Chapter Text
January 2016
Case Howlett opened her eyes to a view of the medical bay of the Avengers’ Tower. She was flat on her back in one of the beds, covered in two different blankets, stomach churning and her whole body aching from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes.
“Good morning,” Doctor Helen Cho said in a relieved voice.
“Morning?” Case asked, her voice still rough from sleep. “Don’t you mean afternoon? Or night?”
“It was evening when you were brought in here,” Helen explained. “But you’ve been unconscious for quite a few hours now.”
Case’s only response was a groan as she sat up. Taking stock of the situation, she noticed early morning sunlight streaming in through the windows of the Med Bay – the sky was still pink – and her mission suit was gone, replaced by a set of scrubs. Her muscles ached, and her side itched like crazy. She lifted her shirt to find the skin of her left side flaking off. “What the hell?”
“Sorry about that,” Helen frowned. “When you were brought in you were wounded but your healing factor hadn’t kicked in, so I used simulacra to seal it.” She watched as Case scratched away more of the replacement skin, “I guess in rare instances there is a possibility of deterioration.”
“Well, I do have a mutated healing factor after all,” Case shrugged as she lowered her shirt.
“Not yesterday you didn’t,” Helen pointed out. She grabbed a tablet, “You had quite a few bruises and scrapes, in various stages of healing, a bullet wound to your right shoulder, and that burn to your left side.”
Case frowned and rubbed at her right shoulder just above her collarbone, feeling no gauze but the space ached all the same, “Didn’t realize I’d gotten hit that many times.”
“I’m more concerned about the bruises,” Helen said, tapping on the tablet screen. “Like I said, they were in various stages of healing…have you been having any problems lately?”
Problems…that was the understatement of the century, wasn’t it? “Define ‘problems’…”
Helen hummed a moment, then asked, “Any nausea or vomiting?”
Case sighed, “Yes and yes.”
“When?”
“Off and on the last couple of weeks,” Case admitted. She didn’t have the energy to lie to Helen, not after everything that had happened. “Worst was yesterday morning, before we left for Sokovia…I was craving a pizza the night before, actually ate the whole thing…then yesterday morning it came back for revenge.”
“You ate a whole pizza?” Helen asked.
“That’s what I said, yeah,” Case nodded.
“By yourself?”
“Yeah,” Case nodded, trying to laugh it off. “I mean, what’s the point of dieting when my work has me kicking ass and taking names all around the world?”
Helen, however, didn’t seem amused. “So, I can add increased appetite to my list then.”
“Probably…” Case shivered suddenly and pulled the blankets up around her shoulders.
“Are you cold? I can get you another blanket,” Helen offered. “You were shivering when they brought you in—”
“Actually, I’m wondering when I can get outta here,” Case told her. “You know, so I can go upstairs and take a nice hot shower and put on something warmer than this?” She added, tugging at the collar of her shirt.
“I’ll let you go just as soon as I’m sure you’re okay,” Helen answered. “I have a few more questions for you.”
“Of course, you do,” Case sighed.
“Furthermore, I want you resting. You’ve been out for quite a few hours—”
“All the more reason—”
“And I want to discuss some test results with you,” Helen finished in a firm voice.
“Tests? What tests?” Case asked.
“The ones I ran while you were getting stitched back together,” Helen explained.
“W-w-why would you do that?”
Helen’s eyebrows went up, “Because when a mutant known for being able to take a bullet and then have her only complaint be that the shooter ruined their favorite shirt—”
“Once,” Case interrupted. “That happened once…”
“Still,” Helen shrugged. “Plus, Steve and Ryder were concerned, as were the rest of your team. Clint Barton everyone understood, since he—”
“How’s he doing by the way?”
Helen sighed, “He’s doing fine. His body is not likely to reject the simulacra. But we’re not talking about Clint, Case, we’re talking about you. Which leads me to believe the reason you’re stalling is due to the fact you already know what I’m about to talk to you about, but you’d rather avoid it.”
Case pulled the blankets up to her chin, “Why do hospital rooms always have to be so effing cold, huh? Is it so germs don’t grow or something?”
Helen cocked an eyebrow at her, and said, “On top of your injuries you were also severely dehydrated, which required IV’s…apparently though in the meantime your healing factor kicked in, so I was able to remove them.”
“But I drink water…”
“Yes, but your numbers claim you didn’t do that enough,” Helen argued. “Although depending on how much vomiting you’ve been doing that could very well be the cause of the dehydration. You’re going to want to increase your fluid intake to be on the safe side.”
Case sighed, “I’m already eating like a super soldier, now I need to drink like one too.”
“Speaking of super soldiers—”
“It’s not Steve’s.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” Helen’s cheeks turned red, and Case took pity on her.
