Riding Out the Day's Events

Chapter 10: "I enjoyed the sunrise a lot more yesterday."

The Avengers and Darcy wait to see if Steve will recover.

oooooooooo

Thor flew in through the window entry next, Natasha gracefully clinging to his side. Natasha stepped down from him as neatly as though she did it daily. Thor brushed off questions about his condition and the blood on his face as he looked into room after room in search of Jane. When he found her, he knelt by her bedside and lowered his head, "My dearest love! Can you forgive me for leaving you to the care of others while I battled the invaders? It tore my heart when I realized I harmed your wondrous head. Please assure me that you will be well! I have feared for you every minute since I joined the battle."

Jane began to cry guiltily, and nodded while apologizing over and over for her previous lack of forgiveness. The experiences of the day had put Thor's absence from her during the Battle against the Chitauri into perspective.

Falcon flew in next, holstering his guns as he entered, removing his flight goggles and staring at his fallen Captain with a haunted expression. He helped with crowd control for the medical team and stared after them as they wheeled Steve out.

Natasha watched as the medical team took Steve to the operating room. She walked over by Tony. "Come down from there, Stark." Tony deactivated his boosters. She looked into Bucky's room, and saw Darcy with him and shook her head. "You'd think she'd have learned some fear recently."

Tony replied, "he helped us today and seems to be getting something out of all of his treatments. You saw what happened when the sun set just before we got the last two by the river. Imagine if we'd waited for the civilians to get clear like Cap originally wanted!"

Darcy stood up from Bucky's side, wiped her eyes, looked at him with gratitude and concern, and moved into the hall. "Bucky remembers enough of Steve to know he'd want to do that. He was agitated for Steve, and trying to get helpful info to him."

Tony clarified, "'Bucky' is not classified as a friendly, Lewis. I had JARVIS transcribe your conversations with him for me while I directed my drones in the fight. The notes are in Cap's In-Box for him if he…" He grimaced and noted, "you're the only one Barnes talks to, so far." Darcy frowned, but nodded her understanding. When Tony chortled to himself, "Carter!" her frown deepened to a scowl.

Natasha looked skeptical. "I need more convincing than one assist. He's been under control of Soviet and Hydra scientists for too long. I'm not ready to put money on him just yet… or trust him." They saw Bucky's eyes open again as he turned his head to look at Natasha. She met his gaze with an inscrutable expression. Darcy looked between the two of them and wondered what she was missing.

Tony chuckled grimly, "you talk like I'm really trusting, and easily believe the best of people."

Natasha shook her head, "No. That's Steve, at least where Barnes is concerned." She looked at Darcy, "and apparently Miss Lewis..." Darcy stood her ground, her chin lifted defiantly.

Hawkeye burst out of the elevator, and approached. "Stark! One of your drones dropped me on the roof. What the hell's up with that? Was that you jerking me around, or did you have another control glitch?" He nodded greeting to the others. Darcy fidgeted as he approached. He noticed, and stopped far enough away that Natasha was between them.

Tony shrugged. "I'll look into it later. I wanted to be here to greet Hulk. When he popped in the other week, with those fallen SHIELD agents? We ended up with a panicked stampede, a full triage unit, and six resignations."

Hawkeye chuckled grimly. He then asked about Steve, and moved to a nearby locker and pulled out clothes for Banner as he saw Hulk calming. Hawkeye walked over to stand next to Hulk and wait. Most medical personnel skirted as far away from the Hulk as possible. Hawkeye smiled at them scornfully. Falcon took off his wing pack and stored it in the locker with his guns and other equipment, then stood with the others, looking worn-out and worried. He nodded at Darcy grimly. She wiped her cheeks dry, and tried to pull herself together.

Navarro came in bearing Jane's scan results. She had a mild concussion, a bad bump. They wanted to keep her for observation. Jane also needed rest because of her habitually sleep-deprived lifestyle, so Navarro declined Thor's urging to release her, demanding that the petite scientist have an undisturbed night's rest. She went to notify Jane. Tony snickered at the implication while Thor looked guilt-stricken, and Darcy grinned wanly and patted Thor's arm.

