(Part 3)

Your friends left a hour or so ago, leaving you to your room to rest before dinner. Your chest started to hurt a bit during the movie, so you said you were going to go lay down; claiming that you were really tired and needed to sleep for a bit. It didn't seem like that big of a deal, so you didn't tell your dad, or anybody else for that matter. It just seemed like the regular aches and pains that you were accustomed with.

"Ms. Stark? Sorry to distribute you, but Mr. Stark has requested your presence in the common room. Will you be needing assistance?" F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice sounded through your room.

"No thanks F.R.I.D.A.Y., I think I can manage on my own." you slowly got up from your bed and took a step forward towards the door. A sharp pain was slowly building through your chest, and you had no idea what it was from. Sitting back down didn't help as much as you wished, and rubbing at your skin did not calm the pain either.

"Are you okay Ms. Stark? Should I get your father?" The unknown pain was increasing, bubbling inside you like a science experiment waiting to explode. Breathing seemed like something long forgotten in the past, but the taste of oxygen was all you craved.

"D-Dad," you fell on to the floor and put your head in between your legs to try to relieve the pain. "D-Dad!" You were curled up in a ball, tears falling from your eyes as you forced them shut. Pounding footsteps against the stairs could be heard, but you couldn't respond to them. You could feel yourself being picked up, but all you could concentrate on was the searing pressure in your lungs.

"(Y/N)?!" The voice that was calling your name didn't register in your mind. Everything sounded so far away, like an echo in a cave and you couldn't pin point to a exact location. The sounds were all around you; circling, but never coming close enough for you to understand what was being said. You felt like you were underwater, hearing everything as mutated mess. Nothing was clear. You couldn't remember where you were. A thick layer of sweat built up over your body.

Nothing made sense.

The light pinch that you felt in your arm paled in comparison to what it should have been. The pain wasn't clear, almost numbed in a way.

The rough material of the medical bed you were put on almost felt soft.

The bright light just passed your eyelids looked dim, not blinding like it was supposed to be.

Nothing made sense.

You could feel the mask being placed over your face in attempt to feed oxygen back into your lungs.

Your lungs were failing you.

Someone's mouth was placed over yours as a last resort to get you to breath again. The air rushed into you and expanded them enough for you to release the breath on your own. The forced breath was enough to jump start the process of breathing again; leaving you coughing and gasping like a fish out of water. The burning sensation didn't go away, but some relief was felt now that you could take shuddering breath in and out.

"What the hell was that?" you clearly recognize your father's voice now.

"D-Dad?" your voice was soft and fragile; cracking more than it did back when you were thirteen. It felt like a handful of dry sand was shoved down your throat.

"I'm right here sweetheart." His warm hand grabbed your frigid one to let you know that he was really there. You gently moved your hand over your chest to show him him that you were still in pain. "I know, I know. I'm so sorry baby, we are going to fix this, okay? Bruce and I are going to make you feel better."

"W-What h-happened?" Curling up into a ball gave you some sense of comfort and relief. Tony was sitting right next to you; slowly rubbing your bald head. He was whispering words under his breath, soft enough that you couldn't hear even from this short distance.  He could barley understand what you were trying to say, but got the gist of after a second of mulling over the mumbles that he did hear.  

"We don't know yet, but we are going to find out. Our best guess is that the tumor spread to your lungs." Tony was shaking. His head was down low, keeping his gaze away from you, not sure if he could keep his composure if he looked at you right now. You looked so weak and frail, scared. Nothing like who you were not even eight months ago. The oxygen mask over your face was just one of the signs that things were getting worse at an accelerating rate.

When Tony finally looked at you, tears were falling from your eyes; you were staring right at him. That was the final push over the edge. He broke.

"Hey, Hey, Hey." He tried his best to console you, "It's going to be okay honey." He couldn't stop himself from crying, let alone you. "How about I send in a couple people to see you, huh? Does that sound good?" all you could do was nod your head yes. Tony got up and discreetly wiped  his eyes before opening the door. Everyone was waiting anxiously for news on how you were doing.

"How is she?" Steve was the first to speak.

"She's in pain, she's tired; confused, mostly. She wants a few of you guys to go in." Steve, Bucky, Sam and Natasha all immediately stood up. "Maybe not all of you at once, she's overwhelmed as it is. How about just Steve and Bucky for now? I will talk to the rest of you out here."

Waiting patiently in this situation was really an option. You were nervous, afraid to move or speak.

Everything seemed so normal this morning. You saw your friends, chemo wasn't as bad as it usually was. There was not one sign leading to this.

The door finally reopened to reveal Steve and Bucky. They slowly walked over to your bedside and pulled up two chairs, so they were eye level with you.

"Hey (Y/N), how are you sweetheart?" Steve started off the conversation. You gave a quick thumbs up and a small smile under the oxygen mask; a small attempt to relieve some their worries. Steve grabbed one of your hands to hold, trying to give you a little bit of comfort that you were trying to give to them. You tried to say something, but it was muffled by your oxygen mask, and Steve and Bucky couldn't understand it even with their super soldier hearing. They both leaned in closer and asked for to try to say it one more time. This time they both heard it clearly. It hit them like a ton of bricks.

It's going to be okay.

"We are the ones that are supposed to say that to you." tears were starting to form in both of their eyes. You just kept repeating the statement over and over again to them.

It's going to be okay.

It's going to be okay.

It's going to be okay.

"We know it's going to be okay. Everything is going to be just fine." Bucky was almost shaking.

I love you.

I love you.

I love you.

"We love you too (Y/N), so much. Everything is going to be okay." Bucky burst out crying, unable to keep his emotions in anymore.

I'm sorry.