Our Destiny - Forever & Always

We Owe Her

As soon as they were back in normal airpace, Tony made contact with Stephen Strange who immediately agreed to get an expert medical team ready for them at Metro-General Hospital and ensure that it was kept completely secure there so that nobody other than Dr Christine Palmer and her team would know who was coming in. 

During the flight, Y/N had coded twice, causing the anxiety and tension in the quinjet to double each time as Tony fought relentlessly to bring Y/N back each time. They kept comms brief with the other jet, nobody wanted to risk Wanda losing it if she knew just how touch and go the situation was with Y/N. 

Steve lent against the archway and watched as Tony re-checked Y/N's vitals, he didn't know what would happen to the team if they weren't able to get Y/N the medical treatment she needed in time. Over the years Y/N had become such a large part of the team, she had a way of bringing them together that Steve couldn't put into words. 

"We're five minutes out Tony. Strange has confirmed that Christine and her team are ready and waiting on the roof for us" Clint said as he banked left in the quinjet, spotting the hospital landing pad in the distance. 

"You hear that Y/N just another five minutes, just hang in there for me kid, please" Tony spoke to Y/N as he began to prep the medical pod for unloading. 

**

Christine had known as soon as Stephen had called her that it was going to be a superhero thing, she could just tell from the serious tone of his voice when she'd answered. As soon as he'd explained who it was and what had happened, Christine had immediately cancelled her other planned surgeries and pulled her team in to tell them in very brief detail what was coming in. 

As soon as the OR was prepped, Christine headed up to the roof with two of the other doctors. This wasn't the first time she had assisted the Avengers and kept it all off the record, she had learnt quickly who she could trust in the hospital to not say a word. 

"Incoming Dr Palmer" Alex said pointing up as the Quinjet came into view. 

"Alright, call downstairs and tell them we will be there shortly" Christine nodded as her and Amelia, the third surgeon on the team rushed forward as the quinjet landed. 

The ramp to the quinjet dropped open and Christine for a moment was slightly taken aback as nearly all of the Avengers spilled out, they were all surrounding the medical pod that was being moved by Tony and Steve. 

"Okay I'm going to need you all to keep out of the way and just one of you to give me a brief update on the patient's condition" Christine said, it felt strange to boss about some of the most powerful beings on earth but this was her job and she needed to move fast. 

"Coded twice on the way, all vitals are low and unstable. I've had FRIDAY takeover your tablets to send you through all the scan results that have been taken" Tony informed Christine as they headed to the elevator. 

"Alright. All of you can head to the tenth floor, it's been sealed off and nobody should come in there that doesn't have permission. This is where I takeover" Christine told them as they made it to the elevator, Alex was holding the doors open. 

Reluctantly Tony took his hands off the medical pod and nodded, he didn't want to leave Y/N's side but had to respect that this was not something he had any expertise in. Steve also stepped back as Alex and Amelia pushed the pod into the elevator. 

"As soon as I have any kind of update I will have someone come and tell you all" Christine said as she stepped into the elevator. 

When the doors closed, Christine took a deep breath and then immediately turned her attention to assessing Y/N. She had dealt with a lot of things in her time as a surgeon, but the state of Y/N and the injuries she had sustained were definitely up there with the worst. Christine was fairly certain that if Y/N had been an ordinary person then they would have been fatal injuries. 

Rushing into the OR, Christine immediately began listing off instructions to her team as they transferred Y/N onto the surgical table. This was going to be a race against time and they couldn't lose a second of it. 

**

Every member of the team was gathered in the waiting room. Wanda, Nat and Ava had only been a few minutes behind the others and had quickly found their way to the hospital floor. As soon as Nat had walked in, Yelena had rushed over and thrown her arms around her sister, relieved that she was there. 

"We need to take care of Ross properly" Yelena whispered as she hugged Nat, not wanting anyone else to hear what she was saying. 

Nat understood exactly what Yelena meant and usually she would have been the one to stop her sister from doing something so rash, but after today Nat was done with Ross and done with the torment he had continued to cause the team. 

"I know, we owe her that. As soon as we know that Y/N is going to make it then we'll end this once and for all" Nat replied quietly before letting go of Yelena. 

Wanda made her way over to where Tony was stood looking out of the window at the New York skyline. 

"Thank you for finding her" Wanda said softly as she came to stand at his side. 

"I just hope we found her in time" Tony sighed as he rubbed his face. 

"Y/N will fight, she won't give up" Wanda said as she thought about Y/N and how much she just wanted to hold her right now. 

"I'm sorry this happened Wanda and that we didn't get there sooner" Tony looked over at her, guilt written across his face. 

"This wasn't your fault Tony. It was always going to be a massive risk going up there" Wanda told him as she rested a hand on his arm, "We did everything we could, Y/N knows that. None of us gave up." 

**

"Damn it! Someone hang more blood, now!" Christine ordered as she watched Y/N's vitals drop again moments after they'd just stabilized. 

Christine was struggling to find where the bleeding was coming from, they had caught a number of the bleeds but there was clearly still one that had been missed and if she didn't locate it soon then Y/N was going to bleed out. 

"Dr Palmer, there just to the left" Alex said pointing to where the persistent bleed was hiding. 

"Thank you Alex, once I've got this, prep the right arm" Christine instructed as she started work on repairing the bleed. 

"For reconstruction?" Alex asked as he glanced at the mess that had been Y/N's lower right arm. 

"No, amputation. I've assessed the scans and it's been without blood flow for too long and the nerve damage will be irreversible from the frost. Y/N can't withstand being under for much longer either" Christine replied as she took a step back, watching to make sure the stitches she'd done were holding. 

Satisfied that the bleeding was now under control, Christine looked over to Amelia who had been dealing with the head wound. 

"Are you nearly done Amelia?" Christine asked. 

"Yep I'm all done. We won't know if there is any permanent brain damage until Y/N wakes up. Do you want me to go and update them?" Amelia replied as she finished the closing stitch. 

"Please, keep it as brief as you can though. They'll push for more but I'll give them a full update when I'm finished and Y/N is moved to ICU on that floor" Christine nodded as she moved round to deal with Y/N's arm. 

Christine had tried to remind herself multiple times that this was just another patient and that she could handle the situation, but the fact was this wasn't just another patient and right now she had all of the Avengers relying on her skills to save their friend. 

"You better not crash on my table again, you hear my Y/N. You are going to pull through this, we're at the last hurdle" Christine said as she picked up the bone saw. 

The surgery took just over eight hours. Christine looked at the time as she pulled off her scrub cap and walked out of the OR. Now was going to be the harder part, the surgery was really always the simple part really, it was the wait to see if the surgery had been enough that always felt the longest. Christine sent Stephen a quick message as she headed toward the elevator, now she had to give the news, at least it was good news for now.