The Rescue
CHAPTER 4: THE RESCUE
Harry wasn’t stupid. He knew he shouldn’t have said yes so quickly to the stranger’s offer. He was just so hungry and tired that anywhere was better than his cupboard. He surprised even himself when he allowed the man in the nice suit to help him out of his room. The gentle touches and careful hands made Harry’s stomach feel all tingly—he kind of didn’t want them to stop.
But of course, Harry never deserved good things which was why when the man pulled away, Harry wasn’t surprised. Disappointed, yes. But not surprised.
A shuffling sound distracted Harry from his thoughts. As he turned his head slowly towards the door, it was then he saw his aunt and uncle facing the hallway wall with their hands raised above their heads. There was another man wearing a similar suit to the man next to him standing behind his relatives. Shocked by the scene, Harry stilled and held his breath.
Oh, no. He thought. They be so mad at me!
As if the man read his mind, he crouched next to Harry and began whispering all sorts of things Harry barely understood.
“It’s okay, Harry. They can’t touch you. They won’t hurt you again. Ever. I’ll make sure of that, okay? We’ll be out of this place very soon and you don’t have to see them again. Look at me, please, buddy,” The man urged him in the most gentle of voices Harry ever heard anyone speak. Even the librarian didn’t talk to him in such a way!
When Harry finally did do as he’s told, he found the stranger had been crying. Harry stood there, confused of the events that unfolded right in front of him. He never saw anyone cry apart from Dudley before, especially a man! Only babies cry. Harry hadn’t even cried since he was 4 and a half when Uncle Vernon locked him outside for a whole night.
“Are… are you ‘kay?” Harry quietly asked, itching to raise one of his hands and wipe the tears away like he’d seen his aunt do to Dudley many times before.
The man quickly wiped his own tears using the back of his hand and gave Harry a sad sort of smile. “I’m okay, bud,” the man replied, almost as if he was amused and hurt by the question. Adults were weird sometimes, Harry realized.
Harry nodded anyway. He learned never to ask many questions. The man already promised he’ll never be hurt by his aunt and uncle again. He didn’t want to annoy him further.
“Harry? Kid?” the man called his attention again. “Do you have anything you want to bring?”
Harry turned to look inside his room. He didn’t have much but it was all he had. He knew better than to think he’ll be given anything more now that he humiliated and angered his relatives. He nodded his head slightly and crawled back inside his cupboard to grab his blanket, the broken toy soldiers, his few clothes, and the sign he made when he turned five.
The man waited patiently behind him. The other man had already taken his aunt and uncle outside the house for whatever reasons. Harry wondered as he crawled back outside, where his cousin was. If he had to guess, Dudley was probably still sleeping like a log up in his room.
“This all I got, Mister,” Harry spoke clearly, knowing how much adults hated his childish voice.
The man’s eye twitched. “Please, call me Tony, for now, Harry.” Without waiting for Harry’s reply, the man, Mr. Tony, reached out both hands for Harry to drop his things. As Harry carefully placed his meager possessions in Mr. Tony’s hands, he wished the man didn’t plan on throwing them out. In his heart, he knew Mr. Tony wouldn’t do that, yet the fear of losing everything still scared Harry.
“Okay,” Mr. Tony said as he delicately wrapped all of Harry’s stuff inside the blanket and tucked it under his arm. When he finished, he stood again and surprisingly, held out a hand for Harry. “C’mon, Harry. Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”
Unsure of what to do, but unwilling to lose the chance of being held even only by a hand, Harry cautiously gripped Mr. Tony’s hand and let him be guided outside the house.
There were three more people outside the house, one wore a very nice suit like Mr. Tony and his companion. But the other two were wearing police uniforms! Harry immediately tensed and stopped on his tracks. His uncle always told him he’ll be taken by the police and sent to prison if he was being bad. Harry really didn’t want to go to prison! Mr. Tony never said he’d take Harry to prison!
“Harry! Harry, c’mon now, bud. It’s alright. Breathe with me, okay, sweetheart?” Breathe with me,” Mr. Tony’s voice was frantic in his ears, but Harry wasn’t responding. He’s going to prison. He didn’t want to go to prison! He didn’t mean to go with Mr. Tony. He didn’t mean to be bad!
Harry felt lightheaded all of a sudden. He realized he couldn’t breathe. Black dots started appearing everywhere. He was just so hungry.
“Shit! Happy, get the door!” someone cursed, and then unexpectedly, Harry felt himself being lifted from the ground. He wanted to kick and scream. To beg anyone not to take him to prison. He wanted to fight.
But all Harry did was melt in the touch and sobbed.
“It’s okay, Harry. Please, baby, darling boy. You’re going to be okay, I promise.”
**
Harry wasn’t calming down.
He was fine a minute ago, but when they stepped out of the house, Harry suddenly started hyperventilating. Tony tried to grab his attention without touching him so much in fear of triggering a panic attack, or god-forbid, a flashback. When things didn’t seem to improve, one of the officers Happy called in ahead approached them to help while the other one stayed with the Dursleys and the social service caseworker.