Banner gradually reappeared while people stared in unabashed disbelief. Hawkeye handed him sweats and a shirt. Once clothed, Banner asked for an update on Steve.

Tony replied, "You got him here as quickly as possible. No one was hurt during your entrance. They just took Cap back to the OR."

Bruce turned to Darcy, looking concerned. "Hey. You okay? I know 'the other guy' scared you earlier out on the street." He looked rueful, carefully standing back. She nodded, moved forward, and hugged the startled doctor. He hugged her in return, shaking his head. Tony shot him a look and Banner shook his head again, looking at Tony with a wry expression. Sam scowled at Tony, and was ignored.

Navarro came back from Jane's room, and looked over each person standing there. She quickly cleaned minor wounds and applied bandages. It was apparent that she knew that none of them, except Sam, would give her much time to work on their wounds, but that they tolerated quick attention.

When she turned to Darcy, she remarked, "you haven't been out of here long enough for me to recommend you skip meals, Miss Lewis."

Darcy nodded anxiously, not at all hungry while they waited for news on Steve. Navarro pointed to a waiting room down the hall, and indicated she was having food sent up for all of the people waiting for news on Captain America. Tony nodded at the agent with respectful appreciation.

The Avengers and friends filed into the room and sat. Clint and Natasha sat next to each other, legs on each others' chairs. Thor tucked-in heartily, hungry from battle exertions. Tony chattered non-stop while Bruce listened to him and wearily ate. Darcy was reminded of the photo on the wall of the Shawarma shop, except for Steve's absence and the addition of Sam, Jane (in a wheelchair), Darcy… and Bucky down the hall. Darcy tried to nibble some fruit and chicken salad. It seemed flavorless, and was hard to choke down. She had a little ginger ale, hoping it might help her stomach.

Unable to think of anything else, she asked, "what happened to Steve?"

The others exchanged glances. Sam spoke up, "We were down to the last few. Thor was lighting one up while Cap kept it pinned. Ours was doing much better. He had me, Hawkeye and the Widow cornered by the river. That tail was beating the hell out of us, and throwing Tony's drones off like flies. The tail had spikes on the end, and moved FAST. The lizard must have been ten feet tall with another eight feet of tail. My guns just wouldn't make a dent once it got dark. I may as well have been throwing jelly beans. But I was trying to distract him so Widow and Hawkeye could zap him with bites and explosive arrows. That tail tossed me into a building, and I was out cold for a few seconds. When I came to, Hawkeye had saved my ass with an arrow with a catch line… thanks, man… and was lowering me. Widow was dodging that damned tail, and Steve came plowing right into the bastard, shield flying hard. The lizard caught him full in the chest with the tail, so that the spikes punctured his gear. It slammed him down against the concrete so hard the concrete broke. We all jumped in on the lizard, and Thor joined in with lightning and fried the guy… and Cap got tossed into the water."

Jane looked at Darcy with eyes full of concern.

There was silence for a long moment. Darcy closed her eyes, and asked, "was the water cold?" Natasha nodded grimly. Darcy swallowed hard. She stood and walked over to the window and looked out.

Natasha pointed out to Sam, "you could have just told her he got hit by a tail."

Sam shook his head. "If he makes it, it's good for her to know what happened so he doesn't have to recall every detail to her himself." He gestured to her. "He's gonna want her with him, if she's willing." He glanced at Tony seriously.

Darcy looked at Sam and nodded.

Sam continued, "he couldn't stop thinking about her while we were hunting the Winter Soldier. Of all the missions for him to get distracted! I gave him a hard time, after Hawkeye explained where Steve's head was." He grinned at the memory, then added, "and they've finally started dating. He's over the moon about it." He glanced quickly at Bruce, and then turned back towards Darcy. His grin faded and he shook his head as though shocked, "IF he makes it… can't believe that there's room for doubt."

