Thanks so much for the response and the kind words! On with the story...

Natasha had given Steve complete ownership of her hand, her bones squeezed so tight in his iron grip that she was pretty sure they were fractured. She didn't feel it. Her sole concern was to do anything she could to comfort him or take away his pain until help arrived. The medi-vac helicopter was five minutes out, loaded to the gills with every piece of medical equipment that could be of use to the super soldier and more importantly, Bruce Banner. The doctor would be able to put Captain America back together again.

All she had to do was keep Steve alive until they got there.

Steve was crying. All out sobs of pure pain that left his face puffy and his eyes bloodshot. He was murmuring between the sobs, calling out for Bucky and occasionally his mother and any other nameless, faceless person that could give him comfort. He was beyond the serum, stretched far past the limits of anything the super soldier known as Captain America could endure. Now it was just on Steve Rogers the man to work through the pain. To survive it. If anyone could do it, she knew it was him. Steve was the strongest man she knew. The serum had nothing to do with it.

"Hang on for me, Steve. Please just hang on," she whispered into his ear, resting her cheek against his, her own tears mixing in with his. He was burning up, his face a sweat-slicked furnace. She wasn't sure how long he'd last if his body continued to war against him like this.

Steve groaned suddenly and screamed, crushing her hand even harder. "Make it stop. Please make it stop," he gasped through a throat worn out by screams and smoke inhalation. Natasha pulled him closer, placing her free hand just above his stomach and began to rub his belly, seeing as it was one of the few spots he wasn't injured or burned. She kissed the top of his head, smelling nothing but smoke as her tears dripped down into his hair.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She held on tight as his body began to seize against the torment, his moans of pain seeming to go on forever. She swallowed against more tears and glanced back at the flaming warehouse, spotting a lid to one of the canisters on the ground. She considered picking it up and whacking Steve in the head with it to put him out. At least then he wouldn't feel the pain.

She continued to contemplate the action until she heard the faint sound of the medi-vac chopper approaching in the distance. She sagged against Steve in relief, hopeful that there would be something aboard that would put him out of his misery, if for even a few minutes. "Calvary's here, Rogers. Hang on for me."

Steve moaned raggedly and then his whole body stilled like a switch had been flipped off.

"Steve," she called out, panic racing through her body. "Steve!" She put a hand to his chest, feeling no bounce of breath against her palm. Then she put an ear to his mouth, waiting for the tickle of his breath. Nothing. He wasn't breathing.

"No, no, no, don't you do this to me. Don't you dare do this," she pleaded, her voice collapsing into a sob. She leaned his body up against hers, as mindful as she could be of his burns and other injuries. Then she tilted his head back and opened his mouth, pressing her lips to his and blowing her air into him over and over again until she was light-headed. Then she began to furiously pump her hands against his chest, feeling his damaged ribs move under her grip. "Damn you, Rogers, come on!" She took a break from pumping his chest to blow more air into his mouth. "Come on, Steve, I thought you were tougher than this. Don't you give up on me!" She raised her fist and whacked him square in the chest as hard as she could.

Steve's chest burst up under her hand and he took in a shallow, raspy breath, his eyes fluttering open into two blue agates of misery. "Nat?"

"Oh thank god," she sighed, pulling him into a smothering embrace, holding him steady as a harsh cough wracked his body and he struggled to regain his breath. She didn't even realize that the helicopter had arrived until Bruce was quite literally prying Steve from her arms.

"Natasha, you gotta let him go," said Bruce, his voice gentle yet insistent. She looked down, realizing that the crushing grip on her hand was no longer Steve's doing, but her own. She let Steve's hand go just long enough so they could pick the super solider up and position him on the stretcher, hooking him up to IVs of saline and pain meds and antibiotics and strapping an oxygen mask on his face.

She grasped it again as soon as they were all settled in the chopper and ready for take off, giving Steve a reassuring squeeze. She felt the slightest of a squeeze back. She glanced down, catching his eyes. "You scared the hell out of me back there, Cap."

"Sorry," she saw him mouth through the oxygen mask before his eyes rolled back and his head sagged to the side.

"Steve? Steve! Banner, is he okay?"

Bruce placed a calming hand on her back. "He's fine, Natasha. The drugs we're pumping him up with just hit him, that's all. They won't last long though. His body just burns through it with the serum."

Natasha collapsed back in her seat, her hand still firmly gripping Steve's.

Bruce took the opportunity to fully examine the burns, wincing at the damage.

"How bad is it?" asked Natasha, scooting forward to get a better look.

"Second degree burns it looks like. Painful as hell but for him it shouldn't cause any permanent damage if it heals up right."

"So he's gonna be okay?"

Bruce used a scalpel to examine the bits of skin that had uniform melted into it. "We're going to have to clean this up. Remove the scraps of uniform and dirt and make sure the areas don't get infected. Then he'll be in the clear. We have to do it sooner rather than later though. His skin is already starting to show signs of healing and if we wait much longer, we're going to be digging holes in him to get all this out."

Natasha cursed in Russian, shaking her head in disbelief. "Can't he catch a damn break? He saved my life and this is the thanks he gets?"

"He'll be okay, Natasha. I'll do everything I can to make him as comfortable as possible. You have my word. Steve's a good man. I'm going to make sure he's good as new, if not better by the time all of this is over."

Natasha sighed. "Sucks to be a hero, huh?"

Bruce smiled sadly and then looked her up and down, noting her own injuries. "You need to get checked out," he urged, reaching his hand towards the burn on her forehead.

Natasha shrugged away from his touch. "I'm fine. Just take care of him."

Both of their attentions were brought back to Steve as he coughed into the oxygen mask, black soot hitting the clear plastic. Natasha pulled the mask off of him and Bruce leaned him to the side so he could cough out the sooty phlegm. He hacked up the gunk, his eyes squeezing shut against the pain.

