She's Mine) Romanogers

Part 20) Back On Track

Steve P.O.V.

The next two days brought a lot of forward progress for Natasha. She would sleep for an hour or so after each of her injections, and despite how much she complained about wearing the brace, she kept it on (probably due to the fact I had won the bet and my bruises healed before midnight, which probably saved my life since I wouldn't pull a prank on Fury).

Eating was still a large struggle for her, but she ate some toast and was able to hold it down both days. I couldn't have been more proud of her, the progress may have seemed small, but it was a large step for her. We had decided that tonight, we would go out to the fancy restaurant I had talked about. Tony had offered to make an algorithm for us that would automatically create a safe b-roll for the cameras around the tower when we were together, and also to scrub any footage when we went out. Nat was ecstatic that she wouldn't have to worry about that anymore, and with that news, she had gone up to her room to get ready and insisted that I stayed downstairs.

She had been gone long enough that I was starting to get nervous, it was only forty five minutes at this point, but with her health in the way it was, I was always nervous about it. I went up to her room and knocked, "Nat, sorry to bug you, but I just wanted to check in?"

There wasn't an answer, and I immediately started to panic. I knocked again, "Nat?" I asked louder.

Gosh, I hated it so much that I was about to walk into her room uninvited, I knew she would normally be fine with me walking in unannounced, but pre-Bruce, it would have been okay. But I was so worried that something bad had happened that I tested the handle, it was unlocked... more fear started to flood my senses.

"Nat, I'm coming in," I stated very loudly, knocking again, but she didn't answer. I checked the floor in fear I would find her passed out, but I found her asleep laid on the bed. The first thing I checked was to see the steady rise and fall of her chest. She was breathing, thank gosh, and then I looked down to see that her phone alarm had been going off.

I put the pieces together and I realized that Nat had closed her eyes for a bit before we left, and then she had slept through her alarm. I checked my watch, it had been just under two hours since we had given her an injection, so it made perfect sense that she had been bone tired.

She had fallen asleep in her dress, a floor length emerald gown that matched her eyes perfectly. The leg slit was incredibly high, enough that I knew I would have to control my temper if others started to look too long. The corset top and off the shoulder sleeves also left little to the imagination, and she was absolutely stunning in it. I knew the dress should have been tighter, having seen her wear it before, but I knew she was working so hard to get back to a healthy weight. She had accented with a silver diamond necklace, earring, and bracelet set, and her shoes matched as well, I realized under the jewelry, I could see her collar bones and the first few ribs, I hated how much damage Bruce had caused, but I wouldn't be focusing on that tonight.

Based on the time, I also realized that she could easily sleep for a bit more before we could leave. I also figured if Natasha needed the sleep, I had no problem letting her rest up and switching the reservation again.

Just as I had settled on letting her sleep a bit, doubt crept into my mind. What if something was wrong, and that was why she wasn't waking up? Her breathing was even and steady, but I couldn't help it as I walked over closer just to check a bit more on her, to make sure that she was actually okay.

I took a few steps forward when I tripped on something, falling forward onto the bed. "Shit," I cursed under my breath as I checked to see if she was awake, and she was indeed stirring now. I hadn't landed close to her, but the motion interrupted her sleep.