Steve hung his head silently and closed his eyes, he couldn't watch them operate. It didn't feel right. Steve might not like Fury, but he respects him and knowing that the man's shooter was just a few feet away from him and he got away, it made Steve feel a sense of guilt that he hadn't experienced since Bucky fell from the train.

Maria Hill stood behind Steve, her face cold and unmoving but her eyes giving away her sorrow. He couldn't look at Commander Hill either, so he just kept his eyes closed. It seemed like the best option at the minute.

The door to the room nearly broke off of its hinges when Natasha came rushing in, flustered and out of breath. She stopped next to him, and he heard her breathing hitch multiple times. It was weird seeing Natasha so helpless, she was always calm and rational.

"Tell me about the shooter" she demanded, not tearing her eyes away from the operating table.

"He was fast. Strong" Steve said and Natasha didn't find much use in that information, "Had a metal arm"

There was only one person Natasha knew like that. It would be impossible to track him down, even with her skills. She was good, he was better.

"Ballistics" Natasha said, her voice hearse and croaky. Steve didn't know her relationship with Fury, but he must have been her mentor or something if she is having this kind of reaction.

"Three slugs, no rifle make, completely untraceable" Hill answered and Natasha felt herself choking up.

"Soviet made" she whispered and Hill furrowed her eyebrows, "Yeah"

One long beep echoed off of the pristine walls. The frantic rushing and shouting stopped and all that could be heard was one continuous beep. It reminded him of explosions, when you're standing just a little too close and all you can hear afterwards is an awful ringing sound that echoes through your skull for days. Or maybe tinnitus, something he was very accustomed to before the war.

"Don't do this to me, Nick" Natasha almost pleaded, and it broke Steve to hear her in pain.

Steve Rogers closed his eyes, and tried to block out the irritating sound. One sharp inhale of breath made his eyes snap open again, and he turned his head towards Natasha. Now, Steve knows, or knew, a lot of strong women. His mother, the woman who starved so that he didn't have to and paid for him to go to hospital instead of going herself. She worked until she was sore to make sure he was safe and happy. Of course, she was glad when Bucky started working because she knew that her boy would have someone there for him when she couldn't be. Peggy, who took no nonsense from anybody, and who held her own against an army of men whilst finding the time to apply red lipstick. Maria Hill was just plain terrifying. Pepper Potts was independent and the ultimate businesswoman.

None of those women ever compared to Natasha in his eyes, not really. She didn't have a metal suit like Tony, she didn't have almost superhuman senses like Clint, she wasn't a God like Thor, she wasn't as strong as Steve or Bruce and she had no training in fighting extra terrestrial beings whatsoever but she still earned her place on the Avengers Initiative. Steve has read her file before, she's one the best spies SHIELD could hope for and she got her job done without chipping a nail. She was always so strong, he never expected to see her so...weak.

She was hunched forward, resting her hands on the window overlooking the operating room, and her forest green eyes were threatening to spill her tears.

Steve suddenly felt uncomfortable, he was never good with crying girls, or girl in general really. Bucky was always the one-

He cut his train of thoughts short before he started reliving his memories. Steve found it best not to start thinking about the people in his past, especially his former best friend. The same best friend that wouldn't be dead if he had been able to reach just that bit further and-

Steve shook his head furiously and turned around, swiftly walking out of the room. He pulled the memory stick that Fury gave him out of his pocket, and twiddled it around in his fingers.

It took them nearly an hour to sew Fury back up, and Natasha did nothing other than sit in the waiting room quietly until they were allowed to see his body.

"If you'd like to come with me" the surgeon who was operating on Fury said and Steve stood up, holding out his hand to Natasha. She stood up and walked past him without sparing him a glance. The surgeon led them to an empty room, and Fury's body was lying on a slab, covered by a sheet. Natasha walked over slowly and Steve leaned against the wall, not wanting to interrupt her mourning, or as close to mourning as Natasha Romanoff could get.

She stood their for nearly four minutes, silent and perfectly still. Hill came in quietly and stood next to Steve. She swallowed before taking a few deep breaths.

"I need to take him" she said and Steve glanced over to Hill, and then back to Natasha. Steve pushed himself off of the wall and walked over to where she was stood. He shuffled awkwardly before stepping closer.

"Natasha?" Steve said, and she was so unresponsive that Steve thought for a moment that she might not have heard him. He heard her exhale deeply and she placed her hand on Fury's forehead before walking out of the room. Steve was startled that she had not fought him over it, and decided to follow her.

"Natasha" Steve said again, but more loudly than before. She spun on the spot to face him, she looked angry and overwhelmed.

"Why was Fury in your apartment?" Natasha asked and Steve blinked, why did that matter? Fury told him not to trust anyone, did that include her too?

