{Author's Note: So bad news, I have to send in my computer to be repaired, so that might slow my writing process, not that I update very quickly normally, but anyway, unfortunately it has to be done.
Warning: This chapter contains mentions of self-harm.
Also, thank you for everyone who has left reviews, including those who leave guest reviews, since I can't personally thank you.
Anywho, Merry Christmas and Happy New Chapter!
Please feel free to share your thoughts! You all keep this story alive. (: }
AVENGER'S WANDA POV
Their flight was decidedly quiet. The silence interrupted only by Erik and his daughter's soothing assurances to Pietro as they focused on making sure he remained awake and alert, while also trying to answer his confused questioned filled rambles. Pietro couldn't remember what had happened, and he was inconsolably upset by this, causing him to shed frustrated tears. Then he'd grow more distressed and embarrassed because he didn't know why he was so emotional, which only served to upset the boy more. That and the fact that no one would let him sleep.
The elder Wanda remained mostly mute throughout the flight. She desperately wanted to comfort young Pietro, but she knew it wasn't her place to do so. The boy already had a family that cared for him with every fiber of their being. Wanda just considered herself lucky to have even been allowed to accompany them.
Fortunately, wherever the mysterious Agent May, was taking them turned out to be relatively close, or maybe it was just that May had flown at a speed definitely not recommended for commercial flights. If that were true, Wanda certainly didn't mind. If it got Pietro to a doctor faster, then she didn't care how fast they went.
Wanda was fairly certain that the symptoms Pietro was exhibiting were common in instances of severe concussions, which was both reassuring and worrisome. The Avenger had once endured a concussion herself. At least, Wanda figured it had been a concussion. It's not like she had the funds at the time to go to a doctor and get a diagnosis.
It had been at one of the protests she and her brother had attended back in Sokovia, before they had naively accepted an offer to help their country in an even more radical manner. After several hours of marching and shouting, the police had finally decided it was time to step in and break up the protest by use of tear gas. In the resulting stampede of people trying to avoid the gas and being arrested, Wanda and Pietro had been separated, and in the panic, she fell and hit her head. Fortunately, nothing could keep her brother from her for long, and mere seconds after she'd fallen, her Pietro had been there to pick her up and keep her from sustaining any further injuries.
He was always doing that…looking out for her…and looking out for others…right to the very end…
Wanda remembered feeling nauseous and sleepy for a couple of hours, and though she had also been unable to focus for quite some time, she didn't remember being as emotional or confused as Pietro currently was. Though she also never loss consciousness, and she had been older than Pietro when it happened, so maybe that had something to do with the differences between their symptoms.
Wanda just hoped the boy wasn't suffering from anything more serious than a concussion—not that they should be taken lightly—but with her limited medical knowledge, she couldn't make that assessment.
Their flight came to an end in the middle of small clearing in a remote German forest by a cliff face. Wanda took her gaze off of Pietro momentarily from across the jet to watch as May steered the jet so it was in front of the rock formation. The woman let it hover there as if she were waiting for something.
Knowing that Erik and the other Wanda weren't paying attention to anything other than Pietro, Wanda approached the front of the aircraft and was about to ask what they were waiting for when a small rod poked out of the side of the cliff as if from nowhere. The rod projected a green light that cascaded over the aircraft, appearing to scan it. Then, there was but a moment's pause before the cliff opened up to reveal a hidden manmade structure inside.
Whoa.
May expertly piloted the jet inside bringing it to a standstill in the hidden room before the cliff closed behind them. Wanda figured to the outside world, the cliff face would once again appear to be no more than a natural formation, concealing all traces of the manmade structure deep within.
Next to Wanda, May unbuckled, and stood up, her movements precise and purposeful. Wanda immediately followed her to the back of the plane where Erik, and the other Wanda were huddled around Pietro.
"We're here." Said May as she hit the button to open the back of the jet and walked toward the exit.
Erik and his daughter both looked up. The younger Wanda appeared somewhat surprised. To some extent, the elder Wanda knew what she was feeling. It's amazing how easy it is to become completely unaware of your entire surroundings when someone you love is in pain.
Though Erik's face didn't show his surprise, his eyes darted around, clearly taking in his surroundings as he proceeded down the jet's exit ramp with Pietro in his arms and his daughter a mere step behind them.
