A/N: Alrighty! Well first thing, I'm sorry but Part Three won't be up until later on today (6/5/2012). I'm sorry folks, but that's way it has to be! So here's chapter two, its heavier then the first chapter but it lightens a little bit near the end of the chapter. I threw in a plot twist (how evil am I right?) well hopefully you all enjoy it!
Disclaimer: As I've said before, I don't own the Avengers or the characters used in this story.
It wasn't odd when Natasha missed a morning training session every now and then, she was after all only human and sometimes she just liked to sleep in on a Saturday after working on a three day mission or so, except she hadn't worked a mission in over a month so maybe she was just tired. It wasn't odd when Natasha missed a 'family' breakfast here and there, after all her and Clint had their own floor that came equipped with their own kitchen, maybe she just wanted to be alone. It wasn't weird or out of place if they didn't see her until dinner time or later on in the evening, sometimes she just needed that space.
None of the above was seen as 'abnormal' per say but when she missed training(for consecutive weeks claiming to train on her own), breakfast(she missed it quite often, more recently then ever), lunch, 'family' time, and dinner sometimes members of the team got worried. Of course Clint had seen her, when you're married to someone you tend to see them every night, but last night she was asleep. When he got up this morning she was asleep, and he was almost positive that when he went back to bed tonight she'd still be sleeping.
"Where's the Mrs.?" Tony asked while Pepper and him laid out the final pieces of their desert. Simple really, Clint thought, so unlike Tony… but every night Pepper would make a dinner for the team which in the end never really left (Thor made it in once a month if he was able) and then she'd get out some ice cream and the makings of sundaes and they'd simply have at it.
Clint couldn't honestly answer the question, well he could assume she was sleeping and feel like an ass if he was wrong or he could be honest; "I'm not sure, she's been sleeping a lot more."
"She alright?" Pepper asked as she scooped some vanilla ice cream into her bowel, "Not like her to just sleep all the time."
"Agreed." Tony said as he took some of Pepper's whipped cream. Sometimes they were an adorable couple who everyone enjoyed being around other times (like now) the cute little displays of affection made no sense. "Spider Girl doesn't do the whole sleep all the time thing."
"She's fine when she's awake," Clint said and it was true! He'd taken her dinner about thirty minutes ago and she was awake. She was happy to see him and he even sat down with her while she ate, she was even watching one of her weird science fiction movies that sparked her interest. "…maybe she's just overwhelmed."
"Of what?" Steve asked while he ate his relatively basic hot fudge sundae, "She's been living with us for almost a full year now and she's never just disappeared by herself for sporadic time periods."
"Captain Spandex has a point Bird Boy." Tony pointed his spoon at Clint before continuing on, "you two get in a fight or something?"
"Tony." Pepper scolded she sent him her 'that's none of your business' look.
"Well if we did she didn't tell me." Clint glared at Tony but nodded appreciatively at Pepper for her usual peace making ways with her husband.
"Would you expect her to tell you? She plays dirty." Clint almost threw his spoon at the egotistical obnoxious friend at the end of the table but Bruce, who had been silently eating his small banana sundae, piped up.
"Maybe I should take a look." Clint's eye brow rose significantly as he slowly shoveled more chocolate ice cream smothered in strawberry syrup into his mouth. "I am the team doctor after all and face it she's hidden injuries from us long enough for her to pass out from blood loss before."
"Don't remind me." Clint muttered looking at his spoon now, "if she seemed that unwell to me I'd say go for it, with or without her consent, but she's perfectly fine in our own space."
"If she misses anymore training sessions she'll get out of shape." Steve said after he swallowed a particularly cold bit of ice cream.
"Well maybe she's done with the super hero thing." Pepper said, the men sent her looks that just clearly read 'what the fuck?' or 'you're kidding right?'. "Seriously, at some point or other she as well as the rest of you will get tired of saving a world that will always need saving."
"Although your point is valid with Spandex, Green Bean, Robin Hood, and myself Spidey I just don't see waking up one morning and deciding 'Gee… I'm just done with this whole super hero spy thing'." Tony managed a decent female falsetto that made the men at the table laugh but Pepper didn't find it so amusing. "I'm just saying!"
"Well it makes sense!" Pepper threw her hands up, "have you and her ever talked about having a family?"
Clint sputtered and choked a little on his ice cream, not that anyone knew he'd choked a little bit he staid calm and collected all the time. "What?"
"That's none of your business Pepper, you should be ashamed." Tony quipped but she ignored him with an eye roll, "rude." He muttered as he returned to his over the tope sundae with everything in and on it.
"Have you and Nat ever wanted a family?" Clint shrugged, well of course. They wanted to raise a child but they wanted to raise a child with stability and security.
"Do you know something?" Surprisingly it was Bruce who managed to speak up after a few awkward moments, "because if you suspect something I really do need to check Natasha out."
"No, no!" Pepper said, not too quickly as to raise a suspicion and the look in her eyes was just to sincere for Clint to think that Natasha confided in the blonde about something like that. Although he was sure she did.
"Thank you all for the worry but I'm fine." Everyone practically jumped at the voice coming from the entrance to the huge over the top kitchen of the 'common' area that the Avengers used for 'family' time.
"She lives!" Tony shouted, no one else noticed of course but Natasha did wince slightly (Clint of course always noticed). When Natasha moved closer to the table, almost nestled into Clint's side (except she didn't show that kind of affection around others) Tony let his next comment slip; "and she looks like shit."
Natasha growled, "real nice Stark." She did look like shit, maybe Clint just didn't notice it earlier but now he did. She was in black yoga pants but they looked too tight, she had one of his hooded sweat shirts on and it almost swallowed her whole. Her hair was greasy and disheveled but what got him was the bags under hey eyes. They were dark and her face was so pale and looked to have sunken in that it worried him.
