MIRACLE BABY PT.2

Previously on Miracle Baby:

"What I'm telling you, Steve, is that Natasha is pregnant with your baby!" He yelled at his face, making sure he heard every words he said.

"James!"

The two men looked back to see Natasha standing on the porch of the cabin with a scowl on her face. Bucky was so dead. Pepper was looking at her with the same shocked expression Steve had.

"You're pregnant?!" Pepper, who stood beside Natasha with a shocked expression, shot her head towards the redhead.

Natasha glanced at her and decided to ignore the woman. Steve knew now. How could have Bucky done that to her? She could feel the blood in her veins boil with rage towards the soldier. "I thought I told you not to say anything!" She glared at him as her hands balled into fists. Her body was trembling but it didn't stop her from striding towards Bucky, making him walk backwards with his hands held up in defense. "For once in your fucking, miserable life, you could have listened to what was asked of you! But nooo, it is such a complicated task to do!"

"Natasha..." Bucky trailed off, trying to make her realize what she had just told him. He did his best not to hold it against her, she was mad and he understood that but it didn't stop him from feeling a pang in his heart. He opened his mouth to speak but Natasha quickly interrupted him a snap of her fingers.

"Don't you 'Natasha' me! You promised me you wouldn't say anything about my pregnancy and yet here you are betraying that promise. It was not yours to say something to him!" She could feel her eyes throwing blades at the brunette man. "He made his fucking choice and I made mine, but you couldn't live with that could you? You're so fucking full of–"

"Natasha!" Steve called out, eyes running wild as he looked at the woman. She was taking her rage out onto Bucky and he only half-deserved it. Between her screaming at his best friend and what he had been told he couldn't get to wrap his head around what it all meant.

Natasha glanced at Steve and her eyes softened in a second and the anger vanished. "I – I think we should talk." He told her with a pleading voice. His brain couldn't comprehend how she was pregnant with his child. "Alone." He added, looking sideways to Bucky and Pepper who understood it was their cue to leave.

She sighed as her eyes were busy watching Bucky and Pepper walk inside the cabin. "He shouldn't have told you." She said once they were alone and shook her head dismissively. She couldn't bring her eyes to look at him, between the shame and the dread, instead she eyed the lake. "Bucky shouldn't have told you anything at all."

"You're right," Steve spoke up, making Natasha look at him with surprise. "He shouldn't have been the one to tell me. You should have." His tone was accusing and his eyes were full of hurt. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why would I have told you?" She stubbornly asked, crossing her arms over her chest in defense.

Steve snorted at her question and sarcastically said."Oh, I don't know, maybe because apparently I'm the father?" He shook his head out of despair. She was pregnant. With his child. His own flesh and blood. How could it be possible?

"Listen, Steve," She started, finally daring to look straight him in the eyes. "Yes, you are the father. Yes, I should have told you but I decided it was better if I didn't. It would've hurt less when you leave. You made up your mind, you chose to leave us, to go back to her. There's nothing I could've said." She said, contrasting the vulnerability of her words with an emotionless face. "Clearly we're not enough. If me or even Bucky isn't a good enough reason for you to stay, then for the love of God, don't let my child be in the way of your escape. You shouldn't be trapped somewhere you don't want to be, I know how it feels and I don't want that to happen to you. You don't want to be here, you've made that perfectly clear. Please, do as you were and just leave." She was doing her best to keep the tears from forming in her eyes. She had been trained to be emotionless, and that was what she was giving him. She leaned up and kissed his cheek softly. "Goodbye, Steve." She whispered.

Steve opened his mouth to say something to her but no words seem to come out. He didn't know what to say. When she turned around and reached up to the porch, he stepped towards where she had been. "Natasha, wait!" He pleaded, looking up at her with a desperate expression. His thoughts ran wild, he didn't know what to say or what to do.

She stopped dead in her tracks, sighed and turned around to look down at him from the top of the stairs. "What?" She threw her hands in the air and waited for him to speak.

"I– I..." He trailed off, his eyes wide and desperate. He knew he couldn't say it out loud. He never managed to say it and now would have been the perfect time but he was leaving. So he said the next right thing. "I don't want you to be alone."

Natasha bowed her head as her eyes closed slowly. It wasn't what she had been dying to hear. She knew it all was just a fantasy. When she opened her eyes again, Steve could see that her eyes were glossy. "I wouldn't stress about that," She began, crossing his eyes. "I won't be alone. Ever again." She told him and turned her back on him before entering the cabin. Natasha closed the door and pressed her back against it. She released a deep breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"Well?" Bucky impatiently asked, hurriedly coming up to her.

