Don't do anything stupid...
Ella awoke again a few hours later, roused suddenly from a deep sleep, her limbs smarting much more than before. Her leg felt like it was on fire, each breath felt like glass raking against her lungs. She raised her good arm, rubbing sleep from her eyes, guessing that the pain was the reason she was yanked from dreamland. “Stupid, breakable bones,” she thought, instantly knowing that this situation wouldn’t work out for her at all. Ella was a terror when she was bored, and for the months ahead all Ella could see were white walls and limited movement.
“She’s in there?” Ella perked up at the voice, trying to crane her head to peer at the doorway. Her ribs loudly protested the small action and Ella hissed between her teeth but didn’t change her position. She strained her ears at the low murmurs seeping in from under the door, failing to see anyone through the tiny rectangle of a window.
“Yes, but she needs her rest–”
“I won't disturb her, I’m just here to check up,” the voice said, and Ella couldn’t make out for the life of her who it was. She could make a good guess, but she couldn’t be certain.
“Well, alright…” the second voice relented, and then the door was swung open, her doctor stepping inside. When his eyes landed on hers, his eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You’re awake!” Ella gave another sarcastic thumbs up, and the doctor’s surprise melted into relief. “You have a friend here to see you.” He moved to the side and… Wesley made his entrance, looking a little more bedraggled than usual. Ella’s eyes widened, first in shock, and then in mild panic. The brothers were bound to wind up in here at some point in the next hour, and Ella had the distinct feeling that running into Wesley wouldn’t exactly be the highlight of their day. She hurriedly unlocked her phone, determined to tell Vladimir and Anatoly not to visit, but with a final buzz, it died in her hand. “Damn it all to hell,” Ella thought, finally turning her full attention to Wesley. She briefly nodded at the doctor who gave her one last smile before exiting.
“How are you?” Wesley asked, coming to stand beside her. The front of his suit was mildly crumpled, and if it weren’t for that fact she’d say he looked completely composed. Ella gave him a deadpan look, pointing toward her jaw. He nodded in understanding and gave her a bitter, half-smile. “It couldn't hurt to ask,” he said, eyes roving over her face, which was stained in varying shades of blue and purple. Wesley was silent for a few moments before asking, “do you know who hit you? Could you describe the car?” Ella quirked one eyebrow, and she swore to god that she saw Wesley flush. “I’m just trying to make sure whoever did this will know exactly how reckless their driving was, nothing more.” Rage leaked through the barely concealed concern, and Ella stared hard at the man before her until he averted his eyes to the curtain covered window. Just then, a nurse bustled into the room, whiteboard held in her hand. She gave a sheepish smile, silently placing it in Ella’s lap along with one dry-erase marker, and made a hasty retreat upon noticing Wesley’s tight grin. Ella wasted no time in using her only method of communication.
What, are you going to give him a Defensive Driving Course?
Ella gave Wesley a reproving look, letting him know that she saw right through whatever nonsense he was trying to pull. “Something of that effect,” Wesley sniffed, shrugging. Ella couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Regardless of the impending violence she might be indirectly responsible for, she let it go.
How’d you know I was here?
“Well, when you didn’t show up at your shop, and weren’t in your apartment, I jumped to some conclusions, made some calls,” Wesley replied, clearly ruffled with this line of questioning. He reached up to scratch at the back of his neck, and Ella’s previously closed off expression softened the tiniest bit. He cared, in his own way.
Did you TRESPASS into my apartment to make sure I wasn’t in it?
At that, Wesley just nodded sheepishly, the tips of his ears and his cheeks turning a rosy pink. Ella groaned, throwing up her one good arm as far as her ribs would allow, and gave him her best “what the actual fuck” expression. “I am nothing if not thorough,” Wesley hissed back testily, adjusting his glasses. He jerkily moved around to the other side of the bed, back to her as he made to look out of the window. At that exact moment, Ella caught something out of the corner of her eye that she really wished she hadn’t. Anatoly’s face filled up the door’s small window, and it budged a millimeter in its frame before Ella was flapping her arm like an overexcited bird. She shook her head vigorously back and forth, and as soon as his eyes met hers she did her best to relay to him to back away and hide. “I need to invest in a mad scientist and get some damn telepathy,” she thought to herself. Anatoly’s eyes widened, but he didn’t move from his spot, simply mouthing a “what?” at her. The intense urge to strangle the man rose up, but she quickly quenched it when she noticed yet another stare on her.
“Why are you waving your arm?” Wesley inquired, walking back over to her side. Ella felt like she was going to burst a fucking blood vessel. Nevertheless, she hurriedly scrawled a response onto the whiteboard, hoping to keep Wesley’s attention on her and not the door.
Went numb, trying to get feeling back.
“Do you want me to get a nurse?” he asked, his concern clearly visible on his face this time.
No, it should be fine, thanks. Just the perks of getting hit by a car.
Wesley smiled again, briefly, before adjusting his glasses. A nervous tick, Ella noticed. He then glanced at his watch. “Well, I did just come here to check up. I need to be getting back, but,” he said, pulling a business card out of his pocket and placing it on the side table, “if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.” Ella scribbled down a hasty thank you, before the panic set in again, as Wesley turned for the door. Her heart skipped a beat and she readied to throw her pillow at his back to distract him yet again, but it soon resumed a normal rhythm when the small window was void of curious, confused Russian. Ella sagged back against the pillows, returning Wesley’s hesitant wave as he exited the room. She strained her ears, listening for the sounds of an altercation, but was only met with silence. She hoped that Anatoly, and Vladimir, if he was here, took her wild gestures as a sign to make themselves scarce and to not corner Wesley in the parking lot. She waited in general unease for a solid thirty minutes, fiddling with the hem of her blanket, mind running in circles. Her abundance of wild movements had started all of her injuries throbbing, to the point where every few minutes she had to grit her teeth against the pain. She still refrained form calling the nurse just yet. When Ella thought she’d lose her mind, the door swung open with a flourish, stopping just short of implanting itself into the wall. The brothers made their entrance, Vladimir holding a ‘Get Well’ balloon in a white knuckled grip.
