The Trouble With Babysitting

Friday, early evening…

Kate showed Natalya how to hold the baby and she carefully put him into her arms. The baby had his plastic, green horse in his fist and he gummed and slobbered on it as he looked up at Natalya with a grin. Logan was nowhere to be found.

“Oh, I think he likes you Natalya,” Kate said smiling. He was getting bigger and also quite heavy for a child of his size. He was way off the chart as far as weight yet of average size. “You can hold him like that, or use your hip if you need one hand free. “I’ve already made up his bottle, he usually has it at 7:30,” she said as she watched Natalya with him. William made happy sounds as he bounced his body as she held him. His grin almost split his chubby face.

“Anything you want to know?” Kate asked.

Natalya had never held a baby before...ever. She was a woman that was comfortable running headfirst into gunfire, but holding William...she was far less comfortable doing that. She was surprised by how heavy he was, although she had heard about that from Kate and Steve. She looked decidedly uncomfortable and uncertain holding him and none of those so called "maternal instincts" seemed to be kicking in. Ok, well that answers that question, Natalya thought to herself.

"Uh...I do have one question...where the hell is Logan?"

“I don’t know, I thought he’d be here, I know I told him when I’d be showing you two what to do,” Kate said. “Now, after his bottle you will need to burp him,” she said then went about showing Natalya how to do that. She also showed her how to change him and redo his diaper.

“He can’t crawl yet, really, he mainly rolls or scoots on the floor. He likes his horses and you can put him in his bouncy chair or crib if he gets sleepy,” she said. She saw Natalya’s face and just smiled at her.

“You’ll do fine Natalya,” she said and left her to go get ready.

8:45……………

Tony and Isabella had gotten dressed and Tony looked smashing in his new Tuxedo. It was cut perfectly for his shape and he had just enough jewelry on him so that he didn’t look to gaudy.

Steve was in a tux as well with a vest that matched Kate’s dress. He looked sharp as well, Tony’s tailor knew how to cut a suit and this is the first event they’ve had since they had gotten married. Tonight she’d be taking ‘her’ husband’s arm and stepping out with her engagement and wedding rings on her finger.

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Peter and Serena were playing Poker. Peter knew the basics but Serena was the expert. He actually wasn’t doing to badly either as he didn’t quite understand the part about bluffing and he had just been very lucky. What they were playing for though he doubted her parents nor his Aunt May would approve of as the stakes were of a purely sexual nature. They sat crossed legged across from one another on Serena’s bed. The cards were in their hands and also the deck between them. THey had real poker chips, blue, red and green depending on value and Peter had a few more than Serena did. A sign that he was winning for now. Or she was letting him win. Of that he couldn’t be certain.

Isabella knocked then dipped her head in. “Ok kids, we’re heading out. If you can, please look in on Natalya...she’s watching the baby,” Isabella said with a wink.

Kate and Steve hadn't attended this event together in three years. A lot had happened since then. They had gotten back together and were now married and had William. Of course, they had prepared themselves for the fact that they would be asked lots of questions about their marriage and the baby. They had not yet stepped out of the Tower with William and everyone was incredibly curious about him still. Kate was feeling somewhat anxious about leaving him all of a sudden and was being reassured by Steve that everything was going to be fine.

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Meanwhile, Serena and Peter were in her room sitting on her bed playing Poker. Serena was currently letting Peter win so she could build up his confidence in playing the game. Gambit had done this with her when she had first been learning how to play. She wouldn't start showing off her expertise for a few more hands. She heard a knock on her door and she looked up and saw her mother who looked incredible in her long, off the shoulder, lace burgundy dress that showed off her still fit figure. Her long, dark hair was pulled back and she wore the diamond earrings Tony had gotten her for her last birthday.

Serena raised an eyebrow when she told her that Natalya was watching William. "Really? Natalya's watching him?"

“She’ll figure it out, just check on her, ok?” She asked then ducked out.

Steve almost didn’t let Kate out of the room when he saw her in her dress. When she asked him to zip her up it took real restraint not to do something that would make them later than they already were. Eventually they did manage to leave the room and all four of them shared some Champagne and conversed softly just before they headed out.

