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Who: Elena Fisher, Nathan Drake, Adrien Arbuckal, Tony Stark ~~(saving the best for last)~~
When: July 31
Where: Medbay
What: Elena and Tony come out of cryo unexpectedly, shenanigans follow.
Warnings: Nudity, gross things from coming out of cryo ~~(Promethus-style)~~, possible swearing, will update

[ Whatever controls had been set to monitor the patients in cryostasis, there was an insistent beeping that had begun to pierce through the stillness of the chamber containing the white pods. Beep beep beep-beep beep-beep— it grew and grew the longer it went ignored. Multiple signals were going off, it wasn’t just one pod beginning to drain and open, there was another. Whatever was going on, it was simultaneous. Unplanned. But when was it ever for an emergency placement of cryostasis? Inside, the lights had come on, a slow and warm glow. The fluid was processed and smoothly dropping away through the feeds attached at the bottom around the ‘bed’ within.

For anyone whose experience coming out of cryostasis was a first, it was frightening. It was the stuff of nightmares, having every one of your senses stripped away to leave you blind and deaf and lost all at once. Really, that was putting it mildly. And with this kind of technology so far advanced and unlike anything back on Earth in a timeline centered around 2011, this was only something made up of movie magic and science fiction. It was a first-hand experience. NASA would be literally tripping over themselves for the schematics on these things.

Elena had never felt more cold in her entire life, this couldn’t even compare to Tibet and the mountain village. Groggy and confused, alarmed by the fact that she couldn’t remember where she was and how she’d gotten in there, all she could make sense of was the sensation of stiff, aching joints, heavy limbs that felt detached, and the disorientation that made her sense of balance pitch with severe vertigo. She was alone, naked (...what? Who the hell undressed her? Why was she naked in the first damn place?), and she was literally freezing her ass off. Most of all— she was going to be sick and getting grossly sick in her ‘bed’ or lap wasn’t what she needed right now.

It wasn’t registering yet that she could see with both eyes, that when her left arm came into view, it was no longer made up of foggy blue glass. It was flesh and blood. Cold flesh and blood but it was there, that was all that mattered.

The domed cover of the one pod lifted on a harsh hiss of air, tendrils of fog curling outward the instant the freezing temperatures met with the warmth within the room, hot and cold clashing. The sound of coughing came first from within. A hand reached out and grabbed onto the edge. Choking followed then as the coughing wasn’t easing, like there was something uncomfortable lodged in her throat, and then gagging as a head of soaked and matted long blonde hair came into view, naked shoulders hunching and shaking uncontrollably as the patient inside was suddenly finding themselves leaning out to retch with the heaving of their stomach.

Water, it was nothing but water, and lots of it. There wasn’t much acidity to it, no smell.

Luckily, as it seemed this was a common reaction to anyone coming out of cryostasis, drains had been installed on either side of the cryo-pods. The acting doctors wouldn’t need to fear much of slipping or stepping in the gunk.

Hopefully she wasn’t expected to get out any time soon, Elena didn’t think she could. Not when she was too busy feeling like she was hit with an unexpected case of motion sickness, barely glancing at the IV connected to the side of her wrist, not noticing the patches stuck to her chest and another to her temple to monitor vitals and brain patterns. ]

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[Nate thought he'd set a speed record the first time he'd been unexpectedly summoned to the medbay, when Elena was dying and he'd somehow known it in his heart without having to be told, but this time he goes even faster, despite the fact that it's good news this time, for sure.

Elena's awake. She's alive and she's awake and he can see her again, watch her look back at him instead of drift in an artificial sleep as he wonders if she's dreaming. He'd been so sure that she'd stay in cryo for ages, that the weeks would become months and maybe even years and it would somehow be his fault, a karma thing. But she's awake and he thinks he's never felt so much relief.

(Oh, and Tony's awake too. That's pretty cool.)

It doesn't matter that they'd fought before the glass shrapnel got the best of her, that a hangover and guilt had delayed him going to her to have the inevitable talk. That can happen now, but even if it doesn't, even if she decides to kick him to the space curb for real, it doesn't matter, because she's all right. Nothing else matters.

A tiny part of him is scared to let himself really believe, is sure that it's some prank, so when he bursts into her room, it's with wide eyes and an anxious expression, not the joy that's waiting for its turn.]

[ Elena Fisher was stubborn. She refused to lay down after being in that pod for so long, asleep and immobile. Trapped and yet not. Finally out, she could breathe again. Breathe air and not lay within a pod of water like fluid. Dressed in a thick terrycloth robe and a thinner one underneath, her bare legs hang off the edge where she sits. It was still so cold, the shaking hadn't subsided by much since Adrien had left her in the somewhat privacy of a room, a blanket pulled around her shoulders.

