Arrival
The bathroom door is held shut by Peter.
The boy has a frantic look on his face as he presses his body weight against the door as if an army of SHEILD are going to try and burst in at any moment. Bucky is sitting next to Matt on the floor as they talk through how this is going to work.
“It’s not too late to call somebody else,” Peter says to them.
“The doctor wanted to knock me out, Peter,” Matt says through gritted teeth. His hair is slicked with sweat, and his unseeing eyes are squeezed shut in pain. “I’m not listening to someone who wants me to be asleep for my baby’s birth just because it’s more convenient to her.”
“It’s true, Peter,” Bucky says, resting their hand on Matt’s shoulder. “I was in the MedBay to ask Bruce something, but then I overheard Matt and the doc arguing. She thought he was too dangerous to be awake for the birth – thought that he might be a danger to others.”
“Like I’m some deranged animal,” mutters Matt breathlessly.
“So we’re instead going to have a baby on the bathroom floor?!” Peter says. “Why the hell have you got me involved?”
“I trust you, Peter. You’re a good friend and you know my struggle,” Matt replies, before groaning in pain as another contraction takes hold of him. “I haven’t even told Fogs or Karen or Clint yet.”
“So I’m the person who you’re happy to have as an accomplice to idiocy?” Peter says.
Bucky snorts at this, before gesturing for Peter to let go of the door. “Relax, Kid. No one knows we’re in here. Just web the door shut and get over here.”
Peter’s face is read and he’s shaking his head, however he follows along with Bucky’s instructions and sits beside him on the floor.
“Before we left the MedBay, I grabbed a few supplies,” Bucky says, reaching behind them to pull out a first aid kit and towels from their backpack, which was hastily stuffed with medical supplies before anyone could notice. “If this is what Matt wants, then we’re having the baby here.”
“Bucky, we don’t know anything about having babies,” Peter replies, shock lacing his words.
“We’ve saved the world – how hard can having a baby be?”
“Incredibly,” groans Matt, and he grabs hold of Bucky’s metal hand, squeezing tightly. “I think I need to push. There’s...it’s like a pressure inside of me.”
“Are you certain you don’t want to get Foggy or Clint or Karen?” Peter asks with wide eyes.
“Certain. Let them enjoy the party.”
“God, I wish I was enjoying the party,” Peter mutters as he helps Matt to remove his trousers. Matt shifts so that he is kneeling on the cold floor, and Bucky can see the trickle of fluid down his legs. They grab a towel and put it underneath the man as Matt suddenly gasps in pain, straining his body.
Bucky doesn’t know what to do to help, and so simply begins talking. They tell Matt and Peter about their adventures during the war, about what Steve was like before he became Captain America, and how they’ve dealt with being reintroduced to society. They don’t know how long they’ve been sat here, chatting aimlessly while Matt grunts and moans and tries to push another human being of him.
Their phone keeps ringing, as does Peter’s and Matt’s, but they simply ignore them. By now, Bruce will have raised the alarm that Matt was in labour and missing, and the fact that Bucky and Peter aren’t at the party anymore will have been enough for Tony to put two and two together.
No one has tried to enter the bathroom yet, which Bucky is glad for, however Bucky simply assumes that no one would assume that they would try to deliver a baby in the bathroom.
“Oh shit, this is worse than getting shot in the head,” groans Matt as he leans into Peter.
“Matt, we’ve been at this for hours, do you not think we should get some help?” Peter asks softly, reaching up to wipe the sweat from Matt’s forehead with one of the towels.
Matt shakes his head. “This can take up to 16 hours, from what I’ve read. Anyway, I can feel that it’s close.”
He grunts again, his fingers wrapped tightly on Bucky’s arm as he bears down. Peter dares to peak underneath Matt, and announces, “Oh my God, I can see the head! We’re nearly there!”
Matt takes in another shuddering breath before bearing down again. Bucky removes his arms from Matt, instead deciding to position themselves underneath him so that they can catch the baby and wrap it up when it’s time.
Matt let’s out another groan as he pushes, and Bucky feels something land onto the towel. They pull it out quickly, looking at the child. It’s covered in slime and blood, and is mewling softly like a kitten. Bucky wraps it up quickly as Peter tells Matt how good he’s done. Bucky thinks back to any movie or show they’ve seen with a baby being born in, and takes the scissors from the first aid kit, snipping the umbilical cord. After successfully detaching Matt from his child, he hands them to their father.
Matt gasps softly as the baby lies against his chest. There are tears rolling down his cheeks as he mutters under his breath to his baby.
“Hello, Darling,” Matt says with a grin. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
...
Clint is running around the tower frantically. Bruce announced three hours ago that Matt was in labour, and no one has seen him in all this time Tony has tried asking JARVIS, but he’s been tight lipped about the whole situation.
“Why the hell would he run away?” Foggy is asking Karen as they stand in the MedBay.
“God knows. This is Matt we’re talking about – he’s not known for his brilliant decision making,” Karen responds, wringing her hands nervously together.
“Peter and Bucky are AWOL as well,” Clint says when he walks up to them “The current theory is that they’re all together, which makes me feel slightly better, however then I remember that Peter is a teenage boy and Bucky is a brainwashed assassin, and then another wave of panic washes over me.”
“They’ll look after him,” Foggy says, however he doesn’t look too convinced.
“Sorry to interrupt,” JARVIS say ls suddenly from the speaker over their heads. The TV screen in the MedBay flashes in front of Clint with the words, a courtesy that Tony installed for when his aids are busted. “Mr Murdock, Mr Parker and Mx Barnes are in the elevator. They are on their way here.”
Clint’s heart practically skips a beat. The doors to the elevator open, and Clint watches as Bucky Barnes steps out, something bundled in his arms. Matt is leaning against Peter and wrapped in a blanket.
Without thinking, Clint rushes over to Matt. He surveys him quickly, looking him up and down, and then once he sees that Matt is physically fine, he says, “Matt, what the hell were you thinking? You need to get into bed right now!”
“Nice to see you too, Clint,” Matt says with a little smile. They’re are bags under his eyes and he is incredibly pale, and he’s leaning heavily onto Peter as they shuffle towards the room that Bruce has prepared for them.
“Matt, this was incredibly reckless, you have to admit,” Foggy says as he helps Peter get Matt into the bed. He pulls the blanket up around him, and then his hands settles on the top of Matt’s hand. “You need to be here so they can monitor you.”
“Um, guys?” Bucky says from the corner of the room.
That’s when Clint catches sight of what he’s holding. His eyes widen. Cradled in Bucky’s arms is the smallest little baby Clint has ever laid eyes on. It’s hands are trying to tangle around Bucky’s hair, and it’s large blue eyes are staring happily up at the Winter Soldier’s smiling face.
Matt is smiling widely, and Karen and Foggy are both hugging him.
“Clint, I’d like to introduce you to Ellie Barton-Murdock.”