Lizzie had been home a few weeks, when she was greeted at her front door by a guy in uniform, she got out of her car and made her way to her front door. "Miss Rogers?"
"The one and only. What can I do for you?"
"There's an official hearing tomorrow. John Walker is to be officially stripped of his title of Captain America, along with his other ranks and titles. The GRC were hoping you would attend?"
"Why would I?"
"As the last remaining member of Steve Rogers family, it seems fitting that you are there to see his legacy upheld."
She took a step closer to him then, he raised his hands slightly, clearly then had warned him, who and what she was. "If any of you were bothered about his legacy, you would never have given that man my grandfather's shield in the first place. It should have stayed in the museum or have been given back to the man, my grandfather saw fit to give it to!"
He took a step back from her, he had clearly outstayed his welcome. He left a letter on the railing of the steps and left. Lizzie picked it up and headed inside. The house was empty, it felt different here. Something was missing, she knew what or rather who was missing, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to text or call Bucky. She had messaged Sam once or twice to check in. She pulled the letter open and read the time and place for the hearing, she would have time to go before work.
Sitting on the sofa that night, Lizzie felt different at first, she thought it was because it was the first time in weeks where she had been truly alone. However after an hour of feeling like her stomach had become a stormy ocean she ran toward the bathroom. The urge to empty her stomach remained yet nothing came up, in truth she had been feeling off it for a little while, but this was new. She splashed water on her face and reached for the medicine cabinet, she was pretty sure she had some stomach acid tablets in there. As she opened it up, she spotted the box of tampax she had bought the month before. It suddenly dawned on her if she included this week and the weeks before when she was away with Bucky and Sam it all added up to be over a month, which meant she was late by at the very least four weeks. Slamming the cupboard shut she rushed out into the living room and grabbed her bag before dashing to the store.
…..
Arriving back from the store, after she had bought four different brands of pregnancy tests. She could have gone to work for the test, but that could raise questions and so spend thirty bucks in the pharmacy. Lizzie proceeded to do all four tests, she set them all on the sink side and began to pace the length of the bathroom, waiting the 5 minutes for the tests to be done felt like eternity. When Lizzie heard the timer on her phone begin to buzz, she went back over to the sink and finally looked at them. They all glared up at her with the same positive reading. "Oh Jesus!" she choked out half crying half gasping.
She picked up her phone and was about to message Bucky, saying that they needed to talk, but as she wrote the message, she looked at it and realised that she couldn't send it.Instead she got changed and headed to bed. She felt numb and her movements slow as if she were moving through molasses. She decided that she wasn't going to tell Bucky over the phone or by a message, this was a conversation they needed to have face to face. As she lay in bed her mind wandered, was she really ready to have this baby, to have any baby? What if Bucky wasn't happy with the idea of them having a child? What if she was going to have to raise this baby alone?
When Lizzie woke the following morning, she felt shocking, she'd slept on and off most of the night. She showered and pulled out some clothes. She had decided to go to the hearing, she wanted to say something to John. She turned the coffee pot on in the kitchen, the smell of the fresh brewing dark liquid made her stomach turn. Lizzie quickly flicked the off switch not caring if she bust the machine and ran to the toilet. She came back and made herself a cup of tea instead, the smell of it seemed stronger than before but it didn't make her retch like the coffee. Looking through her fridge and cupboards, she realised she needed a shopping trip, there was very little food and what there was, wasn't really the best for someone who was pregnant. Her whole life was about to change, lizzie realised that in that moment she had chosen to keep this baby.
…
She waited outside while John's hearing went ahead, she didn't wanna draw attention being in there. She heard the door fly open and John came out. He glared at her.
"What are you doing here?" He growled.
"Making sure a wrong was righted."
John marched towards her, he backed her against the wall. "Who the hell do you think you're talking too?!"
"Someone who will be remembered in history for the wrong reasons. You were never good enough to carry the name or the shield."
John slammed his fist into the wall next to her. "Don't push me!"
Lizzie slammed her hands into his chest, forcing him back. A woman grabbed John's arm then, she looked Lizzie up and down.
"You must be Miss Rogers?"
