Search for the Soul Gem

Chapter Forty-Seven

     I lay in the relative silence of the hospital room. The only concrete sound was the heart monitor that seemed to have been the thing that lulled every other person but me to bed. I'd been up for so long that I could tell who was where in the room without even turning my head to much to search. I lay on my back in the hospital bed, eyes closed, and laying completely still. Tony was softly asleep next to me, his arm outstretched across my stomach with a warmth that radiated out from him. His breathing was heavy and deep, his breathes fanning over my neck softly. 

     In the corner to my right, Banner slept ridged in a wooden chair. His elbow was up on the arm of the chair and his chin rested in his palm as he slept. He was silent as he slept but his brows knit together in a troubled way. 

     A couch rested next to the chair, directly next to me was Steve and James. James was sitting pressed into the corner of the couch with his arms stretched across the arm and the back of the couch. While he was sleeping, he was completely silent and still. The only thing that proved that he was even alive was the slightly raise and fall of his chest. His metal arm was carefully covered with a sweater sleeve and his hands were balled into tight fists. Steve had his head resting on James's knee, with his arms crossed over his chest, and his legs dangling over the arm of the couch. His mouth was parted slightly and heavy exhales escaped his mouth in long, drawn out sighs. 

     Directly in front of the bed that Tony and I lay in, next to the door was a second couch were Clint and Natasha were lounging. Clint was sitting at the corner of the couch with his hands behind his head, resting back against the wall. His mouth was parted ever so slightly and he let out hisses of breath ever so often. Natasha was curled up on the couch with her head in Clint's lap. She was completely silent, even her chest wasn't moving with each breath. Her hand was dangling down over the edge of the couch. Just under the couch was a small gun that I'd heard her place there hours before. 

     Across the room, to the left of me were two more arm chairs like the one Banner was sleeping in. The one nearest the bathroom door was occupied by Sam. His legs were extended out in front of him and his arms crossed tight over his chest. His head was resting back against the wall behind him, light snores erupting from his parted mouth. 

     Next to Sam was Thor, crammed into a tiny chair. He was the loudest of the Avengers while he was asleep but somehow his thunderous snores were actually comforting. Knowing that he was just feel away and his trusty hammer was resting at his feet helped me feel slightly less exposed. He was stretched out completely across the entire chair that he was inhabiting. His arms dangled down from the sides of the chair, his knuckles almost brushing the ground. 

     Everyone around the room was fast asleep, except for me. I'd been up for hours, switching between staring up at the ceiling and closing my eyes. After hours of conversation, the sentences began to lag and falter off until one by one, all the heroes fell asleep. But try as hard as I did, I could not bring myself to fall asleep. Fury's warning keep ringing through my head. What was he referring to when he said "everything has consequences". Was he referring to the Hulk or the me getting rid of the Hulk. Or was he referring to something else entirely. What could that possible mean? Was this another trick or was he being serious? Was he trying to threatening me into compliance by pretending to be civil? All of these questions were swirling through my mind with no hope of stopping. All I wanted to do was to get up and go on a walk through the halls and walk off some of the extra energy that I had, but I was stuck here because I didn't want to wake Tony. Plus I was hooked up to miles of IVs and sensors and monitors. 

     I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling above me and let out a frustrated sigh. My eyes were adjusted to the dim light and I could count the tiles on the ceiling, not that I needed to because I had already done this a few times in the past few hours. I turned my head slowly to the right and studied the three men that were sound asleep to my side. They were all soft with sleep and looked more peaceful than I'd ever seen them. Even James's playful expression had fallen away to a more serine expression. I stayed there for a moment, just watching them sleep before I turned my head to the left and looked over at Tony. He was so close to me that all his features blurred together but I already knew them well. His lashes brushed his cheeks and his exhales parted his lips. His hair fell across his forehead in like curls and I wanted to reach up and brush them out of his eyes but I didn't want to possibly wake him up. His brows knit together, creating a soft worry line across his forehead. I reached up softly and pressed my thumb to the crease in between his eyes. My fingers ran through his hair lightly, the feeling settling my racing mind. Tony stirred lightly, taking a harsh breath in. His eyes fluttered open and focused on me with a type of fuzzy glare. He smirked and settled back against the pillow. 

     "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up," I muttered. Tony shrugged, closing his eyes. 

     "What are you doing up, sweetheart?" he asked. 

     "I can't sleep," I whispered, continuing to run my fingers through his hair. Tony opened his eyes and looked over at me. 

     "Why not? Is everything okay?" he asked. I refused to look at his face, just focused on the minuscule space of the bed between us. 

     "I keep thinking about what Fury said," I admitted. 

     "Lucy, you know he was just trying to scare you?" Tony assured me. 

     "But what if he wasn't. He seemed to serious," I said. 

     "He's Fury. He's always serious," Tony said. This caused me to actually laugh. I looked over at him and let out a heavy sigh. He reached over and pressed his hand to my cheek. 

     "Look, don't worry about him. He's just trying to get you to freak out. Don't worry about any danger. Nothing is going to happen. And even if it does, we will all be there to make sure that you stay safe," he assured. I nodded, knowing he was telling the truth. 

     "I know Tony," I muttered. 

     "Don't worry you pretty head off about this sweetheart, just try and get some sleep," Tony assured. I nodded and shifted closer to him so my head could rest on his shoulder. I closed my eyes and he ran his fingers through my hair, helping my brain stop racing and me drift off to sleep.