I know we’ll be alright
May sat at the dining room table with Peter sitting on the chair next to her on a pile of magazines.
She tried to get Peter to eat some applesauce for breakfast but he wouldn’t eat anything. May checked the time on her phone. 8:45am. Tony would be here in less than two hours.
“Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat, baby?” May asked Peter who turned around and pointed to the couch where all his overnight bag stuff was, asking for his baba but May didn’t know that.
May sighed and put his head in her hands. After Peter realized he wasn’t gonna get what he wanted, he hugged his arms around his cramping stomach because he was so hungry but May didn’t understand.
“Okay. You’re done.” May lifted him up by the arm and put him on the floor then grabbed his applesauce and threw it out.
Peter was still crying loudly but it was a tired and sad cry. Not like the distressed cry that he had been doing all day yesterday and all night long. May knew that Peter barely slept last night so he was a mixture of over tired and missing Tony. She stood in the kitchen and watched Peter stand there, staring at the door and crying.
“Do you want to come try some of our brownies, baby?” May asked him but Peter just looked at her and continued to cry.
.
.
.
“Pep! Let’s go!” Tony called from inside the elevator. It was only 9am but Tony couldn’t help but leave now just in case there was a lot of traffic.
“Coming!” Pepper put her shoes on while she was walking towards the elevator. She took in Tony’s appearance for the first time that day and she sighed. He had huge under eye circles and his hair was sticking up all over the place most likely due to all the times he ran his hands through it. “Did you sleep last night?”
“A few hours.” Tony answered then the elevator doors were opening and they were walking into the garage and into the car. “I just want to see him already.”
“We’ll be there soon, Tony. Then you can cuddle him all you want.” Pepper smiled at him because she knew yesterday and last night was hell for him but they were finally going to pick Peter up.
The drive into Queens was busy. It took them almost twice as long to get to Mays apartment building but they were still about fifteen minutes early but Tony didn’t care.
They made their way up to May’s floor and as soon as they were outside the door it was the exact same as when they left, Peter was crying on the other side and it broke Tony’s heart.
Peter was crying when he left, when he called May and right now. Did he stop crying at all?
Tony knocked on the door and waited until May was opening it up. The crying got louder now that the door wasn’t blocking some of the cries.
Tony immediately stepped into the apartment and laid his eyes on Peter who was sitting on the floor near the dining room table.
As soon as Peter saw him he was crawling over to Tony as fast as he could. Tony thought it was weird that Peter was crawling since he always walked or ran everywhere. He bent down anyways and as soon as Peter was close enough, Tony lifted his baby into his arms.
If anything, Peter was crying harder now but he wasn’t trying to get away from Tony. He was wrapping his tiny arms around his neck and resting his head on his shoulder as he cried loudly and shook.
“Hi baby. Daddy’s here now. Did you have fun?” Tony asked softly and patted Peter’s butt. Peter only cried harder.
May was standing there looking sad and uncomfortable.
“How was he?” Tony asked her.
“He was sad the whole time. He uh, he kept asking for you.” May admitted. She thought about lying to Tony but it was obvious that Peter didn’t have a good time.
Tony expected that but part of him still thought Peter would have had a good time. “Why didn’t you call me? I could have picked him up.”
“It was my time with him, Tony. It’s what we agreed upon.” May said annoyed and crossed her arms. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “He uh, he was asking for a baba. What’s that?”
“It’s his bottle of milk.” Tony eyed May. “What, did you not give him his milk, May?”
She looked at the ground. “Shit. I completely forgot. There was so much going on so I forgot.”
Tony couldn’t believe it. His baby didn’t even get his milk at dinner or before bed.
“He asked for it before bed and this morning but I just… I didn’t know.” May looked at Peter sadly but his face was buried in Tony’s neck and still crying loudly.
“I’ll pack everything up for you guys.” May said as she disappeared into Peter’s old teenager bedroom and came out with RoRo and handed it to Peter who didn’t look up. “Look, Peter.”
Peter heard Mays voice and cried harder, trying to bury himself closer to his daddy. “It’s fine, I’ll take it.”
