This is a missing scenes story. I absolutely loved Natasha's a Steve's relationship in The Winter Soldier. I ship them so much, but I am not disillusioned in believing they will ever get together in the films. I love stories about those two together, whether it is just in friendship or in a romantic relationship. They are so sweet and I hope that we get to see more of that reflected in the next Avengers Film as well as Civil War. I hope you enjoy!

"Hill, where's Steve? You got a location on Rogers?" Natasha scanned the area, but it was so hard to see with the smoke from the crashing helicarrier filling the air around her.

"The signal is getting scrambled," Her voice was broken in Natasha's ear. "He is somewhere within a 5 mile radius of the crash site." Natasha cursed under her breath.

"Fury!" Natasha pointed towards the river. "Make a circle, we might see him if the smoke clears a little."

She had faith in Rogers, but there was something in the pit of her stomach that made her nervous. They had made their third circle of the area, when Sam tapped her shoulder from the seat behind her. He pointed to the river bank "There!" Natasha could make out a prone figure lying near the river bank.

Fury started scouting a place to land the helicopter while Natasha got on the radio, "Hill, we think we've found him. Get some paramedics, I will send you coordinates."

Fury found a relatively empty parking lot to land and Natasha had already pushed the door open and jumped out before it touched the ground. She took off running as fast as she could in the general direction. She knew Sam would follow.

She crashed through the bush to reach the river bank. She scanned left and right, and then her eyes fell on a figure. She knew it was Steve. She could see his red, white, and blue from the 20 feet distance between them. She rushed to his side and dropped down to meet him. She could see blood seeping through his uniform. "Rogers!" She placed her hands on his face, "Rogers, can you hear me?"

He didn't respond, she checked for a pulse and thankfully found one. She began assessing him as best she could. He had wounds in his arm, leg, and abdomen. He was bruised all over. He had lost a lot of blood, it was seeping into the ground under him and the water was washing it into the river. "Rogers!" She tried to wake him again, but still no response.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and spun around to see Sam staring down at her. "Is he alive?" He asked.

"Yes." She answered shortly. "Help me get him out of the water."

They tried to gently pull him out of the water, but he was heavy. They managed to clumsily move most of him out of the water, but it had caused a moan to escape his lips. Natasha saw that the wound in his abdomen needed to most attention. She put pressure on the wound and Steve cried out and tried to fold in on himself. Sam applied pressure to the wound in his leg.

"Bucky…" Steve said weakly, gritting his teeth.

"Steve, it's Natasha." She said gently as she applied pressure to his stomach. "Open your eyes for me." To her surprise, he obeyed. "That's good. Stay with me. Help is on the way." His eyes were open, but he wasn't really seeing her.

Natasha knew Steve wasn't in the moment mentally. He continued to mumble, but would not respond to her. He soon lost consciousness, and didn't open his eyes again. She counted the minutes until she saw two figures appear out of the bushes.

"Over here!" Sam shouted and stood to wave the paramedics over.

"Ma'am." One of the two paramedics dropped to her side.

Natasha grabbed him by the neck, "Listen to me, carefully." Surprising everyone with her actions, "I don't know if you are loyal to SHIELD or HYRDA, but I am loyal to him." She indicated to Steve, "If you do anything to hurt him, I will kill you. Painfully. That goes for both of you." She shouted to the other paramedic across from her. "Understood?"

They nodded and Natasha released him and let them work. They quickly assessed his injuries and knew that he needed help. It took all four of them to get him on the back board and carry him from the river to the helicopter.

Natasha knew that all of them would not fit in the helicopter, but that was the fastest way to get him to the hospital. Any ambulance would not be able to make it through the horrible traffic that was sure to be on the roads due to the helicarriers crashing into the Potomac.

Fury hid his face as best he could as they loaded Steve into the back of the helicopter. Natasha knew they needed to keep the paramedics from seeing the face of a dead man and quickly knocked both out.

Sam was a little shocked. "Grab that bag." She ordered as she jumped in the back with Steve.

"Yes, Ma'am." He grabbed the paramedic's bag and climbed into the front seat.

