A/N: Hello Everyone! This is a birthday present that I wrote for my sister, KaseyTrue! Happy Birthday, Sis!
Hello Little One
He wasn't sure what had just happened. One minute he's walking through the crowd of other guests at the Gala trying to find his Honeybear, and the next a baby has been thrust into his arms with a wheezed "Take him!"
Flashback
Rhodey POV
Rhodey had been the one to find him in the bathroom of the Frat House, high as a kite. Stark was mumbling incoherently and tracing letters or numbers onto the floor, he wasn't sure which. He had hesitated, of course, before deciding to just go for it. He had lifted Stark in his arms and carried him bridal style, and all he hoped was that he could get out of there without a fight breaking out.
He got lucky that most people at the party were too drunk to notice, and those who weren't were busy trying to get jiggy with it on various surfaces. However, his eyes narrowed when he noticed some jock casually walking toward the bathroom he had just carried Stark out of. Too casually in his opinion. He ducked into an alcove out of his sight to see what would happen. He wasn't disappointed when the jock ran out of the bathroom franticly looking around. He ducked his head and turned his back toward the hallway as the guy approached the staircase just in front of his hiding spot.
He waited until he couldn't hear the rapidly disappearing footsteps anymore before booking it outside and to his car. Carefully he laid the Stark kid out in his backseat. He folded one of his sweatshirts up and carefully put it under his head, then laid a blanket over him. What was he supposed to do now? Taking the kid back to his dorm room was out, that guy had obviously drugged the kid. And everyone on Campus knew where the little genius's dorm was. Plus there was the fact that everyone knew he was staying on campus for Christmas alone.
He mulled everything over as he pulled out of the parking spot in front of the Frat House. He knew however that a plan of action had already been decided on, he just didn't want to admit it. The drive was quiet to the dorms. He finally acknowledged that he was planning to bring the kid home with him when he pulled into a dark corner of the parking lot for Starks dorm. He sighed as he reached into the back seat to fish the kids' keys out of his pocket.
He quietly opened his door and got out before quietly closing it behind him. He knew he had to do this quickly, that jock might have headed this way when he realized his victim was missing. He jogged toward the door of the building, being quick but not suspicious. As he got to the front door he looked at the keys in his hand, thankfully they were named. He didn't recognize the handwriting on the tape strips, but he was thankful all the same. He quickly used the front door key to get in the building and made his way to Starks dorm room.
Luckily the kid's room was on the first floor. He quickly located the correct key which even had his room number on it. Quickly looking around him he turned the key over and opened the door. Once inside he turned on the lamp by the bed. The last thing he needed was someone investigating why Stark was up and about at midnight in his dorm when he was supposed to be at the party.
He was actually surprised about how neat the room was but shrugged it off for the moment. He was on a mission, and couldn't afford to get distracted. He grabbed a suitcase from the closet and swiftly but neatly put in a few changes of clothes. He noticed a box peeking out from under the bed and his curiosity got the better of him.
After quickly finishing up with the suitcase, he knelt to pull the box out from under the bed. He gently lifted the lid and noticed it was full of letters and photos, realizing it was obviously important things about his family he started to put the lid back when he paused as he realized the people in the photos with Stark, were not the elder Starks. His curiosity piqued further, he set the lid of the box gently on the floor and picked up the photos on top. They all featured Stark in some way or other, but one or both of the couple in every photo. He couldn't figure out why the man looked so familiar but put the feeling aside as he flipped through the photos. He smiled when found one where Stark looks to be about four or five. He was sitting in a mud puddle in front of a small cottage, grinning at the camera with mud covering him from head to toe with more mud clenched in his fists held out toward the camera. Or more accurately, the person holding the camera.
Shaking his head with a grin, he carefully put the lid back on the box and slid it back under the bed. Standing back up he grabbed the suitcase and set it by the door before pausing. He felt like he was forgetting something, he just couldn't figure out what. Glancing around the room one more time he paused as he noticed a black zipper bag sitting beside the sink with toothpaste next to it. Ding, ding! He slapped a hand against his forehead. He couldn't believe he almost forgot to grab the kids' bathroom stuff. Quickly putting the toothpaste inside the bag, he slipped it into the front pocket of the suitcase.
He glanced around one more time before turning off the light and quickly vacating the dorms after double-checking he had locked the kids' room. Quickly getting back to his car he popped the trunk and put the suitcase next to his own. Moving around to his door he swiftly got in and buckled up before turning his head to check on his sleeping passenger. He smiled slightly when he noticed the kid had turned onto his side and curled up slightly and was half cuddling the sweatshirt that was also doubling as his pillow. Turning back around he cranked his car, and carefully made his way off-campus.
