Please
Peter swung from his dad’s arms, excited for the hiking trip he had planned with his mom.
He spent almost every minute of every day with his dad unless he was at school or he was at work, so he was definitely looking forward to this hiking trip with his mom and his mom only. Even if it was going to feel weird being without his dad. He was excited about having some one-on-one time with his mom.
“I’m gonna miss you.” Peter said, even with a smile on his face as he swung from his dad’s muscular arm.
“No,” Tony ruffled his curly hair. “you’ll have so much fun. And after you get home, you will tell me all about it. And you better show me pictures.”
Peter placed his feet on the floor, watching his dad move to fill up water bottles with ice cold water. “I will. I’m bringing my camera.” He grabbed it from around his neck, taking a candid picture of his dad. “Smile!”
Tony had gotten him the camera for his twelfth birthday last month and Peter had yet to stop taking pictures of everything. And everyone. Tony even caught him taking a picture of an ant on the floor the other day.
“Oh. Great angle there, Pete. That’ll be a keeper.” Tony joked, putting the water bottles into May’s backpack for her to carry.
With a giggle, Peter held the camera up and aimed it selfie mode so he would get him and his dad in. Tony lifted him up by his under arms and pressed a kiss to his cheek as Peter snapped the picture.
“Now that will be a keeper. I can’t wait to get that printed.”
“Can we go tomorrow?” Asked the boy, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I’m gonna take a million pictures today and I really wanna get them printed for tomorrow.”
Tony didn’t see why not. He had meetings today but it worked out because it was scheduled for when Peter and May would be hiking. Then they’d get home when he did and he could hear all about their mother and son day trip.
“Of course. We can go after breakfast tomorrow.”
“Let’s get going, Peter. We don’t wanna head out too late.” May walked into the kitchen, dressed in blue leggings and a tank top. Tony had gotten Peter dressed in fitted track pants and a sweater since it was still a bit chilly out as it was just past 8am and when he got hot, he could take off his sweater and be wearing a blue shirt.
Tony turned to May and pecked a kiss on her cheek that she pulled away from a bit.
“Come on, Peter. Do you have everything?”
Peter held up his camera, bouncing away from his dad. “Yep!”
Tony followed them towards the front door. He wasn’t surprised with May pulling away from him. They hadn’t been getting along the best in the past couple of weeks. She was stand-off ish and the harder he tried to figure out what was going on with her, the more she pushed away.
Tony wanted to keep trying for Peter so he plastered a smile on his face instead of fighting with her.
Fighting was the last thing he wanted to do right now.
“You guys have fun today. Be safe.” Tony ruffled Peter’s curly curls, he was going to miss him today. Saturdays were daddy and Peter days so it was strange to not be with him today. “Watch him please, May. He’s a wanderer.”
May gave him a weak smile and pressed a kiss onto his lips. “I will, Tony. We’ll be back before dark.”
Tony waved bye to them, watching them get into the car and leave.
That was the last time his life was ever going to be like that again.
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Peter was having a blast.
He had never been hiking before, at least not from what he could remember. He’s seen pictures of him hiking when he was a baby but in every picture his dad was carrying him.
So he was definitely excited to be experiencing this now.
They had been hiking for close to two hours so May decided it was time for a break. “Let’s sit here. It’s a beautiful view.”
Peter was ready to keep going. He jumped onto a rock and took a picture of the view. “Wow. It’s so beautiful! I feel like I can touch a cloud from up here!”
May pulled out two waters from her bag. “Peter, come take a sip of water. Let’s sit for a few minutes before we continue.”
“But I’m not tired, mom! I wanna keep going.” He whined even as he sat down next to her and took his water bottle, taking exactly two sips then standing back up.
A man and a woman walked out of the forest and gave them warm smiles. May returned the gesture.
“Couldn’t have picked a better day for a hike.” The older man said, smiling at Peter.
May agreed. “The weather is beautiful.”
Peter was too energetic to sit down. He wanted to go exploring more so he tugged on his mom’s hand. “Let’s go! Let’s go! I wanna reach the top.”
“Have you ever seen the view from up there?” The woman asked him. They were in their late fifties to early sixties and looked to be enjoying their weekend together. From the way they were prepared, it looked like they’ve been doing this hike for years.
Peter shyly shook his head, moving closer to his mom. “No. It’s my first time.”
