till forever falls apart

the emergency room

The next couple of hours pass by both in excruciating slowness and a blur.

Yelena remembers the paramedics coming and helping her into their ambulance, laying on a stretcher and fully wanting to die, hating every second of everything happening.

Natasha was with her while Kate took another way, Yelena thinks it was something about making sure Yelena had her things at the hospital.

Between the paramedics, doctors, nurses, whatever, a million questions were asked. Natasha answered most of them, but Yelena helped, noting that she'd broken her left knee twice and right knee once, she thinks her arm was broken at one point but it was still functional so she never found out, and Natasha outlined the medication she was on for her depression and anxiety.

It's now around noon and they're settled in the ER, which thankfully has rooms for patients (which, to be fair, are open to the rest of the ER through a curtain at the end of the bed, but it's still enough privacy). Natasha's sat in a chair and hasn't moved since they got there, and Kate's off getting lunch for them.

Yelena's been in and out of naps, Natasha had mentioned that the pain medication they gave her would make her drowsy, but she didn't expect this much. At least she's not awake enough to fully process all of the uncertainty about this entire situation.

The room's TV is playing a random TV show, something with lots of quippy jokes and something about a robot that's not a robot that reminds her of the red skittle Natasha talks about sometimes. Yelena thinks his name was Vision, but he's long dead now apparently.

"Hey," Natasha's voice suddenly rings through the room. Yelena looks up through heavy eyelids and sees Natasha's phone pressed to her ear, an exhausted look on her face.

"No, nothing yet, we're waiting for them to take her to do scans," Natasha's voice floats around the room as Yelena focuses back on the silent TV, a little too curious about the conversation happening to read the subtitles, "She's been kind of asleep for like the past forty minutes and Kate's getting food, says she has to be helpful in some way..." Natasha sighs and Yelena wonders what Wanda's saying on the other side in response. "Okay, I'll see you in a bit. I love you."

There's a pause and Yelena looks over at Natasha's face, confused as to why she looks surprised, "What do you mean you did something? What is something?"

There's silence and Natasha huffs, putting her phone down on her lap and watching the show on the TV.

Yelena follows her gaze, confused as to what's happening. She doesn't know if she has the mental capacity to truly follow what's going on, though.

She blinks and Kate's walking back into the room, someone walking in behind her. Yelena recognizes the woman as one of the doctors.

"Hey, everyone," she offers a small smile, glancing at Yelena, "hi, Yelena, how are you feeling?"

"High," Yelena mumbles, wanting to go back to sleep. Maybe this is all just a shitty nightmare and Fanny's sleeping on her leg, that's why it was hurting so badly. Now it feels way better with whatever they're giving her.

"She's been sleeping a lot," Natasha mentions, "when is she going to be able to get scans done?"

"Hopefully soon," the doctor offers a sympathetic smile, "are you all okay for now? It shouldn't be too much longer now, I just wanted to make sure Yelena isn't in a lot of pain."

"Been in worse," Yelena says, adjusting in the bed slightly and wincing when her leg moves, "It's manageable."

"The goal is for you to be in no pain," the doctor responds, "I can send a nurse in to administer more medication if that's what you'd like."