Laura: Let's go in, children?
Laura took James and Sarah's hand and led them into the house. As they entered, Laura closed the door and noticed that both James and Sarah were very quiet.
Sarah: What happened?
L: Your sister is a bit sick, but you don't have to worry.
J: If she's okay, why did she have to go to the hospital?
Sarah: And why was Mommy crying? I don't like it when she cries, I feel sad.
L: Because your mommy was nervous, it's normal. We stay this way when someone we love feels bad, it's normal, okay? And, James, they're just going to the hospital to make sure she's okay.
J: Do you think Lindsay will be all right, then?
L: Yes, I think so. Now, why don't you watch some TV?
Sarah: Daddy does not allow it before doing homework.
L: All right, I will not tell him. Come on, I'm going to prepare some delicious hot chocolate for us.
Laura winked and the kids went to the couch to watch some cartoon.
...
Inside the car, Natasha would look back every minute to check if the babies were okay.
S: Nat? Do you remember what Cho said? The babies can feel your tension, try to stay calm.
N: What do you think I am doing?? I'm trying!
S: I know you are trying, I'm just remembering.
N: She's fine now, isn't she?
Steve looked at her briefly and nodded.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the hospital, Cho received them her office.
N: S-she, she was just nursing and suddenly she was not breathing anymore.
Natasha explained the situation.
S: I think the device didn't work.
Cho was listening to Lindsay's heartbeat and her breathing, Cho's face showed concern.
N: What is it?
Cho: I'll ask for an X-ray.
N: What? Why?
Cho: To know if something is keeping her from breathing, her breathing is still very weak and her heart is racing too fast.
S: What does that mean?
Cho: Let's wait for the exam result. Stay here.
Cho asked the nurse to led Lindsay's cradle to the examination room.
Natasha couldn't sit still while she waited the exams results, she held Nick tight and rocked him more than usual.
N: I will never forgive myself.
S: Forgive what?
N: About the sharp pains I felt when I was pregnant and I didn't tell anyone.
Natasha shook her head and walked around the room.
N: I should have done something. I think that's what caused that, it's my fault. My fault. I'm so sorry.
S: Natasha, this will not help now.
Steve and Natasha stayed almost one hour in Cho's office, waiting.
N: Why they are taking so long, Steve?
S: I'll check.
Steve got up to open the door, but Cho was coming back with the x-ray.
N: Where's Lindsay?
Cho: She's in the room, getting oxygen to help her breathe better. We'll have to keep her here in the hospital.
N: Oh my God, what?
Natasha almost fell to the floor, she just keep herself up because she was holding Nick.
Steve was so desperate as Natasha's but he is more focused, so he seemed a bit calmer than her.
S: Cho, what's going on?
Cho: Look...
Cho displayed the image of Lindsay's X-ray on the display.
Cho: That's Lindsay's heart.
Cho showed another X-ray of another baby Lindsay's age.
Cho: And that's the normal size of a heart for her age.
S: Lindsay's bigger.
Cho: Yes.
N: What does that mean?
Cho: Her heart is very large, and it compresses her lungs, preventing her from breathing properly.
N: And the cure for it? Apply it now!
S: Is there a cure?
N: Of course there is!
Natasha didn't know, but she wants to believe that there is a cure, so she answered, then looked at Cho, expecting for her to confirm.
Cho: There are ways to control that the heart doesn't grow more than this, but it's impossible to decrease the size of the heart, in extreme cases only transplant could save her life.
S: And how will her life be now?
Cho: Steve, I can't lie to you, it will be difficult. She gets tired easier, loses her breath easier, and the risk of sudden death is high.
N: What???
Natasha went from worried to the rage stage, as if Cho were guilty, just for telling what Lindsay has.
Cho: I'd rather have Lindsay with us here in the hospital for at least a week, until she stabilizes, then she can go home, there's nothing we can do for her here that you can't do at home.
S: Are you saying we can't do anything to stop her from getting sick?
