I'm so sorry for the late update. I've been pretty sick lately, and this one was a pain to write, but I hope you enjoy!

Check-Up

Penny lay on her back, trying not to shiver in the cold as she stared up at the white ceiling. Gentle hands pressed on her stomach and she flinched, sucking in her stomach subconsciously to try and get away from Dr. Cho's gentle pressing. "Sorry." The woman told her softly. Penny's shirt was pulled up to her bra, and she couldn't help glancing over at the sheet wrapped around the bed in the medbay. "It looks like this is a little inflamed. Are you feeling any pain?"

"Not really," Penny told her, trying to ignore the look the doctor gave her. She was only able to manage for a few seconds before sighing. "Yeah...but only when I move."

Dr. Cho, who had instructed Penny to call her Helen the day before, lifted an eyebrow. "Have you been resting like I told you to?"

"I was just doing my homework on the sofa this morning...and then I went downstairs and watched a movie with the others...but I didn't do anything else," Penny promised, only lying a little. So she'd been walking around the penthouse...surely Helen couldn't tell just by looking at her.

"Bedrest." The doctor ordered, pointing a finger and giving her an unimpressed look.

"Can I be on bedrest at home?" She asked, making her eyes wide and hopeful.

Helen was replacing the gauze on her stomach and taping down the edges but paused, glancing up from where she stood at Penny's side. "Why?" She asked, sounding concerned as she crossed her arms. Penny wanted to sit up...she hated laying there, shirt pulled up over her stomach, while Helen stood over her, but she didn't think she could sit up on her own. Her stomach really did hurt. She was pretty sure she'd hurt herself when she'd gotten up from the couch earlier.

Mr. Stark had been the one to wake her after the movie. She didn't remember falling asleep...all she remembered was finishing her food and then...Mr. Stark showing up...and that was it. But then Mr. Stark had been shaking her shoulder, pulling her out of a sound sleep.

"Is she alright?" Thor had asked, and she'd opened her eyes a crack to see him looking up from a novel...had he been reading a novel before?

"Yeah. Super-healing makes the Spider-kid sleepy." Mr. Stark had told him. "You with us, kid?"

"Uh-huh." Penny had murmured, wiping a hand over her face. "Wha' time is it?"

"Almost five. Helen wants to look you over."

Helen had looked her over every day since she'd arrived, changing the gauze and bandages, and although today was the first day she'd felt awake enough to want to get out of bed, she was already ready to go home. She missed her room and her apartment and her aunt...she missed being in her own home and not an intruder in someone else's. Now the doctor was watching her closely, and she wasn't sure how to answer. Wasn't sure how to be honest...if it would get back to Mr. Stark. Still, the woman was waiting and she didn't have a lie ready.

"I don't want to impose." She told her softly, shrugging a little.

"You are not imposing," Helen told her, shaking her head. When Penny started to argue, she held up a hand. "You aren't. Not at all. You're staying here because I need to keep an eye on you. And Tony is worried about you...all of the Avengers are. Your aunt feels better when you're staying somewhere with a doctor close by.

Penny sighed, not sure how to phrase it so that the woman would understand. Still, Helen had been nothing but kind to her...maybe she could tell her the truth. Try to explain. "I lied to them. All of them. And...and I still haven't talked to Mr. Stark about everything and...and Harry is texting me asking me to call him and I don't know if I can trust him and…"

"You don't know if you can trust anyone." Penny froze, eyes wide, and Helen gave her a gentle smile, her whole face going soft. "I know that when you got your powers, you were alone. And you did everything alone for a long time. But you're not alone anymore. The Avengers want to be there for you. Tony wants to be there for you. The only question is, are you going to let them?"

"I want to," Penny whispered, eyes dropping. "It's just...it was stupid. Trying to bug his office by myself...I mean...I thought I could do it but…" She shrugged. "May's still upset with me and..."

"Do you want to know what I think?" Helen interrupted, holding out a hand and placing the other on her back, helping her sit up. Penny pulled her shirt down, shivering in the chilly room. This was doctor Helen Cho. Of course Penny wanted to know what she thought. About everything. "I think you need to talk to Tony. Explain what you were doing. And then I think you need to talk to Harry." Penny dropped her eyes. "Do you think you can trust Tony?"

"I…yeah. Of course." She nodded. Of course she trusted him.

"Then talk to him. I'm sure he'll understand. And I don't know Harry, but I think that if you talk to him, he will too."

