Hold On

Into The Storm

"Nat... this is Joe, and Anthony is standing over there with Chris." Sebastian moved his hand around my back, his way of reassuring me that everything was going to be fine, that any nervousness I'd had after quitting my book store job so abruptly was unfounded.

"Nice to finally meet you Natalie. Sebastian here has told us all an awful lot about you... anyways, I'll take you over to where you'll be working today..." Joe held out his hand and I gingerly took hold of it, letting him lead me towards what had to be the makeup trailer "Alex here will tell you everything you need to know alright?" I managed a small smile as I let go of his hand, and Joe reached into his pocket, pulling out what looked like an I.D. lanyard that had my name across the front in big, bold letters "You'll need to wear this at all times when you're on the set, Sebastian picked the design on the back, thought you'd appreciate that..." I smirked as I turned it over in my palm, the intricate design of The Winter Soldier's metal arm covered the back.

"Hey. Natalie right? I'm Alex, I'm technically the set medic but once they found out I had a background in makeup, well... here I am." He shrugged as he opened the door to the trailer for me, and I shamelessly took a second to check out what he looked like. Alex had longer dark brown hair that he'd pulled back into a messy bun, and probably the greenest eyes I'd ever seen on anyone. He was wearing a plain black tank underneath an unbuttoned red plaid shirt. And did I mention he was Irish? "I need you to help me with getting things in here more organized. The guy that was here before me kinda... made a mess." I nodded along as he explained a few more things, and then we both got to work, making small talk as we went along "Wait... you've never been to Ireland?!"

"My friend Jane went a few years back..." I trailed off, wiping my forehead with the end of my sleeve, my nerves instantly causing me to break out in a sweat. It happened every time the memory of her was brought up now, which honestly, was better than what used to happen "She went on her own, to Dublin and Bray if I'm remembering correctly..." I finished labeling a few drawers of supplies, leaning back against the small counter and fidgeting with the marker in my hands "I still want to go some day... I made her a promise that I would..." I trailed off, and luckily Alex didn't push it any further.
-
-
-
*A Few Weeks Later*

Sebastian and I both were sitting on his couch, my head resting against his arm, a blanket draped haphazardly over the both of us. My eyes felt oddly heavy, even though I'd been getting plenty of sleep I was still feeling really tired and weak for some reason. In the back of my mind, a small voice was whispering that I was pregnant, and it was only compounded by how sick to my stomach I'd also been feeling. This couldn't be happening... I had to find out if my suspicions were real, and soon.

"Seb?"

"Mmmm." He stopped moving his hand up and down my arm long enough to look down at me, and I slowly pulled away from him, my hand unconsciously rubbing across my stomach before I stood up from the couch.

"I'm going to the store... you need anything?" Sebastian shook his head at me before laying himself down and grumbling about being sore. I held back a laugh, as he'd been doing some pretty rough stunts on set lately, always refusing to let them use a stunt double. I grabbed my coat off the hook in the hallway, then my wallet and Sebastian's car keys before quietly letting myself out.
-
-
The drugstore I was walking through was nearly empty, save for a few people browsing the alcohol section. I fidgeted with my hands as I made a beeline for the pharmacy section, grabbing two boxes of pregnancy tests and then turning towards the front, hoping that the only person I would have to talk to tonight would be the cashier... "Natalie?" An all too familiar Irish accent pierced through my foggy mind, and I turned towards the noise so abruptly that I dropped everything I was holding.

"Alex... hey." I bent down to pick up the boxes, my heart stopping when he knelt down to pick them up for me "These aren't for me they're for... uh. Not for me..."

"It's none of my business, don't worry sweetheart." He shrugged, helping me stand up by gently grabbing my hand "Pardon me if this is too forward, but is that why you're here so late, alone?" I nodded as we both walked towards Sebastian's car, and my hands were shaking so terribly that I almost dropped the keys on the ground "Sorry... I know I said it was none of my business, but you're a friend."

"I just... we haven't been together that long. And he's... Sebastian Stan. I don't know how he's going to take it if I'm actually... pregnant." I leaned against the driver's side of the car, after shoving my bag inside "Sorry to unload all of this on you... you're one of the few people in my life I trust... one of maybe three friends..." Alex didn't say anything, before he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. I was so surprised by his sudden display of affection that I didn't really hug him back, so when he finally stepped away he had a terribly worried look on his face.

"Was that alright of me to do?" He ran his hand through his hair, his eyes still studying me for any sign that he'd made me uncomfortable "It'll all be fine Nat. I promise."