Chapter 10

It was over an hour before the medical team were ready to move Tony. They wheeled him past the area where the team were waiting; Steve stood up and looked down on his friend as they passed. He didn't look good, laid on the gurney, a neck brace on, Steve wasn't sure why; plus an oxygen mask strapped to his face, the remaining visible skin black and blue and green and yellow, an eye swollen shut on itself, the rainbow of bruising only broken by cuts and scrapes and blood. A sheet covered his body, a drip line led under the sheet towards his arm, and some kind of protective casing covered his leg and foot. Steve held his breath as they passed.

"How is he?" Clint called as the medics rushed into the private elevator, ignoring the presence of the team. One of the nurses responded as the doors began to close. They didn't answer. It was clear they were in a rush.

"Well," Clint sighed, "I guess that means were not allowed to ride with him in the ambulance."

"Chopper," Natasha corrected, "they'll be taking him by chopper."

Steve sat back down shakily. "He just looks so... Bad."

Jarvis spoke up. "Sir has suffered multiple serious injuries, Captain, but at present his life isn't in immediate danger, his vital signs have stabilised."

"Thanks. They're taking him to the private hospital Pepper spoke about?" Steve asked, to clarify.

"Yes. Sir will be taken into surgery immediately, first to remove the bullet wound in his shoulder, then to attempt to rebuild the shattered bones in the calf, ankle and foot."

"Jesus", Clint muttered. "That's gonna cost a fortune," he added, trying to lighten the mood.

"Has Pepper been notified that they're on their way?"

Jarvis sounded slightly annoyed. "Of course. She is already on her way and will arrive approximately seven minutes before Sir."

"Come on," Natasha said, "Let's go, we need to be there."

Steve sighed, "I should probably fill Fury in, he doesn't know that we recovered Stark, and he needs to know that the intel is compromised."

Natasha glared, fire in her eyes. "I think Fury can wait."

"Yeah," Steve admitted, swallowing heavily, "I'll call him from the hospital."

They arrived at the private hospital over twenty minutes later. After passing through some security checks, including one from an overly twitchy young man who asked for Steve to vouch for the others, which amused Clint and infuriated Natasha, they headed inside.

Once inside Clint was surprised to see the facility was just a standard hospital, well, a lot smaller than a regular hospital, and a hell of a lot nicer. "Jeez," he whispered to Natasha as Steve headed over to the reception area, "Next time I'm in the SHIELD Med Bay, I want to go here. You think Stark could foot the bill?"

"It's the only way you could get treatment here; you sure as hell can't afford it."

"Yeah," he agreed, "I'm sure I could sweet talk him."

Steve approached the young woman manning the reception desk.

"Hi, were friends of Tony Stark," he said sheepishly, suddenly feeling self-conscious in his uniform.

The young woman smiled and made a show of looking him up and down. "Of course you are," she replied.

Natasha snorted.

"Can you tell me where I can find him?"

"Of course, Captain," she smiled. "Take a left down the corridor, second room on the right has been cleared to be used as a waiting area."

"Thanks."

As the three made to head towards the corridor, the lady called out to him, rushing over. "Captain, you uh, dropped this," she said, holding out a crumpled piece of paper.

"Oh," he said, taking it. "Thanks."

They headed off down the corridor, Steve opening up the note as he moved.

"It's just a number," he said, confused, "Does it belong to either if you?"

"Nope," Clint smirked, "I'm pretty sure it belongs to you. But I'll take it, if you don't want it."

"I didn't drop this," Steve said, still confused.

"No you didn't," Clint said, still smirking.

"Huh?"

Natasha took pity on him. "It's the lady's number, oldest trick in the book."

"Oh," Steve blushed, then folded it up and put it in his pocket." Maybe I'll keep hold of it," he said, and Clint bursting out laughing, before remembering why they were here and quietening down again.

They found the room, and Pepper in it, alone, red eyed, clearly upset and not expecting to be interrupted.

"What's wrong? Is it Tony, is he…" Steve tailored off as Pepper rubbed at her eyes whilst shaking her head furiously.

"Everything's fine," she muttered, taking a deep breath, then letting it out. "Well, as fine as it can be." She paused to rub at her nose before composing herself. "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting anybody, or I wouldn't have been sat here-"

"It's okay," Natasha said, coming forward and rubbing a hand on Peppers arm. "What's the status now? Have they taken him in yet?"

Pepper shook her head then sat back down. Steve and Natasha took a seat on either side of her, Clint hovered in the doorway.

