~Broken Family~

Introducing...

Something was happening.

Harley wrenched out his earbuds, which had been playing Tony's playlist, the split second he heard the cars honking their horns. But by then it was too late.

The silence that had been on the bus was shattered by, well, a shatter. The glass was blown away from the windows as the bus was ripped apart.

One split second of agony tearing through his entire body, especially his left leg.

Then everything was quiet and still.

***

He went in and out of consciousness, phasing between states of half-asleep and unnaturally deep slumber.

He was laying down, but he was moving. He couldn't feel anything below his hips, but it was a bad kind of numbness. It tingled painfully.

Lights swooped in and out as he was moved. Voices shouted in his ear. Someone held a bag of fluids above him. He squeezed his eyes closed, biting down hard on something in his mouth, and whimpered, hoping he was just having a nightmare.

"Shh," a soft voice hummed in his ear before everything faded out. "You're going to be okay. I promise. 'God will never leave you nor forsake you.' Rest, now."

He gave into the overwhelming need for sleep.

***

"Doctor, we need this room, now," was the first thing Harley registered in his loopy, quarter-conscious state. "Girl from the north side, highway accident. Coming in in five."

"Get him out," a gruff voice responded. "Emergency ward... More fluids, Weaver! Watch that monitor, pressure's going up. Ugh, these new kids..."

Harley sank into the black waves of darkness again.

***

The first thing he felt was confusion.

The nausea came on pretty quick, but amazingly he didn't vomit.

He felt something plugging up his nose, heard something beeping sharply in his hear. His fingers twitched, and he pulled his hand up to his face to rub at his eyes and to pick at whatever was in his nose. Definitely not like a booger, though. 'Cause that would be gross.

They were weird tube things like he'd seen on the movies and that time Peter'd been in a coma.

Harley felt his body jerk awake as he realized he was in a white hospital bed, and not on the bus on the way back home. Pain flashed through his body and he cried out.

Tony was at his side in seconds, then Pepper. Harley blinked groggily, pushing himself up onto his left elbow as much as his body allowed him to, as his right arm and shoulder were bandaged stiffly. Something was also compressed around his lower back. His left leg was suspended in the air, but still tucked under the blanket. He could tell that had been Pepper.

He was in a room with lots of people in it. Each of the beds were sectioned off by a curtain, his a little open for air. There were people running back and forth, some wailing, and others crying.

"Oh, Harley," Tony gasped. Harley noticed Tony was pale, sweaty, and looked exhausted--black circles stuck out under his eyes and his eyes were red from crying.

"Tony...?" he started. His voice sounded hoarse and dehydrated. "What are you--"

"I'm here baby, I'm here," Pepper cried quietly, gripping Harley's hand. Her face was also tear-stained, and she didn't have any makeup on. Worst of all, she was wearing one of Tony's old t-shirts. She only ever wore those when she was too sick to bother getting dressed up. Weird.