Her neck feels stiff, wet where damp hair is caught under the collars of her robes; she doesn't notice the hurried, heavy steps right away, turning her head slowly only when she hears the panting breaths of someone who'd been out running, and immediately she knows.

Thoughts of how she had woken, so frightened and alone, they vanish from her mind, along with the embarrassment of being caught naked by Tony as well as seeing him in a— uh— a new light.

It's Nathan.

This is no prank, she's awake and she's alive, IV still secured to her wrist. She's got both arms and she's got both of her eyes back. They crinkle lightly at the edges as she gives a tired but relieved tiny smile at seeing that it's him. ]

Hi...

[ A little shaky, hoarse, she greets him simply. But there's more to that simple little greeting than any one could ever know. It's theirs. ]

[ Well. It's still better than that time he woke up with a catheter in his nose and a car battery wired to his chest.

But that's really, really not saying much.

As Elena gets herself oriented, another hand scrabbles at the edge of the neighboring pod, so that he can at least leverage himself upright, coughing and spluttering. Disorientation and discomfort momentarily blot out more rational trains of thought: memories of how he got in a giant ice pod to begin with; concerns about the state of the arc reactor - the reason he's even in here; perfectly calm, logical understanding that this is nothing at all like that time in the cave in Afghanistan, even if the IVs are making the sopping wet hair at the back of his neck stand on end.

The frantically beeping heart monitors give his anxiety away more than anything else, because all he offers is a raspy, deeply incredulous - ]

What the hell.

[ NAILED IT. ]

[She's had more put-together days. Her hair is a mess, the robe looks comfortable but isn't especially attractive, and despite the fact that it's all organic material and not eerie alien glass, the pallor of her skin isn't what it should be.

She's beautiful. Nate can only stare for a long moment before her smile sends a little crack through his heart and he gives her a small, crooked one in return.]

Hi.

[Then he's striding forward because he can't, cannot hold back. He tries to be gentle as he wraps his arms around her, cognizant of the shrapnel that's still inside her and still a danger, but the desperate urgency he feels is writ throughout his entire body. He's trembling against her.]

[ No words need to be said. She sees him come in close and feels his arms wrap around her. Elena founds herself wrapped in his warmth, in his scent, and she couldn't be more relieved. The blanket slips off one shoulder and down half her back to catch over his arms as she's hugging him back, desperate.

No, she's not just hugging, Elena is holding on, fingers tight in the back of his shirt, breaths quickening: home. She's okay, he's okay, he hadn't left while she was under.

Burying her face into his shoulder, she's saying his name, trembling as much as he is. ]

—you're so warm.

[ Tighter, she's grasping at him, afraid that if he pulls back, that's it. ]

[Nate didn't know he was worried that she might not hug him back, that she might push him away, until she's got her arms around him and the relief he feels doubles. No, it really doesn't matter what happened before. They'll work it out, they'll work it all out, as long as they have a chance to do it together.

He doesn't seem to have even heard the mumbled comment except for how his arms wrap more tightly around her, keeping her warm and with him.]

God, Elena. I was so scared.

[He presses his face into her hair and it's only now, after he knows she's all right, that his eyes finally well up with the tears he's been holding back for weeks.]

[ In this particular instance, Courser was through the doors first, the young trackers four legs (and healthy body) carrying him faster than his companion. Not that Adrien wasn't far behind.

Helps when you practically live in Medbay.

Having both Elena and Tony come out of cryo was a bit of an unwelcome surprise. Well, it was welcome in that he was glad to see them awake but unwelcome as they were both disoriented, and in Elena's case puking. Due to the puke factor, he headed for Elena first, grabbing two blankets off a shelf as he strode towards the pod. ]

Good morning, buttercup!

[ He called out to Tony as he shook out one of the blankets and tossed it at Courser. The young tracker caught the blanket and hopped up on Tony's pod, blanket hanging from his mouth.

HI! You're awake!

The other blanket was also being shook out and lifted up to lay across Elena; he wasn't looking swear! ]

Don't pull on any wires, either of you.

I'm still here. I haven't left— I'm not.

[ With her hair still wet, it isn't easy to tell if those tears are falling or not. She only knows that he's trembling, still, and it falls in line with his declaration. ]

Hey... Hey, it's okay.

[ Elena begins to pull back; she wants to see his face, she wants to look at him. Get him to focus on her to help calm him down. ]

[It matters less what she says and more that she's saying anything. He doesn't resist when she pulls back, because he wants to look at her, too.]