"Where is here exactly?" asked Erik suspiciously as the group approached another door, which May quickly opened with a passcode and her handprint. "This doctor you know is here? Pietro needs medical attention now, so this better not be a pit stop."
"It's a secret base of the organization I work for, and yes Mr. Lensherr, the doctor I mentioned is here." Replied May as they followed her down a windowless hallway.
Wanda focused on taking deep breaths as she walked along the corridor. If she wasn't so concerned about Pietro, it's likely she wouldn't have been able to keep an outwardly calm appearance. The place reminded her too much of her time with Hydra. Unlike the Avenger's Headquarters, which was above ground with windows allowing sunlight and views of wide open spaces that kept her memories of that time in her life at bay, the Hydra facility she and her brother had been at had been windowless and confining. Her measure of time Wanda spent there was scattered at best, but she figured she and Pietro went at least a year without seeing the light of day.
The way this placed seemed just as closed off from the world made Wanda wonder or more accurately fear that they had made a grave mistake trusting this mysterious woman. But if her fear came to be realized, Wanda was prepared to fight to the death to get Pietro, his sister, and even Erik out of this place. They were a family, and they should be together. Wanda on the other hand, was just intruding on a family that didn't belong to her and which she didn't belong to.
Then it occurred to her Wanda, just what organization May might work for. She had thought it'd been wiped out, but if May really did work for the group she was thinking of, it honestly didn't surprise her that it had survived.
"The organization you work for is S.H.I.E.L.D., isn't it?" asked Wanda.
May didn't answer, but her silence was enough of a confirmation for Wanda.
"What's shield?" asked the younger Wanda, curious despite her concern for Pietro.
"It stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. It's a government agency that was meant to protect the earth from all possible threats. I thought it had been wiped out after it was compromised by a Hydra—that's a terrorist organization set on world domination—but apparently it survived." Answered the older girl.
"I don't care who it is she works for." Erik grumbled, referring to May. "As long as they help my son."
Speaking of whom, at that moment Pietro's small scared voice brought any further discussion on the matter to an end.
"Wanda? D—dad? Where're we goin'? What's goin' on?"
The boy tried to raise his head from Erik's arms and look around, but it must've been too tiring because a moment later he rested his head back against Erik's chest.
"We're going to go see someone that'll help you feel better." Answered Erik, the soft cadence of his voice contrasting greatly with the tone he had just used to speak to May.
"Yo-you said somethin' 'bout a doctor." Said Pietro looking up from Erik's arms to his father's face with wide frightened eyes.
Erik didn't answer right away. Wanda could tell he was contemplating lying to his son, but she figured Erik didn't want to confuse Pietro anymore by pretending they hadn't just been talking about him seeing a doctor.
"Yes, we're taking you to see a doctor, Pietro, but this doctor is going to help you. I promise. I'll make sure of it." Said Erik raising his gaze from Pietro to glare at May, who just raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him as they continued walking.
"But I—I don't like doct'rs." Said Pietro as he shivered in Erik's arms.
Erik's face grew noticeably pained at the boy's words and he tightened his hold on his son. "I know, Pietro. It'll be alright though. Your sister and I will be with you the entire time…and the other Wanda too." Said Erik his eyes flashing over to Wanda momentarily before he focused once more on his son.
"But—but why 'm I seein' a doct'r?" asked Pietro worriedly as the rate at which he spoke increased, "AmIsick? IthoughtIwasbett'rnow. MayrasaidIdidn'thavetoseedoctorsanymore. Ireallydon'tlikedoctors."
Wanda watched as Erik tried to sooth the boy. "I know, Pietro. You're not sick, but we have to take you to a doctor because you hit your head, remember?" asked Erik a bit hopefully.
Pietro's face scrunched up a little as if he were trying to remember, "Yes…No…I don't know. 'm tired."
Erik gave Pietro a small sad smile. "I know you are, Pietro, but you've got to stay awake a bit longer, alright?"
Erik reluctantly took his gaze off Pietro as he addressed Agent May. "How much farther? He needs assistance now."
"No farther. We're here." Said May as they came to a large sealed metal door. There was no handprint scan this time, but there was number pad located to the side of the door, which May quickly headed over to, where she entered a series of numbers presumably to unlock the door…only nothing happened.
