Frostbite

Nineteen

I sliced through the water, letting it caress me. An air bubble just big enough to encompass my body formed around me, providing oxygen so that I wouldn't have to surface and possibly be hit by any debris falling from the ship.

Under any other circumstance it would have been awesome to be swimming in the Potomac River. To take in the beauty that lay beneath the water.

"Melanie?"

"Stark, can you hear us?"

"I'm underwater. I'm fine," I whispered back finally, grateful for the bubble. I forced the current to change direction and directed it toward the shoreline.

"How the hell is she talking down there? Do you need us to come to you?" Sam suggested. I heard Natasha muttering in Russian in the background, something along the lines of 'magic fish people'.

"No, I'm going to shore. Do you have Steve? Did he get off the ship?" I demanded. It was silent for a few moments.

"He didn't get off the ship Mel. We don't know where he is," Nat finally responded carefully. My heart constricted and my breathing hitched. He had to have gotten off. My mind couldn't fathom the possibility of him being gone.

"No. He probably swam to shore and is just hurt somewhere. I'll find him," I quaked, forcing the current to carry me faster. The water got shallow, and I was finally able to surface.

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I had been walking the shoreline for so long that it had finally gotten dark. There was no sign of Steve anywhere. The possibility that he had drowned in the river loomed menacingly over my head. I hadn't wanted to even consider it before, but now I was, and I quickly became nauseous.

Natasha and Sam had been helping search. Sam had gone on the far side to look while Nat and I fanned out where I had previously come out of the water. Fury was insistent on staying dead to the public so he had disappeared as fast as he could.

I heard voices approaching from behind me, but I ignored them and parted the water in yet another spot, still hoping I would get lucky. They stopped behind me, but I couldn't bring myself to look at them or to speak. Finally, Natasha softly said, "Melanie... I think we should go. It's dark and we can barely see. We're not going to find him tonight. They'll send search parties out in the morning." She was supposed to be the ruthless and determined Black Widow, yet she wanted to give up so easily?

"Then go," I waved them away, "I'm fine. I won't leave without him." I kept walking, parting the water as I went, trying not to let it show how tired I was.

"A doctor still needs to look at you, too. You need stitches at least. You've lost a lot of blood," Sam argued. Something snapped inside of me.

"I. Will. Be. Fine. I cannot leave him out here! How can you not understand? If it was Clint who was missing, you would be doing the same thing Natasha! Steve would do the same for any of us. I know you think he's gone, that he's dead, but I can't believe that! Because if I do- if I do..." I choked on the rest of my words, unable to force them out. I collapsed in the sand and the water forcefully collided back together, sloshing onto me since I didn't bother to keep it off. They tried reasoning with me, but I zoned out, staring off into the distance, and ignoring their feeble attempts.

"She's freaking me out. I'm gonna call Tony," I heard Nat say in a frightened voice, both of them leaving me in the dark to find help. I didn't care.

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I don't know how much time passed before I stumbled to a halt, my breathing labored. There had been no sign of him or his shield in the water as I walked. If he hadn't come to shore, then I didn't know what to do. I knew better than to try and wade out in my condition.

An overwhelming flood of emotions rushed through me, and I slid to my knees. Steve didn't deserve this fate. A sob escaped my lips, and I couldn't stop them from coming.

There was a whooshing noise behind me and a clank of metal. Tony. I felt him hovering behind me, unsure of how to respond. He gently laid a cool, metal hand on my shoulder; I turned to look up at him.

"Lanie, you need to go to a hospital. There are people on their way to search for him. Volunteers. You can't help him now," he told me softly, tiptoeing with his words.

"I'm not giving up," I snapped, jumping to my feet and stalking onward. He didn't miss a beat and followed behind me.

"Fine. Then I'll speed this up. The armor has infrared now; I should be able to find him that way. I'm sorry Mel, but I can't promise that he'll be- he'll be..." he stuttered, unwilling to finish the sentence.

"I know. Check the river," I whispered, my voice cracking. Tony quickly kissed my forehead and took off into the clear night sky, back towards the Triskelion where the helicarrier had hit the water.

I walked for what was probably another mile or so, finally ready pass out from exhaustion. My vision blurred slightly, and I caught myself on a tree. The throbbing had intensified, everything catching up with me.

There was a flash of color in the corner of my eye, and I stopped breathing. Oh my god. I stumbled forward, positive I was seeing what I thought I was. As I got closer, I could make out the details of Steve's uniform. He was lying on his back, the water lapsing over him, like its cold claws wanted to drag him under and finish the job.

I quickly pushed the water back from him and dropped to my knees, resting my hands shakily on his chest. It gently rose and fell again. An odd, strangled noise escaped from me. Thank God he's breathing. He needed medical attention immediately. He was battered and bloody everywhere. It was a miracle he was even alive.

"Tony! He's over here!" I screeched excitedly into the comm, hoping he had tuned into our channel.

"Ow. I'm coming back your way," he replied. I rested my head on Steve's chest; there was nothing more I could do for him now. Only minutes passed before Tony clanked down beside us.

"Jesus Christ," he murmured, dropping Steve's shield that he had found to the ground, "The rescue team is en route." I had never been more grateful for my brother's presence. My eyes slowly shut; my mind was finally at ease.