Chapter Two
Soroya

The first thing we did after finding out the news was call Shuri. She said that I have to come back to Wakanda immediately so she can check that everything is going smoothly and discuss what to do going forward. John said that he and the others would continue on with the mission and keep us updated while we're gone. He's going to lie to Ross and tell him that Shuri is going to run some additional tests to see if I'm alright after I passed out. Hopefully Ross will buy that lie.

When we got onto the the ship to head back home, I called the rest of our family and told them the news. Alex and Khari are ecstatic, T'Challa, Nakia, and Okoye are excited as well, and said they would be there in Shuri's lab with me while we discussed what's in store for our child's future.

Bucky has held my hand the entire time we've been on the ship, and he's been smiling ever since we heard the news. I can't stop staring at him, seeing him this happy warms me to my core. While I share in his happiness, I can't help but feel a sense of dread settle within me. From the moment I learned of my pregnancy, I knew that I loved my child more than anything else in the world. I knew I would do anything to protect him or her, but doing that will be very hard. The life Bucky and I both live isn't one of safety and security, it's one of death and destruction.

My nerves and anxiety quiet a little bit once we actually reach Wakanda. It's been several months since I've been here last, and every time I step off the ship and onto the beautiful Wakandan grass, it makes me leap with joy. Alex and Khari wait for our arrival, and both of my brothers run up to me and embrace me the moment they see me.

"You are glowing with beauty." Khari tells me, placing a kiss on my cheek as he pulls back from our embrace. Khari as always is the genuine and sincere brother, while Alex wastes no opportunity to start making childish comments.

Alex moves away from me and grins as he sets eyes on Bucky, enveloping him in a large hug before saying: "So you knocked my sister up, huh? Didn't you bring condoms with you? And when the hell did you two even have time to have sex with John, Sam, Jade, and Sharon breathing down your necks?"

Khari takes the words right out of my mouth: "My love, couldn't you hold your comments until they can get inside the lab?"

"I don't think he has the restraint." I mutter.

Alex stares at me through narrowed eyes. "Oh I have restraint, I have it in bucket loads. You two just like to spoil all the fun."

Bucky rolls his eyes and wraps his arm around Alex's shoulder, starting to walk towards the lab doors. "You have quite the way of getting on my nerves."

Alex winks at his brother in law. "I love you, too, Buck."

Alex, thankfully, keeps his comments to himself as we make our way inside Shuri's lab. As they had promised, everyone is there waiting for us. Shuri is setting up all the computers and holograms, Okoye is leaning against the glass wall, and T'Challa, Nakia, and baby Zy'aire are sitting on the chairs behind one of Shuri's work tables. Zy is the first one I go towards, I open my arms up wide and swoop him into my arms, making him erupt in a fit of giggles. I haven't seen my nephew in forever and I couldn't be more excited to have him in my arms again.

Zy is just as happy to see me again, clutching onto me in tightly. His parents do the same, wrapping me up in a big group hug.

"We're so happy for you." T'Challa says to me as he hugs me.

"You'll make a wonderful mother." Nakia tells me, kissing my cheek as she pulls away from me.

"And I'll be a fantastic uncle," Alex declares, kissing little Zy on the head as he passes us by, sitting down in one of the now vacant chairs. "I'm already Zy's favorite uncle, now I'll be the favorite uncle of your kid."

Bucky, Khari, and T'Challa all exude some variation annoyance, with T'Challa muttering to himself. "If anyone will be the favorite uncle it will be me."

I transfer little Zy over to Bucky and go over to hug Okoye, as well as Shuri. Zy is very happy to see Bucky again, he keeps tapping on his uncle's metal hand because he enjoys the noise. It makes all of us laugh.

"Get up on the table and let me hook you up." Shuri orders, grabbing onto various technological items I don't know the usage of.

I do as she says and sit myself on the medical table, waiting silently as Shuri runs the scanners over me, the hum of the machines and computers filling the large space around us. After a few moments, Shuri seems satisfied with what she's gathered, and she tells me as such. "You're perfectly healthy, as is the baby. You're four weeks along, which is good, it gives us some time to plan."

"For what?" Bucky asks, bringing Zy'aire back to his mother before going over to me, linking his hand with mine.

"The baby's brain doesn't start to develop until six weeks into the pregnancy. You need brain activity in order to shift, so right now, you're safe, but once the baby has a brain...who knows what could happen."

