Chapter 1
Peter was in his room studying for his upcoming exams when his phone ringed. He has been studying for the past three hours now. He could feel his stomach growling from hunger. He wished that it was May who is calling to tell him that her shift is done early so that they can have dinner together. Peter doesn’t like eating dinners alone. He tries to avoid it as much as he can. He is disappointed to see a strange number written on his screen.
‘Hello?’ asks Peter in a tired voice. How could he not be tired? It was the exam week; he had so much to do.
‘Hello? Am I speaking to Peter Parker?’ the voice on the other side of the line was cold and distant. He let her know that she was speaking to the right person. ‘Very well. Mr. Parker, I am calling from Memorial Hospital about May Parker. She listed you as her emergency number.’ Peter was confused. He didn’t know what to say. ‘May Parker has been in an accident. She is currently in surgery. Could you come in here?’ Peter was loss of words. That was impossible. May was fine. She was working to fill the spot of a friend whose mother had died. ‘Mr. Parker? Did you hear me?’ He had to talk!
‘Y-yes. Coming..’ He hangs up and ran to the hospital. He couldn’t take a cab since he didn’t have any money on him. So he ran, in his pajamas. He had different scenarios in his mind about May. The thoughts distracted him from concentrating on the road. He fell. He didn’t see the pole and hit his head, hard. He didn’t stop though; he gave himself no time to recover from the impact. Thus, he lost his balance and fell again. This was too much. He could feel people’s eyes on him. A few tears fell from his eyes before he got up again and kept running. He knew his face and knee was bleeding but they would go away quickly. He was worried about May.
Peter was out of his mind by the time he arrived to the hospital. He ran directly to the receptionist. ‘Where- I am here for May Parker. She is my aunt…please.’ The woman looked at Peter with saddened eyes. Peter didn’t care about it right now.
‘She is still in surgery honey. You can wait for the doctors to come out if you want.’ Peter nodded and went to sit in chairs she directed.
4 hours. That is how long he had to wait until one of the doctors came out. Peter stood up instantly, looking at the doctor with hopeful eyes. The doctor approached to him. ‘Are you here for May Parker, boy?’ Peter nodded. ‘How is she?’
‘She is in coma. We did all we could. Now we have to wait to see if she can recover from this. And I have to tell you. There is a chance of her having a permanent damage. We can’t know until she gains her wakes up.’
‘Thanks.’ he muttered under his breath not caring if he heard him or not. He slid down the wall and sat on the floor. May wouldn’t leave her. He already lost his parents and Ben. May was all he had left now. What would he do without her? No one else cares about Peter Parker the loser. Even Tony left him. Tony... His mind raced to the superhero. He wished Tony was here now. He would know what to do. But Peter hadn’t seen the man in so long he didn’t know if it would be okay for him to ask for help now. This wasn’t even Spiderman related.
A woman came to stand before him. ‘Hey, Peter. My name is Jane. I work for Child Protection Services. Honey, do you have any relatives that you could call to take you in for the foreseeable future. The doctors said they weren’t able to estimate a time for your Aunts awakening. And we cannot let you alone in a situation like this.’
Peter pushed himself to talk ‘No..I have no one. Only May..’ He was alone now.
‘That’s okay. Don’t worry. I will arrange a place for you to stay in for now. And we can talk about our future plans later. Alright?’ The woman was now kneeling in front of him.
‘Fine..’ He didn’t care anymore. He just wanted to stop existing. The woman smiled at him before leaving him alone. His phone ringed. It was Ned.
‘..Ned’ He tried his best to hide the sadness coming from his voice.
‘Peter, are you crying? What happened?’ asked Ned.
‘Its May, Ned. She.. .’ He stopped to take a deep breath. ‘She is coma… Accident. They don’t know when she will wake up.’
‘What? May was in an accident? Where are you? Are you alone?’ Ned was worried.
‘Hospital… ‘m Alone. The state will take me in, I guess. Not sure’
‘Oh Peter.. Why don’t you call Mr. Stark? He would know what to do you know. He could help. You need someone right now. I mean, you always have me but I am no adult.’ Deep down Peter knew he was right. He just simply did not care anymore.
‘No. ‘m fine, Ned. I’ll call you.’ He hang up. Closed his eyes with his head on the wall. And he just kept crying.
Ned was in shock. But he knew he had to do something. Something he knew Peter wouldn’t do. He took his phone in his hands.
‘For Peter.’ He said and called Happy Hogan. He got his number around time of the vulture incident.
The first time Happy didn’t open. The second, he declined the call. But Ned couldn’t give up. Peter needed this. It was the third time Happy finally answered.
‘What?’ he asked in a groggy voice. Ned looked at the time. It was 2 A.M.