Natasha shook her head. "I told him what I told you." She looked up at him and a pained smile crossed her face. "He's made his decision. I told him not to stay. He doesn't want to anyway. My child is not going to be a pretext for his unhappiness."

"But he- he can't just leave!" Bucky protested, looking around with an alarmed expression. "He can't just leave. We can't let him fuck up his life like that." He shook his head, trying to stop the tears from forming in his eyes. "I need him." He said in a low, broken voice and started walking towards the door but Natasha held her hand up against his chest and pushed him back.

"Yeah but he doesn't need you!" She harshly replied, seeing Bucky's eyes retort in hurt. It felt as though someone had pierced through his heart. The pain he had in his eyes was unbearable to see but she had to make him understand that Steve was leaving. She had to be harsh for the words to go through. "He doesn't need you, Bucky. He doesn't need us. He doesn't need me. We can't keep someone who doesn't want to be here with us. He has freewill and we both know how important it is."

"No, Natasha. You don't realize, he does want to be here but he thinks that he can save Tony by going back." He explained and heard Pepper release a strangled noise from the kitchen. Bucky pleaded Natasha with his eyes to do something. "He can't just leave, I need him." His voice broke in his throat, making the last words come out as a whisper. "Natasha, please, talk to him before it's too late. I know he loves you and that you love him. Please."

Natasha's eyes swelled up with tears as they looked into Bucky's eyes which were full of despair and sadness. "I can't, Bucky, I can't." She shook her head no and moved away from the door. As she did so, a loud whooshing sound came inside the house and they all knew what it meant. It was the same whooshing sound that had brought her back. But this time, the three adults knew that it wasn't someone coming back but rather leaving.

Steve had left.

"No!" Bucky yelled out in anger and punched through the door with his metal arm, creating a hole in it.

Natasha jumped at the cracking sound the door made when it was punched, her heart clenched in sadness at the sight of Bucky's despair. Pepper gasped and took a step back from where she stood a few steps away.

"Fuck!" He cursed before retrieving his hand and looking back to the woman who now owned the house. "I'm sorry about that, I'll fix it." He sniffed as he rearranged himself.

"Bucky…" Natasha whispered and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. She wished she could have done something but Steve made his decision.

Bucky quickly jerked himself away from her as if she had stabbed him. He turned around to face her. "Don't you dare." He menacingly said. "You gave up on him. It's all your fault." He told her in a low, threatening tone. "You did this."

Natasha couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. His words stung like a million fury bees. Not one syllable escaped her mouth as Bucky stepped out of the house with his head hung low. A deep sigh escaped his lips and he walked away from the house.

The redhead started sobbing and was rapidly wrapped in a comforting embrace by the strawberry blonde woman. "Shh, it's okay." Pepper said, trying to sooth her. As she held her, she brought a hand up to stroke her hair reassuringly. "Everything will be okay."

"I didn't know what else to do." Natasha chocked out as she equally wrapped her arms around the woman.

"You did the right thing." Pepper declared and slightly pulled back to look at her friend in the eyes. "He didn't want to be here, Nat. He's the one who decided to leave, there is nothing you could have done to stop him." She wiped the tears away from her cheeks as she added. "If there is one thing I've learned through all those years of fighting, it's that when Steve set his mind on something, he doesn't hold back. He doesn't stop until he gets what he wants, he was ready to destroy The Avengers for Bucky. Trust me, there is nothing you could have done, okay?"

Natasha gave a small nod in agreement and trying to even her shaky breath.

Pepper smiled comfortingly at her. "Now, if you want to stay here for the next couple of months, you're welcome to."

"Yeah, we could use each other's help."

4 months later

Natasha watched from the couch as Pepper wrapped a warm coat around her daughter, Morgan. The task was quite complicated since the little girl was jumping up and down in excitement and was babbling on about how today was going to be an incredible day. "We're gonna eat so much cheeseburgers!" She told her mother.

"Hm, no. I think Aunt May is planning on making you eat Brussels sprout. At least that's what she said on the phone." Pepper said, teasing her child.

Morgan gasped loudly and exaggeratedly shook her head. "Peter wouldn't let her!" She defended with crossed arms. "And Uncle Happy!" She looked at her mother with a fierce look, almost defying her.

