Iron Beta: Life as Tony Stark's Daughter

Chapter 17

A/N

I have a question for you guys: should I kill Loki at the end of this? And should he stay dead?

My mom and I have differing opinions on this. I think he should stay dead because he was supposed to die in Thor but didn’t. He probably should have died at the end of Avengers but didn’t. He’s here, and I want him dead for real, but my mom says I can’t kill him, I don’t know why.

Anyways, onto the story.

Chapter 17

The smell of antiseptic and bleach flooded my nostrils as I stepped into the hospital room and made a beeline for the plastic chair next to my dad’s bed.

“They have news.” I look over my shoulder to see a scrub-clad Bruce standing in the doorway.

“And?”

Bruce sighs and rubs his forehead. “Broken jaw, broken foot, head injury that needed seven stitches, and he’s lost a lot of blood. He’ll be in here anywhere from three weeks to a month. Could be worse.”

I nod grimly. “It always could be.”

“Any ideas on why he’s in such good shape?”

“Loki’s toying with him. With us. Kidnapped him, got us to go all the way to Russia to get him back, and injured him enough to make him down but not out.”

Bruce nods slowly. “I see your point. I’ll got tell the others you’re okay, what you just said, and about Tony’s condition.”

“Don’t make them worry, okay? And can you discreetly check up on Clint? I want to know he’s okay after that thing with Loki.”

Bruce nods with a small, slightly annoying, almost knowing smirk on his face. He turns to leave, but pauses at the door to look back at me, smirk still plastered on his face.

“What?”

“…nothing.” With that he turns and goes towards the waiting room.

I’m left staring at the door in confusion. But I decide whatever, he’s a scientist, he’s allowed to be weird.

I turn my attention back to eldest engineer in the room, sinking back into the uncomfortable by his bedside and grabbing his hand gently.

My dad has bandages wrapped around his head, preventing harm to his jaw. I laugh slightly when I realize they had to shave most of his hair to stitch the head injury and boy, is he going to be mad. He also has a cast from about halfway down his calf to his toes, most likely setting his foot. Needles and tubes protrude from both arms, mainly the one farthest from me. One I can see is an IV drip, another I can assume is morphine, and one I’m pretty sure is a catheter.

“Taylor?”

I jump and see Bruce standing in the doorway again, this time with tray of coffees in hand and five other people behind him.

“Hi. Come on in.”

He does, going to stand on my dad’s other side, handing me one of the coffees along the way.

“How is the health of the Man of Iron?” Thor spooks everybody by speaking in a much more quiet tone than his usual boom, albeit still a normal voice level for everybody else.

“He’s sedated right now, just to let the morphine kick in and the IV to hydrate his system. Doctors say he should be waking up anytime now.”

I nod as I take a sip of my coffee and then instantly gag because you’d really think hospitals would be more, well, hospitable towards worried loved ones.