Pulling out his cellphone that his Mom insisted he get before leaving for college he dialed their home number and held it to his ear. He breathed a sigh of relief when someone picked up on the third ring.
"Rhodes residence." He smiled at hearing his Mom's voice.
"Hi, Mom." He said.
"James! Oh, Honey, I'm so glad to hear from you! I was so afraid I would already be asleep when you decided to head out!" Her voice got quieter as he heard his Mom say,
"Honey! James is on his way!"
He laughed softly as he listened to his parents excitedly talking. His smile dimmed slightly as he remembered why he had called. "Hey, Mom? I have something I need to tell you, but you can't spazz out on me alright?"
He heard his Mom pause. "Okay, I'm listening Sweetheart."
He sighed in relief and began to tell her everything he knew.
Tony POV
He woke up in a room that DEFINITELY wasn't his dorm or the Frat House he had been at the night before. He searched his memory to see if he could figure out what had happened, but he couldn't find anything after a guy in a Letterman jacket handed him a bottle of water when he had noticed the case sitting on the counter next to him and asked him to pass him one. Anna and Edwin had made it VERY clear, he could go to this party as long as he promised not to get drunk. And considering that they had basically raised him, he was always careful not to disappoint them.
He remembered that he had been upset he wasn't going to see them for Christmas, but he understood.
While Edwin had worked for Howard since LONG before Tony was born, he always knew the truth. Liked or not, he still worked for Howard and Maria Stark. And so, when Howard told Edwin that himself and Anna would be joining them at a Gala, all he could do was say yes.
Unfortunately for Tony, what that meant is that he wouldn't be going home for Christmas. And while he knew it was just the way of things, he was still a 15-year-old who wanted to be with the people that he ACTUALLY counted as his parents. While Howard and Maria had given him life, it was Anna and Edwin Jarvis that had truly helped him live.
After all, Anna had even been his wet nurse. When Maria had come to her when she was 6 months pregnant and asked her to be her wet nurse, Anna had of course been shocked. But Maria had been insistent, as Anna had told him once when he was 6, "The moment your Madre asked me I may have been shocked, but there was no way I was going to turn her away. Somewhere inside me, I knew you were going to be very special bambino." Tony had hugged her as tightly as his little arms could after that.
But try as he might he couldn't remember the night before. Which was really strange considering he had an eidetic memory. Even the few times he had been drunk, he could remember every detail. But after his first sip out of the bottle of water, nothing. He slowly sat up and looked around the room he was in. If it weren't for the fact that it looked like he was in some teenage boy's room, he would be wondering if he had been kidnapped again.
He flipped the soft blue comforter back from himself and swung his legs over to dangle off the edge of the bed. Whoever's bed this was, they were tall. He wasn't the biggest guy around. But he wasn't the smallest either. He was a little shorter than most guys his age at 5'3", but this bed had definitely been adjusted for someone who was at least 6 feet tall.
Now he was even more confused. He looked down at himself and noticed that he was wearing some of his own pajamas. A funny pair that Anna had made for him that had the Pi symbol all over and a pair of his warm fuzzy socks. Okay, that definitely rules out being kidnapped. Even if the room itself hadn't been a red flag, being in pajamas was. Every time he'd been kidnapped if they did anything to do with his clothes, it was just removing his shoes. They never really bother with anything else.
He slid off the bed and walked towards the door. As he got closer he could hear quiet voices and the sound of cutlery. Frowning now with his confusion, he slowly reached for the knob and was surprised when it turned with ease. Even though he was pretty positive he hadn't been kidnapped, he still had somewhat been expecting the door to be locked. He softly opened the door and peeked out. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but it wasn't to see family photos hanging on the wall opposite the door. He looked closer and realized that one of the boys in the photos was a colored guy he had seen around campus and was in a couple of his classes.
As far as he could remember they had never interacted beyond a general greeting or a nod of acknowledgment. So to say that he was WAY beyond confused would be an understatement. He looked down the hallway where the sounds of people were coming from. He quickly decided to just get it over with. He walked down the short hallway, idly noting the carpet under his feet was surprisingly soft, and stopped in the doorway to what appeared to be a dining room full of people laughing and talking over each other. But instead of being disorienting, it was actually calming as it gave his brain something to focus on. He did a quick count and realized four different conversations were going on at the same time between the ten or so people in the room.
He stood in the doorway awkwardly not sure how to get their attention. He had finally decided on just saying 'hi' when he heard a baby suddenly start crying down the hallway he had just come from. He glanced over and realized none of them had heard the crying yet so decided to check it out.
Turning swiftly but quietly on his sock-clad feet he made his way back down the hall and opened the door next to the one he had woken up in. Peeking inside he saw it was set up as a nursery. The walls were a soft blue with clouds drawn all around. The furniture, while well worn, was obviously also very well cared for and were mostly a soft cream color. Looking toward the cradle in the corner by the window as he heard the cry again, he headed toward it.
