2016. Wakanda. Age 32
Natasha had thought she had seen it all. Wakanda was like nothing she had ever seen. Above everything she was grateful for the hospitality shown by T'challa towards Steve, James and herself. In the events of what everyone called the Clash of the Avengers, she was on the run.
Steve had left the Avengers to Tony. Between here and Steve they had a more important mission. Fixing James.
Shuri was a pintsized genius. Natasha spent hours in the girl's lab watching her work and helping where she could. James had the remnants of his old arm removed. For everyone's safety James was kept in cryostasis until his brain could be trusted.
Natasha came down to the lab often just to check up on James.
"What's the deal with him and you?" Shuri asked one day as she used an advanced tech to extract HYDRA's programming from his brain. It was minute work that had taken her nearly a month.
"I'm just interested in what you're doing." Natasha was perched in a chair, her legs tucked under her as she watched.
"Sure, you are." Shuri smirked. "I know Captain Rodgers is his best friend. And he visits half as much as you do."
She had Natasha there. "I love him." She admitted.
Shuri smiled, "Are you 'Tasha" then?"
Natasha turned toward the girl. Every since she had landed everyone called her Ms. Romanoff. She wasn't sure anyone knew her first name. "Yes, why?"
"I woke him up the other day. I needed to get an updated read on his neurological functions. He kept asking for Tasha."
Natasha smiled and looked at Shuri, "The functions were good right?"
"He'll make a full recovery, Ms. Romanoff. I'm very good at what I do. There's nothing I can't fix." Shuri said confidently.
Nothing… She repeated in her head. Something popping up on her mind.
"You and him were under KGB control right?" Shuri asked after a while. Everyone had access to her past now that she dumped it on the internet all those years ago.
"Yes." She nodded. "They did horrible things to him."
Shuri nodded in agreement, "Not as awful as what they did to the girls like you."
Natasha felt her throat constrict. The young girl had a point. Natasha crossed her arms, "It was necessary." Natasha said so indifferently. "I didn't know that back then. I know it now." Lately more than anything she thought about children. What it would be like to have them, have them grow up knowing Clint's children.
"I'm sorry they did that to you." Shuri said solemnly.
"Don't be, Shuri." Natasha reminded quickly. "I can't miss something I can't have."
Shuri looked like she had more to say. "Do you know how they sterilized you?"
Natasha grimaced. She really didn't want to talk about it. "I'm not sure. When the girls graduated, we were given a sedative. I only remember being taken to the surgical room." She watched Shuri finish working on James and set her tablet down.
Natasha sat up straighter, "Is he all finished?"
Shuri smiled, "All done. I'm going to reverse the cryostasis. It could be a day or two before he wakes up. He's been under a while."
Natasha stepped out of the way as Shuri and her team removed James from the chamber and settled him on a table. The team disappeared and Shuri hurried off to another side of the lab.
Natasha leaned against the table, her hand placed gently over his. His skin was slightly cold. She pressed her lips against his chilled fingers. "When you wake up we're going to get out of here. I think it's high time we start our lives together. We'll go somewhere. Find a house, get a dog. No more running." Her free hand brushed through his long hair.
Since the events of last year she had enjoyed not running around saving the world. The brief glimpse of freedom she had was inviting.
Shuri returned a minute later. Natasha sat up and looked at the girl. "Is everything alright?"
"Oh, yes, he's doing fine. I actually wanted to ask something of you." Shuri set her tablet down.
Natasha lifted her head, "What is it?"
Shuri pointed to a machine to her left. "It's a scanner. The most advanced of its kind. It scans everything you can possibly think of down to the smallest cells. The information it gives is unfathomable. When I use it, the data I receive gives me a blue print on how to fix what is wrong with someone. It's how I fixed James, and several others over the years. Would you mind letting me scan you?"
Natasha frowned, "There's nothing wrong with me, Shuri." She knew one thing that was, but why bother to get hope up over that.
Shuri shifted solemnly, "Ms. Romanoff, I think I can reverse what those doctors did to you all those years ago. I've never tried to fix something like that. If you want me to try, I'd gladly help you. If that's something you'd like to have back."
She never really considered the possibility that she could take back what the Red Room took from her. "14 years ago.. can what you do really reverse something that's been around for 14 years?" She said in disbelief.
