Undefeated

Chapter Thirty-Four

"Will she be okay?"

"It's been five days. She's steady, but there will be effects."

"What kind of effects?"

"Loss of voice is a possibility."

"For how long?"

"We won't know until she wakes up."

"Then wake her up!"

"We have to let her do that on her own."

"What if she doesn't wake up?"

"She will, she's strong."

"Poor kid."

"She's been through so much."

I can hear people talking, but I can't process who it is that it is speaking. I slowly open my eyes and it takes a minute for them to adjust to the light shining through the window. When I look in front of me, I see Sam, Bucky and Bruce. Bruce looks different than he was when I last saw him. He's no longer half human, half hulk. He's human again... he's Bruce. They each look to me and each visibly sigh in relief.

"Hey kid." Bucky runs to my side and places his hand on my arm comfortingly.

"Hey." I try to speak, but the words don't make it out.

I look at Bruce in concern and he comes to my side to check my vitals. "This is expected, Gracee. We will do voice exercises to help with your recovery."

I look at Bucky, eyes wide and he squeezes my hand. "You're safe now. We're going to help you." I look around at the room, wondering where I am, and he gives me my answer. "Bruce's lab."

I take a shaky breath and look at Sam, who is standing at the end of my bed, watching me with a worried expression. He walks to the other side of the bed and I smile at him.

"We missed you too kid." He smiles, reading my mind.

I smile back at him and my mind trails off. Thoughts of what happened come rushing back, and at the center of them all is Peter. My eyes dart around, looking for here he could possibly be.

"He's okay." Bucky says, but his tone says something else.

I look to Bruce for confirmation and he sighs before speaking. "He's fine." I can tell that he is lying, so I continue staring at him, waiting for him to elaborate. "His memory hasn't recovered, but he's awake."

"We'll get him back." Interjects Bucky.

I try to stand up but Sam steps in front of me. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Are you hungry?" Bucky asks.

I nod, and Bucky and Sam stand up to go get me something to eat.

"Will you be okay if I go get a coffee?" Bruce asks, and I nod.

"We'll be back in a few minutes." Says Sam.

They leave the room and I wait for a minute before stepping off of my bed. My leg has been re-bandaged and I am in a plain white hospital gown. When my bare feet hit the cold tile, I take careful steps to the bathroom connected to my room. I look into the mirror and see that my eyes are bloodshot and my neck is red and swollen, the imprints from Peter's fingers still visible. There is a dark bruise on my jaw, and cuts on the side of my face from the broken glass.

I walk out of the bathroom and open my door, looking both ways before stepping out into the hallway. There are labs on both sides of the hallways but at the end I see a glass wall with bright lights shining overhead. I warily walk towards it, and when I get close I see who is in the room.

Peter.

He is strapped to a chair, thrashing around. I cover my mouth with my hand in shock, as I stare at him, wide eyed. When he sees me, he stops moving and stares back. I step towards the door to his room and turn the knob. Peter's eyes follow me as I walk towards him. I don't say anything, I just stare at him in shock, unable to do anything else.

He lurches towards me, and his bed rattles. "Stay away from me! I don't want to ever see your face again! I'll kill you!"

I back up and trip over myself, falling to the floor. Peter pulls against the straps keeping him on his bed and they give away, clearly not built for his super strength. He runs towards me and I stand up, running out of the room and slamming the door shut. I lock it just as he runs into it, pounding on it. I can hear his muffled screams as my eyes tear up at the sight of him like this.

"I hate you! Why can't you just die?! You should be dead! I'll kill you!" He continues screaming.

Our faces are so close, separated only by glass. I turn my back to him and sink to the floor, leaning against the glass door. I feel the vibrations of his fists against the glass, right where I am on the floor. I press my hands against my head and try to scream to block out the sound of his screams, but no noise escapes my throat.

I hear footsteps running towards me and a metal arm lifts me up. I look up and see Bucky as he pulls me into his arms. I press my face into his chest and cry. After a moment I look back at Peter, who is still pounding on the door. The glass cracks and Bucky lets go of me as Sam comes running up to us, and I fall into his arms. Bucky opens the door and holds Peter's arms behind his back as he thrashes.

I try to pull away from Sam, but he pulls me back to my room. When we get there, I am still trying to get back to Peter, but he holds me back.

"Gracee! Just leave him. That in there... that's not Peter."

I finally stop resisting and sink back into his arms. After a second, he puts his hand on my head and pulls me closer.

"We'll get him back."

But what if we can't? What if he never remembers me? What if he never remembers everything we went through together? What if I lose the only thing I have left?

The questions run through my mind, nothing silencing them. I stay in Sam's arms until I exhaust myself from crying, and feel too weak to keep my eyes open.