Jade was about as thrilled with the idea of an early c-section as Anton expected her to be.
Which was not at all.
She sat on the bed, propped up by four pillows, looking pale and exhausted and irritated as hell. Her arms were crossed over her chest, resting against her large protruding belly.
"It's too early," she answered, there was a bite to her tone, one that said she was seconds away from being irate.
"It may be early, but your son is measuring 8 months."
"That means nothing," she answered, stuttering over her words in a fluster. "He's only been in there 6 months. He's just a big baby is all. It doesn't mean his lungs are developed or-."
"Jade," Anton started stepping forward to back Dr. Fine up.
"No!" She snapped, shaking her head. "There is no way in hell I am letting you take this baby out of me."
Dr. Fine and Anton shared a look. It was Anton who spoke. "If we do not take the baby out...you could die, Jade."
Her face fell in a mixture of shock and disbelief. That was something that Dr. Fine had neglected to tell her. Of course she had noticed his concerned expressions with each check up, as well as his unscheduled visit, which she assumed resulted from Antons worrying. He wasn't as good as hiding it as Dr. Fine was. She also knew that the pregnancy was taking a toll on her. She could feel it down to her bones, Baby Barnes (she'd yet to come up with a name for him) was making her feel weak and tired, but she attributed that to being normal pregnancy symptoms and not something that could kill her. The idea that her own child might kill her was preposterous.
"He is quite literally sucking the life out of you. He's taking whatever nutrients he can from all parts of your body, which is unable to keep up with his serum enhanced growth," Dr. Fine continued at her stunned silence, explaining it in a firm yet sincere tone. "He will continue to take until there is nothing left. And you are very clearly running low."
Jade huffed indignantly, looking between Fine and Anton and refusing to believe his words. She could not have this baby at 6 months pregnant, that went against every medical possibility in the world. There was no way that he could be ready. And she wasn't ready. She had told herself that she would have figured out a way to escape from Fury's prison at some point before she was due. She was supposed to find her way back to James and her family and Iris, knowing that they would protect her from Fury and SHIELD. She wasn't supposed to have this baby on the farm, especially not in an unsterilized bedroom and not with Anton as her birth partner.
"It's not supposed to be like this," she whispered, her head dropping.
Fine approached the bed, sitting on the edge and taking her hand. She was reluctant to let him hold it, but allowed it. She did like Fine after all.
"I know you're scared," He started.
That was an understatement, she was terrified. Of having major abdominal surgery. Of what condition Baby Barnes would be in when he came out. Of doing all of this without Bucky.
"But if we don't do this, we could lose you and, potentially, the baby," he continued as she looked at him with watery eyes. "And I am refusing to let that happen. I promise you that if we do this, you and your son will be fine. You have my word."
Jade hesitated, looking into his warm eyes. Every instinct inside of her was telling her this wasn't right, that it was too soon. But she trusted him, and while as a nurse she knew all the risk of major surgery, especially in an unstable and unsterilized environment, if it meant keeping Baby Barnes safe she would do anything.
"Okay," she relented with a heavy sigh. "When do we do this?"
"In four hours you'll be holding your son in your arms," Dr. Fine insisted with a reassuring smile. "My team is already on the way."
The sound of a phone chirping rang in the air, prompting Dr. Fine to pull his out and excuse himself, leaving Jade and Anton alone. The moment the door closed behind the doctor Jade turned her sights on Anton, beckoning him closer with a wave.
"Anton, I need you to promise me something," she said softly, watching him sit near her on the edge of the bed.
"Anything."
Jade blinked as the word left his mouth without any hesitation. Anton's face fell slightly, surprise dawning in his own eyes, clearly shocked at his own devotion to her. Jade was not blind, she could tell that he cared for her, it had been friendly at first, but lately it had seemed like something more. There was a change in the way he looked at her, and a protective aura surrounded him whenever he was near. She knew he cared, and he cared deeply about her and Baby Barnes. And if James Buchanan Barnes didn't exist perhaps (and if they'd met under different circumstances) she could have cared for him in return more than a friend, but James did exist, and he had her heart completely.