"It's worth a shot. I've never tried to fix something like this but I'm almost always successful." Shuri said confidently.
"Okay then." Natasha stood up.
Over the next few days Natasha spent a lot of time in the lab with Shuri. James was still asleep. Which had been concerning to Natasha several times before Shuri explained that she had done some major work on his brain and his body needed to heal from it. Shuri had her hooked up to hundreds of devices and things that gave her information about Natasha. It was fascinating. Until one day Shuri approached her with a large needle.
"What is that?" Natasha asked quickly. She had a general mistrust of needles from her days in the Red Room.
"Nanites." Shuri pointed to the purple serum in the syringe. "I'm thinking these will repair the damage done to you. I think it would have been easier to reverse had the doctors done a standard procedure. For lack of a better word... their sterilization is essentially mutilation. There's a lot of scar tissue. These will regenerate healthy tissue in the area."
"Do you think it will work?" Natasha asked quietly. She had taken an indifferent approach to the whole situation. She guarded herself in the event that Shuri would reveal nothing could be done to fix her.
"I'm very hopeful. These nanites have repaired paralysis, and extreme trauma." Shuri uncapped the syringe. "All I need is your arm."
Natasha stuck out her arm, and watched Shuri plunged the needle into a larger vein. The serum stung a little, nothing that she couldn't handle.
"You're probably going to feel tired. The nanites boost your body's systems into overdrive for healing. It's hard work. I'd suggest you go lay down for a while. I'll send for you tomorrow to check up."
Natasha nodded and headed for her quaint room inside the main building T'challa and the other Wakandan leaders lived in. Once in bed she suddenly felt much more tired than usual. She crashed hard, her eyes falling shut as soon as she settled in the pillows. Hours later she felt the bed dip behind her. A hand slipped over her side and pulled her in tight against a warm chest.
"Tasha.." A familiar voice whispered.
She blinked quickly and rolled over. "James." She smiled. His hand slipped behind her head and kissed her softly.
She pulled from the kiss only when it was absolutely necessary that she breathe. "When did you wake up?" She asked quickly.
"A few hours ago. Steve said you were sleeping. He and I talked for a long time." James brushed his fingers through her hair.
"You remember him?" She asked quietly.
"Everything." He smiled and kissed her forehead.
"And what about me… Do you remember me?"
"It's patchy… There's so many holes."
"There's a lot of holes in our past, James. Years where we didn't see each other. They wiped your memory all those years ago... Do you remember us in Russia?" She fought to keep her eyes open and rested her cheek against his chest.
James traced his hand down her spine, "I remember that they took you away from me. Why? I remember that I loved you so much, and then you were gone."
Natasha held onto him tighter, "They found out about us. They were so angry with me, but I protected you for as long as I could…You got the worst punishment. They reset your memory." His hand clasped hers.
"What did we do that was so wrong?" His dark brows were furrowed.
"We deceived them. Broke all of the rules. James… I was pregnant before my graduation. They found out."
He looked down at her and stilled. "We were so young.." He said after while.
"Young and dumb." She sighed.
"I'm sorry it took so long to get back to you." He admitted.
"Don't be… I saw you a few times over the years. You didn't remember me but I remembered you." She looked up at him.
"I remember the awful things I did to you." He breathed.
"Shh… That wasn't you." She said firmly. "You aren't responsible for those actions. I can take it, I'm still standing." She leaned on her elbow to get a better look at him.
His hand cupped her cheek, "I can't believe this…" He breathed staring at her face.
"What?" She murmured.
"I thought I loved you then… it's nothing to what I feel now." His thumb brushed her lips. "You take my breath away. Steve told me about who you've become. The things you've done. You blew my mind all those years ago and now I can't fathom the things you've done. You're astonishing, Natasha."
She smiled, "I love you, James Barnes. Always have. Always will." She leaned up and kissed him again. His hands brushed up her hips, pushing her tank top up. Natasha settled over him, straddling his lap. His fingers skimmed over every inch of skin he could reach. She had changed so much, transformed into a magnificent woman.
He rolled her over, pressing her into the bed. In a swift movement he was standing up, the lights turned on.
"What are you doing..." She huffed and laid back on her elbows.
James smiled and tugged her towards the edge of the bed. "Let me see you." He smiled and pulled her onto her feet.