Tony growled, "he's gonna make it. He's Captain fuckin' America!" He pointed around the table and added, "Take note! I'm the only one here without a scratch on them! When I get all the drones done, we can let them get the crap kicked out of 'em while we take it easy!"

Hawkeye bristled, "first, the damned drones have to learn the difference between the Healing Ward entry and the roof!"

Thor spoke thoughtfully, "I am more impressed with your metal centurions than I expected to be, but I have concerns. If you must direct them in every altercation on Midgard, there will be no rest for you. If you create an autonomous leader for them, you risk its evolution. I have heard tales where creation turns on creator. I would not like to battle a drone made to carry out my capabilities, but also possessing the adroitness of friend Natasha, the unerring aim of friend Barton, the brute strength of Banner's inner beast, the tactical skills and fortitude of our Captain, and your dazzling intellect and daring." Jane stroked his hand, looking at him with serene pride.

Tony shrugged off Thor's concern, "my robots and creations are within my control. That would never happen."

Bruce chuckled grimly, "Yeah. Experiments never go awry, do they?"

Thor smiled gently at Tony. "Great pride goes before a great fall, my friend."

Tony bit back, "Cap took a great fall and a chest full of tail spikes because of selflessness, not pride." He looked at Darcy and shrugged, "Sorry." He turned back to the others. "Listen! I'm not getting any younger and neither are some of you. I've got stuff to live for. We're not all immortal, Thor, not even Captain America!"

Bruce chimed in, "I would love to skip the transformation. It hurts like a son-of-a-bitch." The others made sympathetic sounds.

Natasha bit out testily, "we're not gonna settle anything without Cap's input, Stark."

Tony shot her a look, and nodded, "Agreed." He looked around and pointed out, "but if drones had been out there today instead of him, he'd be on a date with Lewis or something, instead of in the operating room." He glanced at Bruce.

Darcy murmured, "we're supposed to go out again."

Sam walked over to her by the window, and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She gave him a quick smile, and turned and walked down the hallway, quickening her pace as she realized that his enhanced hearing would have enabled Bucky to hear everything.

When she reached Bucky's room, she walked over to him. She took a Kleenex from the bedside table, and wiped away the tear that had tracked down the side of his face.

He shook his head. "I don't even know why… but something pulls me to him, something they couldn't make me forget…" He swallowed hard, and Darcy shivered, trying not to imagine all that Hydra must have done to Bucky… He whispered, "I don't want him to die."

She murmured, "they say blood's thicker than water, but I think your friendship was even stronger than a blood tie. For a lot of people, the family they choose means more than the family they were born with."

He nodded and rolled the word... "family…" off his tongue as though trying it out. His look was far away, desperately searching. He murmured again, "end of the line…" and sighed heavily. His eyes were full of struggle, and a desperate desire to remember and understand.

She sighed, "I'm gonna wait where the doc will give updates first. On my way, I'll ask Navarro to assign you a cool nurse now." A tech brought a portable scanning machine into Bucky's room. Darcy smiled slightly at Bucky. "I hope whatever they're doing for you here helps you find answers, Bucky."

He nodded, his sad eyes tearing at her heart as he rasped, "maybe even a few good ones?" Darcy nodded and wiped her eyes, and then went to the nurse's station and spoke with Agent Navarro. Then, she returned to the waiting area.

Natasha was saying, "I heard rumors that SHIELD had a serum that could bring him back if the worst happens. I'll check with some old sources and see if I can get a bead on it."

As she turned to leave, Tony smirked, "tell Nick we say, 'Hi.'" His tone had acid to it and his smile mocked. Sam looked startled.

Natasha looked back, shaking her head. "Nick Fury is dead. I can show you his grave."