Pepper cracked up an eyebrow as a form of warning. "Yeah, but Aunt May has a special power that'll make them eat their Brussels sprout. It's just a matter of time until you will."

"Then, we'll form an alliance! Like the Avengers!" Morgan defended, amusing the two women.

"Hm, right. I don't think that's what they were for." Pepper told her, a small smile turning up at the corner of her mouth.

Morgan shook her head. "Yes, they were! Right, Auntie?" The little girl turned her head towards Natasha who had watched the scene with great interest.

The redhead looked "Oh, absolutely! Over 10 years of fighting against Brussels sprouts, although you'll hear some people say it was to catch bad guys, but it really was all about those retched vegetables."

The little girl laughed at her aunt's statement. Pepper playfully rolled her eyes as a knock on the door put a stop to the conversation. "Come on, Peter's here." She told her daughter. "It's open!"

The door opened and Peter walked in alongside with May. "Hello," The teenager said with a smile and looked at the women in the room. He paused a few feet inside the house and took a good look around, seeing pictures of Tony displayed around the room. He always felt a pang in his heart whenever he came inside the house. Each time he came here, he paused before getting out of the car, he paused once he was inside and paused when he had to leave. He had come back a few times after Tony's death, to see the girls or pick up Morgan. May put a comforting hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Look at that, you're wearing the coat we got you!" May told Morgan with a smile on her face. "You look so cute!"

The little girl's face beamed with happiness. "Thanks, auntie may!" She said and rushed towards Peter. "Psst!" Peter crouched down to her level to hear what she had to say. Morgan started whispered so only him could hear her. "My mom said that May was gonna cook us Brussels sprout." She scrunched up her nose in disgust and amused the people who surrounded her.

Peter gave a fake gasp and shook his head disapprovingly. "Oh, I hate Brussels sprout. Don't worry, we won't have to eat them, I'll make sure of it."

"Told you he wouldn't let her!" Morgan looked up at her mother.

"I know, Sweetheart." Pepper shook her head out of amusement.

May advanced towards Natasha and smiled at her. "Well, look at you! Look at how big you are now!" She sat near her on the couch.

Natasha sat up and groaned as she put a hand over her baby bump. She was now eight months pregnant and was ready to pop the kid out. "I know. I'm so tired."

"When is your due date?"

"March 15th. Still three weeks to go, although my doctor said I could give birth at any moment." Natasha explained and caressed her belly gently. "I can't wait to meet the baby. And to be able to drink again."

Pepper and May laughed at her comment. The latter got up form the couch and clapped her hands together. "Come on, it's time to go. We'll be late for the surprise." She turned around to Natasha and put a hand on her shoulder. "You take care of yourself. And if you need anything, call me."

"I will, thanks." Natasha smiled up at the woman. One thing she'll miss once the baby is here is the kindness that came with pregnancy. Everybody was so nice to her, she wasn't used to it. At first, it was a strange feeling; everyone asking how she was, asking about the baby, asking to touch her belly (which she didn't like and promised to break the bones of the next person who tried it), asking about the gender which she herself didn't know.

Peter, May and Morgan left after biding Pepper and Natasha goodbye. The two ladies found themselves in the kitchen, preparing their lunch. Well, while Pepper did. "So, what are you gonna do today?" Pepper asked the redhead woman as she sliced tomatoes.

Natasha shrugged and sighed as she sat back on her chair. "I don't know. Watch a movie? Take a nap?" She paused comically. "God, what happened to me? I can't barely move nowadays, it's kinda annoying."

"I remember when I was pregnant with Morgan, I constantly had hiccups and by my seventh month I had to be on bed rest. It was hell to cut back from work. Even if I ended up working from home, after a while I spent most of my days sleeping." Pepper placed the tomatoes inside a plate and put it aside. Then, she began cutting some cabbage. "Tony was at my beck and call during that period." A sad smile appeared on a face.

Natasha's saw in the woman's eyes that she was reliving a memory of her late husband. "He was so freaked out," The pregnant woman said after a pause. "I remember he came at the compound one day to see how I was – tho he never directly asked. We started talking about you and Morgan. He started rambling and rambling when he realized she was merely weeks from being born. He started having a panic attack and I helped him through it." She smiled, reliving the moment as she talked about it. "Once he calmed down, he told me how afraid he was about becoming a father and if he'd do a good job. I told him to talk about it with you. I don't know if he did, but once that baby was in his arms we all knew he was going to be an amazing father."