May cursed under her breathe, and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "I swear if Fitz changed the passcode again…" The woman entered a series of numbers once more, but only succeeded in causing an inanimate voice to calmly announce that if they entered the passcode one more time the alarm would sound and they would face imminent death.
Clearly frustrated May took a cell phone out of her pocket, but she didn't get a chance to call whomever she was planning on contacting, because the next thing she knew the door was ripped off its hinges by an invisible force, at which point everyone turned to look at Erik. He was still holding Pietro, but his arm that was supporting the boy's legs was extended forward slightly, his fingers stretched out as if he had just swiped at the air, which obviously he had.
May gave him a calculating look, "Well that was excessive…but effective."
"It was necessary." Said Erik unashamed. "I was growing impatient."
Stepping over the crumbled door, May led the group into the room that lay behind it, which looked eerily like a science lab of some kind. There were microscopes, computers, and all sorts of gadgets, which Wanda hadn't the faintest idea were for. There was also a young man with short curly brownish blond hair, who with his jeans, flannel shirt and cardigan looked more like he should be working in a library rather than the covert agency that employed Agent May.
The man was sitting on a stool in front of a computer staring at them with his mouth slightly open and a sandwich in his hands as if he were just about to take a bite. Wanda didn't blame him for appearing so blatantly surprised. Their arrival had to certainly be shocking. They were quite the group.
"Fitz." Said May addressing the man. "Where's Simmons?"
'Fitz' didn't seem to hear May, his eyes traveling from the younger Wanda to Erik and Pietro coming to rest on Wanda.
"He's a doctor?" asked Erik obviously unimpressed.
"No. He is a genius, but not the kind we need." Said May answering Erik before addressing the man name Fitz once more, raising her voice slightly. "Fitz! Simmons, where. Is. She?"
Recovering from the shock of the unexpected guests, Fitz gave his head a little shake and jumped to his feet, sandwich still in hand. "Restroom. That is, she went to the restroom. I'll…I'll just go get her, right? Yea, okay. I'm going now." Said the man with a Scottish accent, making as if to take off in the other direction, but then he stopped short, seeming to realize he was still holding his sandwich. He did a little indecisive dance before setting it down and quickly scampering off.
"That's Leo Fitz. He's our weapons/tech. specialist and a brilliant engineer…he's just…he's Fitz." Said May as if that explained everything. "He'll be back with Simmons. She's the doctor."
Erik still looked skeptical, but he didn't have time to dwell on it, as a moment later, the man named Fitz returned followed by a young woman with light brown hair wearing a simple burgundy blouse and black dress pants.
As she entered the room, agent May was the first person she laid eyes on and the woman, presumably Simmons, immediately started speaking also in a foreign accent, but this time a British one, "May, what is it? Fitz was going on about an Avenger being here and…" The woman's eyes quickly found the rest of the room's occupants widening a bit as her eyes found the elder Wanda's but her focus immediately changed as she noticed Erik holding Pietro.
"He's hurt! Here, set him down just there." Said the woman clearing off a space on one of the lab tables practically throwing the objects that were in the way into Fitz's arms.
Erik hesitated. Wanda could tell he was still unsure of the entire situation, but she at least didn't find these Fitz or Simmons individuals particularly threatening. Though she knew looks could be deceiving.
"Lensherr." Said May "Let her help. No one is trying to kill you or your children, and you've trusted me this far."
Erik remained expressionless in his reply, "Don't confuse necessity with trust Agent May." But he nonetheless approached the table and a manner that was the polar opposite of his coldness. Erik gently set Pietro on the table putting him into a sitting position in front of Simmons with his feet dangling off the edge…or at least he attempted to.
The boy grabbed hold of his father's shirt when he realized he was being put down. "Da—dad." There was noticeable fear in Pietro's voice and he looked even paler than usual. The small trail of blood from the cut above the boy's eye stood out starkly against his white skin. Pietro might not know exactly what was going on, but he was aware enough to realize that he was no longer in the safety of his father's strong arms. Once again, Wanda wanted to comfort him, but she knew it wasn't her place to do so. That was a job for his real family.
Wanda thought Erik or the other Wanda would reassure the boy his was safe, but Simmons beat them both to the punch.
