It was a relatively normal day.
Well, as normal as it can be living in the life of Tony Stark.
He had been doing some upgrades on his suit, because after the last battle the Avengers had faced, he had some ideas and had spent all morning working on designs and trying to figure out how to incorporate his new ideas into the suit.
He had finally figured out how to add one of ideas into the suit, when FRIDAY alerted him of a call.
“Who is it?” He asked, groaning.
“It’s the hospital.” FRIDAY replied. “But not where Dr. Strange works. Shall I put them through?”
“Yeah, sure.” Tony said, not thinking about it too much.
“Hello. Is this Tony Stark?” The voice said.
“The one and only.” Tony replied, drawing something out.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but you were the number one contact for Dr. Stephen Strange, correct?” Tony immediately snapped his head up and focused all his attention on whoever was speaking.
“Yes..I am. Has..has something happened?” Tony asked slowly, not exactly wanting to head the answer.
“I’m afraid he was in an accident. We’ll discuss the details when you arrive.”
“I’ll be there in 10.” Tony said, and dropped his things, pulled on a jacket and jumped into one of his cars.
•••
Stephen had finally gotten to leave early. He hadn’t really been able to see Tony recently, as he’d been super busy. Usually the only time they saw each other was at night, but by then they were both so exhausted they would fall asleep immediately. But, Stephen had been planning to surprise Tony, and spend some time with him that afternoon. Sadly, that didn’t happen.
As Stephen was driving through a more deserted area, a car rammed into the side of his car. It came so quickly, he didn’t have to react. His car flipped an unknown amount of times before stopping and landing on its roof. Stephen couldn’t move, but he could feel the blood trickling out of his head.
Some time had passed, probably minutes, but to Stephen it felt like years, and he heard sirens.
“Sir? Sir! Stay with me..tell me your name!” Some paramedic was trying desperately to keep him awake, but he could feel himself slipping in and out of consciousness.
“Do you have any close family? Or friends??” The same one asked.
“Tony..” He was caught off by coughing, and tasted the blood. Then, everything went black.
•••
Tony rushed into the hospital and immediately went to the receptionist sitting at the front desk. She pointed him to where he was supposed to go and finally, he got to where he needed to be. A doctor came out to see him after what felt like forever, and by the solemn look on his face, Tony could tell the news wasn’t good. But, he didn’t know what to say.
“Are you Tony Stark?” The Doctor asked. He nodded slowly. “I’m Doctor Gant. I know you want to know how Stephen is. Well, the good news is he’s alive. He doesn’t seem to have any symptoms of amnesia or any of the usual brain damage and such most patients are diagnosed with after an accident like that. But..” The doctor trailed off and suddenly wouldn’t meet Tony’s eyes.
“But…?”
“But..he has high damage to his motor cortex, which is located in someone’s frontal lobe. The nerves in his hands are also severely damaged.”
“Well, what does that mean for Stephen?” Tony asked impatiently.
“It means he no longer has control over his hands. Or, very well control. He can still think, talk, walk, and, we’ll have some semblance of a normal life. But his hands..there’s..there’s not anything we can do.”
“Which means...he can no longer be a surgeon.”
“I’m afraid, unless some miracle happens, he’ll never hold a scalpel again.” Gant said, sadly.
“Can I see him?” Tony asked quietly.
“He’s just woken up, but be warned, I’m not sure what state he’ll be in.” Gant opened the door and Tony quietly thanked him and walked slowly into the room. Most of Stephens face was purple and green, and one of his eyes looked painfully swollen. His head was wrapped in some gauze.
“Tony..” Stephen asked quietly. Tony walked over to his bedside.
“Hey Steph..” Tony said with uncertainty.
“I guess this is the end..huh?” He asked in a small, defeated voice.
“The..end?” Tony repeated confused.
“You..you heard the doctor. I’ll never hold a scalpel again. I’ll never be able to do anything that requires my hands again.” He said, tears running down his face. “Why would you want to stay with me. I wouldn’t blame you if you left..” Stephen shifted positions and winced a little. Tony sat down on the bed as lightly as possible and started to gently wipe his tears away.
“You really think that low of me huh?” He said with a small smile. “I promised you I would never leave, and I intend to keep that promise.”
“But all I’ll do is hold you back..” Stephen said weakly.
“You will not hold me back, Steph. I love you, through thick and thin.” He said. Stephen smiled a tiny bit, and Tony saw some of the worry disappear from his eyes.
“Now, get some rest.” Tony said, getting off the bed.
“Stay with me?” Stephen asked. Tony pulled a chair to his bedside and sat down.
“Always.”
Stephen fell into a deep sleep. They were going to be okay, and at that moment, that’s all Stephen cared about.