Peering down into the cradle he found a small baby with long black curly hair and caramel skin, waving her fists as she cries with her eyes tightly closed. Carefully, he reached into the bed and lifted the crying child out just like Anna had taught him when Aunt Peggy had brought her baby boy for Tony to meet. Her cries tapered off and her eyes slowly opened as she realized she was being lifted. As Tony looked down into the jade green eyes of the little girl in his arms he smiled.
Hearing a small gasp from the doorway he tightened his arms as he spun around, shocked to find the whole family standing there looking at him in shock.
"I didn't hurt her!" Tony said quickly. "I heard her crying and just wanted to check on her I swear!"
Almost as one all of them smiled widely at him. He was a bit unnerved by that, to tell the truth, but he held his ground. He didn't want to admit however that he did tremble slightly when an older woman with darker skin than the baby moved towards him. She smiled softly at him, which instantly had him relaxing a little. Some of the tension bleeding out of his shoulders. The way she held herself reminded him of Aunt Peggy and Anna.
Slowly she reached her hand forward and carded her fingers through his hair. His eyes closed as he almost melted into a puddle of contented goo. That felt just like when Anna did it. As he opened his eyes he saw the amused smile settling on her face. Still keeping her hand in his hair she looked down at the little girl in his arms, who just so happened to be looking at him with fascination.
"She likes you." She said to Tony. "She doesn't like many people. Looks like my boy was right to bring you home with him."
He frowned in confusion as he was reminded that he had no idea how he had gotten here. "How exactly did I get here, and where is here?" Tony asked with a slight tremble in his voice as some of the tension that had been released came back.
She smiled softly at him. "My son James goes to MIT with you. He said he found you completely incoherent in the bathroom."
Tony interrupted her. "But that isn't possible! I didn't even drink anything last night! All I had was some water!" He blurted out.
She smiled at him in sympathy. "Someone drugged your water Sweetie. James told us that after he found you he was going to just take you back to your dorm but moments after he had left the bathroom he saw someone going into the bathroom to find you. Knowing you were supposed to be staying on campus for Christmas, Jamie decided not to chance it and just got some of your things from your dorm room and brought you home with him." She smiled at him reassuringly. "I promise you, no one did anything to you. All I did was change you into your pajamas and put some warm socks on ya. Even though our heating is really good, it does tend to get a tad chilly at night."
Tony took a minute to process that. Someone had drugged his water. The only thing he had, in fact, drank that night. He was happy that he had kept his promise and not gotten drunk but he was pissed that someone HAD tried to kidnap him. Why else would they drug him? He sighed in defeat and looked down at the little girl in his arms. He couldn't help but smile as he noticed she was now ignoring both of them in favor of sucking her thumb with her eyes half-closed in sleep. He watched in fascination as her eyes slowly drifted completely closed and the sucking slowed on her thumb as she slowly succumbed to sleep.
He looked up as the woman slowly raised his head. She gifted him a warm smile and said softly, "You can call me Mama Rhodes. 'Cause Honey? I ain't letting a sweet one like you go. You're family now."
Looking over her shoulder he could see the rest of the family nodding in agreement. His eyes locked with James's and saw him mouth, "Welcome to the family Little Brother." With a wide grin stretching across his mouth.
End Flashback
Instinctively his arms readjusted to hold the baby in one arm as he reaches for the woman. While he himself didn't suffer from Asthma some of the Rhodes did and he recognized what was happening. He grabbed her arm as she started to collapse. As he got her to the floor as gently as he could he started digging through her handbag hoping to find her inhaler. Not finding one he shouted, "We need a doctor over here!"
He held the baby close to himself as he was nudged out of the way. Soon enough the EMS had arrived and were carting her away to the waiting ambulance. He tried to follow them but no one would let him get closer. But he did hear what hospital they were taking her to and that was enough. Quickly making his way to the street he flagged a cab. While normally he wouldn't let anyone but Happy drive him anywhere, he needed to get to the hospital.
"Follow that ambulance. I don't care what you have to do." Tony told the cabby in a rush.
"You got it, dude!" The cabby told him with a grin.
Page Break
Skidding to a stop outside the hospital, Tony threw a couple of hundreds through the window and sprang out of the taxi. Not only was he in a hurry to get to the doors because of the baby, but he was also desperate to get away from that driver! Who knew you could hit a hundred and fifty in New York City?
Hurrying up to the doors of Metro-General Hospital he went inside hoping they would give him the information he desperately needed.
"Excuse me!" He said loudly trying to get the attention of one of the nurses at the front desk. They were all crowded around what looked to be a patient's chart. One of the older women looked up and seeing the frantic look on his face hurried over, her look of annoyance quickly being replaced with worry.
