The Worst Is Yet To Come

Tony sighed, looking out of the van window into the rain. The Avengers were on a ‘road trip’ to a S.H.I.E.L.D. base in Wyoming. They had to go in the car for reasons none of them knew. Cap was driving, with Clint in the passengers seat. Tony sat behind Clint, with Nat behind Cap. Thor was flying, so he wasn’t in the van, or anywhere around it. Bruce was sitting in the middle of the third row of seats. Tony stifled a yawn. It was 4:00 p.m. and all of them were tired. The rain was mostly caused by Thor, now that Tony thought about it. He looked at Steve, and he looked tired. “Hey,” Tony said, nudging Cap’s shoulder. “I’ll drive. Pull over.” Cap nodded gratefully, and pulled off the lonely back road that they were required to take. Tony climbed into the driver’s seat and started driving. Their next stopping point was only 20 miles, a hotel they had reservations at. Tony planned to drive farther than that, as Nick Fury had told them they could if they wanted to. His thoughts wandered to Pepper. What was she doing right now? He was jerked from his thoughts when he heard a disturbance in the seat behind him. He heard Cap scream, “Pull over!” He did, hurriedly. He looked in the back to see what was the matter, and saw Cap jerk Nat out of the van just in time. She vomited, over and over again. Tony jumped out, along with the others. She sat on the ground, trembling, her hand still in Cap’s. All the others surrounded them. Bruce sat next to her, and felt her forehead. “Nat,” He said. “How do you feel?” Nat shivered. “I’m fine. It’s just a cold.” She mumbled, her eyes drifting closed. “Feverish.” He said to the other Avengers. “We’re going to the hotel.” Tony said, immediately. Nat moaned, but Tony continued to speak to Cap. “We’ll continue when Nat’s feeling bet...” Nat’s eyes flew open, and she grabbed Tony’s throat quickly, applying pressure to his pressure point. Tony choked and coughed, Cap pried Nat’s fingers from Tony’s neck, and Tony stumbled backwards, finally able to breathe again. “Don’t you dare.” Nat said with a cough. “Don’t you dare stop for me. We’ll keep going.” Nat coughed. Tony reluctantly nodded, against Cap and Clint’s protests. Tony helped Nat back into the van, and they all piled back into the vehicle. Cap started driving again, telling Tony to make Nat comfortable. Nat was pale, sneezing and coughing constantly, shivering. Tony piled blankets on her, and gave her a few Tylenols. He moved to the middle of the seat, and put an arm around her. She leaned against him, placing her forehead on his cheek, something she would usually never do. Tony could feel her fever raging, and he was worried. Nat fell asleep after an hour, and Tony gently placed her head on the seat, unbuckling to scoot back over to his seat again, and buckling in. Her face looked flushed, and she was still feverish. The blanket slipped down from her shoulder, and she shivered. Tony gently pulled it up again, and she smiled in her sleep. Tony smiled too. Cap pulled over at a gas station at dinner, saying, “Okay, anyone need anything, get it now.” Cap stayed behind to keep Nat company, and he asked Tony to buy him a Coke, after handing him a five dollar bill. Tony pushed it away, after saying, “No need. I’m buying.” Tony did buy all of the Avengers snacks, drinks, and, of course, dinner, and he bought Nat a ginger ale, and her favorite, peanut butter bites. But in case she wasn’t in the mood, he bought her a ginger candy that was supposed to help upset stomachs. He bought a Coke and a cheeseburger for himself. Cap refused to quit driving, saying that Tony should stay with Nat, because she seemed okay with him being there. Tony ate ravenously, devouring his cheeseburger in two minutes. He fell asleep with his head against the window. He woke up a few hours later, knowing only that it was dark, and Nat was coughing in her sleep. All of the Avengers were asleep, except him and Cap. “Hey Spangles. You might want to get some sleep. I can drive.” Tony said, groggily. Cap thanked him, and climbed into the back seat next to Nat, as Tony started to climb into the driver’s seat, but appeared to see something off in the distance. He squinted to see it better. “Oh my gosh.” He mumbled. Then he ran to the cargo area and pulled out his Iron Man suit, saying, “Jarvis, lock all doors, and drive as far away from this spot as you can.” Cap opened his mouth to protest, but the car sped away with the Avengers in it, and leave Tony suiting up behind them.