Don't do that again, all right?

[His voice is thick with emotion, his eyes thick with unshed tears on the verge of falling. If he loses Elena, he loses everything.]

The doc called me in when you went under. He wasn't sure if you were in your right mind when you asked for cryo, so it...it was up to me. I watched them put you in it.

[Reflexively, his hands tighten on her.]

It's been weeks.

Wi-wires? [ Her teeth were chattering. She was shaking like a leaf. ] What wires—?

[ Elena barely felt the blanket draping over her, still half leaning against the edge of the pod. Adrien was like a blur right in front of her face. It was getting easier to focus on his voice and turn her head towards him.

Tony's exclamation had been the right thing to shout: What the hell.

Seriously: What the fuck.

Wires. ]

Get me out— now—

[ The doctor was going to have his hands full when she began to fumble about in the pod, trying to move to get out, too concerned with trying to get rid of the temporary feeling of claustrophobia rushing up to care about the blanket slipping and giving way to her nudity.

Her anxiety was beginning to climb, like Tony's, like the beeping of the monitors. ]

Don't do what?

[ What was he talking about? Don't get put into a cryo-pod? Don't get slammed with grenade shrapnel and come to space where gravity messes with its positioning?

He leans back and she gets a good look at him, the teary eyes, how upset he is. Her heart cracks this time at how broken he looks. ]

Nathan...

[ His face is framed in her hands as she speaks his name softly, tiny tremors in her fingers— it's going to take forever for the shaking to stop, she wishes it would stop now. ]

I'm not— I'm not going to leave you.

[ 'Weeks'. That's alarming. But then again it could be worse, she could've been in that pod for months or longer. ]

[ Courser's sudden appearance announces Adrien's presence before the sarcastic greeting does, and for once the alien cat isn't the most unnerving thing going on in the room. But it does wrench some clarity back, the haze lifting bit by bit. Medbay, cryochamber - it's starting to make sense.

Still, Tony holds up a slightly shaky finger, pointing it accusingly at the poor thing. ]

Don't get any ideas, E.T. I'm not into that.

[ But he snatches the blanket up regardless, hastily draping it over his head and shoulders. He still feels like he's goddamn frozen solid, teeth chattering and extremities numb. ]

Hi, honey.

[ Snarked right back at Adrien, almost as an afterthought, because his attention is quickly drawn to Elena as she tries to eject himself from the pod. He'll just see how that goes for her before trying it himself. ]

[It wasn't her choice to be so badly affected by the glass that she needed to go into cryo, but all the same, it helps to hear her say it.]

Don't.

[It's more plea than command, in more than one way. Please don't leave me. Letting out a long breath, he leans forward to touch their foreheads together.]

Are you okay? How do you feel?

[ The return snark was actually welcome, as it gave him a gauge of where his immediate focus was required; which was Elena. He could hear Stark's teeth chattering but otherwise the man sounded calmer and in control of his faculties. Elena still appeared panicked. ]

Say hello to Courser till I can give you your wake up kiss, Sleeping Beauty. By the way I think he stole one of your socks.

Elena...

[ Adrien began, trying to wrangle with shifting limbs that were still a bit slick from the fluid and stronger than her frame would suggest; no doubt driven by adrenaline.

Giving it up as a lost cause, he quickly skimmed across the electrodes and IVs, deftly disconnecting them with a speed that suggested he had some practice with this. Or something similar, if not these exact pods. It does help that he put these wires on her in the first place. ]

Mind the elbow, I'm bruised enough. [ He grunted as he dodged said shifting limb, ducking slightly to gather Elena and the blanket up in his arms, princess carry style. It was about the only move he could make that would keep both of them in mostly one piece.

Even though she was fairly small and light, Adrien winced as he had to try to keep them both from pitching onto the floor. There were certain muscle groups protesting this course of action, however adrenaline overrode their complaints and he strode to where he could place her on a bed.

When he had her on the edge of the bed, Adrien let the blanket pool against her chest and lap as he reached up to her shoulders. ]

Elena ... deep breath and another, that's it just let it come back to you.

[ Hearing the plea behind the single word, she knows there's more to it. She can't argue that, she can't argue that it had hurt just as much when he had left her. He hadn't been on the verge of death.

What if she hadn't come out of this? Elena has to swallow it down, the thought not one she wants to think about right now. He's asking questions, she should focus on those, on how close he is to her. ]

I'm awake, I'm just still c-cold.

[ If she had never woken, she would never get to stroke the stubble on his jaw, which she does now on a pass of her fingers, trying to reassure herself and him with the touch. She wouldn't be able to run her hand through his hair.

