Steve

Don't panic. Do not panic. Steve cradled the young woman in his arms, holding her as her body tremored. Sirens echoed in the distance; he could hear them getting closer. The world felt muted around him. Steve glanced around once more to check for threats. She was being chased- what happened to her other pursuers? The pitter-patter of the rain on the ground was the only thing he could hear nearby. In his arms, Eleanor looked so much smaller as she continued to gasp for air. He knew there was nothing he could do to help her lungs get what they needed. A bruise was already forming around her throat, blood-soaked his hand where he put pressure on a wound on the back of her head. There was blood coming from somewhere else too, and the pads and skin on her legs and her bare feet were black and red, muddy and cut up.

Maybe it was better she had fallen unconscious.

The man who had attacked her was dead, the one alongside him unconscious. Steve almost wished he had caused both of them more pain. Never in his life had he felt that amount of panic before. He hadn't necessarily meant to kill the one holding Ella against the bricks, but his heightened emotions and the situation loosened his normal restraint.

If he was honest with himself, the entire situation terrified him. The team had been in the middle of a late pizza dinner when she called. The panic and fear laced in her voice repeated over and over in his memories.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed when Tony landed in his Ironman suit swiftly beside him, kneeling and scanning the girl in his arms. The suit had black marks and scratches from whatever he had gone through on his way to get there.

His voice echoed through, more metallic, but calm. "Head Trauma. Concussion. Her Larnyx was damaged, and she's got like—four bullet wounds. Five. One or two are close to pretty vital spots." Men from the ambulance were already running toward them with a stretcher. "Don't move her much. Steve." The man in his suit turned to the EMTs already giving them a similar rundown on the injuries.

The captain listened to the billionaire at that time. He was too worried to move anyway. She had stopped shaking, but her breathing was still irregular, still straining for air. When she was lifted by the medical crew onto a stretcher, he almost wanted to protest for her safety. It hit him how fragile she was. How fragile normal people are. With the medical team, he moved. He was set down on a seat on the ambulance before he realized that Tony was gone. In his place, Clint climbed aboard, his bow wrapped back around his chest as he sat beside the Captain.

Neither said anything for the first few seconds into the ride. Steve put his head in his hands for a second as he heard them rushing to keep the woman he'd fallen for from flat-lining. While he had lost many men on the battlefield, never had he lost a woman. The only pain he could compare it to was the loss of Bucky, but that had been more sudden, and a lot faster. In an ambulance, he literally could do nothing if it came down to keeping her heart beating. Steve didn't want to be the last person to have spoken to Eleanor. Not when her last words had been spoken with fear.

"Do we know who it was?" he tried to distract himself, he knew his voice was low, angry.

"No. Natasha had two when I headed in your direction. They'll be taken in for an interrogation."

"Was it on me?"

"Possibly."

The one thing Steve could count on with Clint was the truth. He should have realized that by being around Eleanor so often, with an increasing amount of time spent at her apartment or walking her home something was going to get out. While the paparazzi had calmed down in the superhero's lives, they were still there. Someone noticed. Measures should have been taken after SHIELD agreed to back off. He should have prepared her more. He thought about the car on her street. He let down his guard too often for his own comfort.

"They stormed her apartment. It's hard to determine if it was a kidnap attempt or what. If they were going to kill her, I don't understand why they would send over fifteen guys to do it. Even for a kidnap, it seems like it was a bit much, as though they were expecting you to be there."

That gave him something to think about. He couldn't imagine he had made that many enemies in the 21st century. It was a Thursday, had they noticed their Thursday routine? Possible. All the same, an attack on a single avenger was an attack on all of them.

They pulled into the hospital and she was taken out with the utmost care, rushed into the Emergency Room and down the hall out of sight. A nurse ran over to intercept him and told them that they couldn't follow her into surgery, and they would have to wait. Steve knew why, it made sense in his brain, but it didn't stop every part of him from wanting to keep her within sight.

