Till the End of the Line Vol. 6

Chapter 1 - Steven George Barnes

We hear the sound of the heart beating in a muffled tone. We see what appears to be the inside of a woman's womb. Next is the sound of muffled voices talking and screaming. "That's it, Mrs. Barnes," says the muffled voice. "You're doing great."

Sofia is screaming in pain as she pushes to deliver the baby while Bucky is holding her hand for support. Doctor Gonzalez and the nurses prepare for the delivery. "That's it," said the doctor. "Just a few more pushes."

Sofia pants, "I can't. It hurts."

"I know, Doll," says Bucky. "But you can do it."

Sofia Looks at him with hatred and says, "Fuck you! You try doing this!" She turns her head back to concentrate.

"Sofia, think about it. Once he's here, you can sleep comfortably again. That means sleeping on your stomach again. You can -"

"Okay, shut up! Let's do this." However, when she sits up, she accidentally punches Bucky, and he falls to the floor. They all stop and look at him. "Honey, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm okay."

"You sure?" She asks.

Getting up, Bucky looks at Sofia and says, "Yeah. Don't worry about it." He grabs Sofia's hand.

Meanwhile, in the waiting room, Natasha is pacing back and forth as her nerves kick in. Becca has her and Loki's newborn, Frigga, in her arms, and Loki has Sarah asleep in his lap. Steve is sitting on the opposite side of Becca. They notice Natasha is worried about Sofia. "Natasha, relax," pleads Steve.

Natasha turns to Steve and replies, "How can I relax? I mean, I'm not all worried that something could go wrong. But you never know."

"Everything is going to be fine."

"Steve's right," Loki commented. "If anything went wrong, there would be a five percent chance."

There's silence in the room. Becca leans over and says, "Thanks for making the situation tenser for Natasha, darling."

Natasha continues to pace.

"AHHHH!!!!" Sofia is hyperventilating as the pain of delivering is almost over.

Dr. Gonzalez looks down briefly and informs the couple, "All right, the baby's head is out. Just one more push. Ready? One, two, three."

"AHHHH!!!!"

Sofia pushes one more time and then feels relieved as she feels the baby is out and the pressure is gone. She leans back and slows down her breathing. They then hear their son crying, which makes them smile, chuckle, and tear up. Bucky turns to Sofia and says, "You did it, honey." She looks at him. He kisses her, then looks back at her. "I'm so proud of you."

Sofia chuckles once more.

"So, what's the child's name?" Asked the nurse.

Sofia looks at Bucky. He looks at the nurse, takes Sofia's hand, and answers, "Steven George Barnes."

"Thank you." The nurse walks away. Bucky sits down next to Sofia and wraps his arm around her. As he sits down, the other nurse has cleaned their son and wrapped him in a blanket. Then she carefully places the infant in Sofia's arms. As the infant is placed in Sofia's arms, he stops crying and starts cooing. Bucky and Sofia shed tears of joy.

"Hi," whispers Sofia. "Hi, sweetie."

"Hey, Little Wolf," whispers Bucky. "We've waited a long time to meet you." Sofia looks at Bucky with tears in her eyes. Bucky looks at her and removes a strand of hair from the front of her face. "What's wrong?"