Wrong Number, Kid

They Care

<<Delilah>>
Why am I in the middle of a circle? Why is everyone surrounding me? I want to get out, but I can't. Someone steps forward. They walk up to me, but they don't have a face.

"Hello child," the faceless person says. "Why are you here?"

I try to speak, but nothing comes out. Everyone just keeps getting closer. I don't know any of them, but they just keep coming. Closing in until...

I shoot awake, gasping for air. Ms. Potts comes over to me and sits on the bed.

"It's okay, sweetheart. Just try to breathe. I've got you."

I don't know what's happening. Why is Ms. Potts in the room? How did I get into bed? Why do I feel so dizzy?

"Delilah, I've got you. Can you try to breathe with me?"

I look over at her, hoping for some sort of relief. She takes my hands, and slowly rubs them.

"It's okay sweetheart," she says in a soft voice. "Every is going to be okay. Just focus on breathing."

I'm able to get my breath under control again, but I still feel panicky. Ms. Potts keeps rubbing my hands, and it feels nice.

She take my water bottle off the table and hands it to me.

"You need some water. If there's anything else I can get you, just let me know. I'm happy to help."

I take a sip.

"What happened?" I ask.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"You leaving the room."

"Okay. I don't know exactly what happened between the time I left and the time I came back, but when I came back, you were sick in the bathroom. You have a high fever, and probably some sort of stomach bug. Bruce came in to check on you, and said that you need plenty of fluids, and not just water. It would be a good idea for you to have some Gatorade or some Sprite. Whatever you want. It also doesn't have to be now."

I shiver, not knowing why. I feel really hot right now, but cold at the same time.

"How are you feeling right now?"

I glance up at her, but quickly look down again.

"Hey, is something wrong? You can tell me, sweetheart. I just want to help you feel better."

"I'm sorry."

"For what? You haven't done anything wrong. No one is upset with you."

"I'm just burdening all of you. I'm sorry for all of this. You have all been amazing, but I don't deserve any of this. Especially not from important people like you guys."

"Delilah, you are not a burden. You may see the Avengers as important, but at the end of the day, they are all just people. Well, maybe not Thor or Vision, but you get my point. No person, or being, is more important than another. You are worthy of a great life. We care about you. We all want to help. If it's okay with you, we want to play an active part in your life."

"What?"

"We want to be involved. You mean so much to all of us. We love having you here. We want you to feel comfortable as well."

"Okay, what are my chores going to be?"

"What Delilah? We aren't going to give you chores."

"But, isn't that being active? Telling me what to do?"

"What, no! Sweetheart, us being active in your life is like you having dinner with us, watching movies, playing board games, stuff like that. Getting to know you. We definitely don't want it to seem like we're always telling you what to do."