May sighed but continued to pack everything up and then handed the overnight bag to Tony and the diaper box to Pepper.
Tony looked around the apartment and saw that it was clean. No toys anywhere. He knew for a fact that Peter would make a huge mess out of whatever room he would be in longer than an hour.
He shifted Peter on his hip a bit but Peter shook his head and screamed. “I’m not putting you down, baby. You’re okay. I’m here now.”
Pepper opened the door up for them to leave. “Bye Peter. I hope I’ll get to see you soon.”
“Bye May.” Tony said, not answering the last sentence that he knew was directed at him.
The front door was shut and they were walking down the hall and into the elevator but Peter was still crying loudly. It wasn’t a cry that Tony’s heard before but even then, Peter’s an easy baby and rarely cries for this long.
He looked at Pepper as they were waiting for the elevator and they both shared a sad look. “He doesn’t look good, Tony. Look at his face.”
“Look at me, baby.” Tony said softly and then Peter was lifting his head up and looking at Tony but he was still crying loudly. Peter’s face was all red and blotchy and he looked extremely pale and tired. His eyes were red rimmed and puffy, making it look like Peter didn’t sleep at all and was crying the whole time.
The elevator doors opened and out walked an elderly lady who looked over at Peter sadly. “There’s the baby that wouldn’t stop crying all night. How is he?”
Tony looked at her confused. “He was crying the whole night?”
“Yeah, I thought someone would have rocked him to sleep but it appears no one did. Poor thing. It reminds me of when I had my kids and they were young. They’re all grown up now but you should meet my daughter, she’s about your age. I’ll give her a call for you.” The older lady patted Tony on the arm and then was walking away from them, down the hall.
If it was any other situation, Tony would have laughed at the conversation with the old lady but he was more focused on what she said about Peter not sleeping at all last night.
They walked into the elevator and Tony put his hand on Peter’s head so he could lie back down on his shoulder.
“Do you think she’s telling the truth?” Pepper asked.
“Well she doesn’t look like a liar but I don’t know. Peter’s cry doesn’t seem like he’s crying for no reason, he sounds like he’s in pain almost.” Tony hated that. He hated hearing his baby cry like he was.
They got out of the elevator and when Tony went to put Peter in his car seat, Peter started freaking out and not wanting Tony to let him go. “What’s wrong, baby? Talk to me.”
Peter only shook his head and continued crying loudly so Tony put him in his car seat, ignoring Peter’s cries because he had no other choice. They had to get home.
The car ride home was filled with Peter’s cries and Tony hated it because he knew something was wrong with his baby but he didn’t know what it was.
He took his baby out of his car seat and held him on his hip as they all made their way to the penthouse.
“His diaper feels full so I’m gonna go change him. Can you make him a bottle?” Tony asked, taking the box of diapers in his hand so he was holding everything now.
“Of course. I’ll be quick.” Pepper and Tony both went their separate ways.
Tony carried Peter into his bedroom, dropping everything by the crib and then placing Peter on the changing table this time. Peter wasn’t crying as loud anymore but he was still crying and it was hurting Tony to listen to it because he just wanted to help his baby.
“Shh, it’s okay baby. I’m just gonna change your diaper.” As Tony took off Peter's onesie, he thought about what May had said about Peter hating getting his diaper changed with her but it was the opposite for him. Peter always loved it and would always laugh at something while Tony was doing it.
Not now though.
Tony undid the diaper straps and pulled down the front. His heart dropped when he saw the horrible rash that spread all over Peter’s penis and inner thighs. He lifted Peter’s legs up and pulled the dirty diaper out, seeing that his bums rash was almost twice as bad as the front.
He folded the diaper up and felt how full it was. It was as if May hadn’t changed him at all; it was so full.
Tony put Peter’s legs down and looked at him sadly. His rash was all red and had blisters. Tony’s heart broke. He looked over at Peter’s face and saw that Peter was looking at him with sad, broken eyes.
