Vital Communication Chapter 18
Disclaimer: Still in that dark time, folks. We are slowly (like molasses in January, in the Arctic) climbing out of it. But still, I ENCOURAGE you, proceed with caution. See the bottom of the chapter for some news!
Tony's shower was swift, barely more than a sluicing down. Clint loaned him fresh clothes until Happy could bring around a bag for him. He went to find Steve and Clint afterward, hoping for a distraction to calm his mind. They were in Clint's room, talking quietly about the situation.
"Sitwell is handling the interrogations, Fury's with him. Dr. Ross is in Medical for tests," Clint was saying as Tony knocked on the outer door, "Come in!" Tony walked into the room, nearly a shambling, exhausted mess.
"Natasha's with Bruce?", Steve wanted to know, confirm that Bruce was not alone. He got a nod in reply as Tony shuffled in place.
"Sit before you fall, Stark. Jeez, you'd think this had been a week long OP or something," Clint snarked, waving the other man to grab a seat.
Tony glared, while sitting, collapsing, on the remaining chair in the room.
"Have you eaten yet?" Steve checked with Tony, solicitously, concerned for the health of all of his team.
"Just the cup of coffee you brought me. Not hungry though," Tony admitted, scruffing a hand across the back of his neck. Clint nods, half expecting that answer. He's the same way with Tasha, or with Phil, before.
"Fury tells us that we're welcome to stay for as long as necessary. The doctor and her accomplices will be dealt with here," Clint informs Tony quietly. Tony closes his eyes, and sighs deeply, accepting the news.
"Good. Will we be kept in the loop throughout, or is Fury going to try and block that?", the engineer asked. It was a good question, and they deserved the decency of knowing what SHIELD was doing with Dr. Ross.
"As the information comes available, we'll be informed. Sitwell isn't sure Dr. Ross is going to give up useful info until they figure out what's been done to her. He's working on the mook and lab coat, right now," Clint explained.
"Shady government agency is useful," Tony said, jokingly, wringing his hands together. He really needed something to fiddle with.
Clint laughed, a dark sound, "Yeah well, we can do what the other agencies can't, remember that."
Tony and Steve nodded thoughtfully. SHIELD's ability to ignore Geneva protocols as it suited it, was both a blessing, and curse. And they were fortunate to be on SHIELD's good side.
After a bit, Tony abruptly stood. "I need to get back," his voice was getting rough with the exhaustion slipping through his body. He was actively fighting asleep now.
"Have you talked to Pepper? Let her know what's going on?" Steve asked one final question, trying to keep Tony focused.
"She knows we have Bruce back, and that he needs medical attention. I'll talk to her again once Bruce is awake," Stark said from the doorway.
"Well, call if you need one of us," Steve called after him as he watched the former playboy disappear around the corner. Tony waved acknowledgment as he left.
"Well, we'll definitely have to keep an eye on him," Steve told Clint, in a conspiratorial fashion. Clint nodded agreement. Tony was liable to run himself into the ground with worry and he would need someone to make sure he took care of himself, as well as Bruce. Steve eventually left Clint alone to rest, and went to find the gym to burn off adrenaline. Clint sent a quick text to Tasha, letting her know Stark was on his way back, then lay down for a quick nap. He left his hearing aids in, so he wouldn't be caught by surprise by unannounced visitors to his room. It had happened in the past.
Tony found the cafeteria in his long walk back, and grabbed another coffee before he went back to the temporary hospital room. He entered that room, finding Ashwhite and a couple of nurses present with Tasha ensconced in the chair he'd vacated earlier.
"Oh good, Mr. Stark. Saves me from having to find you. I was just telling Agent Romanov about our findings on the suppressive drug in Dr. Banner's system," Ashwhite looked at Tony, giving him a once over with a gimlet eye. The medic could tell the engineer was tired, but determined to see out the watch on his friend. He also showed considerable signs of stress, not necessarily normal for Tony most days, but he appeared to be collected still. Ashwhite had been given access to both men's files by Fury, so he could determine if Stark was stretched too thin, or if Banner had any other issues that would make treating him difficult.
"Okay Doc, let'er rip," Tony said, going to lean against the sole counter in the room. He nodded at Tasha, thanking her for the respite with the motion. She quirked a corner of her mouth in acknowledgment, but otherwise remained focused on Ashwhite. The two nurses worked quietly in the background, tending to the sleeping man.
"It appears the drug was a compound of diazepam, dopamine, propranolol, alprazolam, and an anesthesia. Given Dr. Banner's unique physiology, we think it will be metabolized in another six hours. We can't reverse it, as we can't counteract all of the compound without stressing his heart. We can try giving him adrenaline alone, but can't be sure of its affect, outside of it being a trigger for the Hulk," Ashwhite explained, a sheaf of papers in one hand that he referred to occasionally. That combination of medicines, save the anesthesia, in small doses, could be beneficial for those suffering from clinical anxiety, in the dosages high enough to contain the Hulk...
