Hello!

Thank you to everyone who has invested in this series! I hope you are all still enjoying it! I can't thank you enough for the love you have given this series :) I never thought it would go this far but here we are! Thank you to everyone who also voted for my fics in the Irondad Creator Awards. Voting starts the 10th of April so make sure you look out for your faves :)

PROMPTS ARE CLOSED!

This prompt is from Latch_is_what_I_want_to_be_called on A03 -What if Peter ended up in medbay for some reason and had to stay there for a bit and Tony was away, expected the others to be with him in his place, but everyone forgot he was there, so no one visited. You could do something like have just one person be there with him like Fury was for the decathlon competition. Or not, your choice!

I hope you enjoy and apologies for any mistakes.

Bedside Manner

Peter had once told Ned that Spider-man wasn't a party trick. Peter wishes that he had remembered that when Ned came to him with the idea of starting Spider-Man's own Instagram account. The photos started off simple; a skyline here, secret rooftop gardens he found while patrolling. Then the photos got a little bolder; Spider-Man hanging off a bridge, a shot of him backflipping off a tall tower, a selfie on top of the Empire State building.

The account skyrocketed. He had millions of followers that watched his account daily. It was a rush. Peter and Ned's own personal accounts had no more than 600 combined and they were constantly losing followers more then they gained them. Maybe he and Ned should have taken a step back and evaluated it. Or at least consulted MJ who would have told them what a bad idea it was and that with Peter's luck, disaster was sure to follow.

But they didn't and now Peter is laid up in the Med-Bay with a broken spine that could have killed him. He would have been dead had Mr. Stark been in the country but for once there was some luck on his side and his mentor was in Bangkok with Pepper on some SI business.

It had been Bruce who had greeted him when he had arrived at the Tower. Ned, very reluctantly ("Peter, I really think we should go to a hospital," "We can't. My spider DNA, remember?" "At least tell May." "Ned, she would murder me before it even had a chance to heal!"), had gotten him to the Tower when he insisted all he needed was one of those pain killers that Tony had specially made for his metabolism. When Bruce had met them (him being the only Avenger currently at the tower) he had gone white as sheet and immediately took him down to the Med Bay.

"Tell me exactly what happened?" Bruce demanded as he carefully got Peter onto the bed.

Ned had been the one to explain the fall as the medical staff moved around his bed, setting up monitors while Peter gritted his teeth against the pain that was building steadily. It was really starting to hurt, and Peter was regretting everything right now.

"Thank you, Ned," Bruce said when Ned had finished his detailed (and Peter thinks a little embellished. He didn't look that spastic) re-enactment of Peter's fall. "Peter, I'm going to take some X-Ray's just to be sure which bones but I'm sure you have broken something."

"Okay," Peter gasped out, trying not to let the tears that were welling in his eyes fall.

Bruce gave him a sympathetic smile. "Once we know, I'll get you something for the pain, okay?"

Peter made a noise of confirmation, unable to keep the tears at bay any longer. It hurt and he was starting to feel scared. He was so stupid. When May and Tony found out, he was going to be so grounded. They'll probably even take Spider-Man away from him again and ground him until at least fifty.

"You'll be okay," Ned whispered, his own tears falling down his cheeks. Ned quickly wiped his face with his sleeve before he took Peter's hand, giving it a squeeze.

This made Peter feel even worse and he hiccupped on a sob. Ned was such a good and loyal friend and Peter felt so bad for scaring him like this. He was so, so stupid.

"FRIDAY, take some X-rays, please," Bruce said. "Ned, I'm going to have someone drop you home, okay."

"But, what about Peter," Ned sniffed.

"We'll take care of him from here," Bruce said, his voice soft and calm. "You did the best thing, bringing him here. He's going to be just fine."

"Okay," Ned said eventually. He sniffed, turning to face Peter again. "Get better really soon, okay?"

"Yeah," Peter said, voice wavering. "Promise."

Ned nodded and he shuffled out with one of the nurses' arm around his shoulders.

