AN: LAST FULL CHAPTER. OMG I MADE IT. GAHHH.
This story has literally been 4 years in the making and at some points I truly thought I'd never finish it! I just want to thank all of you who've been here from the beginning and those who've just joined. I know how frustrating it can be to be basically abandoned by a fic writer and I am so, so sorry! Thank you for continuing to read and review and follow! 3
After the night I shocked him, life settled down once more. Steve continued his search for Bucky and I continued to go down to the labs nearly every day, rotating between Tony, Bruce and Jane's lab. I began spending so much time down there that Tony had actually began paying me, and set me up with space of my own. Between saving the world, getting the apartment ready for the baby and Steve running out to track down leads on Bucky, the next few months passed quickly.
In July, Tony dragged us all out to his house at the Hamptons, determined to celebrate Steve's birthday in style. Which meant fireworks and red white and blue everything. Personally, I was fine with the move, and spent most of the weekend lounging in the pool and enjoying cool ocean breezes. Much better than the circulated air of the Tower, or than the stuffy stink of New York in 90 degree weather.
Then in August, Steph and Darcy had somehow worked out a way to surprise me with a baby shower. I don't know how they knew each other, but had connected on one of Steph's late night Facebook stalking sessions, figuring out that they had actually shared a boyfriend at Culver, Steph when he was a fellow undergrad and Darcy when he was a TA and PhD candidate.
The girls got together and threw a small but fun affair, sure to invite the boys as well, as Steve and I opened gifts, many of them labeled P.P., while Pepper looked on in glee, Tony in horror. This kid would be spoiled silly and would want for not a single thing. With each passing day, Steve got more and more excited about the baby coming, starting to talk to my stomach every night and even singing once in a blue moon. He'd shocked me with a decent and smooth singing voice, and he loved singing Bing Crosby to the baby.
At the very beginning of September, Sam had grabbed Steve for a quick mission. Bucky had been spotted around L/A and they wanted to see if they could catch him before he left the city. Steve and Sam had taken off late the night before, so when I waddled down to the labs at 11am, Darcy looked up in surprise.
"I thought you weren't coming in today." she said, watching me warily.
"I'm bored and Steve'll be gone for at least 48 hours. Thought I'd spend some time with you and Bruce." Tony and Jane had left two days earlier for some fancy scientist conference in Toronto. Bruce had declined and Darcy decided to stay home, since whenever she went to these things with Jane she just got hit on all weekend.
"Are you sure you should even be moving around? Aren't you on bedrest yet?" I scowled.
"No, I'm not. In fact, I am on the opposite of bedrest since someone won't induce me." I raised my voice at the end, glaring at Bruce. He shrugged helplessly.
"Charlotte, you know that I'm not going to induce until we need to. You're only two days overdue, both you and the baby's vitals are perfect. He'll come when he comes." I rolled my eyes and paced.
"Yeah, two days overdue, but he's just going to get bigger. You really want to just let him grow? He's not going to be able to come out if we wait much longer. He'll be too big!" A note of hysteria filled my voice and Darcy came over to me.
"Come on mama, just sit a second and calm down. I know you get ansty when Cap leaves, but you can't take it out on Brucey." She motioned me over to a comfy chair and sat me down. "He'll be here soon okay?" I sighed heavily and nodded. "Now, do you want me to grab you those equations from earlier? We haven't been able to get any farther with them since you skipped out on us last night to bone Steve." I blushed.
"We heard that sex helps get labor started. Spoiler alert: It doesn't if your boyfriend is afraid to have sex with you because you are 'too pregnant'" Darcy winced.
"He didn't actually say that did he?"
"No, but I could tell that he thought it." I took the notebook begrudgingly and idly began to do some work.
The lab was quiet with just Bruce, Darcy and I. No Tony dragging Bruce off on tangents, no Jane freaking out about a reading or stress eating poptarts. It was damn near pleasant if I was honest. Idly, I wondered if we could always work like this. My mind created an imaginary wall between the two labs, Tony pouting without Bruce, Jane losing her mind without Darcy's optimistic and calming influence. The more my mind wandered, the further I faded into a dream. I really hadn't slept well the night before, and this chair was surprisingly comfortable, providing much needed support to my aching back. I fell into the dream easily, half complete fantasies swimming in my brain.
