Robin sat at the table, holding a warm mug as she watched the world outside, taking as deep breathes as she tried to keep calm. She tried to focus on the even emotions she was reading off of Tom, no doubt from him being in an unconscious state, but it didn't help. She couldn't read anything from Steve, but she could see him sleeping on the couch, his chest rising and falling with every breath.

She sighed, running her hands through her hair, hair that was a few inches short from her regular length. She would have to fix her bangs soon, if she really wanted to be normal again, though that was the least of her worries at the moment.

It had been nearly a day since they had attacked the lab, and neither of them had woken up. Robin had managed to fall into a fitful sleep, constantly worried that one of them would stop breathing, yet every time she checked they were both okay. Tom seemed to be doing a bit better than Steve, the only hint of his pain showing as a scar. Robin had managed to clean the skin around it, trying not to cry, yet so, so thankful that he was okay.

Steve was another story. He was motionless, breathing softly through his nose, and was covered in sweat. She wanted to wake him up. She wanted to make sure that he drank some water, that he didn't die in his sleep.

She had nearly lost a friend. She didn't want to lose another one.

But she didn't want to hurt him, either. He needed to rest.

She honestly didn't know what to do at all.

So there she sat, after checking up on the both of them, waiting for something to happen. Something good? Something bad? She didn't know.

She felt guilt swell in her chest, wishing that she had been able to defeat Papa. She could've made him scared, made him sad, had done anything, but she didn't. Now the people she cared about were suffering because of it.

She wanted to go home, before, but now she knew why Steve didn't want to. It was too risky. People could've died. She could've lost her parents like she nearly lost Tom.

She should've listened to Steve.

She took a deep breath. At least they could take down Papa now. At least everything would be okay.

"Robin?"

She jumped, quickly turning around to see Tom watching her, his kind eyes filled with confusion and compassion. She didn't waste a second in getting up and wrapping him in a hug, and he wrapped his arms around her shaking back, letting her sob into his chest.

"I thought you were gonna die you were shot and you fell and you weren't breathing and all I could do was watch and hope that you didn't die in your sleep and this was a horrible idea I'm so sorryー"

"Robin, it's alright. Breathe. I'm okay, don't panic."

She nodded, letting the peace that was in his mind flow into her, though it was tinged with concern, concern for Steve, and concern for her. The girl that was sobbing in his arms, about to break into a million pieces.

Robin wasn't sure who thought that. She wouldn't be surprised if it was her.

"Breathe, just keep on breathing." Tom instructed, helping her to the sturdy floor, and she tried to nod, hiccups piercing through her cries, Tom held her, like a father, and she let him, lacking the strength to stay strong for them any longer.

She didn't know how long they sat there, but she eventually pulled away, knowing that there were things that needed to be said, things that needed to be fixed.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I should've…" She said softly, but Tom shook his head.

"Everything will be fine, Robin. I promise."

"But will it?" She looked up to him, tears in her eyes as she searched for the truth in his words. "You nearly died!"

Tom frowned at the words. "I did?"

"You don't remember?" She asked, and Tom got to his feet, grabbing a cloth and handing it to Robin, who wiped her tears with it.

"No, I don't. Did we take down the base? Brenner?"

She nodded, getting to her feet and letting Tom lead her to the table, where she sat down, shakily taking a sip of the hot chocolate she had made earlier. It didn't taste as good as all of the times Tom made it, but it was good enough for now. Tom sat across from her, patiently waiting for her to explain.

"The base is gone. Brenner…he's not dead, I don't think. I don't really know what happened to him."

Tom frowned, but let her continue.

"He…he shot you. Steve thought he was going to shoot me, but he…he shot you instead." Once again, tears burned in her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away. "We…I…I thought that you were dead. You weren't breathing."

"But, how am I here, Robin?" Confusion rolled off of him in waves, but she knew the instant that he realized. "Steve. Steve saved me, didn't he? That's why I have a nasty scar on my chest and no wound?"

She nodded. "He was so tired after, I had to drive back and make sure that you were both going to make it. I…"

Tom reached over and gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "I'm right here, Robin, and I'm not going to let that happen ever again. But, I am willing to die if it means that you and Steve live another day."

"Why? You don't even know us, not really. You picked us up off the streets without even knowing our names. Why do I care so much? Why are you willing to die for us?"

Tom didn't even waste a second with his answer. "Because you were robbed of freedom and joy for far too long. And I want to make sure that you get some happiness and hope, a future. Kids like you shouldn't be hurt the way you and Steve were. And I want to make sure that you both get the happiness, the life that you both deserve."

Robin didn't know what to say to that, but she had a feeling that Tom knew, that he felt her thankfulness and gratitude. She didn't know if it was her powers or not, but she had a feeling that he just knew.

"How's Steve doing?" Tom asked quietly, and she frowned.

"I don't know. He hasn't woken up yet. He was exhausted after saving you."

"How long has it been? Since it happened?"

"About a day."

"And he's been sleeping the whole time?"

"You were too. And, I didn't want to make things worse by waking either of you up."

Tom nodded. "Okay. It'll be okay. Where is he?"

