When in Hydra

Chapter 12

It was hours before they spotted the first house. They'd followed the road the entire time, ducking into the trees whenever a car passed. While they were never sure it was Hydra, they didn't want to risk it.

As they neared the house, Steve and Natasha shared a look. 

"Let's see if they can help us," Natasha suggested. Steve didn't look too thrilled about the idea.

"What if they're Hydra?" 

"Steve, there are pink tricycles and a plastic basketball hoop," she told him, pointing towards the yard. "When Hydra starts buying minivans, we can be concerned."

"Fine," he agreed, turning down the driveway to the lone house. "If we die, though, that's on you."

Natasha waved him off and as they came to a stop at the doorstep, Steve set Natasha back on her feet. 

There was no immediate response when Natasha knocked on the door, but eventually, a woman appeared in the doorway. 

"Hello," she said."How can I help you?"

"I'm afraid we're lost," Natasha told her, "Can you tell us where the nearest town is?" 

There was a moment where the woman simply stared at them and Natasha worried that perhaps Steve had been correct to worry about Hydra. Just as she turned to tell Steve to leave, the woman spoke up.

"Two kilometres," the woman said, pointing further down the road.

Natasha smiled. "Thank you."

The woman merely nodded before closing the door and flicking the lock. Limping down the stairs, Natasha recounted the very short conversation to Steve and gestured in the same direction the woman had pointed.

"We should make it before dark," Natasha said, glancing up at the sky. The sun had already begun to drop, but she was fairly confident in their odds.

With a nod, Steve stepped forward to pick her back up but Natasha shook her head.

"Let me walk."

"It's two kilometres―"

"Exactly," she interrupted, limping along beside him slowly. "It's only two kilometres more. I can walk fine."

If Steve wanted to object, he didn't. Instead, he fell into step beside her and they slowly made their way towards the town.

They made it to the town in just under two hours. Even though it was a small place, they were able to find a taxi willing to drive them all the way back to Berlin.

The drive was nearly four hours, but the man who had offered to drive them was chatty and eager to learn about what brought them to Germany. It didn't take him long to figure out Steve didn't speak German and switch to broken English. Without the need to translate, Natasha quickly fell asleep.

Steve didn't mind that the driver kept talking or that Natasha ended up with her head against his arm as she dozed off. If anything, the happy chatter from the friendly German man was just a reassurance that they were no longer trapped in Hydra. Having Natasha close to him was calming as well.

When they finally arrived in Berlin and the driver stopped outside their hotel, Steve almost felt bad about saying goodbye.

"If you wait here," Steve told him, "I'll go get a credit card to pay you with."

"Alright," the man replied with a wide smile. "I'll stay right here. Take your time."

Steve nodded and turned back to Natasha. Once she had woken up from her nap in the taxi, they had adjusted the bandage around her leg so it didn't look quite so bad. It was still dirty and blood-stained, but Steve considered it an upgrade. Fortunately, not many people turned to look at them as they made their way into the hotel.

"I'll run back down to pay for the taxi," Steve said, following Natasha into the lift. "You get ahold of Tony and get us a quinjet."

"Aye, aye, Captain." She grinned and Steve just shook his head.

When they arrived in Natasha's suite, she handed Steve Tony's credit card so he could hurry back down to the taxi driver. By the time he returned to Natasha's room, the shower was running and her cell phone was on her bed. Knowing he had a bit of time before she finished showering, he walked down the hall to clean out his own room and bring his duffel bag into her suite.

After tossing his bag beside hers, he dug around in hopes of finding a first aid kit. It didn't take long for Steve to realise he hadn't packed one, so he hurried down to the reception desk to see if they had one. The lady at the desk didn't even blink as she handed him an unopened box. After thanking her shortly, Steve took the lift back up to Natasha's suite.

He had barely pushed open the door when Natasha called out for him.

"Steve?" 

"Yeah, it's me."

He shut the door behind him and stepped into the room to see her sitting on her bed without any pants on. 

"I found you a first aid kit," Steve told her, passing her the unopened kit. "Feel free to use it all."

"I'll try not to," she muttered. She eyed the open wound on her thigh, though, and looked doubtful.

"Please do," Steve encouraged. Pointing towards the bathroom, he said, "I'm going to take a shower."

Natasha merely nodded, too busy searching the first aid kit for a suture needle and thread.

While Steve took a shower, Natasha slowly stitched up her leg. It bled and was almost too painful to bear, but she stitched it together and wrapped it tightly. When they returned to New York, the medical staff would scold her for the poor stitching, but it was better than nothing.

As she set aside the first aid kit, Steve walked out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist.

"How's it coming?" he asked, glancing at the fresh bandage around her leg.

Natasha waved a hand and grumbled, making Steve smile.

"I'll take that as an 'okay'," he teased. He disappeared back into the bathroom with his duffel bag before she could respond.

When he stepped out of the bathroom for the last time, Natasha was still sitting on the bed but had directed her attention out the window instead of towards her injured leg.

"Did you get ahold of Tony?" Steve asked, joining her on the bed.

She nodded. "A quinjet will be here in a few hours."

A quick glance at the clock told Steve it was well past time to go to sleep, but Natasha made no move to climb under the bed covers.

"You should get some sleep," he murmured, nudging her gently. Her eyes snapped up to his and she frowned.

"Don't think I can."

"I'll stay," Steve promised. "We could both use some real sleep before the flight back."

Natasha snorted. "Something tells me Fury isn't going to let us off without answering a list of questions."

Steve shook his head and after a bit more convincing, Natasha agreed to at least try and sleep.

While she shifted on the bed and tried to get comfortable, Steve flicked off the overhead lights.  The lamp beside the bed flickered on so he could make his way back to the bed and as soon as he had slid under the covers, he turned it off as well.

Steve's hand searched for Natasha's under the covers. When he found her, he shifted as close to her as he could and laced his fingers through hers. His body ached and he was still anxious, but his eyes were drooping.

"Goodnight, Nat," he muttered.

The last thing he heard before he fell asleep was her whispered, "Goodnight, Steve."