Chapter 3

Peggy awoke to find herself lying on the ground. She glanced around, trying to ignore the pounding pain in her head. When she realized that she was lying in the mud next to the ambulance, her heart leaped into her throat. The vehicle had crashed. Then she remembered: Steve wasn't breathing. Peggy scrambled to her feet, ignoring the throbbing pain that flooded her body, and searched for Steve. "Steve?" She whimpered, afraid that she'd find him dead.

"….P-P-Peggy….." came a scared, wavering voice.

"N-Natasha?" Peggy stammered. Then she spotted the red-haired woman nearby, kneeling beside Steve. Her face was streaked with tears.

"He…he won't breathe…." She croaked.

Peggy dashed over to her fallen boyfriend, ignoring the fact that Natasha had appeared out of nowhere. She felt for a pulse on his neck, her fingers beginning to shake when she couldn't find one. "Shit….." She cursed, a tear threatening to spill. "C'mon Steve…." Peggy squeaked. She refused to give up. The lady tilted his head back, held his nose, and blew air into him. She looked to see if his chest was rising with the breaths. His cheeks were puffing out but his chest wouldn't move. "Dammit…." Peggy spat, sticking her fingers down Steve's throat and scooping out a gooey, red substance. Then she breathed into him again. "C'mon Steve. Don't do this to me. You're still a kid! It's not your time!" She yelled, pumping his chest. After a minute, she checked his pulse again. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. "No….no Steve! No!" Peggy screamed, sobs wracking her body. But then she felt a heartbeat. She lifted her head, looking to Natasha. "He's alive. He's alive!"

Natasha came running over, a smile spreading on her face. "Thank god…." She sighed, smiling wordlessly at Peggy. "You….you saved him."

Peggy sighed shakily, her whole body trembling. She'd just saved Captain America's life. Taking in a deep breath, she struggled to her feet, pulling her cellphone out of her pocket and calling for help.

Steve jolted awake, panic flaring inside him. His eyelids flung open, and all he could see was water. Water was all around him, invading his lungs, turning his blood to ice, and gnawing at his skin with frozen teeth. He screamed, his arms grabbing at the air and his legs kicking out. Then her voice echoed into his ears. Peggy. Suddenly, his vision cleared, and with great surprise, he realized that he was in a hospital, Peggy and Natasha at his side. Their faces were distorted in fear as they watched him. Peggy had her hands gripped tightly around his arms.

"It's alright Steve," Peggy said softly, slowly removing her hands and using one of them to smooth his hair back. "You're alright."

"Peggy….." He choked out, his voice muffled. Something on his face was making it hard to speak.

"Shh…." She quieted him, using her thumb to stroke his cheekbone. "Don't waste your energy."

He glanced around, everything blurred and fuzzy. Why was he here anyway? What had happened? He didn't know, but he didn't have time to ask because a nurse popped into the room. She came up to him, a sad look on her face.

"I'm happy to see that you've regained consciousness, Mr. Rogers," She began. "I am Mrs. O'Riley, your nurse. You can call me Ava if you like." Ava smiled at him, still looking quite sad.

"If you're so happy to see me awake then why do you seem upset?" Steve asked, suspiciousness evident in tone. Though his voice was still muffled by the oxygen mask, she could understand his words.

Ava sighed, glancing down for a moment before meeting his gaze. "I'm afraid your injuries were much more serious than we'd initially thought, Mr. Rogers. We are going to have to do surgery on your head."

Peggy's face paled, and she quickly reached out to grab Steve's hand. Natasha stared at the nurse, her expression undecipherable.

"We hate to do this, but we have no other options. There is a high possibility that you will survive the surgery, but…with your fast metabolism, we will have to use a large dose of the anesthetic, and, given your condition, the drug could put you in a permanent coma." She paused, not wanting to continue. "But….there is a chance that the surgery will work, and it is possible for your brain to recover well enough to be able to regain consciousness."

Steve was silent for a long time. His mouth felt like it was full of cotton, and his heart was beating quickly. For once in his life, he was actually scared.

"What are the chances of him making a full recovery?" Natasha asked suddenly.

Ava paused, glancing down at her watch. She slowly started to back out of the room, hoping to avoid the question.

Natasha stood up, advancing towards the nurse. "What are the chances?" She growled.

"He has a 15% chance of making a full recovery. Now, I've got to go. Somebody will come in tomorrow to sedate him. If I were you, I'd start saying my 'goodbyes' now." Ava whispered, and then she vanished.

"15 percent?! 15 percent?! Nat, you can't let them do this! Steve will die!" Peggy exclaimed, tears cascading down her face and staining the floor with her grief. She stood in the hallway, Natasha in front of her. The red-headed woman had decided to break the news to Peggy in the hallway, not wanting Steve to hear how low his chances of full recovery were.

"That's what the nurse said. She informed me that someone will come by tomorrow to sedate him."

"Natasha! You can't let them go through with this! I….." Peggy paused, collapsing to her knees. "I can't lose Steve. I…I love him so much,"

The Black Widow knelt beside her, a gentle, comforting hand placed on her back. "I know you do, and I wish I could do something to help him. But if we don't do the surgery, there's a 95% chance that he'll die. We can't let that happen. You know that we can't,"

Peggy didn't respond. She didn't have anything to say. Sobs wracked her body, causing her shoulders to shake and shiver. After a few minutes, she gathered herself, wiping her tears. "Alright. But we can't tell Steve. I don't want to put him through that, okay?"

Nat nodded, acknowledging her words. "I won't tell him. I promise,"

After the two ladies exited the room, Steve began to feel a little nauseas. Whether it was from the head injury, he didn't know, but that didn't make him feel any better. He thought that maybe he just needed some food, or some water, but there wasn't any in the room. The young man pulled himself into a sitting position, preparing to call out to Peggy and Natasha. But before he could speak, he gagged violently, the burn of stomach acid flaring to life in his throat. Steve turned onto his side, trying not to vomit on the bed. Luckily, the vomit went on the floor, but when he saw what the vomit actually was, he winced, fear rising in his chest. It was blood. "Shit…." He groaned, a wave of dizziness washing through him. He threw up more blood, hardly able to get a breath.

Then the door opened, revealing Nat and Peggy. The two girls immediately raced over to him, terror glistening in their eyes.

"Steve!" Peggy cried, running over to him. His eyelids were slowly drifting shut. "Steve. Hey Steve, stay with me," She begged, cupping his face in her hands and forcing him to look at her. Natasha stood beside her, pressing the button to call for the nurse. Then she took her thumb and wiped the blood from his mouth.

"P-Peggy….." Steve slurred, swaying a little. He jerked to the left, barely conscious.

"Hold on, Steve. Just stay with me," Peggy whimpered, panic flooding through her as he grew heavier and heavier in her arms. Seconds later, he lost consciousness. "Steve!"