03 x where's my invite?

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Tia blearily stared ahead as she tidied a recent outpatient's bed and tied the pillows to the bed-frame. Retrieving the MAR chart from the front, she casually glanced through and decided to drop it off at the nurse's station. Might as well grab herself a cup of coffee when at it. 

Her face softened with a smile when she came across her favourite recent addition one of the children's ward, waving at him in a gentle gesture. The little boy, Tom, was down with kidney stones and he was commissioned in here for a week. Three days down and he was nothing but the kindest kid his age. He beckoned her into the semi-private ward with a wave.

'Tia, can you get me chocolate pudding this time around?' Tom asked her silently, cupping his IV-fed palm around his mouth as if conveying a secret. 'I tried vanilla but it makes me sick.'

'I like the vanilla better,' she muttered back, biting her lips to control her laughter. 'But sure, I'll save one for you. Are you still hurting?'

It was her immediate instinct to retrieve the pen-end light from her breast-pocket to check the dilation in his eyes. She examined his pulse, timing it with her wristwatch and sighed when she saw that his vitals were in check. 

'My side hurt a little bit in the morning but now it's fine,' he replied when she let go of his wrist. He rubbed the bandage that sealed the IV to his arm. Tia traversed her hand to his head stroking it warmly and wanting to deliver a reassurance. Before she could, she heard a wild commotion in the corridor. Tom himself straightened to catch a glimpse through the rectangular peephole.

'Scuse me,' the voice loudly announced. 'We need help—he needs a doctor!'

Tia would know that voice anywhere. Her footsteps were rushed as she ushered herself out of the ward, clamping onto the door as she peered out the hallway. Her eyes widened with surprise.

'Sam, what—'

'Tia,' he breathed out and she continued to watch as two nurses hurried a young, teenage boy onto the emergency carrier and wheeled him into the emergency room adjacent to the nurse's station. She walked past him in concern and saw the shades of his uniform, a suit almost and took that he was indeed a superhero. 

'Oh my god,' she murmured, mortified.

He must be no older than fifteen, his face smeared with cuts and his blue-and-white suit's buttons undid to reveal a long, impaling wound near his right lung. Looked like tough shrapnel had been wedged in and separated, hence the undue bleeding. She saw the boy's eyes clamped shut, unconscious already. They had to start a lifeline.

Tia cast Sam a careful glance as she pulled out a new set of gloves from the station counter. Sam was in his new uniform, the wings of his suit still clipped to his back and the shield clamped behind him. Between his hand was another shield, only this one differed in the shape and colour scheme.

'Sit down,' she ordered him softly. 'Get yourself something to drink.'

'Save him,' he whispered flippantly, grappling her arm and his voice not meant to come out tough. She could understand his anxiety, obviously, this boy meant a great deal to him. 'Please.'

Tia could only smile warily, her job prevented her from making promises, patting the side of his face with her gloved hands and running after the departing crowd of nurses with her visor in hand. The boy was definitely in need of surgery, stitches at the least, and caught up with them quickly.

Tia looked back to the swinging doors, Sam's dreary gaze set on her as he flopped onto a metal chair. She blew out a breath, feeling the weight of this new commitment creep up on her fisting her twitching hands over the rails. No time for hesitation, she repeated in her head. Save him.

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'Hey.'

Hazel eyes appeared before him, relaxed and softened. Tia had changed into new scrubs after the hour-long surgery and the gloves missing from her hands. Her dark hair was left loose from the last time she had seen her, clipped behind her ears smoothly. Her warm hand rubbed his shoulder in an assertive gesture and he needed nothing more. He saw her drop to her knees in front of him, trying to catch the expression on his face. He quickly pasted a tiny lopsided grin and she wasn't impressed.

Fortunately, the wounded heroes had come in during the late hours. No one had bothered Sam about autographs or wanting to hold his shield, doctors and nurses passing by him like he was just another person. He had left the shield to rest under his seat along with his wings, unbuttoning the tight clasps in the suit to let him unwind.

'Hey,' Sam greeted her back. 'How is he?'

'He's okay. It's nothing serious,' she told him when he hung his head with a feeling of release. 'Cracked a few ribs and luckily, it was a flesh wound. We'll have to wait to see if he has a concussion after the sedative subsides.'

'I told him not to come,' he muttered dreadfully, thinking back to the very incident that got him here in the first place. 'Little dumbass couldn't take an order.'

She let out a small chuckle. 'And his parents?'

'Just his mom,' he notified. 'She's on her way here. She was sobbing over the phone.'

'Oh man,' she muttered, kneading her temple with a finger. 'Well, this is gonna suck.'

'You tell me,' he sighed, leaning back into the seats. The buckles in the uniform bit into him. 'Elle said she was coming in a few. She and Nat had to say back on the scene and have a word with the DEA's enforcement teams.'

'Are you okay, though?'

'Yeah,' he breathed out.

Tia clucked her tongue in pity, leaning forward to caress her hand over his jaw. He looked at her worried eyes, soon following suit. Their lips met halfway, her warm breath lighting up his skin like wildfire. His tense muscles relaxed where she touched him and she leaned her forehead with his after pulling back.

'Feeling better?' She whispered, grinning softly. 

'No, c'mere,' Sam shook his head cheekily, inclining into her once again to steal another kiss. She let out a soft laugh, moving her lips with his and he almost didn't want to let this moment end. A soft clearing off throat tore them apart. Sam saw the tips of Tia's ears turn red, rolling his lips to contain a smile when she pulled her curls over to hide them.

'Sam,' a suave voice called out to him, making the couple rise from his seat. It was the woman of their former discussion and her wide eyes were suspended between Tia and Sam. Tia felt the need to swallow down hard.

