JESSICA DROWNS
Jessica knew that if she was stuck in the lab for another minute, her head would explode. She needed to get out of there. Out of the lab, out of the tower, out of the city.
"Hey Dad." Jessica popped her head in on Tony Stark, who was in the kitchen, making a late breakfast smoothie. "Are you using your place in Long Beach this weekend?"
"Uh…" Tony poured his smoothie into a glass. "I don't think so. Why, you throwing a party?"
Jessica laughed. "Me. Throw a party. That'll be the day. I actually just wanted to get out of the city for a couple days."
Tony frowned. "Everything alright, sweetcheeks?"
"Yeah, absolutely. Just going a little stir-crazy is all."
"Fair enough. It's all yours. Just…" Tony pursed his lips. "Do your old man a favour and take some of the team with you. I've got a function tomorrow, so I won't be able to get there until Sunday."
Jessica rolled her eyes. "I don't need a babysitter, Dad."
"I know, I know. I'd just feel a lot better if you weren't there on your own."
Jessica folded her arms. "You do know that I'm twenty-one years of age."
"Yes." Tony sighed. "I am quite painfully aware. Humour me this once, alright? Take the team with you. Whoever you can round up."
After a moment of stony silence and pointed glaring, Jessica gave her own sigh. "Fine. I'll bring a couple babysitters. To make you feel better — considering how impotent you think I am on my own."
"Hey, Jessie, don't be like that. You know this has nothing to do with my trust in you. I just know how creepy people can be beyond these walls. Paparazzi in particular. It'd give me some peace in mind to know someone's got your back out there."
Jessica couldn't help it. She softened.
"Okay. I get it. Someone to watch my back."
"That's all I ask."
And with that conversation, Jessica got her trip to the beach she needed so desperately. Tagging along for the ride came Steve Rogers and Thor Odinson. The others had work to attend to in New York, or elsewhere, over the weekend.
Jessica got herself up early the next morning, threw on a swimming costume, grabbed her sunglasses and a towel, and headed for the beach. She didn't even make it to the back door before a big muscly arm blocked her path.
Jessica huffed. Sunglasses hanging halfway down her nose, she glared up at Steve. "Good morning, Captain."
Steve smiled. Even he wasn't in his daywear yet, still in a tank top and track pants from going to bed last night. "Jessica."
"Any particular reason you're keeping me from the beach?"
Without another word, Steve pulled a bottle of sunscreen out from behind his back. He arched an expectant eyebrow.
"Five bucks says you hadn't thought to rub any of this on yet."
Jessica scoffed. "You've got to be joking."
"Skin cancer is no joke, ma'am."
Knowing full well that she had no chance of going any further without lathering up, Jessica took the sunscreen and got to work. She coated her arms, legs, chest and stomach. When she got to her back, she had to give Steve a look.
"Help a girl out?"
Trying to disguise his discomfort at putting his hands on Jessica's body and failing, Steve tentatively took the sunscreen back and applied some to her back. He did the job from as far away as possible, hardly even daring to watch himself work.
Jessica laughed. "I won't bite, Captain."
"No," Steve muttered, "but your father might."
"Scared of my father, are you?"
"Of your father? No. Of Natasha? Yes."
Jessica considered this, and nodded. "Fair enough."
Assuming that would be the end of it, Jessica moved for the door when Steve had finished, only for him to hold her back by the wrist. She turned around, expression half expectant and half exasperated.
"Something else on your mind?"
Steve had to resist biting at the inside of his lip. "You going for a swim?"
Jessica took a moment to glance down at her bikini and the towel under her arm, making sure she had in fact put on the correct garments. She looked back up. "What gave me away?"
"Right." Steve cleared his throat. "Sorry. Stupid question. I was just, uh, kind of hoping you'd wait for me or Thor before you got out in the water. I've heard it can get a little rough out there."
Jessica smiled. "Thanks for the concern, Cap, but I can handle a couple waves. I wanted to get out there early — before it gets too crowded on the beach. Bikini plus paparazzi equals gross magazine headlines." She gave his hand a squeeze. "I'll be careful."
After another moment's hesitation, Steve finally nodded. "Alright. I'll meet you out there soon — want to get a quick workout done first." His glare sharpened. "No funny business while I'm gone. Deal?"
"Funny business? Steve, I'm just going swimming."