“Pepper! Pepper, come here!” Tony yelled, hoping Pepper could hear him. He had no idea what to do about this situation. Peter has had diaper rashes before but not nearly as bad as this. Not even close.
Pepper walked in less than thirty seconds later, holding a bottle of milk. “What’s wrong?”
“Look at this.” Tony stepped aside to let Pepper look at the rash.
“Oh my god. How-how does this happen after one day?” She looked like she was about to cry as she looked down at Peter sadly.
“I don’t know.” Tony said, defeated. Peter was looking up at him and holding his stomach.
“Da-daddy. T-tummy hurt. Hurt, daddy.” Peter cried out and looked up to Tony desperately. Tony looked at his stomach to see if the rash had moved up there but it didn’t.
He placed a hand on Peter’s bare stomach and rubbed it gently. “Your tummy hurts, baby? Do you want your baba?”
Peter cried out louder and nodded his head so Tony took the bottle from Pepper and handed it to Peter who began sucking on his bottle really quickly. The cries were instantly silenced and were replaced with the sucks from Peter’s bottle.
“I’m gonna get his cream and a new diaper.” Pepper said and then went to do that.
Tony pulled out a wipe and was about to start cleaning Peter off but Pepper spoke. “Tony. Was this a new box of diapers we sent to Mays?”
Tony turned around. “Yeah. Why?”
“There’s only one diaper missing. She changed his diaper one time the whole time he was there, Tony.” Pepper stood up and the two of them just stared at each other in shock.
“Oh my god. That’s why his rash is so fu- bad.” Tony couldn’t believe it. He sent Peter to Mays house and trusted her with his baby and she sent him back like this.
Tony couldn’t do anything about it now, he had to make sure Peter was okay first and then he would deal with May. When Tony put the wipe to Peter’s bum, he flinched, dropped his bottle and started crying.
“I’m sorry, baby. I have to clean you.” Tony wiped him down again but Peter was crying too much and Tony knew it really hurt him so he stopped. He picked Peter up, careful not to touch his sensitive parts and carried him into his bathroom. “I’m gonna clean him off in the bath, Pep.”
Peter was crying loudly now that he didn’t have his bottle but Pepper knew exactly what he wanted since less than five seconds later, the bottle was back in Peter’s mouth.
Tony ran a bath that was warm and no soap, he just wanted to get Peter clean but not aggravate his rash.
Tony placed Peter in the bath and normally he would never let Peter drink his bottle in the bath but he didn’t want to take the bottle away from Peter right now since that was the only thing that was keeping him calm.
“This soap is natural and for sensitive skin. Use a little on him to clean his body.” Pepper handed Tony a bottle of baby body wash but he’s never seen it before, he trusted her either way.
“Can you hold his bottle for him while I clean his arms?” Tony asked and without answering, Pepper grabbed the bottle for Peter and held it up to his mouth for him while Tony cleaned his arms and then his face with a clean cloth. “I’m just gonna stand him up so I can clean down there.”
Tony picked Peter up who was still drinking his milk so he didn’t make any sounds but from the way his face scrunched up, both adults could tell he didn’t like it.
“Almost done, baby.” Tony poured some of the natural soap onto his hands and gently cleaned Peter down there. He tried to be as gentle as he could but he still had engineer hands which made them rough and full of permanent calluses.
Peter only let out small whimpers and would flinch every time Tony touched a particularly painful spot but it was done quickly and then Tony was sitting him down and rinsing his body then picking him back up and wrapping him in a towel.
As Tony was carrying Peter back to his own bedroom, Peter dropped his bottle and began crying again. “I’ll go get him some more. Here’s the cream.” Pepper said then left.
Tony carried Peter into his bedroom and laid Peter on the bed. He unwrapped him from the towel and looked at his rashes. Tony wasn’t sure if he should call a doctor or something. Peter had red and white blisters on places that would be extremely painful to have. Maybe normal diaper rash cream wouldn’t help it.
Peter was still crying so Tony leaned down and pressed a kiss to Peter’s forehead. “It’s okay, baby. You’re okay now. I got you.”
