𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚃𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚛 {Bruce Banner}

Your Savior is Here

"Braxton Hicks are completely normal," says Kimberly, speaking with Tesla over the phone.

Tesla has been ordered to be on bed rest per Stephen Strange's request. Of course, Tesla has a doctor that specializes in pregnancies, and despite Stephen's constant reminders that he's not an obstetrician, he's been consistently telling Tesla and Bruce his unprofessional yet professional opinion. After receiving Braxton Hicks, false contractions, for the last month of March, Tesla has been put on bed rest for the month of April until her delivery. Lying in bed while Bruce and Nick unpack and renovate has been one of the most boring and painful things she's ever done. The two boys have hardly any ideas on where things should go with half the house being renovated.

As promised the nursery was finished on time, as well as the kitchen. So at least they'd be able to feed themselves and take care of the baby. Nick's apartment was a slow process, but in his down time he squared away the Sculpture and the lab was, albeit smaller, organized and functioning.

"I know," says Tesla with a big sigh, replying to Kimberly. Stephen and her doctor have already told her this. She hasn't felt comfortable in months. Growing life inside of her isn't something she ever gave much thought to and she loves her child so much already, but she certainly isn't a fan of the last couple months of pregnancy. Tesla rolls on her side. "I'm ready to not be pregnant."

Kimberly laughs a little bit. "You're restless—shocker. Putting you on bed rest is like torture. You better hope you don't experience any post-partum."

"Did you?" wonders Tesla.

"For a little while, but it went away when Davis started to smile at us." Kimberly sighs, then adds, "You're gonna feel a lot of different things when you meet the little one."

_ _ _

Even in her sleep, Tesla has always been restless. There have been plenty of nights where Bruce ends up sleeping on the couch to avoid being pushed off the bed. She can't help it. It just seems to be no matter what, Tesla is an object in motion that will stay in motion. Much like her, the baby is also an object in motion, constantly moving, especially while Tesla dreams at night. She'd never consider her dreams to mean anything important. They're always random and sometimes they can be familiar recaps of her day, but rarely ever does Tesla find herself thinking about them. She usually wakes up without remembering any of her dreams.

Tonight, however, she has a vivid dream. Something that, again, doesn't occur often. She's speaking to herself. The Tesla Edison in front of her is wearing her green Traveler jumpsuit. She, herself, is still pregnant. It feels like she's stuck in a loop. One where the other Tesla is telling her to wake up and Travel. Wake up and go back five years before it's too late. She has to go now. Now. She'll understand everything soon enough, but she really needs to wake up and go.

And then she feels an immense amount of pain that jolts her awake.

April 18th, 2000

"I knew there was something special about Albert the moment I first saw him," admits Elsa, sitting across from her daughter in the little kitchen in Massachusetts. Tesla leans back in her chair, listening to her mother with tired eyes. "He had this way of—" Elsa stops herself, shaking her head. "I don't think you want to talk about this right now."

Tesla scoffs. "This is better than that."

With a dubious look on her face, Elsa shakes her head. A smile graces her lips as she eyes her daughter. There's a swell of pride, worry, and love in her eyes. There are a lot of emotions going on in this house right now. It's not every day that someone suddenly appears in your house in the middle of the night, in labor, when she wasn't previously pregnant, wearing a green jumpsuit, and she's supposed to be in California presenting research in the morning. Learning about Time Travel does send quite a shock to one's system, but not as much as seeing your daughter go through a painful labor.