The answer was no. Tony was not okay and they all knew that as they gathered around the tiny hospital bed. Bruce was squeezing a stress ball trying not to panic. Steve was watching the heart rate monitor methodically grateful for each beep. Thor was at the foot of the bed trying to keep the electricity under control to not kill Tony. Natasha bit her lip and bounced her foot up and down he was supposed to wake up. Clint was in the ceiling rafters looking down and watching the monitor hoping it didn't stop again.
Tony groaned his chest kind of hurt as he took inventory of himself. Steve and Natasha jumped to alert as Tony opened his eyes. He looked around and saw his whole team. He looked down at his chest the arc reactor still glowing.
"Hey," he spoke but his voice sounded weird and kind of echoey in the quiet room.
"Tony," Steve sighed a breath of relief.
"That's my name," he pulled himself into a sitting position," What's the worried faces for?"
"The surgery," Bruce inputted," They lost you during the surgery."
"Oh," Tony touched the new arc reactor and he felt the bandages around it. Open heart surgery was the worst.
"We were so worried!" Thor's voice echoed as he spoke loudly.
"It's true," Clint's voice came from the ceiling and Tony gave a violent start making his chest scream in pain.
"Don't scare me like that," he held his chest and Steve gave a look at Hawkeye who jumped down gracefully.
"Sorry!" Clint told him and Tony watched Steve huff.
"It's all good," Tony pulled off the covers and swung his legs out.
"Stay in bed," Natasha commanded sternly and Tony looked like he was going to stick his tongue out at her.
"No," he argued and put his bare feet on the tile floor as he uncoupled the heart monitor and IV," I've done this way too many times." He swayed a little bit and Steve held him upright.
"Please get back in bed," Steve gave him a concerned look and Tony shook his head.
"I'm hungry and I'm not eating in bed," Tony stated and began to walk out on weak legs with Thor and Steve on either side. It was one of his things, not eating in bed, ever since his first surgery and he ate every meal in bed for two months. If he was able to get up in any way he was getting up. He staggered into the cafeteria with Steve holding his arm firmly. His dad of course had to be there. Tony tried to duck behind Steve but he ended up tripping frantically rushing Steve into catching him.
"Really Tony!" came the expected yell from his dad.
"Sorry sir," Tony was helped up by Steve who kept a grip on Tony's arm.
"It's alright I guess you do hate to eat in there," he helped Tony over to the table. Tony almost fell onto the chair. His legs were too shaky and his heart was pumping too fast. Seventeen year old Tony had gone through some major "life changing experiences." On his fifteenth birthday a peaceful vacation in London had turned into a kidnapping to have him build a missile. They'd shot him shooting shrapnel into his chest and his friend Yensin had kept him alive for the two months he was trapped.
This was his third surgery removing shrapnel from the heart wall and quite frankly he was done. His team was here sure but they were done too. The way they treated him was driving him nuts. Natasha mothered him, Steve didn't let him out of his sight, Thor kept the lightning under control to make sure Tony didn't get hurt by it, Clint hadn't shot anything at him for months, and Bruce just kept on squeezing that stupid stress ball. He stabbed at his lettuce not as hungry as he had been before.
"Anthony, if you don't eat they can't release you," he looked up at his father who gave him the 'eat your food before I ban you from the lab look.'
Tony rolled his shoulders making his chest ache even more. This was the third surgery this year. He took a few bites and went to get dressed with Steve behind him to help him to his room. He dressed in his customary black t shirt with a pair of jeans that he had to try to make look like they fit him with a belt. He slipped on a jacket surprisingly cold and Steve gave him a concerned look. It was 78 degrees in the room.
"You okay?" Steve asked.
"Cold and a little light headed," Tony commented pulling on his socks and fumbling with the laces to tie his shoes.
"Those are blood loss signs," Steve commented he knew all about the after effects of the procedures.
"And I just went through open heart surgery," Tony gave Steve a look and then held up a hand so he could help him up.