"X-Ray completed, Doctor Banner," FRIDAY's voice filtered over the room and they flashed up on a monitor. "Peter appears to have broken the L2 and L3 bone."

Bruce hissed and Peter smothered his sob.

"Peter, I'm going to have to call Helen," Bruce said, turning to face Peter. "This break looks bad and may need some surgery to repair it."

"Surgery?" Peter choked out, eyes widening with fear. "No. No, it will heal. I just have to sleep it off."

Bruce had started shaking his head before Peter had even finished speaking. "That's not a good idea, Peter. That could end up making things worse."

"Please," Peter whimpered. He didn't want surgery. He wanted to go home.

"I'm sorry," Bruce said gravelly. "FRIDAY, call Helen and have her come here as soon as possible. Then call Tony and let him know –"

"NO!" Peter yelled, startling Bruce. He tried to sit up but cried out in pain as he moved. He sunk back into the bed, more tears falling down his cheeks. "No, don't call Mr. Stark. Don't!"

"Peter," Bruce hesitated. "He would want to know. He asked us to keep an eye on your while he was away for the week."

"No," Peter said stubbornly. The truth was, he really wanted Tony. He wanted his mentor to tell him everything was going to be okay, to make light quips and chase away all of Peter's fears. But he also didn't want Tony to know what a dumbass he had been. "No, he'll be so mad. Don't call him. Please. Do-on't call him. Please!"

"Helen Cho will be here in approximately 10 minuets," FRIDAY said.

"Please," Peter sobbed.

Bruce sighed. "Okay. But I do have to contact your Aunt, Okay."

Peter whimpered but agreed. He didn't want to be alone. He wanted to go home.

"It's going to be okay, Peter," Bruce smiled at him encouragingly. "I'll be back in a moment and we'll get you ready for surgery, okay?"

"Doctor Banner?" Peter whimpered. Fresh tears welled and fell down his cheeks. "I'm scared."

"You have nothing to fear," Bruce smiled at him gently. "We'll take good care of you. I promise."

"How's the kid?" Tony asked.

"Hello to you too, Tony," Natasha drawled down the other end of the phone., her voice filling the car. "I'm good thank you for asking."

"Yes, yes, hello," Tony chuckled. "How are you? Any trouble? Do I need to swoop in and save the day?"

"Everything is fine, Tony," Natasha said. "The world has not ended without you here. Actually, it's been much more peaceful."

"You wound me, Romanov," Tony said with mock-outrage.

Beside him, Pepper shook her head fondly. The two of them were on their way to the new building where the new Bangkok sister company was having their grand opening. The tip was only a week and normally Tony wouldn't complain that much but since they had left, he had been nothing but fidgety.

Pepper would have been annoyed except she knew the reason why her fiancé had been angsty since they had left. Peter Parker. She had watched with fascination and tenderness as the two of them got to know each other. The change in Tony since meeting Peter had been only positive. Her fiancé was taking better care of himself; eating regularly, sleeping and had been sober for months now. She watched Peter blossom under Tony's guidance. The teenager soaked up knowledge like a sponge and the way he moved around Tony, the way they worked together was something special.

Tony wouldn't admit it, but Pepper knew that he saw Peter as son and that the teenager looked to Tony as a father-figure. (She and May had a bet going on when the two would acknowledge it. Pepper was hoping Tony caved first as that meant she got to choose the wine for their girl night, and she had very expensive bottle she wanted to share with May). She was not surprised that Tony was a little anxious to leave Peter for a week. It had been the longest they had spent apart in months.

"Now, answer the question; how's Peter?" Tony asked. "I sent him a text, but he hasn't responded."

"Peter's fine, Tony," Natasha said. "He's out being a normal teenager. If something had happened, we would let you know."

"See," Pepper reached over and squeezed Tony's arm. "He's fine. You can relax."

"Have you heard from Bruce?" Natasha asked rather abruptly.

Pepper's brows frowned and she shared a look with Tony.

