(Part 4)

You reached up your hand and put it against Bucky's warm cheek. He put his flesh hand over yours and leaned into it as if his life depended on it. His tears were falling between your fingers, so you took your thumb and whipped each one slowly away as they fell.

"How is it that you are so strong doll? I just don't understand it." Steve was looking straight into your eyes. You could see the uncertainty and pain that he was trying so desperately to hide away. You put your hand on your oxygen mask, but both men's hands shot up to stop you.

"Don't try and take that off, okay? You need to keep that on for now." speaking under this mask was nearly impossible and you needed to get your point across. You yanked the mask off before either men could stop you.

(Y/N), sweetheart, you need-"

"I-I need you to make me a-a p-promise."

"Anything doll, just put the mask-" you cut Bucky off again, he was already reaching for the mask in your hand, so you had to say this fast before either men could stop you.

"P-please d-don't be s-sad when i-i'm g-gone." Bucky's hand stopped moving towards the mask, Steve's hand stopped running over your scalp. They both just froze. Bucky gently grabbed the mask from your hand with a look that said it was better not to fight him this time. He slipped it back over your face before kissing your head and walking towards the door.

"Stop being ridiculous. You aren't going anywhere." with that, he left you alone with Steve, and from the sounds of it, he wasn't coming back,

"He just doesn't want to think about a life without you in it. I know that I don't " you looked up at Steve and he was smiling, acting unaffected by this whole thing, but you knew him better than that. You knew that he was just trying to act strong, doing what was expected of him. The thing was, you didn't want Captain America right now; you wanted Steve Rogers.

"I w-want S-Steve, not The C-Captain." You managed to say through the mask. You could tell that Steve was shocked, and for the first time, you watched him cry. Not the single tear down the cheek, but full on emotional crying. His face turned red and hot, you could see the puffiness already starting to form under his eyes. It took everything that you had to not burst out crying with him.

You were seeing him in a new light, one that wasn't formed around strength and righteousness, but being a normal human being, with boundaries and limits to how much he could really take.

You did the same thing you did for Bucky; wiping his tears as they fell down his cheeks, letting you actions speak louder than your words ever could.

"No one has ever made me cry like that before (Y/N)." Steve grabbed a tissue and cleaned up a bit before getting up and kissing you on the forehead, "you don't need to worry about a thing, okay? Let us grownups handle all the complicated stuff; you just concentrate on getting better."

....

That's how you spent your day, getting visits by a few people at a time, with Bruce stopping by periodically to make sure you were okay and your oxygen levels were slowly going back to normal. You told him that you still couldn't breath without the mask. Noticing that it was hard to talk, and he needed to have a conversation with you; he replaced the face mask with a smaller one that just went into to your nostrils.

"You are going to have to stay on oxygen for a while (Y/N), until your lungs heal." Bruce said. He was checking in on you again, taking responsibility over the situation. He pulled up a chair next to you.

"Do you mind if I listen to couple of things?" he gently lifted up your hospital gown so he could listen to your lungs.

"Take a nice big breath in and out for me." You would take a shuddering breath and he would write down his findings in his notebook. After he was done he asked if he could take a look at where your original tumor was. There was a scar indicating where it use to be. A new tumor had grown back a month after your surgery to remove the original. This one could be seen and felt slightly on the side of your rib cage. You were a little uncomfortable with him lifting your gown up all the way, even if it was Bruce. The tumor was a bit big and you would have to remove your gown in order to see where it spread too. He might be like a uncle to you, but you passed that stage where things changed. "Would it be more comfortable if we brought in Natasha and Wanda?" He could tell that was what you wanted before you even had a chance to answer.

Bruce got out his phone and texted the two female Avengers to come down and help you. The tumor was slightly visible on the outside of your body, but not enough that you could do chemo injections straight into the tumor itself. By feeling around the tumor, they could tell how much it has grown since the last time they checked.

"Hey (Y/N)." Natasha greeted. She and Wanda walked over to your medical bed and stood by Bruce so he could explain what they needed to do.

"How are you, my love?" Wanda kept her attention on you while Nat talked to Bruce. All you could do was give a thumbs up and a small smile.

