There were three people sitting at a small table when Tony and Pepper came rushing into the room. Peter was there, eyes red and wet, and his little face scared. With him was the daycare director Ella, and an older man that Tony didn't recognize. He walked over and brushed his hand against Peter's hair, looking down at him – mainly checking for blood – but he didn't see any.

"What's going on?"

"My finger hurts," Peter told him, mournfully, holding it up so Tony and Pepper could see.

Sure enough, the one with the ring on it was swollen and red, and Tony thought that maybe he did see a smearing of blood. He caught that little hand to get a closer look, kneeling down next to his son.

"What happened?"

"Nothing. It just hurts."

"It looks like a severe allergic reaction," the older man said. "He said he put it on, yesterday, so that would be about right – I'm surprised it didn't hurt, sooner, really."

Tony decided the man was the on-staff doctor – kept around in case there were any medical emergencies. Not, necessarily, for the kids at the daycare, of course. There were a lot of R&D labs, after all, and accidents definitely could – and did – happen.

"He's allergic to metal?" Tony asked, surprised. "He wore my watch, though…"

And his dad's, too, for that matter – although not for any length of time.

"It could be a particular alloy that he's sensitive to," the doctor said, shrugging. "It isn't that uncommon. A severe reaction like this is, though."

"What do we do?" Pepper asked, also kneeling close to Peter to get a look at the finger, and offer support.

"Unfortunately, It'll have to be cut off," the doctor said. "I don't see any other way."

Peter squeaked, jerking his hand out of Tony's grip, and tucking it, protectively, under his armpit.

"What?"

Tony looked almost as freaked out as Peter.

The doctor frowned at the twin reactions, and then offered up a slight smile, shaking his head.

"I meant the ring," he clarified. "As swollen as the finger is, the ring won't come off, and we don't dare allow it to remain on his finger while the swelling goes down."

"Oh." Tony looked at Peter, reaching for the hand, once more. "Hear that, buddy? Just the ring. Not the finger."

Peter reluctantly gave him the hand, but he sniffed.

"I don't want them to cut it off," he told his father. "Then I can't wear it, no more."

"If you're allergic to it, you can't wear it, anyway," Tony pointed out, frowning when he got a better look at the finger, even with the metal still covering it. It was incredibly swollen, and the skin seemed to be rubbed off. "This wasn't hurting you, earlier?" he asked.

"It was," Peter admitted. "A little."

"Why didn't you say something, honey?" Pepper asked, making a soft noise of commiseration when she saw the damage to his finger.

"I thought it might stop."

Tony looked at the doctor.

"How do we do this?"

"We need something to cut the ring off," he replied. "I'm not sure what will work for that – it's not something I've ever had to do, truth be told. Once the ring is off, I'll be able to get a better look at the damage done."

"I probably have something that can get it off." He kissed the little hand that he was holding, looking at Peter. "I'm going to go get a couple of tools. Pepper will keep you company, okay?"

Peter sniffed, again, and nodded.

"Okay."

Tony left and Pepper sat down at the table. Peter moved to climb into her lap, wanting to be held, and Pepper was more than willing. He sniffed, again, as he put his head on her shoulder, tucking that little hand between them to keep it safe – maybe subconsciously to keep it away from the doctor.

"Poor guy," Pepper crooned, brushing her fingers through his curls and smiling at the other two. "We'll get you taken care of, soon."

"I know."

The doctor set a bag on the table, and opened it. The sound of medical equipment being pulled out and situated in front of the man drew Peter's attention from how much his hand hurt, and he looked over to watch, still holding Pepper.

"What's that do?" he asked, curiously.

He knew what bandages were for, of course, but there were a couple of little instruments and a bottle of something that smelled funny.

"We'll take a look at your finger and decide how best to proceed once the ring is off and I can get a better look at it," the doctor replied. "But this will clean the wound – depending on how badly the skin is damaged, and these will let me have a closer look. The bandages will be to keep your finger from getting infected."

"We won't need to take him to the hospital?"

"No, probably not," the doctor told her, kindly. He knew exactly who she was, of course, and just how long she'd been in the role of mother. Talk about being thrown into the deep end right away. "A follow up visit to his regular pediatrician wouldn't be a bad idea, but unless I see something worrisome when the ring is removed, I think I'll be able to take care of things, here."

As they were discussing it, Tony returned, carrying a small case of his own. He smiled – but wasn't surprised – to find Peter in Pepper's lap, and he set his case on the table before taking the chair next to hers.

