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Phone Calls

One moment, Tony was standing on his own. He was sure of it. He was standing upright, staring at a doctor whose professions demeanor cracked just a little when she spoke the words that resounded with what felt like a literal crack in his heart. And then Rhodey had an arm around him, keeping him firmly upright, gripping his upper arm. "Tones…"

"What do you mean? What does...what does that mean?" He demanded. Tried to demand. His voice came out a squeak and he hated himself for it, but he couldn't make it any stronger. Sam and Natasha had joined them, and she looked between the four superheroes, seemed to gather herself, and spoke in an equally soft voice.

"If you'll come with me." This time it wasn't a request, and Tony glanced over at Sam and Nat only to find them giving him worried, strained looks. Worried about him, he wondered. Why? He wasn't the one who'd…instead of articulating words, his brain replayed the image. The boy securing a web to the War Machine suit. Then letting go. Reaching out to him...no, not reaching out. Trying to shoot a web. A kid he'd spoken to maybe five times...who he'd had one actual conversation with…

He'd run out of web fluid.

The image seemed to skip right to the end. The boy's body hitting the concrete. His head bouncing on the tarmac. He couldn't remember if the kid…

Peter. It hurt, but the kid deserved for him to at least use his damn name.

He couldn't remember if Peter had screamed. Couldn't remember if he'd cried out when his head had hit the ground. But Rhodey had. Rhodey, who was leading him down the hallway, the four of them following the doctor. Rhodey had screamed. Nat looked like she wanted to reach out. Like she wanted to give him a hand. Tony thought he might shatter if she touched him.

He needed to call Pepper.

The next thought hit him like a freight train. May Parker. He hadn't called May Parker.

"Tony!" Rhodey cried, barely managing to catch him as he stumbled. "Tones, what…"

"His aunt. His...I need to call his…"

"Okay. We will. We'll have someone notify her…"

"I have to do it." It was said as more of a groan than anything. He had to do it. It had to be him. May Parker, who had lost her husband less than a year ago, needed to hear it from him, the one who'd put her nephew in danger in the first place. Penance. That's what it would be. Some kind of pathetic penance...as if anything he could do could ever be enough.

"Okay. First, let's find out what we need to tell her, okay?" He nodded, more a reflex than anything, and resumed walking down the hall, leaning a little less on Rhodey. He had to pull himself together. Had to breathe. Had to remember that Peter was alive and that he had the best medical professionals in the world at his beck and call. He needed to call them, now that he thought of it. Helen Cho would lead them...he was sure he could lure her to Germany to take a look. Dr. Cho was one of the best there was. But for head trauma...he was sure Friday had a list of doctors for him to look over. He'd call them all if he had to.

He was going to make sure this kid was okay if it was the last thing he did.

The doctor led him into a smaller waiting room with chairs for all of them. Sam and Natasha hesitated before entering the room, but Tony went right in, letting Rhodey guide him to sit on one of the chairs. His friend sat right beside him, a hand on his back as Tony leaned forward, elbows on his knees. The doctor sat down across from him, a chart in her hands, her lips pursed. "I have his scans here." She told him softly, opening the folder and glancing over at the other two occupants in the room. Tony stared down at the paper she held out, showing pictures that his mind refused to interpret.

Brain damage. Those were the only words getting through as Rhodey kept a firm hand on his back. The child had brain damage. "Considering his…" The doctor trailed off for a moment, then smiled apologetically. "Considering his enhancement, we can't really know how his body will attempt to heal itself. Were he an ordinary person, I would say to you, without a doubt, that this boy would never wake up again. There's too much damage. But he's in surgery now, and the lead surgeon says that his brain is attempting to heal itself."

"So...so he...he's going to be okay?" Tony asked, surprised at how weak his own voice sounded. How hopeful. But of course, he was hopeful. Of course, he was desperate. This was all on him. Peter had to be okay. He had to.

The doctor's face went back to solemn. "That's...a complicated question. He shouldn't be in surgery for more than another hour...but the brain is a delicate organ. Even with his healing, we won't know anything until he wakes up. If he wakes up. We have no precedent for this. In addition to the head trauma, we also have to worry about the spinal damage."

