Chapter 18

"Dr. Davenport, how is she?" Steve's voice echoed into the lab room that Zaria was in. She turned her head to the door, dried sweat making her hair stick to her face, as she listened to their voices.

"She'll be fine; we managed to save the baby but only just." Samantha answered, she sounded tired.

"What... what happened? Why did she almost have a miscarriage?" Concern laced Steve's voice, wrenching Zaria's heart and spasming the muscles in her abdomen. She turned her head away from the door and just focused on breathing; she couldn't have another episode like earlier.

Samantha sighed. "Her body is rejecting the baby."

"Why? Why would it do that?"

"We see this in patients where the parents have two different Rh factors, that's the positive or negative that you see on your blood tests. The difference in Rh factors becomes a problem after the first child when the woman's body creates antibodies to fight off the unknown Rh factors, so it's more likely for a woman to have a miscarriage after her first child but Zaria's body is rejecting the child now which I can only equate to the extreme differences between your DNA and her's."

"What do you mean? Why is that a problem?"

"Steve, you were genetically enhanced through some science experiment. I know that Zaria carried some of a similar type of enhanced DNA as yours but either the difference in the two is making them reject each other or Zaria's human half is rejecting your enhanced DNA as a foreign substance."

"So what does that mean?"

"It means..." Samantha stopped, Zaria could almost feel the weight of the pause from where she was and knew the answer was not something she really wanted to hear, but she couldn't shut Samantha's voice out. "It means that carrying this child to term could kill her or the child."

"Is there anything we can do to keep that from happening?" Steve sounded desperate.

"Short from having her abort the child, I honestly don't know at this point."

"Why can't you convince her to do that? That baby isn't worth her life!"

"You're welcome to try and convince her to do that, but from what I know of women and their babies, if they've made it this far it's highly unlikely that they will ever abort their child. The only other thing I can tell you is that Bruce and I will be monitoring her through the rest of this pregnancy and see if there is anything else we can do to help her, but for now there are no other options."

"Can I see her?"

"I would advise against it, honestly. She's been through a lot today and needs to rest. It would be best if you waited until she was up."

Steve sighed. "Alright. Thank you Dr. Davenport."

Heavy footsteps faded down the hall before the door opened and Samantha slipped inside.

"Ah, you're awake." She commented though it seemed more like she had already known that and was just stating the obvious. She made her way over to the table that Zaria was lying on and inspected the machines before continuing. "I assume you heard all of that."

"My child is trying to kill me." Zaria cracked and she tried to clear it though that just made her throat hurt as she was sure her voice hoarse from earlier.

"That's the gist of it. It is highly probable that giving birth will kill you, your child or both of you. At this point it would be best to abort the child to avoid any risk to your health at a later date, but I can see that it is not an option you're willing to take. So, Bruce and I will continue to monitor your health while we see if there is anything we can do to help you along with this pregnancy."

"So I still have the baby?" Zaria questioned to clarify.

Samantha nodded. "Yes, yes you still have the child. You are very lucky; we normally don't see women keep their child when they go into a miscarriage like you did. Either you or that child just didn't want to give up yet."

Zaria nodded, closing her eyes and trying to get comfortable. "Did anyone call Joe?"

"Yes, Mr. Douglas has been informed of your location."

"Did... Was he told about what happened...?"

"No, we just told him where you were and who you were with."

"Oh I'm sure that went over well... Joe doesn't really like Steve at the moment."

"We didn't tell him you were here with Steve..." Samantha admitted. "We didn't think that would go over well either so we fibbed a little."

"Probably for the best." Zaria agreed as she shifted around on the table again.

"I'm sorry, that must be very uncomfortable. We're trying to find a bed for you for the evening."

"Why can't I go home?"

Samantha perched on a chair and Zaria knew that she was going to be frank with her. "We can't let you leave just yet. I want to make sure that there will be no other issues tonight then we'll see about letting you go home tomorrow."

The door opened and Bruce stepped in. "Tony has a room set up just down the hall for her if you're ready to move her."

"I'm ready to get off this table, and I will walk before you try and offer me another office chair to be wheeled in." Zaria responded as she sat up gingerly, clutching the sheet to her chest as her hand-me-down clothing had been trashed long ago. Her whole body ached and shook with the effort to sit up, she had spent all the energy she had left and it made her feel weak and vulnerable, two things she hated the most.

"I would rather you not walk, and since we don't have a wheelchair we can compromise and I can carry you." Bruce offered.

Zaria's eyes widened. "What?"

"Don't worry, Bruce is one of the most chivalrous men in this tower at the moment and you can either let him carry you or I will find one of the other men to carry you or you can be wheeled in a chair. Your choice." Samantha smiled a toothy grin as she knew she had won the argument.

Zaria sighed. "Fine, whatever." She muttered as she tried to hold onto what dignity she had left.

Samantha smiled. "I'll get the door; just don't jostle her too much."

"Of course." Bruce answered as he went over to the table and carefully lifted Zaria off the table, tucking the sheet up under her as he did to refrain from exposing her nakedness. He was gentle with her and didn't jostle her around as he carried her down the hallway. She wondered when the last time someone had carried her so gently, as if she were something precious and important. Steve had carried her from the training room while she had been on the helicarrier but that didn't seem to have the same feeling as this, maybe it was due to the care Bruce took and how much more serene his personality was that made the feeling of being carried different. Or maybe she was over thinking it due to the amount of stress she had just been in and the fact that she couldn't take any medication for the pain.

Heat crept up Zaria's cheeks as she realized how much she was thinking about the way Bruce was carrying her and instantly forced herself to derail that train of thought. There was no way she was going to keep mulling over thoughts that were remotely similar to anything she felt for Steve. So she reined her emotions and thoughts then clamped a lid on them to make sure they didn't get out of control again. Being a bitter, cold hearted person was easier than trying to have anything remotely happy right now.

"Here we are." Bruce's voice cut through herself loathing and made her viscerally aware of her body pressed against his chest, but before her emotions could reign out of control he gently set her on the bed they had set up in yet another lab room, though this one had been hastily set up as a hospital room.

Zaria tried not to look as relieved as she felt when he finally put her down while quickly stamping out that part in her mind that nearly begged her to be held again. She was an adult and she would act like one. Why part of her couldn't understand that she was better off out of relationships than in them miffed her but she would get over it eventually; it was just the baby hormones that made her miss having someone in her life, or so she told herself.

"I'll find you something to wear." Samantha's voice snapped Zaria back to the room. "Try to get some rest and if you need anything just tell J.A.R.V.I.S. and he will find either Bruce or I to help you, alright?"

"Yeah, sure." Zaria answered quickly as she waited for them to leave before letting herself fall back against the propped up hospital bed. She sat there in the silence in the dimly lit room she was now resting in as she considered her options. Could she willingly abort her child to save her own life? There were women out there that would have no problem with this decision but she just couldn't do it.

"J.A.R.V.I.S.?" She croaked as she cleared her throat again.

"Yes Ms. Barnes?" J.A.R.V.I.S. answered.

"Zaria, please." She answered almost automatically. "What is the chance that both my baby and I could survive the pregnancy and birth?"

"With the limited information I was able to attain from Ms. Davenport and Mr. Banner I would say you have less than fifteen percent chance of survival for both you and the baby."

"Mmm... Well that's better than nothing... I think I'll take a chance with that."