Fated

Chapter 5

"Hey, Micah. You're okay. You're safe."

She cracked her eyes open at the familiar voice. Her eyes took a few blinks to focus and she looked over to the voice she'd longed to hear for years.

"Bruce? You're here?"

He smiled at her, new unfamiliar lines creasing around his eyes and grey hair hiding around his temples.

"Yeah. I'm here." He took her hand, IV tubing and all, and wrapped it tightly between his own.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she tried to blink them.

"Where did you go? Why so long?"

"Micah....you know why I couldn't stay."

She held back a cry, "But Bruce....we didn't hear from you for eight years." She swallowed a knot in her throat. "I'm sorry...I know you don't want an interrogation from me."

"No! No..." he answered gently. "I know how hard it was to leave you guys. I can't even imagine how much more unbearable it was for you and Aunt Susan."

Micah closed her eyes, her forehead stung she assumed from fresh stitches or glue tugging on her skin.

"But I'm here now, okay?"

"For how long, Bruce? Are you just going to leave again?"

"No..." he looked down at her hand in his. "I can't leave now. They want to keep better tabs on me now."

"I'm sorry."

"It was probably bound to happen sooner or later."

Micah looked around the room. It was unlike any hospital room she'd ever seen.

"Where am I?"

Bruce pushed his glasses up with his free hand but refused to let go of her.

"Stark Tower. Tony has his own medical facility."

Micah let out a soft laugh, "Of course, you're on a first-name basis with Tony Stark."

"Of course," he mockingly puffed up his chest. "Who do you think helped him defeat the Aliens warriors!"

Micah snorted, "Of course, it was you, my genius brave cousin."

Bruce handed her a cup of water and she took it with her free hand, it was perfectly cool and felt like heaven in her cotton-dried mouth.

"So they were really aliens?"

Bruce solemnly nodded, "Yeah. But they're gone now. We're safe."

Safe.

She felt safe now with Bruce here. Her heart felt warm and at home with him here.

Before she could ask more questions there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Bruce answered for her.

The door opened and Micah stared in awe.

"Tony Stark!" she couldn't contain her shock.

He held his arms out wide, "in the flesh!" He tapped his chest, "Well mostly flesh."

Micah panicked and tried to smooth her hair down, it was a tabled mess and there was still crusted blood in it.

"No, no need to primp. I've seen worse. Heck, I've seen him all green and angry" He waved towards Bruce, and her cousin rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Tony casually swung a chair around and sat on the other side of her bed, opposite her cousin.