I'm back! This chapter is A LOT.

Heavy TW for abuse, scary men, manipulative women, anxiety, nightmares (just mentioned)

I think that's about it.

Stay safe folks, there's an in-depth summary at the endnotes if u want to stay caught up:)

Chapter 10

Peter sat with his arms crossed in a plush armchair, face turned away from his father. The small room filled with soft white noise as neither father nor son spoke. After a few minutes of static a young man in khakis and a pink button-down shirt walked into the room.

Tony stood up. "Dr. Reigner, thank you for fitting us in."

"Of course Mr. Stark." Dr. Reigner shook Tony's hand before turning to the teen. "Hi Peter. How are you doing?"

Peter glanced up at the new man. "Hello. 'M fine."

"That's good, why don't you follow me back." Dr. Reigner led the way into a spacious office with a plush couch where Peter plopped down.

Dr. Reigner sat across from the teen in a leather chair and took out a notepad. "Can you tell me a little bit about why you're here today?"

"My parents think I should be." Peter bit his lip.

Pepper and Tony had sat their son down three nights after Ben's funeral because they needed to talk.

"What's up?" Peter was a little nervous at his parents' serious expressions.

"Peter, your dad and I have been talking… we should have brought this up much earlier, but with everything that's happened recently we think you should talk to someone."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been going to a therapist for- oh- close to a decade now, and she's been really helpful in my life and managing the stress and trauma that I've experienced." Tony watched his son's closed off expression as he spoke. "Pepper's done the same on and off. We think a professional might be helpful for you too."

"I think I'm fine. Thanks though."

Pepper sighed. "You're not fine. That's okay. It's okay to not be fine, but Tony and I can only help to a certain extent."

"I don't want to see a therapist."

"I didn't either, but going was one of the best decisions I ever made." Tony smiled at his son.

"You don't have to continue going if you really hate it, but can you promise to give it a try? Please?"

Peter sighed. "I can try, Mom."

"Do you know why your parents suggested that you come in?"

"Yeah."

The psychiatrist stayed quiet.

"Uh, a close family friend was killed." Peter swallowed. "And, I was, um, I- I was there with him."

Dr. Reigner nodded. "How have you been doing since that happened?"

The teen looked down. "I- I- um. Not great."

The doctor nodded again and wrote something in his notebook.

oOo

Peter went back to the psychiatrist's office twice more before he came home from school on a Tuesday to an FBI agent and a lawyer in his living room. His parents had warned him that morning, so he wasn't surprised to see his parents sitting with two women in dark suits.

The teen sent a small wave. "Hi."

One of the women with light skin and grey poking into her dark hair smiled back at the teen. "Good afternoon Peter, I'm the lead agent assigned to your case, Sarah Jane Emerett."

"Nice to meet you," Peter replied quietly. It was strange to hear this agent talk about his case.

The other woman introduced herself next. "Hi Peter, my name's Khala Davids, I'm one of the lawyers that works for your parents. It's good to meet you."

"Good to meet you too."

Pepper smiled over at her son. "Do you want to come and sit down, bud?"

Peter replied by squishing between her and his dad on the long couch, sandwiching himself in the middle. The lawyer and the agent sat across from them on two cushioned chairs.

Ms. Davids spoke first, "We're here to give you information about the Parker's case."

Peter nodded and the lawyer continued. "Their court date was postponed after what happened to Mr. Fitzpatrick at the request of your parents. It's now scheduled for next Monday. Because of the nature of the case, it would be helpful to have your testimony."

Peter wrapped his arm around himself protectively.

"There is another option though. Would you like to hear it?"

"Yes please," the teen replied.

"The Parkers have agreed not to contest any of our claims in exchange for a conversation with you."

"They want to see me?" Peter sounded almost hopeful.

"That's what they have asked. There would be a guard in the room at all times, but we don't know why they want to talk with you or what they'd say. We suspect it's a way for them, especially Mr. Parker, to gain power back in a situation that they feel powerless in."

