A hospital in Baltimore- late Tuesday night

[throughaphase]

Late Tuesday night, a text went out. Hopefully people were awake, or had their phone on silent. In that text was a picture of a smush-faced baby girl wrapped in a pink blanket, along with Meet perfect little Alexandra Marie.

At this point, Kitty was exhausted, and totally unaware that she was going to get woken up seventeen times during the night by nurses, but at the same time... lookit. She was holding an adorable brand new sleeping toy here.

"Seems weird that they're just going to let us walk out with her," she said. "It's insane that they're going to let us do that, right?"


[For the babydaddy, but open for replies! If you think you got it, you did.]

Comments

[uncertain_dume]

Hell yes Kanan was texting back.

Look at that great kid! Congratulations! And I promise I didn't burn down your bar.

[throughaphase]

Thank you. For covering and not burning anything.

That part could have been a preemptive "everything's fine here, really, I mean it, please ignore the sirens" type of deal and she would not care right now.

[uncertain_dume]

Hey, I said you could tap me in whenever, I meant that. You rest up, take care of yourself and that great looking kid of yours. I'll cover the bar as long as you need.

He would request visits with the baby, though.

[so_hawkward]

Clint had known this moment was going to come, but actually seeing Lexi here, totally real, like the most perfect baby ever was... well, overwhelming. "I'm walking out with her whether they let us or not. She's ours. Like, really ours."

[throughaphase]

"But a lot smaller than I remember," she noted.

Look how little, Clint!

[so_hawkward]

Oh, Clint was well aware of how tiny and vulnerable she was, don't worry. "Yeah, she's a little small to be going through portals at this point, thankfully,"
Clint said. "One less thing for us to worry about for now."

[throughaphase]

"We've got at least a year till she's walking to worry about that," Kitty teased.

[so_hawkward]

"I suddenly understand every parent that's ever used a baby harness," Clint said, looking down at Kitty and shifting nervously. "Can I hold her?"

[throughaphase]

"Nope, get your own," Kitty teased, but held Lexi out for him.

And maybe she was nervous about handoffs. Kitty was someone who'd likely look like she was going to steal your baby if she held them, but she wasn't used to ones that were this new and squishy.

[so_hawkward]

Clint took Lexi and cradled her in his arms, and the tight pang of overprotectiveness hit him right in the chest. "Hi sweetie. God, people weren't kidding about new baby smell. You're amazing."

[throughaphase]

Kitty couldn't help but smile watching him. "I'm pretty sure we got the best baby."

It was easy to say that before she was crying all night.

[so_hawkward]

And before the toxic diapers started.

"You did a good job cooking her up. You should have told me you were in pain sooner though," he said, looking a little exasperated. "I don't know what we would have done differently but..."

[throughaphase]

"Contractions were too far apart to go anywhere and you would have been freaked out the whole time if I told you."

Go ahead and argue that one!

[so_hawkward]

Darn her and her logic!

"I would have just... I don't know, made you more comfortable, or at least tried to," Clint said. "I still can't believe you did all that without drugs."

[throughaphase]

"I think I figured out why she's an only child at eight," Kitty said, not actually joking. She'd had problems with not being able to control her phasing while drugged in the past, and this was not a situation to test that. "I'm gonna lord it over her till she's eighty."

[so_hawkward]

Clint gave Kitty a sympathetic look and cuddled Lexi a little tighter to his chest. "You did good, and now we never have to go through this again," he said, smiling as he looked down at Lexi. "And it's okay because you're perfect and you're all we need, yes you are."

[throughaphase]

"It's surprisingly cute watching my husband fall in love with someone else," Kitty teased.

[so_hawkward]

"That's your fault for making someone so adorable," Clint said. "Geez, she's so tiny. Lucky and Rook are going to have a field day when we bring her home."

[throughaphase]

"They're going to be okay with her, right?"

Shhh she worried.

[newroutines]

You made that? Yourself? Holy shit.

Leave it to Mike to be eloquent.

Congrats, babe! And baby!!

[died8yearsago]

Rosa's response came in a bit later, since she was probably busy. You know. Tuesdays and all.

You're a free woman now. Ditch the kid on the dude and lets hightail it to Vegas.

Followed a few seconds later with:

Congrats tho. She's cute.

[heroic_jawline]

Oh, good, she doesn't look like Barton.

Steve felt bad two seconds later.

I WAS KIDDING. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL BABY, SINCERELY, STEVE ROGERS

[filleauloup]

Éponine's reply, being that she still wasn't entirely comfortable with text messages as a medium of communication, was a simple and very eloquent:

!!!!!!!!!