A/n: I only own Ellie, Grant, and Sarah; all other characters that you recognize are property of Marvel.
a/n2: I appreciate the thoughts and prayers. We are just pushing on and trying to learn a new normal without her. I hate 2020. Plus side, FatWS has started filming again. It appears they wrapped up filming in Atlanta and are headed to Prague to finish out the last few weeks. *Crossing fingers* that they get it finished and maybe Disney will put it out in January. With a biweekly schedule, I have enough planned chapters for this story to go through February. I would love to go until we find out an idea of what happens, but if not it may be a companion piece in the future. Who knows! Also sorry about the late chapter, I was exhausted and fell asleep at 9 last night. This morning I went to a Corn Maze, it was nice to get outside. Thanks for reading everyone.
God, keep my head above water
Don't let me drown, it gets harder
I'll meet you there at the altar
As I fall down to my knees
Don't let me drown, drown, drown
Don't let me, don't let me, don't let me drown
~ Head Above Water by Avril Lavine
*~*~* November 8th, 2018 – Los Angeles *~*~*
"Fuck," Ellie swore out loud as she had to stop to rub the stitch in her side and to catch her breath, as she walked through LAX airport pushing Grant in his stroller as he slept, while at the same time attempting to pull a cart behind her at the same time with their luggage.
A man rudely gave her looks as he pushed past her.
"Sorry my pregnant ass struggling with all of my luggage and my child too is offending you asshole," Ellie said rolling her eyes at the man's back.
A woman walked over to her, "Ma'am are you alright, do you need assistance?"
Ellie smiled at her as she straightened up with her hand on her back, "I appreciate it, but I am okay. A friend is coming to pick us up. I just have to get to the pickup zone. I'm nearly there."
The woman looked back at her husband, "Honey, I'll help her. Can you-"
"Go ahead," He told her as he took her bag from her.
"You don't need to do this," Ellie told her as the woman took her luggage cart, "But thank you."
"I couldn't imagine traveling with a toddler when I was pregnant. You poor thing," She told her as they started pushing Grant and the luggage closer to the pickup area.
"It's the worst part of traveling, lugging everything around," Ellie told her as she pushed Grant, "But I appreciate your help. I'm used to doing everything on my own."
When they reached the pickup zone, the woman turned to her as they stopped at the large windows, "Do you need help getting outside?"
"No, I don't know if he is even here yet. I'll be good from here. Thank you," Ellie told her rubbing her belly as the girls were doing flips.
"Have a great day," She said as she went back over to her husband.
Ellie looked out the window and rubbed her back, as it twanged, looking for the SUV that Rhodey had described. With her luck, she saw four other silver SUVs with similar descriptions to his.
Ellie jumped as her phone rang, and looked at it to see Rhodey's number, "Hi Rhodey. I'm at pickup," She told him as she put it to her ear.
"I'm pulling up right now," Rhodey told her as she saw the silver SUV, but his had an Armed Forces logo on the plate.
"I think I see you," Ellie said as it parked and a woman climbed out.
Ellie pushed the cart then pulled Grant's stroller around as she pushed the cart while pulling Grant towards the door closest to her. As she pushed the cart through the door first, a beautiful Indian woman hurried over to her.
"Let me get that," She said as she took the cart from her then opened the backdoor, "Oh honey, you should be at home resting."
"You must be Stephanie," Ellie said with a smile as she pushed Grant near the open door.
"Stephanie Rhodes, Stephy if you want to call me that, or as I prefer to call myself his better half," Stephy told her with a grin.
Ellie laughed as Rhodey got out of the car to open the trunk, "Hi Rhodey."
Rhodey stared at her, "No offense but I swear you've gotten bigger."
"James Rhodes!" Stephy gasped.
Ellie laughed, "Don't worry, I wouldn't be surprised. It's hard to gauge because I haven't seen my feet in months. I appreciate you picking me up. Last time I tried driving it was difficult."
After she got Grant strapped into the car, she fastened herself in and sighed as she held her feet up and noticed that despite her loosening her laces on her shoes, her shoes were still tight today.
Stephy looked back at her as Rhodey pulled out into traffic, "How are you feeling?"
"Huge," Ellie told her honestly, "I… god willing have 11 weeks left, but I'm ready for it to be over. I just hope that they are more like their Daddy, and less like me and their Uncle Steve."
Rhodey snorted, "Less stubborn you mean?" He asked glancing at her in the mirror.
"Well on Steve's front I would say that, but I guess, not willing to give in easy. Not that Bucky was either but…" Ellie trailed off as she looked out the window, "He gave in a lot for me."
"I'm so sorry for your loss," Stephy told her.
