She took the cavern stairs back up to the surface, thinking about a way to somehow maybe get a secret underground elevator, and such, to put gym equipment, boxing equipment, and other things, through it would be a progress through the years to make it perfect.
That night, Bruce slept again with her in bed, but after that, he decided to be a big boy, figuring that She-Hulk, his mama would be keeping his mother company to help move on, and so, with some phone talks with Lucius over the discussion of the picks Martha looked through and having normal days as much as they could be in a place like the manor, some days passed, with Martha having asked Bruce about school, and surprised that he wanted to be tutored the next school year after finishing this school year to make up what he has missed and such, not wanting to leave his mother for at least a few years until he's a teenager.
Then it was finally time for the appointment and the secret talk within Leslie's visit. Martha hugged Leslie as she came down the stairs, "Leslie! You're looking good! How's the new promotion as the new head of the science department?", with a smirk.
"Alright... just a lot of paperwork for the most part, not really allowed to do my own thing for the time being as I'm trying to square things away. How's being in charge of Wayne Enterprises?", Leslie asked as Martha blushed.
"Well, I thankfully have Fox taking care of most of the normal day to day work along with a few new assistants who have to keep me abreast of things. But it's at least it's something to do while Bruce is in school for now. We've decided after he finishes up this year, we'll do private tutors. I know he wants to leave much earlier, but I think he wants to try to prove to the other children that he's taking his father's passing more maturely. Trying to put on a proud front and honor Thomas.", Martha explained.
Leslie smiled sadly, "I can see his point, the dear boy...And you, personally?", and Martha exhaled, "The pain's dwindling away like a small piece of stone every day, but it still hurts not to see him in bed...At times I expect him to kiss me, to tickle me awake while holding me...Heck, I...I expect him to be reading with a book in his favorite chair...or to tease Bruce, messing up his hair...", with a sigh.
"10 years of marriage plus some would do that to you...I have seen quite a few of people like that with less or more than your decade back at John Hopkins...", Leslie nodded before smiling softly, "Shall we get to your check-up?", holding up a doctor bag, knowing that there's a somewhat of a medical room for both family and staff in emergency situations and less troubling situations like flu shots and check-ups.
"Yeah... um... listen... there's something we need to discuss, something that... I know you've never dealt with before in a patient.", Martha said. "Are you alright?", Leslie asked her, now somewhat concerned.
Martha looked at her, taking a deep breath, "The check-up involves the side effects of the treatment I subtly told to you when we were alone with Alfred and Bruce. They already know...And there's a place better to do that if we are going do both versions of the check-up.".
Leslie looked at her, confused, "Both versions?", and Martha exhaled, "Come follow me...The manor still has ears in the staff...", gesturing for her to follow, heading to the study besides the library where in Bruce's explorations, discovered a secret entrance behind the family grandfather clock that he was playing with when he was bored a couple days ago, discovering that there were prepared stairs already, crudely made, in perhaps Martha's great-grandfather's time.
"What is this?", Leslie asked as Martha chuckled, "Quite a bit of a surprise on our end too, Bruce only found this stuff some days ago but apparently we've been on top of it the whole time...".
Leslie blinked in surprise as Martha did the code over the grandfather clock which she figured out to update over the code that her great-grandfather, and grandfather did, which was the exact time Martha got cured and was given She-Hulk...She originally wanted to do the exact time of Thomas' death, but Alfred pointed out even if the newspapers never told exactly of the time, only estimates of the hour it was done, people might discover the official police documents about it, and even if the manor was a huge place, people would know of Thomas' death as even if years would pass, it would be a known thing around Gotham and such, compared to the time of Martha's treatment which Gotham don't know about, keeping the secret of the deep underground caverns far better.
The secret entrance opened, and Martha gestured to Leslie, and she followed her, heading down, as the wall closed behind them, with some lights that Alfred worked on lighting the way a bit easier, but keeping the darkness somewhat.
"What on earth?", Leslie spoke in awe, and Martha chuckled softly, "I know, Leslie, it's sure something, isn't it?", as they walked deeper and deeper on the stairs.
"I didn't know that Gotham had this sort of caves...", Leslie said. "Yeah, they go much deeper than we've already discovered. Alfred and I have been playing it a bit safe in terms of exploring but this network's probably much vaster than we originally imagined.", Martha said. "Obviously a perfect place to hide things from pretty much everyone...".
"So... why are we down here?", Leslie got right to the point with the question. Martha took a deep breath as she looked at her, "Something else happened that night...that night Thomas was shot... The police hid the actual truth behind the mugger's death, and they don't know luckily, but the truth is that...I killed him...or rather my alter-ego did...A bad thing for a good reason...If it wasn't for her, I would've been killed and Bruce left as an orphan or he'd join us...She saved us including our new baby...", with tears as she tenderly touched her belly through her dress, showing a now obvious baby bump as she cupped it gently which Leslie didn't notice before in their hug.
