Infectious

Chapter 14

Steve was helped into his wheelchair a few hours later and wheeled to his room, where he dosed off with Natasha by his side.

She sat there for a good twenty minutes, making sure he was still breathing and has a pulse. She'd been holding his hand the entire time, until she finally laid down next to him and wrapped her arms around his torso. Leaving his head on her shoulder and soon enough, she too, was asleep.

Steve surprisingly woke up before her and was quite surprised but pleased to see he was in her arms. He brought one arm over her and closed his eyes again, but the small movement woke her up and caused her to jerk awake. He coughed once "'morning."

"You're up?" She asked and sat up against the headboard. "I thought you'd be asleep until around 10:00." She looked over at the clock and realized it read just that.

"It is 10:00-ish, isn't it?" She nodded.

"I'm sorry if I got too close last night... I shouldn't-"

"It's ok 'Tasha. Besides, I enjoyed it." He smiled as much as he could.

She smiled back and took his hand. They talked for a good hour before Bruce came in to see how he felt and how he was doing. He said he felt the same as yesterday which made Natasha's stomach churn.

Yesterday he felt so bad he wanted to give up. That killed her inside.

Bruce had actually gotten used to seeing Natasha there. He'd also known that they'd grown on each other and something more than friendship grown between them. She just didn't want to admit it to them until now.

"I'm gonna go try to get tony to his room." He sighed.

"He still hasn't left the lab?" Steve said groggily.

Bruce shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Hes going crazy. More than sleep deprived, worse. And he just won't listen."

Steve frowned. Tony was hurting himself to try to make him better. No. That wasn't ok and steve was unable to tolerate anymore of it. He tried sitting and Natasha helped him.

"Let me talk to him."

"Steve you should rest." Bruce said.

"I've had plenty of rest. He needs some."

"Well tonys stubborn ass doesn't want to listen-"

"Hes going to-" he tried getting to the wheelchair right beside the bed but almost fell out. His legs were too shaky and weak to support his own body weight.

"Bruce is right." Natasha said as she grabbed steves arm and tried to get him back in the bed. "You need to res-"

"Tonys been hurting himself to try to make me better, he doesn't deserve that. Just, let me talk to him." He coughed a few times and drank some water Natasha gave him from the glass on the nightstand. "Please." He finally said and they both pretty much gave in.

---

They got there and just pushed him through the door before he shooed them away. Tony was at a desk, back facing him with a mess for his hair that seemed to have grown out and a few coffee mugs all over the place.

"Tony." Steve said, but no response. "Tony." He tried saying a little louder but it only aggravated his throat and made him cough a lot. That got his attention.

He turned around and saw him across the room. "Steve? Oh my..." he grabbed a water bottle and jogged over. He helped him drink some before sitting back. "What are you doing down here?"

He took another gulp, coughed a few more times and answered. "I can't watch you do this to yourself for me, tony."

He stood up and walked to a desk to pick up some papers. "I'm not gonna stop-"

"Tony, please." He sighed. "I understand you want to find a cure, i know you don't want to stop, but you need sleep, and a shower." Tony turns to ace him. "You're hurting yourself for me and I can't let you do that. I'm not worth it."

"You're, my team mate, my friend, I can't let you die."

"Some thing's, you just can't change. Some thing's are just... incurable." Tony turned away again. "Sometimes you need to let go."

"No, no! I'm going to find a cure and you're going to be fine."

"Tony-"

"NO, steve! Stop with the sacrifice play thing, stop with all of that."

"Tony-"

"You are worth it, and you are my friend, I can't lose....he looked at steve and saw him grabbing his throat and taking short, struggled gasps. "You- steve! JARVIS! Get someone down here now!" He kneeled in front of him.

"...cn't... br'the...." steve gasped and soon.

"Just, hang in there, help is coming, just, just try..."

His gasps became more stretched out and slow. A whistling sound passing by one last time before he went unconscious and went limp in his chair.

"No! No! No! Steve! Dammit! JARVIS! Where are they?!"

"On their way sir."

"Dammit!" He eased steve to the floor and started CPR as everyone bursted in as a crowd. Shouts and yells going on while tony gave chest compressions and Bruce gave him breaths.

Clint tried to comfort Natasha but she was fighting him and trying to get to his side.

Paramedics rushed in and got him on a stretcher. One of them climbed on top of the gurney and continued with compressions as the other bagged him.

They all ran after them and Natasha alone got in the ambulance with all of them. Clutching onto his limp, cold hand and quietly letting tears fall down her cheeks. They drove off and got to the hospital.