I Simply Wished

Tony was not freaking out. He wasn't. Well, he was. It just wasn't like his past few freak outs.

He hadn't freaked out like this in twenty-five years.

And that time, well, it was when his ex-lover/one-night-stand-gone-wrong Elizabeth Lewis had died giving birth to their beautiful daughter.

He had named the girl Darcy because Lizzie would never shut up about the name, saying she would name her the random name just to spite him for getting her pregnant. Like it was only his fault. One of the first 'talks' he had with Darcy was that it takes two to tango, and its up to her to take care of her own body. Guys are douches, and when their drunk, extra so.

Tony had wanted to name her Maria after his mother, or Margaret after his Aunt Peggy, but when the final beep went off over Darcy's wails, Tony knew.

Her name would be Darcy. So Lizzie still got to spite him. Whatever.

At least he still had Darcy.

And he had loved that little girl with all his heart. He raised her the best way he knew how (which wasn't much, but whatever, Darcy came out pretty great, so fuck off).

But right now, that was in jeopardy. He might lose her.

So okay, he was freaking out. It was the last thing he had ever thought he would have to experience. He figured he could be the excited grandpa (he was totally going to claim Gramps, just because who could see Tony Stark being called Gramps?) who coddled the future mom.

Instead, he was the scared-as-all-hell dad. Worried beyond belief that he wouldn't get to see his little girl before she left the world because he was stuck on a stupid plane flying over fucking farmland. And it was too soon, and if she did leave this world, he wouldn't be there to say goodbye. And there wouldn't be a baby to soothe the ache of missing his child.

Life sucked.

He was seated on the plane. Staring into the nothing surrounding them as they travelled hundreds of miles per hour. He had filled a glass to the brim with some scotch when they first took off, and other the initial sip to keep it from spilling, he hadn't touched it since. Instead, he swirled the glass in his hands, trying not to think too much.

It wasn't working very well.

Pepper was seated on the plane across the aisle, wringing her hands and chewing her lip, a habit she rarely did. That's how he knew things weren't as okay as she had said. If Darcy was going to end up okay, Pepper would simply be sitting there, maybe biting her lip or wringing her hands. Not both.

When the plane had reached altitude and leveled off, she called Rhodey, who was in DC and already on his way to New York. His best friend would be there before him, so at least his daughter would have her godfather. But it wouldn't be the same. Nope, not at all.

Hopefully Clint got ahold of Bruce, as well. Knowing his Science Bro was there to look after his daughter made him relax a smidgen. Until he recalled Lizzie being in the care of the best doctors Howard's money and reputation could buy.

His father had been really excited about becoming a grandfather. Sure, he wasn't happy about the circumstances (Tony was eighteen, finishing college, got drunk and had a good time with an older chick, whatever), but Tony liked to think Howard realized how much of a shit dad he was and wanted another chance.

And the man had it. For all of six years. Before drinking too much and crashing the car to his death.

Was that what would happen to Tony?

Fuck it, he'd be happy to have that happen to him. As long as Darcy made it through whatever this is. He'd be happy to make a deal with God, Odin, Fury if the man had some sort of trick up his SHIELD sleeve, or whoever the fuck necessary to ensure that Darcy would come out of all this okay.

As soon as Darcy pulled through, he was going to have the best doctors in the business examine her and make sure she wouldn't have the same complications as Lizzie had.

And then he'd make a deal with the Devil, and gladly trade his life for his daughter's.

Pepper was having a difficult time keeping her cool. Which was a rare occurrence, to say the least. Especially in front of Tony. She knew that she had to be the reasonable one in their relationship. She could see how much this was all affecting the man. The quieter the man was, the more scared he was.

He was absolutely silent. Had been for the past two hours of the flight.

He was also not drinking.

Making it all the more scary. Pepper knew the man turned to alcohol when in duress. It was something she learned to accept, and was more than okay with when the situation required it. If any time called for a bottle of scotch, now was it. Instead, the man just held the full glass in his hand, ignoring its existence.

She was seriously considering taking it from him and gulping it all down.

She and Darcy had always had a good relationship. And in the past three months, it had only grew stronger. The bond between them was slowly morphing into something like a mother-daughter type thing, and Pepper knew that Darcy was aware of how thankful she was for it.

So, maybe she sort of confessed about the ovarian problems one time while drunk. After that, Darcy didn't really change her behavior, but Pepper could see that the girl was trying to give Pepper what she couldn't have.

And she appreciated it. She really did.

Especially when Darcy had called her after the news about Tony's death had hit. Crying over the phone, the young woman had called her Mom, saying that Pepper was the only parent she had left and that she better fucking take care of herself, or so help me. A wet smile graced on her face, while a tear slid down her cheek.

"She's going to be okay," Tony exclaimed, handing her his drink. "So don't cry, or else I'm telling on you."

She wryly chuckled and accepted his drink. Not gulping it down like she had originally intended, she took a large sip. "I'm not crying."

"I beg to differ," the man quipped. Pepper figured he was trying to avoid thinking about the situation and was using her as a distraction. She could be that. "Why the smile and tears?"

