Hey Stranger

Steve.

He ran through the hallways dodging nurses and patients on his way to the ICU. He ran right past Dr. Ashad and into room number nine. He didn't look much better than when he had last seen him but stood at his right side and revealed his right shoulder, so when Natasha went into the room the first thing he asked, "was he shot in the shoulder?"

Natasha nodded, "yeah, Friday we had a run in with the same group and he took a bullet"

Tonys heart sank into his stomach and his gut wrenched when he's realized with certainty that its was him. His steve was steve Rogers, aka captain America.

He collapsed in the chair behind him and stared at the nearly lifeless man in the bed before him.
Dr. Ashad marched in the room and stood and the foot of the bed, "mr. Stark, what's going on?"

Tony didn't answer but Natasha turned to the doctor and asked more questions regarding test results of the "John Doe". Every answer corresponded to steve.

She turned to fury standing in the doorway who continued, "we need him moved to a private room, 24/7 security, nobody in or out without our clearance"

Dr. Ashad still looked confused, "I'm sorry but who are you guys?"

"Director fury with shield," he held out his hand and dr. Ashad shook it, "and that right there" he pointed to the patient, "is captain America."

Dr. Ashads jaw dropped and left the room soon after to prepare for transfer.

•••

4 o'clock in the morning, a crazy workout junkie was running his route on the side of an abandoned road, but he noticed tire marks on the street which he thought nothing of until he saw a bloodied man passed out in the ditch. "Holy fuck" he pulled out his earbuds and pulled out his phone to dial 911.

It rang once before an answer and as the responder spoke to him he checked for a pulse and reported back vitals to the woman at the other end of the line.

When the ambulance arrived, he wasn't breathing and as he was whipped away with the blaring siren, electric shocks were being sent through his broken body and he chest was being pounded on like a drum. Desperately trying to get a heart beat, blood poured out of his wounds like a waterfall.

"What the hell happened to this guy?!" A paramedic shouted while doing compressions.

•••

Dislocated and fractured shoulder, broken wrist, broken elbow, 14 broken ribs, punctured lung, pneumothorax, cracked sternum, broken hip, fractured spine, shattered femur, torn acl, shattered patella, fractured skull, broken jaw, severe brain bleed, and more.

Reading his chart made tony want to throw up. How can someone endure so much?

He tossed the chart onto the small table behind him and pulled the railing of his bed down. He leaned down, grabbed his casted hand and laid his head down on his bed.

He finally closed his eyes with the comfort of knowing he had finally found him and he had to get better. He just had to.

He didn't even realize he was asleep until he was woken to the blaring beeping of steves monitors, "no," he mumbled, "No! Steve!" He tried shaking him awake but was soon pulled off of him by Dr. Ashad.

"Crash cart!! And get him out of here! Give me two of epi! NOW! And start compressions"

Tony was pushed out of the room and watched as they tried to restart his heart. He dug his hands into his hair and tried to draw more air into his lungs, but the lack of steves heartbeat made his want to stop.
"Asystole, Continue compressions!" "Another epi" everything started going in slow motion, he can't do it, the few days he'd known steve had been the best ones of his life, he can't lose that, he can't lose him.
"V-fib, Paddles!!" Dr. Ashad shouted and Natasha came running towards tony, she was just getting coffee.

"What the hell is-" she watched as they shocked him for the first time and dropped her coffee, "oh"

"No change, alright charge again three sixty... three two one... clear!" His body jerked off of the table and everyone had their heads turned towards the monitor, it took a second but his Heartrate stabilized, "Sinus Rhythm"

They both watched as they hooked him back up to the vent and took the crash cart out of the room, tony immediately pushed himself back inside and saw steves left eye open slightly, "steve?" He pushed himself past dr. Ashad and grabbed his hand again, "steve can you hear me?" He could see that he was blinking taking into account it was still basically swollen shut.

Dr. Ashad walked to the other side of the bed and waved his finger in front of him, it took him a second, but he started following it as much his injured eye would allow him.

Tony squeezed his hand and leaned over him so he could see his face, he was over the moon to get a weak squeeze back before he fell back asleep.