#one day ill learn how properly tag on this app but not today | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

star-trekkin-across-theuniverse · 7 years

Text

Vital Signs, pt26

Word Count: 2213 Tags: @to-pick-ourselves-up-7 @outside-the-government, @jimfromsales, @donnaintx, @enterprisewriting @starmission @supermoonpanda @rayleyanns @sistasarah-sallysaidso @flirtswithdanger @anyakinamidala

Physio had me on a treadmill down in the gym, walking slower than molasses during a cold spell. I tried to sneak the speed higher, but Matt smacked my hand and dropped the pace again. I shot him a glare.

“You don’t scare me. Who do you think helped the Widow learn to walk again?” Matt asked, as though I knew what the fuck he was talking about. I continued to glare, plodding along like an old woman after a hip replacement. I scratched absently at my arm, and then dropped my hand, remembering not to touch.

The DNA test results had not come back yet. SHIELD apparently kept a dermatologist on staff at the Hub though, and he came to take a look at me. He’d concluded that it was frostbite. And other than that had largely been completely useless. Between the lack of answers about what was going on with my body and the over cautious treatment of my in physio, I was so frustrated I wanted to scream. I looked down at my arm. It was still red, but had started to peel in large flakes. So gross.

I tore my gaze away from the mess on my arm and focused on the monitor. My heart rate was steady and low. I’d been on the treadmill for fifteen minutes and wasn’t even close to feeling like I was exerting myself. I growled under my breath.

“Hungry?” Matt asked, glancing up from the tablet he was charting my progress on.

“Bored out of my mind. Please. Let me run. I was running 10k a day. I know I can run. I feel fine,” I complained. Matt sighed and pursed his lips.

“Push it up until you’ve doubled your current speed,” he consented. I bumped my speed up, but was still only walking briskly. I kept at that pace for five minutes and looked up at the monitor. My heart rate had barely moved.

“I’m going to run now,” I told Matt, and pushed the speed on the treadmill up to my usual running pace. He stood up and perched cautiously beside me, I guess thinking to catch me if I suddenly collapsed. I honestly expected to feel winded after five minutes, but I was feeling great. I glanced at the monitor and saw that my heart rate had finally started to rise, but it was still lower than it should have been. I found a spot on the wall and kept running, setting the treadmill for ten kilometres. I stared at the spot, focusing on it instead of the itching in my arm. After twenty minutes, Matt stepped back from the treadmill. He stayed standing by me, but wasn’t as guarded. At thirty minutes, he had relaxed. By forty minutes, he was sitting back in his chair, watching me keenly and making notes in my chart. The program cycled down and stopped after I’d been running for about an hour. I was tired, but not any worse than before the surgery.

“Stretch out and then sit. I want to assess you,” Matt ordered me. I worked through a cool down and then sat in the chair he’d vacated. He checked my vital signs manually, then checked them a second time.

“I feel pretty good,” I offered. Matt nodded.

“You shouldn’t though. You shouldn’t be able to do what you just did.” He was dumbfounded.

“But I did. And until Fury gets some answers on the tests he’s having run, we just need to listen to my body,” I shrugged. I was much calmer about this genetic corruption than I should have been. I should have been freaking right out.

“I feel rather stupid requesting you sit in your wheelchair to head back to the unit, but it is protocol.” Matt motioned toward the wheelchair. I rolled my eyes and sat. Matt pushed me back to the elevator and then back to my room. I moved from the wheelchair to the bed and laid back, suddenly tired.

“You overdid it. You’re exhausted.”

“I have always loved a nap after a run. I’m sure you’ll hear if there is ill effects from today’s experiment,” I smiled and closed my eyes. I drifted off to sleep. I wasn’t dreaming about the Destroyer or New York anymore, but instead had dreams of snow and mountains. They weren’t unpleasant dreams, but confusing. The snowcapped mountains I saw in my dreams were like none I’d ever seen at home, and I’d really never seen any mountains that compared to the Canadian Rockies. The mountains in my dreams were jagged, and larger somehow. I awoke cold, goose bumps tracing across my skin. My arm tingled painfully.