Ellie looked back at her, "I got a whole extra year with him that I never thought that I would. I never am one to look a gift horse in the mouth," She said with a sigh as she rubbed her belly, "But I miss him. I wish he'd be able to see the girls."
*~*~* November 9, 2018 – LA Zoo *~*~*
"God am I so glad I didn't come here earlier in the year," Ellie said as she sat down on a bench to take a drink and Stephy sat next to her, "Thank you for coming with us."
Stephy smiled, "We haven't been to the Zoo since everything happened. I'm glad to see there is some normalcy here."
Ellie smiled as she watched Rhodey's youngest Michael talk to Grant in his stroller, about the zebras they had stopped by, "So Michael is seven, how old is your oldest?"
"Not mine biologically, but James… he and his high school girlfriend had a daughter together. She is 33 years old actually. Her name is Isabella. She is a bit weirded out about me and James," Stephy told her with a sigh, "I'm only ten years older than she is. Nine technically."
Ellie laughed, "Rhodey robbing the cradle?"
Stephy laughed, "Well… I was one of Tony's flight attendants. Rhodey was impressed with the fact I wasn't…easily swayed by Tony. You should have met him before Pepper."
Ellie grinned, "Try knowing him as a teenager," She said as she gave her a knowing smile.
Stephy looked at her, "Wait, how is that possible? You are younger than I am. Rhodey said that you were frozen."
Ellie chuckled, "I was woken up in 1987, and I went to live with Howard and Tony for a bit. Honestly, I think I met him back then, but he was so trashed that he wouldn't remember me. Tony was having a pool party if I recall correctly."
Stephy snorted, "I wouldn't be surprised. I am honestly surprised that they both survived MIT. Rhodey looked older so he was able to get alcohol. Of course, he was two years older than Tony because Tony started at 15… so if you met them in 1987. Tony was 17 and Rhodey was 19."
Ellie bit her lip as she grinned, "Remind me to ask him tonight."
Ellie sat at the Rhodes dinner table as they ate spaghetti for dinner. Making sure the noodles were small enough for Grant to easily eat them.
"Oh Ellie, didn't you have a question for James?" Stephy asked with a grin over her garlic bread.
Ellie cleared her throat as she turned towards Rhodey, "Oh yeah I nearly forgot. You knew Tony in 1987, didn't you?"
Rhodey's fork paused halfway between his plate and his mouth, and then set it down looking at her with narrowed eyes, "Yeah I knew him since our freshman year at MIT."
"Were you ever at the Malibu house?" Ellie asked him as she took a bite of her bread so that she would not grin.
Rhodey smiled, "That was a funhouse. I stayed there for a whole week once during spring break."
"Did he actually have explosives in that room as the door suggested?" Ellie inquired.
Rhodey laughed, "No Tony's personality was explosive enough…" Rhodey looked at her, "Wait, did you stay at that house too?"
Ellie nodded, "For two weeks in 1987."
Rhodey looked at her, "When?" He asked slowly.
"April," Ellie told him with a straight face.
"Shit, really?" Rhodey said as he stared at her as it dawned on him, "Oh my god, you were…" Rhodey said as he laughed, "Tony had such a crush on you."
"Oh I know," Ellie said laughing, "I was just a little too old for him."
"Agent Gorgeous… shit now it makes sense why he calls you that," Rhodey said as he shook his head then groaned, "You were there for the streaking incident."
Stephy coughed on her wine, "Excuse me."
"What is streaking?" Michael asked innocently.
Stephy looked at Rhodey, "Care to explain that Daddy?"
Rhodey cleared his throat, "Daddy was stupid and drank too much, then took all his clothes off to run across Uncle Tony's backyard and I ran into the house right into…" Rhodey said as he looked at Ellie.
Stephy laughed harder, "Right into Ellie."
Ellie nodded with a grin then bit her lip as she looked at Rhodey, "I do apologize for purposely shocking you," She said as she bit her thumbnail not to laugh.
"How did you shock Dad?" Michael asked.
Ellie looked at him, "Michael, when I am not pregnant I have some powers, I can control electricity. I could probably hurt someone if I wanted to, but I've never used it in that way. The worst thing I've done with my powers is melting metal to make a cage out of chairs when Bucky and I were at dinner in Paris," Ellie told him.
"Wait what?" Rhodey asked surprised, "You did what?"
"I used my powers to make a cage for these robbers that tried to rob the restaurant that Bucky and I went to. That was the first time I went full out Phoenix," Ellie told him as she thought about it, "Although I don't think I've ever used my full powers. I think I've always had farther that I could go. I've never wanted to hurt people, even know I could. I've only wanted to hurt one being, so much in my life."