Pepper came back with a new bottle of milk that Peter saw and immediately reached for desperately.
“Should I call a doctor? What if he needs a special kinda ointment?” Tony was panicking. He didn’t know what to do.
“I’ll call my friend. She has five kids so I’m sure she knows exactly what to do.” Pepper sat on the edge of the bed and pulled out her phone, bringing it up to her ear. “Hi. Yeah I’m good. I’m just calling because Peter has a really bad diaper rash and we don’t exactly know what to do. Yeah, no it’s really bad. Okay. One second,”
Pepper put the phone on mute. “She wants me to take a picture of it and send it to her so she can see.”
“Wait, who is this? I don’t want to send naked pictures of Peter to some random person.” Tony was very protective over his kid so he definitely didn’t want anyone seeing his kid naked.
“It’s my friend who had the newborn. You met her.” Pepper explained and Tony thought about it before remembering.
“Alright, just…” Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. “Send them to her.”
Pepper took two pictures of the rash and then took her friend off mute and sent it to her. “I sent them.”
“Okay, I got them. Let me have a look.” Her friend was silent for a few seconds before speaking. “Poor baby. It’s bad. Alright the best thing to do is make sure when you change his diaper, you pat him clean and not wipe. It’ll make it worse and it’s painful for him. Do you have diaper rash cream?”
“Yeah it’s called Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment. Would that work on him?”
“Yes. That one's perfect but just make sure to change his diaper often now and keep applying the cream.”
“Okay. Thank you so much.” Pepper then ended the call and handed the cream she was holding over to Tony.
“I can’t believe she only changed his diaper once. One time in over twelve hours. I’m changing his diaper almost once an hour so I can’t even imagine how long he was sitting in that diaper for.” Tony was going to be calling May and having a very important conversation with her after he takes care of his kid.
He carefully applied the cream all over Peter’s penis, bum and thighs then put a clean diaper on him and dressed him in some loose Winnie the Pooh pyjamas.
Tony lifted Peter into his arms and began rocking him slowly as Peter cuddled against his chest while he still drank his bottle.
“I’m gonna go wash his clothes, Tony. Call me if you need me.” Pepper said then left the room.
Tony held Peter close to his chest as he walked into the kitchen, filling another bottle for Peter and walking into his bedroom. Tony turned the lights off and turned on Peter’s night light then sat on the rocking chair.
He cradled Peter in his arms and held the bottle up to Peter’s mouth so Peter could close his eyes and sleep.
Peter was out in just a few minutes so Tony knew that he was exhausted. He stood up with Peter in his arms being extra careful to not wake him up. He grabbed a pacifier from his dresser and placed it in Peter’s mouth then gently put Peter into his crib and put a blanket over him so he would be warm.
Tony left the door halfway open and then walked into the laundry room where Pepper was folding some of Peter’s clothes. “What the fuck is wrong with May. I want to know why my kid has a diaper rash from his butt to his penis. He didn’t have a rash yesterday after we dropped him off then he comes home like…that.”
“She obviously only changed him one time.” Pepper said as she continued to fold the clothes.
“Obviously.” Tony put his head in his hand before pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialing Mays number. “I’m calling her.”
May picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”
“You only changed Peter’s diaper one time? One time, May. Are you crazy.” Tony didn’t waste any time with introductions.
“What?! I changed his diaper more than that. I…” May stopped talking and Tony laughed monotone. “Fuck. He didn’t let me change him so I didn’t and then I didn’t even think about it because he was crying the whole time.”
“If he didn’t want you to change his diaper then you still change it. He’s two. He can’t go to the toilet so it all goes into his diaper and he just sits in it.” Tony thought about how bad the rash was and how May freaking forgot about changing him.
“Does he have a rash?” May asked, scared of the answer.
“He obviously fucking does, May. You changed him one time.” Tony wanted to yell at her but he didn’t want to risk waking Peter up. “But of course you wouldn’t know because you didn’t fucking change him.”
“I’m sorry.” May apologized but Tony didn’t answer.