Wanda often came into your room at night and used her magic to calm your mind and help you sleep; especially if you were in pain.

Natasha explained to Wanda what they were going to do before helping you into a sitting position. Wanda let you lean into her for support while Nat started to remove your hospital gown.

"I will be right outside with everyone else if you need me." Nat waited until Bruce was completely around the corner before continuing to remove your garment; leaving you in your underwear and bra. The situation was still slightly uncomfortable, but agreeably better then if Bruce was here. The draft against your skin was enough to make you shiver; not that the flimsy hospital gown was much use when it came to warmth.

"Tell me if you are in any pain and I can help, okay?" Wanda was up on the hospital bed with you; allowing you to use her as a support to stay upright. You thought you looked ridiculous; sitting there with tubing providing you with oxygen, having a IV in your arm and wearing nothing more then your undergarments. You could tell your face was flushed just by how hot it felt.

"Can I touch where the tumor is? I will be really careful." Nat asked. That part of your body is extremely sensitive, you were hesitant about touching it yourself, let alone someone else. Wanda saw your reluctance and grabbed your hand.

"Remember what I said about pain; I can help you relax if you want me too." you personally didn't want to be put into a spell, so you just gestured to her lap, asking if she could hold you instead. She understood what you were asking for, so she gently lifted you onto her so you were laying across her lap and could easily hide your face if you wanted too.

Natasha touched the little bulge on the right side of your rib cage as softly as she possibly could. The last thing she wanted to do was cause you any more pain or discomfort. In the notes that Bruce left, he said that the only lump that he could see was on your right side, but now there was also a tiny one on the left side of your chest just below your bra. The last report was dated almost a month ago, and Natasha was no doctor, but she figured that the cancer was growing faster than anybody thought it would. She leaned back slightly and sighed. Wanda looked past Natasha's eyes and into to her mind to read her findings; she was not pleased with what she found.

Nat continued to gently feel around to see if there were anymore visible lumps, but she must have pressed a little bit to forcibly, because you let out a small yelp and reflexively moved away from her touch.

"I'm so sorry (Y/N)! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Nat removed her hands quickly before she could, in her mind, do more damage.

"It's okay Natasha; that area is just really sensitive." You explained.

"The lump on your chest is bigger than last time, i'm sorry. There's two now" Wanda was rubbing your back soothingly to keep you calm while Natasha broke the news to you.

You already knew that the cancer was spreading. You could feel it, and see it every time you changed your clothes.

You sat up in Wanda's arms and sighed "I already knew that it was spreading; I can feel that i'm not getting better." you turned on to you side slightly to show the girls that you were done talking. The girls got the hint and left to leave you alone for a couple of minutes. You slipped on a new hospital gown before resting back and closing your eyes.

"What did you guys find?" Bruce asked once he heard the door open.

"There's another lump on the left side of her chest, just below her bra. She said she already knew, that she could feel it happen. The other one just seems to be getting larger as well" That was not the answer that everyone was hoping for, but they all new deep down that that was going to be the case. "She says she wants to be alone for a little bit."

"So what do we do now? Is there anything wwe can do to help her?" Bucky had returned slightly after the girls went in to help you.

"I suggest that we leave her be for the time being; let her adjust and cope with the news her own way, let her mind settle before we barge in there with more overwhelming information." Bruce took off his glasses and wiped them off on his shirt before putting them back on. "This is a lot for someone to take in; let alone a sixteen year old girl."

Sam was leaning against the far wall; listening quietly to the conversation, but not putting anything into it. He was too far trapped in his own mind to even think about inputting his opinion. Even though he has not known you for as lang as the others, he still loved you like you were his own flesh and blood. He couldn't bare the thought of you not being with them one day.

You took care of them as much as they took care of you.

Whenever they had a group mission, someone would always stay behind with you, mostly Bruce or Tony, but that didn't stop everyone from volunteering to take care of you.

Sam was forced from his thoughts; the mission alert signal was shining bright overhead, signaling everyone to move towards the conference room.

Director Fury was already there, sitting at the head of the table.