Chapter 62

Toni got the call from the Queens Police Station at two in the morning. She hadn't been asleep yet, despite Steve's urging for her to attempt to gain a regular sleep schedule. It wasn't because of a project or anything that she was still up. Rather just the inability to sleep. She'd gotten out of the bed while Steve was asleep and headed down to her lab to do some tinkering. There was always something or the other that she could work on as a distraction, and she found herself playing around with Redwing, and upgrading the AI's code.

While the drone might not be as powerful as FRIDAY or JARVIS, her drone was still learning and adapting. It was also the first AI she'd made for another member of the team that wasn't hers entirely.

The phone had rang while she was in the middle of the upgrade, and while she was tempted to brush it off without knowing who was on the other end, and it was JARVIS who had insisted the call go through.

"Ma-am it's the Queens Police Department," JARVIS had told her, "You might want to answer."

A sense of dread immediately filled her. Why was the Queens Police Station calling?

There was only one family she was well acquainted with who would know her personal number. If it was something related to the Avengers, the call would have gone through Maria first.

Which meant-

"JARVIS, put them through," she said, dropping the tablet she'd been holding.

"Ms Stark?" a slightly sceptical voice said on the other end.

"That's me," she responded, "Is everything alright?"

"There's been an incident," the man on the other end said, "I have a Peter Parker here who says that you are his emergency contact if his legal guardians cannot be reached. If that's a mistake, I'm sorry to bother you. The kid could have made a mistake given the circumstances."

"It's not a mistake," she said immediately, "What happened? Is Peter there?"

"It would be best to explain it in person," the officer said, "Are you able to come down here and pick up Peter?"

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes," she said. She didn't care how fast that meant she'd have to drive.

Something was wrong.

She could feel it, from the sinking sense in her gut. Something had happened that had left Peter in the police station.

"JARVIS can you scan any police reports from the last six hours?" she asked her AI as she ran out the door, grabbing a set of keys. It was late, and she didn't want to bother waking up Happy when it would take him time to get ready and come here. Not when she could run out far quicker. "Please wake up Steve and let him know something's happened as well. Tell him I'll call him and let him know as soon as I can and have any more details. FRIDAY, map the quickest route possible to the station, and load it up on the screen."

"Right away, Miss," JARVIS told her, "Scanning now."

"Loading content," FRIDAY replied, as she got into her car. She started the engine and sped out of the Tower lot.

She was sure she was going way over the speed limit, but she didn't care. It was late at night and the roads were emptier than they were during the day. All that mattered was getting to the station as quickly as possible. All that mattered was getting to Peter as quickly as possible. She needed to know what had happened. If he was okay. If something had gone wrong and if he was okay.

What if he'd gotten hurt? What if something had happened to him?

There were no reports JARVIS could find for her, and it was only causing her worry to increase.

Peter was supposed to spend the night with his Uncle at home. May and Ben had felt guilty for imposing on her as much as they did and despite her constant reassurances, she didn't blame them for wanting to spend some time with Peter as well.

Especially given that no matter how optimistic they all tried to seem around Peter, May wasn't doing well. And she wanted the kid to spend as much time as possible with his Aunt.

Just like she wished she'd had spent the time with Jarvis before he'd passed.

If only she'd known. If only she'd been there with Jarvis for more time before he'd died.

It was exactly sixteen minutes later before she'd pulled up to the Queens Police Department and ran inside.

If the station officers were confused to see her, they hid it well.

"I got a call about Peter Parker?" she said quickly, "Is he okay? Has something happened to him?"

"Ms Stark?" a man who looked like he was slightly older than her said, "Captain Stacy. Can you come this way please?"

She followed the man, as he led her to his office.

"Ms Stark, it's not my place to ask what your relationship is with the Parker family," the man began. "But before you see Peter, there's something you need to know. There was a robbery tonight at Delmar's Deli. Detective Ben Parker was in his car at the time of the robbery, and it is our initial assessment that the robber in question, after stealing from Delmar's, took Detective Parker's car. It seems like there was a struggle, and he shot Ben on the scene. He didn't make it."

Her face went white at that.

"Was Peter there?" she demanded. "Did he see the entire thing?"

"He was inside at the store at the time of the robbery," Stacy said, with a shake of his head. "He heard the gunshot and came out. I believe he saw his uncle pass before his eyes."

"Oh Peter," she said, chest tightening, unsure of how to process it all.

