"PETER'S BEEN HIT!"

The scream of Rhodey pierced Wanda as her comm filled her eardrum with the most horrific sentence she had ever heard on an Avengers mission.

There were eight of them currently taking down a Hydra remnant base, and these maniacs were some of the most dangerous yet. They were all part of a subdivision of the terrorist organization that focused on weapon production and manufacturing, especially with experimental tech and alien stuff if they could get their hands on it, making them a prime takedown target for the Avengers.

Steve and Natasha were co-leading the mission, and Rhodey, Loki, Wanda, Peter, Hope, and Scott had volunteered to come along to help them take down this faction of terrorists - after learning of the weapons they had, they were all given the chance to back down with no repercussion.

None of them had done so.

Now Wanda was wishing one of them had. So, so badly.

She pressed the button on her comm to try and communicate, but no words came out - they were caught in her throat as she took cover, and all that came out was shaky and worried breaths.

"I got him!" Hope called out, having grabbed Peter after he had fallen to the ground mid-swing. "Oh… oh God… he's out cold."

"He got hit with one of those energy cannons, the fact he's only out cold is miraculous!" Loki said, another one of his daggers finding itself lodged in a Hydra soldier.

Wanda's panicked brain only proceeded to bombard her faster with horrific thoughts - thoughts she never ever wanted to think about any of her friends, much less Peter freaking Parker, the sweetest boy she had ever met.

Suddenly, she was snapped out of her trance by a horrific realization - a bunch of Hydra soldiers had her surrounded. They were all yelling various things in German, stuff she couldn't be bothered to translate. These were the scum of the earth - people like these disgusted Wanda.

But worst of all… they had hurt Peter.

You didn't get away with that.

"Сегодня вы все познаете новую боль…" Wanda whispered, her eyes flaring up with a scarlet coat of fury, magic dancing around her fingers like fire on a pile of wood.

The soldiers all raised their guns at her as she stood up - there must've been ten at least - but as her magic flowed towards them in a mystifying wave, they were all thrown into the sky and back onto the ground with force; weaponry, and more than likely bones as well, shattered on the stone ground.

And then, she looked up to see the rest of her fellow Avengers retreating from the base - Natasha had some sort of detonator in her hand, and Scott's helmet-less face looked panicked beyond belief.

Reality hit her again like a brick, and she found herself unable to move…

"WANDA!" Steve called out urgently, bolting over to the young woman and putting his shield over her head. "WE NEED TO GO!"

She was snapped out of her trance almost immediately by Steve's urgent voice, and she began to run alongside her teammates. Loki even seemed panicked by the fire raining down upon them as they bolted back to the Quinjet, where Hope and Rhodey were already stationed with Peter…

Would she even be able to look at him? Would it all be too much?

Wanda absolutely hated when her mind ran a million miles an hour like this, but she couldn't do anything but run and worry as they sprinted to their getaway.

Finally, the blue ship that seemed like the most appealing sight on earth came into view… they were almost out of here.

"BLOW IT TO HELL!" Rhodey shouted once they were in sight.

Natasha slammed the bright, red, and obvious button on the detonator, and tossed it to the ground. The five remaining Avengers practically leapt into the Quinjet as the explosives they had planted went off, hopefully blowing the last of those thugs to hell and back.

"Where's Peter?" Loki, of all people, asked first. The jet was being piloted by Rhodey, and only he and Hope had seen Peter's condition so far.

"He's here!" Hope called out.

She was cradling Peter's maskless head in her lap… he looked awful. Covered in sweat and with blood clotting from a cut on his face, and his curls were a mess…

Wanda's heart shattered at the sight.

"P-Peter?" she whispered, sitting next to the woman and shakily saying his name. "C-Can… Can you hear me?"

Peter mumbled something, even just barely, but she could barely make it out.

"He got knocked out of the sky with one of those energy cannons," Loki said, placing a hand on his forehead. "It's a miracle he's not-"

"D-Don't, don't you say it," Wanda said, her Sokovian accent thick and harsh. Then, her eyes softened. "...I-I'm sorry…" Loki nodded, understanding her emotional state.

"He's going to be okay," Natasha quietly assured Wanda, placing a hand on her shoulder. "He's a tough one, aren't you buddy?" Peter didn't respond, but the fact that he wasn't crying out in pain was at least somewhat reassuring…

"Let's get him to a more comfortable area," Steve said quietly. "Hope?"

"Gotcha," Hope said, letting Steve gently pick up and cradle Peter as he took him to a softer area to rest. Wanda covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to get emotional - she sighed shakily, fanning her eyes.

