Here you are my amazing readers, chapter 4 is up!

Thank you again to everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed my story, its always awesome to know that you guys are enjoying it and I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.

Also as a disclaimer, I do not work in the medical field so any of the medical things in this chapter or any other chapters come from google research so I'm hoping its at least plausible. But for anything I messed up, I'm sorry!

Enjoy!


As Tony walked back to the bed, the first thing he noticed was that the helmet was no longer on his son's head. Tony watched the lazy brown eyes turn toward him as he crouched down next to Peter. The pain in those soft eyes caused Tony's chest to tighten and he wanted nothing more than pull his hair and scream at the stupidity of it all. But he needed to focus on Peter so instead, he dropped a hand on the chest of the suit and the other into Peter's hair as he slowly brushed his son's grimy hair back, feeling the knots on his kid's head. In the light of the quinjet, the visible bruises seemed deeper, contrasting painfully against the small patches of pale skin on his face. The agony in Tony's chest grew and he could not help but start talking, "God, Pete. I'm so sorry." He dropped his head to his chest even as he continued running his hand through his son's hair, trying desperately to give some small comfort even while he regretted the immense comfort he was taking in the action. He knew he did not deserve any comfort for what he had allowed to happen. But almost immediately as that thought crossed his mind, a metallic hand under his chin forced him to lift his head.

Peter could not stand thinking that his dad blamed himself for any of what happened. Reaching a shaking hand out, he carefully placed it under the man's chin and lifted it so he was looking at him, "This isn't your fault, dad. You saved me."

"But not fast enough." Tears started to build in his bloodshot eyes, "Pete, what they did to you…" His voice was strained, desperate.

Peter could not let him finish that sentence, instead slowly shaking his head and repeating, "was not your fault." He looked his dad in the eyes just to make sure he understood before continuing, "Thank you for saving me." He tried to smile, as gruesome as he knew it had to be given the way the movement pulled at the bruises and cuts on his face. Still, it was worth it when his dad gave him a small smirk. Peter relaxed farther at that, the knowledge that he was safe finally sinking in and his exhaustion finally catching up. He unconsciously tried to shift and get comfortable when he realized how unused to his dad's suit he was. Looking up again, he asked, "Can you…uh…do I have to keep wearing this?"

Tony shook his head, "Not if you don't want to but I thought it was keeping you warm."

"Blankets are good at that too." Peter hummed, earning another small smirk from his dad, two for two, he congratulated himself.

Tony gave him a small smirk before answering, "Whatever you want, Pete." Immediately, he tapped the nanobot storage on the wrist sitting on Peter's chest and watched as the suit slowly retracted. "Is that better?" Tony asked, the desperation to make something better was clear in his tone as he stood to retrieve one of the heavy blankets stored above the bed. When Peter hummed his acceptance of the warmth, Tony tucked him in carefully and crouched next to him again, running his hand back through Peter's hair, "Why don't you try to get some sleep, I'm not going anywhere."

The young man mumbled his agreement as he closed his eyes for only a few moments before he opened them again quickly, catching his dad's attention, "Can you sit with me? The pillow isn't comfortable."

Tony could not help but smile, actually smile this time. Tapping on the wrist guards, Bleeding Edge retracted the rest of the way as he stiffly stood and lifted his son partially off the bed, offering his thigh in the place of the apparently uncomfortable pillow.

Peter wasted no time pressing his head back into his dad's leg, he still hurt like hell but at least he was safe. He drew in a stuttered breath, frowning slightly at how difficult it was but chalked it up to his surely broken ribs. Instead he pressed it to the back of his mind and tried to enjoy the feeling of his dad's hand in his hair, while the other offered a grounding presence where it rested lightly on his chest.

Tony could not help the warmth that spread through his chest when his son relaxed into his grasp and he wrapped his arms around the kid's frame, pulling him as close as he could while still being careful not to jostle him too much. For the rest of the flight, Tony resolved to focus solely on Peter, pressing the presence of Hammer out of his mind for at least a little while.


Tony sat pressed against the metal of the quinjet, dozing. FRIDAY had been giving regular reports of distance and he knew they were close, so close to safety when suddenly Peter's breath started to hitch under his hand. The awkward motion forced his mind into awareness as his son's chest bucked slightly. Then Peter's arm shot up and latched onto Tony's sleeve. The older man immediately looked into his son's eyes and saw the panic but before he could ask what was wrong, Peter beat him to it. "Da'…da' – ca't…ca't breathe. Ca't breathe…" His eyelids fluttered before he managed to refocus them as he started gasping for breath.

