Theo walked up to the front desk, adjusting the bag on her shoulder and juggling the stack of books in her hands. She had five books with her in total and had brought them here as a gift, hoping that Scottlyn would get some joy out of them.
"Excuse me," Theo said to the older woman behind the desk. "I'm here to visit someone but I don't actually know her room number. I should be on the clear list to visit her. Her name is Scottlyn West."
"Oh, Scottlyn is an absolute sweetheart," The woman replied, slipping her glasses off her face and giving Theo a broad smile. "May talked her up so much I had to visit her myself. When I stopped in, she was a delight. Is she a very close friend of yours?"
"Something of the sort," Theo answered, a bit uncomfortable. In truth she had never met Scottlyn, but she was scared if she said no the woman wouldn't let her back. "My name is Theodora Carlyle." The woman smiled before looking over at her computer. She took her time in typing up Scottlyn's name and Theo wanted to scream. She was never one to patiently wait.
"And there is your name." The woman said after another minute. She looked back at Theo with her aged smile. "Tell her I said hello, would you?"
"Of course. What was her room number?" Theo asked, doing her best not to sound rude. The woman gave up the information and Theo couldn't get away fast enough. She had to walk up the stairs but she didn't mind. As long as she didn't have to get in an elevator with other people she would be good.
Within ten minutes Theo had arrived at the hospital room. The door was slightly ajar and Theo couldn't help but bite her lip. It was around noon, but that didn't mean Scottlyn wasn't sleeping. She didn't hear anything but the soft sound of a TV inside the room. After a moment of debating whether or not she should knock, a voice pulled her attention away from the door.
"The door can be pushed open, you know."
Theo looked up to see a doctor, his gaze on a tablet and his hand furiously typing on it. She furrowed her brow and scowled at the man. He had black hair and his features were a bit unique. He had high cheekbones and bow shaped lips. She couldn't see his eye color, but frankly she didn't give a damn.
"Thank you for your input, Sherlock. Crack any other cases yet?" She couldn't help but snap at the man before she switched all the books to one arm. She knocked with her free hand gently but loud enough for Scottlyn to hear if she was awake.
"Come in!" A silvery voice called out.
Theo pushed the door open before moving both hands to hold the stack of books again. She walked in cautiously and her eyes darted around the room looking for a window. She couldn't stand being in somewhere without windows or daylight. It drove her mad before and still had the same effect on her as it did back when she was in the hospital.
The room was well lit, mostly by the sunlight but two of the overhead lights were on. It was a decent sized room; bigger than Theo's living room and kitchen combined. The room was filled with the scent of various flowers and those flowers littered the room. On every surface was another vase filled with flowers. Theo's eyes then traveled to the bed where a brunette was sitting up, brushing her damp hair with a small, pitiful and pink hairbrush.
Scottlyn saw Theo eying the hairbrush as she sat it to the side and starting braiding her hair. "The gift shop doesn't carry the greatest hairbrushes. It will do until I am able to go home." The sheer amount of time it took the brunette to braid her hair boggled Theo's mind. The girl's hair looked thick, but it had taken her less than thirty seconds to do it. For Theo it took ten minutes on a good day.
"So," Scottlyn looked at Theo with a stunning smile. Her brown eyes were shining and Theo wondered how she seemed so happy. Scottie was young, maybe twenty-three. She wore no makeup and she was beautiful, Theo could tell that much. She placed Scottlyn in the category of the most popular girl at school... if she had gone to high school, that is. "May mentioned that I had another visitor other than Steve. At first I suspected it was someone my father sent, but Steve said it was a friend of his. My name is Scottlyn West, but you can just call me Scottie."
"Nice to meet you, Scottie," Theo stated, giving her a curt nod. "I am Theodora Carlyle, but you may call me Theo."
Scottie's smile grew, but she looked down to see the books in Theo's hand. "Oh, do sit those down! You don't have to hold them. And have a seat." She gestured to the seat next to her bed that was pulled closer than they normally had chairs to beds. Theo suspected it was because of Steve. Theo sat the books on the end table beside of Scottie's hospital bed. She walked over the chair and sat on the very edge of it, her shoulders straight back and her chin up.
"When I was here before, I noticed Steve had been reading it out loud to you. I wasn't sure how long you were going to be in here so I thought I could bring you some." Theo explained to her. Books had been the one thing Theo had while she was in the hospital. When she saw the book on Scottie's bedside she knew that she would bring her some as a gift. She cleared her throat. "Plus, I—I figured you didn't need any more flowers."
Scottie laughed and looked around her room. "I cannot disagree with you there. Thank you so much, Theo. You really didn't have to, but I appreciate it." Scottie's gave a genuine smile and Theo couldn't help but feel something stir in her chest. This young girl was nearly dead because her father decided to pull the plug. If she hadn't pressured Tony into it, Scottie wouldn't be.
