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Chapter 7: Bobbi
With no sign of his liaison agent, Steve had to stay in the entire weekend, with access to the kitchen, his room, all the movies and books that happened before 1944 at his disposal and the entire training & recreation area in the 8th floor for himself.
Bruce joined him for lunch and dinner on both days but he often found him tuning out on his touchpad, working on some formula, possibly Penny's.
Early Monday morning he heard a knock on his room door and when it opened there was a box. For a minute he feared it'd be a nasty practical joke from Stark or Clint, but he decided to open it anyway.
Inside there was a pad with instructions on a post it. There was also an iPhone with no internet access but email capabilities. He went through the contacts and found all the team, trainers, medics, Hill and Fury. There was also a contact labeled "liaison", that had only an e-mail address.
He decided to send a thank you note. It was answered almost immediately "np."
He started fooling around the pad and found a list of his contacts and a column of the different activities he was allowed to do with each.
He found himself looking for Bruce and Penny before everyone else. They both said the same thing. "Text, Short Calls, E-mails - assignment related ONLY. Lunch within the facility." On Dr. Morse's row it also read "Main physician." No training, sparring or going out allowed though.
He wasn't called upon during the weekend or this morning, and though he felt somewhat of an expectator in the call-dr-ross incident, he felt he was being punished all the same. You don't get away with what you want while working for SHIELD. Am I working for SHIELD anyway?
As if someone had heard him (Well someone probably was, he wasn't delusional as to not think every room in the facility was tapped and filled with cameras) he got a text from the same contact. "New Assignment: Training room 805. 0930 hs. Bring pad."
He was up and ready to train since 7 am so he still had half an hour. He thought of going through the 10th to check on Bruce or Penny. He remembered the list and how he WASNT supposed to talk to them other than for assignment-related tasks, and it wasn't remotely lunch time yet.
He decided to take the stairs up and stopped when he saw a small stain of blood. He used his comm and let facilities know something had happened "We are aware captain, thank you." No information.
He made up his mind and went straight to the 10th floor for the ER rooms. In there he found Clint waiting outside a room that had the glass currently shaded. He was playing with a battered phone, with too many colours to be his. Yellow circle, blue, red, then yellow again. It looked just like Penny's bag. "What happened?"
"She couldn't keep her hands off me and fell off the stairs." Steve looked serious "The truth now?" Clint always liked being around Rogers because he was a down to earth guy, that called people "Son". He didn't like him when he reminded him he outranked his years of SHIELD service just for having a serum. Anyone can have one of those these days apparently.
"She was with her stupid Bluetooth and the comm and reading from this thing. I'm telling you, she shouldn't be allowed to drive. I got my arm scratched too by the way. Wanna see?" he kinda hugged Steve in a girlie way which made the big guy laugh a bit.
"Hey, shouldn't you be in Training room 805?" Steve looked puzzled "How you know that? You're the liaison guy?" He sighed. "Nope, I'm supposed to train you in new combat strategies or some shit. And then hand-to-hand combat, Van Damme kinda way. Very bromance thing."
"I did not understand a WORD you've just said, but hey, sure. You know who it is?" "Your liaison? No idea." They both seemed to have ignored the fact he was holding her phone so he pocketed it. "And you're keeping her phone why?"
"Oh, I'm taking it to the nerds to get it fixed." The door opened and a very pale Dr. Morse came out. She had a small bandage on the very top of her forehead and some of her golden hair had got a reddish tone.
"Hey you. I'm supposed to ignore you. Who has coffee? I need coffee." Dr. Wyatt came out right behind her. "Barton, her scans are correct, she has to stay up for the next 2 hours in case of a concussion and I've just gave her some painkillers. She'll have to start her turns tomorrow, not today. She's all yours."
Clint and Steve looked at each other "I'm all mine. You guys go your Avengery thingy. I'll just stay in and sit quiet and listen to radio shows." She walked a step and blinked slightly. Both Steve and Clint grabbed her to keep her from falling "Ok, she can't be left alone. You can't be left alone."
"I have other patients, I could sign her up for observation but she signed the release form." Steve was about to snap at Dr. Wyatt but Penny's loud tones made him stop "Oh Bruuuuuuuuuuuuce! Bruce you're back!" She came closer to a very surprised and guarded Bruce and hugged him. "Thank you thank you thank you for the formula, you're a life saviour, it can work, it can work, I can operate him and things will ok, and why are you guys giving me that look? I'm perfectly fine."
Clint looked at Dr. Wyatt "I'll sign her up. I need you to fill some forms." Dr. Wyatt came in and Clint turned around a bit while following him "Cap, can you keep an eye on her? I'm gonna be late for training anyway." He nodded.
