Everly || Steve Rogers

47. The Aftermath

The freezing water below felt like concrete against Everly's back as it wrapped her in an icy embrace. Out of reflex, she drew in a deep breath and the water seeped into her lungs, sparking a fire in her aching chest. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't force herself to swim. It was like her mind had been severed from her body as she sunk deeper into the depths. The sun's light was drown out by the crashing waves overhead as a darkness surrounded her. After a few moments, all the pain had faded away and she was left only with an overwhelming calmness that settled over her every inch.

Everly's eyes flew open and she rolled onto her side as she coughed up most of the water she'd inhaled. Her fingers melted into the soft sand beneath her as her body began to tremble. She pried her exhausted eyes from the ground to see The Winter Soldier drop an unconscious Steve beside her. He loomed overtop of the pair as his surprisingly calm gaze flicked between them. Everly winced in pain as her throbbing head fell back to the sand. She watched sadly as Bucky slowly turned and walked away without a word. He saved them. 

Sirens rang through the air, only adding to her blinding headache. She rolled onto her back once again and her gaze fell to Steve laying motionless beside her. The next time she opened her eyes, she was sitting atop a stretcher with people all around her. The blaring sirens had been replaced with the flashing of red and blue lights. She noticed Steve still laying in the sand surrounded by paramedics as they whisked her away toward an ambulance. 

"Is he okay?" She mumbled, rolling her head to the side to better see him.

"Don't worry, we've got you. Try not to move." A woman said from beside her. Her heartbeat quickened as she looked again to see that they had yet to move him. 

"Steve?" She called, lifting her head from the stretcher as they slid her into the ambulance. 

"I'm going to put this neck brace on so you don't hurt yourself okay?" A man hurried as he clipped it around her throat. Panic settled deep in her chest as a few more people hopped into the back. They rushed around her readying wires and tubes of all sorts. "Alright big poke." The same voice added as he drove a needle into her arm. Everly winced and shoved him aside. The vehicle shook as he collided with the wall behind him. 

"Restrain her, now!" Somebody shouted as she struggled to sit up.

"Is he okay?" She tried again, trying desperately to see around all of the paramedics. Her wrists were strapped down as was her torso, though it was only necessary for a few short seconds. Every ounce of strength dwindled from her body all at once as a wave of exhaustion swept over her. She fought with everything she had to keep her eyes open, though they fluttered shut regardless. The voices grew distant in her ears as she drifted off with nothing but Steve on her pain-ridden mind.

~~~

The first thing Everly recognized through the silence around her was the quickening beeping of a monitor. It was a sound she hoped never to hear again. She gagged after trying to take a deep breath in. Her eyes snapped open and began to water as her trembling hands slowly pulled the tube from her throat. A hoarse cough tore through her chest and she winced at the dull ache it sent bouncing between her ribs. Her eyes explored the room and she scrunched up her face in confusion. It was almost identical to the one Happy had been in when she and Tony went for a visit. The sun's glare shone through the window onto a small television tucked away in the far corner. A bouquet of flowers sat atop the little wooden table beside her hospital bed. 

She groaned as she plucked the IV from her arm and sat up straight, squeezing her eyes shut when her head began to throb with pain. After waiting a few seconds, it was clear that the pain was there to stay. She ran a hand through her hair and swung her legs over the side of the bed. A frown fell over her face upon seeing the hard blue cast wrapped around her left ankle and calf. One name was written across the front in all caps, 'SAM.' She scoffed and slipped off the bed, the cast clunking against the cool tile floor. The air around her nipped at the skin left exposed from the gown she wore. Everly wrapped herself in a hug and shivered slightly as her gaze fell to the bandage wrapped around the stab wound on her thigh. Another bandage was wrapped tightly around her chest, so tight that it felt as if it was squeezing the air from her lungs.