She looked up at Pepper and saw that her eyes were glossy. "He told me about it. That's one of the reasons why we made you Morgan's godmother." She looked at the other woman and gave her a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "He really was afraid of becoming like his father; absent. But he was all the contrary, he was there and he- he-" Pepper's words died in her throats as she began to sob. She set down her knife and covered her eyes with her hand.

"Wait, wait, wait." Natasha wiggled out of the chair and marched over to Pepper and took her in her arms. "Here, here." She stroked her back comfortingly.

"I'm sorry," She chocked the words out, putting her head down on Natasha's shoulder. "It still sneaks up on me."

Natasha pulled back slightly and put one of her hands on Pepper's cheek. "Hey, hey. It's okay. It'd be questionable if you didn't." She said, trying to make the woman crack up a smile. "You lost someone who meant so much to you and it hasn't been that long. The first year is definitely the worst. Then, year by year, it gets better even if it still makes you sad. But you know what? You're not going through it alone, we're all here for you." She paused and a thought came to her. "Why don't you go take a bath? I'll finish lunch while you do. Then we can eat and watch one of Tony's stupid footage videos from his lab. Would you like that?"

Pepper's sobs stopped for a moment and she seemed deep in thought. "I think I'd like that, yeah." She nodded. "God, I had a whole day of laundry planned." She sighed and passed a hand through her hair.

"Laundry can wait, you need to take care of yourself. Come on, in the bathtub." Natasha nudged her towards the stairs.

Pepper began walking but then stopped and turned around. "Thank you, Nat." She gave her a smile and went upstairs. While Pepper took her bath, Natasha made cheeseburgers and set up the TV with Tony's lab footage. She set everything on the coffee table and waited for the woman to come down. As she waited, she began reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. She somehow related to that story.

As she was deep into the book, a knock came on the door breaking her out of her reverie. "Come in, it's open." She said, slightly annoyed that she was brought out of her world. The door opened and Bucky walked in. "Oh." She closed her book entirely and shifted in her seat. "Hey." After Steve left, the two had seen each other two times exactly and both times they hadn't talked much. The last time they saw each other was two months ago and he had changed. His hair was shorter and beard almost gone, only a stubble staying.

"Hey," He waved at her awkwardly and looked around the room. "Is Pepper around?"

She nodded. "Yeah, she's upstairs, taking a bath." She saw him sigh and couldn't help but ask. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Just needed to talk to her. It's fine."

Natasha pursed her lips and played with the pages of her book. She realized that it was the first time they had been together alone in the same room in a long time. And minutes passed and either one of them talked.

Bucky removed his coat and came to sit down on the couch, on the farthest side of Natasha. He glanced her at her and saw that she was staring at the book in her hand as one of her legs bobbed repeatedly. Her baby bump had grown since he last saw her. She looked like she was about to give birth. "So, how are you doing?" He politely asked, making her look up at him.

"Ready to pop." She said with a soft chuckle and put a hand on her belly. "You?"

"Fine. Been around." He said shortly and she nodded.

A sigh escaped her lips as another minute then two passed. She moved around, trying to turn her body towards Bucky. "Look, I think it's time we talk."

"Talk about what?" He turned his head to look at her. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Oh, really? Nothing? How about the fact that we fought and now everything's awkward?" She put her book on the coffee table and looked at him straight in the eyes. "Look, my baby won't have a father. And even if you blame me for Steve's departure, you're the closest thing this child will have of his actual father. You know Steve better than anybody else." She momentarily paused. "I didn't want to trap Steve where he didn't want to be. I'm sorry if me letting him go hurt you. But you're not the only one who got hurt. You were right, I love him and I think he knew it. And I know he… loved… me, too. I wish I could have made him stay, but he just didn't want to."

Bucky listened to her and let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry for what I told you. I shouldn't have put the blame on you. I wasn't thinking straight… I hadn't realized that you would be as hurt as I was." He moved closer to her and grabbed her hand. "I talked with Sam and he set me straight, I guess. He made me realize that you are pregnant with his child and you let him go. It couldn't have been easy."

"It wasn't." She shook her head and gave him a smile. "Thank you."

"No, thank you." He said and she pulled him into a hug.