"We need one of you to answer some questions for the patient's file,"

Clint got Steve's attention, pulling him back into the waiting room. The nurse-led them to the desk at the front of the room. Clint patted Steve on the back when his phone began to buzz. "I'm going to take this over there," He motioned toward the seats. Not a lot of people were in the ER currently, but the ones that were stared opened mouth at the two local celebrities.

"Name?"

"Eleanor Ruth Moore."

"Date of Birth?"

"March 6th 198…9. " With a quick math calculation, Steve figured out the year of her birth.

"Previous medical history?"

"I have no idea."

"Okay. She's being taken into surgery." The woman finished making notes on the file. "Stay here for a minute and I'll find out what I can." The woman walked around the desk and handed the paperwork to another. They had a short conversation and then she moved over to ask the EMTs some questions, making some quick notes in her book. Steve stood still at the counter as he watched her make copies and hand them once more to someone. He knew emergencies were their specialty, but the waiting, even if only for a few minutes was slowly killing him.

Steve's focus flipped between the woman's typing and clicking on the computer and Clint talking on the phone.

The nurse approached again, "the pressure put on her neck crushed her Larnyx and is obstructing her ability to breathe. They'll open the airways as best they can. Three bullets were taken out in the ambulance and patched up. There was one imbedded in her left calf, one in her left shoulder, there are two more that entered in her lower back, they'll probably try and get them out after she's breathing better. Her blood pressure has dropped twice to a dangerous level, and they performed a blood transfusion in the emergency vehicle."

Steve was trying to follow as the nurse talked to him about Eleanor's extensive injuries. "Her head?" he managed when she paused and looked at the report.

"Besides the high chance of a concussion, it's a priority that they stop the bleeding. Her hair in the back was cut off so doctors have better access to the wound. We'll get her into a CAT scan after surgery. But our main worry regarding her head is the under oxygenated cells disrupting function."

"She'll live?" that was his primary concern.

"The surgery has a 77 percent success rate. If she does, we'll have to work through the rest of the physical trauma. She won't be able to speak, maybe for an extensive amount of time. Memory loss is likely, she may have issues with her motor function or focusing, depending on the level of her concussion. We won't know until the surgeons finish,"

Steve ran a hand through his hair and looked back towards Clint again. To his relief, walking in swiftly to meet him was Pepper and Bruce. Pepper had changed out of her shorts into professional wear once more, with short heals so she could move quickly she looked confident. Bruce wore his clothes from earlier. His hair was ruffled from his own hands running through them, and his hands fiddled together as he moved into the hospital, he looked nervous. Steve found himself feeling more like Bruce than Pepper at that moment.

"Sir. I'm going to take this information and check the database some more. Please take a seat and I'll be back in a few minutes."

"How long will the surgery take?"

"Three to five hours. Maybe longer."

Steve nodded and the woman walked away with the papers in her hands. Moving slowly, he stood before Pepper, Bruce, and Clint.

"She was taken into surgery. Her—Larnyx?"

"Her voice box?" Bruce asked to clarify, making it better known to the rest of them.

"It was crushed. We were too late, I got there and she wa-" His voice cracked for the first time he could remember. He had to put himself together. He took a breath and ran another hand through his hair. It was still soaked from the rain. Pepper walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist in a much-needed hug. Responding slowly, Steve hugged her back, trying his best to relax and think rationally.

"She'll be okay."

"It's my fa-"

"Steve Rogers." Pepper interrupted him "As a woman with a superhero boyfriend if you blame yourself for this, you'll have it coming. She knew what she was getting into."

"I didn't warn-"

"You didn't have to. She called you. That makes her strong and smart. She'll be okay." Steve didn't feel reassured. The point then was that she was not okay. They were standing in a hospital. Bruce and Clint both nodded their heads and looked back toward the nurse, who was walking over.

"Eleanor's Emergency Contact died a few months. Are you her friend? Family?"

"Yes." Steve answered without hesitation and without really answering the question.

"Are you willing to sign for the responsibility of Eleanor Ruth Moore and make actions in her best interests?"

"Yes." Steve said again, taking the pen from her hand and signing his name and his number in the area indicated.

