A/N So again nothing to say. So I guess I'll say I still don't own anything.
Steve woke up to shouting. He couldn't help the edge of panic he felt, last time there was shouting there was a lot of shooting, and pain, there had been lots pain. Tony had been there, he remembered that, he also remembered a mad dash through sandy scenery. Then there was Fury, and Tony was taken away. Tony!
"…believe you deliberately waited! All of this could have been avoided, all of it! Yet you sat there, and waited!" That was Clint's voice, he sounded angry.
"Agent Barton I would advise you to watch your tone. I have already given my reasons, take them because you do not have the right to patronize me. Don't even think about it Banner, I had my reasons!" That was Fury, definitely Fury.
"So you've said; however, I don't see how those reasons justify the consequences Director. Your team of beloved superheroes was taken from underneath your arrogant nose, and the two men who make this team possible have both been injured; your precious leader, and the man with the money, I would think that your top priority would be to extract your means of funding."
Steve, impressed with Bruce's speech, felt rather inclined to open his eyes. However, no one was paying him any attention at the time, which Steve was willing to forgive due to the tension in the room was riding on the fact that Banner was close to losing control. He was breathing through flared nostrils, eyes flashing jade as he and Fury glared at each other.
"I think you should take a seat Bruce." Steve's voice was rough, his throat dry from lack of use. But his command had the desire affect, Bruce slouched and allowed Natasha to seat him in a chair, she then turned towards Steve along with every other person in the room. Fury was standing near the door, his presence obviously was not welcome if the angry glares were anything to go by.
"Captain Rogers," Fury said, he took a step forward and on noticing Thor's glare stopped where he stood, "Glad to see you are awake; however, I have much to do and so I think I will let your team brief you on what has happened." Fury quickly glanced around the room – studiously ignoring the glares – turned on his heel and walked out the open door.
It was silent for a moment, then Steve asked, "Where's Tony?" He didn't miss the quick glance between Clint and Natasha.
"He's fine, for now." Bruce said, "He had to have surgery to repair the damage to his leg, and lung." He let that hang, obviously not giving Steve all the details.
So he changed the subject, "How long have I been out?"
"You were out for about six hours, but you've been sleeping for the past two." Natasha said.
"It's a good thing you heal so quickly Cap, any normal man would probably have bled out with a head wound like that. Even so, the doctors say that Natasha's makeshift bandaging very well could have saved your life." Bruce stood up and moved towards the side table by Steve's bed. He filled a cup with water and passed it to Steve who gingerly swallowed the water, once he was done he put the cup down and found the controls to the bed and raised his head to he could see everyone properly.
"Ok, is that all about me because I would really like to know about Tony." They all strategically did not look at one another, that only raised Steve's suspicions, "And all of the details, nothing is to be left out."
"It is not very pleasant news Captain Rogers." Thor said after a brief hesitation.
Steve shook his head – something he regretted afterward – and glared at them, "I don't care. I want to know what is wrong with a member of my team."
Bruce sat back down, "Well he went through some major surgery." Bruce held up his hand at Steve's coming protest, "I know, already said that, but he went through some intense surgery. You of course know about his leg injury but he was further injured after you two were separated." Bruce looked towards Clint who nodded.
"We found Tony at what I would guess to be the back entrance of the cave. As Thor and I were trying to get to him he decided that it would be a wonderful idea to attack a man with a gun while he was still restrained. He was shot just above the heart, missed it by an inch." Clint broke off his nostrils flared, "He got kicked around a little bit, breaking his rib further – which punctured his lung by the way – he also received a concussion too."
"The doctors were at a loss though when it came to his reactor," Bruce said, "I had to help them out once I stopped seeing double, they almost took it out before I could tell them that it was keeping him alive, to some extent. He was in surgery for about four hours. They were able to fix the muscle damage in his leg, he'll have to go through physical therapy though, and his punctured lung was fixed with relative ease."
"What about his shoulder, you said the bullet missed his heart?" Steve asked.
