Pepper's gaze was soft and understanding as she listened to Quill's reasons for wanting to go on a thousand mile road trip the night before they were planning on blasting off into space and leaving the planet for an unknown amount of time. When he was done – and it hadn't taken long, even with his hesitance – she nodded.

"I think it's a great idea," she told him. "But you're not going to get there by car. Not there and back in one night."

"Is it far?" Gamora asked.

Pepper nodded, pulling out her phone and brining up the 3D representation. It was a map of the United States. She highlighted where they were, and then where he wanted to go.

"It's too far by car," she replied. "But we're not limited to cars. There's a jet that could make the trip in an hour – and I imagine if we asked, Stephen would be willing to portal you in, which would be instantaneous."

"I don't want to make a big deal out of it," Peter told her, uncertainly. "I mean, she isn't really going to know if I stopped in and visited her, after all. I was just thinking that it might be nice."

"And I agree, completely." She lifted her head, just a little, talking into thin air, next. "Friday? Will you ask Tony and Stephen to come back here, please, when they're free?"

She looked at Peter.

"You don't mind if I tell them why you want to go to Missouri?"

Quill looked somewhat surprised by her willingness to make the trip happen, but he shook his head.

"No. Of course not."

"Not everyone, though," Gamora said.

"No. Only those who need to know to make it happen."

Before she could do more than ask if Peter knew where she was buried, Tony and Stephen walked into the lounge. They didn't look concerned, only curious, so Friday must have relayed that it wasn't an emergency that had made her summon them.

"How's it going out there?" Pepper asked when the two men joined them.

"Peter and Ned are trying to explain to Rocket why they want to sleep outside, and we've somehow managed to lose all the tent stakes since our trip," Tony replied. He looked at Quill. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah."

He looked at Pepper, who understood the look and explained to the two newcomers what they wanted to do. It didn't take long, of course, and Tony understood the need for closure as well as anyone. He looked at Strange, well aware that he was going to be the one that needed to make it happen.

The sorcerer was willing, of course; despite the way he rolled his eyes when called upon to provide the immediate access to the longer distance transportation, he was a friend and that's what friends did. Even when it wasn't exactly a friend who they were doing it for. The guardians had helped save the universe, after all.

There was only one problem.

"I can't make a portal to somewhere I haven't been," he reminded Tony.

"We can take you in the jet," Stark said, looking at Peter. "It's not that far, really."

"Or…" Stephen continued, smoothly. "We have Peter pop over with the teleportation stone, find a good place out of sight and I lock onto his GPS and then make a portal."

"What teleportation stone?" Peter asked. "I don't-"

"Wrong Peter," Tony interrupted, with a slight smile – although he looked a little uneasy. "That would probably work."

"It would," Stephen said. "He doesn't need to have been somewhere to teleport there. He just needs to be able to tell the stone where he wants to go and have the place in his mind."

Tony hesitated.

"What about Nutmeg?" he asked, bringing up a new display which immediately found the kitten's location in the compound. An instant later, it showed the control room, with Nutmeg attacking a stylus one of the SHIELD agents was sliding along the table in front of him. "We're sure summoning the stone isn't going to make it rip through his little belly?"

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about…" Quill told them.

"Yeah… it's complicated. Sorry."

"Nutmeg will be fine," Strange assured Tony. "Call Peter. We'll see if he's willing."

"He'll do it," Tony said. The boy would understand even better than Tony did, after all. How many times had they had to go to his parents' gravesites to bring him home? Not to mention all the times he went to say hello when he wasn't sleepwalking. He lifted his watch and called his son, simply asking him to come to the lounge for a moment. Then he looked at Quill. "What's her name?"

"Meredith. Quill."

By the time Peter made his way into the lounge to join them, the billionaire had had Friday look through private records to find the cemetery where Quill's mother was buried, and bring up live security camera feeds of the place to get an idea of what they were looking for. Even in Missouri, they didn't appreciate people running around cemeteries at night, so there were plenty of camera angles to choose from.

They quickly explained to Peter what they wanted, and he – not surprisingly – was more than willing to help.

"Now?" he asked, looking at the display that Tony had brought up, showing the closest area to Meredith Quill's marker.

Tony looked at Quill, who appeared a little overwhelmed, just then.

"The pace is open, now," he said. "No one would look twice at us if we go, now. But we can wait until dark, if you'd rather, and sneak in."

"Cemeteries are creepy at night," Peter replied. "Everyone knows that. If we can do it, now, that'd be best."

Before he lost his nerve.

"It won't hurt Nutmeg?" Peter asked Strange.

"No. The stone comes from one location to another instantaneously. There's no linear movement."

"He's right," Alec agreed.

Peter trusted Stephen, but it didn't hurt to have the confirmation. The boy closed his eyes for a second, and a moment later they all heard a soft thump when the stone landed against the brace on his right hand. He closed his fist over it.

