Monty's laughing at a story that Tony is telling as the plane lands. Bucky had been able to convince Monty to come home with them and spend Christmas break somewhere non academic.
"—no, I swear!" Tony's smirking, "we never even made it past level—" he stops, looking down at his phone. Bucky looks down to see it lighting up with messages and calls he missed. One call from his dad and one message that just says: call me the minute you land.
Tony tilts his head, "maybe something came up and he needs someone else to pick us up…" he says it lightly, but Bucky knows Tony well enough to hear the concern in his tone.
He tries his dad, but it rings through going to voicemail. Tony hangs up and they sit there quietly as the plane taxis to the gate.
They're about to disembark, bags in hand, standing in the line when Tony's phone rings. He answers it immediately.
"Dad?"
Bucky can't hear what Howard is saying but Tony goes absolutely rigid, color draining from his face.
"No—" Tony chokes out.
"Tony?" Bucky asks, panic ratcheting higher, "Tony what is it?" But Tony just turns, his wide blank eyes meeting Bucky's and no words exiting his mouth. "Tony!" Bucky growls, feeling sick to his stomach, he can feel Monty shifting awkwardly behind him even though they're still stuck in the line. Tony still doesn't respond, so Bucky snatches the phone out of his hand and puts it to his ear, "Mr. Stark? What's happening?"
And he hears it: "Dr. Ephraim to the nurses' station please—" the pa in the background of the phone call sounds over the phone and Bucky's heart drops, those are hospital noises.
"Mr Stark?" He asks again, weakly.
"Jarvis is coming to pick you up." A cracked voice says before the line goes dead.
He looks up at Tony who is still staring blankly at him, "Tony," he growls, "what did your dad say?"
And Tony blinks slowly before the words exit his mouth, flat and emotionless, "Steve's in surgery, they don't think he's going to make it."
He hears a gasp from Monty or maybe that was from him. But he can't be sure because he's forgotten how to breathe.
"Please move up!" A stewardess at the front of the plane calls, the gap between Tony and the person in front of him in line growing. They move like robots, stiffly walking off the plane and down to baggage claim where JARVIS waits for them, looking absolutely miserable.
—-
Sam gets home from his quick trip to the VA where he was meeting with an old buddy while Sarah watched the house. He slipped up to the room to shower and change and then walked down to the kitchen, expecting to see Sarah starting dinner, but instead she was standing staring out the window by the sink.
"Sarah?"
She turned to face him and her eyes were red from crying. "Sarah what happened? What is it?"
"I didn't want to tell you over the phone." She whispers, "I know how much you dread it being over the phone."
Something about that statement makes him go on high alert. "What are we talking about right now, Sarah?"
"Sam," she starts, and the chokes off, her voice thick as she starts crying again, "Steve—"
His brain goes haywire, "Steve what!"
He doesn't wait for an answer, he runs out of the room and bounds up the stairs, bursting into Steve's room only to see his bed made and empty like he'd left it that morning. A few of the kids look at him curiously. "Anybody seen Steve?" He asks, using every fiber of his being to sound calm.
Peter speaks up, "no, he hasn't come home from school yet."
Sam's knowledge of the time tells him Steve should have been home hours ago.
"Sam!" He hears Sarah call, "sam get down here."
But he can't. He checks the other room, the bathroom, then he walks down the stairs and ignores Sarah calling his name. He checks the living room and then even his room and the small room next to it. He's got to be here somewhere.
"Steve?" He calls out, his voice cracking, "Steve?"
A hand appears on his shoulder, "Sam he's at Brooklyn Med. Howard called a while ago—"
"How long ago?"
"Maybe an hour or so—"
"And he didn't call me!" Sam's panic morphs into fury, emotion roiling and not knowing how to express itself.
"No, no, he called here for you, and when I told him you were gone he said he would call you but I told him not to."
"Why!" Sam shouts, "why!"
"I didn't want it to be over the phone," she whispers, "and it wouldn't have made a difference in time, Steve will be in surgery for hours."
Sam short circuits, "surgery!" He sucks in a deep gasp, "for what!"
"He was shot." Sarah says, her eyes squeezing closed, "today at school—"
Sam's not seeing. He's grabbing keys and his phone and he's running out the door so fast he thinks he leaves it wide open.
—
A hand rests on his ever bouncing knee to still it. He looks up to see Howard, staring off into the distance.
They're both still covered in Steve's blood. They'd been relegated to the waiting room as they'd rushed Steve into the ER.
