Chemistry

Bruce - Silent Rides

I had walked out of the room for a few minutes to go and find Doctor Sullivan to tell him that Tony had woken up and to ask when he could leave, when Hill came up to me with a bag, ''For Stark.'' she said monotonously and left, and just as I had found Doctor Sullivan and brought him within earshot of Tony's room, I heard Tony start to panic. It really scared me when he panicked so I moved quickly towards his room and stepped inside, soon followed by Doctor Sullivan, when Tony woke up and realized where he was. Doctor Sullivan gave me a look that said 'He'll be fine,' and only then did I realized how panicked I must have looked. Making my way quickly over to Tony, I avoided eye contact with the doctor, who swiftly went to work checking I that Tony was good to leave.

I inconspicuously took Tony's hand in mine to try and calm him, I looked at him and he was pale and shaking slightly, I was about to ask what was wrong but, he didn't look as though he would be talking much for a while, and thankfully the doctor didn't notice.

''Alright Mr Stark,'' he said walking round to the foot of the bed, ''looks like you can probably leave now, though I would like to have a word with Mr Banner outside if I could please?" Tony looked at me, as if by walking out now, I was leaving him for dead, but I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and gave him the bag. Then, letting go of his hand, I followed the doctor in to the corridor.

"I am aware that Mr Stark has an exceedingly busy life and that you yourself probably have better things to do, but as a doctor yourself I am sure you are aware that right now, probably one of the best things for Mr Stark would be a rest and being around familiar people. Does he have any living family?'' He had never told me of any living relatives but he didn't really like to talk about his family to anyone.''Not as far as I know...'' I replied.

''Ah. Who does he live with?"

"Me."

''I see, then maybe you should take him home and make sure he doesn't leave for a while... I would suggest you see a psychiatrist, but I have a feeling that Mr Stark, would rather not.''

''No, he wouldn't go. So, yes, I'll take him back home and, yes.''I replied. Then the door opened, and there was Tony, looking very pale, rather ill, and incredibly shaken. We left the hospital in silence.

When we neared the car, I turned to Tony and said quietly, ''When we get home, we need to talk.'' He didn't respond and I didn't need a response. I opened the passenger side door and helped him in. Then I rushed around to the driver's side, hopped in, started the car and left the hospital parking lot.

The ride home was fast and silent, I kept throwing Tony sideways glances and little smiles just to check he was still conscious. I was so worried about him, he looked spooked almost, it made me slightly upset that I didn't know what to do.

When we got home, after helping Tony out of the car and almost carrying him to his room, he fell straight to sleep on his bed. ''So much for talking.'' I said to myself quietly. I watched his breathing slow and become steady, it was almost mesmerizing and soon I found myself asleep too.