"It's alright. Your father's not going anywhere. He can stay right here with you." Said Simmons giving him a smile, her voice calm and friendly.
"Me too." Said the younger Wanda stepping forward to stand beside her father.
"Yes and your…sister? is right here too." Said Simmons.
Pietro still looked scared and confused but he let Erik gently unclasp his hand as the man spoke softly to the boy in what sounded like German. Erik didn't step away either, he remained firmly by Pietro's side, helping him sit upright with a hand on his back as the other Wanda took hold of the boy's now free hand.
"There, see you're alright. Now, could someone tell me the nature of his injuries? He has a head injury, obviously, but knowing the manner of the injury would be helpful. Has he been demonstrating signs of drowsiness and nausea?" Said Simons as she turned to face Fitz. "Fitz, flashlight."
The man named Fitz jumped to his feet, "On it." He said as he grabbed a small pen sized flashlight from a drawer and handed it to Simmons.
"He fell from…I—I don't know 30 or 40 feet and hit his head on the concrete." Answered the other Wanda, her voice still tinged with worry for her brother. "And yes he threw up, and he keeps saying he's tired."
"Okay. Pietro, is it?" asked Simmons looking over at Erik and Wanda for confirmation who both nodded. "Pietro, do you remember what happened? Do you know where you are?"
The boy leaned toward Erik, clearly nervous around people who he didn't know, not to mention the fact that he was still rather out of it. "I—I d'n't know. I was jus' tryin' to help, I think." Angry tears started to form in the boy's eyes "I don't 'member. I wanna go home. Can we go home?" asked Pietro looking over at Wanda and up at Erik.
Wanda watched as her namesake's face crumpled, she was the one who had brought them to this world after all. She clearly felt guilty that what Pietro wanted, she couldn't give him, at least not at the moment.
"You're upsetting him." Erik growled as he moved closer to his son "We don't even know exactly where we are. You shouldn't expect him to know!"
"Hey, she's just doing her job and trying to help!" said the man named Fitz moving to stand besides Simmons, clearly doing his best to look intimidating, but failing rather miserably.
"Relax Fitz. It's fine." Said the young woman easily brushing off Erik's anger. "I'm going to shine a light in your eyes now okay, Pietro? Just look straight ahead if you can."
The boy didn't respond, but he nor Erik made anymore objections, so Simmons raised the small flashlight, turning it on and moving it from one eye to the other.
"Good. Very good, Pietro." Said Simmons to the boy before directing her attention to Erik. "His pupils are functioning normally, that's a good sign."
Looking back at Pietro, Simmons addressed the boy again, "Okay, Pietro, try to follow the flashlight with your eyes without turning your head, alright?" said Simmons holding up the small flashlight in front of him and moving it slowly from side to side. The boy tried to track the object, but he kept turning his head slightly as it moved.
"Okay hon, good job. Can you stand up for me? Your dad can help you."
Pietro looked at Erik hesitantly before he moved to try to slide off the table, but Erik lifted him up and set him on his feet before he could do anything as foolish as try to jump down. Erik kept a firm grip on Pietro though, evidently afraid he would topple over as soon as he let go.
Immediately seeing how dizzy Pietro was, Simmons spoke up, "Okay you can sit back down Pietro." But instead of helping him back onto the table, Erik just scooped Pietro up into his arms once more, where the boy seemed to fit perfectly.
"Well he definitely has a concussion." Said Simmons. "He's pupils dilated normally, so I'm not too worried, but due to the extent of his other symptoms, I'd like to do a CT-scan just to be safe. Fitz can you go get a wheelchair, so his father doesn't have to carry him?"
"It's fine. I've got him. Don't bother." Said Erik
"Alright, this way then. Maybe, uh the rest of you could stay here, the room might get a little cramped otherwise. Fitz and May can get you some food." Said Simmons
"I'm staying with my brother." Said the younger Wanda immediately.
"Okay, that's fine, I just thought—"
"I'll stay here. I'll make sure they have some good snacks for Pietro when he's feeling up to eating, which I'm sure will be soon." Said the elder Wanda giving Erik and the younger girl what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
"Okay this way then. Mr. Lensherr, right?" Said Simmons as Erik nodded again.
