As the weather got colder, Kestrel's nausea began to fade. Jun had died in September and the dreams of him and the others began to come less frequently. November came with the first snow of the year in New York. Kestrel began to eat more and gained her weight back, but realized she was a bit more chubby than before. Luckily it was winter and she had no need to worry. She could lose it before summer. Missions came more frequently for the Wolves with the longer nights and snow hiding them better. It wasn't until Kestrel realized she hadn't been having her period since late August did she finally put the pieces together. She was terrified, unsure of what to do. She rushed to Callida's room and knocked on the door. Callida let her in.

"What's wrong, Nia?" She asks, having refused to call her Kestrel.

Nia's eyes are wide with fear. "I... I think I'm pregnant."

Callida's eyes go wide but then a grin breaks over her face. "Nia, this is amazing!" She takes the girl's hands excitedly. "Don't you know what this means? You have a little piece of Jun, here, inside of you," she says, gently pressing Kestrel's hand against her stomach.

"But, what about Matt?" The younger girl asks softly, her voice trembling. "If he finds out, he will be furious, as will Loki."

The light drains from Callida's eyes as she realizes that it's true. "Then we can't let them know. We'll do whatever it takes."

Nia nods, bending down and hugging Callida. "Thank you, Callie," she whispers.

The next day Callida takes Kestrel to a nearby pregnancy center to get officially tested. Sure enough, she was pregnant. The girls were overjoyed and terrified at the same time. After an ultrasound, they went on a walk. The half melted snow made it hard for Callida to maneuver her chair so Kestrel pushed her.

"Maybe.... you should leave the Wolves," Callida says quietly.

Kestrel shakes her head. "No, you guys are the only family I have."

"What about the Wakandan ring your mother gave you?"

"You said yourself that it's a third world country, I'm safer here," Kestrel retorts.

Callida hesitates. "Just know that they are more than they seem," she says softly.

Kestrel shrugs. "New York is my home, and I'm not going to leave unless something drastic happens."

Callida nods and falls silent as they start back to the base.

Kestrel's phone rings and she pauses and answers, finding Matt on the other end.

"W-we g-got word of a t-target. We n-need you t-to t-take him out-t," he said.

Kestrel sighs a bit. "Okay. I'm headed back for further instructions." She hangs up and starts pushing Callida again.

"I've got it from here, Nia. You go get ready."

Kestrel nods and jogs to the base, quickly changing into more athletic clothes but pulling a puffy jacket over the tight clothes to hide her ever growing stomach. She quickly goes downstairs to report to Matt.

Matt stands as she comes into the kitchen where he's waiting. He hands her a quarter sheet of paper with an address and face. "He is t-to be t-terminated by n-nightfall."

Kestrel takes the paper and quickly memorizes the face and address.

"He's a s-scientist g-getting t-to close t-to some t-tech Loki d-doesn't want in th-the world."

Kestrel nods and hands the paper back. She goes to the weapon room and puts a knife in her left boot and a pistol on her hip, hidden under her jacket.

By nightfall, the target was eliminated.

Four months later, March came with the first precipitation besides snow or freezing rain. Kestrel huddled under her raincoat as the wind whipped rain in her face. She was coming back from the pregnancy center and was tingling with happiness. Her baby, her son, was due the next month. She had dutifully hidden her now quite large stomach from Matt and the others with thick clothes and mainly staying out of sight. She had found a homeless shelter that she could go to when the baby was going to come to stay safe. She could leave him there and visit when she could. She quickly slipped inside the base and let her hood drop. She started up the stairs but was stopped by a long unheard voice.

"Hello, Leanne," Loki says, materializing at the foot of the stairs.

Kestrel turns, her eyes wide and brain whirring to figure out why he was here.

"You shouldn't drip through the base, you should take your jacket off," he says with a sneer.

Kestrel freezes. He knows. She slowly slips off the rain jacket, hoping he would let her keep the jacket on that was underneath.

Loki motions for her to come back down the stairs and hang the jacket up. She does so, walking carefully to try to hide the extra weight she's carrying.