"Thanos," Rhodey stated.
Ellie nodded, "He took everything away from me," She told him as she looked down at her plate.
*~*~* November 23, 2018 – Montana *~*~*
"Fuck," Ellie panted as she pushed Grant through Zoo Montana.
She and Grant had only been at the Zoo for an hour, and almost immediately after stepping out of the Uber, she regretted wearing the jacket that she had put on that morning. The big puffy jacket had worked well in Jackson Hole, where warmth had been needed. It snowed 8 inches, while they were there, but the temperature had rapidly warmed up today in Montana, and despite the morning being cloudy and cool the entire morning, the clouds had parted and with it, the temperatures rose.
"Hold on Grant," Ellie said as she had to stop to catch her breath, as sweat rolled down her temples.
"lay!" Grant yelled as he saw a playground, kicking his little feet against the stroller as if it would push him closer to his desired destination.
Ellie looked through the trees to see a playground, "Grant honey, you are probably… too little for that."
Continuing to push him the rest of the way up the incline, she stopped to sit on the park bench once at the top.
"Momma!" Grant yelled as he kicked his feet seeing the other children play, and tried to stand up.
Ellie closed her eyes as the world around her started to spin, "Grant honey, hold on," she gasped desperately trying to pull air into her lungs.
She reached for her water bottle to see if the cool liquid would cool her down and knocked it onto the ground. Reaching for it to pick it up, everything went black as her body slumped down onto the ground.
*~*~* November 23, 2018 – Esopus, NY *~*~*
Natasha set the cutup banana in front of Sarah at the compound's kitchen, "Here you go, please eat it and don't throw it."
Sarah squealed and shoved a handful of pieces into her mouth.
Natasha just smiled as she watched her daughter.
Ellie's ringtone started singing on the coffee table where her phone sat. So Natasha ran over and grabbed it, "Hey Ellie."
"Um hello," Another woman's voice said.
"Who is this?" Natasha demanded instantly on guard.
"I'm sorry but this was the emergency contact listed on this phone," The woman told her, "I'm at the Zoo Montana and there is a woman here that passed out. The medics are here to take her to the hospital, she is still out. They say her blood pressure is high."
Natasha frowned. If Ellie's blood pressure was high to the average person, it was dangerously high for her, "Where are they taking her?"
"Billings General," The woman told her as Natasha heard Grant screaming in the background.
"Is Grant.., her son, is he okay?" Natasha asked.
"Yes, he was in the stroller when she passed out," The woman replied.
"Thank you for calling me, I'll be there as soon as I can," Natasha told her, "My name is Natasha."
"I'll let the care team know," The woman said as she hung up.
Natasha looked at Sarah, "Hey FRIDAY, can you call Bruce for me?"
"Nat, any new developments?" Bruce answered.
Natasha grabbed a washcloth and started wiping Sarah's hands, "No, look Steve is out in Europe right now for the EU. Ellie passed out in Montana and I am bringing her home. I know you aren't-"
"I'm at Rhodey's apartment here in the city. Can you swing by and pick me up? That will cut probably an hour off our time," Bruce told her.
"I'll land on the roof," Natasha told him as she pulled Sarah out of her highchair.
*~*~* November 23, 2018 – Montana *~*~*
Ellie groaned as she felt jostled, making her ever aching muscles protest.
"Ma'am? Can you hear me?"
Ellie opened her eyes, "Where am I?" She asked blinking the blurriness away.
"You are in an ambulance heading to Billings General, you passed out at the zoo. Do you know what day it is?" The EMT asked shining a light in her eyes.
"The 23rd," Ellie said as Grant started crying, "Can you please give my son to me?"
"Ma'am, not until we stop. Your blood pressure spiked, but your blood sugar is also very high," The EMT told her.
Ellie groaned as she reached her hand out, and took Grant's, "Mommy is right here honey."
"Do you have a husband or partner that we can call?" He asked.
Ellie shook her head, "He died in the Snap."
"There was a woman at the Zoo; she said she called your emergency contact. Natasha, I think she said," The EMT said looking at a clipboard, "Yes, Natasha."
Ellie groaned, "Great."
"Ma'am, no offense. You shouldn't be walking at the zoo in the cold in your condition," The EMT told her.
Ellie yawned, "It was a birthday activity for my son," Ellie told him.
"How many weeks are you?" The EMT asked.
"I'm 32 weeks today," Ellie told him with a sigh, "It's twins."