“You look like shit,” Vladimir said, walking over to her bedside, obviously fighting to keep his expression neutral. Anatoly pulled up the chair from the corner and plopped down beside her, expression guarded.
Yeah.
Ella held the board in a wobbling grip. “Did that lap dog bother you?” Vladimir asked, jaw clenched, hand releasing the balloon and letting it drift across the ceiling. She shook her head, eyes flickering between Vladimir and Anatoly in a seemingly endless loop.
“I thought you were dead,” Anatoly stated, expression giving nothing away. His gaze was hard and a wave of guilt racked Ella– to leave them hanging like that, not knowing if she was bleeding out alone on a sidewalk somewhere…
“Sorry,” she murmured, jaw blistering with pin-pricks of pain, tears welling up. Her chest grew tight, and it was the most uncomfortable feeling she’d ever experienced. “Get your shit together, ribs, and let me cry,” Ella chastised, sniffling to ward off the sobs that were well on their way out.
“We will find who did this,” Vladimir vowed, grabbing her good hand and holding it tight. She could only nod, Wesley’s own promise ringing in her ears, and hold his hand just as fiercely. Vladimir must have seen her flinch when she finally pulled her hand back to let it rest in her lap, because he was instantly in ‘overbearing, worthy of a broom beating’ territory. “Are you in pain? Have they given you anything?” he demanded, and Ella nodded, but batted him away when he reached for the red button. “You need medication,” Vladimir ground out, making another grab for the button, but Ella quickly wrapped her hand around it and held it behind her back to the best of her ability. She pinned Vladimir to the spot with her infamous glare, but he looked anything but ready to relent.
“Why?” Anatoly asked, far too perceptive. Ella’s eyes darted between the two brothers, and she knew that without her broom or the ability to lecture until her face was red, she probably wouldn’t win this battle. With a sigh, she picked up the whiteboard.
The meds make me drowsy. I don’t want anyone doing anything stupid while I’m out.
“You are afraid we will run into Fisk’s man,” Anatoly said, and Ella nodded. She at least had a chance at mediation if she was awake, but asleep? Not so much. Plus, Matt must have noticed her absence at the store now too, if everyone else already had. If he showed up, along with everyone else, they were all so, so screwed. The brother’s she trusted. Bandana Head she trusted. Wesley she trusted… moderately. Fisk? Fisk was the only variable that could bring everything and everyone down into a burning pile of broken broom handles. She was going to have to have a lengthy talk with that man, sooner or later. Seeing as though she couldn’t actually talk right now, it would definitely be later.
“We will be more careful, stay out of sight,” Vladimir said, and Ella knew that that promise was only as good as their ninja skills, which, if today’s scenario was anything to go by, needed some serious work.
AND you won’t do anything stupid, right?
Vladimir bit his tongue but nodded, rolling his eyes. Ella would have to be content with that for now.
“Now that we have agreed, you need pain meds,” Anatoly said, and Ella finally acquiesced. The nurse was in the room almost as soon as the button was pressed, injecting one of the IV’s with what Ella presumed to be morphine. She hardly paid any attention to the brothers who took to loitering menacingly in the corner.
“That should be enough. If you’re still hurtin’ just give that button another press and I’ll be back, okay?” she said, and Ella smiled in answer. The nurse took a minute to smooth down her blankets, and then left as quickly as she’d appeared. Ella could feel the drugs effects almost immediately, eyelids becoming leaden weights.
“We will stay, make sure you don’t fall out of bed,” Anatoly said, expression significantly softer than it had been a moment prior. Ella was going to argue, stating that they couldn’t both sleep in the chair, and standing was bound to become uncomfortable, and the floor just couldn’t be that sanitary, when Anatoly caught her gaze. As if reading her mind, he lowered himself into the chair, leaned back, and placed his arms behind his head. He gave her a wolfish grin and Ella threw him a half-hearted glare. She shuffled a little to get comfortable, pulling the blankets up a smidgen.
Just as she was content with her positioning, the window rattled in its frame. After a minute of tense silence, the window slid open. A figure fumbled behind the curtain for a moment, before dropping inside. “Bandana Head?” Ella thought, eyes going wide in shock as he more or less stumbled into the room. The brothers were immediately on their feet, all three men blending together in Ella’s increasingly blurry vision. She could feel sleep grasping hold of her limbs as the men advanced toward each other, their words muffled and indecipherable. "Is it too much to ask for some luck every now and again? Is it?!" Ella hissed to herself, fighting to stay awake but quickly losing the battle. With one last burst of energy, Ella pushed past the waves of drowsiness to speak.
All of the men paused in their advances and turned, when Ella managed to speak a full sentence for the first time in days. “If you hurt one another, I will hunt you all down one by one and make you wish that Fisk had gotten to you first,” she snarled, before exhaustion won out and she succumbed to a much needed rest. Only time would tell if her threat, and their friendships, were able to hold them at bay.