She huffed, she must have looked a sight in her slouchy sweatpants, tank top, and sports bra. She put her hand on her hip and looked up at him. James' hands were all over her. Tracing the curve of her breast, the edge of her hip, the flat planes of her stomach. Life had changed her from the girl he knew. Her hair was lighter, shorter than he remembered.
James dropped to his knees, his lips pressed against her stomach as he inched her sweatpants down.
"James get up.." She smirked as she stepped out of the sweatpants.
She swept her up and pressed her on the bed, his lips against her neck. "God.. You're beautiful, Tasha."
She wrapped her legs around his hips and smiled, "Stop flattering me. I'm not some girl you have to charm into bed." She laughed.
James smiled against her shoulder, "Mmmm… But I've missed out on…." He looked puzzled, "How long has it been?"
She fixed her gaze on the new arm they had fitted him with many weeks ago when he was still in cryostasis. "14 years…"
He groaned, "14 years without you or your touch. I can hardly bear it, I want to rip these clothes off you. How can you stand it? I know you, Tasha. You're more impulsive than I am."
She suddenly felt awful for her many indiscretions. She hadn't waited. She shook her head, "James… Are you cleared to be doing this? They worked on you for so long. I feel like you need to take it easy." She didn't know what to say to defend herself, so a change of subject seemed like the best route to go.
James knew what she was doing. He stiffened and pushed back, breaking away from her embrace. "You didn't wait for me." He said softly in disbelief. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but did we promise? No matter where we went, how far, or how long, it would be like coming home."
He was right, shame washed over her before anger quickly followed. She grabbed her sweatpants off the floor and tugged them on. "You do not get to be angry at me for that." She brushed her hair out of her face. He sat on the bed as she crossed her arms.
"Angry isn't the word I'd use, Natasha. Disappointed. Betrayed." His hands clenched, the vein in the side of his head pulsed.
She shook her head quickly, "No. Stop this right now. You disappeared without a trace. I tried for years to find you and came up empty. All traces pointed to you being dead. I did what I had to to survive. Until 8 years ago I thought you dead, but I didn't stop loving you. Until you showed up in Odessa and shot the person I was guarding through me." She lifted her shirt to prove the point. The scar on her stomach the never healed.
He opened his mouth to fire back, but she held up her hand, "I'm not done." She breathed, "After you shot me, and I discovered you were alive, I still loved you. That's messed up. Loving someone who shot you, not just once, but twice." She tugged her sports bra to the side. The scar on her shoulder present. "I loved you despite it all, and I made mistakes to cope with how that made me feel. I felt awful about them. I am not proud of it, but don't you dare treat me like I didn't wait for you!"
She knew she shouldn't engage him like this. It wasn't wise when he had just woken up. "So it was many men, then?"
She rubbed her face. She had slept her way through Brazil. Asher… The other James that she booty-called for nearly a year after her party. James got up and headed for the door. Natasha swiftly grabbed his shirt. "Are you kidding me right now? You're leaving?" She said incredulously.
He slammed his new hand into the wall. The material denting and crumbling under it. She flinched and grasped his shirt harder. "James.. Seriously. They meant nothing, why is it such a big deal?"
He panted, his real hand balled in rage. He was not himself. Natasha glanced at her dresser, her widow's bites and taser discs were in the top drawer. He wasn't in control. She had dangerously egged him on before realizing her mistake.
"James… Listen to me. Just breathe." She said softly. He gently unclenched his shirt, trying to inch towards her dresser.
He started screaming, his fists slamming into the wall. His human hand bloodied by the material. She dashed for the dresser digging into the top drawer. His body slammed into hers. She coughed as she tumbled to the floor. She was in a world of trouble now. He was out of control, and the most awful thought popped into her head. If Shuri had done this right he wouldn't have been like this. She knew one thing she could do.
She scrambled her to feet after kicking him off her.