Steve sighed and ran his hand over his face, now he is losing control of his emotions.
N: I felt a pain in my belly... during the pregnancy, I didn't warn Steve, neither you nor anyone else. I should...
Cho: Don't punish yourself, Natasha. It has nothing to do with it. Look at Nick, he was on your belly too and he's perfectly healthy.
N: How can I live, knowing she can die at any moment?
Cho: My advice is not to live considering only this fact. We'll do our best to get Lindsay through that stage and grow strong enough to lead a normal life.
S: Do you think it's possible for her to have a normal life?
Cho: A normal life, yes, it is possible. Let's try to be positive.
S: So... one week is the time she needs to stay here to be safe?
Cho: That's right.
S: I think that's... that's okay... right, Nat?
N: I can't choose, can I?
Cho: No.
Nat closed her eyes and took a deep breath, Steve kissed Natasha's forehead, then hugged Natasha and Nick.
S: I have faith, she will be all right. We are in this together.
Natasha looked in Steve's eyes and nodded.
N: We'll stay here with her.
S: Nick can't stay in the hospital.
Cho: Hospital is a place of illness, Natasha, it's better for him, to stay home.
N: I will not stay away from my daughter!
Cho: And you can stay away from your son, and James and Sarah? Listen, Natasha, you can stay if you want, but Nick is still nursing, you should go home and visit Lindsay whenever you can.
N: I can't choose between them. You can't ask me that!
S: It's not what she's asking for, Nat, it's a suggestion, but I have an idead... when you're home, I'll be here with Lindsay, then we changed, you know? She will not be alone here.
Natasha looked at Steve and felt confidence in his gaze, she nodded.
Cho: She's at room 403, you can go stay with her, any news, I'll call you.
Steve and Natasha went with Nick to Lindsay's room. As soon as they entered, they had a surprise to find another crib in the room and a woman beside the crib, looking like she had cried a lot. They didn't know Lindsay would share the room with another baby, from another family, but it's okay, it's not because they are Avengers that they will demand exclusivity.
S: Good afternoon.
Steve complimented the woman, who looked at Steve and Natasha and nodded, but she couldn't smile, she was terribly sad.
Natasha handed Nick over to Steve's lap and approached Lindsay's crib.
N: Hi... She's awake.
Natasha warned Steve, then she looked again at Lindsay.
N: Mommy's here, Lilly.
Steve approached the crib and looked at Lindsay.
S: Hi, baby girl.
N: You scared us today.
S: We won't leave you alone.
N: And please don't leave Mom and Dad alone either, okay?
Natasha thought she was going to cry as soon as she saw Lindsay, but she couldn't, she wanted to make Lindsay feel good, so she was as calm as possible. She stroked Lindsay's hand and then kissed her little fingers.
N: Please, my love.... you'll be fine and we'll go home soon.
A man entered the room and was startled by the presence of Steve and Natasha.
- Sorry, I just came to see my daughter, I didn't know that there would be more people in her.
S: It's alritght, it looks like we'll split the room.
- No, we will not.
The woman answered.
- We're here just because Dr. Cho improvised this space for our little Chloe, because the other collective rooms downstairs is already full and Chloe needs special care. Dr. Cho said that this room was temporary, he's an individual room actually.
- The truth is that we can't pay for this room or this hospital and when we arrived here, Dr. Cho was kind enough to greet us even though we didn't have any money, she said Chloe needs to be interned in a hospital, but the public hospitals are also full. She's going to let us stay here only tonight and I promise we won't disturb you.
S: It's okay.
- My name is John.
John held out his hand to Steve, who set Nick on his lap to greet John.
S: Steve Rogers.
- We know that. We are big fans, we just are not in the mood to demonstrate how honored we are to meet you.
S: This is Natasha Romanoff.
- We know. This is my wife Anne and that's our daughter Chloe.
- How are you?
Natasha nodded. John and Anne's daughter started to cry and Anne went to the crib to try to calm her down.
Steve looked at her and then at John.