Peter looked up at Ms. Davids, avoiding his conspicuously silent parents. "I'd like to talk to them."

"We can do that. Do you have any questions for either of us?"

Peter broke eye contact and looked back at his arms. "Why did they take me?"

Agent Emerett sat forward in her chair. "We don't know for sure what their motivation was, but I can repeat what they've told us and what our suspicions are. The Parkers were having trouble conceiving a child and fertility treatments weren't working. Adoption is very expensive and they didn't want to wait for a child any longer, so they made a plan to take a child from the hospital. It just happened that you were in that hospital when Richard went to act on their plan.

"It would have been smarter for Mr. Parker to take one of the children who didn't have a personal guard outside of their room, but kidnapping you gave him power over someone he envied."

The teen took in the new information. "It was just a coincidence?"

"For the most part, yes."

Pepper rubbed comforting circles on her son's back. "That was a lot of information; how are you doing honey?"

Peter stood up suddenly and squeaked out, "I'm going to go work on homework," before he fled the living room.

Tears fell from Peter's eyes as he locked his bedroom door. He leaned back against the door and slid to the floor. After a few deep, calming breaths, the teen stood back up and walked purposefully into his walk-in closet. Peter opened one of the wardrobes near the back of the room.

Behind a large winter coat that Tony insisted he would need soon (it was still spring) sat the navy blue notebook, his old pajamas, some bottles of chemicals that he'd snuck from the lab at his school, and the small metal devices he'd been working on for the last few weeks.

Peter picked up the web shooters. He'd waited long enough. New York had waited long enough.

oOo

Peter had somehow convinced his mom to let him go to Ned's house after school. Ned could barely hold in his excitement as he rode in the back of her Audi. Pepper made polite conversation and Peter watched as his friend tried desperately to answer normally.

Eventually they pulled up outside of Ned's familiar house. Pepper took the car out of gear, took her left foot off the clutch, and engaged the parking brake before looking back at the two teens in her backseat. "If your plans change and you want to go anywhere, call me okay?"

Peter kept his mouth shut and nodded.

"Okay." The mother took a deep breath. "You guys have fun. Call me when you're ready to be picked up."

"Thank you Mrs. Stark!"

"Bye Mom."

The friends slipped out of the car and walked to Ned's front door. Pepper's Audi didn't drive off until they were both inside with the door shut safely behind them.

Ned said 'hi' to his parents on the way to his room and Peter closed the door behind them.

"Dude, I looked up how to beat level 15 we just need-"

Peter cut him off. "Ned, uh, I need your help with something."

Ned immediately sobered, looking over at his best friend. "Totally, anything."

Ned was the best. Peter got his thoughts together before jumping into the story. Ned listened, enraptured, as he explained about the spiderbite, testing his powers, and ultimately making the decision to help people in New York.

"Uh… F.R.I.D.A.Y. would know if I left the tower and would snitch on me and my parents would make me stop, so I was wondering if you could help me leave from here?"

"Bro, am I your sidekick? Can I be your guy in the chair!"

"What?"

"The guy in the chair! With, like, the maps and stuff pulled up on his computer who tells you where to go! I should get a police scanner."

Peter should have known Ned would support him. "Sure dude, you can be my guy in the chair."

Ned looked around conspiratorially. "Wait, did you bring your stuff with you today?"

Peter smiled and took the red and blue suit out of his bag.

Ned reached out to the pajamas suit with reverence. "Dude… my best friend's a superhero."

oOo

Ned didn't let his friend go out patrolling without backup, so Peter had to wait until Ned got his hands on a radio system. He wouldn't really need someone talking in his ear at all times, but Ned was so excited Peter couldn't say no.

But Peter still needed a release for his nerves, so he practiced with the web shooters in his room. F.R.I.D.A.Y. kept her robotic mouth shut and he always made sure to do it late at night so his parents thought he was asleep and wouldn't bother him, but early enough so the webs had time to dissolve.

