The helicopters arrived long after they thought Tony Stark was presumed dead, though since the compound was destroyed they had made sure they had rooms open and they had flown in doctors from around the world.
Peter had been asleep clinging onto his mother when they arrived and he awoke to by being shook on the shoulder by his mother. He was in a chair in the hallway of what he can assume is a hospital hallway, Pepper was kneeling beside him.
"Hey sweetheart, you're at the hospital, the doctors are in with dad right now." She seemed like she wanted to say more but was soon interrupted by the double doors opening and revealed Harley Keener-Stark standing in the flesh. "Mom! Peter!" Harley yelled as he entered. The two down the hall had their mouths in an open gap before Pepper ran down the hall and grasped her oldest in open arms. Peter soon followed after, only he walked with a limp as she opened her arms to bring him into the hug between them.
"God I can't believe you two are here, I missed both of you so much you don't even know." Pepper said as she pulled in her boys even tighter towards her.
"What do you mean you missed us, mom." Harley pulled away from his mom and brother. He looked over at Peter to see how shaken up and disheveled he looked. "Mom what's going on?"
"Sweetheart, you better sit down. This is going to sound crazy but I need you to listen." Pepper said, and Harley nodded and sat down on a chair behind him. Pepper help Peter sit down as well.
"So what do remember happening before Happy got you here?" Pepper asked him.
"I remember sitting with you on the couch at the apartment, and then I woke up, you were gone and Happy rushed in and gave me a hug and ran us out to the car and now I'm here. I just thought I had fallen asleep but Happy seemed Happy to see me, also he had a wedding band on, what's with that." He said. "Oh he also left in a hurry muttering something about getting someone named Morgan. I thought your uncle died when we were younger." Harley seemed to be more confused. "And then I spent an hour wandering around the hospital because no one told me where to go so yeah. What's going on mom."
"Wait Uncle Happy got married, I didn't know he was dating someone." Peter added on the confusion. Pepper shook her head, oh god she missed this.
"That's another story for later." Pepper took a long sharp inhale. "Okay, in short terms it's been five years since that day Harley, you two have been dead for five years because of the battle with Thanos. But Bruce was the one who snapped you all back, but it was your dad who got rid of Thanos again. It's been a long five years and a lot has changed from then." Pepper explained.
"So you're saying i'm technically 22 and Pete should be 20 but we're still the same age from when we died." Harley said.
"I think that would make the most sense." Peter added. "But you said a lot has changed from then, what happened." He asked waiting for response but was met by the door opening from the end of the hallway, in the frame appeared Happy, May appeared with a small girl who looked to be about five who was in Happy's arms.
"Wait May and Happy got married and had a kid holy crap." Harley added as they walked down.
"MOM!" the young girl yelled as she dropped from Happy's arms and ran into Pepper's leaving both boys dumbfound and in shock.
"Actually, me and your dad had a kid, boys this is your younger sister Morgan." Pepper said as Morgan sat on her lap.
Peter and Harley sat there seemingly life less with their emotions. Pepper wished she could have more easied them into the conversation but there was a lot happening at the moment. Happy came over with May in tow, who both gave the kids a hug, both proclaiming how much they missed them.
Pepper was about to say more but The doctor had called out to her to come speak in the hospital room.
"I'm sorry I know you two want to know more, I promise I will tell you more but I need to check on dad." Pepper added as she stood up taking Morgan off her lap and giving both the boys a hug.
"We'd like to come with you too." Happy add to be met with a nodded with Pepper who placed Morgan down on a chair beside them.
"We'll be back in a few minutes." Pepper said as she head down the hall with Happy and May.
"I can't believe you're actually here." Morgan said with a hint of excitement in her voice, which made them both turn their heads. They both were quiet up until then still trying to process what was happening. "I've only seen heard stories of you guys before but your actually here." Morgan exclaimed.
Pepper slid the door closed as the doctor began to speak. A few of them went back and forth over 20 minutes talking about all the big things they had to do while in surgery before leaving to go treat other patients. Helen Cho emerged to finish off what the other doctors were talking about.
"With how it looks now, we're think he'll be okay within a few weeks, we did have to remove his left arm completely since it was destroyed, so he will have to use a prosetiset. He may have trouble with his left leg for the foreseeable future. We'll have to keep him in for a few weeks but it's a miracle he survived at all." Helen Cho explained.
"Thank you so much Helen, do you know when he will possible wake up." Pepper asked while glancing out into the hallway to see what was going on.
"I'm hopeful that it will be within the next few hours. You can bring your kids in now if you would like. I'll be coming by later to check on his vitals." Helen said before leaving the room.
"How are you doing Pepper?" May asked as Pepper took a seat beside Tony's bed. May passed her a glass of water which she took but set it aside for the moment being.
