When the helicopter touched down at the Avengers tower, Black Panther and a Wakandan woman raced to meet them. Steve, still carrying Natasha, pulled up short at the sight of him. T'Challa, seeing Steve's defensive stance put his hands up to calm him.

"I only want to help," he said, looking at Nat with concern.

"Help?" Steve said incredulously, "Do you see her? You helped do this to her, why the HELL are you even here?"

"Language…" Tony muttered, unable to stop himself. Steve glared at him.

T'Challa stepped closer, "Please, I can explain it all, suffice it to say that I made a terrible error. This is Nanali, she is a highly skilled doctor from my country," he gestured to the stern looking woman next to him, her expression grim as she looked at Natasha. "Please, let her care for the Black Widow. She cannot wait any longer for medical attention."

Steve looked down into Natasha's face, it was nearly translucent, her lips utterly devoid of color. She breathed shallowly. Steve nodded to Nanali, "Take her, please help her." Nanali stepped in swiftly, gesturing for Steve to put her on the stretcher at her side.

"Carefully!" Nanali admonished as Steve set her down. He reached to brush her cheek but Nanali had swept her away. Steve watched her go with a sinking heart. He turned to face T'Challa. "Explain yourself."

T'Challa dipped his head, "I was mistaken about your friend Barnes, I followed him to Russia and discovered the true killer of my Father. I was consumed with vengeance, and it led me to actions that I regret. In the absence of Ms. Romanoff, I ask you for your pardon. I will do everything in my power to save her."

Steve stared at him, his face set like stone, "You better." He took off after Natasha at a run.

Steve sat for hours outside Natasha's door, listening to the urgent bustle of nurses as they worked to revive her. He was angry, angry that he hadn't protected her, and angry that she had taken matters into her own hands. There had to have been a way to avoid this, they would have found it, given a little more time. He pressed his head against the wall, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He listened to the buzz of voices in the room behind him, and pressed his face into his hands.

Nanali came out occasionally as she worked, and whenever she saw him waiting there her face darkened. She was a woman of very few words and a very strong will, Steve had soon found out. She refused to let him into where Natasha was being kept. After the third time she emerged from the room Steve sprang up from his position on the floor.

"Please, tell me how she is. Is she going to be alright?" Nanali frowned.

"Captain, it will be some time before we will know anything for certain. Go rest yourself, she will need you if she awakens."

"If?!"

Nanali took Steve by the shoulders, her grip surprisingly firm and steered him away from the door. "We are doing all we can. There is nothing for you to do but wait and pray. Ms. Romanoff is a fighter Captain, you must trust her to fight."

Steve glared down at the woman, his voice tense, "Ma'am, I am no stranger to violence and injury. I know that she has suffered a traumatic amount of damage. Tell me now, how extensive is it?"

Nanali hesitated, then appeared resigned, "She is bleeding internally, we are struggling to bring it under control. She has three broken ribs, but her lungs have not been punctured, which is miraculous. Her abdominal muscles are torn in three places. The bones and the muscle will heal with time, but the bleeding…" Nanali hesitated, then looked Steve in the eyes, "She's lost a lot of blood as it is, and the internal bleeding is only making things worse. We have to operate and find the source or we will lose her."

Steve paled. "What can I do? Please, give me a task."

"As it happens, you, Hawkeye and Ms. Romanoff share the same blood type, A positive. We do not have access to blood supply here with the Accords in play. A pint of blood is what we can safely take from you, it might be the difference between life and death."

"A pint? That's it? I saw how much she lost, she will need more than that!"

Nanali steered him into an adjoining room, "Captain, we have also requested blood from Agent Barton. We have enough on our hands without putting you at risk. We will take what we can from you. That is all." With that she left, giving a nod to a nurse on her way out.

Steve watched her go in irritation, but allowed the nurse to guide him to a chair and begin making preparations for drawing blood. Soon Hawkeye joined him, his face grave. They sat in silence. Steve watched the blood flow from his arm through the tube and into the bag. The tube rested against his arm, and it was warm to the touch. He prayed that that warmth would fill Natasha and pull her back into life. He prayed it would be enough. Flashes of the last 24 hours passed through his head as he stared at his arm.

The nurse sealed off Hawkeyes donation and rushed to get it to the doctor. Hawkeye got up from his chair, rolling out his arm and then stuffing his hands in his pockets. He looked at Steve, still watching his own blood flow.

"Steve." Steve didn't look up. "This isn't your fault. This is the Accords, and the stupid conflict it bred."

Steve frowned, "She gave herself up Barton. She knew she couldn't survive that device but she wouldn't let me be forced to sign. I would have signed before I let her die." He looked at Barton suddenly, "I would have signed."

Barton put a hand on Steve's shoulder, "She knew that Steve. She knows you. To her, you are the symbol of everything good, everything worth fighting for in the world." Steve snorted, but quieted at a look from Barton. "With the KGB and then Hydra. . . She truly believes she's a monster Steve, that no matter how much good she does here and there it won't be enough to atone. If she had let you sign to save her… She would have been allowing the embodiment of goodness to be controlled by the darkness of a corrupt government. Steve, you are more than a man to her, more than just a friend or leader, you were her redemption. Don't be angry with her for seizing the opportunity to wipe out the darkness of her past."

Steve stared at him, silent. Barton gave his shoulder a squeeze, then left the room. As the nurse sealed off the bag on his arm, a commotion broke out in the hallway. Nurses scurried in and out of Natasha's room, hospital equipment beeping. Taking Steve's donated blood, the nurse ran to see what was going on. She returned a moment later, apprehensive as she approached Steve.

"There has been… a complication."

Steve leapt to his feet, "What's happened?"

The nurse hesitated and looked at her feet, "The surgery was successful, they found the source of her bleeding, but in the process the Widow has fallen into a coma… She lost so much blood so quickly, and she needs more…"

Steve sat down in the chair, his expression blank. "Take more from me then."

"You need time to recover before I can-"

"TAKE. MORE. We don't have time for this. I will recover just fine."

The nurse glanced back at Natasha's room which was still full of commotion, then nodded and began to prepare.