Tony smiled sardonically, "and his 'killer' is strapped to a bed down the hall, thus far unharmed by you?! Bullshit." He muttered, "wanna bet that grave's empty?"

Darcy thought that Tony's logic made sense. She wasn't sure who this Nick was, but if he was a friend of Natasha's… She put her hand in her pocket on her Taser, concerned for Bucky's life.

Natasha gave her a look of amused disbelief. Darcy saw Hawkeye, Bruce, and Thor look at Natasha with skeptical expressions.

Hawkeye stood and walked up to her, "don't you think we've had enough of secrets, Nat?"

Natasha brushed him off, "it's for Steve's sake that I haven't acted against…"

Tony scoffed openly.

The surgeon touched Darcy on the shoulder, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. He passed her and walked into the room, stopping in front of Tony. "If it weren't for his extraordinary enhancements, the Captain would be dead. As it is, we won't know for certain if he will survive or not until after we repair his heart completely. His aorta was compromised, as were many less-significant vessels. His lung collapsed and he was under long enough for water to get in. He was also compromised by the alien's venom entering his blood stream directly. His arms and all of his rib bones were broken, but are healing… some faster than is helpful for our efforts, so we've had to re-break." The surgeon stood still, as though afraid.

Dr. Banner asked in a measured tone, "do you have adequate anesthetic for him, considering how fast he metabolizes everything?" Darcy gasped in horror, and Dr. Banner looked at her sympathetically.

The surgeon shook his head, looking sober. "I'm afraid not. The anesthesiologists are doing everything they can to give him relief, without endangering him further. But, the pain is significant enough to be an added complication." The surgeon seemed to steel himself again as he added, "we've dropped the temperature in the operating area as low as we can to attempt to slow the metabolic and self-regenerative effects of the serum." Darcy then noted that the doctor was wearing heavy clothing under his scrubs.

Darcy felt like she'd been gut-punched. She heard a strange noise and then realized it had come from her. Sam moved past the others and put his arm around her, guiding her to a sofa. All she could think was that Steve still might die, and he was cold and in terrible pain. She wanted to scream. Jane moved to her side and took her hand, looking concerned. After a few seconds Darcy impatiently wiped a tear away and forced herself to breathe deeply. Jane got out of her wheelchair, pushed past Sam and hugged Darcy tightly. Thor moved closer and put a hand on Darcy's shoulder.

The doctor urged them all to rest and return in several hours, saying it would be at least six hours before they had new information. Darcy shook her head and pulled away from the others, remaining still on the sofa. Tony handed Darcy a fresh ginger ale to sip.

Thor and Jane started arguing, with Thor directing her to rest and Jane wanting to stay with Darcy. Darcy chimed in, "go to sleep, Jane." Thor's expression was one of gratitude.

Jane hugged her hard again, whispering, "always looking out for me. I love you." Darcy returned the hug. Jane let Thor escort her to her room in the Healing Ward. He sat in the chair by her bed to rest.

Sam asked Darcy, "you the praying type?"

Darcy looked at him blankly, and shrugged, "sort of. I mostly keep it kind of quiet." She wasn't sure God wanted to hear her thoughts at this moment. The word 'unfair' kept ringing through her head.

Sam tried to cajole her, "I was raised in a church where the ladies get as loud as their hats."

She smiled weakly. "Sounds cool! Maybe I'd like that kind of church." She shrugged. "Ma's family was Jewish, and Dad's family was Methodist … That's how his folks raised me. My parents died in a car wreck years back, and I haven't given prayer much thought since." Darcy saw Tony look at her seriously.

Natasha spoke brusquely, "we'll talk more later. I'm going to see if I can get help. I need to contact someone in Europe." She nodded once to Darcy and Sam, and then walked out. Over her shoulder she commented, "somebody make Miss Lewis get some rest! Sedate her or something. If we let her relapse, Steve's first act when he wakes up will be to kill somebody… well, to give them a deeply disappointed look, but you get my meaning."

