Dog Days

Chapter 87

TW: The following chapter contains subject matter content depictions of rape. Writer discretion advised.

The days pass slowly. In the morning, they change Loki's bandages, and he's awake until about noon, and then I take a smoke break, and sit on my bed until the evening time. I usually pick up dinner, around eight, and take my meds and go to bed, only to wake up and do it all again.

His bruises have began to disappear and he's beginning to stay awake a little longer. He's putting on some healthy weight, although he's still too thin.

On this morning, I stand next his bedside as Tony pulls the exterior pins from his knee. He grips my hand as he lays back and closes his eyes, trying to distance himself from the pain.

He squeezes my hand and I watch as the metal rods are pulled from his skin. Tony sighs "In a week, we're going to try to get up up on your feet, but you're on bedrest until then. Catheter is out, so you'll have to use the bed pan, or the urinal bottle, for the time being."

Tony looks to me "You can either handle his bathroom purposes, or use the call button to have someone else take care of it."

I take a deep breath and declare "I don't mind."

He gives me a short nod, before he states "We're going to be using a hard brace for the next few weeks. You can lay in bed with him, after this, but he can't lay on his stomach."

I give a short nod "Got it."

He gives me a tired smile "Have you slept with someone else in bed with you, since you started taking your sleep medication? Sometimes it can cause some issues."

Natasha cuts in "He's been doing fine. I don't think it'll be an issue."

I take a deep breath and state "I'm not even on the full dosage, yet. All I do is sleep."

He pulls out a few more pins, only to ask "Any nightmares, recently?" I shake my head and he gives a short nod as he looks down at the knee "I still think you would have been better off without the leg. It's coming back, but the nerve damage alone-"

Natasha sighs "Grandmaster was pushing for him to keep the leg. Can't have an operative without a leg. Probably would have been less painful to just cut the damn thing off. It's a wonder it didn't become narcotic and infected. It was barely hanging on for five days."

Loki takes a deep breath and remarks "There was a bottle of tequila in the glovebox. I might have used it to wash out the leg."

I give him a tired smile and ask "How did you stop the bleeding?"

He gives me a proud smirk "Passed a blanket on the way out. Fairly easy to tourniquet. Cauterized with a pocketknife and the heat from the engine. Luckily there was a couple bottles of water in the truck. It was a long drive."

I give him a tired smile "That sucks ass."

He scoffs and grits his teeth as Tony pulls another pin. He squeezes my hand so hard that his knuckles turn white. I look down at his knee to find only five more pins in his knee "You're almost done. Only a few more."

He sets his jaw as Tony continues to pull them out. I try to think of something to ask, to distract him, only I ask "Hey, has Hela been texting you? She's practically ghosted me for the past week."

He gives me a proud look, before declaring "She calls me, every night, around three, because she wakes up for an hour, every night. She generally takes about five minutes to ask about you, and we talk about some old stories from your childhood."

I furrow my brow and ask "You talk to my sister for an hour, every morning at 3, just because?"

He gives me a charmed smile "I like her. But not always an hour. Sometimes I get tired, and I have to let her go."