Requisite and Sensibility

Chapter 10 - Maeve and Rhea

"A week to go, how're you feeling?" Megan shrugged at the therapist that Natasha had hired for the heroes taking sanctuary at the compound. "I'm fine." She replied, she always shut off her emotions before her appointments, she didn't need some therapist to help her through her "issues". Her "issues" were more than just her parents not understanding her or her boyfriend dumping her unexpectedly. She was facing something way bigger, darker than that and the darkness wouldn't stop spreading until it engulfed her completely.

The therapist sighed, he ran a hand through his brown hair, his mesmerizing, green eyes capturing Megan's. "We talked about this, you need to talk in order for me to help you." Megan crossed her arms over her chest, "I don't need help. I need rest... and food." The therapist, Dr. Khan pursed his lips, his tan skin glinted and his strong jaw clenched slightly before he remembered how much Megan had gone through. "You watched the men you loved, the men you married, turn into dust and float away in front of your eyes." Megan shrugged, "Tough luck, right?" "Do you always have such a gallow, dark sense of humour." "Usually it's more, doc."

Khan clasped his hands in front of him and sat there, staring at Megan, unmoving. She stared back at him, both of them challenging the other to drop their gaze, "Like it or not, I'm an expert at this and will win." Khan spoke slowly and Megan scoffed, "What are you? Five? A staring contest is so childish." "Then look away." Megan's lips spread thinly into a soft smile of sorts and Khan counted that as progress, "I'd rather not." Faaz, which was Khan's first name, which by the way was the main reason Megan even gave him a chance, knew how to get the goddess to loosen up.

Khan grinned and wiggled his brows and Megan laughed softly, averting her eyes, "I win." He spoke, "Beginners luck." Megan spoke. The young man reminded her of her late brother and that's why she even bothered to come to these meaningless appointments. "You ready to talk now?" "I would be except I'm pretty sure my bladder just broke." The man blinked and then shook his head, "More humour?" "I wish." Megan spoke, teeth clenched through a painful contraction. "Oh, OH." Khan jumped up and took Megan's hand, "Victoria? Tell Mrs. Barnes that her wife is under labour." "Right away Dr. Khan."

Khan led Megan down the hallways to the garage when Megan stopped him, "No, no hospitals. Friday's more than equipped and able to deliver right here in the infirmary." Khan clenched his teeth, "Now's not the time for your stubbornness Megan. We're taking you to a hospital." "I'll be stubborn if I want to, now... take me to the infirmary." Megan held the walls for support as she slowly made her way to the infirmary leaving Khan walking by her quietly and lost in his own thoughts. "Victoria? Call Friday and Nat to the infirmary." "Right away Mrs. Rogers."

***

Megan's head fell back, she hadn't been eating properly and that really showed right now, she was weak and couldn't even push her baby out. "Meg, you need to push." "I'm trying." Megan shot back, she tried to push but there was nothing in her left anymore. Natasha held her hand and soothed back her hair, "Friday, can't you suction out the babies?" "I can... but we need crowning before I attempt that." Natasha kissed Megan's forehead, "Meg, baby, I need you to push, for our girl, please." "Girls." Friday spoke, and Megan's head shot up knocking Natasha's head as she fell down, clutching her head. "Ow."

"We're having girls as in more than one?" Friday nodded, "Didn't you know?" "You never told me!" "I kept telling you that there are two healthy heartbeats." "I thought you meant mine and the babies. Did I just pull an Erika?" Friday nodded, "Yeah, looks like it." "If you have enough energy to talk, you have enough to push." Natasha groaned, still holding her head, "That hurts like a bitch." Megan put her hand under her thighs as she pushed with all of her might and Friday nodded, "I see crowning." Megan fell back into the gurney, "Thank Thor."

***

Natasha held the green-eyed beauty in her arms as Megan held the aqua-eyed one. Natasha smoothed back the black, wispy hair of the girl in her arms and she gasped, "Maeve." Megan looked up, "What?" "She instantly enamoured me with her beauty, she's definitely a Maeve." Megan smiled and nodded, "I like that, Maeve Buchanan Romanoff?" Natasha nodded, holding the baby girl close to her and never taking her eyes off of her. Megan looked down at her other baby girl, tufts of red hair smoothed down over her head, "Rhea, Rhea Grant Brooks." Natasha smiled, "Perfect."