Just as they were hugging, Pepper climbed down the stairs and stopped dead in her tracks. She watched the hug happened and she felt her heart pump harder in her chest as she saw the dark patch of hair of the man Natasha was hugging. A part of her hoped that it was Tony, even though it would be impossible.

"Oh!" Bucky pulled back from the hug and looked down at Natasha's belly. "Was that the baby?"

Natasha nodded. "He's been kicking nonstop lately." She grabbed one of his hands and put it on her belly so he could feel it. She noticed Pepper from the corner of her eyes and turned her head. "Hey, you okay?"

Pepper nodded as Bucky turned his head towards her. "So you guys made up? That's great."

"Yeah, we're forgiving each other."

"Oh, that's great. I'm glad."

Bucky turned his head back towards Natasha. "Are you busy? We could go on a walk and talk."

"Sure," She looked over at Pepper. "Will you be okay?" When the woman nodded she stood up and added. "There are cheeseburgers still warm in the oven and the videos are ready to be played."

Pepper smiled at her warmly and muttered a 'thank you'. Bucky took his coat and Natasha put on some shoes – or tried to, the strawberry haired woman had to help her – and a coat and the two left the house.

Around 5pm, Bucky and Natasha arrived back at the cabin. They climbed out of his car, a smile on both of their faces. In the last hours, they had gotten a bite and walked around. They got to talk about the fight some more, about their friendship and about Steve and the baby.

"How's Morgan? I haven't seen her." Bucky asked and they walked up to the stairs of the cabin and stood on the porch.

"Oh, that's cause she's spending the day with Peter and May. She seemed quite about that this morning." She explained with a smile. "They should be bringing her back soon enough, they'll probably eat with us. Do you wanna stay?"

"I have a feeling I will." He gave her a smile.

Natasha frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"Not important."

"O-kay." She gave him a weird look and opened the door.

"Wait, Nat." He stopped her from coming inside the house and she gave him another weird look. "There's something else I need to tell you."

"Yeah?" She let go of the door handle and turned to him. "Make it quick my feet are killing me, I gotta remove these shoes soon or they'll explode." She let out an uncontrollable yawn and put a hand over her mouth. "I'm so sore, I need a good sleep. So, what is it you want to tell me?"

Just as he was about to talk again, May's car arrived and parked next to Bucky's. Then, they all exited the car and the little girl rushed over with a giant unicorn plush toy. "Hey, Bucky! Hey, Auntie Nat!" She cheerily said and shook her unicorn in the air. "Look it!"

"It's so cute!" Natasha said with an equally cheery voice. "Is it for me?"

"No." Morgan shook her head and gave a laugh. "Peter's girlfriend bought it for me!"

Natasha looked up at Peter who was blushing. "I didn't know you had a girlfriend." A smirk appeared on her lips.

"She's my friend, not my girlfriend." He shook his head, blushing still.

"She's such a cute girl." Aunt May smiled and looked at Natasha. "Peter's got such a crush on her, it's so cute."

Peter blushed ever harder and scratched the top of his head. He cleared his throat and climbed up the stairs where he joined Natasha, Bucky and Morgan. "Come on, kiddo, let's show your mom the unicorn."

"Okay!" Morgan said as May joined the other adults on the porch. The little girl opened the door and walked in and was quickly followed by Peter.

"Wait-" Bucky said, trying to stop them from going in but was too late.

Natasha's frown returned, deeper than ever. "Alright, Bucky what's going on?"

Bucky sighed and passed a hand over his face. He looked at the two women who stared at him. "It was supposed to be a surprise, to all of you and -" The brunette was interrupted by a yell coming from the little girl that made them all turned their heads towards the opened door of the cabin.

"DADDY!"

Natasha froze in place and looked back at him. It was impossible. She must be dreaming. Maybe she fainted and is imagining things. It really was impossible. "Did- did Morgan just say… Am I dreaming right now? Please tell me Morgan didn't say what I think she said."

"She did." A voice came from down the stairs and Natasha's mind completely froze. She stared into Bucky's eyes and blinked repeatedly. She heard May turn around and mutter a 'what the hell'.

Natasha turned her body towards the stairs and a soft gasp escaped her mouth. She couldn't believe her eyes. Everything that happened in the last year had thrown her in such a roller coaster that nothing felt right anymore. The events of the last few months got her confused on levels she never thought possible. And yet, despite everything, this day was the most confusing of all.

"Steve…?"

Just as she whispered the name of the one she thought she'd never see again, her water broke. "Oh, dear lord."