And now here they sat, helpless and useless and impatient.
Tony had called just minutes ago. So now he and Bucky knew and we're on their way.
Clint had called Natasha not long after arrival but her phone had gone straight to voicemail. Then he'd called Peggy whose phone had rung but she hadn't answered so he'd left a voicemail not giving too many details. Just a message for her to call same as Natasha.
Then he'd called Laura and cried over the phone, hiding behind a vending machine as she tried to soothe him through the phone. Steve's tired expression and eerie calmness making Clint panic that he wouldn't fight hard enough to make it through.
—
Bucky had never been in a car ride so silent. A part of him felt bad for Monty who was sitting quietly and looked very concerned. But his brain was so preoccupied with his thoughts running rampant about what happened that he couldn't do anything about that right now.
So as they walk into the waiting area, he's not sure how it can get worse, until he sees a blood-covered Clint and Howard sitting quietly side by side.
"What the hell." Tony rasps out, stopping in front of his dad, "what happened to you!?"
Howard looks down where Tony is gesturing and confusion is on his face before his tired eyes look up to Tony.
"This isn't mine. It's Steve's."
Tony looks to Clint, taking in his bloody clothes as well and takes a step back, "what, was he vomiting blood again?" And it's almost like he hopes that's the right answer.
Bucky steps closer, wondering the same thing.
"No." Howard starts, standing and cracking his neck back and forth, "no, that's not what happened. We actually don't know much of what happened yet. But sit—" he gestures to the chairs across from them. Neither of them move. Howard pinches the bridge of his nose, "Anthony, James. Sit down."
Hearing his first name makes his knees buckle and he's sitting. He sees Monty sit off to the side.
Howard points at Clint, "you know more than I do."
Clint is now leaning back, his head tipped towards the ceiling and eyes closed, "I got a call from Laura—" he starts, his hands gripping the material of his jeans, "she told me that some cops left her class to respond to a school shooting at Brooklyn High—-"
Tony freezes beside him but he's bolting out of his chair, "no—" he feels his stomach rolling, and the blood on their clothes becomes that much more visceral. He lurches forward, finding a trash can and vomits into it. The pretzels and soda he'd eaten on the plane burning his throat as they make a reappearance.
A hand rests on his back and he looks up to see a concerned Monty standing over him, paper towel in hand. He takes the towel, thanking him weakly before wiping at his mouth.
He sinks down shakily onto the ground and leans against the trash can. After a minute he reaches his hand up and Monty hauls him up, helping him back to his chair.
Clint hasn't moved and Tony's still frozen. "So I run to the school." Clint resumes, "and when I get there I find out that it's just the shooter, Steve, and a teacher in there. But—".
"You better tell me what the hell is going on!" They hear a shout and they look up, "I'm his dad!"
Howard stands, "I'll get him."
They fall silent until minutes later when Howard walks back around the corner with Sam in tow, both looking positively unbalanced.
"Start over." Howard tells Clint as Sam sits, looking more upset that Bucky has ever seen him.
Clint recounts the first part of his story, "then I climbed up the outside of the building. And when I made my way into the office I ran into the kid." His face gets dark, "if I'd known he'd already shot Steve he would have gotten a lot more than scissors to the knuckles and a mug to the head!" His voice is hard as flint as eyes clenched closed. They're deathly silent as Clint continues, "then I round the corner and Steve's on his stomach, dragging himself out of the office—" his voice cuts off, covering his face with his hands, "and he was bleeding so much, out the front and back and he looked so tired and he told me he was 'clocking out' and I told him he better the hell not and then I dragged him up and out of the building and suddenly Howard was on the steps with me and the paramedics were already there and then they rushed him to the OR and now we're here."
Somehow Tony manages to find the voice that eludes Bucky, "how did Steve even manage to be the only student in the whole damn school who stayed in the building?"
"We don't know anything." Howard responds flatly, "we left in the ambulance with Steve. They haven't released details yet."
Clint looks up to him, "did you call Nat?"
Bucky nods, "straight to voicemail."
Howard looks at them, "what about Carter, anyone call her?"
"Same thing, voicemail." Bucky responds quietly.
Sam stares out into the distance, fingers gripping the arm rests so hard that his fingertips are white.
"What do we do now?" Tony asks, looking around as if the answer might pop out of nowhere.
But Howard sits and his hand snakes out to still Clint's bouncing knee. "Now we wait."
