A/N: Hey guys, so I made a few errors in my calculations. Instead of the Christmas Eve chapter, I forgot there was another one to add. So you get two early Christmas presents from me! Enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, Disney, ABC or the Avengers. Just Sera.
Wanda and Brock left for three days at the Retreat right after the reception. Boy, was that a doozy. Maria and Loki got engaged, Phil and Audrey announced they were pregnant too, and Pietro proposed to Jemma. I knew weddings typically got people thinking about marriage, but Bruce and Natasha announced they were engaged already, I screamed for joy in shock.
I had to sit down, because if anyone else announced anything, I was going to be over excited and that wasn't great for me right now.
But instead of slowing down, I just started going nuts with Christmas decorations, ordering presents, and wrapping. As much as Christmas reminded me of my mother, it was something that I was going to help my children enjoy. Even with packing and sending things over to my apartment in Vienna, I never slowed down on making sure the kids had every Christmas experience. Bucky, Steve and I took them out into the woods to pick out our Christmas tree, big enough that it would fit in the common room. I knew that Bucky and Steve wanted to share certain memories with the kids, like sledding. So when they decided they had enough cookie decorating, I sent them outside with their fathers.
Christmas was approaching fast, and I was ready for anything the holiday threw my way. I even took the kids out to my family home with the guys, and showed them my mother's resting place. They were all very respectful, and Dad even dropped by. A few days later, we took them to their great grandparents resting place, and my Dad told them all about his parents, as the kids laid a wreath of poinsettias between their grave markers.
The whole team spent every night watching Christmas movies, if they weren't out visiting their own families. And I was pleased that the kids were learning about the holidays. Steve, Bucky, and I took them to give out presents at the Brooklyn orphanage, to show them that people were less fortunate than they were, and we should care for everyone. Every child deserves a Christmas present.
Steve and Bucky took the kids to give out mittens, scarves and socks to the homeless, something I knew was dear to their hearts. Living in the 40's in their apartment that didn't always have heat in the winter, I was aware that they didn't always have warm clothes, especially with Steve's mile long list of illnesses before the serum.
Tripp took Daisy home to meet his mom, and Jemma took Pietro to England. Darcy's family was scattered across the Midwest, so she hopped on a plane to meet Fitz's parents in Glasgow. So currently it was December 23rd, and most everyone was due back tomorrow morning.
I was finishing decorating the tree, which had been a slow project. The kids were outside, enjoying the fresh snow with their fathers, and I was snacking on sugar cookies while listening to holiday music, as Natasha fawned over the ultrasound photo from that morning. The picture showed two little beans growing. It was very special for her, because she was making up for lost time by having two at once.
She and Bruce asked for a smaller ceremony than Wanda and Brock had, just Steve, Clint, Bucky, my Dad and I in attendance. It was sweet, and they also had their time away from the base for a honeymoon. Bruce was gaining more and more control over the Hulk, by being around other people so often. He was always worried about the Hulk turning on him, but he and Hulk were on better terms now that he was being a bit more open to him.
"It think it's crooked," Natasha said, startling me. I was in the zone as I decorated, and her voice broke me away from my train of thought.
"Where?" I asked, concerned. All the decorations had been perfectly spaced and placed, and I was measuring to be sure. When she didn't answer I looked over at her, and found her trying to hold back a chuckle.
"Bitch," I said, tossing a piece of popcorn at her.
"Sera. The tree is fine, just come sit down. You've been on your feet all day," She said, patting the spot beside her.
"I just want everything perfect. The last real Christmas I had, I was maybe 15. After that, I was in school, or Mom and I were in the hospital for her treatments. And after she died, I just didn't want to celebrate it. I spent one of the first Christmas that I knew my Dad, in Russia with Yasha… Bucky. The next was with Steve, but I had to go stay with my Dad because of all the AIM crap. The next we were dealing with Daisy and the beginning of the Inhuman stuff, and I was pregnant. I just want this year to be different." I sighed.
