Bloodline
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Finally, you get your second part, and prepare either handkerchiefs or something to throw up in… No, just a joke, but be prepared. It'll be hard.
after I finished the chapter: Okay, for the ending, be prepared to have someone next to you to sob into his/her chest. Damn, I cried myself. With the Russian lullaby that I just took because it was the first and it fit… OMG! Okay, just read.
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Chapter 11: Struggling for life - or: the lullaby
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"We can't leave yet. We have nothing to offer her. All our tests failed so far." Banner announced and saw how Clint's face fell.
"Take whatever you have to keep her alive until you find something. They are not far away, but we need to reach them as soon as possible. The Winter Soldier will have a hard time taking care of Romanoff while also protecting them from Hydra." Clint ordered angrily.
"I'll stay here and run a few more tests. Load the replicator into the jet. When I come up with something, I'll send you the results and you can produce a cure." Bruce offered while he ran around preparing everything.
"You sure you can do this?" Tony's voice was filled with uncertainty.
"I work best under stress," the doctor said with a fake smile.
"Don't lay my tower into ashes until you find a cure." He gave him one more pat on the shoulder before he was off.
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When his attempts failed he tried harder. "You have to relax or this won't work."
"Oh god!" Natasha tried to fight him off. "Stop!"
"No, Natasha, I'm begging you, please. Don't give up now. We can do this. Only a few floors until you see your friends again, and they will help you. I am sure they are already waiting for us, fighting their way into the base." He became more and more desperate, and this was the moment the Winter Soldier realized that he needed her, so badly. But right now he had to be the strong one, the one who told her what to do, taking the reins. And even if it meant hurting her, he was going to save her life.
"No, just… let me… push, and I will…" She knew something was wrong, she felt it. This cold... while the colour drained from her face.
"Natalia, oh my…" He watched her eyes rolling back, her body going limb while her body stopped to struggle. "Damn!" Barnes shouted and did what he had to do. There were no complaints this time, no screaming, no… sign of… He pushed this thought aside. No, they would save her. As he withdrew his arm, he saw the blood all over it and for the first time in his life he felt really sick at the sight of it. There was something wrong, but had no idea of how to fix it right now. He had to get her up there. Natasha was strong, he knew that. She would make it, she had to. But he didn't want to know what the Black Widow would do when she woke up and realized that her child was gone.
With a quick glance he checked the hallway before picking her up in his arms. Only a few more levels to go.
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"I think I found something!" Bruce shouted into the intercom after he had pressed the button.
Tony quickly ran over to the panel. "You have? Does it work?"
"I think so. At least it neutralizes the serum they used on her. But the cells are having a hard time staying alive. Also… I think it could destroy Natasha's abilities. It also attacks the super soldier serum inside of her. It's all combined now and therefore indistinguishable. But my cure doesn't only shut down her original serum, it also attacks the tissue that is now unprotected and doesn't have the enhanced healing abilities. Right now I only have her blood to work with. The blood cells are renewed more often than others. The white blood cells died right away, the red ones are holding up a little longer. I am not entirely sure, if it won't kill her in the long term…" Bruce spoke while his voice changed as if he just read the results changing for the worse as he told his message.
"It is our only shot right now. So we'll use it. Try and… produce a cure for our anti-serum as soon as you can. When we delivered we'll pump her full of it, and all effects will be reversed, right?" Tony tried to sound confident, wanting Bruce to also feel this way, to give him the strength, but…
"Since I know how our stuff works, it will be much easier to do that. Don't worry. Yet, I fear that…" Bruce's voice broke.
"Ten minutes out, Stark," Clint told him without even turning around and giving in to his anger. He had heard the conversation and was not delighted yet he knew even more pressure wouldn't do any good.
"What, Bruce?" Tony tried to ignore the archer. Even with their high-tech tools it would take twenty minutes to create enough serum.
"She might lose her abilities. It might make her human." The doctor's voice was shaking even more now.