Steve did so and helped Tony out to the front desk. His dad was signing him out and talking to a doctor who would be at Tony's house every day twice a day for the next two weeks. He was even flying back to New York with them. Bruce was squeezing his stress ball while Natasha was listening to everything the doctor was saying to Tony's dad. Thor and Clint were throwing things at each other and Clint was losing. They all lived with Tony in New York. Right now they were in LA for the surgery. They'd head back to New York the next morning after staying in the timeshare that Howard had in LA.
They went out to the car with Tony's bag that basically had one pair of clothes as pajamas. He'd come in with those on. Tony winced as he fell heavily onto the hard leather car seat and he was fairly sure he'd heard three hisses from the others.
"I'm fine," he supplied and they went back to normal. Tony slid to the middle seat and Steve sat on his right side. Jarvis would drive and the others would sit in the back. Tony didn't like to sit in the back. He liked to be able to see where he was going. He leaned against the seat and put his head drive home was twenty minutes and he could already hear Clint and Thor arguing. Steve turned on the heater so Tony would stop shivering.
Howard took another couple of minutes but was followed out by Natasha who now knew everything about Tony's recovery. He groaned a little and Jarvis glanced at him.
"Are you alright Anthony?" he asked in his accent and Tony nodded.
"Let's go home," he told Jarvis and he grinned and started the car as Howard and Natasha got in.
Tony fell asleep on the drive home but so did Steve and the seventeen year old Tony sleeping on the eighteen year old Steve was so cute Natasha just had to take a picture. They both woke up to the stopping of the car which was now hot but Tony wasn't shivering.
Tony and Steve made their way up the stairs to the front door of the timeshare easily. It was the whole revolving door thing that made Tony dizzy. He swayed violently and Steve who was coming behind him cried out," Tony!"
Tony fell to the ground on his hands and wasn't blacking out but his vision was blurry. He could hear Steve calling him and felt his hand on his shoulder. He put his head between his knees and shut his eyes. He breathed through the dizziness.
"What's wrong with him?" that was his dad and he took a deep breath.
"I just got dizzy," Tony raised his head which had stopped spinning. His arc reactor felt heavy in his chest and he stood up. Steve's strong arms were the most noticeable.
"Let's go get you some medicine," his dad slipped an arm around Tony's waist realizing he was finally getting taller. They got in the elevator and they all crammed in. Jarvis was tallest and he reached over Bruce facing the other way to click the fifteen. They made their way down the hall and Tony was looking pale and cold again. They had almost the whole floor with eight bedrooms. Tony's mom was still in New York.
Natasha's parents had left her years ago. So had Clint's and they'd both been picked up by SHIELD. Bruce's parents sent him off when he turned into a monster the first time after working in a lab. Steve's parents were long gone because 1945 was a long time ago. Howard had taken the team in. They treated wounds with Jarvis and they took care of the young SHIELD agents. The only one he seemed to have a hard time with was Tony.
Tony was helped in bed and he took the meds. The side effects were supposed to get him to rest and he passed out really fast. One second he was up the next he was out.
The others wandered around silently until Howard gave them the thumbs up that he was asleep.
"How many weeks of rest?" Steve asked as he took off his coat and hung it by the front door.
"At least two and from there he has to charge the reactor every couple of days depending on usage," he recited the facts easily and everyone nodded used to the routine.
"How many surgeries after this one?" Bruce asked quietly.
"Hopefully only two," he then added," But only if this one did what we wanted it to."
Howard ordered pizza and Tony was asleep till the next morning. He was woken up by Jarvis who helped him change the bandages on his chest. Jarvis told him to go back to bed but he refused. He felt foggy and had to wipe his eyes several times to get dressed. He didn't put on a shirt because he'd have to lift his arms over his head. The ribs they'd broken to get at his heart made that hard. Tony stumbled in the kitchen and leaned against the counter for a moment trying to stay up on his feet while his foggy head reminded him why he had an arc reactor. Steve came in the kitchen and looked at Tony who was sweating and breathing hard. His knuckles were white and he started when Steve grabbed his shoulder.
"How you doing?" Steve asked as Tony's breathing slowed.