She frowned, gesturing to the couch. Tom got up, quickly gave her another hug, and walked over to Steve, who was still sleeping, yet his sleep was now fitful, even more sweat on his brow. Tom didn't waste a second getting a damp cloth with cold water, kneeling down and pressing it onto Steve's forehead. Steve reacted to the touch, leaning into the coolness as if he was drawn to it. He mumbled, and Robin couldn't tell what he was saying.

"He wasn't like this when he healed you, right?" Tom asked.

"No. He was perfectly fine. I was thinking that it was maybe because he hadn't used his powers much up to that point, so he had more energy for me?"

Tom shook his head. "No, didn't he block some bullets when you two escaped?"

"He…he did." Her breath hitched, realizing that something more was going on. Why was he so tired? Why was Tom perfectly fine when Steve wasn't?

"He has a fever. We're going to have to wake him up and get him some medication." Tom stated.

"But why is he like this? I've never seen him so…" Her voice tampered off as she watched as he unconsciously leaned further into Tom's touch, Tom trying to clean off the sweat from his face.

She knew what she wanted to say, yet the words got caught in her throat. She had never seen him so weak. So defenseless. So…vulnerable.

He was always the one defending her. Now he needed someone to defend him. It was scary.

"Robin, when was the last time he ate?" Tom asked suddenly, and she frowned, trying to remember. Surely he ate before they left, right?

As she played back the last week in her head, all from when Tom had revealed his plans to them and the three of them developing them to now, thinking about what Steve would have eaten and when, she realized that he had been barely eating at all.

The first couple of days, as the plan developed, he poured over blueprints of the building, blueprints that Clara had apparently helped get. During mealtimes he would pick at his food, saying that he was too worried about the attack. It was reasonable. It was expected.

But, with powers like his, powers that allowed him to withstand bullets, fire, heat, and so much more…could he have not even felt hungry? His body would adapt to being hungry, therefore allowing him to continue forward without food. Did he even feel hunger?

Without food, he wouldn't be able to be as strong. He would get more tired easily. He wouldn't be able to do as much as he could if he had eaten. That's why he was tired. He did this to himself, probably without even realizing it, as he would've never felt the pangs of hunger.

Robin decided then and there that she would have to keep a close eye on him from here on out. If his body was refusing to tell him when he was hungry, what other essentials were being ignored because he was adapting to living without it?

"He hasn't eaten anything." Robin admitted. "Probably for a week. His powersー"

"His powers are making him adapt to being hungry, so he doesn't feel like eating. He probably feels full." Tom finished with a sigh, knowing exactly what was happening. "Robin, could you get some water and some crackers? I'm waking him up, he needs to eat to get his strength back."

She rushed to get what Tom asked for, and she could hear him struggle to wake Steve up, whispering to him as Steve groaned.

"No…I'm so tir'd. Five more minutes…" Steve muttered, and Tom shook his head.

"Sorry, kid, you need to get up. We need to get some food into you."

"'M not hung'ry."

"I know, but you need to eat a bit. You'll feel a lot better when you do.

Tom reached over and helped Steve sit up on the couch, the blanket falling to Steve's lap, and the teen looked at Tom, his eyes widening.

"Tom? Wha…what? You're…"

"Alive? I am. All because of you. But now you have to let me take care of you, okay, kid?"

Steve weakley nodded. "No…no bullet? You're healed?"

"No bullet. Just a nasty scar."

"S'rry."

"Don't apologize, I'd rather have a scar than be dead. And you did a good job, you're a hero."

"Thn'ks. I dn't feel like one."

Tom gave him a small smile. "I know. But you will soon. You just have to eat something."

Robin made her way back, handing Tom the crackers and sat beside Steve, who looked at her with a lopsided smile.

"Hey." He said, and she smiled.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Could you drink a bit of this for me? It's ice cold, just like you like it."

She didn't know if he would even feel the cold, Steve had told her that he didn't feel cold temperatures much anymore, but she would say anything to get him to drink it.

And he did, taking the glass in his shaky hands and taking slow sips.

"I still don't understand." Robin said, more to Tom than to Steve. "If his body adapts to survive, why would he get a fever? Shouldn't he be perfectly fine?"

"Maybe his powers are prioritized. Maybe he needed to adapt to survive because of hunger, not because of the fever."

"So the fever broke through his body's adaptation, while his hunger didn't. He got a fever because his body was already working hard enough due to the lack of food."

"I guess so."

She sighed. His powers were confusing, and none of them knew exactly what was going on. All they could do was guess and hope for the best.

As Robin and Tom began coaxing more food into Steve, he became more aware and was soon able to eat the food himself. As soon as he had a couple of crackers he was willing to try more food, and soon he was eating a full plate of supper, his fever reduced to a headache. But, both Robin and Tom continued to keep an eye on him, watching him for anything out of the ordinary. If she wasn't worried about Steve before, she sure was now. His own body lied to him. And if that wasn't dangerous, Robin didn't know what was.

But, like everything else, they would take it one step at a time, hopefully now without Brenner's intervention.