The next morning, Peter made a point to get up earlier than normal. He quickly got dressed and, after texting with Eddie, he swung by his favorite breakfast place to get him something to eat, since he had stayed at the hospital with Anne all night as Peter suspected he had. It took the last of his extra cash to do so, but he didn't mind when it came to helping a friend.

Making his way to the room, Peter found Eddie sitting in almost the identical position he'd been in when he left him yesterday. Anne appeared to be asleep, and Eddie didn't look as though he had the most energy either. He tried to keep his entrance quiet as a result, only giving a couple light knocks on the door to gain his friend's attention before stepping in.

"Thought you could use a little pick-me-up," he said, handing his friend the bag.

"Thanks," Eddie replied as he took the bag, looking inside and removing the breakfast burrito inside. "I honestly hadn't been too hungry until an hour ago."

As the man took his first bites, Peter took a seat at a nearby chair. He didn't intend to stay long, but he figured a little visiting couldn't hurt.

"How's she doing?" he asked, making sure to keep his voice down so as not to disturb her rest.

"She's okay," Eddie replied, "you know, all things considered and what not. She woke up a couple of hours after you two left. We mostly just sat in silence or watched TV, though she did use the pen and paper they brought her to communicate with a few times."

Eddie gestured over to said items, Peter observing them at their spot on a small table right next to Anne. He couldn't imagine being reduced to having to do that to communicate, how frustrating that must be for her.

"I'm glad she's at least able to do that," Peter said, trying to shift both his and Eddie's focus to the bright side of the matter.

"Yeah," Eddie remarked before letting out a light huff. "It was funny; we were watching some random game show rerun that we found on, and twice she asked me for the paper so she could write down her guess for the word before the contestants guessed it."

"Did she get them right?" Peter asked.

"Of course," Eddie replied with a smirk. "She's always been good at those kinds of things. I remember we wrote out our bucket lists once back when we were dating and winning in Jeopardy was at the top of hers. Not just getting on the show mind you but winning it."

"Wow," Peter remarked.

"I know, right?" he said. "We were seventeen at the time, and she was already confident that she could win it. That was actually one other thing that she wrote on her paper; she said when I get out of here, I'm going to... going to..."

Eddie trailed off, tears suddenly welling up in his eyes. He covered his mouth with his hand as he shut his eyes, clearly fighting to control himself. Peter came over, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Hey man," Peter said gently, "she's going to be okay. She's going to make it out of this."

Letting out a sigh, Eddie spoke up.

"I know, but at the same time, she almost didn't. I can still remember how lifeless she seemed in my arms, how still she was as they got her onto the ambulance. But the biggest thing I remember is the fear in her eyes before they hit her. She's the strongest person that I know, Peter, but in those moments, she was helpless... and I couldn't do anything about it."

Eddie's expression shifted from one of sadness to one of growing anger. His eyebrows narrowed and his lip started to curl in.

"What kind of sick people do stuff like this?" he questioned. "I can still remember that smug look on that guy's face, how he almost seemed to enjoy brutalizing her..."

Eddie then paused and took a breath, recomposing himself.

"I'm sorry, Peter," he apologized. "I didn't mean to get so dark on you like that."

"You don't have to apologize to me, man," Peter reassured him. "I know what it's like to feel those kinds of things."

Eddie then turned, finally making eye contact with Peter.

"How did you work through it all?"

Peter looked down for a moment, pondering a proper response to his friend's question.

"Honestly, I would say that I still am," he acknowledged. "I haven't always handled it in the best way either, which meant that I realized something important the hard way: that acting on those feelings hurts you more than it does anyone else."

Eddie narrowed his eyes at him in a look of curiosity, then pondering. He then turned back towards his wife.

"I'm sorry, I'm probably keeping you from getting to the Bugle," he then spoke up, the realization seemingly hitting him.

"No, I can stay as long as you need me to," Peter assured him.

"I'm sure Robbie would understand too, but seriously, go ahead Peter," Eddie said. "I'll be fine. Maybe now I can actually get some rest."

Peter nodded, accepting his friend's idea. Eddie probably hadn't hardly slept at all, so it was likely best for him to get some. He turned and walked towards the door.

"Peter?"

Stopping at the sound of his name, Peter turned back to his friend.

"Thanks for the food... and for everything," Eddie said. "You're a true friend."

Peter nodded.

"Nothing that you wouldn't do for me."


Peter sat at the table, fighting to keep his leg from fidgeting again. He couldn't help it; ever since his visit to the hospital with Eddie, he seemed to have this restless energy, this drive to do something that was getting harder and harder to keep under control.

"Peter, are you okay?"

Peter looked up at his aunt.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"You're normally on like your third helping of my lasagna by now," May pointed out as she finished drying off a plate. "You haven't even finished your first helping. Did I overcook it or something?"

"No," Peter reassured her, leaning back in his seat. "The lasagna's great. I guess I'm just not that hungry."

May then came over, concern written all over her face as she sat down.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Peter let out a sigh.

"It's Eddie," he explained. "I'm worried about him."

"Yeah," his aunt replied. "I can't imagine what he must be going through right now."

"I can," Peter said.

"What do you mean?" May asked.

Peter glanced at her, fidgeting a little with his napkin.

"It's just the way that he was talking today... he's not just struggling May, he's angry."

"Well, I suppose that would be natural after what you told me he and his wife went through," May reasoned.

"No," Peter said, shaking his head. "It's more than that. It wasn't just what he said either; he had this look at one point... I've seen that look before May, in the mirror."

May leaned forward.