—
It's an hour later when a frantic Scott comes bursting into the waiting room. He takes in the group of them and sinks into a chair, head in his hands.
And Bucky suddenly feels angry at the kid, "where were you!" He snaps, "I thought we discussed you protecting Steve!"
"Bucky—" Sam admonishes, but Scott looks up miserably.
"I had to go home right after class." He stares quietly, "I had an appointment and Steve said he had a makeup test to take."
Sam draws in a deep breath, closing his eyes, "he did. He told me he had to take a test today or he wouldn't like his ending semester grade. I told him it was fine since you guys weren't coming in till later and he was so set on getting this last test in."
"I have to call Pepper." Tony says, face looking pale as he stands and walks away.
—-
Peggy zips up her bag and hauls it off the bed. Her last final had taken significantly longer than expected and she is more than an hour and a half behind her original planned schedule. She checks her phone.
A message from Steve sits unread from this morning. She clicks on it now.
I'll be happy to be kissed senseless by you. See you tonight. Milo's at 7, don't you dare be late. Good luck on your final, you're going to do amazing.
She smiles and types back.
Running late now, but I should still be able to be there by 7!
She looks at her watch and then at the missed call and voicemail from Bucky. He'd called her earlier this week to ask about what sorts of things his mum should have in the house for his British roommate who was coming home with him this week. She hasn't had the chance to get back to him and she feels bad for putting it off just now but she really does need to get moving. She'll call him back after the train ride when she has time. Or maybe she'll try to speak to him at Milo's. She had sent a text message to her own mother about it and her mum had replied that she'd put some things together. So she'll grab that before she heads out to meet with them.
—
Shooter in custody as details develop. One victim is at Brooklyn General, their status is unknown.
Clint reads the little subtitles as they appear on the screen in the corner. He looks around, taking in the sign that clearly says Brooklyn Medical. "Why are they reporting that he's at Brooklyn General?"
"Because I don't want anyone knowing where he is." Howard says flatly, typing something on his phone. "When Steve makes it out of surgery. I refuse to have more quack job reporters trying to sneak into his hotel room."
The kid in the corner that Clint guesses is Bucky's roommate, looks up with wide eyes, he mouths the question to Bucky, more?
Clint watches as Bucky's shoulders sag, "tell you later."
Tony reappears and looks vaguely calmer. "Tried Natasha again. Still no answer."
"Anyone try Peggy again?"
Clint shakes his head, as do the others, but no one moves to take out their cell-phone.
Clint can't even imagine how she'll react. She and Natasha are somehow some of the most calm yet terrifying people he knows.
Bucky turns to Sam, "what did you tell the kids?"
Sam sighs, scrubbing hands down the sides of his face, "nothing yet. I texted Sarah to tell them that Steve's sick for now. That I took him to the hospital. But if things get worse—" his voice cuts off and they go quiet again.
—-
Natasha's scrambling. Her phone had died and when she finally got back to her room after a brutal dance final, she's discovered that the cord to her charger isn't working, or maybe it was the brick or the outlet or who the hell knew. She usually is pretty organized when packing, but she is so ready to be home for break that she shoves everything into the bag, grabs her shoes and she's running out the door, hoping to catch the bus to the station she needs.
The tunnel traffic makes her physically want to drag her nails on a chalkboard but she sits, fiddling with her dead phone. And just picturing how nice it will be to sit down at Milo's tonight and just hang out with the group.
—-
Peggy gets home, greeting her parents and the family dog before flopping onto her bed in a rather undignified way. She shimmies out of her school clothes and changes, picking out the red sweater that she knows Steve likes and putting on comfy leggings and brown boots that will do well in the cold outside. She grabs the basket of items her mum had put together for her.
"I'll be home later tonight!" She calls, dashing her coat around her and looking at her phone, pushing Bucky's number.
"Hello?
"Bucky! Hello, sorry I'm just returning your call. My mum put some things together for your roommate and I'll bring them to Milo's. Is that alright?"
"Peggy."
She stops in the middle of the street. Basket in hand, and phone clutched in her glove. That's not Bucky's normal voice.
"Peggy, can you hear me?"
"Yes." She whispers.
"We're at Brooklyn Medical." He starts, his voice starting to get tougher as he speaks, "Steve's—" her heart leaps into her throat and she's walking, ignoring the looks she gets as she shoves past people, bounding down the nearest subway station. "He's…" she hears before the static of the subway station blocking his signal starts to crackle. "Just come soon—" the call goes dead but it doesn't matter because she isn't listening anyways.