"Damn that's a hell of cocktail. Let's try the adrenaline in four hours. If necessary, I'll inject it, suited up," Tony offered. He wouldn't let Bruce suffer a moment longer than necessary. The Hulk would ultimately help in this case, and they needed him.
"I'll think about it," Ashwhite hedged, unsure whether he wanted any of the Avengers there if they tried to bring Banner around. It was the doctor in him, he supposed. Logically they were the best candidates to handle the situation if it 'went off the rails', contain the Hulk, but he'd have to give the whole thing due consideration. He didn't want to add to his patient load unnecessarily.
Tasha remained silent throughout, but had a simple question, "What if he comes around on his own?"
"Not possible," Ashwhite began, only to see her pointing at Bruce, who had begun twitching just a few minutes ago. Ashwhite's eyes went round in surprise. This was incredible! All the chemists' estimates had indicated that Banner would continue to be out for another six hours, 4 at minimum. Apparently their guesses on Banner's metabolism were completely off!
Tony quickly deposits the half empty coffee cup on the counter, and moves to stand beside the bed, gripping the rails, calling to Bruce softly, "Bruce? C'mon buddy, come back to us." He reaches for one of the physicist's hands. As he grasped Bruce's left hand, the other man's grip tightened. "Yeah Bruce, it's me. We need to get back to the Tower and finish working on that room for Green Genes," Tony talked to Bruce, giving the other man something to focus on as he regained consciousness. Bruce's eyes flickered open to half slits, aimlessly tracking around the room. Ashwhite quickly dismisses the two nurses who'd been changing his bandages, and faded to the door himself as a safety precaution.
A single, long, pain filled groan emerged from Bruce, deep and guttural. The others present wondered if this sound presaged an appearance of the Hulk, but Bruce remained, twitching, pink and covered in bandages. His eyes opened fully, and found Tony's hand in his own. He groggily tried to understand the significance of this action.
"His eyes," Ashwhite breathed, incredulous, drawing Bruce's attention. One iris was a perfect milk chocolate color, and the other, shining, bright emerald green. Nothing in Bruce's SHIELD file had mentioned heterochromia, leaving Ashwhite quite confused by this turn of events. Bruce grumbled, trying to make his voice work.
"Shh, it's okay Bruce. We're at a SHIELD facility, still in New York. It's over now," Tony reassured his friend. He'd put his free hand over their clasped pair to redirect Bruce's attention. The odd eyes came to rest on Tony and the visible tension in the man's shoulders eased.
"Hey big man. Natasha is going to bring you some water, if she pleases," Tony flicked a glance in her direction, having Bruce follow along to see her sitting in the chair currently beside the foot of the bed. Slowly she nodded, and stood, keeping her hands visible to keep Bruce at his ease.
"Of course I will, Tony. Bruce, I'll be right back, okay?", she agreed, focusing directly on the injured man. Bruce's eyes blinked shut, reopening back on Tony's face, dismissing Natasha. She took no offense, just slipped from the room and on her task.
Ashwhite moved forward. "Dr. Banner, I'm Kent Ashwhite, Physician's Assistant, and in charge of your care," he introduced himself. Bruce gave a half-hearted glare of warning to the man, forcing him to stop a few feet from the end of the bed. "You should know that the drugs you were on may still be affecting you, so we'll have to monitor you for a bit longer, all right? For now, I'll leave you with Mr. Stark and Agent Romanov," Ashwhite gave the pair a smile and quickly backed out of the room, only turning his back once he'd passed the threshold.
"Don't scare the medicals Banner, that's my job right now," Tony quipped, looking for levity in the situation.
"Hn," Bruce grunted. Natasha reappeared with a covered pitcher and large, lidded, styrofoam cup with a straw.
"I prepared this myself, so it's contaminant free," she assured the invalid, putting the pitcher on the counter and bringing the cup to the bedside.
She handed Tony the cup so she could strip the straw of its protective paper as Bruce watched. Taking the cup back, she deftly inserted the straw and then held the affair close to Bruce's mouth. He greedily sucked the straw into his mouth and slurped down the cool water.
"Easy, You've been dehydrated, and you're on IV fluids now," Natasha told him. He finished the cup anyway, then spit the straw out.
"Don't care," he whispered, his voice gravelly and deeper than normal. "Want out of here," the volume of his voice got stronger with each word. The syntax was a bit broken, and the others didn't catch anything wrong with it, just thinking Bruce wasn't quite awake and aware.
"Not yet, Bruce, I'm sorry." Tony said, watching him flinch with the denial, wishing they could just up and leave. "Can you feel the Hulk? Is he there?" Tony asked, fingers stroking the back of Bruce's hand, in an unconscious soothing gesture.
"Both here. Don't want to be HERE," there was something about the two statements that got the attention of his teammates.
"Both? What does that mean?" Tasha wondered from the other side of Bruce's bed. She stood nearby, but not close enough should he decide to reach out and grab her. She was wary of his disorientation.
"Good question," Tony admitted. He was curious about this answer. Bruce growled at them, his body tensing, muscles rippling across his chest, his hands flexing. Tony flinched a little at the increased pressure to his hand, but didn't try pulling away. He hadn't realized Bruce was so strong.