I floated above the room, looking down at the three of us working away peacefully. Or Darcy and Bruce working peacefully, me just sleeping. An imaginary wall of blue separated the two sides of the lab, Tony and Jane's chaotic tables and cubicles blocked off. Venturing out into the hallway, a protective barrier set up in front of the elevators, glowing that pale blue. Rising up through the levels of the building, I pictured each one, bustling labs, office space, cafeteria, main lobby, all perfectly normal, rising all the way to the top floor of the building. I imagined a safe cocoon around Stark tower, protecting every inhabitant inside. Wouldn't it be nice? Just to have our safe little space protected and secure. I finally got what Tony was going for with L.E.G.I.O.N.. Or maybe it was just my maternal instinct on steroids. Who knows?
As my mind began its descent, I paused near one of the service entrances close to street, noticing a strange person in black poking at the make believe shield around the building. They were trying to access a hole in the building, that looked blasted into the concrete. A hand reached out from the hole, pulling back as soon as they met the electric blue. They spoke in hushed tones, in some kind of language I couldn't recognize before the one inside disappeared from view, the other turning around to guard the opening, a flash of red on his arm. I zeroed in, seeing the head of an eight legged creature. Hydra. I gasped, waking myself up from my dream, looking around in shock.
Darcy and Bruce sat peacefully at work, unfazed by the electric blue wall that had sprung up between our sections of the lab. It was real? Had I done that in my sleep? Alarm spread as my gut dropped. I levered myself out of the chair and walked over to the wall of blue, touching it softly and recognizing my own power there.
"What the-" my shock was cut off by the blaring alarm.
"Dr. Banner, Miss Samuels and Miss Lewis, please remain calm. My security protocol has been triggered. Currently sweeping the building for potential threats." JARVIS's calm voice cut in over the alarm.
"Threats?" Darcy looked up finally, noticing the blue wall bordering her work space. "Whoa, where the fuck did that come from?" she reached out to touch experimentally.
"No! Don't touch it!" she paused, looking over at me.
"Is this yours?" I nodded.
"I was dreaming. I thought it was a dream anyway." the rest of it came back to me in a rush.
"JARVIS is right. There's someone in the building. I saw it in my dream. Up on one of the levels close to street level. If that's true then.." I muttered walking over to the elevators, finding another wall of blue.
"Wait, wait, so you're telling me you did this?" Darcy asked.
"I guess so. I was picturing what it'd be like to be like this all the time, just the three of us without Tony or Jane's craziness so I sectioned off the lab. It just went up from there. I had no idea it was actually happening, I thought it was all in my head. I think it might be over the entire building. JARVIS? Did the intruder come in around street level? Is there an additional shield in place over the entire building?"
"Sensors are registering an energy signature similar to you own near the lab elevators and around the outside of the building. Sir and Captain Rogers have been made aware of this development and are on their way back to the Tower."
"Shit. I didn't realize it was over the entire building!" My stress level spiked and the wall between the labs glowed in response.
"I'm sure it's fine Charlotte. Just take them down." Darcy soothed. I nodded and took a deep breath.
"Miss Samuels, I have Captain Rogers on the line for you. It's rather urgent."
"Patch him through J."
"Charlotte. Is everyone okay?" Steve's voice was calm but terse.
"Yes, everyone's fine. I may have inadvertently trapped a Hydra operative inside the building but we're all safe down here."
"Yeah, JARVIS said you'd put up some barriers. That's good. Let's keep it that way. The more Hydra agents you can keep out the better. Sam and I are on our way back and should be there soon. Stay where you are, don't leave the labs and keep the shield up as long as you can. Internal Stark security should be able to find and take care of any intruders already inside."
"Okay, I'll try."
"How did you manage to put a shield around the entire building? Are you okay? Did something happen?"
