Let Go: Winterwidow

Part 6: Sickness

A wedding followed soon after, as was expected by everyone who knew them. They had a simple venue in New York, nothing special. Bucky and Natasha were grateful that so many of their guests were willing to join in. Natasha was radiant in her flowing white dress, and the veil completed the look as she sailed down the aisle towards her fiancé. Bucky was in a handsome tux, excitedly watching his bride move down the aisle to him. 

He had never felt so ready or sure about any other decision he had made in his life. He was prepared and more than willing to take care of her and love her and even die for her. He would cherish her forever and be her loving husband, till the end of the line and beyond.

They made their vows and eagerly awaited the moment when they would kiss. The priest granted it to them, and Bucky swept her down into a dramatic dip, giving her a sweet, passionate kiss. Their guest cheered happily as he pulled her back up to her feet, grinning at her.

After that they travelled to their reception. then to their honeymoon. France was their chosen destination, perfect for romance. They enjoyed themselves, exploring Paris and were reluctant to return home when the time came almost a month later. 

Presently, they were packing their bags and preparing to return home when Natasha felt a pain in her stomach. It wasn't the usual stomach crap or just a little hungry grumble, no, this was a completely new feeling all together. She grunted in pain and sat on the bed, clutching it as Bucky walked back in with a stack of shirts.

"Hey, you okay honey?" he asked, setting the shirts in his suitcase and sitting next to her. "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine~" she closed her eyes and felt the pain throb throughout her entire body. "My stomach just hurts..."

"You want some medicine? You've been saying your stomach has been hurting for the past few days, maybe we should take you to a doctor. I don't want you flying on a plane in this state," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing her cheek. 

"No, let's just go home," she leaned against him, smiling through her pain. Bucky didn't believe that she was alright, and he gave her a 'really' look. "I'm fine, James, really," she stood up and bent over at once in pain.

"Nat!" Bucky stood up at once and helped her to the packed car. "I'm taking you to the doctor, like it or not. You need some medical attention." 

She sighed and allowed him to ease her into the car carefully. He climbed in and backed out, placing a hand on her knee and rubbing affectionate circles on it as he started to drive towards the doctor's office which was downtown. Natasha squeezed her eyes tight shut and leaned her head back in pain as Bucky raced her to the medics.

When they arrived, Bucky helped her inside and set her down gently on a soft chair before signing in. He then sat next to her and tried to distract her from the pain she was in by talking about how excited he was to go to the new house they had bought to live together in, and what an amazing life they'd have together. 

"Shut up, I'm not dying Barnes," she said, holding her stomach and trying to soothe the pain. "It's a little stomach ache, this is a waste of time."

"Your health is not a waste of time to me, honey," Bucky brushed a strand of red hair from her eyes. "I need to take care of you." He was starting to get worried at about how on edge she was.

"Natasha Barnes?" the doctor called from the doorway.

Bucky helped her to her feet and over to the doorway. Natasha waved him off and walked herself, but it looked painful. The doctor opened the door to a room and sat her down on a table. Bucky sat down on a chair in the corner and gave her an encouraging smile. Even when she was sick, she was good at keeping herself well-tempered for the most part. 

"So, I understand you're not feeling so well in your stomach region?" she asked kindly, bringing out a laptop and propping it up on her lap. "Care to describe it for me so I can run an analysis?"

Natasha sighed and nodded. "The pain kinda runs throughout my entire body, but it's emanating from here," she gestured to the round of her stomach, which seemed to be more bloated than usual, "it just happened out of the blue."

"I see," the doctor said as she typed on the keys, "anything else I should know about?"

Bucky sighed as the doctor grilled Natasha with questions. He checked his watch and swallowed back his stress. Their flight would leave in a couple of hours, and they still needed to get through security. Not to mention the airport was a good 45 minutes away from where they were.

The doctor kept her face stiff and smiley as they talked. Bucky tapped his foot impatiently as she droned on with questions. He could see that Natasha was stressed out too.

"I'll be right back," the doctor stepped out of the room and left the two alone. There was a pause.

"What do you think is wrong with me?" Natasha finally asked quietly. She looked down to her painful, bloated stomach.

Bucky walked over to his wife and took her hand, stroking his thumb along her knuckles. He wanted to help her calm down since she was visibly under pressure now. He kissed the top of her head comfortingly.

"I don't know babydoll, but if we have to reschedule our flight, we can do that no problem," he smiled reassuringly at her. "You don't have to worry about a thing." 

Natasha seemed more relieved to hear that reassurance and leaned up, giving him a soft kiss with her full lips. The pain in her stomach held up as she traced his jawline gently. Bucky smiled against her lips and carefully wrapped an arm around her waist.

"You're going to be just fine," he murmured.

The doctor suddenly opened the door. Bucky pulled away from Natasha and held her hand, giving it a slight squeeze. She returned the gesture and held her breath as the doctor addressed her.

"We've done some evaluations," she said with that smile on her face, "and I'm pleased to say congratulations! You're pregnant!"