Chapter 10

Steve tried to keep Tony awake, but it just wasn't happening.

"Tony, Tony!" He cried out, as Tony's head lolled against his shoulder, "Stay with us, come on."

Tony took one last, tired, just exhausted, depressed look, that made Steve crease up his face, his eyes hurting, and then Tony just passed out, as Steve caught him in his arms and held onto him.

"We're landing," Clint announced, coordinating the quinjet to slowly touch down on the helipad of the hospital. Bruce had got some bandages, and with slightly shaky hands he tried to attend to Natasha, who also looked tired and weary, and Steve stood up with Tony's dead weight in his arms as the quinjet stopped, the doors rising open, onto the roof of the hospital.

Clint had sent out a message that they would be arriving, and as soon as they hurried to the door to the lift, there were paramedics with the hospital wheelie beds.

As soon as the bustle of them were in the elevator and seconds later entered the busy, loud and bright contrast of the hospital halls, the nurses and doctors were calling out, quickly taking away Tony to an emergency room, where they couldn't go with him.

Natasha refused to go with another doctor. The doctor seeing to them recognised them as the Avengers, and straight away knew they were going to be quite stubborn to deal with.

Eventually, with Bruce, Nat was taken to a medic room, where her wound was tended to, needing a few stiches.

Steve was left with Clint to stare after them all taken behind closed doors, in the hands of the expert strangers. Another paramedic checked Steve and Clint out, but they were fine apart from a few cuts, bruises, and they were very dirty, most of the blood on their suits not theirs, and they got some wipes to sterilise the cuts, but they were only worried about their friends. Apparently, Tony had his own personal doctor who was called in by the hospital, getting their quickly, to assist with the team.

Clint doesn't know exactly what's going on with Tony and doesn't pry, but he knows it was something that happened before tonight, something personal, maybe to do with those people. Though the rest of his team were all pretty secretive about it, so he figured he's probably better off not knowing. He and Steve just had to wait in the lobby with the doctors and nurses rushing about, nothing more to do but look at each other grimly, sit and wait.

Eventually, Natasha is cleaned up, with very minimal painkillers, against what Bruce and the doctor both advised, reluctantly giving her the lower dose, but Bruce understood, and stayed with her. When she gets out, a bandage around her waist, Bruce helping her, his eyes still pretty wide and afraid, she looks at Clint and Steve, and nods to say she's ok, then motions Barton over. She is soon on the phone to Fury, with Clint next to her.

Fury seems annoyed that she didn't tell him – but still, she reports back to him, though she doesn't need to – but he is glad that the people are dealt with, and for the files that she says Tony now has, and Fury asks for them. Natasha says she will give them to him as he can keep them secure, and perhaps they can work a team in helping people and finding any others in association with Ms Perrimore. But obviously with the exception of Tony's – Jarvis is under strict orders about keeping certain files safe. Clint doesn't exactly know what they're talking about, but he knows Fury is pissed a lot of the time, and he trusts Natasha to deal with it.

Bruce barely gets a drink before he goes straight to where Tony is being treated by the doctors, Steve hot on his heels, but frustratingly, he's not allowed far. But he gets them to tell him something, at least.

"He's alright," Tony's doctor says, and Steve nods, expecting more, "His wounds are few and not very deep, he only needed a few stiches. He's currently resting, probably will sleep for the night, and he should be ready to go tomorrow. He's on medication, and everything's being looked after – we cannot tell you more at this point without his say, but - you don't need to worry."
Steve nodded slowly, looking to Bruce, who pursed his lips, and they looked through the window of Tony hooked up an IV, looking sound asleep, miraculously.

"Do they-" Steve asked, swallowing, "Do they know?"

"They know enough," Bruce replied, rubbing his chin, looking through the window, "Doctor Michaels will talk to him tomorrow; he's good, he's known Tony for a really long time. He'll sort him out. Probably recommend him to back to a therapist, but ah, I'm not sure he was that cooperative last time. You know Tony."

Steve was sullen. He felt rotten. He couldn't stop looking through the window, hoping Tony wouldn't have a bad dream again, but there were no signs he wasn't peacefully sleeping. He blinked suddenly, and sat down just outside, running a hand through his hair. Bruce sat next to him, and after a while began to drift off to sleep, his head leaning back on the chair. Natasha came back after a while, her eyes big and blue, contrasting with her fiery hair. You could tell from a mile away she was scared, and she was scared for Iron Man, the steel armour not enough to protect him this time.

She sat next to Steve, and Clint sat next to her, and instead of falling asleep on a hospital bed like she could have done, she rested her head heavily on Steve's shoulder, and she held Clint's hand, and he clasped back with a grimace. He looked to Steve, and motioned to Tony's room.

"He gonna be alright?" He asked quietly, not knowing the extent of what was going on.

But Steve nodded, his eyes far away, looking to the little window to Tony's room.

"I hope."

Tony woke up to a dim light, the dream just on the tip of his tongue, the front of his mind, before it was forgotten, unable to grab it from its reach. It wasn't exactly a bad dream, but he just – there was something about it, he wanted to go back there, to forget this reality, but then he realised where he was, what had happened, and how his body felt so weak. He looked up, blinked a few times to adjust and frowned. They had made it to the hospital…he sighed, and something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He looked up to see a sight.

His team, the avengers – Earth's Mightiest Heroes – were all leaning on each other, sleeping, some of them with their mouths open, and slouched uncomfortably on the hospital chairs, outside his room. He had to smile fondly, when Steve opened his eyes tiredly and looked at Tony, his face lightening up, as Tony relaxed back against the pillows. He allowed him a small smile, nodding to say he was ok to Steve's worried look, at least for now he was, and he was glad that they were there, looking out for him. Soon after the nurse quietly came to check his vitals and gave him a reassuring smile, he felt the pull of the painkillers lulling him back into a blissful, dreamless slumber.