Hi everyone this one's a little shorter than you're all probably used to but it's a stand alone transition chapter that works better this was. So without further ado here it is. Let me know what you think. Enjoy :)
Monday May 11th, 2015- Nora's POV
I woke up to my annoying alarm at five am. My alarm was an ambulance siren.
"Uh." I groaned.
"Turn it off." Steve groaned.
I rolled over and shut it off before sitting up. As I was about to step off the bed I felt Steve wrap his arms around me nuzzle the back of my neck.
"Stay in bed, it's still early." He said before kissing behind my ear.
"As tempting as that sounds, I need to take Axl on a walk and I like to start my day off with a five mile run. I probably won't get a chance to later." I said.
"Mind if I tag along?" Steve asked.
"Of course not, I just need five minutes to get dressed." I said getting up. I quickly put on a pair of dark grey leggings and grabbed a red work our tank. I slipped on some shoes before putting my hair up.
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"I'm ready." I said.
"I'll go fill up the water canteens," Steve said.
"I'll go get Axl." I said. I opened the door and there was Axl sitting obediently holding his leash in his mouth. "Or maybe he'll come to me. Morning Buddy, you ready to go?"
"Woof!" He barked before spinning around and sitting down.
Steve passed by and Axl growled at him. Steve was still growing on him. "Axl Sh." I said and he stopped.
"I'll meet you at the door." Steve said.
I quickly put on the harness and leash on Axl and I quickly stopped by down stairs and got some waste bags in case I needed them.
I locked up and then we were off. Axl was happily running at my side. Those five miles flew by. At the end I had to run back to the house and get ready for my first day at work and Steve decided to go back to the tower since he was out of clean clothes.
"I'll see you tonight, Any dinner requests?" He asked putting his arms around me.
"Surprise me." I said leaning up to kiss him.
"I love you." He said.
"Love you too." I said.
Steve kneeled down and tried to pet Axl but Axl growled at him and tried to bite him. Luckily Steve had quick reflexes and moved his hand away.
"I'll win him over," Steve said and Axl just turned the other way to avoid looking at him.
"Have a good day." He said.
"You too." I said before heading off in the opposite direction. "What is up with you today?" I told Axl and all he did was whimper.
"That's why I love you, always looking out for me buddy." I said kissing the top of his head as Axl nuzzled me. "Okay time to go."
We ran back to the house and Axl went to go drink some water while I went upstairs and took a quick shower. After I got out I got dressed in something authoritative. I wore a pair of black fitted slacks with a white silk shirt and a black prada blazer Sam got me for Christmas with some black closed toed heels. I grabbed a black purse and put in Wren's red scrub cap for luck.
.
I went down stairs and quickly whipped up a spinach and cheese omelet. While the eggs where cooking the smell suddenly made me really nauseous. I quickly ran to the bathroom and threw up.
'What the hell? What did I eat last night?' I thought. I shook it off, I quickly brushed my teeth and rinsed my mouth before settling on a bit of fresh fruit for breakfast. I grabbed a thermos of coffee and headed out the door.
I teleported to work and met up with Doctor Montgomery in the lobby.
"Nora. You look great. Ready for your first day of work?" He asked.
"So much, you have no idea how much I've been looking forward to this." I said.
"It's going to be pretty dull compared to Afghanistan but we do get a lot of weird ones on occasion." The sarge said.
"But first the dreaded department meeting." I said.
"Ah yes, just one hour and I can get out of this monkey suit and into some comfy scrubs." He said.
"At least you're not the new kid." I said. "And you're not wearing heels."
"True, let's get this show over with." He said opening the door. "Ladies first."
"Thank you." I said walking in and taking a seat.
After one boring meeting about funding, new protocols and special patients that required multi department collaboration I thought we were done but then the Chief of Surgery decided otherwise.
"One last thing before we finish here, as you've all probably noticed we have a new face joining us here today. I'd like you all to give Doctor Stark a warm welcome." Doctor Gellman said. Everyone clapped their hands and I was now obligated to introduce myself.
"Good morning everyone, I want to thank Doctor Gellman for helping make this transition to a new job and a new city as easy as possible for me. I've read all of your works and have studied your techniques before and I am very excited to get a chance to work with you all. Thank you." I said and with that we were dismissed.
"Nicely done." Henry as Doctor Montgomery was insisting I call him since he was no longer my superior and was now a colleague.
"Really? I didn't come off as a kid way in over her head?" I asked.
