[Fic] Steps to Recovery: Chapter 8 (avengers_rbb, Avengers)
Title: Steps to Recovery
Chapter Title: Catch Me When I Fall
Rating: PG-13
Overall Word Count: 14,694
Chapter Word Count: 1,162
Summary: When a loss is suffered, the steps back to normal are long. And sometimes they don't lead to normal but to something even better.
Author's Note: I do not own Avengers or any of the characters from the movie series.
Thank Yous: A big thank you for monkiainen for creating this wonderful mix! Yes, I did steal the chapter titles from her mix. :) Also, a big thank you to my beta, sirwynai, who doubles as cheerleader and flailing partner.
Tony woke up the next morning and looked at the chair that Steve was sitting in the evening before. It was just an empty chair and the longer he stared at it wouldn't make anyone sit down. He turned and stared up at the ceiling, not even hearing when the door opened and someone came in. It took a couple times of someone calling his name before he realized someone was in the room. He smiled at seeing Pepper. "Sorry - bit of thinking."
"Right," Pepper said as she moved to take Steve's empty chair. "The Doctor is going to come by soon. Then we can get you out of here and back home to be comfortable."
"Who is we?" Tony asked.
"Well, now I know how you look when a car hits you," Natasha said as she walked in.
"It's got to be some sort of record that a car hit me and I only broke my arm though," Tony countered.
"I once saw a guy walk away from a car wreck," Natasha said.
"Yeah, but if it was in old country, are you really sure that it wasn't more that nobody was going to save him?" Tony asked with a grin.
Natasha raised an eyebrow. "I'll be outside."
"You could be nicer," Pepper said.
"Nicer left in the middle of the night and he's not coming back," Tony said.
"I'll believe that when I see it," Pepper said. "Agent Romanoff doesn't have to stay. I could ask her if she could try to contact Steve."
"No," Tony said.
"Tony - " Pepper started.
"I said no, Pepper," Tony said. "Can we just focus on getting me out of this damned place and back to the lab?"
Pepper took a deep breath, about to counter Tony's request to go back to the lab with something, when there was a knock at the glass. "I'll be right back," she said as she got up and went outside.
"Yeah," Tony said. He reached for the remote and started to cycle through the channels that were available. When that was done, he sat up more in the bed and looked out to see Natasha and Pepper talking to the doctor. That was when he decided to take matters into his own hands and started to pull out different cords. The last one he got - the IV that went into the hand - was the one that hurt the most.
"What are you doing?!" Pepper asked as she came back into the room.
"Leaving," Tony said as he swung his legs over to stand up from the bed. "Mind grabbing my clothes so I can get dressed?"
"Tony, you can't leave," Pepper said. "There's something wrong and they want to transfer you to a different hospital."
"Well, they can transfer the bed, but I'm going home," Tony said.
"No, you can't," Pepper said.
"There's no good reason to stay," Tony countered.
"The shrapnel in your heart moved!" Pepper said. It got Tony to pause and look at her. "Just a few inches and it was due to the impact of the car. The reason Agent Romanoff is here is that S.H.I.E.L.D agents questioned the driver of the car that hit you. He was paid to run that red light. It turns out that Vanko has friends that want to avenge his death."
Tony just stared at Pepper for a long moment. "I can believe you on the second part, but you and I know that the first part is really for shit, Pepper."
"It was more to get your attention and for you to stop moving," Pepper admitted. "And yes, the second part is true. So you're going to headquarters. They're finding Steve and the two of you can make up there. Or not make up. At this point, I'm not sure which way is better."
"Join the club. I'll make hats," Tony quipped as he sat down.
"Make it jackets and I'm in," Pepper said as Natasha walked in. "Are we ready?"
"As soon as he gets dressed," Natasha said.
"What, you want to watch?" Tony asked.
"I got it from here," Pepper said. "But thank you," she said and waited for Natasha to leave before drawing the curtains. She helped Tony get dressed and into a sling for his cast. He tried to reject the wheelchair before Natasha made him sit down and let himself be wheeled out to the car to go to S.H.I.E.L.D.
