Alya sniffled and dragged her sleeve across her nose as she entered the kitchen. Surprisingly, she had actually gotten up early despite not getting much sleep the night before.

But she felt awful.

"Morning, Buddy." Steve smiled at her, picking the last pancake up from the pan to put it on a plate with the others.

Alya didn't respond in favor of coughing.

Steve's smile dropped and he immediately turned the stove off to approach her, placing the back of his hand on her forehead.

"Uh oh." He muttered to himself. "You're really warm. Looks like you're a little under the weather. How do you feel?"

"Bad." She sniffled once again, lifting her arm up for him to hold her.

"What's wrong?" He set her up on his hip to which she wasted no time in resting her chin on his shoulder.

"My throat hurts and I'm achy…..and I don't feel good….and I'm cold." She shivered despite the heat radiating from her body.

"Why don't we find something that'll make you feel better?"

"Medicine?" Alya pouted, lacking the energy to lift her head.

Everyone knew how tough it was to get her to take medicine whenever it was needed. Alya didn't get sick very often, but in the rare event that she did, giving her medicine was a challenge.

"I think so." Steve nodded, carrying her into the bathroom in search of a thermometer. "But first, I wanna see how high your fever is."

The blonde man set her down on the sink and let her lean into him while he found what he was looking for. Her lack of energy wasn't a good sign and it was a little worrying for him to deal with.

He knew what it was like to be ill, so he kind of grew anxious whenever either of the kids got sick.

"Open up."

Alya whined when he pressed the thermometer to her mouth, but let him do his job anyway. It didn't make much sense to fight this when she knew he was going to make her take that disgusting fever reducer in a few minutes.

"Just what I thought." Steve sighed. "101.4. You're gonna be taking it easy for the next few days, honey."

She must've picked something up during her trip. He was sure that all the stress made it worse.

"No medicine." Alya groaned as he made his way back to the kitchen with her in his arms.

"Not yet." He shook his head, reaching up to rub her back before he put a couple pancakes on a plate with a small serving of eggs. Her appetite wouldn't be as big as it usually was and that was to be expected. "Let's go."

"I'm not hungry." Alya proved his point as he walked up the stairs and set her down in her bed, pulling the covers over her shivering body before handing her the food.

"You have to eat something, sweetheart. It's going to help you feel better. I didn't give you a lot. Eat up." He leaned forward and cut up a few pieces to make it easier on her, kissing her cheek and cringing at how flushed she was. "I'm gonna go get your Mama and Daddy. You just keep eating, alright?"

"Okay." Alya made no effort to put anything more than a tiny bite in her mouth.

She wasn't hungry and the smell of the food was making her a little nauseous.

Being that the door was open, Mischief came strutting in and hopped up onto the bed, nuzzling into her side.

The little bit of warmth radiating from her fur was enough to give Alya chills, and she burrowed further under the covers.

"Do you want some?" She asked the cat in rhetoric.

Of course Mischief couldn't have any of the food. It wouldn't sit right in her stomach.

"I'm sleepy." The twelve year old slouched, resting her lightly pounding head against her pillows to close her eyes.

It wasn't even a few minutes before she felt another hand on her forehead. This one was cold, so she whined and turned away from it.

"Come on, sit up." It was Bucky. Alya felt his hands reaching under her arms to get her to sit against her head board as her bed dipped.

She certainly didn't appreciate that and it was evident by the pool of tears in her eyes.

But Natasha's body heat felt really nice.

"You have to eat before you can take your medicine, sweet girl." The redhead gathered all of her hair and tied in back into a loose braid. "It's going to make you feel better."

"No." Alya shook her head, cradling Mischief with her good arm. "M'not hungry."

"Alyona, open your mouth." Bucky raised a brow, holding a forkful of eggs out to her.

He was sharp, but if got Alya to get something nutritional into her stomach, then so be it. If she didn't eat, she would only get sicker.

Alya clamped her mouth shut and turned her head away, burying her face in her mother's neck.

"One."

The child whined at the sound of him counting. They hadn't been through this in a long time and it wasn't like she was eager for a repeat.

Why did he have to count?

"Two."

Deciding that she really didn't feel like fighting him on whether or not she ate her breakfast, Alya lifted her head and opened her mouth, allowing her father to feed her the food.

"Thank you." He said, continuing to scoop the food up with her fork. "It's good, right?"

Steve's pancakes and eggs were always good. That wasn't the problem.

The problem, was she didn't feel good!

She couldn't even enjoy Steve's breakfast because she felt so down and out. After the terrible nightmare she had the night before, she thought that there was no way she'd be able to feel any worse, but her body was proving her wrong.