There was almost no room for her to sit, so she practically had to crouch over Steve. Her back protested, but she didn't care. It took 15 minutes until Natasha saw the roof of the hospital. Steve had begun to shiver, and she thought he was going into shock. She laid a hand on Steve's chest. She knew he couldn't hear her over the blades of the helicopter, but she said it anyway. "We're gonna get you some help. Just hang on." She instantly felt the lack of a rise and fall of his chest and realized that he wasn't breathing. "Steve!" She shouted as the helicopter touched down.

The remaining door to the helicopter was pulled open and she saw the face of a young doctor staring back at her. "Shit. Is that who I think it is?"

"He's not breathing!" She shouted.

Natasha climbed out of the helicopter and went numb as she watched them load Steve onto a rolling gurney. The young doctor skillfully intubated him and started bagging. Natasha turned to say goodbye, but Fury had already taken off. She and Sam followed the team of doctors and nurses into the building.

Natasha would never be able to burn from her memory the image of the young doctor riding the gurney while doing chest compressions.

They were not allowed to enter the room when they reached the ER. Natasha and Sam stood helplessly and looked through the window. The doctors and nurses rushed around the room, following orders. She watched as they cut off his uniform and she gasped when she could see the extent of his injuries.

She almost felt it herself as they used the defibrillator to shock his heart. She couldn't help but think back to a few days ago, when Steve was standing next to her and she watched the same attempt to save Fury's life. She fought back the tears again, knowing that this was it for Steve. There was no secret plan to fake his death. If he died right now, he was gone forever.

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in when she could see on the monitor that his heart was beating on its own. She suddenly became very aware of Sam's presence next to her. "He has to make it." He said quietly, almost to himself.

She said nothing to him and turned back to the window. Her heart almost broke at the sight of Steve's bruised and broken body. She knew he would need surgery, he had lost so much blood. She caught a glimpse of her own hands that crossed her chest and realized that her gloves were soak with his blood. She peeled them off and found her hands were stained red.

The medical team surround Steve worked to get his stable and began to wheeled him down the hallway. The young doctor stopped to speak to them. "We are taking him to surgery. We were able to get his heart beating, but he has some internal bleeding and he has lost a lot of blood. He has several gunshot wounds, and other lacerations. We will know the extent of the internal bleeding once the surgeon gets in there. I want both of you to get checked out down here. Once you have been taken care of we will bring you upstairs."

"Thanks," Sam replied for both of them.

Natasha pulled out her phone and dialed. "Hill, it's me. They just took him up to surgery, how quickly can you get some muscle here?"

"We are already on the way. Should be there in 10 minutes." Hill responded. "Is he gonna make it?" She asked quietly.

Natasha tried to reassure herself as well. "Steve's a fighter."

She hung up and felt a tug at her elbow. "Come on, let's get you checked out." Sam was standing next to her, pulling her into an empty room.

She didn't pay attention to anything around her. She was able to scrub her hands clean of Steve's blood and that had made her feel a little better. She had no cuts or scrapes, but her entire body ached due to the electric shot she had inflicted on herself to disable the corrupted name tag on her chest. After the nurse had given her the ok, she was waiting with Sam as he got some stitches to seal up the cut on his forehead when Maria Hill entered.

"Hey," She smiled. "You ok?"

"Yeah," Natasha answered.

"Just bumps and bruises." Sam smiled back.

"I'm posting these two outside the operating room. She indicated towards the two very large men armed with guns outside the exam room. "I trust these men, so please relax." She didn't say it in an accusatory tone, but as a way to reassure Natasha.

"You go ahead, I'll catch up when I'm done here." Sam offered.

"You sure?" Natasha asked.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Don't worry about me. Just make sure he's safe."

Natasha decided then that she truly believed Sam was a good person. Not, that she hadn't believed him to be a good person before then. In that moment, she understood that he was one of them. "See you soon."

Once Natasha was satisfied with the two SHIELD agents outside the OR she was escorted into the waiting area. She and Hill didn't speak. They just sat in silence until Hill said "I've got to get back. It's a mad house. Please keep me updated."

