Author's note: warning, this chapter has some disturbing content. I did a ton of research on bullet removal in order to make it as realistic as possible. If you're squeamish, skip the part that's in Peter's pov.

p.s. Does anyone know if the "boyhood" section has been uploaded yet? I just saw the movie last week and I keep getting ideas for a story. It picks up right where the movie ends and follows Mason from age 18 to 30.

(Peter's pov)

We rush back to the apartment. I'm once again carrying a semi-conscious Gwen in my arms while Simon runs to keep up with me. A few people turn toward us, and often look confused. Hopefully they don't think I'm the real spider-man and that I'm just dressed like him.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Simon asks as I open the door to my apartment and gently place Gwen on my kitchen table

"Yeah, she's gonna be fine." I answer as I remove the blood-soaked clothing that surrounds her bullet wound "I just need to make sure that her femoral artery hasn't been severed."

"Is there anything I could be doing?" He asks as he tries to sound calm

"She's slipping out of counciousness." I say "So I need you to talk to her and try to keep her calm and awake while I fix up her leg. She's going to be in a lot of pain which could make her go into shock. So I need you to keep her eyes fixed on you no matter what."

I carefully check the wound, and curse under my breath. The bullet is right next to the artery and is putting pressure on it. I slowly insert tweezers into the wound, blood pours out as I go in further. I hear Gwen groaning in the background. "Can we give her any medicine so that she isn't in any pain?" Simon asks "I don't have any to give her." I reply

I can't exactly treat this like a the removal of a bandaid, one false move and her artery will be severed and she'll die in minutes. "Got it" I announce almost tryumphently as the tweezers grasp the bullet. I slowly pull it out and place it on a bowl. I don't have any stitches, so I use a web to patch up her wound.

"Okay...I think I'm gonna go throw up now." Simon says

"Alright." I reply "Hey, you did a good job."

"Thanks." He says "So did you."

(Gwen's pov)

I am awoken some time later by the sudden sensation of stabbing pan. "Hey hey, it's okay, you're alright." I hear Peter say gently as I briefly squirm. I slowly open my eyes to see where I am, I only see a celling light in my narrow vision. We're back at Peter's apartment, and the light is the same one that hangs above his bed.

"How do you feel?" He asks as he adjusts the quilt that's draped over me

"Oh, just great." I reply sarcastically "getting shot in the leg really mellows you out." Peter chuckles

"Now you know how I feel." He says as he sits down beside me

"How many times has it happened to you?" I ask

"One, no...uh, two...,uh wait, four times." He replies

"When did the other three happen?" I ask

"Well, the first one happened when your dad tazzed me in the chest, the second was when one of the S.W.A.T. guys accidentally grazed my leg on the same night, and the third is when I was shot in the foot by a Russian mobster." He replies

"I'm pretty sure that first one doesn't exactly qualify as getting shot. It's more on the lines of just getting tazzed." I say

"How's Simon?" I ask

"He's okay." Peter replies as he slightly opens the door enough for me to see Simon asleep on the couch "He's been asleep for a while. You'd be proud, he helped out a lot during your operation."

"How is he holding up?" I ask "This can't be easy on him."

"He hasn't said much." Peter sighs "I don't think it's settled in yet."

I fight the urge to cry when I finally look at Simon. Asleep on the couch, hopefully dreaming of something happier than what he's been through for the past six years. "I always had to be the strong one after my dad died." I say as tears leak from my eyes

"My mom was always God knows where, with God knows who. A month after my dad died, she walked through the front door, falling down drunk. I had to spend the entire night holding her hair as she puked and help her get into bed." I'm sobbing now as Peter pulls me into his arms "I was the one who had to console my brothers whenever they would think about dad. I was the one who had to work overtime at Oscorp because my mom blew away my dad's three hundred thousand dollar life insurance on alcohol within a year. It was always me that had to be the strong one."

"I know Gwen." Peter says gently "You did a good job, and that deserves some credit."

"I was so obsessed with leaving for England." I say "I didn't pay attention to what would happen with my brothers. I just figured everything would be fine and that my mom would be cleaned up. Everything that has happened within the passed four years is my fault. If I stayed then I could've protected my family, and now they're dead because of me."

"You know that wasn't your fault, Gwen." Peter says "It's like you said last night, your family died because of Harry." He's right, Harry was the one who killed them. I won't let him apologize, I won't show sympathy, and I won't give up, not until I have my hands around his neck.