“Well, it’s beautiful. You’ll like it, I have a feeling.”
Peter smiled shyly and turned to his mom. He wanted to get going but first he needed to take a few pictures. “Can I go take a picture over there with my camera?”
May looked towards the cliff and hesitated. “Don’t go too close to the edge. Then come back here and we’ll have some snacks.”
Peter jumped off the log he was standing on and squealed. “Yay! Okay!”
May smiled at him then turned to the two new people. “So how long have you two been hiking for?”
The man chuckled. “Way too long to remember. We actually met on a hike when we were twenty one.”
May nodded. “Wow. Sounds like it was meant to be.”
Peter was excited to explore more. He walked towards the edge of the cliff and took a picture, looking out onto the view. They were high up, the area his mom was in was covered by trees and bushes then the cliff had a ton of rocks leading out to the lookout point. It was beautiful.
Peter took a picture then wrapped the camera strap around his wrist and jumped onto a rock, giggling at his excitement. He looked back at his mom but she was too busy talking to the older people so Peter jumped onto the next rock to get a better view.
“Wow.” He whispered to himself. He took another step but the rock started to crumble from under him. “Oof.” He lost his balance and went to step back but the rock pulled his feet out from under him and he began falling off the cliff.
May turned around and saw Peter standing too close to the edge. She opened her mouth to tell him to back up but she saw him lose his balance and disappear over the edge.
She screamed. “NO! PETER!” May jumped up and ran towards the edge of the cliff. Her heart was beating so fast she couldn’t process any thoughts or even feel her body. “PETER! PETER!”
She fell onto her hands and knees and turned to the other two people. “HELP! HELP ME!”
They were frozen at what they saw. The man immediately pulled out his phone, presumably to call 911 while the woman raced over to look over the other side of the cliff, trying to spot Peter down below.
She looked over the edge, hoping to see Peter caught on a branch or something but she couldn’t see anything.
May pulled out her phone with shaky hands and dialled 911 as well. She couldn’t just sit around. “911 what’s your emergency?”
“Help me! My son just fell off a cliff! I-I can't see him! Oh my god oh my god oh my god.” She began pacing the rocks, thinking of how she was going to have to tell Tony Peter was dead, how she was going to live life without her son anymore. Maybe it was karma for everything she’s done…
“Alright, ma’am, can you see him from where you are now?”
The woman on the phone was calm. May was going crazy with fear. “No. I can’t.” She raced towards the edge and put her legs over it, preparing to go down but it was at least a twenty foot drop onto some rocks and then it fell off over another cliff. She couldn’t see Peter at all with all the trees, bushes and rocks. “Oh my god. Please help him! He’s hurt! He needs help!”
“I have traced your call, ma’am, search and rescue are on their way now. Can you tell me your son's name?”
May was crying. She had to think about the question. “It’s Peter. His name is Peter Stark. Oh god. He’s only twelve years old.”
She looked over the cliff again. “PETER?! PETER?! PETER?!”
May stayed on the phone for less than ten minutes before she heard a helicopter. The 911 dispatcher told her and the others to step back so they could land the helicopter and immediately men in gear and harnesses were jumping out.
“Where exactly did he fall?”
May ran towards the edge. “Right here. Please help him. Oh my god oh my god.”
They hooked their harnesses up to the helicopter and they jumped down, not even hesitating. May fell onto the ground and prayed to god that they found her little boy alive. She didn’t know how he could survive that fall, he was so small and that fall was… it was too high and straight onto hard rocks.
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Peter slipped off the ledge of the cliff and he tried to reach out to grab onto something but there was nothing to grab onto.
He free fell about twenty feet and landed hard on the rocks down below, smacking the side of his body first then his head. He didn’t feel any pain though, just his heart beating heavily in his chest from the fear.
Then he was falling some more, he smacked a tree branch and tried to grab onto it but he couldn’t. He landed on a dirt pile and rolled down a hill, smacking his body hard into another rock.
Peter tried to take a breath from everything happening all at once and it was just too much. Before he could process it, he was falling again.
He fell about thirty feet and his camera strap caught the side of a tree, stopping him from hitting the ground from a forty feet fall that would have killed him on impact.
The branch broke but not before snapping his wrist that the strap had been attached to.
He fell the rest of the ten feet, landing on the ground below, knocking him unconscious.
Peter laid there for seven minutes unconscious, bones broken, and body bleeding.
