"Okay, sweetheart, just don't get that baby goo on the leather, okay? It's imported." Tony said as gently but firmly as he could, keeping a tight hold on your hand while helping you into the passenger seat of his car. He wanted to call an ambulance to take you to the hospital once your contractions started, but you insisted that you had time for him to take you, much to his dismay. As a first-time grandpa, he was almost as nervous as you were and he wasn't exactly secure on his driving ability at the moment.

"Really, Dad? You're worried about the leather?"

"No, not really," he conceded, "I don't know why I said that, I'm sorry." Once you were securely in, he closed the door gently and hurried around the back of the car and to the driver's side, dropping himself into the seat with a loud groan. He turned to look at you again, his concern building as he watched you push back into the seat when another wave hit, your breathing quickening until you could get control and he felt safe to move. His hands gripped the steering wheel, but when he looked down at them, the shaking was enough to move it under his hold. "FRIDAY, I think I'm gonna let you drive," he nodded definitively, "yeah, I think that's best."

"Yes, boss."

"Give Steve a call while we're at it."

The car started under FRIDAY's command, setting into motion as the two of you listened to the repetitively annoying ring of Steve's phone, waiting for him to answer. He had left for a mission only two days before and was supposed to return home tomorrow, but clearly, your son had other plans than to wait until his due date next week. When the Captain finally answered, he was out of breath and you could hear fighting in the background; Tony had agreed that he would call only if there was a problem, so having him answer while in the midst of battle wasn't a shock. "Stark? What's going on?"

"Your wife's in labor and I'm not you."

"She is?" he gasped, followed by the familiar clang of his shield against whomever had the misfortune of connecting with it. "How far apart are the contractions? Has her water broken yet?"

"Five...minutes..." you panted, "and not yet...oh, wait..." you stopped, shifting uncomfortably in the seat with a grimace and a look of disgust when Tony hung his head heavily in understanding. "Sorry, Dad."

"It's okay," he sighed, "don't worry about it at all. I'll just get a new one."

"A new seat?"

"A new car."

~~~

Once arriving at the hospital in what had to be a record time, thanks to FRIDAY, a few of your teammates joined you and Tony for support, none more welcome than Wanda when your dad had to excuse himself for some of the more unsightly procedures that you had to undergo. Steve was on his way in, but he was on the other side of the world and the quinjet could move only so fast. From minute to minute, things were progressing and it looked like your son would arrive without his dad being there to see it.

"Okay, (Y/N), we've got you all covered up, so I'll grab Tony," Wanda smiled, stopping to rest her hand over you with a warm red glow emanating from it, easing your tension and relaxing your muscles for a few glorious minutes between contractions. "Does that help?"

"Don't ever leave me, Wanda," you mumbled sleepily. "That's better than anything they've given me so far."

"Let me just get your dad and I'll be back. I'll see if anyone's heard from Steve too."

"Mmm kay." You closed your eyes for only a minute, or you thought it was only a minute; when you opened them again, you saw Tony sitting in a recliner at your side, snoring softly with his hand holding yours tightly despite his slumber. You weren't sure if it was the medications being pumped into your veins or if it was the help from Wanda that allowed you this time to rest, but it didn't matter; you woke with a renewed sense of energy that you hadn't expected.

"Are you okay?" Wanda whispered, seeing you wake, but silencing quickly when Tony shifted in his chair. The two of you watched him with wide eyes, holding perfectly still until he found a resting spot again. "Do you need anything?"

"Steve?"

"At least two more hours."

"Just cross your legs," Tony slurred quietly into a long yawn, stretching his arms over his head to try to shake some life back into them. "Tell that kid he's just gonna have to wait."

"I thought you were asleep?"

"You think I could sleep at a time like this?" he chuckled softly, his eyes still closed. "I can barely sleep when everything's going good. No way in hell I'm gonna get any rest for the next eighteen years."

The peace and relief wasn't going to last long, you knew that for sure, so when it came back with a vengeance and an incapacitating grip that left you struggling to control your breaths, Tony was quickly wide awake and jumped up at your side with his focus fully on you. "Okay, sweetheart, just focus on something else...anything else..."

"He's not here..." you whimpered between sharp gasps, "he's supposed to be here..."

"I know, I'm so sorry, but don't focus on that. I'm sorry that you're stuck with me, honey, but you're doing great."

Wanda was at your other side, doing her best to intervene again, but this time her efforts were having no effect on how you were feeling; she exchanged a quick glance with Tony before heading to the door, looking for your nurse to let her know that things were about to really begin. When she returned, she reached out and tapped Tony's arm gently to get his attention, "if you don't think you can be in here, I can stay."

"No, I'm good," he answered readily and without hesitating, "I'm not going anywhere." The monitor at the head of your bed began to alarm, making him jump slightly at the sudden blaring sound that cut into the calm that he was trying his best to create. "Okay...okay...(Y/N), things are gonna start to move really fast. But I'm right here. I promise, I'm staying on this end, because what you're doing downtown there is all on you."

"Shut up," you tried to laugh, but it came out in more of a sad cry that stung in his chest; he hated watching you be in pain, even for something with such a happy outcome as this, and he longed for any way to take even some of it from you. "Dad...you can do this."

Now Tony felt like a complete ass, having to hear you be the one to build him up when he was there to do that for you. All he had to do was hold your hand and be supportive, and here you were, doing the hardest thing that he would ever be witness to and trying to keep him calm. He felt like an absolute failure to you in those few seconds, and he couldn't stand what he had done. "No, you can do this, honey. I'm going to do whatever you need of me, alright? There's nothing that I won't do-"

"(Y/N)!" Steve called out to you, bursting through the door with such force that it bent the hinges as it slammed back against the wall, nearly making your doctor topple from his stool when he jumped in surprise. His uniform was dirty and his hands were shaking, but he began to calm when he could finally make contact with you. "I'm here, baby, I'm here," he said in forced breaths, taking his place at your side, opposite of a relieved Tony. "I'm sorry I'm late, but I'm here."

"Oh, it's so good to see you, Cap, you have no idea," Tony sighed, his body visibly relaxing at the sight of him, "you just made it."

"You okay?" Steve asked, this time directed towards your wavering and slightly pale dad. "Maybe you should sit down, Tony."

"Nah, I'm good...I'm good," he waved him off casually with a heavy hand. "(Y/N), since Steve's here, I'm just gonna wait outside-"

"No, stay," you interrupted quickly, clutching his hand before he could pull it away. "Please, stay here."

Tony's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in shock, looking from Steve and to your doctor before back to you, clearing his throat nervously to regain the voice that he was sure he had lost. "You sure? This isn't really my specialty...this baby stuff. I thought you had caught on to that by now."

"You think it's mine?" Steve scoffed. "I don't have a clue what I'm doing, Tony. I'm just winging it, here."

"Glad I'm not alone," you added quietly, "I'm totally lost."

Steve and Tony looked down at you, fully surprised but smiling with a strange thankfulness that you had given them permission to be terrible at this along with you. When the action began to pick up again, Steve leaned in to kiss your forehead and whisper encouragement to you that Tony turned away from to allow your privacy. More nurses began to arrive and take their places around you, leaving the two men at your side feeling that much more anxious that the time had come for them to figure it all out.

"Okay, everyone," the doctor announced with a calming smile, "I've heard that you're all fast learners, so no time like the present to find out if that's true. Here we go."