"He was a good man," the Captain said, "One of my best officers. The entire station is in shock of what happened to him. I know times have been tough for them lately with May in the hospital. It's why we called you. Peter said that you are his emergency contact. But if you are unable to let him stay with you, we can call Social Services and they can put him up for the night. It means he'd most likely end up in the system, and well. He's a good kid. I don't want to see that happen to him."

"I'll take him home with me," she said immediately. It wasn't even a question, because how could it be? Peter wasn't going to end up in the foster system because of this. He'd already lost so much, he deserved to at least have a place to sleep.

"Okay," Captain Stacy said, sounding relieved. "I'll take you to him now. He's shaken up, and rightfully so. We've had officers with him, so he wouldn't be alone. Poor kid's been through a lot."

She stood immediately as the Captain led her out of his office and towards a smaller room. When she entered, she saw Peter immediately, and could see how rough he looked. He'd clearly been crying, and she moved towards him.

"Toni," he said, with a sob, and she scooped him up into her arms, holding him tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Peter," she murmured to him, as he cried. "I came as soon as I could. I'm so sorry."

"I saw it happen," he sniffled, "I talked to Uncle Ben before…I should have done something. I should have stopped the robber when he was in the store. If I'd done something, anything, then Uncle Ben would still be alive. This is all my fault."

"Sweetheart," she said, heart breaking, "This is not on you. This was a horrible act of violence. There's nothing you could have done to stop it. This isn't your fault, Peter."

He didn't say anything then, and she wasn't convinced he believed her.

"Can I take him home?" she asked Captain Stacy, "Is there anything else you need before he goes? He's had a long night, and I want to make sure he tries to get some rest tonight."

"No!" Peter said quickly, and she looked over at him. "I need to go see Aunt May. I need to be the one who tells her what happens. I need to see her and tell her. She needs to know what happened."

"Peter, you're exhausted," she told him gently, "We'll go see her in the morning. Or if it's so important to you that she knows, I can go tell her after I drop you off with Steve at the Tower. But either way, you need some rest."

He shook his head, "She needs to hear it from me! I was the one who was there and saw it all happen. I need to be the one who tells her what happened. I owe her that much. After everything they've done for me."

"Later, then," she tried to compromise with him. "It's nearly two am, Peter. She's probably asleep by now. Let her get some rest and we'll see her first thing in the morning, okay?"

"Okay," Peter said, sounding exhausted, and she didn't blame him. It was late, and he'd had a long day.

"We'll be in touch," Captain Stacy said with a nod, "Take care of him. Peter used to come around here a lot as a kid, and well, we're fond of him.

"I will," she said, as she gathered Peter's things, "Let us know if you find out anything about the man who did this to Ben. He was like family and I want him brought to justice for this."

"We'll do our best," The Captain said then. "When one of our own is killed we don't tend to back down until we bring them in. This is personal to all of us now, and we'll make sure the criminal faces the full force of the justice system."

"Good," she said with a curt nod, as she turned to Peter. "Sweetheart, let's go back to the Tower, okay? Get a few hours of rest, then we'll head over to see your Aunt and tell her what happened.

"Okay," Peter said, sounding exhausted. She wrapped an arm around him, as she walked him out to the car.

The drive home was silent for the most part, and she glanced over at the boy from time to time, just to see if he was holding up.

"When I was thirteen, I started MIT," she told Peter softly, knowing he already knew that fact. "It hurt leaving my mother behind, but more than anything, it hurt leaving behind Jarvis."

"Your AI?" Peter asked, a little confused at that, and she shook her head. She'd never told the boy about the man who had all but been her family.

"No. JARVIS is modeled after a man I knew when I was younger," she said, "Edwin Jarvis. He was my family's butler growing up, but he was so much more than that to me. He was my family. He raised me, when my father was off looking for Steve or busy working on stuff for SI. He was around for my entire childhood and he made sure I knew I was loved and never missed out an important moment of my life."

Peter glanced over at her, and she kept talking, "I was sixteen when I found out that he'd had a heart attack. My mother called me when I was away at MIT and asked me to come home. He was in the hospital and they weren't sure if he was going to make it. I came as soon as I could, but there was nothing I could do for him. Despite how smart I was. How much I could create, make, or build, there was nothing I could do to stop him from dying. I was devastated when he was gone. He was my father, even if I had a biological one. And without him, I wasn't sure what I would do."

"I'm sorry," Peter told her, and she shook her head gently at him.