"Can I also be an Emergency contact ma'am?" Pepper spoke up, taking a step forward beside Steve. "She's also a good friend of my own, and I want to be available when Steve's not." The woman nodded and took a second clipboard off the desk behind her, slipping out a paper from under the one Steve signed. The captain wasn't sure if she was offering the position to him as Captain America or Pepper as Pepper Potts. Was this how normal hospitals determined Emergency Contacts? Did it really matter? Steve knew that Ella didn't have many people, but at the very least now she had two for emergencies.

Steve noted to himself that he should also add her to his emergency contact information.

When the nurse received all the information she needed, Steve looked back to Pepper.

The woman glanced at him, she figured she owed at least a small explanation of also stepping in, "I figure we'll learn to be good friends. She promised to bring a board game or two over, and I already have the seat prepared for her at Christmas dinner." The redhead smiled and watched as Steve laughed for the first time in over an hour. He could still fell the stress on his shoulders, but having his friends around helped lighten the mood, even if it was only a little. Eleanor wasn't alone. Neither was he. They would figure this out together. As a team.

The three of them sat quietly along with the chairs for a few more minutes before Pepper's phone rang. She answered it. She passed on the information to the rest of the group that Tony and Natasha had it handled and were with SHIELD. They'd meet the rest of them at the hospital in the morning when they got done finding more information on the origins of the attack on Ella. Steve wanted to help, he wanted to be up and moving. However, only a moment's thought of where he sat paired with the knowledge that the first girl he had ever been romantically involved with was sitting on a surgery table stopped him in his tracks. This case was not just about him. It was about those close to him.

They were there four hours before a doctor came out of the backroom asking the nurse and walking over to them. "Can I speak with Miss Eleanor's Emergency Contacts?" Both Pepper and Steve stood up and walked over into an empty area. The doctor's eyes raised as he recognized both of them. "My name is Dr. Solim, I performed the surgery tonight on your friend. She should recover," he told them.

Both the adults sighed in front of him.

"But she still has a way to go. For her throat to heal properly, she'll only be given liquids for the first few days, most nutrients fed through her IV. She will need to rest her voice by not speaking for about a week, and then voice therapy to regain her strength. For the next few days to determine the strain on her brain though we'll be keeping her in a coma. She'll have to stay here in the hospital for observation. Her anemia also causes her to look much paler than healthy, and bruises have already formed that are rather… distinguishing."

Steve could remember her telling him of her irrational fear of hospitals. Her hatred for them. "How long will she have to be in the hospital?"

"A few weeks."

"What if we have all of the resources available where we live? How soon could we transfer her?" Pepper asked, noticing Steve's hesitant look. She also knew based on previous experience that having someone in the hospital did not mean they were safe. Especially when this attack had been so sudden and unexpected. Odds were extra measures that could be taken, but the safest place in New York City for Eleanor had to be Stark Tower.

"As soon as she woke up. But I'd recommend a doctor on hand, and she'd be on bed rest for a few more days after that. Would you like to see her?"

They both nodded.

"She's being moved right now to the third story trauma ward. Room… 332. It's a rather large, and private room, per request, but the hospital asks that the volume is kept at a minimum. We'll probably start pulling her out of her coma in two or three days." Again, the Emergency contacts nodded their heads in relief at the doctor, thanking him before moving to get Clint and Bruce to pass on the news and move upstairs.

Eleanor

For a long time, she floated in the depths of oblivion. The static sounds or mix of sounds that surrounded her were her only comforts, but she couldn't comprehend the words being said. Not at first. It was dark, lonely. With the constant state, she couldn't recall much. Nothing. Not how she got there. Not where she was or who she was or what was going on. Just an observer that couldn't observe.

It was frustrating.

But then slowly, she was able to understand that someone was talking to her. Usually with an apology of some sort, or talk of the Wizard of Oz. Sometimes someone would read. She could hear multiple voices, and a television and her name. Eleanor. Other things she couldn't make out. Her ears focused on one voice, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She couldn't put her finger on anything. She focused on them, on the warmth of her heart or the chill in her toes.

One day, she was suddenly able to feel the heavyweight of aching pain was over her body, the weight on one of her hands of someone holding it. She could feel the pillow under her head, the itchy blanket. She could smell the hospital.