Bruce nodded, "His shoulder is fine, it was a through-and-through, it didn't do a lot of damage, he'll be in a sling for a couple weeks though." Bruce hesitated, "However, the doctors aren't too worried about his physical health more than his mental health."
Steve frowned, "What do you mean?"
"He woke up about two hours ago," Natasha said, "Because of his concussion they weren't sure when he would wake up so they inserted a feeding tube. He," she hesitated, "…had a…panic….attack, and he ripped out the feeding tube along with his IV. He attacked the nurse who was trying to calm him down, but she made the mistake of letting him get the syringe filled with the sedative. I think she woke up about half-an-hour ago. By the time Bruce got in there he was out and they were putting restraints on him." Steve gave an angry noise of protest, Natasha held up her hand, "Yeah, I know, we were all angry but Bruce convinced them to leave him alone. He's rather convincing when he's irritated."
Steve nodded, "Anything else?"
"He ripped his stitches when he kicked the doctor and they had to sedate him again – no feeding tubes this time – and the doctor's say that they will keep him under until his lung heels more. They had tried putting him on a ventilator but he being Tony Stark and being as stubborn as he is I'm sure you can realize that it didn't stay long, so he's on an oxygen mask instead. I don't think it will stay on long once he wakes up." Natasha let a small smile at her last statement.
Bruce leaned forward, "It sounds like a lot but we have the best medical staff and equipment in the world, Tony will make a quick recovery." Bruce hesitated, "My only worry is his leg, the damage was worse than I think we realized, I'm not sure he will walk properly again."
Steve looked away, the thought that a man like Tony Stark who took great pride in his physical appearance become physically impaired scared him more than anything.
"Can I see him?" Steve asked.
Bruce smiled, "He's right next door, I told the staff that once you woke the first thing you would want to do is see him. Which reminds me, they want you to stay an extra night, just to watch over you," at Steve's grimace Bruce laughed, "I think I can get you to be moved into Tony's room if that would help?" Steve nodded.
Clint reached over and grabbed a wheelchair, "Well Cap, why don't we see if we can pop some wheelies in this thing!"
AVENGERS
Steve wasn't sure what he had expected of his initial visit to Tony's room. Based on the reports from the others Steve had expected Tony to look far worse than he did; fortunately, Steve was pleasantly surprised at the light coloring of Tony's skin and the easy rhythm of his heart. The one thing that did make Steve look away was the obtrusive oxygen mask covering a large portion of his face. If it wasn't essential for his recovery Steve would have taken the mask off himself.
After Clint had brought him there in the wheelchair – something he had learned later that he had not needed – they had left him alone with Tony. Steve had sat for half-an-hour just watching Tony, guilt coursing through him. It had been his job to make sure that the members of his team got home safely. He should have planned for something like this, there should have been a plan.
After two hours of vigil a nurse had come in to tell him it was time to leave, it had taken Bruce to convince the staff to let Steve stay in the room, he had had to promise that he would personally make sure that the good Captain got some proper sleep.
At one point in the night Tony had woken – much to the surprise of the medical staff – yelling incoherently. Steve had heard several names and snatches of sentences, but the rest was lost under the medical staff's own yells. It had taken four nurses and a doctor to hold Tony still then a second doctor had come in to give him a sedative. Tony was left muleing and crying like a small cat, his hand plucking the hospital gown at his chest. His eyes remained half-lidded and unfocused as he visited hated memories, until the time 15 minutes later when his eyes finally closed. Steve hadn't slept after that.
The next day Steve was 'discharged' as they called it; however, seeing as they were in some secret S.H.E.I.L.D. base in the middle of God-knows-where Steve stayed particularly close to Tony's room.
It was three days after Steve had woken when Tony was finally given his last dose of sedatives with doctors telling them he would wake up in approximately six hours. It came as no surprise that Tony was awake within three.
With warnings of grogginess and memory loss the five standing members of the team were allowed in to see Tony. Steve and Bruce grabbed the closest chairs to the bed, leaving Natasha, Clint, and Thor the uncomfortable plastic folding chairs; a situation that was rectified when Clint and Natasha brought in the soft white couch that had been down the hall. Tony had watched them with weary, glassy eyes over the rim of the oxygen mask, when they had all settled into their respective seats Tony spoke for the first time in nearly four days.
