Natasha picked at the bandage that had been placed over the burn on her arm, coughing against a sharp tickle in her throat. She had finally been forced to get her own injuries looked at, so they'd treated the bumps and bruises and tried to shove some oxygen down her lungs to help her breathe a little easier, but she had refused. They had tried to get her to sleep, but she had refused that too. Not until she was sure Steve didn't need her. Not until she was sure he was going to be okay.

Clint and Tony had gone back to the warehouse to debrief the mission on Steve and her's behalf. That and to look for Steve's shield. That damn shield. If and when they found it, Natasha was going to find some super glue and permanently attach it to Steve's hand. Then he'd never have to go through something like this again.

Natasha sigh in exhaustion, stretching out her tired body, resting her foot on the corner of Steve's bed. Bruce had just been in to check on Steve and adjust his meds. The super soldier was running a low grade fever that Bruce wasn't happy about. He'd told Natasha to watch Steve closely and to come get him if there were any changes.

Watch him closely she was. Steve had been placed in a prone position on his side. He was shirtless, the covers pulled down to his waist, exposing all the damage done to his torso, which was mostly covered in bandages either from his ribs or his burns. Natasha focused on an area not bandaged, a small spot of his abdomen to the left of his belly button. It rose and fell with every breath Steve took, every inhale pierced by a small, nearly imperceptible quiver that spoke of deeply held pain. Every exhale was just a tad shallower than it should be, not quite settling through his body, the air movement punctuated by a whisper of a moan escaping Steve's lips. Steve's eyes were closed in sleep, but not rest, his tensed breathing and the tremors of pain that coursed through his body every minute or so exposing the fact that Steve was hurting and badly.

The smoke inhalation seemed to have cleared out though thanks to the serum and Natasha thanked god for the favor, however small. The cream Tony had concocted also seemed to help if only for short increments of time. So that was something too. At this point, Natasha would take any good news she could get.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Natasha jumped a foot in the air, not realizing the super solder had woken up. He was looking at her through blue eyes hazy with pain and exhaustion. She ignored the unpleasantness of their current situation, smiling and running a hand through his hair, which still reeked of smoke.

"You know, Rogers, a penny's not gonna get you far these days. Better off asking with a dollar."

Steve smiled and sighed, his eyes closing, his long lashes resting against his cheek. "Dollar won't get you much either."

"You'd be surprised, Cap. You can really make it stretch."

Steve moaned softly in acknowledgement but didn't open his eyes. "Thanks for staying with me."

"Well how could I miss the rockin party. You really know how to keep a girl on her toes."

"I try."

She leaned down and cupped his cheek with her hand, kissing him on the lips, noting how soft and warm they were compared to the last time her mouth had touched his.

Steve's eyes shot open, wide and vulnerable. Curious.

"Thank you," said Natasha, sitting back down in her chair.

"So did I improve any since the last time?"

Natasha smirked. "Why? You been practicing?"

"Maybe."

"Hospital bed kisses don't count. You can barely reciprocate."

Steve sighed. "That's a no then."

"Well maybe we'll have to try again when you're not in a hospital bed, Rogers. You know, for the sake of practice and all," she said, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest. She wasn't sure why said it or if she'd even meant it, it had just popped out. Still, she found herself nervous of what Steve's next words would be.

"We've got our date all set up, Peggy. I don't intend to miss it this time."

Natasha's gut clenched. "Steve, it's Natasha." She reached under his jaw, noting how warm he was and tilted his head gently until he was looking directly at her. But he wasn't looking at her at all. He was looking through her. His eyes were a brilliant blue, so lit with fever they were almost glowing. It scared her how fast and hard it had hit him, seemingly right before her eyes.

"Steve…"

Steve reached out his hand and stroked her face. "You're so beautiful. We've been given a second chance. I won't leave you this time, I promise."

Natasha pressed her hand over his and closed her eyes, pretending that he was talking to her, trying to imagine what it would be like to have this moment, to be this girl. To even have the chance to have something like this. In some world, maybe it was possible. With someone like Steve. Where she could be the girl that he needed. She just wasn't sure this was that world. It certainly wasn't at the moment and she couldn't take advantage of that. Not after all he had done for her.