"You're doing well, I presume?" Theo brushed a loose strain of her own curls behind her ear.
"Yes, I believe so. Everything seems to be in the right order in my body. Except… Well, except for these," Scottie looked down at her arms and Theo followed her gaze. She had seen the burns the last time she visited and swallowed hard at the sight. Theo had never been burned with fire and would choose any other form to go in. She couldn't even imagine how Scottie was feeling over it… Scottie seemed happy and quite chipper despite nearly dying. She couldn't have just accepted it, could she? "I'm doing well, Theo, thank you for asking. The people here take good care of me."
"Considering how well off this hospital is, I should hope so." The man that had been standing outside Scottie's door stated as he walked in with the tablet in hand. He didn't even glance over in Theo's direction and she quickly looked away from him.
"They don't pay you well for nothing after all," Scottie said with a slightly forced smile in the doctor's direction. "Theo, this is Dr. Strange. Doctor, this is my friend Theo."
Friend. To Theo that word carried weight. She didn't think she had friends and had never desired a friend. Sure, she spent a fair amount of time with Tony and Pepper but they were her bosses. They had a professional relationship and always maintained so. But Scottie… The brunette wasn't connected to her in any sense or fashion. After this meeting, Theo had no reason to keep in contact with Scottie. Why would Scottie want to keep in contact with her? True, Theo had brought her books and was inadvertently the one who saved her life when her dad tried to pull the plug, but Scottie didn't know that or made any indication whether she did or not.
Theo's brain was still reeling from Scottie's words when Strange acknowledged her. "Yes, we briefly met outside. Does your friend have a permanent scowl on her face?"
"Hey, play nice," Scottie said, nudging him slightly with her hand. Now that Theo looked at Strange she saw he had grey eyes and was probably around 6'2". "Theo has done nothing to deserve your smart mouth. Then again, does anyone?"
Theo didn't say anything as she continued staring at Scottie who simply looked over and gave a wink. Theo was a bit uncertain of what to make of Scottie. She seemed so cheery and friendly with everyone, even Strange who seemed like he was a bit grumpy like Theo. She got some people were optimists but this was the last thing she expected in Scottie.
Strange began asking Scottie a range of questions about how she was feeling. Theo had zoned out and started thinking about other things when a knock surprised them all. "Scottie?" A familiar voice came from the other side of the door.
The way Scottie's face lit up when the voice rang out reminded Theo when she was younger how excited she got on her birthday because of all the cake she would be eating that day. Given that was a little less than thirty years ago, but with Theo's memory it was hard to forget even a moment such as that.
"Steve!" Scottie exclaimed as Captain America strolled through the door in a blue t-shirt and jeans. If it hadn't been knowing Tony and seeing everything there was to know about him, seeing a hero like Steve dressed so casually might be a bit weirder. "I was hoping you would make it here today."
Steve gave a sweet smile to Scottie, his eyes lighting up when he saw her as well. "Do I ever skip?" He asked her as he stopped by the foot of her bed.
"No, of course not. But hey, you never know when the world needs saving." Scottie commented, giving him a small grin. Did she know about Steve being Captain America? She must have, why else would she have said that?
"Miss Carlyle," Steve addressed Theo with a smile that wasn't as bright as it was when it was directed towards Scottie but was warm nonetheless. "It's good to see you again."
"You also, Mr. Rogers," Theo responded with a nod. Steve then looked over at Strange, his lips slightly pursed. Theo glanced in between the two and saw Strange had his back turned completely to Steve.
"Strange." Steve muttered.
"Rogers." Strange acknowledged Steve with just as much contempt as he had.
Steve noticed the books on the side table. "How did you get those, Scott?"
"Oh, Theo brought them in for me!" Scottie said excitedly as she reached over and picked the books up. She read all the titles aloud with an animated voice, and surprisingly seemed like she wanted to read all the picks Theo had bought. "She saw your copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and choose all these books based off on it. Do you read a lot, Theo?" Scottie turned her brown eyes towards the redhead with a warm smile.
"Relatively." Theo responded, not too fond of Strange's gaze. She didn't mind Steve staring at her, but Strange rubbed her the wrong way. She didn't like him one bit.
"We could start a book club," Scottie joked, throwing a grin in Steve's direction. "We'd have to let you read aloud. Your voice is so calming when you read."
"I feel as if I may have to pass on that," Theo stated with a small frown. "Mr. Stark is quite demanding and tends to take up most of my time."
"Hey, I'm sure we could convince this Mr. Stark to loosen the reigns a little bit." Scottie insisted as she moved the books back over to the end table.
