Ice Princess

50

"It's her." Bruce said.

"He's not going to be too happy." Sam said.

"Which is why I need you to talk him down before you bring him here." Bruce told him. Melinoe was sleeping silently on the bed. Bruce was able to stop the bleeding. He didn't understand why or how, but the baby was hers according to DNA. Her uterus was gone, she didn't have any ovaries, he wasn't going to try to figure out conception. The baby had Bucky's DNA as well.

"Why can't she talk to him?" Sam asked.

"Because Melinoe has been through more than enough and we owe her some support. Think how relieved he will be once he sees she's back."

"Yes, but..." Sam began.

"That you can let her explain but not until she wakes up."

______

"Bucky, you look awful. You smell awful as well, go take a shower." Sam told him.

"What's the point?" Bucky said.

"Because, I have something to show you. Trust me."

"No."

"She's back."

"Who?"

"Meli."

"What? Don't say her name."

"Meli, she's back and alive. She's waiting for you at the hospital." Sam stopped him from leaving, "Dude, trust me, you're going to want to take a shower, you stink."

_______

"Where is she? Where is she?" Bucky was pushing people out of the way looking into rooms for Melinoe. "Meli! Meli!"

"Keep it down, there are other patients." Bruce told him and led him to the room Melinoe was in. "She's in here, sleeping. Meli lost a lot of blood. We did everything we could for her. But she's hanging on by a thread."

"Whatever you need to do, do it. Save her."

"We have two options. She needs a blood transfusion. She has the rarest blood type there is, but you and I have the universal donor type."

"Well, give it to her." He said rolling up his sleeve.

"If we give her my blood she might change physically. If we giver her your blood...." Bruce began. Bucky understood what he was saying.

"Give her mine." Bruce set Melinoe up creating a line directly from Bucky to Melinoe. Purposefully, Bruce waited until Melinoe had enough blood in her before he announced. "There's one other thing." Sam came in with the baby.

"Sam, why do you have a baby?" Bucky asked.

"His name is Steven." Sam said showing him the baby. "Steven Rogers Barnes."

"What?" Bucky looked confused.

"He's our son." Melinoe whispered trying to wake up. "I don't know how, but it happened." She found if she just kept her eyes closed she could concentrate on speaking easier than waking up. "Life from death. It broke the curse that Demeter placed on me."

"Don't try to get up." Bruce told her.

"Sam, let me have Steve, please." Sam looked from Melinoe to Bruce and Bruce nodded. The baby cooed. "I put a binding spell and a concealment spell on him so if Demeter ever comes after us, she won't be able to take him." Holding the baby, she passed back out. Some color was now starting to come back into her face. Bruce removed the line from Bucky to Melinoe.

"So he's really my son?" Bucky asked.

"Yes, DNA doesn't lie." Bruce told him.

"I have a family?" Bucky looked at mother and child and looked lost.

"You always had family." Sam said.

"Not like this." Bucky said. He gently brushed hair away from Melinoe's face and kissed her forehead.

"She'll be waking up probably in a couple of hours." Bruce told him. Dragging up a chair Bucky sat beside the bed but not until after he took his son out of her arms.

"Make sure we aren't disturbed." Bucky growled at them. He waited until they left. "Hey little guy. I'm your daddy. I didn't know about you and I'm sorry about that and missing your birth. But I'm here now and I'm not ever going to miss a thing. You and your mother are my whole world."