Oh Baby (January 1998)

Isabella's parents had been thrilled to discover that Isabella was pregnant. Isabella had told them before the official press announcement had gone out. The media went a little nuts with the news, but, as usual, Isabella took everything in stride and always remained poised and elegant. Because she was pregnant she could not wear her suit. Logan's presence on their newly formed team helped to fill her absence. Isabella's diet and activities were heavily restricted, which seemed to add to Tony's frustrations over the pregnancy. Things like getting into the hot tub, or eating Sushi were strictly off limits. Isabella knew that her pregnancy was likely bringing up memories of Tony's father. The two of them had not had a very warm, loving relationship  and Isabella wondered if Tony wasn't concerned that he would turn out to be just like his father. He never voiced any of his concerns to her. For the most part he simply ignored the fact that she was pregnant.

Though Isabella's feelings about having a baby had been turned around from that first ultrasound, she wasn't always thrilled about being pregnant. She felt fat and always had to pee. Her feet and hands were often swollen and she hated not being able to have a drink and eat whatever she wanted to eat. When she had no longer been able to wear her designer clothes she had cried, but then designers had begun making and sending her pregnancy clothes. Isabella could never figure out if Tony had had a hand in that or not since he had never said anything about it.

Isabella was five months pregnant and today was finally the day when they were going to find out the sex of the baby. Tony had come with her to her appointment and Isabella was excited and nervous to find out if they were having a boy or a girl. She knew Tony likely wanted a girl and, to be honest, she wanted a girl as well.

For the most part, Isabella being pregnant was an annoyance. They could only go out certain places do to what she could eat and she did not for him to see her naked which made it much more difficult for him to get her in the mood for sex. She hated how her clothes had fit if they fit at all and the hot tub was out, the sauna was out. Really hot showers were out. Just about everything was out! Damn inconvenient this kid was being and it wasn't even born yet! God...please make it a girl! He prayed.

Finally though it was time to find out if it wad a boy or a girl. Isabella's parents ofcourse wanted a boy...Traitors! He didn't need people praying for THAT! Even if he didn't believe in God. Once again Happy drove them to the doctor and he had had to pause to sign autographs even as they stepped into the office.

Once again Isabella was on the bed and Tony could not stop looking at her belly. It wasn't what he expected and it looked decidedly odd on Isabella. That and her waist was all but gone as well. But he never said that to her. Not if he wanted to ever have sex again. Though he needed to remind himself that 'sex' was how they got into this mess in the first place. He had 'heard' that a woman's sex drive went through the roof during pregnancy but it didn't happen to them, unfortunately. having sex was really how they came back together after a day of awkwardness. Tony did not want to be a father and more and more he felt as if he were being forced into this against his will. Again though he never said anything to Isabella. He could not. He didn't want to disappoint her and it was too late now in any case for them to change their mind. Well, for Isabella to change it. He waited for the doctor.

Dr. White soon came in and asked Isabella a few questions about how she was feeling. She then had Isabella lie back so they could begin the ultrasound. Once again, she squeezed some cold jelly onto her now round belly and pressed a handheld device into her stomach. She moved it around a little until a picture popped up on the screen. There was a rhythmic whirring sound that was the baby's heartbeat.

"So, do you want to know the sex of the baby?"

Isabella glanced at Tony and then nodded. "Yes, we do."

Dr. White smiled at them. "Well, it appears to be a girl."

Tony had not realized that he was holding his breath. But he did grin when the Doctor told them it was going to be a girl. It didn't change his worries about being a father but at least he would not be able to repeat what happened between himself and his own father. And he doubted it would change much at home. He wondered if there might be a mission he could go to? He would make certain to check.

The US government had created a coalition where they were willing to pay them, for their efforts in stamping down threats. Not to just the US, to the world at large. He squeezed Isabella's hand as all of these thoughts filtered into the good news they just received

Isabella felt a wave of happiness come over her when she heard the doctor tell them that it was a girl. She smiled a little when she saw Tony's grin. There was still some worry in his eyes, but perhaps those would dissipate over time. Isabella believed Tony would make a great father and would not make the same mistakes his own father had made.

They left the doctor's office and Happy opened the door for them. They sat in the back of the car and Isabella looked over at her husband.

"So, now that we know it's a girl, do you have any thoughts on a name?"