"P'pper?" Tony asked his voice muffled.
Bruce leaned in, "S.H.E.I.L.D. said they would contact her, we haven't been allowed any contact to the outside world yet." His voice was soft, it however still caused Tony to flinch.
"Wha' 'apn'd?" He made a face at his utter lack to form coherent sentences. He reached up to push aside the mask, he was automatically stopped with stern protests.
Bruce slapped away his hand, "Leave that Tony." Tony made a noise of protest – which was ignored – as Bruce adjusted the mask so it would sit properly.
Tony repeated his question, "Our quinjet crashed and some old friends came to see if we were ok." Clint said smiling, but he dropped his smile when he noticed Tony's confused look.
"Tony," Natasha asked tentatively, "What is the last thing you remember?"
Tony's brow furrowed in concentration, "F'ry…d'brfing…" Tony squeezed his eyes shut, he tried lifting his left arm and his confusion turned to panic when he realized that his arm was immobile. He twisted his body trying to dislodge whatever he thought was pining his arm, not realizing that the sling his arm lay in had a strap wrapped around his body to help keep his shoulder in place.
Steve – who was sitting to Tony's left – reached out and stilled him, "It's alright Tony, it's just a sling." At Tony's unspoken question Steve said, "You were shot in the shoulder Tony, it wasn't that bad but they still had to perform surgery."
Tony's eyes widened in panic, "How…long?" his breath coming out in wheezes despite the aid of the oxygen mask.
Thor answered, "You have been asleep for three days Man of Iron. We were desperately worried." Thor's voice – despite his best efforts – boomed in the small room causing Tony to flinch and turn his head slightly away from Thor. Seeing Tony's reaction Thor looked crestfallen.
"Sorry…big guy–" Tony mumbled, his eyes drooping.
Bruce gave a pointed look to Steve who nodded and stood, the rest of the team following his lead. Bruce leaned so he was in Tony's line of vision, "We'll leave you for now Tony. Try to get some rest." Tony mumbled something about proper bedding, causing Bruce to smile, "I'll be sure to mention something to Fury." Bruce straightened up, only to be stopped by Tony grabbing his sleeve. "Yes Tony."
Tony looked up at him, his eyes clearest they had been since he had woken, "Pepper."
Bruce looked confused, "I know, but we aren't allowed any contact to the outside world, Fury said it was National Security reasons, which is S.H.E.I.L.D. talk for we-want-to-keep-you-locked-up-so-no-one-can-get-to-you-again. I'll make sure Fury gets hold of her."
Tony tightened his grip on Bruce's sleeve, "No." he said more forcibly, "Pepper." His jaw tightened.
Bruce's face brightened in understanding, "I'll see what I can do Tony." Tony closed his eyes and nodded, hand still clutched in Bruce's sleeve. Bruce waited a moment before gently extracting his shirt from Tony's grip.
Tony laid there as one by one his team left the room until finally the only one left was Steve – who hesitated – and then turned to go.
"Steve." Tony's voice made Steve flinch, the usual proud, arrogant voice he had often wished would shut up was the one he desperately wanted to hear instead of this pained, coarse sound that leaked from behind the oxygen mask.
Steve paused and slowly turned towards Tony so he could look him in the eye, "Yes, Tony?"
Tony took a pained breath, "It's not…not, your…fault." Steve hesitated, then forced a smile and nodded before turning and leaving the room, making sure to dim the lights as he left.
The soft swish of the door closing hid Steve's shaky sigh, he shouldn't have put it past Tony to know that Steve felt guilty – even if he was drugged to the bone; Tony was always the one who knew how to handle the individual members of the team. While a lot of the time Steve thought Tony as a rather stupid genius – despite Tony's objections – he was a genius none the less.
"Cap?" Steve turned, Bruce was standing just down the hallway. He pushed off the wall and stuffed his hands in his pockets, obviously hesitant.
