Update a day early woohoo! Anyways, this chapter isn't quite as hard on the feels, and I hope it makes up for some of the pain ;) Sorry about any OOCness in this chapter, I tried my best. Again, thank you to everyone who reads and comments and favs and follows. You guys are seriously so amazing! Update next weekend, as always!
Still don't own the Avengers. Or Marvel. Or Captain America. Or any of that. Still a bummer.
Tony walked out of the Quinjet, running a hand along his face as he did so to get rid of the tears. His breath came out in shaky gasps as he struggled to hold it together. Clint, his friend and comrade and companion and fighting buddy, was dead. His body was covered by a sheet, sitting in the Quinjet mere feet away from him. He was dead and Tony was powerless to do anything. Clint was dead.
He let that thought worm its way through his brain. Tony gave himself one minute to try and accept that fact. He took a deep breath, looked up at the sky, and let it out. He had an objective. Natasha and Steve and Bruce and Thor were counting on him. Clint probably was too.
Once he found Natasha, and got both her and Steve the help they needed, then he could crumble to pieces and let the grief roll over him just like the tsunami had this country. When he found Nat, and he prayed it would be alive, he would get her and Steve out. They would survive and get better, and then Tony could deal with losing his friend. This mission took priority.
He walked over to one of the aid workers at the small medical area, not caring how disheveled he looked. "Where's the nearest hospital?" he asked, hoping that someone had found Natasha and taken her there. He would check there first, then the other aid tents. If that failed, he would dig through the rubble himself until she was found.
"Two miles down that way," the young woman replied, pointing down a street to Tony's left.
"Thanks," he said with a nod of gratitude, and took off in that direction.
He walked as quickly as he could, avoiding the rubble and debris. Tony stuck to the side of the carved out road, allowing the occasional bike and aid workers with stretchers to barrel through. Even with his goal in mind and walking as fast as he could, it still took Tony about twenty minutes to reach the hospital.
When he got there, he simply stood outside, running a hand through his hair. How the hell was he ever going to find Natasha?
The hospital was literally overflowing with patients. They were set up on the patios, in the grass, in the parking lot, even spilling out onto the street. There were simply so many people, and not enough supplies, doctors, or nurses to go around. Tony walked closer, scanning the faces of everyone he passed, hoping to see Natasha helping people, or sitting up somewhere visible. He had no such luck.
He didn't find her at all outside, and eventually was forced to go inside. All at once, the smell and the noise and the tension in the air hit him. There was a small walkway between cots for people to step through. Nurses and doctors frantically passed by him, looking tired and half dead on their feet. There was no front desk for him to check with, and he doubted that most people currently receiving treatment were on record for actually being there.
Tony looked around frantically, worried that he had missed Natasha somehow. He scanned hundreds of faces per minute, but none of them were the red haired woman. Looking past the everything, he could see multiple doors that went back hundreds of feet, where more people were located. There was no way that he could search everything.
He cleared the first room and moved on to the second. "Natalie?" he called, quietly at first. His voice soon rose to a shout to be heard over the multitude of screaming and crying. Tony figured that using her codename was better, since she would respond to it but it was still somewhat secretive. It would also let her know that it was him. "Natalie!" he called again. Several people turned their heads to look at him, then went back to whatever they were doing. Tony pursed his lips in worry, breathing out a sigh of annoyance. Where was she?
Eventually the screaming and crying and noise all became too much for his already shattered morale. No red-haired woman wearing the face of his friend appeared from among the thousands of wounded people surrounding him. "NATALIE!" he screamed. Everyone around him went absolutely silent for a few seconds before the noise started again.
Tony listened closely, hopefully for some pained call of his own name, but nothing happened. His voice had probably reached through the entire hospital, so if she were there, she would've heard. He went back to checking everyone before someone tapped him on the shoulder.
"Excuse me," the man said as Tony turned around to look at him. "You're looking for someone?"
"Yeah, sorry about the disturbance. Looking for a friend," Tony replied, nodding and scratching the back of his head. The man was in a doctor's uniform. He looked tired like all the rest, making his brown eyes and scar on his cheek stand out even more.
"Do you have a name or description?" the doctor asked, cocking his head.
"Her name's Natalie. Bright red hair, kind of small. You can't miss her," was his reply, not going too in depth.
Something shifted in the doctor's eyes. Recognition and a tinge or worry seemed to cross them before he shook his head. "I don't remember seeing anyone like that. Our manifests are so chaotic, she won't be in there."
"You absolutely positive?" Tony asked, peering around the doctor's shoulders to where he had come from; another room full of people.
"I'm quite positive. There's an aid station about half a mile down, you may want to check there," the doctor replied. There was something in his tone that Tony didn't trust, but he couldn't place what.
Tony shook his head. "I can keep looking here, then head down there, thank you," he said, trying to push past the doctor. However, the man put up a hand to stop him.
