So he has arrived. It's sad that Dalla can recognize that he's just a puppet but not who is behind the dead eyes. But it will be in the next chapter or two. But how will she take what happens next?
Differences in this chapter: Dalla is at the hospital.
Dalla stood beside Steve as Natasha ran into the observation room. Maria stood in the corner, talking on the phone. Fury was in critical condition. The doctors were fighting to save his life. Steve leaned against the lip of the observation window. Dalla stood as if frozen, fighting the tears threatening to fall. Natasha moved to the other side of Steve.
"Is he going to make it?" the redhead asked in a soft, worried tone.
"I don't know," Steve said, matching her timber.
"Tell me about the shooter." There was a bite of demand in Natasha's voice.
"He's fast," whispered Dalla.
"And strong," Steve added. "He had a metal arm."
Maria moved to Natasha's side, so the widow asked, "Ballistics?"
"Three slugs," the SHIELD agent answered, "no rifling. Completely untraceable."
"Soviet-made."
Maria looked at the former assassin. "Yeah."
Before Dalla or Steve could comment, they heard a male nurse say, "He's in V-tach."
One of the women replied, "Crash cart coming in."
As Rumlow and Sitwell entered the room with the four of them, the operating doctor ordered, "Nurse, help me with the drape."
The male nurse responded, "BP's dropping."
"Defibulator!" the doctor directed. "I want you to charge him at one hundred."
Natasha's face fell in shock and pain as she whispered, "Don't do this to me, Nick."
"Stand back," said the doctor, readying the paddles and placing them on Fury's chest. "Three, two, one. Clear. Pulse?"
"No pulse," the male nurse answered, looking at the monitor.
The doctors upped the voltage on the paddles and tried again. They called for epinephrine. No change. Steve stood up. As angry as Steve and Dalla were angry with him, they didn't wish this on Fury. Steve wrapped his arm around his girl, who buried her face in his chest, unable to watch any longer.
"Don't do this to me, Nick," Natasha chanted, like a prayer that seemed to go unanswered. "Don't do this to me."
They all waited with bated breath. All of them wanting the doctors to perform a miracle and save the man on the operating table. The seconds ticked by and it became harder and harder to watch.
"I can't, Steve," Dalla whispered so that only he heard, her tears falling and soaking his shirt. "Please…"
Steve escorted the distraught goddess out of the room as the doctor asked, "What's the time?"
The lady nurse replied, "1:03, doctor."
The last the couple heard was the doctor saying, "Time of death, 1:03 a.m."
Steve and Dalla stopped in shock in the doorway. Dalla let out soft sobs. Natasha shot her a glance. The Asgardian tried to be silent, but it didn't work. She buried her face back into Steve's chest to dampen the already quiet sound. Steve gave Natasha a look.
Dalla projected into Steve's head. Don't. She lost a father figure just now. She's angry and upset. I didn't know Fury like she did, yet here I am, bawling like a child. If she could allow herself to break down, she would be worse than me.
They walked back to the observation window, though Steve kept himself between the women.
"I'm sorry, Natasha," Dalla whispered. "I know Fury meant a great deal to you."
"You don't know what I feel, Dalla," Natasha snapped. "So, just don't."
"She's trying to be a good friend, Natasha," Steve all but growled.
"She didn't know Fury like I did. She barely knew him. Without him, I'd still be-"
"You aren't the only one that lost him, Natasha. She knows how angry she's making you and is trying to hold it in but-"
"I'm sorry," Dalla cried as one of the plants in the room started to smolder. Dalla ran from the room before it could burst into flames.
Steve sighed and said, "Nat, she's an empath. Because she can read minds, she can also feel emotions. So, she's upset because of what happened on top of what you feel. So, yeah, she does know and she can't help but react to it. You can't let yourself cry while the shooter is out there, right?" He didn't wait for her to answer and kept talking. "It's such a strong emotion you are holding back and it's compounded with her own sadness. She can't help but express it."
"Then, have her block it," Natasha said, looking back at Fury.
"It's not that easy for her," said Steve, looking down at the flash drive in his hand with curiosity. "She's already dampening it as much as she can. If she wasn't, it could be a lot worse."
"How so?"
"The alarms would be going off, the building on fire, and-"
"Okay, I get it."
"Do you? She wasn't trying to be a good friend despite it all. I'm not asking you to be okay with it. She knows you aren't. But you don't need to snap at her for it."
"I know."
After they moved Fury to an adjoining room, Steve and Natasha went to say goodbye. Dalla snuck in and stood by her boyfriend. He wrapped an arm around her. She tried to keep from tapping into Natasha's emotions but it was difficult. Tears still escaped. Steve's presence helped dampen it, but not enough to stop the influx of Natasha's grief.
They stood in silence for several minutes, each saying goodbye in their own way. Natasha finally released some of her emotion, tears falling in a quiet river. She gulped down the sobs threatening to come out before taking a shaky breath. Maria came and stood next to Dalla and Steve.
"I need to take him," she said in a sad tone.
Steve looked at the SHIELD agent, shocked that the moment came so soon. Dalla's grip on Steve's shirt tightened. Then, the couple looked at Natasha. It was as if she hadn't heard the news. They went to her side as Maria gulped down her own tears.
"Natasha," Steve said, his voice holding all the condolences he couldn't say.
She waited a moment before touching the top of Fury's head, unable to say goodbye aloud. The redhead then turned and quickly stomped away, wiping tears from her cheeks. Steve and Dalla followed her into the hallway.
"Natasha," Dalla said, trying to get her attention.
Natasha turned to Dalla and Steve, angry, and asked, "Why was Fury in your apartment?"
Dalla couldn't think of what to say, so Steve answered with a sigh, "We don't know."
"Cap," Rumlow called, "they want you and Agent Odinsdottir back at SHIELD."
"Yeah, give us a second."
"They want you now."
"Can you please-" Dalla started.
But Steve stopped her, not wanting to raise any suspicions, by replying, "Okay."
Natasha gave a slight smirk as the pair of them looked back at her and said, "You're a terrible liar, Steve. And Dalla, you need to learn to think of responses faster."
With that, Natasha walked away. Steve and Dalla stood in the hall, exasperated with the situation and feeling guilty that they couldn't save Fury. In the background, they heard Sitwell giving orders to escort them to HQ and Rumlow responding. Steve then noticed a vending machine next to them. He and Dalla exchanged a look discreetly. After a few minutes, they made their way to the STRIKE team.
"Let's go," Steve said.
"Yeah," Rumlow replied, falling in beside the couple. "STRIKE, moving out!"
They left the hospital, the USB drive safely hidden away.