And then not long after, she opened her eyes.

It was dark when she did, the lights were off, the blinds shut. A radio played soft music in the corner. A man sat to her left, holding her hand, but asleep at an odd angle, his head resting on the side of the bed and legs laid out across the seat. He was too big for that chair almost. Eleanor was able to move her right hand though, up so she could see it. It was wrapped around, as was some of her arms. The IV was connected to the left. She blinked as she took in as much as possible, already feeling the overload to her senses.

Steve.

The name popped into her head like she'd known it all her life, and she could recall her memories of the man sitting beside her, one by one.

When she couldn't recall anymore she paused and opened her mouth, only to find it blocked by something in her throat.

Immediate panic.

The beeping on the wall suddenly became quicker, causing the man to jump, his eyes shooting to her light ones. Her hands suddenly tried to claw at what was in her throat, her eyes watered in fear as she began to try and sit up. At the same time, pain spiked in multiple areas, her head, her arm, her leg, her back.

"Eleanor. Eleanor calm down."

A nurse ran in and stuck her with a needle in her arm, causing her involuntarily to slump. The nurse began removing a few things, undoing whatever was clogging her throat and taking it off. Putting it in a container beside the bed. "Sweetheart, you're okay. I'll just get this out and you'll be okay." When it was all out, the woman put a finger to Eleanor's lips. "You cannot speak."

She took the box and then began to walk out of the room, nodding to Steve, who continued to watch the girl lying in the hospital bed. Her hand moved up to her neck where she could feel the bumps of a vertical scar.

"No talking." He said, giving her a look that she knew she couldn't go against. "Here." He handed her an art book, flipped to a middle page. Then put a pencil in her hand.

She nodded her head slowly, feeling aches from just moving her arms, her mouth felt dry as well.

Hi. Water?

She wrote it with neat handwriting, not large, but large enough for the man to see. Her hands shook with the intricate movements, they almost felt too weak to write with. Steve gave a small smile and leaned back grabbing a bottle and handing it to her. He helped her lift it to her mouth. Swallowing slowly caused tinges she had never felt before in her throat, the water felt cold as it moved down and into her body.

"Hello. Do you know who I am?" He treaded lightly with grace to the question, a small smile on his face. He knew she recognized him after she'd calmed down, but the doctor had said her head injury could have rattled or mixed things up.

Kenna nodded, her hand moving against the paper below her. Steven Grant Rogers.

He nodded his head with a grin. "Good. Great. They weren't sure how much you'd remember. Do you remember where you work?"

I used to work at PEGGY'S. They closed. I sub for the school district and volunteer the humane society.

"Right. Do you remember what happened?"

That's where things got blurry. Someone… broke into my apartment? I called you and I ran…. And—what happened?

Her eyebrows furrowed. He could see her process of racking her brain. Her hand with the IV moved up to touch her head but she stopped at the resistance as it got tangled. He helped her to shift the wires around. Her eyes became distant for a second as she stared at nothing.

Steve couldn't sit still, he shifted his weight on the hospital chair that he'd claimed the past five days. "You were shot at. Do you remember that?" she nodded. Steve waited a few more seconds. "Someone grabbed you by the throat and rammed you into a wall before I got there. He did a number." Ella could hear how he tried to distance himself from his statements and failed. It was hard for him to talk about. He wasn't there for her when he should have been.

Why can't I talk?

"He crushed your voice box. You were in surgery for a few hours, and they had to rebuild it. No talking for at least a week, maybe a little longer."

Steve looked down at the notebook as she stared at him in what almost looked like shock. Why does more than my throat hurt? How long have I been here?

"You've been here for about 5 days. The concussion you had… It was bad, and the fact that you may have had a gap of air supplied to your brain may have other effects, the doctor said. It also doesn't help that you were shot a few times." He leaned forward with her hand in his. "You were so brave."

Ella took her hand back and moved it across the paper on her lap. She wasn't one with many words, but she didn't like the tone he was using. She didn't want to be coddled she wanted to be told the truth bluntly and honestly. Her head was beginning to ache the dim lights irritating her eyes. The writing felt slow too. She had to put more effort than she could remember into spelling, into organizing her thoughts.

