CHAPTER SIX: UNEXPECTED
SHIELD/Avengers Tower
Wanda woke up the next morning with a jarring pain on her side that made her cry out. Steve shifted next to her and woke up immediately.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"My-My side. It hurts," she managed through clenched teeth. Steve was up in a heartbeat and called for a nurse.
"They'll be here in a couple minutes. How bad does it hurt?" He kneeled by the bed beside her.
"It stings a lot." It wasn't the worst pain she'd ever experienced but it was pretty high up. Steve rubbed his hand up and down her arm.
"You'll be okay. They're on the way." Wanda shifted her weight to her other side and it seemed to alleviate some of the pain. She finally had a second to look around.
"What happened? I remember taking the bomb up and… it all went black."
"It went off." Wanda stirred immediately. "No one else was hurt," he quickly added, easing her worry. "You blacked out. Tony flew up and caught you. You were in surgery for twelve hours." This surprised her. Twelve hours?
"What happened to me?"
"You were hit with some shards and had minor injuries but something else hit your side, causing a lot of damage. You need to take it easy." She was in shock and didn't know what to say. A small knock at the door made her look up. Two nurses came in with table trays of equipment.
"I heard you were having some pain?" One of the women asked. Wanda just nodded. They took their time getting her vitals. "It looks like you're doing okay, it's just pain that's unfortunately going to persist during your recovery. It'll get easier and we do have medication to help." She handed Wanda a couple pill bottles and instructed her on how to use them. They also gave her a shot to help with the immediate pain. Steve picked up as one of the nurses kept glancing at the other and then looked at him. After Wanda was all done, they prepped their trays to leave. "There's also something else, regarding your injuries we needed to discuss… privately if you prefer?" Wanda glanced over at Steve who didn't know what they were referring to.
"What- What else happened?" Wanda was almost scared to ask. One of the nurses glanced over at Steve again. "It's okay. Anything you have to say to me, I trust him with." The nurses glanced at each other a bit nervously.
"Ms. Maximoff… our team in Estonia tried everything they could but they weren't able to," the nurse was nervously fidgeting with her scrubs now, "they weren't able to save the child." Wanda looked at them confused.
"The child?" Now the nurses seemed confused.
"Were you aware you were with child? Seven weeks." Wanda's breath hitched. With child? She nervously looked over at Steve who was stone-faced. "I'm sorry. We assumed you knew."
"N-no," she stammered out in a whisper. "I'd like to have a minute, if that's okay." The nurses nodded and collected all of their gear, promising to come back tomorrow.
"Did you know?" Steve asked once they were out of the room. She looked at him with large, teary eyes.
"I wouldn't have risked so much if I had," she said quietly. Steve got up and sat on the bed beside her.
"Seven weeks... Wanda that means-."
"I know." It was his child. She had lost their child without even knowing. "I can't even wrap my head around this. I don't know what I'm supposed to do." There was a sad tremble in her voice.
"Hey." Steve pulled her into his arms as she let a sob out. She didn't understand why she was crying yet. She had only found out about the baby. She was nowhere near the mindset to have a child or even wanted one but somehow it all still felt so horrible.
Steve just held her as his own head raced. A child. He was going to have a child. He didn't understand. He wasn't supposed to be able to and neither was she. They had both been told during their experimentations that they'd lost that prospect in life. How was it possible?
They stayed like that for a long time until they were finally ready to go on. Steve got up to grab her something to eat from the kitchen. Sam was already there finishing a bowl of cereal.
"How is she?" Steve sighed and made a bowl of her favorite cereal.
"She's handling it as best as she can. I think it's all just… a lot to process."
"I heard her this morning in pain. You had already beat me to it when the nurses came." Steve didn't acknowledge his words, not wanting to make obvious that he was in the room the entire night.
"I just want to make sure she's okay," he said, picking up the bowl. Sam sidestepped in front of him.
"How about, I take this to her and you go get a shower?" Steve began to shake his head. "You look like crap. Go take a shower." Steve could see that Sam wasn't going to relent so he caved and let him take the bowl. He went to his room where he sat on his bed and tried to process what he'd found out.
Wanda jumped when Sam knocked at the door and brought a bowl of cereal to her. The blinked quickly to clear her head.
"My favorite kind. Thank you Sam."
"Cap made it. I just sent him to get a shower. He looks like crap," he laughed.
"He does, doesn't he?" she teased. She and Sam had worked a lot together and developed a decent friendship, even if it was infrequent.
"Yeah, the poor man's been hovering over you for the last two days straight." Wanda looked up. "He feels guilty about what happened to you, I think."
"That wasn't his fault."
"I know but you know how he is. Everything is personal to him." She swallowed hard. Everything is personal to him. She didn't want to even touch the implications of that.
