A/N: I'm amazed. I pumped out this chapter within hours of the last. Yay me! And then today I got another story idea for GOT, so I had to put it down before I forgot it. Yikes. The need to write built up over these past 5 months. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Basically, I wrote from my own frustration of how little my husband helped me at the beginning. Don't worry, he has been trained now, at least enough to put the video games down and help me. He is so loving with our son, and I love watching the two of them play together.
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, Disney, ABC or the Avengers. Just Sera.
T'Chaka died peacefully, with his family by his side. He last a few more days than the doctors estimated, specifically because he wanted to depart some wisdom on T'Challa. I was T'Challa's escort on the way to Necropolis, riding with the Royal family, dressed in white and adorned in a few Vibranium pieces of Shuri's jewelry. The next day, T'Challa's crowning in front of the Royal Court took place, with global media coverage. This surprised me, for two reasons. One, Wakanda was just opening its borders to select people. This would shine a light on them and their vast resources. And two, T was not the type for a spotlight.
But, T'Challa was firm in his belief that the world can no longer hide its secrets from each other. Thanos's impending arrival taught us all that life is too short and we can't afford not to be at arms length of our allies.
But when T felt he was ready, I loaded myself back onto the Quinjet I borrowed two weeks earlier, hugging him one last time.
"Call if you need us," I said, making him promise.
"I will."
"I've told Shuri to call me if she feels you need to talk. So don't be mad at her."
"I won't," He smiled.
"Stay out of trouble."
"No promises," He laughed as I back up towards the ramp. I waved goodbye as the ramp lifted and sealed shut. Sighing, I rubbed my stomach and climbed into the pilot's seat. Flipping on the instrument panel, ARSENAL booted up, saying, "Shall I autopilot our flight back? Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes are worried you haven't rested enough."
"Actually A, I need the stick for awhile. This is as close as I get to the sky while I'm pregnant. Not allowed to use my other wings."
"Of course Ma'am. Shall I alert base of your departure?"
"No, I'll call in a few minutes. Thanks A," I said softly, waving goodbye once more out the window. T'Challa held a fist to the air, a salute, with the Dora Milaje and his security team following suit. I mimicked them, putting it to my heart. T followed my movement and smiled, doing the same. Lifting the Quinjet by vertical propulsion, I focused my sight back to the instrument panel.
Switching to forward thrusters, I shot forward still climbing in altitude, and the capital city behind me. With the wide-open sky before me, I hummed a little tune and called Bucky's number.
"Sera?" He asked, voice heavy with sleep.
"I'm sorry I woke you. I'm coming home babe," I said, feeling my eyes water.
"That's great. Should we expect you tonight?" He said as I heard Steve's sudden wake up. I imagined that Bucky backhanded his chest, and I smiled to myself at the memory of Steve's sleepy confused face.
"Five hours. Should be there around for breakfast."
"Sounds great Angel," I heard Steve's sleepy voice say. Giggling, I mentioned, "When I get home, I have a couple things to talk to you two about, and then to Clint."
"What for?" Bucky asked.
"We can talk later guys. Just sleep," I smiled.
"M'kay. Love you," Bucky said.
"Love you too," I laughed, hearing Steve snoring in the background.
"Thanks for letting us know you're on your way. I still wished you had taken someone with you."
"I am perfectly capable to fly myself," I said, rolling my eyes at nothing.
"It's not the flying. To make sure you were safe. T'Challa said it would be okay, but the CIA alerted us to the presence of Ulysses Klaw in Wakanda. He's a little pissed for what Ultron did to him."
"He dealt in Vibranium and black market arms, I remember him from my SHIELD days. He isn't exactly a fan of me either," I said, remembering the 'interrogation' session I had with him a few months before I met my Dad.
"Well, that would have been nice to know."
"I can't always recall every detail from my life. Besides, I can warn T'Challa and his government will take care of it. He has more crimes against Wakanda, than his black market arms dealing will total up to."
"Okay, my eye lids are dropping," Bucky said yawning.
"I'll be home soon," I smile, "Just sleep."
"Yes ma'am," He chuckled.
"Smart ass. Bye," I whispered.
"Buh-ye." What an eloquent response, I laughed to myself as I hung up.
"Now will you allow me to Auto-pilot Ma'am?" ARSENAL asked me, and I could almost hear the tone in her voice. Overprotective AI.
"Yes A," I smiled, "Back to Base."
"ETA 5 hours and 13 minutes."
"Can we speed that up a bit?" I asked, pushing my seat back a bit to recline.
"Of course. Accelerated speed with ETA of 4 hours 13 minutes."
"Thanks A. Send an alert to King T'Challa about Ulysses Klaw and his presence in Wakanda."
I was able to shut my eyes for a bit of the flight, which made all the difference. I was feeling a bit run down after the last few weeks. But I did my make up on our descent and fluffed up my curls, pulling my bag to my side. Upon landing, I was taxied in by Cameron, who was up early training a new recruit, so I was able to sneak in.
"Welcome back Sera."
"Thanks Cam!"
Joey came bounding up to greet me, with Brock on his tail. I was pulled in for a hug before I could say hi.