"I am."
"Mrs Walker. John's wife."
Lizzie nearly let out a laugh, but stopped herself, she moved round the pair. She turned back and looked at them. "You must have the patience of a saint to be married to that man." Lizzie walked out of the building and took a few deep breaths outside. Her hand automatically went to her stomach. She had panicked slightly when John had slammed the wall, it wasn't just her she had to look out for anymore.
…..
A week passed and Lizzie arrived home from her night shift, she smiled slightly at the figure sitting on her steps. She could pick Bucky out of a crowd at any time now, his silhouette was so familiar to her. He looked up at her and she smiled at him.
He stood and smiled back. "I wasn't sure if you'd want to see me."
Lizzie reached out her hand and touched his face, he pushed against her. "I told you I wasn't leaving you. I only want you. When are you going to get it through that thick skull of yours that I love you, James Barnes?"
Bucky smiled then; she had never called him James. He pulled her close then and wrapped his arms round her. "I love you too, Elizabeth Rogers." He lent down and kissed her.
Once inside, Bucky made himself at home while Lizzie changed. While in the bedroom, she looked at the envelope on the dresser. Inside was the scan she had had 2 days ago. It confirmed she was about 8 weeks pregnant, she had listened to the heartbeat, and knew this little person was her whole world. She picked it up, might as well tell him now, before they fell back into a happy little bubble.
Bucky was sitting on the sofa, he looked round as he heard her. Lizzie sat next to him, she handed him the envelope, he opened it and pulled out the scan. Lizzie watched his face as he looked at it, sometimes this man was so hard to read.
"This has your name on it."
"I know. I was there when it was taken."
"So you were the doctor?" He asked, a little confused.
"No Buck, in this case I was the patient." He went quiet again then, looking from her to the scan and back again. The silence seemed to go on forever and it was killing Lizzie. "I need you to speak Bucky. We are going to be parents. I need to know your thoughts on that."
Bucky got up then, he was pacing across the floor, the scan was still in his hand, every now and again he would look at it. Lizzie watched him; she knew this after everything else was a lot to take in. He finally stopped in front of her, he took her hands and pulled her up.
"We should get married." he said flatly. Lizzie was now the one that couldn't speak. "I mean, we are having a baby and I want to do everything right."
Lizzie looked at the man in front of her. "Buck, your old man mind is showing."
"What do you mean?" He questioned with a furrowed brow.
"We aren't in the 40's. We don't have to get married. We are still getting to know each other. There are so many things we don't know about each other."
Bucky let go of her hands and stared at her. "We're having a baby; we should be man and wife before they arrive."
"Why? You're in the 21st century now. People have kids together all the time without being married."
"That doesn't mean it's right. A kid should have both parents."
"And who said this little one won't have us both? I just told you I wasn't leaving you, that I love you, so what makes you believe differently?" Bucky started pacing again. Lizzie grabbed his hand and pulled him to a stop. "Tell me what the hell is going round that head right now?"
"I'm scared." He admitted looking somewhere over her shoulder.
"Of what?"
"That one day you will see who I really am. That one day I'll wake up and you won't be here. That one day that child will be scared of me." His voice broke a little at the end.
Lizzie pulled him towards her, she kissed him lightly, then placed his hand on her stomach. "Us being married wouldn't stop any of that." She said honestly before continuing. "Deep down you know that. You have to trust me when I tell you that I love you, whoever is in here is going to love you unconditionally. I will make a compromise with you."
Bucky looked up into her eyes.
"Move in here. Let's get to know each other, but I want you to be open with me. I want to know everything, everything you remember anyway, the good and the bad."
"The bad?"
"Yes, I want to know everything."
He looked down at his feet, Lizzie had made him uncomfortable, she knew she had, but if they were really going to bring a life into this world together, share a life, then they would have to be completely truthful with each other.
"I'll go first. When I was 15, nearly 16 I started seeing a senior."
"Let me guess, Steve wouldn't let him in the house."
"The opposite actually, he invited him over for dinner. We all sat round the table, everyone was chatting, and it was lovely."
Bucky squeezed her hand and gave a small smile.
