Chapter 42- Labor and Decisions

Diana laid her head on her husband's shoulder, pressing her hand to where his heart was. James's arms were wrapped around her as if protecting her and the baby. Diana's stomach had gotten very large and James would often touch her swollen stomach with his large flesh hand. The baby wasn't due for another few weeks and James was very protective of her and their unborn child.

"James, I love you," Diana whispered into his neck.

"I love you too, doll," James said, kissing her ear tenderly and catching her earlobe between his teeth. James still loved kissing on her ears. He would nip and kiss her ear at the same time while she held his head so his mouth never left her ear. Diana stroked his soft hair gently.

"James?" Diana asked as he trailed kisses up and down the shell of her ear.

"Yes?" James asked.

"Have you figured what we are going to name the baby?" Diana asked. Diana was going to go along with whatever name her husband chose. HYDRA and her husband both told her that her husband made the decisions and with the wiping and drugs saturating her brain, Diana was willing to obey him in every way and try to please him. That would be a permanent side effect of the drugs they had pumped into her. It wasn't her place to argue with him. It had already been determined that Diana would not discipline the baby. Only James and HYDRA could do that.

"I have thought of that. Elizabeth for a girl and Jonathan for a boy," James said, pressing the palm of his hand against her swollen stomach. At that moment the baby decided to kick. A look of joy entered his blue eyes and a smile crossed his happy face as he rubbed her stomach.

"You felt that, my love?" Diana asked pushing at his shaggy hair and tracing his handsome face with her fingers lightly.

"Yes. My son or daughter has a very strong kick. I'd like for it to be a girl as beautiful as her Mama," James said, giving her a heart-stopping kiss.

"I wouldn't mind a boy as handsome as his father," Diana teased, placing her hands on his stubbled cheeks and twisting her fingers into the scruff.

James gripped her wrists and started to kiss each finger slowly and gently. Before Diana knew what was happening, he was kissing her lips. A sharp pain then went through her lower back and Diana gasped in pain as something like water then released all over her legs. "Diana, what's wrong?" James asked as he sat up, his muscular flesh arm around her and pressing his lips to her forehead.

"James, it's time," Diana said, pressing her hand to her stomach. She started to breathe hard as James picked her up and kicked the door with his leg.

"Help! It's time!" James bellowed as a contraction hit her stomach.

"James! It hurts!" Diana nearly screamed, pressing her hand to her stomach harder and digging her fingers into James's shoulder.

"Hang on, doll. Hang on," James said as the door opened.

"I love you, James," Diana said as he sat, folding her in his arms.

"I love you too, doll. Stay with me," James said, stroking her stomach and kissing her gently.

Yelizaveta sat on the couch, her recent Star Wars book in her hand. Bucky and Diana had been in Bruce and Tony's lab for hours. Diana almost didn't want to let her out of her sight, but Yelizaveta had pointed out she wasn't going anywhere. The door opened and Jimmy Banner came in, holding a large crate of what looked like scientific equipment.

"Jimmy?" Yelizaveta asked.

"Vetty! You're here!" Jimmy exclaimed, putting the crate down.

"Yeah. We all kind of thought we should come here," Yelizaveta said.

"Where's Dad and Mr. Stark?" Jimmy asked.

"Stark and Dr. Banner are in the lab with Steve and my mother and father," Yelizaveta said.

"You have parents?" Jimmy asked, arching a dark eyebrow.

"Yeah. Everyone usually does unless you are cloned," Yelizaveta said, rolling her eyes as everyone came out of the lab.

"Elizabeth!" Diana exclaimed as she went to Yelizaveta and gathered her in her arms.

"So, what's the damage, Doc?" Yelizaveta asked as Bucky came to her and put both his arms around her and her mother.

"They'll heal, but the damage was extensive. If they are like Steve or me when I turn into the Hulk they should heal fast," Banner said.

"That would be the serum," Steve said.

"Really?" Jimmy asked.

"Yeah, Jimmy. I sliced my arm open once and I healed in less than a day because of the serum," Yelizaveta said.

"You have it?" Banner asked.

"Yeah. I was born with it. Remember that Stark accused me and Steve of being science experiments and everything special about us came out of a bottle before the battle of New York," Yelizaveta said.

"Oh, right. Forgot about that," Jimmy said.

"Now, granted the serum doesn't cure everything. I still have a knife injury from when I was six. Can't be any worse than eating a Soviet slug. Nat did. she says she can't wear bikinis anymore," Yelizaveta said dryly.

"Okay. How did that happen?" Banner asked.

"She claimed she was guarding some engineer out of Iraq five years ago and some crazy Winter Soldier took a shot at her with a Soviet rifle," Yelizaveta said with a teasing look at Bucky.

"I shot her?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah, you did, Pal. But Natasha doesn't blame you," Steve said.

"So did Pepper get the Extremis stuff out of her, Stark? Rhodey told me what happened last Christmas," Yelizaveta asked.

"Well, it won't ever leave her system. It's too much like yours and Cap's serum, Kate," Tony said.

"Kate?" Jimmy asked.

"Yes. Stark's way of making fun of my love for Russian history. Kate is a nickname for Catherine and one of the best Tsarina's in Russia was Catherine the Great. I read the biographies by Henri Troyat and Robert Massie," Yelizaveta said.

I've heard of Robert Massie. He's really good?" Jimmy asked.

"Yeah. I haven't read Peter the Great, but I plan to and he did good on Catherine and Nicholas and Alexandra. I need to get a library account," Yelizaveta said as she rested her forehead against Bucky's shoulder.

She felt a kiss on her forehead and she looked up into the her father's blue eyes. The love he had for her was all in them. "I love you, doll," Bucky whispered against her ear.

"Love you too, Dad," Yelizaveta said as she pressed her face into his chest. In a matter of minutes she was sound asleep, Bucky stroking her hair absently.

Bucky watched from the chair next to Elizabeth's bed as she slept. Her soot-colored eyebrows furrowed in her sleep as if she was having an intense dream. Diana came in, gave him a quick kiss and sat down on the chair on the other side of their sleeping daughter. "I forgot how beautiful she was, James," Diana said, ghosting a kiss on their daughter's forehead.

"I know, doll. I kidnapped you, but we never would have had her if I didn't," Bucky said, pushing strands of Elizabeth's hair out of her face.

"James, I didn't love you when HYDRA first had you take me," Diana said.

"I know that. I forced you to come with me and forced you to kiss me. I know you didn't want to," Bucky said,

"But I do love you now," Diana said.

"I know that too, doll. I love you too," Bucky said dryly.

"We really didn't have a choice, did we?" Diana asked.

"No. But we do now. Will you stay married to me?" Bucky asked.

"Of course. HYDRA did say the drugs were permanent once I accepted that you were my husband and I was never going to leave, Do you want to stay married to me?" Diana asked.

"Stupid question. You are my doll. You aren't getting rid of me that easily," Bucky said with a grin.

Diana looked at her husband. How could his smile weaken her knees like his kisses after all the years she had been married to him? She came around the bed that their daughter was sleeping on and sat down on James's lap, stroking his strong flesh arm gently as she pressed her head into his chest. How a man could kill everything in sight and be so gentle with her still boggled her mind.

Diana felt herself fall asleep, her husband gently stroking her hair with his flesh fingers.