Captain America: Finding A "Peggy"

I Had A Dream

Hours later, Steve woke up to find Natasha missing. Panicking, he quickly searched his apartment, practically turning it upside down. Once Steve went to the bathroom, he found Natasha brushing her teeth, "Oh thank god." Steve sighed with relief.

"What were doing in there," Natasha asked while brushing her teeth, "You were making a lot of noise."

Steve raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Looking for you."

"What," she spit out the toothpaste, "a girl can't brush her teeth?" Natasha laughed.

"No," Steve put up his hand in defense, "you can, I just, was worried."

Natasha spit once more, "What about?"

"I had a dream." Steve replied.

She set down her toothbrush and walked over to him, grabbing his hands, "A nightmare?"

"Kinda," Steve replied, "It just... Felt real. You were there."

"What happened." She asked as she sat the two of them down.

"War," Steve said quietly. "A war that I caused. And nothing but death followed."

"It was only a dream Steve." Natasha put her arms around his neck and held him tightly.

"I'm not so sure that it was." He said calmly.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"It felt more than real," he said lightly, "like I've been doing it a thousand times, over and over, and yet somehow, I always lose."

"Like Fury said Steve, you can't save them all." Natasha lay her head in his chest, only to be interrupted by the vibrations of a phone on the table. She looked at the phone, "Speak of the devil," she answered the phone and turned it on speaker, "Fury."

"Romanoff," his voice had a change of tone, "Rogers I presume?"

"Yes, sir." He replied.

Fury laughed lightly, "I'm too good."

"Any news on those hydra guys?" Steve asked.

"Funny you should bring that up Captain, because I do," Fury replied.

"So," Steve looked to Natasha for any hint of what he should say, "What is it?"

Fury spoke in a sarcastic, yet informative tone, "It, Mr.Rogers, is 'Crossbones'. Or so it calls himself. No one knows who he is, only that he has reformed hydra with specific orders, to kill, you."

"Didn't they want that before?" Steve asked.

"Before," Fury paused, "They wanted to take down America and rule the world. Now, the solely want you dead Captain, that's what makes them so dangerous. Focusing their time, dedicating their lives, now to killing you, they've got nothing else to worry about. You, however, have a lot to be worried about."

Natasha shook her head, "He has a point Steve." With her words, Steve was drawn not only to the day she left, but to his dream as well. He remembers what she said, and that she pulled the trigger. "Steve?" She asked as he snapped out of it.

"Yeah, he does. That's why you have to go." Steve stood up and frantically gathered Natasha's things, "Being around me is dangerous, and I can't put you in that kind of danger." He turned around and held her belongings in one hand, close to her face.

"Loki," she creased her forehead and spoke in an aggravated tone, "Ultron, The Red Room. You think I haven't face danger?"

Steve grabbed her hand with his free one, "I know you have, that's why I want you to go. So you don't have to face danger anymore, not until I sort this mess out. I just want to be sure, that before you're around me again, these guys are taken care of. Because- me and you in the same room- who know where the bullet will go?"

"I want to face these things with you Steve." She replied.

"Rogers!" Fury called from the phone.

Steve seemed to ignore Fury, "Nat, I can't let you do that."

"Why not," She asked. "It's not like you have ever tried to stop me from putting myself in harms way before."

"That's because," Steve looked down, "I didn't love you before."

"ROGERS GET DOWN!" Fury shouted from the phone.

At that moment a shot rang out across the land, making its way through the brick outside of the apartment building and into Steve's living room. Steve grabbed Natasha and brought her quickly to the ground. As he stared into her eyes, both pairs seemed to be filled with terror. Steve saw a puddle of blood forming on the ground, and he felt a wet spot at his chest. Touching the blood on the outside of his shirt, he felt no bullet hole. He quickly reached inside his shirt and checked to see if the bullet was still inside him, yet there was nothing. Steve very slowly looked from his chest to Natasha's face, which, once he set eyes upon it, had an expression that quickly faded away as her eyes shut.

"No," Steve looked down to her chest to see an entry wound above Nat's left breast, "no, no, no, no, no, NO." Steve grabbed Natasha in his arms, carrying her as a man who had just been married would carry his bride. He kicked his shield and just barely caught it with one hand as he quickly struggled to set it on his back. "I'm going to get you help! He tapped her cheek for a response but there was nothing. "Don't do this to me Nat, Don't do this to me, not now. Stay with me. STAY WITH ME."