Natasha was groaning in his arms, but she wasn't opening her eyes. Steve prayed to any deity listening that she was okay. He couldn't lose her again.
Please wake up, sweetheart.
"I really just want to talk to her." Val said.
Steve fought the urge to roll his eyes. Sure, she just wanted to talk to her. And the car had just happened to hit them, almost killing them. And he was actually Santa Claus.
"Look, lady. I don't give a fuck about who you are or who you work for. If you or your toy boy come any closer, I will end you."
Val simply smiled at his threat. "Oh, how exciting! You're nothing like the media and history books paint you! Maybe I should have come to you to hire you."
Steve wondered briefly if she thought that he was just bluffing. He wasn't. He was going to kill them to protect Natasha, he had no problems with that. He protected those he loved with everything he had. He was never going to let anything happen to Natasha again. Never. And he was sure that Val's plans for Natasha were not good. Someone had hired her to take Natasha or take her out.
Val and Walker came closer despite his threat and he sighed. God, they were truly idiots.
He had warned them, they only had themselves to blame for what was going to happen next. He made sure that Nat was secure in his arms and then used all of this strength to kick the car and hurl it towards them. He was so fast that Walker had no time to get them out of harm's way. He grabbed Val and wrapped himself around her and the car crashed into them. It was a nasty sound and he was sure that they were at least seriously hurt.
Natasha made another sound and Steve ran to the car of Val and Walker. He ripped out the GPS tracker and the one hidden underneath the car and gently placed Natasha onto the passenger's seat. He turned off all fancy gadgets and started the engine, he would only use the car to get them into the next town where he would get them a new vehicle.
He was on his own. He had no idea how Val had found them and Steve didn't know if there was a leak on Fury's side. He couldn't contact him or Strange to get them out of here, he just simply didn't trust them right now. He probably wasn't fair to them, but he could only trust himself right now. And Yelena, he knew that he could trust her. Bucky was too far away and while he didn't know Yelena personally, he knew that she would protect her sister.
No one was following them and they reached the nearest town under twenty minutes. Steve was sure that the authorities had noticed the car crash by now and they didn't have much time to switch cars. Natasha was still unconscious and his worry only grew. If she wasn't going to open her eyes in the next 30 minutes, he was going to contact Strange. No matter the consequences. He could fight and kill to protect her, but he couldn't treat a head injury.
He spotted an old SUV from the 80s or 90s which meant no technology that could be tracked or hacked into, and broke into it. He did feel guilty about stealing an innocent bystander's vehicle, but he had no other choice. They had to keep moving, if they stayed for too long in one place, Val's people could find them. And he really didn't want that.
The last city was miles behind them and they were deep into the woods, he'd originally planned to use the highways to get to Ohio, but that wasn't an option anymore. He didn't want any traffic cams to pick up their faces, he had no idea how far this went. Who had hired Val, who was she working for? How had she found out that Natasha was alive again?
"Steve?" Natasha suddenly groaned out next to him and he immediately looked over to her. Thank God, she was awake!
"Hey, are you okay?" He asked her, worry in his voice.
"Yeah, my head and neck hurt a bit. What happened?"
Her eyes were focusing on him and she had no slurred speech, so he hoped that she really was doing okay.
"We got ambushed. Someone is after you, but I shook them off for now. I'm so sorry that you got hurt."
"It isn't your fault, without you I would probably be dead. Thank you for saving me." She gave him a little smile, but it quickly vanished. "Who is after me?"
"I don't know her. She says she just wanted to talk to you, but she had a fucking car crash into us. She could have gotten you killed." He gripped the steering wheel harder than necessary. That car crash could have killed her. He could have lost her again. He could live in a world where she hated him, but he couldn't live in a world again where Natasha was gone again. "She said her name was Valentina de Fontaine. I never head that name before."
"Maybe she really wanted to talk with me?" Natasha said, but he could hear that she didn't actually believe that. "Maybe I know her? Maybe we have unfinished business?"
"It was a hit. She had a super soldier with her in case the car crash didn't kill us."
"Steve, what happened to them?"
"I hurled our car towards them." He told her truthfully.
"Oh."
"Are you okay?"
