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Chapter 57 - Chapter 57 - Soli's Recovery

Samuel popped into Tony and Pepper's island home. "And where is everyone?"

Pepper walked out of Soli's room, to the landing at the stop of the steps. "We're up here. Be careful on the steps."

Samuel jogged up the steps and kissed Pepper's cheek in greeting. "How is he?"

They walked together into the bedroom. "Sleeping."

Tony still sat on the bed next to Soli. The Doctor was looking over his leg. As soon as he saw Samuel, he pointed at the leg. "You handle that."

"Right." Samuel said and sat on the side of the bed. He put his hands on Soli's leg and looked at the bones inside. "Well, they are fused together. That's good."

The Doctor put his hand on Soli's head, "He's not in pain."

Samuel glanced up at his Dad. "I'm going to bend his leg. Tell me if this hurts."

The Doctor nodded and seemed to listen with his hand on Soli's head. Samuel bent Soli's leg and looked up at his Dad. "Anything?"

"Feels tight. But, that's because it's be held straight all night." The Doctor told them.

Samuel nodded, "He's alright. He'll wake up and help him stand on it. He'll be running around by dinner tonight."

Tony sighed in relief. "That's great news."

Soli opened his eyes and looked around the room. "Samuel?"

Samuel smiled at him. "Hi. How are you feeling?"

"I broke my leg. John had to fix it for me."

"Yeah. He did a good job. It looks fine."

Soli turned and saw Tony still had his hand. "You're still here."

Tony ran his hand through Soli's hair. "I meant what I said. Kid, you're stuck with me."

Soli smiled.

Tony pointed across the bed at Pepper. "Your princess as been with you the entire time, too. You scared the hell out of her."

Pepper sat on the side of the bed and took his hand. "How are you feeling?"

Soli smiled at her. "I'm alright."

The Doctor stepped back and put his hands on his hips. "Soli. These people aren't going to hurt you, or throw you away. If anything hurts, tell them. It doesn't mean you are defective."

Soli looked back at Tony.

He pat his hand encouragingly, "Everything alright?"

Soli nodded, "Yes."

Tony pointed at him, "But, if anything hurts?"

"I tell you." Soli told him. "Yes, Tony."

The Doctor tossed Soli's wild hair. "Your hair is beginning to look like Tony's."

Pepper giggled. "I thought that this morning."

Samuel stood up. "So. I need to tell you who I saw this morning, Tony."

Tony looked up at him. "Who?"

"Tony Tyler. He was back at Arles and his flat like nothing had happened."

"What?" The Doctor asked in shock.

Samuel held his hands out. "Arles says he's gone again, but that's that."

Tony grit his teeth. "That means he's close. I can probably track that ship using his bracelet."

The Doctor groaned, "If he hasn't removed the bracelet-"

"Or turned the tracking off." Samuel told them.

"He could be using it to pop to the ship." Tony told them. "Which means he's landed it someplace on the surface."

Pepper looked up at him. "Go. Find it."

Tony shook his head. "No."

"No?" Pepper asked.

Tony reasoned. "That's what he wants. I'm not playing his damn game."

The Doctor rolled his neck back in surprise. "That's not what I expected you would say."

Tony pointed at Samuel. "He told you to come back and tell me, didn't he?"

"No. We got into a disagreement. He asked me not to tell you, but well….not telling you something like this never ends well for me."

The Doctor rose his eyebrows. "Oh, I would really like to hear the story where that came from-"

Samuel grinned. "I bet you would."

Tony nodded. "Samuel, thank you for telling me. But, I'm not playing his game. My son is hurt, and I'm staying here with him. We have ice cream to eat, and these video games aren't going to play themselves."

Samuel smiled at his uncle's words.

Tony pat Soli's chest. "My son needs to know that he's more important than a stupid ship. Tony can kiss my-"

"Ah." Pepper stopped him.

"Foot." Tony decided.

Pepper smiled proudly.

The Doctor crossed his arms. "What did you two argue about?"

"Ah, nothing unusual. But, I need to talk to you, Dad."

The Doctor nodded, "Right then. Well, ring one of us if we're needed. Take it slow, Soli, but try to walk on it with help later."

Pepper continued to hold Soli's hand. "If you could come back when he does that."

The Doctor smiled. "Of course. Just let me know. I'll be straight here."

Tony grinned at Soli. "So, hungry?"

Samuel stepped onto the landing to wait for his Dad. The Doctor walked out and put his hands in his pockets. "Yeah. What's up?"

Samuel took a deep breath, "John told me about a man who came to his home yesterday asking about Karen. He had MPs with him and John feels as though it wasn't a simple social call, even though he tried to play it off as that."

The Doctor sighed and crossed his arms. "Where is Karen?"

"She's at our flat. Anne is with her. Arles is looking for a spot to copy her home there, and she's going to move to the island to help us with the baby. I feel better with her being there what with John being deployed soon."

"Have you told Karen or Anne about this?"

"John says that he told Anne, but I'm not getting the impression that she's worried about it."

"Right. Maybe he hasn't explained it….fully or she doesn't want to alarm Karen. Where is John?"

"Working. Some, sailors got out of hand last night and he went in. He's still there. Is that normal? Seems odd to me."

"Sailors working all of the time? I don't know. Hang on, Tony!"

Tony walked over and stood in the doorway, "Yeah?"

"Your friend was in the Army?"

"Air Force. Yeah."

Samuel asked. "How long would he work?"

"Like a shift? Sometimes he would be on duty for days. If he was dealing with me, he just put his uniform on and made the best of it." Tony grinned. "I always gave him a hard time."

The Doctor chuckled, "You?"

Tony grinned, "Surprising, huh? What's this about?"

Samuel shook his head. "Ah, nothing."

Pepper called to Tony. He returned back into the bedroom with her and Soli.

"Have you heard from him?" The Doctor asked.

"Anne said she had this morning, so-"

"But, you're uneasy with this." The Doctor finished his sentence.

Samuel nodded. "Yes. I can't put my finger on why."

The Doctor pat his son's shoulder. "Let's go visit him."

Samuel agreed. "Right. Okay."

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