In Natalya’s room the baby moved his arms up and down and made happy sounds as he flailed with his Green horse in his hand. He looked up at Natalya as he flailed and the horse landed in her lap. He flailed again as if he wanted her to give it back to him. He was in a diaper and his onesie that had snaps at the bottom.

Nearly an hour after the others left Logan ducked his head in. “Hey, hows it goin?” he asked with his shit-eating grin he took on when he saw playing some kind of trick or joke on Natalya.

Kate's dress was a long, champagne colored dress in a metallic fabric. It had spaghetti straps and a plunging v cut in the front. It clung to her toned body without being too overt. Her blonde hair was left down and she curled it slightly. She had enjoyed seeing the look on Steve's face when he saw her in the dress. She knew without him saying anything that he liked it. They all finally left and got into the car to head to the event. As expected, they were met by photographers outside of the venue and once they got inside Kate and Steve were met by dozens of questions about their wedding and William.

Natalya was very quickly over the green horse toy. She threatened not to give it back to him if he threw it in her lap again. He just smiled and laughed and she relented and gave it back to him. When Logan finally appeared she looked over at him. "It's going much better than it will be for you. You know that thing I do in bed that you just love...the thing that really excites you...and drives you wild? I'm not doing that anymore."

Logan gestured defensively with his hands. “Whoa’ whoa’ whoA, all this hostility. I was gunna get you a beer then relieve ya Nat,” he said and then his nose smelled something foul. Obviously the baby needed to be changed.

“I’ll be right back,” he said as he opened the door then turned and ducked his head in. “And by the way, I think he needs to be changed,” he said and shut the door quick before whatever he saw her pick up hit the door with a loud ‘thud’

The onesie as simple enough and Kate had showed her what do to. Luckily he had only peed so from the diaper bag she only need to wipe him with the baby wipes. He just laid there and took it all without a fuss. However as she bent over him to figure out how the diaper went together William peed right in her face.

By the time Logan had come back, much longer than it would have taken him to get 2 beers she did have the baby changed and back into his onesie but she had to clean herself up to. Logan came in and noticed the baby was now in his bouncie chair.

“Here ya go?” He said and handed her one of the beers he held.

By the time Logan got back Natalya was quite angry. He would notice that she had changed her top and her face looked like it had just been washed. She snatched the beer from his hand and then narrowed her gaze dangerously at him. "You're never having sex with me again. He peed in my face!" She grabbed Logan by the shirt and pulled him towards her. "The next thing that comes out of the baby, I don't care which end it is, YOU'RE dealing with it."

She then sat back down on her bed and opened her beer. When he gave her a look she looked at him. "What? Did you actually think I was going to leave you alone with him?"

Logan just smirked at Natalya knowing full well her threat meant only until she wanted sex. When she wanted ‘it’ it wasgoing to happen and he could either just lay there or take an active role in it which he usually did.

Logan day on the floor and leaned back onto the bed while Natalya curled up into the recliner. They were watching American Ninja and they both knew Natalya could win that easily but with the Serum in her it gave her an unfair advantage. She still giggled when people fell into the water though. Logan had only drifted off for a moment when he looked down and the baby was not there.

In a panic he looked up at Natalya and she wasn’t holding him. “Fuck, the baby’s gone!” Logan growled and began looking around frantically for it. He looked under the bed and stood up and hurried into the bathroom. He even looked in the shower. “Holy hell he’s just gone!” He said in a panic.

Natalya had slowly been able to relax. Logan was on baby duty so anything William needed, including being changed, was up to him. She relaxed in her recliner with her beer to watch American Ninja. She enjoyed laughing at contestants when they fell into the water. She liked to point out everything they were doing wrong too.

Suddenly, she heard Logan yell out that the baby was gone and she jumped out of her chair. "What do you mean he's gone?!" She looked over and saw her door was still closed. "The door is closed he has to be in here somewhere." She began re-checking everywhere, even the places Logan had just looked but couldn't find him. "Shit...shit! What do we do?!"

