The Tower: Family

The Whole Family

I was in full active labor seven hours after I lay down to nap with Steve. My water broke at around nine that night, but it was just a small trickle and it took a little while for me to realize it had happened.

It was quite a strange feeling to be in labor while everything was just going on as normal around you. We were experts at it this time, so babies were being breastfed and given tummy time. Dinner was served and eaten together. Riley and Pietro were given their stories and a bath before being put into bed and all the while I was getting these strong, debilitating pains that lasted barely anytime every 20 minutes or so. There was a rotating roster of people who stuck by my side depending on what needed to be done in the house and when all the kids were down for the night Tony suggested that maybe we should just go down to the Medbay and see how things were going. Turns out the answer to that question was; 'not well'.

"Elise, honey," Doctor Schroeder said, as I lay back on the bed with a bunch of probes attached to me, and one inserted inside me and attached to the crown of the baby's head. "The baby is in distress, we really need to do the c-section."

"What?" I said, the alarms beeping around me as my blood pressure shot up. "No, no, no, no, no." Beside me, all the color had drained from Tony's face and he started fidgeting where he stood.

"It's going to be fine," the doctor said. "But he needs to come out. We need to put you under as soon as possible."

"But... I..." I couldn't think straight. I didn't know why he would be in distress now. I had made plans. I'd gone into labor, I was supposed to deliver like Wanda and Natasha had.

"El, princess," Sam said, stepping close to me and crouching down by the bed. I looked at him, still panicking. "Honey, I'll stay with you the whole time. Okay? I won't leave your side for one second. We'll get Edwin out and when you wake up, we'll all have a happy and healthy baby boy."

I felt tears prick my eyes but I nodded, feeling a little bit more sure about things. Everyone backed off a little and I was moved onto a surgical bed and set up with an IV and wheeled into surgery. Everything felt like a blur as I was given an anesthetic and oxygen and talked off to sleep. I remember the last thing I could focus on was the light above me and Sam's voice telling me he was right here with me and everything would be okay.

The next thing I was really aware of was my throat hurting and how cold I felt. "Hey, El," Sam said, gently. "You waking up?"

I managed to force my eyes open but they fell closed again right away, I shook my head slowly.

"It's okay, princess," Sam said, running his thumb over the back of my hand. "You can keep sleeping if you want to. Everyone is fine. Edwin was crying up a storm as soon as he took a breath. He's with the others now. His feet and hands were a little blue and his pulse was a little high, but everything settled once he got used to being out in the big bad world. They don't think he's going to need to be in intensive care or anything. Just your blood pressure stressing him out."

I relaxed as Sam spoke and seemed to doze off for five minutes or so before waking again. A nurse came over to check me over. "Do you have any pain, Doctor Cooper?"

I nodded and pointed to my stomach where they had cut.

"Do you want some pain medication?" She asked.

I nodded again and started crying - though I wasn't actually sure what was setting it off.

"Hey, El," Sam soothed. "It's okay, honey. I'm still here."

"And you're going to see your baby very soon," the nurse added as she adjusted something on my IV. The pain started to back off again, but I couldn't seem to stop crying.