Loki grins knowingly. "It's not that cold in here, come on."

Kestrel takes off the other jacket, leaving her in a sweater and leggings. Loki comes over with a smirk.

"You've done well. Work worthy of a spy. I don't think even the Black Widow could have hidden a pregnancy for a whole eight months," he says, cornering her. "Because I am so impressed, I am not going to kill you. But, you will have to get rid of that," he jabs a finger into her stomach, causing her to cry out in pain.

Callida rushes in and gasps in horror.

Loki turns and starts toward the Wakandan girl. "You knew and didn't tell?"

Callida frowns. "She deserves to keep her baby."

Loki lifts her by her neck, glaring at her and muttering something Kestrel can't hear, before throwing her across the room.

Callida crumples to the floor, unconscious. Kestrel cries out and starts for Callida, but Loki grabs her wrist.

"She deserves no sympathy," he growls as he pins her against the wall. "You will get rid of it."

"He's not an it," Kestrel growls back. "And if you make me get rid of him, I will never work for you again. I know you can't make this work without me."

Loki's face contorts and he turns as if to go then stops and turns and punches her hard in the stomach. Hissing in her face. "How about we let it choose."

Kestrel cries out, crumpling to the floor, curled around her stomach. Loki watches a moment then disappears. After a while Nia stumbles to her feet, grabbing her backpack and going to Callida's side. She finds a pulse, but the older girl is bleeding too much for Kestrel's comfort. She calls an ambulance and lays down next to Callida, the pain in her abdomen too much to bear. When she wakes, she is in a hospital, Callida in the bed next to her. Nia looks around the room until a nurse enters.The woman smiles softly when she sees that the girl is awake.

"Very good, you're awake."

"JJ" is all Kestrel is able to make out through the medicated haze.

"JJ?" The nurse asks softly.

"My baby," she whispers softly.

The nurse's face falls. "We couldn't save him. I'm sorry."

Kestrel lets the words sink in, but doesn't let the emotions show. Not wanting to give Loki the pleasure of seeing her cry.

"We were waiting for you to wake up to ask what you would like to do. We can induce the birth, or do a c-section with you asleep."

Kestrel shakes her head.

The nurse looks concerned. "You can't keep him inside you, it isn't good for you."

The girl shakes her head again, refusing to give up her baby. She had worked so hard to keep him. To keep him alive.

The nurse nods a bit. "I'll give you time to think about it." She goes and checks on Callida. "Your friend will recover, but she will probably sleep for a good while longer," she says then goes out.

As Kestrel lays there, her mind begins to clear and a plan begins to form. She struggles to a sitting position and spies a pen and pad of paper on the bedside table. She scribbles a note to Callida and starts to pull the monitoring wires off her chest and arms. As alarms start to sound she hurries and pulls on her clothes, tucking the note in Callida's hand, grabbing her backpack, and hiding behind the door. As a nurse and doctor rush in, she slips out the door and down the hall. By the time they start to chase her, she is already on the street. The wind and rain whip at her hair and loose sweater, making her wish she had a jacket. She starts towards the place she thinks the Avengers Tower is. There they would have the information she needed. After a very long wet walk, she comes to the tower. Kestrel starts to use the hacking knowledge Logan had taught her before on the pad at the door, temporarily disabling J.A.R.V.I.S. and slipping inside. She went to the first computer she could find and started to type, looking up anything she could find on Wakanda. She was so intent on the screen that she didn't realize that two former SHIELD agents were sneaking up on her from behind. Just as Natasha released a widow bite from her wrist, Hawkeye loosed an electric arrow. Kestrel turned just in time for them both to hit her in the chest and collapsed in a spray of sparks.

Kestrel floated in out of consciousness, pain wracking her body. In the distance, she could hear someone screaming and it took her a long time to realize it was her. The lights seemed to be going on and off, and there were people rushing about the room frantically. The pain finally lessened and she relaxed, falling into a deep sleep.

Poor Nia just can't get a break can she? Sorry, two more next week!

-Bucky