Newfound Family

Coma Confessions

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Nat sighed, sitting back into her chair. She could deal with Wanda later. If this was bad news, she really didn't want her to hear it.

"What's the news, Cho? It's good, I hope?" Tony asked, taking a seat. He too winced when he sat down.

Dr. Cho sighed. "Good and bad."

Everyone stared at her blankly.

"The bad news is that we've had to put Steve into a medically induced coma. His head has been severely concussed."

Tony stood up again. "A concussion? That's it? People, normal people, get those all the time. Why-"

"Sit down please, Mr. Stark." Cho interrupted.

"The concussions you see athletes or children get are just minor. Captain Rogers has suffered a large blow to the back of the head, most likely from crashing into a piece of concrete. Not only did it cause a significant laceration to the back of his head, but it caused severe brain damage. His brain waves these past few hours had shown that his body was more focused on trying to wake up than to heal. That can be severely dangerous."

"Why is it dangerous?" Clint asked. "We want him to wake up, don't we?"

Dr. Cho shook her head. "Not this soon. It doesn't work like that. In order to help his brain heal from the concussion, Rogers must be in an unconscious state. To put it in non-medical terms, his brain can't heal properly and get enough blood flow without being unconscious. His brain was more focused on trying to become conscious again and not so much focused on healing, so we put him on anesthetics."

"Well, when will he wake up again? Or rather, when will you wake him up?" Nat asked. Her voice was cracking, but she didn't bother trying to hide it. She had very little energy to attempt to mask her emotions.

"That depends, Miss Romanoff. If he wakes up, it probably won't-"

"Hold on, hold on. What do you mean, if? Don't you mean when?" Nat asked, interrupting Dr. Cho.

"Steve is very weak, Natasha," Bruce added.

"He has suffered traumatic injuries. These anesthetics will bring him the best chance of recovery, but we can't promise anything. If things are looking good, I suspect that it should take around two weeks before he can awaken. That is the good news. Only two weeks. Once he shows signs of healing, it should progress smoothly."

Nat inhaled sharply, covering her mouth. She had always thought Steve was going to be okay. That maybe, it would take some time, but he would bounce back eventually. He always did. But Dr. Cho nor Bruce had never told her the odds like this before. They were the best scientists in America. Hell, the whole world. And here they were, telling Nat that there could be a chance Steve wouldn't make it.

"Nat? You okay?" She felt a hand on her shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts. It was Clint.

She looked up to see everyone staring at her. Nat couldn't take it. Not only did she not want everyone to see her cry, but she wanted to be alone. Or rather, with Steve.

She gave a weak smile. "I...I just need a minute. Check on Wanda for me, okay?"

Clint gave a worried nod.

Nat entered the hospital wing to find Steve exactly where he was before. Of course.

She looked around to make sure no one was in earshot and collapsed into tears. All the emotion she was holding in was let out as she sunk into the chair beside him.

"Steve, this is all my fault." She poured. Nat didn't even have the energy to feel ridiculous talking to an unconscious person.

"I-I'm so sorry. I should've realized it was a setup. I should've known. And I should've been able to carry you out faster. Instead, I had to rely on an eight-year-old kid to rescue us, Goddammit!" Nat yelled, throwing a cup across the room.