—-
Natasha bursts through the door at Milo's at 6:58. Her suitcase is in her hands and she looks around, expecting to see the group or some of them sitting there.
Surprisingly she's the first one there. She squints at the clock. She uses her fingers to calculate backwards. Bucky and Tony and the roommate guy they were bringing should have been in Brooklyn hours ago. And Steve and Clint should definitely be here… she looks up hoping to see Clint's uncle Ricky, but it's another worker behind the counter that she doesn't recognize.
She waits for a few minutes, standing in the warmth of the little deli before her gut tells her something's off. So she trudges back out into the cold and makes her way to the house. She walks in, and it seems relatively quiet and subdued. She sees a few kids in the living room with the tv on, but Sam's office door is open and dark, and the kitchen is quiet.
She makes her way upstairs and enters her room.
Sarah sits on a bed, talking to some of the kids quietly.
"What's going on?" She asks, dropping her stuff and getting their attention. "I went to Milo's but nobody was there, where's Steve?"
Peter looks up, and he waves hello, "he's sick again. Sam took him to the hospital."
"Oh." She nods. She guesses that makes sense… But Sarah's tight facial expression makes her pause. Yelena gets up and she hugs her, "how's school?" She asks.
"It's good." Yelena responds. And she and Yelena and Wanda talk for a while, but Sarah keeps staring at her and Natasha knows something else is happening. Pietro and Peter sit, playing with some toy as the rest of the kids mill about quietly.
It's awfully subdued for being the first day of Christmas break.
"Sarah?" Natasha asks, catching the woman's eyes on her again, "everything okay?"
Sarah pauses for a moment, "where's your phone?" She asks casually.
"It's dead." Natasha replies, "died earlier and my charger quit on me. Why?"
Sarah shrugs in an approximation of calm, "I think Clint called here earlier trying to get ahold of you. You should call him back."
The tone of that statement has Natasha's senses on high alert. "Okay." She responds, standing and walking out of the room. She walks down the stairs and to the phone in the kitchen.
It rings twice before Clint answers, "hello?"
"Clint, it's me, Nat. Sarah said you were trying to get a hold of me—"
"It's Nat—" she hears Clint say, "Nat." His voice cuts off and she knows something is very wrong.
"Clint," she starts, "Clint what is it?"
"It's Steve. We're at Brooklyn Medical and he's in surgery."
Her mind whirls, "what! Surgery for what!? His heart?"
"No—" Clint whispers back, "everyone's here, you better come soon—" he sounds distracted, not all with it.
"Clint, surgery for what?"
"Mr. Wilson, Mr. Stark?" She hears a voice she doesn't recognize in the background of the phone call.
"Clint!" She calls again, but there's no answer. She hears muffled noises as if the phone is brushing up against something and she realizes Clint's not holding it to his ear anymore.
She hangs up the phone and only briefly remembers grabbing her coat before heading out the door.
—
Howard and Sam look up at the sound of their names. But everyone stands, watching as the doctor stops in front of them.
"I'm Dr. Shepard." The man says, "you're the family for Steve Rogers?" They nod and the man grows solemn, "the bullet did a lot of damage going in and coming out. The bleeding was very severe." They stand silently, waiting for the shoe to drop or hope or anything. "We've debrided the wound and will continue to do so as necessary, and the wound has also been drained and may need to be again depending on his healing. The swelling has gone down, but there may still need to be a fasciotomy. We're not sure yet. He may need skin grafts over the hole."
Sam furrows his brow, "skin grafts?"
"Point blank." Clint whispers. And they turn to him, he looks up looking miserable. "I could tell it was a point blank shot. He'd been burned by the muzzle."
The doctor sighs and nods, "he is correct. The muzzle of the gun must have been pressed against his skin during the shot, but more than the actual burn, the force of the gunshot so close caused quite the hole as it tore through. So depending on how the surgeon is able to close the wound will decide whether he needs a graft or not."
"What's another fucking scar on this kid!" Tony snaps, jaw clenched and eyes full or anxious fury, "what else can happen huh? What the fuck else!"
"Anthony." Howard says sharply, then he turns to the doctor, "so they're hopeful he'll make it out of surgery? Because when we first got here—"
The doctor holds up a hand, "I can't make any promises. Doing so, guessing the outcome is dangerous. Surgery is tough on even the healthiest bodies and Steve—"
"We know!" Sam snaps, cutting him off. "We know."