*~*~*~*
Steve had been sitting down by the river for a while now. He had bought a coffee when he got cold, but he was mostly thinking over what Tony said. He did wonder if Tony was right, even though his mind rebelled against that thought, but he was more towards wrong. As the sun came up, he knew that he should probably head back to the hospital. He slowly got up, stretching as he did, before throwing out his empty cup of coffee in a garbage bin.
He noticed something odd out of the corner of his eye - a person who was clearly of Russian descent watching him - but he tried to dismiss it. He walked a bit, putting his hands into his pockets, before looking behind him and seeing the guy following him. He stopped and turned around, walking over to him. "Do you need something?"
"Not really," the man said before trying to punch at Steve.
Steve dodged it before landing a punch of his own. He was a bit surprised when the man got up quickly and then there were four others. "Fellas, this isn't really all that fair of a fight."
The first man was about to say something when an arrow landed square in the middle of his chest. Steve ducked down as the other men were hit quickly. "Captain," Clint said as he jumped down from his perch.
"Hawkeye," Steve said with a nod. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," Clint said and touched his ear piece. "Coulson? Yeah, I found him. Got four with tranquillizers. How far away are you?" He listened for a moment and then turned to where a SUV and a car pulled up. "They've got good timing too."
"What's going on?" Steve asked.
"Oh, someone has a grudge against Stark," Coulson said. "We couldn't ignore it and we'll get these four talking soon. The both of you are due at HQ."
"Then we'd better get there," Clint said as he took the car keys that Coulson offered him.
"How is he?" Steve asked of Coulson.
"Same as last night, although I hear that his temper is back," Coulson said. "Plus, he decided he was going to try to walk out of the hospital because nobody was acting fast enough."
"So, normal," Steve said.
"Normal for a month ago," Coulson clarified.
"Yeah," Steve said as he went over to where Clint was. He got in the car and was quiet on the ride over to headquarters.
Chapter Title: Catch Me When I Fall
Rating: PG-13
Overall Word Count: 14,694
Chapter Word Count: 1,162
Summary: When a loss is suffered, the steps back to normal are long. And sometimes they don't lead to normal but to something even better.
Author's Note: I do not own Avengers or any of the characters from the movie series.
Thank Yous: A big thank you for monkiainen for creating this wonderful mix! Yes, I did steal the chapter titles from her mix. :) Also, a big thank you to my beta, sirwynai, who doubles as cheerleader and flailing partner.
Tony woke up the next morning and looked at the chair that Steve was sitting in the evening before. It was just an empty chair and the longer he stared at it wouldn't make anyone sit down. He turned and stared up at the ceiling, not even hearing when the door opened and someone came in. It took a couple times of someone calling his name before he realized someone was in the room. He smiled at seeing Pepper. "Sorry - bit of thinking."
"Right," Pepper said as she moved to take Steve's empty chair. "The Doctor is going to come by soon. Then we can get you out of here and back home to be comfortable."
"Who is we?" Tony asked.
"Well, now I know how you look when a car hits you," Natasha said as she walked in.
"It's got to be some sort of record that a car hit me and I only broke my arm though," Tony countered.
"I once saw a guy walk away from a car wreck," Natasha said.
"Yeah, but if it was in old country, are you really sure that it wasn't more that nobody was going to save him?" Tony asked with a grin.
Natasha raised an eyebrow. "I'll be outside."
"You could be nicer," Pepper said.
"Nicer left in the middle of the night and he's not coming back," Tony said.
"I'll believe that when I see it," Pepper said. "Agent Romanoff doesn't have to stay. I could ask her if she could try to contact Steve."
"No," Tony said.
"Tony - " Pepper started.
"I said no, Pepper," Tony said. "Can we just focus on getting me out of this damned place and back to the lab?"
