Malen'kaya Zemlya [2] [P. Parker]

1.8 Hospital

I blinked awake. Tony was sitting by my bed. "Um-"

"Hey, you're awake." He smiled weakly. "Look, I'm really sorry-"

I cut him off by hugging him. That wasn't a smart idea, judging by the fact that my head pounded and my stomach lurched, but I did it anyway.

He held onto me. "I'm sorry, kid. I didn't know."

"I didn't want you to know," I said. "I was trying to be brave but I just ended up being stupid."

"A true Gryffindor."

I laughed weakly.

"You're lucky Wanda caught you," Tony said.

I frowned. "She did? She was all the way across- oh. Powers."

"Yeah, powers. Speaking of powers, why did you keep using yours when you were pretty much dying?"

"I made a commitment to a team and I needed to stick to it."

He stared blankly at me for a minute. "Yeah, you're definitely insane."

He stood up to leave.

"Wait!" I called. "What about Steve and Barnes?"

He shook his head. "Whereabouts unknown. You should get some rest."

I tried to protest but my head ached. "Yeah. Yeah, okay."

"Later, kid. Peter's fine, by the way. He's home." The door closed behind him.

I breathed a sigh of relief. At least I was the only one in a really bad situation.

What about Ryker?

I swore.

About twenty minutes later, a nurse came in.

"Hello, Miss Valentinez, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"Pretty good. What happened to me?" I replied immediately.

"Your parietal and occipital were severely damaged. Thankfully, your brain was not, but if you had been any longer getting here, you could be disabled for life. However," she added upon seeing my fearful eyes. "There will be minimal extensive damage."

"Minimal?" I asked weakly.

"Yes, your occipital was damaged the most and will take a while longer to heal than your parietal and you will have to refrain from possibly strenuous activities such as running, nodding too hard and dancing." she handed me a thin folder. "In here is a list of things you can't do and some pointers to help you be as safe and comfortable as possible."

I nodded slowly, flipping through the folder. "Thank you, um... How long have I been in here?"

"You've only been here, in New York, for two days, but before that, you were in Berlin for about a week."

"So it's been a week and a half?"

"Yes."

I sighed. "Gotta love travelling."

The nurse smiled. "Your healing was extremely sped up, Miss Valentinez. Quite shockingly."

"Sped up?" I asked.

"Yes, this kind of damage would have taken a lot longer to heal for normal people, but you're not normal, are you?"

I shook my head slowly. "I'm afraid not."

She smiled lightly. "I should leave you now. Food will be here soon."

"Thank you," I said as she left, the door shutting quietly behind her.

After she was gone, I gazed around the room.

A few machines and a table to my right.

On that table was a glass of water, a burner phone and a note.

I reached over and sipped the water slowly as I read the note.

Hey, Ash.

Hope you're well.

Call me on this phone when you're awake.

We need to talk.

-SR

(A/N)

Ashley out there sipping on that water like tea.

Just kidding I'm weird.

I got nothing else to say for once.

So bye

-lost_in_a_book__

(also about the note... do you think Ash will call? Or nah.)