There was a pause and he had no idea what she was thinking. It was very possible that he had killed Val and Walker and that Natasha was horrified by that.
"Yes, I'm okay." She had eventually. "It was either them or us. I'm glad you chose us."
Steve stopped by a creek so Natasha could wash off the blood off her skin and was surprised when she used another tissue to clean his forehead. He hadn't even noticed that he had a cut there.
She gently wiped the blood away and looked at him in awe. "Wow, the cut is already healed!"
"Yeah, perks of the serum." He whispered because Natasha was standing so close to him.
"I want to hate you so bad, but I just can't." She said so quietly like she didn't want him to hear that.
"I am so sorry. For everything."
"I know. I know you are."
They searched the car for supplies and thankfully found unopened water bottles and granola bars. Steve was back behind the wheel and Natasha had offered him water and food, but he politely refused. She needed it more than he did. She emptied a water bottle and ate two granola bars.
"What's our plan?"
"We'll have to switch cars in the next bigger town so we're not that easy too track. I really hope that we'll make it to Yelena without any other incidents. And then you'll stay with Yelena, and I'll go after the people who are behind this."
"You're leaving?"
"Isn't that what you want?"
"I...I don't...I don't know? I'm just really confused about everything and I have no idea what I want and don't want."
"I need to find out who is after you, Natasha."
"I know that and I want to know who's after me, too."
"Do you think they know about Yelena and where she lives?"
"I can't rule it out. They somehow managed to track us down. Yelena is smart, she can keep you and herself safe."
"You said that you've never met her."
"No." He chuckled. "But she's your sister, she takes after you."
"I don't want something to happen to you." Natasha said and he could see out of the corner of his eye that she was looking at him.
"Nothing is going to happen to me when I go after the people who hired a hit on us. You don't need to worry about me." He assured her and gave her a quick smile.
They reached a bigger town and he decided it was time to switch cars again. He drove through the streets until he saw a car that would work for what they needed. He'd chosen an older car again and broke into it. He even found a flannel shirt inside for Natasha to wear so she wouldn't be so cold. He signaled for Natasha that it was safe and she left the other car.
Steve felt guilty for stealing yet another car, but he had no other choice. They had to get to Ohio and he'd memorized the license plates so he could reimburse the owners and make it up to them.
"I kinda feel bad for taking someone else's car." Natasha said after Steve started the engine.
"Me, too. But I'll make it up to them, I promise."
Natasha turned on the radio and so far the news didn't cover the car crash or the involvement of the former Captain America in it. That was good, they didn't need more people looking for them. He was surprised that Fury hadn't tried to contact him yet, so he didn't seem to know about it or he did and didn't want to draw attention to them.
Steve drove the next three hours without a break and the sun was rising when they finally reached the town Yelena was living in. The young woman lived in an old farmhouse away from prying eyes. He knew that Yelena had already noticed that a car was heading towards her place and he parked at the beginning of her driveway and got out of the car. He wanted her to see him so she wouldn't start shooting at them. He signaled for Natasha to stay in the car, even though he could see that she wanted to get to her sister. Her excitement made him smile a little. He knew that he'd done the right thing. This was what Natasha needed. And maybe seeing her sister would make her remember again.
The front door of the old farmhouse opened and Yelena stepped out, still in pajamas, and eyed him skeptically. Her dog right behind her.
"What do you want, Steven Rogers?" She didn't seem armed, but also not happy to see him. Not that he could blame her. He was responsible for her sister's death.
"There's someone who wants to see you." He replied and told Natasha to get out of the car.
Yelena's eyes widened in disbelief and he heard her gasp. Steve was sure that he'd looked the same when he'd seen Natasha for the first time again through the windows of the bakery. Yelena whistled a tune and then to his surprise Natasha answered with her own whistle.
"I don't know how I know that." She whispered, crashing Steve's hopes that she'd remembered. "She's so beautiful. She's the woman I've dreamed about!"
"Natasha!" Yelena cried out and ran towards them. Natasha took off as well and ran into her sister's open arms.
Both women were crying and laughing with their arms wrapped around each other, their foreheads touching, and Steve felt a sense of relief. Natasha was home, she was with her family.