"My grandmother showed him out, and I went to my room. What they didn't know was I'd told him to hide near my window, so I could let him back in. My grandfather found us, making out on my bed, he was topless and so was I... Well I still had my bra on, but his hands were in places they shouldn't be and so were mine."
Bucky laughed then; he could only imagine Steve's face at finding his granddaughter half naked with a boy a few years older than her. He then imagined if that was his daughter.
"It's not funny. The poor boy was lifted, and I mean lifted off me and carried out of the door. I was so mad; I came out after him. I started shouting at him, telling him he wasn't my father and that I wished I didn't have to live with him. He never once raised his voice to me. It made me angrier. I then screamed at him that I wished it were him that was dead and not my father. He told me he wished the same. That was the first time he took me out and let me punch that crap out of a punch bag." She looked away from him for a moment and then back to Bucky. It was a sad memory in some way, but she was fond of it.
"He always was a smart man. You were the kid that acted out to try to understand her feelings."
Lizzie smirked. "Maybe, but hey that senior was hot."
Bucky laughed at her then. "Ok, I promise to open up to you. I'm not sure you're gonna wanna hear all of it."
"Probably not, but I want to hear it anyway."
"Then I need you to make me a promise."
"Ok."
"The next time I ask you to marry me, you have to say yes."
"Technically, you didn't ask me to marry you. You just said we should get married. And you should know Barnes, I don't take orders."
Bucky pulled her really close then, Lizzie noticed the look in his eye. "Oh I've known you to take orders in some respects."
"Barnes! Really, you're talking to the mother of your child."
She watched as he got down on his knees and placed his hands on her hips. "Hey kiddo, it's your dad here. Just know that you will always be loved and safe while I'm around." He kissed her stomach.
Lizzie pulled him up and kissed him, Bucky picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him, he walked then both to the bedroom kicking the door gently shut behind them.
….
It wasn't a week before Bucky got a call from Sam calling him back to the fight again. Bucky was suiting up as she walked towards the door to their bedroom. She leant against the frame. "No need to dress up for me."
Bucky turned and gave her a wink. "Sam called, Karli is here in New York and it looks like she's going to strike the GRC where it hurts."
"Let me guess you're going to go save the day?" Asked with a smile.
"I'm going to help Sam." Lizzie walked towards the wardrobe and pulled some fresh clothes out. "What are you doing?"
"Coming with you."
Bucky moved towards her then, he grabbed her arm and stopped her from changing. "You're pregnant, you can't fight, you can't be anywhere near this."
She turned and placed her hand on his face. She loved his overprotectiveness, he was going to be an amazing father, if they had a girl, she already felt sorry for any partner she brought home.
Bucky placed his hand on her stomach. "I don't want either of you to get hurt. You're my whole world."
"I know. I promise to stay out of the way. I just want to be near."
Bucky looked at her, he knew he wasn't going to win this fight. "Fine, but you stay put. I will make sure you have protection." Lizzie kissed him. Bucky stood and watched her as she got dressed, he was so in love with her it was crazy.
She looked round at him as she grabbed her jacket. "Enjoying the view Barnes."
"Always, though I wish it was under different circumstances."
Lizzie wrapped her arms around his waist. "I know the feeling, but we have the rest of our lives to do that. Now let's get this fine ass to help Sam save the world."
Bucky rolled his eyes at her.
They arrived and he marched her over to some of the soldiers standing there.
"Sergeant Barnes."
"Keep her in the communication centre at all times. No matter what she says, she is to stay there. She is pregnant, protect her with your life."
"Yes, Sergeant Barnes."
Lizzie kissed him quickly and watched as he walked off. She walked with the soldier to the communication centre. As she walked up the steps, she saw Bucky chatting to someone as he walked.
"I'm gonna marry that guy someday."
The soldier smiled at her. She looked down at him.
"Sorry, that was meant to be in my head."
"I won't say a word. And can I say, it's an honour to meet you, Miss Rogers."
"Thank you."
Once inside, she picked up an earpiece and started listening to the chat. This was gonna be a long ass night.
End of chapter 8