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"Stop!" Natasha yelled as Steve's scream of agony tore right into her heart.

Bruce stopped his ministrations, holding up the instruments as if in surrender.

"No," Steve gasped, his face shiny with sweat. "I can do this. Keep going, doctor."

"You sure?" Bruce asked.

Steve nodded.

"Kick up those med levels to max," said Bruce to one of the nurses.

"They already are, doctor."

"Just do it," Steve whispered, a silent tear sliding down his cheek.

Bruce eyed Natasha and then went to work again, digging out another strip of Steve's uniform. Steve's face collapsed, his eyes clenching shut and he let out a breath that sounded like he'd just been punched in the gut.

Natasha grabbed Steve's other hand, which was hanging limply off the table.

"Hold on to me," said Natasha. Steve sighed and dug into her grip as she repositioned him on the table so he was facing her, away from Bruce and the nurses and everything that was hurting him. His eyes drifted open and all she saw was agony and resignation.

She had to take that look out of his eyes. "Tell me about Bucky, Steve. Best memory."

Bruce pulled a huge chunk of material out and Steve groaned, turning a few shades closer to green.

Natasha squeezed both of his hands, trying to focus him on her. "Come on, Rogers, best memory."

Steve swallowed a few times, still looking like he was about to throw up and then he inhaled as hard as his hurt body would allow, trying to get ahold of himself. "It was Christmas. Nineteen twenty eight. I was ten…ahhhhh," he paused, panting with pain.

"Yeah, yeah, so Christmas, ten…go on," urged Natasha.

Steve took another deep breath and continued. "My parents couldn't afford any presents, so Bucky took half the presents under his tree…owww…oh god…he gave 'em to me. I tr…tried to give them back, but he wouldn't take 'em." Steve's face settled into something resembling peace, a smile emerging, his eyes growing distant, lost in the past. "I got my first baseball set. Bat, ball, glove." Steve winced and continued. "Of course, I could barely play with any of it. I was so…so weak and slow. Couldn't run, couldn't catch, couldn't hit. Bucky didn't care though. We just played all day. By the time we were done, I slept for like three days after I was so tired. It was the best Christmas of my life."

Steve's body had begun to steadily shake against the pain he was enduring, sweat pouring down his body, his eyes becoming glassy, his breathing shallower. This was hitting him hard. Harder then he was letting on.

Bruce started to go to town in one particularly bad area and Steve went white. "Ugh…owwwww."

Natasha squeezed his hand again. "What about Peggy?"

Steve struggled to catch his breath. "Wha…what about…uhh…her?"

"When did you fall in love?"

"Hmmmm," Steve moaned. "First moment I saw her."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Come on, Rogers, love not lust."

"First moment." Steve breathed.

"God you are a sap."

"Ain't nothing wrong with that," interjected Bruce, nodding to Natasha and motioning towards another gruesome section of skin littered with uniform.

Natasha ran her thumb across the back of Steve's hand. "So what was it about her?"

Bruce started to dig away.

Steve flinched hard. "Ahhhhh!"

"Tell me about Peggy."

Steve couldn't answer. His air was sawing in and out of him, his arm tucking up against his ribs.

"Steve…"

"Stop…please…agh…I need…need a sec. M'sorry." Steve pulled his hands from Natasha's grasp and curled into himself miserably, his whole body thrumming with agony.

It was at that moment that Tony Stark walked into the room. "What happened?"

"He saved my ass and turned into the human torch," Natasha answered, ruffling her hand through Steve's hair.

Tony eyed Steve's suffering on the table. "How's it hanging, Cap?"

Steve only moaned in response, his pain tolerance beyond its peak once again.

"He's holding his own, but it's wearing him down," answered Bruce.

"What are you using for pain meds?"

"Everything. His body's burning though it too fast. Even faster than it normally would. It's on overdrive trying to heal up the burns."

Tony observed Steve's agony for several long seconds, horrified at how much he was hurting. "Give me twenty minutes. I'll see what I can whip up."

"Thanks Tony," said Natasha. She pried Steve's hands out from his body, taking them once again in her own. "Hang in there, Steve."

Steve only nodded, panting against the pillow, trying to catch his breath, wincing each time the movement jarred his ribs or jostled his tender skin.

Bruce backed away from the table and checked on Steve's IV bags. "I'm gonna see if I can turbo charge these up a bit, Cap."

"Thanks, Doc," slurred Steve.

Bruce futzed with the bags, attaching another one to the pole.

Natasha grabbed a cloth and cooled it with some water. Then she returned to Steve's side and gently set the dampened material against his neck. She watched as Steve's body relaxed a bit and she was grateful to provide at least a little bit of relief.

"Thanks, Nat," said Steve, looking up at her with puppy eyes that would've melted her on the spot if she wasn't so excellently trained in resisting torture. Even the pleasant kind.

Bruce stepped back to the table. "Alright, Steve, you wanna finish this?"

"You bet," answered Steve, sounding not at all convinced.

Bruce nodded and picked up the scalpel and tweezers, going back to work.

Natasha watched in horrified fascination as Bruce maneuvered the tweezers past blazing red chunks of skin, clamping around a small piece of material and lifting the piece out. She shuddered, not wanting to think about what Steve was going through because of her.

Steve cried out and it brought her back to her senses. The super soldier was reaching a tentative hand out to her and she knew how much that cost him, how much he had to have been hurting to need the comfort. Natasha grabbed his hand and squeezed.

