Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or any other Marvel characters. I only own my OC.

A/N: Yesh...it's been so long. I apologize for that, I really do. Life right now, which I am sure all of you can agree, is crazy. Hopefully things will start to look up soon. Now I know I said I was going to go into the Iron Man 2 story-line but that'll be the next chapter. This chapter takes place before Iron Man 2. It was kind of emotional to write considering I focused more on Grace's health. I also added a flashback scene in the beginning with Grace's mother Louisa. Made me emotional considering what happens to her.

Now as we all know from the AU story Blue And Red, Grace's health is something that will be more serious later on in the story. Also it felt weird writing about her health considering what's happening in the world right now but her health is important to the story...so here it is.

As a way to lighten the mood a bit, I saw a funny Tik Tok where they used the song Salvame by Rebelde and I gotta say...it fits this whole quarantine situation very well. It made me laugh, and although these are serious times I thought I'd share that with you guys. The song is more on the sad side but I love it.

Also is anyone else bummed out that the Black Widow movie has been delayed? I know it's because of what's happening with the Coronavirus. And it sucks. I heard that it might go on Disney+ but I seriously don't think that's gonna happen. I mean...if it does then of course I'm gonna watch it. But a huge movie like Black Widow deserves to be watched in a movie theater. Hopefully it gets the love it deserves.


"The hospital room was as cold as dead skin, the hallway crowded with lost souls and reeking of illness." ― Raquel Cepeda, Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina


Chapter 11: The first medical scare

2006

"Ay hijita." Louisa García sighed at her four year old daughter. "What were you thinking?"

They were currently inside the living room of their apartment. Minutes ago Louisa had found her daughter Grace on the ground crying, her knees red. As she quickly figured out, Grace had fallen from running after a group of girls who were playing tag in front of the apartment complex. Louisa already knew who these girls were. They were a few years older than Grace and although they were nice to her, they never really showed any interest in properly befriending her.

Grace sniffled her nose. Tears were still going down her cheeks. "I wanna play." Her voice sounded so sad that it made Louisa's own heart ache.

"I know hijita, but you have to be more careful." Louisa sternly told her daughter in a caring way. Her voice wasn't fully stern because Louisa blamed herself for her daughter's current predicament. She'd been watching Grace play but then she heard the phone ring from inside of their apartment.

Louisa would have ignored the call but she'd been expecting two calls as of lately. One was from her doctor because of a recent doctor's appointment she'd gone to. The older dark haired woman had been feeling pretty lousy lately. She would have ignored such feelings but the last straw had been the nose bleed she got. Not the bruises she found on her arms or legs. That wasn't unusual for Louisa since she'd always been one to bruise easily...but she wasn't one to get nose bleeds.

She only ever got nose bleeds whenever she was really stressed out...and other than the drama with her brother, she wasn't super stressed out. So she'd gone to the doctor to do a simple blood test.

Louisa had yet to get the results but she would get them any day now. She wasn't expecting anything major because other than the nosebleed and feeling weaker than usual, she was fine. Not even the bruises she had fazed her. In her mind she had to be fine. And the results from the doctor would only confirm that.

The other call she was expecting was from her younger brother. It'd been weeks since the last time she'd seen Miguel, and she was beginning to worry. Like really worry, more so than usual.

The last time Louisa had seen Miguel he hadn't been in the best of shapes (emotionally and physically), and she hadn't exactly been the nicest either. However, considering how he came to her apartment in the middle of the night, high on who knows what, Louisa figured he deserved a good yelling. And boy did she yell at him.

She'd been angry, and she had every right to be. It was her apartment after all, and Grace had been there. Granted her daughter had been sleeping but that still didn't mean Miguel had any right to barge into her apartment in that kind of state. Not to mention, Louisa hated to think what would have happened if Grace had seen him like that. Her daughter thought the world of her Uncle Miguel.

Louisa thought that the reason why Grace loved her uncle so much was because she viewed him as a father figure of some sorts. Since her actual father wasn't in the picture...after some very well thinking from Louisa.

