December 15, 2012
Sarah's POV
I woke up to a dull stabbing pain in my lower abdomen. My stomach muscles were contracting involuntarily and the pain was enough to take my breath away. Steve and James were still sleeping on either side of me, so I crept out of bed to stretch. I felt a wave of nausea as I stood and sprinted for the bathroom. I knelt over the toilet as my stomach heaved, retching until my stomach was empty.
I hadn't thrown up in a very long time, not since I had accidentally poisoned myself when I was working on a new project in the lab at Ops. This felt different, though. The nausea seemed to be a reaction to this unfamiliar pain.
I sat back on my heels, my limbs shaking as the pain subsided momentarily. I was exhausted still and just wanted to go back to sleep, but I was also freezing cold, so I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep yet. I decided to run a hot bath; maybe that would help my muscles relax. I still wasn't sure why they'd spasmed like that, but maybe it had to do with my upset stomach.
I stood up carefully and shut the bathroom door before starting the water. I turned it as hot as I could stand it and stripped, adding some scented bubble bath before I climbed in the tub. It felt so nice on my cold body that I laid back and let the water fill to the overflow. I used my foot to turn it off and closed my eyes.
I must have drifted off, because I woke a little later to my abdominal muscles spasming again. This time it was stronger, and I sat up, gasping. The nausea was back and I fought it down, narrowly winning. I broke out in a cold sweat as the pain passed. I ducked down under the water to rinse it away. The water was getting cold, so I let some of it out and added more hot water.
I felt a little better now, but I still didn't know why I was feeling this way. I hadn't done any experiments lately; I'd been too busy to spend time in the lab. I'd sparred with James yesterday, but he hadn't gotten in more than one hit to my torso, and it hadn't been any worse than his other hits. I'd been too slow on the block and his fist had connected, the impact throwing me back. It had hurt, but this pain was nothing like my normal soreness after a good fight.
I gritted my teeth as the pain returned and I swore I felt a strange little 'pop' inside of me. I rode out the spasms, leaning back as they passed and closing my eyes, still tired.
* * *
Steve's POV
I woke up suddenly, reaching for Sarah. I'd heard something odd, like someone was in pain, but Bucky was still sleeping soundly on the other side of the bed. Her pillow was cold, but I hadn't felt her leave the bed. I threw back the covers and got up, looking around. It was just after four in the morning; I could see fine in the dark, but I didn't see her anywhere. Her running shoes were still by the door and I didn't think she'd made plans to run with Kate - besides, her phone was still on the nightstand, so she hadn't left.
I noticed the bathroom door was closed, but there weren't any lights on. I opened the door and looked inside. Sarah was in the tub in the dark. It was unusual enough that the lights were off, but she never took baths in the middle of the night. I flicked on the light and walked into the bathroom. I felt myself break out in a cold sweat as I noticed the bath water was dark red and Sarah wasn't moving. I knelt down next to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her lightly. She was warm, like she should be, so I let out the breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.
"Sarah, wake up. Sarah!"
She cracked her eyes open and closed them again. "I'm awake. I feel horrible though," she groaned as a flash of pain moved across her face.
"Sarah, are you okay? Why is the tub full of blood? Where are you hurt?"
I tried to keep my breaths steady as I watched her tense with what had to be pain. She didn't answer me and I watched as she opened her eyes again and looked down at the water, which was indeed very red. She paled even more, but slowly moved for the plug and pulling it before leaning back as the water started to drain, leaving a red line marking where the water had been.
I didn't know what to do, so I grabbed my phone, calling the only person who might be able to help right now. Bruce Banner picked up on the third ring, to my relief.
"Bruce, it's Steve. Sorry to wake you up but I didn't know who else to call."
What's wrong, Steve? Are you all right?
"I'm fine, but something's wrong with Sarah. I found her a couple minutes ago sitting in a bathtub full of bloody water. I can't get her to talk to me."
Has she been harmed?
"No, I don't think so. She was fine when we went to bed. I don't see any marks on her, but she's tensed like she's in pain." I walked back in the bathroom and knelt by the tub. "Sarah, it's Bruce. Will you talk to him?"
She was leaning forward with her head between her knees, breathing shakily. She looked up finally and held out her hand for the phone, taking it from me and putting it up to her ear.
"Hello?" She said quietly, almost a whisper.
I couldn't hear Bruce's reply, he was too soft spoken for that, so I only heard her half of the conversation.
"Well, he's not wrong. What time is it?"
I glanced at my watch. It was almost 4:30.
"I woke up at around 3 feeling nauseous and had a horrible pain in my lower abdomen. I kept having muscle spasms that went from my lower back all the way around my stomach, tightening my abs."
She paused to listen to Bruce, wrapping her other arm around her knees. Goosebumps were raising on her skin and I sat back on my heels as I heard her next statement.
"Regularly spaced intervals, but closer together now, maybe five minutes apart. Bruce, I know it isn't possible, but I think I'm having a miscarriage."
Miscarriage. In order for her to be having a miscarriage, that meant she was pregnant – with my baby. Tony was going to kill me. I took a deep breath and looked at her carefully, not seeing a bulge to her belly. It was still as flat as it had always been, so she couldn't be very pregnant - only a month or two at the most, maybe. I thought back to try and figure out when this could have happened. It took a while before I realized that there had been one time we hadn't used protection, after the Halloween party in New York. I shook myself out of my thoughts and caught the tail end of the phone conversation.
