Hey, guys! Before this chapter begins, I'd like to thank Marvel18, inugirl2469, Alicecreed1010, Zoe912, and Guardian of Heaven for their reviews! You're the bomb (dot com). Also, a special shout-out to all who've followed and favorited. Buy yourselves homemade cookies 'cause you're amazing. :)
All right... I now have a question for you all. I saw AoU again last night (in 3-D whoo!) and I have heard that a lot of people are questioning the Brutasha ship... I'm curious to see what's popular and what's not! If you'd like, leave in a review or PM me about what you personally ship (with or without Natasha), if you ship at all! I'm just wondering, myself. I'll tell you all what I think is amazing in the intro to Chapter 5!
Thanks so much for putting up with my rambling! Enjoy the new chapter!
Twelve hours later, the helicopter landed in New York City. While the majority of the citizens had been deposited at the town closest to Sokovia, Esca chose to remain on the helicopter with the Avengers. Although she didn't wish to burden them or follow them around like a lost puppy, she wanted to make sure Pietro would be all right.
By the time the flying vehicle had landed in New York, Steve and Clint were awake. Wanda was diligently watching over her brother. Tony was still conked out. Although Esca didn't want to wake him, there wasn't much choice.
"Wake up, Tony," said Esca, gently shaking his shoulder. "We're in New York."
"Go Yankees," he mumbled; then he yawned and hopped up. "Coffee."
Steve looked amused; Clint nodded and repeated, "Coffee."
Esca too was exhausted and ready for a pick-me-up. Unlike the others, she had not let herself fall asleep, just in case something happened and she needed to be awake for Pietro. She was nothing short of determined to make sure he was well. Then she noticed a sign down the street. "Starbucks?" asked Esca, pointing at the store.
Instantly, Clint and Tony perked up. They glanced at Esca before exchanging looks and announcing simultaneously, "Starbucks." Then they drowsily ambled down the street.
Esca looked back at Wanda. "Wanda, do you want to come get something to drink?"
The woman only shook her head. "No, thank you."
Esca shrugged. "Very well, we'll come back soon. If you change your mind, we'll be at Starbucks." And then she and Steve went after the staggering Tony and the yawning Clint.
Within ten minutes, the four were sitting at a table. Though Clint was now awake and happily drinking his beverage, Tony was still a zombie as he dazedly sipped his macchiato. For a while, all was silent as Esca silently stirred her caramel latte, Steve contentedly drank a cup of water, Clint checked his phone, and Tony struggled to wake up a little more.
At last, however, Steve broke the silence. "How's your coffee, Miss Esca?"
She smiled at the timid respect in Steve's tone and replied, "It's quite strong, actually… I don't recall drinking coffee like this where I've lived."
"You aren't from around here," Clint recalled. "I almost forgot. Don't know how I could've, what with your accent."
Esca blinked. "Who's to say you don't have an accent, Mr. Barton?"
Clint held up his hands in surrender, although he was grinning at her feistiness. "It was just an observation. But the fact that you are unaccustomed to Starbucks is practically proof that you haven't lived in America before."
This made her smile. "In that assumption, you are right. I've never been to this country before. It's… nice, and impressive, but very busy. I don't believe I have the right word for it…"
"Overwhelming?" suggested Steve, raising an eyebrow.
She nodded. "That's precisely it."
That was when Tony jolted up and exclaimed, "How can you not like strong coffee?"
His somniferous appearance made Esca laugh. "You misunderstand me, Mr. Stark. I enjoy it, but I believe it is something of an acquired taste."
A certain light lit Tony's eyes, and he mumbled lowly, "I know just the thing to help you adjust. How about I gave you a little sugar?"
Esca blinked, not quite sure what he meant by this comment, and was about to turn to Steve for assistance when Tony grabbed her coffee cup, ripped open a package of Splenda, and poured the contents into her drink. He did this a second time before gesturing to the cup and declaring, "Drink it."
She hesitantly took the cup and glanced at it. At Tony's encouraging nod, however, she sipped it. And he was right—it did taste better. With a small smile, she proceeded to drink it until it was halfway gone. With a small laugh, she said, "You were right, Mr. Stark. This is more to my taste."
"What have I said about you calling me Mr. Stark, blondie?" asked Tony, rolling his eyes.
She raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps I chose to ignore you. And for the record, my name is not blondie."
"Well, you are blonde," murmured Clint, gazing at her from his coffee.
"And I could just as easily call you Legolas," she retorted swiftly, earning a chuckle from Steve.
Clint, however, just grinned. "I would take that as a compliment. Thank you, blondie."
Esca groaned in exasperation, much to Steve's penchant. Instead of engaging in more nickname battles, however, she finished her drink and declared, "I should return to the Maximoff twins to check on Pietro."
"Hold on, now, we haven't gotten a nickname for Rogers or I yet," pouted Tony in a childish manner. "I won't leave this chair until I get a nickname."
His behavior made Esca grin helplessly. As she began to think of what to call Tony and Steve, she sighed, as it was harder than she'd expected. At last, however, she figured she found it. "All right, no need to be pushy, Rust Bucket."
Tony blinked for a moment before bursting into laughter. "That's good," he chuckled, pointing at her. "Very good! I like her!"
Steve sighed and lowered Tony's finger, as Tony had been pointing at Esca again.
Esca, however, just giggled and said, "It's all right, Old-Fashioned. As it is, it's rather good that Rust Bucket likes me, because that's where Pietro is, and I'd like to make sure he's well before I leave."
"Feel free to come back to Stark Tower," said Tony, a lopsided grin on his face. Then he chuckled again. "Rust Bucket. That's good, if only because it's so wrong. Nobody beats my suit."