Therefore it would have devastated Grace to see her Uncle Miguel high out of his mind. Louisa herself never liked seeing her younger brother high or drunk. In fact, she despised it. Her brother had problems, that was obvious. The older woman by now had lost count of the times she'd begged him to get help...but Miguel was as stubborn as a mule. He no doubt got that from their father. Their father, who'd been very hard working but very strict. Despite loving them both, he never was one for showing emotion on a daily basis. It was rare to hear him say that he loved them. That all landed on their mother.

It was clear by now that Louisa inherited her mother's loving side. Besides looks, Louisa didn't get anything from her father regarding personality traits. In fact, if Louisa had inherited her father's cold attitude she would have frozen Miguel out of her life for good. Except that hadn't happened...yet. Perhaps that was her flaw but she just couldn't easily freeze him out. Her parents had already passed away, and other than Grace, Miguel was the only family she had left. No matter his faults (and he had several to choose from), Louisa still loved him.

He was her little brother. The same one she used to read bedtime stories to and would cut his hair whenever their parents couldn't afford taking him to the hair salon. Their parents did their best, but Louisa always felt like she had to step up in raising him...and she did. Even now as adults, Louisa looked after him.

But it was because she rushed to answer the phone (a call that was neither from Miguel or her doctor but from her work friend) that left the window open for Grace to get hurt. She thought Grace would be okay for just a few minutes alone. She'd left her unattended before. They didn't exactly live in a fancy neighborhood but it was safe enough. Louisa knew most of the residents there, and she trusted that they'd tell her if anything happened. However, on that particular day no one saw Grace fall on the concrete ground.

Louisa at least had the relief that it was just scrapes to the knees. It could have been way worse. Still, that didn't take her daughter's pain away just yet. Louisa's voice quickly softened at how hurt her daughter looked. "I just don't want you falling again."

At the mention of her fall, Grace looked at her scraped knees. "It hurts." She said before her crying continued more loudly. Her crying didn't bother Louisa because she understood that at the young age of four a simple fall can feel like you're losing an arm.

"Here let me take a better look." Louisa told her daughter. It was bad luck that her daughter decided to wear shorts today. Her knees were red but from the looks of it there were no broken bones anywhere. She did the motherly thing and began to lower her daughter's worries with gentleness. She carefully rubbed each knee just above where the scrapes were as she sang a familiar song to her.

"Sana, sana, colita de rana. Si no sanas hoy, sanarás mañana."

"There." Louisa did that one more time before lowering her hand. "Now all we need to do is disinfect the scrapes and put on some bandages."

Grace's crying had stopped from the moment her mother began singing. The scrapes on her knees didn't hurt as much as before, and she knew why. She always loved it whenever her mother sang that song to her. It always made her feel better.

Louisa smiled and then gave her a kiss on the forehead. "You're okay, Grace." She softly told her. "Mamá is here. So everything's okay now."

Grace finally smiled. Her mother was right. As long as she was there with her she would be okay, and she wouldn't hurt anymore.


Present Day

The pain Grace felt on her lower right side stomach began in the early hours of the morning. At first she tried her best to ignore the pain, childishly thinking it was just a stomachache that would eventually go away. However, much to her misfortune, the pain never went away. In fact, the pain just got worse.

As Grace laid in her bed, with her thoughts going haywire, she was able to describe the pain as if various knives were stabbing her lower right side stomach, over and over again. It completely sucked. She never felt such pain before. It only intensified whenever she moved around in her bed. So the young girl tried staying still instead. That didn't lessen the pain, and it didn't stop her from letting out low groans of discomfort.

When her groans became more loud and clear, Jarvis immediately contacted Tony. The older Stark had told his A.I. to let him know whenever Grace seemed to be in a high-risk situation. And despite Grace not crying or bleeding out from some injury, Jarvis knew her current discomfort qualified enough to seek out Tony.