Tony ran this thought through his head but simply nodded. "I will ask her if she consents. Send me the pattern. We need to be prepared. And find a solution for a cure."
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He ran, not caring about the bullets that grazed and hit him. As long as he could still walk…
"Barnes!" Someone shouted at him as a blinding light took his sights for a moment. Then the Shield agents appeared, shooting at the Hydra soldiers behind him.
Yes, at last…
The Winter Soldier heard the shot before he actually felt it. His leg gave out and he crumbled to the ground, trying to protect Natasha during his fall. He hit the tarmac hard, his arms around the woman he loved. He felt her struggle and cough, finally regaining conscious. Her frightened cry made him center himself again. He took a shallow breath before pushing himself up, his hands shaking as he checked for more injuries on her. Yet except some minor bruising Natasha was unharmed.
The shooting stopped and he saw more and more legs gathering around them at the edge of his vision while his mind was only focused on her. Finally he looked up, searching for Clint's eyes. "Please, save her."
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She was awake, but barely made a sound. Everything was so far away. Natasha wanted to scream, in agony, in frustration, but when she felt a cold hand on her she finally found her ground again, opening her eyes. "James," her voice was hoarse.
"You are safe now. They will take care of you." He looked at Tony who was about to connect a bag filled with light blue liquid to her IV.
"Hey, Red, before I do this, I have to ask you a question." He tried to sound reassuring, but failed entirely while his hands started to shake so he put the bag aside for a moment. "We made something to counteract the effects that would kill you, but it also attacks the super soldier serum and your own body. You would survive the birth, but you will have a hard time afterwards and your abilities might get lost in the process."
"And the baby? Give me the drug and please save the child." Losing her super human strength? What did it matter? She only wanted to hold her child once, and this was enough for her. The monitor next to her showed her distress, she needed to be calmed down.
"For now everything looks fine and the cure won't harm the baby much. He can take it for sure. We only need to deliver him quickly, as soon as we get back to my tower. For now... Natasha, are you listening to me?" He saw her drifting off again, her blood pressure dropping. "Shit! Give her another blood transfusion and hang this on as well." He shoved the bag to one of the doctors. His shaking hands couldn't do this right now. "Damn, we need to stop the bleeding wherever it is…" There had been no grave wounds visible which meant it was the birth taking its toll on her.
"She has been bleeding for a while now." Unconsciously the Winter Soldier flexed his hand, the metal still stained with her blood.
"Get me the portable ultrasound." Tony commanded. The well-trained team of doctors fulfilled every of his wishes within a few seconds. Natasha was now getting the cure, blood and pain meds, the mixture finally giving her enough strength to regain conscious.
"Here, Mister Stark." A nurse gave him the probe and spread some gel over the belly.
Barnes cringed at the sight of her exposed form. There seemed no time enough for dignity. All laid bare now while another doctor, at least a woman this time, was sitting on a low stool between Natasha's legs, her entrance filled with metal instruments as she worked at checked. "Something is wrong here. I can't see the head."
"What do you see? Feet?" Damn, suddenly he realized that he had prepared himself much less for the delivery itself than Bruce had. If it had to happen now…
"No, Mister Stark." She pulled the instruments out and looked up at Natasha who had a horrified expression on her face, knowing what would come next, what she would announce as soon as... The doctor took a deep breath before she spoke. "Miss Romanoff, I will need to enter your body to check on something, okay?" The mother merely nodded and tried to relax as she closed her eyes.
Barnes tried not to flinch as he heard her desperate cry before she grounded herself again, only sobbing now, trying to be brave.
"I can feel the shoulder." The doctor said as she pulled her hand back. "Mister Stark, can you please confirm it with the ultrasound?"
"What does that mean now?" Barnes asked, but wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer.
Tony was unmoving for a second before he finally did what he was told to. "It means we will have a hard time to do a natural delivery."
