A/N: Hello faithful readers! Another day, another chapter. But, maybe you can pick up on what I'm spinning here... Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, Disney, Fox, ABC or the Avengers. Just Sera.
That day, Gabriel Phillip Tripplet as born, as was Freya Foster-Thorsdottir. That left only three more children to be born before our impending battle against Thanos. Jemma, Jane, Darcy, Pepper, Laura, Aunt May and Helen would be with the kids when the time came. It comforted me to know they would be under the best care, on a planet surrounded by an insane protective force field.
Christmas, New Years and Groundhog Day came and went. Training continued and the InHumans learned about their possible role in saving our universe. Black Bolt agreed right away, but a few of the more delicate InHumans didn't want to fight. Medusa was one of them, because her hair wasn't growing back as fast as she would like. Even with giving her the last of Wade's blood, it still wasn't as long as she said it usually was. Plus she was more of a behind the scene's player.
Steve and Bucky watched me like a hawk when they weren't training, getting up to help me at each little wince of pain. And it was the hour they went for a run in the morning, that I had noticed the contractions getting longer and closer together. I silently got up from the common room couch, where a few of the other mom's were sitting around and playing with their babes after breakfast. I walked as quickly as I could to the med bay, where I flagged Jemma down first.
"4 minutes apart," I wheezed as another ripped through me.
"Bed now," Jemma said as one of Helen's assistants came up to us. The woman, whose name I briefly learned was Soo-Min, helped me onto a bed, and helped set up a fetal monitor, blood pressure and heart rate monitor for me.
"Okay, just a quick peek," Jemma said as she did an internal exam.
"About 6 cm already," She said, making my eyes bug out, "How is that possible?"
"How many times have you put your body through childbirth?" She questioned back.
"Don't answer a question with a question! I know," Deep breath, "That this is the third pregnancy I've had, but how could I be this far? And am I at risk because of what happened last time?"
"We are going to try for a VBAC for you Sera, but if this little one is in distress we need to do a C-section. Not before though," She promised.
"Okay. ARSENAL?"
"Ma'am?"
"When my husbands return, ask them to join us in the medical bay. After they have showered."
"Yes Ma'am."
Groaning lowly as another contraction started, I tried to breathe through it. I saw a light flicker beside me, which broke my concentration of breathing.
"Okay Sera, your cortisol levels are spiking. Let's check baby, shall we?"
"Oliver, his name is Oliver," I panted.
"Alright, let's check Oliver," She smiled reassuringly. She studied the fetal monitor output for a minute and said, "Deep breath, in and out."
"I know you are trying to help, but I know how to breathe," I joked, relaxing a bit.
"Sometimes women in labor need to be reminded. Example, Daisy. Okay, monitor her levels on the next two contractions. If it gets higher on the second, we may need to induce her, or give an epidural. I will go consult with Dr. Cho. I will be right back Sera."
Soo-Min sat next to me, making idle conversation to help distract me, and I was grateful. She was calm and attentive, without being overbearing.
"SERA!" Bucky yelled into the medical lab. Speaking of overbearing…
"Over here," I said softly.
"Steve was right behind me," He said, as I heard a door breaking.
"He's here," I smiled.
"Uh, sorry," I heard him bashfully say, before he appeared from behind the curtain.
"Broke the door? That hasn't happened in awhile," I teased, reminding him about the incident that happened about a week after he was thawed out.
"It said pull!" He sighed.
"But it was locked," I chuckled, before groaning at the sudden pain.
"Dr. Simmons, Dr. Cho," Soo-Min called out, as I took a deep breath.
"What is it?" I heard Jemma's voice say. My eyes were shut tightly as I pictured my beautiful baby boy in my arms. It was the ending to all this pain, it was the reason for all this pain.
"The monitor keeps shutting off and turning on again. I'm not sure what it is," I heard Soo-Min explain. I felt a small surge of energy, and wondered what that could have been.
"Jemma, why do I feel ready to push?" I asked.
"Let me do another exam, just to check," Jemma said. I kept my eyes shut while she did, and she said, "Okay, something is weird. This is the shortest labor I have ever seen. When did you start counting your contractions?"
"Maybe about 20 minutes before I came down?"