Tony murmured quietly to Natasha, "ahead of you." She grinned and shook her head.

Darcy sat up straight, looking annoyed, "um, thanks for the sedative idea, but I'm just gonna sit here on one of these sofas. I'm not going anywhere." She was surprised that she felt so weary. She yawned, and took another sip of the ginger ale Tony had given her.

Tony gestured to a door at the back of the waiting room, and turned back to speak more with Hawkeye about the problem with the drones.

Curious, Sam got up and went to the door, opened it and nodded his head. "Now that's more like it!" He asked, "is there a light switch or something?" and chuckled as low-level lighting came on, revealing a dormitory-style room with several queen-sized beds. He turned back to Tony, "Queen-sized instead of bunks, huh?"

Tony shrugged and asked, "can you imagine Thor or Cap trying to get comfortable in a bunk bed? They're the most invulnerable of us, the most likely to be waiting while someone else is worked on…" He shook his head ruefully, considering that they were waiting and hoping for Steve to be saved.

Darcy finished her ginger ale, and went into the room, took off her shoes and laid down on one of the beds. Sam chose another, and Bruce another.

Sam shrugged and encouraged the others, "gotta give genius man props, planning ahead for us keeping close AND resting up. Good night! Try to get some sleep, guys."

Darcy lay still, listening as first Sam and then Bruce dozed off. Tony was still talking with Hawkeye in the next room.

Her brain was racing, full of images of Steve in action on the streets, Hulk raging, people getting vaporized by energy weapons, Bucky saying the word 'Stevie', and more. She thought of the feeling of being in Steve's arms, kissing him and seeing passionate intensity in his expression. But then she returned to that moment in the hall when Steve didn't answer her, blood and water pooling around him on the floor. She knew that she needed sleep, but didn't expect to get any.

When her eyes started to droop, she realized that someone must have slipped her something after all, most likely in the ginger ale. She couldn't help but laugh at herself. Tony Stark made her a drink and handed it to her, and she just took the damn thing. Imbecile move! Tony Stark never handed people things (except metaphorically handing them their ass) or took things from them! She'd seen him fighting people about it on TV.

oooooooooo

Darcy's eyes flew open and she sat upright quickly, sure that she'd heard a door open in the next room. She felt bleary from whatever they'd given her, but her heart was pounding quickly. She crept to the door and opened it, noticing that it was after 4:00 am. The surgeon was talking to Tony, who was sitting at the table, his mechanical equipment laying on the tabletop near him.

Tony turned as she entered the room. "He's stable." She nodded, unable to say anything at first. Tony asked the doctor, pointing to Darcy, "can she go see him? Having her there will mean something to him." The surgeon glanced at Darcy, and nodded. Tony gestured to another room. "Lewis, you got almost six hours sleep. Hope it helped. There are new hair and tooth brushes and makeup, clothes, and other stuff in that bathroom. Go grab a shower, freshen up, and we'll get you where you want to be."

She went into the bathroom he'd indicated, locked the door behind her, and saw that someone had brought down fresh clothes for her from her apartment. She shed her old clothes quickly and balled them up, got the world's quickest shower, not even worrying about whether water hit her face, and put on the fresh clothes, noting that the pretty top was not one she wore often because it brought too much attention, but the slacks looked great with it.

She quickly brushed her hair out, fluffing it with her fingers to bring out the waves. She brushed her teeth and put the brush with her dirty clothes. She opened a drawer and found some brand new cosmetics and put on a little eye shadow and liner and looked at the lipsticks. She almost chuckled as she noted they were all bright red, like Iron Man armor. Tony must really have a thing for that color… or maybe it was what his girlfriend liked? She didn't really care. She put a little bit on and looked at her reflection.

She was still just HER, but looked a bit more polished. A pair of high-heeled sandals had been brought down with the rest of the outfit. Her feet would be killing her if she walked far, but they were cute and went perfectly. She had never been so well put together.

