A/N: Well Hello again everyone! I am finally back, too long, I know. I am back with quite a few updates in the pipe, so this will no be the last one. To flayjunior15, you are not wrong. And what you want is coming, stay patient, Nat and Steve have more story to tell before we get into the events of Infinity War so I hope you stay with them. Hope you enjoy this chapter. More to come soon! -Cat

Chapter Forty-One

Steve

We get into the jet and Sam runs ahead of me, pulling the bunk down from the side panel. "Put her here," He says running back to one of the storage compartments. I gently put Natasha down on the bunk and look over her again, my heart thudding in my chest. She's been shot three times and she is losing a lot of blood.

"Keep her conscious," Sam called over his shoulder. At the same time he speaks, I notice I don't like the way her arm drops from around my shoulders, like she isn't controlling it. Like it is just falling from me, limp.

I look up and see her eyes close, her face looking pale, "Nat... Natasha!" She struggles to open her eyes, trying to focus me, her body going tense. I reach up, cradling her face in my hands, "Stay with us, stay awake." I order her.

Her eyes go in and out of focus and it is like she is realizing she is pain all over again. She flexes on the bunk as Sam runs back over to stand beside me, bringing an armful of medical supplies. He reaches up with something that looks like a cross between a gun and a taser, with an odd nozzle at the front. I look at Sam but he is focused on the bullet hole on Nat's left side. "This was Stark tech, it was still in testing phase when we went off the grid, but should do the trick. Combat wound care." He looks up at Nat who is starting to shake. "Not gonna lie Nat, this is probably gonna hurt."

She looks at the gun before looking back at Sam and nodding. She reaches up with her left hand and grabs my jacket with a tight fist. I shift so as not to get in Sam's way but brace her arm with my hand all the same. Sam puts the nozzle on to on of the entry wounds, takes a deep breath and then pulls the trigger.

What looked like white foam blossomed out of the gun filling the wound. Nat instantly reared up, her fist tightening on my jacket, her face tenses and her mouth opens in a silent scream and I feel my heart constrict in my chest. "It's okay, you're okay," I say nonsensically, like that is even remotely true.

She pants as Sam removes the nozzle and looks up at her arm. I step behind Natasha and wrap my arms around her, she nods at Sam and he put the nozzle in and does the same. "Goddamn it!" She screams flinching back and I find myself holding her in place.

"I know, I'm sorry," Sam says quietly.

"Jesus, getting shot hurts less," Nat panted glaring at Sam, and I see the sweat on her brow and the blanched white of her skin.

Sam looks at her and he looks anguished, "Gotta stop the bleeding Nat." She nods and I turn around so I am facing her for this last one. The lower abdomen shot. I face her and force myself to smile into her eyes.

The left side of her mouth catches in a smile, "Wh-what?" She struggles to say, "No reprimand for my language?"

I can't help but let the chuckle escape, "Don't think I didn't notice."

"Ready?" Sam asks.

Nat holds my eyes with her own when she says, "Do it."

Her scream seems to tear at me. Like it is trying to rip apart my brain. I hold her tight but I can feel her shaking and loosing her grip on me as Sam finishes.

Sam reached up with a syringe and rolls up Nat's left sleeve, he injects her and I feel her go limp in my arms. "Nat!" I say frantically.

"It's okay, it's a sedative and a pain killer." I gently lower her onto the bunk and I hate the way her lids flutter over her eyes. My hand traces up to brush the hair out of her face. "Steve."

I turn from her to face Sam, who steps closer to me keeping his voice down, "This is bad. She needs a surgeon and she is gonna need one soon."

I swallow and look down at her. I take a breath before looking back up at Sam, "We need to find Helen Cho," Sam looks surprised at my words, "Get Nat to her."

"That's a big risk Steve, the kind that isn't so smart for us to be taking right about now."

"Her cradle can fix Nat fast and we don't have time or the option of Nat to be in a hospital bed for too long. Besides, she owes us. She is our safest option. Find out where she is." I reach out and take Sam's upper arm in my hand, "Get us there." I say raising my eyebrows at him, knowing I must look like I am pleading.

He purses his lips but all the same he nods and runs to the front of the jet. I turn back and look down at Nat. She looks small and in pain and my heart clenches in my chest at the sight of her like this. I knew it was a bad idea. I lean down over the bunk, stroking a hand over her head, down her soft hair, the blonde beginning to grow out. My eyes trace over her face as I am aware of how hot she is to the touch. I turn restlessly from the bunk running a hand over my beard.

"I found her," Sam shouts back to me, "She is in Amsterdam at a conference, and lucky for us she has a cradle with her for demonstration purposes."

"How long?" I demand looking up at Sam.

"I can get us there in under thirty."

I don't say anything back, I can't seem to find my voice at all, but Sam doesn't wait for me to respond. The back of the jet closes and soon we are taking off. I just look back down at Nat and try and remind myself that she has been through worse. That Nat can get through this. But I still feel fear in my chest. I can't protect her from this. I would have stepped in front of all three of those bullets if I could have but what do I do now they have already been fired? I feel helpless in the worst way.

