Luke leaves, life goes on and Jessica pretends that she doesn’t give a shit. She doesn’t even register for a while that she’s late.
Ok so her period is rather irregular as it is, a combination of her powers, what happened with Kilgrave both times and what she thinks is her drinking and her job has made it very irregular. Therefore she shoves it to the back of her mind before she realises on day as she watches all the shit go down in DC that she’s three months late.
It takes her a good hour and a half before she works up the balls to take a pregnancy test. The urge to have a drink when she sees the little pink plus sign pop up is overwhelming.
Jessica Jones has many things, one of them is pride. It’s cheap and has taken some denting over the years but it’s still very much intact thank you very much. Pride dictates that Jessica Jones won’t be registering with whatever crap the government is spewing this time.
(Personally Jessica thinks it’s amusing that a man like Tony Stark is claiming that Bucky Barnes needs to be punished. she knows what it’s like to do something without your consent, compared to the weapons dealings that made the Stark name famous, so yeah Team Cap on this one)
She goes to a hospital appointment alone three weeks later, her stomach is gently curving at this point, her belly showing not enough that you would notice it when she wears clothes but enough so that she knows.
The nurse, Claire gently runs the wand over her stomach. “Do you know who the father is?” she asks gently and Jessica resists the urge to smack her head into the ultrasound machine because seriously? She’s not that much of a slut as to not know the father of her own baby thank you again.
She contemplates telling Claire there and then to book her an abortion. She’s just come away from the fight of her life (again), she’s alone in a world where super strength and (God Forbid) unbreakable skin is becoming even more dangerous and she’s not exactly rolling in money. However when Claire prints off a picture of the baby…of her baby all the words die in her throat.
It’s not even noticeable that the baby is there, not until Claire points it out and even then it’s about the size of a peanut. But it’s her peanut, her baby, something real and fragile and innocent. Something that Kilgrave for once didn’t damage. This one little part of her life would remain safe forever from him.
She nods at Claire and tucks the scan in her pocket trying not to go all warm and gushy on the inside when she looks at it again, taking stealing peeks every now and then.
Later than night instead of sleeping she thinks. She has money that much she knows, and while she doesn’t live in the safest part of Hell’s Kitchen she has a lock on her door and a spare room and enough space for a child. She could do this if she wanted. In fact being pregnant might be the right excuse.
If people do come looking for her they’d never expect that Jessica Jones would be pregnant. Anyone who’s done their homework on her would know that the very idea was laughable. Anyway this baby gives her a shot at normality. She can take fewer cases wait till her names gets lost in the crowd and wait out this Superhuman/Sokovia crap until it blows up in the ‘Rich People’s’ faces.
And Luke…well Luke is a blow but she has dealt with a lot worse. One parent loving this baby is more than enough.
She falls asleep her hand on her belly before something wakes her up and makes her groan into her pillow.
Trish is going to be unbearable.
Her predictions about Trish prove to be right. Within two days of Jessica telling her she’s pregnant her best friend has her apartment teaming with workmen trying to build it up to scratch, she picks out baby clothes and does research on the best schools in the area until Jessica is sure that Trish must be the one pregnant rather than her.
Trish rolls her eyes and tells her in no uncertain terms to shut up and not to ruin this for her.
Trish also comes to her pregnancy scans (Lord knows what Claire thinks) and Trish is the one that encourages her to find out the sex of her baby. Trish is also the one who squeals loudly when she finds out she’s going to have a girl.
Jessica personally thinks that having her teeth pulled without pain relief is easier than giving birth but at the end of three hours she’s holding her baby girl and feeling slightly less like a fraud.
Her baby is Luke’s daughter through and through her skin slightly dark with a small tuft of black hair and brown eyes. Her nose is small and those eyes seem to look at Jessica as if assessing her and Jessica feels like this is the first test that she has to pass and perhaps the most important one.
Funnily enough the names Jessica hasn’t given them much thought. As much as she hates the idea of trolling through baby books she does so. She gets to the D section and finds Danielle.
Danielle Jones. Danielle Cage. Danielle Cage-Jones. Danielle.
She double barrels the name as Danielle Cage-Jones and leaves out the middle name. She takes Dani back to her apartment to find Trish has set up her spare room into a bedroom. Thankfully the bedroom isn’t pink but a light sky blue which isn’t…horrible. There’s clouds on the wall and it’s pretty and fresh and clean. “Well” she says to a sleeping Dani “This is our life now”
Five years later and the world has calmed down somewhat. Jessica doesn’t hide or advertise her abilities but she reckons that the Avengers know about her even if they haven’t shown up on her doorstep. Yet. She gets a suspicious invite to a resort in Canada which she bins. She watches as Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers are believed to be dead. She watches as Thad Ross is ripped apart by President Ellis who has done a U Turn on registration now his government is being blamed with the death of a national hero and the world’s oldest POW. Jessica watches as Tony Stark disappears before coming back looking older and more like a dried up alcoholic than she ever did.
Jessica wants to laugh because really…stupid rich people…
She thinks briefly about what Luke would say if he was watching this. The man was hardly a fan of Tony Stark or the Avengers before Sokovia. Then she has to promptly think about something else because thinking about Luke hurts.
