I'm so sorry for the long wait, a lot has been going on in my life that's been stopping me from writing, but im going to try to forge a schedule that i will try my hardest to stick to. Thank everyone for reading and sticking with the Story so far, i really appreciate it.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Days turned to weeks and there was physically no change in Tony. The doctors assured the team that the bleeding in his brain was healing, and there should be no lasting effects. The team only allowed this news to lift their spirits when Bruce was given clearance to give Tony a full body check up. The entire team; except for Thor who had to leave to deal with Loki, stayed in the hospital with Tony, keeping guard over him and the Arc reactor like Steve promised Pepper. They all had shifts staying with him, except Steve, he was a constant at Tony's bed side, going as far as to only leave his chair to go to the bathroom.

Bruce's P.O.V.
Sitting on the left of Tony, looking at all the tubes sticking made the green monster inside of him twitch just under the surface. How could he call himself a doctor when he was so oblivious to the pain that now in retrospect Tony was so obviously in. He was a Doctor, and there was a 6 inch hole in the middle of Tony's chest, right next to his heart. A hole that would never be allowed to heal, filled with a machine with the sole purpose of keeping Tony alive. How could he be so absorbed in his self to let something so clear to him now completely slip his notice. He was better than that, he thought he was better than that.
Now he sits here making sure that no one took advantage of Tony in his comatose state. As a Scientist himself he could see the appeal. The Arc reactor was a work of Art. Something that will be and should be praised for all of time. He could clearly see how every scientist would want to get their hands on it, if only to see how such a powerful source of energy could be compressed into something so compact, without affecting the amount of energy it outputs. But more importantly he could see why Tony tried so hard to keep every aspect of the reactors specs away from them. Especially the Government. The shear amount of weapons that would be made from the reactor would be monumental, not even mentioning the amount of damage that would be done. It would drive a world head first into a WW3, with every country battling to create a weapon powerful enough to protect them from the reactor.
Now it was too late for regrets, too late for what ifs, and maybe if i had's. He had one job, and he would be damned if he let Tony down again. He may not have known the man for long but he was the first person in almost 6 years to treat him like a real human being. He didn't tiptoe around him. He didn't completely change his personality to be com as neutral and monotone as though the mere thought of laughter would unleash the Other Guy. He even went as far as to go out of his way to become his honest to god friends. Someone that he could have an intellectually stimulating conversation with. Someone he didn't have to dumb for, who he even had to stay on his toes for at all times or he would easily fall behind on Tony s worst day. Looking at Tony again, snapping out of his train of thought, this was not the time to let his mind wonder, he had to stay focused on Tony.

Natasha P.O.V.
Sitting in the corner with her back faced to the wall, in constant observation of everyone and everything in the room Natasha allowed her attention to be pulled back the unconscious body laying in the hospital bed. She took the opportunity to check over all his visible injuries, making sure that even with her limited medical knowledge, that they were healing properly. She some of her thoughts drift to how they got in this situation in the first place. How had she let so much get past her. Natasha Romanov was the best assassin/spy in the entire world, yet she had allowed Tony Stark to sneak past all her screenings. She had given him and his situation so little thought they had ended up here. He had ended up here.
She was far from an emotional person. She never let anything faze her, there was nothing she could not do, would not do, and probably have done at least once. Even know, Natasha sat stony faces, completely still watching her surroundings, yet she felt a pang of regret and remorse deep inside. Now knowing even the limited knowledge the doctor was able to provide, she felt so stupid for not seeing all of this. She was the fucking black widow, how could she of all people, with a past as horrible as it was, not notice someone in so all encompassing pain. How could she not see his drinking was not something passed down from his father. His sarcasm and constant humor even in the most serious situations was a thinly veiled tool to keep control over the situation. She can imagine even know how his jokes, and sarcasm was the only thing that kept him sane during his time of captivity.
Pepper had given her more insight on what happened after Tony s rescue with Obadiah. Natasha's job was to be able to manipulate anyone and everyone into doing and feeling whatever she needed at the time. She had always had a ridiculously hard time getting Tony to talk to her, let alone trust her and know she knew, and in fact felt slightly ashamed for her actions. When Natasha first met Tony, she got him to trust her, even with his dirty jokes and innuendos, he had entrusted her with Pepper, and the first thing she had done with this new found trust was stick a needle in his neck. The very thing that Tony s supposed father figure had done before stealing the ark reactor right out of Tony's chest. No wonder Tony was so obviously wary around her.
Most importantly how could she not see the glaringly obvious severe PTSD that Tony suffered from. The way that she had even the smallest of Flinches when there was any type of Loud noise. They were so minimal that to anyone else they would not have been noticeable, but she had seen them, and written them off and a normal human reflex. Now she realized how stupid that was, for the majority of his life he was a weapons manufacturer, he should have been so desensitized the loud noises that someone would have to point when the noise didn't come from whatever he was working on.
His so obvious fear of water was something that should have immediately caught her attention. She had been water boarded before, but she had training to handle it. She knew why it was happening, how it was happening, when it was happening and everything in-between. Tony had suffered without any assistance, any training, and preparation and even now he avoided big bodies of water, and water touching his face unless deliberately done by his own hand.
As the doctor walked in the room effectively snapping her out of her thoughts, she knew she needed to focus less on the past, and more on what she could do, what she had to do now to help Stark.

Notes:

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