For awhile there was nothing.

Well, maybe nothing was the wrong word for it.

Darkness surrounded her in its endless abyss.

This pitch black space with no shadows and no light either.

She blinked out at it all, floating midair in this world where nothing at all seemed to matter.

Where is this?

Her first thought came and went with a passing wave of something.

Fear?

Concern?

Acceptance.

She didn't know why, but something told her everything had hurt before; a world of pain.

It had encompassed her entire body.

And oh, did it hurt.

But for some reason she had struggled with it, fought the rising tide.

Though it was for naught, seeing as she was here.

Why am I here?

Was this all there was to death? She wanted to speak, but her mouth refused to open. Energy ebbed out of her prone limbs, as though they were in complete disagreement with her wishes. A tiny flicker of memory whispered in her heart. It had been a long time since anyone had been able to touch her without fear. Without being frozen solid. But this man . . .

Doctor.

He had been able to.

He had cradled her in his arms; he had cried over her dying form; he had caressed her cheek.

And oh, how nice had it been to be touched, even if it was by someone who was supposed to be her enemy.

"Not anymore."

A voice whispered in her ears, hot breath prickling the small hairs at the nape of her neck.

Silence lingered for what felt like an eternity as time slipped by.

And then . . .

Whoosh.

Was that a breeze whistling through the air? She strained her ears at the sound of a low hum, the clicking of machinery. Just what was going on?

"Stay with us . . . Stay with me . . ."

This voice, this one was real.

And it was unmistakable who it was.

"Doctor."

The word, two syllables slipping out of her lips.

And then her right hand felt a pressure.

Someone's squeezing it. But who?

She tried calling out again and received no answer of tangible meaning.

So she laid there, prone, until light shifted into view above her.

And with the hand not squeezed by the inexplicable pressure she reached for it.

*

*

*

Beep.

Beep. Beep.

Beep.

A myriad of beats echoed in her ears. The bright fluorescent lighting making her wince the second her eyelids pushed back. They slammed back down again like shutters, explaining nothing of the blur of scenery failing to take shape around her.

"I don't believe it. Y-you've done it Doctor." Disbelief colored a familiar voice.

Blaze?

She thought that to be the name of the chainsaw wielding woman. But in all honesty, once on the battlefield learning about faces and the people connected to them hardly seemed to matter, especially when she had the strong intention of killing the ones in question. But with a fiery heat like hers it was a fitting name . . . if it really was hers that was.

"I wouldn't say I've done anything. It was all him."

There was that voice, the one she heard in the abyss. Him. While their first meeting had been under rather dire circumstances he had been cordial, friendly in a way enemies were not meant to be. The disconnected tone was a little off-putting, but there was no doubt Doctor Y/N was there, wherever this was with her.

She opened her eyes.

*****

Y/N didn't think it would work, didn't dare to dream, and yet . . .

Here she was, opening her eyes.

FrostNova blinked slowly, blearily against the overhead lights. Silently he watched her gain focus on her surroundings. She winced at the brightness. And in that small moment when she hissed in pain her head snapped to him and their eyes met . . .

It was like it all fell into place.

Blaze choked on a breath at this sudden awareness from the frosty bunny. Y/N scooted his chair forward, careless of the possible danger as he moved closer. "Everything's okay FrostNova. You're safe now."

Her pale face seemed to run through a myriad of emotions. Startled, surprised, shock, disbelief, wariness, and then finally acceptance. "I'm not dead."

Her tone was oddly blank of anything.

He shook his head. "No. You're very much alive."

"How am I not dead?" FrostNova asked.

"Should I tell her or do you want to do the honors?" Blaze was asking. She had managed to recover from her shock in the span of a few seconds, leaning casually against the doorway.

The Doctor waved her off without so much as a glance. "I'll handle it. Would you mind giving us a moment?"

"Ooooh, I see how it is. Heh. You two have fun then, but not too much fun~"

"Blaze." It was hard to keep the exasperation out of his voice.

"Alright alright! I'm going!" Blaze slipped out the door.

FrostNova groaned, struggling to find purchase in the plush mattress she'd been sleeping on to haul herself up into a sitting position. Y/N closed the rest of the distance between them, getting up from his chair. "Here, let me help you."

