Hey guys! Sorry for the delay on this chapter but this is all I could get done. I just started a new job so I've got to get used to the schedule, but it won't be too much of a problem I hope. Anyway, on to chapter Eight!
Chapter Eight
Natasha's POV
The waiting room outside the infirmary of Fury's most recent underground S.H.I.E.L.D base is silent, empty except for myself and the billionaire sitting in the chair next to mine. Steve and Bucky had to leave as soon as we touched down, they're still fugitives after all, and they didn't know who they could trust to keep their arrival a secret. Apparently they have a safe place to go until all of this blows over. Scott, Wanda, and Sam were all taken to the infirmary the second we landed, Clint as usual refusing to let a doctor look at him until he knew that everyone else was taken care of.
Now the four of them are either in surgery or in a hospital bed for observation, much to the protest of both Sam and Clint. Scott passed out right before we arrived and Wanda is still a little bit out of it, so they haven't complained about their accommodations. The doctor came in a few minutes ago and gave us the diagnosis for each of them. They all will heal physically after some therapy, there shouldn't be any lasting effects from anyone's wounds, but he didn't say anything about their emotional state. Clint and Sam I'm not as worried about, both of them had at least some training on how to handle this type of situation. It's Scott and Wanda that have me the most concerned.
Scott has no training whatsoever, he just got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Wanda's still just a kid, she shouldn't have been put in the position to see one of her team mates tortured right before her eyes. I'll have to keep a close eye on the two of them in the days to come to make sure they come out of this ok.
Tony shifts in his seat and I glance over to see him wringing his hands together nervously.
"Stark?" My voice seems to snap the man out of his daze and he turns to me.
"Hmm?" I give him a questioning look and he shakes his head. "I'm fine." He looks away and goes back to wringing his hands, only it's less noticeable this time. After a few moments of silence, he speaks up again.
"They're never going to forgive me."
"Well you gave them a pretty good reason not to." The hostility in my tone is obvious and Stark sighs.
"If I had known what Ross was going to do to them I never would've..." I cut him off, anger that I've been trying to suppress resurfacing.
"Thrown them in prison? Betrayed them? Turned them into fugitives."
"I didn't betray anyone. They turned their backs on me by siding with Steve."
"Turned their backs on you?! You asked them to give up everything they believe in! You put them in the position where it was either you or Steve!" I stand from my seat, rage filling me. "And you know what, I wish I'd chosen Cap." Tony jumps up.
"Well then why didn't you?! Why did you pick me over him?!"
"Because I thought you were right." I hiss menacingly. "I thought that we needed to be reigned in to keep people safe, to keep people alive. But if that means that we have to sacrifice some of the last good people in this world, then it isn't worth it!" I take a step away from him, trying to calm myself down. It doesn't work.
"All that Clint, and Steve, and Wanda, and everyone else wanted to do was help people and you treated them like criminals. You told them that they were no better than the monsters we fight." Stark throws his hands up.
"Maybe we're not! Maybe we're just as bad as they are!" I'm caught off guard by his outburst.
"What the hell are you talking about? We're nothing like them."
"Every time we get involved, innocent people die. Tell me that doesn't make it sound like we're the bad guys." I shake my head.
No Tony, we're not the bad guys. In fact, the people you threw in prison are some of the few remaining decent people in this world. Yes, people die but that's nothing compared to how many we save. We put our lives on the line for these people but you can't save all of them, that's the hardest part of the job."
"Or maybe we're just not that good at our job." I level a glare at him. "We're supposed to be the good guys, but the people we try to help always end up dead."
"So your solution to us not living up to your standards is to throw them in jail? To turn them over to some bloodthirsty general with a grudge?!" I take a step forward, enraged. "You let your team mates be beaten just because you thought they weren't doing their jobs?" Stark glares at me.
"That's not true! I didn't know what Ross was going to do to them!"
"The hell you didn't! What did you think was going to happen? That he was just gonna let them sit in their cells?" Tony takes a step forward so we're standing face to face.
"I don't know what I thought! But I'm not responsible for what he did to them."
"You might not have been the one holding the knife, but you damn well didn't stop it." I point towards the infirmary doors where my friends are being treated. "You did this to them." Tony shakes his head.
"That is NOT my fault! They knew what would happen if they sided with Cap, they chose their own fate. Don't try to pin that on me." My blood boils as he speaks.
"That's not your fault? That's not your fault?! Stark everything that's happened has been because of you!" My hands clench into fists. "I thought you were trying to make things right, I guess I should've known better." Without another word I turn my back to him and walk into the infirmary, ignoring his angry shouts.
I walk in just in time to see Scott being wheeled into a room by a doctor and I follow them, eager to know the man's condition. I enter the room just as the doctor is walking out and I catch his arm.
"How is he doc?" My anger at Stark is quickly being replaced by concern for my friends and I sigh when the doctor answers.
"He's going to be fine, just needs a few weeks to recuperate." I nod as he leaves, my eyes landing on both occupants of the room. Scott is passed out, fresh out of surgery, and Clint is sitting on top of the sheets of another bed, already going stir crazy. He smiles when he sees me.
"Hey Nat." I grin at the lopsided smile, they've got him all kinds of drugged up.
"Hi Clint." I come to sit down on the edge of the bed and he scoots over to make room for me. His gaze travels to Scott and his smile falters.
"How're the others?" I place a hand on his shoulder, sensing his rising unease at the sight of his wounded team mate.
"They're ok. Wanda and Sam are in another room, but they'll make a full recovery." He lets out a relieved breath before leaning back slightly, his frown deepening.
"And Stark?" I shake my head.
"Don't worry about it." I can see his eyelids beginning to droop, the drugs already starting to take effect. "You need to rest." Clint shakes his head stubbornly.
" 'm not even t'red." He yawns through the sentence, glaring when a grin creeps onto my face.
"Sure you're not." My partner continues to try and keep his eyes open, but he's failing miserably. Finally he leans back onto the thin mattress and I watch as his eyes fall closed.
"I'm n't t'red." He mumbles as he dozes off and I shake my head. The smile slips from my face when my eyes land on the bulky bandages that are clearly visible through his shirt, a testament to the horrors Ross committed while he was in prison. I glance over at Scott lying in the bed across the room and sigh. It's going to be a long road of recovery for them, especially after everything they've seen. But for now all I can do is wait and see how they come out of this.
Well that's it for chapter Eight! I hope you enjoyed it, sorry if it's a little bit short. The ne t chapter will be up in a few days. Reviews are welcome and appreciated.