"Stark, one minute out! Get ready to transfer her." Clint shouted at them. "Whatever you have to do or need to check you do it the med wing, sterile and with proper equipment." With his words he also wanted to reassure them that as soon as they reached Bruce it would all go well.
By now Stark had not only confirmed the position of the child, he also found the source of the bleeding. And he knew they wouldn't have much time. "Can we turn it?" He asked the doctor.
She shook her head. "We could break the child's neck if we tried and do more damage than good on her. A C-section is our only option now. We'll prepare a epidural as soon as we got her transferred. That will also give the serum enough time to counteract the deadly symptoms of Hydra's."
Tony nodded and tried to brace himself for what was to come. "She is still bleeding internally. Damn, what caused this?"
"But I have seen the child's head already." Barnes muttered finally and wasn't heard at first, but then he felt several eyes on him.
"What did you do?" Tony asked darkly. He still didn't trust the Winter Soldier entirely.
"When we made it halfway through the base she was complaining that she felt the child and wanted to push, when I checked on her, it… I didn't know what else to do. Natasha didn't actively help but the baby still moved. So I pushed it back." He had tried to save her and only made it worse…
"You… what?" He tried to stand firm while the Quinjet touched the ground, everything shaking.
"It doesn't matter how. We have to concentrate on fixing it now." The doctor stepped in, knowing Tony was about to hit the other man. "Mister Stark, I wouldn't have acted differently in that moment." Yet she would have taken better care.
Meanwhile, although weakened, her super soldier powers had started to repair parts of the damage done to Natasha's body. She was wide awake now and the pain meds doing almost nothing to help her. She was back to where everything had gotten worse about an hour ago. Including the contractions and the need to help the baby out. "So I can't push now?" She asked weakly.
The doctor reacted to her words while the others prepared her for transfer. "No, my dear, you can't."
"But I have to…" Desperation spread across her face and as the pain came again. She tried to fight the instinct but had a hard time.
"Breathe through it. You can do this. Breathe." She urged her.
Natasha started to wail as the agony reached its peak. "Oh god, I can't stop it." She was about to raise up and do as her body told her.
Barnes was above her within a blink. "No, you can't. Deep breaths," he ordered her in the way he once did when she was still young.
Her training kicked in and she centered herself again, another deep intake, then she had her body under control once more. "Okay. I'm fine." She put on a brave face.
Barnes was about to kiss her forehead when someone shoved him away. He merely stood there while the doctors rushed her out.
"Sir, we need to take care of your wounds," a younger nurse said to him.
It took him a moment to realize someone was talking to him. "No, it's fine. I heal quickly." He looked down at the bloody floor he was standing on, his torn clothes in deep red. Well, it would take a while. "I need to be with her now." He moved after them, and had just enough time to slip into the elevator besides them.
As soon as the door opened again an even greater amount of doctors waited them in the corridor. And also…
"Bucky…" Steve stared at his friend, not sure if he would be allowed to touch him. "How is she?"
"I don't know… I…" Suddenly so much more was crashing onto him. Guilt of long past and recent mistakes. But he needed to focus, he needed to help her. "I need to be with her."
"I have orders from Fury. You are not allowed in the delivery room, actually he wants you locked up, but I persuaded him that I would be enough as a guard." Steve weighed his words carefully.
"I can understand that," Barnes nodded and sighed. "But I…"
"You can watch. They have a window there and I'll make sure they won't close the blinds. Come on." He took his arm and walked him over.
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"Okay, over here." Stark demanded from Clint. Together they lifted her onto the bed. "Now, Bruce is going to check on you while I prepare another ultrasound." He gently pressed her shoulder as reassurance.
"Barnes said…," Banner waited a moment too long to finish, not trusting the news he had gotten a few seconds ago, "he has pushed the child back inside?"
"Yes. It was all too fast. Argh." Another contraction hit her, this time it felt far worse. The baby moved inside of her. "I fear, that something - is wrong." She managed.
"Accidently he turned it as well. The doctor said there was no way she could reverse this." Tony explained.