Three hours later, Ellie had Grant in her arms, as he napped while she watched the monitor next to her. Three separate monitors were going. Two for the girls and one for herself. After one IV bag was in her, thankfully her heart rate and blood pressure were closer to normal. The girls, thankfully, had shown no distress.
The doctor, assigned to her care, popped her head in, "So how are we feeling?"
"I'm feeling much better Dr. Phillips. Thank you, now when can I be released?" Ellie asked as she walked in and started to wash her hands.
Dr. Phillips frowned as she dried her hands, "Ellie, do you realized how close you came today of an emergency delivery?"
"The girls are fine," Ellie told her confused looking over at the monitor again.
"But you aren't," Dr. Phillips stressed, "I understand you say that you have super-soldier serum, but your heart rate was dangerously high when you came in here. You were extremely dehydrated, as well with elevated sugar levels. I really would like to admit you for bed rest," Dr. Phillips told her honestly.
Ellie shook her head, "No, I don't want to stay here. I…" Ellie said as Natasha walked into the door with Sarah hanging in the carrier in front of her, "Shit," Ellie said as she saw Bruce behind her, "Hi guys."
Dr. Phillips looked back and gasped as she stood up, "Dr. Banner," She said surprised.
Bruce smiled at her, "Hello."
Natasha walked over on the side of the bed, and looked at Ellie, "So you've been hiding something big?"
Ellie sighed, "I wasn't meaning to hide it. Then when I got further along… I was afraid Steve would be… Steve, and make me come home."
"You know damn well he would have carried your ass back. Shit Ellie," Natasha said as she took in the swell of her belly.
"How far along are you?" Bruce asked.
Ellie bit her lip looking at him, "32 weeks. It's twins."
"Fuck," Natasha said shaking her head as she looked at Dr. Phillips, "Is she in immediate danger?"
"No but I highly recommend bed rest," Dr. Phillips told her.
Natasha looked at Ellie, "Oh she will be. Her ass ain't moving from the bed."
*~*~* November 23, 2018 – In the air over the Midwest *~*~*
Three hours later, Ellie was on the Jet on her way back to New York, as Bruce monitored her blood pressure.
"I ruined his first birthday," Ellie whispered sadly as she sniffed.
"No, you are with him, you didn't ruin his birthday," Bruce told her softly.
Ellie started crying, "I had plans… I was going to get a cake after the zoo, and we were going to take it back to the hotel," Ellie swallowed hard, "I was going to take those cute pictures you see online of kids making a mess of themselves eating cake for the first time."
"You can still do that. It doesn't have to be today," Bruce told her.
"I'm not going to have much more time for it to be Grant time," Ellie said sadly, "That's why I wanted this trip… it was all about Grant. We went to so many zoos," Ellie sighed shaking her head, "So many children's museums… saw things I only dreamt about as a kid. Now? I'm going to be by myself with three kids. I won't ever leave New York."
Bruce laid his hand on hers as it rested on her belly, "There are lots of fun things in New York to do. Plus you aren't on your own. Steve, Nat, even I'll be there if you need me," Bruce told her.
Ellie started crying again, "Damn hormones. Thank you, Bruce."
Bruce sat down next to her, "Why didn't you come home when you found out?" He asked quietly.
Ellie bit her lip, "I found out before I left," She said quietly as she sighed, "I…" She trailed out as she let out a breath, "I have mental time-traveling abilities. I can go back to my past and interact with people in my own body. When future me was visiting present me to talk to Bucky, I figured out how to push through the connection to go into future me's body. I saw the girls, but Steve was holding them. So I thought Nat and Steve were having twins… so when I got pregnant, shit… I changed the future."
Bruce sat back surprised, "Does Steve? Have the time-traveling powers I mean," Bruce asked surprised.
Ellie shook her head, "No, we really… don't have any clue why I can. It definitely wasn't something Hydra meant to give me, and I couldn't do it before I got to Wakanda. I have a theory. I think it's the Vibranium I have in my brain," Ellie told him.
"Wait, why do you have Vibranium in your brain?" Bruce asked interested leaning forward again.
Ellie cleared her throat, "I was very unstable in 1949 when I was given the serum. All these mysterious extra powers and I couldn't control them," Ellie licked her lips, "People were hurt… I blew up the New York Times Square ball on New Years' Eve because all the electricity sent my body in overload. Hydra was researching cryogenics… we now know why, because of Bucky. So Howard put me under," Ellie told him as she rubbed her belly, "I didn't expect to wake up," Ellie told him sadly, "But I did. I woke up in 1987 and they drugged me with Lithium I think… to keep me 'stable' it helped, but now technology was everywhere. When I wasn't on the IV…"
"You blew up stuff," Bruce supplied.