Of course. He'd almost forgotten.., the kid had landed on his back. Had probably broken it. Tony knew that the kid had broken ribs...but what if he never walked again! What if Peter woke up and Tony had to explain to him that he could probably never walk again. "I'm bringing in my own doctors. Helen Cho…" Recognition flashed in her eyes even as he realized that perhaps he had been a bit too harsh. Rhodey spoke before he could, though.

"Okay. Tony, why don't we go back to the hotel? Get some rest…"

"I'm not leaving him!" His voice was raw and desperate and he felt his eyes heat up but he refused to let his tears fall. Not here. Not in front of all these people. Tony took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. "He's...he's fourteen. I'm not leaving him alone."

"He won't be out of surgery for another hour, and then we'll need to get him settled into a room. Then you'll be able to see him. I can have another bed put in his room if you'd like to stay with him." The doctor hurried to assure Tony, speaking gently.

"See. We'll just be gone for an hour. We need to make some calls anyway. Get cleaned up. Get something to eat. You're not going to be able to do him any good if you don't take care of yourself."

"We can come right back," Sam suggested, starting to stand, but Tony whirled, pointing a finger, teeth pressed together as he spoke through them.

"Don't. Don't you dare…" He snapped, cutting himself off before he could get any further. It wasn't really Sam's fault. He knew that. But still...he could see it. Peter's head hitting the concrete, bouncing just a little. The blood trailing down his face. Sam, dodging a beam from Vision that hit Rhodey. Who was he supposed to blame for this? Himself. Who else? But still...Sam had taken Steve's side. Against him. Steve had started this stupid fight and Sam had gone along with it and now a fourteen-year-old boy was in surgery because...because he'd saved Rhodey's life.

"Tones…" Rhodey warned softly.

"Look...I know you don't want to leave him. None of us do…"

"You threw him through a fucking window." Tony snapped. Because yeah, he'd seen that.

"I didn't know he was a kid!" Sam snapped right back.

"Okay." Natasha stepped in, hands up as she stood. "Okay." She said again, more softly, sparing the doctor a look. "We've already had one fight and look how that turned out. For now, the child is our first priority, no matter how he got hurt." She shot Sam a look and the man backed down. "Tony, he's probably not going to wake up for a few more hours at least. For now, we can all get something to eat and get cleaned up. Then we can come right back." She met Tony's eyes, leaning in, her own face asking him to listen.

"FIne." He muttered, nodding once. The doctor stood, followed by the rest of them. "Okay. Let's go." The faster they left, the faster they could return.

Happy drove him and Rhodey to the hotel, while Sam and Natasha disappeared. Tony had no idea if they were going to the same hotel or not...he didn't care. Didn't have the mental capacity to care. Not at the moment. He was sure that Steve and his crazy friend were off doing...something. And Ross was going to try and capture them. But it wasn't his business, not at the moment. First, he had to make sure the kid was okay.

Happy hesitated at the doorway of his hotel room, and Tony had to fight the urge to snap. "What?" He asked, waiting. Waiting for a lecture or a question or…

"His phone." He turned to look at Happy, eyebrows lifting when the man held out the device. An Android, screen cracked in the corner. "Kid was making some kind of video diary...I told him not to, but he said he wouldn't show it to anyone." Happy shrugged and Tony took it. "Boss?"

"Yeah?" He asked, his voice a sigh as he caught sight of his own reflection in Peter's black screen.

"Someone needs to call his aunt." Of course, they did. Aunt May. Hadn't Tony threatened to tell Aunt May when he'd benched the kid? "Do you...do you want me to…" Tony sighed, shaking his head. He wouldn't ask that of Happy.

"No. I'll...I'll do it." With that, he shut the door and dropped the phone on the bed, heading for the shower and hoping to buy himself a few seconds of peace.

Once he was cleaned up, he headed back to the main room, dressed in sweats and a tank top, and opened one of the protein bars from the top of the mini fridge. There was no alcohol in the room...he'd made sure of that, but he knew that had there been a bottle of whiskey in the room, he would have found his way to the bottom of it. Swallowing the last of the protein bar, he dropped onto the bed, running a hand over his face.