She gently removed his hand from her cheek. "Go back to sleep, Steve."

"All I dream about is you," whispered Steve, his eyes filling up with tears. "I just want the life we would've had together. Our kids. Our grandkids. I'll never get to meet any of them." Steve closed his eyes in defeat, tears falling down his cheeks.

Natasha pressed her forehead to his, knowing what she needed to do for him. "You were always with me, Steve. Always. We did live a life together."

"I want more time," sobbed Steve, grasping her tightly, his wet tears soaking into her neck, his body like a campfire next to hers.

"I'm right here, Steve. We have all the time in the world."

Steve's tears faded into sniffles and he slowly parted from her, his face going blank in confusion.

"Natasha?"

Natasha tentatively reached out and stroked his cheek. "Are you back?

"Where did I go?"

She shook her head. "It's doesn't matter."

Steve started to blink hard, like he was trying to get something out of his eyes.

"Steve, you okay?"

He started to convulsively swallow, his face paling, his eyes dulling. "Ugh.

"Steve?"

"I don't feel so good," he breathed, looking like he was about to pass out.

"Steve, stay with me!"

He looked at her blankly and then his eyes rolled back in his head as he fell forward, collapsing against her shoulder.

"Steve, hey, Steve wake up," she said, pulling his head up and lightly slapping his cheek, the heat radiating off of him.

Steve's body suddenly went rigid in her arms and then he began to writhe, his joints popping, his muscles seizing up.

"Oh son of a bitch, Steve, come on!" she pleaded, struggling to get him back prone on the bed. She frantically pressed the nurse's button. "Banner, he's seizing!" she screamed.

She eyed the sink outside, desperate to grab a wet towel and try to cool Steve down, but she was afraid if she left his side that he would fall right off the bed with the intensity of the how bad his body was spasming against the fever.

Steve continued to seize, his teeth clenching, his chest squeezing in on itself, the burns rubbing hard against the bed. It would've hurt like hell if Steve had been with it. It probably still did.

Bruce dashed into the room a few seconds later, armed with icepacks and a syringe of medicine. He wasted no time in wiping a spot on Steve's arm and jabbing the shot in, the seizure causing Steve's arm to move against the needle. By the time all the medicine had been dispensed, there was a bloody mark where the shot had been injected.

Steve cried out, the pain of the seizure finally hitting his body. Natasha tried to grab for his arm, but she couldn't get a firm grip amid the thrashing.

"What do we do?" she yelled at Bruce in a panic.

"Just give the meds a second to work. He'll be okay. Then we can try and cool him down."

Steve continued to violently convulse, a series of choked moans bubbling out of his mouth like hiccups. Gradually though, his body began to relax, the intensity of the seizing calming down until finally Steve was left simply shuddering against the assault his body had taken.

"Get these on him. Pulse points. Neck, armpits, groin," instructed Bruce, handing her the icepacks. She placed one on either side of his neck, in his armpits and between his legs, doing her best to give him some modesty at the personal invasion.

Bruce wiped up the bloody shot entry point, putting a bandaid over the area and checked his burns, nodding at their healing progress. "He's okay. His body is just going through a lot. It doesn't know what to fight first and it's overwhelming him."

"So no infection?"

"No infection," assured Bruce. "This is good news, Natasha. I know it doesn't seem like it, but he's fighting the hell out of this." He lifted the bandage covering the burns to show her. "Look at it already. The skin isn't as raw as it was even a few hours ago. Another day or two and this'll be scarred over."

Natasha ran a hand over Steve's forehead, seeing nothing but the clench of his jaw and the pain lines at the corner of his eyes as his body trembled. "He's still hurting though."

"I know," said Bruce. "But you've gotten him through this, Natasha. He wouldn't have made it, serum or not, without you."

Natasha shrugged off the compliment, not feeling like she deserved it.

"You should sleep. I'll watch him for awhile."

"No," insisted Natasha. "I got this."

"Alright," said Bruce after a moment's hesitation. "Call me if you need anything." He started to walk out of the room.

"Hey Banner…" said Natasha, stopping Bruce in his tracks.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for everything. For him…for me."