He woke up with a gasp.
The first thing he noticed was how bright the sun was. It was shining down on him and burning his eyes. The next thing he noticed was that everything hurt and he screamed.
And screamed.
And screamed.
He screamed until he didn’t have any more energy left in him then he fell unconscious again.
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“I think I see him.” The men moved further down. They had already climbed down over sixty feet and were starting to think the child didn’t fall here or they missed him. Until…
“I see him. I have eyes on the child.”
“Is he alive?” Responded the voice on the intercom.
“I’m not sure yet. We’re on the ground now.” The three men ran over to the boy, heavy gear making their strides slower, and noticed that he wasn’t moving. There was a puddle of blood under him seeking out onto the rocks below him.
The first man kneeled down and placed two gentle fingers on the boy's neck, feeling for a heartbeat. It was weak but it was there. “I have a heartbeat. He’s alive!”
There was cheering on the other end but now they had to get him up and to a hospital as soon as possible.
One of the men brought over the board and a neck brace. As he was placing it on Peter, the boy's eyes snapped open and he began screaming again. Both from the pain and from the fear. He was scared and terrified and he wanted his dad.
“Shh shh. We’re alright now. We’re going to get you some help.” He carefully rolled Peter onto his side, unaware of what this kind of fall would do to him, he obviously hit his head pretty hard.
Peter was crying now. He was looking at all the men knelt over him, unable to focus on any of them. He started crying harder.
“Hi Peter. My name is Clint. And this is Sam and Bucky. Can you tell me how old you are?”
Peter was looking between them all. He was moved onto the board and cried out then tried to focus on the question. How old was he? He just had a birthday, he thinks? He was…
“He must have smacked his head. We have to hope there’s no long term deficits.”
“He’s making eye contact.” Sam pointed out, looking at Peter then up at the cliff he fell from. “You’re a tough little guy, you know that? This will be a story you’re gonna tell all your friends about one day. So just hold on, alright.”
Peter wanted his dad. He started crying again. Had he even stopped? He started coughing and then he felt like he was being lifted up. “D-daddy. I… wan’… daddy.” He cried.
“Alright. You’ll see him soon. Just hold on. Where is he?” Clint asked, trying to keep the young boy awake and alert.
Peter started coughing again, feeling something wet come out of his mouth.
“He’s coughing up blood. Bucky.” Sam looked at the man who was in charge of the controls to pull them up.
Peter went to lift his arm up but he couldn’t move. He let out a scream. He couldn’t move but everything hurt him. “Daddy. Daddy. Daddy.” He cried, barely above a whisper.
“He must have internal injuries. Probably bad. We need to get him to a hospital fast.”
Sam looked at the camera strapped around the boy's wrist. His wrist was obviously broken, along with all the other bones in his body. But he focused on his wrist. “How the hell did this boy survive this fall.”
No one knew.
Sam looked at the camera around his wrist again. “I think this caught a tree branch or something. Caught his fall and probably saved his life.”
Peter tried to look towards where his camera was, he remembered it getting caught on a tree branch or something and feeling his wrist snap before he continued falling.
“This boy has something on his side because no one falls almost 100 feet and survives. No way.”
They got to the top where Peter had been openly crying now. He wanted his daddy. He was scared and his daddy was the only person who could make him feel safe and protected and he hurt so badly.
May almost fainted when they told her that Peter was alive. She had to see him to believe it. That drop must have been over 100 feet and he was alive?
She raced to his side when they brought him up. “Peter. My baby. Oh my god. Peter.”
“Ma’am, we have to get him to the hospital. We can fit one person with him. Is that you?”
“Yes. Yes. I’m his mother.”
Peter was loaded into the helicopter and then they were off. May sat by his head, trying to calm him but he was in so much pain. “He’s coughing up blood! What does that mean?”
They didn’t have any tools or equipment to work on Peter in the helicopter so they had to get him to the nearest hospital. “Children’s hospital is too far. We need to take him to Lenox Hill Hospital.”
“We need to take him to a children's hospital.”
“No! He won’t make it. He just fell 100 feet and survived. He’s not dying on the way to a hospital that is way too far. Take him to Lenox Hill Hospital.”
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Tony was in the middle of a meeting when his phone rang.
