Ok, so instead of a new chapter for ye (I have writers block, sorry)
I finally decided to fix Chapter 8 instead
I've been meaning to do it for ages but kept forgetting so...
Welcome to what happened after the drowning
CHAPTER 8
"Come on you selfish bastard" someone muttered, pumping down on my chest, "Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Twent-".
My whole body shook and I gasped for air, gripping onto the persons arm as I choked up what felt like litres of water.
They let out a shaky breath, "Hey, your ok. Tony it's alright". That voice... I knew that voice... Bruce... Yea... Bruce. It was Bruce. He was a doctor wasn't he? Yea, he was. He'd help me.
"S-s-so c-cold" I stammered and he nodded, "I know buddy, it's alright. Ambulance will be here soon".
"I-it h-h-hurts" I whimpered, trying to roll over, to get off my back and he frowned, "What hurts? Tony, you got to tell me what's wrong".
"My b-b-bac-k" I choked out, letting my hand fall into a puddle of steadily growing blood.
He froze for a split second before realising, "The rocks... Steve help me get his shirt off, his backs shredded".
Steve... Steve Rogers... Capcicle... I smiled slightly. He was strong. He could help too.
I was faintly aware of them turning me over onto my side and Bruce swearing in numerous amount of languages quite loudly, before my blood soaked shirt was ripped off and the doctor started poking at my back. And JEASUS FUCKING CHRIST did that hurt. I couldn't hold back the small hiss that left my lips as he prodded and he swore again, "Fuck. Deep. VERY deep. There's practically no skin left. How did I miss this?".
"Bruce... Where did he get those scars?" Steve asked quietly. Ah. Of course. Steve and Thor didn't know about them.
"Not a good time right now, Cap" Bruce said. He was panicking. If just slightly, but he was STILL panicking. No matter on what scale it was. And Bruce didn't panic. AT ALL. Because him panicking meant losing control. And losing control for Banner, was a no go zone.
"Hypothermia. Cracked, possibly broken, ribs. His legs... Broken... In numerous places. And his back... There's noting left of it. Ripped open. Gonna scar" Bruce listed off, "How long till the ambulance gets here?".
"8 Minutes" Came a definite reply and I turned slightly to see Natasha flipping her phone shut. Where was Clint? And Thor? And... And Pepper... Where was Pepper?
"8 minutes... He doesn't have that long" Bruce muttered, gently turning me back onto my back.
I winced, smiled slightly, "Y-you'll remember t-t-the roses right-t?".
"Don't you fucking DARE speak like that" he hissed, "We are NOT discussing your funeral Stark".
"M'kay. Pep k-knows everythin' anyways. S'alright" I mumbled, letting my eyes flicker shut only to be shaken harshly a few minutes later.
"Tony Stark if you even THINK about dying right now I will personally chase you threw hell and back" Natasha warned.
"But it's... It's s-s-so cold" I stammered, shaking violently. Cold... So cold... Like a knife... No Tony. You are NOT going to thi- Too late.
I rolled over on my stomach, ignoring the burning that shot through my back, pushing myself up slightly before throwing up. And throwing up again. And again.
"Hey, shhh, it's ok" Bruce said softly, gently brushing back my hair, "Ambulance will be here soon. They'll have blankets and sheets and quilts and maybe even coffee".
"M don't w-want coffee" I mumbled, "M'ant scotch. L-lots of s-scotch".
He laughed slightly, "Scotch burns better. But yes, you can have scotch. But only if you get threw this alive alright?".
"T-they have s-scotch in h-hell aswell though, d-don't theys?" I said and he frowned, "Tony. You got to survive here. Chances are next to nothing judging by your current injuries. But your a fighter. And you'll come out the other side as good as new".
I smiled, my eyes flickering again, "S'nice t-talkin to yous Brucie". I briefly heard shouting and... Screaming... There was screaming as well... Then someone was shaking me... And then... Then everything faded to nothing... And a blackness took over...