"Hmm?" Tony murmured as if his thoughts had been elsewhere. They had been though he had tried to make it seem like he was there with her. He felt hot in his suit and he was glad he was wearing sunglasses.He could keep a cool outer shell with a suit and sunglasses in any environment.

"Oh, well, whatever you want will be fine," He said simply then looked back out the window as if her question had been sufficiently answered.

Wolverine...Logan, had turned into a pretty decent man to work with. He did get hot under the collar sometimes. He did not have alot of tolerance for assholes but he followed orders for the most part and kept a low profile at the Tower now that its been completed. That was one more thing, he had so many things he had to finish yet involving the tower. His thoughts had drifted away to that.

Isabella looked at Tony as he looked out the window. She sighed softly but did not press him. After they arrived home she told Logan that they were having a girl. Logan's reaction was typical of Logan, but he congratulated them. Isabella made dinner and then afterwards, as she was cleaning up, a name came to her.

"What about Serena?" she asked as she looked over at Tony.

Tony seemed to pause a moment before he answered. "Serena sounds nice...I'm going to thee lab, incase you need anything," Tony said as he got up from the table. Wolverine had eaten with them tonight though he didn't every night. He watched Tony step away then shifted to look at Isabella.

Logan had a way with words in that he usually said things that were not at all appropriate. "Well he certainly sounded convincing," Logan said as he handed Isabella the last of the dishes.

Isabella sighed as she watched Tony walk away to his lab. She glanced at Logan and what he said did not make her feel better. She took the dishes and tried to think of something that would make her feel better, but nothing seemed to work. She felt herself growing more and more upset. She finally just turned off the water and wiped her hands before going to the lab. She walked in and looked at Tony.

"I don't know what you want from me right now Tony. Was this what we wanted initially? No. But it happened and that was as a result of the both of us, but you're making me feel completely alone in this. Can't you just put in a little more effort? This child is going to bear your name after all."

Tony was working on a new kind of electrical conduit that would allow him to pump more power into the tower than what they already had. He had ideas about how to protect the tower from beings that could modify their density and move through walls. Force fields stopped that kind of thing and this conduit was the start of that. He sighed and turned to face Isabella.

"I'm here Isabella. I'm here, I go to your appointments. Which is alot more than my father did. What else do you want from me?" he said. He could not keep the irritation out of his voice right then. "I'm not happy right now Isabella, what else do you want me to say?" He said.

Isabella knew that Tony was unhappy, but hearing him actually say it was different. It tore at her heart. She didn't know what to do or how to fix this. She had hoped that perhaps over time and especially now that they knew it was a girl, that Tony's attitude would start to change. However, it was becoming evident to her that that was not the case. Was this going to ruin their marriage? The thought of that made her feel sick to her stomach.

"You don't have to say anything Tony," she finally said. She was quiet for a few moments before looking at him again. "I think maybe I should just go stay with my parents until the baby is born."

Tony's eyes grew large. "Well, that would certainly help," Tony said sarcastically. "I can't do what I do and everything else too?" Tony said. He had lived by himself sure enough but Isabella had changed that, had changed him. He relied on her for so many things now. Her leaving would be a complete disaster. He also didn't want her to leave. He wanted her to be like she had been before she got pregnant. He wanted everything just to go back the way things had been.

"No, I don't think that's a good idea," Was all he offered her though.

Isabella was so frustrated with Tony. She wanted to scream and yell and hit him. She loved him so much but he could drive her completely crazy sometimes. She was tired and she felt alone and her anger started to show.

"No, you just want me here to cook for you. Let's be honest about that Tony. You live in your own little bubble and God forbid anything should disrupt that. I'm sorry. Is that what you want me to say? To say that this is all my fault? Well fine...it's all my fault because nothing is ever your fault. I'm scared Tony and I need someone to talk to sometimes, but you are like talking to a brick wall...although I'd probably get more out of the brick wall. I'm going to my parent's house and maybe I'll call you after she's born," she snapped.

Tony began to come towards her and she started to take a few steps back.

"Do you think I enjoy feeling like this? I want to be enthusiastic. I want to be 'that guy' that you seem to need. All full of support. But I have the whole world that expects me to be Ironman when IT does, not when it's convenient. I lost my parents before I was ready. I barely had a relationship with my father and when my mother was sober she was there. And I know you have a family and that you always had a family. But all I have is you Isabella. Just you. And when this child is born...I'll lose you too," Tony said before he could really moderate his words. Now it was out. His greatest fear. She would focus on the baby and he would just be pushed off to the side. Much like he was now. All the passion in their marriage was gone and he didn't know how to bring it back. Tony's eyes did look moist just then. A very rare thing for him.

