Internship Diaries

(First part)

He struggled to open his eyes. It was as if he were in a heavy fog, everything was blurry and confused. Breathing felt strange to him; there was something uncomfortable in his throat. The sounds around him seemed distant, but he could hear someone whispering his name  . The lights were blinding him, but when he finally came to some clarity, he felt the tube in his throat being pulled. With this movement, he felt both relief and an emptiness filling him.

Her breathing still felt labored, as if her lungs were filling with air for the first time. Someone standing next to her, probably a nurse, was saying, "Everything's fine, you'll be better now," in a calm, reassuring voice. The voice reassured her, but  also seemed distant.

His eyes slowly began to pick out the details in the room. The white walls, the monotonous sounds of the machines, and the face standing next to him became more and more familiar to him. He couldn't remember exactly what had happened, but he was here now, and that was enough for him.  He tried to turn his head slightly, to look around, but his body was still too weak.

The young hero couldn't help but wonder what had happened to him. However, today he was going on vacation with May.

The rest was blurry. He tried to remember what had happened. He forced his brain to go back in time. But it was no use.

When he opened his eyes fully, he saw Tony standing next to him.

"Hey, you finally decided to wake up, huh Pete," he said.

Peter wanted to answer, but it was still a little hard to breathe. “Tony?” he whispered forcefully.

"Stickin' to your Peter style again, huh, buddy? Good thing you're awake." Tony had his arms crossed over his chest. He had his signature smile on his face, but his hair and beard were unkempt. He couldn't smell the perfume coming off him.

Peter looked around again: the constant beeping of his heart monitor  , the oximeter on his finger, the cuff on his arm measuring his blood pressure, the oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth, the infusion pumps, the catheter he was so embarrassed to have, the pain management pump, the emergency devices immediately to his right.

Peter seriously began to wonder what had happened to him.

“What happened to me, Tony?” he asked.

Tony suddenly became more serious. “It was a bit of a mess this time, Peter. But you got through it, thankfully. You should hold off on the hero stuff for a bit longer.”

Tony didn't give a complete answer, which made Peter think. "But why am I here?" he asked.

"You and your aunt had an accident. Don't worry, your aunt is fine."

Peter tried to sit up but fell back onto the bed because of the pain in his chest. “Don’t make me get Helen Pete, stay calm. May is fine but she’s in another hospital and you ’re at  Stark Industries  .”

Peter threw his tense body onto the bed. “How did the accident happen?” he asked.

"First, pull yourself together, kid, or the conversation will be spoiled if you talk any more. Trust me, May is fine, you'll be fine too," Tony said with a wink.

At that moment, Helen came in. When she saw Peter awake. "Are you still awake, Peter? Come on, you need to rest," she said a little angry but also naive.

Helen checked a few things before leaving the room and closing the door. Tony sat there staring at his tablet. Peter fell silent.

When the young hero woke up again, he was alone in the room, but not for long. After a while, the door opened. Pepper and Tony walked in.

Seeing Pepper's red eyes and slightly curved lips, Peter said, "Hey. I'm fine Pep, please don't cry."

Pepper sat down next to Peter at the head and hugged him gently. It was a little difficult to hug him with all that equipment.

“Pete, you scared the hell out of me,” he continued, his voice trembling. “Tony got a call all of a sudden and before he knew it, you and May were coming to the hospital. Happy brought us to you. You slept for two days, intubated, Peter.”

Peter shook Pepper's hand. "I'm fine, really, Pep. How's May?"

"We couldn't bring him here, Peter. He's in the hospital in town. But he's fine."

"To tell you the truth, I don't remember the accident, Pepper. Is this normal?" said Peter.

"It's okay, honey. Helen and I just talked. You hit your head and neck during the accident."

Tony was standing and listening to Peter and Pepper. “I think that’s enough emotional talk, Pep. Peter should get some more rest. I also spoke to May’s doctor and we can set up a video call for tomorrow, but only if you calm down.”

Tony started his speech sarcastically and finished it seriously.

“I've been asleep for two days already, Tony,” said Peter.

"Sleep or I'll sell all the stuff I gave you," Tony said. Peter tried to laugh, but the movement caused pain. His eyes closed and he went back to sleep.

It was pain that woke Peter from a deep and peaceful sleep.

He woke up with a light groan. His face and forehead were covered in sweat. His hair was wet with sweat. When he opened his eyes, he saw that it was dark. The clock on his monitor showed 2 am.

When Helen entered the room, she turned on the lamp. “Peter, are you in pain, honey?” she asked.

“Yes, Helen,” said the young hero in a low voice. “I need to check your breathing before I give you any medicine, Peter. For some reason, it’s a little slow,” said Helen. Peter nodded.

His chest was tight and sore. Helen quickly listened to Peter's already exposed chest with a stethoscope. She increased the oxygen in the oxygen mask. Peter felt relief when he encountered fresh, cool air. At that moment, Tony entered the room.

“What's going on, Helen?” he asked, coming up to Peter.

"There's nothing to worry about, Tony. His body is just having a hard time getting enough oxygen from the pain he's in. Don't panic, it's usually temporary."

As Helen spoke, she injected something into Peter's IV port with the needle in her hand.

“Pete, how you doing, man?” Tony asked nervously.

“I just... had a little trouble breathing.”

“How are you now, Peter?” Helen asked.

"He's definitely better," Peter said. Tony looked at Helen stressfully. "These things happen during the recovery process, Tony. We'll continue oxygen therapy," he said. Tony relaxed a little.

