AMERICA'S POV
I open my eyes tiredly to find myself in a familiar place, but not one I expected to be in. Bruce's lab, in the Avengers Tower. Hm. And I'm lying in that machine that was used to save Clint after our mission.
"Don't try to sit up yet," a voice instructs, soft yet authoritative. Dr. Cho. She smiles a bit. "You'll hurt yourself. Besides, we're not finished yet."
"You're alive," I say, but my voice catches, creating this rasp that doesn't sound like me. I massage my throat.
"Yes, and so are you." I turn my head to see someone else. Fury. He stands from his chair and approaches me. "How are you feeling, Evans?"
"Like someone shot me, Director."
"Well, someone did."
"Did we win?"
He nods, and I sigh in relief. "Ultron is no longer a threat to humanity. We have the Avengers to thank for that." He walks to the door, his hand hesitating on the doorknob as he remembers something else. "I'll tell the others that you are alert." He leaves without another word.
"You know they're all going to stampede in here in a few minutes, right?" I ask Dr. Cho, who chuckles to herself.
"I'll handle them, don't worry. Are you thirsty?"
"A bit, yeah," I admit. She hands me a glass of lemonade. My favorite. Briefly I wonder if Steve had anything to do with that. "How many times was I shot?"
"Six," she answers. "One in your left shoulder, one in your left upper arm, one in your thigh, and a few scattered around your torso. I'd say you're lucky to be alive, Miss Evans."
"That's what they all say." I stir my lemonade with a straw and take a sip. "Six. That's a new record."
"Is that a good thing?" She asks, amused. She adjusts settings on the regeneration machine, carefully knitting my cells back together.
"I'm not sure. How long will I be out of commission?"
She considers my question with thoughtful eyes. "Well, you lost a major amount of blood. You've been unconscious for two days now. The machine will regenerate your skin cells, but because there was so much work to do, it's going to take you a little while to get back on your feet. You'll probably still be pretty sore and bruised even after I am done." She entere something into the system, and the machine stops. "I'm sure you'll want to greet them when they come. Take it easy, though."
"I will." Swinging my legs over the edge, I sit up cautiously, ignoring the dull ache in my abdomen. I open my mouth to ask more of my never-ending questions, but they get cut off. The team filters through the door, Steve and Pietro leading the charge. "Um, hi!"
Steve is the first to reach me, as I expected. He gently takes me in his arms and kisses me, not for long, but long enough. "You're okay."
"I am." I put my arms around him. "I set a record, Steve. Six bullets."
"Was it six?" Tony asks, eyebrows raised. I nod, and he grins at Clint, so begrudgingly hands over a twenty dollar bill.
"You guys bet over me getting shot!?!"
"No, not exactly," Clint says, shrugging. "We had a bet about when you'd get shot more than three times on a mission. I gave you the benefit of the doubt and said another six months."
"See, it's kind of become a tradition, you being shot on missions, so I thought I could make an honest profit off of it," Tony adds.
I roll my eyes, but I'm not mad. It's kind of hilarious.
The next to embrace me are Pietro and Wanda. It's this warm group hug, the first the Maximoffs have had in years. And I love it. Everyone else says hello, whether it be with hugs or smiles, y ti I finally notice a missing link.
"Where's Bruce?" My question has an instant impact on everyone, especially Natasha. She ducks her head, red hair falling in front of her face.
"Hulk took off," Tony answers. "We don't know where he is, but we're working on it. Apparently my stealth systems are extremely effective."
I roll my eyes again at his last comment. The idea of Bruce being missing saddens me, but I'm sure he had his reasons. Either we'll find him or he'll come back. "So, what, we just go back to life in the tower?"
Tony grins. "Not exactly."
———-
A few weeks later I step into the new Avengers facility for the first time. I lean on Steve a bit as we enter through the big glass doors, but he clearly doesn't mind at all. It took an entire week to stop him from carrying me everywhere. He has this big grin on his face that brings a soft smile to mine. Everything is still sore, but I'm healing, especially as a super-soldier. Six bullets. I'm never wearing a bathing suit ever again. Dr. Cho insists that my body looks the same, but I don't think it does.
I don't know how I managed to survive, but I did. It wasn't easy. There was a lot of surgery (doctors), a lot of cursing (me), a lot of scolding (Steve), a lot of badly timed jokes (Pietro), and a slightly more durable suit (Tony). And now I'm here.
"Look at this place!" I say in awe, spinning around as quickly as I'm able. Sunlight shines through the big glass walls, and everyone's constantly in motion. It's really annoying, not being able to move as fast as I used to. Each morning, Pietro goes out running, but Fury said I couldn't until I was fully healed. Which could be a while. I've also been put on temporary leave for missions. Which translates in my mind to boredom.
"It is nice," Steve agrees. "I need to go find Tony and see Thor off. You can find your room okay?"
I nod. If I remember correctly, I'm between Wanda and Sam, with Steve across the hall. "I'll see you later." I give him a peck on the cheek and start the painful hobble up the stairs. I make it about six steps before strong arms scoop me up. I yelp in surprise, but Steve only laughs.
"Did you really think I'd let you try that by yourself? Your room's up three flights of stairs!"
"I would have made it!" I insist. He gives me an endearing shake of his head, and I roll my eyes. "Eventually."
"That's what I thought." After the three flights of stairs, he sets me down in front of my door. "You know there's an elevator?"
"What?!? I could have just taken an elevator? Steve!"
"You wouldn't have said yes!" He kisses me on the cheek and leaves before I can yell at him more. Stupid patriotic fiancé. I glance down at my ring. We'll need to start working on that wedding. The thought gives me butterflies, the good kind.
My suite is simple, just like I asked Tony for it to be. The walls have been painted a creamy white, and the decorations are mainly in cozy, earth tones. My collection of photos has been scattered around the room, as well as various candles and plants. I wanted somewhere I could retreat to at the end of the day, and it looks like I got it. I can't believe he pulled this together in mere weeks, but I assume Pepper had a hand in it.
I fall in love with the bedroom itself the minute I enter. My bed is in the corner, covered by a coffee-colored comforter and a lot of pillows, and a small corner shelf hovers above it. The shelf houses a few of my favorites reads: Unbroken, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and a few poetry books earning the spots of honor. And there's this little wooden picture frame containing a photo I didn't even know existed. It's from Tony's party, right after we announced that we were engaged. We're both holding glasses of Thor's Asgardian liquor, I'm laughing at something he just said, and he's staring at me adoringly. That was only a little over a month ago. I smile and place the tiny frame back in its home before flopping onto the bed as gently as I can.
As much as I love this new place, part of me still misses Washington. It was quieter, we had all of those museums, and it was just Steve, me, and occasionally Sam. It's not like we could easily go back. Steve's apartment was practically blown up. I make a mental note to print out a picture of the Washington monument. I've moved around so often in my life. It would be nice to be stationary for a while.
There's a long mirror hanging on the wall. I walk up and pull up my shirt, staring at my once-there bullet scars. Now, there are only slightly discolored marks, but the tattoos are still what draws my eyes.
Valeria.
James.
Annika.
Two down, one two go. With Wanda and Pietro here, maybe I can finally find out exactly who I am. "Annika," I whisper softly to myself. "Annika."
I don't have a lot to say, but hi! The picture at the top is Mer's room, by the way.