Natasha didn't usually show any affection, and this moment was not different, "I will." She replied and watched Hill leave.

Natasha sat for a long time, until she became restless. She made her way to the large windows on the other side of the room. She stood and watched the people several feet below her just going about their day. None of them knew what Captain America had done to save so many of them. Natasha didn't even know the full extent of what happened, but she knew he was fighting for his life at this very moment and it hit her to her core. She had given up her anonymity, but that was nothing compared to Steve losing his life.

She was broken from her train of thought as Sam entered the room. He had a few bandages, but seemed ok. He nodded and found a seat. They kept the silence.

Natasha stood at the window. She stood at the window and watched the sun disappear. She stood at the window and waited.

Finally, another doctor entered the room. "I assume you are here for Captain Rogers?"

"Yeah," Sam rose from his chair. "How is he?"

"He's stable." He began as Natasha made her way to stand near him. "He had some severe internal bleeding but we were able to get it under control. Several of the bullet fragments had logged themselves near his spine. Due to his..uh…unique metabolism we had some problems getting most of the fragments out because his body started to heal around the smaller fragments before we could get in there, but we are fairly certain we got them all. He has multiple facial fractures. There is some swelling on his brain, but I fully believe it will reduce and there will not be any lasting damage."

"Can we see him?" Natasha asked.

"We have him in recovery now." He explained. "We will be moving him to a private room once he has been extubated. He is already showing great signs of improvement, so I don't think it will be long. You can wait in the private room if you prefer."

"Thanks," Natasha raised her hand to shake his. He grasped her hand.

"Please know, my Grandfather served in the Second World War and I grew up believing in all the things that Captain Rogers stands for. He is in good hands."

Natasha nodded. "Thank you, again."

"No problem." He smiled and rubbed a hand through his hair. "A nurse should be in shortly to take you to his room. Let us know if you need anything."

As promised, a nurse came in and showed them to a private room. It was empty, but they waited there without the prying eyes of onlookers. It wasn't long before they heard the commotion in the hallway as Steve was rolled into the room. He looked pale, but Natasha watched as his chest rose and fell, under his own power and she sighed in relief.

It took a few minutes to get him settled and all the machines squared away, but when they were finally satisfied he was correctly monitored and comfortable, the nurses headed out. One stopped to explain, "He is being given a constant high doses of pain medication. His body is just burning through it like wildfire." She indicated one of the machines on the side of his bed. "If he seems to be in any pain, just give me a call and we will back."

"Thank you," Natasha replied.

They both just sat and stared at him. His skin had a thin layer of sweat and his face was lax, he showed no sign of waking. They stayed quiet for almost half an hour when Sam shifted in his seat.

"It has been a crazy day." Sam laughed a little to himself.

"Being around Steve, you'll need to get used to days like today." Natasha said it almost without thinking. She would never get used to days when Steve almost died. "Forget I said that." She added quietly.

"I'm sorry." Sam said quietly.

"For what?" She asked.

"I just met the guy," Sam sighed, "and it's killing me to see him like this. But, for you...you have known him for a lot longer than I have. I can only imagine what this is doing to you."

"He's a fighter," Her eyes narrowed. "He will be fine."

"Well," Sam pulled himself from his chair. "I was going to head home and take a shower and change my clothes. Unless you want to head home first?"

"No, go ahead," She replied. She had exposed herself and it would not be safe to go back to her apartment. Not that she would leave Steve until he woke up anyway.

"Can you call me if...you know…" Sam fumbled with his words.

"I'll let you know if anything changes." She smiled back and watched him leave, closing the door softly behind him.

She was finally alone and the silence almost cut her half. She couldn't hold anything back anymore. She grabbed one of Steve's hand gently in hers and rested her head on his hand. She let the tears flow. She hated to cry, she hated how it made her head hurt and her nose run. She hated how crying made her see herself. Weak. She cried until she had no tears left.

She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "You scared me Rogers."

She almost felt it before there was a knock on the door as it opened. She turned to see Tony Stark being pulled away from the door. "Is this a bad time?" He said over the shoulder of the guard preventing him from entering.

"You can let him in." Natasha waved him in.