"I'm sure no one does, Tony," said Esca, reverting to seriousness. "As it is, I really must return to Stark Tower. Thank you for the company, Steve, Tony, Clint."
Steve smiled and pulled out her chair as she stood up, which made her smile a little. He certainly was from the forties. "We will escort you there, Esca."
"You dropped the 'miss,'" she teased. "So much for old-fashioned, huh?"
"Guess I grew out of it, blondie," grinned Steve, which made her laugh. Then he gently put a hand on her shoulder before leading her out of the shop, Clint and Tony following.
Ten minutes later, Tony was leading Esca to the medical bay, where Wanda was kneeling next to Pietro. When Wanda saw Esca approaching, she asked, "Has it been twenty-four hours yet?"
Esca smiled somewhat. "Not yet. Give it a few more hours… I don't know exactly how much time has elapsed, but I will wait with you until he wakes up."
The woman nodded, gently pushing Pietro's hair away from his face. Seeing this, Esca smiled—she figured it must be nice to have a sibling that one loved more than anything.
Hours passed: Steve dropped by and offered Wanda and Esca some books. Though Esca gladly took one, Wands declined, choosing instead to take a nap. Esca, however, didn't sleep. She knew Pietro could wake at any moment, and she wanted to be awake herself when he did.
As it was, when nighttime rolled around and he still did not wake, Esca was concerned. She was certain it had been twenty-four hours… she took Pietro's temperature: normal.
Then she took his blood pressure.
She restrained a gasp—it was much too low to be normal.
Even though Wanda was trying to sleep, Esca needed the light to see. So she turned it on, hoping she wouldn't wake the other woman, and rushed back to Pietro. With the light, she noticed what she had failed to notice before.
His lips were blue. Esca's face paled; she carefully put two fingers on the inside of his wrist. She could barely find a pulse; it was weak, but very fast.
Esca gasped and rushed to find another needle. Despite the half-liter of blood that she had given him six hours ago, he was suffering from hypovolemic shock.
That was when she realized—he had powers. Of course he'd need more blood than a normal human, his metabolism must be ridiculously high! And he'd been shot a dozen times!
Esca scolded herself as she practically jabbed the needle into her arm. She needed to supply Pietro with more blood; she reached for the telephone, muttering to herself, "How do I contact Tony?!"
"Shall I page Mr. Stark for you?" asked a female voice from the ceiling, which made Esca jump and shriek.
Wanda woke up—seeing Esca's pale face and hurried state, she jumped up and looked at her brother. "What's going on?!" she questioned, almost screaming.
"Nothing, Wanda, nothing that I cannot help him through," said Esca, keeping her voice calm, although she was not quite sure she was being truthful. In worst cases, hypovolemic shock could be fatal. Then she remembered the disembodied voice from the ceiling. "Yes, please, get him or Steve Rogers."
"I shall contact them, miss," said the voice. Esca figured it was some sort of intercom that sensed whenever Tony was needed, and she thought nothing more of it as she continued withdrawing blood.
Steve and Tony were in the room in just a couple minutes. "What is it?" asked Steve.
"I need to know where Dr. Banner is," replied Esca. "Also, I need to know what your blood types are."
"I'm blood type B, and Banner has been missing for the past day," said Tony through a mouthful of peanuts. Seeing Esca's distress, he held out the bag of peanuts to her. "Peanut?" he offered amicably.
"No, I'm drawing my blood right now," she answered irately. "Steve, do you know your blood type?"
"I have no clue," he answered, shrugging.
"Wanda, do you know your blood type?"
"I do. I am AB."
Esca sighed. She didn't know what Pietro's blood type was, so she didn't know if any of their blood was compatible with his. She didn't know how to perform a blood type test, or, even if she could get it right, how to diagnose the results of the test. That was why she had been hoping to locate Dr. Banner—surely he would know. In a last ditch attempt, she asked, "Do any of you know how to conduct a blood type test?"
Tony shook his head. "Sorry, blondie. I'm more chemistry, robotics, physics, and astrophysics. Biology is not my forte."
Steve looked utterly nonplussed. "What's a blood type test?"
Wanda shook her head too.
There was no other choice. Esca had to keep withdrawing her own blood, never mind what it might do to her, to save Pietro's life.
An hour passed. Once another half-liter was gathered, Esca hooked up the bag to Pietro before withdrawing more blood from herself. Seeing what she was doing, Steve rushed forward and exclaimed, "Esca, stop! You're going to lose too much blood!"
"I can lose up to forty percent of my blood, Steve," replied Esca calmly. "That is approximately two and a quarter liters. I hope I will not have to go to such measures, but I will do so if necessary. I am a healer, after all."
"Perhaps, but you don't need to be a martyr," said Steve.
"He saved my life twice today. The least I can do is give my blood to save his," replied Esca, watching the thick red liquid drain up the IV. "I will not give up now."
Three more hours passed, and Esca had drained another liter of blood. That was two liters that she'd withdrawn in total, and her hands were shaking and her vision was cloudy and she felt godawful. But Pietro's lips were no longer blue, his pulse was stronger and not as fast, and his blood pressure was returning to normal levels.
Once the last of the blood was injected into his system, Esca gasped and stumbled drunkenly to the bedside. Her eyelids were threatening to close—it was harder, now more than ever, to remain awake. "There," she murmured. "I think… he'll be all right… now."
Just as she spoke, his eyes opened. He blinked once before asking faintly, "Are… you…?"
"You're awake," gasped Esca. That was all she needed to know. She let her lightheadedness take over, and she collapsed to the floor.