"Jemma" started Fitz "Maybe I should go with you—"
"It's fine Fitz. The man is a worried father who is friends with an Avenger no less. I think I'll be fine." Responded Simmons unconcerned.
Fitz still looked worried, but he didn't argue further. The three left behind watched the family and the doctor disappear around the corner, but Wanda would bet her life that it wasn't nearly as difficult for them to let the group out of their sight as it was for her.
ERIK POV
Since he found the twins at the airport, time had somehow managed to both go by in a blur while also dragging along. Erik hated feeling helpless, and that's all he'd been feeling recently. Despite May following through with her promise to get Pietro the help of a doctor, Erik was still on guard. Then again, he probably would always be on guard where his children were concerned.
After Dr. Simmons—he could hardly believe that girl was a doctor, she seemed far too young, but he supposed people felt the same way about Charles when he first got his PhD—did her cursory examination of Pietro, he'd had to help get Pietro ready for the CT-scan.
The first struggle was getting him to put on a gown. The boy was extremely self-conscious of his body. Erik didn't know if that was because of all his scars, how thin he was, his prior experience with doctors and that god awful facility, or simply because he was a teenager, but for one reason or another he was none too happy to have to shed the security of his favorite jacket along with the rest of his clothes minus his boxers and trade them for what was essentially a hospital gown. It also didn't help that the boy could be quite stubborn when he wanted to be. At least Erik was there to help him so he wouldn't have to have his sister do it, since there was no way Pietro could manage the task himself in his current impeded state.
Although Erik wished Pietro wasn't injured in the first place, since the CT-scan was necessary it was a good thing Pietro was rather docile at the moment and Erik had a significant height and weight advantage over the boy, or it would be much more of a challenge. Erik could only imagine what it would have been like for Magda or Marya to get Pietro dressed everyday if he had had his powers as a toddler. Thank goodness for their sake he hadn't gotten them until he was old enough to dress himself.
Erik had finally managed to coax Pietro out of his jacket and was just going to pull the boy's shirt off before he had time to protest when he noticed one of his wrists was wrapped in fairly fresh bandage. Confused, Erik paused.
How did that happen? He wasn't injured there before I left for Germany.
Erik wanted to ask his son what had happened, but he didn't want to delay the exam any longer, and Pietro probably wouldn't be able to focus enough to explain what happened anyway, so Erik made a mental note to ask the young doctor to look at the injury and ask Wanda or Pietro about it when he was better.
Some five or ten minutes later, Erik had successful swapped Pietro's clothes for the metal free attire of the hospital gown. He knew the absence of metal was required for the CT-scan, but Erik didn't like not being able to automatically sense his son's location. He wondered if Wanda and Pietro would agree to wear metal bracelets or necklaces if he fashioned some for them at some point. That wouldn't be too overprotective of him in light of all they'd experienced, would it? It'd sure put Erik's mind more at ease being able to immediately sense them when he was within their approximate location.
After setting Pietro's clothes and shoes neatly on a chair, Erik picked up his son—who was now rambling incoherently about being both tired and cold, which Erik wouldn't have been ashamed to admit was awfully cute, if he wasn't so concerned about why Pietro was so tired—and carried him across the hall to where Dr. Simmons and his daughter were waiting.
Once Erik saw the large machine that would be used to do the scan of Pietro's brain, he began to worry that Pietro would panic when he realized he had to lie still in another intimidatingly confining machine, but as he set the boy, who had gone quiet, down on the apparatus, he realized Pietro had fallen asleep. Panicking a bit Erik moved to wake him up, but before he could, Simmons put her hand on his arm to stop him.
"Don't. It's okay, he can sleep through it." She assured him.
"But he has a head injury, shouldn't he be kept awake?" asked Erik distrustfully.
"That's actually a common misconception. Rest is very thing he needs to recover, and what better way to do that than sleep. We'll wake him up every couple of hours to be safe, but really his body is begging for some rest. Let him have it." Responded Simmons gently.
Erik narrowed his eyes, looking at her intently trying to gage the truthfulness of her statement. He didn't want to traumatize Pietro if it really wasn't necessary for him to be awake, and the young doctor hadn't given him a reason to distrust her yet.
"You better be right." Said Erik reluctantly, as he carded one hand through Pietro's hair.
