Iron Will (sequel to Iron Soul)

Chapter Four: The Memory Remains

        I awake in a hospital bed, my heat beat sounding on the monitor to the right. I open my eyes hesitantly, the stale light burning my eyes as they struggle to adjust to the light. My chest aches, but not as bad as my heart. My mind switches back to the events that I remember last. The way her arms were draped around his neck, her lips pressed against his like they were against mine so many times. I feel like I have been stabbed in the chest, the knife being twisted and turned in my wound while it presses into me even further. I rub my face, accidentally pulling the mess of tubes on my chest, some of them disconnecting from their machines. Alarms sounds, making Sam jump awake in the chair next to me.

        "God damn Steve! Are you trying to kill me?!" he exclaims, grabbing at his chest. I smile shyly as a team of nurses rush into my room. They re-attach the tubes to their machines and insure that my levels are steady. The majority of them leave, only one very familiar nurse staying in the room. She smiles at me, typing information into the computer.

        "Sam? I'm going to have to ask you to leave the room. It's standard protocol." the nurse that took care of both Jet and I says. Sam nods, patting my bicep as he leaves.

        "So Steve, how are you feeling today?" she questions. I scoff, my head pounding with every thought, my chest on fire.

        "Like death." I mumble. She frowns and looks over at me.

        "Is this physical, or mental?" she asks.

        "Well both I guess, but mostly mental." I say, depression clear in my voice.

        "And why is that? What's bugging you?" she presses, placing two fingers on my wrist to check my pulse. I lay my head back on the pillow and close my eyes. Where do I even begin? How do I tell her that my life crumbled apart right before my eyes in a matter of only a few hours?

        "Well, my fiancee has been taken by Hydra and brainwashed, my best friend has been taken by Hydra and brainwashed, neither of them remember me, they just made out right in front of me, OH! And then she shot me!" I say with fake enthusiasm. The nurse frowns, stopping her work and sitting by my feet on the edge of the bed.

        "Alright, listen." she says locking her eyes on mine, a sense of urgency in her tone.

        "Yes ma'am." I respond, waiting for the inevitable lecture.

        "I have been working here in the medical department of S.H.I.E.L.D. for two years, since the reboot. Before that I worked in the ED of one of the top hospitals in New York for 7 years.  That means I have 9 years of experience of seeing families in hospitals and how they react when their loved ones are in pain or dying. That means that I have seen a butt load of relationships. But in my 9 years, I have never once seen one like you and Jet's. If you didn't know, which you probably don't, when Jet dropped you off here after she got you out of Hydra, she fought through a wall of nurses, who are also highly trained agents, just to get to you. Then she refused to leave the wall of glass that cut her off from your room. She would talk to you when you were in your coma, telling you how her day was and rattling off random ideas for new suits. She never left your side unless she was forced to and she never lost hope. She never stopped loving you. Love like that may be able to be brain washed away, but it will never be forgotten." I swallow and look at her. A subtle smile is placed across her lips. My heart aches for Jet. I sigh and drop my head in my hands.

        "It'll be okay Cap. I promise." she says lightly, patting my leg and getting up. She goes back to her computer typing in more information.

        "So Steve," she inquires, grabbing my attention instantly, "you obviously know that you got shot by Jet and that's why you're here. So now, I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that you probably would like to know the extent of your injuries." She pulls up some x-rays on the computer.