Five years and she hasn’t heard a single word from the man, five years raising his child on whatever crap she’s given as a Private Investigator in a world that doesn’t give a shit and is getting more and more dangerous by the day. And yeah ok, she and Dani are doing fine, she has new shoes, and Jessica has a roof over their head and food on their table and she scrapes enough by to make pancakes on Dani’s birthday and to get her a new toy once a month.
Jessica doesn’t need a man to protect her or to provide for her but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t miss Luke some nights to the point that it’s unbearable.
It doesn’t help that Danielle is a lot like the both of them. She can jump as high as Jessica (and from one to many school phone calls Jessica knows from where Dani’s ended up on the roof) and that time when she dropped a glass on her foot and there was no blood proving she’s as unbreakable as Luke.
Speak of the devil and then one day five years later he’s there.
She’s just picked Dani up from school and her daughter is bouncing up and down talking about how in today’s geography lesson they learned about dolphins and their natural habitat and what not. Jessica is nodding along with whatever she’s saying only half paying attention to Dani’s excited babble when they get out the elevator and Luke is leaning against the wall next to her office/apartment.
He takes her in, in one fell swoop and Jessica shifts slightly. Dani is still gripping her hand looking around her leg with those wide brown eyes and Jessica closes her own eyes for a second before opening them. She has nothing to be ashamed of she thinks bitterly. Luke was the one that left her. Luke clears his throat.
“I wasn’t aware you did babysitting on the side” he says his voice still that dark rich timbre that makes her heart thump.
“Momma?” Dani askes probably picking up on Jessica’s stunned silence.
“Mom? Oh” Luke’s expression clearly changes becoming more closed off and Jessica’s blood boils because why the hell does he get to look heartbroken? She’s the one who was left while she was pregnant. Granted Luke didn’t know about it but it’s the thought that counts.
“Dani go inside and get out your uniform” she says watching Luke closely. “We’ve having spaghetti bolognaise for tea and you and that are a disaster, and I need that uniform for at least two more days”
Dani lets herself in without another word perhaps realising that Jessica looks like she wants to hit something.
“Dani?” Luke asks Jessica shrugs. “Danielle” she says carefully eyeing him.
“Danielle” Luke says trying out the name. “Pretty”
Jessica nods. “Where were you?” she asks changing the subject. Luke looks up and down the deserted hallway and Jessica resists the urge to roll her eyes. “Malcom’s gone back home” she says flatly. “Went to apologise to his family and tell them he’s six years sober right now”
Luke nods again. “I…I was helping Steve and Bucky” he says finally.
Jessica blinks. “Captain America and the Winter Soldier” she all but shouts if not for Luke looking terrified.
“Keep your fucking voice down woman” he says under his breath. “Yeah…I went to clear my head and then all the shit happened in DC and I got them over the border and into Canada”
“And then they died in an explosion” Jessica says nodding remembering. “And the world blamed the rich white people”
Luke shakes his head slowly. It takes Jessica a second for her to catch on. “Wait their not…?” she trails off as Luke grins at her.
And then she laughs because…stupid rich people…
“I had to hide for a couple of years afterwards till Tony Stark and the Black Widow got off my back and focused on saving their own backsides from all the backlash and I didn’t wanna bring that shit to your doorstep” he shakes her head. “I didn’t realise…” he points to the door hiding Danielle.
“Malcom must be happy” he says forcing a smile and Jessica’s mind goes blank with horror.
“Wait you think me and Malcom?” she trails of shuddering before becoming enraged just as quickly. “No!”
“Oh”
“Yeah Oh, asshole, her name is Danielle Cage-Jones” she shakes her head in disgust. “Cage-Jones” she shakes her head again as Luke’s expression morphs into something unrecognisable. “Asshole” she says finally shaking her head turning around to reach for the door. “While you were off being Captain America’s hero I was pregnant, giving birth and raising your daughter. Fuck” and with that she shuts the door in Luke’s face.
Dani’s watching her from the door. “Momma?” she asks her eyes watering and Jessica realises that she must have been scared what with all the shouting.
“Come on kiddo” she says opening up her arms and letting Dani climb into them. “Momma’s ok she’s just irritated”
“Oh” Dani says biting her lip. “Are we still having spaghetti for dinner?”
Jessica lets out a laugh that she’s rather alarmed at how watery it sounds.
“Yeah kiddo, were still having spaghetti for dinner”
The next day she drops Dani off at school and walks back to her office when she realises that she’s being followed.
“What” she snaps to Luke as he falls into step behind her.
“So you have a daughter…my daughter…you could have picked up the phone and told me” he says his voice calm and so, so infuriating.
“When?” she says furiously “When you were running around helping ‘Stucky’ escape over the border and don’t look like that…you know what they have a ship name” she rolls her eyes. “Look” she says shaking her head. “I never told…I didn’t know how to bring it up so if you wanna walk away then there’s no fall-back” she shakes her head.