"I am. I'll just check his pulse to put your mind at ease and make sure it's at a steady rate and then we can get started." Said Simmons confidently placing two fingers on the boy's wrist that was closest to her, which happened to be the uninjured one.
Erik tensed. If he stopped her, she would wonder why and perhaps think Erik didn't care that much about his child after all. If he didn't, she would find out that Pietro was not a normal boy…
Erik made his choice. It had taken him a bit to decide, he was frazzled by Pietro's current state, but as Erik went over the events that had occurred since they'd arrived at this hidden base, Erik realized the young woman truly seemed to care about helping Pietro.
"You won't be able to measure it." Said Erik definitively.
"What?" asked Simmons distractedly. Her face was the picture of concentration, but it was also puzzled. Erik could tell she was growing confused, as she realized she could not count the beats of the boy's heart, despite the steady rise and fall of his chest as Pietro breathed in and out in his slumber. Perhaps she could feel a steady buzz or vibration of the boy's blood being pumped through his body, but Erik knew distinguishing individual heart beats would be an impossible feat.
"His heart beats faster than the average's individual…much faster. I'd be more concerned if you could measure it." Continued Erik, one hand still lying gently on the boy's head. Erik had wiped the trail of blood from his son's face earlier, and Simmons had patched up the cut, so the teen at least looked little better.
"Oh! Okay, I was wondering if you all were inhumans because you arrived with Wanda Maximoff, and I didn't notice the lab door was destroyed, but that's not something you just ask someone upon first meeting them, so I didn't want to bring it up. It's fascinating to consider the number of inhumans that are out there and their different abilities and—" Simmons stopped speaking abruptly, probably noticing the emerging look of distrust appearing once again on Erik's face as he considered the possibility that he had in fact misjudged the young doctor and she did just want to study them all like lab rats.
"and now I'm rambling." Said Simmons blushing slightly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be offensive. I just think it's amazing what people like Miss Maximoff can do, and the potential they have to help so many in need, not to mention the hope they can give them. Anyway, let's get this exam done make sure your son is okay. Shall we?"
Erik nodded, but didn't move just yet. "I believe Pietro has an older injury on his other arm, if you would…please look at it. I don't know if he wrapped it himself or if he had helped but it would better for a professional to examine it I would think." Said Erik to Simmons, trying to remember to be civil to the person helping his son. He even threw in a please.
"Of course. No problem. I'll take a look at it right after the scan. Are you ready?" asked Simmons.
"Yes." Said Erik smoothing Pietro's hair back away from his forehead once more, saying a short pray that his son would be alright, before stepping back and following the woman from the room to wait with his daughter and allow the exam to begin.
Much to Erik's relief, the results were all encouraging. There was no bleeding or swelling around Pietro's brain, which was a very promising. According to Simmons, Pietro would make a full recovery. She assured him and Wanda that although the concussion had been severe, after some much needed rest, Pietro would be back to his old self. She estimated that the side effects of the concussion would fade in a week or two, as long as he refrained from extensive exercise, intellectually stimulating reading, video games, and any other activities that might be strenuous to his mind or body.
So basically Erik was going to have to watch Pietro 24/7 to keep the boy from doing everything he enjoyed, well maybe he wouldn't have to worry too much about the reading. He didn't know how big of a reader Pietro was considering reading was not the liveliest activity, but Erik could be wrong. It was just one more tidbit of information that a parent who had been around since his child's birth would know, but that Erik did not.
"Can we go in and see him now?" asked Wanda hopefully.
"Yes. Please do. Then I can show you to a room, where you all be able to rest and refresh." Said Simmons, but Wanda had barely waited for her response before tearing back into the room where Pietro was still lying asleep.
Erik went to follow her but Simmons stepped in front of him. He raised an eyebrow at her and tried not to glare at the woman who had just shared the best news Erik could have hoped for under the circumstances.
"Just a moment, Mr. Lensherr. There's still more I need to tell you, and I thought it best not to do it with your daughter around."
More? What more could there be? Was she merely lying for Wanda's benefit? Is she going to tell me Pietro is actually seriously injured?
"What is it?" demanded Erik. "I thought you said he would be fine. What is it you have to tell me that you couldn't say in front of my daughter?"
