Chris stretched as she awoke, feeling heavy and groggier than usual. As she normally did, she stretched out her hands to either side. Finding those spaces empty had her jerking awake as she remembered that she'd been taken prisoner by Odysseus but then she didn't think she was on that uncomfortable cot...

Scrambling, she sat up, struggling under several cozy blankets which she also hadn't…

A strong warm hand gently took hers before the bed dipped and she was pulled into strong, welcoming arms.

"Shhh, doll baby, take it easy. You're safe. I'm right here," Bucky whispered close to her ear.

"Bucky?"

When she opened her eyes, there he was right before her, handsome as ever. Worry clouded those beautiful blue eyes as his gaze moved over her with nothing short of astonishment.

"What's wrong?" Chris pulled gently out of his grip as her hands flew to her face, feeling wildly for her bruised eye and the pain at the cheek underneath. She felt for the splits in her lips.

They were gone.

"Oh, God," Christ whispered, burying her face in her hands. "I'm dreaming, or I've finally just lost my fucking mind…"

Bucky's warm chuckle next to her as he wrapped a solid arm around her sounded real. He felt very real.

"It's incredible," Bucky mused, his gaze moving over her in wonder. "Tony sent Helen down here, she's a geneticist, and she built this cradle that can actually make new… skin or whatever. You don't look as if anything happened to you, doll. You look just as beautiful as you always do."

Slowly, she gazed up at her dark-haired lover. "Can I see?"

Bucky nodded, looking around and realizing they didn't just happen to have a hand mirror handy. There was a slender mirror on a stand in the rather nice bedroom she was in and that drew Bucky's attention. She watched him walk across the room and lift it, carrying it back to her and holding it at the side of the bed so she see without disrupting all of the wires and sensors she was currently connected to.

Chris stared hard at the reflection there. Her hair had been allowed to air dry into quite a rat's nest. But her face? Her body? She looked just as she normally did. That didn't seem possible when the beating she'd taken had been very real and she'd verified the damage from it with her hands even though she never saw how bad it had actually looked. Chris decided maybe she should be grateful for that.

Her hand smoothed over her face in the mirror, down her neck and over her chest and abdomen.

And there her hand halted.

The change in Bucky's demeanor had her heart sinking. She kind of remembered them bringing her here, the talk with the doctor about her injuries, the miscarriage…

"I don't suppose that her cradle could help with…?" Tears stung the backs of her eyes.

He set the mirror down and moved back to the bed to take her in his arms. "I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry you have to go through this."

Chris tightened her hold on him, hanging on as if he could keep her from drowning. The tears came on then, hot and bitter and he just held her while she cried, her face buried in his chest.

"Helen's coming to check on you in a few minutes, doll," Bucky spoke carefully. "She said that for a while, until you recover, that your hormones will be off, and you might have the blues here and there and that might make it worse… It's okay. You can cry all you want to."

Nodding, she just stayed there in the warmth of him. His body was a solid, safe haven. Likewise, his emotions were loving, warm. Chris just allowed herself to curl up there, listening to the strong, steady beat of his heart.

"Doll baby, she's going to tell you that everything there is fine," he went on. "You'll still… you'll be able to have a baby one day… if you want to. Everything is healthy, no damage."

That got Chris's attention. Gently easing back from him, she gazes up into his beautiful blue eyes. Chris was full-on reading his emotions.

"If all of this hadn't happened and…" She didn't know how to put into words. "How would that… have gone? I was supposed to be protected. I guess my IUD didn't take into account who you two are and… What would have happened to us?'

Bucky's eyes were filling with tears. "We talked about it, Chris, while you were getting healed up... Me and Steve? We would have wanted him or her… as long as you did too. Neither of us would ever consider that a problem. Not at all. I told you how I felt, Chris. I meant it."

Yes, he had. Chris's heart tightened in her chest. It meant so much to her that they felt that way.

"I didn't know, Bucky, not until I knew… something was wrong. I don't know what's the matter with me. I didn't know so why…" Chris began trembling. Bucky pulled her in to his chest. "Why do I feel so empty now? Why do I feel this… loss?"

Another set of arms wrapped around her from behind and that only had raw sobs pulling from her with Steve's solid warmth and love there too. He pressed kisses into her hair, his emotions not a lot better than her own.

