A Familiar Touch | (Doctor Strange x Female!Reader)

Chapter 24 - Merry Christmas

The team had rushed (Y/n) back to the tower, where they set her up in the lab on a medical bed. Under Stephen's guidance, wires and tubes monitored her vitals and kept her alive. They waited a little while for the 'Science-Bros' and Stephen to tell them she would be ok, all gathered in the lab. But Bruce was standing behind his station when he saw an anomaly appear in her vitals.

"Uh, Tony?"

Bruce called from his station and beckoned for the billionaire to join him. Tony took one glance at his screen, sharing a concerned look before meeting the rest of the team's worried gaze.

"Doc, care to take a look?" Tony asked, gesturing for Stephen.

Stephen reluctantly let go of (Y/n's) hand and walked over from her bedside, before glancing at the monitors, feeling his heart drop further. He sighed moving to pinch the bridge of his nose in thought.

"How could we let this happen...?"

"What? What's wrong?" Wanda asked, seeing the three men exchange a look of what could only be described as hopeless.

"They didn't just drug her-"

"They were dosing her with the chemical agent..." Tony finished for Bruce, looking at Stephen as he finished.

"...Which means?" Thor started.

"Which means," Stephen sighed, "We don't know what high tech equipment or even magic will do to her if it interferes. She has a chemical explosive running through her veins. The highly toxic agent is keeping her comatose but until we can flush it out of her system safely-"

"All we can do is wait..." Steve spoke his realisation aloud.

The room fell into the same hopelessness.

And then it began.

The late night and early morning shifts.

The team made sure there was always someone in the lab with her. Whether it was Bruce or Tony working away, or Wanda or Nat sitting by her side.

Wanda was able to clean (Y/n) up as best as possible, and eventually, her bruises would disappear, fading out into her skin.

Sometimes it was Thor, mindlessly chatting to her about some of his past adventures across the nine realms, and additionally hinting at which treats he wanted to try next and which ones he thought she might like, leaving sticky notes by her bedside so when she awoke they could go snack-hunting together.

Sometimes Sam would sit and play movies, going through a list of her favourites that he never bothered watching. And, occasionally, Bucky would join him. But, that would always lead to some sort of argument and Steve would have to shoo them away.

If Tony or Bruce were working, they'd occasionally forget she was unconscious and start asking her questions, only to turn around and be met with her comatose body before they resumed their work.

Or Wanda would occasionally sit by (Y/n)'s side, sometimes joined by Vision or Nat, and sing soothing little songs to her so that even if she couldn't use her magic to calm her, perhaps the singing would help.

But most of the time, it was Stephen by her side, not being able to find the motivation to do anything else.

He would mainly read, either by himself or out loud. If he laughed at something funny on the page, he would recite it out to her so she didn't feel left out. Or if he played music, he would try and sing, remembering how much she would gush at his voice despite the teasing.

If Wong sent him a note asking for help, he would sit in the lab with her and work. And if there was a particularly difficult issue, all he had to do was look up and across to her.