His grin faded quickly once he saw Natasha, then his eyes found Steve. "Damn. I didn't know it was this bad."

"Yeah." Natasha said quietly. There was no hiding the fact that she had just been crying her eyes out. She was sure they were red and puffy. Any mascara she had applied early that morning was now streaking her cheeks. "What time is it? Aren't visiting hours over? How did they let you in here?" She made her way to the private bathroom and washed her face.

"Oh, it's almost 2AM," He grinned cheekily. "I have my ways of persuasion."

"You sneak past the nurses' station?" She asked as she wiped her face dry.

"Maybe." He couldn't stand still. He was moving all around the room, checking machine readouts. "You alright?" He asked.

"Fine." She replied hollowly. "Better than Rogers." She found her seat again, grasping Steve's hand in hers.

"Hell," He threw his hands up in frustration. "I am terrible at this waiting bedside stuff. Give me something to do. What can I blow up or who can punch? Who even did this to him?"

"That discussion is for another time." She responded, not taking it upon herself to explain the situation. That would be up to Steve who he told about Bucky, and she didn't want to take that away from him. "But I do have something you can do."

"Name it." He jumped at the chance to do something.

"Can you find his shield?" She responded. "It is somewhere in the Potomac."

"Don't worry, Cap." He patted Steve's foot. "I'll get her back for you." He headed towards the door. "Natasha, I'm glad you're ok. Call me if you need anything."

"Thanks, Stark," She smiled back at him, and then he was gone.

Natasha sat in silence for a while. She just sat and watched Steve sleep. She smiled to herself and thought about Coulson when Steve began to stir. He was mumbling and began to breathe heavily.

"Steve," Natasha squeezed his hand a little tighter but he just began to thrash around. Natasha gently shook his good shoulder. "Steve, it's ok." She shook a little harder, "Steve, wake up."

His eye opened, but she wasn't sure he actually saw her. "I let him down.." His face fell into a grimace as he coughed.

"Steve, look at me." Natasha took his face in her hands. "Steve, it's Natasha."

His eyes focused, "Natasha." He repeated quietly. "What happened?"

"You're in the hospital." She chose her words carefully to not aggravate his already troubled mind. "We fished you out of the river, but you're gonna be ok after a few days of rest."

Steve seemed like he finally took in his surroundings. His hand rested on his stomach and he took a shallow breath.

"You in pain?" She asked.

"Yeah." He was usually modest about how much pain he was in, that's how she knew he must really be hurting.

"I'll go get the nurse." She stood to leave, but he held her hand tight.

"Did you see him?" He asked with pleading eyes.

"Steve," She looked back at him. "Don't do this to yourself."

"Please, Natasha." Steve tried to pull himself into a sitting position, but his muscles screamed in protest. He cried out and Natasha pulled her hand free.

"I'm getting a nurse." She left his room and went straight to the nurses' station. She found the same nurse from before. "Can you bring him something for the pain?"

"I'll be right in." She got up and Natasha went back in his room.

"Steve!" She cried, "What are you doing? You'll rip your stitches." He had pulled himself into a sitting position and had pushed the covers away. He was attempting to put his legs over the side of the bed when Natasha appeared at his side. A new layer of sweat had spread over his skin and he was shaking.

"I've got to find him." He said firmly.

Natasha grasped his arm. "Steve, I know you want to help him, but you can't right now. You need to rest."

"No!" He pushed her hand away. Even in his current condition he was very strong.

Natasha held his firmly. "Steve, I know you are a little confused right now but I need you to trust me. You are not strong enough." She looked him in the eyes, "I will help you find him. I promise. Please just lay back down."

Steve just looked at her, processing what she had said.

"Please, I can't lose you." She pleaded.

Steve's face fell and his shoulders relaxed. "You're right." He shook his head and let it drop to rest on her chest. "I'm sorry."

"You've got nothing to be sorry for." She eased him back down.

"Thank you," He smiled weakly at her. She sat back down in the chair next to his bed and tucked her hair behind her ear. She watched him, his eyes now clenched shut and his hand still clutched his stomach. His other hand found hers and he held it tightly. They sat in silence for a moment and then he said, "I was in the water."