"I'm not sure, I wish I could've talk to boys more before I brought in, I wish I could have explained to the boys, who Morgan is. I just don't want them to think that we had her to replace them." Pepper explained. "I'm just hoping that this isn't going to be another huge thing on their plates."
"I don't think that will be a huge problem Pepper." Happy added causing the two women to stick their heads up. Pepper stood up and peaked down the halls to see what Happy was looking at.
In the short amount of time that Pepper had left Morgan had already warmed up to both of her brothers, she was already sitting upon Harley's lap, laughing with both of them.
It put a smile to her face. She didn't know why she was worried in the first place. "I'm going to bring them all in." Pepper said as she walked out of the room, back down the hall.
Her footsteps caught the attention of the three of them causing them to pause their conversation.
"Hey guys, do you want to come see dad?" Pepper asked. They all nodded and followed her. Harley had Morgan slung around his side. Pepper grasped Peter by his shoulders and helped him down the hall.
As they slid open the door Pepper helped Peter into one of the chairs on the right of Tony while Harley and Morgan sat on the other side beside the chair Pepper had been sitting on, May had taken a seat next to Peter.
It was quiet for awhile until Peter had finally asked. "So what have we missed in the five years we were gone."
Pepper recounted as best as she could all the important things. Her and Tony's wedding, the birth of Morgan, The disaster that was Happy and May's wedding and how Morgan was the one that caused the cake to fall over on May. The photo albums they keep around and how they had moved to the farm and how Morgan convinced them to get an alpaca. The good times and the bad, and by the time they finished discussing it was already super late out, Morgan had fallen asleep in Harley's arms, Peter was in the line between being wide awake or dead asleep and Harley looked not to far off from that point as well.
May laid a hand on Pepper shoulder awhile after all of the kids were finally asleep. "Pepper do you want me to take the kids over to our place for the night. We can bring them back in the morning. It'll be easier then driving them to the farm." May added.
"May are you sure?" Pepper asked as she looked back to Tony.
"I'm positive, we'll bring them by tomorrow morning." May replied to which Happy nodded.
"I'll go bring the car around, I should only be a few minutes." Happy said before leaving the room.
"He'll be alright Pepper, I don't think Tony will ever stop fighting." May looked over at Tony once again.
"I know, he won't."
"It will just take his body some time." The buzz of May's phone disrupted their conversation. She looked at the text. "Happy's outside, Can you help me bring them downstairs?" May asked. Pepper nodded grabbing Harley and Morgan while May grabbed Peter it was a short walk to the elevator, but was hard carrying all of them without waking them in the process. May pressed the button down before leaning back on the elevator.
"I think this is the first time i've ever seen them this quiet." Pepper let a sight chuckle after May had made the comment.
"I think you might be right." Pepper added while the elevator made a ding as it opened to the first floor. Happy greeted them at the entrance and grabbed Harley and Morgan from her side. Before she left she gave a forehead kiss and hug goodbye.
"I'll text you when we get home, please try and get some sleep tonight." May advised.
"I will, thank you for everything May." Pepper said.
It was with that they parted ways.
They arrived back at the hospital by 1 the next day.
When they entered in Harley, Peter and Morgan struck a chorus of hello's before all going over to their mother to give her a hug, May entered in behind them with a suitcase.
"Sorry we came a little late, Happy and I drove out to the house this morning while they were sit all awake. We grabbed clothes for all of them, and a couple pairs for you as well. I grabbed a couple other miscellaneous thing just in you needed them, Happy went out to get Rhodey and bring him here along with a few others as well." May explained.
Pepper stood up and gave May a hug. "Thank you so much you don't know how much this means to me."
"It's no problem, here why we go out for lunch. You kids will be fine for an hour?" May asked.
"We'll be fine Aunt May." Peter said Pepper looked over at both of them.
"Mom we'll be fine, i'll text you if anything happens." Harley said waving his phone in the air.
"Alright i'll go. Please text if Dr. Cho stops by." Pepper said as she received a nod. May and Pepper took their exit to the left of the hall.
It wasn't even an hour later before Pepper was rushing back to hospital with May in tow. They had been at restaurant downtown when both of their phone began blowing up with texts from Harley and Peter.
The only text she need to read was
Harley: Dad's awake, he's asking for you
That sent her running out and back toward the car.
One may argue that Pepper Potts-Stark was usually a very collected person.
She was not at this moment, May had tried to help her calm down. It did not work that well though, when they arrived which took longer since the streets were more crowded. But by the time they got there it was worth the long drive to see the smile dawned on her husbands face. It was all worth the hug they all shared. It was more worth to see her children getting along, the smiles the boys shared with Tony, and everything that would happen in the future.
It was then they realized, just everything might be alright in the world.