Ellie nodded, "Then on a mission… I ran into the Winter Soldier."
"Shit… did he recognize you?" Bruce asked.
Ellie teased her lip for a moment, "My perfume, he remembered my perfume before he remembered me," Ellie told him as she swallowed hard, "We had an amazing night, I was determined to get him out of Hydras grasp. I thought he was safe in this house we broke into… they got him before I got back from getting him clothes. They cleaned up, went so far to make the bed," She shook her head, "I was having memory issues, and they thought I was seeing my memories because my brain synapses were reprogramming themselves so fast that my brain was literally on fire with activity. They thought I was crazy, so I begged them to put me under again knowing full well that Howard was old and Reinstein was older. I wasn't waking up that time."
"Then how did you?" Bruce asked.
Ellie looked up at him with tear-filled eyes, "Howard was determined to find the cure to help me but… he knew Hydra was after him," Ellie told him, "So he sent my pod to one of his… associates, someone he'd worked with before. I've later found out in a trade agreement. Howard was researching medical advancements but didn't have the resources, even as Howard Stark. So he contacted an old ally from back in the war, whose father had been King at the time. T'Chaka."
"You were in Wakanda the whole time?" Bruce asked surprised.
"Frozen but yes, between Steve and Bucky and Tony they figured it out, Shuri and her team of doctors unfroze me and did research with their amazing technology mapped out my brain and how it had changed. I fried some of their technology, but they figured out what was reacting in my brain when it….shorted out," Ellie told him, "So they put a Vibranium chip in my brain, something about it worked. Well… we at first thought it didn't because I started having issues then we found out I was pregnant with Grant."
Ellie looked over where he was sitting in his seat sleeping next to Sarah, "I always worry that something will go wrong with him because of his conception and my freezing and… everything, but accelerated growth is the only major change."
"So he was conceived in 1987?" Bruce asked.
Ellie nodded.
"Wow, and now you are having twins," Bruce said.
"And now I am having twins," Ellie reiterated.
"Guys get ready for landing," Natasha told them as she flicked some of the switches.
Bruce checked the table's brakes, as well as her monitor's then checked the carriers, "We are good."
*~*~* November 24, 2018 – New York *~*~*
"Natasha I'm fine," Ellie said frustrated as she sat back on the bed in Thor's room that he had since vacated when he left for places Natasha said she didn't know.
"The doctor said bed rest, don't worry about Grant. You stay here in this bed, let us worry about everything," Natasha told her as Bruce stood at the doorway.
"I actually agree with Nat, your blood pressure was elevated again this morning after you made breakfast," Bruce told her as he leaned against the doorframe.
Ellie moved back against the headboard, "I… I don't know what to do if I were to just… sit."
"Read…watch TV, you can come to sit out on the couch but it's honestly not comfortable," Natasha told her.
Ellie bit her lip, "I need to call the contractor and check on the house… I want to go home."
"Steve, he talked to the contractor two months ago when they were both there. He said it would be done in weeks from then unless you wanted different changes," Natasha told her, "So I assume it's done."
Ellie nodded, "I don't know if it would be better for the girls to be born here or in Irvington."
Natasha sat on the edge of her bed, "Bruce is staying here until they come. We also have our monitoring equipment here. The closest hospital is within a Quinjet flight away if needed."
Ellie bit her lip, "But it's not home," She said sadly.
Natasha sighed, "Only you can make that decision."
"Oh, Ellie."
Both women jumped as they looked at the door to see Pepper Potts standing looking at them.
"Shit Pepper, you are the only person that can sneak up on me and in heels," Natasha told her as Pepper walked over to sit on Ellie's other side.
"Is this why you wanted to know about insurance?" Pepper asked looking over her.
Ellie nodded, "I've been going to doctors around the world as we travel to get checked."
"If you were, how did your health get bad so fast?" Natasha asked.
Ellie chewed on her lip, "The doctors since China have been warning me that my blood pressure was high but… I felt fine. I'm tired, but I'm raising an almost one-year-old by myself while pregnant with twins."
"When are they due?" Pepper asked.
Ellie looked up at her, "Well my doctor doesn't think I'll make it into 2019. If the doctor in Montana had her way they'd already be here, but… they aren't showing any distress. They are still growing, not as fast as Grant did thank God. I feel huge though. Do I look as large as I feel?" Ellie asked running her hands over her belly.
Pepper looked at her with narrowed eyes, "Is this a trick?"
Ellie laughed, "No, I honestly want to know."
"I think you look amazing for carrying two," Natasha told her.
Ellie laughed harder and wiped her eyes, "Very diplomatic there Natasha."
"We need a girl's day," Pepper told them.
