In this chapter Natasha is in her third trimester
By the time she was six months pregnant Natasha was having great difficulty sleeping.
She didn't sleep terribly well at the best of times. But now she found herself lying restlessly in bed at all hours of the night. Tossing and turning; uncomfortable and frustrated she couldn't force herself back to sleep. Under normal circumstances she'd go to the gym or for a run in order to tire herself out before going back to bed, but these were both activities she was no longer supposed to do.
Her restlessness was starting to disturb Clint too, so she'd taken to wondering around the tower.
THOR
When Natasha reached six months Clint was sent away on a mission for three weeks to Guatemala.
One evening she found herself alone in the tower; Tony and Pepper were out for the night, Steve was on training drills with the Army, Bruce was using the SHIELD labs and Thor had been back on Asgard for the past four months.
It was almost 1am and Natasha had no inclination to go to bed, realising the time; she put down her book and went over to the kitchen to make herself a sandwich.
She suddenly sensed someone behind her; she turned, gun raised, and found herself aiming her weapon at none other than Thor. His face was smiling and warm, and Natasha felt stupid for holding her gun up at him.
"Lady Natasha! I am pleased to see you"
"Hi Thor" she smiled, placing her gun back in its holster "What are you doing back?"
"I missed Midgard and my friends. I also sensed you were lonely"
"I'm fine"
"But you are here alone?"
"Yes but-"
"Then it is good I came"
"Thor, I'm pregnant, not a child. I don't need supervision all the time"
"I know you are most capable of taking care of yourself Lady Natasha, however It does not mean you cannot receive a visitor"
She nodded, realising only now how lonely she had felt before Thor's arrival.
The two sat on the couch and talked for hours; Thor told Natasha of Asgard, and what he'd been doing during his time there. Natasha loved to hear the stories Thor told of his home, and took comfort in his company. Natasha updated Thor on everything that had happened in his absence; the missions the team had been on, Fury's increasingly worsening mood, and how the rest of the team were. Thor questioned Natasha relentlessly about her and the baby, explaining the many differences between pregnancy on Midgard and on Asgard.
When Tony and Pepper returned to the tower the next morning, they found Thor asleep on the couch, Natasha using his lap as a pillow as she slept curled up at the other end.
Pepper smiled to herself as she placed a blanket over them while Tony turned on the coffee machine.
STEVE
One Tuesday night, during her seventh month at 2am Natasha ran into Steve who was coming in from a run.
"Wh – Whats up Nat? Do you need me to get someone? Clint?"
"No, I'm fine thanks Steve" she smiled at his overreaction. "Where've you been?"
"Just a quick run"
"At 2am?"
"Couldn't sleep"
"I know the feeling" she sat the table, gladly taking the bottle of water Steve offered her.
"You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, just... Restless"
"You should get your rest while you can. From what I hear you're not going to get much when the babys born"
"Yeah, I think that's part of the problem"
Steve looked at her, concern worn all over his face. He sat down next to her before asking; "What do you mean?"
"I'm just..." she took a deep breath. "Scared" she admitted
"Come on Nat, you'll be a great mom"
"How do you know, I never even knew my mom, I don't even really know what i'm supposed to do"
"You'll figure it out Nat. I have every faith in you" he smiled at her confidently
Steve's confidence did nothing to quell the panic and fear that had been rising steadily over the past seven months, ever since she'd found out she was pregnant she'd done nothing but worry about all the ways in which she would mess this up. Having been raised in a spy training facility since her own parents were murdered when she was only a child herself; she wasn't familiar with the role of a parent. Clint was so excited and carefree which made her worry even more. He would be a great dad, she knew it, she just didn't have the same confidence in her own abilities.
Steve seemed to read her worry and fear, placing his hand over hers he said;
"Nat, we're all here for you. All of us. Whatever you need. All you have to do is ask"
TONY
Tony had snuck onto Clint and Natasha's floor of the tower, thinking everyone was out, in order to make a few adjustments to the nursery he'd built for the baby. Little did he know Natasha had just fallen asleep after being awake all night.
He was just in the middle of changing the settings on the security system he'd insisted on putting in place; when the alarm went off. Hitting the reset code it eventually subsided. He was just in the middle of sending a 'false alarm' message to SHIELD when Natasha appeared behind him;
"What the hell are you doing Stark?"
"Natasha, I'm sorry I thought you were out!"
"Doesn't answer my question"
"I just wanted to make sure everything was ready"
Natasha went and sat (with some difficulty) next to Tony on the floor, surrounded by his tools and various bits of wires and scraps of metal.
"Tony, you know I'm not due for another month and a half yet right?"
"I know, but there's nothing wrong with being well prepared"
"Why exactly does the baby's room have an alarm?"
"You never know. I just want to make sure it's always safe, so we don't have to worry too much"
"Tony..." Natasha suddenly felt very fond of the man sat opposite her; the use of the word 'we' gave her more comfort than she'd have thought possible; the whole team were going to be here to help protect her baby if it were needed.
"I'm just updating the software, only authorised people can enter the room without the alarm going off. If the alarm does go off it'll sent an alert to all six of us and Pepper, as well as to SHIELD. So I need a list of all the people you want to allow access to; so far I've got you and Clint; obviously, and then there's me, Pepper, Bruce, Steve, Thor, Jane, Darcy, Maria and Coulson. I didn't know whether you'd want Fury or no so I've left him off..."