"So we need to figure out a way to stop our child's shifting? How?" Bucky inquires.

An idea comes into my head, and I speak it out loud before I even have time to process it. "Analiese. She created a serum to temporarily stop shifting. Lets go ask her for the formula."

Everyone in the room shares a look, with Okoye pointing out the obvious: "She tried to kill you, why would she help you?"

"Because things are different now," I tell her. "After we found Julian, we buried the hatchet. She's the only one who knows how to create the serum, I think it's worth trying to ask her."

Shuri doesn't seem too happy about it, but she nods, as does Bucky, who murmurs to me: "If you trust her, then so do I," Bucky's attention then goes to Shuri, asking her: "Will you check the formula before you make the serum? See if it's alright."

Shuri scoffs, looking offended. "It's me."

I hear footsteps on the stairs a few moments later, and as I turn to see who it is, I feel a smile go over my face. It's Everett. I know Shuri would scold me if I jumped off the table to go hug him, so I wait for him to come over to me. He must have heard the news from one of our friends, because when he makes it to me he hugs me, giving me a sincere: "Congratulations, to both of you." He says, turning to Bucky to include him in that statement.

"I'm really glad you're here, there's something we need to discuss with you as well."

"What is it?"

I share a look with Bucky before I refocus my attention to Everett. We have talked about this for such a long time, we know exactly what we want to do and the lengths we are willing to go to protect our child. But we can't do it alone. We need the help of all our friends to make this possible.

"We want our child to choose what they want for their life. They're being born with powers, and with those powers comes responsibility that they didn't sign up for. We want to make sure that if our child doesn't want to become an Avenger and wants to live a normal life, they can."

Everett nods slowly, knowing what all that entails. "I can create a second identity for your child, so if they don't choose this life, then they can live out a normal one under a secret identity. But if you want to do this, then no one can know about your child. Ross, the UN, the FBI, they can ever find out."

"And we don't want them to," Bucky chimes in, squeezing my hand. "Who knows what Ross would do to our child if he knew about them."

"Do you plan on raising your kid in Wakanda?" Alex asks, clearly worried about what our answer will be.

Bucky and I both nod. "It's our home, we wouldn't want to raise them anywhere else."

Khari approaches Everett and I, his eyebrows furrowing in thought as he thinks aloud: "Then whenever Ross comes for his annual visit we need to hide your child and keep Ross away from your house. The barrier is up, so we don't have to worry about the outside world knowing about your child. Ross made sure Wakanda would stay hidden from the world and that will work to our advantage. Our people will know about your child, but I know that everyone within Wakanda is trustworthy. I think our two main worries are Ross and the border patrol, they report directly to him."

"Those men and women don't live here in Wakanda," T'Challa says. "Ross has said so many things about us that the patrols are afraid to come anywhere near us. I don't think they'll be a problem."

"What about your missions?" Nakia inquires, bouncing Zy'aire on her knee. "You two have only spent days at a time here for the past two and a half years because you've been so busy."

"And there's no way you'll be able to work while you're pregnant, you won't have your powers and you need to keep your child a secret. You'll have to give Ross an excuse to cover your whole pregnancy." Khari points out.

"As far as missions go, we'll take less of them after our baby is born, or at least make sure one of us is home." I tell them.

"We'll be here to help you, too," Okoye says reassuringly. "We're family, you can count on us."

My brothers, Nakia, T'Challa, Shuri, and Everett all nod in agreement, with Shuri saying: "I've been teaching Zy chemistry while I babysit, I can do the same for your baby. They'll be the smartest children in Wakanda, and they'll have their Aunt Shuri to thank for it."

T'Challa playfully rolls his eyes at his sister. "You could at least wait until my son walks for you to turn him into a scientist."

Shuri waves her brothers comment off. "Where's the fun in that?"

"I have an idea," Bucky says, looking away from me and over to Shuri. "The mission we are on right now is infiltrating a dance academy. John texted me a little while ago and said that a recital is happening in two days. What if Lena goes on stage and fakes an injury, pretends to break her leg. That can be a perfect distraction for us to capture the officer in the crowd and give an excuse for her to take the next few months off."

Shuri seems to like this idea. "Yes, that could work. But we need to be careful and plan it out by the second. If we slip up at all then the entire fake out is jeopardized."

