Reunited... Sort Of

Peter was still sleeping. Dreaming, as far as he knew.

Hey Pete.

Hey! Harry. I've got something to tell you.

Oh yeah? The famous Harry Osborn smile appears on his face. The smile that broke a thousand hearts.

Yeah. I just wanted to tell you about how your father died.

The grin would fade from Harry's face. Now there was anger etched on his face.

Harry, your father was the Green Goblin. He tried to kill me because you wanted MJ. He tried to kill me with his glider, but I was too fast. He killed himself. Now everything will be fine with us, right? Friends?

Liar!

Peter would hold out his hand for Harry to shake; but that hand would be cloven from his arm by a sharpened blade. Just as the same blade swung at Peter's neck...

"Good morning, darling," a malicious voice said. He opened his eyes slightly. The Raven loomed over him in his defenseless state. Still bleary-eyed, he was forced into a state of shock. Where was Mary Jane? He could smell breakfast cooking downstairs. Hopefully she'd stay in the kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" Then, Peter decided to go for the more... direct approach. "Leave my family alone. If you even think about hurting them-"

"-You'll what? Sling your little webs around me and hand me over to the authorities? Please."

"I was thinking about killing you first."

"Ooh," it laughed. "Getting fiesty in the face of danger, are you?"

"It's my job. What's yours? Wearing that Halloween costume and flying around on that stolen glider?"

A long, razor-sharp dagger was held in its right hand. The Raven sliced his clothes down the middle. Peter's bright red Spidey suit shone underneath. "Suddenly my Halloween costume's inadequate. What will I Trick-or-Treat in? The fact of the matter is, Peter Parker--- I have the upper hand– in more ways than one, I might add." It tightened its grip on the dagger. "What a pointless end to a pointless life. Sacrificing all so that others might live. So cliche, don't you think?"

"Obviously more than you do. That dagger's fine, but what about this one?" Peter reached to its side and grabbed hold of another dagger, stabbing its side. It fell back onto the bed, then slid to the floor. There was a crunch from the floor as the Raven landed on a picture frame.

"No..."

Peter sat on the Raven's stomach and removed its cape... her cape. "Not very good at hiding your... anything... are you? Let's see who's behind this mask." The half-mask was very much like a combination of Mardi Gras and Zorro. Before Peter could even react, she embedded a shard of the glass picture frame in his stomach.

She mounted the glider and crashed head-long through the window, flying into the crisp morning air.

"PETER!" Mary Jane cried, rushing to him. "It was that thing again, wasn't it? Pete, can you hear me?!"

"I'm fine," he whispered. "MJ, please- call an ambulance. I'll get myself out of the suit." He tried to keep calm for his sake and hers. He didn't want Mary Jane to worry, even if this proved fatal...He wouldn't see her crying over him. First... the blade. He took a piece of glass from the floor beside him and cut the spandex from around the wound. If he wanted to live, there was no way to remove the dagger– not now.

"I called the ambulance, Pete. They'll be here soon." She helped him to dress at least enough to be decent for when they rushed in. She stared at the dagger. "Oh, Pete." Tears welled up in her eyes.

"I'll be fine, MJ. Really." A lie. But he didn't want her to cry anymore. It pained him more than the blade in his side to see her face wet with tears. Then...everything was so... pale. So bright. It was beautiful. But Mary Jane was fading away. Everything was...

"Pete. Hey, Pete- wake up."

Ah, he was dreaming. Peter could hear Harry's voice. It must have been when he almost drowned in the lake. It was the year that he went on the junior high trip to a remote campground. What was the name again?

"Pete!"

Sunnybrook. That was it. "Counselor Scott- he's over here!"

Counselor Scott. Peter wondered if he was still a camp counselor, or if he had moved on to tackle a job. If he had, it would probably be as a Mountie. Scott was ne'er too bright for someone who had to direct and ensure the safety of hundreds of children every year.

"What's wrong with him?"

"HE'S ALL PURPLE- DO SOMETHING!"

"Ya think CPR will do it?"

"Move!"

That last voice... MJ. Peter thought he had died and gone to heaven when Mary Jane had saved him. She was the only person who could perform CPR with an IQ over sixty. Waking up to see Mary Jane hovering over him... That was enough. But mouth-to-mouth? He almost stopped breathing again from shock alone. Then... embarrassment. He was still a bit purplish and weak. Everyone had crowded around him, some to gasp and point and stare, others just to laugh. Others meaning...

"Hey Parker- that's the only mouth-to-mouth you'll get for the rest of your life." It was Flash Thompson and his groupies. Laughter. That's all he could remember before he blacked out again. He was fine, just tired from his early-morning near-fatal swim.

"Pete!"

Why was Harry still calling him? He was fine.

"Peter!"

But the voice was deeper, like Harry's voice is now. Maybe it was Harry...

"Pete, you're awake. Brought you somethin'." Harry was looming over the hospital bed with an X-Men action figure. "Thought maybe you'd want another hero to keep you company."