"That's great, thanks Tony" the sincerity in her voice didn't pass his attention and he found himself smiling at the approval.
"So anyway... You guys feel free to name the baby after me if you want"
"I don't think so Tony"
"What's wrong with Tony?"
"I've been wondering that for years"
"Tony is a great name"
"You don't even know if we're having a boy or a girl"
"If it's a boy: Anthony, and if it's a girl – Antonia. Sorted"
"Tony-"
"Aw come on widow, I'm never going to have kids... Name one of yours after me!"
"Stark; I'm not naming my child after you, and what do you mean by 'one of'? This is it. One and only! Besides, you don't know you'll never have kids"
"Have you met me? There's no way i'll ever have kids. And I bet you you'll have more kids"
"I don't make bets"
"Shame; I bet your husband you'd have five"
"Five?! I really don't think so! What did you bet?"
"That you'd name your fifth child after me"
"There's no way we're ever going to have five children Stark"
"We'll see..."
BRUCE
When Natasha was eight months pregnant she suffered from terrible back ache; one Sunday evening when Clint was away and she couldn't sleep, she found herself on the communal floor; lay on the couch, propped up on a pile of pillows reading her favourite Russian novel.
"Nat, You alright?"
"Bruce. Hi. What are you doing up at 4am?"
"I ran out of coffee in my lab; what are you doing up at 4am?"
"Can't sleep"
"Braxton Hicks again?"
"No, just back ache"
"Here, sit forward"
Bruce helped Natasha sit upright before sliding in to sit behind her. He put his hands gently on her back, waiting for her approval before he started rubbing in a soothing motion. It relieved so much tension in her that she felt almost instantly sleepy.
"Did everything go okay at your latest check-up?"
"Yeah everything's fine"
"Did Clint make it this time?"
"No, he's in Taiwan"
"You know, if you ever need anybody..."
"I know. Thanks Bruce" she smiled. The whole team had been so supportive of her and Clint; to the point that even Tony offered to accompany her to her appointment that day.
I wasn't long before Natasha was finally feeling comfortable enough to sleep, and she dozed off right there on the couch. Smiling, Bruce lifted her from the sofa and carried her up to her floor, placing her gently in her bed he whispered "Goodnight Nat, sleep well" before turning to leave.
He felt extremely happy that Natasha felt comfortable with him, he never thought he'd earn that right.
He'd been especially careful around her since the events of New York, but they'd formed a friendship and his fears of hurting her had subsided. But when she'd told him she was pregnant his fears and worry had returned and he'd felt awkward in her presence, however Natasha's lack of fear towards him had reminded him of who he was; he wasn't the same man as he had been, he would never hurt his friends; and he relished the time he spent with them.
PEPPER
One Friday night when Natasha was eight and a half months pregnant she found Pepper returning late from a meeting at Stark Industries
"Hey Tasha, what you doing up at" she checked her watched, looking somewhat surprised at the time "2.30?"
"Nothing much. I just can't sleep"
"Want a drink?"
"What I really want is a vodka..."
"Can't help you there, I can get you a green tea?"
"Yes please"
Pepper busied herself in the kitchen while Natasha struggled onto one of the stools
"You picked a name yet?"
Natasha groaned slightly
"That bad huh?"
"We just can't agree. We only just agreed the surname would be Barton"
"Can't you compromise and use the other names if you have any more kids?"
"More kids?! I don't think so Pepper. One is enough"
"You never know Nat" she said with a knowing wink
"What about you and Tony? You ever consider having kids?"
"I don't think it's anything we've ever even discussed"
"Why not?"
"Did you and Clint discuss it?"
"No. It was more of an accident..."
"I think it'd have to be that way for me and Tony. We're both so busy we'd never plan for it, but if we did; I'd be happy... Do you know what I mean?"
"Yeah, yeah I do" Natasha replied; rubbing at her stomach.
CLINT
When Natasha was nine months pregnant and just a few days from her due date she was absolutely exhausted, more exhausted than she'd been since being a child; going days without sleep.
She lay awkwardly and uncomfortably in bed as Clint slept soundly beside her. Frustrated, she woke him up. She tried to do it nicely at first, but when he didn't stir she elbowed him sharply; which worked perfectly.
"Wha- What's wrong?!"
"Nothing"
"So why'd you wake me at... 3.30?"
"I can't sleep and it's your fault"
"My fault? Why?" at this point he moved to turn on the lamp, repositioning himself to sit closer to Natasha, placing his arm behind her, pulling her closer to him and kissing her forehead.
Natasha sighed heavily in response
Clint kissed her once again, this time on her lips and was slightly relieved when she kissed him back. He placed his hand on her stomach and smiled when the baby kicked
"I can't believe we're going to be parents" Clint smiled down to Natasha
"Me either"
"I can't wait"
Natasha smiled; "Me either"
"Are you tired yet?"
"Clint, I'm always tired. I just can't sleep"
"You know, in all the time i've known you, you always slept on your stomach. Maybe that's why you can't sleep?"
"You waited til now to tell me that?!"
"Well, I never really thought about it til now"
She sighed once again, watching as Clint gently stroked her stomach. She found herself drifting slowly to sleep in the comfort of Clint's arms.
A few hours later Natasha was awoken with a sharp stabbing pain across her abdomen. Clint woke too, sensing her distress;
"Is it time?"
Natasha nodded as another painful contraction ripped through her.
Clint smiled the biggest grin Natasha had seen; "We're going to be parents!"