Cara stared down at her hand that was in a cast that had her doctor looking at her with a questioning gaze in her eyes that Cara had avoided answering and had merely gotten a checkup and had an appointment set for the next day for a an ultrasound to see the progress of the child. Her doctor had suggested that it would be helpful and less stressing if Cara brought someone with her who she trusted to help her with this pregnancy.

Cara had agreed with this and brought up the suggestion Banner had that she write down a checklist and her doctor also thought this was a good idea and she didn't even know about her bad habit. Before she left she got a prescription for prenatal vitamins that Cara would need to take once a day and that she could get it after her ultrasound.

At the moment Cara walked down the hall to the living room where Stark had set up 'movie night' to give them all bonding time now that they were all together. Stark had told them about it the previous day after Banner got done casting her hand and this morning she had once more gotten Natasha to pretend to go with her to the clinic.

The blonde looked at how her teammates were set on the couch and she coughed to gain their attention. Her gaze found Natasha's and she nodded in the opposite direction to show she wanted to speak in private. She could talk in front of the others she knew, but she had based her decision on the one person she had known the longest. Natasha got up from her seat and followed her out of the room and far enough that none of the others could hear them.

"What did your doctor say?" Natasha asked.

"Well, she suggested that I should have someone with me for the ultrasound I'm having tomorrow, and you were the only one I trusted enough; you watched my back all these years, so why should this be any different right?" Cara explained and tried to sound blasé about this.

"You mean to be the one to go with you for all those ultrasounds, birthing classes, therefor being the one to help you through the labour itself?" Natasha questioned in a deceptively light tone and Cara nodded. The redhead's brow furrowed slightly. "Then you better not plan on dying, one woman and four guys helping out with a kid; we don't stand a chance."

Cara grinned and chuckled. "Trust me 'Tasha, I have no plans on dying anytime soon."

"I'm gonna hold you to that, Cara." Natasha replied. "Though at these ultrasounds we can see if the child is growing at a healthy rate."

Cara nodded solemnly and grimaced with a hand on her stomach. "Better get back to see what kind of movie Stark's gonna make us watch." She said they both walked back to the living room and took their place on another couch, but instead of putting on a movie, Stark got up and crossed his arms as he looked over at Cara.

"You picked Natasha to go with you? What's wrong with one of us?" he asked.

Cara stared at Stark for a moment before she scowled. "JARVIS." She hissed. "You guys all heard what we were talking about? What about privacy?"

"What about us being in this together?" Stark retorted and Cara bit down a retort when she was reminded of that. "You didn't have to leave the room, whatever you could have said you could have said in front of the rest of us."

"Would you have fought my decision?" Cara shot back.

"No," Stark said before smirking, "you did rob me though of my chances to tease you about not taking Steve because the papers seemed to think you two are together." Cara rolled her eyes and Steve flushed.

Thor looked between the two of them curiously. "Is Friend Steve the father? He was not around when you spoke of him."

Steve's face reddened even more and Cara closed her eyes as a pinched expression crossed her face. "Steve is not the father."
Cara said firmly.

"Steve?" Stark said surprised and Cara's eyes opened in alarm at his sly tone and she saw him grinning at her. "When did he become 'Steve'?"

"None of your business, Stark." Cara said pointedly before she felt a wave of nausea come over her and she ran for a bathroom.

"On second thought, dealing with Barton always ready to puke, you can stick with her, Natasha." Stark amended and no longer sounded offended that Cara overlooked the rest of them.

"If you're squeamish about Cara now, how are you going to handle when the actual baby comes?" Natasha questioned coolly with a raised brow.

Stark crossed his arms smugly. "I've already got JARVIS to start working on how to better soundproof Barton's room, and I'll figure out something else later; besides, we still got eight months left, right?"

"Though I am sure Cara will be glad when her morning sickness passes." Steve added.

Stark turned his sly gaze to him next, looking positively gleeful with this new development. "'Cara?' And when did she become that for you? How many bonding moments have you two had on your own anyway?"

Steve flushed. "We haven't had any bonding time; we came to…an understanding of sorts. I noticed she was rather…rigid with what she calls us, so I told her she could just call me Steve, and in return she told me her name."

"That sounds like a moment to me." Stark retorted before he noticed Natasha had slipped away. "I swear she's like a ninja."


"I hate this." Cara moaned to herself as she held a hand to her stomach and the other onto the sink counter to steady herself after rinsing out her mouth. She peered down at her stomach with a lazy scowl. "You'd better be human."

"Well that's what an ultrasound is for, isn't it?"

Cara looked at the doorway, not blinking when she saw Natasha leaning against the doorway and took it in stride. "Yes, it is." She said flatly and patted her stomach, feeling a curve of a bump on under her hand forming. "Now, should I fill you in on my checklist or do you wanna go back to the living room for the movie they're gonna be watching?"

Natasha moved off the doorframe. "Oh, the check list, please."

Cara smiled slightly before she walked out of the washroom and her smile widened as she looked suspiciously around at the walls. "And Stark, if you're making JARVIS spy on us, no boys allowed." She said bluntly.

"And I wonder why you don't have a boyfriend." Natasha said quietly.

Cara gave the redhead a false look of long-suffering. Had it been anyone else she wouldn't let a comment like that slide, even before the Chitauri incident. "Who needs a man when I've got you?" She said elbowing Natasha gently as they walked to her room.

"And you'd best not forget it." Natasha deadpanned and Cara chuckled.

The blonde sat down on her bed and against the headrest and put a pillow under her legs because the book advised this to prevent back pain. Natasha sat down on the edge of the bed, facing the door and even when she tried to look relaxed Cara could see she was always on alert.

"Man, aside from exercising, I'm going to be bored for the next long while." She said sullenly.

"Only you would say something like that, hormones must really be changing." Natasha replied dryly.

Cara snorted before taking the list of things she had jotted down off her nightstand and handed them over to the redhead. "By the way, do you have any idea what a Lamaze class is?"

Natasha paused in reading over the list and glanced up at Cara. "I guess this will be a new experience for both of us then."