S: What happened to Chloe?
John: She has cancer. Terminal stage.
N: Really?
Natasha was shocked because Chloe is so small... why things like that happens to babies?
John: Yeah... We're just waiting for her...
John seemed like he was going to cry, he cleared his throat.
S: How long till that?
John: One month.
Natasha looked at Chloe and she had the purplish color on her skin, then Natasha looked at Steve who was looking at her too. Natasha looked at Anne, sympathetic to their situation.
N: I'm so sorry.
Anne: It's all right...
Anne said, her eyes watering already.
Natasha looked at Lindsay and felt her heart ache, she could only imagine herself in Anne's place, just waiting for her daughter to die and it was unbearable just to imagine the situation.
John: Are they twins?
S: Yes.
John: What's wrong with her?
S: Lindsay... She had some complications at birth and it looks like her heart is bigger than normal, she can't breathe at times, she also needs a device to help her breathe.
A: Oh, poor thing. I hope she recovers soon.
S: Thank you.
Natasha looked at Anne and she couldn't say anything, there were no words that would be of comfort for her and that makes her feel bad, because even in this situation, Anne tried to comfort them both.
A: And the boy? What is his name?
S: Nicholas.
A: Same name of our eldest son that... that...
Anne shook her head and began to cry. Her husband looked at Steve and Natasha.
John: We lost him too, two years ago.
Natasha frowned, now she was terrified. They lost one kid and now they are losing another. How can they still be alive? She wouldn't survive that.
A: By the same disease, you know.... I don't know why this is still happening with us. Some punishment from God.
John: This is not punishment, Anne.
A: You don't know that!
S: I'm really sorry.
Chloe started to cry and Anne checked her diapers and noticed that she had peed, Anne prepared to change her diapers and John approached to help.
A: Did you bring the cream?
John: I...
A: I knew it!
John: I came straight from work, Anne, I forgot.
A: I can never count on you for anything! Anythin! All I asked you to do, was to buy the damn cream for our baby and even that, you did right!
John: Anne... Don't start, I forgot, I'll buy it now.
A: And how will she stay here, huh? Wet??
John: Can't she be without the cream for ten minutes? I'll be fast.
A: You want...
Anne frowned and started to cry, but with anger this time.
John looked at her and couldn't say anything; he left the room to buy the cream, obviously feeling angry too.
Steve and Natasha were embarrassed by the whole scene, they looked at each other and seemed to have been talking mentally. Natasha took the cream of the twins in their bag and walked over to Anne.
N: Here... you can use this.
A: Oh...
Anne was still crying, she looked at the cream and held it.
A: Sorry for that. Thanks.
Anne looked at Natasha.
A: I'm not crazy.
N: I didn't think that.
A: I just...
Anne sighed for a moment.
A: I want her to be as comfortable and happy as possible while she... While she is still... alive, you know??
Anne burst out crying again.
N: I... I know... You have every right to make sure of that.
Natasha stroked Anne's back in consolation, then she returned to Lindsay's crib.
A few minutes later, Nick started to cry with hunger, Natasha sat in the armchair beside the crib and Steve put Nick on Natasha's lap.
A: I'll give you some privacy.
Anne pulled the curtain that separated one bed from the other.
Steve crouched in front of Natasha and put his hands on the arms of the chair.
They looked at each other for a few seconds.
N: I'm scared.
Natasha whispered at Steve.
S: Me too.
N: I do not know if I could go throught it...
S: Shhh... No, we will not go through the same as them, don't think about that.
Obviously the two were talking low so Anne didn't hear the conversation.
Twenty minutes later, John returned to the room with the crean, but he just handed it to his wife Anne, without saying anything and they didn't say a word for each other for the rest of the day, which made Steve and Natasha also share the same tension.
At night Cho appeared in the room.
Cho: Hi, everyone, good evening.
Everyone greeted Cho and stood to hear what she had to say. Cho first gave a feedback on Chloe's status and then went to talk about Lindsay with Steve and Natasha, nothing too much, just routine things.