"Man, am I glad to see you!" He laughed, sounding relieved.
"Why? What's wrong?"
"These women are all crazy. Were you this nuts when you had your kids?" He asked, and I finally got a good look at him. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair wasn't brushed. His shirt had spit up on it, and I noticed he looked tense.
"Buck up soldier, it gets easier," I smiled.
"This isn't funny. The all have banned against us guys, refusing to budge on child rearing ideas. Who the hell invented cloth diapers?"
"Um, disposable diapers weren't invented until 1948. Our grandmother used them dummy. They are better for the baby, because disposables have a lot of chemicals in them that can leach into babies skin. There skin is extra sensitive. And I'm sure you are over reacting on this. The girls are just feeling vulnerable. I know I did."
"You talk to them then!" Fitz said, coming out of his lab.
"Were you hiding in there?" I asked, noticing his appearance matching Brock's.
"We all have our hiding spots. The girls…" He gulped, "They are truly terrifying."
"Oh god, not you too," I said noticing Loki gazing down a hallway blankly.
"I have seen wars more gruesome and terrifying than wars waged on this planter. I love Maria, but she scares me."
"THAT'S IT!" I yelled.
"ARSENAL, give a wake up call for all the guys. NOW. Everyone is to be in the kitchen before breakfast."
"Yes Ma'am."
"What are you going to do?" Fitz asked.
"Oh god," I said, noticing the state of the kitchen. Pots and pans with dried on food all over the stove, and dishes piled in the sink. It was almost too much.
"The cooking was left up to the men since most of the women that cook now are caring for their infants," ARSENAL said, while the guys that I had stumbled upon so far, looked upset that they were tattled on.
"Fitz, Brock, start cleaning the counters. Loki, dishes," I said, rolling up my sleeves.
They looked at each other confused, like they didn't understand why they were being punished.
"Move!" I yelled, grabbing ingredients from the fridge. Bucky, Steve, Thor and Trip walked in confused as to why they were up.
"You can greet me later," I said to my guys, "You have all been drafted for work on breakfast. Steve, go boil water and then help Loki with the dishes. Bucky, I can trust you to set the table and make juice. Thor, you have coffee duty. Trip, you and I are making food. Grab the pancake batter and the waffle iron. Then, Thor, use the toaster to toast up the English muffins that are in the freezer. About 13 should do it. One half for every person. I'll start on the sausages, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce."
"Can I help?" Elijah asked. I laughed that he had been woken up. In actuality, I should have said, every male that had a child, or one on the way. Jane was due in December, with Daisy preceding her by two weeks. I was thankful Fury wasn't here; otherwise I would have gotten the one-eyed death glare.
"Help Uncle Trip with the waffles. You make the batter. Wait, we are missing three," I said, noticing the lack of moppy brown hair, my other father and my silver haired brother.
"Pietro," I asked opening a line to his room.
"Hmm," He hummed.
"Grab Bruce, Coulson and yourself. Up to the kitchen now."
"Sure thing sis," He said, more awake now. I heard Jemma groan in the background, and thought, 'She must already be pregnant. I just hadn't heard yet.'
"Gentlemen, keep working," I said, noticing they were confused.
After dishing out jobs for the remaining father's and father-to-be, things flowed smoothly. Keeping all the food warm in the warming drawer, Callie was soon up and helped fold napkins, and grabbed flowers to make little vases along the table with some mason jars. The kitchen was beautifully set up, and after all the food was ready, I had the guys sit down for a talk.
"Some of you have expressed your feelings on the girls that just gave birth or are soon too. I would like to point out a few things to you. To some of you, it may not be a surprise, but those women love you. They love you enough to put their bodies through unimaginable pain and suffering sickness for months."
"Those women deserve your help, not for you to hide from them. I was lucky; I had two amazing men ready to help me, along with our whole team. So it's no wonder that when you all decided they were crazy, they band together in solidarity. It's the only support they felt they could get. They just grew, or are growing humans for you. They deserve a parade, flowers and all your support. Now, they will be here in a few minutes, so you are going to take your children from their arms while they eat a full breakfast. Think about it this way, the full breakfast you provided helps them nourish your children with life giving milk. I will talk to the girls, as I, being a woman who is also a mother, know how pigheaded men can be. You will wait until they have finished eating to have your food. This lovely breakfast is an apology from you to them for your selfish behavior."
"If you think for one second that you will continue to hide form them and not tell them how you feel, you are surely mistaken. Tomorrow begins couples therapy for everyone, no exceptions." A few mumbles were heard but my guys were
"What's this?" Natasha asked, a baby in body arms. I grabbed Niklaus from her to ease the weight and Bruce grabbed Annalise, and watched as the rest of the moms and moms-to-be filed in one by one.
"Breakfast for the wonderful ladies that are giving us, or already gave us children." Brock said, taking Vera from Wanda's arms and kissing her sweetly. Each significant other grabbed their child or guided their lady to a seat where they were pampered with a fresh fruit salad as an appetizer.
The women, mothers and not, all sat down and were served food by my sweet children, as their husbands held their babies. I was thinking of making it a regular thing, once a week.
A Mom's Time Out.