"Penny, Penny, leave Bruce for a minute, come here." She grabbed his arm "Bye Bruce." She waved at him and he locked himself in his office, shimmering grey the outside glass doors and windows, but keeping one see-through to see them from the distance.
Steve took her to her office and sat her on her loveseat. "Oh, these drugs are awwwwesome, everything's so… colorful. Your eyes are blue, like the sea in a sunset. Anyone ever told you that?"
He sat next to her "You like my eyes Dr. Morse?" he was slightly amused at this new finding. "Oh yes. They're lovely. Don't call me Morse, call me something else." She was laying back in the sofa but he brought her back to full seating "Like what, mmm, let's see, Penny?"
She frowned "Oh crap, I can't frown, it hurts! And I love frowning!" She wanted to lean on the sofa again, and again he pushed her back, this time grabbing her with his arm over her shoulders "Ok, so, what should I call you? I heart Barton calls you Nell."
"Well, yeah, he's family. Family calls me Nell. There's Penny, but it's like meh. And everyone calls me that, boo. Damn frowning, frowning not good, not good. Ehm, well, there's Nella, there's Nelly. No don't laugh Captain Rogallo, I mean Rogaine, you! What the hell did Wyatt give me?"
"So, Nella? It's sounds old fashioned" She sighed and got comfy near the curve of his neck "Mom called me that. You're warm. Well, there's also Bobbi. I hate it more than Penny, but some people still call me that. Or Birdie." He moved a bit further from her. He felt that it'd look as if he was taking advantage of the situation. She moaned at being forced to sit still again "Bobbi? How come?" She looked annoyed, like an 8 year old who's been denied dessert.
"You liked THAT one? God, you're such a guy." He giggled. "My middle name is Barbara. I'm Penelope Barbara afff Morse now. I'm blond you know, so is the Barbie doll, so jerks called me "Barbie" when I was in college. It was hard enough being 14 and being there. The moment I got emancipated I removed it from existence." She snapped her fingers and went on "Like that. But it was saved somewhere and someone, my bet is stupid Clint dig it up and well, I became "Bobbi Morse, fearless agent. It sucked."
"Wait? College at 14?" She lift her unbroken eyebrow. "Good, I can do one questioning eyebrow with almost no pain! You didn't know? Ask me again when I'm not really high on drugs please" He smiled "Alrighty miss. About your name, I think I like Penelope better." She smiled "You're so kind. I like it better too. Nite nite."
She passed out on his shoulder and he couldn't wake her up. Bruce got out of his room and gave a heads up on Wyatt's office. Rogers rushed carrying her there and placed her on the examining couch right when she started convulsing. Clint rushed next to her and held her down "What did you give her?"
"A standard dose of Demerol. She said it was OK."
"She had just hit her head and was confused, didn't care checking her record?" Steve went to the screen and checked it. "It says in here that she can't take Opioids after... Oh."
Clint was sounding desperate, he only heard him like this once, when Widow was exposed in an op "She can't take these. You need to wash them off. NOW!" Wyatt called a prep team and they started moving her towards the elevator, "Don't you think for a second that you'll get away with it Norman! Everyone will hear about this fuckup!" Bruce came back to his room once an officer nearby asked him to. "Please let me know what happens to her guys." Clint nodded, "Cap, you coming?"
Steve was still looking at her medical record "after captivity. Test subject. May induce delusional state and comma." The medical history added one line, he assumed Wyatt was dictating to someone what had just happened. He was about to leave when another little box called his attention. "Emergency contacts: Barton, Clint (husband), Coulson, Philip (supervisor)."
Clint came into the office and saw what was taking all of Steve's attention on the screen. "Husband?" He was onto them "Ex. That's outdated. Long story." Steve had that I outrank you look about him again. Clint knew that wasn't going to move until he got an answer. "I've got time." They started walking to the elevator "Look, she's very private. She doesn't want people to know." He nodded "I know, I just feel that you all know everything there is to know about me and look! She's been my doctor for over a year, my friend, and you and I fought together and I didn't know you two were an item" The elevator door opened, they came in. "We're not an item, she's in the market." Steve looked puzzled "She's not emotionally attached to me. It's complicated. She's free to pursue or be pursued by whomever, if you know what I mean" Steve blushed "Are you implying I want to pursue your wife? I'm just confused Barton"
He was from the 40s, maybe he was genuinely baffled. He slowed down a nudge, he wasn't pissed at Steve but at that shitty Wyatt character that had survived way too many fuckups on this facility. "I'm not saying that. It's just, gosh how do I explain this to you. It was ages ago, we were kids. A lot of shit happened after that. Here's the thing…" the doors closed.