"You got it, Romanoff." He turned on his heels and left.

Natasha sat back down at Steve's bedside, brushing her hand across his cheek. He was already cooling off. In fact, he seemed to be shivering against the cold packs on his body. She reached down to the foot of his bed and pulled up a thin sheet, laying it gently over his bare chest.

Steve moaned softly and curled into the sheet, but didn't wake up.

Natasha settled back in her chair with a sigh and after a few moments of making sure Steve was well and truly out, picked up the tablet Clint had left for her in case she got bored. She went to the S.H.I.E.L.D. database and typed in Steve Rogers name. She knew all the basics. His stats. His general history. Now she wanted to know all the details. Everything that had ever happened to him. She wanted to see every photo, every video of the man lying in the bed next to her. He was suddenly the most fascinating person in the world to her.

An hour went by. Then two.

Steve slept like the dead the first hour, his fever broken, his body needing it's rest to heal. In hour two, the nightmares started. She could imagine the horrific images that haunted him in his sleep after reading through his war history and all that he'd been through in his life. All that he'd lost.

He cried out, his body flinching and dodging and weaving, his breathing fast and panicked. "Bucky, it's me!" He yelped as if he'd just been punched. "S'my fault! M'sorry. Should've…shoud've looked for you!"

Tears began trickling down his cheeks and he gasped for air, his ribs clenching against his speedy inhales. It was all too familiar and Natasha couldn't watch him go through so much pain again.

"Steve, wake up."

Steve moaned, his eyebrows pulling tight.

"Steve, wake up," she repeated, her voice firm like she was giving an order.

Steve's eyes flipped open on command. He looked at her with exhausted confusion. But his eyes were clear. He was with her.

"You okay?" she asked, placing a gentle hand on his chest.

"You been here this whole time?" asked Steve, his voice soft and sleepy.

"You don't sleep too good, Rogers."

Steve's face reddened in embarrassment. "What I do?"

Natasha's face fell in sadness. "No…nothing. I just meant…I don't know. I'm sorry."

"Natasha…"

She held up his file on the tablet. "I'm sorry all this happened to you. I'm sorry you lost so much. I'm sorry that such a good man could have such a bad life. That your dreams are anything other than peaceful. I'm just sorry. I'm sorry for all of it."

"Nat," whispered Steve. "I've had a beautiful lady sitting by my bedside for the last day and a half taking care of me and making sure I'm okay. I assure you, my life is not all bad."

"Aww, you think I'm beautiful?"

"Come on, you know you're a knockout," he said with a smile, shifting slightly, wincing as his burns rubbed against the sheets.

"Easy," said Natasha, reaching for the burn cream. "I think it's time for one last dose of Stark's wonder cream."

She pulled down the sheet to expose Steve's side and chest and suddenly it was like he was standing naked before her. She carefully lifted the bandage on his side and rubbed on the cream as Steve's abs contracted against the chilled sensation, his skin breaking out in gooseflesh.

"Wooo," said Steve, shivering awkwardly. "S'cold."

"Sorry," said Natasha as she replaced the bandage and went to work on his back, massaging the cream in as Steve's muscles relaxed against her hand. She marveled at how much his skin had already healed since the last time she had done this. By that time she had replaced the bandage and raised his covers back up, Steve was looking up at her through heavily-lidded eyes.

"Get some sleep, Steve," said Natasha, her own eyes threatening to close. Now she could finally relax enough to sleep. Steve was going to be okay.

She stood up, stretching and heading for the door to see if Bruce could find her a bed.

"Nat…"

She turned around to look back at Steve. "Yeah?"

"Stay," he murmured, his eyes not meeting hers. "Maybe I won't have those nightmares."

"Cap, you asking me to sleep over?"

"Well…I…ah…I…"

Before he could spit out a clear answer, Natasha removed her shoes and climbed into his bed, slipping in behind him, careful not to rub against any of his injuries. "You better not hog the covers, Rogers."

She felt him relax next to her and she puddled into the bed, every part of her body sighing towards sleep.

"Thanks," Steve said so softly she barely heard him.

Natasha smiled. "Don't mention it."

And then Natasha fell asleep.

TBC