"Fine," Tony turned around with one hand still on the counter to hold him up. The other was wrapped around his bandaged ribs," I'm fine."
"Oh good," Steve watched Bruce's door open. Bruce slept more than any of them. He had the tendency to over exhaust himself and if he was asleep he was less likely to be the Hulk. Bruce took one look at Tony and his eyes narrowed a little as he analyzed him.
"Go sit down Tony. You're hurting," Bruce slid under Tony's arm and helped him to the couch. Bruce was good at reading people. Tony didn't argue as Bruce got him something to eat and he leaned his head back.
"I'm tired," Tony finally commented, "I slept for 18 hours and I'm tired!"
"You had open heart surgery," Steve reminded him as he watched Tony.
"For the third time! You'd think I'd get used to it," he groaned a little and looked down at the arc reactor.
"No one's really supposed to have heart surgery three times," Bruce commentated.
"I know. I know," Tony ran a hand through his hair, "But the principle Bruce; the principle." He became aware that it didn't make much sense with Clint's snickering down the hall.
"Be nice Clint!" Steve called down the hall. Tony was still pretty drugged up. His eyes weren't focusing and Steve sighed and shook his head. If Tony would just go to bed this wouldn't be a problem.
Fifteen minutes later Bruce had finished something that smelled delicious and he gave it to Tony who thanked him. He glanced at his watch that had the time he had to charge his arc reactor on. Twenty four more hours before he had to be plugged in. He hated being plugged in. It only took a couple minutes but afterwards he was shaky and he didn't like that. Steve also glanced at his watch and nodded once confirming it in his head. Clint came down the hall dressed in a green sweater and long skinny jeans. One look at shirtless Tony made him feel bad for laughing. He looked miserable. Thor came in dressed in a tank top and jeans exposing his huge biceps. Thor exclaimed loudly.
"HOW ARE YOU FEELING MAN OF IRON!?" Tony winced.
"Fine Thor I'm fine," Tony sighed and sipped at his soup.
"We load the plane in an hour," Jarvis stood in the doorway and looked at Tony carefully examining him.
"Jarvis I'm mostly okay," Tony gave him the look and Jarvis nodded and proceeded to pack up his own room.
They all picked up their rooms because they weren't coming back for three weeks. Tony laid down and fell asleep on the couch. He was woken up by his dad who had his arc reactor open and was checking wires.
"Hey dad," Tony groaned.
"Hey son," he wore his glasses on the bridge of his nose and picked through wires. He'd designed this carefully and he was double checking his work.
"It good in there?" Tony leaned his head back tiredly and looked at his watch. The little cat nap hadn't hurt him and they weren't going to be late. He'd had to pack his bag for the hospital so he was packed.
"Yes I was just making sure before we got on the plane," he told Tony. He was worried about him. A kidnapping meant for him had gotten his son something like an artificial heart for life. He was careful in doing everything around him now and he knew how much Tony hated it.
"Bandages clean?" Tony asked tiredly.
"Yeah," Howard put a hand on Tony's forehead making sure he didn't have a fever. Tony sat up against the couch and his watch beeped for the hour. He pushed himself into his feet and his dad steadied him. Tony put his shirt on with his dad's help.
"Alright let's head out," Jarvis spoke clearly and the slang sounded awkward in his tone.
"Let's go," Barton carried a mini bow and arrow made of a pen and the inside.
Thor carried his bag which was large. He loved the world of clothes and it made Bruce's bag look tiny. Tony went to grab his but Steve grabbed it. Natasha was by the door. Jarvis opened the door and took up the rear. Steve stood next to Tony not wanting to not repeat yesterday. Tony leaned against the wall in the elevator tiredly. He took a deep breath and held back a sob when it was so painful.
"Tony?" Bruce asked worriedly.
"I'm okay," Tony's voice cracked and Natasha looked at him.
"Are you really?" she questioned putting a hand to his forehead. No fever but he was in pain. Tony shook her hand off and they went to go get in the car. The revolving doors made Tony sick again and he needed help the rest of the way to the car.