Once Jarvis informed Tony, he immediately got up from his bed and ran to Grace's bedroom. Pepper, who was staying in the room she had in Tony's Malibu home, was also informed by Jarvis about what was happening. The redhead also raced to Grace's room. When she got there she saw how Tony was already kneeling by his daughter's bed. If Jarvis waking her up didn't make her panic, then Tony's concerned filled expression sure did.

Something was happening. What exactly, Pepper hadn't a clue yet. All she knew was that Grace did not look okay. Her face scrunching up and the sweat beads she had on her forehead showed that.

"What's wrong?" Pepper decided to ask. She needed to know what exactly was wrong with her.

"I don't know." Tony managed to answer her despite his worried state. "When I got here she told me that the right side of her stomach hurts."

"Like the lower area?" Pepper hurriedly questioned.

Tony nodded his head. "Yes."

"Then it could be Appendicitis." Pepper shakily told him. It was a guess but it was an educated guess. She had dealt with Appendicitis before when her old college roommate had gotten it. Pepper had been the one to find her right when the symptoms started showing. And much like Grace, the symptoms showed up out of the blue. When they did, it included pain on the lower right side of her stomach. As well as her face being all red from the fever she had. And from the looks of it, Grace appeared to have a very bad fever.

Tony looked up towards the ceiling. "Jarvis?" He called out. The older Stark went to ask his A.I. not because he didn't believe Pepper, but because he just wanted to make sure that it wasn't anything worse. He hoped that it wasn't anything worse.

"Ms. Potts is correct." His A.I. system immediately answered him. "Now that I am focusing on Grace's symptoms, along with the pain she described to you, she also has a striking temperature of 102 Fahrenheit."

Damn it. Tony took that with extreme unease. That was not good at all. He glanced at his daughter before locking eyes with Pepper. The redhead saw the seriousness in his dark brown eyes right away. "We need to take her to the hospital."

That finally had Grace speaking again. "No! I don't want to go to the hospital!" She pleaded, shaking her head. Her voice now sounded a lot stronger than before, and she knew it was because she was scared. Tears were falling down her cheeks. In her mind going to the hospital meant only one thing.

The sight of Grace crying broke Pepper and Tony's hearts. "No hospital or doctor. No doctor." Grace repeated that last part vigorously.

"Sweetie, we have to take you to the doctor." Pepper softly told her. She was aware that Grace had a fear of hospitals and doctors but there was no way out of this one. If it really was Appendicitis then she would need to be put under. "You're in serious pain."

"No, I'm not. I-I feel better." Grace tried to sit up but she let out a pain filled groan as she fell back into her bed. Still, the thought of going to an actual hospital and seeing a doctor scared her too much. Despite the obvious outward pain she displayed, Grace aimed at denial.

That of course didn't fly for either Tony and Pepper. Her dad especially.

"We're not taking no from you, young lady." Tony replied in a tone that said not to argue with him anymore. "I'm taking you to the hospital."

Grace knew then that there was no way out of this. She stopped her protesting and just gave him a single nod. Tears were still going down her face which only made Tony feel dispirited.

"I'll meet you guys at the hospital." Pepper informed them. "I'm gonna pack a bag for her."

Tony nodded his head at her. He looked back at his daughter again when Pepper started opening her drawers. "I'm gonna lift you up okay, sweetie." He gently told Grace. He made sure not to touch her lower right side of her stomach when he pulled back her covers. "On the count of three. One...two...three."

Being extra careful, Tony picked her up, with one of his arms under her knees and the other supporting her head. Sadly he knew regardless with how careful he was being, that Grace would feel some pain when getting out of bed. He still felt awful when Grace let out a yelp, and he right away apologized to her as they made their way out of his house.

There had been silence between them up until Grace was in the passenger seat in one of his cars.

"Dad, I'm scared." She quietly admitted to him.

Tony looked over to her from where he was sitting. He sighed before he leaned over to kiss her on the forehead. "I know but I'm here." He softly told her in the most assuring tone. "And nothing bad's gonna happen to you with me here." He then put the car key in the ignition and drove as if there were no tomorrow.


