𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐒 [𝖙•𝖘] [𝖎𝖒 - 𝖊𝖓𝖌]

⁶⁴. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑝

2019

warning: mentions of vomit, pregnancy, hospital and cancer treatment inaccuracies (does that count ?) please read with caution.
───✱*.｡:｡✱*.:｡✧*.｡✰ ───

A year after one of the Earth's most terrible tragedy, a lot of things had happened in the midst of all the chaos. The cabin was officiated as their new home one peaceful Saturday afternoon, and (Y/N) had invited Natasha and Tony invited Rhodey for dinner just for an excuse to show off the house and to catch up. Tony continued his regular duties, although now he had a warm welcome waiting for him at home and not a cold mansion like in his old days. (Y/N) kept her promise to Maria and visited her at every check up, always holding her hand for comfort. In just a blink of an eye, one year passed and hopefully things were starting to turn for the better.

"You're quite lucky, Ms. Rambeau," Doctor Highland spoke as she stepped back from the computer on her desk with a polite smile. "Everything seems to be in order."

Maria let out a relieved breath, and the tension flooded out of her eyes. (Y/N) was still holding onto her friend's hand tightly, even though they just told her the news she wanted to hear.

It was just another regular check-up, followed up by rehabilitation therapy. Maria looked healthier than the first time (Y/N) saw her, and it was honestly such a relief. She had been sat in this chair for the last 1 and a half hour watching how physiotherapist guided Maria through her sessions, along with new information brought in by Doctor Highland. (Y/N) didn't mind just casually sitting and paying attention to her surroundings, but it was hard to do so when she felt her head throbbing and nausea often.

"How much longer am I gonna have to come for checkups, Doctor?" Maria asked with furrowed eyebrows. She looked eager to jump back into her regular routine. "Since everything's fine now."

Doctor Highland flashed an apologetic smile before speaking. "Approximately one more month, Ms. Rambeau. Almost done."

Maria offered a laugh and looked behind her shoulder to talk to (Y/N). "It looks like you're still stuck with me for one more month, huh?"

(Y/N) had drifted off with closed eyes after Doctor Highland's first words, trying to ease the pounding in her head. Her body felt like she was dragging a heavy weight and she didn't know why. Maybe she caught a bug due to the hospital cafeteria food or because of Tony's breakfast this morning. Either way, it was starting to get on her nerves. She was supposed to be Maria's rock in all this and here she was with this unknown pain.

"(Y/N)?"

"Ms. Vaughn?"

A light tap on her shoulder made (Y/N) jump awake, snapping her head in both directions to see who had distracted her. When she saw both Doctor Highland's frown and Maria's worried eyes, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed at their intense gazes.