"John, Sam, and Bucky could be the ones to do the actual arrest while Jade is on stage with Soroya," Khari suggests. "Sharon could be off stage and create a loud cracking noise that goes along with Soroya falling so everyone in the audience hears her 'break her leg'."

"But other dancers will be on stage," Alex points out. "If they get close to her they'll see her leg is fine."

"Not if I create a hologram that can attach to your leg and create the illusion of it being broken." Shuri says with a smile.

"So the dancers will see that my leg is broken and everyone would have heard the crack, then all that's left is for Jade and Sharon to carry me off stage and for you three boys to arrest Fredrick Ray."

Bucky's smile grows as he connects his forehead with mine. "Then we can put our focus on the baby."

I feel my smile grow as well, especially as Bucky places his flesh hand over my stomach and with the other hand, begins to gently rub my back.

"You two should go see Remington, we need that serum as soon as possible," Shuri tells the two of us before gesturing to everyone else. "I need to get the hologram ready as well as the necessary equipment to test and replicate the formula Remington gives me. In order to do all that I need some space."

"Which is just an eloquent way of saying 'get the fuck out of my lab'." Alex says with a smirk.

Shuri returns the smirk. "I'm just a little classier than you are, Alex."

I don't think anyone would argue with that, especially Alex. Class isn't exactly something I would use to describe my brother. He and Khari declare that they're going back to Jabariland to deal with a dispute the army is having over the security system between them and Wakanda. Okoye offers to help them, and with that they leave. T'Challa and Nakia stay behind for a moment, with baby Zy'aire reaching out towards me. I reach out as well and touch his cheek gently, watching with a smile as he wraps his chubby fingers around my finger and holds onto it tightly.

"Be careful with Remington," T'Challa warns. "I know you want to believe in the best of her, but some people refuse to change no matter how many chances you give them."

I nod, knowing that I should heed his warning, but also knowing that I will continue to believe in the best of her despite the fact that I shouldn't. I don't tell T'Challa that though, but I don't have to, he already knows.

"What will you be doing while we're gone?" Bucky asks, brushing Zy'aire's cheek just like I did moments earlier.

"We have a meeting with the other enhanced leaders over the phone today," Everett tells us, glancing at me briefly before looking back at my husband. "Queen Valkyrie, Stephen Strange, Hank Pym and Pepper Potts representing their companies, as well as a couple other Avengers: Wanda Maximoff, Scott Lang, and Bruce Banner will be there."

I feel confusion flood into me, prompting me to ask: "What are you all going to talk about?"

"We've been contacting one another every few months," Nakia explains. "Wakanda isn't the only place getting crushed under the UN, so we have these meetings to talk through what's been going on and see how we can help one another."

Guilt begins to replace the confusion inside me. All these years I've been away from home and hunting HYDRA agents, I've missed more than I thought I had. I know what I'm doing is important, but I also want to be there for my fellow Avengers and other colleagues. It's important for all of us to stick together and lean on one another, which is exactly what they've been doing, just without me.

"I know that look," T'Challa says with a softened yet firm tone. "Don't feel guilty for not being here. You are saving so many lives by hunting down these agents and bringing them to justice. You have a duty to the world and to yourselves to eradicate HYDRA once and for all."

"I also have a duty to my family and to my home," I argue. "I should be here for Wakanda, for all of you, for our other teammates. I know they're struggling as much as we all are and I should be helping them get through these hard times."

"You're only one person, Soroya, you can't help everyone." Everett tells me with a small smile.

"I'll be here for the remainder of my pregnancy, could I come to the next meeting you have with the others?" I almost plea to my friends.

"Of course," Nakia says, bringing her free hand up to cup my face and give me a reassuring nod. "You should come to them from now on, no one can lift moral than you."

I appreciate the compliment, it makes the guilt I feel weighing on my chest ease just a little. Before I can open my mouth again, Shuri lets out a groan, practically shooing us with her hands.

"You five need to get out of my lab and let me and my nephew work."

T'Challa raises an inquisitive brow his sister's way. "What exactly will my son be helping you with?"

"Well nothing really, but I'm going to teach him about holograms as I make the one for your mission. You're never too young to learn the basics of programming and electrical engineering." Shuri says matter of factly, scooping Zy'aire out of Nakia's arms and into her own, bringing him over to her work station without another word to us.

"She's committed, I'll give her that." Bucky says with a soft chuckle as we all make our way towards the stairs.

"Our child will never fail in school, that's for sure."