"Sera, your 9 cm now. We need to get you ready,"
"I remember this very differently from the last time," I moaned, as there was a flurry of activity around me. The bed was adjusted, and my feet shifted into the stirrups. I felt another sharp pain, screaming loudly as I couldn't hold back my pain.
"Her levels are spiking again," Jemma said to Helen.
"Put her under, now!" Helen said as I felt a different pain in my back. I could feel my vision going red, as I tried to hold back the fire in my veins.
I felt a sharp pain across my head, before I blacked out.
I woke up groggy. Steve was wiping my forehead down gently, as he whispered my name.
"Steve?" I asked, feeling like my tongue weighed 10 pounds.
"Hey. I'm sorry we had to do that. Jemma said that if your levels spiked anymore, you could put him in distress," He whispered.
"Where is he?" I asked, trying to lift my head.
"He's healthy. He's just sleeping," He said, pointing to the other side of the bed, where Bucky was holding our son and rocking him.
"Oliver," I whispered, as Bucky's eyes met mine. He nodded, giving a watery smile as he got up gently. As I reached for the bundle he held, I shared a loving look with Bucky. He placed our son in my arms, kissing my forehead as he pulled back.
"Oliver," I repeated, staring at the beautiful little face in my arms.
"He was 7lbs 6 oz. Passed all his tests,"
"How long was I out?" I asked confused.
"About an hour. The last of the anesthesia is wearing off," Jemma's voice said to my left. I looked up at her briefly and said, "Am I gonna be put under the knife for the rest of my pregnancies?"
"Since your InHuman gene was activated, your births have needed intervention. It is possible that the next time you are a surrogate or have your own we will have to do C-sections. Luckily for the healing of the wound, we have the Cradle," She explained, rubbing a spot on her stomach.
"Aren't you supposed to be resting?" I teased.
"I would, but Pietro had been… well, you know," She said, gesturing slightly with her head to my husbands.
"Believe me, I have twice the problem," I smiled as a small cry sounded from my arms. Looking down, I noticed him rooting around, so I brought the bed to a sitting position and pulled a pillow from behind my head. Bucky lifted Oliver to help me, and Steve pulled the curtain around the bed to give us a little privacy.
"Just want to make sure he latches properly and then I will leave you to put my feet up. I don't know how you weren't always sitting with your pregnancy and then Natasha's," Jemma said, watching from the end of the bed.
"The UN helped because we sat most of the day," I smiled, pulling my gown down to help him find my breast. I was successful in pulling colostrum from my breasts, because the moment it touched his lips, he understood what I was offering.
"Perfect," Jemma said as Oliver latched, "Now, I will let you have some alone time. Helen should be by in about 30 minutes to check up on you."
"Thanks Jemma," Steve said, smiling at her as she waved goodbye, "Go rest."
"Aye aye Captain," She teased and left. Oliver was a greedy little thing, because he ate for a good fifteen minutes before pulling away.
"Two sides, good job buddy," Steve said, as I handed him off to burp.
"You've got an exciting life ahead of you," I said, smiling sadly at the scene they made. Steve was wearing one of those tight t-shirts again, snuggling Oliver close to his chest and gently patting his back. I felt a tear travel down my cheek and moved to wipe it away before Bucky beat me too it.
"Happy tears?" He asked, sitting on the bed next to me and pulling me under his arm.
"Happy tears," I echoed.
"Then why do you look sad?" Steve said.
"Just memorizing this moment."
"Your Dad said he and Pepper would be here later," Bucky said after a moment more of silence.
"Okay. Where are the kids?"
"On a mission in Poland for SHIELD. They will be back around 8pm tonight," Steve answered.
"So it's just us," I said, sighing.
"Just us. I mean, Natasha was gonna bust in here, demanding to know why you hadn't let them know you were going into labor this morning."
"Gah, right. I didn't want to panic anybody. It didn't hurt that much…"
"Daisy saw you wincing but didn't alert anyone else. Natasha reamed her out, quietly, because Gabe was asleep in her arms," Bucky smirked.
"One more," I said softly.
"One more… baby?" Steve asked for clarification.
"Yes. One more of our own, and then I will be content. But for now, let's enjoy every single moment with Oliver," I said, holding back tears. It was the perfect moment. A hallmark scene, as we observed our newest addition sleeping away, not a single care in the world.
And as I took a deep breath, breathing in the serenity of our moment, I briefly saw the light flicker to my side.
