The days at the Rhodes' blended together.
They lived at least forty minutes away from the hospital, so visiting every day wasn't always an option - mainly because they weren't always able to drive him everyday, and Tony couldn't drive himself. He didn't have a car seat, and he wasn't about to leave his kid alone, no matter how much he trusted the Rhodes'.
Which is how he ended up here, begging Rhodey to drive him into the city.
"Please, Rhodey! It's been two days!"
"Tones, I understand that, but I have homework-"
"Really, Rhodey? Homework? Our friend is in the hospital and you're worried about homework?"
"Tones, I'm on a bit of a time crunch, here," Rhodey said. "I have to finish up all my school work and go to basic training in a week or so-"
Rhodey had recently turned eighteen, and had signed up for the air force. He'd go to boot camp during the summer, finish up at college, and then start climbing the ranks in the military. Tony didn't like the idea of his friend in the military, but he really had no choice in the matter. It was his friend's life, and he was dead-set on being in the air force.
"Forty minutes, Rhodey! You can just drive me up there and drop me and the kid off!"
"No, Tony!"
Tony scowled, marching out of the room and making sure to slam the door extra hard behind him. Fine. He didn't need Rhodey to drive him, anyway. He could get Momma Rhodes. Or one of Rhodey's sisters. Or Bert. They were certainly all old enough to drive.
He decided to head to the sitting room, where Momma Rhodes and Bert were sitting, each of them crocheting tiny socks and hats, probably for Peter. Despite the fact that both were crocheting, their eyes never strayed far from the box-like TV, where a crappy soap opera was playing. Tony knocked on the wall to get their attention.
"Momma Rhodes?" Tony said when the woman's attention shifted to the teenager standing in her living room.
"Yes, honey?" Momma Rhodes said, her crochet needles stalling. Bert's eyes, however, seemed to be glued to the TV, where a woman was telling her brother-in-law that he was the father of her baby.
Wow, Tony thought. That's problematic.
"I was wondering if you could maybe drive me into the city so I can see Mary? I haven't gone in a while." He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the wall, going for casual, like it wasn't that big a deal. He didn't want her feeling guilty if she didn't have the time to take him.
"Oh, Tony, I'm sorry," Momma Rhodes said, and she actually sounded apologetic. "But Marty's out, and I promised her I'd watch her boys. And you know Shelby, Charlotte, or James can't be trusted with a turtle, much less the twins." Tony nodded - that was true. If any of the other Rhodes' children tried to babysit, only uncontrolled chaos would ensue.
"I get it," Tony said. "Sorry for bugging you."
"You know you never bug me, honey!" Momma Rhodes called as he hurried back up the stairs.
Shelby only had a learners' permit, so she wasn't an option. No way was he getting in a car with his baby if she was behind the wheel. Bert was probably too distracted by his soap opera to even think about leaving the house. Rhodey was too busy with homework. The twins, for obvious reasons, couldn't drive, and Marty, apparently, was out.
Which left Charlotte.
Tony shuddered at the thought, but knew he didn't have another option.
Charlotte, dubbed Charlie by her brother - a nickname she absolutely loathed - and Charles by everyone else, because of her love of Charles Dickinson and the lovely coincidence of her name, was a formidable young woman aged twenty. She was a tiny thing, barely five feet tall. She was pretty, in her own odd way, and fairly intelligent to boot.
Tony liked Charlotte. Truly, he did. She had been nothing but kind to him.
That didn't stop her from being an absolute nutcase.
Maybe that was a strong word. There was nothing wrong with her, mentally, and Tony wouldn't have cared much if there was, it was just how she acted. Always moving, talking a mile a minute, making choices that put Tony's drunken shenanigans to shame. Not to mention she was rather reckless in the driving department.
But, he had no other choice. They were starting to ease Mary off the medication that kept her asleep, and she could wake any time from today to two weeks from now, and he had to be there for her when she woke up.
And so, apprehension settling into every bone in his body, he walked over to Charlotte's door, and knocked.
She opened the door, a blinding grin stretching across her face when she saw him.
Charlotte was about half a foot shorter than Tony - something that made Tony feel better about his own height. While both her sisters and her brother were built like their father, wiry and long-limbed, she was built like her mother, a bit on the heavy side and with a kind look etched into her features. Her hair was done up into dozens upon dozens of braids, which were tied back in a straining hair tie. She had a yellow bandanna wrapped around her head. She was wearing a charcoal grey Spongebob T-shirt - Lord knows why - and hole-y jeans. Her room, behind her, was painted light greys and dark blues.
"How can I help ya, Tones?" Charlotte asked cheerfully, rocking back and forth on her heels. That was the thing about Charlotte - she always seemed to have to be moving. Fidgeting in one way or another, whether it be with her hair, with a pencil, or simply tapping her foot. She was incapable of standing still. Even in her sleep, she was always twitching.
"I was actually wondering if you were busy today?" Tony asked, equal parts of him hoping she was and hoping she wasn't. "I haven't been to see Mary in a while, and I don't have a carseat so I'll have to hold Peter in the passenger seat, and I need someone to drive me but Momma and Rhodey are busy, and-"
"Slow down, Tones," Charlotte said, laughing. "All ya had to do was ask! Of course I'll drive you! Do you wanna leave now?" She seemed almost too excited to be making a forty minute drive into the city, along with all the traffic that it brought. Tony felt anxiety churning in his belly.
"That'd be great, Charlotte," Tony said, forcing a grin. "I'll go get Peter."
Do it for Mary, do it for Mary, do it for Mary… Tony thought over and over again as he walked down the stairs toward where he knew Peter would still be waiting, probably taking his nap. Or staring at the ceiling. He found ceilings very interesting, for whatever reason.
The baby was, indeed, gazing up at the ceiling, though he seemed to be listening to the soap opera Bert and Momma Rhodes were watching as well. Tony picked him up carefully, cradling him in his arms as if he were a priceless jewel. Which he was, in Tony's humble opinion.
"Hey, little man!" Tony said, smiling down at the small baby in his arms. "Do you wanna go with me and your Auntie Charlotte today to see your momma?" The baby gurgled. "I'm gonna assume that's a yes." He said goodbye to Bert and Momma Rhodes and exited the house, heading toward his car, where Charlotte was already waiting, tapping impatiently on the steering wheel.
Whelp. Now or never, Tony thought, walking to the car like a man going to his execution.