A few hours later

"Grace, can you hear me?"

The young Stark girl guessed that the voice belonged to a woman. Her guess proved to be right when Grace finally opened her eyes. There standing on the side was a raven haired woman in a white coat. What she wore screamed doctor and that made Grace nervous. She tried finding something else to focus on but it was rather hard because it was just the two of them in the room.

Grace would have ran but she was currently lying in a hospital bed. Not to mention she was feeling very weak. Since escaping wasn't an option, Grace decided to take in who exactly was this woman.

Other than what she was wearing, Grace took notice of her age. The woman didn't appear to be the same age as Pepper. She looked younger than the redhead but as Grace read once, some people looked younger than their actual age. Maybe she really was around the same age as Pepper. The woman's features were pretty...actually she was very pretty. Her prettiness in a way made her feel less nervous.

The woman narrowed her green eyes at Grace's silence. The reason why she asked if she could hear her was because she had heard the young girl say something very lowly. It sounded like she said mom but surely that had been a mistake. From her knowledge the only parental figure she had was her father. Since waking up though nothing else had been said. Evidently the girl didn't even remember saying anything either.

She would have expected the girl to start talking her head off by now. Tony Stark was her father after all. However, much to her surprise the girl hadn't said anything. Perhaps she hadn't heard her properly...or maybe she was just shy. Except she was a Stark, and from personal experience being shy didn't exactly come with the name. Her past interactions with Tony proved that.

"My name is Dr. Anderson." She said in a louder and clearer voice this time. "You're okay. You just woke up from surgery."

Surgery?

Grace's eyes widened slightly when her memory kicked in.

Right...she had needed surgery because according to what her father told her, after arriving at the hospital, she had Appendicitis. Grace somehow was able to remember Pepper saying that but it wasn't officially confirmed until arriving to the hospital. The whole time when they were preparing her for surgery was a bit foggy but Grace knew she hadn't been happy. Crying for sure happened. The young Stark girl continued to silently stare at this Dr. Anderson woman.

Despite how calm she sounded, Grace couldn't help but compare her voice to Pepper's. It wasn't as soft sounding as hers. The woman actually sounded way more on the professional side. That right away should have been a good thing but after waking up from surgery, her tone of voice made Grace all the more panicky.

What calmed her down was that the doctor's name was recognizable. Grace's staring eventually made her remember that her dad mentioned her before. Dr. Anderson was the one that looked him over when he returned home.

Speaking of her dad...

"Where's my dad?" The Stark girl finally asked the question that had been gnawing at her. She scrunched up her face once she felt how dry her throat was.

"He went to get himself some coffee. He spent the night here with you." Dr. Anderson answered her. When she saw how concerned she still looked she decided to ease her. "I wouldn't worry, he should be here soon." She handed her the cup of water that was on the counter next to her bed. "Here, drink some water. You must be thirsty."

She was, so Grace accepted the water. "Thank you." It made the young Stark girl feel better knowing her dad had stayed with her. Her throat began to feel less sore after drinking down some water. Once she had her fill, Grace put the cup on the counter next to her bed. Her hand shook a little as she did that. Despite the news she got about her dad, Grace's nerves were still there.

Dr. Anderson was quick to notice. She narrowed her eyes. "You seem jittery." She smoothly pointed out. "Something the matter?"

Grace didn't like having her nerves called out. She was going to answer that she was fine but with the way Dr. Anderson was looking at her, Grace somehow already knew that lying would be pointless. "I don't like hospitals, or doctors." She admitted, frowning.

Dr. Anderson didn't look the least bit bothered by her comment. "Not a lot of people do." She simply told her. "But doctors are still here to help, even if we're not well liked."

"I didn't mean to sound rude." Grace softly said. She realized how rude she must have sounded. Not to mention how ungrateful. Dr. Anderson had helped her.

"Most people don't." Dr. Anderson checked her IV again before glancing at her. "Doesn't mean no feelings get hurt."