"I know," She replied back. "We found you on the river bank."

"He pulled me out." He opened his eyes and look at her. "Part of him is still the Bucky I knew."

Natasha didn't know all the events that took place between Steve and the Winter Soldier so she just let him talk. "He said he didn't know me, but he pulled me out of the water. He saved my life."

Natasha opened her mouth to speak but the nurse entered the room, "Captain, I've got you something for the pain. How you feeling?" She asked.

"I've been better." He responded closing his eyes again.

The nurse had pulled the morphine pump closer and used her key to open the face and unlocked it with her security code. She continued to work as she eyed Steve, "You should be feeling better after I get this going. I'm going to give you something to help you sleep as well." She reprogrammed the machine and loaded the new medication. She locked the face and it began pumping. Natasha let go of his hand as the nurse took Steve's vitals, checked his bandages, and made notes in his chart. She patted his shoulder and said, "Ok, you let me know if that doesn't help and try and get some rest."

"Thank you," He replied. He took a deep breath and winced. "Can you help me sit up? It feels harder to breath laying down." Natasha pressed the button on the side of the bed and Steve groaned as it jostled his wounds, but once he was upright it was easier to breath. "Thanks, Nat."

Natasha just studied him for a minute. "What?" Steve asked as their eyes met.

"You almost died, Steve." She could feel the tears stinging her eyes, but she didn't let them flow. "We almost lost you...and I just…" She felt her words stick in her throat.

"Natasha," Steve said softly, taking her hand in his again. "It's ok, it's all gonna be ok."

"I know, you're healing up already," She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "Your politeness and charm have started to grow on me and I'm glad you're gonna be around longer." She gave him a quick smiled and then her emotions were back in check.

"Well," He replied, "Your attitude and wit have started to grow on me, so...I'm glad I'm gonna be around...around for you that is." He squeezed her hand and gently rubbed his thumb over her bruised knuckles.

"That was your one and only time with me." She looked him in the eye. "You don't ever get to scare me like that again." She said firmly.

"Yes, ma'am." He smiled back, feeling the tug of stitches he let his face relax.

"How are those pain meds working?" Natasha studied his face.

"They're helping," he replied, "I don't feel like I am boiling from the inside out anymore."

"Oh," Natasha replied, arching an eyebrow. "That's good." She watched Steve as his eyes began to droop. His breathing became slow and deep, and his eyes eased closed. Natasha stood and eased her lips down to meet Steve's forehead and kissed him gently. His forehead was hot against her lips and she took it as a good sign. His body was working hard to repair itself. Natasha sat by his side, Steve mumbled and moaned in his sleep until the sun came up. He was finally still when Sam returned.

"Morning." He said quietly as he entered the room.

"Hey," Natasha replied. She stretched her stiff limbs.

"How is he?" Sam asked as he handed Natasha a hot coffee.

"Thank you," She took the cup and smiled. "He is doing better."

"Have you gotten any sleep?" Sam asked.

"No, I haven't." Natasha replied simply. "I have no place to go."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"I burned all my covers." She smirked, "No hiding place for the Black Widow."

"Here," Sam pulled his keys out of his pocket. "You can go to my place. Feel free to shower and get some sleep."

"If a girl wasn't careful she might think you are just trying to get rid of her?" Natasha raised an eyebrow in jest.

"I doubt there is a person on this planet that could make you do anything you didn't want to do." He raised his eyebrow right back at her. "Besides," He looked into her eyes, "You look like you could use the sleep."

Natasha was sure she looked a mess. She actually would love to take a hot shower and get some sleep, but she also didn't want to leave Steve's side. She studied Sam's face and then looked back at Steve. His skin was already less pale and the layer of sweat was gone. He was soundly sleeping. She knew there were trusted guards outside and that Sam would give his life it meant keeping Steve safe. She also felt a little better knowing Tony was in town if she needed back up. She sighed, "Ok, I accept." She took his keys and put them in her jacket pocket. "Thank you," She called over her shoulder, "I'll try to not use up all your shampoo."