"Zhelaniye! Rzhavyy! Semnadtsat!" She gasped and the effects were instantaneous. He bent over on the floor. Cradling his head as he fought the words. She had to continue or he'd only end up hurting himself or her. "Rassvet! Pech! Devyat!" James was screaming, begging her to stop. "No! Please, don't do this.." He yelled. Tears blossomed in her eyes as she looked away. "Dobroserdechnyy! Vozvrashcheniye na rodinu!" She finished, watching a calm spread over him as he staggered to his feet. The door burst open behind him. Steve, T'challa and several others stood in the door way. What a sight it must have been. James bleeding, her crying and a wreckage of things on the floor. She waved them off as James stared at her, not her James anymore. He was in soldier mode. "Soldat?" She breathed quickly, tears running down her cheeks as she motioned for Steve to stop moving. He had continued into the room, his face full of concern. "Gotov k vypolneniyu!" He said quickly after she acknowledged him. Her hart hammering in her chest. Ready to comply. Her evil thought had worked. The work Shuri had done didn't quite fix him. He could still be controlled by the awful words. She was a monster for using them on him. "Natasha.." Steve barked. She scowled at him and T'challa pulled Steve away."Soldat, sleduy za mnoy. Vy ne povredite sebe ili komu-libo yeshche. Ponyal?" She said quickly. ("Soldier, you will not hurt yourself or anyone else. Understood?")
"Da." James said simply and watched her. She motioned for the others to move as she led James back to Shuri's lab. The others were silent as Natasha approached the cryostasis chamber and opened it. James stood by waiting for his next instruction.
"vnutri soldat." She said swiftly and pointed. ("inside soldier.") James followed without pause. Stepping into the chamber. She shut it and her hand hovered by the button she needed to press.
A hand pressed against her back, and pressed the button for her. She ducked her head away as T'challa did what needed to be done.
"Shuri.." T'challa pointed to the cyrostasis chamber. "You have work to do."
"Nat, what the hell happened?" Steve spoke up as she wiped at her eyes.
"He lost control." She breathed, "How did this happen?" She rounded on Shuri.
Shuri shoo her head, "He woke up and I told him he had to wait while I ran some tests. I turned my back for one second and he was gone."
Natasha nodded and looked to Steve. "He went to you first."
Steve was pacing, "He was fine with me. What did you say to him besides the trigger words?"
She shook her head, "Stop demonizing me, I did what I had to. He was going to hurt himself. I did it because I love him and he was suffering."
T'challa intervened, "Ms. Romanoff, how long was it before he lost control. That would be helpful for Shuri to know."
She rubbed her face, "He was fine when he woke me up. He got more agitated when he realized how much time has passed. 15 minutes perhaps." She sighed.
T'challa nodded, "I think Shuri and I can handle it from here."
Natasha cast one more glance at James in the chamber. She stalked out of the lab and heard Steve following her.
"Nat." He said as she rushed up the stairs two at a time. She couldn't out run him if she tried.
She heard him pick up his pace. "Rodgers, leave me alone. I'm exhausted."
Steve bounded ahead of her and blocked her path. She stopped and looked up at him. "What? Are you going to harass me some more?"
"You don't understand what it looked like."
"I know exactly what it looked like. Do you think it was easy making that choice? I've done some awful things Steve, but this almost takes the cake." She grimaced. "He was in pain. Something didn't go right. It was the only way I could think of to get him to stop. Hate me for it if you must."
Steve listened and shook his head. "I heard the screaming and so did T'challa. Once we decided to intervene…"
She frowned, "What is that supposed to mean?"
Steve looked away, "Well.. for a while the noise didn't sound like the kind of noise we should interrupt."
Natasha instantly blushed, "Jesus…"
"James was eager to see you and I didn't want to interrupt anything. It wasn't until I heard the Russian that I knew something was up. Plus they were all looking for him. I didn't know that he snuck off. I thought he was released, until T'challa came to my room. I guess they knocked on yours first but you didn't answer. Why were you sleeping in the middle of the day?" Steve asked as she brushed by him and approached her room.
She sighed as she looked at the state of her room. She just wanted to go back to sleep. "It's a long story."
Steve shut her door, "Come crash in my room then. You don't have to deal with the mess now."
She took him up on the offer and headed to his room across the hall. She crawled into his bed as he turned the tv on and flopped down. "What's this long story about?"
She shut her eyes and breathed slowly, "I'm taking back something that was taken from me. Shuri has a hunch that she can reverse what the Red Room did to me."
Steve looked over at her, "What did they do to you?" He never knew exactly what they did to her. Just that she was traumatized from it.
"Sterilization. A botched one at that." She hugged a pillow closer to herself. "Don't say you're sorry. Because everyone says that.."
"You think the kid can fix that?" Steve said after a moment.