"We'll try miniature cutters, first," he said, pulling a pair of needle-nosed clippers out of the bag. "If that doesn't work, then I'll get the chainsaw."

That made Peter smile. He knew better. Maybe when the doctor had said they were going to have to cut it off and he'd really thought that he'd meant his finger – or his hand – he'd been afraid. Not when Tony said it, though.

"Pepper won't let you," he pointed out. He looked at her. "Right, mom?"

She smiled, too, feeling her insides turn into mush. Yes, he'd said it the night before. But he'd been sleepy, then. This time it was the light of day, and besides, Tony had been right there to hear it. Her eyes met his, and she saw that spark of happiness in them when he looked back at her, and then at his son.

"You're right, honey," she agreed. "No chainsaws."

Tony rolled his eyes, making a show of being disappointed.

"Fine." He held out his hand. "Let me see that finger, son."

Peter gave him his hand, watching silently as the man he loved most in his world carefully eased the flat edge of the cutter between the least damaged looking part of Peter's finger and the metal that was aggravating him so much, and snipped it with a single motion. The metal gave way and all of the adults leaned forward to get a better look.

"That's as classic an indication of an allergic reaction as I've ever seen," the doctor confirmed, scooting closer and taking Peter's hand. "I guarantee there will be no piercings in your future," he added, reaching for the cloth and the bottle.

Peter giggled at that, but then hissed in pain when the doctor began cleaning the finger. He almost jerked the hand away, but Tony and Pepper were both right there, soothing him with touches and gentle noises.

"Shhhh…" the doctor murmured, working as quickly as he could. "It won't hurt for but a moment, and then it should start to go numb."

"You're good, buddy," Tony added, watching what the doctor was doing.

The boy obviously didn't agree, but he held still as the injured area was cleaned, minutely examined and then carefully bandaged.

"He'll want to keep his hand dry for a few days," they were told, as the doctor started putting his things away. "Follow up with your pediatrician if it doesn't look any better by that time. Or, of course, you can call me."

He was always at the tower, after all – and they paid him very well to be the onsite doctor.

"Thank you," Pepper said, glancing at Peter. "Are you ready for lunch?"

Cheeks damp, but eyes no longer pained, the boy nodded.

"Yes."

"Will you be keeping him the rest of the day?" the daycare director asked as they all stood up and Tony swept Peter into his arms for just a moment, before setting him on his feet.

She was aware of his schedule and knew that he normally had a Monday appointment – since he rarely came to daycare after school on Mondays.

"Yes," Tony said, handing the damaged ring to Pepper, and picked up his small tool kit. "We're keeping him out of school, tomorrow, too, though, so he'll be here."

"Sounds good."

They thanked the doctor, and the daycare director, and then Tony and Pepper walked with Peter between them back to Pepper's office.

"How come I'm out of school, tomorrow?" Peter asked, curiously. "Is it crazy there?"

"We've had a couple of reports of people being in the building who have no reason to be there," the billionaire admitted. "Pepper and I had a press conference, so the mystery is gone – and so is the race to be the first to break the story – but I'll feel better if we give it another day or two to calm down."

"Oh." He looked at them, his uninjured hand holding the bandaged one. "Being married is hard, isn't it?"

They both smiled at that.

"I suppose it is," Tony agreed. "But it's worth the effort."

Being a dad was, too, but Tony loved it – and he loved being married. It was amazing when he thought back to how he used to be.

Pepper brushed her fingers along the top of Peter's head.

"Does your finger hurt?"

"A little. I'm okay." He didn't let it go, though. "I'm sorry I ruined the ring."

She made a soft noise.

"I'm sorry the ring hurt you."

"We can put it on a chain, or something," Tony assured him. "A non-metal chain," he added, with a smile. "Maybe a piece of leather. We'll figure something out."

"Okay."

"I'm hungry," he told his son. "Are you ready for lunch?"

"Yeah."

"Pep?"

"Of course."

"We'll eat, and then Peter can help me in my workroom until it's time to go see Dr. Wayne."

The boy smiled, excitedly, and that made Tony feel good. It was the best thing that he could think of to get Peter's mind off his finger, after all.

"What are we going to do?" Peter asked, eagerly.

"Secret Ironman things," he said, mysteriously. "Come on. I want a hotdog."

"Me, too!" Peter reached for Pepper's hand. "Let's go."