She must not have been awake yet because FrostNova willingly allowed him to set up the pillows to prop herself against. Dressed in a hospital gown with that incessant IV piercing the back of her left hand . . . how was this still the healthiest he had seen her? Kal'tsit had said it would take some time for FrostNova to make a full recovery, yet she already looked she's better than she'd been when they first met. There was color in her cheeks and her fingers were no longer that permanently frost bitten blue hue. The missing originium shards might have had something to do with the latter part of that though, something FrostNova was seemingly catching onto as her eyes widened when she looked at her hands.

"I . . . I can't recall the last time they were like this." She flexed the hand without the IV experimentally. Fingers curled in and out with her actions like the perfectly functioning limbs that they were. Sitting back in his chair, Y/N nodded. He tried not to think of the implication of her words. Just how bad was it for her? All the testing in the world could provide no answers.

"Yes. They work just like they're meant to now." Was all he said in reply.

"This is your doing." It was not a question, just a simple fact that was not simple at all.

"Yes." He breathed. "It was."

"I don't like repeating myself. Tell me how." She all but demanded. It was almost cute, the sharp glare she sent his way. He supposed she wouldn't like to be told that though. Has she ever even been called cute?

Hesitantly, Y/N reached in his pocket to pull out the very thing which had saved FrostNova. The small vial that had been on him since Amiya and Kal'tsit had found him all those months ago was now empty. The strange blue liquid formerly inside was long gone. For the longest time he had no idea why the item had been on his person. But when he had seen her on the verge of death . . .

He just knew.

The liquid was gone now but she was still here.

The choice was the right one.

No matter what anyone else said.

"Before I lost my memory, I was in Chernobog working on a cure for Infection."

"Wait. You lost your memory? How? And a cure? I didn't think there was one."

FrostNova was frowning heavily, those dipped lines on her forehead erasing the cuteness from her face. He felt the loss of it like a splash of cold water to the face, mixing with the already formed uneasiness of everything he had to explain and the things he had no answers to. Surely she would understand? Right?

"I didn't think so either, but . . . I guess there is. Or—"

There was.

How would FrostNova feel if she knew there may be no way to replicate it? He did not know, and decided it was best to leave this secret as it was, even if it was only for now.

"Or what?"

Sharp as ever, FrostNova quickly caught on that there was more he had been about to say.

Sighing, he dragged a hand through his hair. "I didn't know what the liquid I kept on me was, why it had been on my person. I only realized what it was when you, when you were about—"

"To die."

"Yes. And as for my memories, I'm not sure as to why I lost them."

"I see. Have you been unable to recover them?"

Y/N looked down, crestfallen. "No? They haven't come back." There was a large part of him that would rather not remember. There were so many things connected to the old version of him, the person who apparently did a lot of . . . questionable things. But once again, this was another thing that was hard to explain.

Why can't things just be easy?

Perhaps it was better to leave them in the past, probably. Though, if he had created a cure, surely that was something that should be remembered? It would be worth it.

"It sounds like you don't want them to."

"I don't."

"Why not?"

"It's complicated." He told her.

"Everything is."

"You're not wrong about that." He agreed.

"I suppose I should be thanking you," FrostNova said. "Though I'm not exactly sure what you plan on doing with me now. I'm guessing I'm at Rhodes Island's headquarters."

"Yeah. Something like that." Another thought occurred to him. "Nothing bad is going to happen to you. You're a member of Rhodes Island now."

"Oh. I am?"

"Yes." He nodded. "That is what you said, that you would join if we won."

And they had, or maybe outlasted was a better word.

FrostNova huffed. "If I had been healthier . . ."

"You likely would've killed us if you had been. You don't regret your decision now, do you?"

FrostNova shook her head. "No. I don't. While I didn't expect to survive, I'm a woman of my word. I . . . " she stared at her hands. "I'm still having some trouble believing it."

"Hah. To be honest I think everyone else feels the same. We all thought the worst for awhile, when you were in that coma and all."

"How long have I been out?"

Now that was another good question.

He shuffled in his seat. "A lot has happened . . . it's been months."

FrostNova stared at him with what could only be described as shock. "Months?!"

"Yes."

"What happened during those months? Tell me."

And not for the first time that day, Doctor Y/N buckled down for yet another long winded explanation.

********

A/N: To be honest I wasn't sure where to end this. Should be having a SilverAsh centered one shot and a Rosmontis one shot showing up in the future so stay tuned. Don't forget to vote and comment! And if you want a continuation of this feel free to leave suggestions here.