"Be careful, okay?" Tony said, feeling just a twinge of concern, now, even though Peter had long since proven that he was very good at moving around with the teleportation stone. "Friday will interfere with the security cameras, but we don't want anyone to see you, so find someplace out of the way."

"Here," Strange told them, pointing at a small wooded area, just off to the side of the screen. It was next to a squared off marble building about the size of a tool shed, and there weren't any people close by. "Can you go there?"

"Now?" He asked, looking at Tony for permission.

"Yes."

"What's-"

Before Peter could even get the question out, the boy was gone, startling him and Gamora, both. She started, looking alarmed, and reaching for her weapon, certain that something terrible had happened. The earthlings didn't look concerned, though – Tony hadn't even looked at the empty space the boy had just occupied. Instead, he was looking at the display – and Strange and Pepper were, as well.

"There he is," Tony said, softly.

Quill and Gamora looked at the screen, as well, and sure enough, they saw Peter walking out from behind the marble shed and looking around, and then up at the camera.

"How did he do that?" Quill asked, amazed and not bothering to hide it.

"We'll explain later," Tony promised. "You got a lock on him, Stephen?"

"Whenever we want. But tell him to go back behind that mausoleum and let us know if it's clear."

Tony did as he was told, lifting his wrist to talk into his watch, and then watching the display as Peter vanished back behind the building once more. A moment later, Tony's watch beeped, softly.

"That's our cue," he said, standing up.

Pepper and Stephen stood, also – as did Quill – but Gamora knew that she couldn't pass as human, and didn't want to try. She stayed in her seat, but smiled up at Peter.

"I'll be here when you're back."

He nodded, understanding that she wasn't rejecting the idea of coming with him, just accepting that she was different from the other people on the planet. Although he knew she wasn't as odd as some of the natives, even. Star Lord moved to stand next to Tony and Pepper, and a moment later Stephen had the portal created and they all stepped through.

OOOOOO

Peter met them, stepping out from behind a tree.

"Smoothly done, son," Tony said, automatically checking the boy for any sign of injury or discomfort from using the stone. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Nutmeg's okay?"

"He's fine." While they'd been sitting at the table, Tony had located the area of the cemetery where Peter's mother had been buried, and he looked at the man, who was looking around them. "She's over this way," he said, pointing. "The fifth marker on the left side of the walk."

"Thank you." He hesitated, though, and Pepper could see a hint of the boy that he must have been when he'd had his mother so cruelly taken from him. She saw that same look in Peter's expression at time, still. "I'm not sure what to do…" he admitted.

"I'll show you," Peter told him, recognizing the similarities in their situations – and definitely feeling for the man. "Come on."

He moved toward the stone marker, and after just a moment, quill followed. The others held back, though, respecting his privacy.

Peter stopped in front of the marker, looking down at it. It was black marble, with her full name, and the usual dates. As well as a short epitaph.

"Beloved mother and daughter…" he read, softly.

"Yeah."

Peter smiled up at Star Lord, and then knelt down, moving a couple of dried flowers. Someone obviously still visited, occasionally, because there were signs of upkeep and memorials.

"My parents have white marble," Peter told him. "But the black is pretty nice, too." He turned his attention to the stone, again. "Hey, Mrs. Quill. I'm Peter. Peter Parker, though. We've never met, but I know your son. We thought we'd come by and say hello."

Quill knelt down next to the boy, sliding his hand along the cool marble, too.

"Hi, mom. How are you doing?" He asked, suddenly feeling a closeness to her that he hadn't felt in a very long time. "I met dad… and we killed him for what he did to you. For what he did to all of us."

There wasn't an answer, of course, but there didn't need to be. The younger Peter knew that, already. He'd spent hours leaning against cool white marble stones, talking with his folks, and May, and telling them what was going on in his life. He stayed with Quill, just being there in case he faltered, and listening as the man told his mother about what he'd been doing, and the others that he spent his time with – including Gamora, who he assured his mother was an amazing person, even if she did have a bit of a reputation for being a killer, and maybe had started out with a rough start.

It was almost a full hour before he finally wound down on his narrative, and fell silent, looking down at the marker for another long moment, before looking at Peter.

"Thank you."

The boy smiled.

"You're welcome." He looked over his shoulder, noticing that Tony, Pepper and Stephen had all walked off a short distance while they were waiting, probably looking at the various markers and the other stones or monuments. Peter closed his eyes and concentrated, and before Quill could ask him what he was doing, a single lilac branch appeared in his hand. "Here…" he said, handing it to Star Lord. "You should leave her something to remember your visit."

"How did you do that?" Peter asked, taking it from him, and shocked out of his silent moodiness by the action.

"Magic," came the reply. "Don't tell anyone, alright? I'm in enough trouble, already; I don't want to get grounded more than I am."

"Yeah…" Quill took the branch and set it on the marble. Then he stood up. "Let's go. I have a galaxy to keep exploring – and a rock to return."