"How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. Really." Peter smiled, because he'd already had this conversation with Natasha, and then Tony and Pepper while they had breakfast, and now he was having it again with Shuri, who was dressed and ready to leave the compound with Pepper and Happy, who was driving them into the tower. They were leaving, soon, and Pepper had already told him to call her if he needed anything. "Have fun, today. Bring me back a surprise."

She smiled, sitting on the edge of his bed, nibbling on a slice of toast she'd stolen from his breakfast tray. She'd had breakfast, of course, but it was more fun to eat pilfered food.

"What should I bring you?"

"If I tell you, then it isn't a surprise," Peter pointed out. "Nothing too crazy, though. Pepper can help you decide."

Shuri looked dubious, but she shrugged.

"It'll make you feel better?"

"Everyone feels better getting a surprise."

"True." She looked him over, deciding that he seemed tired, despite having woken up so recently. "What are you doing today?"

"Spending some of it in bed," he assured her. "Unless Tony decides to make my kitchen helper punishment start today," he added, as the door to the room opened and the man in question walked into the room, silently, with Pepper beside him. "In which case, I will be spending at least two hours in the lounge."

"Surely he would allow you to wait until your hand is more healed?"

She'd heard – from him – about his punishment and had been fascinated. Grounding wasn't something that she'd ever had done to her, before, after all – and not common in Wakanda, apparently.

"He might not," Peter told her, forcing himself not to smile when Tony rolled his eyes. "He's kind of a tyrant."

She realized that he wasn't serious, immediately, and looked over her shoulder to see Tony standing there, smirking.

"I am," he agreed. "It's part of my charm."

"Peter will not be kitchen helper today, though," Pepper said – both to Shuri and to Tony. "He'll be given a couple of days to recuperate, first, so we don't let him hurt his hand."

She looked at the boy, pointedly, and he nodded.

"I'll be careful. You're leaving?"

"We are." She moved to the side of the bed, leaned over and brushed a kiss against his cheek. "If you need anything, call me."

"Not dad?"

Pepper shrugged.

"If it's something you think he will say no to…"

Peter smiled.

"Have a good day. Keep Shuri out of trouble."

The princess rolled her eyes and both females left the side of the bed. Tony looked at his son.

"I'm going to walk them to the garage. If you're feeling up for it, get dressed and we'll spend some time in the lounge so the others can reassure themselves that you're alright."

"Yeah." Peter reached for Nutmeg when the kitten made a move to jump off the bed. "I'll meet you there."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

OOOOOOOO

Strange frowned, and a small, clean towel immediately appeared in his hand. His eyes searched her body, quickly, confused and immediately concerned.

"Where? What happened?"

Natasha's expression went from uncertain to amused, immediately, at his misunderstanding.

"Put that away," she told him. "I'm not injured."

"Then what did you mean? You're bleeding? Where…" he trailed off at the look she gave him and she could tell when the realization hit; his expression turned from confused, to understanding – and then right back to confused. "Wait. You mean that you're… I mean… how is that possible? Are you certain?"

"No," she admitted. "Which is why I'm going to go get myself looked at – to find out."

"But…" he was surprised, she could tell. "You didn't speak with Dr. Adams at the compound?"

She would have been the first choice, he'd have thought. Not necessarily a gynecologist, but the doctors at the compound were versatile in their scope – as Stephen already knew.

"I'd rather find out, first," Romanoff said with a slight shrug. "And without big brother Tony's AI knowing what's going on. Just in case it's something else and I'm wrong. I'd rather face the disappointment alone. There's a free clinic just down the street from here. I can go in and be checked anonymously – I don't even have to give them my name. Then I can find out one way or the other."

"Oh." He raised an eyebrow. "Would you mind if I accompanied you?"

Natasha smiled, relieved.

"I'd appreciate it."

She didn't want to face disappointment alone, really. Not if he was offering her a hand to hold.

"Let me tell Wong I'm leaving."

"Yeah."

OOOOOOOO

It was still early enough that some of the others were having breakfast when Peter walked into the lounge. Clint was sitting at a table with Steve and all of the guardians, and his eyes lit up when Peter saw them and headed their direction.

"Peter Pony! Are you supposed to be out of bed?"

The boy smiled. When he stopped at the table a tendril of a branch reached him and carefully took Nutmeg from his uninjured hand.

"Yes. Stephen cleared me to be up – for a while, at least."

"Did you eat?" Steve asked, as Peter sat down between Rocket and Gamora.

"Yes."

"How's the hand?" Peter Quill asked him.

