What? I'm actually on time for once! Lol. Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading and reviewing :) Here is day 10!
Day 10: Head Trauma
Tony glanced over at his seven-year-old daughter, the movement almost a compulsion. It had been a year now...a year since he'd gotten a call letting him know that not only had the woman he'd had a one-night-stand with had died, but also that she'd had a daughter. And that the daughter was his. A year since he'd had the paternity test done and a year since he'd gotten sole custody of the girl. The tiny, sweet, frightened little girl that looked up at him with his own eyes. That he'd hired a nanny to watch after...and then, fired the same nanny after finding out that the woman had told his little girl that he would be angry with her if she broke some stupid rules.
The girl's birthday had been a few weeks ago, and he may have gone all out. Bouncy castle, a huge cake, and a handful of other kids from her class. Ned, who had quickly become her best friend, and some other kids that she'd asked if she could invite. He'd stood on the sidelines with Pepper and Rhodey, mingling with the other parents who had brought Penny presents. That had almost been unexpected. He hadn't thought about the fact that the other people would give her presents. But she'd gotten LEGO sets and art sets, dolls and stuffed animals...and then she'd very carefully and very neatly put all of it away in her room.
Her almost uncannily tidy room. Pepper thought that was troubling but Tony was sure she was fine. The little girl was very well behaved. He almost never had to ask her more than once to do anything. She went to bed on time, letting him tuck her in and never arguing when he told her it was time to sleep. She got herself ready for school and ate her vegetables and kept out of the way. And Pepper had tried telling him something about trauma but the girl seemed happy to him. So he kept an eye on her. Hired a new nanny who mostly just watched her when he had to go out of town and neither Rhodey or Pepper could babysit, which was rare.
He didn't need a full-time nanny, he'd argued with Pepper after he'd fired the woman. Plenty of working parents got by without a nnanny. He could look after her...and besides, she'd be in school! He would just need someone to watch her when no one else was avalible.
Pepper had been skeptical. "Tony, she's six. She needs someone to spend time with her."
"I'll spend time with her. She's my daughter, Pep." Tony had cried, keeping his voice down as best he could. The little girl had been sick and had fallen asleep about an hour ago...he'd been right in the middle of sending the text that would fire the other woman. The one who'd hurt his kid. "I can take care of my daughter."
"I'm not saying you can't, Tony. But it might be harder than you think…"
He'd dismissed her, and...okay, yes, it had sometimes been harder than he'd expected. He'd had to figure out how to get his work done while she was at school since he had been afraid of letting her down in the lab. But today, he'd decided to bring her down to the lab and let her play while he worked.
Her face had been adorably serious when he'd given her the rules for being in his lab...of course, there's weren't many. Don't touch anything without permission. Don't wander off. That was about it. She'd nodded, going to the spot he'd set up for her and working quietly on her toys and book the whole time.
He glanced at her again. He must have checked on her seven times in the last three minutes, but still. The girl sat at a desk in the corner building a LEGO set, a little chapter book on the floor beside her...something about ponies or fairies or puppies...or something. It had been a gift from Pepper. But the girl was more interested in building most of the time. A stuffed rabbit, which had been one of his birthday gifts for her, was on her lap, and occasionally she'd give it a squeeze. She'd gotten home from school about an hour ago and had been working quietly ever since, happy to get to see his lab for the first time. Maybe when she was older, he'd let her do some real work down here. He had gotten her a chemistry set for her birthday...maybe they could play with it together later. For the moment, though, he was glad that she could apparently work down here with him. It would make getting his own work done easier.
"Daddy?" He jumped a little, looking up from the phone he'd been tinkering with.
"Yeah, sweetie?"
"I'm hungry. Can I get something to eat?" He checked his watch, frowning a little. He was nearly done but it was almost five...close to dinnertime. He realized it probably wasn't a great idea to have her down here every day...it wouldn't be good for her to be cooped up for hours. "Just a snack. I can go get it by myself." She must have been hungry, he thought with a pang, to actually ask. She almost never asked him for anything. Even when they went out together...even when he would catch her looking at toys and LEGO sets...she would never ask.
He hesitated...then nodded. That would be fine, right? "Yeah, okay We'll make dinner as soon as I'm done. Bring it down here to eat."
"Okay." The girl nodded, jumping up from her desk and hurrying over to the elevator. "Jarvis, can I go to the kitchen please?" Tony chuckled a little as the elevator doors opened and the girl stepped inside.
