Author's note: Chapter one somehow was deleted and I haven't yet figured out how to put it back in its proper spot so I posted it at the chapter 54 space. Start this story at chapter 54 and then come back to this one! Sorry about the hassle

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"He seems like a nice guy," Peter said, running his hand along the small bandage where his IV had been.

"He's arrogant and opinionated," Tony said, looking at the closed door for a moment before transferring his gaze to the boy.

"And you like him."

"Yeah. He reminds me of me. And we both know how much I like me."

Peter smiled, but Tony could see how tired he looked. He resisted the urge to check his temperature again, knowing that if it had been dangerously high – or even out of range of what it should be, Strange would have caught it and said something, or done something. Before he could add to his comment, though,, Peter spoke up.

"What happened?" he asked. "Did you really find me at the river?"

"Yeah." Now he did lean forward, pulling the blankets up a little since Peter had shifted them when he'd started to get up. "What can you remember?"

Now that he wasn't trying so hard to figure out what had happened, Peter found that he did remember some little things that he hadn't before.

'I was feeling restless," he said, looking around the room. "So I thought I'd get some air."

"Karen should have caught on that you weren't well."

"She did." Peter wondered why he was suddenly so defensive, sticking up for the faceless voice in his suit. He was, though, and he did feel that he needed to stick up for her. "She said I should probably get some sleep. And take some Tylenol or something."

"Did you have a headache?"

"Everything ached, I think."

Tony decided he'd mention that to Strange. They knew what had knocked Peter down, but they still didn't know why – or why it was so bad for him when the classmates that had caught whatever it was had all recovered quickly and had suffered far less discomfort.

"Then what?" he asked, filing that thought for later. Right now, his focus was on Peter. "After you went out…"

Peter shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I started feeling light-headed and awful. Karen told me that I should go back, but we were close to a park so I thought I'd…" he trailed off, frowning. "I guess I don't remember what I was thinking. Maybe I thought I'd go swimming or something. To cool off."

"Not the most brilliant of ideas," Tony chided. "You were drenched when I found you."

"How did you know something was wrong?"

"I told you; Karen called me." He poked him lightly in the chest. "You owe Pepper big time, young man. She had just made me dinner and I had to go running off before I could tell her how amazing it was."

He didn't mention the panic he'd felt when the AI in Peter's suit had hacked into his home's smart system and announced that her charge had lost consciousness in the middle of swinging his way toward a perch on a tree and had landed in the small stream that was running through the park.

"I'm sorry," Peter said, shaking his head and looking down. "I didn't mean to cause so much trouble. I just-"

"Not trouble," Tony said, cutting him off. Concern. Anxiety. Dread. Apprehension. Yes, all of those. He didn't say it, though. Instead he patted the boy's leg through the blanket. "You had May a little worried, is all."

"I'm sorry."

He didn't know what else to say, but he meant it.

"Don't worry about it, Peter. I'm just glad you're awake. May will be, too. She's been hovering around here like some kind of deranged maniac, asking for updates on you every hour." Stark smiled, both to let Peter know none of them had minded, and to assure him that his aunt was fine before he could get worked up and try to go find her. "When your dinner comes, I'll go find her and let her know you're awake – unless Doctor Strange has already done it."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. I think-"

He was interrupted by a soft knock on the door, and it opened without waiting for a reply, revealing a young man holding a tray that was obviously meant for Peter. Stark stood up and gestured for him to set the tray on the rolling table next to Peter's bed. The tray held soup, bread, a glass of milk and a jello cup. Typical invalid fare. Tony was glad he wasn't eating it.

"I was told to tell you to eat it all, and get some rest," the young man said when he delivered the tray and pulled the table over Peter's legs so he could reach it with minimal exertion.

"Thank you."

When they were alone again, Tony stood up.

"Do what you're told," he said, giving the boy another pat on his leg as he did so. "We'll talk some more when you're feeling better, and I'll go tell May you're awake."

Peter nodded, but Stark left before he could say thank you again, closing the door behind him and leaving the boy to a much needed meal and some actual rest.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

He headed down the quiet hallway, uncertain exactly where he was going but allowing his legs and his instinct to take him there. When he found himself outside his own quarters, he sighed and opened the door, uncertain if they were occupied or not just then.

"How is he?" Pepper asked without preamble, getting up from his desk where she'd been working on Stark Industry paperwork while waiting for him and crossing the room. As far as temporary quarters went, Stark's were extremely comfortable.

"He's awake."

"And?"

Tony shrugged, not meeting her concerned gaze. Not concern for Peter, he knew, but for him.

"He doesn't remember much. Just being sick."

Pepper slid her arms around him, forcing him to look at her by her sheer presence.

"And how are you doing?"

Tony gathered her into his arms, closing his eyes as he rested his cheek on her shoulder, taking the comfort she was offering, and stealing a little of her courage. She was the only one who knew just how afraid he'd been when he'd responded to Karen's appeal – and how worried he'd been that he wasn't going to get there in time. But even she didn't know how much he ached when he allowed himself to think of what he might have lost that night.

"Relieved," he whispered.