The North Star (B. Barnes & S. Rogers)

Chapter Twenty-Two

A/N - THANKS MarissaWilliams571 for the idea regarding the future of the trio. I did initially have another direction I was going to go, but I prefer this way. 

The following weeks, month living the facility mellows out. North settles herself into Avenger life, she spends time with Loki and Thor, re-bonding as siblings, and whilst she is never going to be the little girl that disappeared. She's trying her best. She is going to therapy. Physical and emotional. She's getting better. It's slow. With her being around Bucky. But she feels like she is getting better. And her relationship with Bucky is changing too. She can still see Winter in him, but she sees started to see Bucky too. And she spends time with Steve who shows her how to use the art for therapy, whilst it isn't her favourite thing to do, she has at least tried it and she does like watching him draw. They haven't spoken about the whole kiss thing. They have both actually been avoiding it. And whilst it does make things a little weird, especially when they are alone together, they have both managed to behave themselves, barely, there have been touches, lingering hands on arms, knees, backs. Sitting too close.

But Bucky ends up having another Winter episode, and it happens in the middle of the night, which lead to him stalking through the facility in the dark in search of North. And upon finding her, he refused to allow Bucky to come back for three days. Three days in which he locks himself in her apartment with her. Somehow managing to guard the door and make love to her at the same time. Which is kind of their undoing.

Six weeks following that Winter Soldier episode, North gets sick. Pregnant sick. She is pregnant. She knows she is. And she knows that this could drive a wedge between Bucky and Steve and the last thing she wants. So she keeps it to herself. Even shuts out Loki. She can't risk someone finding out about this.

It's not the first time Winter has knocked her up. But she is determined that no one is going to take this one away from her. Hydra made sure that every time it happened in the past, they would drag her out of her cell, strap her down and basically....kill it inside of her. He doesn't know. Winter or Bucky. And she's not going to tell him. She can't tell him. No one is going to take this one from her.

So her distancing herself from everyone, unfortunately, this just sets Winter off again. With Bucky around North, Winter at least gets some contact. The identity tucked away in the back of Bucky's mind can watch and love her from there, but without her around....he gets nothing. So after the initial six weeks, and then six more weeks of North locking herself, Winter forces his way to the front of Bucky's mind and heads off in search of his woman. North barely flinches when he storms into her room. Eyes hard, flickering around for her, his hand clutching to the door frame.

"North?" He asks. She hums a little, his eyes find her tucked away and buried under blankets on her bed, curled around herself. "North?" He whispers, her eyes flickers to meet his as he crouches in front of her. Her eyes sad as she watches him. "Snezhinka, malyshka, pochemu ty takaya grustnaya?" He brushes her hair back from her face. "They were supposed to fix you" He scolds a little and then attempts to get into the bed with her. she pushes at him and he frowns. He grabs her wrists and yanks her forward, pushing the blankets from her. It's not much. But with his enhanced eyesight he can see that there is something there. He blinks slightly and glances at her, she sniffles and looks away from him.

..............

Steve pushes open the door to North's bedroom to find it utterly silent and in complete darkness, the only light seemingly coming from somewhere to his left. He turns to find a lamp set up in the bottom of the wardrobe where North is tucked away, surrounded by blankets and pillows and Winter is stood defensively in front of her. Steve expected Winter to be here, it's his first stop given how the assassin feels for her. But this is new behaviour.

"North?" Steve asks her, she glances up at him and then to Winter. "What's going on?"

"The last time I...was free" Winter starts and then whistles and winks at Steve. Steve just frowns at him before he lets out a breath realising what Winter is doing. He made her a nest. Somewhere he can protect her.

"You're pregnant," Steve tells North who nods a little.

...........

Steve sits on the floor of North's bedroom, his back against the bed behind him. Winter sits against the wall next to the wardrobe where North is sitting upright now, Winter's hand holding hers.

"Can we talk to Bucky about this?" Steve asks Winter who glances at him and then sighs. To be fair, between the two of them, Bucky is likely to be able to deal with this better than him. Winter isn't trained for babies and pregnancy. He glances at North who gives him a small smile, he nods and closes his eyes. When they open again, it's Bucky that's staring back at them. He frowns as he glances between Steve and North.

"What's going on?" He asks them. "Did..." He sighs. "Did it happen again?" Steve nods. "What did he do this time?"

"Winter got North pregnant," Steve tells Bucky who closes his eyes and hangs his head.

"I'm sorry" North whispers, Bucky and Steve both shake their heads because she has nothing to be sorry for.

"No, I am" Bucky offers. "I keep...I keep screwing things up" She frowns at him and then looks down. Steve kicks Bucky and gives him a look. Bucky gives him a look back in question, Steve nods to North and kicks him again. Bucky glances at her and then sighs seeing that she is upset by this. He touches her arm and pulls her into his side. Steve shuffles across the floor and sits on her other side, his hand finding hers as Bucky kisses her head. Neither Bucky nor Steve knows, at this moment, what to say to make this better. Bucky's really screwed up this time. This has the power to destroy everything.