“Look…this doesn’t go past either of us, okay?” Case asked, and when Helen nodded, she gave a sigh and said, “I…I made a mistake. I got close to someone…and we were together, and now we’re not.”
“Does he know?”
“I haven’t seen him since November, so…no.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
Case took a breath, and said, “I haven’t really thought that far ahead.”
“Case—”
“Helen,” Case cut her off. She felt tears well in her eyes, and she felt pressure creeping upward from her stomach. “Helen…”
Instantly a small pan was in Case’s hands, as whatever was left in her stomach came to the surface.
Once she was done, Helen took the little plastic pan from Case and disposed of it. Case herself wrapped her arms around herself, trying not to burst into tears, breathing deeply and slowly to calm herself.
Helen took a breath herself, then said, “As much as I’d rather you stay with me overnight…”
The mutant cringed at the words.
“I’m sure Jarvis can keep an eye on you,” Helen mused, “But I want you back here first thing tomorrow morning, you understand?”
Case nodded and threw her legs over the side of the bed. “First thing tomorrow, got it.”
“Don’t forget your boots,” Helen said.
Case grabbed them from her beside as she headed for the door.
“Have you been taking prenatals?”
Case paused in the doorway, “Helen—!”
“Right, tomorrow, sorry,” Helen apologized.
Case gave a sigh and wiped at her eyes and nose with the back of her hand, grimacing at the smell of vomit that was filling her nostrils.
She was exhausted – not just physically, but emotionally. Sam had been telling her she was depressed – of course she was. For the second time in her life, she’d had something she’d always wanted, something that made her truly happy, only to have it ripped to shreds in a span of twenty-four hours.
She was starting to think her family was cursed in more ways than one.
Running on autopilot, she reached the elevator in record time, not even realizing she’d arrived at her destination until she ran right into the silver metal. Rubbing at her now sore nose, Case hit the button to head to the upper floors.
“Run into the door again, Howlett?”
Case gave a yelp and swung her boots in the direction of the speaker, causing Tony to rock backward on his heels to avoid collision. She clutched at her chest and snapped out, “A little warning would be nice Stark!”
Tony simply gave a chuckle as the door opened, “Sorry Howlett. Next time I’ll have Jarvis play ‘We Will Rock You’ before I enter a room.”
Case rolled her eyes as she stepped onto the elevator, “Must you take things to such an extreme?”
Tony cocked an eyebrow, “Have you met me?”
“Right,” Case said with a sigh as the doors shut.
“It’s good to see you up and walking though,” Tony added as the elevator began to rise. “Helen have any thoughts on what caused all that?”
Case shook her head, “Said she was running some tests. Wants me back first thing in the morning.”
Tony nodded, “And how are you doing with…everything?”
Case didn’t meet his gaze, “I’m doing great Stark. Happy as a clam and all that.”
“You’re full of it.”
“Please don’t have Jarvis spy on me for you.”
“I don’t need Jarvis to tell me what I can clearly see,” Tony pointed out.
Case closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, as tears filled her eyes again, “Tony…I don’t want to talk about this right now…I’m tired and I just want a shower and to go back to bed.”
“Okay,” Tony gave a nod. “You know where to find me when you’ll need me.”
Case nodded as the doors opened with a quiet hiss, “That I do. Either that or I’ll scream for Jarvis to get you.”
“That works too.”
Case stepped into her apartment, the doors sliding shut behind her.
Although she knew there wasn’t much that Tony Stark missed, Case would bet her last dollar that he was still having Jarvis keep an eye on her. Despite all the snark and smugness he threw out in the world, the Avengers knew Tony would hit the mat and come up swinging to protect those he cared about. And if he was worried about her – which he obviously was – trying to keep him in the dark would be tricky, especially because he and Bruce were very close to Helen.
The truth, however, was not something Case wanted to tell the team anytime soon.
The look of betrayal on Steve’s face when he found out what she’d been hiding from him. The look of fury that would show up on Tony’s face when he found out the whole story, not just the abridged version she’d sobbed out two weeks after the incident.
No, that wasn’t something she was ready to face. Not yet.
Taking a deep breath to keep herself calm, Case dropped her boots in the doorway, heading straight for her bedroom, where she closed the door behind her and started preparing for a shower, anything to keep her mind quiet.
It was a losing battle, and her whole body was trembling as she stepped into the steaming hot shower.
The reality of the situation slowly crept in as the water soaked her hair and ran down her body. All the pain and what ifs and genuine panic of what the following months would bring was starting to overwhelm her once again, and tears began to well in her eyes.
She braced her hands against the smooth tiles as the first sob escaped.