I heard people around me talking but I couldn't open my eyes to seem them…I felt drowsy and my eyelids were so heavy.
They must have given me something.
The intense pain I had felt earlier in the ambulance was subsiding. I could feel tightness in my chest each time I took a breath but at least I could breathe. The pain in my head had faded to a dull ache. I couldn't even feel the pain in my left arm…scratch that; I couldn't even feel my left arm. I knew I should be worried about that but I was just too tired to care at that moment. I could hear the steady beat of my heart on the monitor.
I finally opened my eyes and immediately shut them again when I saw the bright light shining in my face.
"Oh, I'm sorry dear, let me move that out of your face"
I turned my head to the left to see where the voice had come from. A nurse was standing next to my bed and I saw her reach over to tilt the light away from my face and more onto my left arm. I could see a doctor sitting on a stool, plucking glass out of small cuts that ran the length of my arm.
Well that explains why my arm is numb.
He looked up from my arm to smile at me, "Eden, I'm Dr. Stephen Larson, I'm the doctor on call here today. I've administered a local anesthesia so that we could get the glass from your arm and get it cleaned up. You won't need any stitches; we are just going to use the strips to close them up. I've already finished cleaning up the laceration on your left temple. We used the glue on it…it doesn't look like you will have any scarring"
I watched as he plucked another piece of glass and dropped it into a metal bowl on the tray next to him. I turned my head away to look at my other arm…they were giving me a blood transfusion, I could see the blood slowly running down the tube and into my arm.
"How bad?" I asked groggily.
He spent the next 10 minutes explaining my injuries to me…the tachycardia, the blood loss, the difficulty breathing. It made me feel much better knowing that I would only be in the hospital for a couple of days.
Bucky!
"My friend, the one who was here when the ambulance arrived…where is he?"
"He is outside with Captain Rogers, in the waiting room. I'm done here for now…is it okay if I update them on your condition?"
When I nodded my approval, he smiled and patted me on the shoulder, "I'll come back afterwards. Just sit tight. Ellen will come in and get your cleaned up and help you into a gown. I'm waiting to get you in for a CT scan. I want to make sure there is no internal bleeding"
He walked out of the room as Ellen walked back in carrying a gown. They had to cut my jacket and pants off when I arrived so all that was left was the blood stained shirt. She helped me carefully sit up and remove shirt from my body. She used a sponge to clean up my face, hands, and chest. She mentioned that after the CT scan, I would be moved to a room upstairs and a nurse would help me take a shower. I noticed a mirror on the tray sitting to my left and I asked for it.
"Eden, keep in mind, bruising is normal after an accident like yours…okay?
I nodded and she raised the mirror so I could see myself. I gasped when I saw my reflection. There was a cut running down the length of my left temple….I could see where the doctor had used the glue to close it up and honestly it didn't look that bad. My face was pale and I had dark circles under my blood shot eyes. The dark purple bruise covering the left side of my face is what caused me to gasp in surprise.
I turned my face away and she lowered the mirror, placing it back onto the metal tray.
"You rest now dear"
I felt a tear slide down my face. I am not, by any means, a shallow human being…but I was upset by my reflection…I looked terrible.
I laid there and closed my eyes, trying not to let it upset me. I was alive, that was the most important thing to remember.
I heard the nurse heading back towards my room and it sounded like she was talking to someone, "She's right down there, last door on your right. Five minutes, that's all. We will be taking her upstairs for a CT scan in a few minutes."
I heard someone enter my room and I opened my eyes to see Bucky standing there, a shocked expression on his handsome face.
"Bucky!" I reached out for him. He rushed to the side of my bed and gently took my hand in his, raising it to his lips and kissing it softly.
The happiness of seeing him there by my side was too much and I felt a tear slide down my cheek.
He reached up and wiped it away, "Don't cry, I'm here Eden…I'm not going anywhere" I nodded my head, not saying a word for fear that I would start sobbing like a baby.
His eyes scanned my body and I saw him flinch a bit when he tilted my head to get a better look at the bruises on my face.
"I'm so sorry Eden. I never should have left you this morning. I should have been with you in the car."
I thought back to the accident and remembered the black truck slamming into my passenger side door…if Bucky had been sitting there, he may not have survived the crash, even if he was a super soldier.
"No Bucky, don't apologize. This isn't your fault." I reached my hand up to his face and caressed his cheek.
He leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips, "I'm so glad you're okay….Eden…I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you. I mean…I…"
Steve walked into the room before Bucky could finish what he was saying, "Hey Eden, how are you feeling?"
"I feel like I got hit by a car…and I look like it to" I said, tilting my face so he could see the bruises.
"Ah, even with those bruises you're still the prettiest gal in D.C." he said, a smile on his face, "Isn't she Buck?"