However, before the officer reached them, Harry swayed to his side. His eyes rolled upwards and Tony panicked. “Shit! Happy, get the door!” He screamed as he caught his son before he fell fully on the rough concrete. The officer, who was much closer to the car, stepped in and quickly helped Tony get inside the car.
“Take him to East Surrey! It’s the nearest one,” said the officer with urgency. “We’ll take care of things here.”
Tony somehow managed to thank him in between reassuring his child and keeping his own panic on hold. Harry had fainted for a second and proceeded to cry onto Tony’s shoulder before promptly fainting again. As a father—new as the position was, seeing his son, his baby pass out was scarier than being kidnapped and forced to build weapons. He never thought that sort of fear would ever be surpassed.
But here he was, screaming at Happy to drive faster as he cradled Harry’s limp body tightly to his chest. The only thing that kept him from going insane was the shallow, obstructed but there breathing his little boy was making.
News and pictures of Tony Stark frantically barging into an NHS hospital’s emergency care unit in Surrey, England with a child in his arms would become the biggest scoop of the month for every news station and print industry the very next morning. And yet, Tony didn’t care. He— well, Pepper can deal with that mess. The only matter he cared about right now was making sure Harry was fine.
The doctors and nurses in East Surrey Hospital were obviously stunned by the American billionaire’s presence, but they were also mostly professional. One doctor— Tony learned her name was Dr. Kline later on— immediately guided Tony towards an open bed to place Harry in. She began checking for vitals and responses while asking Tony multiple questions, never making it a big deal that she was talking to someone who could very well buy the whole county she lived in.
Tony wasn’t sure how coherent his responses were. Truth be told, the only reason Dr. Kline even got the information she needed was that Happy followed him inside soon after and managed to give her the rundown of the events. Tony was pretty sure Happy brought over with him a couple of NDAs. He almost always has a copy of them in his person.
Fifteen minutes later, Harry was wheeled into a private room with Tony hovering behind like a duck. They attached IVs and an oxygen mask on Harry, making him look smaller than he already was. The initial report was already alarming. His son’s blood pressure was extremely low and he lacked about every vitamin there was in the body. He was also severely dehydrated. Not to mention, the bruising in his shoulder when they cut off the baggy shirt Harry was wearing was telling. Tony didn’t know what to do. Things were worse than he imagined.
If he only reached out when he came back from Afghanistan like he said he would in the cave, then Harry wouldn’t be lying in a hospital bed right now. He would have been happy playing with a thousand toys. His only worry would have been which favorite food he’ll want for dinner next. Tony would have spoiled the hell out of his son.
Instead, Harry laid unconscious in a bed too large for him, unable to breathe well enough on his own. Instead, Tony sat on an uncomfortable chair beside his son and prayed to the gods he never really believed in to make Harry okay.
There was so much Tony owed his son. He hoped he can still make up for everything. He hoped Harry would still let him. He hadn’t been around his son for more than a few hours and yet he was already hopelessly in love with the little boy. He was just so beautiful. Tony never knew someone could look as beautiful and perfect as Harry.
The officer who was present at the Dursley’s home came by and informed Tony they’ll be talking tomorrow morning instead so Tony could focus on Harry for the time being. Tony made a mental note to send them a gift of thanks.
It was half an hour later when Dr. Kline came knocking on the door.
“Hello, Mr. Stark. How are we doing tonight?” Dr. Kline asked with a kind smile, looking over at Harry with a touch of fondness.
Tony shrugged. “He hasn’t woken up fully yet but I think I felt his hand move?”
“That’s fairly normal. His body had been in survival mode for so long. He needs all the rest he can get. It is likely that he hadn’t eaten in a few days, hence the fainting. Added by the occurrence of a panic attack earlier, it seemed like his body had finally decided to… reboot, as it were.”
“He’s… Doc, will Harry be okay?” Tony asked, keeping his gaze on the small child, pleading evident in his tone.
“He will be fine, Mr. Stark,” assured the medical professional. “I think Harry is a very strong boy, but he’s going to need every bit of help he can get.”
Tony already knew that much. Harry will be getting all the attention and help he needs. He’ll make sure of that.
When Dr, Kline left, Tony eventually decided to stop ignoring the messages and missed calls on his phone. He talked to Pepper for a few minutes before Harry was taken to a room, but it was quick and brief. He told Pepper the short version of the events and then handed the phone to Happy so he can explain further. Again. Rhodey was on deployment so it was unlikely he was aware of whatever was happening. Clint had called him thrice and left ten text messages ranging from asking where the remote was to threatening him with paintballs to his office if he didn’t call him back. Natasha called once but didn’t leave a message. Bruce was the same, though he tried calling twice. To his surprise, even Steve tried to contact him. It was a short text message, but enough to make Tony feel grateful for the support around him.
Hey, Tony. If you need a hand or just some time alone, just say the word. -S.R.
It turns out, Harry wasn’t the only one who will need all the help he can get.