"Will he be okay, Steve?" she heard Scott ask softly.

Steve sighed deeply, looking down at Peter with regret that he couldn't have helped - a feeling shared mutually around the jet. "I hope so, Scott. He's in God's Hands now."

-0-

Everyone was an anxious wreck as they waited for Bruce and Dr. Cho's diagnosis.

Back at the Tower, the entire team was now present - Tony and Pepper had dropped what they were doing business-wise to immediately come and make sure Peter was okay. The remaining Avengers - Thor, Clint, Vision, Sam, and Bucky had all gathered with the team as well.

Finally, Bruce and Helen emerged.

"He's going to be okay," Helen said, smiling but with some sadness in her eyes.

"I take it there's a but?" asked Tony, trying to be optimistic, but the obvious was obvious.

Bruce nodded. "He cracked two ribs and sustained a concussion. It's a miracle he didn't sustain more damage… but the damage he did sustain is very unique. To try and help him recuperate quicker, he's been put into a medically induced coma."

"He what?!" Sam exclaimed. "I'm not a doctor, but isn't that for like, life threatening stuff?"

"It was either that, or he slept and recovered even slower," Helen said. "The nature of the wound he sustained with the energy cannon's blast was… unique. Making a unique injury type by consequence."

"How long will he be out?" asked Bucky.

"Most likely two weeks," Helen said.

"I could take him to New Asgard and see if our healers could help," Thor suggested.

"As much as we wanna do anything to help Peter," Bruce said, meaning every word, "it's best for him and, honestly, for us that he stays here."

Covering up being in a medically induced-coma was probably gonna be pretty hard to hide… thankfully it was the summer, right?

"I'll contact May about this," Pepper sighed deeply. "Oh, the poor woman…"

One by one, all of the Avengers began to file out of the room, carrying the solemnity of the whole situation with them as they left. They tried to remain in good spirits, but how do you do that when the youngest one of your team is recovering in a medically induced coma from a cracked rib and concussion?

The last one to leave was Wanda…

She just felt so bad about not being able to protect him.

She knew the circumstances were beyond her control - he had gotten knocked out of the sky like, a quarter mile away; even still she felt like she should've been able to help. Her face remained down and droopy as she left the room, to try and take her mind off of this whole situation, even for a bit.

Right from the get-go, she could tell that was probably not possible.

-0-

3:24 AM

She couldn't sleep.

Her mind was constantly plaguing her with dreadful thoughts of never seeing Peter's beautiful, kind and caring eyes flutter open ever again. Never getting to laugh at him about things known as 'memes' she didn't fully understand yet, but was slowly getting there. Never getting to snuggle up with him on the couch and watch a classic Hollywood film, marveling at the talent of old stars that was hardly recognized these days.

She sighed… there was only one thing that could calm her raging thoughts.

Wanda got up, her pajama shirt and pants keeping her safe from the sudden chill of the room without her blanket, slipped on her slippers, and walked softly out of her room.

The elevator ride was quiet, but her head was still screaming. She just had to get to him…

As she reached the floor where Peter rested, she softly walked around, looking for the room he was in… the beeping of a heart monitor from a room where the door was slightly ajar.

When she walked in, she didn't know how to describe the feeling she felt.

So she would describe the sight - Peter was hooked up to a heart monitor, breathing steadily and resting peacefully. He looked cleaner than before, but the damage was still evident. There was bruising on his cheek and his arm, probably from the blast…

"Oh Peter," Wanda softly said, walking to the other side of the room.

She pulled up a spinning chair that was at a desk to his bedside, and then softly took a hold of his hand - her touch barely had any grip, but their skin connecting gave Wanda a feeling… a feeling of hope.

Especially when, by accident, she activated her powers - she realized Peter was dreaming…

Hehehe, Mr. Barnes is accusing Mr Wilson of stealing his socks… little do they know Mr. Loki has been switching them around for WEEKS! Oh this is gonna be rich… Man, I wish Wanda could see this argument.

Wanda smiled, brushing her fingers gently over Peter's palm…

"Rest well, Peter," Wanda said gently, bringing her lips to the back of his hand to make sure, if there was a chance Peter was able to feel, he knew he was being loved just as much as before this.

Wanda then leaned back in the chair, and closed her eyes gently…

Today was a day, for sure…

-0-

I really hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! I promise it gets fluffier from here, hehehe. Maybe also... a tad more romantic, huh? ;)

I would so appreciate and love a review if you'd be so kind as to drop me one! Any and all feedback is loved and appreciated. *heart emojis* I love you guys! See you all next chapter!