Pepper thought she had heard Morgan but then the noise quieted down so Pepper snuggled back under the covers. She woke up again when she heard another noise and forced herself out of bed. She realized while she was pulling her robe on that Tony was asleep next to her. He had gotten much better at sneaking into bed without waking her up. She wasn't even aware that he and Peter had made it back. Logic dictated that they had both returned unhurt. If Peter had been hurt, Tony wouldn't be in bed. He'd be right next to his son. If Tony had been hurt there's no way Peter would have let him just go to bed. She smiled at the fact that Peter could get Tony to do things that no one else would have been able to. She was already guessing that Morgan would have the same affect.

She headed down the hall to Morgan's room when she saw a faint glow from the living room. Changing direction she headed for the living room to find Peter nestled on the couch with Morgan and an empty bottle on the table next to them. "Want me to take her?"

Peter shook his head. "Go back to sleep. I thought I got her in time not to wake you or dad up."

Pepper picked up the empty bottle. "Peter you've got to be tired. She's almost back to sleep anyway."

"Sleeping on the couch with my baby sister is exactly what I want to be doing right now." He formed one of the web-shooters and quickly spun almost a cocoon around Morgan, securing her to his chest. "There, now you don't have to worry about her falling off." He grinned up at Pepper.

Pepper smiled and started to walk out. She paused and looked back and saw Peter with his hand resting on Morgan's back. "Peter, are you sure you're ok."

Peter looked back at Pepper from his position on the couch. "I'm ok. It was a hard trip."

"Peter...". Pepper didn't know what to say that hadn't been said a million times before. "Peter, I wish you didn't feel like you needed to do this."

"I know. Pepper, I do this because I can. I wish bad people didn't exist in this world. For Morgan and all of the other kids out there. But they do. And they keep doing bad things. So as long as they do bad things, I'm going to keep fighting them."

"Because you can." Pepper set her jaw. She it was a repeat of every conversation after every not so good mission.

"Because I can." He looked over at Pepper again. "And because I can, if I didn't and something happened...I couldn't live with myself." He thought back to right after his uncle had been killed. The guilt had been overwhelming. May had been the only thing that had held him together.

Pepper walked over, leaning over she kissed Peter on the forehead. "I hope you know how much you are loved. Come get me if she wakes up." She stood up and left the room leaving Peter and Morgan safely ensconced on the couch. She understood that Peter needed to make sure Morgan was safe right now. She also knew that she would never know what had happened. But, that was part of the package. The fact that Tony was asleep meant that they had talked everything out on the way home. Didn't mean that she liked it but it, not knowing the details, but it was something she had learned to live with a long time ago.

"So how many countries have you been to?" Bobby and Ned had woken up to find Tony and Peter back but, unlike Pepper, they were frustrated that Peter wasn't offering up details.

Peter was used to fending off Ned's questions. Adding Bobby to the mix was making it more challenging. "I have never been out of the country. You can check my passport. It's completely blank."

"Well, we all know that's not true." Bobby looked at his friend. They had talked superhero stuff before. Part of what Professor Xavier taught them was how to use their powers. Mainly defensive, but there was some offensive training as well. They all understood the world they lived in. Peter just lived a little deeper in that world than the rest of them. "Can you at least tell us if you're done or if you and Mr. Stark are going to have to leave again?"

Peter smiled. "We should not have to leave again. Plus, I think we're heading home in another couple days. Pepper keeps reminding me that we all have to pack for college. He looked over at Ned, "Of course you're actually closer to Cal Tech from here. But I don't think your mom would be ok with you leaving for school from here."

Ned shook his head. "No, but if I did I could probably avoid all of the tears."

Bobby and Peter weren't entirely sure if Ned was talking about himself or his mother. Ned had made the decision to go to Cal Tech because their computer program was slightly better than MIT's. But, he was struggling with being so far away. While Peter was wallowing in the fact that his circle of friends was breaking up, he had realized that it was going to be hard on all of them. He was a 4 hour drive away from home. His dad could come up any time. Ned was going to be a 5 hour flight plus having to deal with getting in and out of an airport. MJ...MJ still wasn't really talking to him. He had gotten a picture of MJ and some orphans in response to one of the texts he had sent her. And then another picture of her and Nakia. After that one he figured that she knew he had people checking on her. He had gotten a status update in Hong Kong. She was ok and headed back to the states next week.

Figuring he wasn't getting anywhere with Peter, Bobby changed subjects. "Ned, do who your roommate is yet?"

Ned shook his head. He was entering Cal Tech as a sophomore just like Peter was since they had both done dual enrollment their last two years of high school but unlike Peter, his mother was making him live in the dorms his first year. "They send them out next week. I'm hoping that I'll at least be on the same floor as some of the people who were at that coding camp."

Peter frowned. "You mean the one where you all created a virus that almost destroyed all life in Pennsylvania?"

Ned nodded, "A couple of them are going to Cal Tech. At least I'll know someone."

"Wait, back up to 'destroy all life'". Bobby looked between Peter and Ned. "What did you do?"

Ned adopted a look of innocence. "It wasn't that bad."

"Wasn't that bad? I nearly froze to death. And the walls were crying. It is still the creepiest thing I've had to deal with." Peter glanced over at Bobby and cringed. "But I wasn't actually there."

Bobby shook his head. "Yeah...I don't believe that. I'm just glad we don't have to live in the dorm."

"Have you two actually seen the house?"

Peter nodded in response to Ned's question. "I thought if I went with him I'd be able to rein him in but you know how he is."

"I've just seen pictures." Bobby shrugged.

"Well, I would definitely rather be living with you two than in the dorm."

Peter, Bobby, and Ned hated to leave the island. They had squeezed in as much as they could before they left. Now that Tony and Pepper knew how much they enjoyed it, they made a conscious decision to try to force themselves to actually take trips. Tony was astonished at how much he enjoyed himself. They all regretfully boarded the jet and left the island behind. The flight back was relatively subdued as were the weeks following. Ned left for California a couple weeks later. Peter and MJ exchanged some texts before she headed to Princeton. Peter tried to squeeze as much time as Spider-Man as possible, blowing his curfew multiple times. It was partially a distraction from MJ but also because he knew he wouldn't be able to do it in Boston.

Bobby and Peter were the last to leave. Tony found himself fighting the urge to just stay in Boston. He had been offered multiple positions over the years and with the amount he donated to MIT he truly could have opted to stay. But, he knew Peter needed to stand on his own and he was looking forward to spending time with Morgan since Pepper was heading back to work full time. Pepper had been mainly working from home since Morgan was born and it was time to get back to work full time. A new normal was emerging. Tony just hoped that it was one they could adjust to.