Come Back To Me

2

My head spun and I nearly fell over. If it weren't for the fact that Steve was holding me up, I would have fainted right off of the hospital bed. "Wha-what do you mean Im not?" I asked.

Worry washed over my body. What if the baby died in the ice? What if I miscarried? What if the impact of the crash crushed it? All of these horrible scenarios played through my mind, endless possibilities that put me at blame. What kind of awful person was I to let something so horrible happen to a child?

"Maggie, I need you to relax. Im going to go get a friend to explain what happened. Please, wait right here." Steve said, standing up and leaving my side without waiting for an answer. I tried to stand up to go after him, to demand and answer, but my legs gave out under my body and I crumpled to the floor. My chest stung as I gasped for a breath, and black dots filled my vision again. I opened my mouth to call out for help, but nothing more than a weak squeak escaped my lips. And so I layed on the ground, tears blurring my vision and my chest constricting my breath. My body was weak and sore, and I rolled on my back crying out and staring at the lights on the ceiling. I wanted to be okay. I wanted to get up. I wanted to find Steve. But I was in a panic attack and couldnt move. I was overwhelmed and weak.

Suddenly, Steve's voice filled my head, but it sounded like I was under water and it echoed in my brain. Within moments, Steve's blurred face was the only thing I could see above me, and I felt his arms slide under my body as he lifted me up, gravity pressing down on my shaking body. Steve layed me in my bed and leaned over me with worry in his ocean eyes, stroking my hair away from my face with one hand and squeezing my shoulder with the other. The constriction in my chest lessened, and I managed to take larger breaths.

"Shhh. Its okay Mags. I've got you. Im here." Steve whispered, calming me down. I sniffled as my senses slowly returned to normal. My body shivered, and tears soaked my cheeks. 

I managed to turn my head slightly to look at my brother apologetically. "I... Im sorry Steve." I whimpered. Steve shook his head and gave me a confused smile.

"Whats there to be sorry for, Mags?" he asked light heartedly.

"I... I just am." I said, unsure of why I even said sorry in the first place. I guessed it was just from scaring him with my panic attack. Steve smiled and stopped stroking my hair, turning back and pulling up the chair Tony had sat in so he could be closer to me.

"Mags, I brought a friend." his blue eyes shifted over. I looked in the same direction as Steve to see a stout looking man. He had curly hair with tufts of gray amidst the black, and he wore a purple button up shirt. "Maggie, this is my friend, Bruce Banner. He's a doctor." Steve said.

I smiled up at the nervous looking man. "Nice to meet you." I nodded curtly.

"Its nice to finally meet you too... Now listen, Im not your doctor that handled everything, but I have an easier time explaining medics than your brother does." Dr. Banner spoke in a throaty voice. I nodded slowly in understanding and subconsciously I gripped Steve's hand as I waited to hear the news. "You were stuck in a coma for a year longer than your brother for a reason. The child inside you was eating away your energy in order to develop. After you being unconscious for 9 months, the actual doctor was afraid that you couldnt birth the baby yourself while you slept. So he designed a procedure to remove the child. Its called a cesarean, or a more common term would be a C-Section. The doctor made an incision in your lower abdomen to remove the kid and your rapid healing made it so you dont even have a scar left over like most women." I felt Steve's grip on my hand tighten as Bruce went on. "The baby survived birth."

"My baby is alive?" I sat up, feeling my heart flutter with the incredible news.

"Well, yes. But it isnt really a baby anymore. See, you were injected with the super-soldier syrum, correct? And we theorize that the deceased father of the child was injected with something too while in the hands of Arnhim Zola. We just dont know what he was injected with. So that made the development of the child from birth extremely rapid." he stated in an even tone.