Tony nearly lost it. Then he looked down at his son and took a deep breath before sliding out from under Peter's head and stumbling over to the medical drawer. At the same time, he demanded answers, "FRIDAY, what's wrong?" As he started digging through the medical supplies, searching for something that could help.

The ever calming voice answered his frantic request, "One of his broken ribs have punctured a lung."

He continued to dig, knowing what he needed to look for now, "Why didn't you catch that?" Tony was angry but he knew it was not the AI's fault.

"I did, boss. The medics at base knew to prepare for it but there was no way of knowing if it would collapse before we made it back," She sounded sad as she continued, "I recommend letting me monitor his health through the suit, sir."

Tony paused for a just a brief moment as he considered that. Finally pulling what he wanted out of the drawer, he pulled off one of the wrist guards before darting back over to his struggling kid. Snapping the nanobot housing on his wrist, he turned Peter as gently as he could to his side, carefully moving his arm away from his chest and sliding his shirt up. His ribs were painfully visible but it made it easy for Tony to quickly feel along his ribcage and press the scalpel in just above the bone. Tony saw the discomfort and fear flash across his son's face as the blade pierced the skin, but he knew if he paid too much attention to that fear, it would paralyze him so he kept moving. Once the incision was deep enough, Tony pressed a wide tube with a valve on the end into the space he had created. Immediately, the hitching breaths Peter had been taking started to ease. But when Tony finally looked at him, he could see the tears in Peter's eyes. Needing the contact, Tony laid a hand on the top of Peter's head and the other on his chest before pressing a quick kiss to his hairline. Taking one last, deep breath, he knelt and pressed his forehead against his son's. He felt Peter close his eyes and relax into the touch, his breath sounding a little easier. "I've gotcha, Pete. I promise," he whispered.

After a few moments, Tony pulled back and looked him in the eye, swallowing as much fear as he could, he resolved to keep the kid awake. Forcing himself to smile, he started to talk to him, watching as Peter opened his hooded eyes, "Do you know how happy Morgan is going to be when he sees you? He talks about you all the time, you know." Tony saw a small smile creep across his oldest son's face and he continued, "Pepper caught him dressing up like Spider-Man the other day. She took pictures to show you, I'm sure she'll have them at the Compound. She's going to bring him by." But Peter's eyes start to flutter closed and Tony had to fight the panic in his voice, "but you have to stay awake if you want to see him." And the brown eyes he was desperate to keep open locked onto his again, "There you go Pete. Just keep looking at me. We'll be there soon." His one sided conversation lagged for a minute when he asked FRIDAY for an update, "How long until we get there?"

"Eight minutes, boss." The Irish voice intoned, Tony could almost swear he heard worry in her tone.

"Push the engines as hard as you can." He snapped, letting the fear he refused to direct at Peter out on the AI, surely FRIDAY had thought of that already?

The answering tone was still annoyingly calm, "They're at maximum now."

"Then push them beyond maximum." It was a curt order as Tony turned back to Peter, hand continuing to comb at his hair. "Hear that, Pete? We'll be back soon and then we'll get you fixed up." Tony could tell he was trying so hard to hold on, his hooded eyes dropping lower every moment, "Come on, Pete. You have to stay with me, just stay awake for a little longer. Please?" He could hear his voice cracking and Peter reacted to the terror in his tone, forcing his eyes open a little wider. "There you go, kid." Tony held his gaze, willing with everything he had that Peter would stay awake.

And he managed to, for a bit.


Peter had finally been comfortable, he was finally safe. And he let that feeling swell through him.

He dozed and reveled in the warmth until a vice felt like it was suddenly closed around his chest. He tried to pull in a breath but it would not come, it was like the vice was keeping him from even attempting to breathe. Immediately, he snapped his eyes open and grabbed for the one person who could help him. His good arm shot up and caught his dad's sleeve, pulling and twisting at the fabric, trying to get his attention. Then he saw his dad's frantic face above him and he tried to explain what was going on.