"I get that, but you are running yourself ragged. And those are my children you are carrying. I just want to make sure you are taking care of yourself."
"For selfish reasons," I teased. She was going to tell Bruce about the twins on Christmas day. Her eyes watered slightly as she smiled, "Yes. But I also know you. You are a perfectionist, and won't stop even when things are perfect."
"Stop being so intuitive," I grumbled, reaching for a sugar cookie. Nat was okay with me cheating on my healthy diet around the holidays, but other than that, I was forced to eat like a rabbit, with the side of extra protein. The only thing that made that better was the fact she couldn't drink either, and she was having the exact same foods I was.
"Ugh, why can't my brain shut off?" I said exasperated.
"It must be a Stark thing," She teased, handing me my glass of milk.
"At least I don't have the Stark sleeping patterns. It's extremely unhealthy that my father thinks 3 hours of sleep every four days is going to be productive."
"Speaking of your father, I notice he didn't go on a bender this year," She said softly, alluding to the anniversary of my grandparents death, and I nodded proudly.
"He went to see an actual doctor and they said if he wanted to undo the damage done to his liver, he needed to stop drinking, like months ago. But he wants to be better, and be around for his grandkids and me. We went as a family this year, and the kids left a wreath between their graves." I explained as I heard giggling from down the hall.
"I hear my twins," I sighed, rubbing the small bump. And it was not small. I had popped overnight, and Helen was sure that miscarriage was not even possible at the moment, because my body was used to pregnancy, and I had already had twins in my body. At 10 weeks, I was so happy that I could wear yoga pants and it was acceptable everyday. Mind you, I would wear them everyday when I wasn't pregnant. I hadn't unpacked all my maternity clothes yet, and I wasn't going to until I got to Vienna.
"So, I'm only there for the convening of the UN committees which only run for four months, which means, I will be out of Vienna by the end of April. The due date is the end of July. Ugh, being pregnant in the summer, sucks," I groaned, as Natasha let me cuddle into her side.
"At least you don't have to nurse them, that's the only part I can do with a couple vitamins and herbs, and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna hate it."
"Your nipples crack, and when they bite, that shit hurts," I said, grimacing.
"Joy, but it will be worth it," She said, rubbing my belly.
"You little beans stay inside of me, or your mother is going to be very upset with you," I said sternly to my stomach.
"I don't want to wait to tell Bruce. Is that bad?"
"No, you are getting the opportunity I never did. Steve and Bucky wanted to be at every appointment, so I didn't get the chance to surprise them. Actually, I got one surprise over with fairly quickly, I woke up, threw up and said, "Hey, I'm pregnant. What do you think?"" I chuckled.
"You are so much better at these things. How should I tell him?" She asked, sounding unsure of herself.
"I'd put the picture in a big box, with lots of baby things, and place the picture on top. And then label it to Daddy," I smiled, looking over the picture of the babes growing inside of me.
"Okay. Secret from the boys too, right?" She asked, looking insecure of what my answer would be.
"This is your pregnancy. You tell people what you want, and I just bake them. You get to tell people all the good news Nat. Enjoy this," I smiled, reaching up to kiss her cheek.
"Love you сестра," She said softly.
"And I love you enough to carry your kids, even when they start using my bladder as a punching bag," I teased.
"MOMMA!" I heard Callie yell from down the hall.
"Inside voices!" I said, looking over the couch to find Pietro and Jemma toting Callie and Elijah towards the common room.
"Hey, I thought you were coming back tomorrow?"
"Well, Christmas Eve is a big tradition in Sokovia. We used to attend Mass at midnight, but Jemma thought we should start a new tradition."
"Being with one family isn't enough for me anymore. We have a family here that we love." She smiled, as she and Pietro wrapped an arm around each other's waists.
"Well, I appreciate the sentiment, but the others ar-"
"Are right behind them!" Daisy said, pulling Trip along with a big smile on her face. Darcy and Fitz sauntered into view and I laughed.