Ellie looked at her, "Well I'm kind of confined to this bed and the couch now."
"Shit, that couch. We are going to trash that couch. It is horrible for a non-pregnant person so I can just imagine how uncomfortable it would be for you," Pepper commented, "It was Tony's purchase."
"That couch is awful on the back," Natasha said scrunching her nose up.
"And the knees," Ellie stated.
They both looked at her and she blushed.
"Oh my god, when did you two have sex on that couch?" Pepper asked.
Ellie laughed, "When we were the only ones here. Poor FRIDAY."
Natasha shook her head, "You guys had sex everywhere didn't you?"
"No, we never had sex in your and Steve's bedroom at the house," Ellie told her with a grin, "We at least respected that boundary."
"Well that's a relief," Natasha said sarcastically as Pepper laughed.
*~*~* November 26, 2018 – Esopus, New York *~*~*
Natasha stood in the kitchen feeding Grant and Sarah as she heard the door open.
"Nat?"
She set their bottles on their trays then left the kitchen to meet Steve in the hall, "Hey."
Steve leaned down and kissed her then pulled her into his arms, "I missed you."
"I missed you too," Natasha said as Sarah started crying and Steve walked past her then froze when he saw Grant.
"Ellie's back? Shit look at you Grant," Steve said taking him in as Grant gave him a toothy smile.
"Hi, nums?" Grant asked holding out some Puffs.
Steve looked at Natasha, who nodded.
"He's far advanced in his vocabulary," Natasha told him.
"Where is she?" Steve asked setting his bag down.
"She is taking a nap. Look, Steve, there is…" Natasha trailed off as he took off towards the bedrooms, "Something you need to know."
Steve walked down to Thor's room and quietly opened the bedroom. On the bed, she was asleep with her back to him, hugging a pillow in front of her and looked like she had a pillow between her legs under the sheets.
He sat down on the edge of the bed, "El?"
Ellie's face scrunched up and she moaned.
"Ellie," Steve said as she opened her eyes and looked back at him.
"Steve? Hey," She said as she looked back at him then laid her head back down.
"Are you okay?" Steve asked concerned at her lethargic appearance.
Ellie scoffed, "Natasha didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Steve asked as there was a knock at the door and he looked back to see Bruce, "Bruce, what are you doing here?"
"FRIDAY told me Ellie was awake," Bruce said as he walked in the room.
"Not because I want to be, he woke me up," Ellie mumbled, "Can I sleep now please?"
"You need to take your pills," Bruce told her walking around in front of her.
Steve frowned, "Pills?"
"I had a high blood pressure episode, so Bruce found something that would work for me and be safe too," Ellie told him as Bruce grabbed an empty glass off the table next to the bed.
"Need help?" Bruce asked her.
Ellie looked up at him, "I ache, is that normal?"
Bruce smiled at her as he sat down and set his hand on her hip, "What is normal in all of this? It is muscle spasms or pain?"
"A little of both," Ellie told him.
"You may need another IV, when was the last time you peed?" Bruce asked as Steve looked at him confused.
"Seems like every 30 minutes," Ellie told him as she looked back at Steve, "Poor Stevie, so confused."
"Talk to him," Bruce told her as he handed her pills to her, "I'll go get you some more water so you can take this and Steve," Bruce said as he looked at Steve, "Take it easy on her. She doesn't need the stress."
Ellie rolled her eyes, "I'm fine," She told them as she put the pills on the table.
Steve watched Bruce leave the room, "Looks like you are confined to bed and having to take high-blood-pressure medication. Doesn't look like you are fine. What happened?"
"I passed out in Montana. My fault. The doctors have been telling me that I needed to take it easy but… I wanted to get to as many places as I could around the world on Bucky and my list before I was stuck here in New York," Ellie told him with a sigh as she laid her head back down facing away from him.
Steve walked around to the other side of the bed, "El, what happened?"
Ellie swallowed hard as a tear fell from her closed eyes, "Please don't be mad at me."
Steve laid a hand on the arm resting on her side and felt something hit him under his hand, "What the hell?"
Ellie opened her eyes as she bit her lip, "Your niece was just saying hi."
Steve looked at her wide-eyed as he removed the pillow and stared at her belly in shock, "What the hell Ellie."
Ellie sighed, "I know I'm huge."
"You are pregnant again?" Steve asked stunned, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I knew you'd make me come home, and I wanted to travel as much as I could before they came," Ellie told him.
"They?" Steve asked surprised.
"I know Buck sucked at keeping secrets. The twin girls… ours, not yours," Ellie told him.
Steve stood up and started to pace, "Shit Ellie."