"I've got another round to make," Strange announced, although the only one who actually cared he was leaving was Scottie. Theo glanced briefly at him, a bit perturbed he interrupted their conversation with his pointless announcement. He could have just walked out with no explanation and Theo would have been perfectly fine with that. "I will be back in later before my shift ends to check in one last time."
"You mean to convince me to stay a couple more days," Scottie said, her smile falling and her lips pursing together slightly.
"It would be in your best interest."
"To spend more money when I'm perfectly fine? No, it is not. Good thing I'm a functioning human who can make their own decisions." Scottie said in a matter-of-factually tone, folding her arms over her chest.
Strange stared at her a moment before shaking his head slightly. "Just think it through more, that's all I'm saying." Strange didn't speak another word as he turned and left the room. Theo exhaled slightly and felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulder. She thought he would never leave.
"He's not as bad when others aren't around," Scottie said, looking over at Theo with a small frown. "He's an ass to be sure, but he can be nice when he wants to."
Theo answered with a small "hm" and looked around the room again. They sat in silence for a few moments before Scottie spoke up again.
"Have you eaten lunch yet, Steve?" Scottie asked him.
Steve shook his head. "No, not yet. I figured you'd be taking a nap in an hour or so and I could go down to the cafeteria then."
"What about you, Theo?" The brunette turned to face her.
"Uh, not lunch. I was going to grab something before I headed back to the office."
"Why don't you two go grab something down in the cafeteria right now? I need to take a cat nap really quick but I'd like for us to hang out afterwards… If you don't need to get back to your job that is?" Scottie looked at Theo at the end. "And don't mind the cafeteria food. It's not all good."
Theo squirmed a bit, uncertain if she wanted to go eat lunch with Captain America. It was harmless, sure, but she and Steve didn't exactly have a lot to speak about. It would be easier if Scottie was there because she filled in conversations and could easily start new ones. But Scottie was looking at her with her doe eyes and Theo felt a small pang at her heart. Her eyes were just like someone else she used to know, and that same look had her melting to her knees when she was younger.
How could she say no?
"I—I suppose," Theo answered after a long moment, a glance towards Steve. "I have another hour for lunch."
Steve nodded and looked at Scottie. "As long as you'll be okay up here."
Scottie gave him a small, tired smile. "Of course, but sneak me up a brownie."
Theo stood from her chair and pulled her purse to her shoulder. Scottie directed her smile towards her before yawning. She laid her head back and sighed.
"You two have fun."
Steve and Theo walked out of the room. Steve made sure to shut the door as softly as possible before he turned back towards Theo. "Come on, the cafeteria is this way." He stated and they began making their way to it. Theo requested they take the stairs and Steve agreed with questioning her why they shouldn't just take the elevator.
"How has she been?" Theo asked him after a minute or so of silence. She side-glanced at blue eyed hero.
Steve sighed and looked over at Theo. "She's always got a smile on her face, and hasn't mentioned hurting or anything. I ask constantly and the answer is always the same thing, 'Come on, Steve, it will take more than a fire to bring my spirits down.'"
Theo continued watching him, feeling like there was more to it. "But…?"
"But she is constantly zoning out. It's like she's not even in her body and it can take up to ten minutes to get her to snap out of it. She's completely unresponsive and Strange isn't sure what is happening to her. They've done a bunch of tests and every scan imaginable in just the past week and its like her brain stops functioning but her body remains fine. Her heart still beats and everything, but her brain just stops sending signals to it."
Theo looked ahead and replayed the words over in her head. When she had touched Scottie during the time she was still in the vegetative state, it was like no one was home. Theo had touched vegetative patients when she was in the hospital out of curiosity years ago but she had been able to see in their memories. She wasn't sure if Scottie was immune to her powers because she hadn't touched her since she was awake, but Theo highly doubted that.
"Here we are," Steve stated as they walked through the cafeteria doors. He glanced over at Theo and saw her confused expression. "What are you thinking about?"
"I'm wondering if I should attempt to see if my powers work on Scottie now that she is awake," Theo murmured, throwing Steve a side glance. "But I don't want to access her mind without her permission."
Steve was silent for a long time as they through the bar and choose what to eat. Theo placed a pre-packaged salad and added a red apple, Salt and Vinegar chips, and a bottle of water to her tray. Steve got two cheeseburgers with an apple, a bag of Doritos, and a bottle of water. At the last second he added a brownie to his tray and they went to the check out. Steve pulled out his wallet but Theo beat him to it. She was sure they could've paid separately but she wanted to do something for Captain America after all he had done for the country even if she could only pay him back in food.
"Theo, I could have easily paid for my own food." Steve insisted as they walked to find a place to sit down at.
