Annie May Parker's mind was as restless as the city outside her window. But she needed to sleep. She had patrol in the morning.
Patrol for the first time in over a month. Thirty five days to be exact.
She lay on her back, staring down the ceiling. Being stuck at home and school all day, every day had been torturous. And it was made even worse when her dad went out as Spider-Man alone.
She fought the urge to spring out of her bed and onto the ceiling. For whatever reason, pacing right-side up, feet on the floor, made her nervous. But upside down? There was something strangely soothing in that.
But Annie knew if she did such a thing, her parents would likely hear her. And she doubted they'd let her go on patrol if they knew how little sleep she was getting. Sighing, she rolled onto her side, now barely noticing the sensation of her insulin pump shifting down towards the mattress on her waist band. Just over a month ago, that was all she could feel; hyperaware of any movement and how it could impact her pump. Oh how so much had changed in the past month.
But even more had changed in the past year.
Annie sat up in bed, and ran a hand through her wavy red hair. She didn't want to think about how her life had changed, she just wanted to get on with it. She eyed her phone on the nightstand. It boasted 2:00 AM. She groaned and flopped back down. Come on, sleep, she thought to herself, as if that would work. When it didn't, she willed time to speed up, so that this night would just be over, and she could leap into the sky again, swinging through the concrete jungle of New York City. Of course there had been practice runs, the Spider-Family taking short spurts out, breaking free from the mundane stillness that was expected of their non-powered alter-egos, gauging the effect of web-swinging on her blood sugar levels. But there was absolutely no crime fighting, no matter what. And yeah, they took some bad press for that.
Reports of the Spider-Family swinging past ongoing crime engrossed the city. Of course, her dad would double back, and handle the situation himself, but that was a less sensational detail, so it was ignored. Or it was reported, but buried beneath rumors, gossip, and speculation about the changing family dynamics. Those cheap grabs for views and clicks disgusted Annie.
She groaned. Thinking of those tabloids made sleep even less possible now. She eyed her phone again, and thought about texting Normie. He was one of the only people outside of her parents she could talk to about being a superhero. But she doubted he was awake at this hour.
She grabbed her phone, and tried to lose herself in a some dumb game, her reflexes ready to feign sleep if she heard her parents approach.
Peter Parker paced up the living room wall, wondering if he was making the right decision to let his family go back out on patrol. It had barely been over a month since Annie went on the insulin pump. It was still a very new reality, with so much to learn. So much room for error.
MJ had argued they couldn't keep Annie away from being Spiderling; she had been Spiderling since she was a little girl. She was always reminding Peter how important it was to maintain a sense of stability and normalcy for her, especially now.
He made his way up to the ceiling, and was pacing upside-down. He couldn't argue. MJ was right. But couldn't they wait just a little longer? A month really wasn't all that long…
"Hey Tiger," said a sleepy voice. "A penny for your thoughts?" Peter turned around and saw Mary Jane standing in their bedroom doorway. Her long red hair fell past her shoulders, tangled and mussed from sleep. She held her phone.
Sighing, Peter shrugged. He didn't need to say anything, she knew how he felt.
"Her numbers look good," she said, and flashed him the face of her phone. He could easily make out the small text on the screen. The app connected to Annie's sensor showed a stable glucose in the target range. "She'll be okay."
Peter flipped down from the ceiling. MJ walked over to him, and wrapped her arms around him. She was the only family member without innate superpowers; Spinnerett's power set came from her suit. But with or without her suit, she was the strongest person he knew; the rock of their family.
And she was right. Annie would be okay. She had already overcome so much.
They untangled from each other. He flopped onto the couch, while MJ crossed to the kitchen.
Peter reflected on the past year. Things had been going well, until Annie started to change. At first Peter and MJ had thought she was just going through the normal growing pains of being a teenaged girl, and superhero on top of that. She seemed tired, unfocused, and on edge, her temper quick. Yeah, not out of the ordinary for her age group. But then her grades started to drop. And the weight loss. Despite eating everything in sight, Peter was shocked at the amount of food his daughter was consuming, her body wouldn't hold onto it. She was wasting away before their eyes. It was terrifying.
It wasn't long before Peter took his daughter to the doctor, while MJ manned her store, constantly texting him for updates. The doctor listened to her symptoms, and pricked her finger to test her blood sugar and was shocked when the meter simply read "HI." And so he tested her sugar a few more times on a different machine. The results were the same. The doctor gravely explained that Annie's blood sugar levels were so high, the meter could not read it, and that he was, frankly shocked she was still conscious. The diagnosis was Type 1 Diabetes, and both father and daughter were sent straight to the hospital, were Annie stayed for about week.
Now, six months later, Annie was back at her normal weight. Her energy levels and moods had improved. She adapted well; quickly becoming an expert at finger sticks, shots, carb counting and bolusing. A little over a month ago, she transitioned from an injection schedule to an insulin pump, and now, she had mastered that as well. He sometimes wondered if she was doing too good? Trying too hard to be perfect, not cutting herself any slack, or if she were hiding any underlying struggles and stress.
Or maybe I just worry too much.
Mary Jane soon joined him on the couch, two glasses of water in tow. She rested her head on his shoulder. Yeah, their family had been through a lot this year. But MJ was right. They'd be okay.
