Aftermath [winter soldier//Bucky Barnes AU]

Chapter Three

SARAH'S POV

C sections are terrifying, and I've been through a LOT of terrifying shit in my life.

I was completely paralyzed from the waist down, and they were operating on me while I was fully conscious. I could see through the veil they put up, and I caught eery glimpses of my blood, watching as they cut into me. But I didn't feel a thing.

Luckily, my upper body was fully operational. My hand was still latched on to Steve's (who looked very funny in scrubs with all his muscle, I might add) and his other hand stroked my hair. He refused to watch them chop me up and instead focused on comforting me, which I was grateful for. Its been a long time since the doctors started, and they keep saying, "it's almost time!"

I tried to focus on my breathing.

In, out. In, out. In, out. In -

Suddenly, I heard crying. The doctors began moving faster behind the veil and I froze. It was then that it hit me, why I heard crying- they had just pulled the baby from me. A baby.

I am a mother.

I sucked in a breath that I was unable to release, frozen in the utter shock of what I had just endured. Steve squeezed my hand and looked eagerly at the doctors. He had a better vantage point than me, and his eyes lit up all of the sudden. I knew he had seen the baby. After a few agonizingly long minutes, Doctor Parker appeared before me, holding a tiny baby wrapped in a pink towel. My mouth slightly ajar, I shakily reached out, taking the frail thing in my arms.

I stared at it in amazement.

It was a girl. She had stopped crying, and her strikingly-blue eyes stared up at me, as if studying me. A few brown hairs clung to her scalp, the color a trait she had inherited from her father. I reached down hesitantly with my hand and touched her skin, her soft, newborn baby skin, and she held on weakly to my finger. She was so beautiful.

"You did it, Sarah!" Steve whispered in awe, kissing my temple and wrapping his arm around me. The child gave us a toothless grin as if agreeing that I had done a good job, and the sight warmed my heart. Steve and I stared at the newest addition to the Avengers family as the doctors finished up, taking down the veil once my gown and blankets were back on. We cried and laughed in amazement at the literal bundle of joy in my arms.

"What are you going to name her?" Doctor Parker asked after the initial excitement had gone down a bit. I looked up, smiling at him and Steve, when I locked eyes with someone standing in the hall.

Bucky.

His eyes were dark with uneasiness, and he stood almost in the doorway but not quite. I could tell from here that his hands were shaking. He crept forward slowly, as if unable to believe his eyes, and came into the room. My mouth hung open and my heart ached at the sight of him. It's been nine months since I last saw the love of my life.

His hair had returned to the length it was when I found him, so long ago. His eyes held so many emotions- happiness, fear, anxiety, love- as he reached the hospital bed. I couldn't stop the tears of both shock and happiness from rolling down my cheeks.

"Bucky," I exhaled, pouring all my heart into his name. He smiled wide and leaned down quickly, engulfing me. I breathed in his scent, one so uniquely him that it brought a smile to my face, and enjoyed the warmth of his arms. But he pulled away all too soon, placing only a soft kiss on my cheek before letting go completely. He looked down at the tiny bundle that was ours, leaving his hand on my shoulder.

I watched his face as he glanced at her. His eyes lit up at the sight. The worry lines on his face disappeared for a moment, an expression that can only be described as pure joy having taken over his features.

He hesitantly reached down and lifted her into his arms, wrapping his metal one securely around her body and holding her head with his real hand. Tears fell from his eyes, something you don't see very often from him, and he laughed.

"She's as beautiful as her mother," he said, and I smiled widely in reply. Bucky softly cradled her head and rocked her back and forth.

The doctor then cleared his throat, making his presence known, and gestured to a clipboard in his hands.

"What are you naming her?" He asked again.

I smiled and looked up at Bucky and the baby, my family, and told him.

"Calypso Steven-Valerie Barnes."

Steve threw his one arm around me, squeezing me into a tight, goofy side hug that made me laugh. Bucky kissed the baby's forehead and smiled lovingly at me.

"I'm honored." Steve said. I laughed.

"With a name like the greatest soldier of all time, she's bound to amount to great things." I said, and Steve nodded jokingly.

"Of course."

"Where'd you get the name Calypso from?" Bucky asked. "I love it."

I glanced up at him, his eyes full of joy and wonder. It's a sight I hadn't seen in quite some time.

"I was looking for something to do a few months back because I was dying of boredom, and a book caught my eye. The book was about Greek mythology, and Calypso was the daughter of the titan Atlas, who tried to take over the world with the other Titans. When the Gods stopped the Titans and took over, they decided Atlas needed to be punished. They sent him to a secret mountain where he was doomed to spend the rest of eternity bearing the weight of the sky. However, the gods saw Calypso as a threat, because she could easily become as evil as her father. They sent her to a hidden island called Ogygia, where she would live out the rest of her days. The island was beautiful and she had everything she needed, but she got very lonely, so every now and then the gods would send a hero to keep her company. The heroes sent there were often lost, battle-weary or broken before coming to Ogygia, and Calypso helped them recover. She brought new hope to their lives and changed their perspective on the world," I explained. "I was hoping my daughter could also bring a new hope to others."

The room was silent, everyone processing what I had said. The doctor quietly wrote down her name, smiling as he did so, and left the room.

"Sarah, I'm not really sure I could love you anymore." Bucky said, breaking the silence, and I smirked.

"You say that a lot."

He laughed and bent down, placing Calypso back in my arms and planting a kiss on my temple.

"And each time, you manage to surprise me."

--

AN

ASSFGHJKL

I LIKE THIS CHAPTER QUITE A BIT

also I'm literally like an expert on Greek mythology. I typed that whole thing from memory. 😏

HOW WAS IT??

-Jordan💕