I'll Be There

Alex fidgeted as she adjusted and readjusted her position on the examination table. Steve watched as she anxiously moved around.

"Alex, there's no need to be anxious," said Steve. "It's just a routine check up with a S.H.E.I.L.D doctor. I promise everything will be fine; you can trust them and, besides, I'm here with you."

"It's not S.H.E.I.L.D that I'm worried about. I trust the people here and highly doubt there is anyway Red Skull and his crew can get me here. I talked about it with Fury and it seems like Red Skull's having a small scale operation. He's nowhere near as powerful as he used to be so his threat level is intermediate, at best."

"Well, I don't care if his threat level is minimal. Once he's found, I'll make sure there's nothing he can do to you."

"Thanks Steve, but, like I said," she began as she tightly gripped the cushion on the examination table, "that's not what I'm worried about."

"Then what's wrong?" questioned Steve as the door creaked open.

"Thank you for your patience, Miss. Stark. My name is Doctor Rajesh Singh. It's nice to meet you," he introduced as he entered the room and closed the door behind him.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you," Alex greeted awkwardly. "And you can just call me Alex."

"Alright then, Alex; how are you feeling today?" he asked as he set up a sphygmomanometer and wrapped the cuff around her arm.

"I'm feeling fine," Alex responded as she felt the cuff tighten around her arm. The sensation caused her to inhale sharply, but she eased her breathing when she felt the cuff loosen after Doctor Singh obtained the reading.

"Your blood pressure and heart rate are normal," Doctor Singh stated. "Any aches or pains?" he asked as he released the cuff from her arm; he grabbed his stethoscope and placed it on his ears.

"No, not really. I mean my lower back bothers me once in a while, but my mom said that that was normal," she replied as she felt the cold metal end of the stethoscope against her chest. "My mom is a doctor too, but she's all the way in Maryland. Otherwise, I would have gone to her for this," Alex continued. "But it's fine. I'm sure you're just as good as my mom."

"Well, I'll try my best. Big deep breaths," Doctor Singh instructed.

Alex obliged and tried to focus on her breathing as she felt the stethoscope move from across her chest to her back. Steve sat quietly and observed Alex as Doctor Singh continued the rest of the examination; Steve noted that there was something off with her. Every time that Doctor Singh had changed medical equipment, she seemed to flinch ever so slightly. She also seemed to babble on about trivial things, which was unlike her.

'Is she trying to distract herself?' he thought. 'Why?'

"Alright, everything seems to be in check. I'll be back in a moment to get a blood sample."

"That's good to hear. I'm so glad I'm okay; you can go and take your time with that. I'm in no rush, honestly," Alex babbled as Doctor Singh left the room.

Steve watched Alex as she picked at the paper covering the examination table. He couldn't understand what it was that was bothering her so much. The girl who, having grown up with a doctor, never thought much about routine checkups was now distraught.

'She almost looks as bad as last night when she had that-' Steve thought until the conversation he had with Alex popped into his head.

"I usually dream about getting strapped down and tested on...and I panic," had been her words.

"Alex, I promise you're going to be okay," Steve stated causing Alex to look up from the paper she was picking at.

"Okay," she said with confusion in her voice. "I know I'm safe, Steve. We just had this conversation," she scoffed on an attempt to hide her nerves.

"I'm not just talking about your safety. I know you're scared of Doctor Singh, and his equipment, and just being here; and it's understandable after everything you've been through."

"You're ridiculous, Steve. I'm not scared."

"Then why did you look so distraught while Doctor Singh was checking your vitals?"

"I-I-," Alex stammered as the door once again creaked open.

"Okay, Alex, I'm just going to draw some blood so we can do some tests," Doctor Singh stated as he entered the room.

"Sure. How much blood are we talking about? A prick?" Alex asked hopefully

"We're going to need a little more than a prick. I know that I said that we're only going to do a few tests, but it's actually a few dozen," Doctor Singh explained as he wrapped a thick rubber band around her arm. "We need to see if there are any abnormalities that could give us insight into what happened, but it won't be so bad."

Alex winced at the grip of the band and her breath became uneven in anticipation of the needle that would pierce her skin. However, instead of a needle, she felt a hand gently place itself on her shoulder which caused her to look up.

"Everything is going to be okay," Steve repeated as he gave Alex a reassuring smile.

"I—," Alex began, but was interrupted.

"Doctor Singh, can you hold on? I think Alex needs another minute."

"Of course," Doctor Singh agreed.

"I know that you're scared, Alex. And I know it's probably going to take a while to get used to doctors, and checkups, and needles, even if it's your mom, but I'm going to be right here with you and you're going to get through this. Okay?"

"Do you think that giving me a speech like that is going to distract me while Doctor Singh pokes me with a needle?" Alex questioned as she raised an eyebrow at Steve. "I saw you gesture to him and know; you're probably going to let him know when my guard's down while I'm talking to you."

"You were always smart, Alex," Steve chuckled. "But I wasn't going to talk you up to distract you," he continued before he placed a hand on her cheek, tilted her head up, and planted a chaste kiss on her lips.

Steve's actions caused Alex to momentarily gasp, but she soon fell into the gentleness of the kiss. When it was over, she allowed her lips to linger before she felt Steve pull back and place another kiss on top of her forehead. Alex stared into Steve's eyes in silence and wondered what to say to him. She knew that his actions were probably part of his initial plan to make her at ease, but she wasn't sure if he had any other intentions.

"See, I told you it wouldn't be too bad," Doctor Singh stated as he removed the needle from Alex's arm and placed a small piece of gauze over the puncture. "Now, if you could follow me into the other room, I'll have the technician conduct the ultrasound and do a vaginal examination."

A surge of guilt overcame Alex when the doctor mentioned a vaginal examination. 'Do I still have scars?' she thought.

"We'll be there in a moment," Steve replied as gathered his and Alex's belongings.

"No, Steve. It's fine," Alex interrupted. "I don't need you there."

"What do you mean?" he questioned. "You asked me to come with you."

"I know," she admitted, "But now I'm changing my mind."

"I'll give you two a moment. When you're ready, Alex, I'll be in the room down the hall," Doctor Singh announced as he exited the room.

"Why are you changing your mind now? Was it because I kissed you? If that's the case, then I won't do it again. I'm sorry, Alex. That was the only thing I could think of to distract you; you saw through everything else."

"No. It's just…something I need to do by myself," Alex lied. "I really appreciate your help, but I need to know that I can face my fears on my own."

"But—"

"I'll see you at home, Steve," Alex interrupted as she grabbed her belongings from him. "I'll make sure to bring a picture of the sonogram so you can see our son."

"Alex," Steve uttered as he felt a pair of lips press against his cheek. He looked down and saw Alex on her tippy-toes staring at him with a small smile on her lips.

"Like you said," she began as she made her way out of the room, "I'll be fine."