Director Fury was sitting in the chair beside my bed, reading a romance novel that Steve had brought me. The look on his face was priceless. He was completely engrossed, yet looked completely disgusted. I cleared my throat and he snapped the book closed.

“Interesting choice in literature for a doctor who finished with distinction,” he commented as he put it back on my bedside table. I smiled.

“Can’t always be medical journals.” My laugh was unashamed. Fury leaned back in the chair and stared up at the ceiling.

“Matt says you’re progressing at an unnatural speed.” He didn’t make eye contact with me. I nodded anyhow, forgetting that he might not notice the gesture with his bad eye facing me.

“I feel good.”

“We have preliminary results on the DNA samples we took from you.” He clicked into the lab results section of the tablet he was carrying, and handed it to me. They’d taken a sample from my mouth and a sample from my arm. The lab app showed all my results. Initially they looked fine. But then I noticed there were discrepancies between the two samples.

“These have been messed up,” I stated. Fury shook his head.

“No. I personally took them to the lab, and sat with them for the initial processing. And compared to the results we have on file for you, there’s some disparities,” he started.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, Richmond, that your first sample, your historic sample, the one we took when you were recruited, is enough different from your most recent swab that you don’t even qualify as related to yourself anymore,” he explained. The tablet slipped from my fingers, landing with a dull thump in my lap.

“That isn’t possible.”

“It is possible. You are sitting here as proof of that. The lab is currently cross-referencing your sample against other known samples. They were able to rule out exposure to Captain Rogers immediately. Some of the nucleotides in your DNA strand have never been seen before in a human,” Fury explained. He was somehow softer than he usually was, which made me think he had more bad news. And really, the reality was that Director Fury didn’t interact like this in every SHIELD employee’s life. He got involved for big stuff only. The amount I’d seen him over the past year should have been setting off warning bells long before now.

“So this genetic corruption didn’t come from Steve.” I made that logical leap. It was really more of a tiny logical shuffle in one direction. He nodded.

“No. The Captain is not at fault here,” Fury agreed.

“Wait, you said the nucleotides had never been seen in a human. But they’ve been seen somewhere?” My head was spinning.

“A quick and dirty reference pool matched one of the alien nucleotides in our database.”

“To whom?”

“You’re not going to be happy about this, Dr. Richmond.” Fury was avoiding giving over the information. I scratched absently at my arm, frustrated. And then I stopped scratching because I knew.

“This fucking frostbite. Loki,” I breathed.

“It is only one nucleotide of eight,” Fury offered.

“There are only four nucleotides that make up human DNA.”

“Well, you have eight at play now.”

“And one of them matches Loki.” I could feel myself growing so very angry.

“Yes. The extra four probably all do, Richmond.”

“I will kill that motherfucker with my bare goddamn hands.”

“I hope to someday give you that chance, Doctor.” Fury stood, and picked the tablet up from where I’d dropped it on the bed.

“When can I be discharged?” I asked.

“I don’t follow,” Fury replied.

“I ran 10 kilometres today and barely broke a sweat. I don’t need physio. I could be set up for outpatient check ups at any hospital with a neurology department. I know I’m not supposed to be back to work for a while, but I’d rather be at home. Back to some sort of routine that doesn’t have me languishing in an uncomfortable hospital bed,” I explained. Anything would be better than a plastic mattress. Fury nodded.

“I’ll see what Dr. McAndrews has to say.”

It was a beautiful, warm, sunny afternoon, and there was just nothing that felt quite as good as a run through Central Park. After a battery of testing to make sure my brain was decompressing properly, Dr. McAndrews acceded that I could be discharged to outpatient services at Midtown General. I would be going for neuro check-ups every other day, and was to check in with physio once a week. The freedom felt so good.

My apartment was dusty and in need of airing, so I’d flung open the curtains and windows and decided a run was in order. The feel of my feet against familiar pavement was refreshing after months on the helicarrier. It felt solid, and real. There was some serious joy welling in my chest, and I picked up my pace on the back five kilometres of my run. I checked my timer when I ran up the stairs of the apartment and was astonished. My time was four minutes faster than my previous record, which was when Steve and I were running every day. I stared at the red handprint on my arm and wondered what else was going to come up as result of this DNA corruption Loki had inflicted on me.