I wish I could say I woke up in a hospital bed, all bandaged up, and surrounded by my loving family and friends. But I can't. One, because my wishes never come true. Two, because I didn't have any family. And Three, my mind refused to let me black out like I wanted. No, I woke up when the ambulance arrived. Well... I wasn't fully awake... I was kinda... Subconsciously awake... I didn't have any control control over my body, but I could still see, I could still hear, I could still talk... And I could still feel the pain. The burning pain which took over all of my senses. It took everything I had not to cry out. Then the pain became too much and I drifted into the blackness again.
When I next woke, I was being wheeled through the hospital on a stretcher, doctors and nurses on either side, talking frantically about blood loss and hypothermia and blah, blah, blah doctor stuff. Then they lifted me onto another stretcher and fuck, did that hurt. Then the nearest doctor mumbled something to me, I only caught a few words, before I was drugged with morphine and the icy liquid knocked me out.
Slowly, I flickered open my eyes, shutting them immediately again when I was hit with a blinding light. Giving it a few minutes to adjust to the lighting, I opened my eyes again and glanced around. Hospital. I was in a hospital... Oh yea. The whole play fighting-gone-wrong thing with Clint. I never wanted to see water again. EVER.
Someone stirred next to me and I looked over at the chair next to my bed. Hey, Thor was here. When he saw me staring back at him, his froze, only for a split second, before a huge grin spread over his face.
"Man of Iron, you are alright?" He asked and I couldn't hold back a laugh, "Thor buddy, Iv never been better".
"That is fantastic. I shall tell the others" he replied. Poor guy didn't understand sarcasm. Never-the-less, I was grateful he was here. He quickly stood up, patting my shoulder before practically bouncing, yes I did say bouncing, out of the room. I stared after him for a minute before looking down at myself. My left leg was heavily bandaged, and I could feel more cloth wrapped around my chest. And then there was my back. From waist up, it was bandaged, and I could feel the stitches beneath it. I could barely feel anything. Drugs. The morphine still hadn't worn off. How long had I actually been here for? It could have been minutes, hours, maybe even days. I shivered involuntarily and managed to pull the blankets up further from my waist. Hypothermia. That's what the doctors had said. Screw that, it's what BRUCE had said. And I trusted Bruce a lot more than those white-coated strangers.
I looked up sharply as the door reopened and the others stood in its frame. Nothing happened for a few seconds before Clint barged past and ran over to me, puling me into a tight hug, "Jeasus Christ, Tony I'm so sorry".
I pulled back, staring at him, "Sorry? For what? I still owe you 500 bucks".
He frowned, "What?".
I grinned, "I bet you 500 dollars that I wouldn't have fun. You bet me 500 dollars that I would. And you won".
He gave an abrupt laugh, "Are you fucking mad? Do you even realise that you almost died?".
"...Yes and yes" I replied and he smirked, collapsing down in the chair next to me as the others slowly walked in, "Your one fucking crazy bastard Stark".
I laughed slightly, looking around before frowning, "Where's Pepper?".
"She's..." Bruce trailed off.
"She panicked when Clint dragged you over... You weren't breathing..." Natasha explained, "She's fine, don't worry, just got a fright. A very bad fright. So we sent her back to the tower and she is currently driving over here".
Right. Peppers ok. That's all that matters. She's alright.
"... How are you feeling?" Bruce asked after another few minutes and I smirked, "I don't know. It's difficult to explain. Almost as if I... Drowned".
He smiled slightly, "Still making jokes. Thought the shock might prevent that, but... Nope. Same as always".
"Your... Unnaturally cheery" Natasha said slowly and I grinned, "As Legolas said, I almost died... I thought I WAS going to die... It changes your perspective on things. Big time".
She frowned, before smirking again, "Legolas also said your a crazy bastard".
"That, I believe too" I replied and she laughed, "For once Stark, I think I might actually agree with you".