"The most beautiful" Bucky whispered In my ear, laying another kiss on my cheek.
"Eden, is there anyone you want us to call…your parents? Friends?" Steve asked.
I thought about it…I still didn't want my parents to know yet. I wanted to get better and get out of the hospital before I let them know about the accident. My mom would panic and fly out here immediately and as much as I loved her, I didn't need want her here waiting on me hand and foot.
I absolutely did not want him to tell Jill. With the stress of her upcoming wedding, I knew this was not something she needed to deal with right now.
My thoughts fell on Brooke. I was supposed to help her move into her new apartment on Saturday. I wouldn't be healed up enough by then for her not to notice the bruises and there was no way I would be able to help her lift anything. I knew I had to tell her but I absolutely did not want her coming here any earlier than what she had already planned.
"Will you call my friend Brooke please and let her know what happened? Just make sure to tell her that I absolutely do not want her to come. Make her promise you Steve."
I noticed he perked up a bit when I said Brooke's name and I remembered what Bucky had said about Steve seeing her picture.
Brooke is going to owe me big time for this.
I called out her number to him and he wrote it down on a receipt he had stuffed in his pocket. He turned to leave, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket as he went.
I looked up at Bucky and saw him smirking as he watched Steve leave the room. "I haven't seen him like that since…..well since the war…with Peggy"
He looked away from the door and back to me, "When you get out of the hospital I'll come stay at your apartment and take care of you….if you want?"
I nodded my head, "I would like that"
He can stay even longer if he wants.
He let out a deep breath, "Eden….about last night…I meant what I said in the note. It was the best night of my life. I want to tell you something…I…"
The nurse suddenly appeared, pulling back the curtain, "Okay Ms. Page, it's time for the CT scan. Sergeant Barnes, I gave you way more than 5 minutes…I need to take her upstairs now. We will be taking her to room 309 as soon as the test is over, you can meet us there."
I cocked my eye at him when the nurse called him Sergeant Barnes….he shrugged his shoulders at me and smirked, "I'll be in your room when you get done", and he leaned down for one last kiss and watched as they wheeled me out to the elevator.
-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-
I looked down at the piece of paper in my hand and the number scribbled on it. I pulled out my phone and dialed the number, suddenly feeling nervous when it started ringing.
Try not to sound like an idiot Steve.
"Hello"
"Hi, is this Brooke?"
"Yes it is, who is this?"
"My name is Steve Rogers…I'm a friend of Eden's"
"Bullshit! Like I would believe Captain America would call my cell phone out of the blue…tell Eden, I don't appreciate her games and that payback will be a bitch" she giggled and hung up the phone.
I stared down at the phone in my hand in shock.
Well, that didn't go as planned.
I hit redial and listened to it ring again.
"Hey buddy, I don't have time for your games" she answered, I could hear her smile as she spoke...there was music playing in the background.
"Ma'am, this really is Steve Rogers. Please don't hang up. Eden asked me to call you. She's been in a car accident." I said in a rush, trying to keep her from disconnecting again
She paused only for a second, "What! Why didn't you say that in the first place? What hospital? I can be there in 3 hours!"
I told her about what happened and which hospital Eden had been admitted to, "She actually told me to tell you that she absolutely does not want you to come. She even told me to make you promise you wouldn't. I mean I know you're going to come, you are her friend and I'm sure you are worried about her"
"Whoa, hold on a sec. She said to absolutely not come?" she asked, hesitantly.
"Uhhh…yes ma'am"
"And she told you to make me promise you I wouldn't?"
"Yes ma'am"
"Well, that settles it, I'm not coming" she said.
"Wait, what?"
She sighed, "Listen Captain Rogers….."
"Steve…please call me Steve." I interjected.
I heard a sexy chuckle on the other end, "Okay then…Listen Steve, you don't know Eden like I do. When that girl says to do something, you do it…no if's, and's, or but's about it"
"So, you aren't coming?"
"Ha, and incur the wrath of Eden Page? I don't think so! Thanks for calling Steve, let her know I promised you I wouldn't come…oh and let her know I'll see her Saturday"
"Okay…..wait what? Saturday? I thought you just said you weren't coming?"
"I'm not coming today…but I'll be there Saturday. I just accepted a new job in DC, I'm moving there this weekend."
Yes! I can't believe this.
"Well congratulations, what's the job?"
She laughed again, that same sexy laugh, "You, actually"
"Me?"
"I'm taking over the Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian. I'll be seeing a lot of you real soon…maybe even the real you?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am, I'm sure you will. I could call you again if you would like….I mean…you know….to tell you how Eden is doing"
"I would really like that Steve, thank you"
"Good bye Brooke"
"Good bye Steve"