Somehow, with the increasing acceptance of She-Hulk as a second mother and a friend, and the increasing appetite upon the transformations, the baby has grown to a guesstimate of almost three months along when Martha is only a month and three weeks along in the timeline, almost two months, which she is worried about, if the speed aging is risking the baby or if the baby is still small while the womb is growing bigger and stronger to give the baby more protection if it's going to have some powers from She-Hulk.
"Martha... what... what on Earth are you saying... how did you...?", Leslie had so many questions as Martha sighed.
"Look, Leslie, whatever you did for me to cure me... it ended up causing a very serious side effect. It only finally triggered when I took a bullet to the chest from that mugger that would've killed me if not for it...", Martha took a deep breath. "It's... it's easier for me to show you what I mean rather than saying...".
Martha slowly started to take off some of her clothes; not in the mood of getting them all destroyed: hell, she was fully naked the last time she 'hulked out' as she was calling it the day of the will reading, even if she took the scraps of her clothes to cover her while Alfred saw her coming, and directed the staff to the other side of the manor quickly.
She knew she was going to have to figure out a more proper way of keep her modesty in both forms, especially if her hulk outs might happen when she hadn't planned for them. Leslie blinked, "Martha, what are you doing?", in both confusion and surprise, even if she's trying to be professional, yet she's concerned immediately for Martha, worried that she might have gone crazy.
Martha replied, "Please don't freak out or think that I have gone insane. Alfred?", and Alfred came out of a makeshift hospital room, "All retrofitted for now, Martha. Come, Dr. Thompkins, you better stay close to me, just in case if She-Hulk is anxious about you being dangerous of a stranger close to her baby, even if you had brought her to Martha, and that Martha and I told her that you are a good doctor and a best friend to Martha, but with me, you should be safe as she knows me as one of her pack.", being more of a personal friend right now than the butler/advisor he was.
Leslie was increasingly getting worried yet confused, yet she obeyed Alfred, walking to him, staying by him as Martha's now in her modest thick leggings and tank top, which was under her dress, and with a deep breath, she then focused on the extreme emotion of worry and the fading anger from the memory of that night, and then hulked out.
Leslie's eyes nearly popped out of her head if it was possible with just how wide her eyes got when she saw Martha transform into the towering emerald creature that Alfred referred to as 'She-Hulk'. After a short bit of time, Martha's transformation was complete and once more the She-Hulk was freed before she growled and started to quickly let out some pent-up rage; smashing the ground of the cave since in her mind, once she was in the safety of the cave, she was allowed to unleash her strength without consequence.
She-Hulk indeed is pregnant too, yet she avoided carefully of sharp rocks while smashing, which Leslie noticed, slowly recognizing that She-Hulk was truly part of Martha too.
After several minutes of pent-up rage and smashing, She-Hulk panted deeply, walking closer, wearing the ragged shorts from Martha's leggings, and a ragged bra from Martha's tank top and looked at Alfred, "Me sorry that it not best meeting, Alfred-elder...Me better now, but scared with Martha-mate about new pup...Me remember Martha-mate and Alfred-elder and Bruce-pup talk about Leslie-healer...she come to den many times for good healing...You sure Leslie-healer be trusted?", as she glanced at the gaping Leslie with slight suspicion and mama wolf protectiveness as she held her baby bump which is bigger in her size compared to Martha.
"Well, I like to think so, considering it was pretty much her it seems that made... you...", Alfred smile reassuringly. He then turned to Leslie, "So, I think it's very much clear what has happened, and how Martha survived being shot. Apparently, the assailant fired off the rest of his ammunition and didn't even pierce flesh. Her skin... is quite sturdy at least to small calibers of weapons though we're obviously not testing if she can survive a tank shell or something dreadful.".
Leslie looked at She-Hulk in astonishment, and spoke, "You...You're not hurting Martha, Bruce, or Alfred?", and She-Hulk growled fiercely, "Me protect them before me even dare to hurt them!".
Alfred replied, "Excuse her grammar structure, but she's a quick learner. She-Hulk has been hiding ever since the treatment, but she knows Martha well enough, and loves Bruce as her son together, and before...before Thomas' death, She-Hulk had fallen in love with him too, as she's part of Martha, and Martha is part of her.".
She-Hulk rumbled in a whimper, glancing down at her baby bump, "Thomas-mate leave pack.. Me promised to take care of pack...Thomas-mate loves Martha-mate and Bruce-pup in heart and Thomas-mate give last gift of legacy with new pup to expand pack.", caressing her baby bump ever so surprisingly tenderly.
