She was aware of the sounds around her. She knew people were talking because she could see their lips moving. She knew several of the machines were beeping because she could see the lights flashing on them. She knew the heels of her boots were making soft thumps because she was pushing herself down to the bright hallway. But she couldn't hear any of these sounds, they all just blurred together into one big, annoying buzz.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

She had just seen him, just spoke to him, not ten hours ago. His words were still fresh in her mind.

Everything was fine. Everything was supposed to be fine. She wasn't supposed to be making her way down a hospital hallway at one o'clock in the morning. She should be in bed right now, waking up in about five hours so she could go for a morning run with her father like she did every morning after she came back from a mission.

Nothing like this was supposed to happen.

Katie's short hair swayed against her shoulders as she pushed past white-coat doctors and bright scrub nurses. She continued down with hospital hallway until she finally reached the room Maria had messaged to her.

Katie pushed opened the door with a force that caused it to bang against the wall as she marched into the room, not even bothering to look and see if the door closed behind her.

She stopped about half way in. She saw Maria standing off to the far side as she typed away at her phone, her brows pinched in distress. There was a giant widow on the wall in front of Katie that showed doctors working away, covered in blood as they worked on their patient. And Steve stood there, his back to Katie, hands resting on the window ledge as he stared at the scene before him.

She took a deep breath before slowly walking the rest of the way to the window, never taking her eyes off the body on the operating table.

She stopped once she reached Steve's side and Katie suddenly felt very cold, causing her to cross her arms over her chest as she felt a pair of eyes on her.

Katie turned and her eyes met Steve's. They shared a confused and questioning gaze, Katie not allowing herself to open her mouth in fear of what she might say. Or that she may break down.

The door to the room suddenly flew open once more as Katie and Steve turned back to the window. Katie caught a reflection of straight, fire-red hair in the glare of the window just as Natasha came to a stop at her side.

Katie cast a quick side-ways glance at the women next to her before looking back at the window, and it was safe to say that she wasn't the only one who was barely holding it together at the moment.

A pregnant silence fell around the room. Four sets of eyes rested on the scene before them, watching doctors and nurses move away the room. Katie was pretty sure the only think keeping her from falling apart was the sound of that steady heartbeat coming from the monitor.

"Will he make it?" Katie spoke in a dry voice as she broke the silence and asked the question that had been hanging in the air.

"I don't know." Came Steve's reply, and Katie could hear the distress in his voice. As if he wished more than anything that he could give them an actual answer.

"Tell me about the shooter." Natasha said in a deadpan voice, eyes forward.

"He's fast. Strong." Steve paused for a moment as if replaying a memory. "Had a metal arm."

At this point, Maria made her way over to the others, staying in front of the window and just a few feet away from Natasha. None of them ever taking their eyes off the window.

"Ballistics?" Natasha questioned towards Maria.

Maria let out a light sigh. "Three slugs. No riffling and completely untraceable."

"Soviet made." Natasha stated.

"Yeah."

Katie's emotions suddenly started to get the best of her as the heartbeat started to decline, and Katie had to bite her lip to stop herself from crying on the spot.

Doctors were running around as a nurse brought out a crash cart. People were shouting orders and medical teams as Katie stared, unable to move or breathe as the crash pads were placed on Nick's chest and his boy lifted off the table.

Katie felt Steve tense up on her right and she could here Natasha begging under her breath on her left, but she paid no mind to any of this as she said her own prayer in her head, her eyes filling up with tears that wouldn't fall.

All she wanted was to hear that steady heartbeat. But all they got was a flat line.

Katie let out a shaky breath as Steve placed his arm around her shoulders.

"Time of death, 1:03am."

And just like that, Nick Fury was dead.

I Hold On.
Part ll.
Coming June 17th, 2015.