Vince? She asked, thinking of the man who had fallen through her window, she could remember the glass shattering, his eyes open.

Steve took her hand and shook his head sadly. It hadn't been a bad dream. She knew it had hall happened quickly, but the moment stuck to her mind as though it had taken place over hours in slow motion. The details were already ingrained in her mind. She had to focus on other things.

She pulled her hand out of Steve's again to write. I can't talk for how long? As much as she was trying to hide her discomfort Steve could tell she was frustrated. Things were not clear to her just yet. He didn't expect her to be this coherent when she first woke up. He wasn't sure how coherent she was. The doctor should be coming in soon he repeated to himself as he read her second and third questions. Do I have to stay here for a month? What about work?

"A week. No. No. Actual-"

The door opened to their right, but rather than a nurse or doctor, Tony Stark himself walked in, stopping when he saw that Eleanor was awake. "I didn't realize she was actually awake." He said aloud, his face curling into a smile as he walked next to Steve.

"Eleanor, this is Tony," She gave a curt nod as a response. She knew that. Maybe not at first but she knew the CEO. She could distantly remember him inviting her to do… something?

"Pleasure to see you again, Thursday." Tony winked at her and put out a hand to shake. She lifted her right and let him take it for a moment. "Well. I'll call Pepper. She'll want to come down. And JARVIS will get your apartment all fixed up, Cap." The billionaire walked over and patted her on the head for a second. "Took you long enough to wake up the sunshine."

She opened her mouth for a second but paused scribbling down something that Steve couldn't read, but Tony could.

"Yeah. Almost a week. Loverboy here has been here the whole time. He only eats when we spoon-feed him like a-"

"Tony." Steve stopped him as he watched Eleanor begin to struggle again. "Ella, hey. Nah, it's okay."

The look on her face was miserable, unable to speak. He could see the fight in her eyes. She wanted to lecture him, but her lack of voice made it a lot more difficult.

"You guys have your domestic. I'll be back in a few minutes. Probably with Pepper." Tony waved his hand back and forth and began to walk out peaking back for a second. "Don't get into too much trouble children!"

Steve waited a few seconds after he left to make sure he wasn't coming back. "I… I'm sorry." He ran a hand through his hair, just as he seemed to do a few hundred times a day since she called him. "I pulled you into something without asking if it was okay, and that led to you being stuck in a hospital bed."

She was scribbling before he could finish his sentence. I'll be fine. If someone were to pull me into something I don't fully understand I'd want it to be you. A thousand times over Steve.

"I'm sorry. I—I won't let anything like that happen again to you Eleanor. I won't."

You can't promise that. But I'll be okay no matter.

"For now… We're setting up a room for you in my apartment at Stark tower. I know you hate hospitals, so we'll move you tonight or in the morning or something. Bruce will be your on-hand doctor."

It's really okay, I can stay here. I

Steve stopped her writing with a hand. "You'd have to be here for over a week. My apartment has way more space then I know how to handle. I don't know if I'd feel okay with you going home after this. Not only is your apartment a mess currently, but it's not safe anymore. We don't know who it was that attacked you and I… I can't get to you fast enough."

She seemed to think, watch him and think before looking down at her hand and thinking some more. If I make a list of things I want from my apartment. Could you get them?

A smile spread across Steve's face and he nodded his head. "Yeah. Anything you want. Even that oddly shaped chair in your living room. I have a whole floor for us. But you'll probably be bed bound for a few days." Her eyes lightened for a second and she sectioned off a portion of the page. Starting with a few simple things, such as clothing- specific dresses- and bathroom items. She added a few books and movies, a few board games. Steve sat and watched her hand scribble across the page. Her music device. Wallet. Purse.

What about work?

"Shield handled it."