"Friday, make sure Helen Cho is on her way. No matter what she asks for, give it to her. Ask for her to gather up a team, whoever she wants."

"Yes, boss."

Pepper was the first contact in his favorites list, and he tapped her name, holding the phone to his ear as his leg bounced off the side of the bed. She picked up after two rings. "Tony?"

"I need your help."

"Tony? What happened?" She demanded.

"Pep...it's the kid. Spiderman." He hadn't told her about his true identity...hadn't told anyone about him. But now, he would have to trust Pepper with it. Not that he didn't trust her...but Peter was counting on him to keep it a secret, and more and more people were finding out. "He...he got hurt."

"What about Steve? Were you able to…"

"Pepper, Spiderman is hurt. Bad. He...he's in surgery but...I need you to bring his aunt here. She's his legal guardian."

"His legal…" She trailed off, and he heard his girlfriend take a sharp breath. "Tony, how old is he?"

"His name is Peter and he's...he'll be fifteen in a few months."

"Tony…" She whispered, and he ran a rough hand over his face.

"I'm about to call his aunt and tell her...I'll tell her it was a car accident but…" He took a deep, shuddering breath, and did his best to keep going. "I'll tell her it was a car accident. I was hoping you could come with her...I'm having my jet bring her but…"

"Of course." She softened a little. "When I get there, will you tell me what's going on?"

"Yeah...yeah, I'll...I'll explain when you get here." There was a pause, and he went on, stumbling over his words. "I never meant...I benched the kid. I swear, Pep, I told him to stay down and then he…"

He fell. His head bounced on the tarmac, arm outstretched….

"Send me the address and I'll be there in an hour."

"Thank you."

He grabbed the boy's phone after he hung up, pulling his sunglasses on and watching the display light up. The boy's background was a picture of him standing next to a larger, darker-skinned boy, the two of them holding a trophy between them. He looked up at the ceiling, forcing himself to breathe. To take deep breaths. He had to breathe if he was going to get back to the kid. "Friday?" He asked, tapping the side of his sunglasses.

"Yes, boss?"

"I need you to scan the kid's phone. I'm looking for video files starting the day I met him...anything that involves Spiderman or me...Happy said he was making a video diary."

"Scanning." Pulling out his own phone, he scrolled through his contacts until he found May Parker's. He stared at her name, wondering what the hell he could possibly tell her. "Video file found." The boy's phone screen was still on the lock screen photo...he wouldn't rifle through it. But...the kid had made a video diary. Tony had recruited him and brought him to Germany, and he hadn't even gone with him. Hadn't even ridden on the plane with him. He'd sent the kid with Happy who hadn't wanted to babysit him in the first place...what if that video diary was the last thing Peter ever made?

Swallowing hard, he told Friday to play the video.

The hologram showed a car window and the passing of buildings in New York. Somewhat familiar buildings. Then, the kid's voice, but deeper and with a heavy New York accent. "New York. Queens. It's a rough borough, but hey, it's home." Tony narrowed his eyes and leaned in.

"Hey? Who are you talking to?" Happy asked in the video, and the camera moved to show his driver turning around a little in the front seat.

"No one." The boy answered, voice back to normal and cheerful. "Just making a little video of the trip."

"You know you can't show that to anyone." His bodyguard reminded the boy, voice flat and tired sounding. Happy hadn't wanted that job...not that his driver and bodyguard and friend would have refused it. He would have protected the kid. But Tony knew, watching the man and hearing Peter's happy, laughing voice, that it had been the wrong call to put Happy in charge of him.

"Yeah, I know." The boy chirped.

"Then why are you narrating in that voice?"

"Because it's fun."

"Fun?" Happy repeated dubiously, and Tony felt his heart ache for the boy. Fun. The boy had been having fun. Because he was fourteen. And he'd been so excited.

"So why do they call you Happy?" Tony snorted, wiping a hand over his eyes and waving his other hand to make it stop.

"That's enough, Fri." He whispered, dropping his head into his hands. "What's the ETA on Helen?"

"About six hours, boss."

