I slowly start to wake up, a quiet beeping immediately alerting me to where I was. "I'm getting really tired of waking up in hospitals…" I groan, my eyes still closed.

I hear a quiet chuckle, from Steve, as I feel him give my hand a light squeeze. "I'm going to grab the nurse," he says. I nod my head; I was familiar with the routine. I try to open my eyes, the room I was in was very bright, and I felt exhausted. Trying to think back to the last thing I remembered, I remembered that I had passed out as we were leaving the jet. My eyes shoot open this time, looking around. I glance down at my stomach, but my attention is pulled to the door as Steve enters with a woman dressed in a navy dress and white lab coat. She was strikingly beautiful.

"How is the patient feeling?" she says, smiling widely at me.

"Ummm…" I wasn't sure how to answer. I was worried about how the baby was doing…but I didn't want to say anything in front of Steve incase he didn't know yet.

The doctor must have picked up on this. "I'm sure better since you've gotten some rest and some fluids in you," she says, lightly pressing her fingers to the inside of my wrist to feel my pulse. I look from her to Steve, who was staring at both of us with curious glances; he still didn't know. "As I had guessed, you just passed out from exhaustion and touch of dehydration. But, with your condition it was exacerbated."

"Her condition?" Steve says, his hands dropping to his sides. "You just said that she-"

"I will let your wife explain," the doctor says, never losing the smile. "But, rest assured, she will be fine. I'll be back later to check on you."

I thank her as she leaves the room. Steve still stares at me curiously. "So…what's this 'condition'?" he says, moving to sit in the seat by the bed. "Because you wouldn't tell me in London. And, as I said, I had a feeling something was going on. Now, you're passing-"

"Honey, you're rambling," I say, smiling at him. I ask him to help me move to the edge of the bed, so I can face him full-on. Once I'm situated, he moves his chair so that he's close enough that our knees are touching and our hands are wound together. "When you left to get Rumlow, I told you that the doctor said I didn't have food poisoning or the flu, as I had thought," I say. Steve nods his head, absorbing every word I was saying. "I lied, though, when I told you he didn't know what was wrong with me…" Steve was staring at me intently, his eyes wide and expectant. "Steve…I'm pregnant."

The world seems to go still. Steve's face doesn't move. He stares at me for a full two minutes before his head falls and he bends over, his head in my lap for all intents and purposes. For a second I think he's passed out; until I see his shoulders start moving and feel wetness on my hands. Steve was crying; not the silent tears that he had shed at Peggy's funeral, but heavy sobs. I take one of my hands and move it to his back to rub soothing circles. This was not the reaction I had been expecting. After a minute, he picks his head back up and without looking at me, presses his lips to mine. My hands land on the sides of his face as tears of my own start to fall. When Steve pulls back, he's smiling widely. "I love you so much," he says. I repeat the sentiment back to him as he leans back a little, one of his hands resting on my stomach. "We're having a baby?"

I look at Steve and the look on his face takes my breath away. I hadn't seen this much joy on his face since our wedding day. "Yeah," I say, nodding my head.

Steve's eyebrows furrow together a little bit, but the joy was still on his face. "But I thought the doctor said-"

I shrug a shoulder. "I think we were due some good news," I say. Steve chuckles in agreement. I continue to look at him as his hands move to rest on my hips and he stares at my stomach. The longer he stares at it though, the more his face falls. "Steve, what's wrong?"

"Me," he says. "What if- the super soldier serum…what if-"

"Did you bring my bags in here?" I ask him. Steve nods his head before I tell him to grab the envelope out of the front pocket of one of the bags. When he comes back over with it, he sits on the bed next to me. "I thought about that too, right after I found out. So, while you were in Lagos, I went to see Helen," Steve arches an eyebrow at me, prompting me to roll my eyes. "That really shouldn't shock you. Anyway, she ran a battery of tests and everything looked normal. Except the metabolism looked high which probably explains me passing out. All of the results are in that envelope though." Steve stares down at the envelope in his hands. "Oh, and I should probably mention that some of your over-perceptive teammates figured it out before I could tell you."

Steve rolls his eyes this time. "Who was it-"

"Pretty much everyone," Sam says from the doorway. We both look up to see him leaning against the doorway. "Just came to check up on you," he says as he starts to walk into the room.

"It wasn't everyone," I say, shaking my head at him as he sits down in the chair across from us. "It was just you and Natasha-"

"And Wanda, who told Tony and Lange and Barton…" Sam says.

"Geez, it's my kid and I was the last to know," Steve says.

"I didn't tell all them!" I say, my voice going higher. "The only person I told was Laura…the rest of you just figured it out."

"I know," Steve says before pressing a kiss to my temple. "We're just giving you a hard time."