Chris was so grateful that they were holding her, holding her together…

"Forgive me, Sweetheart," Steve whispered. "This… this is my fault."

"No," Chris was turning in their arms, trying to make Steve look her in the eye. He was wrecked, and her heart hurt at his words, the pain of his emotions behind them. Pressing a hand along his cheek, she waited until his gaze met hers. "Steve, none of this is your fault. How can you say that?"

He tried to speak but words failed him, he pressed his forehead to hers, tears sliding from his sky-blue eyes.

"Please," Chris begged him, "please understand that none of this was your fault or Bucky's, Steve. It's just not."

"The baby," he whispered.

"Steve," Chris's heart was breaking for him, his emotions were a weight around her own. "That could have happened anyway, right? I mean…"

"Yes," a female voice gently entered the conversation. "On average, one-fourth of all pregnancies end in miscarriage."

If Helen Cho thought the two super soldiers wrapped around her were out of the ordinary, she took pains to hide it. Her expression was kind as she moved closer. Steve and Bucky moved slightly back from Chris so the doctor could get a better look at her.

"How do you feel physically, Chris?" Helen asked calmly.

Chris swiped at her tears with her hands. "Physically, I feel tired but there's no pain anywhere. Not yet at least."

Coming around to Bucky's side of the bed, Helen moved close enough to grasp her chin gently with her fingers, turning her head so she could see the area where her eye had been damaged.

"That's remarkable," Helen muttered. "I hadn't used it on any ocular injuries. Can you see well?"

Chris hadn't noticed anything different, nodded.

"We'll give you a couple of days to rest and then we'll run some tests," Helen told her.

Chris nodded. "Bucky said that… the miscarriage didn't cause any lasting damage to…"

"To your reproduction system? No, there was no damage. I'm guessing the trauma your body went through between the physical abuse and the emotional duress from the kidnapping is what caused it, Chris. But as you said earlier, it might have happened anyway, particularly if it was your first pregnancy."

"It was…" Chris just wished that she didn't feel so lost.

"You're young and in better shape than ever, if I do say so myself," Helen tried to lighten the mood. "I'm so glad I was able to come help."

"Thank you so much," Chris told her. "Thank you for doing this for me."

"For us," Bucky muttered.

"Well, I'll give you three some space," Helen said with a smile and Chris appreciated that she didn't seem to be judging them at all. "Be sure she gets plenty to eat and lots of water. Lots of rest. If you need anything, I'm right down the hall. I set up a makeshift lab in there. I've got a lot of notes to make from all of this."

"Thank you," Chris said again, meaning it.

Once the doctor had left the room, Chris blew out an exhale.

"Where are we?"

"Florida Keys," Steve told her, capturing one of her hands in his as Bucky eased her back to lean on him. "One of Tony's homes."

"I know Ross did this," Chris told them. "He came to see me at your apartment the last night we were all together, before that last mission."

"Really?" That got Steve's interest.

Chris nodded. "He informed me that he'd be pulling me into the mission once you'd all deployed. I… should have said something. I'm so sorry. That's why…"

"You were so upset?" Bucky said close to her ear. "I knew there was something else."

"Maybe if I'd told you…"

Steve tipped her chin up when she dropped her head, feeling close to tears again.

"No, it wouldn't have changed anything," Steve told her. "He would have found a way to…" His jaw tightened, and she watched a muscle twitch there as his thoughts began to heat with anger. "I don't want you to worry about any of that, Sweetheart. He's never going to be able to hurt you again. I promise you."

The way he growled out the last words had both her and Bucky staring at him in concern.

"Please, don't do anything that will make things harder for you and Bucky. Not on my account," Chris pleaded with him.

Fury simmered behind the stone mask he wore. "You could have been killed, Chris. He almost took you away from me, from Bucky. He has to be stopped."

Chris swallowed hard, literally afraid of what Steve was feeling for the first time ever. Bucky's arms tightened around her as if to say "it's okay" and she took a deep breath, nodded. She was just so afraid that Steve would do something that would cause him to get hurt. Or Bucky. The world needed them. Didn't he understand that?