The hot water of the shower streamed down my body and as I lathered my hair, I felt the stitches in the back of my head, and admired how little of my hair Dr. McAndrews had needed to shave for the surgery. If there was anything I was prideful about, it was my hair. Long, wavy and an auburn red that usually defied categorization, it had always been my best feature. I rinsed the shampoo out and conditioned before deciding to shave my legs.

I didn’t hear the guy come into the bathroom, but when he pulled back the shower curtain, all the extra work with Natasha that I’d been doing before my surgery paid off. I stood over the intruder, my knee in the centre of his chest, and arm cocked back, ready to punch. There was soap in my eyes, and I tried to blink it out before he got the upper hand. And then he started laughing.

“For fuck’s sake, Steve! You scared the shit out of me!” I stood up and hopped back into the shower, chilled. He quickly stripped down and joined me. He kissed the back of my neck and wrapped his arms around me.

“I was aiming for pleasant surprise. I’m impressed. Obviously the work with Natasha has paid off.”

I rinsed off, and grabbed a towel. Steve came out into the living room with a towel around his waist as I was pulling a t-shirt on. He pulled me into a close hug and just held me for a few minutes. I relaxed into his arms.

“How long are you here?” I looked up at him. He smiled.

“Long enough to move us into a 2 bedroom on the fourth floor. Before you pick another fight with me, Lex, hear me out. We’re both permanently stationed here in New York. You can have your own bedroom, we can say we’re roommates if you are uncomfortable with the idea of living together. That’s the reason I requested a 2 bedroom. It means that when we are both on leave we actually can spend time together. We won’t always be working in the same places.” He spoke quickly. I smiled.

“I wasn’t going to pick a fight. I thought Stark was planning residences in Stark Tower?” I asked. Steve nodded.

“He’s calling it Avengers Tower these days. I’m not quite reading to move in there. Are you?” He asked. I laughed and extricated myself from his embrace. I sat on the couch. Steve walked over to my fridge, opened it, made a disgusted noise and closed it.

“I’m not the Avenger,” I answered.

“You’ve been home for a day and you haven’t gone shopping yet.” He changed the topic.

“I was going after my run.”

“It’s a good thing you have me to take care of you, sunshine. Let’s go get some groceries while the movers get started.” He disappeared back into the bathroom to get dressed. As if on cue, there was a knock on my door. I let them in and Steve gave them instructions for my apartment and his, and handed over keys for both of them and the new place.

#avengers fanfic #Steve Rogers x OFC

16 notes · View notes

arzani-fuchsia · 7 years

Text

I’ve been tagged by @flintvane, thank you <3

RULES: Answer these 85 statements and tag 20 people

Tagging: @alightabovethearbys @ryuutales @rowanofferelden @myladyday @medusinestories

THE LAST

1. Drink: water

2. Phone call: with a friend of mine I haven’t talked to in ages. I think we phoned for almost two hours

3. Text message: if What’s app count, my best friend

4. Song you listened to: thanks to @medusinestories Scarborough’s fair

5. Time you cried: just a few tiny tears at Grey’s anatomy, because I can’t watch people die

6. Dated someone twice: never? me and relationships are practically not happening

7. Kissed someone and regretted it: years ago. Not that it made the thing any better, but it’s in the past.

9. Lost someone special: my grandparents

8. Been cheated on: without a relationship this can’t happen

10. Been depressed: as in a mental illness? Never. Just depressed? Probably somewhere along the lines of not getting something done on my bachelor thesis

11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: Never

3 FAVOURITE COLOURS

12. blue

13. purple

14. red

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU

15. Made new friends: yes

16. Fallen out of love: without falling in love, I guess you also can’t fall out of it

17. Laughed until you cried: I can’t remember but I hope so ^^

18. Found out someone was talking about you: I a gossiping way? I don’t think so, at least not that I’m aware of it.

19. Met someone who changed you: As I believe human beings constantly change in a very subtle way, because they learn and grow, I’d say yes, but not in a very drastical way.