He felt it vibrating in his pocket and pulled it out just to see if it was May calling him. It was an unknown number and he didn’t receive a lot of those so he thought that maybe May’s phone had died and she was calling him to let him know.
He answered it. “Stark speaking.”
“Mr. Stark, my name is Mary Johnson and I am calling to inform you that your son was in an accident. He is being airlifted to Lenox Hill Hospital right now. I am sorry I don’t have any other information for you.”
Tony’s heart dropped and he was immediately on his feet when he heard that his son had been in an accident. His heart was pounding in his chest.
An accident? Airlifted to the hospital? They were just hiking. What kind of accident was it and how the hell did it happen?
He had no idea what he was going to walk in on.
He raced down to his car, not caring about anyone or anything other than his son.
He had to be okay. Surely Peter just fell and got a few scrapes and maybe a broken arm. A broken leg at the worst.
Tony knew he was going to be okay.
He had to be.
Driving to the hospital happened in one big blur. He had no idea how many red lights he ran but he needed to be there when his son came, he needed Peter to see him and to see if Peter was okay.
Tony clumsily parked his car and ran to the hospital entrance, running up to the front desk. “Please. My son, he’s been in an accident. I got a call saying they’re airlifting him here. Where is he? His name is Peter Stark.”
The woman at the front desk looked at him. “Sir, please wait in the waiting room. A doctor will be out when we have any news. I’m sorry but we cannot give you any information yet because your son hasn’t arrived yet.”
It figures that he got there before them. Peter was being airlifted in a helicopter but Tony drove his car, speeding at an almost impossible speed to get there for Peter. The helicopter was probably the quickest way to the hospital but the mountain they were hiking on was still quite a ways away. He ran a shaky hand through his hair and saw a bunch of doctors running into an elevator.
Tony saw the sign that showed they were heading to the rooftop so Tony ran after them, ignoring anyone who was going to stop him.
“Sir, you can’t go in there. Sir!”
Tony was in an elevator with about eight doctors, all shouting orders at each other. He noticed they all had medical equipment with them and the gurney and it dawned on Tony that Peter didn’t just have a couple scrapes and bumps.
It was obvious from the fact alone that he was being airlifted to a hospital but he refused to see that. His son had to be okay.
His baby couldn’t die.
The elevator doors opened up and Tony saw the helicopter coming in for a landing in the distance. His son was on that helicopter. His baby boy. His child. He had to be okay.
“Please be alive. Please be alive. Please be alive.” Tony repeated the mantra in his head, praying to god or whatever was out there that his son was alive when that helicopter landed.
The wind from the helicopter blades almost knocked him off his feet but once it landed, the doors opened and Tony saw May jump out, crying hysterically. He covered a hand over his mouth upon seeing the tiny little body of Peter Stark lifted out of the helicopter on the gurney and deposited onto the hospital's one.
Tony could see that he was covered in blood.
It was worse than he thought.
Way worse.
The doctor’s started running back into the elevator with his son so he followed them, looking down at his boy. He couldn’t hear what the doctors were saying in the elevator because he was too busy looking at his son.
Peter’s eyes were closed and he had a blanket wrapped around him but his face… his face was covered in blood. Even his hair had blood matted in his curls.
Tony snapped out of it when the elevator dinged and they rushed out.
“What’s the report?” A group of other doctors ran up to them, asking as they all crowded Peter.
“Twelve year old male fell off a cliff while hiking with his mom. He fell over one hundred feet onto rocks down below. Multiple broken bones, fractures, suspected head injuries, internal bleeding. He was coughing up blood.”
Tony wanted to vomit at the news of what happened to his son.
He fell off a cliff. He fell off a fucking cliff. How did that happen?
“Oh god. Okay. Check his pupils. Let’s get him for an MRI and straight to the OR. We need to figure out where he’s bleeding from and stop it.”
“Let’s skip the MRI and get him straight to the OR.” Another doctor argued.
“No. If he has a brain bleed, we need to get that fixed before the internal abdominal injuries.”
Tony was going to be sick.
“He fell off a cliff and landed on rocks down below. It’s a miracle he’s alive. We’ll be lucky if he can even open his eyes, never mind be able to breathe on his own after.”
Tony took a step back. Peter was only twelve. He had his whole life ahead of him. And Tony couldn’t lose him. Peter was his whole world.
“He was talking.”
“What?”
“He was talking to us when we got down to him. He was looking in our eyes, responded to pain and asked for his dad.”
