Infatuation | Bucky Barnes

Chapter Fifty

Nine Months after the Snap

Catherine waddled to the front door as she heard a knock. She knew it was Steve. She kept insisting that he just walk inside, he had a key after all, but he always knocked.

"You look happy." Steve said sarcastically.

"I'm ecstatic. Everything hurts. Nothing fits. And I can't go 10 minutes without going to the bathroom." She told him.

"I was going to take you out to lunch, but I think I'm going to just make you something. Why don't you go sit down and relax." Steve suggested.

Catherine began to walk over to the couch and felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She reached out to grab the couch for support. There was another pain and she gasped.

"Catherine?" Steve asked concerned.

She felt something wet against her leg and looked down to see bright red blood. She knew something was wrong. Her head was spinning. She fell to her knees and Steve ran to her side.

"S-Something's wrong." She said weakly.

"I'll call an ambulance." Steve said.

There was a ringing in her ears and she could see spots in her vision. The next thing she felt was her body hitting the floor and everything went black.

****

The first thing Catherine noticed as she woke up was the strong smell of anesthetic. The next thing she felt was an awful pain in lower abdomen. She could feel tubes and wires connecting to her body and she reached up to feel oxygen on her face. She attempted to open her eyes. It took a minute for her vision to become clear. She was in a hospital room.

What happened?

The last thing she remembered was blood. So much blood. She looked around and saw Steve sitting in the chair next to her, holding something wrapped in a light blue blanket. His lips were moving, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. Catherine attempt to sit up, but let out a groan as pain shot up through her stomach.

"Catherine?" She heard Steve asked.

"W-What happened? Am I okay? Is the baby okay?" She asked confused.

Steve looked down at the blue blanket in his arms and then back at Catherine. She heard the blanket make a noise. Steve moved closer and she could make out the face a newborn. William. Catherine felt overwhelmed with emotions.

"You passed out. The doctors said you suffered a massive hemorrhage. They had to put you under and do an emergency c section. You're okay now though. Thank God." Steve said sitting up the bed. "Do you want to hold your son?"

Catherine nodded quickly and Steve placed the small baby in her arms. He was absolutely perfect. She reached a finger up to stroke his little cheek. His hair was the same color has Bucky's. Actually, everything looked like Bucky. It was clear their son was a spitting image of his dad. She felt tears running down her face.

"He's perfect." Catherine managed.

"He is. He was eight pounds exactly. He's healthy though. Not a single thing is wrong with him. I let him sleep in his crib for a while, but he started crying, so I picked him up." Steve told her.

"Thank you Steve. You saved my life. And his. If you hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened." She said through tears. "He looks just like him."

Steve smiled. "He does. I'm going to let the nurse know you're awake. You have a lot of visitors waiting too."

Catherine watched him walk outside and then gazed back down at her son. "Hey little guy. I know you had quite the entrance, but mommy is here now. You have no idea how loved you are."

There was a knock on the doorframe and she looked up to see Tony standing there with his hands in his pocket. He looked worried, but relieved when he saw his sister awake.

"Can I come in?" He asked. 

"Of course." She told him with a smile.

Tony walked over and peered at his nephew. "I'm glad you two are okay."

"Me too. Do you want to hold him? You're going to have one of these soon you know." She teased.

"Uh, sure." Tony said taking the small bundle from her arms.

"Well look at you. Uncle Tony." Catherine said smiling at her brother. "You're a natural."

"Uncle Tony? We're going to have to come up with something better then that." He told her. "He looks like him."

Catherine let out a shaky breath. "He does. I wish Bucky was here. We never talked about having kids, but I secretly thought he would be a great dad."

Tony flinched slightly when she said Bucky's name. He still had not forgiven him for killing their parents, but he was still married to his sister and his nephew's father. He could tell Catherine missed him and was trying to hide her pain. He may have been an assassin, but Tony knew he loved his sister unconditionally.

There was another knock at the door and Natasha, Pepper, Rhodey and Steve were standing there waiting. Catherine motioned then to come inside. Pepper was the first to hold William and then Natasha, Rhodey and then back to Steve.

"You gave us quite the scare." Natasha said.

"Sorry. I'm just thankful Steve was there." Catherine said as William let out a small cry.

"I think he's hungry." Steve told her, passing him back to his mother.

Tony leaned over and kissed the top of his sister's head, and then left with the others. Catherine undid the blanket that William was wrapped in and he let out a small stretch.

"Do you want me to change him for you?" Steve asked.

"I'll do it. Will you put him in the crib for a minute?" She asked.

Steve nodded and she went to move to stand up and felt pain rip through her stomach. She let out a small gasp and gripped the bed rail. Her c section incision hurt like hell, but she was determined to take care of son. She somehow powered through the pain and stood up to change him. Once she finished changing him, she button the small onsie and sat back down on her bed.

Steve handed William to Catherine and she gave him a look.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"W-Well, my plan was to breastfeed him." She said.

It took Steve a minute to get what she was saying. "Oh. Oh! Right. Umm....I'll go get something to eat."

"I mean, you can stay if you want. I just didn't want to whip it out and scare you." Catherine said with a smile.

Steve stood up. "It's okay. I'll give you some alone time."

Catherine couldn't help but laugh as his cheeks turned red and he scurried out of the room. She pulled one part of hospital gown down and brought William to her breast and he latched instantly. It was a little uncomfortable, but she cherished this moment with her son.