Ninety Seven

"The kids need to be in bed at nine." Laura had said. It was almost midnight when Lila had passed out in front of the television. Loki was pacing the room, trying to rock Nate to sleep. Every time Loki set him in his bassinet, he woke screaming again. Cooper was kicking my ass on some Call of Duty. How this eleven year old boy was better at war, I'll never know.

Cooper didn't like being left with Loki much, so I stepped in trying to help. I got wrangled into a six hour video game session. Cooper didn't speak much, except to accuse me of cheating. He did look very tired, so I kept him going.

I'm not sure when he fell asleep, I woke up with him leaned against my side, controller in hand. I gently lifted him so I could get up. I set him back down and covered him up. Loki had fallen asleep in the recliner, baby Nate resting on his chest. I kissed him gently, waking him.

"Mmm. Are they back?" Loki asked drowsily.

"No, it's not morning yet. You want to try setting him down again?"

"Yeah." He smiled softly. He was absolutely beautiful holding his child against him. I gently took the infant from him, cradling him gently. He stood, and came nose to nose with me. He gently kissed me.

"I want one." He whispered, as to not wake the baby.

"We'll discuss this in the morning." I returned his kiss. I set Nate in his bassinet and we quietly snuck off to our bed. It wasn't ten minutes later that the baby woke up screaming. Loki got up, and brought him back into the bed with us. Nate immediately calmed down and fell asleep between us.

Clint and Laura claimed their kids late the next morning. We hadn't gotten much sleep, but we already missed the kids. We never got to really talk as the week was filled with planning for the benefit. My Senate hearing also managed to work itself in.

I stood before Senate, explaining my reasoning and offering my condolences. It had been decided they would take me up on my offer of retirement. I would no longer be Ironman. It was bittersweet. I knew I wasn't going to prison, branded a war criminal, but I would never be Ironman again.

I tried to keep my mind busy with planning for the benefit. Retirement was unsettling, and I found myself in the lab during any downtime. I continued researching nano machines in combination with the Extremis compound. My thought of using Extremis to replicate the nano machines just the body replicates blood cells in the marrow.

Loki seemed busy with a secret project of his own. He seemed to be sneaking around doing something. He closed down his computer anytime I was in the suite. He tried to be sneaky, but I knew he was up to something. My sneaky God of chaos was always up to something.

Loki didn't seem well either, sleeping more often.

"Lo, you okay?" I asked the morning of the benefit.

"Yeah, just tired."

"Ok. You excited about the benefit?"

"Yes, I have everything picked out." He turned the page of his book.

"You know this is the first time you'll be at one of these with me."

"Yes." He looked up from his book, shimmering into my beautiful Lana, almost immediately reverting back. He ran for the bathroom, throwing up.

"Loki, are you okay?" I had followed him. He shook his head no. I sat next to him rubbing his back.

"You don't think, do you." He whimpered.

"I don't know, we can always run a test and see." I offered. He nodded and I went for a syringe.

His blood test came back negative. Loki seemed a little depressed after I told him. We decided he had a mild stomach flu, and he sat out from the benefit. I told him about my retirement and that we would be going to the house in Malibu. I reminded him that we now had plenty of time to keep trying. He smiled.

The day we returned to Malibu was joyous. It meant turning a new page in our lives. We got right to work trying to have a baby. I even started tearing down the wall between our room and the next to make a nursery. A contractor I am not, as I ripped through water lines and power lines alike. Loki gently reminded me that we had a lot more work to do before that point.