Chapter Five

Medical Report: June 2018

Sonogram Report:

Conducted on: August 8th, 2018.

Patient: Ms. N, Romanoff

Purpose: Sonogram used to confirm pregnancy as well as gestational dates and to measure the growth and health of fetus.

The Fetus appears typical in growth and development, the Fetal weight is estimated at approximately 682 grams or 1 pound and five ounces. This is slightly large for estimated gestation of twenty-four weeks, but still within range. Similarly, the head circumference of 225 mm and Biparietal diameter of 65 mm are within a normal, healthy range. A heart rate of 149 beats per minute was also detected.

Ms. Romanoff has no concerns or complaints relevant to the pregnancy and is maintaining a healthy weight during pregnancy.

Where had it all gone so wrong? So, so, wrong. She didn't really want to think about it, but she had to - they all had to. So many were gone, turned to dust as an after effect of Thanos snap. They had no idea if they were dead if they had been moved somewhere else, nothing - not a lead in sight. It had been less than two days, but it felt like a century. None of them had slept, they had barely ate. It had felt almost impossible to drag herself into the shower, to try and wash the dirt off her skin, the dust from her hair. While brushing it through she had discovered a red hair in the bristles of her hairbrush. Who was she trying to kid in these past few years, she would never leave this life behind - not unless it meant going the way the others had.

God, they didn't even know where Tony was, or that Spider-kid he had all but adopted. They could be dead, or dust, or floating around somewhere in space praying for help. They could be, but she doubted it.

Natasha had sunk to the floor of the shower. She tried to draw her knees in against her chest only to find her thighs hitting her stomach first. There it was, that little creature inside her. It thrived, it had lived through a battle. She had worried at first, noticing some bleeding just after the fight but the worry was not for the infant, but for the stress and hardship it would cause if she miscarried now.

She'd told Steve, she had no choice. They all knew now, the whole team - what was left of them, the scraps - they knew there was another life involved and that one of the best players had been put on the bench. Steve wouldn't let her do anything now, she knew that and hated it. She needed to do something, anything that might help.

She'd been scanned, had blood drawn and urine tested. They all knew that somehow this little thing in there was fighting too, fighting with her. She knew it was ridiculous to try and fight now, knew it wasn't in any way safe for her or the kid but back when they had thought this was a good idea, well, there was no sign of danger. They were safe, their plan would have worked, and then Thanos.

It was a little later into the evening before Steve came looking for her. He knocked on the door of her sleeping quarters, opening it a crack to make sure she was dressed before he entered. She didn't move to greet him. Her muscles ached and some trembled in ways they never used to - she wasn't sure if it was overuse, lack of nutrition or some sort of shock response.

Steve came over and sat next to her on the bed. This was the first time she had seen him out of uniform since it happened, although the mix and match version of his civies still didn't disguise the situation. There was silence for a moment. He looked at her, trying to give a reassuring smile but it wasn't enough - nothing so small could be enough.

"Everything ok?" He finally asked.

She nodded, sitting up with her back pressed against the headboard. She rested a hand against her ribs, protecting the bruising, only to realize once settled that this was the first time she had touched her stomach with the knowledge of what she was doing. It felt wrong, strange, but she allowed her hand to run across the surface of her little bump, feeling how it was harder than the rest of her body. She hadn't really allowed herself to realize it was growing, getting bigger day by day. When she wore the vest of her suit it was mostly hidden, probably pushed too tight, but now, wearing a tank top she could see that she actually looked pregnant.

She saw Steve watching her and gently took hold of his wrist, pushing his hand against her stomach. There may have been nothing romantic about its creation but this baby was his too. Steve gently thumbed her belly for a moment in silence, she could see thoughts going through his head a mile a minute.

"Steve?" He looked up to meet her eyes.

"Things have changed, we can't have things the way we planned. The world -,"

Steve, nodding, cut into her sentence. "The world is hostile and unsafe. What we thought was right, was right twenty-four weeks ago. I know, he goes to Sharon. He'll be safe and no one will know."

She nodded, looking down at her phone by her side. The conversation she had just had with Pepper, it was even more of a reason to hide, to keep this quiet and to let the little person go on to a better life. Tears stabbed her eyes, she wasn't sure why she wanted to cry but when she spoke her voice crumbled too.

"There's more, Pepper is coming to join us. She needs our support and, right now, she needs this sort of support more than me. It's different, for her it's real, and she needs us if she can't have Tony, take it from experience. Pepper, she just told me, only found out yesterday. Pepper's pregnant."