"I'm telling you because I want you to know that I know what it's like. To lose someone who you couldn't give an actual title to which describes your relationship, but for all intents and purposes, he was your father. Your Uncle raised you for years, Peter, he was a father to you. You are more than justified in feeling upset over his death. You have every right to be upset. But I also want you to know that there was nothing you could have done that would have stopped this from happening. Don't blame yourself for this, Peter."

"You don't know that," Peter whispered, "You don't know that I couldn't have stopped this. I could have. If I'd just reacted faster. If I'd just done something, anything. I should have stopped the man from stealing, but I froze. And because of that, Uncle Ben is gone. I'm not a hero. I'm not like you."

"No, you're not," she said, "You're so much better than I could ever be. But more than anything, you're a kid, Peter. You're still a teenager, no matter how brilliant you are. You couldn't have stopped this from happening. You're not responsible for what happened. Don't blame yourself for this. This isn't on you, I promise. You're not at fault."

They pulled up into her parking garage and she parked the car carefully.

"I can still stay at my place," Peter offered, half-heartedly, and she shook her head.

"Absolutely not. It was one thing before, but now you're not staying alone. Especially not tonight. Let's get you up to our floor, and get you something warm to drink," she said, as she led him to the elevator.

When they arrived on their floor, Steve was waiting there for them. He had a pair of sweatpants and an army t-shirt on, as well as a worried expression that filled his face.

"Hi Peter," Steve said, and Peter tried to give him a smile, but it fell flat.

Steve stepped forward and wrapped him up into a hug, "It's going to be okay, Son," Steve told him, as Peter shook again.

When Peter pulled away, she turned to him, "Would you like some tea, or anything?"

Peter shook his head instead, "No," he said, "I think I'd just like to go to bed, if that's alright?"

"Of course, Darling," she told him. "You know where your room is. Let JARVIS know if you need anything, okay? I'm going to be awake, so if you need me, just call."

"Okay," Peter said, as he walked to his room.

"Is he holding up okay?" Steve asked her, wrapping his arms around her. She shook her head, as Steve pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"He's not," she said, "But can you blame him? He saw his uncle get shot, Steve. He was there when Ben died. That's a lot for anyone to handle, let alone a kid."

"He'll make it through this," Steve assured her, "It won't be easy, but he has all of us behind him. Just give him some space for now."

She nodded, as she closed her eyes.

"You should try and get some rest to," Steve told her gently.

"I told Peter I'd be up," she protested.

"JARVIS will let you know if he needs anything. But for now, you should get some sleep. You're going to have a long couple of days. Best be rested for it. Peter needs you to be there for him."

"Okay," she said, as she allowed Steve to lead her to their bedroom.

She was out of it by time she hit the bed.


Peter was up by seven the next morning, and she tried to coax him to eat some breakfast. She'd managed to convince him to eat a few slices of toast, even if he was reluctant to do so.

It didn't help that visitor hours at the hospital didn't start til ten that morning, so even if they left at nine thirty, he still had two hours to kill.

He didn't say much for most of it, instead letting the television play in the background as he stared blankly at the screen, clearly not paying much attention to it or anything else that was happening.

By nine, she gave up, and grabbed their stuff, as she got Happy to drive them over the hospital. She'd given her family a heads up of what had happened, not wanting Peter to have to see too many people until he was ready to handle it all, and she was grateful her friend let them sit in silence through the ride. Steve was on the other side of Peter, wanting to offer support, and she was grateful that she had him with her.

None of this was going to be easy, nor did she expect it to be. Not when the boys he'd come to think of as family had lost his Uncle in a horrible act of violence and now, they had to go deliver the news to his Aunt, who was sick in the hospital.

They arrived at the hospital slightly before visitor hours had started, but she'd called ahead to brief the staff; they needed to know that they were about to deliver devastating news to one of their patients.

Peter was still red-eyed as they made their way through the halls to where May's room was.

"How do I tell her?" Peter sniffled. "How do I tell her that her husband is gone? He went to Delmar's for me. because he knew I was upset over what was happening to May. He never would have been there if it weren't for me, and now it's my fault he's gone. He could have been here with her if he didn't feel guilty about me being sick. All of this is my fault."

"It's not, Peter," Steve reassured him. She wondered then if she should get Peter some help. He'd gone through a traumatic experience, and it could help if he had a professional to talk to. After everything she'd gone through in her life, she found the best way to deal with the PTSD was talking to others about it, and opening up, despite how hard all of it had been.

"It isn't," she said, when Peter opened his mouth again, "There's nothing you could have done, Peter. You could have been killed too, if you'd tried. This isn't on you. I promise."