"I'm sorry." Grace apologized. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"You didn't." Dr. Anderson nonchalantly replied. "I've been doing this for a while now, kid. I've met a lot of people who have said much worse things. So it takes a lot for my feelings to get hurt. You didn't even scratch the surface."

"I wish I was like that." Grace admitted to her. Dr. Anderson looked at her, unsure of what she meant. Grace decided to explain. "I always feel like crying when someone says something mean to me. Or I get angry when people say mean things about my dad or Pepper."

Dr. Anderson understood her now. She nodded her head. "You're just very sensitive and compassionate." She answered in a professional manner despite the topic not being medical. "You should be glad. Not a lot of people these days have those qualities."

"My mom died in a hospital." Grace randomly blurted out, causing Dr. Anderson to stop what she was doing. Grace found it easier to talk about her mother with her considering she was a doctor. This was also the same doctor who her dad went to.

"Was she sick, or was she in an accident?" Dr. Anderson asked in a steady voice.

"Sick." Grace's own voice wavered. "She had cancer."

"I'm sorry." Dr. Anderson sincerely told her.

In her line of work Dr. Anderson knew first hand how cancer negatively impacted people's lives. It didn't matter if the patient was young or old, if the cancer wanted to spread it would. She lost count of the times she saw people breaking down in the hospital because of a loved one dying from cancer. It happened a lot more than people liked to think.

"That's why you're scared of hospitals and doctors." Dr. Anderson stated more than asked the young girl. She was now able to understand why Grace felt that way. Once upon a time she felt the same way too during her youth, for a short time anyways. Losing a loved one could do that to a person. She had lost her own mother at a young age, and then her father a few years later.

Their deaths changed her.

For the better, or maybe for the worse. It really depended on who she asked. She was successful but a type of coldness followed her. Not necessarily a bad coldness but it was one that let others know she was not easily amused.

Now she was a doctor...and despite her stoic demeanor sometimes it still felt unreal that the same girl who was once afraid of needles, and who cried over the smallest things, was now the one giving shots, and didn't tear up that easily. Honestly, the raven haired woman didn't even know the last time she cried. Maybe sometime around her freshman year of college? Remembering didn't really matter to her.

What did matter was that she was saving lives. Yet she had a certain serious image to uphold with not only her coworkers, but her patients as well. Except sometimes that image she'd built over the years got blurry.

Dr. Anderson blamed kids for that. Despite being child free herself (a decision she made a long time ago and one she didn't regret making), children tended to bring out the softer side of her. Just like Grace Stark was doing right at that moment. Maybe it had to do with kids having that innocence they would later lose when they became adults. Innocence that she once had herself. Or maybe it was the maternal instincts she'd chosen to bury long ago. Whatever the reason, that softness she surprisingly had was daring to show itself.

Grace tried not to frown but failed. "I didn't say I'm scared." That was a huge lie. Even though she wasn't as scared as she was before arriving at the hospital and having surgery done, the fear remained. However, she wasn't about to admit that to Dr. Anderson. Unlike before, she could lie now. Dr. Anderson's stare wasn't going to have her blabbing.

Dr. Anderson briefly felt her lips curl up in the slightest way when hearing her say that. It sounded like something she would say when she had been younger. "No, but I put two and two together." She replied evenly.

There was a knock on the door that interrupted their conversation. They both directed their attention towards the entrance. Grace's face immediately lit up when saw her father standing there with a coffee in hand. Dr. Anderson on the other hand remained neutral under his presence.

"Hey, sweetie." Tony smiled brightly as he walked over to Grace. "How are you feeling?" He asked once standing over the hospital bed she was lying in.

"Tired." Grace muttered. "When can I leave?" She looked between her dad and Dr. Anderson now.

Tony expected her to ask that question. He knew how much his daughter didn't like hospitals and being around doctors. Dr. Anderson thankfully began to explain to Tony what happened during her surgery and what was going to happen next with Grace's recovery. As she was talking, a particular part of what she said stood out to Grace.

