little piece of heaven (tony stark's daughter)

15

rosie's p.o.v

when i open my eyes, i'm certainly not numb anymore.

i feel like i'm burning more than i was when i was in the actual fire. a sharp pain is shooting through the area where the bullet was before, it's less intense but it still hurts enough for a whimper to escape my mouth.

"hey cubs, you're okay" dad grips my hand. he's sat on a chair beside me and i realise that i'm definitely in a hospital. great. "jarvis let dr banner know she's awake".

"jarvis?" i ask "what's jarvis doing here?". that doesn't really make sense, because i'm pretty sure that jarvis can't move like a real person. he's only there when dad either has his suit on or his earpiece and i don't think he has either right now. another jab of pain causes me to close my eyes tightly and bite down on my lip.

"we're at the tower baby" he rubs his thumb over the back of my hand "does it hurt?".

i nod silently and open my eyes again to stare at the ceiling. i try to focus on the lights or dad's hand instead of the burning in my stomach but i just end up whining. 

"okay just hang on, bruce will be here in a minute" he soothes, pressing a hand to my forehead and wincing at the heat "oh wow" he mumbles "jarvis what's rosie's temperature?".

"miss stark's temperature is currently 113 degrees" the ai provides just as the door swings open and someone rushes in. 

"jesus christ that's not normal" dad drags his free hand down his face.

the person who walked in starts rummaging in a drawer "definitely not" he agrees. i recognise the voice as doctor banner's and i remember dad telling jarvis to ask him to get down here. "rosalie can you hear us?".

i manage to hum and nod a little, tears beginning to fall as i start to panic once again. i hate this. it's the kind of thing where no matter how much you try to move or how many deep breaths you take, you can't make it go away. i panic even more as i feel bile rising in my throat, throwing my head to the side and vomit on the floor.

"okay this isn't just a reaction to anaesthesia" bruce tells dad "we might need to operate again".

dad starts to talk but his voice fades into the background, i feel something jab into my arm and then my eyes roll back in my head.

*

the second time i wake up isn't as bad. 

sure, i feel icky, but i don't feel like i'm on fire and the pain in my stomach is dialled down again.

i lift a hand to rub my eyes so that i can see, the iv tugging slightly and earning a glare from me.

"hey tiny" dad brushes a stray curl out of my face "are you feeling better?". i turn my head so that i'm facing and nod with a small smile.

something's different with him, i'm not sure what it is but something is definitely different i stare for a moment, and it gets to the point where he raises an eyebrow and stares back.

"oh" i mumble in realisation "your glowy thing".

"glowy thing?" dad chuckles.

i let out a small laugh "arc thingy.. arc reactor".

dad grins "you're not quite with us are you?".

i pout but continue "it's gone, your arc reactor's gone".

he looks down at his chest for a moment, as if just realising himself that it's gone "yeah" he looks back at me "i decided it was time to get that shrapnel out".

"thanks for not dying" i mumble, starting to feel sleepy again.

laughing at me once again, he responds "you too rooster, go back to sleep".

so i do.

*

it's a few more days before i'm awake and completely with it. i drift in and out and the last few times different people were there.

nat and clint sat beside dad once, steve visited and so did thor. rhodey's been here regularly. i haven't seen pepper though, dad said she had the extremis removed and had to go out of town to finish up some business before christmas. apparently she's been here a few times whilst i was sleeping. 

bruce said that they removed the bullet and then it got infected, which was what was happening when i woke up the fist time. they think that my powers amplified the bacteria and made everything ten times  worse somehow because my temperature was nowhere near normal. 

i'm okay now though, and i'm bored.

*

3rd p.o.v

the avengers are gathered in the living room in the tower. 

natasha romanoff sits next to bruce banner and steve rogers on the couch, colonel rhodes perched on the back. clint barton lies across the floor, whist thor is sat in the armchair. a movie is playing on the tv but none of them are really watching it, all caught up in their own thoughts.

it's thor that breaks the silence, his booming voice echoing off of the walls "lady rae appears to be fearless".

the adults in the room all raise their heads to look at him, clint clicks his tongue in disagreement "no. you don't know her like i do. we spent a night under a blanket on the couch whilst she cried because she was terrified that she was going to end up alone".

natasha nods "it's true".

"she's too much like her dad" rhodey adds "she won't show any form of fear in the moment, it's later, when she's given a chance to process it. she doesn't want anyone to know that she's scared".

"when the loki thing happened, she left an arrow in her leg for hours because she 'didn't think anyone seemed concerned'" clint makes air quotes with his fingers and steve lets out a light chuckle.

"she's really something" he observes.

"she's carrying a lot more than an eleven year old should" bruce joins in "i wouldn't expect any less anxiety from someone who's been through that, let alone a kid".