Tony’s heart broke at that. Peter was scared, in pain and asking for him and he wasn’t there.
“I’m his dad.”
Some of the doctors looked at him like they just realized he had been standing there. “Excuse me, sir. You have to go. You can’t be in here.”
“I’m his father. That’s my son that fell off that cliff. Please. Save him. I can’t- I can’t lose my baby boy. Please.” He begged, unable to stop himself from reaching out and touching his boy’s bloodied face.
“Let’s take him for an MRI. Rush him to the front and get him in OR three. The rest of you go scrub and wait for him. And page Dr. Shepherd. Let’s go!”
Tony stepped aside to let them take his son away, praying to the heavens that he would get to watch his little boy grow up. Twelve years wasn’t enough for Tony, he wanted a lifetime with him.
He managed to pull himself together enough to walk towards the waiting area and sit down next to May. May was crying into her hands so he placed a comforting hand on her thigh and she looked at him then cried into his chest.
After a few minutes of that, she pulled away so Tony looked at her. “How did this happen?” He asked, almost in a whisper.
“What?”
“How did our son fall off a one hundred foot cliff? Were you not watching him? What the hell was he doing near a cliff, May?”
May looked at him, something fierce in her eyes. “Are you-wait. Do you think this is my fault? Are you… blaming me?”
Tony stood up and shook his head. He couldn’t do this now. “I might not have a son anymore after today. I… I trusted you to take him hiking. You promised me you’d watch him. Then I get this call…”
“I can’t believe this. I-I was watching him. I was.” May placed her face back in her hands and cried. “I looked away for a minute. We met this couple on the hike. They started talking to me and he wanted to go take a picture by the cliff…”
Tony couldn’t believe this. “May. Oh my god.”
“I looked away for two seconds. He’s twelve years old! He should be old enough to know better!”
Tony spat right back at her. “Exactly! He’s twelve years old. He’s a child! Twelve year olds don’t know any better. He’s curious. You should have been the adult and stopped him instead of talking to strangers!” He sat down in the chair and cried. Why the hell did he agree to this? Why the hell did he let Peter go hiking with his mother?
May sobbed in the chair. “I’m sorry! Don’t blame this on me!”
Tony didn’t really blame her. He should have been there. He should have chosen his son over work. And he should have warned him about the dangers of hiking. He blamed himself.
But if Peter dies today, he wouldn’t be able to look May in the eyes again.
Tony sat there, crying for what felt like hours and waiting for any update on his son when a doctor walked up to them.
“Mr and Mrs. Stark?”
“Yes. I’m his father. Please tell me he’s okay.” Tony was on his feet immediately, needing to know.
“Your son is stable. He is still in surgery though. He suffered tremendous injuries.”
Tony looked away. “Oh god.”
“Can you tell us anything else?” May stood up, grabbing Tony’s hand.
“Someone will be out shortly for an update, however there is no time right now. Peter is losing a lot of blood and he needs a blood transfusion. Are any of you ab negative?”
Tony looked at May. He was thirty four years old and he didn’t know his blood type.
“Can you test me? I’m his father, that has to mean I can give him my blood.”
“Please follow me. We will get you tested and if you’re a match, we will need to start drawing your blood. Unfortunately just because you’re his father does not mean you can give him your blood. You can be his father, but still have different blood types.”
Tony followed him into a room and sat down as instructed. He knew he would be a match. He had to do something to help his baby because he couldn’t just sit around and wait-
“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark. You are not a match for Peter’s blood.”
Tony looked at him. “What? So then what happens? If you don’t have blood to give him… what will you do?”
“We will find blood. We just have to have another hospital send it over.” The doctor explained and took his gloves off, standing up. “Someone will be out shortly to update you. Please wait in the waiting room again.”
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It was eight excruciating hours before anyone came to speak to them.
Two doctors walked out looking completely exhausted. “Mr. Stark. Mrs. Stark.”
Tony stood up. “Is Peter okay? Is he alive?”
“Your son is alive and is in the recovery room.” The doctor proudly stated.
Both parents let out a huge sigh of relief.
“Your son suffered life threatening injuries so the next twenty four hours are crucial.”
Tony nodded, taking it in stride. “Can we see him?” Tony was hopeful. He needed to see his son.
The doctors hesitated and Tony picked up on that. “What? What’s wrong? He’s okay, isn’t he?”