***

"Mrs. Rogers?" "What's up Vicky?" "Please don't call me that." "It's cute!" "It's horrifying!" Megan chuckled, "Yes?" "Mrs. Barnes requests your presence in the debriefing room." Megan raised a brow, "That's... odd." She looked over at her two, sleeping half-year olds, Margaret and Vanessa were nearby drawing. "Uh sure." Megan walked down to the debriefing room slowly and entered the room, looking up to see Tony and Pepper standing by one end of the table. "What the fuck is he doing here?" Megan growled and Natasha held her back, "I asked him to."

Megan turned to look at her wife, her expression showing betrayal and heartbreak, "Why?" Megan whispered, "After what he did..." "Baby, I didn't do anything. We both said things that day, can't we get over it?" Megan looked up at Tony, "Get over it?" She asked softly. "Tony, you promised you would never hurt me, never leave my side. Remember that?" Tony nodded. "You went back on your word, twice. I never went back on mine though. I promised I would fight alongside you and if we would lose, we'd do that together too. Guess what? I fought Thanos down here, I did fight by your side and we lost. You came back, my kids were gone, my husbands, the least you could do was take that into consideration, but you never did. I'm tired of people breaking their promises to me and then waltzing back into my life, I'm tired of allowing that. I'm not going to take it anymore, I'm done. Please, leave Tony and never come back."

Megan turned and left and Pepper leaned in close to her husband, "Maybe we should've told her about Morgan before she finds out." The goddess zoomed back to her twins and daughter to see a new addition to Vanessa and Margaret's table. The little girl had shoulder-length, straight dark brown hair and big, intelligent brown eyes. She looked back at Megan as she plopped down beside her and smiled, "Hi. I'm Megan, what's your name?" "Morgan." "Are you staying, Morgan?" The girl shook her head, "My parents are visiting for the day." Megan nodded, "Oh." She frowned, "Who are your parents?" The little girl bit her lip and excitedly jumped up, "Iron Man's my daddy."

Megan blinked, "I'm sorry?" "Tony Stark is my dad and Pepper Potts is my mom. Daddy says Mommy doesn't want to take his last name because Stark's have bad luck, but he said the cycle'll break with me." Megan sat still, absorbing the information. "You're dad is Tony? Tony Stark?" Morgan nodded, "Yup." "Holy Shit." "Shitz?" The little girl repeated and Megan shook her head, "Oh no, no. I didn't say that, your daddy coined that term, ok?" The girl nodded, "Fuck." Megan breathed under her breath and the little girl was about to repeat and Megan clamped a hand over her mouth, "Shhh, no. Daddy coined that term too." The little girl nodded slowly.

Tony came in to stand behind Megan and Morgan and saw Megan slowly hold Morgan's three-year old, chubby face in her hands, staring into the little girl's eyes. "Please tell me you're kidding." The little girl shook her head as much possible in Megan's soft yet iron grip. "Ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, ok-" "Mom, are you okay?" Margaret asked, although she was only four, she could tell when her mom was upset and right now was one of those moments. "No, I'm not." Megan whispered, she looked at Morgan who looked about ready to cry. Megan shushed her and hugged her tightly, kissing the girl's hair softly, "Oh honey, it's not your fault. Oh, god..." She kissed Morgan's hair softly and Morgan felt safe in Megan's arms for some reason, she wrapped her arms around Megan tightly.

Tony cleared his throat and Megan looked up at him, "Hey Maguna... I see you've met your Aunt Megan." Megan looked at Tony wildly and he sighed, "Just play along." He mumbled under his breath and Megan nodded, "Yeah, I-I know you're daddy." Morgan smiled, "Oki." She skipped past her dad to Pepper who smiled sadly at Megan and picked Morgan up taking her outside. "Y-you have a kid?" Tony looked over at Margaret and Vanessa who were staring at him intently, "Uh, can we talk somewhere private?" Megan nodded, almost in a trance as she walked with Tony further down the hall.

"Me and Pepper... we were just so... devastated after this whole shit and then Pepper started getting... fatter? Don't tell her I said that. Anyways, we went to the doctor and found out she was pregnant, we weren't even trying, I don't know how it happened." Megan remained silent, looking down at the floor, Tony took a step towards her and took her face in his hands. "Sweetheart, you will always be my daughter, I will always love you, you're my first-born! But, Morgan... Now that she's here, I feel best if she thinks of you as an Aunt rather than a sister."

Megan nodded slowly, "Ok... good thing is she doesn't have to see me much. This doesn't change anything Tony, don't return to the compound."