"That's why he's such a good team leader," she shrugged, making Sam laugh. "What?"
"Nothin', just you complimenting Steve." Wanda raised a brow. " It's just that you two are always at each other's throats but it's nice to see us come together as a team when it matters." She gave him a small smile.
"Yeah," was all she managed. Sam left her to her cereal which she finished quickly before sitting back. There were a million thoughts running through her head. She tried to shove the most painful ones far, far away.
It wasn't long before Steve was back and helping her up. She needed to use the restroom but he insisted she couldn't walk and needed to be carried. She fought him but ultimately lost as he continued to help her with everything.
Over the next few weeks. She spent her days holed up in her room and even began to get excited when Steve would finish his days and come visit her in the evenings. He'd tell her about his day and what was happening out on the field and always bring her food. It was the only break she had from the monotony of her four walls.
Steve enjoyed taking care of Wanda, to no one's surprise. That's just who he was. He'd check up on her consistently throughout the day even if it resulted in sarcastic text replies from Wanda. After he was done for the day, he'd swing by the cafeteria and pick up some food. Where they had spent weeks spending their evenings drastically differently, now they'd settle in for quieter nights. They'd eat and watch a film or play board always found something to end their evening off well.
After Wanda made it clear she didn't want to think about or dwell on it, the topic of the child was pushed away even though it still tugged at him. They also didn't talk about their sleeping arrangements. There was nothing romantic and no sex but Steve still spent every night in her bed, with her curled into him. She needed that as much as he did. It spoke volumes of their loneliness without each other's company.
When Wanda was finally well enough to walk around, she insisted on leaving the tower. Steve had argued with her that she still needed to stay but she wouldn't relent. When he got a notification from the tracker in her watch that she had left the tower, he excused himself for the day. He tracked her down at a local community shelter.
Even without his uniform, many people seemed to recognize him and wanted to say hello. He politely returned pleasantries but really he just needed to find Wanda. A worker recognized who he was looking for and pointed him towards a kids' room. He walked into a room of bright colors and toys scattered everywhere. There were a few children milling about and one in the back wall that sat in front of Wanda. The child looked less than a year old as he sat in a highchair and Wanda fed him spoons of baby food.
"She's wonderful, isn't she? She always comes to visit and help out," the woman that had helped him find Wanda commented. From what he had been able to understand, this was a Sokovian refugee shelter. Many misplaced from the country were staying here in hopes of building a new life. "She really wanted to spend some time with the children today." Steve swallowed hard. It hurt him to see her with the child, unsure if the cause was for her or for himself. He made his way alone towards her before clearing his voice and saying her name. She turned around quickly in surprise.
"Steve? What are you doing here?" She was suddenly uncomfortable and put the food down.
"What are you? You're supposed to be in the tower."
"I needed to get out and get some air." Steve looked between her and the child who was staring at her with big eyes.
"Wanda, I know you-."
"Stop," she said, getting up quickly.
"Wanda, can we talk about this?" She dead-stared at him.
"No." Her answer was firm and clear.
"I can't help you with this if you won't talk to me."
"I didn't ask you to," her gaze was steady on his. She was bottling everything away again.
"Wanda!" A woman cheered as she walked into the room. It was Vilare, an old woman that once lived in the same town Wanda had. Wanda smiled at the sight of her and walked over to give her a big hug. Vilare scooped Wanda's cheeks up between her palms. "My dear, sweet girl. We had gotten so worried when you hadn't come to visit in a few weeks. I was worried the worst had happened."
"You couldn't get rid of me so easy." The old woman smiled and noticed Steve. "Ah, who's this?" Wanda looked over at Steve who had a polite smile on.
"He's my teammate. This is Steve." Steve walked over to shake her hand.
"So handsome," the woman cooed, "I know you from somewhere." It didn't take her very long to piece it together and shout, "Captain America!" She turned into a flurry of excitement, making both Avengers laugh. "Oh I have to introduce you to the girls! Come now!"
"Vilare!" Wanda laughed.
"Oh hush, this is my moment." She chuckled as he let the woman lead him out and into a common area where everyone began to chatter. They were all excited to meet Steve but equally excited to see Wanda. It was clear they all held a lot of respect and love for her as she did them. In between conversations, he watched as she mingled and laughed. She was radiant. This had to be the most he'd ever seen her smile and so genuinely. It was clear she was comfortable and happy here. Her eyes met his a few times and a shy smile would creep up on her. There was no reason for her to be shy after all they'd done but she was. This was something very raw and personal to her.
