The Blip Bae

The Problem Might Actually Be You

"Hey, thanks for talking to me, I know we don't really know each other very well..." Zoe wasn't sure who else she could ask about these things and was relieved he was willing to speak to her. "Can I ask how you're doing, Dr. Banner?"

"Me? I'm doing..." Bruce Banner sighed from an undisclosed location. "Thanks for asking, it's nice to hear a friendly voice. Tony said you had some questions that I might be the only person on earth who could answer. Is it about Steve?"

"Yes, don't worry, he's fine, but I had some concerns that you can hopefully give me a little insight on." Zoe hated that she had to speak to him separately, but understood things were still tenuous with the whole Tony situation. "I'm not sure how much you know from the world's biggest mouth, but Steve and I have been together for a few years now..."

"Wow, that's great, Zoe! Good for you!" Bruce chuckled. "Tony didn't mention anything, I thought you had medical questions about his serum because something was wrong, but that's terrific."

"Thank you..." she decided just to tell him. "Actually I do have medical questions, but not because anything is wrong. He, uh, well, he wants to start a family..."

"And you want to make sure he can?" Bruce sounded sympathetic. "Listen, as far as his serum is concerned, he should be fine in that department. Have you run any tests?"

"Not yet, I wanted to ask your opinion on the safety of even trying this." Zoe sighed. She was hiding in her office in the med bay for some privacy. "He obviously wasn't exposed to the amount of radiation that you were, but he was still irradiated. Add to that the genetic mutations caused by the serum, and I'm not sure he understands how risky this could be."

"It's the offspring who would be mostly effected, I think..." Bruce took a breath. "But there would potentially be complications for you, too, considering that any child produced with his enhancements would be on the larger side, increasing the potential for gestational complications and upping the likelihood of needing a surgical delivery...then I guess there might also be a chance that your body rejects the pregnancy all together. They never really thought that far ahead when they made his serum, and mine didn't exactly go as planned..."

"Yeah, um, I wouldn't be the one having his baby..." Zoe bit her lip. "I had a hysterectomy a while back due to some health issues, so he's looking into using a surrogate. Not my first choice, but it's what he wants..."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Bruce cleared his throat. "So why isn't he asking me this?"

"I don't know if he would be comfortable asking, plus, he wouldn't even know where to start..." Zoe was trying not to cry. "So I'm trying to do some background data collection before he gets too crazy, just so he doesn't get his heart broken further into the process. He's just so excited...I really want him to understand what this could potentially do, not just to his child, but to the person carrying it for him. Do you think it's even safe?"

"I really don't know." Bruce sighed. "For me, absolutely not. The amount of radiation I was exposed to makes it dangerous and reckless to ever consider. Never mind the serum...For him? I honestly couldn't tell you, but I could do a little research, see if there were any old studies on his friend in Russia? Maybe Stark senior? I'm sorry you have to go through all of this basically alone. Is he okay? Does he want to talk to me himself?"

"Would you be willing to do that?" Zoe tried not to get her hopes up. "I don't want to make things awkward for you...Tony needs you more than he does right now."

"You've made it work, why can't I?" Bruce chuckled. "Besides, if Tony gets pissed at me, I can throw him through a wall. Give him my number and we'll have a little talk. Maybe I can talk some sense into him? Stranger things have happened."