"It was just a daydream. I don't know what happened. One minute I was dozing off, the next the whole building was covered. I feel fine, so I'm not even sure how this is happening."
"Well, try to relax okay? I would think it takes a huge amount of energy to keep a shield this big going and I don't want you to hurt yourself. We'll be there in about 4 hours, so sit tight. Stark's on his way back too."
"I'll keep an eye on her Steve. She's looks fine but I can monitor her vitals if that helps you both feel better.
"Thanks Banner. It does. Stay safe everyone." The line disconnected and I looked over at Bruce, already pulling a blood pressure cuff and stethoscope from somewhere.
"Really?! Really Bruce? I feel fine. I didn't even realize that I was doing anything. I'm fi-" I stopped as a rather intense Braxton-Hicks contraction started.
"Charlotte?" Bruce asked, rushing over to support me.
"I'm fine, just another Braxton-Hicks." I muttered through my teeth.
"Are you sure?" the contraction began to wane and I caught my breath, straightening up.
"Yes, I'm positive. They've been happening all morning." Bruce looked up in alarm.
"All morning? And you didn't say anything?"
"No, I've been having them for the past month off and on. I stopped freaking out about them the 5th time I went down to medical for you to tell me it wasn't labor and send me back upstairs. I'm fine." I muttered as a rush of fluid went down my legs.
"Oh fuck." Darcy exclaimed, looking over in panic. Alarm flashed over Bruce's face before the cool, calm doctor reappeared.
"Doesn't sound like Braxton-Hicks to me." he said. My breath hitched and panic rose in my throat.
"No, no I can't be in labor. Steve isn't here. We never found a specialist. The Tower's in lockdown. I-I can't be in labor. I'm not." I continued as Bruce walked me towards another section of the lab.
"We're supposed to be upstairs. I had a birth plan. It included music and an OB/GYN and soothing sounds and Steve." my voice hitched as reality started to sink in. I looked around in panic as Bruce pulled out an emergency medical panel, passing me a hospital gown and turning away, setting up a heart rate monitor and IV.
"I can't do this without Steve. We had everything planned. He had everything planned. It's his thing." my voice rose in pitch, breaths catching as I began to hyperventilate. "He's the man with the plan, not me!" Darcy rushed over, grabbing my hand.
"Charlotte, calm down. It's going to be fine. Steve's on his way back and you've got plenty of time before the baby comes. Labor takes forever right Bruce?"
"Depends. Sometimes labor can take over 24 hours, other times it can be over in 2." Darcy glared at Bruce.
"Not helpful Banner. Not helpful. It'll be fine Charlotte. Your contractions aren't even that close together. That's a good thing right? Bruce? Bruce?!" she squeaked out as another contraction hit and my hand closed like a vise around her arm.
"Charlotte, breathe through it and count." I followed his directions and Darcy tried her best to pry my hand off her arm.
"Whoa, look at that," she exclaimed. I looked up and squinted at the wall barring the exit to the lab. It seemed to pulse with the contractions, glowing brighter with the pain. The contraction tapered off slowly, and the blue faded back. Bruce watched the wall return to normal with not a small amount of concern before turning back to me.
"We should get you comfortable Charlotte. If this baby is coming as quickly as it seems, we should start to get ready. Do you think you could lower the shield in the lab? The full medic station is on Tony's side of the lab." I nodded focusing on the wall before us and bringing it down slowly. My current level of stress made it difficult, but I managed to wrestle it down. Escorting me across the lab, my mind started to work through the reality of the situation.
"I should call Steve. He's probably already so stressed out, but he'd want to know. I don't even know if he'll make it in time. Oh god, what if he doesn't? He'll kick himself forever if he misses this."
"He's already on his way. I'm sure he's rushing home as fast as the quinjet can take him."
"It looks like things are moving quickly, I know, but in my at least anecdotal experience, a woman's first baby tends to take their time arriving. He'll get here Charlotte," Bruce pulled down the bed from the wall, pulling open the cabinet to the left exposing heart rate montiors, IV's and various medical equipment. "But in the meantime you should probably try to get comfortable."
