Okay, here it is! Yay! A day early even! Barely, though... :)
Disclaimer: Again, I own none of this. I thought I made myself clear?
Natasha bolted upright as she jerked awake, panting heavily. Her heart pounded and she frantically reached over to see if Steve was there.
Her hand met with his arm as he slowly started to stir. "Oh, thank you God," She choked out as she started sobbing into her hands.
"Nat? Natasha, honey, what's wrong?" He asked as he was suddenly a lot more awake than before when he saw she was in distress.
She felt his hand land on her shoulder gently as she continued to cry uncontrollably.
"Natasha, baby, come here," He said as he wrapped his arms around her and tugged her closer so she was up against his chest. She threw her arms around him and held on as tight as she possibly could.
She sobbed into his shoulder for several minutes before he spoke again. "Sweetheart, do you want to tell me what happened?" He asked softly.
"I-I dreamt...of w-when...you d-died..." She managed to choke out between hiccups from crying so hard.
"Oh, Natasha..." He whispered as he held her closer and stroked her hair; whispering comforting words. "I'm here, Natasha, I'm all right," He murmured quietly in her ear, but she couldn't help the tremors that wracked her shaken body.
"T-they said you w-were dead," She choked out, burying her face into the crook of his neck once she had stopped crying. "You were dead f-for four days before H-Helen s-saved you," She managed to say, voice breaking.
"I thought you were g-gone. I didn't think I'd ever see you again, Steve." She started crying again, hanging onto Steve like her own life depended on it.
He didn't seem to mind, though, he just wrapped his arms around her tighter; voice breaking.
"I wouldn't leave you, Natasha. I love you too much, I'm never leaving you." She pulled back and looked up at him; bringing a hand up to caress his cheek and wipe away a few of the stray tears there.
Her own tears were streaming down her cheek, too.
"But Steve, we found you dead. You were, you were gone. I didn't think you could be brought back." She looked down and allowed a sob to break out. "We even had funeral for you, Steve. I gave up on you, I-I don't deserve you," She whispered, tears threatening to over come her entirely.
She continued looking down, guilt eating at her. "I never even thought of the cradle being able to bring you back, and if she wouldn't have shown up, you wouldn't be here today, Steve. God, I owe her so much."
She choked out again, closing her eyes and starting to cry.
"Hey," Steve whispered as he tipped her chin up, but she refused to open her eyes. "It isn't your fault, if I'd have seen someone like that, I'd never have thought of it either. Natasha, I love you, please don't do this to yourself," He begged quietly and she sighed dejectedly.
"It was so real," She managed to say, voice barely above a whisper. "It was all so real," She closed her eyes tighter as he rubbed the side of her arm in a comforting manner; reminding her of how Clint had.
"It's okay, Natasha, I'm here, you're here, we're together. Everything's all right. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." He paused and smiled slightly. "I now have two reasons not to leave." He whispered as he kissed the top of her head, but she still couldn't shake the image of his dead body out of her mind.
"It's only been two months," She whispered and she could feel him nodding. "Every time I close my eyes all I see is you, lying on that cold, hard floor in that base dying." She choked out, on the verge of crying again.
"Shh, Shh," He whispered soothingly. He gently laid her down onto her side on the bed so she was facing him and lied down beside her. She opened her eyes to see baby blue eyes staring lovingly down at her.
He stroked some of the hair out of her eyes and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you, Nat," He whispered before he brought his lips down and kissed her. After a few moments he pulled away and pulled her closer so she was up against him.
He wrapped his arms around her protectively. "I love you so much," He murmured against her hair as she wrapped her arms around him.
"I love you, too, Steve," She whispered, tears lining the brim of her eyes. He looked down at her one more time, looking her in the eyes,
"Now remember, it was just a dream," He said, and she nodded. They both closed their eyes, and soon after Steve was fast asleep, but Natasha was still slightly shook up.
She opened her eyes and looked up at his beloved sleeping face; trying to tell herself he was only sleeping. She listened to his steady breathing and the sound of his heart beating until she was calmed down a little more. She sighed as she continued looking up at him. He was right.
It was just a dream.
More or less. Those things had happened, but Steve had managed to make it out all right, even after being declared dead for a few days.
She closed her eyes and sent up a silent prayer of protection for her husband. It was only a dream, she silently told herself, but it still made her wonder;
What if next time it won't be just a dream?
Haha! So it was just a dream! Well, sort of. Not really. It did happen, but... Never mind, I just hope that wasn't too confusing!
Wow, I hope that was an okay ending. Please let me know! It's late, I'm tired yet I'm not, and I wanted to quick whip up the second chapter, so please tell me if it was good enough! I really enjoyed writing these two chapters! Please review and let me know! :)