He stared at the little spandex-clad muscle-bound man with the large claws. It scowled in bright yellowish orange and black. "...Thanks. So... You're not gonna try to kill me anymore?"

Harry laughed and smiled with his notably perfect teeth. It was Harry, all right. The same Harry that had been there every year to support him. Mostly with cash, but still- whenever Peter had needed him...

"Peter, thank God," Mary Jane ran toward him. For a brief moment while their lips met, every pain melted away.

"Get a room, you guys," Harry mumbled, trying to cover it by clearing his throat. "So," he raised his voice.

"So..." Mary Jane said, "I heard you have a new head of the company."

"Yeah."

"A woman."

"...Yeah."

Peter wondered why the delayed smile spread across Harry's face. "What was that?"

"Nothing, she's just- a very new partner. Very... business-oriented."

"Oh..." Peter knew that wasn't the case, but he took it and moved on. "She nice?"

"Mmm... Yeah she's— she's nice."

"...I see now," Peter said, "...you're dating your boss."

"That's ridiculous, Pete." Harry stared at the linoleum as he spoke, concealing a smile.

Mary Jane changed the subject, sensing that Harry was trying to lie. "Come on, boys. Behave. Now, I've got some lunch for you," she said to Peter, "and there's food in the cafeteria for you, Harry."

"Actually, I have to go."

Mary Jane cut in. "Meeting that girl?"

"My boss?"

"No, that girl with you at the restaurant. The one with the really... short..."Mary Jane motioned to a place near the top of her thigh. The short-skirted woman Harry had been with the other night.

"That was my boss."

Peter tried not to laugh. "Interesting working conditions?"

"Never a dull moment." Harry held up a paper cup of juice. "Cheers."

"Cheers," Peter laughed, toasting and taking a sip of the intensely sweet fruit punch. Somehow, something wasn't quite right. Everything was so congenial; so placid. So... eerie. Peter just smiled lightly and let his eyes close. The sedatives had worked fairly well. "So they stitched me up, huh?"

"Pretty much," Harry answered. Every word echoed now as he drifted off. "Well, they had to patch this cut in your stomach, and..." The last words were cut off when Peter slipped into unconsciousness again.

He could see it. He could see her. The Raven. So close... he could feel it. Feel her, breathing down his neck with the cold severity of death.

"Good morning," a voice echoed. It wasn't a voice in his mind. It was a shock from reality. Peter jolted forward in his bed and let out a groan of pain.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were sleeping," said the woman.

"Pete, this is Audrey Sterling. My boss." Harry was still here? Hm. Maybe his caring disposition wasn't all a facade. With this news Peter found that he had wasted almost an entire day on sleep. It was already the next morning

"Oh...H-Hi," Peter said, stifling a yawn. He drew a hand to his mouth and extended the other to the lady-boss. "Nice to meet you." Very nice to meet her. No wonder Harry loved his job so much. He noted Harry's arm around her waist. It was too early for visitors. Harry must have spent the night. But what of the woman? Had she stayed? Only to be with Harry, then.

Harry spoke up. "The doctor said the surgery was a success, Pete. He said you can go home now."

"Wonderful." Peter's answer was mingled with sleep, happiness, and disappointment. The disappointment... The Raven would be waiting for him when he returned home. Maybe he could sustain another injury before he left the room...

But Audrey walked into the hallway, and Harry hung his head out of the archway. Peter knew that she was kissing him goodbye at the moment. He didn't have to hide behind the door. It was just... dangerous. Dating your boss? Loving your boss? That wasn't all that was happening. Peter was more observant than anyone knew. Well... almost anyone.

"Hey Pete," Mary Jane walked past the two lovebirds glued to the doorway. This time, Peter lifted himself to kiss her. The pain was much less than before, and such a lovely symptom followed. He had kissed her... It was wonderful to be alive again. "How are you?"

"Fine," Peter answered, "a lot better."

"Good. I was worried about you, Tiger."

"I was worried about me, too- but only for a little bit." Peter hoped it would at least cheer her up to hear him joking again.

"I hate to do this, Pete... but..." She kissed him again. "I've got to go to a rehearsal for a new play. I'll be back on my lunch break to take you home."

"Bye."

"Bye," she smiled, running out of the door. Just to breathe in the energy she carried with her through the day. It was amazing...

"Pete," Harry said. "Sorry, buddy. I have to go back to work. You know my cell." Audrey pulled him out of the door as he mouthed the words 'call' and gestured a phone. He was jerked out of the doorway almost violently and Peter heard two pairs of quick footsteps trailing down the hall. Maybe sleep would take him now. Maybe?... It was certain. Hopefully it wasn't all a dream.

A/N: FINALLY IT'S ALL OVER! Now school play season begins. Busy, busy, busy. But I shall continue none-the-less.

Hm... the next chapter ought to be interesting. Weeee I'm so obsessed.

Thank you for your reviews! Very helpful. Alas, I cannot answer each individual review at the moment. At the very end, I shall answer them alllllll! Bwahahahaha!!!