"Right. Okay." He pulled the glasses off and dropped them onto the bed next to Peter's phone. "Okay." Taking a deep breath, he touched May's name on his phone, then held it to his ear. He could do this. He would have her flown out here. He would promise that everything was okay. Because it had to be. Peter would be okay and...and Tony would make sure the kid knew how grateful he was. How good he had done. Because he'd done so good. He'd disobeyed direct orders, of course, but the kid had potential. Maybe one day, he would be an Avenger.

'If he wakes up.' His brain reminded him, and he flinched at the thought just as May answered her phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mrs. Parker. It's Tony Stark."

"Oh...oh, Mr. Stark. I'm sorry…" He swallowed, rubbing a hand over his face and fighting back the bile in his throat. "How's Peter? I hope he's not talking your ear off. I swear he gets it from his mother." She laughed a little, sounding distracted. She was probably getting ready for work or...or making dinner...he wasn't sure exactly what time it was in New York. Or in Germany, for that matter. "Can I help you, Mr. Stark? Did you need something? Is Peter okay?"

He swallowed hard, staring at the blank wall.

The boy had fallen, arm outstretched toward him like he'd been asking for Tony to catch him but he hadn't. Tony hadn't caught him because there hadn't been time and...his body had hit the tarmac, head bouncing. Blood trailing from his nose, a line of bright red over his pale face.

"Mr. Stark?" She asked again, voice a little louder. "Is…"

"Mrs. Parker...there...I'm sorry to say that there was an accident." There was silence. A long, terrible silence. He didn't want to keep going. Didn't want to tell her what kind of accident or that her nephew was in a German hospital and that he might never walk again or even wake up despite his mutation. He thought for a moment that he was going to have to go on despite her silence, but then she responded.

"No." It was the word of a woman who had already lost so much. Why did she have to lose this one too? Tony closed his eyes, forcing himself to breathe. He had to explain. Had to tell the boy's last living relative what had happened..

"It was a car accident."

"No!" Mrs. Parker bit out, and he knew that she was crying. He knew that he was crying.

Peter had been excited.

His head had bounced on the tarmac, an arm outstretched.

"I have the best doctors…"

"Stop!" Her cry seemed to crack something open in him and he put a shaky hand over his eyes. He'd dragged Peter into this. "Please...please, don't...he can't…"

"I'm so sorry," Tony whispered. "I'm sending Miss Potts...Pepper...she's going to bring you here. I'll take care of everything. Your boss, your job, the apartment...I'll take care of it all…"

"He's my...he's...he's only fourteen…" She choked out, and he wished he could...what? Put a hand on her shoulder like he had Peter's? Pat her on the back? Tell her that, since her nephew had secret spider-themed powers that he might be okay? That he might wake up again? "He's all...all I have…"

"I'm so sorry. I...I'm so sorry, Mrs. Parker. It was...he was in the car..."

"Were you with him?" She interrupted, voice hard, and he clenched his hand in a fist, gripping the blankets.

"He...he was with my driver and their car...someone hit…" It was a flimsy story, one that he could barely get out, but she was sobbing on the other end and he couldn't speak because his heart was racing and he couldn't breathe and the boy had been excited and his head had bounced on the tarmac and Rhodey had screamed...but he hadn't. Peter hadn't made a sound. "Miss Potts will be there in an hour." He gasped out, praying that she didn't know he was crying, although he wasn't sure why that mattered. "I have a private jet waiting for you."

"Is...is he...going to be…"

"He's in surgery. I...we don't know much yet."

There was a cry on the other line. A ragged, anguished sob that ripped right through him, and he placed his hands over his face, dropping the phone on the bed beside her nephew's, feeling hot tears fall down his face. His fault. This was his fault. But he would fix it. He had to fix it. He grabbed the phone, giving his head a quick shake, then speaking to her again. "Mrs. Parker, I'm going to do everything I can. I swear to you, I will do whatever it takes to make sure your nephew is okay. I have world-class doctors on their way. No matter what, I'm going to take care of Peter."

And he would.

Once she'd agreed to come to Germany with Pepper, he picked up Peter's phone once more. "Fri...show me the rest of his video." He would watch the whole thing, and then he would go back to Peter. He would sit by the boy's side until he woke up.

Thank you for reading!