There had been a couple close calls. Times where Peter missed the web and he landed with a thud loud enough to alert his parents. In those two cases he quickly turned off the lights, shoved the web shooters under his bed, and laid down next to the side of the mattress as if he had fallen off in his sleep.

The first time it happened Pepper slipped into the room and padded over to the side of his bed. Peter flipped on his back before she could react. "I think I fell?" He looked at the webs hanging from the ceiling, only visible with the faint light of the hallway.

Pepper crouched by her son's side. "I think so too. Did you hit your head?" She gently felt through her son's hair to check for bumps indicative of head trauma.

"I don't think so- no. My arm kinda hurts?" He landed on his elbow when he fell from the webs.

"Okay, let's get you up, buddy." Pepper led her son out of his room and into the bright living room. "Let's see that arm of yours."

Peter let her take his outstretched arm. There was a forming bruise on his elbow, but it was in fine working order.

Pepper only fussed over him for a few more minutes before she grabbed him an ice pack and let him spend the rest of the night watching Parks and Rec in the living room.

Tony and Pepper were under the impression that he was exhausted due to nightmares and anxiety, which wasn't entirely wrong. Every time he did get to sleep he was plagued by bad dreams, but was also using the practice as a distraction from the upcoming meeting.

The second time he fell was the night before he was going to talk to Richard and Mary.

That night, when he thudded against the floor, he met his parents in the hallway outside his room. They looked like they were about to come in before he slipped out. "Sorry, I, uh, didn't mean to wake you."

Pepper stepped forward. "That's okay honey, did you fall out of bed again?"

"Yeah- I- Yeah." Peter looked at the ground. "But I didn't hurt myself or anything. Just woke me up."

"Have you been having nightmares, Pete?" Tony watched his son anxiously.

"Uh…" Yes. When he actually slept he was. "Not really."

Pepper looked at her son sadly. "Peter, you can come to us if you're struggling."

"I'm fine. I can handle it."

Tony sighed. "You don't have to, bud. We're here for you."

Pepper jumped in, "Honey, you don't have to meet with them. We can find another way."

"No- uh- I do. Can we watch a show?"

"Yeah, bud."

oOo

The next morning came too soon. After approximately 12 episodes of Parks and Rec, they had to get ready for Peter's meeting with the Parkers.

The morning washed away, and suddenly Peter stood in a cold stone court house in a button down shirt and slacks. He regretted eating before the meeting as nausea swirelled in his stomach.

Pepper put her hand on her son's shoulder. "Peter, you don't have to do this."

Peter couldn't meet his mother's eyes. "I'm fine."

Ms. Davids came up next to the mother-son pair. "Okay, Peter. You don't have to be in there any longer than you want to be. There will be a guard in the room with you and the Parkers."

Tony joined the group around his son. "Are you sure you want to do this, kid?"

Peter nodded and walked over to the steel door. "I can go in now?"

"Whenever you're ready, Peter," Ms. Davids informed. The teen took a deep breath, opened the door, and stepped in.

The two people he thought for 13 years were his parents sat handcuffed to a metal table. A large security guard stood in the corner of the room, and one of the walls had a large mirrored window.

Mary was crying from her spot next to her husband. She reached a hand out for the teen. "Baby, it's been so long."

Peter silently took a seat across from the others, but kept his hands under the table in his lap.

At the teen's refusal of contact Mary cried harder. "Hold your mother's hand, Peter."

Fear spiked through Peter's chest at the harsh sound of Richard's voice, but he didn't respond. Instead he asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

"We missed you baby. You left us and it's been so long," Mary half sobed the words.

"We raised you, we're more of parents than the Starks will ever be."

Peter looked down at his lap and whispered, "You're wrong."