"For Christmas, she called me mom."

Tony was silent at that, mouth gaping. "Well then." He shook his head. "That's new."

"Yeah." She took another long pull of scotch. "So she better get out of this okay."

"She will," he resolutely said, patting her hand. And that was a first. It was Tony reassuring her, instead of the other way around. "My girl is a fighter."

"Yeah. Its in her blood. She wouldn't go out like this."

"No, she'd be pissed if she went out like this." Tony ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "She always wanted to go out fighting. But an actual fight. Against bad guys. And only after taking out a fuckton of them."

"That's surprisingly descriptive."

"Eh," he shrugged. "That was a few years ago. Like, right after Afghanistan. It could be different now."

"Either way, I'm sure she didn't think this would be how."

"Naw," Tony sat back into his chair and stared out the window. "She'd be pissed if she didn't at least give birth."

"That's morbid."

"I'm serious. When has Darcy ever not finished something? She'd be pissed if she went out with something unfinished. Especially like that."

"Is that why you mess with her iPod all the time?"

Laughing, Tony grabbed the glass of scotch from Pepper's hand, and gulped it down. "Yeah. If I keep at least one unfinished playlist on there, she won't give up until its fixed." He grinned.

Pepper chuckled, realizing that Starks were all crazy. And happy to have helped Tony not dwell too much. Or at least look at the funny side of things. Something that he and Darcy tended to do normally.

Rhodey had been finishing up a dinner meeting with Major Danvers when he received a call from Pepper. He felt bad for taking it and immediately rushing off after settling the bill, but hearing that Darcy had been rushed to the hospital, well, he had to get there as soon as possible. Luckily the very pretty Major understood and agreed to see him again at a later date.

Darcy was one of the lucky few who never really ever went to the hospital. The girl had lived through years of lab explosions, exposure to unknown chemicals, and being Tony Stark's daughter. She had never broken a bone, maybe had the flu once, but other than when she was born, or visiting others, the girl was never in the hospital.

So her being rushed to one was a big deal. A big deal that had Rhodey worried and taking advantage of his connections to get a flight plan for the Iron Patriot from DC directly to Lenox Hill in NYC, getting pre-approval to land on the helipad at the hospital.

So now he was flying over the eastern seaboard, trying to figure out why Darcy would be rushed to the hospital. Was the tower attacked when the team was away? Had Bruce Hulked out and Darcy ended up as collateral damage? Did she finally succumb to sickness and her immune system couldn't handle it?

It was so bad that Tony and Pepper had dropped everything and left Los Angeles. And it was Pepper calling him, his best friend quiet in the background, no snark anywhere. Something had to be really wrong if Tony was silent.

Pushing the suit to its absolute limits, he sent all power to the thrusters and hoped to get there sooner.

"Okay, I have a driver waiting downstairs to bring you both to Lennox Hill," Bruce said, removing his glasses and pocketing them.

"Is it that serious?" Clint asked, not taking his eyes off of a crying Darcy as he pushed the wheelchair in the direction of the elevator.

Stepping onto the elevator, Bruce gave them the bare minimum of his diagnosis, and it wasn't even one. It was more a retelling of the symptoms, which would help when they reached the hospital. "I'm not that kind of doctor, but Darcy's blood pressure is 150/110, which is too high. Her protein levels are higher than I'd like as well. That, with the stomach pains and her swelling hands... I'd think it best if she saw an actual doctor," Bruce clutched the fingers of his other hand, twisting. This was his best friend's daughter, and he tried to keep the fear from seeping into his voice as well as keep the Other Guy at bay. This was the absolute worse time he could feel afraid and let it affect him. He had to hold back. At least wait until Darcy and Clint were out of the way.

"Thanks, Bruce." Darcy reached for his hand, stopping his fidgeting, and squeezed it. "When you can, meet us at the hospital okay? I think my dad is going to need you."

"Yeah, thanks Doc." Clint shook his hand and led them to the town car waiting outside the lobby.

"I'll call ahead and let them know what I found. Should shave some time and help."

Clint nodded, then lifted Darcy from the chair into the vehicle.

Bruce watched as they drove off. He would have to take advantage of the Hulk-proof basement Tony installed for a little bit and then follow them to the hospital. He should be able to get there before Tony arrived, and then offer any assistance he could.

He tried telling himself that he was just being paranoid. That the symptoms were just worrisome when combined and considering her family history. It was too soon, though, and it could just be Darcy freaking out in general. Clint had mentioned they were speaking to Tony for the first time since his supposed death.

Taking a deep breath, he walked into the elevator, and pressed the large green button at the bottom.

Clint was pacing in the waiting room. This was the most expressive he had been in his whole SHIELD career, but he was worried. He had already called Sitwell and told him he was taking vacation, effective immediately. When his handler had asked for how long and why, Clint had barely managed to choke out that he didn't know and Darcy was in the hospital.

Luckily Sitwell was trained by Phil, and had understood. Clint was off-duty until further notice, and that was barely a sigh of relief.

