Unforgotten

Chapter 17

    Bruce frowned at me, and turned to type something into his computer.

    "You're not gaining, Paige," He muttered, and I sighed, irritated.

    "No shit, Bruce. I don't know how I can gain when I can hardly eat anything. I throw everything fucking thing up."

    "Language," Steve said from a table nearby, and I flipped him off behind his back. Natasha grabbed my hand and put it down, and I rolled my eyes at her.

    It had been over a month since that awful day in Jotunheim, since Thor and the warriors had brought me back to Stark Tower. Over a month since any word from Asgard – or any other realm for that matter. All communication had gone dark, and my mood reflected it.

    "We'll keep trying with the oatmeal then," Natasha said gently, and I shrugged. Bruce nodded, lost in his work on the screen in front of him.

    "And I still can't see anything." Bruce continued to talk to himself. I threw my hands up in the air.

    "But there's a heartbeat, so we know the baby's there!" I poked myself in my large belly. "Obviously it's there, I'm huge."

    "You're beautiful." Natasha said, kissing me on the cheek. Bruce was nodding.

    "Can I at least get dressed?" I asked, not completely comfortable lying there in a bra and pulled down yoga pants while Bruce contemplated the world.

    "Oh – yeah." I nodded, and swung my legs over the side of the table, carefully taking Natasha's hand for help getting down. Every joint, muscle, and bone hurt it seemed recently, and I was babying myself along. Natasha handed me my shirt, and I slipped it over my head and smoothed it down.

    "Elevator," I said, and we rode in silence up to the main room. Tony had fixed the hole we had left in the ceiling, and I stared at where it had been as I sat down in a chair while Natasha fussed over something in the kitchen. I glanced at the clock – 5:30 p.m. – Aunt Pepper would be home soon. I knew she worried about me. I barely talked to anyone, and stayed in my room most of the time. I reached up and touched to the tiny ball that hung around my neck. It had kept the nightmares at bay, but the magic ended there. I had looked into it every day since I had last seen Loki's face, but I couldn't see him, couldn't find him. What would I do when, and if I did? Would I marry a frost giant? I shook my head – how could I have not known that about him? How could he have kept something like that from me? Just thinking about it, I felt a cold shiver go through me, and it strained a muscle in my back to the point I groaned.

    "You okay?" Natasha came over to stand in front of me, offering me a glass of ice water. I took one look at it, and my feet felt like ice cubes.

    "I can't drink that," I said. "It's so cold in here," Natasha frowned, moving across the room and tapping the thermostat.

    "Hon, it says 75." I gaped at her.

    "I'm freezing," I said, another shiver overtaking me, another muscle straining painfully. My body felt the need to emphasize my cold, and my teeth began to chatter. "Just help me to my room, I need to warm up." Natasha nodded, and helped me up. We walked slowly down the hall, every muscle in my body screaming at me, until we reached my room. She helped me sit down on my bed, and lifted my legs over so I could get in under the covers. My body had begun to tremor, and she looked at me worriedly.

    "I'm going to go get Bruce," she said, and before I could protest, she had hurried away. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing my self to warm up, pulling my blankets closer. Suddenly I heard a loud pop, and felt an intense pain in my side. I cried out, just as Pepper and Bruce burst through my door.