‘Hello Sir. My name is Ned. I am a friend of Peter Parker. I-uh.. I wanted to ask you to tell Tony Stark that Peter needs him. Like badly.’
‘Stop for a second kid. Is Peter okay?’
‘No, Yes. I mean.. His aunt is in coma and he is in hospital. He said the state was going to take him in.’
‘What?! Why didn’t the kid call me? Don’t answer that. Okay we will handle this. Thanks Ned. You did the right thing.’ With that he hang up, giving no time for Ned to answer. But that was okay, the mission was successfully completed for Ned. His friend would be safe.
Happy called Tony on his way to the compound. The place was far from the city. He thought that with Tony’s usual pattern of sleep, there is a great chance he is awake.
‘Hey Hap? Did you saw me in your dream?’ Happy was grateful for Tony’s insomnia right now. He told Tony about Peter’s situation. That is all it took to get Tony in a suit flying to Queens.
His last words before hanging up was; ‘I will come with a suit that will be faster. So you can go the hospital directly. Tell the kid I am coming.’ Happy gladly turned over the car.
He saw the kid crying on the floor. ‘Kid!’ He ran to the child who was looking smaller than ever in his curled up position.
‘H-happy? How?’ Peter didn’t understand. Normally he would be able to figure out Ned was the one who called him. But with all that’s going on, his mind wasn’t working.
‘Your friend called me. Tony is coming too. We will help you. How is your aunt?’ Peter didn’t want to answer. He kept looking into the empty corridor. Happy sighed and sat to a chair next to Peter.
It was about 5 minutes later that Tony Stark came in the hospital. He was in sweatpants and a shirt. He kneeled next to Peter and drag him into a hug.
‘I am here now kid. I’ve got you..’ Peter couldn’t believe what was happening. Was Tony really here and hugging him? He hoped so. Peter’s arms found their way into Tony’s back. They hugged for quite a time until Tony pushed Peter off kindly to check on him. He saw the bruises on his face but decided not to ask about them knowing he would heal from them. He took Peter’s hand in his. ‘Look at me.’ Peter raised his head ‘Do you trust me, Pete?’
Of course he trusted Tony. He always would. No matter what. ‘I do.’
Tony smiled a little. ‘Alright. I will handle everything. Come on let’s just get you on the chair. He caught him from his arm and led him down next to Happy. ‘Keep an eye on him will ya, Hap?’ He then left to talk with the doctors and the CPS woman.
‘Don’t worry Peter. Tony has the best lawyers one could hire. I’ve called them on my way to here. We are gonna get you home.’ Home? Where is Peter’s home now? He closed his eyes and drew his knees to his chest. Happy shot a concerned look in Peter’s direction. He could see how bad this situation affected Peter and who could blame him? He just hoped his aunt will get better. Because otherwise.. he didn’t even want to think about it.
Tony was nervous, he has to admit. But this was a time where he has to be strong for Peter. The kid has been through enough. It was now Tony’s job to be there for him. So he took a deep breath and met with his lawyers that are waiting for him in the corridor.
‘Gentlemen, I trust you all to perform your best today because this kid is coming with me no matter what. I believe you would prefer it to be in a legal way.’ All the lawyers nodded. The blonde one step up and answered to Tony.
‘From the information we have gathered, the child’s aunt has a potential to stay in coma for a long time. And the state has to make sure the child has a safe place to stay in in the meantime. In order for you to take the child, you need temporary guardianship of him. We will be doing a application to the state for this but it could take a while since in the states eye you’re a stranger to the kid.’
Tony most certainly did not like his answer. ‘Are you implying I can’t leave with him right now?’ He pressed the bridge of his nose. ‘Well I could always kidnap the kid.’ He said in a half joking manner.
‘Should we go in now?’
Tony put on his charming face. He has to use every card he’s got to take Peter. The red headed woman in the room reminded him of Nat. He could only hope she wasn’t as stubborn as Nat was. The woman’s gaze felt as it was piercing through Tony’s soul. He put on his million dollar smile.
‘Hello Ms...’ He gazed down to her name card ‘Rodwell’. The woman shook Tony’s hand.
‘Hello Mr.Stark. I have to admit I did not expect someone like you to show up here for Peter. Especially after he said he didn’t have anyone to call.’
‘Well what can I say, I like surprising people. That kid is...like family to me. I couldn’t let him suffer alone in here. And I’ve promised his aunt to keep him safe and let me tell you she can be very scary when she wants to be. I just don’t want her to kill me when she wakes up.’
‘I understand that Mr. Stark but there are certain laws we have to follow. I can’t just let you leave with the kid.’