When she stepped out, Sam and Bruce were both awake, looking rumpled but better than before. Sam stepped forward. "You clean up nice, girl!" Bruce smiled gently as he nodded agreement, his eyes drawn to her neckline and then lingering on her brightly painted lips, she noticed. She joined them having coffee and a bagel.

Navarro stuck her head in after a bit and asked, "are you ready, Miss Lewis?" Darcy nodded, feeling jittery. She followed Navarro, trying to avoid falling off the heels, and hoping she didn't look awkward. She heard machines as they reached an intensive care room.

Tony was standing by the bed, talking softly, "I know everything sucks right now, Cap, but we'll work on understanding the venom and let you warm up now, so those super enhancements my dad helped make can do their mojo. You're gonna pull through. Earlier I pointed out it was because you're Captain America, but I should have admitted it's because you're Steve Rogers… the guy who never knows how to give up… even when anyone else would." He looked up and flushed slightly as he realized Darcy had overheard him being sincere. He shrugged and grinned cockily at her.

He turned back to Steve. "Here's someone you'd much rather hold hands with than me, your own little glamour-gal crush. She's looking good today, too, seriously busty. Why don't you open your eyes for her and see? I mean, I understand you wanting to ignore me…" His grin faded.

He turned to Darcy. "He's stable, but hasn't regained consciousness, hasn't moved a muscle. You can hold his left hand, if you want. It wasn't injured, behind the shield. The right one is healing. Don't look too closely at that or it'll make you dizzy."

She looked at Tony with wide eyes, but couldn't resist doing what he warned against. She could see movement under Steve's skin, and it kind of made her want to scream.

Tony sighed and admonished, "Told ya!" He took a deep breath and added, "don't hug him or anything. His ribs are doing the same thing as the hand, all of 'em." He frowned and looked at the machines and the IV, eyes evaluating. He continued, "I'm gonna get Banner to work on the venom now that he's up, and then we'll work on pain management. We're gonna have to be better prepared in case Cap ever gets hurt this bad again…"

She leaned over and kissed Tony's cheek. "There you go being all nice..."

He assumed his habitual grin. "Hey! Thanks for the lipstick mark. I don't like for talk about me to die down too much." He looked down at her. "I like you, Lewis. It's good to have someone shorter than me around."

She smiled back slightly as she reached for Steve's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I like you, too, Tony. You're my last hope for someone around here who understands pop-culture references… and you do nice things for people when no one's looking."

He gave her a kiss on the cheek and groused, "I stink. I need to go get showered and check on clean-up efforts from our little adventures yesterday. I hope he wakes up soon."

She nodded shortly, hoping that Tony's optimism would be rewarded. She shivered as she listened to the low crackling and scraping noises of Steve's body healing. It was still dark outside.

Bruce entered the room a few minutes later and took a few tubes of blood, explaining, "I'm the only one cleared for gathering samples of Cap's blood. If anyone else tries, JARVIS will raise an alarm." He shook his head and murmured with concern as a bone-snap sounded. She nodded understanding, but stayed silent. Bruce patted her shoulder comfortingly before he left.

After they were alone again, she sighed and spoke to Steve, "I hope you don't feel everything that's going on with you! It seems like with no pain killers to speak of, you'd at least kick up a fuss. I sure would. I'm not good with pain. Either you're better at dealing with it than anyone ever should be… or something else is going on. I don't want to bug you by chatting you up too much. I hope you don't hear me at all right now! I'd rather think that you're sleeping peacefully."

An hour later daylight crept in. She noted sadly, "I enjoyed the sunrise a lot more yesterday."

to be continued...

Notes: Kat Dennings wears a lot of cute dresses for events, but I think Darcy would wear tops/pants more. In the Thor movies, Darcy has dressed modestly. The top part of the purple cocktail dress Kat wore for the People's Choice Awards, 2014 is what I have in mind for the blouse at chapter's end. Fanfiction Net won't let me post a link.