Chapter 22
It had been three weeks since Stephen fell unconscious. The doctors were doing their best, but there was no improvement in his condition. Tony hadn’t left his side even once. Peter visited occasionally, his heart aching to see his papa like that. But the boy believed in his daddy. He had said his papa would come back for him—and he did. And this time, he believed it would happen again.
"Pete, you don't have to come to the hospital every day. May will take care of you at the Tower," Tony said gently.
"I want to see Papa every day," the boy insisted.
"Pete, kids can’t always be in the hospital. Do you see any other kids here who don’t have any ouchies?" Tony asked.
Peter shook his head. "No," he said softly.
"Exactly. So, please go with May. I’ll come and get you when Papa wakes up, alright?" Tony assured him.
"Pinky promise?" Peter asked, pouting.
"Pinky promise," Tony said, sealing it with a kiss on the boy’s head.
"Love you, Pete," Tony whispered, pulling him into a tight hug.
"Love you too, Daddy," Peter replied.
Tony turned to May. "Please look after him."
"Of course, I will. Don't worry," she reassured him with a smile before leading Peter away.
Once they were gone, Tony went straight to Christine’s office.
"Hey, Tony," Christine greeted him.
"Why isn’t Stephen waking up?" Tony demanded.
"Tony, we’re doing our—" Christine began.
"Your best, right? I'm tired of hearing that. I want to know what’s really happening. I may not be a medical doctor, but I’m a genius. Explain it to me," Tony pressed.
Christine sighed. "As I told you before, the excessive blood loss has caused damage to his brain. Even if he wakes up from the coma, he might suffer from memory loss."
"Memory loss as in…? He’ll forget everything?" Tony asked, his voice laced with fear.
"We can’t say for sure yet, but we hope it won’t be that severe," Christine replied.
"Christine, isn’t there any way to bring him back?" Tony pleaded desperately.
"Tony, let’s wait until he wakes up," Christine said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Back in the hospital room, Tony sat beside Stephen, gently caressing his head.
"Steph, you’ve suffered too much because of my mistakes. I can’t bear it anymore. Please come back. We miss you," he whispered, pressing a soft kiss to Stephen’s forehead.
Suddenly, Stephen’s breathing grew rapid.
"Steph?" Tony called, panic creeping into his voice.
"Somebody get Christine!" he shouted. A nurse hurried out to fetch her.
Moments later, Stephen’s eyelids fluttered open. He blinked, staring up at Tony in confusion.
"Hey," Tony said, his eyes filling with tears.
Stephen just stared at him, bewildered.
"I'm not dead?" Stephen croaked, his voice muffled by the oxygen mask.
"No, you’re not," Tony reassured him, smiling through his tears.
When Christine arrived, she performed a thorough check-up. The room was filled with people—Tony, Bruce, Wong, and the Avengers—all anxiously watching.
"Stephen, how do you feel?" Christine asked with a smile.
"I'm okay," Stephen responded.
"Do you remember us?" she asked carefully.
"I don't think I have hypoxic-ischemic amnesia, Christine," Stephen said matter-of-factly.
Christine exhaled in relief. He remembered her. He remembered being a doctor. But she needed to confirm further.
"I know, but can you name everyone in this room?" she asked gently.
"Of course," Stephen said confidently. "Steve, Natasha, Clint, Bruce, Thor, Pepper, Rhodey, and Tony, my husband."
Everyone froze.
He hadn’t mentioned Wong, which left Wong visibly disappointed. But more than that, everyone was stunned by his casual mention of Tony as his husband.
"Where’s Peter? Was he worried?" Stephen asked suddenly, his voice filled with concern.
"He was worried. I’ll bring him soon," Tony reassured him.
"Who’s taking care of him? He must have been crying for me. Is May with him?" Stephen asked, his panic rising.
"Yes, May and Happy took care of him. He must be at school right now," Tony said soothingly.
"School? What are you talking about? Why is our six-month-old son in school?" Stephen asked, completely confused.
The room fell into a stunned silence.
"What?" Stephen asked, his eyes darting between their shocked faces.
Then he noticed his hands—scarred, shaking.
"What happened to my hands? Why are they shaking? And these scars—?" His voice broke as he looked at Tony in horror.
"Somebody, please tell me!" Stephen shouted, tears spilling from his eyes.
"Hey, hey, I’ll explain everything. But you need to rest now. I’m staying with you. Please, just rest," Tony murmured, pulling him into his arms.
"Tony, I don’t understand anything," Stephen sobbed against his chest.
"I know, baby. I’ll tell you everything. Trust me. Just sleep for now," Tony whispered, kissing his forehead.
"I trust you," Stephen murmured, his body slowly relaxing in Tony’s embrace.
Tony held him close, his own heart shattering. Stephen trusted him—because he didn’t remember what had happened. He didn’t remember everything Tony had done to him.
But this wasn’t the time to dwell on that. He had to focus on what came next.
Outside the room, Christine briefed the others.
"The thing we feared has happened—Stephen has memory loss. He thinks he just survived the car accident and that it’s still 2017," she explained.
They had sedated Stephen so he could rest while they discussed the situation.
"So, he doesn’t remember he’s a sorcerer?" Wong asked grimly.
"No. He’s forgotten everything after the accident. And right now, he’s experiencing the same trauma all over again," Christine confirmed.
"I saw how bad it was back then. I can’t watch him relive it," Tony said, running a hand over his face.
"But the worst part will be when he realizes he’s lost the last three years of his life," Bruce pointed out.
"What should we do?" Tony asked.
"You need to tell him—gently. He might react badly, but he deserves to know. And only you can do it, Tony," Christine said firmly.
Tony felt like the ground was crumbling beneath him. This had all happened because of him. Stephen was suffering because of him.
Later, he returned to the hospital room and lay down beside Stephen, wrapping an arm around him protectively.
Stephen was sleeping soundly now. But when he woke up, a storm was coming.
And there was no way to stop it.