"I didn't want anyone to know." She murmured. "I thought that I could keep Spidergirl and Penny Parker separate and…" Penny shrugged, trailing off and dropping her eyes.

"They're both you, honey," Helen told her, holding out a hand to Penny and helping her off the bed. It was humiliating...she could literally stop busses with her bare hands, but she needed help climbing down from a bed. She flinched when her feet hit the ground and Helen steadied her. "Penny Parker and Spidergirl...they're the same person. And I understand why you want to have a secret identity...really, it's a good idea with the general public. But the people in this building, the Avengers, they're good people and they care about you. Especially Tony. He cares about you like you're his own kid, and I think that if you try to explain, he'll listen."

"Okay," Penny whispered, arms crossed over her chest. Maybe the doctor was right. Besides, Mr. Stark already knew pretty much everything. What would it hurt to tell him who had shot her...and why?

"Now tell me the truth. Scale of one to ten, how much does it still hurt?"

"Six." She muttered reluctantly.

"Alright. Bedrest. In an actual bed. In a reclined position. No more than two pillows." Her mouth twitched up into a reluctant smile when Helen held up two fingers. "And I will be telling Tony."

"Telling Tony what?" Mr. Stark asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway. The doctor must have given him some kind of sign to appear, because he'd waited until she was once more dressed and presentable to enter the room.

"Penny is on bedrest until further notice. Actual bedrest. In a bed. Reclining."

His brow furrowed in concern and he gave Penny a quick once over. "Is she okay?" He asked the doctor, obviously knowing that Penny would lie.

"The wound won't heal if she keeps moving around like she has been. I'm sending her to bed with more painkillers that should make her sleep." Penny pouted but didn't argue...still, she didn't want to sleep. "Sleep is going to speed up the recovery process." The doctor reminded her, her hand still there to support her. "Make sure she takes them with food. No homework until further notice."

At that, Penny did protest. "But I'll get behind and.."

"Would you rather stay in the medbay?" Helen asked, voice mild, an eyebrow raised, and Penny dropped her eyes with a halfhearted grumble. "She's as bad as you, Tony."

The man snorted, moving over to Penny's side to wrap an arm around her shoulders, supporting her without making a big deal about it. Penny appreciated that. "Bedrest in a bed. Got it. Come on, kiddo. Helen's scary when she's angry." He told her with a grin. He was gentle with her as he helped her over to the elevator, Helen sighing under her breath, but there was a smile turning the corners of her mouth. He was always gentle with her...always kind. From the moment they'd first met when she'd burned herself on that coffee...when he'd seen the bruise on her wrist and she'd prayed that he wouldn't follow up on it...and then he had. He'd always been kind. Understanding. With Spidergirl and with Penny Parker. And it was that thought that gave her the courage to speak as the elevator doors shut behind them.

"Mr. Stark?" She asked, tentative as she glanced up at him.

"Hm?" He asked.

"I...I'm sorry…"

"For what?" He asked, eyes narrowing in confusion.

"I should have been more careful." She murmured. He was quiet as Friday took them back to his floor, and he held out an arm, ready to help. She didn't take it, wanting to prove, if only to herself, that she really was fine...that she could walk to the guest room on her own, and he let her, following close behind anyway. They hadn't talked about who had shot her...hadn't talked about any of it, mostly because she'd been asleep for much of the time since he'd brought her to the tower. And May had been by her side for most of the time she'd been awake, other than the brief conversation she'd had with Mr. Stark.

He opened the door to the guest room, face thoughtful, and Penny headed for the bed. Before she could climb into the bed that had, at some point, been made, he was pulling the blankets down, placing two pillows stacked on top of one another at the head of the bed, then holding out a hand to her. She took it, letting him help her climb up, then staying close by while she lay gingerly back, head propped on the pillows. He waited until she was comfortable, then pulled the blankets over her. She hated to admit it, but it felt a lot better to lay down. Her stomach had started to ache and the pain was finally fading a little. Mr. Stark covered her, resting a hand on her shoulder for a moment before taking a seat in the chair at the side of her bed that May had been sitting in before.

"Harry Osborn called while you were…" He waved a hand, looking almost haunted before he quickly schooled his expression. "While you were with Helen...before you woke up. He said that it was his idea. That when he found out you knew Spidergirl, he asked you to have her bug his father's office...because he suspected that his father was behind what happened at the gala." The man crossed his arms, leaning back in the chair. "He also said that he suspected you were Spidergirl...because he saw you drinking the poisoned juice at the gala."

