Her White Wolf

Chapter Twenty-Five

The storm was rough. It downed several trees in the village and some of the city's buildings lost power, but now that it was over, James and Steve volunteered to help out.

"There's a lot of high water still," James commented as he looked around the village. "Traveling won't be easy."

"They're working to redirect some of the water that's in the central part of town," Steve advised as he lifted a large chunk of a tree and got it out of the road. "Certainly won't be in any kind of drought."

"Not for a good while," James agreed as he lifted a stack of limbs and took them to a pile they'd created. "Have you heard from Cleo today? She wasn't feeling well at breakfast." 

Steve picked up another piece of wood and glanced at Bucky. "She said the same thing to me. She seemed tired too," he replied. "I told her she should maybe go see Shuri just to be safe."

"Pfft. That woman is stubborn. It'll take carrying her before she'll go," James replied.

Steve chuckled softly, nodding. "She certainly can be stubborn," he agreed. "Maybe we should shoot Shuri a text to check on her friend."

"Do you think Cleo would get mad if we did?" He asked.

"Annoyed, maybe. But not mad," Steve said with a shrug. He reached into his back pocket to pull out his phone. "I'll do it, she can be upset with me. I can take it." Steve had always been a worrier.

Steve: Hey Shuri - if you get a chance could you check on Cleo today? She wasn't feeling well this morning and she's seemed more tired than usual.

Shuri: More tired? Tired how? That woman never runs out of energy.

Steve: It usually seems that way, yeah. But she's definitely slowed down. Yawning, falling asleep while we're watching television. She even slept in.

Shuri: Have you noticed any other symptoms?

Steve: Buck said she wasn't feeling well at breakfast. Could be from something she ate last night I suppose.

Shuri: I'll look into it, but have either of you been using protection?

Steve's brows furrowed at the question on his phone screen.

Steve: Cleo has that covered so no...are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?

He stood up a little straighter and glanced at his best friend, who was thankfully busying himself with something else. It was only a few months ago that Buck had said that he wasn't ready for something like... marriage and kids. Steve's stomach churned a little out of anxiety but he didn't want to worry Bucky yet.

Shuri: Anything is possible? At least I tell myself that now since everything that's happened. But I will visit the clinic and check on her.

Steve: Thank you, Shuri. We appreciate it.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket. "She's gonna go see Cleo at the clinic."

James nodded as he dusted off his hands, having cleared a section of road. "That's good. Shuri is a good friend to Cleo."

"She is," Steve agreed, resting his hands on his hips. "Let's move further into town. Gotta get these roads back up and running."

"I doubt it will be today, but we can get a good portion done," James agreed. "Let's go."

~~~~~~~~

"Good job, yay," Cleo murmured to the tropical bird sitting on the table of the clinic. She had broken her wing when she crash landed and the collar was finally off. Typically she'd have more enthusiasm, but today she wasn't feeling like she had much energy at all.