At that, Steve finally forced himself to take a deep breath. He shook his head, clearing it out, and felt his shoulders relax. "You're right. I'm sorry. You probably left New York to get away from your father's incessant worrying."
Jessica shrugged. "I wouldn't call that the main reason."
"I'll back off. Sorry." He squeezed her hand in return. "Just want to make sure you're safe."
"I know you do." Jessica stood up on her toes to plant a kiss on Steve's cheek. "I'll see you in a bit. Have a good workout!"
She left before he could think of any other excuses to keep her in the house. Steve watched her go; skipping down the front steps and onto the sand in her cute little bikini, long brown curls swaying behind her. His heart swelled.
Taking a deep breath, Steve forced himself to look away. Jessica wasn't a child. She could look after herself. After all, the water didn't look so bad this morning. They didn't get any sharks in these parts. Everything would be okay.
He turned away from the beach, feeling the tiniest bit better, with no idea of how wrong he was.
Jessica didn't notice the sky greying with clouds until it was too late. She had swum far away from shore, where the waves couldn't knock her down, but the currents were stronger. And the rocks were bigger. Much bigger.
Struggling to pull away from a tightening rip, Jessica finally looked up at the sky. Her stomach dropped. She was no expert, but something about the darkening clouds and distant grumbling was particularly disconcerting. She needed to get back to shore. But, when she looked back at where she'd come from, her stomach only fell further, seeing just how far she had gone. The beach was deserted — the few early-morning swimmers and surfers must've decided to call it quits when they saw the storm rolling in. Jessica had been too absorbed in her freestyle and breaststroke to notice.
She was alone.
"Oof," Jessica grunted as the ocean yanked her directly against one of the rocks. She managed to block the impact with her hands, coral and oyster shells splitting the skin. She hissed.
But there wasn't a lot of time to react to that pain before another rip caught her and threw her into another rock. This time she was less fortunate. Pain blasted like lightening across the side of her head. The force of it made her feel immediately sick. Or maybe it was the hot, sticky sensation of blood dribbling down her temple that made her want to puke. She flapped her arms around, forcing herself to stay afloat, but her limbs seemed incapable of responding to her brain's commands. She had a hard time keeping her head above the surface. Within minutes she found herself swallowing gobs of ocean water. It was so disgusting she had to gag it back up, but that only resulted in more choking.
Still frantically flapping about, Jessica's vision started to cloud over. That hit to the head must've been even harder than she thought. It only occurred to when water had filled up half of her lungs that she was drowning. The ocean had taken over. She couldn't breathe.
Thanks to the pain of her burning chest, or thanks to the faintness of her head, Jessica didn't last much longer before sinking — succumbing — to the sea.
Steve had just gotten out of the shower when he caught sight of the storm, now in full force. His jaw went slack.
Oh, no.
Frantically wrapping himself up in a towel, Steve hurried to the balcony and glared out urgently for any sign of Jessica. She wasn't on the shore, but her belongings were still there. Phone. Sunglasses. Beach towel. He studied the ocean, watching for flailing arms or screaming voices. Where was she?
Steve yanked on a pair of trunks and barged into the living area. He found Thor at the kitchen bar, working on a box of pop-tarts.
"Thor!" Steve exclaimed, already out of breath with panic. He pointed out the window, at the storm. "Is this you?"
Thor followed Steve's gesture. He frowned. "I don't believe so. Does the weather ail you, Captain?"
"No, it's Jessica." Steve practically sprinted for the door. "Jessica's out there."
"Out…" It took Thor several moments before he realized what Steve was saying, at which point Steve was long gone. Thor leapt up. "Oh, gods!"
Steve was already halfway down the beach, desperately scanning the ocean.
"Jessie!" He cried. "Jessica!"
That was when he saw her — or, rather, saw her body — bobbing amidst a cluster of particularly chunky rocks. He recognized her by her hair, mangled and knotted by the waves on the water's surface. His chest flooded with ice.
Without another thought, Steve charged into the water. He dove in headfirst and swam faster than any other human would be capable of, forcing his way past the rips and currents and waves to get to Jessica. They were strong enough to hold him back by a couple minutes at least — no wonder they had done such a number on Jessica.
Finally, he caught up to her. She was face-down in the water, and completely unresponsive to his touch. When he managed to flip her over, he found her eyes closed and her lips completely blue. He smoothed some hair off her face and patted her cheek, hoping for a reaction.
"Jessica, can you hear me? Jessica, baby, talk to me."