"I'm afraid I can't let you in there. More critically wounded patients are there, and we need all the space available. I just came from that wing, and I can assure you, no red haired women are there," he nodded.
Tony looked over the man before nodding slightly. "Thanks for your help," he replied and took a few steps back.
"Of course. I'm sorry about your friend," the doctor mentioned. He cast another glance at Tony before walking back into the large wing.
Tony scrunched up his face in annoyance, staying where he was. Something wasn't right about the doctor. Instead of leaving, he did what he did best; disobey orders, and continued looking.
Natasha heard McCalbert's footsteps leave the wing of the hospital, signaling her chance for escape. The tone and use of her fake name was a dead giveaway that Tony was in the hospital, looking for her. She just needed to find him before McCalbert got back. She took a few deep breaths to psych herself up. She first gently removed the IV from her arm, letting the tube swing back and forth as it dangled above the floor.
She held her breath as she sat up, ignoring the dark spots in her vision. Her stomach and lungs instantly hated the action and her head swam with dizziness. Natasha cursed herself, remembering her concussion. She had to make it to the front of the wing and out, with a hole in her stomach, a broken ankle, and a concussion.
Natasha took another breath and forced herself up off the cot, using the wall for support as she held her injured foot off the ground. She pressed up against the wall and hopped forward on one foot, gritting her teeth as she moved away from her cot.
After ten steps, she felt her wound reopen and knew that it was only a matter of time before she either fell unconscious or the doctor came back. The feeling of fiery pins and needles spread out from her abdomen, making it hard to breathe. People in their own cots watched her move closer to the front of the wing, eventually reaching the front wall.
Natasha stepped into the corner and moved quickly along the wall, stopping before she got to the doors to catch her breath. Her ankle was screaming in agony and her vision spun, but she knew that if she didn't get to Tony, there was a high chance she never would.
McCalbert stepped through the doors, obviously in a hurry, making Natasha's blood run cold. She stood absolutely still, waiting for him to turn to the side and notice her, or see her cot empty from afar. However, by some miracle, he did neither. He simply proceeded down the row of cots, obviously headed for hers, at the back of the room.
Once she would be out of his sight, Natasha slipped through the doors and into the next wing. It was more of the same thing, except with less critically wounded patients. Her blurry gaze frantically searched for Tony, who could have been anywhere in the hospital, or outside of it.
With no wall to put her weight against and no crutches. Natasha hobbled forward using the heel of her broken foot. Two more minutes passed before blood started soaking through the bandages on her abdomen. Her shirt had been cut off at her stomach to make room for the bandages, which covered the majority of her torso. She had made it nearly all the way to the front of the second wing as her levels of hope began to fall.
Natasha moved around another cot just in time to see an uninjured man spin around, looking like he was lost. For the first time in days, Natasha broke into a smile. "Anthony!" she called, hoping that he would be able to hear her. She hobbled closer, wishing that she could run, and called his name again.
The second he lay eyes on her and his face broke out into recognition, Natasha nearly collapsed to the ground out of sheer relief.
Tony was overwhelmed by the amount of people surrounding him. The grief and worry and noise all made his head spin. That was until he heard his name being shouted over everything. He immediately perked up, searching for the source of the sound. His eyes eventually fell to a woman standing in the middle of the room, looking at him with tears in her eyes.
"Natasha," he whispered, half in disbelief. Tony didn't see the blooded bandages on her torso, or her hurt ankle, or the paleness of her face. He only saw his friend standing before him, alive. He half ran over to her, stopping a foot or so away to avoid bumping into her completely. "Natasha?" Tony breathed.
She simply smirked up to him. "Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" she asked, her voice dry and cracked. Before anything else happened, she had her arms wrapped around him in a light hug. He was so taken aback by the gesture that was just so un-Natasha that he didn't reciprocate until a few seconds later.
"It's good to see you, Nat," he whispered, pulling away. A wave of uneasiness came crashing down around him as he finally realized just how pale her face was. He noticed the blood on her torso and the bandages on her ankle. He knew that it wasn't good.
"You too," Natasha replied, nodding. "But we need to leave. The doctor, with the scar on his cheek, he knows who I am and what I do. It's not good."
"I knew I was worried about something," Tony muttered, looking around for the doctor.
"He'll notice I'm gone and come looking. We need to go, now." Even in her current state, Natasha didn't bother with formalities. Questions and answers could wait until later.
"You're not supposed to be moving," came another voice directed at Natasha. The sentence could have meant any number of things, and Tony could tell that if Natasha weren't already so pale, she definitely would have turned a shade lighter. The doctor came up behind Natasha and put a gentle hand on her shoulder, as if they were old friends. "Let's get you back to your cot."
"Not a chance in hell," Natasha bit back, shifting despite her wounds to get the doctor's hand off of her. People in their own cots were watching the scene unfold, but Tony simply didn't care.