"I call it as I see it." Tony winced when Pepper whacked him with her spoon, " I'm sorry, Natasha darling are you feeling alright?"
The entire group expected some kind of remark from the assassin when Clint felt her shrug their worries increased. "Maybe Banner should check you out." He teased lightly hoping that Bruce would understand the underlying message. Clint would have Bruce check her out willingly or not.
"It's not necessary." She grumbled, she looked and sounded pathetic. That wasn't Natasha Barton, the Natasha that they all knew (and deep down they'd admit to it, loved) never sounded pathetic or looked pathetic. On the rare cases she had she was on a mission going in as stealth.
"I think it is, you're barely awake." Clint grumbled next to her before wrapping his arm securely around her waist, he took the spoon and scooped some ice cream onto it before lifting it to her lips. She took the small amount graciously and hummed her appreciation as she leaned more into him. "C'mon lets get you back in bed and we'll discuss what's going on." He whispered quietly into her ear before sending a look at Bruce that meant 'our area ten minutes'.
She only protested for a few seconds before he finally over won her, although she made him promise that he wouldn't carry her out the door like she was some weak damsel in distress, she did let him carry her once they were in their own small apartment set up. "I'm fine honestly." She shoved his hands away once she was near the sofa.
"You're not fine Nat." He argued when he noticed the way she sighed heavily and laid out on the sofa; "if you weren't feeling well you're supposed to tell me."
"What makes you think I'm not feeling well?" she challenged with her eyes closed but he could just hear the Russian challenge pop out.
"Well the last time you acted like this you were sick, really sick. Remember?" She opened one eye and sat up slowly; "you know I'm right Natasha just for once let me, your husband, take care of you."
"How can I let you take care of me if you insist to say that 'last time' I was 'sick'?" She asked with such a low voice that he instantly knew he was on thin ice. "I wasn't sick last time you bastard, I had a miscarriage. I know you can't handle that but it happened, but everyone in this house has seemed to move on from it except for you!"
She stalked, slowly and unsteadily, over to their bed. "You didn't tell me until after the baby was gone Natasha!" She stopped cold and lowered her head and he regretted the words before she could make him, "Nat…"
"Don't." She had built up her wall again and damn if he didn't try and reach out for her (naturally she shrugged him away). "You were on a damn mission for three months. I didn't get the chance to tell you."
"I know, I'm sorry that was-" He noticed the way her hands curled protectively around her stomach; "Oh God…"
She just shrugged and made her way to the edge of the bed where he promptly followed and stood in front of her. "Just go get Banner, I know you won't listen to me anyway." She sounded pissed, hell he would be pissed if he was in her position.
"Are you…" He couldn't form the words not without choking on a solid thought of what if. What if last time happened again? How many more times could it happen before Natasha eventually just shut down? Did she doubt herself now? "…Natasha."
"I'm not stupid Clint. I realize the chances of having a normal family are slim to none, but that doesn't mean I blamed myself for what happened last summer." It was the sturdiness in her voice that made it safe for him to walk a little closer to her and kneel in front of her. Her on the edge of the bed him on his knees groveling, what a sight.
"Are you sure?" Why was his voice so weak? Why was he so nervous? This was Natasha, his wife, his best friend, his partner, god damn it she was his everything so why was he so scared. He wouldn't lose her, she didn't close off after she lost their first child she was so much stronger than that (and logical) but god damn if he wasn't scared about it all the same.
"If you don't want the damn thing then fine." He didn't say anything to her angry retort rather he simply pulled her into his arms. She sagged against him and it felt so wonderful in a completely husbandly way. When he heard the tiniest sniffle he knew that she must be pregnant. "Don't do that again you ass."
He chuckled shortly his one hand pressing her against his body the other resting on her head smoothing her ruby hair, "I'm sorry…" He pulled back enough to see that true to Natasha she only let a tear escape and she'd deny it until the day she died. "…of course I want our child."
"Not what you said last time." She reminded him with a cold voice but the look in her eyes told him he could proceed. He bent his head and pressed a light kiss against her lips.
"I was more concerned about my wife lying in an infirmary with a Mr. Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner fussing until I got there." He remembered how cold she looked, lifeless and almost desperate. "I may have spoken out of term."
"No may have about it." She said sternly before looking at him; "Bruce already checked me, I'm four months. I stopped taking mission requests from Fury, he gave me until the baby was three months."
Clint smiled, it was a real breath taking smile before crushing himself to her again. He stood up (which pulled her with him) before delicately plopping both of them on the bed. "Four months huh?"
She nodded against his chest and yawned, "Yeah… I found out two weeks ago."
"And you didn't tell me." He accused but placed a light kiss to her head.
She wrinkled her nose and pushed herself up (as best she could) onto her one arm to look him in the eye; "you were, again, on a mission. When you came back I had the entire group already in agreement to keep their mouths shut. This past week I was just so tired."
He nodded before pressing another kiss against her lips; "well sleep. I'll talk to Fury in the morning about short term missions with a well earned leave of absence involved." She nodded again and pressed a light kiss against his chest before closing her eyes.
So he lay there thinking; wow a dad. When the earth shattering thought hit him though the string of curse words was longer the list of praises he could have made to his beautiful wife. It was going to be a hectic ride, they'd mess something up he knew and she knew it, but over all that child would always find love. He'd bet his life on it.
A/N: I hope all you lovely people enjoyed this installment! I'd give you all some updated story information but all I know right now is I have about three more one-shots, another multi-chapter fic, and a few song fics. So, keep reading!