Pepper took a deep breath, about to counter Tony's request to go back to the lab with something, when there was a knock at the glass. "I'll be right back," she said as she got up and went outside.
"Yeah," Tony said. He reached for the remote and started to cycle through the channels that were available. When that was done, he sat up more in the bed and looked out to see Natasha and Pepper talking to the doctor. That was when he decided to take matters into his own hands and started to pull out different cords. The last one he got - the IV that went into the hand - was the one that hurt the most.
"What are you doing?!" Pepper asked as she came back into the room.
"Leaving," Tony said as he swung his legs over to stand up from the bed. "Mind grabbing my clothes so I can get dressed?"
"Tony, you can't leave," Pepper said. "There's something wrong and they want to transfer you to a different hospital."
"Well, they can transfer the bed, but I'm going home," Tony said.
"No, you can't," Pepper said.
"There's no good reason to stay," Tony countered.
"The shrapnel in your heart moved!" Pepper said. It got Tony to pause and look at her. "Just a few inches and it was due to the impact of the car. The reason Agent Romanoff is here is that S.H.I.E.L.D agents questioned the driver of the car that hit you. He was paid to run that red light. It turns out that Vanko has friends that want to avenge his death."
Tony just stared at Pepper for a long moment. "I can believe you on the second part, but you and I know that the first part is really for shit, Pepper."
"It was more to get your attention and for you to stop moving," Pepper admitted. "And yes, the second part is true. So you're going to headquarters. They're finding Steve and the two of you can make up there. Or not make up. At this point, I'm not sure which way is better."
"Join the club. I'll make hats," Tony quipped as he sat down.
"Make it jackets and I'm in," Pepper said as Natasha walked in. "Are we ready?"
"As soon as he gets dressed," Natasha said.
"What, you want to watch?" Tony asked.
"I got it from here," Pepper said. "But thank you," she said and waited for Natasha to leave before drawing the curtains. She helped Tony get dressed and into a sling for his cast. He tried to reject the wheelchair before Natasha made him sit down and let himself be wheeled out to the car to go to S.H.I.E.L.D.
*~*~*~*
Steve had been sitting down by the river for a while now. He had bought a coffee when he got cold, but he was mostly thinking over what Tony said. He did wonder if Tony was right, even though his mind rebelled against that thought, but he was more towards wrong. As the sun came up, he knew that he should probably head back to the hospital. He slowly got up, stretching as he did, before throwing out his empty cup of coffee in a garbage bin.
He noticed something odd out of the corner of his eye - a person who was clearly of Russian descent watching him - but he tried to dismiss it. He walked a bit, putting his hands into his pockets, before looking behind him and seeing the guy following him. He stopped and turned around, walking over to him. "Do you need something?"
"Not really," the man said before trying to punch at Steve.
Steve dodged it before landing a punch of his own. He was a bit surprised when the man got up quickly and then there were four others. "Fellas, this isn't really all that fair of a fight."
The first man was about to say something when an arrow landed square in the middle of his chest. Steve ducked down as the other men were hit quickly. "Captain," Clint said as he jumped down from his perch.
"Hawkeye," Steve said with a nod. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," Clint said and touched his ear piece. "Coulson? Yeah, I found him. Got four with tranquillizers. How far away are you?" He listened for a moment and then turned to where a SUV and a car pulled up. "They've got good timing too."
"What's going on?" Steve asked.
"Oh, someone has a grudge against Stark," Coulson said. "We couldn't ignore it and we'll get these four talking soon. The both of you are due at HQ."
"Then we'd better get there," Clint said as he took the car keys that Coulson offered him.
"How is he?" Steve asked of Coulson.
"Same as last night, although I hear that his temper is back," Coulson said. "Plus, he decided he was going to try to walk out of the hospital because nobody was acting fast enough."
"So, normal," Steve said.
"Normal for a month ago," Coulson clarified.
"Yeah," Steve said as he went over to where Clint was. He got in the car and was quiet on the ride over to headquarters.