Cho: Guys, I forgot to tell you about the room, I'm sorry.
S: No problem at all, you did the right thing by allowing their presence here.
Cho sighed.
Cho: I'm calling several hospitals, but they're all full to get Chloe, but tomorrow we'll have to figure it out something.
S: They can stay here with us, no problem.
Steve shrugged.
Cho: This room has only these beds and one couch, I mean... you need space and privace.
N: We don't mind, we just ant Lindsay to be safe and Chloe's presence here it's not a threat, is it?
Cho made negative with her head.
John: Guys, uh...
Chloe's father was embarrassed, he interveined in the conversation.
John: I'm sorry, that's nice of you letting us stay here, but we can not afford it.
S: It's okay, we'll pay for everything.
John slid his hand on his face.
John: This is so ackward because I should deny for education, but we need to stay so much, I can only promise to pay you back when things get better.
Steve smiled.
S: No need... for real.
A: Thank you, Mr. Rogers, you're truly a superhero.
Anne finally smiled through her tears, than she looked at Natasha.
A: You have a great man as a husband.
Natasha almost corrected Anne to say that she is not married to Steve, but she gave up and just smiled.
John: We'll pay as soon as we can, I make a point of that.
S: Don't worry about it.
Cho: That's great, guys, glad we solved this. I need to go now but tomorrow I'll be back.
S: Cho? Can you give Natasha a ride home?
Natasha frowned and stared at Steve in shock.
N: No, I'm not leaving.
S: Natasha... I can't let you here with Nick.
N: I'm not going anywhere!
S: Nat, listen... we also have James and Sarah to take care of. Nick can't stay at the hospital. Go home, I'll call you if we need anything. You'll come back tomorrow morning.
Cho: Steve's right.
Natasha looked at Lindsay.
N: She didn't even nurse yet.
Cho: She's being take care of, she will get a bottle if she feels hungry. This is a hospital, Natasha, you have nothing to worry about now. Go home.
Natasha sighed and leaned over Lindsay, kissing her forehead. Natasha walked over to Steve, she needs more comfort, so he looked in her eyes, then he put Natasha's hair behind her shoulder, he grabbed her face with both hands, and brought her face to his slowly, keeping his gaze fixed on her eyes. Steve kissed Natasha's lips affectionately.
Cho cleared her throat and they interrupted the kiss. Steve kissed Nick's head and then gave a peck on Nat's lips, who finally left with Cho to go home.
A: You're such a beautiful couple, it's so nice to see married people happy like you.
S: Thank you, but we're not actually married.
A: How not?
S: We are divorced.
Anne and John looked at each other briefly, then they looked away from each other.
S: I need to buy a coffee, do you mind looking at my baby for a few minutes?
A: Of course not, go.
John: I'll make you company.
John looked at Anne.
John: Do you want me to bring you something to eat?
A: No... Thank you.
The two treated each other politely, but clearly it was super-forced, it looked like they were about to kill themselves. Steve and John went to the hospital's diner and bought coffee and some snack to eat.
On the way back to the room, they were both talking with each other.
John: You said you're divorced, but you and her don't look like divorced couple. That kiss... it was hot, there are feelings in your relationship.
S: Yeah, that's what people say, I mean... I... I do love her, and there is a lot of feelings, but it's complicated. She got pregnant and after that the twins were born with some problems and we ended up getting closer again.
John: Yeah, I know. I understand that. When our Nicholas died, we had a major crisis in our marriage, Anne became so depressed, so did I, but she suffered more.
S: She's a woman... the mother, so...
Steve shrugged.
John: Yeah, yeah, I was just keeping myself together to support her, but we barely talked and when we talked it was only to fight, we used to be so in love with each other, it was nothing like we are today.
S: I'm sorry for that.
John: She did therapy, it was this or the divorce, and she loved me, so she wanted to try it one more time. We did therapy and it helped a lot, we got back together, we were moving on with life and then she got pregnant and we were happy again.