Penny shook her head, eyes wide. "It wasn't his idea." She told him. She couldn't let Harry take the fall for this. "It was mine. After the gala...when I snuck out of the apartment and May called Pepper...I told him that I thought it was his dad and he agreed. And...then we came up with the plan...I would get the bugs from Ned and have Spidergirl sneak into his office while he kept watch. But...then his dad came home early and caught me."

"So it was Norman." He didn't phrase it as a question, but she nodded anyway.

"He didn't know it was me...just that Spidergirl was in his office."

"And his first response to finding her in his office was to start shooting?" He asked, voice dangerously soft.

"Yeah, apparently." She muttered with a sigh. "It's not like we can do anything, though." He lifted an eyebrow. "He didn't shoot Penny Parker. He shot Spidergirl who was technically trespassing."

"Penny Parker is Spidergirl." He reminded her.

"No one can know that, though."

"No one needs to. We'll take care of it." Mr. Stark's voice was oddly nonchalant.

Penny frowned at that. "We?"

"Well...not 'we.' Natasha. She wasn't too thrilled to find out that Norman Osborn had shot you."

"Wait...she isn't going to…" Penny hesitated and he snorted, finally smiling a little.

"She's not going to kill him, if that's what you're asking. But she's going to make sure he's less likely to randomly shoot people, especially local vigilantes." Penny narrowed her eyes, waiting for him to expand on that, but he only leaned back in his chair, watching her closely. "So I was right? At the gala...you drank the juice too, didn't you?"

It took her a moment to catch up with the topic change but she nodded once she did. "Yeah. But it didn't hurt me. Enhanced metabolism. I don't really know how it works."

'Have you talked to Harry?"

"He texted me." She told him, glancing over at her phone that had somehow ended up on the nightstand. "Asked me to call him but…" She shrugged. "I don't know."

"He was pretty freaked out on the phone...when I talked to him. He asked me to keep him updated. Do you think he had anything to do with Norman coming home early and finding you in his office?"

"I don't know." She admitted. "I don't think so but…but if he was…" Penny looked up at him, meeting his eyes once more. Mr. Stark was watching her seriously, hands clasped in his lap. He wasn't angry with her. He didn't hate her for lying to him. He trusted Spidergirl...and it seemed like he trusted Penny Parker too. And she trusted him. She'd liked Harry. She still did. They were supposed to go on a date. Her first date. "If he was the one that told Norman that I was in his office, then…"

"Then it would be dangerous to have any more contact with him." He supplied.

Penny nodded, and he thought for a moment.

"How about this? You get some rest. Maybe text him and tell him that you're fine...and then we can try to figure out if Harry can be trusted."

"How?"

"We could always have Natasha interrogate him." He suggested with a smirk, and she couldn't help giving her own smile.

"Think that would work?"

"Natasha could get anything out of anyone." He assured her.

"Would she be cool with torturing a minor for information?"

"For you? She'd be happy to." She had to laugh at that, and he patted his hands on his legs, pushing himself to his feet. "Alright, kiddo. You need to get some rest. I'll talk to Nat...see if she can tell me anything about Harry, and then I'll get you something to eat."

"Oh, you don't have to…"

"Enhanced metabolism, kid, remember? I know how much Steve has to eat every day...if I weren't a billionaire he would have eaten me out of house and home years ago. I'll be right back. If you want to watch TV, just tell Friday."

Penny waited until he was almost to the door, lips pressed together as she debated with herself. But she trusted Mr. Stark. She really did. And this was important. "Mr. Stark?" She asked, right before he left the room. He paused, glancing back at her, eyebrows raised, obviously ready to help. "You know how I was...was trying to bug his office?"

"Yeah…" He nodded, stretching the word out and speaking slowly.

"Well...I did it. I hid three mics in there before he showed up."

His eyes widened. "He didn't catch you?"

"No. I crushed the last one before he could see it. As long as Harry disabled any cameras like he said he was going to…" She shrugged.

"And you have a way to listen to them?"

"Ned programmed them to sync with Karen...and I programmed her to save all of the audio in a separate file so I could listen to it whenever."

Mr. Stark crossed his arms. "So we can theoretically listen to Osborn in his office at any time?" She gave a hesitant nod, and a smile slowly spread across his face as he pointed a finger at her. "Spiderling, that could come in handy."

Thank you for reading!