

"Natasha? Hey, what's wrong, are you hurt?"

For an unathletic man, Bruce had moved faster than Natasha anticipated he would, coming to her side and laying a hand on her arm as she winced.

He noticed her eyes go wide, an outward indication of the only thought she had for the situation. Shit. She could feel a damp warmth between her legs, she was very likely bleeding. It was going to happen, she hadn't said a thing because they had needed her skills not her body, and this was why. She was miscarrying.

"What the hell were you thinking? Why didn't you tell us- tell me? Natasha, you could have been seriously hurt."

"I wasn't the one at risk here, we had-."

Natasha tried to speak calmly but the Captain continued to yell over her, letting his emotions spill from his mouth. She knew it wasn't all about her, she knew his anger was pointed at the overall situation and the shock of this sudden revelation was too much.

" You weren't at risk? You don't work alone, not now, your actions affect the team, what if something had happened early, if you put yourself out of action then I'd lose one of the few people I had to rely on, if-."

Natasha spoke again, expecting Steve to keep talking but this time he listened, he heard her words because he knew they were true.

"You know we couldn't put the lives of everyone on this planet at risk for a maybe."

She let the silence fall, thick and heavy while a machine beeped twice in the background, alerting the medical staff to some sort of results.

The maybe hurt, she knew that, but they both knew it was true. Twice it had failed, twice there had been a positive result, a promise to hold on to hope but never had it got this far.

Like a bottle of champagne shaken hard the shower of anger from Steve had slowed into small waves of froth. He moved his arms, touching his hips, clasping his hands before finally deciding to cross them in front of his chest. His mind was reeling, Natasha understood that hers was too, but in this moment she was simply better at pushing anything but the facts to the very back of her mind.

If she allowed the emotions to flow into her thoughts she would lose it, and she had to keep everything together. She needed to be the glue for the boys, keep them on track and focussed, keep them alive and in one piece until they could form a fuller picture. Bruce had gone in search of any form of ultrasound, he had mentioned a heartbeat might be detected with just a stethoscope but Natasha had little hope there would be anything to hear and she expected he needed the time. She had never considered what it would feel like for the Doctor to hear she was pregnant, but then she hadn't known for sure if she would see him again.

It was a mess, a huge mess, and she had just dropped a second bomb into the cooling crater.

"I haven't known long, I didn't add everything together at first, no real symptoms but I followed protocol and tested after I noticed a little weight gain, I needed to focus on the job before I could bring it to you, I didn't think it would get this far, I really didn't."

Steve sat down on the bed by her legs, a breath slipping out of him like a wheel with a puncture.

"How long?"

He was looking at her now. Steve's face had loosened from the anger and now she could see the lack of spark in his eyes, the way every feature on his face seemed to sag with a new weight.

"This was week fourteen." Natasha shrugged, glancing to her right at the far-away white wall - anything to remove her gaze from his. She felt the size of those weeks for the first time and recognised them as something significant. The first two had been a matter of weeks -if even that.

"That's, that's almost a third of the way Nat."

For a moment there was light in his face again, a look of total amazement but only a moment after it appeared the light was gone, he was reminded of the reality. Fourteen weeks was more than a third, it was more than they thought might happen, and only when they had the opportunity to realise what was changing were they shown the end.

A polite wrap of knuckles on the doorframe interrupted any further thoughts. Steve leapt to his feet in an instant, not wanting to add insult to injury for Bruce but another doctor stood in the doorway carrying a small tablet and Doppler wand.

He introduced himself but Natasha had only nodded, she had lifted the hospital gown up from her stomach when asked but her focus was purely on the ceiling tile above her head. It was because of all that had happened, her anger was aimed at that- this wasn't her fault, it wasn't even really an issue, she couldn't let it be.

It was her life story, everything Natasha had ever known. There was no reason to have pity for herself, those type of worries were weak and egotistical, she had to concern herself with much bigger things; she had a different story.

There was crackling for a while, odd sounds similar to the way wind hit a camera microphone but she barely heard them, aware they were happening and waiting for the inevitable lifting of the wand from her stomach.

That was when they heard a change in the sound, the whirring of air changed to a cyclical noise, almost like a train over tracks, whuw, whuw, whuh.

Natasha held her breath, believing the sound wasn't really there but also scared that moving would make it stop. She didn't think she had ever heard the sound before but somehow before the doctor had a chance to speak she already knew that was the little thing inside her, it was alive, it was somehow hanging on. It was really there, a tiny, living, baby - her baby.

"That's a good heartbeat."

Natasha didn't dare to turn her head from the ceiling tile, she didn't dare to release the breath held in her lungs, but she could tell the doctor was smiling.

" Heartbeat is 163 beats per minute," there was a pause while he tapped a few things on the small screen,

"Approximate length is 9.2 centimetres. You're lucky Ms Romanoff, you have a healthy baby."

Natasha wasn't sure when she had started breathing normally but she was when she looked towards Steve, not turning her head fully until she could see his face.

He looked stunned, glancing from the screen to where the Doppler pressed into her skin and back. His eyes sparkled, and he was trying hard to contain a huge smile, making various expressions in the process.

The doctor clicked off the screen, handing a clump of paper towel to Natasha to wipe off the blue goo. Steve caught her eyes then, his smile infectious. Even as she began to smile she could still see the pain in Steve's eyes and could feel her own pain sitting low in her stomach.

There were no words, words couldn't fit the situation. Steve reached forward and brought her into a gentle hug, encasing her in his big arms, and giving them both some sort of comfort. There were too many emotions; relief, surprise, gratitude but also shock, fear, a feeling of staring into the unknown and the inconceivable nature of the future knowing there was one more to be protected, one more member of the scattered team out of commission, one more change which had enormous potential.

Pulling back a little from her but keeping a hand placed on her lower back Steve looked at her, his face sliding more into concern. Natasha felt the tear slide down her cheek before she asked what was wrong. The first tear was quickly followed by a second and a third, she sniffed, smiling back through the tears.

"Fuck Hormones."