Curiosity Killed the Cat

Chapter 16: Hospital Stay

I was almost a day later when Loki finally woke up. He was exhausted still, but at least the headache had subsided some. He tried to bring his hand up to rub his bleary eyes, but found he couldn't. He tried again and his hand did not budge. He tried the other, same thing.

He cracked his eyes open a bit more and saw the restraints holding him down. Loki's chest felt like it was being pressed down on and his throat closed up. His breathing started to become fast and labored and his eyes darted around the room.

He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Reindeer Games. It's Tony. I'm gonna need you to take deep breaths for me okay? Hey, it's okay, no one will hurt you," he reassured when he saw the Trickster panicking.

Nat was also in the room while Shuri and Peter were getting some resting done at the compound. It took a while to convince them that Loki would be fine for the 12 or so hours they needed to rest.

She went over to the bedside and held Loki's hand as she brushed her thumb over his knuckles to comfort him.

Loki's breathing was starting to return to normal but he still looked terrified and tense. His whisper broke their hearts.

"Please don't leave me."

Tony couldn't help but feel extremely guilty. Not only for bringing him here, but for keeping him in isolation for as long as they did. The fact that he thought he was going to be left just like that was heartbreaking to the two avengers.

"We aren't going anywhere Frosty. Just tell us what you need."

Loki looked at the restraints and gave a little tug on them. Not even a budge.

Nat frowned a bit as she knew the doctor said they had to stay on until the IV came out at least and that wouldn't be for another day or two. "I'm sorry, they won't let us undo them yet." He looked like his world had shattered even more.

She saw the blanket they brought for him in the corner of the room and got up to grab it. Loki whined a bit when she let go, but she quickly grabbed the blanket and reassured him that she wouldn't leave. "Do you want me to put this on you instead so you don't have to see them?"

Loki nodded vigorously. She carefully unfolded and draped the blanket over him, making sure to cover his feet and his arms, except for the covering on his arm. After some discussion with a nurse after they had restrained the poor god, she told them about a cover that they used on kids so they wouldn't have to see the pick line. She graciously helped them get one for Loki and they could already tell that it was helping a lot to keep some of his panic down.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, with just some nurses taking vitals and Tony and Nat keeping Loki grounded. Thankfully Loki's healing seemed to take over a bit and most of the fever and rash had came down.

The next day was worse.

Loki had a nightmare about the Chitarui holding and restraining him on a table while they injected a burning fluid into him. He woke up trying to muffle his own screaming. He then proceeded to have another panic attack for 30 minutes. That was when the collective group decided enough was enough and forced the doc to take off Loki's restraints.

He protested at first and then realized that Tony Stark was not a person you wanted to mess with in the business world, so he complied.

Once the doctor took off the restraints and took out the IV since it was not needed anymore, Loki immediately curled into a ball on the other side of the bed to get as far away from him as possible. The doctor left to talk with Tony about something and Shuri and Peter snuggled with Loki. Nat sat on the edge of the bed with her hand calmly placed on Loki's arm.

They all stayed like that when they heard a very distinct billionaire's voice from outside the room come inside the room. He slammed the door a bit and caused Loki to jump a bit.

"Okay so apparently Loki can't leave until he's been vaccinated for the more dangerous diseases and shit."

Loki looked confused at the word "vaccinated" but one look at Tony's face told him that he wasn't going to like it.

About an hour later, the nurse from earlier in the visit came in with a tray with 5 needles on it. She saw Loki's panicked face and left for a minute before coming back with a small tube. She said it was numbing cream that they could use for beforehand so it wouldn't hurt as much.

"Do you want me to put it on or one of your friends?"

Loki nodded a little to her, still very tense and shaking a bit.

She took some of the cream and applied it to both of his shoulders. She told them it would take a bit to numb it.

"I'm just going to explain what I'm doing hon alright? I won't even go over there until it's time."

Loki hesitantly nodded.

"Once the numbing cream does it's thing, I'm gonna give you the first three in your left arm and the second two in your right. Before I give you them I'll count to three okay?" When given an affirmative answer she continued. "If at any point you feel lightheaded or if you need us to take a break, tell me, okay? I'll do what you need me to do to make this better for you."

Loki still had his arms wrapped around his legs, but whispered something about being lightheaded. They were able to get him into a more reclined position so that he didn't faint.

The timer went off for the numbing cream. "Remember just tell me if you need a second okay?"

Loki nodded, but he already had tears streaming down his face. When she came over and kneeled down beside him, Tony did the same thing as he did with the IV so he wouldn't see the needle and panic.

"One, two-" she injected the vaccine and Loki let out a soft sob, "Three," she said as she took it out.

They repeated this for all five, with a small break after the third so they could help Loki calm down a bit. Nat held onto his hand, since both Shuri and Peter basically fled at the sight of the vaccines, saying they would join Loki and the others after.

Once they were all done, the nurse told Loki how great he did and Loki started to finally calm down, exhausted.

They all left the hospital soon after, with Nat and Tony discussing hiring the kind nurse, Emily, for the compound, and all of the kids practically falling over asleep in the car.

A/N: I kid y'all not I had to take a breather in the middle of writing this cause of my PTSD with hospitals, but I'm so glad I was able to push through because I know that it helps to see stronger characters deal with normal problems that a lot of people deal with. So thanks for bearing with me on this chapter :)