'Er, sorry,' the blue-eyed woman said sheepishly. 'Didn't mean to interfere.'

'Hey, Elle,' Sam greeted in a downed tone. 'Everything cleared?'

'DEA seized the freight,' she informed him and her gaze flickering to Tia tensely, 'and the rest I will brief you later.'

This woman was a fucking knockout. Beating Tia's bare five-foot-seven, Elle was nothing domineering but instead exuding polite confidence. She was dressed in a suit that must've cost more than Tia's monthly salary and yet managing to pass as simple to the crowd. Her even hair fell past her shoulders and a thick band of tressed falling into her soft blue eyes. Yep, Tony Stark had definitely scored the jackpot.

'Hello,' she smiled tenderly, outstretching a light hand. 'I suppose you are the famous Miss Bright.'

Tia blinked from her trance, shaking her hand. Their colours contrasted and she looked up at Elle with a quiet grin. She anxiously tucked a curl of her hair behind her ears and watched the amusement on Sam's face get larger than ever.

'Just Tia,' she said politely. 'And yeah, I know you, Mrs Stark.'

'Please. Call me Elle,' she waved it off with a simple hand, retracting her palm into the pockets of her peach coat. She caught the glimmer of the glowing silver arc-reactor over her chest and concealing the breath of awe. 

'Sam speaks a great deal about you. You're an LPN, I take it.'

'That I am,' Tia nodded at her, wanting to jump right into the point. She read the tension on the middle-aged woman's face and decided to ease her conscience. 'And regarding Rayshaun, there's nothing to worry about. He'll be discharged once his wounds are clean.'

'Oh,' her light eyes flooded with relief. She ran a hand into her hair with a slow shake of her head. 'Thank you so much.'

'No worries,' Tia smiled.

'Go home, Elle,' Sam said, concerned. Instantly, Tia started to view the bruises that bloomed under her fringe of hair and her white knuckles clenched in anxiety. He thought the red in Elle's lips was lip stain and only then did she realize it was busted.

'No, no,' Elle shook her head fervently, denying his request. 'I'll have to stay until Shaun's conscious. Otherwise—'

'Otherwise, zip,' Sam sternly responded. 'The mission's done. Come back later.'

'He's right, Elle,' Tia stated in a gentler tone, supporting her boyfriend. 'Sam and I can watch over him. You'll be our first call once he's awake.'

'Is his mother here?' Elle reasoned with them. Sam sighed.

'Not yet,' Tia replied.

'Then, I'm staying,' Elle denied them stubbornly. Just as Sam went to refuse her want, she shot him a glare. 'I said what I said, Cap.'

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That night, Tia was able to wheel in Shaun's bed into a private holding area, all thanks to Elle. She had covered his medical expenses and medicines administration out of her own pockets, Miss Lucas had never been more grateful. Clasping Elle's hands in her own, she had blessed her profusely and Tia could only watch on as the night unfolded. Miss Lucas was devastated to see her son in such a condition and Tia held the single mother close, letting her cry it out into her wearable scrubs. 

Tia understood the grief and pain better than anyone else. It was a part of her job description - to offer comfort and treat to the unwell with compassion. All her career was about giving and reassuring but every passing day, she had only felt more thankful for being in this field of work.

When she had retired for the night, signing out of the twelve-hour shift she had conducted today, she made her way back to Shaun's holding room. Some may have gotten used to the grandeur of a private room but not her. It was like stepping into a room at the Hilton. There were fresh flowers, marble furnishing, long cushioned couches and far-flung windows unlike the small ones in the other room where you had to open from the top. 

She looked to Shaun's mother first, her head resting by her son's arm and fast asleep. She stirred when Tia's footfalls broke through the silence, Sam's head snapping to her. He rested by the window, his dark eyes following her as she traipsed to him in tip-toes. The pristine light from the outside cast shadows over his wry face as she fell into his chest beside him. Sam had changed out of his uniform into a pair of sweats that he had purchased at the shop downstairs and grumbling at the ridiculous price. 

Instantly, Sam's long arm held her to his side and she fit her cheek over his shoulder. When doing so, she caught the sight of Elle who had hunched into herself the other end of the long couch. She was speaking in quick tongues to someone over the phone, biting her lip in frustration.

His deep voice rasped to her softly. 'Rough night?'

'You have no idea,' she whispered. 'Honestly, I want to go home.'

'You can,' he hummed, toying with a curl that fell over her eyes. 'No one would mind.'

'Nah, it's cool,' she refused. 'I'd rather be here than alone in my place.'

Tia hated to feel lonely. Be it her work environment or relationship-wise, she disliked the sense of isolation that would wash over her when she was left alone in a room. She took her extended family to be a reason, she had grown up with two older siblings, a younger sibling and their parents under the same roof. So when she left the nest at eighteen, she could never get used to sleeping alone or not having constant chatter around the home. 

'So, your brother's wedding,' he asked quietly as if reading her thoughts. 'Am I invited?'

Tia craned her amused gaze up at his monotonous face when she knew that he was flustered mayhem on the inside. Setting her chin over his shoulder, she continued to pierce her unnerving stare into him.

Andre Bright was one of Tia's older brothers and recently, he had announced his engagement that was being held at her hometown. Sam hadn't shown his interest to participate until now and it surprised her.

'Stop it.'

Her grin broadened.

'T.'

A little deeper.

'Tia,' he said, this time placing a palm over her eyes which she pushed off. 'Just tell me.'

'Of course, you are,' she hummed, her lips moving against the collar of his tee. 'I can't make it there without my transport.'

He looked hurt. 'I hate you.'

'You wish.'

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