She didn't get a chance to ask what 'handled it' means before Pepper walked into the room, Tony trailing after her like a puppy. Ella couldn't help but wonder how she had arrived so quickly. It looked like the sun was still up through the small window in the room, and traffic was horrible in New York City. The woman's smiled altered into a grin when she spoke, gaining the attention of the hospital room. "Eleanor! Hello, I'm Pepper Potts. You remember me?" She sat down beside the brunette and looked at Steve after she nodded. Ella knew she was silently asking him something, but her mind couldn't really process it much. The relief in her eyes matched what Steve's looked like when she woke up though. "We were worried."

Her mouth opened, but she paused to think before writing down toward the bottom of the page a 'Thank You, Pepper.' The redhead glanced down at the paper, looking at the list she had made.

"Is that the stuff you want from your apartment?" She asked. A rather enthusiastic nod was Eleanor's response.

"Oh," She glanced up at Steve with a small smile that said she knew more than he did. "Okay. I'll make sure all of this is in the tower by the time you're able to get up and walk around."

Before she could say any more, a doctor walked into the room, he has a small smile on his face and looked rather young. Glasses hung off the bridge of his nose as he looked down at the clipboard he had in his hands. She noted that it was strange he had arrived after nearly ten minutes of her being awake. The room went quiet as he made his way over to the bed. It was only then that Eleanor realized how big the room was for just herself—she distinctly remembered hospital rooms always being too small. Claustrophobic and stuffy.

"Hello, Eleanor. My name is Dr Solim. I preformed your surgeries and I have to give you a check-up to see how everything is doing."

Eleanor nodded her head to tell him she understood. He then took a moment to look at the other people in the room. "Do you mind them being here?"

"Oh no no, We're out it's late. We'll see you at the tower tomorrow Thursday." Tony took Pepper's hand and began to lead her out before she could protest in any way shape or form.

"Do you want me to go and wait for him to finish?" Steve asked, turning her attention away from the CEOs of Stark Industries. She responded in the negative, a spark of fear flashing through her eyes when she saw the doctor sitting down and taking out a few items from the drawer beside her bed.

Doctor Solim caught onto her waves of nerves the moment he looked back up to see her eyes flitting between the blood pressure monitor and the superhero beside her. Steve had been at her side almost constantly for the past few weeks. Every check-up the doctor had come to give her he'd sat in that chair and silently watched. Occasionally, he'd ask a question regarding her health, mention a moment her heart rate increased. The man was as helpful as he could possibly be, but it was obvious he was beside himself with guilt and worry. One of his stresses though seemed to be lifted, and his worries were thrown on the back burner as he stayed confident and kind for the newly awoken women sitting on the hospital bed.

"So I'm going to start with your blood pressure and heartbeat… We'll lift your arm and—"

Ella's mind trailed off as he checked her reflexes and asked her questions that she usually knew the answer to. She was still stuck on the fact that Steve essentially had made arrangements for them to live together. She, a substitute teacher, would be living in Stark tower. The idea was attractive, she knew it would be safer than anywhere else, but it also felt daunting.

Being with the Avengers for thanksgiving, and suddenly having them around all the time felt like a big step, especially for her. How had they even managed to get approval? Eleanor supposed money meant power, but for it to mean that much power did concern her. Steve seemed to be listening to the doctor more than she was, which made her a bit grateful. It was her body but- maybe it was the medicine or the hit to the head?

"Let's give you some time to get a little more rest,"

She had just woken up, but she did feel a wave of exhaustion sweep over her. Steve noticed it too. He leaned forward to pull her pillow up a little from where it had fallen. She opened her mouth to say something but then remembered she couldn't say anything. Her nose scrunched up. Steve gave her a small understanding smile.

"As the doctor prescribed," he said to her aloud.

El did manage to stick her tongue out at him.

She felt his hand slip into hers once more and gave it a squeeze, adjusting on her side as best she could with the IVs sticking out of her. The brunette knew she wasn't out of the woods yet, recovery, more details of the attack. She wanted a lot more information than she had been given in the short period that she had woken up for. Yet, she knew he was right. It was hard to relax without more details. What had the doctor said to her a few minutes ago? Did it matter? She knew the anxiety would continue to follow her, she could already sense the nightmares that would visit her in the future. But in the hospital, for now, she could rest with Steve Rogers beside her, her totally loyal golden retriever of a boyfriend.

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