Estranged || A Female Toni Stark Story

Sorrow

Much to Toni's dismay, Vision found her in the bunker only a few hours later. She was immediately transported to the nearest hospital to be treated, the main concern at the time being her hypothermic state. It was a miracle that her brain hadn't begun to shut down by that point.

After hearing the news from directly from Vision, Pepper ran out of her interview to the airport and took the first flight out to Siberia, absolutely worried sick about Toni.

She tried her best to convince doctors she should be transported to care in the States, but they insisted that her injuries were just too extensive to be moved at this point.

In the end, she stayed by Toni's bedside, refusing to go elsewhere else until she was fully recovered, or at least woke up. It had been three days now, and Toni had still yet to open her eyes. She remained completely immobile on the hospital bed, the only sounds emitting from the room being her shallow breaths, the steady beeping of the machine she was hooked up to and Pepper's ongoing sobs.

There were small tubes running up Toni's nose, providing the nutrients she needed for her body to stabilize and recover. A few small cords slithered their way along her chest measuring her heart rate, which at this point, had finally begun to regulate. An IV also stuck ou of her right arm, a clear liquid passing through the center of the plastic cylinder.

There was also Toni's face. It was still littered with bruises of all colours, some worse than others. A few gashes along her cheeks and brow had get to heal, similar to the one across her lip, splitting it in two separate halves. Though the swelling had gone down over her right eye, it was still painted an intense black, sporting layers of blue and purple around the corners.

Her chest was wrapped to keep her broken ribs in place. Two had snapped completely, the others only chipped and cracked in a few places. Luckily, none had punctured any organs.

Three of her figures were dressed in splints after being broken, most likely from the impact of Steve's shield upon her hand. Her nails were ripped in a couple places, though that was least of anyone's concern, they would heal fast enough.

Her left wrist was fractured in several places, a cast now holding everything in place after treatment. The nurse said it would take six weeks at most to heal over. It wasn't to severe.

And for the most part, that was the generally notion of things at this point. Though they'd change very soon.

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It was now early in the fourth morning, around quarter after six. Pepper was still seated beside Toni, fast asleep. Her hand linked with Toni's right, the one that wasn't as damaged.
Each of their fingers were intwined, Pepper's squeezing lightly, praying Toni would wake up soon.

Her head rest against the back of the chair that was seated to the right of the hospital bed. A thin blanket covered her lap along with a book that lay half open in one hand, her index finger acting as a temporary bookmark. A few empty cups of coffee sat on the table beside her along with packets of sugar split open, specks of their contents covering the wood's surface making a sticky solution with the drops of cream that had been spilt as well.

Pepper was quite erratic at the moment and most defiantly was not herself. In fact, this was the furthest she'd tipped since Toni went missing almost ten years ago on a weapons deal in Afghanistan, only to come back two months later beaten to the bone. And just like before, her only true concern was Toni. Nothing else had even entered her mind since she received the news. Absolutely, nothing.

As the clock that was propped up on the wall ticked away, Toni finally began to stir. First, she wiggled her toes, counting each one individually in her head. She then did the same with her fingers, feeling light pinches of pain shooting up her hand as she did so, more so with her left than the right. She also found that movement on the latter was more restrictive.
After this, Toni shifted on the bed trying to stretch out her sore muscles that were already starting to seize up upon the sudden movement. They were practically screaming in agony, so she took it slow, targeting one muscle zone at a time until the pain subdued.
Next, was sight. Though her eyelids felt heavy, almost too much so that she was going to forget the idea of waking herself at all, she pushed the thought aside and forced them open. Bright lights immediately hit her pupils causing her to groan and blink widely. She thought about raising a hand to wipe the corners of her eyes, and was about to do so, but realized someone was cupping her one arm. Looking rather puzzled, Toni traced the touching limb up to the shoulder, the neck, and then took a glance at the persons face. It was Pepper. She immediately let out a shallow breath she didn't realize she was holding in. Pepper was with her, she was safe.