He felt gentle hands picking him up, righting himself and the bicycle he'd fallen on top of.

"I'm never going to get it."

May hugged him, and her gaze went to the tear in his jeans and the scrape on his elbow. A kiss against his cheek.

"Of course you will. It just takes time to learn the right balance, that's all." She held him at arms' length, but still she held him, and she smiled. He loved that smile. "Try again?"

"What if I fall again?"

"Then I'll pick you up again. And again. Until you don't fall anymore."

"That might be a long time."

"We have all the time you need, Peter. You'll see."

Fingers lightly brushing his face pulled Peter gently from the dream and he opened his eyes, not at all surprised that May was with him, holding him and smiling down at him as she touched his face. Her expression was gentle, and loving. The same expression he remembered seeing in the dream.

"Hey…"

He watched her gaze change as she looked for any sign of confusion, but there wasn't any. And there was no fear.

"You were dreaming," she told him. "I'm sorry I woke you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I am."

"You're sure?"

He nodded, not moving. Giving himself a chance to wake up and to hold her like she was holding him. He knew instinctively that moments like this were not going to be as common as they'd been when he was six and he was willing to enjoy it while it lasted.

"I was dreaming about the day you taught me how to ride a bike."

"It was more than one day, as I recall."

"The first day."

"Good dream?" she asked, giving him a little squeeze.

"Yeah."

"I remember that day."

"It was the first time I tried riding since dad took my training wheels off."

He smiled, despite the subject, because it was one of the best memories he had of the man he barely remembered, sometimes. He'd told him he'd teach him when his parents returned from their trip. But they'd never returned and the promise had gone unfulfilled. Until May had pulled the bike from the garage and told him it was time to learn.

Her grip tightened once more, just for a moment, and she smiled, too.

"That was a good day."

"I ended up black and blue and a bit bloody."

"Still a good day."

"Yeah."

They were quiet for a long time, lost in their own memories but happy to be together. A moment that was broken when his stomach growled, loudly, demanding attention.

May laughed, and let him go, ruffling his hair as she did.

"I remember that sound well," she told him. "You wake up a little more, I'll go see if it's dinner time, or what the plan is."

She left and he rubbed his face, feeling better for having had a nap. He sat up in the bed and noticed that his backpack was on the table. Reaching over, he rolled it closer and found a copious amount of homework stuffed into it. He leafed through it, but wasn't ready to start on anything at the moment. Instead he stuffed it back into the bag and rolled the table to the side again. A glance at the clock told him that he'd slept a couple of hours, and that it really was well beyond the dinner hour. He sat on the edge of the bed and started putting on his shoes, anxious to be moving around now that he wasn't so tired, but before he finished, the door opened and Doctor Strange walked in.

"Your aunt told me you were awake and hungry," he said by way of greeting. "How do you feel?"

"Pretty good, really," Peter answered, watching as the man took his pulse and felt his forehead. Peter wasn't hooked up to any of the machinery any longer, so it was the old fashioned way of checking his vitals, now. "A bit restless, maybe?"

"Good." Strange's gaze held his own, and he tried to look as healthy as he could. "You look better already. It helps when you get real sleep, doesn't it?"

"Yeah."

"I want you to do the water therapy before you eat anything heavy. Not because you'll get cramps and drown," he said with an amused gleam in his eyes. "But because once we feed you, I anticipate you'll probably get sleepy again, and I don't want you dozing off before you get another chance to be on your feet."

"May went to find something to eat."

"I know. I told her to meet us at the pool if she was inclined. I told her I'd bring you."

"Okay."

"I didn't tell her how, however," he added. "And I'd really rather she didn't know. Not because she can't be trusted, or any such nonsense. Mainly because I don't feel like having another conversation about what is and what isn't possible."

Peter nodded. While he felt that he already had too many secrets that he was keeping from his aunt, this one wasn't really his to tell.

"What do you need me to do?"

"We'll transfer to the locker room and go to the pool from there. Once you're more mobile, you'll need a locker there anyway so you're not walking to your room in wet shorts. Tony said he'd set one up for you, so that's our first stop. Ready?"

"Yeah."

Minutes later he was once more dressed in swim trunks and now carried a towel as Strange escorted him out of the men's locker room and into the pool area. May and Tony Stark were already there, sitting on one of the many benches that lined the pool itself.

"That was fast," she said when they walked over.

"You look better," Tony told him, obviously checking him for shakiness or exhaustion with a quick glance.

"I feel better."

"Slept well?"

"Yeah."

"Dreams?"

"Only good ones."

"Good."

"Into the water, Peter," Strange told him. "Five laps tonight."

Stark scowled at that, but didn't say anything, and the two men watched as he started his water walking, with May standing nearby, clearly uneasy about him being in the water at all.

"Did you find a room, yet?" Strange asked, softly.

Tony nodded.

"Got just the place. A reinforced workroom. In the basement."

"I'll look it over, and then have Wong prepare it."

"Peter looks a lot healthier."

"Yes. He'll still tire easily, though, so we won't push him too hard right now. He's going to think he's healthier than he really is for a few days at least."

"We can keep him occupied."

"Did you tell him about Loki?"

"No."

"Are you going to?"

"He's not going to be there."

"He should know, however."

"You don't think that would give him new fodder for nightmares?"

"No. I think he'd be better off knowing what was causing them."

"I'll tell him."

"Good."

Both men noticed when Natasha entered the pool from the women's locker room, and without even thinking about it, at the same time took a couple of prudent steps back, further away from the edge of the pool as she walked over to say hello to Peter.

They were quick learners.