The doctor nods, "Steve's heart rate is erratic and there's no telling how the rest of it will go. But we just wanted to alert you that now that we're past the part of an open wound, we will be beginning the blood transfusion." Sam nods and the doctor retreats.
There's no time to go over what he just says as the far doors burst open and Peggy comes running in.
—
Bucky looks over as Peggy comes to a skidding halt in front of them, "where is he—" she asks, her chest heaving from presumably having run a far distance, "is he—?" Her voice cuts off, eyes searching all their faces.
"He's still in surgery." Howard manages to get out, "we don't know yet."
She sinks into a chair and covers her face, "what the hell happened!" She asks finally, looking up, "is it his heart?"
And Clint sighs, starting his story for the 4th time.
—
Natasha walks quietly through the halls, she's pacing back and forth, Bucky watches her from the chair he's sitting in, although his eyes are glazed. They've been there for hours and still haven't heard much.
The last thing the doctor came out to say was that Steve's transfusion went alright.
She turns and catches Clint who looks miserable but refuses to leave the hospital to go change. The same with Howard.
Sam's on the phone, updating Sarah and working on details for the house. Tony and Pepper are talking quietly. Her face is pinched in worry and Tony looks like he's pretending not to be having the anxiety attack he's been fighting for the past while.
Scott's sitting in a chair, barely paying attention to the deck of cards he's shuffling and reshuffling every few seconds.
Laura has appeared and disappeared, bringing coffee and pastries and going back to get whatever else people need who aren't willing to leave the vicinity of the waiting room.
Then Natasha's eyes catch on Peggy.
Peggy who has been silent and stoic since the moment Natasha arrived. Peggy stands at the big glass window overlooking the street below. Her hands crossed tightly over her chest and fingers gripping her own ribs.
Natasha's about to go over there and try to talk to her about something when Monty, Bucky's roommate who she hasn't met yet, appears at her side. He holds up a cup of something that Natasha can see is steaming from here, and says something quietly.
Peggy lets out a surprised watery laugh and the group looks up. She responds with something they can't hear and Monty is chuckling, nodding along as he sinks to the ground, patting the floor and leaning against the glass. Natasha is surprised when Peggy relents, sitting down for the first time in hours and resting her back against the window.
—-
Steve's been in surgery for almost 6 hours when a doctor appears and gets their attention.
They all stand, a giant gaggle of people waiting on his every word. "He's out of surgery and he's stable for now."
A visible wave of relief flows through them. "When can we see him?" Bucky asks, stepping forward.
The doctor grimaces, "I'm afraid that won't be possible for a while."
"Why not?"
"As you're all aware, his immune system is quite weak, and the autoimmune disease isn't helping at all. His heart, and his body are in a very fragile state. He'll be in a separate room, quarantined away from contaminations or anything that could weaken his body more. He needs every ounce of strength to heal from this wound and keep his heart running."
Peggy's suddenly at the front, "I don't care if you have to douse me in bleach or put me in a beekeeper's suit, I'm sitting with him the moment he's settled outside of the operating room."
The doctor's eyes blink back in surprise as he looks at Peggy who is perhaps the most intimidating thing Clint has ever seen in his life at the moment.
"Well, you—"
"Well, nothing." Peggy snaps, "you said he needs to be kept safe. I'll do nothing less. I'll scrub every ounce of my skin until you've no choice but to let me sit with him, do you understand?!"
And no one quite knows how to respond to that so the doctor just blinks and then backs away, leaving quickly.
"Damn, Carter." Tony says with a huff, "you're terrifying you know that."
She turns to him and Clint almost expects her fists to be raised with how defensive she looks. "I'll not have anyone's cheek about the matter. Steve doesn't need to sit in some white walled room alone. He needs us. Our support."
And no one disagrees.
—-
Another hour passes but eventually a nurse wals their way and looks at them warily. "We don't have the ability to have you in the room yet, but we can take you outside his room so you can see him."
Peggy looks about ready to protest, but the woman holds up a hand, "we're going to try to get you in that room. But we have to be cautious. So be patient with us and we will work with you. I promise." Peggy snaps her mouth shut and nods. "Okay, we're going to do three at a time. Alright?" Peggy stands, as does Sam. There's a brief pause where Bucky glances at Howard, but when the man nods at him, he stands and joins the group. "Right this way."