"You think that maybe he'll do something drastic?" she questioned.

"I don't know," Peter said, slowly shaking his head, "but I have to make sure."

"What do you mean?" his aunt asked.

"I have to try and track down those guys that attacked him and Anne," Peter said, suddenly springing up from his seat. "I have to make sure they get put away."

He started to leave the table, but his aunt stood up, putting her hand on his chest.

"Easy Peter," she said. "I don't want you to go rushing into something like this."

"May, I have to do this," Peter said. "If I don't, Eddie might try and find them first, and I can't let that happen."

"I'm not saying that you shouldn't try and bring those people to justice," May explained. "I just want you to be careful. Make sure that you're not letting yourself get too worked up about this like he might be. Besides, from the few times that I met Eddie and everything you've told me about him, he seems like a pretty loyal husband, so I wouldn't think that he'd be leaving her while she's bedridden in the hospital."

Peter forced himself to relax, taking a breath.

"I know that you're probably right, May," he said. "I just don't want him to do something crazy to try and bust these people and get in over his head."

"And I know that you will help him do that," May reassured him. "Just don't forget that your friend needs Peter Parker just as much as Spider-Man, probably more."

Peter let out a huff.

"You sound like M.J."

May shrugged.

"She's usually right."

"Well, of course you would say that," Peter retorted.

"Am I wrong?" his aunt questioned.

Okay, she got him there.

"No," Peter said. "Most of the time, anyway."

"See, you really are ready for marriage," May teased him.

Peter gave her a look of mock annoyance, with just a touch of real annoyance in there somewhere.

"Well, I better get back to the Bugle," he explained. "I'm sorry that I actually left you with some leftovers this time, but I promise that I'll be back soon to finish them off."

"Alright, I'll hold you to that," May said.

After that, Peter hugged his aunt goodbye before heading out of the house and heading back. As he made his way to the nearby bus stop, he thought back to what May and M.J. had been saying. He knew they were right, and he fully intended to be there for Eddie as a friend. Still, the restlessness remained, and he couldn't shake this feeling, the itch to help as his alter ego. It just made sense to him really; as long as he balanced things out, everything would work out for him to be there for Eddie in both ways.

Besides, he had the power to do something, so with that power came the responsibility to do something... right?


Mary Jane closed the door behind her, locking up for the evening. It had been another long but good day in the new store, with everyone finally getting into a rhythm. When she turned to head to the bus stop for the night though, she found her dad standing about ten feet from her, causing her to stop.

"I knew that you would call or come find me eventually, so I guess I just figured that I would beat you to it," he said, seemingly trying to break the tension between them. M.J. said nothing in response, leaving a pause before her father spoke up again.

"Mary, I owe you and apology," he said as he came up to her. "You were right before; I should have told you about what happened to your sister."

"Why didn't you?" Mary Jane questioned.

"Because I was afraid," he conceded, "and because I blamed myself for how she ended up. Maybe if I had been the father that both of you needed me to be, she wouldn't have ended up in that position. It took a lot of work just to get you to come around too, and I was nervous that all that would be undone if you found out about her."

M.J. tilted her head, eyeing her father curiously.

"You thought that I would blame you for what happened?" she asked.

Her father shrugged.

"Would you have?"

M.J. glanced away from him, pondering his question.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe, but I'd hope that I would have come around even then."

"And I should have given you that chance," her father admitted. "I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

M.J. slowly came up to her father and gave him a hug, a gesture he reciprocated.

"Yeah, I can," she replied. That didn't mean that she wasn't still a little stung inside by the whole thing, but something like this was big for him. The man was calmly and earnestly admitting his mistakes instead of begging and pleading, something Mary Jane recognized to be a major step for him.

"There's something else that you should know," her father said as they separated. "After she was convicted, Gayle was sent to serve out her sentence at Ryker's here in New York instead of back home."

"Well, I guess that makes it easier to see her I guess," M.J. remarked, letting out a nervous breath.

"I can come with you if that would make it easier?" her father offered.

"No dad," M.J. said, averting her eyes for a moment before restoring eye contact. "No offense, but I don't want you being there to get her riled up before Gayle and I have had a chance to speak, given how your last attempt to see her went, no offense."

"None taken," her father said, seemingly accepting her decision. He then looked off to the side.

"What is it, dad?" M.J. asked.

"Mary, I meant what I said before," her father explained, "about the sister you knew not being there anymore. I hope that you have better luck than I did, but I just... I just want you to be prepared for what you might see when you visit her."

M.J. nodded.

"You're not the only person who wasn't there when someone else in the family needed you," she admitted. "I can't make that mistake again; I have to find a way to help her, or at least try. Who knows, I might get lucky, just like you said."

Her father let out a light huff, smiling at her.

"Look at you," he said. "You've grown up so much. I hope your fiancé realizes how lucky he is to be the guy that gets to spend the rest of his life with you."

M.J. smirked.

"I try to remind him as often as I can."

Her father let out a couple of chuckles.

"Come on," he said, coming alongside her. "I'll walk you to the bus."

M.J. accepted his offer, the two of them turning and heading towards the nearest one. Honestly, their whole interaction tonight had given her a little bit of hope for how things might turn out with Gayle. She'd been on the outs with her father for so long, but the two of them had put in a lot of work over the last couple of years, and now things between them were better than ever before. Of course, that last part might prove to be the trick one: the fact that it took BOTH of them, something there was no way to know if her sister would be willing to do or not.

But she would never know if she didn't try.


As always, hope you're still enjoying this!

Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!

"Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate His rule with trembling." Psalm 2:10-11