Benedict Cumberbatch Imagines

Sicker than I thought (dr strange)

It's been a few weeks of you feeling unwell. At first you said it was because winter was on its way and it had been getting colder the past few days. Then it didn't go away and you convinced yourself that it was just your sinuses acting up from the seasons changing. Stephen was in and out of the Sanctum because of missions with the Avengers, teaching at Karma Taj, and helping Wong protect the universe. He didn't notice you getting sick. He came and went so fast that he never had a moment to really look you over. How could he have missed it? He was a doctor.

You were never one to go to the doctor. It was always a fight to go to your yearly check up, most times Stephen would just check your vitals at home but every couple years he forced you to go get blood work done. It's been over a year since he took you for blood work.

All this time you didn't want to make a big deal over you not feeling well. Stephen was gone so frequently that you didn't want to make a big fuss when he finally was home. So the first time you didn't mention it, then he left again. When he came home again you again didn't say anything. The third time he left and came back you couldn't hide that you weren't feeling well anymore. You were pale, visibly thinner and in pain.

Stephen first knew you weren't okay when you didn't come to greet him when he walked into the bedroom after just getting home from a mission with Wong. You always jumped to your feet and threw yourself into his arms no matter what time of day or night. The fact that you remained in bed under a plethora of blankets filled him with concern. Then once he pulled the blankets aside he got more worried. Your clothes were hanging off your body. They were huge on you and you were white as a ghost.

"Darling, you don't look well. I think it's time you saw a Doctor." He sat beside you on the bed and rubbed your leg under the covers.

"It's fine it's only been this bad for a couple days. I'm sure it'll get better any day now." You assured him.

"How long have you been feeling ill? I don't mean this bad, I mean all together, when did you start feeling sick?" He put the back of his hand up to your forehead to feel your temperature. You had a slight fever, nothing major but mixed with the other symptoms he's seeing.

"I don't know, maybe a couple weeks ago." You nuzzled into his arm, ignoring all the questions and just wanting to enjoy having him here.

"Any cough, headache, runny nose, sneezing to suggest it's just a cold?" He continued to question you.

"No, just fatigue and occasional stomach pains." You told him as you tried to pull him down to lay on the bed with you.

"Any bloating, inconsistent bowel movements with blood?" He didn't let you pull him to lay down. He kneeled over you and pulled your shirt up.

"Yeah." You sighed when you realized he wasn't going to let this go. Sometimes you hated that he was a doctor.

"Does this hurt?" He started pushing on different parts of your upper stomach and lower stomach. 

"A little, what are you doing please stop. You're finally home. All I want is to lay around and cuddle. Just get in bed." You begged.

"Darling this could be serious. I think we need to get you to a hospital. I'll pack a bag you just lay here until I'm done." He pushed himself off the bed and started packing a small duffle bag. You laid on the bed sulking like a small child who wasn't getting their way.

"This is so unnecessary. All I've wanted for the last 2 weeks is for you to be home and for us to spend time together. Why can't we just go tomorrow?" You whined.

"Think of it like this, since you're so certain this is nothing then we go tonight to make sure everything's okay and tomorrow we'll have the whole day ourselves. How's that sound?" He asked, setting the bag on the end of the bed.

"Fine, but tomorrow we will spend the day in bed cuddling, watching movies and ordering takeout. And I want it to be sushi."  You pouted.

"We can order whatever you like and we'll rent that movie you've been talking about then we can binge whatever tv show you want. Now let's get you up and get you into the Emergency room. I'm sure Christine will want to run a few tests, I texted her as I packed your bag and she's expecting us any moment." He helped you to your feet and opened a portal that you both stepped through. Christine was waiting in the hallway for you both.

"Stephen there are people who have been waiting, I can't just."

"I'm off the clock Y/N it's okay. Besides, it's not busy here. We have a ton of open rooms and not many patients that need to be admitted to them. So come on back let's get you into a gown and down for some tests." She showed you to your room and Stephen helped you out of your clothes and into your hospital gown.

"Stephen, what tests is she running? What do you think is wrong?"  You asked, finally starting to worry why Stephen dragged you all the way down here and had Christine stay late.

"I'm not sure baby, that's why we're here. Weight loss is not something you should take lightly, not to mention the fever and fatigue. It's just better that you get some simple tests just to be sure it's nothing serious." He said while pushing you to the lab in your wheelchair.

"Let's just get this over with. I want to go lay in our own bed together."

He pushed you to imaging where Christine was waiting for you. The tests took far too long for your liking. First you got an MRI, then you got an ultrasound and bloodwork and x-rays. By the end of it, it was 3am and you were laying in your hospital bed sleeping while Stephen was holding your hand and sitting in his chair by your side.

"Stephen." Christine called from the hallway and motioned him to come outside.

"What are the results?"  He asked anxiously.

"I did every test to be absolutely sure. She has colon cancer Stephen. We can treat it but she will need surgery and the recovery time will be a little over two weeks. There's the possibility of her needing a colostomy bag but we won't know for sure until the surgeon gets in there and sees just how much of her colon needs to be removed." Christine explained.

"Well... I don't understand how she got so bad so fast. I was with her a couple weeks ago and she was fine."

"You know as well as I do colon cancer is the most common cancer in adults and even though it's the easiest to treat it's the hardest to find. After the surgery she should be fine, the cancer has not spread." She assured him.

"Okay." He paused in thought of how to tell you. "Let's get her scheduled for surgery, she can go as soon as possible. I'll be here with her for as long as it takes. Can I take her home tonight? I want her to be comfortable."

"Of course you can, there's nothing more we can do for her until surgery. I think according to scheduling we'll be able to get her in next week."

"Perfect, thank you for everything Christine. I'll tell her and then get her home." He hugged her and ran back into your room. "Darling wake up."

"Hmm? Can we finally go home? What did the tests show?" You yawned and rubbed his thigh.

"Darling, I don't want you to be alarmed." He held your hands. "The tests found that you have colon cancer, but everythings going to be okay. Christine got you scheduled for surgery and once you get surgery everything should be fine. You'll go through 8 weeks total of recovery that includes the use of a bag if you need it. If not the recovery time will be a lot shorter and then you should be good as new." He watched as your eyes started to show fear and sadness.

"And where will you be?" You asked.

"I will be by your side the whole time. I swear to you, no missions, no teaching at Karma-taj just me and you. We are going to fight this together." He nuzzled his face into yours.

"I believe you, and I believe you when you say I'll be okay. I'm not worried. Can we at least get takeout? I want sushi." He pulled away and laughed. You were still his Y/N, even after the bad news you'd just been given. He believed him when he said you'd be okay and you had faith in him and his former hospital staff.

"Yes, we can get takeout. We can get whatever takeout you want for the next 2 months. Now let's just worry about getting you home."