"No, I haven't spoken to him," Tony said. "Last I did he said he was going to work with Peter on his spider DNA while we were gone."

"They're probably locked in the lab together," Pepper soothed. "All you boys get the same once you're in there."

"Nat," Tony asked, a panicked edge creeping into his tone.

"It's fine," Natasha said. "Good luck at the opening. I'll talk to you soon."

She hung up before either Pepper or Tony could say goodbye. A thick, anxious silence filled the car. Pepper could see Tony's jaw tensing, his mind working over Natasha's words.

"Tony," Pepper called his name softly.

"Something's not right," Tony's face went hard.

"Okay," Pepper said, pulling out her phone. She knew better than to fight Tony on this. "Let's go home."

Bruce's shoulders finally relaxed. He took off his glasses, rubbing his tried eyes before slipping them back on.

"He's lucky," Helen said as she tapped at a monitor. "His healing factor is incredible. The way it was already healing. Had we waited any longer, Peter would have been paralysed for life."

"Yes," Bruce swallowed around the tightness in his throat. "Thank god you got here in time."

Helen gave Bruce a wry smile. "With you lot, I'm always prepared to leave at a moment's notice. You did very well before I arrived though. Peter was in good hands."

Bruce looked at the passed-out teenager. He looked so young among the pillows; blankets tucked around him gently. With Peter's intellect, his abilities, he often forgot how Peter was still just a young boy. He had been incredibly brave, and Bruce was so glad that he had pulled through the surgery.

"I estimate his recovery time to be about three to five weeks," Helen said. "Now that his body is healing in the correct way, it could be sooner."

"That's good news," Bruce said, relief flowing through his body. He did not want to have to tell Tony bad news regarding Peter. Not even the Hulk would be able to save them.

"Would you like me to tell his Aunt the good news?" Helen asked, giving Bruce a soft smile.

"If you don't mind," Bruce nodded. He had called Peter's Aunt who had rushed over from her work to be there. She had made it just before the put Peter under. She had not moved from the hallway, waiting for any news on her nephew.

Helen nodded, finishing up with the monitor before she left to tell May Parker the good news.

Bruce checked on Peter's vitals before he pulled out his phone. He switched it on, and he winced as notification after notification came flooding in. Most of them were from Tony who had tried to call him a total of twenty-nine times. Natasha had called him a total of seven time (and he wondered if this was a record for the spy) and there were several messages asking him to call her back or risk his body never being found.

Quickly pulling up Natasha's number, he called her.

The phone had barely rung when she answered the call. "Finally. Where have you been?"

"I'm sorry," Bruce apologised.

"Are you hurt?" Natasha demanded.

"No. No, I've been in surgery," Bruce scrubbed a hand across his face. "I'm sorry. In the rush, I forgot to call you."

"What's going on?" Natasha asked. "You said surgery?"

Bruce sighed. "Peter. He broke his back. He came to the tower but with his healing ability, it was healing wrong and healing quickly. Helen and I, we had to correct it before it did any more damage. He's okay. The surgery was a success and he's recovering now."

Natasha blew out a breath. "Tony's going to have a fit. He's already heading back from Bangkok. He was worried when he didn't hear from Peter."

"Ah," Bruce looked to Peter. "He begged me not to call him. I was going to call after the surgery went well."

"He was alone?" Natasha asked.

"No," Bruce shook his head, even though Natasha couldn't see it. "I may have forgotten to tell you all, but I did call his aunt. She's been here the whole time."

"Is Peter really, okay?" Natasha asked quietly.

"Yes," Bruce smiled softly. "He's going to make a full recovery."

"Good," Natasha said. "Us spider have to stick together."

Bruce chuckled softly.

"I'll call Tony," Natasha continued. "You prepare to have one very angry, stressful, I'm-not-his-dad dad show up."

Bruce laughed again. "I will prepare everyone. I'm sorry, Natasha."

"Don't do it again. I'll see you soon," Natasha said and then hung up.