They follow her though a few hallways and down a far hallway until they come to a glass window that stares into a small room.
Bucky hears Peggy gasp but he can't look away from the sight in front of him.
Steve lays on the bed, looking so small and fragile. A gaunt face and dark circles haunt his eyes, and an oxygen mask covers the lower part of his face.
Everything under the neck is covered in blankets.
"He kept shivering, as his body is having a hard time regulating temperature after the blood loss. Hopefully that self corrects, especially with the transfusion, but for now the room is warm and the blankets are helping him conserve body heat."
The side of Sam's fist is resting against the glass as all three do them stare at the sight before them.
—-
They take shifts, sitting in the waiting room or watching outside his window.
Mrs. Stark shows up later that night and drags both Howard and Clint home to shower and change. Natasha watches in wonder as the usually quiet and reserved woman commands with a power that Natasha is in awe of.
Sam leaves in the morning but promises to be back the minute he's able or if Steve wakes up. He looks absolutely torn about leaving, but they assure him that the other kids need him too since Sarah has to go to work and that Steve would want him to go take care of them. So eventually he does.
Scott leaves too, looking forlorn as he walks away. His family needing to leave for their holiday trip.
Pepper and Laura both say their goodbyes once midnight passes, but promise to check in often and offer to be liaisons for whatever is needed. They continually remind the ones left that they're just a text away.
Around 5am, Clint returns, showered and fresh and with food from Mrs. Stark in a bag in his hand. They eat quietly and Clint informs them that Howard has a few things he wants to get done before Steve wakes up. So he'll be back eventually.
Clint, Natasha, Bucky, Tony, and Peggy sit quietly in the waiting room. They'd been gently shoo'd away from the window when the nurses had needed to change Steve's bandages and take him for scans.
The sun is rising, lighting up the room with a warm glow when the two policemen arrive.
Bucky notices them first. A man with an eyepatch and another with a mustache.
The cops stop at the nearby nurses station.
"We're here to check in on Steve Rogers." The man with the eyepatch says in a low tone.
The nurse looks up and her brow furrows at the cops in front of her, "what is this regarding?"
"We need to get his statement." The mustachioed man says.
"He's not awake." The nurse responds flatly. "Come back later."
They look about to follow that order when the mustache man looks over and sees their group. Bucky feels rather than sees Clint slink down in his chair.
"Hey—" the mustache man says, "you're that kid!"
The two cops walk over and Clint looks up at them, "oh. Hey."
They stare at each other for a moment before the man with the eyepatch looks at the group, "are you all here for Steve Rogers?"
They nod and the cop looks at each of them, then his eyes land on Clint, "how'd you get into the building?"
Clint looks at the man and then sags in his chair, "I climbed up the outside and into a second story classroom."
The mustachioed man laughs, "no shit."
"That was a very dangerous thing to do, young man." The other cop says, "you could have made the situation worse."
Clint glares at the man, "least I was getting something done." The group widens their eyes but he doesn't stop there, "what the hell even happened, huh? Why did the teacher get released before a student!"
The man steps forward, causing Clint to fall silent as he sits in a chair beside Natasha, "Steve, from the story the teacher has told us, was very brave." He looks at each of them but back to Clint, "we're here to get his side of the story, figure out why he was still in the building in the first place, but Mrs Sammons, that's the teacher, explained to us that Steve tricked the shooter into letting her go."
All of them sit there frozen. Peggy's fingers are gripping Bucky's arm, and his hand is gripping over top of hers.
"How?" Tony asks, "how!"
The mustached man sits then as well, speaking to Tony, "she said he called you. To get your father's number?"
Bucky feels his throat go dry. The phone call. Tony's eyes catch his and they lock.
"Holy shit!" Tony shouts standing, clutching at his hair and his chest heaving.
"Calm down, Tony." Natasha cautions, stepping over and putting a hand on his shoulder, "deep breaths."
The cops watch in confusion as Tony sits on his heels, clutching at one of the chair legs and sucking in pained sounding breaths of air. Peggy is still grasping his arm. "He called him?" She whispers, "while he was in there?"
Bucky nods numbly, "we were getting ready to leave for the airport and Tony gets a call. Steve said he lost his phone again and needed Howard's number."
The policeman is nodding, "the teacher said that somehow, Steve managed to convince the kid that he was the bigger target. Could get him in with Howard Stark and—" the man pauses, "well we're not exactly sure what he promised him. But the kid agreed. Letting the teacher go in exchange for contact with Howard Stark."
