Her White Wolf

Chapter Twenty-Six

The next few weeks were touch and go for the small family. Cleo had a harsh case of morning sickness, and it was hard to get her to keep any food down no matter what she ate. James sighed as he paced the kitchen floor, trying to think, while Shuri sat at their kitchen island. "Are you able to order anything or make her anything that could help her?" he asked. "I don't want her to suffer this entire time."

Shuri sighed as she considered what options they had. "The regular nausea medication it's doing anything," she said. "Must be because it's a super-baby. Her body is working harder to make this baby than it would a non-enhanced one. I'm just worried about her getting dehydrated. I might have to bring her into the infirmary for a little while."

James sighed and ran both hands over his face. "She's not going to like that. She wants to keep working as much as she can, but she's so exhausted."

"The first trimester is always the hardest, though... this kind of pregnancy is unprecedented," Shuri mused.

Footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs and with a heavy sigh, Steve appeared in the kitchen. "She is currently asleep on the bathroom floor," he shared. "She drank a little Gatorade, but it came right back up."

"She can't suffer like this," James mused. "I hate this for her. I really do."

"There is no way of knowing how this pregnancy will go. It's the first of its kind, in all likelihood," Shuri said, hoping her calm demeanor would rub off on poor James. "I think she's not going to have a choice in going to the infirmary. She has to get fluids at a minimum."

"Is there anyone that could help make something for her?" Steve suggested. "IV fluids make sense, but it's not going to fix anything long term."

Shuri's eyes looked up to the ceiling as she went through her mental rolodex. "I'll reach out to Dr. Helen Cho, see if I can get her here as soon as the morning." She began to bring the contact up on her phone as she stood. "But in the meantime, Mommy-to-Be needs to come to the infirmary. No arguments. I'll leave that very exciting job to the two of you while I get a room set up."

James nodded. "I'll bring her myself. She's not strong enough to fight much."

"I'll go gather a few things for all of us and meet you there," Steve offered, always looking for ways that he could be helpful.

Upstairs, Cleo lay on her side curled into herself a little, a makeshift pillow made out of blanket beneath her head. A blanket had been laid over her body by Steve. Her eyes looked a little... sunken, even. Her color was off. The abandoned Gatorade bottle was up on the sink top. It was a pitiful scene.

James nodded and rubbed the back of his neck before looking at Steve as Shuri walked out of the house. "I know she wants this baby... but I'm really scared Steve. I don't want to lose her."

"Hey," Steve said gently, taking a few steps to meet Bucky where he stood. "No one's talking about losing anyone, okay?" This was completely new territory and... was there a chance that a human woman couldn't carry an enhanced fetus? Steve wasn't a medical professional, he couldn't say no. But it didn't seem like Shuri's head was there yet. "Cleo just needs help right now."

James dropped his head to rest against Steve's shoulder. "I'm scared."

Steve wrapped his arms around Bucky, one hand resting on the back of his head. "I know. I can't tell you I'm not worried," he said with a sigh. "But she needs us. She needs you."

"I don't know what to tell her," he murmured. "I don't know what to do."

"Take it one moment at a time," Steve tried to comfort. "Do you want me to take her down? Would that be easier?"