Steve POV
They had been so close. Just blocks from what had seemed to be Bucky's apartment in East L/A when the call came in that the Tower was under attack. They'd finally gotten a hold on his position the day before, a convenience store camera tipping them off to Bucky grabbing groceries around the block from the run down apartment that he'd been occupying for the past few weeks. He was right there, but when the call came through from JARVIS, Steve'd made the decision in a heartbeat.
"How'd she sound?" Sam asked from the cockpit of the quinjet.
"She sounded fine, if a little ticked off. But she's been on edge for the past couple of days anyway."
"Impatient for the baby to get here?"
"Yes. She's been driving herself and me up the wall. I think she's just so uncomfortable at this point she just wants to be done with it all."
"Can't blame her. She looks big enough for twins." Steve glared at Sam and he shrugged.
"What? You, unsurprisingly, make big babies. She's what, a couple days past due? I don't blame her at all for being done with it all." Steve sighed.
"You're right. Sorry, this has got me on edge too. It's just, it feels like as long as the baby's inside he's safe you know? Once he's born there's so much in the world that could hurt him. It's overwhelming." Sam nodded.
"I get it. I do. But someday that baby's gonna have to be born. Between the two of you and all of us, that kid's gonna be the safest kid on the planet."
"You say that, but the tower's supposed to be the safest building in New York and we're racing back because there's an intruder." Sam sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Sure, but your girl's got it under control. Did she really manage to cover the entire building?"
"We'll see soon enough." Steve sat next to Sam and leaned forward to see through the cloud cover coming into the city. The fog lifted, revealing the skyline with Stark Tower standing out in sharp contrast, covered in shimmering light.
"Holy-" Sam breathed out, slowing the quinjet for landing. "Can we land on that? It might short out the quinjet."
"JARVIS, are we good to land?" Steve asked.
"Unfortunately Captain, Sergeant Wilson is correct. Currently Miss Samuels' power shield would short out the quinjet and could result in complete lockdown and potential electrocution."
"Damn," Steve muttered. "Patch me through to Charlotte JARVIS. She'll have to drop the shield."
"Patching you through now Captain."
"I swear to GOD that son of a BITCH!" Charlotte's voice rang out through the cockpit of the quinjet, setting Steve on edge. She followed with a string of indiscernible swear words.
"Charlotte?! What's going on? Banner?!
"Oh hey Steve, we're uh, OW, a little busy at the moment. Can you call back?"
"Darcy? What the hell is happening?"
"Oh um, well. Charlotte is currently in labor and in the middle of a -fuck Charlotte!- contraction. Hold please."
"Banner, what is going on?"
"Uh oh, scary Captain voice." Darcy muttered.
"Steve, Charlotte's been in active labor for about four hours. I have a hunch that she's been having back labor since this morning. Her water broke right after you called."
Steve swore that his heart stopped at Bruce's words. Charlotte was in labor. Right now, in the middle of a lockdown and he was trapped on this stupid quinjet. Sam looked over at Steve, watching the color drain from his face. He had never seen Steve this obviously rattled.
"Bruce, we're right over the tower, ready to land but Charlotte's shield is stopping us. She needs to bring it down so we can land."
"I'm not sure how possible that is right now. The shield seems to be a manifestation of her power while she's in pain. It pulses with the contractions and fades in between them. Okay, okay, it looks like this one is ending. Charlotte-"
"Bruce, what's happening? Is Steve here? Steve?" At Charlotte's tired voice Steve sprung into action.
"Charlotte. I'm here, I'm right above the tower. We need you to lower the shield so we can land. Do you think you can do that?"
"Yeah, I-I think so." Steve watched the shield fade slightly, splitting over the top of the tower.
"Now Sam!" Sam brought the quinjet closer to the landing pad.
"Oh, fuck-" Charlotte muttered through clenched teeth.
"Another contraction's about to start-" Bruce announced. The shield pulsed and began creeping back up the Tower.