But then his comfort disappeared and he panicked but he could not pull in enough breath to demand he came back. He felt his lungs start to burn as his body bucked, trying to pull in enough air to function. Then Peter felt himself carefully turned on his side but he knew it was his dad so relaxed. Or at least that's what he though until he felt the bite of a blade pierce his skin. His quickly fogging mind threw him back into that cell. They were hurting him again. They were cutting him and poking him but this time he could not pull enough air into his lungs to fight back. The panic amplified his desperation and he felt his heartbeat kick into his throat as the hopelessness of it all threatened to overwhelm him.

Then something else was pressed into the deep cut and almost immediately he began to feel better. It was easier to take a breath and he felt his mind come back to him. The fog slowly dissipated and he was able to remind himself where he was. Then the familiar hand was back in his hair and a forehead was pressed against his. The motion was recognizable and comfortable, he was not back in the cell, he was safe, he was with his dad. As if in confirmation, the deep voice he knew so well carried through the cabin, forcing his attention. And he tried so hard to give it. He wanted to listen but he was so tired. So incredibly tired. He listened for as long as he could until he could not force himself to pay attention anymore. He actively knew his attention was fading but this time it was not a drug that did it. Even though he still tried to grab at it the same way. But he lost the battle. He could not keep his eyes open and his chest was becoming painful again. He felt his heart start to flutter as he tried to focus on his dad's voice but no amount of will was going to ensure his body obeyed.


Peter's head lulled, the grimy hair turning against Tony's hand, as those brown eyes disappeared, "Pete? Pete, are you still with me?" But the kid did not answer. Tony felt his anxiety starting to catch in his throat as he battled to breathe while pressing his hand to Peter's neck and searching for a pulse, it was there but it was thready and weak.

FRIDAY's voice interrupted the relative comfort of even a slow pulse, "Boss, his heart is going to stop, you need to be prepared for that."

"What the hell are you talking about, FRIDAY?" Tony responded wildly, his brain already spinning as he tried to figure out what he was going to do if what she said happened.

"His heart is beating too slowly to keep him alive, it's an unnatural rhythm and it will continue to worsen to the point where you will have to act but I do not know exactly when." The calm voice was meant to be comforting but instead it just made her announcement even worse.

Tony could not help the fleeting thought that he really needed to give her a few more settings than perpetual calm, but he shook his head and focused, "Okay, so what do I do to stop that?"

"There is nothing you can do here, you will just need to be prepared to stabilize him if it happens before we make it to the compound."

Tony was already pulling on the gloves of the suit, the repulsors worked well as defibrillation pads, but the thought that he was just sitting and waiting for his son's heart to fail made him sick, "Alright, how long until we get there?"

"Five minutes, boss." Without being asked, the AI played the increasingly slowing rhythm through the cabin's speakers. It somehow sounded worse to hear it amplified with the knowledge that it would eventually stop. Why couldn't Peter ever catch a break? He could take more than other people but this was just asking for too much.

Crushing down the panic, Tony ordered, "FRIDAY, relay everything to the med team on standby and call Pepper, tell her she needs to get down to the Compound as soon as she can and have her call May too. We need to let her know."

Then it was quiet with only the slowing heartbeat pounding too hard in the background. Tony felt like the world slowed down, like everything was centered on this one sound and its continuation. He felt like he was waiting with bated breath, then the morbid thought hit him that he was watching his son die with no way to fix it. He pressed his gloved hands back into Peter's hair and stared at him but talked to his AI, "How long, FRIDAY?"

"Three minutes, boss."

Almost as if that announcement triggered something, the beat stuttered abnormally. It started and stopped before it sputtered again and for a split second Tony could not comprehend it, "FRIDAY, wha', what's happ…?"

But she overrode him, "Boss, his...his heart is no longer functioning properly. You need to do something to keep it beating."

Tony nearly threw up but that was not useful so instead he quickly charged the repulsors, reminding himself he was ready for this. He felt the tears building in the corner of his eyes as he sent what would otherwise be dangerous voltage through his son's chest. As soon as the charge dissipated, Tony listened for the rhythm to come back. He heard a few weak beats but they quickly stuttered and then stopped completely this time. Twice more, Tony had to shock his heart back into rhythm before the soft, slow thrum filled the cabin again. As soon as it held, Tony nearly collapsed, letting the tears start to fall as he tried to comfort him again.