Leslie widened her eyes, "Wait, hold on, before, Martha said that she was worried about the new baby...And you are worried too...Is the baby eating well?", her doctor instincts coming in now, somehow ignoring the fact that she is in the shadow of a tall, strong, and green woman who would possibly crush her.
She-Hulk nodded, rumbling, "Martha-mate eat big while up in den!", and Alfred nodded, "Miss She-Hulk is right. Martha has been eating enough food for three people after changes, and while on days of no changing, still enough food for two people, and we figured out that the little one was conceived a week prior to Master Bruce's birthday last month, after you told her and Thomas the week before of the good news that she was cured of the Alderson's Disease after your double checking and all of her blood samples that weekend.".
"The timeline then would fit... but... she certainly looks further along than she should...", Leslie said. "We had the same thought... either the baby's growth is much quicker thanks to your treatment as another side effect; or her body is just better preparing due to Mistress Martha's condition and when her body changes. It already has since the first night she changed; if you do a physical on her when she's back to her previous self, you'll probably notice for starters that she's a bit taller than her earlier height.", Alfred explained.
Leslie nodded, "Right. I was curious when I saw that she was a bit unusually taller than me prior to our previous girl talks and such, but I blamed it on the heels on the day of the funeral...and then of course, on the reading of the will...".
She-Hulk rumbled nervously, "Is physical being hurt?", and Leslie shook her head, "No, it's more like gentle touching and some equipment to check your heart, your lungs, your ears, and such, and as for the baby, if you have an already medical room down here for her size, I expect the sonogram is here too.", looking at Alfred at the last part.
"Yes, ma'am, it is. Shall we?", Alfred gestured with a hand, and Leslie picked up her doctor bag that she dropped in her shock, "Lead the way.", and Alfred then turned around, walking on, with Leslie following, with She-Hulk following behind her.
They got into the makeshift medical room, and Leslie nodded in approval to see both a human-sized hospital bed that was brought down from the manor's medical hospital room, and a Hulk-sized hospital bed of hard hay, with other medical equipment brought down from the manor including the sonogram machine, and she turned to She-Hulk with a reassuring smile, "Why don't you take a sit-down on your sized bed? We will do the physical first before scanning the baby, and then after Martha gets back, the same again.".
She-Hulk bit her lip, nodding slowly as she then sat down, "Scanning new pup safe, and what is so-sonogram?", as she caressed her baby bump protectively.
"Basically, just seeing like inside of you... to see the baby... at this rate though, we might not see almost anything with how soon things have been; even if the theory of the faster growth may be possible.", Leslie explained as she was still trying to keep her head despite all these sudden changes of information like she was being tossed into the deep end of a pool.
She-Hulk widened her eyes in joy and surprise, "Me see new pup?!", with tears flying, leaning into Leslie excitedly, starting to trust this doctor, this healer, and Leslie nodded, "Huh-uh...Now, could you please be calm? I promise I'll be quick with the physical so you can have your first look at her baby.".
She-Hulk nodded, "Okay!", and Alfred chuckled, "Pardon her emotional moods, doctor, She-Hulk may have memories of Martha checking on Bruce on situations like this, but she is technically like a child experiencing new things in real life while being like an adult.".
Leslie replied, "I have seen similar things in the clinic and back at John Hopkins, Alfred...", opening up her doctor bag, and smiled warmly at She-Hulk, "I'll explain everything I'm doing as I am doing it, okay?".
"Huh-uh!", She-Hulk replied as she tried to keep still despite jittering with the joy and anxiousness of the sonogram reveal, learning every bit as Leslie did the physical, jotting down details and such, taking a steady 15 minutes before finishing with a smile, "You did great, She-Hulk...Your heart's strong, your lungs are in excellent health, and your ears are clean, and your temperature is surprisingly accurate to a human woman's temperature in body average. Now, shall we get to peek into your baby's home and see how they're doing?".
She-Hulk smiled with a nod, "Yes!", and Leslie smiled, "Then lay back, make yourself comfortable. It gives a clearer picture if you're laying down, and don't worry, it's not a full lay back, rest your head up so you can see the sonogram working, and see your baby. Alfred, may you get the gel and turn on the power to the machine while I move it closer to us and check that everything is working correctly?".
"Of course. I must say... this still feels very unusual though...", Alfred admitted. "I know the feeling. I'll be honest, after seeing her turn and all... I'm still half expecting her to lash out...", Leslie said.
"I agree; especially considering what Mistress Martha must do to bring her out... I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky that she obviously has a mind that's susceptible to being reasoned with than an aggressive wild animal.", Alfred commented.