"Hmm, that would mean she can't deliver naturally." Bruce got into work mode, the gloves on his hands by now as he tested the progress. "I think I can feel something, but… - Tony, the ultrasound!" He knew she already lost conscious a few times, and he knew how hard this was on her body. Yet she had healed, so far. Her still being alive showed that. And oh god, she was tougher than a normal a human, but Bruce knew, she could fight death only for so long, especially since her super soldier serum was slowly shutting down.
"Getting ready." He turned on the machine and handed the probe to his friend.
A quick glance on the screen was enough to confirm Banner's fear, but also hope lit his eyes as he turned to the printed picture of the ultrasound Tony had made so far. "The child has turned a little on its own accord. It is not as critical as before. There might be a chance, but the C-section would be a wiser decision I think." Before he could say any more, the contraction reached its peak. "Oh, wait! Let me try something. I'm sorry, this is going to hurt now." He gave the probe back to Tony and put one hand on her belly, the other entered her.
Barnes winced as he saw when they were doing to her. He never imagined it would be this cruel. He had thought that as soon as he reached her friends they would take care of her, help her. A tear rolled down his cheek before he could blink it away. "No…"
"Keep your heads up. Bruce knows, what he's doing." Steve assured him.
Natasha screamed in pain, her instincts telling her to break free from the people now holding her down. "Oh, god, stop!" Then something shifted inside of her. The pressure nearly tore her apart before it was suddenly gone, no, not gone, just… better. An exhausted sigh left her lips as the contraction passed.
"Done!" Bruce announced happily and checked the position with the probe once more. "It is coming head first again. She will make it."
"How did you do it? I thought the doctor said it was not possible."
"Both mother and child are enhanced. The baby's spine is much stronger than usual and Natasha's contractions are much more effective. It only needed a little bit of help." Bruce tried to calm his racing heart. This had been a gamble, but he had won.
"So I can finally push now?" Natasha wanted to know, trying to sound brave.
"As fast as possible," Stark said with furrowed brows as he checked his instruments, snatching the probe from Bruce. "The baby's vitals are dropping."
"Tony!" Banner's voice was filled with shock and horror. He lifted his hands as he looked up to his friend, his gloves smeared with blood. Had he done something wrong? Maybe his decision had been too drastic.
A quick look on the screen showed him why. "We have a premature placental separation. We got to get the baby out now. Oh my god…" He saw the fetal monitor flat-lining.
"We only have a few minutes until there'll be brain damage." Bruce was returning to his analytic self, knowing this would serve best. "She's dilated and I can already see the head. The contractions are two minutes apart, so we need to make it during one."
"Is that even possible?" He eyed the exhausted assassin. She could barely stay awake.
"If we help her by pushing her legs towards her belly she might tear, but…"
"That won't work. Ah, damn it. Because of the quick pregnancy her womb tissue is too thin. It would tear as well. We'll need to do the C-section." They were arguing, loosing precious seconds. "Cut her open, right now!"
"We don't have enough time for a epidural." Bruce announced while he looked at the equipment helplessly.
"Please, save him!" Natasha cried at them. "Do what you have to do. I can stand it!"
"We already have a lot to patch up. But we need to go in there anyway to stitch her together. Yet… She can't be awake while we…" Bruce shivered while he tried to fight his other side down. This was not a moment for the Hulk, certainly not, while Natasha needed all medical care he could give her.
"If fates are kind, I might black out," she said with hoarse voice and dry humor before laying back and closing her eyes.
"Nat…" Barton took another step towards her.
"Clint, please, be with them. James won't be able to handle Alexei on his own." The tears ran down her cheeks, while she heard surgical equipment rattle as Banner and Stark got ready in a hurry.
"Alexei?" The archer asked with a broken voice and looked at Barnes behind the glass.
"Natasha, are you sure about this?" Bruce asked her again, the scalpel in his hand.