"You dirty, rotten liar," Tony muttered out, clenching his fists together and taking a step forward.
"I am only trying to be of service. Come, let me help you." McCalbert reached for Natasha's wrist, obviously gripping it forcefully but still trying to put up the image of being a caring doctor.
"The lady asked you to leave her alone," Tony responded, walking up and removing the doctor's hand from her wrist.
McCalbert stared back at Tony with fury in his eyes. "Mr. Stark, she needs to stay here for examinations. I can not allow her-"
That was as far as he got. Before the doctor could finish, Tony's fist connected with the man's face, sending him spinning and sprawling onto the small walkway between the cots. He lay in the middle of the floor, unconscious, as Tony flexed his fingers back and forth.
People were looking him up and down and other nurses had gathered, trying to decide what to do. "Yeah, this guy's not an actual doctor," Tony spoke to everyone watching while pointing towards the man at his feet.
He then turned back to Natasha, who was looking at him with what appeared to be a grateful smirk. "Didn't know you could hit so hard," she mentioned.
"Well, I have to be able to protect myself, right?" Tony replied, cocking his head slightly. He led Natasha out of the hospital, allowing her to use his shoulder for support. They started to walk down the hospital steps when Tony realized that Natasha couldn't keep going in her current state.
"This isn't working," he said, stopping somewhat abruptly.
"Tony, I'm fine, we need to go," Natasha bit out between winces, pressing the hand that wasn't on his shoulder to her wound.
Tony tilted his head, formulating an idea in his mind, trying to decide if pitching it was worth being socked in the jaw.
He didn't have to mention it, however. Natasha noticed the look in his eyes and pieced together what it meant. She shook her head when she finally gave in, realizing that it was the only option. "Jesus—be careful."
Tony nodded. "Always." Natasha bent down a little, allowing Tony to get his arm under her legs and pick her up bridal style. Natasha let out a hiss of pain and pursed her lips together, but was otherwise silent. After getting used to her weight and shifting her slightly so she didn't wince from the pain, Tony started walking down the stairs leading up to the overcrowded hospital.
"Not a word to anyone," Natasha warned.
"Situation calls for it. And I enjoy living, so we have an agreement," Tony joked, looking back to make sure the doctor wasn't following before turning quickly down the road that he had come from. His arms burned and ached from the weight, but he knew that it was a million times better than the alternative.
Halfway back, Natasha leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. The blood on the bandages over her torso had spread. "Ten more minutes, Natasha. Banner had the med table all set up."
"You guys came to get us?" Natasha asked quietly.
Tony nodded and continued walking. "We weren't about to leave you to face this by yourself. We found Steve and Clint too, they're onboard," he added, pushing past the lump in his throat. He didn't say what condition they were in, he would break that to Steve and Nat at the same time. He couldn't bear giving that kind of news twice.
Natasha sighed slightly into his shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered quietly.
"You don't have to thank me, Nat. You would've done the same for us. It's what family does." He noticed that she had slipped into unconsciousness and began walking a little faster.
After a few minutes more of walking, Tony shifted Natasha in his grasp so he was barely able to touch the earpiece comm in his ear.
"Banner?" he said, making sure the comms worked.
It took Bruce a few seconds before he responded. "Please say good news," he replied in a hopeful tone.
"Not amazing, but good. Get your supplies ready, we'll be there in ten," Tony said, breaking into a small smile.
Bruce sighed on the other end of the channel. "Alright. Yeah. Sounds good," he ended abruptly. Tony could hear sounds from Bruce's end of the comms, meaning that he was already getting everything ready.
Tony tried not to focus on the blood on Natasha's torso, or how cold she seemed in his arms. She was strong, he knew that, and she had made sure that he knew it. But that didn't stop him from worrying. One foot in front of the other, and she would survive.
Tony's heart stopped hammering only once the Quinjet was in sight.
Hope you guys liked it! I do have plans for the doctor, but it depends on how long this story goes and if you guys want to see him again or not. Please let me know, it really helps out! Guest review replies!
Guest (1/2): I didn't include the major character death warning beforehand because I wasn't quite sure what I was doing with the story when I made the summary. Thank you for the suggestion, it has been changed :)
Best Story Ever: Thank you so much for your wonderful comments! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Guest (3): If I ever decide to stop the story, or run into a block, I will be sure to let you all know. Yeah, killing Clint hurts, not gonna lie, but thanks for the support ;)
Guest (4): Lots of whump coming next chapter. Hope you stick around and thanks for your review!
CottonCandy: Lots of tears, lots of tissues. Sorry about the lack of Steve in this chapter, he'll be in the next one for sure. And I have to get Thor in more. So much to do. Thanks for your review!
Guest (5): Sorry but also not sorry. And you're an amazing friend, so shush ;)
izzie: Hope you enjoyed this chapter haha. No conversation with my cat was needed, since Tony did find her :P