"God Steve, I wish I could trade places with you."

"Nat, stop."

Bruce pulled out another piece of fabric.

Steve yelped. "You asked me about…oh…Peggy."

Natasha couldn't fight her tears, knowing that Steve was trying to distract her. To make her feel better. "Yeah," she said through the tears.

"First day…basic training. We were lined…ah…ughhh…lined up and this jerk of a guy started mouthing off to her. Crap about being…a dame…woman." Steve paused, his jaw clenched tight, his face red, his body shaking, moments away from coming apart.

"What'd she do Steve?"

Steve's eyes squeezed shut, tears falling down his cheeks, his grimace of pain so tight across his forehead she thought it might become permanent.

"Steve, what'd she do?"

A tiny smile emerged from the misery of his face. "She…she decked him. I fell…" Steve paused, but this time it had nothing to do with his pain. "I fell in love with her right there."

It was Natasha's turn to smile. "Steve Rogers. Who knew you'd like your women so tough?"

Steve looked like he wanted to retort, but then Bruce pulled a huge piece of uniform out of his skin.

"Ahhhhhhhhh…god!"

Bruce kept working, digging quickly. "Almost done, Steve. Hang in there. You're doing great"

Steve sobbed against the pain, another wail of misery. "No…"

Bruce paused, glancing at Natasha. It broke her heart, but she nodded for him to continue, knowing that practically, it was going to be easier on Steve getting this done sooner rather than later. That didn't mean she had to like it.

"No! Please…stop…I can't…pleeasse," Steve bawled, begging for the pain to stop.

Natasha pulled his hand up to her heart. "I've got you, Steve. We're almost done. You will get through this. That's an order, captain. An order."

Steve gasped, choking on tears of pain. "Nat, please, tell him to stop. Bruce, I can't…"

"One more, Steve, one more," said Bruce.

"Ahhhhhh…ooowwwwww. I can't take it!" Steve cried out, hyperventilating.

"You're doing it, Steve," Natasha assured. "Don't you dare give up. You have to follow orders."

Bruce pulled out a nearly intact smoke blackened star from Steve's back.

Steve's scream was even louder and more heart-wrenching then when he'd been burning in the fire. He'd been pushed past his limit. He was done.

"It's over, Steve. We're finished," said Bruce.

Steve sagged foreword into the pillow, wheezing as he tried to get his breath, his whole body quivering.

Natasha collapsed on top of him, her mouth and nose buried against his hair, wrapping her arms around him in relief.

"I've got it!"

Natasha popped her head up to see Tony burst back into the room with a jar of electric blue cream in his hand. "This'll help…and possibly grow him a set of breasts, but we'll deal with that later."

Bruce grabbed the container and opened it, wincing at the smell. "What the hell is in it?"

Tony made an awkward face. "Better to not ask."

Natasha grabbed the bottle out of Bruce's hand and dolloped a good helping on her glove. Then she proceeded to delicately rub the noxious cream into Steve's burns. The relief seemed to be instant.

"Awwwww," moaned Steve in what was akin to ecstasy. After the hell he'd been through, to him it probably was.

She whipped the cream around, rubbing it around his back, his muscles relaxing underneath her touch as his pain seemingly disappeared.

"Ohhh…thank you."

Natasha cupped her hand around the burns that wrapped around his belly, pushing the line of cream into his belly button.

Steve sighed and his body melted into the hospital bed. Then he was well and truly out and for the first time in the last few hours, that was actually a good thing. He'd finally found a little peace.

Natasha couldn't be more grateful. She handed the jar back to Bruce and kissed Tony full on the mouth. "Thank you."

Tony jumped in surprise. "Whoa, that was unexpected and not all together unpleasant."

Natasha pulled away from Tony and moved on to Bruce. She pulled him into a hug, her eyes landing on Steve in the bed. "Thank you both. You saved him."

"He's not out of the woods yet, Natasha. We've gotta watch him close. Those burns were teaming with god knows what," said Bruce.

"But he's out of pain. At least for now. That's a start," she said as she took off her gloves, discarding them carelessly on the ground. She had to get out. She stumbled out of the OR, away from Steve and the concerned looks of Bruce and Tony. She bashed through the double doors and literally fell into Clint's arms.

"Natasha, thank god," he said, concern all over the archer's face as he checked her for injuries. She collapsed against him, unable to be strong for one more singular second. Clint caught on, moving her away from the OR giving her some visual and physical space from the burning nightmare. He settled her in a chair a few rooms down and she promptly threw up all over the floor before completely collapsing in on herself.

Clint simply grabbed onto her and held on tight, not saying a word as she cried silent tears.

"It's my fault," she said after awhile.

"That's bull, Tasha. You and I know Steve'd rather be dead and know you survived. It's just the way he is."

Natasha shook her head, removing herself from Clint's embrace. "Stupid hero stuff."

"You would've done the same for him."

"Would I?"

"In a second," said Clint without hesitation.

Natasha got up and wandered back towards the OR, looking through the glass doors as Bruce and Tony treated Steve's other injuries and disinfected and wrapped the burns with bandages.

She could feel Clint come up behind her and she was grateful for the support.

"He better be okay," said Natasha.

"He's Cap," said Clint. "Guy survived like 70 years in ice. A little sunburn ain't gonna kill him."

She continued to stare at Steve's still form on the bed, praying that Clint was right.

TBC