"Tony's still out, from whatever the people holding him gave him. The team have prepared him for surgery, as soon as the anaesthetist gets in, they're going to put him under properly and begin."

Clint perked up. "So you're waiting for some guy to turn up? Where the hell is he?"

Pepper shook her head again. "He's on his way – he was on leave."

"And they only have one anaesthetist, in a place like this? Christ-"

"No," Pepper cut in, looking embarrassed. "They have a man ready to fill in. But I refused. I'd rather wait for Dr Adams. He's the man who worked with the team when Tony had the shrapnel removed. He's one of this best in this field, and I want him. Even more so knowing Tony already has drugs in his system, I'm not taking any risks."

Clink just shrugged, wondering why it mattered. Steve spoke up, "How long will this Adams person be? Wouldn't it be better to start right away? Those wounds need treating fast. His leg… it didn't look good."

"You think I don't know that?" Pepper snapped, standing back up and beginning to pace the room. "I'm aware of the risks, but I have made the decision to wait."

Steve sighed. "Why is this such a big deal for you?" Natasha tried to get Steve's attention but he was focused on Pepper. "Surely anyone qualified can do the job? Is it status, I know fancy places like this-"

"Of course not!" Pepper said, eyes filling up again. "I just want Dr Adams. Tony and I trust him. He will do his job properly and I don't have to worry-" Pepper broke off as a young woman popped her head around the room, ignoring the rooms other occupants as she did so. "Miss Potts, Dr Adams has just arrived. He's scrubbing up as we speak; the surgery is expected to begin in the next quarter of an hour."

Relief coursed through Pepper, she almost sagged against the wall. "Thank you," she said.

"The viewing room is ready, do you want me to escort you over?"

Pepper nodded. "That would be great." She turned to face the others. "I'll update you when I can."

"We'd like to accompany you, if we can," Steve asked.

Pepper shook her head. "I'd rather be alone, and Tony wouldn't appreciate anyone seeing him like this. But I'll call you when I have news."

"Well," Steve said, trying to hide his disappointment, "no need to call, we'll wait here. Just let us know how he's doing, when you can."

Just about to leave, Pepper suddenly stopped and spun round to face them. "Where's Bruce? Is he okay, did he get hurt?"

Clint smirked. "Bruce is fine. Hulk wanted to run off some steam after we got back to the Tower."

Pepper nodded and then left the room without saying anything more. After she left Clint pulled the door shut and sat down on one of the couches, resting his head back and spreading his arms out. "What the hell was all that about?" he asked.

Steve shrugged. "It's probably the stress."

"Yeah, but wanting to wait for a specific person to help out? I didn't think Pepper was that picky; its something I'd expect from Stark, not her."

Natasha had been trying to hold her tongue but she knew she needed to speak up. "She's just trying to make the best decisions for Stark. It can't be easy. She'll calm down now he's receiving treatment."

"I don't know," Clint smirked, "it's not like she's deciding if she should turn off life support or donate some organs. Now that's a difficult decision."

"Look," Natasha said, feeling unusually defensive. "Stark has undergone extreme medical procedures before, whilst conscious. He obviously has some kind of fear about it, if they hired the best anaesthetist to treat him when he had the heart surgery. It makes sense that Pepper wants to stick with him. They want to make sure he's out for all of it."

Clint and Steve both stared at her. "What do you mean, extreme medical procedures?"

Natasha shook her head. "Look, I'm not going into details, Stark doesn't even know I know. I found out a lot of information that's not in his official file when I was undercover at SI. He was awake and fully conscious when they put that thing in his chest."

"Why didn't we know about this?" Steve asked.

"Come on," Natasha snapped, "Tony's private, he isn't going to broadcast this. And I only pieced together the basics - I've no idea what they did, or how, but it was when he was missing, and it sure as hell can't have been pleasant. I know Pepper spent two days interviewing potential anaesthetists before he had it taken out last year, so I'm guessing he's scared of repeating the experience. Pepper's just trying to do the best for him."

"But Stark won't know who knocked him out!" Clint argued.

"He would if he woke up during one of the surgeries."

Clint shut up, Steve rubbed a hand over his face, Natasha folded her arms over her chest. The conversation was over; now they just had to wait.

I'm sorry this has taken me so long! And it's really just a filler chapter. But more Tony to come soon, and the next chapter won't be long, I promise!

Thanks for reading :)

As always, please review!