It took a bit longer than a minute for the quinjet to touch down at the Avenger's Compound and as the door lowered, the med team swarmed in. Tony was pulled back from the bed as they attached electrodes Peter's chest and slid him off the bunk before rushing him away to repair the damage Hammer had done. It was only as they ran out of the cabin that the slow heartbeats Tony had been relying on disappeared. Sound gone, Tony numbly followed the path they had taken into the medbay before dropping heavily into the chair closest to the outside of the operating theater. He dropped his head into his bloodied hands and tried to hold the tears back until he knew something.


Steve rolled his shoulder, working out the kinks Natasha's dislocation had caused. It had not been a particularly painful injury but he figured that since he was at the compound it was best to let someone with medical training fix it. As he was leaving though, he happened to glance into the room just outside the operating theater. There should not have been anyone there but there was. Someone was crumpled in a chair with their head in their hands. Steve recognized him instantly. Tugging the door open, his commanding tone echoed across the empty room, "Tony?"

Tony heard his name but did not want to respond, instead left his head in his hands and focused on breathing. He just hoped that the annoyance would go away. But Cap was nothing if not persistent. Tony could not help but groan when he heard footsteps moving toward him instead of a door opening and closing behind him.

Standing above him, Steve looked down at the hunched figure, "Tony?" He crouched in front of him, "What's wrong?"

Tony did not look up, but his voice was exhausted, "Steve, please go away. I just need a minute, okay?"

The Captain contemplated him, quietly taking in the silent figure in front of him and trying to decide the next course of action. He thought about leaving, about telling someone else but something made him stay. Taking up the seat next to Tony, Steve resolved to wait until the other man was ready to talk to him.

They sat in silence for a while. Tony sat with his head in his hands and Steve sat resolutely next to him. Eventually, it was Tony who broke the silence, "I need you to do something for me."

Thankful that he was saying something, Steve controlled the earnestness in his response, "What do you need?"

Tony's voice was dangerously hard and unwavering when answered, "Take one of the quinjets, tell FRIDAY to take you to the Northampton facility, and arrest or kill everyone in that building." The look in his eyes was nearly as disconcerting as his words.

Steve paused and leaned back in the chair, rubbing his hands down his legs before rocking forward again and trying to figure out how to handle the clearly upset man in front of him. Unease began to build as he realized something was desperately wrong but he also knew he needed some actual information before he could do any of that, "Tony I can't do that. I can't just go arrest or kill an entire building of people because you told me to, you know that. You need to tell me what is going on if you want me to do something even remotely close to that."

Tony looked up at him with a pained but, surprisingly, understanding look. He took a deep breath and told Steve what he needed to know in order to get it taken care of, "The people at that facility hurt Pete. I couldn't deal with them because I had to get him out. I need you do that for me so they don't get away with what they did." Tony watched Steve straighten immediately when Peter's name was brought into the conversation.

Steve snapped back against the chair as he tried to comprehend what Tony had just told him. If what Tony said was only somewhat hyperbole, whoever was in that facility would pay dearly. The anger was clear in his tone when he asked for a little more clarification, "They hurt Peter? How?"

Tony pressed ahead, knowing that Steve would take care of this, the others loved the kid almost as much as he did, "I promise I will explain everything when you get back but what you need to know is that they took him and they hurt him. They hurt him badly, Steve. I can't leave right now, I need to be here when he comes out. I'm asking you to take care of the people who went after him because I can't." He ran his hands through his hair before staring down the First Avenger.

Steve watched the worry set in his friend's shoulders and felt his own rage start to boil. Laying his hand on his shoulder, Steve still managed to control his emotions, even as he promised, "I'll deal with them, Tony."

"Thank you," Tony responded honestly, taking a sickening pleasure in knowing that the men under Hammer's employ would pay for what they had done.

Steve stood reluctantly, leaving his hand on Tony's shoulder as he planned out the next few steps. He was torn because he did not want to leave Tony alone to stew in the blame he would inevitably take on but he also could not allow the situation to stand. He halfheartedly removed his hand and headed out of the bay to grab Natasha, Bucky, and anyone else he could find. As he jogged through the compound, he solved his other problem, "FRIDAY, tell Rhodes to head down to the medbay."


So there you go, another chapter down! I hope it did not drag too much, I just felt like even Spider-Man can't go through something like that without some repercussions. But please let me know what you thought!

I hope you have a wonderful day/night and as always, stay creative!

- Lily