Saving Grace

Chapter LX

About three days after Tony, Steve, Nat, Sam, and Bucky got called up for a SHIELD mission, Clint, Bruce, Pietro, and Wanda discovered something about Grace; while Steve and Bucky's immune systems were nearly perfect, Grace's was not.

That morning, she woke up early like always but found that the thought of food made her stomach twist and turn like a baker was trying to make a pretzel out of it. So, she just made some coffee, but two sips into her cup, she discovered that even that little bit was too much for her stomach and she had to run for the sink where she heaved up the two sips of coffee and half of her dinner from the night before.

When she finally stopped, she slumped to the floor in front of her kitchen sink, holding her still nauseated stomach.

"Miss Rogers, your temperature is elevated, your heart rate is also slightly above normal, you seem unable to keep liquids down. I believe Doctor Banner should be notified of your condition."

"You're probably right, Mr. JARVIS," Grace sighed, not having the willpower to get up.

There were a few moments of silence. "Doctor Banner has notified and will arrive shortly," JARVIS informed her.

"Thank you..."

"...Is there anything else I can do, Miss Rogers?"

"I don't think so, Mr. JARVIS," Grace answered, shaking her head. "Well........Don't tell Steve, Bucky, and the others. Not yet. They don't need to be worrying about me while on a mission."

"As you wish, Miss Rogers."

"Why don't we switch 'Rogers' out for Grace, hmm? I think we're friends enough at this point, Mr. JARVIS."

"Very well...Miss Grace."

A few minutes later, Bruce and Clint came in and found her huddled on the kitchen floor by the sink.

"Grace!" Bruce gasped and quickly knelt down beside her. "Talk to me, Grace," he said, taking in her slight green face.

"What's wrong, Cinderella?" Clint added, putting a hand on her shoulder, a frown creasing his face.

"Couldn't keep a couple of sips of coffee down," she explained. "My stomach feels like it's being twisted into pretzels."

"Her temperature is also elevated; 100.7 degrees Fahrenheit," JARVIS helpfully added.

"Thanks, JARVIS," Bruce replied. "Since you ate the same food we did last night, and we're fine, my first guess is that you've caught a stomach bug, Grace."

"But HYDRA's experiments.........Bucky's immune system is just as good as Steve's," Clint argued.

"My training was incomplete; their experiments and serum treatments may not have been complete either," Grace replied.

"It's probably a strain of stomach flu that your body's never come across before. "C'mon, let's get you back to bed," Bruce gently helped her off the floor. Clint followed. They made it to her bedroom(they had finally finished converting a large unused office room into a bedroom), but by then the movement caused Grace's stomach to seek to empty itself once more. Clint got her to the toilet in the en suite bathroom just in time to catch the second half of her dinner from the night before.

He carefully gathered her golden curls back out of her way and rubbed soothing circles on her back. "It's okay, Grace. Let it all out; the sooner the better."

"I'll be right back," Bruce quietly told them. "I'll go get the medicine from the med-floor."

"No problem; I'll stay with her," Clint nodded. Once she finally stopped dry-heaving, he slowly helped Grace off the floor and to the sink to rinse out her mouth and brush her teeth. "While you do this, I'll grab your pajamas; we'll get you into something comfortable," he said. He reached into the top drawer of her dresser and pulled out the first time he laid his hands on. With a chuckle, he held up the pale pink silk. They were very simple and had no embellishments or lace, but the top being a cami, they were enough to tease about. "Whoa, Grace, I didn't know you were that type of girl," he teased. "I expected you to have a flannel granny nightgown." He turned to see her standing in the bathroom doorway, blushing as darkly as her still sick-pale face would let her.

"Th-those aren't mine....exactly.......They were in the dresser when I got here......I didn't pick them out........."

"Then who did? This is not the sort of thing a brother would pick our for his sister," Clint challenged as he handed them over.

"P-Pepper and Nat said something about every girl needing a set of 'feel good' nightwear...."

Clint cocked his head. thoughtfully. "Yeah, I could see them picking those out. Go ahead and put them on, and we'll get you to bed."

Grace's eyes widened. "....But..."

"Is there another pair of pajamas in here?" he pointed to the dresser.

Grace thought for a moment. She had added her regular nightgown in the hamper that morning. She'd worn her cotton pajama set last week. Both were supposed to be washed and dried later that day. "No..."

"Then put them on," he said. "Trust me, these are definitely not the most scandalous pajamas I've ever seen."

"....Didn't need to know that." Grace quickly took the pajamas from him and closed the bathroom door. She cracked the door open two minutes later. "Are you sure about this? What will Doctor Banner think?"

"That they are very nice, comfortable pajamas," Clint cajoled. "Come on out."

"........I-I've never exactly had a fella see me in nightclothes......."

"Hon, your little shoulders are nothing we guys haven't seen before."

"Okay..." She opened the door, but she still made a dash for the bed and dove under the covers, knocking pillows everywhere. "Ugh...stomach didn't like that..." she groaned under the blankets.

Clint just chuckled. "You're cute, Cinders," he said, pulling the cover back just enough to show her head. "Ya want your Snow White blanket?"

"I'm ninety-..........something, Clint," she muttered. "not nine."

"But do you want it?"

"..."

"You want it." He crossed to the chair in the corner and brought the beloved quilt to her. "Technically, it may have been ninety-plus years since you were born, but you have only experienced.......what? Twenty? Twenty-one?" he answered. "You know, I'm still convinced this was all JARVIS," he motioned to the princess-themed blanket.

"I make no comment regarding the origins of Miss Grace's favorite blanket," JARVIS commented.

Grace just let Clint spread the quilt out over her.

"Are you always this grouchy when you're sick?" he asked.

"Only when it's my stomach."

"Fair enough."

Just then, Bruce returned with two bottles of medicine and one of Grace's A small smile curved his lips.

"What?" Grace asked, trying to not sound demanding.

"You broke out the princess quilt," he answered.

Bruce crossed the room and handed Grace the fever-reducer and the cup of water. She took it, then he pulled out the tell-tale pink Pepto-Bismol bottle. "This is going to taste horrid, but it's going to, hopefully, help you feel better." He poured out the proper dosage into a small glass and hand it to her. "I'd recommend you down it all at once."

"I've had this stuff before," Grace nodded and sharply tipped the cup into her mouth, making a face as the pink liquid slid over her tongue. She quickly took several long drinks from her water cup.

"Try to keep hydrated, okay?" Bruce said, taking the medicine cup back from her. She nodded.

Clint tucked the quilt up around Grace's shoulders, causing her to blush as she realized that her upper half had been exposed. "I'll come and check on you in a little while, okay?"

Grace nodded.

"Try to get some rest, Grace," Bruce added. "With any luck, you'll be over it in a day or so."