The blonde lawyer once again spoke up ‘Mr. Stark will be applying for a temporary guardianship. ‘
‘I am pleased to hear that. But I still cannot give him away right now. The procedure requires Peter to stay in our system until your case is finalized.’
Tony couldn’t deal with this anymore. He has no chance but to use his privileges right now. ‘Excuse me for a minute...’ Tony said and stepped out of the room. He knew a lot of people in high places and he could use a favor right now. This was his last idea before taking action in an illegal way. He called the governor.
‘Hello sir. I am sorry to call you in such late time but this is an emergency. I had to call.’ He saved the governors daughter from a big criminal act that took place in New York. Surely, he would do a little favor for Iron Man.
‘An emergency? What is it Stark? Alien invasion again?’ Asked the governor. Tony cursed himself for getting the man panicked over nothing. Not a good start.
‘No no. Everything is fine. It’s a personal emergency. I just… I am the Memorial Hospital in Queens and there is a kid named Peter Parker who is aunt is in coma. The state wants to take the kid in and I want to take him with me, tonight. There is no way I can wait until the court is finalized... Kid is important to me. I need your help in this. I need an exception.’ Tony talked too fast. The governor took notice of it. This wasn’t the usual Tony Stark he talks to. This man’s voice was full of worry.
‘Did I hear correctly? You want to take a child in?’ Tony rolled his eyes. ‘Yes. Can you help me with the procedures?’
The Governor was silent for a moment.
‘Okay. Since I know you won’t be hurting a child I can let you take him in tonight. But Tony, I won’t be involved in the guardianship procedure. That’s on you.’
Tony was smiling now. ‘Of course, that is all I am asking. Thank you, sir.’
‘I will be making a call to the official on duty. Have a good night, Mr. Stark.’ And with that he hung up. Tony could dance right now. He couldn’t wait to get back to kid.
A few minutes later, the lawyers came out. Tony looked at them with questioning eyes. One of them answered to satisfy his curiosity. ‘You’re allowed to take child.’ He passed him a bunch of paper. ‘After you sign this, you can leave with the child, sir.’ Tony didn’t even care about being handed things from someone. He quickly signed the papers and thanked the lawyers. He went back to where he left Peter and Happy. The kid was still in the same position. Happy shook his head in a sad manner. Tony sighed. He stopped in front of the kid and put his hand on his shoulder.
‘Hey Pete, ready to leave?’ he asked squeezing the kid’s shoulder to give him support. Peter shook his head ‘Don’t wanna..’ He raised his head and looked at Tony with his red eyes. ‘May needs me here..’
The kid’s condition shattered Tony’s old heart. ‘No Petey.. She needs you to rest. Come on boy..let me help you..’ I need to help you, he thought. Peter still wasn’t convinced.
‘I promise I will get someone to wait here all times and call us immediately if something changes. We can come back tomorrow.’ Peter didn’t answer; instead he stood up from the chair. Tony pulled the kid to his side wrapping his arm around him. Tony felt the kid shiver when they stepped outside. He put his jacked on Peter’s shoulders and they got in the car. Tony sat in the back with the kid, eyes occasionally drifting to Peter. He had a dead set on the back of Happy’s seat.
‘Are you hungry? We can take some burgers on our way if you want.’ Peter shook his head and Tony didn’t push. No one talked for the rest of the ride. When they got to compound tony left the kid in the living room stating he would be right back. He and Happy walked to the elevators together.
‘Thank you, Hap. You helped me a lot tonight. Go rest now, I will handle it from here.’
Happy gave a weak smile ‘I didn’t even do anything. Wish I could actually do something to help the kid. I can only pray for his aunt. I am glad you are there for him Tony.’
‘Right... Good night Hap. I’ll see you later.’ Happy got in the elevator and left.
Tony got back to the living room ‘Pete, come on let’s get you to bed.’ Peter obeyed and walked with Tony. Tony decided to give Peter the guest room that was closest to his room. Peter threw himself on the bed without a word. Tony was about to leave when Peter finally decide to speak ‘Mr. Stark?’ he said in a small voice. Tony turned back towards him looked at the small child, waiting for him to continue.
‘Is she going to be okay?’ How was Tony supposed to answer that? He didn’t know the answer and he certainly didn’t want to lie to the kid. ‘I don’t know Peter, but she is a strong woman, I know that much. We just need to wait. I know how hard this is for you but I am here okay? You’re not alone. ‘
Peter looked at him with thankful eyes. He didn’t need to put it in words; the eyes were showing enough of Peter’s emotions. Tony spoke again
‘Try to sleep now, if you need anything you know where my room is, or just ask Friday to get me. Goodnight, kid.’ The lights were closed with Tony’s exit, leaving Peter alone with his thought once again. He never fell asleep. Just kept going through different scenarios in his head.