The first thing I heard was a steady beeping that was high pitched and hurt my ears. The next thing was people whispering and deep breathing. The last was liquid dripping into more liquid. I opened my eyes to see the same white tiled ceiling that held me captive for two weeks. My heart started to race and with it, the high-pitched beeps lost their rhythm.
"Jayson? Fuck man, calm down." Clint said, his face appearing over me.
I focused trying to slow my heart rate.
"Good boy," Steve said with a sleep laden voice.
Upon hearing Steve's voice my body relaxed," What happened, what's going on?"
"You've been in a drug-induced coma for three days," Clint said. "You're injuries were bad."
"Drug-induced Coma," I repeated slowly.
"Do you remember anything?" Natasha asked carefully.
My brow furrowed,"No."
"That's normal, you have a concussion." A new voice said. "I'm Doctor Paige Allen. Fury hand picked me to make sure you make a quick and painless recovery as possible."
"Recovery from what?" I asked trying to get up. I noticed that my left arm was mostly immobile and my right leg would move at all.
"I'll let your teammates explain that but first I need you to answer some questions." Dr. Allen said. " First are you in any pain?"
"No," I answered.
"Good, what's your name?" She questioned.
"Jayson Moore." I was quickly getting bored.
"What's the last thing you remember?" She almost hesitated.
"Talking to Steve about where I came from," I answered not giving too much away.
"That was the night before our mission," Steve told her.
"Alright, it's just a case of short term memory loss. Common with a mild concussion. For the next week or so he maybe a bit confused or disoriented. As long as you make sure he follows my directions he'll be fine." She said smiling at the others.
"What's your directions?" I asked not liking to be so dependent on them.
"Alright, you cracked your right femur and shattered your right foot. You'll need a wheelchair for a while. You also broke the left side of your collarbone and pulled muscles in your wrist. You won't be able to lift anything heavy for a while. You also broke two ribs on your left side and one on your right and you have fifteen stitches just under your hairline on your forehead." She explained. " You need lots of rest."
"We'll make sure he does what he needs to," Natasha said.
"Alright, I need you two to fill out some paperwork." She said whisking Natasha and Steve away.
"I know you don't remember doing it but thanks for saving me," Clint said.
"Uh, you're right. I don't remember but you're welcome." I said. "Will you please explain what happened?"
"Sure thing dog boy," Clint said before telling me the story of how I saved his life.
I was confused, not because of the concussion, or because of what he told me but because I couldn't wrap my head around anyone else risking their life to save mine. My life wasn't worth theirs, it wasn't worth Tony's or Steve's. I sighed as they came back with a wheelchair.
"You'll be in this until you can walk again," Steve said giving me an apologetic look.
I just nodded as Dr. Allen unhooked the heart monitor and the I.V. Steve helped me up and into the chair and thanked Dr. Allen. He pushed me out to a vehicle and helped me in.
The drive back to the house was long and silent. Nobody wanted to say anything that could upset the very fragile balance. Everyone was tense for unknown reasons. Steve sat beside me ridged, while Natasha drove with her eyes never leaving the road, and Clint played with the bandage on his arm that hid the stitches that my teeth had caused. I felt Steve's hand twitch beside me and my body tensed.
"Here you two are. Steve, do you need help getting Jayson into the house?" Natasha asked when she pulled up in the driveway.
"No thank you, Nat, are you going to pick up his prescriptions on your way back?" Steve questioned.
"yeah."
Steve got me into the house and we sat in the living room awkwardly. I wasn't sure why everyone seemed to tense. Things were fine.
"Is something wrong?" I asked quietly.
"Jayson, you need to wake up," Steve said frustrated.
"What?" I asked suddenly fearful.
"You're dreaming," Steve said as his face began to blur and melt together.