“He’s alive, but he’s not out of the woods yet.”
It took several hours and lots of anxious crying, but eventually, Steve and Bucky passed out from exhaustion. Despite their pleas to go down to the medbay, Natasha insisted they stay away from the chaos of Tony’s very hairy surgery. But once she was sure they were sound asleep, her curiosity got the best of her and she ducked out to get an update. When the doors opened to the medbay Natasha was almost knocked over by a nurse running towards the operating room, frantic beeping filled her ears. Through the window, Bruce caught her eye. He looked down at Tony and Natasha could read the fear in his eyes even from a distance. He said something to one of the interns and left the room, shucking his mask and gloves.
“Is he…”
“They’re the best surgeons in the world.”
“Don’t bullshit me, Bruce.”
He let out a heavy sigh. “It doesn’t look good.”
“Okay.” She muttered. Her mind raced with how the hell they were going to explain this to Steve and Bucky if he died.
“The surgery isn’t over yet. There’s still a chance he comes out okay.”
“I’ve never been much of an optimist. Lost too many people.”
Bruce nodded. “I’ll come get you when they’re done.”
Natasha squeezed his hand and forced a smile, then she turned and went back up to keep Steve and Bucky, whom she hoped were still sleeping, company.
Two hours later, Natasha’s phone buzzed. Bruce: He’s out of surgery. Meet me in the conference room across from the medbay. She rushed downstair and found Bruce on the floor of the conference room, head between his knees. “Bruce?” She crouched beside him and rested a hand on his shoulder.
“He’s out of surgery. He’s alive.” Bruce mumbled into his legs. Natasha pulled him into a tight hug.
“You did good Bruce,” she intoned. He started to cry. “You did everything you could to help him.” Finally, Bruce had the chance to break down. He’d been running on adrenaline since Tony collapsed, keeping it together for the sake of his teammates. When he gathered himself several minutes later, he sat back against the wall, Natasha sitting beside him.
“He’s alive, but he’s not out of the woods yet.” She nodded. “There was a bleed. It happened quickly and got scary for a while, but the surgeons were able to fix it. He’s alive, but he might not wake up, and if he does, he might not be Tony anymore.” He took a shuddering breath. “I should go tell Steve and Bucky.”
“Take a break, Bruce. I’ll talk to them.”
“I can’t ask you to do that. I can do it, don’t worry about me.”
“You didn’t ask me. Get some rest. I’ve got this.” She wasn’t sure she did, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to tell Bruce that. She helped him up and into his bedroom before going to wake Steve and Bucky. She tried to wipe her eyes of tears, but failed. She shook each of them awake gently. The red-rimming on her eyes put them both on alert and they sat bolt upright.
“What is it?” Steve asked immediately. “What happened?”
Bucky squeezed his hand and they looked at her expectantly. “Is he alive?”
She nodded. “He’s out of surgery.”
They both sighed with relief but could tell she wasn’t finished.
“There’s a but,” Bucky said dully.
She nodded and swallowed down her emotions. “He had a brain bleed. They don’t know if he’s going to wake up or how he’ll be if he does.”
“But he’s alive?” Steve asked breathlessly.
“Yes.”
He shuddered and hugged Bucky. “He’s alive,” he repeated. “He’s alive.” They cried, wrapped in each other’s arms.
“He’ll come back to us.” Bucky whispered into Steve’s hair. “He’s too stubborn not to.” In spite of all the pain and fear they were experiencing, they shared a sad laugh. “Now let’s go see him.” Bucky grabbed Steve’s hand and pulled him up off the bed. Natasha sat, watching them go.
As they got to the door, Steve spun around, “You too, Tasha. He’d want you there too.”