CHAPTER FIVE: BARGAIN

BUCKY - NEW YORK CITY MOTEL

Bucky called in a SHIELD team. As he stayed on the line explaining what happened, he kept a watchful eye over Wanda. She was shaken and had just sat down on her bed. Her expression was pensive as she stared blankly at a wall.

About an hour later, a team came in and he watched them put a metal collar around Agatha's neck. Wanda visibly shuddered and he was reminded of Steve telling him about how he broke Wanda out of the raft and had to break her metal collar. She must be remembering when SHIELD did the same to her.

Agatha was loaded onto a transport van. Both he and Wanda tagged along. Wanda to make sure Agatha stayed down and him to keep an eye on her. They rode in silence and he stood back when Agatha was put into her holding cell and Wanda drew the same runes he'd seen at the distillery and then at her motel room. She was a witch. The thought almost made him laugh. Bucky in the '40's would have never believed this.

As he waited, he pulled two sheets of paper out of his back pocket. They were the ultrasounds from Wanda's room. He had grabbed them before they took off. Looking at them now, his jaw tightened.

"What are you doing?" Wanda asked cautiously as she approached him. His eyes darted up and he cleared his throat.

"I wanted to talk." She nervously shifted her balance from leg to leg. He motioned for her to follow and found a small, empty debriefing room. He held the door for her and closed it after she walked in. She sat down in a chair and he crossed his arms, turning around to look at her. Neither really knew what to say. The whole situation was unimaginable and awkward. Looking at her now chipping away at her nails, he knew she had to be much more nervous and scared than he was. He sighed and dropped his arms.

"So these," he held up the ultrasounds and slowly passed them to her, "mean it's real. You're pregnant." Wanda just focused on the photos in front of her. He wasn't sure how to handle this, any of it. But she didn't either. He carefully made his way over to her and knelt down in front of her so that she was looking right at him. Sad, green eyes met his and he could sense all the fear and anxiety she was going through.

"You can talk to me." She let out a deep breath.

"I'm scared." Her knees kept bouncing frantically.

"I know."

"I'm not ready for this. I barely remember my own mother. I can't give a child what they need. There isn't enough of me to." Bucky gently placed his hand on one of her bouncing knees to calm her. Wanda's eyes began to pool with tears, just waiting to be let out.

"You're not alone in this." She wiped her eyes quickly.

"Bucky, you were never supposed to be dragged into any of this, I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. " He watched her stare as if she didn't believe him. "Agatha did this to both of us and now we have to move forward with it." Wanda bit her lip and looked up at the fluorescent ceiling lights.

"I'm scared I'm not strong enough."

"I'll be he-."

"No," she looked down at him. "They said the child is stronger than normal. I'm already struggling and I'm only at 2 months." Bucky's brow furrowed. "I don't sleep. I can barely eat. Everything makes me sick and I feel so drained. It's a super soldier." Bucky's stomach twisted in guilt. This was his fault- this was his child. His child. The idea seemed wholly foreign to him. It carried his blood and the serum. He couldn't imagine what that was doing to Wanda. Her tears sprang out of her eyes and she began to sob. He tried to shush her but he knew all of this was getting to her.

"Hey, listen to me." He stood up and put a hand on her cheek to guide her face towards him. "You are going to be fine, okay?" She nodded even if her quivering lips told a different story.

"Sergeant Barnes?" An agent called as he knocked and entered the room. Bucky let Wanda's face go and turned to look at him. "The witch is awake." His eyes darted to Wanda who was already up and wiping away her tears.

"Thank you." The agent left with that and he caught Wanda's arm to stop her from following. "You need to go in calm." Wanda's expression was anything but that.

"I need answers."

"And we'll get them but please keep calm and let me lead." After a moment she caved and nodded. He held the door for her and they made their way to the holding cell. Inside, Agatha sat up in her bed meditating. Her eyes opened as they stepped in front of the glass wall separating her. A smile crept across her lips. Before she could hook her claws into Wanda, Bucky stepped forward.

"You're being held as a prisoner by SHIELD. I hope you understand this means you'll need to cooperate in our questioning." Agatha's eyes darted to him and she took a long moment to scan him.

"I like a bold man," she teased. He gave her no reaction.

"Our first concern is the safety of Ms. Maximoff." He sensed Wanda shift next to him at the words. "We want to know what kind of danger you put her in." Agatha laughed.

"Danger? I haven't done anything dangerous to her... yet." She stood up off the bed. "I scoured your mind Wanda and saw what you needed the most- family. After that, it was just a blood unity and viola, a miracle child." Bucky's jaw tightened. "You know, had you practiced with me, I would have showed you the incantation." Bucky side-stepped in front of Wanda before she could get another word in. "Ahh and I see I chose well for you. Protective, isn't he?" He shot her a dead glare that made her smile seem to drop. "You know, I sensed something interesting about you and then with the child as I followed Wanda. You're not just an average Joe either, are you?"

"No, I'm not," he threatened. "And that child you created using my blood is a danger to her." Agatha laughed.

"A mere child is hardly a risk for the Scarlet Witch!"

"What's the Scarlet Witch?" Agatha walked slowly to the end of the cube, he knew to get a better look at Wanda.

"The Scarlet Witch is not born; she is forged. She has no coven or need for incantation. Your power exceeds that of the Sorcerer Supreme. It is your destiny to destroy the world."

"I'm not going to do that," Wanda moved his arm and pushed in front of him.

"But you have already been on that path." Agatha paced, staring at Wanda. "You joined Hydra- the world's leading terrorist organization and when that didn't work out, you helped Ultron almost destroy the world." Wanda shook her head.

"No, I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. I was trying to help," Wanda explained.

"Helping is not your destiny."

"You don't know my destiny!" Wanda started toward the glass but Bucky caught her arm and held her back before shifting her behind him again. He signalled to the guard to lead Wanda out and thankfully she didn't put up a fight.

"You shouldn't protect her. You have no idea what she's capable of."

"I'm not sure you do. That's a very thin wire you're pulling. You're lucky she only put you down." Agatha laughed.

"I won't be here for long. She owes her end of the bargain."

"A bargain she didn't agree to isn't a deal." Agatha's smile dropped. "Now you're going to tell me where you're from."

He spent the better part of the next few hours questioning her without very much information. She told him just enough about witches and magic but nothing of her plan with Wanda. He caught little bits here and there that he would follow up on later but ultimately left her under SHIELD's eye to interrogate further.

He walked down the long hallways until he found an empty corridor. The weight of it all was beginning to set in. Wanda was having a child. He was going to be a father. He couldn't even fathom that this was all actually happening. He was shocked, surprised and worried. It did scare him what carrying a child with the serum could do to Wanda. There had never been a baby born with the serum. It was impossible. Agatha was right- this was a miracle child.

He knew that regardless of the circumstances, he had a responsibility to her and to the child she was now carrying. He owed it to them to step up. He pulled himself together and went down to medical.