I am SO sorry. Time got away from me and life sort of just piled on. Since its been such a long wait and I wasn't quite sure where I had intended the last chapter to lead in to, I accelerated my plans for this story. I hope you can forgive me!

This is a short chapter but I thought I owed you guys SOMETHING. Happy early Christmas/ late Haunnaka, etc.

It was a sunny day. Warm, too, for early March. There was a bit of snow lining the streets still, left over from a harsh late-winter storm the weekend before, but it would be gone by mid-morning. Natasha stirred, twisting in the sheets as the tail end of a nightmare played out in her head as she lay. With a sudden jolt, she was forced from the dream, whipping the white sheet off of her body as she sat up, her hands falling instinctively to her extended belly the size of a watermelon.

Panting, she dropped her head back to the sweat-soaked pillow. The nightmares had gotten worse in the past weeks. Something about hormones being out of whack, Bruce had said. But it was nothing she couldn't handle. It would have been better if she had Clint's arms to roll into. He was still in Syria though and wouldn't be home until Friday.

"It's okay," she whispered breathlessly, gliding her hands over her stomach. "It was just a dream." He was more active than usual, the baby. Natasha could feel him moving and kicking and beating against her body in a frightened dash. "Shh, it's okay."

Then the pain started. At first it was just a slight discomfort in her lower abdomen. Nothing to be alarmed about really. But she made the mistake of standing up. Within seconds, she felt liquid rush between her legs.

"No, no, no, no." This was too early. There were still weeks before he was due; her water couldn't have broken! There had been plans made, a date they were prepared for. In the days before the due date, they would have driven to a small hospital in Maine or Michigan or some state very removed from New York with fake names, had the baby there, and removed all the records of his existence. But there were no time for plans anymore. Natasha rushed to the phone on the other side of her bedroom, snatching it up and pressing the number three speed dial.

"Pepper!" she half-screamed into the receiver, "I need you! I think the baby's com-"A sudden stabbing pain shot through her lower abdomen, crippling the unsuspecting assassin and rendering her speechless.

"The baby's coming?" Pepper's voice on the other end of the line was strained, and Natasha could hear her call for Tony. "I'll be right there. It'll be okay."

"Hurry. Please."

Natasha gasped as another contraction even more painful than the first struck. This was too much. Bullets, knives, torture; god, give her any of those right now. The only thing sharper than the pain was fear; something had gone terribly wrong.