As Logan tried to think of where he could be he turned and saw him in his bouncie chair. “Ohhhh, they told us about this. His powers,” he said but felt an enormous amount of relief that he was alright.

Now Logan was more vigilant and he watched the baby like a hawk. “I’m...sorry I got us into this...you,” Logan said as Natalya went back to watchIng TV.

Natalya was relieved when they turned around and saw William back in his bouncie chair. She breathed out a sigh of relief and sat back down. She took a sip of her beer and glanced back over at him when he apologized to her. "Yeah, it came back to bite you in the ass, didn't it?"

Logan scowled. “Well you don’t have to be so happy about it,” he said. “I just wanted us to try...to see…” he began than saw her eyebrows raise up. “Never mind,” he said and went back to bouncing the chair and watching the tv.

Natalya was rather surprised by what Logan started to say. She put down her beer and turned to look at him. He had her full attention now. "No...what were you going to say?"

“It was just a stupid experiment. Nothing more,” Logan said in a growl. “And it’s over now so you can go back to your show,” Logan said but he sounded upset. He just sat there and crossed his arms across his chest feeling like a fool.

Natalya hated when Logan got like this. She shook her head and turned away, muttering under her breath in Russian. It was evident to her now that this wasn't just some prank he had been pulling on her. He had actually been testing her with William and that actually made her angrier the longer she thought about it. She finally turned and looked back at him.

"That's not fair to me Logan," she said with a genuine hurt look in her eyes. "Dumping this experiment that I've clearly failed onto me. I'm not maternal Logan. I'm sorry, but I'm not, but this shouldn't exactly come as a surprise to you. Even if I was, would I honestly want to bring a child into the lives you and I lead? No...I wouldn't. But none of that matters because I had all of my reproductive organs removed against my will when I was 16. But thank you for reminding me of all of my failures and shortcomings as a woman," she said as she got up and stormed into the bathroom and shut the door and locked it.

Logan stood up checked thAt the child was alright, he was sleeping. He moved up to the bathroom. With a claw he slashed off the lock and the. Pulled the door open.

“I did it because I knew you wouldn’t,” he said. “It’s not about what you can’t do and what your not Natalya. I would expect you to understand that, he said.

Natalya sighed and decided not to say anything more about it. She stepped out of the bathroom and glanced at the door. "You get to explain that to Tony," she said before taking his hand and leading him over to the recliner. She had him sit down first and she curled up in his lap. She went back to watching tv but when she glanced over to check on William he had vanished again.

"Not again!"

“Shit!” Logan said and got up quick. He felt around the bouncie chair but he didn’t feel anything. “Nat, he’s not here!” Logan said and they searched around quickly to no avail.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Logan said. “Wait, Kate said his powers...invisibility and what, density control?”Logan asked. He wasn’t exactly certain what that meant. “What should we do?” He asked her but then they heard William cry and it sounded as if it was Coming from one floor below them. “Damn!” Logan barked and they ran out of the room. “I’ll wake the kids!” Logan said and ran toward their room. When he opened the door suddenly he saw a glimpse of what they were doing. Well, of what Peter was doing to Serena and he covered his eyes as they shifted at his presence.

“Jesus Christ! When ya get dressed we need your help. William’s in the floor I think!” Logan snapped and shut the door.

Peter’s cheeks were dark in embarrassment but he hurried just like Serena did and got his pants back on.

Natalya and Logan both looked at each other when they heard William crying, then looked at the floor and then looked at each other again before rushing out of the room. While Logan went to go get Peter and Serena, Natalya rushed down to the floor below them and tried to locate William by the sound of his crying.

Serena moaned at what Peter was doing to her. It felt incredible and she felt herself getting closer to an orgasm. Suddenly though, her bedroom door flew open and both Peter and Serena looked over to see Logan! Serena quickly grabbed a blanket and threw it over herself. Her cheeks were bright red from embarrassment and she was about to yell at Logan to knock when he suddenly told them what was going on with William. After he left she and Peter got up and got dressed and went to go find Natalya and Logan.

Logan practically ran down the stairs to the next level. In moments he was with Natalya looking up at the ceiling. He didn’t ask if she had found him he saw her looking up at the ceiling. They were in the gym and both Peter and Serena came down and ran up to them.