The flight seemed to take forever but now we are here. In Amsterdam, finally. The medical research compound is quiet, it is still the middle of the night after all. Sam runs up to the keypad by the locked front doors and places a small device over it and starts typing in something before the doors spring open. I run through them with Nat held in my arms. Her unconscious form feels like it is the heaviest thing I have ever carried, which weighs on my mind since not a lot actually feels heavy to me anymore.

Sam brings up schematics of the building on his arm unit. "Looks like she is on the third floor." He says as he runs along beside me.

I don't say anything, just turn to the door that is marked stairwell off the front atrium of this modern looking building and kick it in. Not only does it open but it flies off the hinges back into the stairwell.

"So much for flying under the radar." Sam remarks.

"We don't have time for that." I say shortly not waiting for him before I start attacking the stairs, taking them three at a time. Sam makes the right choice of not saying anything more.

It feels like it takes forever to reach the third floor. No matter how much I push myself to move faster it feels like I am trying to wade through water, like the universe is holding me back.

We reach the third floor marked doorway and somehow Sam beats me, I think he might have used his wings to just fly up the stairwell, but I don't know, the only thing I am truly paying attention to is moving forward and Nat's laboured breathing. Laboured but still there. Sam opens the door for me and I as I walk through I am thankful that all the apparent labs or work spaces have enormous glass windows and I can already see Helen Cho through the window of one down the hall.

Sam and I run down the corridor together and he skids to a halt and bangs on the window. Helen and her two assistants both nearly jump out of their skin, obviously assuming they were alone in the empty building in the middle of the night. Helen looks up at us with big eyes and quickly surveys Sam but then her eyes swing to me and then down to Nat. She hands her tablet she was tapping on to her assistant and runs to the door, keying in the code to open it and I hear the whoosh as the air lock opens.

She is no-nonsense right away, no 'What are you doing here?', no 'How did you get in here?'. She simply keeps her eyes on Nat and asks, "What happened?" Stepping aside so I can come in, but staying by my side, reaching out and taking Nat's pulse from her wrist.

"She was shot. Three times." I say.

Her assistants must know her well and trust her because they dont say anything or ask questions, they remain professional and simply set to work removing the example dummy off the cradle for me to put Nat down on it instead.

"How long ago?" She asks as I gently put Nat down. She groans at the movement but her eyes stay closed, her brow furrowing.

"About forty five minutes." Sam answers for me which I am thankful for.

As I pull my arms out from underneath her, Nat grabs my arm, she is shaking and slowly I take her hand with my free hand and lean down to her. "It's okay, we are somewhere safe. You're gonna be okay." I say into her ear.

To my surprise she speaks, her voice more gravelly than normal, "Hope you aren't doing something stupid, Rogers." She grinds out.

I pull back to see one of her eyes opening, and the eyebrow raising over it. I can see the sweat on her brow, and I can tell she is having a hard time getting me into focus. "Oh you know me, always have something up my sleeve."

"I need you to step back so I can scan her." Helen says to me, gently placing a hand on my back.

"I am right here," I say letting go of her hand. And as always, she is stoic. She nods and looks happy to be able to close her eyes again. Although even the nod makes her wince. I let go of her hand even though I don't want to and step away from the cradle. I step back to stand beside Dr. Cho. I look at her, "You have to save her." I say.

Helen Cho purses her lips as she taps away furiously on the tablet she holds in her hand. "Why don't you and Mr. Wilson sit outside while we work." She looked up at me, "I assure you Captain Rogers, we will do everything we can for Agent Romanoff."

Sam appears beside me and puts a heavy hand on my shoulder, "Come on, Steve." He says gently and even though it feels like every fibre in my being is telling me not to, I step away from her and out into the hallway.

I stand in the hallway watching through the glass as Dr. Cho runs a scan over Nat's body. Her assistants running back and forth around the cradle getting things ready, for whatever it is they plan on doing to her. I just want them to move faster. I want this to be over and everything to be okay again.

Sam leans against the window next to me. "Captain, Mr. Wilson." An assistant appears beside us, with big cups of coffee.

"Thanks," Sam says, nodding at her and taking the mugs. He turns to me and goes to hand the mug to me but I feel like I am frozen. "Come on Steve," Sam sipped from his own mug, "And damned if this isn't the best cup of coffee I have had in a year. Nothing you can do for Nat out here." He forced the mug into my hand.

"Thanks," I say quietly. I smell the coffee and it does smell amazing. But I don't sip it because all it makes me think off is every morning waking up with Natasha and her lamenting the bad luck of not having good coffee. It seems inherently wrong to drink this while she is in there...

The door of the lab opens and Helen Cho stepped out to look at me, "I have scanned Agent Romanoff-"

"And?" I ask facing her, handing Sam the coffee I haven't touched.

"The silicone hemorrhage control saved her life, but taking it out might cause more damage." My brow furrows, "But do not worry Captain, the cradle can heal that damage as quickly as it occurs. What concerns me is the area of her body that bullet three entered. The previous damage to her lower torso is... catastrophic." My brow furrows, "The previous surgical methods used on her body were...well, they caused tremendous scarring and-"

I put my hand up to stop Dr. Cho, "Look, I don't care what it takes. Make her whole." Dr. Cho looked like she really wanted to discuss this more, "Please Helen." I find myself begging.

She takes a deep breath, "Alright, I will send my assistant out with updates,"

I let out a breath I feel like I have been holding in forever, "Thank you,"