"If something happens to me-."
Anton shook his head, almost immediately cutting off her sentence. "Jade, no, we aren't doing this-."
She let her voice rise to speak over him until he exasperatedly fell silent again. "Anton, if something happens to me, promise me that you will find a way to get Baby Barnes to James."
Anton blinked, looking at her with a frown. "Jade-."
"Nick Fury is not raising my kid. And I refuse to let him disappear into the system never knowing who he is or where he came from, and with the government watching him or potentially using him his entire life. He belongs with his family. With his real father. People who will love and protect him. And if I die I need you to do whatever you can to make that happen."
Anton shook his head. "I can't. I-."
Jade sat up with what little strength she could find, her hand clamping onto his forearm and gripping tight in desperation.
"I know it's against your job. I know it could get you in trouble. But please," the tears that had been sitting in her eyes swelled and threatened to spill. Anton's face fell at the sight. "I don't want my son to grow up without his family."
Jade could see the battle being waged in his eyes and she waited with bated breath to hear his response. A large part of her thought he'd refuse, that he was too loyal to SHIELD and Fury to betray them for her and her sons sake, but to her astonishment he nodded, placing his hand over hers on his forearm.
"If something happens to you I will take Baby Barnes to the Avengers compound and see to it that he gets to his father," he promised with all seriousness to his tone.
She felt an immense relief, a weight lifting from her shoulders. "Thank you, Anton."
He smiled at her timidly. "No problem, Jade."
True to his word Dr. Fine's team, which consisted of three men, arrived within the hour. Jade was lifted into Anton's arms to be carried out, to wait in his room which she'd never seen before, allowing Fine's team to sterilize her room before bringing her back in to prep her. Anton paced outside the bedroom door, the wooden floor creaking under his repetitive weight, anxiety racking his brain.
He'd made a mistake. He'd been foolish, letting his emotions get the better of him which he'd expressly promised Nick Fury would not happen. It had never happened before, he'd always been able to keep them in check, to do his job diligently and faithfully with no question. But there was something about Jade, something about the way she looked at him and made his heart race just with her eyes, that made him forget this was just a job.
And now he'd promised to disobey his job, to essentially commit treason, and take Baby Barnes to Bucky if something were to happen to her. Something that would be impossibly, something that could put him behind bars, something that he would have never thought about doing before. And he'd done it for her. And he shockingly found a willingness to truly keep his promise should something happen, even though he thought Bucky Barnes was nowhere near capable of caring for a child, especially on his own.
"Anton," Dr. Fine called stepping out of the room, already dressed in scrubs and a cap, eyeing him expectantly. He was holding a set of scrubs in his hand.
Anton shook his head already knowing what he was going to be asked. And the answer was no. Sure he had done two tours in Iraq and had seen many, many, many things, most of which he wished he hadn't, but he didn't think he could stomach watching them cut Jade open. Even for the purpose of birthing a baby.
"I can't, Fine. I-."
"You can. You will. Jade needs you. She has no one, but you. And for all intents and purposes you're her husband and the father to this kid now. This is going to be hard on her, she's already very weak and I'm worried she might not make it through this surgery. And what she needs now is a pillar of strength to lean on and that has to be you."
Anton felt as though he'd been slapped in the face, but it also sent a rush of purpose through him. He determinedly took the scrubs.
"Put them on and thoroughly wash your hands and arms with the surgical soap in the bathroom. Touch nothing until you get back to the room. And for god sake don't look scared."
Anton did his best to follow orders, like he'd been taught, but he felt the fear on his face when he walked back into the room. The bedroom had been transformed into an operating room. Every piece of furniture had been removed and been replaced with hospital equipment, even the bed. A large gurney was now in its place, which Jade laid across with a curtain hanging over her chest, to shield her view of Dr. Fine cutting her open. There was monitoring equipment, an incubator for Baby Barnes and a bunch of other things he didn't recognize. Everything you'd need to perform a c-section and care for a preterm baby.