When by the car Tony stopped Steve and got his jacket out of his bag. Steve helped him put it on. Tony stopped arguing. He was too tired. Tony slept the half hour to the airport and the others talked. When they finally pulled up Steve just carried Tony on. Tony grimaced and Steve adjusted him carefully as they boarded the private plane. Tony woke up briefly but went back to bed not even caring anymore.
As soon as they were home in New York Tony was ordered to strict bed rest due to the fever that had happened during the plane ride home. Tony was surprisingly okay with that which worried everyone. The next three days were filled with worries and doctors in Tony's room. The rest of the Avengers weren't allowed in and unlike the hospital there wasn't a window viewing in so they just waited.
Howard came out dressed in scrubs. They worried about the infection. They were defenseless. But the next day they were allowed back in. Tony was on oxygen. When your heart didn't pump correctly you didn't get enough oxygen. His queen sized bed had a small table on it and monitors on the top. There was a smaller table next to him with several bottles of medication. They walked out it was almost too hard.
"I'm fine guys," Tony insisted weakly as he later laid in bed.
"You're still not getting up," Natasha put a hand on his forehead.
"Don't plan on it," Tony answered honestly and Natasha checked the IVs," Natasha I'm fine." He lifted his hand to yank it away but it fell weakly back onto the bed.
"Okay I'll leave you be," she told him and Clint rolled his eyes. Natasha was a mother hen and she couldn't even help it. She stood up and they watched Tony fall asleep under the influence of his drugs.
"I hate this," Steve punched the metal door across the room from Tony's.
"Steve calm down," Clint grabbed Steve's arm before he punched the door again and Steve took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry. I don't know seeing him hardly be able to lift his arm off the bed is too hard. A week ago he seemed okay. How did this surgery help?" Steve finished and everyone stared in awe. Steve never broke like this.
"The surgery was to replace his reactor and see how they could access the shrapnel. It was also a way to measure palladium poisoning which we have to be careful about," Bruce pitched in and Thor looked lost.
"What's palladium poisoning?" Clint asked and Bruce sighed.
"The reactor is slowly poisoning him. Everytime he replaces his core it's with palladium and it affects his body with the metal in him. We're trying to find an element to replace it but we can't find a way to do it. Well Howard can't I've been working on something else," Bruce didn't lie it was one of the great things about Bruce. But this was news to them and they stared at Bruce for a solid two minutes before breaking out into questions. How long did he have? Side effects?
Bruce was calm when he answered," We've got about six months to find a cure for the palladium. Towards the next month's he'll get headaches and lose weight. Probably have trouble remembering stuff and have muscle pain. As it gets worse he'll start throwing up and eventually it'll overrun his body. But Howard and I will not let that happen."
"How come we didn't know about this?" Clint asked.
"It was on his reports I figured it was one of the things we didn't need to talk about," Natasha inputted before Bruce got in trouble.
"Tony didn't mention it?" Steve asked and Natasha shook her head.
"Why would Tony want to bring up something like that? He's already almost died like 12 times in the last year." Natasha argued in Tony's favor. They should read the reports.
"Personally I think he's in denial," Bruce contributed and Natasha nodded.
"Damn," Clint muttered.
Turning on a heel they were surprised when they walked in the kitchen to find Reid Richards.
"Hi," he turned around. His eyes looked tired as usual and he looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders as he sat there holding the coffee.
"Hey Reid," Natasha liked the scientist he was a couple years older than her but was easygoing.
"Sorry I was just getting some coffee before going to the lab. Is Tony alright?" Reid asked.
"He's good. Well, not good, but recovering," Bruce loved Reid. He was just an overall nice guy.
"Yeah the palladium probably isn't helping the whole healing from major heart surgery thing much," Reid confirmed his point when Howard came in lab coat flying. He skirted around the room avoiding them and Steve heard him mutter something about palladium. Reid followed after him and waved goodbye to the teens. He worked with Howard a lot.
Thor went home to Asgard telling them to call for him if Tony took a turn for the worse. Steve and Bruce never left Tony's side playing video games when he was awake and doing homework when he was asleep. Natasha and Clint were sent on missions and Natasha called every two hours.