Luke laughs coldly. There’s no warmth in his eyes when he looks back at her. “Shit woman” he says looking at her. “You really didn’t think I wanted this, when we were up in Canada I sent you a plane ticket to the ranch we were staying at” he shakes his head again. “Steve and Bucky kept telling me to ring you…took em seventy years to find each other and then...” he shakes his head in disgust this time though Jessica knows it’s not at her.
“I wanted you. I wanted this. I wanted us” he pauses. “I want her…Danielle. I wanna be her Dad”
He pauses looking at her with wide eyes and Jessica is forced to swallow working her jaw again.
“Oh” she says blinking because…really she didn’t…expect that.
“Ok” she says finally. “I can tell her tonight and then you can come round in the morning” she eyes him carefully. “Doesn’t mean you and me are having sex”
Luke laughs this time it reaches his eyes. “I know” he says looking at her his expression warm. “I missed this” he confesses and Jessica nods. “I did too” she says finally and then her emotion for the day has gone.
“Hey Luke” she says as he turns to walk away. “Dani likes dolphins” Luke stares at her for a second before nods. Jessica has a feeling she might end up regretting this. But then again…she might not.
That night she orders in pizza. It’s a treat and Dani knows it when Jessica offers to plat her hair as she’s eating. She’s combing her hand through Dani’s black hair before she finally opens her mouth.
“You know that man?” she asks finally “The one that came yesterday?”
Dani nods. “Well” Jessica pauses. “You remember how I told you that your Dad went away” she ties Dani’s hair back with a bobble and Dani turns around a plate of pizza in her lap. She’s in cute white pyjamas from Trish with little unicorns on them. Trish loves them. Jessica rolled her eyes when she saw them and refrained from swearing.
“Well he came back…yesterday” she finishes lamely. “And he wants to meet you tomorrow”
Dani pauses looking down at her pizza. “Where was he?” she asks. Jessica pauses because really, how do you tell a five year old about registration and fugitives and government’s going insane and stupid rich people making stupid decisions? She pauses for a second again.
“Well he was helping some really good people escape from some really bad men” she says finally. Eh. That would do until Dani’s older. “And the bad men then came after your Dad so he had to hide for a while but now it’s safe for him to come back”
“Oh” Dani pauses. “What if he doesn’t like me?” she asks looking up at Jessica all brown eyes big in her face. Jessica shakes her head feeling annoyed again and also slightly amused.
“Nobody could not like you” she claims dramatically and Dani giggles as she reaches for another slice of pizza.
Looking back…well…it could have gone a whole lot worse.
The next morning Luke shows up promptly at nine AM. Jessica opens the door and Dani looks up from her toast clambering down from her seat when she sees who it is. Her hair is loose today and she’s dressed herself in stripy leggings in black and white and a red jumper again all of them gifts from Trish who has taken Danielle’s clothes as a cross she has to bear rather than Jessica.
She rolls her eyes. Luke is carrying a stuffed dolphin.
Danielle pauses behind Jessica who takes it as a sign to speak.
“Danielle, you remembered what we talked about last night” she says her hand finding Dani’s hair. Dani nods. “Momma says you’re my Dad” she says in a quiet voice.
Luke looks at Jessica for a second before dropping to his knees in front of Dani. “Yeah” he says finally his voice rough with something and Jessica knows that he’s seeing all of himself in Dani in that moment like she did when she was born.
“Are you…are you the reason why I don’t bleed?” Dani whispers and Luke looks at Jessica who shrugs. Shit. She should have mentioned that…probably.
“Yeah” Luke says finally. “I have unbreakable skin to”
“I can jump like Momma” Dani says grinning. “But she doesn’t let me do it that often she says our insur…our home isn’t that big”
Luke laughs. “Well your Momma’s probably right” he says his eyes for want of a better word twinkling.
Dani pauses again. “You were helping someone get away from a bad man?” she asks again and Luke nods never once taking his eyes of her face.
“Yes I was” he says quietly “And I wanted to come home very much but it wasn’t safe”
Dani bits her lip. “Do you want me?” she asks looking up, her eyes wide and so very unsure. “Do you want me and Momma?”
“Yes” Luke says his eyes wide. “Yes I want you and your Momma very much” his hand creeps upwards then, the one not clutching the dolphin and finds Jessica’s. She lets him wrap her fingers around his. Luke grins and holds up the dolphin.
Dani’s eyes widen even more. “That for me?” she asks looking at it. Luke nods his smile getting even bigger and even Jessica cracks one at that because a happy Danielle is…well…infectious, in a good kind of way.
“Yeah, you can name him and everything” Luke says holding it out. Dani takes him grinning. “Thanks Dad” she says before looking up again. “That ok?” she asks looking back up at Luke who like Jessica seems to be stunned into silence.
“Yeah” Luke says finally grinning around the words. “That’s fine Dani”
Dani goes of the play with the stuffed animal and it takes Jessica a moment to realise from where she’s standing that even when Luke is level with her again she’s still holding his hand.
She looks around at the life that despite all the crap she’s been through she’s managed to build for herself and then she looks at the man that for no obvious reason wants to build it with her. She looks at Danielle and then Luke and smiles an honest smile.
For the moment, for this moment, Jessica Jones can honestly say she is happy.
Long may it last.