"No!" Robin cried, and Steve could feel her pain and grief shoot through his mind, stabbing him with ice cold emotions, emotions of anguish that threatened to drown him. But he stayed above it, running over to where Tom had fallen, to where the dusty ground was stained with his blood, and kneeled beside him. He could hear Robin sobbing, heard another body falling to the ground, yet there was nothing else in his mind but the unmoving man in front of him. A man that had become like a father to him, helping him with his every need, a man who was willing to sacrifice everything to take down an operation that hurt innocent kids.
Steve pressed his shaky fingers to Tom's neck, searching for a pulse, a breath, anything and put his other hand on the bullet wound, trying to stop the blood flow.
"Please, Tom," He begged, tears burning in his own eyes, "Please. Don't leave us. Please."
His breath hitched as he felt a small pulse, small and weak, but it was there. Tom was alive. He was alive, and would stay that way if Steve had anything to do with it.
"He's gone, Steve." Robin cried, watching him place both of his hands on the wound. "He's gone. He's not breathing. He's gone. Tom's dead. He's dead."
"No! He's alive! He has a pulse!"
"But he's not breathing!"
"Just trust me, Rob! Please!"
Robin went quiet, and Steve focused on the wound, closing his eyes and thrusting all of his power into it, hoping that this would work.
It had to work. Please let this work.
His hands became coated in blood as sweat poured down his forehead and back, tears falling down his cheeks as he fought to keep him alive. He could feel Tom's skin begin to mend itself, the older man's chest beginning the rising and falling motion that had ceased when he was shot. He was breathing again.
That was a blessing in itself, but there was still so much damage done. Steve didn't know if he could do this. He was exhausted already, the bomb that he had been caught in finally making it's damage known as pain formed behind his eyes, drilling into his skull relentlessly.
Why was this so much harder than with Robin, when she was shot? What was wrong with him? How weak was he that he couldn't save the man that saved him?
Steve didn't even notice when Robin appeared beside him, kneeling down beside Tom, holding his hand, as if it would help him. Who knew if it would? Steve didn't. He didn't really even know what he was doing. All he could do was push everything he had into the wound, and hope that his abilities pulled through.
"Steve?" Robin asked, "What can I do?"
"Get the truck." He said sternly, whining as a flood of exhaustion burned through his veins. "We need to get out of here. Where's…where's Brenner?"
She looked over to where the man was standing. "Out cold. I think I did that."
Steve didn't have any time to question that. "Get the truck so that we can get out of here."
"Butー"
"Go!"
Robin rushed to grab the keys from Tom's pocket, rushing away to where they parked the truck a fair distance from the lab. Steve returned his focus to the man in front of him, color already returning to Tom's cheeks, yet he still wasn't out of the woods yet, Steve could tell. Blood still flowed steadily from the wound, and he still hadn't gotten the bullet out.
He could hear sirens blaring behind him, from the lab, and he looked at Tom's gentle face, his kind eyes still closed.
"Come on, Steve." He said, closing his eyes as his power passed from his hands to Tom's chest, a tingling sensation over his skin. "Come on, Steve."
Why was this so hard? What was he doing wrong?
Steve felt a scream build its way in his throat, pain instantly bursting forth in his hands, his chest, and he half expected to see his own blood seeping out of his stomach. It wasn't.
There. He could finally feel the bullet, and he pulled it out quickly, finally feeling that it was safe enough to close the wound completely.
Close the wound. It sounded simple enough.
He didn't know how long he sat there, covered in blood and dust, trying to mend this wound, constantly looking over to make sure that Tom was still with them. Tears freely fell down his cheeks, sobs shaking his body as he knew that it was all on him to save his life. All on Steve Harrington, who never really could do anything right.
It felt like it took ages, but something finally felt right. Whole again. Steve opened his eyes and pulled his hands away from Tom's stomach, ripping open his shirt and observing the bloodied skin beneath. The wound was gone. All that was left was a circular scar surrounded by blood and Steve knew that he couldn't fix that.
But Tom was breathing. He was alive. He should make it. He would make it.
Steve let out the tense breath that he had been holding, falling onto the ground in exhaustion. Sweat fell from his skin and onto the ground, and he allowed himself a few seconds of rest. Then he would have to get Tom into the truck, whenever Robin got back. After that they would have to run from this place, once and for all.
He looked at the clear sky above him, though smoke rose from the building that they had just destroyed. As he let himself finally relax after the monumental task that he had just completed, he could soon tell that the building was on fire, the air filled with the sound of falling debris and the crackling of flames.
Steve hadn't even heard the bombs go off. Robin's grief was too strong, though it had gone away, now, at least for him, and his need to save Tom numbing the world around him.
But, now he could hear the telltale signs of an engine, and he rolled over the ground, forcing himself to get on his feet. Robin jumped out of the driver's seat, her face as pale as a ghost, and looked at Steve, desperation in her eyes. Steve swallowed.
"He's alive. He's going to be okay."
Robin gave a small smile, though it was tainted with fear, and Steve went over and picked up Tom, who was still out cold and would probably be for a while, his muscles screaming in protest.
"Grab the files. We can't forget them after everything that happened."
Robin nodded, quickly running by Brenner, who, like Robin had said, was on the ground, unconscious. Steve could only assume that he had been blasted with the same emotion that Steve had experienced when Tom went down, Robin's agony hurting him more than it hurt Steve.
A part of him wanted to kill Brenner, but he knew that it wasn't the right decision. He didn't want to be a murderer, no matter how badly he had been wronged by him. With the files they could take him down legally. And, he had more important things he had to deal with.