"Bruce." Steve said, he walked down the hallway until he was even with the shorter man, "I think Clint said something about making lasagna tonight, and I want to get a piece before Thor eats it all." Bruce smiled and turned to follow Steve.
They were silent for their journey towards the teams private section of the base; however, Bruce paused just outside of the kitchen doorway, "You know you are feeling guilty for no reason right."
Steve gave a haughty laugh, "I'm the leader of this team Bruce, I'm supposed to think of every scenario that could put us in danger; and I am supposed to make sure that that does not happen. If I had been prepared this," he gave a mad gesture down the way they had come, "wouldn't have happened."
Bruce shook his head, "You may be an enhanced super-soldier Steve but you're still human. You cannot seriously make me believe that you expected that someone would hack our weather systems, take down our quinjet, kidnap six of S.H.E.I.L.D.s top operatives, hold them hostage, force Tony to make them suits, and when that didn't work shoot you unsuccessfully in the head and then shoot Tony. I'm sorry Cap but I don't think even Fury would have thought that up."
Steve still shook his head, "Maybe not that exact scenario, but Bruce when that plane was going down I was completely useless, all I can remember is Tony taking a hold of my hand and keeping me grounded. We were like chickens with our heads cut off! If we had been prepared for something like that they wouldn't have gotten to us, they wouldn't have even gotten us out of that jet."
"Well Cap," Steve and Bruce jumped when Clint's voice rang out from the doorway, "When we put this shit behind us we'll be sure to do all kinds of drills, from plane crashes to party crashes, I'm sure Tony would appreciate it." Clint was grinning and holding a stir spoon. The aroma of melting cheese and cooked meat was tantalizing, making Steve's stomach grumble and mouth water. Clint smirked at Steve's look, "Easy Cap, the dish is still cooking. I'm just making a pot of soup for Tony so he has something better to eat than that grub they serve down in the med bay."
Bruce's brow furrowed, "Will he be able to eat that?"
Clint shrugged, "I don't know its just broth really, but I don't think they will mind once he starts insulting them just so they will release him."
Steve smiled and followed Clint's retreating form, Bruce brushed past him grumbling, "Not ready my ass, I see Thor with that plate."
Steve laughed only to stop when he almost ran into Bruce after his abrupt hault, looking past Bruce Steve noticed that Fury was sitting at a bar stool at the farthest corner of the bar. He looked at the two men staring at him, Fury did not miss Bruce's tense shoulders. Believing that his departure would do his health a world of good Fury stood up, his arms raised in surrender.
"I come in peace Doctor Banner, I only came because I was told that you wished to speak to me about Miss Potts." Steve glanced over at Natasha who made a point of not looking at anyone in the room.
Bruce was silent for a moment, "Uh, yes actually. Tony I feel would recover better if he had, well, someone with a more," Bruce looked embarrassed, "intimate relationship with him." Clint chortled and Banner's face went red.
Fury merely nodded, "I'll see what I can do." He turned on his heal and left out of the second door behind him.
Bruce blinked, "Wha–, what just happened?"
Clint bit back another laugh, "That my friend is Fury's way of apologizing."
"But, how did he even know Tony only asked me about that twenty minutes ago." Bruce looked over at Steve who flicked his eyes towards the only female in the room. "Ah. Alright well, that was easy."
Clint smacked a large metal spoon on the counter, making everyone jump "Order up!" The team descended, each rather hurried to get a piece before Thor got to the platter of Pasta a' la Clint – Tony's nickname for the favored dish. They dug in gratefully – Natasha being the only to withhold stuffing her face – and going for seconds when their initial plateful was done.
It was twenty minutes later – after Thor threw his fork to the floor with enough force to dent the tile – that they finished their meal. Steve turned to Bruce realizing something that he should have noticed several days ago. "How's your leg?"
Bruce blinked in surprise, but then smiled and tapped his thigh, "Its fine. I was out of that splint the last day we were there," Bruce paused, "I still have a small limp, but I should be fine."
Steve nodded and leaned onto the counter, "So, does anyone want to finally clue me in on what Fury did that has everyone practically livid."