Peter fell asleep again. This time he woke up feeling a little better. Pepper was next to him. The oxygen mask was pulled down below his chin.

“Pep?”

“Peter, honey. How are you?”

"I feel really good Pep. I have a favor to ask of you, can you tell me exactly what happened? You said you had an accident, but how did it hurt me?"

“Honey, I think this should be explained later. Your body shouldn't be under too much stress.”

"Come on, Pep, I've been through worse," Peter convinced him.

"When you first arrived, my dear, you were thrown forward to protect May from the impact, which is why  your chest was damaged and your head hit the dashboard. When you first arrived, you were so pale and short of breath that they took you for a chest X-ray and a CT scan. There was a large air leak and blood pooling in your right lung. You also had several broken ribs,  which were pressing on your lungs, but thankfully your head was fine. While they were trying to stabilize you, your oxygen levels dropped. After you were intubated, Helen spoke to the anesthesiologists about surgery. Your chest wall was opened and  you were taken to intensive care after the surgery. You were on a ventilator until your lung tissue healed. You stayed that way for about two days." Pepper's eyes filled with tears again as she told him this. Peter was surprised to hear how serious the situation was.

"But I'm fine now, Pep, please don't cry. And thank you for telling me," Peter said sincerely.

Pepper stood up and stroked Peter's brown hair, kissing the top of his head. As Pepper continued to stroke Peter's hair, the young hero had already fallen asleep.

After a while, Tony walked in.

“What’s up, Pep. How’s the kid?” he said quietly.

"Good, Tony. I told him what happened this morning. Your situation, I mean. He took it very maturely for most kids. In fact, I'd say it consoled me."

Tony walked over to Pepper and took her hands. "He's not an ordinary kid, Pep. He's a special kid."

Peter smiled when he woke up to see Pepper and Tony sleeping on the couch next to him. The sleeping couple woke up when Helen walked in.

“How are you Peter? Are you in any pain?” Helen asked.

"I'm fine Helen, when will I be released?" Peter asked.

“Not now, that’s for sure,” Tony said. “Tony is right, Peter, unfortunately you won’t be getting discharged anytime soon.”

“But I'm so bored,” said Peter.

"It's been 2 days, counting the day you woke up, Pete, how come you're bored? It's all in order, son, don't rush," Tony said.

“I’m not in a hurry, I just want to be myself again,” Peter said shyly. After Helen did the routine checks, she straightened the bed a little and asked Peter, “Are you dizzy?” The young hero replied, “No, you’re not.”

At that moment, a physiotherapist and a nurse walked in. Helen said, "Let's see how you react to walking."

Peter looked excited. He turned to Tony and looked a little worried.

The physical therapist introduced herself and explained to Peter how to get up. Tony asked, “Are you ready, son?” Peter nodded slowly. Pepper said, “Don’t push yourself if there’s a problem, honey.”

Slowly, she tried to get up, holding on to the edge of the bed. She was wearing a hospital gown. The physiotherapist and Tony were standing next to her, ready to support her. But when she started to put weight on her legs, everything stopped for a moment. She felt like she was going to faint.

Tony quickly walked over to Peter and placed his hand on the young hero's back.

"Calm down, we're not rushing. Slowly, step by step," he said. His voice was full of love.

Peter  forced himself to stand up, supporting himself with Tony's left hand. His legs continued to shake. The ground seemed to be shaking. His head continued to spin. However, as soon as he tried to take a few steps, he lost his balance and held on to Tony more tightly to avoid falling to the ground.

“I know it’s hard,” Tony said encouragingly.

As Peter had difficulty breathing, the oximeter on his finger showed his oxygen levels were dropping.

"I have to stop," he whispered as beads of sweat formed on Peter's face.

Helen quickly laid Peter back down on the bed. An oxygen mask was placed over his face. The young hero had a troubled expression on his face. Tony sat at the foot of Peter's bed.

"Hey, I know it's hard, but you took the first step today, my friend, you can take the second step tomorrow, it'll come in time. And I  have a surprise for you, I'm going to video call May right now." Peter was instantly happy when Tony said this. He raised his hand and tried to lower the oxygen mask, but Pepper stopped him. "You'll take it off when your oxygen levels get higher, honey, but for now it's going to stay in place," she warned.

Tony turned on his tablet and a familiar face was on the screen. Peter smiled at that. May had nothing on her face.

“Peter, dear!” May said, her voice shaking.

“Hello May, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, my dear. The doctors are taking very good care of me. How about you?”

"I'm fine too, May. Pepper, Tony, and Helen are with me."

"Oh honey, I would love to be with you, but the doctors say that with physiotherapy, I can be discharged within a month."

“I wish I were with you, May.” Peter’s eyes watered, and every time he spoke, his oxygen machine would fog up and his voice would become muffled.

"Honey, you are a very strong child and you will continue to be so. Of course we will meet and continue our conversations like before and we will return home. Besides, Happy is with me and never leaves me alone. Don't worry, okay?"

Peter felt a little relieved by May's speech to him.

After talking a little more, the conversation ended. Peter looked at Tony and said, "Tony, why is May going to have physiotherapy?"

Tony simply said, "May's left leg was trapped during the accident and suffered multiple fractures. Don't worry, it was fixed with surgery, but she will need some physical therapy and the doctors I personally arranged will help her."

Peter took a deep breath, at least May's life wasn't in danger, he thought.

As Tony petted Peter's hair, the young hero fell into a peaceful sleep.