Robin was soon back, holding the files and his newly made nail bat, and helped Steve put Tom in the backseat, opening the door so that Steve could put him in gently. Steve cast another glance back at the ruined building, relief flooding his veins, but he knew that they weren't out of the woods yet.
Robin rushed over to the passenger side, and Steve frowned, not knowing if he was able to drive right now. He felt like he was going to collapse at any minute, a strange feeling, especially as of late, but he couldn't explain it. He couldn't explain a lot of things right now.
"Robin? Do you want to drive?"
She frowned. "I don't know how."
His eyes widened. "So you…you drove all the way here without knowing what you were doing?"
Robin nodded shyly. "Yeah…it was bad."
Steve decided to not ask questions now. "Okay, I'll drive. Just keep an eye on him."
He slid into the front seat, turning the key and sped out of there as soon as Robin was buckled in, making quick work of the road until he knew that they weren't being followed. He looked back to Tom, who was still unconscious, but was breathing easy. Steve ignored how he himself was getting blood onto the steering wheel from his hands, hands that had healed a fatal wound, and Robin gave him a tissue.
"For your nose."
Steve reached up to his face, feeling two trails of blood draining from his nose, and he sighed, taking the tissue from Robin and wiping it away, although it was replaced with fresh blood not long after. Yet, after everything that happened, a nosebleed wasn't the biggest of his concerns. All he really wanted was to finally get Tom and Robin somewhere safe.
He was thankful that he had memorized the way back home, or else they would be in big trouble.
Keeping his eyes on the road proved to be a challenge. Not only did his vision black out every so often, causing him to swerve in panic until he could see again, but he constantly looked back at Tom, making sure that he was still alive. The older man was still unconscious, yet there was a steady rise and fall of his chest that managed to calm Steve down every time he looked back.
Robin was silent beside him, resting her hand on his leg in silent support. She was the one grabbing the wheel whenever Steve had trouble, though she didn't offer to drive. Steve didn't know if it was because she didn't know how, or if she was too afraid and shaken because of what had just happened.
He didn't think that everything had registered in his own mind yet. He knew what happened, but he just didn't feel anything but worry for Tom and the tiredness that seemed to settle in his bones, a tiredness he hadn't felt in a long time.
"Turn left." Robin said softly, and Steve's eyes refocused on the road, realizing that they had already passed through the town and were nearing their home. He turned, pulling into the driveway and parking the truck, finally letting himself close his eyes for a few, short seconds. He heard Robin hop out of the truck, yanking open the back door. Steve knew that she couldn't get Tom out of the backseat alone, so he forced his weak body out of the seat and met Robin on the other side. As he reached in to pick Tom up, Robin hovered by him anxiously.
"What do you need me to do?"
"Could you get the doors?"
She nodded, and, as soon as Steve had a solid grip on Tom, she helped him get the older man inside, turning on the lights and grabbing some cloths from the kitchen. Steve let her be, making his way into Tom's room and gently placing him on the bed, tossing a blanket over him, his hands trembling as he did so.
"Steve?"
He looked up to see Robin, a frown on her face, and she offered up a damp cloth to him.
"For your nose?"
He nodded, taking it and rubbing away the dried blood that sat on his skin. His breathing hitched unexpectedly, the tremors in his hands becoming more violent, and Robin watched him worriedly.
"You should go lay down, Steve. You look horrible."
"Aww, thanks. You look good too."
"I'm serious. You're probably exhausted, you sure look like it."
Steve cast a concerned glance at Tom, as if waiting for him to wake up, or for his breathing to cease. He wasn't sure which, both seemed too likely at this point. Robin seemed to realize what he was thinking, and she sighed.
"You saved him, Steve. He'll be okay."
"What if I didn't do enough?" He asked, tears burning behind his eyes unexpectedly, and he willed them away. Now wasn't the time to cry.
"You did. He's breathing, he isn't bleeding, and he's not even pale. You saved his life. He'll be okay." She rested her hand on his shaking shoulder, Steve unable to find any comfort in it.
He knew that he couldn't argue with her, but it didn't stop the worry from rooting itself in his stomach, growing deeper and deeper, wild and knotted.
Yet, he knew that she was right. Tom had to be okay. And Steve did need rest. He had nearly blacked out so many times already today, he needed to replenish his strength for what was to come. Because Brenner was going to come for them. It didn't matter that they now had the tools to put his operation out of business, he would be out for revenge. That was why he had shot Tom, wasn't it? Revenge for escaping, for destroying his lab?
Steve felt bile rise in his throat at the thought. Brenner wanted to get revenge on what Steve had done. All of it was Steve's fault, the escape, the trickery…so he was the reason Tom was shot. If he hadn't…if he hadn't been able to heal him…
He closed his eyes, breathing as steadily as he could. He shouldn't dwell on the what ifs. Tom was okay. He was okay. They would all be okay.
When he opened his eyes, he was on the couch, Robin placing a blanket around his trembling frame. He was already laying down, a cool cloth on his forehead, and before he could complain, Robin put a finger to her lips.
He didn't know how he got there, wasn't he just standing in Tom's room a minute ago? Yet Robin's compassionate gaze made all of his questions fall into silence.
"Get some rest, Steve. I'll keep watch."
"Thanks, Rob." He mumbled, already feeling the effects of the soft couch under his frail body. He didn't fight the sleep that gently pulled him under, and closed his eyes once more, effortlessly falling into a peaceful unconsciousness. Robin smiled as she saw him relax, sitting on the floor beside him, and stayed there until he fell asleep.
She couldn't believe that they had all survived, barely, yes, but survived nonetheless. She would just have to make sure that the three of them stayed that way.