"From now on, I'll avoid him," Chris promised. "Tony should be able to help keep me away from him. He is my boss. It will… it'll be okay."

Bucky's hand came around to clasp Steve's. "Yeah, it will, doll. You're right. Now, how's about me and Stevie get you some breakfast, huh? The kitchen was amazingly stocked with everything you like to eat, even your favorite cereal. It's fucking creepy how Stark and his technology knows what her fucking favorite cereal is."

Steve's expression eased at that and she could sense an inside joke between them. That was good. Anything to keep Steve's mind off going after Ross.

"Cereal doesn't sound so bad," Chris admitted. "Is there juice?"

"Ten kinds," Bucky grumbled. "I'll take care of you, doll." Pressing a kiss to her temple, he eased her back onto the bed, propping her up while Steve found a remote for her television and brought it to her. Steve captured her lips in a soft kiss, just because he could, his eyes gazing meaningfully into hers as he leaned over her.

"Don't worry about anything, Sweetheart," he told her. "Rest. You've been through a lot."

Chris smiled at him, at Bucky, watching as they headed out of the bedroom.

"Steve?"

Chris debated whether or not to ask but she just had to. Even if it never came up again.

"Bucky and I were talking… You…Would you have… "

Taking a deep breath, he came back to her bedside, his emotions frayed but he was holding on. For her. He knew she was reading all his emotions, but it didn't stop him from lifting her hand and pressing her palm over his hear.

"Chris, I would have… wanted our baby," he said softly. Her heart melted when he said our. "I would never be upset or think of it as… a mistake. I'm glad Bucky said something because… I'm really struggling with all this right now and… m'sorry. Don't you ever think I would ever reject you, beautiful girl, or any child you gave us. Don't care if it's mine or his. He or she would always be… ours."

Chris lost it at that, ended up sobbing into the front of his sweatshirt and hanging onto him as if she'd never let him go. After a few moments, she realized that not all the tears were hers. Neither of them immediately realized that Bucky had pulled them both close to him while they'd cried but it felt right that he had, that he was always right there.

"Come on, Pal," Bucky whispered finally in a wavering voice. "We need to feed her."

One last hug and Bucky was able to drag Steve out of the room while Chris tried to fight off the enormity of everything that had happened. Her chest her and so did her eyes. Chris felt weak at the moment like it wouldn't take much for anything or anyone to break her.

But as long as she had the two of them, she'd survive.

They brought her breakfast before joining her for a nap. They weren't there when she woke up but Helen peaked in to check on her as the evening went on.

"Ah, I finally catch you alone," Helen said in a friendly tone while Chris felt her face heat up. "Can I talk to you for a few moments?"

Chris nodded, a little stressed in worrying what she wanted to talk about. Helen walked in, sat gently at the end of her bed.

"As someone intensely interested in genetics, Chris, I just wanted to mention that we're probably going to need to work out special birth control for you," Helen's face darkened too. "You honestly never stood a chance in that arrangement."

Chris had to laugh with her at that. "I guess not."

"How?" Helen stopped, shook her head. "No, I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay," Chris told her. "You've taken very good care of me when you didn't have to. I think that earned you a question."

She even knew what she meant to ask.

"Okay." Helen blew out an exhale. "How did all that come about? The three of you? I mean, there's nothing wrong with that but… they're… and you…"

"They are very careful with me," Chris explained. "They have to be with my being a regular human."

Helen nodded, and Chris could feel her honest, academic interest in her relationship. Chris had been a little afraid that the other woman wanted to talk about it from another angle, but Chris could almost see the scientific questions form in her head.

"I'm wondering… If there's another pregnancy… if any of you would want that, just… would their genetic makeup have an impact on the pregnancy? The baby? Plus, there were two different versions of the serum. Steve was modified using Erskine's perfected serum. I'm not sure we know exactly which version was used on Bucky."

Chris stared at her hard. She'd never even thought of that. They weren't bad questions at all.

"I don't know," Chris told her. "I'd never given it any thought, honestly. I guess I'd wonder what impact it would have too."

"Just a future thought but if you guys decide to try, we might want to keep an eye on things," Helen explained. "And I'd be lying if I told you I wouldn't love to study that. So, would Bruce I'm sure."