“What did he eat when he was with you? You obviously didn’t give him his milk but he said his stomach is hurting him.” Tony asked.
May was silent for a few seconds. “Fuck. Oh my god. I didn’t even… I didn’t think. He um, we made brownies but he didn’t eat them. Then he was too busy crying at dinner so he didn’t eat anything and he wouldn’t eat the applesauce I gave him for breakfast.”
Tony felt his heart drop into his stomach. Peter hadn’t eaten anything with May. His baby was hungry and that’s why he was saying his stomach hurt. Oh god.
“Fuck you, May. I trusted you with my kid and you don’t change his diaper, you don’t feed him, he cried all night long and you expect me to let you see him again. Fuck you.” With that, Tony hung up the phone and threw it at the wall out of rage.
“Tony, breathe. Peter’s safe with you now. Wait until he wakes up and then make sure he eats whatever he wants.” Pepper placed her hand on Tony’s back to try to calm him down.
“I swear to god I’m gonna have that woman arrested.” Tony muttered before leaving the laundry room and going back into Peter’s bedroom.
He sat down on the rocking chair and went on his phone until Peter woke up. Tony wasn’t on his phone for very long before there was shuffling coming from inside the crib and then Tony was on his feet instantly and looking in.
Peter lifted his head up, whimpering that then led to crying. He looked up at Tony and held his arms out for him. “Dada.”
“I’m here, Petey.” Tony lifted Peter up and held him on his hip. He reached into the crib and grabbed his pacifier, holding it to Peter’s mouth but Peter pushed it away and continued to cry. “What’s wrong, baby? Tell daddy.”
Peter looked flushed so Tony placed the back of his hand on Peter’s forehead to try and feel if he was hot or not but he honestly had no way of telling.
“Pep? Where are you?” Tony called out for her once he was in the hallway.
“I’m still in the laundry room.” She called back so Tony carried Peter into the laundry room.
“Can you feel if he’s hot? I should take his temperature.” Tony tried to calm his crying kid in his arms as Pepper felt Peter’s head and hummed.
“He does feel hot. Do you have a thermometer for him?” She asked, already walking out of the laundry room.
Tony followed her. “I don’t know. Would I use a rectal thermometer? Is that how people take a two year olds temperature?”
“A thermometer that goes under his armpit will be fine for him.” Pepper opened up the medicine cabinet in their bedroom and looked for a thermometer as Tony tried to bounce Peter gently in his arms. “I got it.”
“Lift his shirt up and then I’ll put this under his arm and wait for it to beep.” Tony did as was instructed but every time Pepper went to place the thermometer under his arm, Peter would start kicking in Tony’s arms and freak out.
“It’ll be quick, Peter.” Tony tried to hold Peter still but it wasn’t working. He sighed.
“Cold!” Peter cried out and didn’t let Pepper get any closer to him with the thermometer.
She sighed. “I’ll see if we have one that goes in his ear.”
Pepper dug in the cabinet while Tony bounced Peter gently again. She stood back up with another thermometer in her hand. “Hopefully this will work.”
She fiddled with the thermometer for a few seconds then placed it in Peter’s ear while Peter shook his head from side to side to try and stop Pepper from doing that.
“Last ear and then I’m done.” Pepper announced as she took it out of one ear and placed it in the other ear. Tony was trying to hold Peter still in his arms but the toddler was in pain and was scared and it broke Tony to see that.
“All done.” Tony said after Pepper took the thermometer out of Peter’s ear. “What’s his temp?”
Pepper shook her head. “It’s 103.4.”
“Good god. He didn’t eat, didn’t sleep so he ends up like this. My poor baby.” Tony lifted Peter into his arms so that they were chest to chest, he was holding Peter with one arm supporting his bum and the other he held Peter’s back to rub smoothing circles into it.
“We don’t have any baby medication so I’m just going to run to the pharmacy myself and get a few things. I’ll be back soon, put a cold cloth on his forehead and give him some liquids but not milk. It’ll just upset his stomach.” Pepper explained to Tony and then left the bathroom leaving Tony alone with his sick toddler.