A girl out of time

Eight - Explinations and acseptance

I woke up still in the small hospital room. I gazed up at the ceiling remembering the events of the day before. I rolled over to look into the cot placed beside my bed and gasped when I saw it was empty. I sat up about to call for someone when I was something shift out of the corner of my eye. Looking over I saw Tony reclined back in the cair with his daughter on his chest, both sound asleep.

I sighed in relief. Stella was safe. Lying back down I watched the two, Tony had his good hand on Stella's back and his broken one resting on the arm. Stella had her little fists next to her head clinging to her daddy's shirt. Her head rested on his chest next to his arc-reactor.

I stayed there just watching my little girl sleep for goodness knows how long until she woke up. Shrill cries rang through the room causing Tony to wake up. He patted her on the back whispering to her. "Shh, shh. Stella, we don't want to wake mummy." I cleared my throat causing him to look over and turn slightly pink.

"I didn't wake you did I?" He asked over Stella's cries. I shook my head. "No, I was awake. Did she wake up last night?" I asked as he passed me our little girl. "Yeah, you were exhausted so I let you sleep." I smiled and mouthed a thank you while beginning to feed Stella.

"It's fine." He glanced at his watch and shot up. "Oh, dam Peppers gonna kill me!" He exclaimed turning to face me. "I gotta go to work. I'll come back after." He started towards the door. I laughed at him. "Tony were still in Russia. Rember?" He stopped at the door and sighed his lips forming an 'o' shape.

He came over and sat back down on the edge of my bed. "The doctor said we can fly home in a week." He nodded.

For the next week, we did lots of talking. Tony and I became closer, he was good with Stella, not a perfect farther. Still, the sarcastic, sassy billionaire that went out clubbing because of course tony stark would find a nightclub in the middle of nowhere. He never came to see Stella while he was drunk so that was progress.

I bonded with the other Avengers, especially Natasha who showed me photos of her son Jasper. He was three months old and already looked like a mini Steve, except for the eyes he had his mother's eyes.

*****

After spending a week in the hospital so they could keep an eye on Stella, we were finally able to leave. The team packed up their hotel rooms and we all drove out to an abandoned field where they had left the jet.

We all got on the jet and I strapped Stella's baby carrier to one of the seats making sure she was safe before looking around. I felt out of place in this thing. It was new with screens and flashing buttons everywhere, it was overwhelming. The only technology I'd ever seen was the chunky looking computers and cameras at the HYDRA base. This was all new and sleek.

I sat down next to my baby girl and attempted to look like I wasn't having a panic attack. I must have failed because my brother came over and sat next to me. "It's all very different isn't it?" I nodded weakly. "Everythings just new." He chuckled "you get used to it. It just takes a while." I smiled and gave him a hug only letting go when Steve came over and asked "so does your favorite big brother get a hug too?" I chuckled and J sneered. "He just did." Poking his young out at steve. I laughed and hugged steve as well.

Once everyone was seated and Tony was off the phone Clint and Nat started up the jet and we took off. Stella began to stream I gave her the dummy to suck on and that quieted her down again. 

Half an hour into the Ten-hour flight we were all talking about the usual stuff like what me and the boys did before the war and the other missions when Stella began to cry again. "Does she need changing?" Nat asked. I shook my head, "I just changed her five minutes ago." I checked her nappy just to be sure and it was empty. "I think she's just tired," I said picking her up and rocking her. Nothing changed and she continued crying. My face went blank as I passed Stella to her father who gave me an odd look.

I sighed. "You're the only one who can get her to sleep," I said exasperated. "Daddy's little girl won't sleep for me." Steve laughed. "Ha Jaspers the same I have to hold him but nat has to sing." That comment earned him a slap from his wife. They began to argue in hissed whispers when something occurred to me. 

"If your both here who's with Jasper?" They stopped and looked over at me. "Pepper, she's like their other aunt." Nat explained 'That's nice I thought. "You said 'there' who else has kids?" I asked slightly confused. "Well... there's Clint's kids Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel but they live at the farm with his wife. Then there's Jasper and Peter." Nat rattled off the kid's names counting on her fingers. That would be good for Stella to have other kids around. "Who's Peters parents?" Nobody spoke. "I'll tell you later," Tony said from behind me. I shrugged sensing that it was a ruff subject.

"So..." Nat spoke up again. "Why did you name her Stella Margaret Stark? What's the story behind the name?" I was confused. "What do you mean 'story behind the name'?" She gave me the look. "You know exactly what I mean its a girl thing, you give your child a name that means something to you like naming them after a parent or something. Whats Stellas meaning?" Dam she knew what she meant. The boys all looked slightly confused while Wanda and Nat looked at me expectantly.

"Fine, the name Stella because of my family and his mum. Tony's mum was Italian and Stella is Italian for star, his mum called him her star sometimes." I looked back at Tony who had his sleeping little girl on his chest. "My family used to have a tradition, before the war, every second weekend we'd all go to the lake and we'd sleep under the stars." I smiled remembering the lake with the four of us kids lying in a circle talking and watching the stars.

"Margaret because even if nobody ever called her that except me she was my best friend and his aunt, Peggy." Steve smiled. "Pegs would love to know that." He said and I gasped. "I almost forgot I need to go see her!" Everyone laughed, "I'll take you and Stella there tomorrow if you want? Well, bring Jasper too." Steve offered, I nodded in agreement.

*****

There were about five hours left of the flight and we had somehow come to the topic of me. "So how do your powers work?" Bruce asked seeing me make little flowers appear above Stella making her smile. I looked up from the baby in my arms. "Well, I can manipulate the elements and also make them appear. Depending on what I want something to do will affect how long the element stays like that before it goes back to a natural state." I explained. He nodded fascinated.

"And can you make something last forever like say making a flower that never wilts or dies?" That question came from Tony, I felt my cheeks turn red and suddenly the empty baby carrier became very interesting. "Yes, I can do that but I have to concentrate," I said still inspecting the baby carrier. Tony chuckled standing up, walking over to his bag he pulled out a small jar that was decorated with small intricate snowflakes and flowers.

He handed it to me with a smirk. "Something like these?" I gasped inside the jar were the flowers I left for Tony with the note after our first date. They were suspended in there in what looked to be glass. "You kept them?" He nodded, the others looked confused but I didn't care. This jar made me feel like someone loved me.

I placed Stella back into the carrier. Stood and gave my boyfriend the biggest hug that he returned. He leaned down capturing my lips with his own. His lips were warm and soft on mine just as I remembered. I pulled back only to breathe and he smiled creating his chin on my head.

"Mind if I add something to this?" I asked. He looked skeptical but hummed in agreement. I closed my eyes and heard the others gasping around me. I focused on making a slightly smaller jasmine flower appear in front of the two already in the jar. It was a pearl white with pink on the tips of the petals.
Opening my eyes I saw it in the jar sitting in front of Tony's red one. "It's her," I explained smiling. He squeezed me tighter and whispered "thank you" into my ear, realizing this was me showing him that we could try to be a family.

*****

The rest of the trip was a mix of talking, sleeping, and playing 'pass the baby to stop the dam screaming.'

I'll admit I was skeptical of having to live with these people but I trusted my brother and Steve. After a week of getting to know them and being trapped on a plane with them for ten hours, I'm glad that my brother found Steve, that Steve found them and that they all found me.