She was unresponsive. Steve felt for a pulse. Almost non-existent.
"Stay with me Jessie, you're gonna be okay. Stay with me."
Struggling to keep Jessica's head above water, Steve took longer than he would've liked to get back to shore. He kept talking to Jessica the whole way, even with the knowledge that she more than likely couldn't hear anything he said.
"Hang in there," he said, "come on, doll, you're doing so good. Not much further."
A rip threatened to tug Jessica away, at which point Steve just held her tighter.
"I've got you," he asserted, to himself as much as to her.
Once it was shallow enough for Steve's feet to touch the sand, he slung Jessica into a bridal carry. He tore through the waves to shore, meeting a very stern-looking Thor on the beach. The men lowered Jessica to the ground, laying her out. That blue colour in her lips seemed to be spreading, leeching its way all the way into her fingertips. Thor felt for breath. He looked up at Steve, panic flickering in his eyes.
"She needs a healer. I shall summon one — don't move."
Thor tipped his head up to the skies, ready to summon Heimdall, when Steve put a hand on his arm.
"There's no time," the super soldier told him. "I have to get the water out of her lungs. Get her breathing."
"And how do you propose to do that?"
In response, Steve began to beat Jessica's chest: thirty steady compressions right on her sternum, forceful, but not enough to cause major damage. He tilted her head back and exhaled twice, deeply, against her mouth. God, she was cold.
Steve repeated this process, grunting out words of encouragement as he worked.
"Wake up, Jessie. Come on. Breathe."
It was all Thor could do to not stand up and pace the beach, punching rocks to smithereens. "Give me a task," he demanded, "I must do something."
"Clear the skies," Steve said, never looking away from Jessica. "Get rid of this damn storm."
"Yes. Of course." Thor nodded eagerly, glad to have received instructions. He concentrated on the clouds, slowly parting them with his godly power to reveal the pale blue beneath.
Around the fourth set of compressions, Steve began to lose patience. He beat her chest harder, his hands more forceful than perhaps they should've been. In the frenzy, he heard the sickening crack of a rib. He froze.
"Oh, God. I'm so sorry. I'm so s—"
"Don't stop!" Thor exclaimed. "Ordinary Midgardians are unable to withstand longer than a couple of minutes without oxygen."
"But her rib! What if I accidentally puncture her —?"
Out of patience, blind with panic, Thor pushed Steve aside. He got to work pounding away at Jessica's chest, only giving several compressions before blowing into her mouth. This was not the sort of medical training he had ever had to receive on Asgard. Thus, unsurprisingly, he had hardly touched her ten times before the horrific crack! of another rib sounded.
"Thor!" Steve shouted.
Before he could yank the god away, Jessica lurched up, retching. She twisted to her side, crying out through the water in her throat at the pain of her broken bones.
Both Thor and Steve could've collapsed with relief. She was alive.
Thor clapped Jessica between her shoulder blades as she coughed up more and more water. He had to remind himself to be hold back a little, be gentle, what with her fragile frame.
"That's it, darling. Breathe. Breathe."
Once there was no water left in her lungs, Steve dropped to his knees and cupped Jessica's face in his hands.
"Talk to me, Jessica. Can you hear me?"
Jessica, shivering so intensely she looked like she was going to shatter, collapsed backwards. Thor caught her before she could hit the sand, propping her up in his lap. Steve kept her head level between his hands.
"C-c-c-cold," she got out.
Steve was not satisfied. He rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs, trying to restore some of their colour. "Do you know where you are?"
"B-b-beach," she told him. When Thor shifted, trying to better support her weight, she flinched and hissed. "Hurts."
Steve couldn't quell the terror fluttering in his chest at the sight of little Jessica Stark, broken and wet and drained of colour, and so he smoothed away more of her hair, just for something to do. It was all mangled and beaded with grains of sand.
"You're gonna be alright, Jessie. That storm came out of nowhere — pulled you into the rocks." With her face cleared, Steve noticed the gash across her temple. Dark bruises had already begun to rise across the whole left side of her face. He tried to dab the dried blood, but stopped himself at Jessica's whimper.
"I'm sorry. You must've hit your head. But you're safe now." Steve looked up at Thor. "She needs medical attention, fast. If you can just carry her back to the house, I'll get the car."
"You are too hasty, Captain," Thor said. "We must first restore her body heat. Midgardian healers can be summoned, can they not?"
