§ Painkillers § Bucky Barnes

Diagnosis

Bruce's P.O.V.

I was sitting in my office doing some research on hypnosis. I was extremely bored.....

That's when I heard a lot of noise and commotion coming from the hallway. I decided to get up and check it out. I walked over to the door and stuck my head out. I saw Bucky carrying Alex bridal style to my office.

"What happened?" I asked Bucky. Steve not far behind. "I don't know we were in the elevator and she went really pale and then passed out." I immediately started checking her eyes, breathing pattern and heart rate. "What were y'all doing right before she went pale?" I quickly asked.

Steve's P.O.V.

'Come on Bucky answer!' I thought. He looked extremely hesitant to answer. "Buck?" I inquired. I saw a slight - what was that - a blush? Creep on his cheeks. "I was teaching her how to swing," Bucky mumbled. "You were teaching her to what now?" Bruce asked. "Swing," I replied. Bruce gave me a confused look. "Swing? Oh my... it's only the best dancing ever!" I replied. "Uh... kids these days." I sighed.

"Ok. Dancing. That would bring her heart rate up." Bruce concluded. 'Yes. Yes, it would.' I thought dumbly "I need you guys to leave. Right now." Bruce commanded. We both did as instructed without a word. We knew we would only get in the way.

It felt like it had been weeks while we were waiting. I looked at the clock, nine o'clock, it read. 'Ugh it's only been fifteen minutes?! this is taking forever' I thought. "Do you think she is going to be ok?" Bucky asked. "Yeah. I'm sure she is fine. It shouldn't be anything serious, passing out isn't an extremely rare thing." I reasoned. Bucky nodded without saying a word.

Bucky's P.O.V.

'But it could lead to something serious. And with her past, I wouldn't think it would be unrealistic.' I thought. It was about another fifteen minutes when I decided to get some air. "I'll be back soon. If anything changes, come get me." I told Steve and walked out of the room before he could reply.

'It's been forty-five minutes. That's forty-five minutes too long.' I thought as I walked to one of the many balconies. I was leaning against the railing for who knows how long, just thinking, but it couldn't have been that long. I heard light footsteps run towards me. "It's Alex." Steve breathed. That's all I needed to hear, and I took off the medical ward.

I rushed into Alexandra's room. "Whoa there Bigfoot. What's got you in a rush?" I completely ignored her teasing. "Are you ok?" I asked with concern evident in my voice. "I don't know. Am I ok Doc?" She hollered. "Before I tell you they are supposed to leave. Only family is allowed to hear at the same time as the patient. Doctor-Patient confidentiality." Bruce explained. I started to stand up from my kneeling position when I felt a grab at my hand. I looked back to see Alexandra trying to keep me in there. She turned her attention to Bruce. "They are family." She stated firmly.

"You have something called Graves' disease. Now I don't want to scare you but it can be fatal if not treated, but we are going to do everything we can to treat it. There are lots of options when it comes to treatment. Now it is, unfortunately, a chronic illness, but it is very common. So it could last for years to the rest of your life. Does that make sense?" Bruce explained. 'Wow, that's a lot.' I thought. Alexandra just nodded numbly waiting for Bruce to continue. "The side effects include anxiety, hand tremors, heat sensitivity, weight loss, puffy eyes, and an enlarged thyroid. Now a lot of those symptoms I picked up when we did pictures and x-rays." Bruce continued. "What causes it?" Steve asked worriedly. "Well, hormones secreted by the thyroid gland control metabolism or the speed at which your body converts food to energy. Metabolism is direct to the number of hormones the circulate in the bloodstream. Is this still making sense?" Bruce asked. We all nodded our heads slowly not wanting to say a word. "Good. If for some reason, the thyroid gland secretes an overabundance of these hormones, then the body's metabolism goes into high gear, producing the pounding heart, sweating, trembling, and weight loss typically experienced by hyperthyroid people. Women are more likely to have Graves' than men. And smoking is what typically causes the eye problems, but given your past, you are probably not going to experience any of the eye side effects." Bruce explained. 'I can't even speak right now. What would I even say if I did.' I thought.

"What are the treatment options?" Steve asked his voice cracking a little. I looked over at Alexandra, she just had her hands next to her and her head down. I grabbed the hand closest to me. She popped her head up looking at me with extreme worry and panic.

"There is always the option of surgery usually that is the last resort unless the patient asks otherwise. There is Radioactive Iodine therapy and Radiation therapy. There is medication you can take. An Antithyroid agent and a Beta blocker." Bruce replied. "What do you suggest?" Steve inquired. "I would say the medication. Something like Propylthiouracil or Methimazole or both." Bruce suggested.

"May I have a minute? Please..." Alexandra asked her voice cracking slightly. "Of course you may. I know it's a lot to take in." Bruce said leading us out the door. "Wait." We all stopped. "Someone please stay." Alexandra requested. "I'll stay with her," I told Steve. He nodded and they left.

"Will you lighten the mood?" Alexandra asked innocently. "Sure, um... When Steve and I were younger, before Super Soldier Serum Steve, he was this scrawny little guy says wanting to get into fights. Every day when I would go and visit, I would always look down allies to see if he was getting into another brawl." Alexandra laughed lightly. "Man, that seems like so long ago." I sighed. "Well, it was like seventy years ago, give-or-take." She said in an 'as a matter of fact' tone.

"Can I ask you something?" Alexandra asked. "I don't know... can you?" I said. She playfully rolled her eyes at me. "You're such a dork." She stated with a light smile. I smiled in response. She immediately stopped. My face dropped. "Are you okay?" I asked worriedly. "Yeah. It's just.... you should smile more, you look really handsome when you do." She said with a blush crawling onto her face.

Alexandra's P.O.V.

'Did that really just come out of my mouth?! You an idiot Alexandra an idiot I say!' I screamed to myself. I could feel the blush crawling on to my cheeks from embarrassment, and on my ears from nervousness.

"Why thank you, Miss Carter." James thanked.

A/N: I know that was a lot. I'm sorry if I wrote the medical part poorly, I've never done that before and I don't know anyone personally who has Graves' so it may not be completely accurate. I tried my best with the information that I could find though.

I hope you are all enjoying this book! Please comment I would love to hear from y'all.

-JinxedSanity