"What can I do for you?" She asked in concern noticing the child in his arms.
"There was a woman just brought in an ambulance from the Metro-General Hospital Charity Gala. I need to know if she's ok. She was having an Asthma attack!" Tony said in a rush still trying to get his heart rate and breathing to calm down.
Her face took on a look of confusion. "Sir, know for a fact you are not related to her so I can't give you any information." Her face took on a look of suspicion. "Why do you need that information?"
"Because when she started having her Asthma attack she thrust her baby in my arms." He said gesturing to the baby.
Her eyes widened in comprehension and amazement. She took a moment and Tony could tell she was thinking things through. She finally closed her eyes and gave a small sigh. "Alright. Come with me." She told him before turning and walking down the hallway.
Tony followed her, bouncing the baby in his arms a little. She glanced back at him before looking at the baby. "His name is Peter. And her name is May. May Parker." The nurse told him.
"She actually works here." The woman told him with a sigh. "She drew the short straw and had to accompany Dr. Strange to the Gala. Unfortunately, her husband is a Police Officer, and he had to pull a night shift this evening so she decided to take little Peter with her."
"What do you mean she 'drew the short straw' exactly?" Tony asked her in confusion.
She looked confused for a moment before her face cleared up and she clarified. "Sorry! I didn't mean that how it sounded!" She chuckled for a moment as they continued to walk. "What I meant is that a nurse always has to go to the Charities with one of the Dr.'s. May got the bad luck that she had to do it tonight. You see she and her husband are babysitting their nephew this weekend. As his parent had to go out of town to a conference, they're scientists, and so May and Ben offered to babysit. But then the sweet girl who was supposed to go to the Gala with Dr. Strange ended up with food poisoning. She ate some bad oysters."
All Tony could do was smile as he realized that this woman was a chatterbox. She kind of reminded him of Allie, Rhodey's cousin. The little cousin that Tony had held his first day at the Rhodes house in fact. She was 16 now and an absolute jabber jay. But Tony loved her. Just like he loved all of the Rhodes. But none so much as his Honeybear. Oh yeah. He would need to call Rhodey to let him know where he was.
"Anyway. May had asked to have the weekend off since they were babysitting Peter, but then Ben, her husband, got called in for an emergency. And then Amy, who was supposed to go, got food poisoning, and everyone else either had prior engagements of some kind or were working tonight. And so May volunteered to go ahead and go to the Gala. I can't believe her inhaler didn't work-"
Tony broke in. "She didn't have it with her. When I realized what was going on, I dug through her purse to get it. But she didn't have one. That's why she was as bad as she was. I usually have one with me, but I didn't bring it with me tonight."
She nodded in understanding. "I take it you have family that suffers from it?"
Tony nodded. After his parents and Edwin had died in the car accident, all he'd had were Anna and the Rhodes. But then Anna died 6 months later from a heart attack. All he had after that were the Rhodes. Obie had tried but Mama Rhodes had been insistent when she found out he didn't actually know anything about his fathers' company to learn more. Well, he had. And when he had found out that Obie was dealing under the tableā¦. He was not a happy camper. It was even worse that he wasn't arrested. He had escaped the country before he could be. He'd been 19 at the time.
"Well anyway, she'll be okay. You'll see! We already called Ben and let him know that May has been admitted. So he should be here soon. Do you mind terribly looking after little Peter until he does get here?" She asked him hopefully. They stopped outside of a room.
He glanced down at the little boy in his arms. He was looking up at Tony in fascination. His curly brown hair was complemented by his big brown eyes that reminded him of Bambi. He looked back at the nurse who was giving him a knowing look. "Can I get your name so I can write it down on her chart?"
Tony Stark blinked in surprise. He had honestly thought she was just being professional by not fangirling or something. He didn't think it was possible for someone not to recognize him at all.
"Tony. Tony Stark" He said after a moment.
Her eyes widened in surprise, and her mouth gaped slightly open.
He couldn't help but smirk at that. Even though he wasn't as arrogant as his father, Mama Rhodes and Anna had seen to that, he did still enjoy when people would pause at hearing his name.
She shook herself and straightened her shoulders. "Yes. Well. The doctor should be in soon to check on her if you have any questions about her condition." Then she turned and walked away with as much dignity as she could.
Tony shook his head with a fond smile before looking down at little Peter. Peter appeared to be dozing back off so Tony left him to it. Turning he entered the hospital room.
Walking over to the bed he idly noticed she was wearing an oxygen mask but thankfully not a ventilator. He glanced to the only chair in the room and decided he should probably sit down.
After settling down in the chair he looked down at the bambino in his arms he saw Peter was wide awake now. Smiling down at him Tony whispered, "Hello Little One."