Richard let out a harsh laugh. Peter was honestly surprised the man heard him at all with how quietly he spoke his rebellion. "We raised you, boy, we put a roof over your head, fed you, and gave you an education. Now, when the newest, richest option comes around you leave us for them."

Peter didn't take the bait. Instead he asked, "Why did you take me?" Agent Emerett already talked with him about it, but Peter needed to hear from the Parkers.

"They had everything, money, fame- everything. All I took was a stupid kid who can't do anything right. I was doing them a favor. And your mom wanted a kid, even a useless one like you."

Peter clenched his jaw shut as fear filled his chest.

"Peter, you can't let them do this to us. All we ever did was help you." Mary reached out a little farther toward the teen.

"You hurt me." Peter's voice cracked, and he looked back up at the couple in front of him.

"You were too damn weak. You still are." The unsaid threat hovered in the air. "I was just trying to make you stronger."

"I shouldn't have had to be strong." Peter's voice wavered, he couldn't hold on much longer.

Richard banged his hands down on the metal table. The man's outburst led to the security guard stepping forward and Peter sliding backward.

Richard let out a humorless laugh as Peter stood up from the table and turned to leave.

"Peter, please don't go! We love you, baby." Mary leaned forward in her seat to get closer to the teen.

Peter stopped, thinking. We love you. He almost believed her. He had believed her for 13 years, but he knew his two parents who waited for him just outside the door. They weren't cruel, they didn't turn a blind eye when Peter was in pain, they didn't laugh at him. Peter looked back over his shoulder toward the couple at the table and, voice shaking, said, "This isn't love."

The door was open before either kidnapper could respond to the comment. Peter slipped out of the room and practically fell into the arms of his parents.

Warmth surrounded his shaking bones as Tony and Pepper whispered calming assurances. Peter held onto his parents a little too tight as strangled sobs escaped his mouth.

oOo

"Are you sure you want to do this tonight?" Ned looked nervously at his friend.

"Yes, I'm fine." Peter put the radio wire in his ear and clipped the receiver around his middle.

"I know meeting with your- uh- the Parkers… must have been really hard for you."

"I said: 'I'm good,' Ned!" Peter snapped.

"Okay. Okay, sorry dude." Ned turned on his radio. "Let's test the system." The radios crackled to life and a few minutes later Peter was half out of the window. "Be careful, okay Peter?"

"Yeah, of course dude." Peter smiled at his friend before flinging himself out of the third story window.

Adrenaline spiked through Peter as he was briefly in free fall, then he shot the web out and it stuck perfectly to the adjacent building. Air swooshed past him as the web went taught and he shot back upward. It worked, it really worked! Peter spent the rest of the evening soaring through Queens.

End

AN:

In-depth summary:

Peter's parents make him go to a therapist and he's very reluctant at first but opens up. A lawyer and an FBI agent talk to Peter about his kidnappers and the circumstances around his disappearance. Peter goes to Ned and tells him about his idea to become a vigilante, Ned is fully on board but makes Peter wait until he gets a radio system for them to communicate before he goes out. Peter goes to talk to the Parkers so he doesn't have to testify and it goes about as well as you could expect. Richard's a... dick... but Peter gets to cry in his parents' arms after the encounter. Ned finally gets a radio system and Peter jumps out of the window. We close the episode with triumphant music and a freeze frame of Peter swinging through the air on the webs.

Thank you to everyone for sticking with me! I have a plan for where this story will end, even if it takes me a LONG time to write even a short chapter. At the end of this month, my college essays will be done and turned in (one way or another). Shout out to my English teacher for meeting with me multiple times a week trying to help me finish them! And shout out to my computer science teacher who gave me a tissue when I went crying to her and told me I wasn't ruining my life. I would die for you Ms. S.

I should be able to write more once I'm done with my essays, but I'm really struggling in AP Physics right now, so no promises.

Thank you for all of your support and kind words! I love you guys! Stay safe and take care of yourselves 3

Jewell