She nodded while trying to breathe through the contraction.
Meanwhile Clint's eyes hadn't left the Winter Soldier outside. His expression, so terrified and guilty while he tried to keep his hopes up. It was that look that made the archer believe his words. He loved her. With a nod and a gesture towards Natasha he allowed Barnes to enter.
The assassin had reached Natasha's bed before anyone even registered his entrance. He took her hand with the most gentle care and whispered a kiss against her skin that made her eyes open. "Natalia…"
By now the others noticed his arrival but didn't object, knowing it would help her. With shaking hands Bruce got ready to cut, but stopped when he realized he couldn't steady himself. Then another hand joined his, cold and hard.
"I trust you," the Winter Soldier said calmly. "And so does Natasha."
After another deep breath Bruce cut her skin open and tried to blink away the tears as listened to the helpless cry of the mother. The only thing the doctor could hear was Natasha's sobbing. It took him the ability to take the next step.
"Check the incision. Is it deep enough?" Or too deep? Tony asked. He had read on upon it, but nothing had prepared either of them for this.
Bruce's hand carefully entered her body, checking the cut. "Yeah, I think, I can…" Only a blink after that her heart rate started to drop.
"It's so cold…" She gasped. "Like the times we trained in the snow."
The Winter Soldier remembered that all too well. "And you were so strong. You got up every time I threw you down, although your body was shaking and your lips were so blue. You've grown so strong, Natalia. You have endured so much suffering and still you are fighting. And you will overcome this, I promise you. I trained you. I know you can!" He almost shouted at her, eyes fixed on her face contorted in pain while he heard the monitors going haywire. "I'm here. I'll take care of you, I promise."
Bruce tried to get a proper hold of the baby and finally succeeded. He pulled it out of her and waited for the nurse to cut the cord.
Everyone in the room stopped for a short moment while they waited for Natasha's body to respond. She sobbed. "Oh, please, is he okay?"
"The cure worked," Tony sighed in relief. "Okay, give her the other drug. We need to get her own serum working again." He ordered the nurses. Luckily Banner had been able to come up with something reversing the effects. "Now let's take care of that little boy here." He knew Bruce would not be able to go another step towards panic, the Hulk too close. So he snatched the still baby from his arms and put him on the table beside the bed. With quick hands he cleaned the baby's airways while another doctor attached some wires onto the child's breast. Before doing anything too drastic, the engineer first ventilated five times and hoped for the best, yet the baby lay motionless on the blanket. "Alright, you don't want to make this easy, do you?" A sidelong glance to the monitors now attached showed him there was still no activity whatsoever. So he started with careful pushes against the baby's rips. "Did you find get an IV on him already?"
"Not yet," the nurse said in frustration. "I would advise intraosseous."
"Do it," he almost groaned in desperation. They had taken too long to deliver… "Let's try to also cool him down. Hypothermia. That'll keep the brain damage at a minimum."
"We won't have enough time." The nurse said.
"Let's try."
Meanwhile Natasha watched Tony's attempts with hooded eyes as Banner and another doctor tried to patch her up again. She had lost a lot of blood and her wounds were still bleeding, more and more cloths were being pushed into her body while they pulled the soaked ones out again. But all that was so far away. She didn't care anymore. With a sob and tears in her eyes she looked up to Barnes. His face contorted in distress and fear. "He'll do it, right?"
The Winter Soldier swallowed and nodded. "He is a strong one."
"I only wanted to hold him. Now I made it, but at the cost of my child's life?" She started to cry.
"You will hold him in your arms and you will kiss those beautiful black locks of his." He had seen them, sticky with blood and fluid, but they were his.
"I knew he would look like you." She said with a weary smile. "Oh, he will be so handsome, won't he?" It was getting harder to breathe.
"We should really put her under," the doctor pointed out. "A epidural will be too difficult in this situation, but now that they child won't be hurt by the sedative…"
"No, don't!" Natasha said the words before she even registered hearing the advise. "I don't want to leave him alone."