Steve nodded. "Yeah. Okay. New plan — we take Jessica back to the house, get her wrapped up, and call an ambulance." He tried to get Jessica to look at him, but her eyes were glassy. "Stay with us, Jess. We're getting you help."
Thor started to lift Jessica into his arms, but at her pained cry he stopped.
"Careful," Steve snapped. "If you move her too much, you could puncture her lungs."
Thor froze. "How do I know how much she can be moved?"
"I-I don't know. Just be careful."
So, as delicately as the god of thunder was capable, Thor lifted Jessica and carried her toward the house. She grit her teeth to keep from yelping at every footstep. The pain was easier when she held her breath, but she was dizzy enough as it was, and assumed that neither man would take too kindly to her passing out.
Somehow, Steve picked up on her sparse and shallow breaths. He had his serious Captain America voice on when he said, "I need you to breathe deep, kid. In and out. I know it hurts, but you've gotta stick with us."
Jessica did as she was told to the best of her ability. She forced herself to keep her eyes open — more to keep the guys from freaking out than to keep herself awake. The pain was too savage for her to fall asleep.
"Good job," Steve encouraged. "Just like that. We're gonna get you patched up."
"And warm," Thor said. Quieter, he added, "It's like carrying ice."
The trio burst through the back door. Thor rushed Jessica to the nearest sofa and, gently as possible, laid her down. She sighed in relief, only to blurt out a syllable of pain from her chest. She tipped her head back, just trying to breathe.
"Steve," she said, watching him and Thor dart about the room for blankets. "Did I…drown?"
Steve handed Thor a duvet from the linen cupboards and grabbed a telephone. "Just keep up with that deep breathing, Jessie, everything's gonna be okay." He shot Thor a look that said, keep her calm.
But, realizing Steve was now in the process of calling 911, Jessica was anything but calm. Her jaw dropped.
"Oh my G-G-God," she said. "I'm so sorry, I can't believe I was that stupid."
"Shh, shh." Thor smothered her in the duvet, and proceeded to pile on several other fluffy blankets. "Fear not, little Stark. All is well now."
"I should've been more careful — I scared you. It was an accident, I swear, I never wanted to hurt anyone —"
"Be still, my dear," Thor coaxed her. "You must rest."
Hearing Steve talking to the emergency operator, Jessica only grew more agitated.
"No, no, I'm okay," she insisted, "I'm feeling better. You don't have to call anyone."
"You are injured," Thor explained softly, "beyond our capacity to heal you."
"Oh, God." Jessica groaned, hiding her eyes behind the heels of her palms. Even that slight pressure on her face shot pain across her entire skull. "Dammit. I'm such an idiot. I'm so sorry."
"Jessica, I beg of you to remain calm."
"Alright." From behind them, Steve put down the phone. "Paramedics are on their way." Seeing Jessica, out of breath, and Thor trying helplessly to placate her, Steve made for the sofa. He sunk to his knees at Jessica's side.
"Hey. Hey. Deep breaths, Jessie. We talked about this."
"I-I messed up," she panted.
"You did no such thing," Thor asserted. "The heavens betrayed you at sea."
"Thor's right," Steve said. "There are some things you can't control. Listen to me — it's okay now. We've got you. Everything. Is. Okay."
"You're not angry?"
"I'm not angry."
"You're not upset?"
"I'm not upset."
"You're wet too." Jessica's fuzzy vision only just picked up on it. "Are you okay?"
Steve laughed. "A concussion and two broken ribs and she asks if the super soldier is okay." He rubbed her arm under the blanket, tucking her under even tighter. "Yes, doll, I'm okay. Now what do you say we help you get okay again too?"
Jessica nodded, her panic finally ebbing away. She smiled. "Yeah."
"Great. Now, breathe in, nice and deep."
Jessica did as she was told, flinching at the distinct ache in her chest.
"And out," Steve instructed.
Thor leaned back in and took Jessica's hand. "Squeeze when it hurts," he told her. "Hard as you like."
This process repeated itself a couple dozen times before the ambulance turned up. Paramedics came in with a stretcher, carefully lifting Jessica on and whisking her away. With only one extra passenger allowed, Steve tagged along, and Thor flew after them with Mjölnir.
Meanwhile, at the Avengers Tower, Tony Stark had just finished with a rather boring meeting. He left the conference room, craving a drink, and headed for the bar, when JARVIS's voice came through the intercom.
