In this chapter; Evie is eight, Henry & Elijah are five, Jacob is four Oliver is five months old, Alexis is four months old
Henry, Elijah, Thor & Jane
It was coming to the end of January and the kids still were off school; snow still covered the streets and the past few days had been terrible. The school had been forced to call several snow days until the conditions improved.
Elijah and Henry were bored, and had recently taken to crawling around in the air vents; their parents were less than pleased when they found out!
In their latest venture, they found themselves over Thor's lounge;
"My beautiful Lady Jane, when can we share our exciting news with our friends? I do not understand the secrecy surrounding such a joyous occasion!"
"Soon Thor, I promise. I just want Darcy to be here when we tell everyone, and she's not able to visit for another two weeks. Then you can tell everyone"
"I? Would it not be you to share the news?"
"Thor, we're having a baby. It doesn't matter which one of us tells everyone"
"I see. On Asgard it is always the barer of the child to share the news"
"Well on earth either parent can do it"
Elijah and Henry watched as Thor took Jane into his large arms and planted a gentle kiss on the top of her head before they scurried off.
Evie, Natasha & Clint
Evie was on her way to retrieve her favourite book when she heard her parents hushed tones;
"I don't believe this happened"
"Come on Tasha, its great news!"
"This is all your fault"
"Nat, I think it takes two of us to-"
"You and your stupid ideas!"
"I don't remember you complaining"
"I knew we shouldn't have drank so much"
"Tasha, it was New Year's Eve"
"Clint we just had a baby!"
"You really don't want another baby?" the hurt in his voice made Natasha stop her rant and take a deep breath
"I'm not saying that Clint, I'm just saying that it's very soon"
"Tasha..."
"I'm sorry Clint, it's just a bit of a shock..."
"You think it's a shock? Wait til we tell Stark!" he laughed and Natasha smiled
"You're right though; it is good news. But you have to tell Fury"
"Deal! The kids will be so excited" Clint told her with a smile, he took a step forward closing the gap between them and placed a large hand on her stomach. She was surprisingly skinny for someone who hadn't long since had a baby
Natasha smiled up at her husband; she never was able to stay mad with him for long
Everyone Else
"Evelyn!" "Evelyn!" Elijah and Henry shouted, bursting into her room. She put her book down and raised her eyebrows I'm a silent question
"Guess what we heard!" Elijah enthused as Henry shut the door
"What?"
"Thor and Jane are having a baby!" Henry said excitedly
Evie considered the information for a minute;
"I don't believe you"
"It's true!" Elijah confirmed
"How do you know?"
"We were in the vents and we heard!"
"No way!" Evie was now as excited as her brothers
"Want to know something else?!" she whispered
"What?!" the boys said in unison
"Mom and Dad are having another baby too!"
"How do you know that?!" Henry asked a little too loudly
"Shhhhhh" Elijah warned, Henry apologised before allowing his sister to continue
"I heard mom and Dad talking, but you can't tell anyone! They only just found out, they probably won't tell us for another few months"
"Months?! We have to keep the secret that long?!"
"What secret?" Natasha asked from the doorway. All three children jumped slightly.
Alexis started crying from the other room, Evie jumped from her bed saying "I'll get Lex Mom!" before running off
Natasha turned back to her sons who smiled mischievously at her, they both had learned that smile from Clint she was sure
"Nothing, just what Evelyn bought you for Christmas" Henry answered
"Nice try boys, but it's January..."
"Jane and Thor are having a baby!" Elijah admitted to his mother, at the exact moment Pepper appeared behind her with Jacob
"Another baby?" Jacob asked excitedly
"Nice going 'Lijah, now everyone knows!" Henry whispered to his brother
"Yeah, but they don't know we know about Mom and Dad" Elijah responded when the others had left to discuss the news in the lounge.
The following week Darcy arrived, having taken some time off work to visit early at Jane's insistence.
Thor was so excited that he announced the news with little warning before she even got her coat off, Steve was so shocked he dropped his coffee.
Natasha, Pepper, Evie and the twins acted as surprised as everyone else, and Evie didn't miss the way her Dad whispered something to her Mom, resulting in a glare and an elbow to the ribs.
Jacob, however, was not as subtle as the others.
"What's up Junior?" Tony asked his son, noticing how he had barely looked up from his tower of building blocks when Thor had announced the news. "Aren't you excited to have another baby cousin?"
"Yes" he answered simply
"Come on Tony, leave him to it" Pepper said. Tony did, but he suspected something wasn't right there.
"So, baby Thor makes seven! Once your baby is here they'll be more kids than Avengers living here!" Tony stated. "And that's quite enough!" he added, pointing a warning finger at the two assassins who were whispering in the corner
"Come on Tony, give them a break. They just had Alexis, they won't be in a rush for another anytime soon" Bruce defended them
Clint had never known Bruce Banner be so wrong and the thought made him laugh
Evie, Elijah and Henry joined in, knowing the reason behind their fathers laughter
"Did I miss something?" Thor asked confused
"I think we all did" Jane answered quietly
"Anyway" Steve interrupted, having finally picked up the pieces of broken mug which had been scattered across the kitchen area
"Congratulations!" he said to Thor and Jane, the others echoed and Thor beamed with pride.