Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

23. Doctors

"I'm sorry, Derek, she really has to stay here a little longer." Daphne has her eyes closed, but she can hear Tony speaking in the distance. She's laying on her side, hiding her face in her hands and her back feels cold, like it's exposed.
"Shouldn't she be at a hospital?"
"Trust me, she gets better care here than in a public hospital." Tony clears his throat. "Besides, I want Doctor Strange to check up on her. See if Loki did anything to her that she might not remember."
"When will he be here?" Her dad sounds worried, but Daphne can't get herself to move. She feels too heavy.
"Soon-ish." Derek sighs defeated at Tony's reply.
"I... I can't pay for any of this special treatment," he says.
"Don't sweat it, D." Daphne hears a soft thud. She assumes Tony pat her dad on the shoulder. "It's all taken care of."
"Thank you, Mr. Stark. For everything."

"...Dad?" Her voice cracks from not using it for a while. She flutters her eyes and tries to turn onto her back.
"Daphne, please don't move," Tony says sternly. She immediately stops turning and frowns, confused why her back aches so much. It takes everything she has to open her eyes properly, but it's not happening. She feels her father hold her hand as he kneels down next to her.
"You're awake," he whispers. She can hear his voice break.
"I think so," she mutters. "Where-"
"You're back in New York." Daphne doesn't feel like lifting her head to look at Tony.
"Thank fuck," she whispers.
"Can you open your eyes?" her father asks.
"Mm..."
"Daphne, you're gonna have to stay awake for us, okay?" She hears Tony shift around the room.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y., notify doctor Cho and doctor Banner that Daphne has woken up. I need them here, stat."

When the doctors arrived they helped Daphne sit upright. After a few minutes she was finally able to open her eyes completely, but the edge of her eyesight was slightly blurred.
"Daphne, can you tell me how old you are?" She stares at doctor Cho, who shines a light into her eyes to check the dilation of her pupils.
"Sixteen." Her voice is lulled, still half-asleep.
"Do you know what day it is?"
"Depends on how long I've been sleeping," Daphne says with a slight chuckle. She looks out the window and sees that it's still bright outside. "Saturday...? Still?" She sighs.
"I'm going to give you a simple math equation, do you - keep your eyes on me, Daphne, don't close them - do you think you can solve it for me?"
"I suck at math," Daphne groans. She drops her head backwards.
"Four times six?"
"Twenty-four?" She blinks a few times and brings her head back up with raised eyebrows as she looks at doctor Cho.

"How are you feeling?" Daphne's quiet for a second, assessing herself as she pouts.
"Hungry," she states simply.
"Is that all?"
"My back itches."
"That's good, itching means it's healing." Daphne frowns.
"Healing?"
"Thor reopened your scar with the magic he projected." Daphne scrunches her face when doctor Cho says that.
"Ouch." Doctor Cho laughs softly.
"Ouch, indeed."

"Daphne!" She immediately perks up when she hears Peter's voice. He stands in the doorway.
"Peter?"
"I heard you were awake, I came as fast as I could." His hair is all over the place. He seems like he hasn't slept much. He makes his way into the room but gets held back by Bruce.
"Take it easy, Pete." He nods at doctor Cho. "She's still being examined."
"I'm just about done." doctor Cho smiles. "Though, I do think we would all like to know exactly what happened." Daphne presses her lips on top of each other and looks at her hands, resting in her lap.
"A lot and nothing at the same time," she says. Tony crosses his arms.
"You were kidnapped by Loki and we all know what he's capable of. What do you remember?" Tony cocks his head at her.

"Why do you all think I don't remember anything?"
"We didn't say-" Bruce starts.
"You're implying that he messed around in my head," Daphne scoffs. "Which he didn't." She pulls in her legs. "All he did was knock me out with a sleeping spell in the car and when I woke up the next morning we did a shit ton of talking." Bruce shrugs while looking at Tony apologetically.
"He does talk a lot," Bruce confirms.
"How can you be so sure he didn't do more?" Tony raises an eyebrow.
"Because he said he wouldn't harm me."
"And you believe him?"
"I do." She stares defiantly at Tony. Loki didn't do anything to her, she's sure of it. "Where are they anyways?"
"What; Thor and Loki?" Tony shakes his head. "Thor took him back to Asgard for punishment the second Peter took you back. We didn't get to lay a finger on him." Daphne frowns.

"There are no signs of him doing anything to her physically. There's only slight bruising on her wrists, but it doesn't look like the type of bruising you get from being tied up. Can you explain this to us?" Doctor Cho points at the dark spots on the inside of Daphne's wrists. Daphne scoffs.
"I attacked him with two kitchen knives." Daphne's father chokes on the water he's drinking.
"You did what?!"
"I threw hot tea over his hand and then I grabbed two knives. All he did was defend himself by making me let go of them." Daphne fights the urge to scratch her scar and shrugs. "I think that -overall - I hurt him more than he hurt me."
"I find that very unlikely." Tony frowns. "Strange better show up soon."

...

It's about seven o'clock in the evening when Doctor Strange arrives. Daphne got to eat some pasta and Peter hasn't left her side since she woke up. They didn't speak much, but just having him around made Daphne a whole lot more calm about all of this. She didn't really like all of this attention. She'd rather just go home. She finally felt actually awake when they cleaned her wound again. It stung like hell and she hoped that would be the last time they'd touch her back. She's pretty sure everyone on the floors above and below her have heard her swear at the treatment. She's surprised she didn't break Peter's hands from all the squeezing.

Doctor Strange doesn't really look like a doctor. He's wearing some kind of blue tunic and an excessive red cape that seems to move on its own. He ordered everyone to leave the room, so it's just the two of them. The air feels weird. He's awfully quiet and it makes Daphne shuffle where she sits. He just stares at her like he's confused about something.
"So, you're a doctor?" She breaks the silence. He cocks his head, as if he didn't expect her to talk. The way he studies her makes her very uncomfortable.
"Yes." Daphne raises an eyebrow and decides to not ask any more questions. He doesn't seem like a cheerful, talkative guy. "Also Sorcerer Supreme." Okay, maybe a little talkative.
"Quite the title."
"I didn't come up with it." Doctor Strange sits down next to the bed, on a chair.

He gestures she should sit opposite him, with her feet hanging down from the bed, and she does. He stares intently at her and it makes her feel awkward. She clears her throat after a little bit.
"So, uh, what do you want me to do?"
"Just close your eyes and relax," he orders. "And stop talking."
"Kinda hard with you staring like that."
"Just do it." She sighs and does as he says. She relaxes her muscles, closes her eyes and waits. After about a minute she feels something poking at the inside of her head. It feels incredibly weird.
"What are y-"
"Don't. Talk." Daphne presses her lips on top of each other as she feels an odd wave float through her brain. It makes her feel woozy and a little nauseous. Maybe she shouldn't have eaten the entire plate of pasta. Suddenly it's gone and she hears him stand up. She opens her eyes and looks at him as he walks to the door.
"Doctor?"
"You're fine. You spoke the truth. He only put a sleeping spell on you yesterday. Nothing more." And with that he's gone and she's left alone. Completely confused.