Never Go To A Stark Party

Chapter 18

After a few days had passed, Bruce was finally able to get Bucky an appointment at his friend's clinic. When the day came, Bucky went with Natasha and Steve.

As Bruce got the supplies ready, Bucky mentally prepared himself for whatever news was to come. He was as prepared as he could be by the time Bruce was done.

"According to the movies, you should lay down and lift your shirt up." The shifter chuckled lightly, his attempt at a playful joke. He knew what he was doing--for the most part, at least.

Bucky simply nodded plainly and did as told. With his stomach visible for all the world to see, he felt more exposed than he had ever; he was embarrassed. The feeling only worsened when Natasha excitedly pointed out a small bump on his stomach.

If he was being honest...he hadn't even glimpsed at his body since he found out he was pregnant--and it wasn't even as hard as he thought it'd be.

"Oh my gosh...!" Natasha squealed softly, her hands at first moving to touch the bump before she quickly pulled it back and instead chose to cover her mouth. "Bruce, look...!"

Bruce looked, and puzzled, offered Natasha a small smile. He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to say...he was happy for Bucky and Steve? Of course he was, but that didn't mean he knew what to say about a baby bump. It was their baby, not his.

"Alright, I'm going to put the gel on your stomach now. Just a head's up," He muttered softly, beginning to squeeze some of the gel onto Bucky's bump, "It's going to be cold."

The warning was late, so it didn't do Bucky any good. Still, it was the thought that counted...or something like that. Bucky didn't care. He just wanted this over with. He needed to figure out why the fuck he was so sick.

It wasn't long before Bruce was waving an electronic 'wand' against the ex-soldier's stomach, and the black-and-white, distorted picture of his stomach was visible on the large TV screen in front of them. Making sure the speakers were on so that they could hear the baby's heartbeat, Bruce continued to move the wand around until he found what he was looking for.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the sound of a heart beating filled the otherwise silent room. At the same time, the image of a small baby took place on the TV. Natasha and Steve both gasped while Bucky stared and listened silently.

"They're beautiful..." Natasha said softly, tearing up. She looked at Bruce as she reached over to grasp his hand gently. Her movement surprised him, as he looked at her in confusion. She was acting awfully sentimental over someone else's baby...

"I need to tell you something, Bruce. After the ultrasound, ok?"

He nodded simply, doing his best to just resume his work. Bucky wasn't the only who just wanted to get it over with, nor was he the only tired person.

"There's your baby..." He said with as much optimism as he could muster. He turned to Steve and Bucky and offered a smile. "We can't tell what the gender is yet, but in a few more weeks we can."

"Thank you, Bruce." Steve grinned at Bruce happily, making an attempt to shake his hand before he realized the shifter was still busy. He blushed in embarrassment and instead settled on holding Bucky's, who was still silent, hand. "That's me and you, Buck..."

    "Yeah..." Bucky muttered almost inaudibly. He couldn't understand anything. The thing inside him, it was real! He was seeing it for the first time now and...and he didn't know what to say. This was no longer a dream. It was a reality.

    Before he could begin to panic, Bruce spoke.

    "I don't mean to cut things short, but let's move on to the problem at hand now, yeah?"

    "Yeah." Bucky agreed. He did not want to think about the alien inside him. Nor did he want to look at Natasha and Steve, both of whom were staring at him in puzzlement. Guess he should have been happier, he thought sourly to himself.

    Bruce once more began to move the wand around, this time searching for the uterus he was sure Bucky had. A few times he murmured unintelligible things to himself.

"This is strange..." He said softly, brows furrowed. The image on the TV didn't make any sense to the other three, so when he finally spoke loud enough for them to hear, they turned their attention to him.

"What is?" Steve asked worriedly, asking what all of them wanted to. Leave it to him to take charge, even when it had nothing to do with him.

"Well, now that I can see things a little bit more in-depth, Bucky's pelvis is not nearly as wide as it needs to be." Bruce then stopped his hand's movement and turned his attention completely to the trio. "With just that alone, he might not be able to give birth to this child. Naturally, at least. Not only that, but his uterus and cervix are strangely placed. I know the Germans experimented on soldiers but I didn't know they did things like this. He has everything he needs to create a baby, but it barely looks functional..." Once he said the last part, he looked at Bucky.

"Have you ever menstruated, James?"

Bucky stared at him for a few moments, lost, before it dawned on him. He immediately reddened. "What? No! I'm a guy, don't forget that." He turned away, more than embarrassed. Natasha had to stifle a laugh.

Bruce, however, only nodded slowly. "I don't know how they did it, I really don't." A heavy, frustrated sigh left him. He had seven Ph.D.'s, none of which were helping him now. "You need to menstruate, otherwise you don't release hormones, and the egg your body is supposed to release doesn't grow. I don't know how you and Steve conceived this baby if there was no egg to be fertilized, but it happened. What I do know is that it is affecting your health. I'm going to need to take a few X-rays, James."

The entire time, Bucky was silent. He was rolling the shifter's words over when Bruce settled a hand on his shoulder, a slightly mournful look on his face.

"This could be life-threatening."

Before he had a chance to speak, Steve was speaking for him.

"Life-threatening? How? Is there anything you can do?" Already, there were tears in his eyes. Bucky noticed and after wiping the gel off of his stomach and fixing his shirt, sat up so he could hold him.

"I'm not sure yet, Steve. I'm sorry." Bruce then began to clean up. Delivering bad news was never one of his strengths. "I'm going to talk it over with my friend, show her the ultrasound and X-rays I'll take, but there's not much I can tell you. I have a feeling James is going to go under the scalpel, though." As he peeled off the gloves he was wearing, he spared a glance at Steve and Bucky. "A C-section sounds like it's the best option."

By the time Bruce had finished, Bucky was up and out of the room. If the pain he had been dealing with previously stressed him out, then this would be the straw that broke the camel's back. Steve then quickly walked out after him, having murmured a rushed 'Thank you.'

Natasha stayed behind.

A/N: y'all i have no idea how ovulation, periods, or the female reproductive system work i just did a google search so i hope this is as accurate as possible--

also THINGS ARE GETTING MORE DRAMATIC AHHH