| The Amelie Chronicles | (MCU)

Part Two: Chapter Three

Steve watched on the other side of the glass a team of the best surgeons and doctors in D.C. try to save Nick Fury with emergency surgery. Agent Maria Hill stood to his left, while Natasha watched from the right.

"Steve, why was Nick in your apartment last night?" Maria asked. The Captain's mind immediately went to the hard drive in his pocket, but instead of speaking about it simply shrugged.

"I don't know." He said, which was almost in complete honesty. Steve noticed the agent eye Amelie in the back of the room. She was silent, curled up in her windbreaker as she watched the surgery from a folding chair. Amie had just woken up from a nap, her eyes tired and sleepy.

"She doesn't know any more than I do, which is close to nothing." Steve said quickly, "Please, Amie looked up to Nick. She's a bit shaken up from what happened."

"Agent 13 told me she heard Amelie say that she knew the assassin." Maria stated, "What did she say?"

Steve sighed. He didn't want to put Amelie on the spot or get bombarded with questions. She was just a kid... Amie needed time to process all this.

"She said she recognized the man from Hydra. That she's seen him before when she was held there." Steve answered, "That's all she said."

That's when things went downhill. Nick Fury's heart monitor was beeping uncontrollably- signaling that the doctors were losing him. The director was given cpr, shocks from the defibrillator, oxygen, anything.

Amelie got up from her chair, walking to the glass with her glassy eyes wide. She covered her mouth with her hands as she watched the doctors try again and again to save Director Fury. She looked up to that man- he had given her a tremendous opportunity and provided Amelie with education, training, a place on the Avengers, and a place to stay (with Steve).

She couldn't lose him.

That's when the machine gave one noise Amie wasn't ready to hear.

A long, monotonous beep.

Maria Hill, a tough and selfless agent, started to shed a few tears- who Amelie saw as a woman to never cry. Natasha even started to sniff. Steve just stared blankly ahead, his jaw locked and eyes unfocused. Amelie took a step back, turning away from the sight of the dead man.

The thirteen year old walked out of the room, her breathing heavy as she tried to control her cries. Death was one thing Amie didn't like to see or witness, especially when that someone who died was a friend. Yes, Amelie had been an experiment for Hydra- and had witnessed many deaths and horrific things there- but each time just felt like the first time.

Her dark hair flew behind her as she walked down the hall, the light fluorescent scene around her much different than the one in the observation room. Life seemed to continue out in the hall, like the death that she just witnessed never happened.

Amie found a bench on the side of the hall, facing away from the room she just exited and towards the windows- where early morning had shone in with sunlight and dew drops.

She took a seat, folding her legs under herself so she was curled up in the bench. Everyone who was walking down the hall ignored her- it was normal for people to be crying at hospitals. Death happened inside of them everyday. A person crying over bad news or death was hardly uncommon.

After a minute or two of being alone, Steve took a seat next to Amelie. He looked incredibly confused and sad, his jaw still clenched as he tried to find the right words to comfort Amelie. The girl just sat there, curled in a ball as she cried silently to herself.

"No one is safe, Steve." Amie whispered, her eyes teary and red as she looked up to meet the Captain's gaze. Steve brought the child into a hug, letting her cry into his sweatshirt. He was horrible at comforting people- and Amelie was rarely one to get upset like this. Steve was trying to be a good parent in this moment- and felt like he was completely failing.