"How you doing, Steve?" asked Natasha, carding a hand through his hair.

"Been better," Steve answered, not opening his eyes, his voice weak.

"I wish I could switch places with you and..."

"And you'd be dead," Steve choked out. "I couldn't live with that."

"Couldn't huh? Aw Cap, you're gonna make me blush."

A smile ghosted over Steve's pain mangled features.

Bruce checked the meds feeding the IVs into Steve's arms. "How you doing, Steve? How's your pain?"

"M'okay, doctor," Steve answered.

"Lying's a sin, you know," quipped Natasha.

"Scale of 1 to 10," said Bruce.

"Six," answered Steve.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Stop with the brave face, Steve."

Steve sighed. "Fine. Eight."

"We'll get you something stronger once we get on the ground, Captain. Just hang on."

Steve nodded, his eyes still closed. Natasha replaced his oxygen mask and ran a thumb down his cheek.

The helicopter started its approach to the base, circling around as its altitude got lower and lower.

"Everything's going to be okay," said Bruce as the helicopter touched down. A number of S.H.I.E.L.D. workers approached the chopper as the door opened. "Get Captain Rogers to the sick bay and prep the O.R. for immediate debridement procedure," instructed Bruce as he got out of the helicopter and ran ahead while Natasha stayed with Steve, keeping her hand gripped in his as he was lifted out of the helicopter and wheeled off the helipad and into a waiting elevator.

One of the workers pressed the ground floor button and then stepped off the elevator, leaving Natasha and Steve alone as it began to descend. Natasha was grateful for the moment of peace and quiet away from prying, curious eyes over Captain America's injuries. She sighed and leaned against the side of the elevator, taking a load off.

Steve peered up at Natasha with a curious expression on his face. "Where are they taking me?" he asked, fogging the oxygen mask, trying desperately to hold it together, but she could tell he was on the verge of panic.

Natasha hesitated, dreading the words that were about to come out of her mouth. "They have to clean the burns, Steve. There's…your uniform…some pieces got stuck…"

Whatever strength had been holding Steve together suddenly collapsed before her eyes at the realization that there was still more pain to endure. The super soldier turned equal parts white and green as he began to dry heave. Natasha removed the oxygen mask and shifted his body towards her so he was curled in on himself to quell the nausea. It didn't do much good as the heaves turned into horrendous gut busting coughs and pretty soon, Steve was in the midst of a full on panicked coughing attack. He wheezed in and out as he struggled to take in air, gagging with pain and nausea and choking on soot as involuntary tears streamed down his face, his good arm wrapped as solidly as it could around his damaged ribs to combat against the stress the attack was putting on his fractured bones.

"Steve! Steve, listen to me, you've got to calm down," said Natasha in a soothing but firm tone, trying to direct his attention away from himself and towards her. She slowed down her own breathing and then grabbed his hand, placing it over her heart so he could try and mirror it. "Breathe with me okay…one…inhale…"

Steve inhaled and nearly coughed out a lung.

"Okay, okay, now out…"

Steve blew a breath out, a moan simultaneous escaping his lips.

"In," breathed Natasha.

Steve followed suit, his air a little smoother this time.

"And out."

Steve blew a breath out, finally calming down.

Natasha repeated the process a few more times and Steve's coughing fit gradually subsided.

"You okay?" asked Natasha.

Steve nodded. "You sounded like a yoga teacher," he panted as the elevator reached the ground floor and opened.

Natasha cocked an eyebrow. "Wanna show me your downward facing dog, Rogers?"

"Maybe later," answered Steve as she wheeled him out of the elevator and into the waiting O.R..

Natasha's eyes focused on the bottles of disinfectant, tweezers, scalpels and bandages that had been laid out on a tray. She was suddenly terrified for Steve.

Bruce entered the room a few seconds later, gloved up and dressed in scrubs. He motioned for Natasha to join him out of earshot of Steve.

"Don't run away, Cap," said Natasha, flicking Steve's ear before stepping over to Bruce. "What's going on?"

"Natasha, this is going to be very, very bad for him. I'm honestly not sure how the drugs are going to hold up. You might want to step out for this…"

"No way," Natasha interrupted. "He's here because of me, because he saved my life. I'm not leaving him."

"I figured that's what you'd say," said Bruce, nodding outside to some sinks. "Scrub up then. I won't start without you."

"Thanks," said Natasha.

She spent the next few minutes coughing out her own sooty lungs and removing her fire singed clothes, putting on fresh scrubs and washing up her blackened, burned hands.

By the time she got back into the operating room, Steve was shivering with pain, his burns pulsing evilly under the bright light of the O.R. table. His arms now had double the iv's, pumping him full of one drug or another, but nothing seemed to be working to calm him or his pain down. Natasha reclaimed what now felt like her rightful place besides Steve and grabbed his hand, gripping it tightly.

"Just hold on to me, Steve. I'll get you through this," she said, her eyes focusing on his, not entirely comprehending just how beautiful his eyes were despite all the pain reflecting back at her.

Steve smiled. "I know you will, Nat." He took in a sharp breath, sounding clearer then he had even ten minutes prior, any sign of smoke inhalation faded to nearly undetectable levels. "I'm good."

Bruce glanced down at Steve."You ready, Captain?"

"Let's do this," said Steve.

Bruce nodded and reached for a scalpel and tweezers, placing them against the worst of the burns and going to work.

Steve winced hard at the intrusion, his eyes squeezing shut, his long eyelashes flickering against the agony.

"Steve, stay with it," said Natasha.

Bruce struggled to pull a long piece of material from one of the burns.

Steve's body writhed in agony and he let out a blood-curdling scream.

TBC