"I think that's good enough." Bucky put the fork down after several more bites. He knew she wasn't going to be able to finish the whole thing, but she needed something to keep her from passing out. "You can take something for that fever now."

Alya watched as her mother poured the disgusting liquid onto a spoon before holding it out to her.

This time, she was willing to put up a fight.

But her father wasn't. The man lifted her up onto his lap before he took the spoon, using his right hand to plug her nose.

Alya wasn't expecting that, but she adapted quickly. She didn't know how long she could hold her breath, but she was going to hold it for as long as possible.

Bucky remained patient, carefully watching his daughter's body language to make sure that she wasn't in any distress.

She was just being stubborn.

"Alya, this is ridiculous." Natasha rolled her eyes. "You need to take your medicine."

Alya could've opened her mouth to breathe at any time she wanted. Bucky wasn't stopping her from doing that. He made sure he wasn't cruel about it either. All she needed to do, was open her mouth and he would let her go.

Her heart began to pump a little harder to force oxygen through her body and her chest began to hurt.

She was going to lose this round, she just knew it.

Before long, her body had enough and her mouth opened for a harsh cough, giving Bucky the opportunity to shove the spoon inside, letting go of her nose in the process.

Alya's face screwed up in disgust, but she didn't really get to dwell on the taste as she coughed herself away.

"Next time." Bucky pat her back to help. "Do it the easy way."

Once she got herself to stop coughing, Alya managed to glare at him as she slid off of his lap. She didn't want a single part of her body touching him. She was so annoyed that he won and couldn't help but be as petty as she could.

"Fix your face."

What was with these kids today and glaring at their parents?

In response, Alya burst into fully unbridled tears. Liquid poured out from her tear ducts, her face grew red, and the noise that came with it all was unbearable.

Natasha smirked at her husband, knowing the long battle of wills was beginning. Alya knew she lost the last round, so she was going to make it difficult for Bucky until she evened out the score.

Two peas in a pod.

Bucky just handed her the nearly empty plate and pulled the sheets on the bed back before he lifted Alya up and plopped her back down on her bed so he could tuck her in.

He did it a little more aggressively than necessary, but he had a message to get across.

Alya temporarily stopped her sobs when she hit the mattress and started up again when Bucky grabbed her by the foot and pulled so that she was lying down before he covered her up. He leaned over and snagged George, placing him under her arm and pointed a stern looking finger at her.

"Go to sleep."

Even though it was still morning, he wanted her to get some extra rest to give her an opportunity to fight off that fever. This wouldn't be the first time he dealt with her when she was like this and it was never easy. She was still young and the serum hadn't taken it's full effect in this area, so in the rare event that Alya didn't feel well, it seemed like it was worse for her than it would be for a child without the serum because her body was fighting harder.

He would come back later and check on her, but for now, she needed to close her eyes.

Alya groaned when she felt something cold and wet touching her forehead.

She tried to move away from it, but it only followed her. So, she opened her eyes to find her father sitting next to her, dabbing her forehead and her neck with a damp cloth.

"Your fever rose a little, Babydoll." He spoke softly. "How do you feel?"

"Icky…." Her voice was scratchy from whatever was ailing her.

"Icky?" The man pouted. "I know, sweetheart. Daddy's trying to make it all better. You're gonna be alright."

Alya coughed and blinked away some tears. Now that she had gotten more rest, she felt worse than she did before. Now her throat was worse, her stomach was in pain, and she felt like she could hardly move.

"Mama?" She croaked.

"Mama's sleeping." Bucky soothed. "She's tired."

He failed to mention that Alya had been asleep pretty much all day. Natasha had been at her side from the moment Steve told them that she wasn't feeling well, up until a few hours ago when Bucky convinced her to actually get some sleep.

"Hot." Alya sniffled.

"I know, I know." Bucky could see the fat beads of sweat that were dripping down her face.

His hand went to pull down her sheets and he grimaced when he saw that she had actually sweat through her pajamas.

In hindsight, that was actually a really good sign because it meant her body was doing its job and fighting off whatever bug she picked up, but at that moment, it only made him nervous.

He quickly put the cloth down and rummaged through her drawers before pulling out a new set that she could wear, this one was pink with little cupcakes on the top and bottoms.

Alya was so docile as he changed her that he actually wished she would fight him or give him a hard time, anything to put his mind at ease.

"How is she?" Rebecca lightly knocked, just as her brother slipped Alya's shirt off of her body, leaving her in her undergarments.

Pressing the back of his hand to her tummy, he decided to forgo the pajamas and just leave her like this for a while, not wanting her to overheat.

It felt like she was on fire.