Isabella just looked at Tony when he admitted that he feared that after the baby was born that he was going to lose her. "Is that really what you think Tony?" She walked back over towards him. She cupped her hands on the side of his face in a loving manner and looked into his eyes. "You are never going to lose me Tony. Whether or not you want to believe it you're stuck me me because you and I are a team...we're partners. You may drive me a little crazy sometimes and frustrate the hell out of me, but no matter what you do I'm always going to love you." She moved one of her hands down to pick up his hand and she placed it against her belly. "This is just an extension of our love Tony...a physical embodiment of it. You have an opportunity here to either give up and say that you're not going to be a good father, or to be the best father in the world, which is what I know you can be."

Tony had never actually touched her belly before and Isabella had not made him. However, now that his hand was there he might feel their daughter kicking up against his hand.

Tony actually listened to Isabella right then. Her words were like a lifeline to him where he had just been drowning a moment ago. Her belly felt...somewhat solid and he was about to move his hand away when he felt it. Something, a hand or a foot pushed against his hand. It was an alive thing in there. A little alive thing. His child. His daughter. Tony pressed his hand harder as if he needed to feel more. And then there was more. More than just the warmth that was there. Another kick, stronger this time.

Before he knew what he was doing Tony Stark was on his knees and he pressed his face up against her belly. And lo and behold? He felt another kick on his cheek. He shifted and kissed her belly and hadn't even realized that there were tears on his cheeks.

"Do...do you think she'll love me?" Tony asked as he raised his head to look up at her.

Isabella felt tears come to her eyes as she watched Tony. She saw his eyes suddenly light up and when she saw the tears on his cheeks she could no longer hold back her own tears that began to flow freely.

"She's going to love you so much Tony."

That evening Tony was decidedly doting upon Isabella. They ordered out and as she lay in bed he massaged her feet. He couldn't see what she was reading but it had been a book she had been reading for a while now. He was actually very good with his hands and her dark blue nightgown showed that her breasts were beginning to swell. He was looking at them in a way that she'd know he was. And by her grin he knew she knew. He shifted to the other foot.

"Do you like the new nightwear I picked out for you?" Tony asked. "I noticed you haven't wore the black one yet," he said. That one was sheer in the bust and came with a matching pair of panties, if you could call them that. "How is this supposed to work? How am I supposed to leave you two now?" Tony asked.

Isabella quite enjoyed having Tony dote on her that evening. She hadn’t asked him to massage her feet, but she did stop him either. Tony was wonderful with his hands and she felt very relaxed and at ease. Furthermore, having him look at her the way he was now made her feel sexy and wanted again...something she hadn’t felt in months.

“Tony, we’ll be fine. Just don’t do anything stupid since I won’t be there to stop you for awhile. How’s Logan working out?”

Tony just shrugged. "He's resilient beyond compare. But...I've still had this recurring dream where we have an entire team. You and i are just the first but others are out there," he said as he firmly kneaded the flesh of her foot.

"We need more if we're really going to be a real deterrent," he said as he set her second foot down. He shifted and kissed her right shin. "We know about Stephen Strange, Bruce banner. There has to be more," he said as his lips moved to her knee and then her lower thigh. "There has to be more...women out there with super abilities or powers," He said as he made it up to her upper thigh.

Isabella had long since forgotten about her book and she put it down as she considered what Tony was saying about having an actual team. As Tony began to kiss up her leg she felt her ability to concentrate starting to vanish as she felt herself being turned on. "If only we could find Captain America..."

"Oh a research project...My father made his shield you know," Tony said as paused in what he was doing to consider it. "All we'd need to do is figure out where he flew the plane from, pick out a trajectory then select a place he'd go to avoid people," Tony said. "Well, not quite as simple as that," He added as he thought about it. She would be able to see it all working through his mind. Positional coordinates, a device to thaw him without killing him. Unfortunately this had distracted him from his 'prior' goal which she would know they both needed right then.

Isabella had only been half serious about them finding Captain America. However, it quickly became apparent that Tony believed it was possible. She was interested in learning more about that...but not right at that moment. She realized she had distracted him and she needed to refocus him on what he was doing before. She grabbed Tony’s shirt collar and gently pulled him down to kiss her. In between kisses she whispered to him, “Later...we can talk about that later.”