"Miss Romanoff, you are suffering." He looked at her opened belly and wondered if it was shock that made her so calm.
"No, the serum is already restarting. I have a very high pain tolerance. And I don't want to miss his first cry." She moaned as the doctor pulled the stitches together.
"Damn, I can't work with this tissue. It's far too brittle." He saw the wound opening again, blood gushing out once more. "Suction."
Bruce knew that, although it seemed absurd, it was important to keep her awake now. Her healing abilities would soon kick in and help them along the way. He needed to keep her talking. "What will you name him?"
Barnes froze for a second. He didn't know if it was because of the fear that he would name a dead child, or that he hadn't even thought about this yet. His eyes searched Natasha's.
"I want to name him Alexei. Alexei James Barnes." Her head rolled to the side.
The Winter Soldier knew what this meant, her body relaxing. "That's a wonderful name. Thank you for him. Truly. I know this all started the weirdest way, but… It is just wonderful." He chuckled helplessly. In only a few minutes he might have lost both of them, and never forgive himself. "Tell me, what a mother would you like to be? I can imagine he will turn out great being raised by you. Strong, graceful and protecting."
"I will sing to him at night." She said, her eyes growing hazy. "The memory of a lullaby… I can't tell from where I know it." It pained her suck in air. "But I imagined myself these past days with him in my arms, fed, changed and content, but still awake, so I would sing to him. And he would look up at me with his blue eyes. So curious, and knowing nothing about what I have done in my past. He is so innocent…" Her eyes closed.
"Tell me more. Tell me about the song." He looked at Bruce who was adding another blood bag as they worked. The Winter Soldier didn't even dare to look at Tony and his son. It had taken too long already. Whatever they were doing it was already too late…
She reached for her last reservoirs. "It's a Russian song."
"Sing it to me." He urged her even further, gently caressing her cheek.
Clint had stayed silent so far. Didn't want to disturb or distract them. But when he heard Natasha's voice, even he started to cry. She had a beautiful voice, hoarse, but strong, engulfing. It embraced everyone in the room. Only he and Barnes were able to understand what she was singing but…
"Спи, младенец мой прекрасный,
Баюшки-баю.
Тихо смотрит месяц ясный
В колыбель твою.
Стану сказывать я сказки,
Песенку спою;
Ты ж дремли, закрывши глазки,
Баюшки-баю.
Сам узнаешь, будет время,
Бранное житье;
Смело вденешь ногу в стремя
И возьмешь ружье.
Я седельце боевое
Шелком разошью...
Спи, дитя мое родное,
Баюшки-баю.
Богатырь ты будешь с виду
И казак душой.
Провожать тебя я выйду —
Ты махнешь рукой...
Сколько горьких слез украдкой
Я в ту ночь пролью!..
Спи, мой ангел, тихо, сладко,
Баюшки-баю. "*
Barnes translated in his mind.
'Sleep, my beautiful good boy,
Bayushki bayu,
Quietly the moon is looking
Into your cradle.
I will tell you fairy tales
And sing you little songs,
But you must slumber, with your little eyes closed,
Bayushki bayu.
The time will come when you will learn
The soldier's way of life,
Boldly you'll place your foot into the stirrup
And take the gun.
The saddle-cloth for your battle horse
I will sew for you from silk.
Sleep now, my dear little child,
Bayushki bayu.
You will look like a hero
And be a Cossack deep in your heart.
I will accompany you and watch you go,
You will just wave your hand.
How many secret bitter tears
Will I shed that night!
Sleep, my angel, calmly, sweetly,
Bayushki bayu.'
Clint felt the tears in his eyes at her words. No, damn it, they had to live, both of them. The three had earned this. A happy, wonderful life together. It was absurd, even impossible considering the parents, but…
Tony muttered something under his breath, frustration growing. They finally were able to get the meds into the child, but it seemed not to help. The disturbing noise of a small amount of electroshock was heard now. They were doing everything they can, but it wasn't enough.