"Burning up." He answered, wiping the child down with the cold cloth once again.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Nothing up here." He shook his head. "But if you could keep an eye on Wanda, that'd be great. I just checked on her before I came in here, but these kids get knocked down fast."

Alya mewled as if she were in some kind of pain and reach up for her father, only quieting down when he picked her up.

Rebecca cringed at how flushed she looked and couldn't imagine how much worse she felt. "I thought she couldn't get sick because of the serum?"

"She's still growing and developing. It's a hit or miss for right now." Bucky put a small blanket around Alya before he sat down in her rocking chair, administering very soft love taps to get her to go to sleep again. He didn't move the chair in fear of upsetting her stomach, he didn't need her throwing up the only meal she had today. "I didn't think it was possible, but she inherited this from Steve."

"…Woke up after…..fell….told Rebecca to….."

Alya's ears were a little fuzzy, but she knew that she was in a different pair of arms. Her parents must've swapped out, leaving her with her mother.

She recognized the feeling of her hand rubbing comforting circles on her back.

"Mama….?"

"Ssh. Ssh." The redhead, cradled the back of her head. "It's okay."

"M'hot, Mama." Alya tried to take the blanket off, but her muscles ached and she gave up before she could really try.

"I know, sweet girl, you're burning up. Are you hungry?"

"No." The last thing Alya wanted was food. "Too hot."

If her fever didn't break soon, Natasha was going to have to give her an ice bath to get her to cool down.

The child could hear the little pitter patter of small paws before she tried her best to sit up, weakly managing. The corners of her mouth tugged up slightly when she saw Fanny. The usually happy dog, let out a soft whimper at the sight of her favorite little friend's predicament.

She was very gentle as she nudged Alya's limp hand with her nose.

"I told you that we were okay." Natasha told her mother.

She had no concept of time right now, so she wasn't really sure when she flew in. All she knew, was the last time she was on the phone with Yelena, she told her sister that Alya was sick and not to worry about it because they had it under control.

"What's her temperature?" Melina asked, carrying some medical supplies she had kept from her days in the Red Room.

"102.3" Natasha wiped some sweat away from Alya's forehead. "We've tried everything. If she gets any worse, she's going to the hospital."

"Give her to me."

"I'm okay. She needs me."

"Natalia, you look like you haven't eaten anything in a day or so and you haven't taken a shower, either. Give her to me. I will take care of her. Go into the kitchen and get something to eat."

Alya whined quite loudly when she felt herself being placed into Melina's arms. She was too fatigued to reach for her mother, but she was more than capable of letting Melina know that she wasn't happy with the situation.

"Alyona?" The woman tightened her grip on her. "That's not nice."

Alya wasn't really concerned about what was nice and what wasn't. She just wanted her mother to come back and hold her.

But, she could't get what she wanted. Melina set her down on her bed and felt her neck to gauge how bad her fever was. "You need to get something to eat."

"I don't wanna eat." Alya blinked. "I want Mama."

"You haven't changed in all these years." Melina smiled. "Fevers still make you fussy."

"I'm not fussy!" Alya huffed and weakly cuddled into Fanny who had climbed up onto her bed.

"Нет, просто озорной." (No, just naughty.)

Alya managed to scrounge up some energy to roll her eyes, but her grandmother didn't pay her any mind. She just went to the bathroom and wet some cloths with cold water and laid one on her forehead and the other on her neck.

"You keep rolling your eyes and I'll tell Yelena not to bring you any popsicles."

"Popsicles?" Alya stilled.

She had her attention now.

"I think she picked up some red ones." Melina shrugged. "But if you want to sulk, then you don't get any."

"I want popsicles!" Alya's voice was scratchy. "Please?"

"I'll think about it." She smiled, knowing just how to get the girl to do what she wanted her to do. "But you have to take this."

Alya wrinkled her nose when Melina handed her a tiny cup of medicine. It was a clear fluid, but she was sure that it tasted worse than the regular stuff she was supposed to take.

"Did she drink it yet?" Yelena asked, stepping into the room with the desired popsicle.

As soon as she had gotten off the phone with her sister, she told their parents that Alya was sick despite Natasha's assurance that the girl was okay. Of course, Melina knew just how bad Alya's fevers could get and she refused to stay away.

Alexei wanted to tag along, but there was a lot of work to be done back home that he just couldn't get away from. He would visit when things weren't so busy, but he hoped Alya would make a quick recovery.

"No, she's being stubborn." Melina supplied, helping Alya sit up, leaning her up against her headboard for lumbar support.

"Then I'm going back downstairs."

"No, Tetushka!" Alya quickly swallowed the medicine, cringing for only a split second. "I want it!"