"I hope so… I'm afraid to really admit that I want it to be fixed so badly." She had been so hopeful when James seemed to be okay. For a few moments she let herself imagine everything she wanted. Kids. A big house. Forever with him.
Steve laughed a little. "I can see it, you know."
She sighed, "See what?"
"You and James. A ton of kids. Some big, happy house. He told me when we were young that he wanted to find a girl who wanted a big family."
She smiled and felt her breath catch in her chest. "I want a whole bunch of kids. So many that it'll never be quiet. It'll be loud and chaotic, but they'll be so loved."
"It's gonna work out Nat." Steve stuck his hands under his head. "I need to see James wrangle all these strong-willed children you'll have. Expert negotiators by 5, fluent in Russian before they're born."
Natasha laughed sleepily, "With his kind heart, and hopefully his sense of humor."
Steve patted her shoulder, "Sleep. I'll check on him while you're out."
Natasha woke up woke up the next day, having figured that out after much confusion. She had slept almost a full day. Shuri didn't lie about the nanite serum possibly making her tired. She went to her own room, finding that it was cleaned up for her.
She headed down to the lab dressed in her standard boots and leggings. Shuri seemed excited to see her.
"I have some good news." Shuri commented as Natasha passed by the chamber James was in. She let her eyes linger on him for a few moments.
"Out with it." She said quickly.
"The first procedure wiped out the HYDRA control, but what I hadn't anticipated was the trigger words still having an effect on him. It's very surprising that you were able to use them and illicit the same response from him. I've wiped out the connections to the words and those reactions now. Now he could hear those words and they'll mean nothing to him. I've triple checked the work. He'll be ready to come out in an hour." Shuri was manipulating a 3D scan in the air as she talked.
"When I was talking to him he became uncharacteristically upset over something. Was that a side effect?" She asked quickly.
"He'll experience some confusion and spikes in emotions as his brain and body wake up from cryostasis and the procedures I've done. I'm going to make sure he's monitored for a day at least when he wakes up later." She pressed the button to release the cryostasis.
She went over to the chamber and opened the glass, releasing the cold into the lab. She gently touched his chest as he breathed slowly. His muscles reacting to her touch. "I'm sorry…" She whispered feeling incredibly guilty for the actions she had to take to keep him safe. Most of it was an apology for not waiting for him. She was better than that, selfish in her behavior while she knew he was alive. She shouldn't have abandoned hope so easily. "I'm so sorry, James…"
She squeezed his hand and stared at a monitor that detailed his heartbeat. It was picking up slowly. "When we get you all sorted out, I have big plans for us." She breathed with a small smile. Her hand traced over his. "Wake up..." She whispered. She watched his eyes move beneath his lids.
Several minutes passed before a loud noise near Shuri startled her. The girl had been working diligently, giving Natasha privacy to talk to James.
"The talking helps him." Shuri said with an apologetic look as she hooked up a new instrument Natasha hadn't seen before.
Natasha glanced at her, "It does?"
Shuri pointed to a monitor. "These are his brainwaves when it's silent. When you talk to him they're all over the place."
The two monitors were starkly different. Natasha smiled brightly, "That's amazing."
"Captain Rodgers talks to him too, but it's not nearly as huge of a response as yours." Shuri motioned for her to join her. "Can I check on the nanites?"
"Oh… Sure." Natasha hopped up onto the bed and laid back after Shuri motioned for her to do so.
"This is a full body scanner. It'll show me everything the nanites have healed. You can watch the screen. The nanites will show up in bright purple on the body outline." A large mechanical arm swept over her body several times. After three or four passes Natasha saw purple patches in her shoulder and obviously her womb. She hadn't thought about the shoulder that constantly bugged her now. The scar tissue from the bullet wound had limited her range of motion, and generally ached.
Shuri tapped a few screens and then shut everything down. "Well there's only one way to know if it worked." She concluded.
Natasha sat up and rolled her shoulder, enjoying the new freedom from it hurting. "What's that?" She asked.
"Get busy with popsicle over there." Shuri smirked and nodded her head towards James.
Natasha tossed her head back and laughed whole-heartedly. "That takes the cake for the best medical advice I've ever been given."
Shuri laughed and shook her head. "I do what I can. You can come back to the lab every few days and we can check. I have technology that can detect pregnancy really early. There's no guarantee it worked, I'm in new territory." Shuri admitted somewhat nervously.