Then he got back to work, putting the phone back together and taking notes. This phone was set to hit the markets in three weeks, and Pepper insisted that he finish his final review up by the end of the day. So he worked as quickly as he could while still taking notes on the phone and ways it could be improved which, by this point, was almost none. He smiled down at his work, releasing a breath and putting it down on the table. Done.
"Sir?" Jarvis spoke, voice urgent.
"Hm?"
"Sir, Penny has fallen off a chair and seems to be injured." Tony froze, looking up at the ceiling.
"What?" He asked, jumping to his feet. "What?"
"Penny has…"
"No, I heard you! Why was she on a chair?" He demanded, racing toward the elevator, feeling as though he were moving through liquid. He couldn't breathe right...Penny was hurt. He'd left her alone and she was hurt!
"Penny was attempting to reach a jar of peanut butter on the top shelf," His AI informed him. Tony swore, hand shaking as the elevator shot him up to the penthouse. "She wanted to make you a sandwich."
The elevator deposited him onto the top floor and he raced into the living room, then the kitchen where he felt his whole body freeze, blood turning to ice. There was blood...she was on the floor and there was blood...he couldn't breathe...he couldn't move. She wasn't moving...she was on the floor and there was blood and she wasn't moving. "Jarvis...Jarvis...call...call someone." He begged, choking on his words. "Call...get help…" He jerked his leg forward, then another, hands shaking as he forced his way toward her, dropping to his knees and reaching out to press trembling fingers to her throat. "Penny? Penelope? Baby?" He felt a tear drip down his cheek.
Her pulse beat against his fingers but he didn't dare touch her anymore. The blood was a halo around her head...she'd hit it on the counter. He could see the chair, the shelf...the peanut butter she hadn't been able to reach.
The corner of the island where she'd hit her head. "I have contacted an ambulance and they are on their way. I have also contacted Colonel Rhodes." And then his phone was ringing in his pocket and he placed a gentle hand on her cheek, watching the blood soak into her long, tangled brown hair. Then he lifted the phone to his ear.
"Tony, Jarvis just called...what's going on?"
"Rhodey...I don't know what to do...she...she fell...she…"
"Tony, take a breath." Rhodey urged, his words soft and calm. "I'm on my way over. Did you call an ambulance?"
"Yes." He whispered. The girl didn't move. Didn't flinch.
"Okay. I can meet you at the hospital. You said she's breathing?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I…" He held the hand over her nose and after what felt like too long, he felt a puff of air. "Yes."
"Good. That's good. Can you tell me what happened?" The elevator left the floor then, and he had to assume that it was headed for the bottom floor to let the EMTs in.
"She came up here alone...we were in my lab but I told her she could come in here alone and get something to eat. I should have...should have come with her. I just...I needed to finish the damn phone…" His voice caught and he pressed a hand to his mouth. He was kneeling beside her and there was blood on his pants. Her blood. His little girl's blood.
"Okay...it's okay, Tones. She's going to be okay. Just...take a couple of deep breaths. Then what happened?"
"She wanted to make me a sandwich and she...she climbed up on a chair and...she fell. Hit her head on the corner of the cabinet...she isn't waking up, Rhodey."
"Is the ambulance close?"
"They're on their way up," Tony whispered.
The next hour was a terrible blur. Two women and a man came into his penthouse with a stretcher and shifted his daughter on a backboard, then lifted it onto a stretcher, securing a collar around her neck. She looked so impossibly small then...so tiny. Helpless. She didn't move or flinch or even seem to breathe and Tony just stood there...helpless. He'd let her come up alone and she was just a baby and...then he was in an ambulance. Then a hospital waiting room. He had no real memory of anything else...he was just sitting in a plastic chair, staring down at his hands and trying to remember how to breathe.
Then Rhodey was beside him, wrapping his arms around Tony's shoulders and Tony felt himself crumble, sobbing into his friend's shoulder. "Rhodey...she...she fell...I wasn't with her…"
"Tony, it was an accident." He whispered, rubbing Tony's back. The mechanic shook his head.
"No...no I didn't come with her. I left her alone and...I can't...I can't do this, Rhodey. I can't...I'm supposed to be her father and...I fired the nanny and said I could watch her but I…"
"Okay...okay. Come on." Rhodey urged, helping him sit and taking the chair beside him, rubbing constant circles over his back. "Take a breath, Tones. It's okay. What did the doctor say?"
"Nothing, yet." Tony whispered.
"Okay." He pulled away just a little, hands on his shoulders. "Listen to me. You love that little girl. She's your daughter, and you have been an excellent father. Everyone knows it. She loves you so much, and you are doing everything right. She's a happy, smart, healthy kid. This was an accident. Kids get hurt sometimes...they fall and break bones and bump their heads. But she's going to be fine."
