Love is For Fools // Loki Laufeyson

Part 19 - Shot

When the human body receives a wound that causes it to lose a large percentage of blood at a rapid rate, it attempts to stop the blood loss.  Blood pressure drops and heart rate increases while blood vessels narrow to decrease the blood flow to the injury site. 

Usually, the body would form blood clots to stop the bleeding; however, this isn't possible in severe injuries such as a gunshot wound.  With those injuries, your only hope is that you don't lose too much blood before you get help.  If you don't get help in time, your body loses too much blood to keep organs supplied, and all the balances in the body fall out of homeostasis. 

Ultimately, failure to seek medical attention in time results in the body going into shock, followed by eventual death.

It's times like these that I really wish I didn't know so much.

Third-person pov

Loki looks down at Scarlett's limp body in confusion.  Did she just say that she wouldn't take any of this back?  Loki shakes his head, but he is soon overtaken by panic as Scarlett goes entirely limp, her head falling back. 

Loki looks up in anguish as he spots the medical wing up ahead, a concerned Angela running out into the hallway.

"Did somebody yell for a medic?" Angela yells as she furrows her brow.  She watches Loki run down the hallway with a body in his arms, the body's limbs and hair dangling in the air, clearly unconscious.  "Loki?"  Her gaze lands on the body he's carrying, and her eyes widen upon seeing her fierce boss at the most vulnerable she's ever been.  "Scarlett?"

Loki runs up to Angela, out of breath from his panic.  "She was shot, and I couldn't stop it, and then she started bleeding, and I ran here as fast as I could, but she lost consciousness-"

"Where was she shot?  How much blood has she lost?" Angela cuts him off.

"Gods, I don't know, somewhere in her abdomen."  He turns and looks at the trail of blood behind him.  "And I'm guessing that's a lot of blood."

Angela follows his gaze and her eyes widen.  "Shit, she's going to need blood," she mutters as she turns towards the office.  "Come on, bring her in here."

Loki quickly carries Scarlett into her office and lays her down on the exam table.  "She said she was blood type A+ or something."

"Good," Angela mutters as she turns to the extremely small blood bank.  She only learned the basics about blood transfusions back at SHIELD, but between that training and her time spent with Scarlett, she should know enough.

She snatches a bag of A- and turns to Loki, who is currently watching Scarlett worriedly.  "Help me out and cut away her sleeve while I'm doing this," Angela requests.

Loki slips out his knife as Angela prepares the IV.  Loki finishes cutting away Scarlett's sleeve and looks up at Angela concernedly.  "Have you ever done this before?" he questions.

"I've watched Scarlett do these before," Angela replies as she disinfects Scarlett's elbow, getting ready to insert the IV.

Loki watches nervously.  "I hope you are aware that I will have you killed if you mess this up," he warns.

Angela rolls her eyes.  "Maybe that's not the best thing to tell a nervous nurse who is about to operate on her best friend."

Loki shakes his head and nervously watches as Angela inserts the IV.  She looks up at the bag of blood and watches as the blood makes its way down the IV.  She sighs in relief and Loki quickly looks up at her.  "Did it work?" he asks.