"Not at all, I'll see you in the pit." He said. I walked into the Attending's locker room and got dressed in my navy scrub. I grabbed my lab coat before heading down to work.
Surgery was like riding a bike. Once you learned how to do it you never forgot. I was on a roll.
During lunch my nausea came back the smell of meat just made me gag. I stuck to a salad and some more fruit.
I went back to the pit and got to work. Then a man who had an accident at a construction site came in with his guts falling out.
"Hello sir, I see you had a bit of an accident. I'm gonna take a quick look and then we'll patch you right up." I said.
"You're pretty." He said with a dopey smile.
"I see the painkillers are kicking in." I said with a smile. Henry came over to hide from his interns apparently they were constantly looking to him for reassurance and they were driving him crazy.
"Please tell me you need an extra set of hands over here." He said.
"I was just about to take a look." I said lifting up the bandage. I saw guts and then the room started spinning.
"Nora?" Someone said and then everything went black.
When I came to I was in a private room. I was hooked up to a heart monitor and a nurse was taking my blood pressure.
"You gave us quite a scare doctor Stark." The nurse said.
"What happened?" I said.
"You fainted while examining a patient." Doctor Gellman came in with Henry.
"Oh that's embarrassing." I groaned.
"I've seen you patch up people in worst shape." Henry said. "What happened?"
"I don't know. One minute I was fine next thing I know the room was spinning and everything went dark." I said.
"Is this the first time it's happened?" Doctor Gellman said.
"Yeah." I said.
"When was the last time you had a physical?" She asked.
"Uh, I don't even remember." I said. Never had to get one because Aya healed everything. In the past four years I rarely even caught a cold.
"Well that's a sign that you're long over due for one. Doctor Montgomery would you give us some privacy, I'll look over Doctor Stark personally." She said.
"Of course Chief." Henry said before walking out and closing the door.
Meanwhile back at the Tower- Third Person's POV
Steve was sitting down in the kitchen of the Common room skipping through pictures of him and Nora from the past week. He couldn't take the smile of his face.
"I know that look." Sam said walking in.
"Hey, when'd you get here?" Steve said getting up and greeting his friend.
"About the time you started flipping through your phone. What's up? I saw what happened in Sokovia, and Stark has a kid. I mean I never saw that coming." Sam said.
"She's alive." Steve said.
"Who's alive?" Sam said confused.
"Nora, my soulmate." Steve said.
"You're telling me another one of your soulmates came back from the dead?" Sam said. "This stuff only happens to you."
"Yeah." He said looking at the picture.
"That her?" Sam asked.
"That's Nora." Steve said showing Sam a picture of him and Nora on their picnic date the weekend before.
"Wait your Nora is Stark's daughter Nora?" Sam said.
"Yeah it's a long story." Steve said.
"I bet." Sam said before the elevator doors opened and Sharon walked in.
"Stevie!" She shouted before jumping to hug Steve and try to pull him into a kiss but Steve kept her at arm's length.
"Sharon you're back." Steve said. Sam just gave him a signal that he was going to give them some space.
"I missed you." Sharon said. "I saw what happened in Sokovia are you all right, you haven't been answering my calls?"
"Sorry I've been busy." Steve said. "Listen we need to talk. I have something I need to tell you…"
"So do I!" She exclaimed happily. "Can I go first?"
"Uh sure…" Steve said uncomfortable with how close she was.
"I'm pregnant." She said and Steve went cold. "You're going to be a dad!" She said hugging him.
"What?" Steve said.
"I'm pregnant, I'm ten weeks." She said pulling out an ultrasound.
"How… we were careful?" Steve said.
"Well the serum didn't just affect you it affected your swimmers." She said with a smirk.
"Oh…" Steve said.
"Aren't you happy?" Sharon said.
"Uh yeah just surprised." Steve said.
"Well you better get used to it because in a couple of months we're going to be a family." She said cheerfully. "What were you going to tell me?"
"Uh, I uh, Nora's alive." Steve said.
"What? How?" Sharon said in mock shock.
"She's a time traveler, don't know why I didn't think of it before but she's alive. She's here in New York." Steve said.
"Wow…" She said. "Have you talked to her? Asked her why she stayed away for so long?!"
"It's complicated." Steve said.
"Then uncomplicated it." Sharon said.
"Sharon…"
"No Steve she just can't barge into our lives right when we're about to have a baby. We have to commit. We're in this together." Sharon said getting upset.
