Ch. 14
Tony, Clint, Sam, Rhodey, and Vision provided enough cover for Steve to carry Natasha back to the jet and not jostle her too much with any sudden movement. Wanda's magic acted as a protective bubble around them until they were on the jet. Once the others joined, they took off back to the Compound. Natasha's arm was bleeding rather profusely and instead of wrapping it in bandages, Tony covered it with nanotech. He took care of her other cuts as well, but they waited on everything else until they could get a more professional opinion.
It was a long flight back and most of it was spent in silence. Steve had carried Natasha to a more comfortable seat and curled around her. She hadn't said anything since Steve had carried her out of the building and no one wanted to force her to talk. She was sitting across Steve's lap, her knees and arms pulled loosely to her body. Her face was hidden in Steve's chest and his arms were wrapped around her protectively. Neither moved for the entire trip. Even when they hit turbulence and dropped, Steve's arms merely wrapped around her tighter and he buried his face in her matted hair.
When they arrived back at the Compound, Natasha was immediately taken to medical. Steve didn't leave her side, leaving the others to clean up and take care of everything on the jet. As they finished, they trickled into the medical wing to check on Natasha only to find out they weren't allowed back. Instead of asking Steve to come and update them as they knew he wouldn't, Tony told FRIDAY to keep them informed and they went back up to the residential wing of the Compound.
Natasha didn't need surgery as it turned out. Her ribs were broken, but they could set them easy enough without having to go in and do it during surgery. Thankfully there was no internal bleeding and they were able to stitch and wrap her arms without much difficulty. It was Steve who quietly asked about the baby as Natasha still hadn't said anything.
"Unfortunately, whatever Mrs. Rogers went through while behind enemy lines caused her to lose the baby," the doctor said sadly. Natasha reached for Steve's hand without looking down and he squeezed her hand gently. "Fortunately, during the miscarriage, Mrs. Rogers was not further injured and there is no treatment necessary."
"Thank you," Steve said softly after a brief pause. The doctor nodded and left the room, closing the door to give them privacy. Steve sat on the bed and looked down at Natasha. Her eyes were closed, but he could see tears forcing their way down her face. "Natasha?" he whispered, tucking a strand of wet hair behind her ear. The doctor had washed her hair in order to assess if she had any head injury, but they'd found none.
"I'm sorry," Natasha murmured. She took her hand out of Steve's and covered her face. He tried to take her hand back and coax her to open her eyes, but she tensed and he moved back.
"Why? It's not your fault for what Alexei did," he told her. She shook her head and dropped her hands from her face, looking at Steve with teary eyes.
"I messed up our only chance and I know how much you wanted a kid," she said. She wiped her face and looked down at her lap, refusing to look up at Steve no matter how many times he asked her too. Eventually, he gave up. He moved on the bed so he was sitting beside her instead of facing her and gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"I love you," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her head then pressing his face to her hair. "It's not your fault the baby's gone and who knows, maybe we'll get lucky again."
"Steve, you know that's not going to happen," she said, shaking as she choked back a sob. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her as she tried to roll over. Her arms protested in pain and she returned to laying on her back, but Steve stayed tucked up beside her with his arms around her.
"Please don't blame yourself," he begged, swallowing back his own tears unsuccessfully. "Please don't do that." Natasha didn't respond and the room was quiet except for both of their soft cries. After a while, Natasha fell asleep, but Steve didn't. He stayed awake, watching over Natasha even though he knew the Compound was the safest place for them to be.
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