“Please, have a seat.”
“No. Tell me my son is okay.”
“Mr. Stark. Your son is alive. Please, have a seat.” Knowing the doctors weren’t going to start talking until he was sitting, Tony sat down next to May, holding her hand. “Mr and Mrs. Stark, your son surviving that fall was a miracle. Please prepare yourselves for what I’m about to tell you,” Tony stopping breathing. “Peter has a broken ankle, and his pelvis was shattered in one area and was fixed in surgery, he has three broken ribs, a broken right arm and a left shattered wrist.” The doctor stopped to let them take all that in. “His spleen was ruptured and removed, we also removed his appendix. Now, all these injuries will heal in time with help from rehab, but what my concern is is Peter’s head injury. When he fell, he suffered severe bleeding and swelling. Now, our surgeon, Dr. Shepherd was able to stop the bleeding and the swelling but until Peter wakes up, we won’t know just how much damage it caused.”
Tony had to process all of that.
On top of the endless injuries, Peter could never be the same again, if he even wakes up at all that is.
“But… you can fix him… if he… wakes up with…” He didn’t even know how to finish that sentence. “What could happen?”
“Well, Peter could wake up with difficulties. We won’t know for sure until he wakes up.”
Tony squeezed Mays hand. “Can we see him?”
Walking into Peter’s room was terrifying.
He was basically one giant cast. He had a bandage wrapped around his head from the brain surgery and he had his arm in a cast along with his wrist and both legs. Tony broke down at the sight of him. His baby.
“Oh Baby. My little boy.” Tony sat down on the chair next to the bed, afraid to touch him. “Peter. Daddy’s here, baby. I’m here. Just rest and try to get better for me.”
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Tony tried to stay hopeful. He really did.
He didn’t want to process what could potentially happen if Peter woke up with deficits. He made it through the first twenty four hours and the doctors were pleased but decided he still wasn’t ready to be taken off the medical induced coma yet. Tony didn’t know why he was so stupid and had gotten his hopes up, thinking after the crucial twenty four hours, Peter would wake up.
That was so far from reality.
On the third day of his coma, the doctors took Peter out of his coma but Peter still didn’t wake up.
The doctors took him for more scans, checking his brain. Tony could tell they were concerned that Peter wasn’t waking up yet. He saw the looks they shared and the way they whispered to each other as they looked over Peter’s charts.
On the seventh day, May walked into the hospital room, carrying a duffel bag in her hand. “Tony. You need to shower and change. You’ve only showered once since Peter’s accident.” She shoved the duffle bag in his arms.
He took it, only to place it by his feet. He couldn’t leave Peter’s side. His face was bruised now but the swelling was gone and the cuts were turning into red and purple scabs. The doctors warned him that he’s going to look worse before he gets better but it was still hard to see.
“I’m fine here. I can’t leave him.”
“Tony. The bathroom is right there. Take thirty minutes. I’ll knock on the door if anything happens.”
Tony hesitated. He looked behind him at the bathroom then back at Peter. Truth was, a shower sounded amazing right now. He needed to freshen up anyways.
So he reluctantly left.
On the ninth day, they came in to tell them that Peter was stable enough to move to Children’s Mercy Hospital.
“I don’t understand. If he’s well enough to be moved, then why isn’t he waking up? It’s been nine days!” Tony yelled, exhaustion and stress pulling at his patience. He just wanted his little boy to wake up.
“Mr. Stark. Children’s Mercy Hospital is the best place for your son to be right now. They have excellent pediatric doctors there who have been thoroughly informed on your son's case and have prepared for him. Dr. Cho is the head of Nero there, a close friend of mine. She will be taking over there.” Dr. Shepherd spoke slowly to him and normally Tony would snap at him for talking to him like a child but Tony didn’t care right now.
“So… will he wake up once they do some scans there?” He hated how the question made him feel like a child. It was so naive of him to think that.
He was met with a hand on his shoulder. He leaned over Peter’s bed and cried.
On the twelfth day, Tony felt like he couldn’t breathe anymore.
He had begged every doctor that came into the room for information on how to wake Peter up. He called hospitals in England, Italy, Japan, asking them to fly down to wake up his son, they all asked for his file but after looking at it, they declined, saying there was nothing they could do.
