Watching From the Corner of the Room
The next few weeks dragged on. I had started showing a little. Of course, no one knew because I could easily mask it. At 12 weeks we had our first ultrasound with Dr. Cho. She told us that since her background is in genetics she's not amazingly qualified as an ob-gyn but to be honest I wasn't going anywhere else. I trusted Helen with my life.
“Hello you two. It's unlikely that I see you for anything other than an injury”.
“Hey. I'm only here like twice a week”. Peter tried to redeem himself.
“Well, hopefully, I won't be seeing you for a long time after this baby comes”.
He smiled at that.
“So Iris, how are we feeling today? Any nausea, fatigue, pain of any kind?”.
“Little nausea but much less than what I have felt in the past weeks”.
“Good. Well I'm going to do a few different things and then we will do the ultrasound”.
She took a blood sample and did the normal doctor things like taking weight and blood pressure before rolling out the ultrasound machine.
“This may be cold. Don't be alarmed”.
A black and white image popped up on the screen. I was surprised that the baby actually looked like a baby. You could see its head and the outline of its body and its legs. I looked over and Peter had a few tears streaming down his face. I grabbed his hand and gave him a soft smile.
“Wow. They are beautiful”. He said slightly choked up.
“We did a good job”. I joked.
“Iris I can't thank you enough for doing this”.
“Seeing you this happy after everything that has happened, makes me really happy”.
“May would have thought I am being such an idiot for doing this but then would immediately brag about how she was going to be a grandma to the entire city. You would have loved her Iris and she would have loved this baby”.
May Parker was in an accident shortly after I had arrived at the tower. We bonded over the loss of our parental figures and helped each other through our grief. The reason I arrived at Avengers Tower in the first place is because my Dad had a stroke and then Fury found me.
“The baby looks great. It's measuring nicely and oh I almost forgot”.
A fast whooshing sound filled the room.
“It's so fast. Is this what you hear?” I asked.
“Yeah. Isn't it great”?
“It's something. I know it's probably supposed to be fast but it's slightly concerning”.
“It is supposed to be fast. They have a very strong heartbeat. I think that everything is going smoothly”.
Dr. Cho printed off some photos and we left the MedBay.
“I can't believe we got to see him”. Peter said admiring the small sonogram photo.
“Him?”.
“I just have a feeling”.
“Well, then I think he's really cute”.
“Who's really cute?”. Bucky asked, turning the corner.
Peter and I froze. Bucky looked down at the photo in our hands and his eyes widened slightly.
“Bucky you can't say anything. Please”. Peter begged.
“Your pregn-”.
“Shhhh. Don't but yes I am”.
“And I'm going to raise it”. Peter said confidently.
“Wow I can't believe this. You're really…wow”.
“I know, trust me”.
“If you need anything let me know”. He told the both of us before going back to what he was doing. Clearly still in shock.
Peter folded the pictures and put them in his pocket not to risk another accidental reveal.
“Ok, that went better than expected”. I said.
“Yeah but that was just Bucky. We still have Mr. Stark, and Nat, and Captain Rodgers, and Dr. Banner, and Sam. And those are just the people who live here”. He said.
“Definitely bigger fish to fry”.
I showed the picture to Wanda later in the day. She was excited to have a baby in the house.
“You are going to be a great mom Ris”.
“Maybe but I'm not going to be a mom, Wanda. Peter is taking full custody”.
“Oh yeah. That's right. Sorry”.
“It's ok. Don't be sorry”.
“Do you think you're going to regret it one day?”.
“No. It doesn't even feel like my kid ya know and Peter is so excited. He cried when the image came on the screen. For me, it felt like I was watching it all happen from the corner of the room. Like I feel so disconnected from the situation and I know all the rules to follow to have the baby but I can't imagine myself with the baby. I can only imagine giving him straight to Peter”.
“Him?”.
“Peter thinks it's going to be a boy”.
“I could see it but I think it will be a girl”.
“I'm siding with Peter”.