Bruce pocketed his phone, knowing that Natasha would spread the word. He smiled at the resting Peter and moved to makes sure that he had everything ready to tell everyone when they would, with no doubt, rush to Peter when they learned what happened.

Peter felt like he was swimming.

"Nearly there, baby. You can do it," a familiar voice encouraged.

Peter knew May's voice anywhere and he struggled to the surface. Finally, he managed to pry open his eyes, blinking sluggishly at the lights above him.

"There you go," May cooed. "Good job, sweetie."

"Aunt May?" Peter rasped, smacking his lips. He did it several times, the action feeling funny.

"Hi sweetie," May grinned at him.

He rolled his head to look at her. She looked tired; her glasses unable to hide the dark circles that settled under her eyes.

"Hey," Peter slurred."M'sorry."

"I know," May soothed, her hand gently smoothing back his curls. "You worried me so much, you know."

"I was," Peter licked his lips, eyes fluttering shut. He managed to flick them back open. "a dumbass."

May laughed, the sound coming out wet. "Oh sweetie. Just a little but accidents happen."

"Don' tell m' 'ark," Peter slurred, reaching a hand to May. She took it in her hand, her thumb smoothing the back of his skin.

"Oh," May smirked, her eyes flicking up before landing back on Peter. "Why don't you want me to tell Tony?"

"He won' wanna be my dad anymore," Peter sniffed. He licked his lips again and felt something wet and slimy sliding down his chin. "He be all 'grrrrrr'. Don't like it when he's grrrrrr."

There was laughter and Peter blinked, trying to find the source of it. May grabbed a tissue and wiping his chin. Peter went cross-eyed at the action, his vision blurring for a moment.

"I think Tony will still want to be your dad," May smirked.

"Hmmmmm," Peter hummed. "Hope so. Like him being my dad."

"Yeah?" May asked.

"S'good," Peter said. He smacked his lips together. "Feel…I feel…."

"Feel what?" May asked patiently.

"M' I floating?" Peter asked.

"No kiddo," came a deeper voice to his left.

Peter frowned. The voice had not come from May. He rolled his head, blinking against the haze of drugs. "Oh. Hey Mr. Dad."

Tony's lips twitched. "Hey, kiddo."

"When did you get here?" Peter frowned.

"I've been here a while," Tony said, face looking tired but soft.

"You can go invisible?" Peter blinked. "That's cool."

Tony laughed, shaking his head.

"'Ony," Peter said, hand flopping against the bed.

"Yeah, kiddo?" Tony leaned forward, arms resting on the edge of Peter's bed, one hand taking Peter's flopping one.

"I think I did something dumb," Peter said seriously.

"It's okay," Tony said. He raised a finger to gently stroke Peter's cheek. It was a nice feeling, making Peter's eyes flutter close. "I know."

"Hmmmm," Peter hummed, eyes blinking open again. "You know everything."

"I do. I also know that you hacked into Karen again," Tony said.

"You got hacked? Wow, you must suck."

Peter was confused by the giggling that erupted around him and the long stare that Tony gave him.

"You're lucky you're on the good stuff, kiddo," Tony finally said.

"I'm good?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, you're the best," Tony smiled, stroking Peter's cheek again with his finger.

"Cool," Peter yawned loudly, eyes closing again.

"You can check out, Pete. We'll be here," Tony said softly.

Peter did as he was told and slipped back into sleep.

"He's okay, Mr. Dad," May smirked across the bed.

Tony's heart stuttered as he stared at Peter, the kid snoring softly. He had never felt such panic before when Natasha had called him and told that Peter had been in surgery. He had not felt calm, couldn't believe that his kid was okay until he saw him with his own eyes. Even then he hardly believed that Peter was okay.

"Yeah," Tony swallowed. "Little shit said I sucked."

Pepper and May laughed. His fiancé wrapped an arm around his waist, resting her chin on his arm.

"You can ground him later," Pepper smiled.

"Yeah," Tony agreed. "Later."

Because there would be a later. His kid was going to be okay.

Happy reading :)