"Well, glad you all decided to come home early. I was going to just make sandwiches for dinner, but now I think we should have a Casserole,"
"CASSEROLE!" The kids yelled, excited.
"Okay, now where are your Daddies?" I asked my kids as the group started chatting. I saw Natasha stuff the ultrasound picture under her shirt and excuse herself.
"Daddy said he and Dad needed to shower, so he made sure we walked to you with Auntie Jemma and Uncle Pietro."
"Alright, now go find one cookie you want and then come to the kitchen. I'll grab your coloring books," I smiled, as the group followed me to the kitchen, grabbing cookies from the snack table.
Jemma and Fitz just gushed about how much their parents loved their significant others, while Tripp and Daisy just kept stealing loving glances at one another. I wasn't about to push that, because I had two 'six year olds' that didn't want to sit still.
"Where is Joey?" I asked Elijah, confused as to why he wasn't with them. That dog loved only six people dearly; Myself, Steve, Bucky, Callie, Elijah and Pietro.
"Daddy couldn't get him to come in. He was having too much fun in the snow and running with Sunny," Callie said as her brother said, "Dad said he would come in when he was ready."
"Thank god I had that dog door installed," I sighed, before going over to the window wall and pushed on the only opening window.
Whistling loudly and startling the occupants of the kitchen, I saw a mass of golden fur racing out of the forest and towards the base.
"You can whistle really loud Momma," Callie said, releasing her ears.
"When you hear that, it means it's time to get your butts inside. Do you both hear me?" I said, looking at my kids.
"Yes Momma," They smiled.
"How did you do that?" Elijah asked, pursing his lips in a whistling motion.
"I will teach you later sweetling. I need to cook dinner for you all now," I smiled, going back to the large casserole dishes I had pulled out, and cutting the ham.
"Would you like some help?" Jemma asked, as Joey skidded to a halt in the kitchen doorway.
"Yes, please continue cutting while I get Joey some water."
"I've got that," Pietro smiled, grabbing the water dish with his speed and filling it up at the sink.
"Okay, Darcy, can you start on the breadcrumbs? Daisy, grate the cheese. You can't mess that up," I teased. Daisy flipped me the bird good naturedly, while the twins weren't looking. Starting on the sauce, I noticed things went a lot faster with four people.
"Heya darlin," Steve said, coming up and attacking my neck.
"Hey, share her would ya punk?" Bucky said, attacking the other side as I squealed in laughter.
"Give my womb some room!" I shouted as arms wrapped around me.
"That's my property in there Rogers. Barnes, back off." Natasha said, giving the guys her signature deadly look.
"But she's ours," Bucky whined before giving me a quick kiss and rubbing Joey's head as he passed by.
"So everyone's coming home tomorrow by dinner time, right?" Jemma asked.
"Yeah. 6pm there will be a light dinner, followed by a movie with snacks. Afterwards, I have one present for everyone to open up before bed. The following morning we will have a buffet style breakfast, followed by a large amount of present opening, stockings first."
"Sounds like a full morning," Natasha said, raising an eyebrow at me. I shrugged and said, "I'll slow down after Christmas day. Because after presents we are going to have a light lunch, play games, go play in the snow, watch movies and then I'll have our elaborate dinner spread ready for 5pm."
"Any prep to do tomorrow?" Wanda said, making her presence known.
"Yes," I smiled, hugging her to my side, "And if I could enlist a few of you to help."
"Of course Sera," Daisy smiled.
"Okay so I will set the turkeys out for their brine tomorrow around noon, and then we need to cut up veggies and make the breadcrumbs for the stuffing, and the rest of the filling. I usually make the cranberry sauce at the time of the gravy so it's fresh. And then-"
"Okay, let's just take a breather for today." Jemma said, taking the fixings for the casseroles and with Darcy's help, put them together for baking. She sent me to sit down with a smile and I laughed, "I can tell that's you being polite in saying, "Doctor's orders.""
"Helen isn't the only one that can tell you to take it easy." She joked, as I sat down with my kids and helped them color.
