My Neighbor, Mr. Rogers

Chapter Forty - Mostly Filler

My nose is so itchy. Come to think of it, so is my left ankle. But that's okay, I'm an adult and I can exercise some self-control. I can. Really. It doesn't bother me at all that it feels like there's a militia of itty-bitty bugs marching across various areas of my body. I don't at all feel like I'm going to completely lose my mind if I don't scratch the end of my nose right now.

Nah.

I'm good.

...

Oh my gosh I'm gonna pull my hair out!

I wiggle my nose in an attempt to alleviate some of the discomfort.

"Anne," Doctor Reilly's voice clicks over the intercom. "Please hold still. We're almost done."

Right. I don't apologize because that would involve more movement.

Almost done. I can do this.

...Inhale slowly...

...Exhale slowly...

...Inhale slightly faster in mounting frustration...

...Exhale with flared nostrils of annoyance...

"Okay, that'll do it," I hear Doctor Reilly say.

The scanner shuts down and the tray I'm laying on slides out of the machine. As soon as my head clears the opening, I rub the end of my nose like I'm trying to summon Genie.

"So," I start as Doctor Reilly and Bruce enter the room, "what's the prognosis? Just headaches, or should I be worried?..."

Doctor Reilly smiles as I sit up. "Contrary to what you may have seen on TV, it'll take a little while to interpret your results. But I should be able to tell you by the end of today or tomorrow."

I nod. "All right. And the blood test results?"

"Those are little more involved than what we've run previously. It'll probably be another day or so for those as well."

"But we've put a rush on them considering that Hydra was involved. Now that Tony's decrypted their files, we should be able to make more progress on that front," Bruce adds.

Yeah, that's kinda why I'm freaked out here, Brucie – Hydra doesn't tend to produce unicorns. Bucky, for instance, remains a unicorn in spite of Hydra's best efforts.

"I did take a look at your x-rays from this morning though," Doctor Reilly says hesitantly.

"Oh?" I was wondering when she'd bring it up. They had removed my cast and the splints that were on my fingers to take the images and they'd only replaced them with splints, not a new cast.

"It's been about two weeks since we had to reset your arm and fingers. Normally, this would mean that osteoblast cells would be just beginning to create new bone around the fractures." She swallows, looking both uncomfortable and excited. "With you, however, it appears that the breaks are several weeks ahead of where they should be."

I glance to Bruce whose brow furrows for a moment before he apparently realizes something. "Well," he starts, "I guess we know what to look for in the blood sample."

"Care to let me in on who the obvious suspect is in this little mystery?" I ask with an impatient smile.

Bruce glances back to me. "We know that Hydra has been wanting to recreate Doctor Erskine's work on the super soldier serum ever since they found out about it."

"Yes, and?" I'd picked up on this from the few times that James and Steve would tip-toe around that part of their past.

"Well," he clears his throat. "If I had to guess- and it is just a guess –I would say that Hydra might have discovered a way to- at least partially -duplicate the healing factor of the serum."

My stomach falls. "What? No, that doesn't make any sense."

"Of course it does," Doctor Reilly interrupts. "Your laceration from almost two years ago, when you stopped that mugger, how long did it take to heal?"

I pause to think for a moment. "Maybe a couple of weeks."

"And the stab wound to your leg, an injury that should take considerably longer to heal properly, is almost at the point where I would normally recommend that you begin physical therapy to retrain the muscle group to work correctly and to replace any muscle lost. But it hasn't even been long enough for you to have lost any muscle. You'll need to retrain it, yes, but I'd be surprised if that leg even has a limp by the time you finish."

I shake my head stubbornly. "No, that doesn't make sense. Why would Hydra give a nobody- who's an ally of their enemy –super healing? They're evil, not stupid."

Doc Reilly shrugs. "It could be that the conditions for the serum to take effect are extremely particular or the possible side effects could be quite dangerous and they didn't want to risk it on one of their own."

My, what excellent bedside manner you have. Do you watch a lot of 'House'?

"The blood tests and the results of this scan will be more definitive, but so far it seems that it's been helping you. Your only negative symptom has been headaches, which could be completely unrelated," Bruce adds in an attempt at comforting me.

"So far," I echo. Yeah, I feel all better.

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A/N: Hey, look! I remembered how to update! Ain't ya proud of me?

Sorry this one's so short. I'm having a bit of a writer's block, I guess, but I didn't want to leave you guys just hanging for even longer. Anyways.

What is up with Anne? Just when ya think things are going good, freaking Hydra pops back into the scene and they're all like, "Nah. We're going to be around forever. You'll always feel the effects of our nefarious deeds. Merry middle of February. Hail us."

Yep. That's totally what they say.

Also, I'm about 1007.3% sure that that picture accurately captures what the spirit of 'Civil War' will be.

*Whispers in a slightly creepy fashion* I'm on your side, Stevie. You and the Buckster? I've totally got your backs. *Winks awkwardly, making them both exceedingly uncomfortable*