"I don't know" Steve breathed and she narrowed her eyes, did he think she was stupid? She was a spy and he was a really bad liar.

"Captain, they want you back at SHIELD" Rumlow said, breaking the tension.

"Yeah, give me a second" Steve turned back to face his red haired friend.

"No, they want you now" he said, more sternly. Steve furrowed his eyebrows, "Okay"

"You're a terrible liar" Natasha glared at him, and Steve sighed, watching her as she walked away. His eyes flickered to where a man was doing repair work on a vending machine and his eyes widened with an idea. He waited until the man had gone and slipped the memory stick into the machine, behind some pink gum, intending to come back for it later.

Walking back to where Rumlow was waiting, Steve said, "Let's go"

"Strike team, let's move" Rumlow ordered and all the perfectly uniformed men moved out of the building. What Steve didn't see was Natasha smirking from the end of the corridor.

Steve's heart was pounding as he pulled his hood closer to his head and lowered his head to face the floor. Why did Rumlow and the strike team try to take him in? Why did SHIELD want to arrest him? It can't be information on Fury's death as they claim, they wouldn't put even half as much force or firepower into keeping him at the Triskelion if something wasn't going on.

He walked through the halls of the hospital, trying to be as discreet as possible. He stopped at the vending machine, but the pink gum and the memory stick were gone. Did the strike team find it? Fury gave up his life to give Steve whatever information was on that file.

The distinct pop of gum popping made Steve spin around, and Natasha stood there with a smirk as she blew another bubble. Steve clenched his teeth and grabbed her, pushing her into an empty room and slamming the door behind him.

"Where is it?" Steve growled, Fury was right to tell him not to trust anyone.

"Steve" Natasha said, trying to calm him down, "Where did you get it?" she asked.

"Why would I tell you?" Steve sneered and Natasha looked hurt for a flash second before her cool demeanour returned.

"Fury gave it to you, why?" Natasha asked, getting angrier. What would Fury trust Steve with that he wouldn't trust her?

"What's on it?" Steve asked, avoiding her question.

"I don't know" Natasha answered and Steve pressed her further into the wall.

"Stop lying" Steve said and Natasha glared up at him.

"I only act like I know everything, Rogers" Natasha snipped and Steve released his pressure on her arms.

"But you knew that Fury hired the pirates, didn't you?" Steve asked and Natasha was honestly shocked that he figured out. Not that Steve isn't smart, but she is always careful when it came to her job and Fury was a very secretive person.

"Well it makes sense, the ship was dirty, Fury needed a way in and so did you" Natasha answered and anger flashed in Steve's eyes,

"I'm not going to ask you again" Natasha wouldn't say she's scared, she could take down Steve with a some effort, but the way he was demanding answers out of her in such a dominating way was actually kinda hot.

"I know who killed Fury" Natasha admitted, easily changing the subject and Steve took the bait.

"Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, the ones that do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years" Natasha explained, leaving out a pretty crucial detail that Steve would probably want to know.

"So he's a ghost" Steve said.

"Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot out my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff. I pulled us out" Natasha let out a breath before continuing, "But the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer so he shot him straight through me" Natasha said, pulling up her shirt to show Steve the scar that the bullet left.

"Soviet slug. Bye bye bikini's" Natasha cocked an eyebrow jokingly and Steve looked down at her with something close to bewilderment.

"Yeah I bet you terrible in them now" he said and Natasha's tongue darted out to wet her lips before getting to the point of her story.

"Going after him is a dead end. I know, I've tried. Like you said, he's a ghost story" Natasha said, holding the memory stick up for Steve to see. He took the memory stick out of her hands, ignoring the shiver that ran through him when their hands brushed together.

"Then let's find out what the ghost wants" Steve looked down at the memory stick and turned towards the door.

"Actually I can't help you" Natasha stared at him with intense eyes as he turned back to her.

"Why not?" Steve asked.

"Clint and I have a mission in Canada. We have to take down a drug and prostitution cartel by the end of the month. I might not be able to help you, but I know someone who can" Natasha said and Steve waited patiently for her to continue.

"She has skill sets that surpass my own. She'll give the Winter Soldier a run for his money. She won't like it if you ask questions. Got it? She'll help you, then she'll leave. It would be better if you didn't tell anyone about her either. She's...under the radar at the minute" Natasha explained and Steve raised his eyebrows.

"This friend of yours, she's not SHIELD, is she?" Steve asked, already knowing the answer.

"No. You want my full honesty? She's still an assassin, one of the best actually, and she doesn't care about civilians but she's good. Very good. I'll have her meet you somewhere tomorrow, don't be late" Natasha walked past him and her hand was on the door handle when Steve spoke up.

"What's her name?" he asked and Natasha smiled to herself.

"Nora"