20. Found out who your friends are: I’m glad to know that since some years now. I love my friends, I will forever cherish them

21. Kissed someone on your facebook list: nope. No kisses for me sadly.

GENERAL

22. How many of your facebook friends do you know in real life: All of them.

23. Do you have any pets: Nope

24. Do you want to change your name: No. I quite like my name, even though english speaking people have some problems pronouncing it, somehow xD

25. What did you do for your last birthday: I went to university and then had some friends over for something to eat and drink.

26. What time did you wake up: Today? 7am (got out of bed at 10am xD)

27. What were you doing at midnight last night: Watching Grey’s anatomy and chatting with @alightabovethearbys, trying to make her go to bed xD

28. Name something you can’t wait for: being done with my bachelor thesis and fly to New Zealand.

29. When was the last time you saw your mom: Some minutes ago.

31. What are you listening to right now: Anna Netrebko, because my parents aree watching her on TV xD

32. Have you ever talked to a person named tom: I think I have, but it’s a blur xD

33. Something that is getting on your nerves: my dad not turning the volume down when he watches some stupid videos on facebook -.-

34. Most visited website: probably this one (so tumblr) and ao3. Oh and flight rising

35. Hair colour: brown

36. Long or short hair: it gets longer and longer.

37. Do you have a crush on someone: Does it have to be a person I know in real life or can I say Luke Arnold? ^^

38. What do you like about yourself: That I always stand up and that I love to be alive.

39. Want any piercings: no

40. Blood type: B+

41. Nickname: none

42. Relationship status: Single

43. Zodiac: aries

44. Pronouns: She/her

45. Favourite tv show(s): Black Sails, the good place, this is us,

46. Tattoos: yes, one on my shoulder blade. It’s a fushia flower

47. Right or left handed: right handed

48. Surgery: only when I was a small child.

49. Piercing: I’m sure earings don’t count, so no

50. Sport: Swimming, volleyball (used to play, don’t manage now anymore)

51. Vacation: I can’t wait to get to New Zealand. The last one was Crete though

52. Pair of trainers: eeeehm? No idea

MORE GENERAL

53. Eating: very regularly. Did cook today even ^^

54. Drinking: Water mostly, sometimes juice, too.

55. I’m about to: finish this thin and head to bed

56. Waiting for: better weather xD

57. Want: to sleep properly tonight

58. Get married: I want to but I’m not sure it’s ever going to happen.

59. Career: YES :)

WHICH IS BETTER

60. Hugs or kisses: hugs (mostly because they’re more likely)

61. Lips or eyes: I tend to look at the eyes first

62. Shorter or taller: Taller, because I am tall myself

63. Older or younger: Older, but not too old.

64. Nice arms or nice stomach: Nice stomach.

65. Hook up or relationship: Relationship. I don’t like hook ups and I adore stable relationships.

66. Troublemaker or hesitant: rather hesitant than a troublemaker but mostly just boringly normal

HAVE YOU EVER

67. Kissed a stranger: Yes. Kinda. I only knew him from that day.

68. Drank hard liquor: Yes.

69. Lost glasses/contact lenses: Yes, contact lenses, once during a training session.

70. Turned someone down: in what way? In a bar or so yes. someone who asked for a relationship? Welp, no one ever really asked that.

71. Sex on the first date: No.

72. Broken someone’s heart: I don’t know. If I did, I’m sorry, but I don’t know about it.

73. Had your heart broken: Yes

74. Been arrested: No

75. Cried when someone died: Yes. I even cry when people die in TV, so yes. Yes.

76. Fallen for a friend: Yes.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN

77. Yourself: Yes. :)

78. Miracles: Yes

79. Love at first sight: No

80. Santa Claus: I did when I was a child. Now obviously not anymore

81. Kiss on the first date: It depends I guess. If everything is really going well, why not.

82. Angels: Yes.

OTHER

83. Current best friend’s name: Amelie

84. Eye colour: Brown

85. Favorite movie: I’m not that much into movies. I have I few I like but not really a favourite one.

#personal #so now I better go to bed xD

0 notes