[ if anything, the nurses are lucky that both sam and natasha are around this time - they can help take some of steve's restless energy away from the nurses themselves, help force (if they need to) him to stay in bed. sam knows steve isn't going to intentionally give anyone a hard time, everyone here is focused on a cure and making sure as many people as possible get out whole and better, but it will take longer than steve will want it too.

but it will happen. it is a start. it's more than sam's had to work on for weeks and he's not going to take it for granted. even when he knows the status update is going to bring bad news, even when steve's expression shifts and he pulls his eyes away and sam knows what he's going to say. recognizes the faraway look of someone remembering. of being pulled back into trauma so deeply it can be hard to claw your way back out again.

he nods, and it's slow - understanding of that faraway look and all the things steve isn't saying. they know how this feels, going into a situation and doing all you can, but knowing exactly what you weren't able to do in the end. ]

I know. We tried to get a list of them back during those first few weeks too; but from the sounds of it, a lot of them were loners. There weren't a lot of people coming to look for them. [ sam pauses, watching steve's face for a moment before he shifts and moves one of his hands to steve's shoulder, just to have something to grip. to squeeze. something to ground steve, just in case he needs it. ] If I know anything about you, or half the people you were down there with, you did everything you could. And when this is all worked out, we'll find a way to commemorate them. All of them. The work's not done yet.