"He—he is fine!" said Simmons holding up her hands reassuringly. "It's not about his head injury. It's about the injury to his arm."
Erik relaxed slightly.
"Is it severe or does he have an infected wound? I figured he just scraped his arm on something while engaging in something he probably shouldn't have been doing, but if it's infected, do you not have the medication to handle that? I would think that a place with brain imaging technology would have—"
"No, no." said Simmons cutting Erik off. "I mean yes, we have the medication to deal with an infection, but the wound isn't infected. It was a clean cut, not too deep, and it was bandaged quite well actually…"
"Well then what's the issue? If there's no problem, then I would like to see my son now, doctor. Excuse me." Said Erik moving to go around the woman.
"Wait!" said Simmons trying to keep herself in front of Erik as he moved to open the door to the adjacent room. "You can see him, of course, but...I just, I think you should know that…I believe the cut was self-inflicted."
Erik froze. The metal pipes within the walls of the hall around them vibrated, and without Erik consciously meaning for it to happen, one pipe burst from a wall nearby, nearly hitting Fitz who had been headed their way anxious to check on Simmons, since they'd been gone for some time.
"Ahh!" screamed Fitz in a rather unmasculine manner falling to the ground in surprise as the pipe jutted out in front of him. Momentarily distracted by the sound of Fitz's scream, Erik and Simmons both looked his way.
Noticing their gazes, Fitz jumped back onto his feet. "I'm—I'm good. Little bugger, shot right out of there. That's gonna be a bastard to fix, you know. I'll have to get—"
"Fitz!" said Simmons unfazed by the sudden dislodged pipe or perhaps just better at controlling her surprise, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I uh…" said Fitz looking down and rubbing the back of his neck nervously with one hand, "I was just seeing how things were going. Miss Maximoff, that is, the Avenger, uh, Wanda wanted an update. Everything good here?"
"Yes, Fitz. Thank you. Everything is fine. We're all fine. I'll be out in a moment, and you can let Miss Maximoff know that Pietro is going to be fine too. He just needs to rest. Could you give us a moment please?" said Simmons addressing Fitz.
"Yea, sure. I'll just go get my tools…" said Fitz glancing their way once more before heading back the way he came.
Finally able to focus once again, Erik turned back to Simmons "Wh—what, did you say?"
Simmons face softened. "I believe Pietro cut his arm himself on purpose. There doesn't appear to be any other evidence of older self-inflicted cuts on his wrists, but I couldn't help but noticed the tattoos and brand on his arms. It's obvious your son has been through something horrific recently, and sometimes one's response, especially someone as young as your son, to trauma is to hurt themselves. That's why I wanted you to know. Not only are you going to have to make sure Pietro doesn't over exert himself, but you're also going to have to make sure he finds a safer way to cope with whatever horrors are in his past."
Erik couldn't think straight. His head was spinning. Pietro had been through so much, but Erik thought he was doing better, but then if that were true, "why would he do this to himself?"
Erik hadn't realized he had spoken out loud until Simmons answered him. "It might not make sense, but sadly it happens more often than you would think. Sometimes physical pain is easier to deal with than the pain we feel within. All you can do is help your son realize he doesn't have to bear any of that pain alone, and that there are better ways to handle it."
Simmons paused momentarily. "I'm sorry, Mr. Lensherr. I'm sorry for whatever happened to your family, and I know I can't promise it, but I think things are going to get better."
Erik wanted to believe her, but he didn't know if he could. All he could do was take everything a day at a time.
"Thank you for telling me." Said Erik finally, not trusting himself to say more as his throat tight with emotion.
"Of course. Just let me know when you're ready, and I'll show you all to where you'll be staying."
Erik nodded to the young woman, before walking into the room where his son and daughter were waiting, wondering if there would ever come a time when his children's lives would not be haunted by pain and suffering. At this point, he never expected his life to be filled with happiness, but he could still hope for his children because they actually deserved to be happy.
{Author's note: I think I've said this before, but I don't know squat about anything to do with medicine. I'm just basing Pietro's symptoms on my own experiences with concussions and internet research. Fun fact, when I got a concussion, my doctor told me 'don't do any intellectual reading for a week, but something like Twilight is probably okay.' Not even kidding. Those were her exact words.}