They stood outside May's door then, and Peter looked terrified.

"You don't have to be the one who tells her," she told him gently, "We can do it for you. You don't have to say it."

"I do," he whispered, "I owe her that. She and Uncle Ben have done so much for me. They raised me when my parent's plane went down. I was there when it happened, so I have to be the one who tells her. It's only right. I need to be the one who tells her."

"Okay," Steve told him. "We're here for you Peter. You're not alone. I promise."

He looked grateful to them as he nodded at them before pushing the door open.

"Peter," May said, sitting up, "I didn't expect to see you back here so early. Did your Uncle drop you off?"

She must have noticed his face, as she noticed Toni and Steve's presence as well.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, sounding a bit unsure. "Did something happen."

"Aunt May," Peter said, as he sat down beside her. "Uncle Ben's gone."

"What do you mean, he's gone?" May asked, confused.

"We went to Delmar's last night to get sandwiches," Peter said, voice starting to shake. "I went inside while he waited in the car. And the store was robbed while I was inside. And when the robber left, he shot Uncle Ben and stole the car. Uncle Ben's gone. He didn't make it, Aunt May. I'm sorry."

She began to tremble then, and Toni took her hand.

"I want to see him," she trembled, "This is a mistake. All of this is one big mistake. Let me see Ben."

"We can't," Toni said gently, "I'm sorry May. He's gone. He passed last night, at the scene. He didn't make it."

A horrible sob erupted from her chest, and Peter looked devastated, as he tried to comfort his aunt then. She shook as she cried, the weight of the situation finally settling in as she realized her husband was gone.

"I'm so sorry," Peter said, as he started to cry, "I'm sorry, Aunt May."

Toni wrapped her arms around Peter, as all of a sudden, the room filled with beeping. She looked over at May and saw the woman began to seize.

"Aunt May?" Peter asked urgently, as the room filled with nurses and doctors. "Aunt May!"

"I'm sorry but you're going to have to wait outside," one of the nurses said, turning to them.

"Aunt May!" Peter yelled, "Please no, let me stay. I need to stay here. I need to be here with her. Please, let me stay."

"Peter, we need to wait outside," Steve told him, firmly. "Let them do their job, okay?"

They got Peter out of the room, and she could see him shake.

"I can't lose her," he said suddenly, "I can't lose her. I just lost Uncle Ben, I can't lose her. Please Toni. Please. I can't lose her too."

She felt so powerless in the situation, as they stood outside the hospital room, watching the doctors move about the room as they tried to stabilize May. She wished there was something she could do, anything she could do to make it better. For how smart she was, for how rich she was, there was nothing she could do to make this better for Peter.

She just hoped May would be okay, despite the sinking feeling she had.

It was another ten minutes before they heard anything. Ten minutes of Peter pacing, while Steve held her in his arms. Ten minutes of wondering just what would happen to May Parker, before the doctor came out to deliver the news.

"Is she okay?" Peter asked, immediately asking, as he turned to the doctor. "Is she okay?"

"I'm sorry," the doctor told them, looking regretful, "The aneurysm in her brain ruptured, causing the seizure. She suffered a loss of oxygen to the brain. She didn't make it."

Peter fell to the ground then, and she felt like her own world was disrupted.

"Peter," she said, bending down beside him, as Peter cried. She wrapped her arms around him, and he sobbed into her chest.

"She's gone," Peter cried. "I lost both her and Uncle Ben, in a day. They're both gone, and I have no one. What am I going to do, Toni? Without either of them? I lost my family, and I have no one now."

"You're not alone," she promised him. "You have me. And you have Steve. You have Ava and Harry, and the rest of the Avengers. You're not alone, Peter. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise. We're going to be here for you."

He didn't respond to that, and she didn't try to make him to say anything. Instead, she held him like that, as he cried over the loss of his Uncle and the loss of his Aunt.

The world wasn't fair. And Peter Parker certainly didn't deserve the pain he was in now. He was the sweetest child she'd ever met. The smartest child she'd ever met. He deserved better than this. He deserved so much more than this.

She vowed then, that she would do anything to protect him. She wouldn't let anything happen to him.

She saw the look in Steve's eyes then, and knew he was going through a similar emotional turmoil as she was, and he gave her a nod to signal that they would go to the ends of the world for this boy to keep him safe.

No matter what the future had in store for them.


A/N: So May's gone too… This was heartbreaking to write, but I always did intend for this to happen so hopefully you can forgive me for putting Peter through all this pain.