"Valerie!" Erik said with a sigh of relief as his daughter entered the hospital's waiting area.
She nodded in return, "Hey Dad. What did I miss?"
Darcy grinned at the blonde, clearly enjoying herself, "Jane ran over a guy!"
"I did not run over him!" Jane insisted (obviously not for the first time). Her light outburst causing the nurse at the counter behind the group to look up at them with an unimpressed scowl. "I merely grazed him."
"Right..." Darcy said with a roll of her eyes. Jane huffed and turned back to the nurse to ignore the young intern. Valerie and her father shared a sideways glance at the girls exchange but said nothing.
The nurse continued her questioning about the man they had brought in, the group able to offer little.
Slowly Valerie turned to the door of the ER beside them.
Something was going on back there.
She glanced quickly around the group but clearly they hadn't or couldn't hear it yet. Slowly she approached the doors, looking though the glass panels into the next room. A large crash echoed and everyone else in the waiting area jumped back, turning to the set of doors Valerie stood before. A large blonde man was suddenly thrown against them and Valerie jumped at the sudden body but held her ground.
He snarled as a large number of guards and staff tried to restrain him. "You are no match for the mighty..."
His eyes rolled back and his head slumped against the glass. His blue eyes, now foggy, rolled slightly before settling on Valerie's own deep orbs. His blonde brows slowly knit together, confusion written all over his face at the sight of her. Valerie felt her own expression mirror his. Her feet began to move on their own, pulling her towards the stranger. Time seemed to slow as they stared at one another. Valerie felt her heart tug. Whoever this man was there was something important happening here and now. She had no idea what but she felt it deep in her heart.
The moment was broken when the hospital staff ripped him back from the door and down the hallway. Once he was out of her sight Valerie felt the world speed up around her again. The moment over.
"Val?" She turned to her father at the sound of her nickname. He took in the look of utter confusion there. Her lips slightly parted and the deep creases in her forehead. They both knew something had happened just now. Only time would tell what it meant.
Shortly after the incident at the hospital Valerie had been informed the man she had seen was the very same man Jane had hit with her van. She then decided it was all coincidence and opted to ignore the meeting through the hospital door and returned back to the lab with the group of scientists.
Once the group was back and settled they found their night had been wasted. The sun was already high in the sky and it was looking like another hot, dry day in New Mexico. Jane had already spurred the others into trying to figure out what had happened the night before. Valerie however, had nothing to contribute but knew she would never be able to sleep so she instead lounges back in one of the worn office chairs at their main work station and propped her feet up on the desk. A black, poorly brewed coffee in one hand while the other rested behind her head.
The printer behind her once again whirled to life, spitting out new sheets. Without being told she reach back to grab them with her hand not occupied by coffee and held them in the air for Jane to grab as she walked by. Jane thanked her and began pinning the sheets up on their work board with hardly a glance. The team around her worked in a well organized silence as they set up their findings, having been at this long enough to only discuss the important facts.
However the silence was quickly broken by a familiar heavy metal tune.
"Swedish Pagans, marching a shore,
Forged in Valhalla by the Hammer of Thor
Out from Asgard, our Viking-"
Valerie stopped the song with a swipe of her finger, opening the text from her manager Larry McArther. The message was short and sweet, 'play me.' Attached was a video clip. The video still was of a slightly blurry picture of a pale man with dark hair and high cheek bones. Valerie pursed her lips, the guy looked like a tool.
She thought about ignoring it for a bit, not sure she wanted to deal with whatever is was at the moment. However she knew Larry could see that she read the message and would most likely be asking her about it shortly. With a sigh she let the video buffer, turned her phone volume up and waited for it to begin.
The video focused on the thin, pale man but the voice of the interviewer could be heard off camera.
"Doctor Strange, you are the specialist that was called in for the Valacheck case, is that correct?
"That is correct." The man, this Doctor Strange, answered.
"What can you tell us about the case?"
The Doctor smirked, clearly enjoying himself. "Truly a unique case. I've never encountered a case where a single punch has resulted in so much damage. The hit caused several major vessels in the brain to rupture, resulting is serious trauma. We usually only see this type of brain injury in persons involved in traffic and other high speed impacts."
"Were you able to repair the damage?"
"I was." Strange sure was smug, "a lesser surgeon probably wouldn't have been successful."
"Are you saying you're confident she'll make a full recovery?"
His face dropped, "I cannot say for sure at this time. Until she wakes from her coma we won't be able to diagnose the full extent of the damage. I regret that my involvement more then likely came to late to save her career."
"Is there anything else you can tell us, Doctor?"
"We've done all we can for Miss Valacheck at this time."
"There has been a large debate raging over the UFC's decision to clear Miss Selvig of any charges related to the case. Do you have any thoughts on the matter?"
The Doctor's face remained blank. "I'm only concerned about the case and my patient. I can't say I've followed more then necessary on the matter."
"Thank you Doctor."
Th video ended and the room was so silent you'd be able to hear a pin drop. Valerie glanced up over the edge of her phone at the group of scientists standing stock still at the other side of the table, staring at her. She narrowed her eyes at them but none of them moved. An awkward silence settled in the room and she knew she'd have to brake it. "Well..." she began slowly, "this is awkward."
With that Dacey laughed while Jane and Erik shared a glance. Quickly Jane turned back her work like nothing happened. Erik, however, stared at his daughter. "You alright sweetheart?"
She nodded, her face hard. "I'm fine." The room was once again broken by the ringing of her phone. This time it was a call. She answered it without a greeting. "Well that guy sure needs to pull the stick from his ass. What a prick."
Larry chuckled softly on the other end of the line, "Somehow I knew you wouldn't like him."
Valerie sighed, rubbing a hand through her hair. "What do you want Larry? I really don't want to deal with this right now."
"I know." He was curt. "But this is important. That video was released an hour ago and the internet is in an uproar."
She groaned. "The internet is always in a uproar about something. That's nothing new."
Larry gave a snort. "I know but you don't have a lot of people on your side right now. People are calling for your arrest. Some are posting threats against you and your family, saying someone as dangerous as you shouldn't be allowed out in the public. You need to lay low for a while."
"That's what I'm trying to do. But you keep bringing this sit back up." Valerie almost yelled.
"You still need to be kept in the loop. I'll let you know if anything else happens." With that he hung up. Valerie tossed her phone on the table. Her list of friends and support team seemed to be getting shorter and shorter by the day. Everything around her was circling the drain. Everything she had slipping through her fingers one piece at a time. She looked up at her father as he reviewed some of the teams research. At least she still had him.
With a sigh she leaned back in her chair, taking a slow sip of the chilling coffee in her hand. Her mind racing over everything, trying to properly process it and figure out what the hell she should do. At this point she'd rather just make sure she avoided a jail sentence then anything else.
"Jane!" Her father's call cut her train of thought, her now watching the brunette walk to the door with purpose, keys in hand. "Where are you going?"
Jane turned as she neared the door, calling over her shoulder. "I left something at the hospital."