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𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓
𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐖𝐀𝐍 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄
ELEANOR
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'Please don't nod off on me, Rhodey.'
I couldn't get any sleep after Tony had left my ward, my eyes stubbornly holding them open until he returned. He never did but I did spot Rhodey walking by a few hours after, soon begging him to stay in the room and keep me company. However vulnerable I was, my stomach still rumbled at the sight of Rhodey chomping on instant noodles. I couldn't ingest any solids because of the procedure that was supposed to occur later at night, the only nutrition my body was getting was intravenous fluids.
Through the weighing down pain that wracked my body sporadically and with prickling agony near my clavicle every time I breathed too deeply, I made time to talk to Rhodey and gain insight on the events that had transpired after my departure. New felt grief started to rise from my chest and through when the news of nearly null survivors was able to survive the crash. Rhodey saw the evident worry on my face, dropping the topic then and there, shutting off into silence.
I felt the pain invade the same place once again as I raised my arm to wake my only company and deliberately snatched back with a groan to soothe it away.
A dark hand grabbed mine before I could do anything, Rhodey's stern pair of eyes coming into sight. I sheepishly smiled, letting my bandaged arm go limp against the crisp yet thinning sheets. The ward I was held in smelled on ancient herbs and I had memorized the number of polystyrene tiles that lined the ceiling. That's when I hear his tired command.
'If you move, it'll only hurt more,' he said, his eyes anything but pleased. 'Just hang in there for a while.'
I nodded in understanding, trying to not to shrug and let my head fall heavily onto the pillow. I swallowed tightly when I saw the array of instruments on the other side of the wall, all of which were connected to my body in some sort of way. There were all sorts of beeping, long and sporadic, which had only started to get me more panicky. What if it cut my heart in half? Maybe this procedure wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.
'Will it hurt?' I asked under my breath, my gut twisting sharply. It was hard to talk with the nasal cannula around my nose and neck that restricted my jaw movement. Rhodey looked up from the manila print file with a concerned stare.
'The fixing of the arc reactor. Does it hurt?'
The side of his lips pulled up in mild amusement. 'Seriously?'
