Never in a Million Years |N.R|

|4| What's the right choice?

We landed not long after Tony shouted 'home sweet home'. The jet landed softly and the engines were turned off almost immediately, a lot of the background noise now having disappeared. Everyone seemed desperate to depart, all rising from their seats and collecting their things. I was forced to remain sat, my arms still tied above my head as I fought to stay conscious. "What are we doing with the girl?" Thor's voice was loud, everyone turning their attention to him then me as they heard his question. "I'll call for some guards to take her to Bruce. She'll stay here until then." Everyone seemed to accept Tony's answer, turning their attention away from me as they didn't seem to care. Everyone but Natasha, who spared me a worried look before Steve led her down the open ramp. Looking outside I realised we were up high, one of the highest buildings around.

It was quite a while before two men dressed in protective clothing boarded the jet to collect me. They roughly untied my arms and pulled me to my feet, dragging me along the floor as I lacked the strength to walk. I moaned in pain every now and then when they'd grip my underarm too tightly and a shockwave would pass through my shoulder, but neither of them even batted an eye. After what felt like forever they nothing short of threw me onto a bed. Opening my eyes in surprise I quickly realised that I was in some kind of medical bay, everything white, machines beeping and an array of medical supplies everywhere. The guards undid my handcuffs, only to reattach my right hand to the bed with them. Unbeknownst to anyone here, I could easily break out of those things but I had no intentions of doing so. I had nowhere to run off to if I did.

"Y/N, I'm Dr Banner." A tall man loomed over me, his face and tone slightly awkward. I still made no efforts to talk, mainly because I had no idea what to say. "I'm going to anaesthetise you in order to treat your shoulder wound. You'll also have a blood transfusion whilst you're unconscious. Any other wounds will be treated as well." Before I could protest any of this, I felt a sharp prick in my good arm followed by a haze in my eyes. The blurred vision quickly turned to darkness, and I felt no pain for the first time in a long time.

(-)

When my eyes fluttered open my eyelids still felt heavy and my mind foggy. After focusing long enough on the ceiling above I managed to stop everything from spinning relentlessly. It took me a little longer to lift my head though, like there were weights in the back of my skull. When I finally did I looked to my shoulder first. I was dressed in some kind of gown but I could see the thick bandage peering out, suggesting that the surgery had been pretty extensive if it required this much dressing. As I went to use my other hand to pull the fabric of my gown back I was met with resistance, a tube stuck in my arm. What the hell was this? I followed the line up until it stopped at a bag of the clear liquid hung up above me. What were they putting in me?

In a panic I ripped the tube from my arm, which hurt a lot, blood now leaking from the site. Scanning the room I was in I searched for something to stem the bleeding, my eyes falling on a neatly folded towel nearby. Scrambling out of the bed I stumbled as I reached for it, my legs gravely weak, but I managed to right myself instead of crashing to the ground. The second my grasp closed on the towel I wrapped it tightly around my arm and prayed that it would be enough to stop the bleeding. I didn't want someone else touching me, treating a wound that I could handle myself.

But much to my dismay a guard came rushing into my room after a few moments, with someone who appeared to be medical personnel by their side. "You need to let me see that." The woman, a nurse I concluded, pointed to my arm that was still bleeding despite the towel. In reply I retreated away from her, desperate to avoid anyones touch. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way" she continued, waiting to gage my response. I still said no words, but I continued to take steps away from her until the wall stopped me. With that I pushed myself right into the corner in an effort to hide. "Fine, hard way it is." The guard rushed forwards now, easily picking me up off of the floor as I had no fight left in me. He pulled me over to the bed and forced me to lay down. The nurse then stepped forward and unwrapped the towel. I flailed my body in protest but the man just pressed his weight on me, holding me down so that I couldn't move.