"Sorry. We're sorry. No hurt," Bruce's voice was a low growl, reminiscent of the Hulk's deep bass. Tasha quirked a look at Tony briefly at the plural 'we' in Bruce's statement, but said nothing, just cataloging everything.
"No Bruce, no. It's okay. I'm fine," Tony hastened to reassure the man, some ideas now percolating in his head. He patted the hand grasping his left, and turned to look at Tasha.
"I'll stay, if you want to go tell Steve and Clint the good news. But I think we should wait a bit before they come check on us, don't you?" he told her. He was bidding for some private time with Bruce, but wasn't sure he'd get it. He also wasn't sure what he'd do with it, if Bruce wasn't all together with them yet.
Tasha looked carefully at the genius engineer and then at Bruce. "We'll visit singly, after a few hours, okay Bruce?" she offered to the physicist. Bruce gave his assent, letting her leave the pair alone. "I'll bring dinner back when I return, Stark," she promised, not just that he'd have a meal, but that he'd eat it as well. Tony nodded, not letting go of Bruce's hand.
After the Russian agent had left them alone, "Don't hover Tin Man," Bruce growled out.
"Banner, if you think this is hovering, it's a good thing Pepper's not here," Tony quipped, letting go of Bruce's hand to get the chair he'd previously occupied. He shifted it further up the side of the bed and then sprawled.
"No, not Red Flower," Bruce jerked back in the bed, making the whole thing creak. They didn't want that precious being here, seeing them like this. No, couldn't happen.
"Red Flower? Interesting nickname, Bruce. You thinking of moving in on my girl?" he teased, half a smirk curling his lip, though his face remained serious. 'When I think I want you for myself?' he thought to himself.
"Hulk name for your girl, Tin Man. He likes descriptives," Bruce replied, sounding a bit more like himself, but still, slightly off. Banner worried about giving too much away, but he trusted Tony, didn't he?
Tony nodded, settling in the chair. "Do you need anything? More water?" he asked.
Bruce carefully shook his head once. "Just sleep," he replied, yawning. He really needed to talk to the Hulk within the mindscape, but meditating was out of the question with anyone present, as well as unknown interruptions from the medical staff. Sleep was the best second option for access.
"Okay, Big Guy. Either I'll be here, or someone from the team will," Tony informed his friend that he'd not be alone. Bruce nodded, shifted around a little and closed his eyes. Tony watched his breathing slow into sleep and pulled out his phone again.
J-man, ask Happy to bring a pair of tablets along with that ditty bag. Then load one with whatever Bruce's been reading, and the other with everything you can find on multiple personalities – Tony quickly tapped out the request.
Of course sir. May I assume that Dr. Banner is back with us then? - JARVIS
Yeah. Tell Pepper that much. When I get relieved, I'll call her. He's sleeping so don't want to disturb him. - Tony
Yes sir. Mr. Hogan will be there withing the hour. - JARVIS
Good man, J. - Tony
Bruce got his breathing under control, quickly falling sleep, and dropped his consciousness into the mindscape. It felt tighter, smaller, and darker than it had the last time he'd been there. Before.
AN: Announcement time! First, I'm sorry this is late. I know it's only Monday, and I'm not that late. However, I have preferred to get my stories out every weekend. That didn't happen this time. I have caught whatever ick is crawling around, thanks to my devoted husband *glares in his general direction*. That slowed me down considerably, for all that I'm medicated, and am still plugging away. I also got an editing request and that also made editing my work that much more thorough. And I'm running 3 stories at once, so everything got slow. No real excuse except being sick, and taking on a bit more work than I'm used to.
Also, I've put up notes in my profiles (on FFN and AO3) where you can find me elsewhere if you want to get story background, or just come harass me. I write posts under filter, on Dreamwidth and Livejournal, so you won't be getting crap you don't want to see. Each journal has a 'sticky' that lists those filters, with the comments screened. You just have to leave me a comment saying "I'm from 'whatever fiction site', and I want to be on your fanfic filter!" and I'll let you in. You'll get to see where I ramble about my storylines, whine about the characters, and mumble about new stories. I also have a Facebook, under this handle (only thing that stayed the same, as the journals are older).
I might be going to an every other week posting schedule. A couple of new stories are trying to crowd their way out of my gray matter, and well, I need some time to write them, and keep up with the others. I don't want to release more, but I also feel like one or more of the 3 I've got going on are winding down. I would also like a couple weeks RIGHT NOW to get ahead of myself a bit more. So bear with me. I know where my stories are going, and the well is not drying up on any of them. I refuse to let a story just die and not get finished. (I also don't like those 'chapters' that aren't anything other than an author's note, which this is quickly becoming, lol!) So if I don't post for a couple weeks, please don't freak out, just, PM me or something – I have some health issues I have to wrangle (aside from this cold), and some other real life stuff I want to mess with. Cripes this is a long author's note. But I think that's everything. See you when I see you!