"Hey, I am committed. I am going to be there or you and our baby." Steve said putting his hand on her stomach. "We're in this together."
"I love you." She said hugging him.
Steve just sat there still processing. He had no idea how he was going to tell Nora.
Later that Night- Nora's POV
I got home from work and was surprised that Steve still wasn't here. I had just gotten out of a surgery and changed my heels and was ready for dinner. There was a knock at the door. That's weird.
"Friday who is it?" I asked.
"It's Captain Rogers ma'am." Friday answered.
"Let him in." I said. I heard the door open and then close followed by Steve's footsteps.
"Hey, how was work?" Steve asked.
"It was good, staff's nice. I didn't eat lunch alone so that's always a plus." I said. "What about you? What'd you do all day?"
"Sharon's back." Steve said and the look on his face said it all.
"How'd she take it?" I asked.
"She… She's pregnant." Steve said and that made my blood run cold.
"Oh, wow that's something." I said not expecting that.
"Ten weeks." Steve said.
"Almost in her second trimester." I said switching to doctor mode to shield myself from what I knew what was coming. "Did you know before…"
"No no, It's been a while since we… She told me today and I told her about you." Steve said.
"Congratulation's I guess." I said not knowing what I was supposed to say.
"Uh thanks… I never thought this would happen." He said.
"I figured from the look on your face," I said.
" I have responsibilities now.I have to be with her. I need to be there for my son or daughter. This could be my only chance at having a kid. I mean you can't have kids so…" Steve shut up when he realized what he had said. "Nora I didn't…"
"Mean it? You did. It's okay I get it." I said wiping my tears away. "You should go, you probably have to start making living and financial arrangements." I said walking towards the door.
"Nora, I wish it could be another way." He said.
"So do I so I'm going to say what I need to say. I'm done waiting for you Steve. This is it. We had a good run but I can't give you what you want. It's okay leave but don't come back. We're done because the only thing you give me is heartbreak and misery and I deserve better. If we see each other it's avenger's business only other than that we don't talk unless we absolutely have to. I love you, always have always will but we're done. One of us has to break this cycle and it's not going to be you. Goodbye." I said.
"Nora I.." Steve started with tears streaming down his face. Aya appeared.
"It's time for you to go." Aya said.
"No please let me…"
"I told you if you break her heart I break you. So leave before I break you." Aya said her eyes glowing.
"Nora please." He cried. Aya let out an energy blast and pushed him out of the house, off the front steps, and crashing into his bike. I closed the door and locked it.
I stood there for a minute catching my breath.
Earlier That Day- Nora's POV
"Take a deep breath." Doctor Gellman told me.
I did as she said. "Okay that's good." She said starting to check my lymph nodes.
"What was the last day of your most recent period?" She asked.
"Three months." I answered.
"Three months?" She said a bit concerned.
"I've always had an irregular cycle." I said.
"Right." She said. "Any possibility you're pregnant?"
I couldn't help but laugh. "I doubt it." I said.
"Any nausea?" She asked.
"I threw up this morning and I felt a bit nauseous during lunch. It was probably that Chinese food I had for dinner. I told dad it tasted funny." I said.
"Uhuh. I'm gonna need a blood and urine sample." She said handing me a cup.
"Of course." I said taking the cup and heading into the bathroom.
Two minutes later I walked out and handed her the sample. She put on gloves and uncapped the sample. She took out a white strip and dipped it in the sample. It changed color.
"Congratulations Doctor Stark You're Pregnant." She said.
I started laughing. "I'm sorry, that's got to be a joke." I said.
She brought over an ultrasound machine. "Lift your shirt." Doctor Gellman said.
I did as she said and she put a bit of gel on my stomach. She moved the wand across my stomach and stopped when a fast thudding sound was heard. She moved the screen and pointed to the source of the sound.
"There it is." She said with a small smile.
"Oh fuck there's a baby in there." I said.
"There certainly is." She said zooming in. "You're about six to eight weeks along."
"Six to eight weeks?" I asked.
"Yeah." She said and I started laughing and crying. "Is something wrong?"
"I'm gonna be a mom." I said laughing and crying.
Current Time-
I put a hand on my stomach and took a deep breath.
"Well sweetheart, that was one of mommy's soulmates, and yes he's an idiot. Lucky for you your dad wasn't." I said "It looks like it's just you and me. Friday can you order us some Pad see ew and some shrimp fried rice."
"Yes ma'am." Friday said.
"You're gonna be okay." Aya said.
"I know," I said