"My fault, when I forced myself into the future… our still to happen future. You were holding one of the girls and asked me to put her down in her crib. I went to the bedroom and… I assumed they were yours and Nat's. Because fate wouldn't do that to me right? I wouldn't get pregnant… then lose Bucky within a week," Ellie said as she started crying.
Steve sat back down next to her, "Oh El."
"He will never know them, Steve," Ellie cried.
Steve squeezed himself in next to her and laid down with her as she sobbed.
"I'm so sorry," Ellie cried as he pulled her to him.
"I'm mad, but not that mad…that you didn't tell me," Steve told her as he rubbed her back.
"No, that I took off. I was… I was so mad at you. That you didn't let me go to space with you guys. Then I found out I was pregnant and I freaked out so I left," Ellie told him.
"You knew before you left?" Steve asked sadly.
"Yes," Ellie said quietly.
"When are they coming?" Steve asked after a few minutes.
"My doctor doesn't think I'll make it to New Years, doubtful to even Christmas. Especially now but… Bruce's medications seem to be working," Ellie told him as she rubbed her belly, "They are due in January though."
Bruce walked back in with the glass of water, "Here Ellie."
Ellie tried to push herself up, "Shit."
Bruce took her hand and helped her to sit up.
"I'm so fucking useless now," Ellie mumbled as she took the glass, "Can't even sit up on my own."
Steve watched her take the pills then looked at Bruce, "How bad is it?"
"Well…" Bruce said as he cleared his throat, "Her blood pressure is more under control since she is hydrated and her blood sugar is evening out. Probably wasn't eating well on the road."
Ellie scoffed, "Takeout is horrible, but it was easy. I went to restaurants with food that was closer to home-cooked if I could."
"Her doctor was here yesterday, said that the girls are fine… we just have to monitor Ellie," Bruce told him.
"Girls? So it is girls like Buck said?" Steve asked.
Ellie nodded, "Beckie and Kasie. Bucky came up with Kasie's name. I am wondering if he may have known something at the very end. Maybe sometime I said in a slip. He was asking what we would name kids if we had any more. So we came up with Kasie Faith. I decided on Beckie, Rebecca Shuri Wanda, and Kasie Faith Winifred Barnes."
"Momma!"
"In the bedroom Grant!" Ellie yelled back as she heard the patter of his feet as he ran in the room.
"Shit he can run?" Steve asked surprised.
Natasha came up behind him, "Sorry I set him down to get Sarah out of the highchair and off he went."
Steve picked him up and put him on the bed so he could cuddle to Ellie's side.
"If you guys need me I'll be in the lab," Bruce told them.
"Thank you, Bruce," Ellie said as Grant snuggled closer.
Natasha sat on the end of the bed and set Sarah down.
Ellie sighed with a small smile as she looked at them, "I am sorry guys. You guys have enough on your plate and now I'm stuck in bed."
Natasha smiled, "That's what family is for. We take care of each other."
Steve patted her leg, "Exactly, let us take care of you and Grant… and the girls, at least we get to raise our kids together."
"I'm going to be so outnumbered," Ellie said as she laid her head back on the pillow behind her.
"No, four kids to three people? Not totally outnumbered," Natasha told her.
Ellie shook her head, "I shouldn't be this tired. I just woke up and I'm already tired."
"You are pregnant with twins, of course, you are going to be tired," Steve told her.
"I'm a freaking super soldier though and I am holding…" Ellie trailed off with a sigh, "Guys I…hey FRIDAY?"
"Yes Miss Ellie," FRIDAY replied.
"Can you turn off all monitoring and surveillance for the next ten minutes?" Ellie asked.
"Starting now," FRIDAY told her.
"Can you still hear me FRIDAY?" Ellie asked.
When no reply came, Ellie looked at Steve, then to Natasha, "I… I need to tell you guys this and get it off my chest. It cannot go out of this room. I… not that he is around anymore but… we can't have people knowing that some of them still exist."
"What are you talking about?" Steve asked confused.
"I was working with Dr. Strange before everything happened," Ellie told them as she looked at her hands, "I don't know if I even have the power to do this but…" Ellie trailed off as she crossed her arms to open the time stones within the earrings then reached over to her glass, after taking a drink, she rotated her hand and the glass refilled.
"Shit Ellie," Steve said as he stood up, "You have the time stone?"
"Particles from it. Strange said that it would not be able to do large time changes but it would still be able to center time and control moments if needed," Ellie told him sadly, "I can't bring anyone back. After everyone went to bed… I tried to bring back Abebi… couldn't."
"So he just gave you pieces of it?" Natasha asked in disbelief.