Tony makes a little choking noise and Clint looks ill.
"Why didn't your dad tell us he'd called?" Natasha asks.
"He never did." All five look up to the mustache man. He nods and continues, "no call after the last one to the police outside was made from that phone. And at some point that phone was shot to smithereens."
"What happened?" Clint asks, "what happened after the teacher left?"
The man with the eyepatch stands, "that's what we need to ask Steve. The kid in custody isn't talking much sense. We're gathering the camera footage from the school, but that won't give us audio. So we will be back when he wakes up."
They leave and the group sits quietly as Tony tries to regain his breath.
Peggy's hand relaxes on his arm, and he feels surprise as her hand slips into his, interlocking fingers and gripping his hand for support.
He grips it back just as tightly.
—
When Howard returns, Tony hauls him off to the side and Natasha watches as Howard grows pale and stiff at what Tony is telling him.
—-
It's days of Steve being unconscious.
They take shifts, somehow weirdly grateful that it's Christmas break and none of them have school or anything to attend to.
Clint does call his boss, taking him a brief recount of what happened and how he wouldn't be taking a shift for a while. Mr. Coulson informs him to take all the time he needs.
So they sit. And they wait. And they hope.
—-
Sam looks harried. Between running back and forth from the house and trying to be near Steve.
Eventually they watch as Howard pulls him aside and tells him to go home. They'll call him the minute they have news. And when Sam starts to protest, Howard plays dirty. "Steve would be mad that you're here, twiddling your thumbs instead of taking care of his siblings. There's nothing here you can do for him, so go home and take care of them."
Natasha fields yet another call from Yelena asking how Steve is doing. Natasha had broke down and told her after the first night, and she knows that Wanda and Pietro know now, but they're still keeping the details from the younger kids.
Peter's very worried, Yelena tells her, but he still just thinks Steve's really sick.
Tony, Clint and Monty are at Tony's at the moment, getting a shower and a nap in before heading back.
Peggy's parents have stopped by once, hugging and sitting with their daughter who has practically refused to go anywhere.
Natasha has gone home a few times. Seeing the other kids and her sister. She looks over at Bucky and Peggy. Who have become practically inseparable through this ordeal. They've left the hospital the least. Only when absolutely necessary and when others are shoving them out the door. But it's always for only a few hours and then they're back, staring at the nurses station as if that might manifest good news.
The Barnes have come by often. Bringing food and snacks and even books or things to help keep their minds and hands occupied.
"He's starting to fidget."
Natasha looks up at the nurse who is smiling at them.
"What?" Peggy asks, standing and dragging Bucky up with her. "He's what?"
The nurse turns to her, "he's starting to shift and move in his sleep. That's a good sign. Movement and motion on his own is good. It could be a sign that he's going to wake soon."
She leaves and they all stare at each other, a little ray of hope growing in each of their chests.
—
Christmas Eve arrives and Uncle Ricky appears, loaded down with subs and chips and drinks for the group.
He stays for a bit but then ruffles Clint's hair and is gone.
A small pile of presents sits on one chair. All have Steve's name on them.
Sarah's stops by, kissing each of them on the cheek and hugging them so hard it makes each one of them want to cry.
Mr. And Mrs. Stark leave to go to his work's Christmas Eve party, but Howard looks miserable doing so.
Monty, who Bucky is infinitely apologizing to for the situation, sits good naturedly in a hospital chair, reading a manual from Howard's lab that he's been fascinated with.
Peggy and Bucky sit back to back, trading barbs about who is going to yell at Steve more when he comes to.
Natasha and Clint sit cross legged in front of each other, playing magnetic travel checkers.
Pepper and Laura had dropped by, given their gifts to their boys and then had to go for family events.
Rebecca and the Barnes' have been and gone. A plate of Christmas Cookies and a gift for Steve left on a little table.
Suddenly Tony sits up. "Where is Steve's phone?"
Bucky looks over to him, "what?"
"Steve said he lost his phone. that he didn't have my dad's number. But why? When did he lose it?"
No one answers because no one knows.
Tony pulls out his cell and starts tapping away. After a moment he makes a confused noise, "it says it's in the school."
"What?" Natasha asks, leaning over his shoulder, "where?"
"Just on the left side of the building, I can't get more specific than that." He stands, "I'm going to get it."
Peggy looks up in surprise, "what? Why?"