Maybe, if this all turned out to be something small (and how he hoped it really was), he could use the vacation time and take Darcy somewhere special. She had been complaining about how they had only ever spent time together in the tower, or in bumfuck New Mexico. He was sure Tony had some great resort somewhere he'd recommend. They could go to Europe, maybe London and just do a whole BBC tv show tour thing. He was sure Darcy would enjoy that. Find where Sherlock lived or pretend she was the Doctor's companion or something. She was a weird chick, but he loved her all the more for it.

And she was being tested for God only knew what. Clint hadn't prayed since he was a young kid and his mother would force him and Barney to do so before sleeping. But right then, he sent a small prayer asking that Darcy end up okay. The baby, he'd be happy if he or she was healthy, but really, he needed Darcy to come out of all this alive and healthy.

He had no idea what he'd do without her. To go back to his life before. It wouldn't really be possible. Tasha had already warned him about it. Explaining, after that first weekend he had snuck away to visit her, that agents don't do normal relationships, and when they do, they don't come back from them. He had laughed her off at the time, but right then, he knew she was absolutely correct.

And fuck that. He owed her a mission now, when she got back. Just realizing was enough to have to pay up. Natasha was all about the semantics.

But that would be okay. So long as Darcy was still with him. Alive. Healthy. Totally able to bounce back to her usual perky self.

Was that too much to ask?

"Mr. Barton?" A nurse called, stopping him from further wearing the floor by pacing. "We've finished running the tests and have Miss Lewis in a private room, sleeping. If you'd like to wait there," she gestured in a specific direction, "I can lead the way."

"Sure," he exhaled, rubbing his eyes before following her. "Do they know if she's going to be okay?"

"Not at this time. They took down her vitals and a few samples so that they could determine the cause. As soon as they know, you'll be notified." She opened the door to a large room that looked more like a hotel than a hospital.

"Nice digs."

"Stark Industries donates generously to our hospital yearly, and Maria Stark had originally paid to renovate our children's ward, which is right down the hall. This room is exclusively meant for a Stark."

"Nice," he replied, stepping into the room and dragging a chair towards the bedside. He didn't hear the nurse leave, simply placed a hand on Darcy's, and leaned his head down into the crook of her neck, taking a deep breath in. "Hey, Darcy."

Twining their fingers, he leaned forward and kissed her nose. "You have me really scared here. Like, I don't really have anything to compare this to. Maybe Budapest? No, not really. That has nothing on this. I promise, though, if you get healthy, I'll totally tell you the story about it. Screw the consequences. Tasha will understand."

"I don't know," she breathed out, scrunching her eyes from the bright light. "She's pretty scary when she wants to be. And she's adamant that no one should know about Budapest."

With a wry chuckle, Clint shook his head, then pressed his lips to hers. "How you feeling?"

"Like crap," she huffed, finally opening her eyes. "As bad as you look."

"Har har."

"Did the doctors say anything?"

"Just that they finished running the tests, nothing is conclusive yet. The nurse said they'd let us know as soon as they do."

"Okay." She squeezed his hand, holding back tears. "Clint," she whispered, "I'm scared."

"Me too, babe. Me too."

Since the phone call with her dad, all she could think about was how her mother died giving birth to her. Would she go out like that? Would this baby be the death of her? Like she was to her mom? She hadn't really thought about it since she was five, perfectly content with the parent she did have.

"My mom died giving birth to me, you know." She looked him in the eyes, trying to explain her fear without really saying anything.

"You're not going to. First of all, it's too early. Secondly, you're a fighter. And our kid will be a fighter."

"You don't know for sure, though," she cried, pulling him up onto the bed with her. She let him rearrange them so he sat with his back to the headboard and she nestled into his arms. "And what if I don't even make it to give birth? At least my dad had me, you know? I know him and my mom didn't really love each other. Just a one night stand gone wrong, but still."

"You would definitely make up for a lot of the wrong that has happened in Tony's life."

Placing her hands on her small belly, she gave a small smile. "And our baby will do that for you."

"Don't talk like that, Darce." Clint moved his arms so that his hands rested on top of hers. Twining their fingers together, he pressed his lips to the top of her head. "Our baby is going to grow up with the most awesome mom."

"And awesome dad."

"And ridiculous grandfather."

"Ha! And overprotective aunts and uncles." Smiling now, she squeezed his hands. This was why she loved Clint. He was serious when he needed to be, but he could cheer her up in a heartbeat.

"It would be pretty cool to grow up with a bunch of superheroes, though. Our kid is going to be pretty lucky."

"Oh my Thor! I'm going to have to get him or her all the Avengers merchandise!" Letting go of his hands, she clapped hers excitedly. That was something to look forward to. Everything would end up alright, and tomorrow she'd make Clint, Pepper, and her dad go to Target with her to buy out the Avengers toy aisle. Maybe they'd even have a cute purple onesie with a hawk on it?

Knowing what Darcy was thinking, Clint mused, "Will our kid have more purple or red-and-gold, I wonder?"

"Black and red. For Nat." Nodding to show she was happy with that decision, she grinned up at him. Burrowing into him, she hugged his arms, and sighed, "I love you, Clint."

"Everything is going to be alright."

And because she loved him so much, she decided to believe him.