Tony watched a nurse clean Peter up, changing a few bandages and removing the one from around his head, saying the incision has healed now.
“When do you think he’ll wake up?” Tony asked brokenly. He always got the same answer.
She paused, a sad look on her face.
“It’s impossible to say. But it’s up to Peter now. If he has any fight left in him, he better use it.”
Tony squeezed his hand. “Do you… do you think he can hear us?”
“I like to think so. We have no way of knowing for sure. But I think some part of his unconsciousness is awake and listening.”
She took the garbage and left Tony alone, shutting the door behind her, leaving Tony in the room with the only sound of the steady heart monitor beeping.
He lifted Peter’s hand up to his face, kissing it.
“Peter. It’s daddy. I don’t know if you can hear me,” He’s spoken to Peter a lot over the past two weeks, singing to him, reading him his favourite books, but this conversation felt… deeper.
“I just… I need you to wake up for me. I know you’re hurt and in pain. And I know it’s unfair for me to ask you this,” He took a shaky breath. “But I need you to wake up. Baby, I can’t live this life without you. I want to show you the world. So please… if you’ve got any more fight left in you, use it to wake up for me.”
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It took two more days for Peter to wake up.
Tony was by his side every single hour of those days while he waited. Only leaving to use the bathroom, shower and go to the forced walks he had to take so he didn’t go crazy.
He had no information on how Peter’s brain was healing because no one would know until he woke up. His other injuries were checked multiple times a day and although it would take 6-8 weeks for most of it to heal, at least it was healing. Tony had to take every positive he could get.
The nurse was just finished giving Peter a sponge bath and getting him changed before she left the father and son alone.
Tony pulled out Peter’s favourite book to read to him, once again, leaving off where they left off this morning. He opened up the book and began reading but when he flipped to the next page, he heard a peep come from Peter.
Tony snapped his eyes to Peter’s face, seeing his head moving back and forth slightly. He dropped the book and stood up, leaning over him.
“Peter. Hey. Hey. Baby. It’s daddy. Peter?”
Peter’s face scrunched up, either from the pain or the light. “Mmmggmm.”
Tony stood up and pressed the call button. “Peter. Peter. Hi, baby. Can you open your eyes for me?”
Two nurses rushed into the room. “Is everything okay?”
“I think he’s waking up!”
They rushed to Peter’s side and checked his vitals. “Page Dr. Cho!”
Peter opened his eyes and immediately squinted at the light, looking around wildly and trying to get his eyes to focus somewhere. “Mmmm.”
“Peter. It’s daddy. Hi, baby.”
Peter focused on the voice he recognized, turning his head to look at his dad then he tried to reach for him, crying when he couldn’t move his arms.
“Shh shh. It’s okay, I’m here. Are you okay?”
Peter stared at him and Tony began panicking, fearing what they were dreading was coming true.
Dr. Cho walked into the room. “Well, hello, Peter. We’ve been waiting for you to join us.” She took one of the nurses spots and looked him over. “Can you hear me?”
Peter looked at her then back at Tony.
“Has he said anything?”
“No. He’s just looking around.”
Dr. Cho snapped her fingers in Peter’s face. “Hi Peter. Can you look at me?”
Peter narrowed his eyes at the doctor, essentially giving her a dirty look, something he started doing to Tony a few weeks ago when he didn’t like something his dad said. God, did Tony ever miss that.
Dr. Cho laughed at the look. “That looks like a good sign. Can you tell me your name?”
Peter looked back at Tony. He just wanted his dad. “‘addy.” He tried to speak but his mouth was so dry. A straw was being pressed against his lips so he took three sips and looked back at his dad. “Daddy. Mm. Wha-wha… happen’?”
Tony smiled. He felt his eyes burn with tears but they were tears out of happiness. “Oh baby. Hi. I love you so much. I’m so glad you’re okay.”
Dr. Cho was smiling too. “Hi Peter. My name is Dr. Cho. Do you know where you are?”
Peter looked around then looked back at his dad. Everyone was a stranger around him and he didn’t like it. “Hospital. Wan’-wanna… go home?”
Tony gently brushed the curls off his forehead. “Soon, baby boy.”
“Peter, do you remember what happened?”
Peter looked back at the annoying doctor who kept shining a light in his eyes. He just wanted to go home. But the more he spoke and the longer he was awake, the more he remembered.