Clint and Bruce tensed, it was Natasha who answered, "I assumed you picked up that bit of information when you woke up Captain."
Steve shook his head, "I did, somewhat, but I was still half out of my mind. I would prefer to hear the actual story while I am lucid."
"There isn't much to tell."
Steve just stared at her, "Good thing we have plenty of time to tell this short tale."
"Fury is an ass-wipe who has his own interests at heart." Steve blinked at Clint's brash words of the man who was in all intents and purposes his boss.
"Seems a little harsh." Steve mumbled.
Natasha shook her head, "Ignore him, he's still mad. No, Fury and S.H.E.I.L.D. knew of our location the whole time. Fury had hoped by waiting that S.H.E.I.L.D. would be able to find out who hired them to take us."
Steve pursed his lips, "And they're assuming that someone did hire these men."
Natasha nodded, "Yes. They are."
"And were they successful?"
She paused, "No."
"Do they have any hope of finding out who this mystery employer is?" Steve asked, his anger rising steadily.
Bruce answered, "Fury said that they had the means of finding that information at their disposal."
Clint laughed, "That's just S.H.E.I.L.D. talk for 'We know something you don't know.'" He scowled and threw his dinner plate into the sink with a little too much force.
"You did leave the man responsible for this bound at the entrance to that dark cavern before it was taken down with Stark's bomb." Thor said to Clint.
Clint waved his hand, "Yeah, I didn't really think he would survive that, and Fury said he was dead which I again translate to 'We have him locked up in a super secret room and we plan on utilizing his knowledge for our own gain.'" He crossed his arms in irritation.
"Wait that was another thing I wanted to know. What exactly happened? How were we able to get out of there? Natasha already said that Tony lied, something I completely see him doing, I just don't really understand what happened." Steve stood picking up his dish and placing it in the sink, he leaned against the counter behind him arms crossed.
Bruce smiled, "It was typical Tony, lied to the men and told the truth to the girl." Clint chortled into his glass of water.
"So Natasha knew this real plan then," Steve's eyes filled with concern, "wouldn't that be dangerous."
Natasha rolled her eyes, "And that was precisely why he told me and not you. I'm a woman Steve, they were men. They made the same mistake you did, it's no one's fault, you come from a time when women are supposed to be far more feeble beings then they are today so it would be reasonable for you to think that I should not be put in needless danger. Even so, I am not your typical women even by today's standard, I can hold my own – especially during a fight – you know that." She paused for a moment to take a drink of water, "But, think about it Steve, if it had been Peggy in the cave instead of me would you have relayed your plans to her." Steve flinched unnoticeably at Peggy's name, but reasoned that he would have because he knew she could take care of herself and she would be the last person anyone would think of, so he nodded, "See, it wouldn't have mattered who was in that cave, it could have been Pepper and Tony would have told her instead."
Thor nodded, " I know of several women from Asgard that would have been underestimated by the men of this realm, I would have relayed any plans to them before even my father; for when it comes to threats it is the women that men glance over, and the men they aim their focus, an unwise action in this case."
"Alright fine, Natasha knew the plan, now what was the plan?" Steve asked only slightly frustrated.
"Easy Cap," Clint said with a smirk, "Tony told us there were four bombs, but in fact there was one and it was big!" Clint smiled, "It was huge, how he was able to do that with so few supplies is beyond me but I have got to figure that out because I am so going to do that next time!"
"But I thought he said he had Bruce working on the wiring for four of them." Steve turned toward Bruce, frowning.
Bruce shook his head smiling, "I worked on four different pieces of the same bomb, I had no idea of course, but Tony must have connected them that last night while we slept. He had those decoys of course, but they probably could do less harm than a plastic gun from a child's cereal box."
"And I'm guessing Tony knew that they would be listening in on our conversations." Steve said, finally seeing clearly what had happened.
Natasha nodded, "Yes, we were repeatedly reminded that they 'Do not make the same mistakes', but in taking measures to not make those same mistakes they made new ones. Tony's smarter than he looks, he can tell the difference of non-audio and audio security cameras."