"Oh, also wanted to let you know that Bucky is ready for you," Sam says. "When Dr. Zimsay told us Rhiannon was awake, he said he was ready to go under."

I look over at Steve who nods his head. "Okay, I'll be there shortly." Sam nods his head and throws us both a 'congratulations' before leaving the room.

"What does he mean, 'go under'," I ask Steve.

"Bucky has decided to be put in a chryochamber again," Steve says. "He doesn't feel comfortable being in the world when part of his mind is still under control of the Winter Soldier."

I nod my head; there was no way I could argue with that logic. It was actually very considerate; much like the Bucky Steve had told me about. "Can I go with you?" I ask. "When you go see him?"

"I don't-"

"Please, Steve," I say, placing a hand on his arm. "I need to."

Steve stares at me for a few moments before finally nodding his head. "Okay, let's see if it's okay with the doctor if you can leave."

I was growing more nervous as we neared the lab where Bucky was. Rhiannon was insistent that she needed to see Bucky; it still made me nervous. I knew, or thought I knew, her feelings towards him; a million different possibilities were running through my mind on what she was going to do. As we enter the lab, a lab assistant steps away from Bucky sitting on a table, revealing the mesh cover over his new stump. Bucky looks at both of us, first me and then nervously at Rhiannon, as we come to a stop in front of him. A silence falls over all of us as Rhiannon and Bucky just stare at each other. Bucky quickly glances at me before looking down. "How are you feeling?" he asks, his voice quiet.

"I'm feeling better," Rhiannon says, her voice controlled. I recognized that voice, she was choosing her words carefully. "Thank you for asking." Bucky continues to stare down, not looking up at her. Another minute of silence passes before Rhiannon speaks up. "Steve said you're putting yourself to sleep again?"

"Yeah," Bucky halfway mumbles. "It's better for everyone if I do."

Rhiannon just nods her head, still staring at him. "Look at me," she says suddenly, her voice sterner. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up; in all the years we'd been together I'd never heard her talk like that. Bucky slowly lifts his head, his eyes meeting hers. She stares at him for another moment, taking a slow deep breath before finally speaking. "The last time I saw you…you had killed my father-"

"Rhi, he-"

"Don't interrupt me Steve," she says, not even looking at me. "The last time I saw you…you had taken away the only family I had."

I look at Bucky, who hadn't looked away from her. He swallows once before speaking. "I know," he says. "I remember."

"Are you sorry," Rhiannon says, a small shake in her voice.

"I am," Bucky responds. "I'm sorry."

Rhiannon shuts her eyes for a moment. When she opens them, I start to take a step closer to them as she steps towards Bucky. I stop though when she places a hand over Bucky's. He starts to pull it away, but she tightens her grip on it. "I forgive you…Bucky." Bucky's eyes go wide; I'm sure mine do too. That was the last thing I was expecting her to say. "As Steve has told me…numerous times…you weren't you. You weren't Bucky. You're Steve's family…I can't hold this against you forever."

"I don't deserve that," Bucky says. "You don't have to-"

"Yes, I do," Rhiannon says. "I've recently been reminded of the importance of family. As I said, you're Steve's family…so by default you're my family."

Bucky stares at her for a moment before looking over at me, wearing a half grin. "I wasn't going to say it before…but she's way too good for you."

I nod my head. "Yeah, I know."

Rhiannon looks at me also and rolls her eyes playfully. "Yeah…try being married to 'Captain America'," she says with a snort of laughter. "The golden boy of America."

"Oh, I could tell you some stories about 'the golden boy'," Bucky says, giving Rhiannon a half smile as well.

She laughs out loud before placing a hand on her stomach. Now that I knew, I could see the smallest of bumps…my kid. "Well, good," she says. "I need someone to share those stories with this little one."

Bucky's eyes go wide again as he processes the information. He looks at me and I nod my head. "Well…" he says, shaking his head. "Don't worry, I've got some good ones to tell."

"Good…Uncle Buck," Rhiannon says.

Bucky slides off the table and turns to me. "Congratulations…Pops," he says before giving me a hug. I mutter a thanks as we release and he turns to Rhiannon. He moves to hug her, but then stops. She notices, so she reaches up and wraps her arms around his shoulders. After a second, he reciprocates.

When she steps back, she clears her throat. "Now, what is this business about you going into a cryochamber?"

Bucky reaches a hand up, scratching at his brow. "It's better for everyone if I do," Bucky answers. "With the stuff still in my head-"

"I'm sorry, but that is bullshit," Rhiannon says, cutting him off. Bucky meets her eyes again, and raises an eyebrow at her.

