Bulletproof ➙ Steve Rogers

Chapter Eight

It had been a few days since Regina last saw the bearded man named Steve Rogers. Every time she went to contact him, she changed her mind. The brunette would occasionally sit and stare at the ten digits on her phone screen before locking the device and distracting herself with something else. June had gotten lots of attention recently because of Regina taking her on many walks, the woman half hoping she crossed paths with Steve and half hoping she didn't. Regina wanted to talk to him, to just sit and pass the time with him, but she had no idea what to say. She had a few things she wanted to say, but couldn't. A few secrets itched their way up into Regina's throat, dying to be shared. Regina pushed them all away, not ready to trust Steve, or anyone, with her life story just yet.

Today was no different from any other day for Regina, until she got to work for her night shift. The last person she expected to see was calling at her from a hospital bed, a slight smirk on their face.

Regina recognized the low voice before she even walked in the room, her eyebrows furrowing together in confusion but also worry as she saw the one and only Steve sitting up in the white sheeted bed, a pillow under his blonde haired head. 

"I was hoping to see you here." Steve stated, his eyes following Regina as she grabbed his chart from the foot of his bed.

"What are you doing here? Is everything okay?" Regina asked in a hissy tone, her vision scanning his chart. Steve lifted his hand up from his abdomen to reveal a large patch of gauze, a faded crimson colour slowly starting to ooze through. "You were stabbed?" The doctor looked up at Steve with wide eyes, shook evident in her voice.

"I'm fine." Steve pointed out as Regina slammed his chart shut and put it back down on the bed.

"You're fine? You got stabbed, Steve. How long have you been here?" Regina wasn't buying his tough guy act. As a doctor and someone who could feel herself starting to care for the man, she couldn't help but notice the slight droop his eyes held, along with his flushed cheeks and pale lips.

Steve shrugged, looking around for a clock. There was one on the wall behind his head, purposefully placed there. It was so patients couldn't sit in their beds and watch time tick on. That was enough to make anyone lose their mind. "Maybe half an hour." He replied.

Regina shook her head, leaving the room for a quick moment. She grabbed a stethoscope and an ear thermometer from where they kept on counters outside of patient rooms. When Regina returned to Steve's room, she shut the privacy curtain behind her.

"Do you know which doctor was looking after you when you got here?" Regina asked. She stuck the thermometer in Steve's ear without warning, making him flinch slightly. There was a soft beep, and the small device read that the man had a temperature of 39.6 degrees Celsius.

"No, everyone was too busy to say their names. I was put in here and wrapped in gauze, that's it." Steve explained, sounding miserable as he told Regina what happened to him. Regina paused, processing the words Steve just spoke to her. She put the thermometer to the side, replacing it with her stethoscope as she put the ends in her ears and placed the metal resonator against Steve's chest. The man tried to breathe normally as Regina listened to his heart, moving the stethoscope slightly every few seconds to hear better.

"Your heart sounds good, but it's beating faster than an average resting speed. Your temperature is also quite high, so I'll keep monitoring that. I'll have to check your wound at some point too and you're going to have to tell me what happened once you're feeling better. I'll be back soon." Regina explained, earning a nod from Steve.

"Thanks, Doc." He replied as Regina turned to leave the room. The woman smiled to herself as she pulled the curtain back, jumping with shock as she came face to face with two people on the other side. Regina recognized the blonde woman, she was who walked into the coffee shop and left with Steve. The other person was a dark skinned man with sunglasses atop his buzz cut black hair.