Chapter Text
Yelena sat in a private room with her girlfriend Kate in the medbay awaiting doctor Cho. After their last Avengers mission to Budapest, she hadn't felt right. Sure, she got some blows to the head, may have gotten shot, but this wasnt something she hadn't handled before. This time, an onslaught of symptoms plagued her until Kate, being the responsible one, forced her to get checked out.
“I do not see the point in this kate bishop,” Yelena says, her voice filled with irritation. She sat in a hospital gown, her legs hanging off the examination table. Kate, who was in front of her, looked at Yelena. Her eyes gazed down her body, stopping at the cuts and bruises from when a rogue mutant decided to throw her against a tree.
“Look, if you're not gonna do this for yourself or me, you're an amazing girlfriend… at least for the team. You can't even train anymore.” Kate was exhausted by Yelenas defensive demeanour, but she couldn't help but be worried.
Yelena grimices. She hated the fact that her health was at an all-time low, especially when civilians needed them. Kate's worried expression only made things worse. She wasnt used to being cared for, and the only doctor visit she's been to was to sterilize her, hence why the assassin was so tense.
Doctor Cho comes in a few minutes later, startling Kate, who is now sitting in a chair next to Yelena. She holds a clipboard, looking at it briefly before introducing herself. “Yelena, I’m Doctor Cho. I have your blood results, and I would like to discuss some things with you.”
The two Avengers sit there, listening to the woman talk. Yelenas jaw is clenched, and Kate is watching her girlfriend to make sure she doesn't blow up. The air feels tense, and to make things worse, Doctor Cho does not look very happy.
“On your last mission, you were thrown into a tree and, from the records, needed a transfusion. “The lab results showed that your PCV was higher than 20% and from my ideas, you had an acute hemorrhage. It could have been from the trauma, but I would also like to explore the possibility of it being coagulopathys or intracavitary.” The Doctor explains, her voice serious.
Yelena huffs, “Sure, whatever that means.”
Doctor Cho looks at the assassin. She notes her dull appearance, her deep breaths, and her leg that can't seem to stop bouncing. Her eyebrows furrow as she looks back to her clipboard. “Are you finding it hard to exercise?” She asks.
Kate scoffs, “Yeah, she can't even dodge one of Walker's punches anymore. Not to mention the fact that she collapsed yesterday.” Yelena glares at her girlfriend. “That is not fair, that did not happen.” She protests.
Doctor Cho sighs, “Well, I think you may have hypoxemia. Your appearance is dull, you’ve collapsed, you cannot train, from your records it shows you've had tachycardia, tachypnea, cyanosis, and currently it looks like you cannot breathe properly.”
“What does that mean?” Yelena asks, obviously frustrated.
“It means there's not enough oxygen in your blood.” Doctor Cho puts it shortly. She goes closer towards Yelena, looking at the bandage on her head. It had soaked through.
Kate stands up, to see what the doctor is looking at. She sees the bloody bandage and tries to lift it up slightly which causes Yelena to swat her arm away. “I told you this morning to change that!” Kate argues. “I did!” Yelena groans.
Doctor Cho puts on some gloves and leans down to see the cut that had not clotted yet. “Can you open your mouth for me?” She asks and to which Yelena hesitantly does. She looks at her mucus membranes, noting how pale they are. She then checks her pulse and abdomen. “It appears you have clotting issues, perhaps CHRONIC ANEMIA. And from your chart, you WOW WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT YOUR PLATELETS TODAY ARE 10,000/L (in cats) and LAST WEEK THEY WERE 20,000/L (in dogs).”
“What?!” Kate asks, worried. Yelena seems unfazed, still defensive, with her eyes directed towards her lap.
“WOW you may have THROMBOCYTOPENIA?? It could have been caused by infection on the battlefield, drug interactions, inflammation, chronic renal failure, neoplasia, IMT, or even DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation).”
Kate's eyes widen, and her mouth hangs open. “Im sorry, what? Neop– CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE?”
“Yeah, girl, your fibrin is FUCKED! Coagulation cascade lowkey mid,” She says to Yelena, who now has a confused look on her face. “What are you talking about, my fib-whatever is fine.. See, im not bleeding out.”
Doctor Cho takes out a BLUE SODIUM CITRATE vacutainer and a butterfly needle. “Yeah, not yet. We have to run a few tests. A PT and aPTT.”
“What is that?” Kate asks, her arms crossed.
“I am so glad you asked, Hawkeye. aPPT is to evaluate coagulation factors X|| X| |X V|||, X, V, ||, Prothrombin and | fibrinogen. Like uhhh an intrinsic pathway or something. PT evaluates the coagulation factors of V||,X,V,||, AND | fibrinogen extrinsic pathways!” Doctor Cho clears her throat. “Have you gotten into any rat poison? Or like heparin and NSAIDS?”
Yelena looks so confused, and so does Kate. “Rat poison? You’re asking if I’ve consumed rat poison?” Her Russian accent is thick and angry.
“Well we could always do a buccal mucosal bleeding time test to see if you actually have thrombocytopenia and abnormal platelet function. I will have to cut your cheek and see how long it takes for the bleeding to stop!” The doctor explains. “It’s simple, really.”
Yelena shakes her head no, but Kate puts her hand on her shoulder. “I know this is a lot of information at once. But Yelena, I think you should do it.”
1.7-4.2 (dog) 1.4-2.4(cat) minutes later….
Doctor Cho throws out the bloody gauze and takes off her gloves. “Well, it looks like you actually also have VON WILLEBRAND disease.”
“WHAT??” Kate exclaims.
Doctor Cho nods, “Yeah, girl, it's a LARGE glycoprotein that acts as a bridge between platelet surface receptor and exposed collagen… it does like adhesion to wound sites, carries proteins, and stuff…”
“Are you joking?” Yelena looks at the doctor, her expression unkind as she stands up. She grabs her clothing and belongings. “Yelena, what are you doing?” Kate asks, seeming desperate.
“Going to TRANSFUSION MEDICINE PART 2 SLIDE SHOW NURSING LECTURE”