"You don't know that."
Rhodey shook his head, then glanced up, and Tony followed his gaze to Pepper who was suddenly standing in the doorway to the waiting room. "Tony?" She whispered, a hand over her mouth. "Jarvis called me."
"She...Pep...she was just alone for a second…"
His assistant and sort of girlfriend hurried to his side, wrapping her arms around him, and he buried his face in her shoulder. "Tony…" She sat beside him, a hand in his hair, and he shook his head.
"She was getting something to eat...she wanted to make me a fucking sandwich…"
"Honey, this wasn't your fault." Pepper murmured into his hair, shaking her head. "Jarvis told me what happened."
"I let this happen. I should have been…"
"You can't be with her every second. This was an accident."
Tony didn't care. Didn't care if it had been an accident or not. His little girl was hurt and he hadn't been there.
The doctor called for him about half an hour later, the man reaching out and shaking his hand. "Mr. Stark. I'm Doctor Samson. Could you come with me?" Rhodey and Pepper came too, their footsteps right behind him as he followed the doctor. "Your daughter, Penelope, fell off of a chair, correct?" Tony nodded. "There was a cut on her head that required six stitches, and she has been unconscious since she was brought in. We did a CT scan and she appears to have a mild concussion, though we won't know for sure until she wakes up."
"When...when is she going to wake up?" Tony asked as they paused in front of a door.
"We can't know for sure. But you're welcome to sit with her. Um...family only at the moment, though." Tony nodded, and Rhodey dropped a hand on his arm.
"We're going to be in the waiting room. Just call if you need anything." Tony forced himself to nod, stepping into the room and freezing.
"I know it looks scary, but she's doing just fine." The doctor's voice was like a humming in the background. Like he was under water. "We'll be notified when she wakes up and can do some tests to make sure there's no brain damage." Just those words made him sick. Brain damage. His baby girl could have brain damage because he hadn't been there. He'd left her alone because he'd been too busy…
The doctor was gone then, and he moved to her side, sitting gingerly in a chair beside her bed. Hesitantly, he rested a hand on hers. There was a bandage wrapped around her head and a pulse monitor on her tiny finger. A monitor beside her told him that her heart was beating steadily and that she was breathing. That was all he needed to know, and closing his eyes, he gripped her hand gently in his, choking back a sob and dropping his head on her bed. "Baby...I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry, Pen. I'm sorry I was busy and I'm sorry...I'm sorry I didn't just come with you. I…" He closed his eyes, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. "It's okay. I'm right here with you, baby. You won't be alone. I promise...just...wake up. Please? Please wake up for me, baby." The hand in his twitched and her fingers tightened a little around his. "Baby?" He asked, looking up and sniffing, running a hand over his eyes. "Pen? Honey, can you hear me?"
"Da…" She coughed a little, eyes closing tight and then opening a little. "Daddy?"
"Hey...hey, baby." Tony reached out, putting a hand on her cheek.
"Daddy...my head hurts…"
"I know." He whispered, gently brushing her hair back. It had been soaked in blood but they'd tied it back, cleaning her up. "You hit your head. Do you remember?"
"Daddy…" She whimpered, eyes darting around the room, huge tears pooling in her eyes and dripping down her cheeks. "Where are we? I'm...I'm scared…"
"No...no, baby, don't be scared." He urged, reaching out and wiping a tear away. "It's okay. You're fine. We're in a hospital. You fell and hit your head."
The girl just closed her eyes, lips trembling, tears still running down her cheeks, and he moved to sit on the bed beside her, gathering her into his arms, careful of the wires, and held her close. "I'm here, baby. It's okay. You're going to be fine." He promised, smoothing her hair, trying not to touch the stitches or the spot in her hair where they'd had to cut it a little. Tony thought of the blood soaking her hair...he would take her to get her hair cut once they got out of here. "My head hurts." She whimpered, and he rocked her back and forth. "I wanna go home…"
"I know. We're going to go home soon." He promised. "It's okay, baby. Uncle Rhodey and Aunt Pepper are both here too." He assured her. "As soon as the doctors check on you, I'm going to see when we can take you home. Okay?" She hesitated, then nodded, sniffing and wiping clumsily at her eyes. He reached down, wiping her tears away and kissing the top of her head. "There's my brave girl." He murmured. "I love you so much, baby."
She rested her head against his chest, curling up against him and snuggling close. "Love you too, Daddy."
He could do this. This was his daughter and he would do anything to protect her. Anything.
Thanks for reading!