"I know, but think of it as a thank you for all you have done," Theo stated as she headed towards a spot the back corner of the lunchroom. It was quiet in the room and only a few other tables were taken up by doctors, nurses and other guests. "Besides, Stark Industries pays more than I'll ever need."
Steve sighed, shaking his head as they took their seats. "So does SHIELD."
"So how did Scottie handle it when you revealed you're Captain America?" Theo murmured even though everyone was out of earshot. She opened her salad and poured the ranch dressing over it.
"I didn't," Steve stated with a puzzled expression as he opened his bottle of water.
"You didn't? Then why did she mention something about you saving the world?"
"In reference to me pulling her from the fire, I assumed," Steve took a bite from one of his burgers. He chewed it up before continuing. "There's no way she would know. She said she hadn't been to D.C. to see the exhibit. Sure, my face is all over the news, by Tony overshadows me so much I doubt she's noticed."
"Hm," Theo said as she took a bite from her salad. They sat in silence for a moment as they both ate their food. Theo stared at her bag of chips and exhaled. "The salad isn't so bad. How are the cheeseburgers?"
"As bad as they were yesterday," Steve confessed with a small smile. "No, they aren't that bad. They aren't anything special, but no hospital food is ever in my experience." He looked down at the brownie then got a goofy smile on his face. "Except the brownie. Scottie said it tasted like the 'nectar of the gods.'"
Theo stared at him a moment before she continued eating her salad. "You have spent a lot of time here, haven't you?"
"Scottie doesn't have any other friends she is in contact with and her father wouldn't visit her in a thousand years. At first it didn't feel right leaving her here by herself, but now… She-she's a good person." Steve got a faraway look on his face before he finished eating his first burger. Theo had gotten through a quarter of her salad and paused to take a sip of her water. "I honestly don't know whether or not she would agree to it. To you getting in her mind, I mean."
"It's more of her opening the floodgates to her memories." Theo corrected.
"Scottie tends to be more open, but there are some things she won't speak about. Even though she does really seem to have taken a liking to you, I don't see her wanting to."
Theo exhaled and pushed a tomato around with her plastic fork. What did she expect? She wouldn't want anyone in her own mind either, not after all she had gone through. Scottie might have been through just as much as her and have the same feelings. Theo only wished she knew a way that would help them figure out what is up with Scottie.
"Is Bruce doing okay?"
Theo's eyes shot up to Steve's at the question. "Excuse me?" She asked, uncertain if she had heard the inquiry right.
"I was just asking if Bruce was okay because, well… you know." Steve said stiffly as he bit into his apple. He swallowed and looked away from Theo's gaze.
"He's doing fine. No accidents as of now." Theo answered back, her usual monotone voice wavering ever so slightly. She cleared her throat and began eating again, doing her best to play off the slip up in her voice.
"That's good," Steve responded with a nod. "I suppose I would have seen something on the news if he had."
Theo didn't respond and instead elected to finish off her salad. As she began eating her chips, Steve had finish his apple and both of his cheeseburgers. They continued eating in silence as they finished off their last food items. Steve had Theo put the brownie in a napkin and stash it in her purse before they dumped their trash. They began heading back to Scottie's room in silence.
"You seemed a lot more conversational today." Steve commented as they went up the stairs.
Theo kept a neutral expression and kept her voice even. "Would you prefer I not speak as much?" She questioned him.
"No, no! I just meant it was nice… I was a bit afraid you wouldn't speak to me the entire time." Steve admitted with a sheepish look.
"Well, I was curious how Scottie was doing. I can look past my personal preference of silence to make conversation every once in a while."
Steve didn't respond and Theo suspected because he was uncertain how to. She was pretty tired of speaking now anyways and didn't care much for more conversation. Fortunately they didn't have to worry about more conversation as they walked back in silence.
When they got back to Scottie's room, she was still sound asleep. Steve started to head in there to sit by her, but Theo whispered to him to wait a moment.
"What is it?" He asked as he looked back at her. He stepped back into the hall and looked down at Theo with a questioning look.
"I have to get back to my job now, and I don't want to wake her up to say goodbye." Theo stated, glancing in the room. "Just tell her goodbye for me."
"She'll be upset she missed you," Steve said, a small frown on his face.
"She will have to get past it," Theo pulled the brownie from her bag and handed it to Steve. "Don't forget this."
"Thank you, Theo. For everything."
Theo gave him a small nod. "Goodbye, Mr. Rogers." Theo turned and walked away from Steve, her mind still back on Scottie. She knew the brunette wouldn't be too torn up even if she was at all. Theo wasn't memorable, and certainly not to a young girl who had Captain America looking over her.