"Hold it off just a bit longer baby, come on." Steve soothed. The shield stayed back and held, glowing vibrantly. The quinjet set down and the doors opened immediately, Steve taking off at a sprint. Sam followed quickly behind, running into the tower just as the shield snapped back into place.
"Tony's gonna be pissed that he won't be able to get in."
"He'll live."
"JARVIS? Tell Charlotte I'm on my way."
Charlotte POV
The contraction stole my breath, my whole body tensing. I lost the grip, the shield snapping back into place.
"Breathe Charlotte, come on, you have to breathe." I gulped air following Darcy's words. She had migrated to my shoulders, squeezing them with the contractions to try and bring my focus away from the pain, giving me a damp towel tied to the bed rail to pull instead of her arm.
"You're almost through this one Charlotte. Steve's on his way now."
"Thank God. Augh, fuck." I lost my voice as the pain ramped up and then began to ebb slowly. Turning, I could see the elevator door open and Steve rush in, coming up against my second wall of blue. I focused, trying to bring my attention away from the pain to the power pulsating in response to my level of stress. Seeing Steve's face, knowing he was so close, pulled me the rest of the way through the contraction and calmed me enough to lower the wall.
Steve ran through, taking Darcy's spot, peppering my sweaty forehead with kisses.
"I'm so glad you're okay." he murmured into my hair.
"Oh, yeah, totally fine. Just you know, giving birth, no biggie."
"I'm so sorry I left, I should've stayed here with you."
"It's fine. I'm just really happy that you're here now."
"Me too," Steve said before turning to Bruce. "Has everything been okay? How are they doing?"
"They've both been great. You should be really happy you got here when you did though. Charlotte's 10 centimeters dilated and about ready to push."
"What?" I exclaimed, looking down at Bruce.
"This kid is very impatient to get out. You're lucky he waited this long. You're going to need to push with the next contraction, which should be happening," Bruce paused, looking over at the monitor, "about now." Like clockwork, the contraction worked through me, along with the overwhelming urge to push that I'd been ignoring. Steve took my hand in his, clasping it tightly and not even wincing when I squeezed with all my might.
"Good, that's good Charlotte, you're doing great."
This seemed to stretch on forever, through countless contractions. At some point Steve climbed into the bed with me, supporting my back and helping me push. The whole time he kept on this unrelenting string of praise, pushing me and keeping me focused. He held my hands snugly, loosening his grip during contractions so I could squeeze as much as I needed. An eternity later (or maybe just an hour) I could feel my energy waning. The wall that had been replaced after Steve and Sam came through disappeared. Jane and Tony ran into the outer lab, so obviously the shield around the tower had fell too. It didn't matter anymore. Nothing did but bringing this kid into the world. I leaned back in between contractions, trying to pull some of Steve's endless energy into my own body.
"I can't Steve, I can't do this anymore" I mumbled listlessly, shaking my head.
"Yes you can Charlotte. You can do this. I know you can. You're so close baby, so close." Tears welled up in the corner of my eyes, the energy to even sob gone.
"Come on, just this last push. Just one more push Charlotte, I know you can do it. Just one more." The contraction built within me and I focused on that. Just one more. Just one and I could finish this. Pushing with all of my might I felt a quick burning sensation, tremendous pressure and then release. I sagged back against Steve, willing my eyes to stay open as Bruce held up a squirming baby, cleaning his airway quickly before a loud, clear cry broke the air.
"Oh my god" Steve murmured behind me. Our baby kept crying, wiggling unhappily as Bruce tried to clean him off as best as he could before placing him on my chest. Tears streamed down my face, watching his little face scrunched angrily. Perfect little fingers led to perfect arms. Little toes to already chubby legs. A small, slightly pointed nose with tiny lips a perfect miniature of Steve's, light fuzz covering his tiny head. Steve kept kissing my hair, murmuring a holy 'thank you, thank you, thank you." in my ear. The world stopped as tiny blue eyes squinted up at me.
"Hello James."
AN: *Happy dance* It's done! It's done, it's done, it's done! Oh, I'm so happy! Just the epilogue left!