He attempted to steel his nerves, seeing Fine give him a pointed look over his surgical mask and nod towards the head of the gurney. A chair sat near it which he assumed was for him. He moved to sit in it quickly.
Jade turned her head to look at him then, her eyes full of fear and doubt. She reached for his hand without saying a word, entwining her fingers with his, and squeezing tight.
"Jade, were going to begin now," Fine said moving into place. "Can you feel this?" He touched her belly with a gloved hand.
"No," she replied, her voice shaking.
"Good. That's what we want. You shouldn't feel a thing besides some pressure here and there. And this won't take long. Believe it or not I've delivered a baby or two in my time. I just want you to stay calm and look into Anton's blues eyes and we'll have Baby Barnes in your arms in no time."
She nodded at Dr. Fine who winked at her in return.
Anton's heart started to race, looking to Dr. Fine who had turned his eyes on him and was giving him another pointed look, no doubt trying to remind him of the words he had said in the hallway. Anton nodded once and leaned closer to Jade, not wanting to watch, focusing instead on her bright brown eyes.
"Hi," he greeted forcing a smile onto his face though she couldn't see it under the surgical mask.
"Hi," she replied. A single tear slid down her cheek.
Anton felt his heart momentarily seize and squeezed her hand. "Don't be scared. You're going to be just fine. Have you thought of names?"
She shook her head once. "I can't think of any."
"Anton had a nice ring to it," he offered with a smirk.
She huffed, a smile gracing her face. "Seems like a biased opinion."
He shrugged. "It is. My middle name is Yvgeny, which also has a nice ring to it."
"Your parents were big on the Russian names huh?"
Anton chuckled. "My father was Russian, straight from mother Russia, and my mother was American. They met here when my dad immigrated. He could hardly speak a lick of English, but they somehow clicked. My dad insisted I have a strong Russian name despite me never having stepped foot on Russian soil. Hence the name. My mom wanted to name me Asher."
Jade considered it with a nod. "I like Asher. She should have gone with that."
45 minutes later a newborn cry broke through the air, interrupting Jade and Anton's continued conversation about baby names. She still had not decided. Anton saw Jade give a sigh of relief, her head raising to try and get a glimpse of the baby, but she couldn't see over the curtain.
"Hear that Jade?" Fine called excitedly. "That is your baby boy. He looks and sounds great."
Fine raised the shrieking baby higher, allowing Jade and Anton both to see him. He certainly didn't look preterm at all, instead he looked full term, strong and loud with a head full of dark brown curls. The way Anton's heart swelled in his chest startled him, especially when he felt the accompanying tear that escaped his eye despite his rapid blinks to rid his eyes of the unwanted moisture.
"He's beautiful," he blurted looking down at Jade, who too was crying, giving her hand an excited squeeze.
She nodded. "He really is."
The house had been relatively easy to find and so had setting up a surveillance post in the woods surrounding it. He had expected more security, but found none. It was just Jade and the SHIELD agent. All alone in the middle of nowhere. Still he did his due diligence, not wanting to rush in half cocked, and opted to survey the property and the agents habits to properly formulate a plan.
With a location he could call in for reinforcements and surveillance equipment, which he promptly had. And he been watching the farm house for four days now, jotting down the bodyguards routine and waiting for a glimpse of Jade.
There hadn't been one yet, but he was, again, a patient man and he knew he would see her eventually. The small man who Adrian had identified as the doctor treating Jade arrived on the fourth day and with him came three more men and a flurry of equipment and movement. Dimitri watched through his binoculars as they brought in the hospital equipment and brought out bedroom furniture.
The cry of a baby, echoing loud enough to picked up by his surveillance equipment came five hours after the doctor had arrived and was like music to his ears.
Finally he'd have the leverage.
Finally he could stop being the hunted and again become the hunter.
Finally he could get the asset to come to him.
He turned to his men, who weren't as patient as him, but were always loyal. They'd been stuck in tents and without a toilet for days while waiting for him to give the word to move on the house.
"We wait for the doctor and the others to leave and then we move. I want Jade and the baby, alive and unharmed," he demanded. "Kill the bodyguard."