"Sir, there appears to be activity at your house in Long Beach."
Tony waved his hand. "I know, J. It's just Jessica and a couple of the guys. She wanted a weekend out of the city."
"Yes, sir, I recall. Allow me to specify: it appears emergency services have arrived at your house in Long Beach."
At that, Tony froze. "What, cops?"
"Paramedics."
"Paramedics?! What happened?"
"Of that I am uncertain."
"Is it Jessie? Is she okay?"
"Regretfully, of that I am also uncertain."
Tony was already headed for the elevator. "Killing me with the ambiguity, JARVIS."
"Apologies, sir. I suggest you investigate the situation yourself at the Long Beach Memorial Medical Centre."
Tony was there in half an hour, reducing the trip by fifteen minutes with his mad speeding. He dumped his fancy sports car in a disabled spot and made a bee-line for the front desk, out of breath.
"Jessica Stark," he said. "Where is she?"
The receptionist's eyes bugged. "Oh my. Mr Stark. It-it's such a pleasure to meet you."
"Jessica Stark," Tony repeated. "Where is she?"
"Uh, she's still in the E.R. You'll have to wait with your friend until the attending doctors are finished."
"Friend?" Tony surveyed the room. In the chair closest to the swinging doors, he caught sight of Thor. The god had his head in his hands, staring at the floor, and must not have heard Tony enter. Tony stormed toward him.
"Hey — what happened?" He demanded. "What the hell happened?"
Thor's head snapped up. "Stark." Seeing the father's expression; half hysterical, half enraged; he put up his hands. "The healers assured us she would be fine."
"That doesn't answer my question, blondie!"
Thor's jaw hardened. "Jessica got caught out in the oceans when a storm came in. Captain Rogers swam out to her in time, but we couldn't restore her breathing without…consequences."
Tony looked just about ready to explode. As much as he would've liked to punch Thor right across his perfectly chiselled face — not out of anger, just out of raw energy — he instead turned to the double doors and shoved his way through.
Thor stood up to stop him, but Tony could not be stopped. He scanned the space with a crazed look in his eyes, his heart positively hammering, until he saw a familiar face: Captain America, wearing a grim expression. He held Jessica's hand, watching as a doctor bound her chest, murmuring words of encouragement every time she flinched.
Seeing Jessica on the medical table, her hair a half-dry mess, her head bandaged up, mostly exposed but for a thin hospital gown, Tony could've blown up then and there. Instead, forcing himself to reign in his emotions for Jessica's sake, he strode toward them.
"Jessica," he gushed. He seized her other hand and pulled her in to kiss her forehead, holding her as close as he could without interrupting the doctor's work. "My poor baby. What happened? Are you okay?"
Jessica offered a weary half-smile. "I'm fine, Dad. Got a little knocked around out in the water."
The doctor cast a look to Tony. "Mr Stark, I assume," she said. "'Fine' may be a bit of an overstatement, with a severe concussion, two broken ribs, and pneumonia. But your rest assured, your daughter will pull through." The doctor tucked away the last of the bandaging and retied Jessica's hospital gown. "There we go." She excused herself to check on another patient.
Steve rubbed Jessica's back. "You did great, Jessie."
"You." Tony jabbed a finger at Steve. "You were supposed to be looking out for her. What the hell happened?"
"Dad," Jessica snapped before Steve could respond. "It's not his fault. The storm came out of nowhere. I should've come back to shore sooner."
In the back of Tony's head, he had started to put the pieces together. Thor's words — "restore her breathing", "consequences". The doctor's diagnosis — "two cracked ribs", "pneumonia". Tony had to grip his daughter's hand tighter to keep himself from throttling the super soldier.
"My little girl got hurt," he said through gritted teeth. "Almost died."
"Dad!" Jessica said. "Thor and Steve saved my life. Without them, I would've died."
"For God's sake, Jess." Tony studied her bandaged face more carefully, holding it in his hands to examine from different angles. He sighed. "I could've lost you."
Jessica looked down. "I know. I'm sorry."
"Don't ever do that again."
"What — drown? Yeah, thanks for the tip. I'll do my best."
Tony shook his head, unable to chastise her for her sarcasm, having inherited it from him in the first place. He asked, "Are you hurting? What can I do?"
"The doctor prescribed her some painkillers," Steve put in. "And antibiotics."
"Good." Tony nodded. "Good." He smiled. "Let's bust you out of here."