John smiled discretly.
John: Chloe was already sick when she was born, and Anne got worse than the first time with Nicholas. She blamed God, she blamed me, the doctors, herself... she's like a bomb, I don't know when she is going to explode, I'm trying to be patient, but it's so difficult, she attacks me whenever she can.
S: You're doing it right.
John: My marriage won't survive this... I'm sure of it, there is no future for us after that. When Chloe leaves, there will be nothing else to link me to her and she knows it.
S: It must be very difficult to stay in this position.
John: Yeah, a lot. Because I do like her, and she likes me, but we can't stand each other anymore.
S: I understand.
John: I hope the love that I saw today, between you and your girl... doesn't end like ours. You clearly love each other, I hope nothing moves you away. You are stronger together, don't let it ever go away.
John smiled and shook his head.
John: Look at me, wanting to tell you what to do... I'm sorry, we did not even know each other properly.
S: No, that's fine. I think you are right.
They were both very close to entering the room again.
S: You can go ahead, I need to make a call.
John left Steve and entered the room.
Steve stared at the room's door, then at the hospital corridor, he was reflecting on everything John said about the loss of his son, about the ruin of his relationship with his wife, and how Chloe's inevitable death was breaking them from the inside out.
Steve sighed and looked down, he thought about how Nat's pregnancy of James completely changed his and Natasha's relationship, it was supposed to have gone wrong, but when he was born, their relationship only grew stronger. And then when Natasha became pregnant with Sarah because he insisted, she might have said no, but she probably saw how much more complete they were with James, so an extra baby would only bring more happiness into their lives and again they were right. They were complete with James and Sarah in their lives, children were never a problem in their lives. Nicholas and Lindsay are also part of them now, and they were responsible for making Steve let his guard down and back to being vulnerable to Natasha.
I love her. I do love her with all my being with all my heart and if I had to go through everything I went, when I married her, and had babies, then almost lost her, then waited one year for her wake again, and lose her again, and have two more babies, I would do everything again, just to be with her, I would do it without hesitation, because she's worth it, her love is worth it. Steve thought as he dialed a number on his cell phone.
- Hey, dude!
S: Sam.
Sam: How's Lily?
S: Recovering. I need a favor from you.
Sam: Just say it, my friend.
S: I need you to buy me a ring.
Sam: Ring?? Are you going to propose me to marry you? I love you, man but... Wait, it's for Natasha?
Steve was silent, but smiling.
Sam: It's for her, isn't it? Ok... here we go again. I'm ready to be the bestman this time.
S: Sam, I need to go. Buy the ring, any ring and bring me here, tomorrow. And remember it's a secret.
Sam: Consider it done.
Steve hung up the phone and smiled alone, he didn't enter the room, he looked at the phone again and dialed another number.
N: Steve??
Natasha answered the call.
N: Something happened??? Why are you calling me???
Natasha was already nervous and ready to get back to the hospital, flying if necessary.
S: No, baby, no... calm down, it's nothing to do with Lindsay.
Natasha sighed.
N: God, Steve! You scared me to death. What happened then? Why are you calling me?
S: Nothing, I... I just wanted to say...
N: What??? Steve! What? What is it??
S: I... love you.
♫ And I will never try
To deny that you are my whole life
'Cause if you ever let me go
I would die so I won't run
I don't need another woman
I just need you or nothing
'Cause if I got that
Then I'll be straight
Baby you're the best part of my day
I need you boo
I gotta see you boo
And there's hearts all over the world tonight
Said there's hearts all over the world tonight
They need their boo
They gotta see their boo
Said there's hearts all over the world tonight
Hearts all over the world tonight
And oh, I'm into you and
Girl no one else would do
With every kiss and every hug
You make me fall in love
And now I know I can't be the only one
I bet there's hearts all over the world tonight
With the love of their life who feel
What I feel when I'm with you, with you, with you with you, with you... ohh (girl)♪
With You - Chris Brown