Steve opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by a harried knock on the door. Five heads turned towards the source of the interruption, standing in the door way looking far too uncomfortable for her own good was a young nurse. Her face was flushed as if she had just run a great distance, and her mouth was agape, "Captain Rogers, Doctor Banner!"
Bruce stood and made his way towards her, "What's wrong?"
"It's Mr. Stark sir!" Bruce turned towards the group, alarm masking his face, "He woke up in a panic and when they tried to give him his medication he forced his way out of bed! The doctor's are worried about the damage he may do to his leg, he's already ripped his stitches! He won't let anyone near him!" She yelled her last statement at five retreating forms.
Bruce got there first he stood frozen at the door forcing the others to peer around his shoulder. Tony was in the furthest corner of the room his full weight on his right leg as his left was straight out in front of him forcing him to clutch at the wall with his right hand. At one point he must have taken off his sling because his left arm was hanging at his side with his shaking hand clutching at his leg, blood welling up between his fingers. His eyes were wide – clouded with the remaining amount of the drugs in his system – and his bangs were plastered to his forehead with sweat. In his right hand held firmly in place by the flat of his palm was a scalpel.
A doctor was trying to talk to him, "Please Mr. Stark, we're only here to help you I promise." He held Tony's discarded oxygen mask in his hand, "Please, you are bleeding and your lung is still not at its fully healed," he held out the mask, "This will help you I promise." Tony's eyes flicked to the mask and then back to the doctor. He looked conflicted, he shifted his weight – his fingers going white as he clutched his leg tighter – and his eyes flicked back to the mask. The doctor took a step closer to Tony, bringing the distance between them at arm's length, and raised the mask slightly.
Tony's eyes flashed and before Bruce could yell out a warning the scalpel was in the doctors right shoulder. The man's eyes bulged, and Tony shoved him aside with an animal cry of desperation. Tony made to move away from the man cursing on the floor but was stopped by a yell from a nurse. He whirled towards her and cried out in panic when he saw her and another nurse with a syringe in his hand. Tony stumbled back and tripped over the doctor on the floor, causing him to twist and land on his injured shoulder, Tony gave a cry of pain and clutched at it as he used his right leg to scoot him back until his back hit the wall. The nurse stepped over the legs of the doctor and reached out for Tony and grabbed him by the shoulder and pinned his arm against his body. Tony kicked out nearly dislodging the grimacing nurse, the male nurse moved to stand above Tony – who was now fighting against the deceptively strong nurse as much as he could – and raised the syringe. He never got that far.
Steve had shoved past Bruce and reached the man before he could get within reach of Tony. Steve twisted the arm with the needle making the man drop it with a cry of pain, he was then shoved across the room where he stumbled and fell. Steve turned to the women holding Tony, only to realize that Natasha had got to her before him, she had vaulted over the bed that had been between them and yanked the women back by her hair. Tony pressed himself into the corner hands still clutching at his wounded limbs.
Bruce brushed past Steve and slowly knelt down next to Tony, "Tony," he said in a soft voice, "it's me Bruce. It's alright, you're going to be alright, but you're bleeding and I need to take care of that, alright. I'll do it instead of the doctor, ok?" Steve took a step towards them, Tony's eyes snapped to him, fear controlling his emotions. Steve winced at the whine that escaped Tony's lips, Bruce held out a hand to make Steve stop, "It's ok Tony, it's just Steve. Thor, Natasha, and Clint are here too." Tony's eyes flicked to Natasha who was still pinning the nurse to the bed. Bruce held out a hand, "Come on Tony, I know you're scared, but I can help you." Tony made a noise in the back of his throat at the mention of being scared, Bruce smiled.
Slowly Tony let go of his left shoulder and reached out for Bruce's hand. With Bruce's nod Steve stepped forward to help Tony up. Each man put one of Tony's arms around the shoulders, Tony's breath hitched when that action caused him to stretch at his ribs.
Bruce motioned to Clint and murmured softly, "You might want to grab that and reattach it to the oxygen canister, he will want that."