The pinch of the IV is beginning to annoy her and she lets that hand lower to her lap. ]

Are you okay? What happened while I was out?

[The jaw-stroking is nice on a level that has nothing to do with being reassured that she's all right, and it helps settle him some. Probably nothing will do that completely except time and seeing that she's still here.]

Jesus, what didn't happen.

[He grimaces for a moment. Technically, she hadn't missed a large number of events. It's just that the ones that did happen were very, uh, eventful.]

The ship finally started working again and we jumped to some shithole neighborhood where slave trade is the order of business. A bunch of people from the Moira ended up as the latest merchandise, including Chloe, Adrien and one of your roommates.

[ Elena leans back, hand lowering to his arm. She can't believe that. ]

I slept through that? Oh my God, are they okay? And you?

[ Yes, yes she's leaning back more to get a good look at him, seeing for herself that he's in one piece and everything's good. ]

Did you end up anyone's slave?

They're fine. I helped get Chloe out, Hawke got herself out, and she and Dorian helped me get Adrien out. I think everyone else is safe, too. Would've been easier to rescue them all if we didn't have to keep the ship's existence quiet to avoid more trouble.

[He sees the look she's giving him and tries to smile, make it clear that he's hale and hearty and in one piece. The only thing that's wrong is that he's been eaten up with worry for her.]

I actually had good luck this time, believe it or not. When I wasn't planetside, I've mostly been here.

[Like, right here. Well, in the cryo chamber.]

That sounds... [ A shaky exhale, a little chuckle. She can't believe this. ] I sure did miss a lot, huh.

[ But he's okay, he's safe. So are the others, Chloe and Hawke especially. And Adrien because where would the ship be without him and his skills and quick thinking. ]

Here? On the ship? I'd say it's your safest bet. We don't know what's planetside half the time.

No, here.

[His arms tighten around her as if to demonstrate, and he nods at the room they're in.]

Not all the time. Didn't want the techs tripping over me and kicking me out for good. But I came by for a while most days.

[Looking at the pods. Wondering when she might emerge from hers. It had been a special kind of torture that he couldn't resist inflicting upon himself.]

Oh.

[ Understanding, yes, she gets it now. She leans back in and drops her head to his chest. Her hand finds his side, rubbing around to his back. ]

I was in capable hands, Nate. I don't think anything could've gone wrong in those things?

[ Not that either of them are an expert on cryo-pods and how they work. And as wary as she was after seeing the chamber for herself, they'd been a last resort. ]

[This is good. This lets him bring his arms up so they're wrapped around her shoulders and he can lean his head on hers. Holding her close, keeping her warm, keeping her safe.]

Doesn't matter. You were dying and I saw it... [He shudders a little.] It helped to see for myself that you were still here. And if any part of you was aware, I wanted to be here.

[He's guessing not, though, from what she's said. Still, he doesn't regret it.]

[ She was being lifted then, grabbing on with one hand while clutching the blanket close. She'd curled into him, so cold, so very cold. It couldn't be helped with how warm he was, shivering against him. But then— elbow? Bruised elbow, what? Her breaths were coming out hard and fast, shallow with mounting fear she couldn't immediately push down.

Elena heard her name a second time, felt the sturdy surface under her. She held the blanket tighter. What she needed was a few moments to focus on his voice, to hear what he was saying, and from there on it was easy to force herself to take deeper breaths following his instruction.

Her hand grasped at his arm, both eyes on his face and then his mouth while he spoke to her, body and breaths shaking. ]

S'co-cold. [ Shit was it ever cold. ] Clothes—?

Are we— are we okay?

[ We being her and Tony; she knows he's back by the pods, likely as naked as she is. Likely as cold and still trying to get back his bearings. ]

[ What she needs right now is to stand under a hot shower for twenty minutes, not that it would make up for the weeks she'd been immersed in the freezing pod. ]

I was... [ Elena falls quiet. You were dying. She'd known. ] I knew something was wrong, something was very wrong.

[ Her face presses into his shoulder, voice muffled. ]

I wasn't sleeping, I was constantly in pain. I wasn't... I wasn't getting better...

I saw the cistern again, Nate. I was there.

[It's not something he likes admitting out loud, but he knows it's true. So does she. Running away from the reality won't help anything, especially since she's not anymore. She's going to be all right.]

The cistern? In Yemen? [That startles him.] Jesus, what a thing to go back to.

[Deep in the dark and underground, pursued by what seemed like a million mutant spiders. The two of them close together but a million miles apart in some ways.

Maybe it's not so strange to flash back to then after all.]

Well, there's still the shrapnel to deal with, but no more glass parts. That can't hurt you anymore.

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