"Because maybe he left it for a reason? Why didn't he have it on him? What's the reason for calling me?"
"Tony—" Natasha cautions, "what are you going to do, break into the school? It still is a crime scene right now."
But Tony's already walking away. They stare at each other in surprise as they scramble to their feet. Bucky and Peggy and Natasha all start to follow him. But Natasha stops looking back at Clint who is still sitting with a pinched face. "I've seen it. I don't want to again." Monty makes an 'I'll just stay her gesture'. And Natasha hurries after the other three.
—
The school is dark, police tape still lining the main doors. But Tony just cracks the lock on an old window in the back and they crawl in.
They use their phone flashlights and follow the signal to a classroom. They stop at the teacher's desk.
Natasha leans in and pulls on the top desk drawer. It's locked but Tony just hands his phone to someone else and gets to work.
The drawer pops open and Steve's phone sits on the top.
"Do teachers take phones when they give tests now?" Bucky asks, "maybe that's why it's here?"
The phone itself is dead as they make their way back out the hallway.
They come across a little yellow marker and stop.
A flop of paper sits in the middle of the hallway. Natasha leans down, shining her flashlight on it.
She takes a step back and shakes her head, "it's his test."
Bucky looks down and sure enough, Steve's name is written in his clear handwriting on the top of the first page. They don't touch it, walking past and down the stairs. More yellow markers and drops of blood greet them. Broken shards of a mug tell them where they are.
By silent consensus they make their way to the office.
The phone's light catches on the yellow marker by the giant smear of blood right outside the door.
Peggy grabs his hand and he holds it back. They step around it gingerly into the office, careful not to touch anything.
The blood splatter and bullet hole on the wall make Tony crouch down, head in his hands, while Peggy and Bucky and Natasha all grip each other's hands so tight it's painful. The long trail of blood from where he crawled makes them sick.
"Let's go." Natasha says, more calmly than she feels, "there's nothing here."
—
"Mr. Stark?"
Tony blinks his eyes awake, rubbing at them and sitting up, "huh?"
"He's waking up."
Adrenaline shoots through Tony as he stands, looking at the nurse in disbelief, "what?"
She smiles brightly, "he's waking up. Merry Christmas by the way."
Tony scrambles to wake the others and they follow her to the hallway where the glass window shows them Steve's room.
They watch for what feels like forever, but eventually Steve's eyes open and stay open.
A nurse is in the room, talking to him, but Steve is looking at her in confusion. He hasn't noticed them yet and the nurse furrows her brow. She says something else and Steve's hand twitches.
She leans in, checking his pupils and then gently grabbing his hand. He sits there staring at her and something uneasy curls in Tony's stomach.
She grabs a pen from her pocket and writes something down on her clipboard. She shows it to Steve who nods and the nurse smiles, making an 'okay' gesture.
"Guys—" Clint says hoarsely. But he doesn't get to finish as the nurse walks out.
"Sorry about that," she says easily, "his chart only mentioned hearing loss in one ear. But he's awake and coherent. So feel free to tap on the window to get his attention."
Peggy does so immediately. Steve turns and his eyes widen a bit as he catches sight of them. The deep circles under his eyes do nothing to lessen the smile that spreads across his face.
Peggy lets out a choked sob and her hand presses against the glass, leaning forward. "Steve." She says softly. She turns to the nurse, "can we please go in there? Please? It's Christmas. Please."
The nurse looks extremely torn, and then she sighs, "you'll have to follow strict protocol to enter, but if you do, then I think we can manage something."
—-
Steve's already back asleep by the time they clear inspection and make it inside. Sadly his gifts and the food doesn't get to make it in, but they don't complain. They're washed and gloved and masked to the gills but they enter the little room, quietly sitting in the chairs circling the bed.
Peggy sits on his left, holding his hand gently, and Bucky on his right.
It takes a few hours but eventually he stirs again. Blue eyes opening and catching them.
Steve makes a sound in his throat that gets their attention and soon they're crowded around, "Steve!" Peggy says sharply, "don't you dare scare us like that again."
Steve winces and shakes his head. Then he lifts a shaky frail arm to his ear.
Tony reaches into his pocket and pulls out the hearing aide Sam was handed the day after the accident. They'd given him all the belongings they'd found on Steve. Tony turns it on and gently pushes it into Steve's ear.
Steve tilts his head and then sighs. "Hi." He whispers with a dry voice.
And everyone sags into their chairs in relief at that.
—-