Clint stepped forward and picked up the mask, the doctor holding his bleeding shoulder jerked back when Clint growled at him. Clint handed the mask to Bruce while Natasha hauled the complacent nurse of the bed and shoved her across the room to lie on the floor next to her colleagues.
Tony gingerly sat down on the bed and allowed Bruce to replace the oxygen mask. Thor found Tony's sling and helped him loop his arm into the crumpled fabric. Natasha raised the bed so that Tony could sit upright and stepped back when Bruce moved to put Tony's IV back in.
Tony flinched, "It's ok Tony. It's just your IV." Bruce turned to Steve, "See if that doctor can't get me what I need to stitch Tony back up, he's still bleeding." Steve nodded and turned to the second doctor who had come in when Steve had sent the nurse flying, the man gave a nod and hurried to fetch what Bruce needed.
Tony mumbled something behind his mask, Bruce turned to ask him what when he realized that Tony's eyes were only half opened and he wasn't focused on anyone in the room. He continued to mumble, his face muscles quivering and sweat beading on his brow. Bruce felt Tony's head and gave soft curse when he felt the elevated temperature.
The doctor came back and handed Bruce everything he needed, "He has a slight fever. Once you're done with them," Bruce indicated the three still on the floor, "I want you to get me something for that fever." The doctor nodded and went to tend to the two nurses' and the doctor.
"Alright Tony, I'm going stitch your leg." Bruce cleaned away the blood as best he could and then applied an antiseptic, causing Tony to wince and his hand to spastic towards his leg, Natasha grabbed it and murmured something in Tony's ear, he visibly relaxed. Bruce gave her a grateful look.
There was silence as Bruce worked, eventually Steve and Clint led the two doctors and nurses out the door much to the relief of Tony who had become coherent again halfway through Bruce's stitching job.
When he was done Bruce stood up and shed the latex gloves while also disposing of the needle and swabs of cotton he had used. Tony sat back head tilted slightly to the side, he reached up and laid his arm across his eyes to block out the light. He thought back to what had woken him, his dreams had been very real and vivid the last time he had come home. But at least that time he had had Rhodey, and then Pepper. Granted he had also had Obie but then Obie had turned out to be a raving lunatic. Last time he had Pepper there to tell him it was ok, when the dreams of water and Yinsen had become too much; when he had lain there as his Arc Reactor began to burn; and later when he started dreaming of Obie and dying while he couldn't move. This time he had woken to two unfamiliar faces and a needle inserting itself into his arm, he hadn't thought and he hadn't listened to the rational part of his mind; all he saw was the darkness of the cave, and the mystery of when he would die. Except it had been different this time, it wasn't just about the suit – he needed to build the suit! – it was getting his team out of there, getting them out before he got them killed.
But now they were here, and they weren't Pepper, or Rhodey, but they were here. And Bruce was asking something, something about how he was, and how he was feeling. Tony inwardly grimaced, he didn't do feelings, and this whole thing was sure to raise questions of his mental state, and if there was one thing Tony never ever talked about it was state of his mental health with anyone unless they were a gorgeous red-head with amazing legs, or a very tall platypus.
"Tony!" Tony jumped – he'll deny that later – and peeked out from behind his arm. Five sets of eyes were watching him, rather wearily and dashed with just a bit of concern.
"Yes," Tony said after a pause.
"I asked how are you feeling." Bruce said.
"Like I've been shot twice and had a few too many kicks to the gut Doc, how do you think I feel?" Bruce smiled.
"I'd say you're feeling better." Clint said from Tony's right. Tony glared at him.
Tony lowered his arm, wincing only slightly at the brightness of the room. "So," Tony said as he plucked at the thin hospital sheet, "how long have I been here."
Steve shifted, "A few days Tony."
Tony rolled his eyes, "So it that like two days or three and-a-half. Come one Cap, I want details."
"About five days now I'd say." Natasha said.
Tony blinked in surprise, "Really, wow. I guess I took a rather nasty hit to the head. What did that this time zombies, killer robots?"
Steve glanced at Bruce, concern mirroring each other's faces, "Tony," Steve said cautiously, "What do you remember?"
