Anyone who has called the act of childbirth a 'miracle' unironically has clearly never had kids of their own, Pepper thought on her way to the hospital. Tony was driving them, using one hand to hold his wife's and the other on the wheel. "You're doing great, honey. Just remember to breathe.", Tony offhandedly said. He took a deep breath and took the exit.
"You don't say.", she retorted in between deep breaths. The woman kept her head low, chuckling lightly. "It could be worse. She could've decided to come in the middle of the night, right after everyone had gone to bed.", she remarked, keeping her head low. Tony gave a low chuckle, squeezing her hand a little for support. The couple gave a soft smile to each other, before diverting their attention back to the road.
Pepper was admitted into the hospital at 12:38 p.m.; they had both agreed Tony would be far too freaked out to be of any help in the hospital long ago. It wasn't until then Tony had even thought about calling the others and telling them. Give him some slack, the man's head was going a million miles a minute.
Sitting in a cushioned chair, Tony pulled out his phone and called Peter first. Yeah, he knew it was going to be in the middle of class, but the man knew that the big brother would want to be one of the first to know.
"Hello?", a middle-aged voice answered. Wait, this was the teacher that answered the phone in class, wasn't it. God, Tony hated that policy.
"Yes, can I speak to Peter?", Stark asked, trying to keep himself polite. This was a happy moment; that was supposed to be private.
"I'm sure you understand, but there is a class policy I refuse to exempt for anyone. I--" "Just give the phone to the kid.", Tony interrupted. The man was going to have to choose his words carefully; he was still on speakerphone, and the baby wasn't exactly public yet.
"Hey, what's up?", Peter asked, slightly concerned. "Is it a 'thing'?" Tony chuckled. Of course the first thing he'd assume it was was a mission. "No kid, it's much better than that. You know that, uh, special guest we've been expecting?", Tony asked expectantly. "...Really?", the teen asked, voice about ten times higher. "Yeah; Hap's gonna pick you up after school and bring you over to meet her. Think you can hold on 'till then?"
"Y-yes sir.", Peter responded. Tony knew his heart just lit up in excitement. "Alright. See you then, squirt." "Bye Dad.", the teen mumbled before hanging up. The father smiled a little, sharing in his excitement.
The first couple of hours were spent making several phone calls to friends and family, telling them the good news. A nurse walked out, looking rather solemn. "Mr. Stark?", she asked, keeping her voice soft. The man looked up, finding her expression and fearing for the worst. "What's wrong?", he asked, matching her volume immediately.
"There was a problem with the baby's heart; it wouldn't be strong enough to survive the natural birth process. We've begun the cesarean delivery procedure, however. It will slightly delay the arrival, but it will result in a much stronger chance of survival.", the nurse informed. "It only seemed fair to inform you."
The man nodded mutely. "Do whatever you have to.", he stated, staring at the ground. She echoed the nod, before politely asking, "Would you like for me to direct you to the operating suite?"
"...Please.", Tony quietly responded. The nurse nodded and pointed the way to him, before turning and leaving the man be. Acting on auto-pilot, Stark started walking the directions the nurse pointed him in. Of course something would go wrong. Even if it was only a by few weeks, she was still a few weeks early. Eager to make her debut, he supposed.
Tony quietly walked into the operating suite, barely being able to sit down and hold Pepper's hand when he heard it. Screams. The loud screams of a newborn baby girl who had just been brought into the world.
"Got a set of lungs.", Tony remarked, making a couple of the nurses laugh. Tony smiled a little with them, watching the employees gently handle a screaming ball of flesh and blankets. Eventually, after she had been cleaned up, measured, diapered and swaddled, little Morgan Nattie Stark was given to her father as they started helping the doctors with Pep.
"Hey sweetheart.", the man breathed, holding the squirming infant. He gently kissed her forehead, before glancing back to the doctors. They worked quickly, it seemed, as Pepper was already being shifted to a hospital bed and rolled off to a room. Tony got up and followed, glancing at the room number they entered. Pepper, albeit tiredly, held out her arms to take their child.
"She's so beautiful.", Pepper breathed as she fed the child. "Gets it from her mother.", Tony responded, shooting a text of the room number to all of his contacts. Pepper simply laughed a little.
About 15 minutes later, Peter could be heard from outside the hall, counting the door numbers. "302...303, dadadadada, 304!" The teen quietly opened the door, grinning from ear to ear. May walked in behind him, sharing a sweet smile with the two parents. Peter walked next to the bed, staring at the baby. "Hey. I'm your brother.", he greeted. "You wanna hold her?", the new mother asked softly. The spark in his eyes said enough.
Pepper slowly gave Morgan to her brother, who cooed as he sat down. Still smiling, the teen gave her a gentle Eskimo kiss. May pulled out her camera and took a couple of pictures; one with Peter looking down, and the other with both looking at the camera. Afterward, the teen gave Morgan back to Pepper.
As time passed, more people came over to check up on them. Some stayed and talked a little, others left shortly thereafter. It wasn't until the sunset through the hospital window Peter and May had to leave. "Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!", he called. "Bye, Sissa.", he whispered, kissing Morgan's head for what seemed to be the hundredth time that afternoon. May watched with a soft smile, closing the door behind them with a little wave.
A couple days later, Pepper was cleared to go home. They strapped Morgan into the car seat and drove back to the tower. They got maybe five minutes away from the tower before Morgan started crying to be held.
"Hoo, she's got a set of lungs.", Pepper remarked. "Yeah.", Tony agreed.
YOU ARE READING
I Was Joking
Fanfiction"Boss, the test is a match." "Oh come on, Fri. Not you too.", Tony jokingly pleaded, smirking at Rhodey. "I have ran through the data multiple times. It's a match. Would you like to see the data?" "Yes ple...", he dragged, lighthearted tone gone wh...