"Yes. Thanks, Bruce." She held out the phone to me and I took it, as she looked over at me, looking scared. It was an expression that I hated to see on her beautiful face.
"I don't know how this is even possible, Steve. We always use protection and I even had an IUD put in when we first started having sex."
"IUD?" I blinked at her, having no idea what she was telling me.
"It's a little copper 'T' that's inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancy." She explained. "I thought that it would be smarter to not just rely on condoms. They can be forgotten or fail."
"Oh." I flushed, as I tried to find the words to tell her what she didn't remember. "Umm...most of the time we do use a condom, but remember a couple weeks ago, after that huge Halloween party at Tony's?"
"I... oh shit, you're right. I was so worked up I never even thought of it." Her eyes widened and she leaned her head on her knees. "But still, that's what the IUD is for."
"What did Bruce say? Am I taking you in to the Triskelion?"
"Yes, please. Bruce and Dr Casey are going to meet us there. I'm going to shower before we leave. I'll be out in a bit."
"Okay." I stood up. "I'm going to go get changed and leave a note for Bucky so he doesn't worry." She nodded, and I walked out of the bathroom.
I quickly wrote a note and stuck it to his phone so he wouldn't wonder where we were in the morning. I didn't want to wake him because I knew he wouldn't handle this well. I needed to focus on Sarah right now, and I wouldn't be able to do that if I needed to keep calming him down.
I grabbed some clothes out of the closet and dressed, going in the bathroom to brush my teeth. Sarah was just getting out of the shower and went to go get dressed. It wasn't long before she was ready to go and pulling her jacket on while I waited anxiously.
I grabbed Sarah's car keys as she was putting her shoes on. "Ready? I'll carry you down the stairs." We walked out and I shut the door behind us.
"I'm ready. I can walk, Steve," she protested, but I wasn't going to let her walk down three flights of stairs when she was in pain.
"I'm not asking you, Sarah. Let me do this for you." I kissed her gently, and she nodded.
"All right."
I gently scooped her up in my arms and ran down the stairs. I set her down when we got to the car and opened her door for her. I ran around and got in the driver's seat and started the car. I pulled out of the garage and headed for the Triskelion. I pushed the speed limit, and since traffic was really light this time of day, we made good time. Sarah had two more contractions on the way there, making reality set in – this was really happening.
The security guard waved us through, not even asking for our ID's since he recognized us. I parked and walked around to let her out. She didn't argue as I picked her up again; I felt her tense as another contraction gripped her. I ran to the elevator, trying not to jostle her and we saw Bruce as soon as we got off on the hospital floor.
"This way, Steve." Bruce led me to an isolation room and I laid her down on the bed. Dr Casey came in and Bruce and I stepped outside so Sarah could change into a hospital gown. We stood out in the hallway and I looked over at the older man as I leaned on the wall.
"Thanks, Bruce. I just didn't know what was going on."
"I'm glad you called. I understand that this was a surprise to both of you."
"Yeah, you could say that. She said this shouldn't be possible."
"Ahh. We had talked about options back before you started being intimate, so I'm glad she was being proactive. I've gone over all of the Genesis data – everything I could find – with a fine tooth comb."
"And? What is it Bruce?"
"I don't know for a fact of course, but I have seen how Sarah's body reacts to stitches and staples when she's been injured. You know what happens when you get them, Steve."
I nodded. "My body breaks them down." Given time, it even finished absorbing the last of the shrapnel I took a couple months ago. My last scan showed it was all gone; it took time, though, it wasn't immediate.
"Yes, and since her serum is a lesser version of yours, it takes her longer to break things down than it would you."
"So her body absorbed the metal."
"Yes, unfortunately. It's the only explanation. How far along could she be?"
"I don't know for sure. You've seen her - she doesn't look pregnant."
"So a month, maybe two?"
"My best guess is right before Halloween." I looked at him seriously, worry setting in. "What does this mean for her later on, if she decides she wants children in a few years? We've never talked about the future like that."
"I don't know. I can run a few test on the fetus, but her enhancement is an unknown factor at this point since she's the only female to ever be given the super-soldier serum."
"So do you think a baby would develop on the normal timeline or the Genesis timeline?"
"I'm sorry, Steve. I don't know; I guess we'll find out, though."
The door beside us opened as I spoke and the doctor came out. She looked at us and shut the door behind her. "I'm going to bring in an ultrasound machine, but you can go back in, Captain, Dr Banner. I'll be back shortly."
I reached out a hand and touched the doctor's arm, stopping her from leaving. She looked back up at me. "Is she going to be okay?"
The doctor patted my forearm reassuringly. "Yes, but it's good that you brought her in right away since this is her first pregnancy. If she's as far along as she thinks, then this should be over fairly quickly. For whatever reason, the baby is probably just not developing correctly. Roughly three quarters of miscarriages that happen during the first trimester are due to fetal chromosomal defects, Captain."
I let out a breath that I hadn't realized I was holding and nodded. She gave me a small smile and turned to leave. Bruce squeezed my shoulder and steered me to the door; I opened it and we went back in the room.