After some time there, they finally headed out. Night had fallen and the city glowed with bright lights. It hadn't felt like they were there for so long but that could have been because they enjoyed themselves too much. Wanda loved being surrounded by her people again and Steve had enjoyed watching her immerse herself so deeply into something that made her so happy.
"I'm glad you were there." She didn't look at him or say anything else. They were both aware of how difficult it was for her to talk about anything personal so they both knew what it meant for her to say those words.
"I'd like to come next time if that's okay?" She smiled and looked down before nodding her head.
"I'd like that." Steve laughed at how dorky she was and pulled her into his side, making her giggle. They made their way to the tower and were greeted by Sam who was heading out.
"Hey! What're you two doing and where was my invite?" They laughed.
"Probably got lost with mine." Steve laughed and arched a brow at Wanda.
"I needed to get out of that room. You've been keeping me in there for weeks!"
"Per the doctor's request." Wanda and Sam both gave him a look.
"I think we all know you go a little overboard," Sam teased.
"I thought you were on my side!"
"Sides, aside," Sam laughed, "If you guys are still up for the evening, some agents and I are going out to get drinks. Care to join?"
"I think he would kill me if I stepped out of the tower again today," Wanda quipped.
"You need to get some rest," Steve insisted. Wanda just waved a hand at him.
"What about you Steve? Sharon's coming out too. Maybe you two might hit it off some more?" The air seemed to shift.
"I think I might stay in tonight, but I appreciate the invitation." Sam raised his hands dramatically.
"One day, I'll get you to go out."
"Not if Steve's involved," Wanda remarked as she began to walk towards the elevators.
"Damn," Sam laughed. "She's feisty."
"She's something." He said goodbye to Sam and headed up after Wanda. When he entered the quarters, Wanda was in the kitchen, looking through the fridge while Natasha was on the couch looking through some documents. She looked up to see him as he closed the door. "You shouldn't take work home, you know." Natasha smiled.
"I wouldn't if I didn't have to." Steve took his jacket off and set it on the armchair nearby.
"Anything good?"
"Just reckon notes," she said distractedly, shifting through the papers.
"Reckon notes? Natasha, those can wait until the morning." She looked up at him and he gave her a look. "Sam and the other agents are going out for drinks. You should join them, give yourself a break."
"What about you? I heard about the little bar night and that Sharon's going. Didn't you two go out?"
"On one date, yes but that's all."
"That bad?" She made a face.
"No, that's not what I meant. I'm saying we've only gone out once. That doesn't… nevermind," he sighed, making the agent laugh.
"Look at you getting all flustered." Steve was trying not to react but he wasn't sure what to tell her. They had gone on their date a week ago. It had been really nice and he'd enjoyed her company but they hadn't made any moves or declarations warranting this much attention. He just brushed her off and went to the kitchen for some water, where Wanda was awkwardly standing, unsure of what to do. She didn't want to jump into their conversation exactly but she felt odd not saying anything and standing here.
"Well," Natasha got up, collecting her stuff. "I'll leave you two to it. I don't want to disturb your… nighttime activities." Wanda went pale while Steve choked on the water he was drinking. Natasha sent them a smirk.
"What are you-?"
"Cut the crap, Rogers. I know about you two, not that I care to."
"How?" Wanda asked, not even trying to deny it. Natasha sighed.
"One, I'm a spy." Both Steve and Wanda shrugged- that made sense. "And two, I saw your injuries after the mission, Wanda. You shouldn't have survived that much less healed as quickly as you did in the following days. I kept going over it in my head and to my surprise, they found supersoldier serum in your body."
"What?" Steve and Wanda were both taken aback.
"You were carrying a child that had the serum in its DNA. It didn't take a genius to figure out its father." Wanda looked away from the woman, awkwardly. "It saved you." Wanda's head tried to process all of this. "Don't worry. No one else knows but the medical team. It was redacted from the files and sealed."
"Thank you," was all Steve said as she left. He hadn't doubted that the child was his but this seemed to really cement the idea of it all in his mind. There had been a child with his DNA. His child. Wanda took off to her room. He ran after her and caught her arm before she could close the door. "Can we please talk about this?"
"No."
"Wanda, stop shutting me out."
"It's my business, Steve."
"It's mine too!" His frustration had finally hit a breaking point. "I understand that you're upset about this but so am I! That was my child too. A child I was told I could never have. I'm mourning too and I need you to talk to me. Stop shutting me out." Tears sprung to Wanda's eyes as she began to sob. He cupped her cheeks and leaned down to look at her. "Please."
"I can't talk about it. I just… I can't." Her whole body shook as her sadness overtook her. "I didn't even know about a child that saved my life." Steve pulled her in as she cried into his chest. He felt hot tears pool in his eyes and kissed the top of her head.
"We're going to get through this."