Chris nodded, knowing she was right. "Well, if that happens, if you'd like, I'd be more than happy to have you keep an eye on us. Watch over everything."

Helen's smile lit her up from the inside. "Thank you. I would really appreciate that."

"I'd feel safer knowing you were watching everything," Chris admitted. "The last few days have given me quite a lot to think about."

"I'm sure they have."

"The three of us have been seeing each other for a few months now," Chris told her. "It was my own fault that I was careless out there in the field, ending up out of commission for the bureau. I was damn lucky that I had a safe place to stay in the compound, with them. Until this happened, I honestly didn't think anything like that could happen to me. I didn't stop and think what my actions for the FBI all those years caused… A friend of mine was killed. He was the sweetest guy and they shot him. That could have been me. When I stop now and think… if any small thing had gone differently, I wouldn't be here right now."

Helen smiled thoughtfully.

"I didn't understand until now how much I have to be grateful for," Chris went on. "I missed the FBI so much but what if my actions there had gotten me shot just like Fred was? I haven't been able to talk to my Aunt Jenny in almost a year and she was moved from her home and her job because of me. Because I fucked up."

Concern clouded the other woman's expression as the tears came back. Chris couldn't stop them. She wished she could but…

"I can't help but think… Was there some way I could have avoided this? Could I have refused to go with him? If I'd been thinking, maybe… maybe our baby would still be alive. Maybe…"

"No," Helen moved up, taking Chris's trembling one in her own. "You can't make all of this your fault. It's not your fault your friend was shot any more than it was your fault about your aunt or the miscarriage. You—"

"It is," Chris wailed. "It is my fault. Don't you understand? If I hadn't been so… selfish the entire time, just maybe…"

"I'll take it from here," a quiet voice came from the doorway.

Bucky walked in, nodding to Helen who moved closer to brush a gentle hand over Chris's hair.

"I'll be here if you need me," Helen whispered.

Bucky sat next to Chris, his hair pulled back, still damp from a shower. He wore a simple black sweatshirt and jeans. As if she were light as a feather, he gently lifted Chris into his lap, wrapping himself around her. Chris just sank into his warmth.

"I'm sorry," Chris whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"Doll baby," Bucky pressed a kiss into her hair, "you've got nothing to be sorry for."

"I—I do, Bucky," Chris struggled to go on.

"No," he whispered. "I am sorry about Fred. He was a good kid. But that wasn't your fault, baby."

"How can you just… forgive me?" she wanted to know. "For everything? All of that?"

Bucky blew out an exhale. "Chris, I'm not trying to invalidate your feels as my therapist would say but… Your emotions are all over the place and some of it might be like Helen said and be from your hormones… Some of it is survivor's guilt, also from my therapist…"

Chris was just hanging onto him at this point. "What am I going to do?"

"Breathe," he told her gently. "Just breathe, be with us… We're going to be okay, doll. I know it doesn't feel like it right now. But we will."

He held her for long moments before she finally stopped, swiping at her tears. "Where's Steve?"

"Outside talking to Coulson," Bucky told her.

"Is he okay?"

Bucky's hesitation was the first red flag. The crush of his emotions was the second.

"You're worried," Chris pulled back to gaze into his beautiful eyes. "What's he planning?"

Bucky shook his head. "Are you sure you can't read minds?"

Chris nodded. "I get impressions from the emotions of someone. There was so much… anger in him, Bucky. Rage. It wasn't directed at us, but it still made me afraid. I don't want anything to happen to him or to you. Not for me."

Bucky's flesh hand slid up her arm, cupped the side of her face. "I know. Me too. But I'll keep an eye on him. So will Tony and Natasha."

"He's after Ross," Chris whispered.

"Yes, he is. That's got to happen. Someone needs to bring Ross down."

Chris wanted that, but she was afraid… so afraid…

"I'll keep him safe, doll baby," Bucky promised her. "It will be okay. I promise."

But Bucky couldn't promise her that.

"I won't let anything happen to either of you," Chris swore, her words choked with tears, "not because of what I've done in my life. I'll do anything to keep that from happening."

Chris knew Bucky believed it was the hormones talking or PTSD. He held her in his strong arms, trying to soothe her.

But Chris had meant that statement with her whole heart.