OCTOBER 14, 2019 — AVENGERS COMPOUND — RÉA
The past three and a half months have been business as usual, for the most part. The team has gone on several missions, with great success: they took out three HYDRA bases, along with a small handful of HYDRA cells.
In between missions, there are movie nights and game nights, and general hang-outs. Bucky and I go to most of those; honestly, it's nice to hang out with everyone...as evidenced by the game of Twister at the end of June, it's certainly never boring.
I've also been seeing a therapist—Doctor Olivia Stultz—weekly since the second week of July. We meet via video call, and I've already noticed a difference in myself thanks to our sessions. Doctor Stultz—Liv, as she tells me to call her—is kind, and she also has a no-nonsense attitude when necessary. Out of all of the therapists Doctor Raynor could have chosen, I'm glad she referred me to Liv.
In addition to all of that, Bucky and I also continue our routine of spending time together, just us. Every night, regardless of if we make love or not, we fall asleep in either his bed or mine, holding each other close.
We're in my room when F.R.I.D.A.Y. wakes us in the middle of the night.
"Réa, Mister Stark has asked me to contact you," the A.I. says.
"Is everything alright?" I ask as I sit up, grabbing my phone to check the time. "It's three in the morning."
"Yes, Réa. Everything is fine. Ms. Potts has gone into labour and is asking for you. She is upstairs."
As soon as I hear the word 'labour', I leap out of bed and sprint into the bathroom, turning the shower on to heat.
"Thanks, F.R.I.D.A.Y.. Please let her know I'll be there shortly," I say as I shut the bathroom door.
I shower and dry off quickly, and dart back into the bedroom, wrapped in a bath sheet. I see Bucky sitting up in the bed, grinning, as he watches me go into my closet to dress. I grab a pair of shoes and exit the closet, hopping on one foot as I try to put the first shoe on.
"You okay, there, doll?" Bucky asks, laughter in his voice.
"Yeah! Great! I don't know why I can't get my shoe on though," I reply.
At that, his smile widens.
"Uh, maybe because that one goes on the other foot."
I look down and see that he's right. With that problem solved, I finally get my shoes on and make my way to the bedside for a kiss.
"Excited?" he asks as I approach.
I nod enthusiastically.
"Very!"
He cups my face and pulls me into a kiss before releasing me.
"I love you. I'm going back to bed," he says as he settles back beneath the covers.
I make my way out of my suite and to Tony and Pepper's in record time, not bothering to knock since Pepper asked for me.
"Hey, Pepper, how're you doing so far?" I ask as I approach the bed, where she's propped up with a large reading pillow.
"I'm alright. Waiting on the midwife. My water bro-OH SHIT!" Pepper shouts, clenching her hands in the blankets.
"Honey, remember your breathing exercises," Tony says as he climbs onto the bed, sitting up beside Pepper.
"Anthony Edward Stark, you're going to need breathing exercises because I'm going to throat punch you if you don't SHUT UP!" she says, ending on a yell.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y., where's the midwife? How soon will she be here?" Tony asks.
"Certified Nurse-Midwife Fogelman is actually in the garage now, Mister Stark. She will be up shortly."
"Thank you, F.R.I.D.A.Y.."
"You're welcome, Mister Stark."
About five minutes later, there's a knock on the suite's door; Tony goes to answer it. He returns with a petite, blonde woman following.
"Hello, I'm Lauren," the woman extends her hand to me, her Southern-accented voice cheerful considering it's not quite four A.M..
"Réa," I reply, shaking her hand.
"Well, Pepper, how are you doing?"
"I'm—"
"Contractions are occurring every five minutes; the shortest lasted forty eight seconds, the longest fifty seven. Her water broke an—"
"Thank you, Mister Stark," Lauren glances at Tony before returning her focus to Pepper. "Now, Pepper, how are you doing?"
"I'm—" Pepper's words cut off as another contraction grips her.
Lauren helps her breathe through it; I make note of the pattern she uses. Once the contraction has subsided, Lauren asks if she can check Pepper's dilation and effacement.
"Pepper, you appear to be progressing well; I have your birth preferences recorded, and will make sure to tell you if any of them need to change. You're doing great," Lauren says with a smile.
"Now, Mister Stark, if you'd be so kind as to put on a pot of coffee, I'd be most appreciative," the woman says as she turns to Tony.
"Of course. If you'll follow me, I'll actually show you the whole coffee-making setup," Tony says, and the pair leave the room.
Several hours later, Tony and Pepper have F.R.I.D.A.Y. make an announcement.
"Morgan H. Stark was born at eleven-thirty eight A.M. on Monday, October fourteenth, two thousand nineteen. Morgan is eight pounds two ounces, and twenty inches long. Mother and baby are both doing well; Mister Stark and Ms. Potts will be accepting visitors from two-thirty P.M. until four P.M. in their suite."
YOU ARE READING
The Fall - Book 1
Fanfiction***Book 1 is complete; Book 2 picks up right where Book 1 ends!*** Réa, a half-human, half-Seraph, has spent her entire life locked in a tower, haunted by visions of a man in pain. Unbeknownst to her, this tortured soul is Bucky Barnes, the former W...