He remembered falling off that cliff. And falling and falling until he landed hard on the ground. Then he went to sleep. He woke up to men poking and lifting him up and he remembered wanting his dad so badly it physically hurt. Or maybe it hurt because he fell off a cliff?
He turned to his dad. “I… I fell. Off… a cliff. Then…” He remembered falling down and how terrified he was. The pain he felt stinging every part of his body. He lifted his head up to look down at himself, whimpering when he just noticed his body. He began crying, the heart monitor beeping faster.
Tony was immediately there to calm him down. “It’s okay. Shhh. You’re okay. I’m here, baby. Just breathe. You just have a few boos boos.” He knew Peter was too old to be spoken to like a baby but right now, Peter was scared and in pain and so Tony was going to do what he knew as a father knew his son needed from him.
Peter whimpered against him. “I-I wan’ go home. Dad.”
“I know. Soon. Soon, baby boy.”
“Peter. I’m going to ask you some questions. Can you tell me how old you are?” The boy looked at his dad, his bottom lip trembling. Tony nodded his head so Peter looked back at the doctor.
“Um… twelve.”
“When’s your birthday, Peter?”
Peter thought about it. “Um… August tenth 2011.”
“And do you remember what you had for breakfast the day of the hike?”
Peter couldn’t remember. He tried to. “Ummm… I don’t know. Um… pancakes? And… chocolate milk.”
The doctor looked at Tony who nodded his head. Peter was right. That was a good sign.
“Do you know what day it is?”
Peter remembered it was a Saturday. “Ummm… August… twenty-first.”
That was the day of the hike. Peter was wrong but that wasn’t his fault. He just didn’t know he'd been asleep for 17 days. Tony brushed his hand through his hair, kissing his forehead. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Peter.” He kissed his forehead again. “But you’ve been asleep for 17 days. Your body needed the rest.”
Peter looked down at himself fearfully. He noticed the casts on himself but he didn’t know what was wrong with him. “Dad.” He whimpered. “What’s-what’s wrong with me?”
May walked in with two cups of coffee and almost dropped them upon seeing that Peter was awake. “My baby. You’re awake. Are you okay?” She caressed the boy's cheek. “Oh. I’m so sorry, Peter. I’m so sorry.”
Peter shrugged. He didn’t know why his mom was apologizing to him but she was crying and he was already on so many painkillers so he felt like crying again. He looked back up at his dad. “What’s wrong with me?”
Tony looked at the doctor and then at May.
This was going to be a hard conversation.
.
.
.
Peter was finally asleep.
Tony struggled getting him to calm down once he got himself worked up over how hurt he was. That, mixed with the drugs he was on definitely wasn’t a good combination.
But now that Tony knew Peter was okay, after asking the nurses a bunch of times in fact, he could finally sleep peacefully. Well, as peaceful as he could with his son in the hospital after a near death experience.
Tony shut his eyes, focusing on the steady sound of the heart rate monitor. May went home to shower and get a few things from the house so Tony chose to stay with Peter, needing to be close to his boy in case he needed him.
The door to the room opened and Tony lifted his head up, looking at the doctor walking into the room. “Is he okay?” Tony asked nervously, usually it was the nurses coming in.
The doctor looked Peter over and nodded, looking extremely dreadful. Tony’s heart sped up. “Mr. Stark, I need to discuss something with you.”
Tony was on the edge of his seat now. “Alright…”
The doctor pulled up a chair to sit in front of Tony. “When we did your blood test to see if you were a match for Peter, we found that you weren’t a match.” Tony nodded, he already knew that. “But…” The doctor sighed and looked into Tony’s deep brown eyes. “we also found that you are not a match with Peter.”
“I-I don’t understand…”
“Mr. Stark, your blood does not match Peter’s. I am so sorry…” He sighed regretfully. “but Peter is not your biological son.”
Tony stared blankly at the doctor.
What the hell was he hearing? Was he hearing that right or was he so sleep deprived that he was hearing things. “What?”
“You are not Peter’s biological father. I am incredibly sorry to be the one to tell you this.”
Tony stood up and ran a hand through his hair, looking down at Peter.
What the hell.
What the actual fuck.
Peter wasn’t… his son?
Peter wasn’t his.
Then who’s the hell was he?
How was this happening?
Tony sucked in a shaky breath of air and pushed past the doctor. He couldn’t stay here. He couldn’t be here right now.