Ellie nodded, "I also have part of the mind stone."
Steve looked at her sharply, "What?"
Ellie closed the time stone and put a finger through the chain of Vision's necklace to show him the stone within the heart, "Vision gave it to me before he left."
"You have two pieces of Infinity Stones?" Steve mumbled.
"I… think I can hold them because I have more than two," Ellie told him.
Natasha looked at her confused.
"I… Vision sensed the Tesseract when he first met me. What if… what if when they used it, tiny particles of it made its way inside me?" Ellie asked.
"Then that would be three," Steve said shaking his head.
"Four, now this last one… totally a theory but… Vibranium when it's active is what color?" Ellie asked.
"Blue," Steve said.
Ellie shook her head, "No, that is its normal color the… stable color if you would. Its active and charged color is purple. Purple like the power stone. Again it's just my theory and… I have a piece of Vibranium in my brain. It is the reason I can time travel… I just… something tells me it's more than just a chip."
"Do you realize if you are right, that the only stones you… haven't come in contact with are the soul stone and the reality stone?" Steve told her, "That…" Steve shook his head, "That shouldn't be possible from what Thor said."
"I don't know Steve; maybe because it's not the whole stone just… part of it," Ellie told him shaking her head, "Again… I don't know. It's just a theory but…yeah. For sure, I have fragments of the time and mind stones. Possibly the tess…space and power stones. Reality stone is in space… was in space, right and the soul stone was on that one planet."
Steve looked at Natasha, "Do you think Thor would be able to know?"
Natasha shrugged, "I can try to contact him. He is the most experienced with them that is still alive."
"I just want answers, only Thor," Ellie told them, "Wong is gone I know that. He was Doctor Strange's… friend? He knew about the stone."
Steve looked at her, "How do we get ahold of him?"
Natasha shook her head, "I am going to have to put some feelers out. Contact Jane… shit is she even alive still?"
"I don't know, we never searched her out. Shit… that is probably why Thor took off," Steve told them.
"Here take Sarah," Natasha said as she handed her off then left the room.
Steve sat down next to Ellie on the bed and Sarah laid on his chest relaxing into him.
Ellie smiled over at him, "God I wish I could take a picture of this and go back to show Mom."
Steve laughed as he rubbed Sarah's back, "Who would have thought that we'd have four kids between the two of us under 2 years old."
"Shit, I need my head examined Steve… can I do this on my own?" Ellie asked.
Steve put his hand on hers, "Do you think you are going to be alone? No, you won't. I'll be right there with you and Nat… you heard her, we are here for you. Hell… you bought us a house, only right that we are going to raise all four kids together."
"I want to go to it and live there," Ellie told him, "But as shitty as I feel… I can't do all those stairs. The first renovation we do, I am installing an elevator."
Steve laughed, "We haven't even officially moved in."
"Hindsight is 20/20 Steve," Ellie told him with a grin then she sighed, "I still feel him. As if he was right here with us. We just… can't hear him or see him."
She swallowed hard as she felt something skirt her knee when nothing was there.
Steve smiled, "He would be making some kind of joke. I hate that he is gone but… I'm glad we were able to get some time with him… when he had a sound mind. He was finally Bucky again."
"He was still… he had issues, nightmares… but who doesn't after we have been through what we have and he went through more than we did," Ellie said shaking her head, "I had to… when I could still do it, talk myself out of going back into the past and telling Peggy that he was still alive, every day. But he made me promise that I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't change everything just to save him. It kills me but… it's what he wanted."
Steve put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head, "We are going to get him back."
"I hope so…but at what price?" Ellie wondered.
A/n3: But at what price? ;) She is back with Steve, what happens from here?
Now to the reviews:
tuckerjnp1- Thank you for the reviews and thoughts. I lost my other Grandma is 2003 and my grandpa in 2010, for some reason this time has been the hardest. Maybe it is because I've spent the most time with her but maybe it is because of Covid there has been no closure.
PrettyRecklessLaura- Thank you for reading and reviewing!
Preview of Chapter 96- What Hurts the Most
Hank shook his head, "No, I can do them from here. There is an outlet right next to you. Bruce can do the blood work. This first test is just the baseline. Bruce said that while you are pregnant you don't have access to your powers?"
Ellie nodded, "With Grant, he has…" Ellie trailed off as she bit her lip.
Hank got up and knelt in front of her, "You can trust me. Our findings are not going any farther than me and Bruce."
Ellie looked at Ramonda then at Hank, "Grant can shield and heal, and he projected his shielding abilities in the womb and blocked my abilities."
Hank looked at Grant then at her, "Bruce, did she get tested for the X-Gene?"