She knew the popsicle would do wonders to help her sore throat and she couldn't let Yelena walk away with it.

"If I give it to you, do you promise to listen?"

It was a tall order, but it was worth a try, right?

"Yes." She smiled when the treat was handed to her.

Mmm. Watermelon.

"After you finish that, you need to take a bath."

"Okay." Alya kicked her feet lightly. "A shower?"

"No, an actual bath." Melina clarified. "I think the warm water will help bring your fever down."

At this stage, an ice cold bath would probably do more harm than good. Lukewarm water would be better to help keep her temperature from rising. However, if that didn't work, then she would try colder methods.

"Don't get any on your cast." Yelena warned. She was glad to see that some flare was returning to her niece's face as the sugar was being digested. That was a good sign, she was coming around. "It's not supposed to get wet."

"I know."

"Is she awake?" Wanda knocked.

"You're not supposed to be up here, Thing One."

"I know, but I haven't seen her yet and I wanted to know if she was okay." The teen fully entered the room and sat down next to her sister, rubbing her arm. "She's kind of hot."

Natasha and Bucky pretty much banned her from going anywhere near Alya because they didn't want her to get sick, too. They didn't know she was up here, but she couldn't help how she felt. She had to see that Alya was okay with her own two eyes.

"She has a bit of a fever." Melina didn't bother trying to kick her out. She had enough experience with siblings to know that wouldn't do any good. "The medicine and the cold popsicle should help bring it down."

"I bet you're enjoying all of this attention." The teen teased.

"Uh huh." Alya nodded unabashedly, still eating away.

She was thriving with all this attention.

"Keep your hair out of the water." Yelena instructed, carefully using a wash cloth to rub Alya's skin.

Alya didn't put up much of a fuss getting into the bath. Well, only a little. It wasn't that she didn't want to take a bath, she did. She just didn't want an audience there to see her do it.

But since her arm was broken and she still had a fever, she needed someone there to help her so she wouldn't get hurt.

She didn't mind Yelena, though she would've felt better if it had been one of her parents.

"Why?" She asked as Yelena gathered her hair up and pulled it into a messy bun before continuing with the cloth. "I have to wash it."

"Not today." The blonde shook her head. "You don't want to sleep with wet hair right now. It will make you feel worse."

"Oh." Alya nodded, looking down at all the saran wrap that was over her right arm.

The cast wasn't supposed to get wet and plastic bags weren't air tight, so they had to use saran wrap to keep from destroying it.

"How are we doing in here?"

Alya's eyes lit up when her father walked in with a warm looking towel. Sitting in all this water was making her a little hungry, so she wanted to get out as soon as possible.

Bucky had to stifle a laugh at the fact that Yelena looked like she was the one who was taking a bath. The front of her clothes were all wet and he was sure that she was uncomfortable with them sticking to her skin the way they were.

"Why don't I take over?" He suggested.

"Good." She immediately stood up and shoved the cloth in his hands. "She wouldn't let me do her underarms anyway."

That's how she had gotten so wet. When she tried to touch Alya's underarms, the girl shrieked and jerked away in a ticklish fit, splashing water all over her aunt.

Yelena hoped Bucky would have better luck than she did.

"Arms up, please." The brunette man sat down on the stool that Yelena had previously occupied.

"No, thank you."

"Alyona."

Alya just smiled innocently and shook her head. If she didn't do it with Yelena, what made him think that it would be any different with him?

"Daddy."

"You're being very difficult and I don't appreciate it." He cocked a brow, internally grateful for her defiance, though he kept it that way so he didn't encourage her.

"I have a fever."

"That's true. You do have a fever." He smiled. "But that's not an excuse to do whatever you want. Lift your arms."

Alya hesitate before she did as she was told, clamping her arm down on his hand once the cloth met her skin.

"Fine by me." The smile never left Bucky's face as he wiggled his fingers, making her giggle.

When he was finished, he lifted her arm and repeated the process with the other one, eliciting more laughter.

Her little face scrunched up and the corners of her eyes crinkled in an attempt to contain herself, but it was impossible.

"Alright." He showed a little mercy and set the cloth down. "It's time to get out."

Besides, she had to get out now, the water was cold and he didn't want her to catch a chill.

He took ahold of her and made sure his grip wasn't going to slip before he lifted her up and set her down on the mat before he wrapped her up in her towel.

"I feel like a burrito." She wiggled a little.

"You're my little burrito. Good enough to eat." Bucky grinned, blowing a raspberry on her neck as he lifted her up and carried her to her room. It didn't slip past him that her skin felt nearly a bit cooler than it had before.

Little by little, she was getting better.