"And the head?" Rocket asked, looking at the neat row of stitches.

"They're okay." He held up his hand, showing them the brace. "The bandages are off."

"What kind of range of motion do you have?" Clint asked.

"The fingers all move." Peter smiled, feeling relieved at being able to say that. "It should be fine. Everyone says so, anyway."

Meaning the doctors who had looked at it.

"I am groot?"

"Not too much," the boy replied. "What have you guys been doing?"

He was suddenly interested in finding out everything that he may have missed while he'd been stuck in bed.

"Mainly doing a lot of upgrades to the Milano," Quill said. He smiled, looking pleased. "It's been a long time since we've been on land in a place filled with friendlies. It's pretty much a vacation, but also we'd be crazy not to take advantage of it and do some much needed repairs while we're in a position to do so."

"You're welcome to stay as long as you want," Steve told them, sincerely.

"What do you do, next?" Peter asked, curiously. "Are you guys really space pirates? Or was that a rude question to ask?"

He had to admit that he wasn't certain of the protocol for that kind of question. And it wasn't one that he'd ever thought he'd ask in his entire life.

Gamora smiled, but before she could answer, it was Drax who spoke up.

"Space pirates wish we were them," he said, unabashed, and clearly not offended by the question.

"We'll finish the retro on the ship, maybe spend a few days on a sunny beach, somewhere, and then decide," Quill replied.

"We have to take Sirah back to the collector," Mantis reminded them.

Steve frowned.

"I'm not going to let her be returned to that lifestyle," he told them. "She deserves better than being a servant at best and a slave at worse."

"She doesn't belong to us," Rocket pointed out. "It isn't our decision to make."

Tony was joining them, suddenly, and while he hadn't heard any of the conversation, he didn't miss Steve's scowl.

"What are you so mad about?" he asked, automatically checking Peter's expression to make sure whatever it was hadn't upset his boy, too.

"He wants to keep Sirah," Drax said.

"I don't want to keep her," Rogers corrected with an annoyed look at the alien. He wasn't at all inhibited by the large man's impressive physique – or the nickname Drax the Destroyer. He'd taken on bigger (maybe) and more dangerous (perhaps?) in his many years. "I just don't want anyone else to own her, either."

"Relax, Cap," Tony told him, sitting next to Groot and reaching out to run his finger along Nutmeg's furry head. "It so happens that I agree with you. Where is she?"

"On the ship, cleaning," Gamora replied. "She seems to feel like she's supposed to be earning her keep, so she insists on working – even when we tell her not to."

"See?" Steve said to Stark. "We're not going to allow her to get sent back to that kind of lifestyle."

It was a challenge, but Tony didn't look concerned.

"Right. I've been thinking about a solution to all of that – provided I understand how this Collector guy thinks…"

"Oh?" Gamora asked, looking skeptical. "What are you thinking?"

"He wants his reality stone back, right?"

"More than anything."

"Enough to trade it for amnesty for Sirah?"

"She's beneath him, Tony," Rocket said. "She's not going to be worthy of his attentions – not even enough to pardon her for anything that he might think she's done."

"Then he wouldn't notice if she never came back?" Peter asked.

"He'd notice if she never brought his stone back," Quill corrected. "He'd probably send people out to look for her – to find it."

"Not if someone returns it," Peter said.

"Exactly," Tony agreed, not surprised that Peter was on the same page. "If someone – or someones – were to return his stone, he'd probably be pretty happy."

"You might say that," Gamora agreed.

"Might even give them a reward?" Peter asked, pointedly. "To make it worth taking back to him?"

Quill suddenly looked interested.

"A huge reward," he said. "And would be happy to have it back. More than willing to forget about a girl that he didn't care about, in the first place."

"So when Peter's hand can open the polymorph – and when you guys are ready – he'll pop the reality stone out, we'll put it in something to keep it from hurting anyone and you guys can take it back where it belongs and collect whatever reward you ask him for, I imagine."

Drax beamed – and he wasn't the only one. Rocket was practically drooling.

"But not with Sirah," Steve said.

"Correct." Tony shrugged. "We can find a place for her, here, I imagine."

Peter frowned, though, because while he was in agreement that she shouldn't be taken back where she came from, he wasn't a huge fan of the idea of her being in the compound. He hadn't forgotten how she'd looked at him, and he had his own problems with MJ, just then. He didn't want to add another girl to the issue.

"I like it," Clint said, approvingly. "She looks enough like us that no one will look twice at her."

"And we could probably name our price for the rock," Rocket said.

They all looked at Steve. He nodded.

"Yes."