"I'm gonna have a scar?" Grace asked in disbelief. It wasn't like she was annoyed to have a scar. On the contrary she actually thought it was cool. Some people would have thought that it was weird considering her dislike towards hospitals and doctors. The scar would be a reminder of the surgery that had been done on her. However, Grace figured she was so calm about the whole ordeal because of her curious side. The same curious side, that despite her dislike, watched medical shows with interest. One medical show in particular she favored.

As she liked to think while watching those types of shows: As long as it's on the TV and not in real life. But this was real life. And yet...she was strangely okay now. Were the nerves there? Yes...but she wasn't crying anymore. Which was a good sign.

"Don't worry. The scar will be small." Dr. Anderson reassured her. She sounded as if getting a scar was no big deal. Which to her it wasn't because Grace got the scar from a medical procedure.

After she said that, the raven haired woman saw how Tony was gently patting his daughter's hand with the hand that wasn't holding his coffee. From that action alone Dr. Anderson knew they were about to have a father daughter moment, and she really did not want to be present for that. "If you'll excuse me." She hurriedly left the room.

Grace looked at her dad, eyes slightly wider than before. "I was cut open." She said, almost in awe. There was no fear in her voice. "Like in those medical shows. Like in Grey's Anatomy."

"You know, I really shouldn't be letting you watch Grey's Anatomy on your own." Tony said as a way to lessen the seriousness of it all. He found it unusual that his daughter, despite having a dislike towards hospitals and doctors, had a liking for medical shows. Grey's Anatomy in particular was a show she would refer to at times.

Grace's features relaxed even more as she started getting into the conversation. "Dr. Anderson reminds me of Cristina Yang." She quietly told him.

"Well, she does have that serious thing going on." Tony casually pointed out. He took a sip from his coffee before he pointed something out to her. "She doesn't smile."

"Yes, she does." Grace was quick to say. "Her smile just doesn't last long."

"You got her to smile?" Tony made a pretend disappointed face. "Guess she likes you more than me."

Grace gave her dad a look. "Maybe you shouldn't annoy her."

Tony acted as if that had been the most offensive comment he'd ever heard. "Me? Annoying?" He let out a scoff. "I am never annoying."

Grace just laughed.

"You'll be okay, you know that right?" Tony told her, sounding more earnest than playful.

Grace nodded her head. "I know."

Tony raised his coffee as if he were making a toast. "Hey, on the bright side we can use your recovery time as a way for me to teach you proper paper football." He jokingly told his daughter.

"Yeah, but I can also read more." Grace happily added.

Tony lowered his coffee down as his face scrunched up. "Ew, reading. How boring." He added a smile at the last second to let his daughter know he was just kidding around. Grace, however, already knew. She shook her head at her dad with her own smile. "But it looks like Pepper and you think the same. She's already buying you new books to read as we speak." He informed her.

Grace nodded her head. She was grateful to hear that but she wasn't really surprised. Pepper always knew what to get her in order to make her feel better. There was a moment of silence between the father and daughter before Grace spoke again. "Dad."

"Yeah?"

"I love you." Grace softly told him.

Tony smiled brightly at his daughter. "I love you too, sweetie."

"I can't wait to get out of here." Grace added with a small smile.

"Me too." Tony swiftly agreed.

And he really did mean that. As much as he was thankful that it was just Appendicitis, and that the surgery had gone well thanks to Dr. Anderson, Tony never wanted to be in that kind of situation again. The kind of situation where there was something medically wrong with his daughter.

He hated being woken up to only being told that Grace was in discomfort. He hated driving with a daughter in the passenger seat crying her eyes out. He hated seeing his passed out daughter being taken into surgery. And most of all he hated having to wait in the waiting room while Grace was being cut open. It was the absolute worst. He felt useless...and he never wanted to go through that shit again.

But as Dr. Anderson had told them, Grace would be discharged soon enough. They wouldn't have to stay at the hospital for much long.

Unfortunately, neither Tony or Grace knew that the hospital would become like a second home to Grace later down the road...but not in the most positive ways.