"Стану я тоской томиться,
Безутешно ждать;
Стану целый день молиться,
По ночам гадать;
Стану думать, что скучаешь
Ты в чужом краю...
Спи ж, пока забот не знаешь,
Баюшки-баю.
Дам тебе я на дорогу
Образок святой:
Ты его, моляся богу,
Ставь перед собой;
Да, готовясь в бой опасный,
Помни мать свою...
Спи, младенец мой прекрасный,
Баюшки-баю"
'I will die from yearning,
Inconsolably waiting,
I'll pray the whole day long,
And at night I'll wonder,
I'll think that you're in trouble
Far away in a strange land.
Sleep now, as long as you know no sorrows,
Bayushki bayu.
On the road, I'll give you
A small holy icon,
And when you pray to God, you'll
Put it right in front of you,
While preparing for the dangerous battle
Please remember your mother.
Sleep, good boy, my beautiful,
Bayushki bayu.'
The moment the last note rang out the sound of the flat-lining monitor attached to her took its place, followed by a keening and desperate wail of a newborn.
Bruce growled angrily. "Damn, her serum isn't restarting as fast as I would have thought. There is too much damage… I…"
Barnes grew frantic. No, NO! This couldn't be happening.
Tony sighed in relief. He had been so concentrated on the baby that he couldn't understand their shocked faces when he turned around to the others.
Only a few feet away the keening cry was getting louder, as if he knew what was happening. The child, awake, breathing and crying. While his lungs grew stronger and the wailing more forceful, Barnes dropped to his knees. At last he felt his wounds, the bullets that had hit him, and the blood he had lost. The world started to spin before his eyes and he couldn't hold Natasha's hand anymore. It was just as limp as his body.
All this struggle to keep his family alive… It didn't make a difference.
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I just used the first lullaby I could find and went with it. (from Mikhaïl Iourievitch Lermontov (Михаил Юрьевич Лермонтов) 1814-1841) And then, when I fit it into the lines I made I realized: Holy, it fits perfectly. I cried myself. And then, when I did the last lines (I never do them before I have all the rest done), I couldn't stop myself from crying. It hit me harder than I thought. 13 pages including the song. I never thought I'd make it this long. I mean I did my fair share of 40+ pages for one delivery in Bearing the Trickster's Heirs, but damn. It wasn't supposed to be like this, and it hurts so much. But I am also so glad and happy it turned out like this. Please review ^^ Pour your heart out.
This is how you pronounce the song:
Spi mladyenets, moi prekrasný,
bayushki bayu,
tikho smotrit myesyats yasný
f kolýbyel tvayu.
Stanu skazývat' ya skazki,
pyesenki spayu,
tý-zh dremli, zakrývshi glazki,
bayushki bayu.
Sim uznayesh, budit vremya,
branoye zhityo,
smyelo vdyenish nogu f stremya
i vazmyosh ruzhyo.
Ya sedeltse boyevoye
sholkom razoshyu.
Spi, ditya mayo radnoye,
bayushki bayu.
Bogatýr tý budish s vidu
i kazak dushoi.
Pravazhat' tibya ya výdu,
tý makhnyosh rukoi.
Skolko gorkikh slyoz ukradkoi
ya f tu notsh pralyu!
Spi, moi angel, tikho, sladko,
bayushki bayu.
Stanu ya toskoi tomit'sya,
byesutyeshno zhdat',
stanu tselý dyen' molit'sya,
po notsham gadat'.
Stanu dumat', shto skutshayesh
tý f tshuzhom krayu.
Spi-zh, paka zabot nye znayesh,
bayushki bayu.
Dam tibye ya na darogu
obrazok svyatoi,
tý yevo, molyasya bogu,
stav pyered saboi.
Da, gotovyas v boi apasný,
pomni mat' svayu.
Spi, mladyenets, moi prekrasný,
bayushki bayu