"Uh, Fury and that one agent chick sending us to some eastern Asian village being subjected to the terrors of some mad mans creations. Why?"
Clint shook his head, "Are you sure, because some pretty important stuff happened between then and now." Bruce turned an exasperated face towards Clint, one that clearly said 'Not helping.'
"Are we talking you and Romanoff finally shagging important or Steve and Thor finally learned how to use the remote important?" Tony said while he accepted a glass of water from Steve.
"No, not exactly." Bruce said.
"Well than what?"
Steve opened his mouth but was interrupted by Natasha, "It doesn't matter right now." She waved a hand at Steve's coming protest, "No, Tony just took a dose of loopy drugs and I for one don't have any intention of watching him make a bigger fool of himself." Even as she said that Tony's eyes started to droop, whether from the effects of the drugs or the activities of the past hour Tony started to feel his exhaustion.
After a goodbye and a promise to come see him later, Natasha stood and led the group of men out. She stood by as Steve turned to her, "Why did you stop me. He needs to know, it would be better if he knew about it so that it won't come as a shock later."
She shook her head, "You don't honestly believe that Tony doesn't remember. This is Tony Stark we are talking about."
"What makes you think he remembers?" Steve said hostilely.
"He mentioned getting shot twice and getting kicked in the gut. If he doesn't remember what transpired for those four days then I doubt he would remember his exact injuries."
Steve closed his mouth, "Oh." He looked away sheepishly, "Then why wouldn't he let us talk to him about it. It would be easier for him."
Bruce shook his head, "Tony doesn't talk about his feelings Steve. We all know that. If I remember correctly he never told anyone about his palladium poisoning, not even Pepper." Bruce turned to Natasha for confirmation, she nodded.
"Pepper only found out because she managed to overhear Tony and me speaking over the comms. If she hadn't found out that way than I doubt she would have ever known."
"So we're just going to just let Tony keep this all bottled up inside. I know he managed fine after his first abduction but a second time – by the same people too – is sure to have a lasting effect." Steve crossed his arms.
Natasha nodded again, "Yes, I know, but I think someone else should talk to him about it." She looked at Bruce, "You did tell Fury that someone who knew Tony more intimately will help speed his recovery."
Bruce nodded, "If he speaks to anyone I think Pepper has the better chance of getting through to him. He won't seek outside counsel."
"But what if Pepper can't help with everything, she wasn't there." Steve said.
"Then there is always one of us, but I think we need to approach this differently. Tony had to grow up under the spotlight, he had to keep check on his emotions so as not to hurt his father's image; later after Howard died he had to keep emotions that he considered weak to himself to protect his own image. Tony is a guarded individual on nature and he will only open up when he feels like it." Natasha said as she turned to walk back down the hall.
Steve scowled as he followed, "So we just have to wait it out and hope that he will open up to Pepper and possibly one of us." He protested.
Natasha glanced over her shoulder, "Exactly."
"That sounds like a terrible plan." Steve grumbled.
*/*
Tony listened to them outside his door, Thor being the last one out had failed to shut the door properly and he had sat there while listening to their conversation. Tony hadn't believed that he would fool them, especially Natasha, but he truly did not want to go into this. He had had a very trying day and he would prefer not to see the concerned and sympathetic looks he would receive, only one person was ever aloud to give him those looks and she gave them few and far between.
Still he had to agree with Romanoff, he would rather talk it out with Pepper, and if she was unavailable then Rhodey. They were there the first time and they probably would know how to react to his sudden outbursts better than the rest.
Tony shifted slightly and pulled a face as the oxygen mask scraped at his face, he took it off, he didn't care if he died of asphyxiation, it would be better than any way Pepper might kill him for being kidnapped again. Yes that was a conversation he was definitely giving Banner the pleasure of having. Tony closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off, if only for a moment.
A/N So I'm not so sure about this one. I don't like researching so I am sure you noticed my subtle way of not mentioning the names of any drugs because I don't know what what would have been given to him, so to me they are just sedatives! Still love all the reviews! Keep 'em coming! Well I'm off to watch the Thunder and Lightning! What fun!