A/N: Well, back to work, now, so the updates will not be two a day until my next weekend.
OOOOOOO
By the time Stephen walked into the lounge the room was mostly empty. It had been a long day, of course, followed by a harrowing night, and now the sun was coming up and people were heading to their beds to get some much needed rest before facing the fallout of what had happened.
Tony and Pepper had meals in front of them – badgered into eating by Nick and Steve – but they were both immediately aware when Strange entered the room and both watched as he walked over to the table. He sat down by Natasha, absently resting his hand on the back of her chair.
"He's in the chamber," the doctor reported before any of them could ask. "He acclimated exactly as we expected him to."
"He's alright?"
Strange nodded.
"He's safer in the chamber than he'd be in the bed, really. There's no chance of infection, now, and no indication that he had any going in."
"Can we go see him?" Pepper asked.
"Yes. Of course. Remember; he's safe in the liquid, and he can't feel anything. Don't be unnerved by the way it looks."
Meaning it was scary. Tony and Pepper both nodded and excused themselves, while Nick raised an eyebrow.
"Is he going to make it?"
Strange nodded.
"He survived the initial blast of energy. The only real concern, now, is damage control. We're trying to make sure we heal him quickly enough to repair everything before we have to bring him out of the coma – and now the tank, of course."
"Shuri is with him, now?" T'Challa asked.
"Yes, but I suggested that when Tony and Pepper get there, she gets some rest." He looked at Fury and Steve. "I mentioned that her former guest room would most likely be opened up for her."
"Already done," Steve said.
They had several visitors, of course, but the compound was big enough to manage all of them.
"Your room is ready, too," Natasha told the doctor, pointedly.
He nodded.
"And I'm going to go find my bed, soon," he assured her. He didn't move to get up, though, and instead pulled the Cloak of Levitation from his shoulders and brought it to the table in front of him. The fabric was restless, twisting around in his grasp as he tried to inspect it, assessing it for any lingering damage that he'd need to repair. "Hold still…"
Romanoff smiled, amused by the sight of Stephen trying to corral the wriggling relic. It seemed to think it was fine and didn't need inspecting. She already knew it didn't like to be cleaned, and really only enjoyed being snuggled by Peter – although it was usually willing to dole out the occasional caress to others.
"It's alright?"
He smiled, finally giving up on his impromptu check up, releasing the cloak, which flitted over to Natasha's shoulder, instead, wrapping around her and warming her, immediately.
"It's fine. Some charred spots, but they'll repair on their own."
"That thing is incredible," T'Challa said, shaking his head. It wasn't the first time that he'd seen it, of course, and they'd explained that it was alien, which had rationalized to the non-magic believing Wakandans how it seemed to be sentient.
"That it is," Stephen agreed.
OOOOOO
The room was empty, save for Shuri, who was sitting in a comfortable chair next to a privacy screen that had been set up around the immersion chamber. She stood when Pepper and Tony walked, and they both saw that she looked shaky and a little upset. Not surprising, really, Tony decided when he looked behind the privacy screen, as well.
The sight of Peter in the small immersion chamber was disconcerting to say the least. Their son was completely supported by the fluid he was in, floating eerily in the chamber. His eyes were closed and he didn't seem to be distressed, but before they'd put him into the liquid, they'd removed all bandages to allow the nanites to do their work unimpeded, and the terrible wounds that he'd suffered were on full display. Pepper's hand tightened in his, and he felt his jaw clench at the sight.
Bad enough for them to see it, but they weren't sixteen, were they?
"He's doing well," she told them both, trying to reassure them – probably she hadn't missed their reaction to what they were seeing. "His vitals are well within normal for him."
Pepper smiled, sadly, and let Tony's hand go so that she could hug Shuri, who allowed herself to be gathered into Peter's mother's arms and comfort her.
"He's lucky to have you," Pepper told the princess, sincerely. "We're lucky to have you, too."
Shuri sniffed, but she didn't say anything. She couldn't. Not around the lump in her throat.
While Pepper comforted, Tony went to stand in front of the chamber, watching Peter, and his eyes went to the boy's hand, so badly damaged by the stones he'd wielded. It was mangled, yes, but Tony knew that Peter's healing ability would be the deciding factor. If he had tried to use the stones and had taken the injury Peter had, he knew he wouldn't have had a chance to recover. Maybe even Steve wouldn't. But with Stephen and Shuri watching over him – and with the tech that they had to bring to bear to take care of him – the billionaire didn't feel quite as hopeless as he might have.
After a long moment of watching him, Tony turned to Shuri. His eyes met Pepper's and he gave her a smile that was filled with love for her, even as he rested his hand lightly on Shuri's back.
"He looks comfortable," Tony told the girl. "It's a good idea. Really."
Shuri pulled her face from Pepper's shoulder, her eyes red-rimmed and moist.
"It was the best idea I could come up with. Burns are very complicated, and –"
"You did great, Shuri," Tony told her, interrupting, gently. "Why don't you let us take over here, for a while, though? You need a break, and we need a chance to be with him."
He'd phrased it that way on purpose, and in a way that she wouldn't think that she was being dismissed, because they really were grateful to her for her assistance and wanted her to know that. They were definitely going to have to think of something to do for her when it was all said and done and Peter was on his feet, again.
The princess nodded, wiping her eyes.
"A doctor that I do not know was in here, earlier," she said. "He said his son knew Peter from school and he wanted to make sure that he was going to be alright. He did not stay long, but you may want to put a guard on the door…"
Pepper frowned at that, but Tony agreed, completely.
"Your rooms are open," he told her. "Go get some sleep and something to eat, alright? I don't want to have to tell your mother that we are responsible for you going hungry. Understand?"
She smiled, and glanced over toward Peter for just a moment, and then nodded.
"I will return in a while, but you may call me, if he needs anything."
She left, and Tony took Pepper's hand, guiding her to the chair Shuri had vacated, and then went to find one for himself.
"Friday? Pull up all media for Colonel Thompson. Audio, visual and any electronic correspondence. Anything with Peter's image, name or anything that even seems to be regarding him, his injuries or what happened here gets deleted."
"Will do."
"Was that really necessary?" Pepper asked, giving him one of her patented looks. "Who would want to take a picture of him looking like that?"
"I'm just covering all our bases, Pep," he said. "We owe him, from what Stephen says, but I'm not going to let anyone see Peter like this unless they're one of us. And this way we don't need to worry about any leaks to the media."
That she agreed with, he could tell. He carried a chair over to position it beside hers, close enough to the chamber that he could reach out and touch the glass if he wanted to – which he probably would, he knew.
"Do we set up a guard?" she asked leaning against him once he'd settled next to her.
"Nah," he put his arm around her. "There's a magnetic lock on the door. I'll have Friday keep anyone out who isn't cleared, use media protection protocols and we'll make sure someone is always with him – just in case someone nosy gets by Friday."
"No one gets by Friday."
Tony pressed a kiss against her cheek, settling in to spend time with her and their son.
"That's the whole idea."