"What-"

"You heard me, that's bull." She crosses her arms over her chest as she turns to me. "You've told him that this is a dumb idea…right?"

I shake my head slightly as I feel Bucky look at me also. "Well, I mean, I don't like that he's—but you know, it's really his choice—"

"And it is a stupid choice," she says, throwing her hands in the air. Bucky and I share a confused glance before she speaks again. "Look, what you went through was traumatic and changed you and all of that. But it is not something that you hide from until someone else comes up with something to fix you. This is something you have to face and fix yourself…and you know, with family behind you supporting you. Plus really good therapists…oh, I know Tony was working-"

"Yeah, no, Tony is definitely not going to help us with anything," I cut her off. She arches an eyebrow in question and I murmur that I'd explain later.

"Well, regardless," she says, turning back to Bucky. "My point remains the same. I'm not an expert…but I just think that going back into a cryochamber is a bad idea. I know that you aren't the same Bucky that Steve knew growing up, but from the stories I've been told, that Bucky would not have ran away from this and that is exactly what going in that cryochamber is doing…running away from your problems."

I look back and forth between the two people standing before me: Rhiannon, my five foot five inch pregnant wife and Bucky, my best friend-turned-master assassin-turned friend again, both of them staring each other down. A solid minute passes before either of them move. Bucky reaches up with his hand, pushing some of his hair behind his ear. He turns to look at me, a blank look on his face. "I get it now." Now it was my turn to arch an eyebrow in confusion. Instead of answering though, Bucky just shakes his head as a corner of his mouth turns up in a smile. "Alright. I'll give his whole 'facing it' thing a try."

A smile breaks across Rhiannon's face. She starts to say something and then stops, shutting her eyes and pressing her fingers to her lips. "I am glad to hear that," she says, her voice sounding strained. "But if you will excuse me a moment—" Bucky and I both start to follow after her as she turns and starts to run, but then stop when she stops at a nearby trash can. I quickly walk over to her, pulling her hair back as she throws up. "Friggin morning sickness," she groans once the sickness is passed. I hand her a napkin that Bucky had retrieved for her. "Thank you." She says, smiling at me before wiping her mouth off. "I am going to go brush my teeth and lay down for a bit. Still kind of exhausted from…you know, hiding from multiple government agencies, not knowing if my husband was dead or alive for six hours, passing out, and now talking my husband's friend out of turning sleeping beauty on us."

I shake my head at her before pressing a kiss to her temple. "Alright, I'll be right behind you." She smiles at me and waves at Bucky once more before walking out of the room. When she's gone, I turn back to Bucky. "Well…that was all…"

"Unexpected?" Bucky finishes. I nod my head as he shakes his. "Yeah…definitely unexpected. But at the same time…appreciated. She's right…this is something I'm going to have to face on my own."

I reach out and place a hand on his shoulder. "You won't be alone though." Bucky nods his head as I drop my hand. "And…Uncle Buck does have a nice ring to it…"

Bucky shake his head again, smiling this time. "Married…and a dad…you deserve it though."

"Thanks Buck," I tell him. "Hey, what did you mean by 'I get it now'?"

Bucky smirks at me, his eyes darting to the door between looking back at me. "I just meant I get why you two are together now. She's tough...can handle anything."

A little while later, I find Rhiannon in the room T'Challa had given me to stay in; her back to the door and curled up on the bed. As quietly as I could, I slip off my shoes and jacket before crawling onto the bed and laying down next to her. "I'm not quite asleep yet," she murmurs as she moves closer to lay next to me; her body curving, creating a little spoon against me.

"It's hard to tell with you," I say, wrapping an arm over her waist and letting my hand rest on her stomach. Her hand comes over mine as she lets out a contented sigh.

"Morning, or as I've had it any-time-of-the-day sickness should be wearing off this week or next," she says. "And the little one is hovering around two inches…at least that's what the little chart Helen gave me said." I nod my head, a huge smile on my face as I press a kiss to the back of her head. "I'll start gaining weight like crazy too. Especially with this one and their sped-up metabolism they got from you…I'm eating all the time…hope you won't mind being married to a whale…"

"The most beautiful whale in the world," I say, holding her closer to me. "You'll always be perfect…no matter what."

"You say that now when I'm not torturing you with my crazy pregnancy hormones." We both laugh quietly before a calm settles over both of us. Rhiannon's thumb lazily strokes the back of my head as we lay there. After a few moments, she speaks up again. "We're gonna be okay here, right?"

"Yeah," I say, pulling her closer to me again. Her other hand comes up, gently grabbing onto my bicep. "As long as we're together, we'll be fine." I press another kiss to the back of her head as she nods it. For the first time in a while, I was content…happy. "I promise you…I'll keep you both safe."

À suivre...