Natasha nodded, "Don't worry. I won't hold anything against you if this doesn't work. I gave up on this years ago. Somethings can't be fixed."
A tired voice came from the corner of the room, "Hope you're not talking about me Tasha…"
Both Natasha and Shuri whirled around. Natasha smiled and looked at James who was rubbing his eyes. Shuri hurried over to the chamber and quickly released him. "Mr. Barnes, you really need to stay here for a while so I can run tests this time."
Natasha approached the two of them. Ready to help intervene if James got confused again. James simply nodded and seemed very relaxed at the moment. He shut his eyes and breathed slowly like he was fighting sleep for several minutes. Shuri was hooking up a bunch of machines to him.
"Tasha?" He suddenly shouted.
She jerked forward having let the silence get her lost in her own thoughts. "I'm right here." She leaned against the table he was laying on. Her hand rested over his on his stomach.
"Did you just get here?" He said blearily.
She smiled faintly, "I've been here the whole time, handsome." She rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand. "Can't leave you alone for too long."
He smiled and lazily laced his fingers with hers. "What are you doing down here?"
She looked over at him, drowsily fighting his eyes to stay open. "You're not the only one who needs some fixing up."
James' monitors started chiming as his heart rate spiked and his breathing became more ragged. "I hurt you?" He huffed.
Natasha's stomach clenched, "No! No you didn't. James.. You didn't hurt me." His hands gripped her tightly.
Natasha climbed up onto the table and laid down next to him. She pressed his hand against her heart. "Look at me."
James turned his head and looked into her eyes. "I remember…"
"I don't care what you remember. Words don't hurt me, James. Breathe." She locked her eyes on him.
He seemed to relax only slightly. She pulled his hand up to her lips and kissed his hand softly. "Shut your eyes. I can help you." She whispered when he hadn't really calmed down.
He didn't shut his eyes. He stiffened a little and frowned. Natasha continued, "Don't you trust me?" She whispered. "Go on.. Shut your eyes."
He looked over at her before dropping his head back and shutting his eyes. She sighed in relief, "I want to tell you about some very important people that you haven't met. All you have to do is listen and breathe. These people saved me when I thought I wasn't worth saving. They're my family. My favorite people in the whole wide world, besides you of course." She brushed her lips against his hand again. She watched him smile and squeeze her fingers.
"Did you know I was so good at doing what I did for the KGB that the Americans sent someone to take me out. I was a global threat." She laughed a little. She watched the corners of his mouth twitch up. She could laugh about her past now, it still wracked her with guilt. But she had come far enough to recognize she couldn't change her past but she could accept it and move on.
"This American spy tailed me on a mission in Budapest. I was in over my head and I could have died. Almost did. He snuck up on me. You know that's not easy. He's good. He saw something in me that made him make a different call. I left and went to America with him. You saw him at Liepzig. The witch had to knock me out because he was pulling his punches in the fight. "
His fingers traced over her cheek as she talked. "Agent Clint Barton helped me turn my life around for the better. I was the good guy for once. Using my skills for good. He was my partner on something like 200 missions. The man in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. called us duo disaster once. We had this habit of winging our missions and still pulling them off. Stupid, but ultimately successful. Clint was my first real friend. I don't count you because I shouldn't be kissing friends like I kiss you."
James laughed lightly. She smiled and watched his face, "Clint is married to this wonderful woman named Laura. Sometimes I think she has this superpower to figure everything out before she's told it. Clint and I couldn't get away with anything around her. They have this beautiful warm farmhouse. There's animals everywhere. I can't figure out what the scent of it is, but I equate it with home. I go there because they became my family. I owe Clint a debt I could never repay."
James hand slipped into her hair, gently running his hand through it as she talked. "Clint and Laura know all about you. They have these three amazing kids. I was there when all three were born. Guess what they call me?" She smiled.
"Hmm.." James murmured.
"Auntie Nat." She smiled brightly. "I love those kids so much. While you were gone they saved me from myself. They didn't let me be sad for too long. They didn't let me give up. When you're all better, I want to go back. I want them to meet you."
James smiled and turned his head, opening his eyes. His monitors were all quiet. Whatever distress he was having was gone. "I want to meet your family, Tasha."
She beamed, "Really?"
"Of course."
She pecked his cheek, "Then get better so I can take you there."
"Yes, ma'am." He smiled.