“What is it Logan?” Peter asked. “William phased and he’s floating somewhere up there,” he said and pointed toward the ceiling. They could all hear him crying.

“If his density solidifies while he’s in the floor…” Logan said worriedly. “If I try to cut through I’m afraid I might hit him,” Logan said worriedly. And indeed he looked worried. A look that was completely alien to Logan’s features. Logan was never worried about anything.

Serena looked up at the ceiling and couldn't see William, but she could hear him. She looked at Natalya. "Should we call Kate and Steve?"

Natalya shook her head. "No, not yet. I don't want to worry them. Let's see if we can't figure this out by ourselves. He's upset right now so maybe if we get him laughing or something else he'll finish phasing."

Serena nodded and decided to give it a shot. "Oh, he loves the Old MacDonald song. I heard Mom singing it to him one day and he was laughing." She looked at Peter, knowing Natalya would not know that song. "Will you sing it with me?"

Peter’s face flushed but he and Serena began to sing Old Macdonald had a farm, E I E I O. As they finished the first verse it was evident that William stopped crying as they could not hear him. Logan’s heart sank as he took the silence for a different meaning and he licked his lips that had now gone dry. As the they continued to sing though, they had to stop a moment to listen, they heard William’s happy sounds. Not laughing, just the noises he made when he was happy. Suddenly he appeared above them.

William seemed to ‘float’ in the air as if the air currents partly adjusted by how he moved allowed him to ‘drift’. “Holy hell!” Logan exclaimed in relief and he wiped his brow that had grown wet with sweat. “Uh, how do we hold him?” Peter said as he stopped singing. William was drifting downward toward them.

“Natalya? Serena? I’m open to suggestions!” Logan said desperately.

Natalya and Serena looked at each other for a moment before looking at Logan and Peter. "Keep singing!"

Serena and Peter began singing again and Logan and Natalya got ready to grab him. William began making happy sounds again and then laughing when Serena and Peter made the sounds of pig. As he laughed he suddenly fully materialized and dropped down into Natalya's arms. Natalya muttered phrases of relief in Russian as she held him to her.


About an hour later Kate, Steve, Isabella, and Tony arrived back at the Tower. William was sound asleep in his crib in Steve and Kate's room with Logan and Natalya sitting in there physically watching him. Each of them looked rather ragged.

"Uh...so how did it go?" Kate asked rather nervously.

Logan got up from the floor where he had been bouncing the bouncie chair with his hand for what seemed like hours. He bent over and picked up the baby by holding him outward from his body. He shifted and offered William to Kate. Without another word he opened the door and pushed Kate out of his room and slammed the door in her face. After a moment he tossed the bouncie chair and diaper bag out and they bounced until they came to a stop near her feet and he shut the door again quickly. He moved to the bed then collapsed upon it.

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In Serena’s room, though the mood had been rudely interrupted Peter was able to complete his ‘task’. A bet was a bet after all and he had made certain her room was LOCKED! How embarrassing that had been but they laughed about it now as they lay together over the sheets as their bodies glistened with sweat. He held her hand as they looked up at the ceiling and tried to catch their breath.

“That was...amazing,” he said breathlessly.


The Next Morning…


The next morning Logan and Natalya had not come out of their room. Steve, Kate, Pharaoh, Tony and Isabella were sitting at the table with mugs in their hands. Pharaoh had just arrived back in the tower this morning. He had been to an archaeological dig in Egypt and had just returned. Peter unlocked the door and opened it just enough to look out.

“Yeah, their all there except Logan and Natalya. Do we play it cool or what? I’m hungry.” Peter asked. Isabella had made a strada that morning and the smell of it baking made Peter’s stomach growl. He closed the door and locked it again before he turned around to face Serena. She was still in her bed though mostly covered with a sheet. Peter had put his boxer shorts on when he got out of bed and he snickered as he came back toward the bed. “You have crazy bed hair,” He said. Normally Serena was the first to get out of bed but this morning she didn’t appear ready. Peter smiled down at her. ‘We’re not...getting up yet are we?” He asked with a grin.