"What's the matter with you? Park up front," Maria told him, her voice raised.

"Would you stop screaming? It's not making things better," Howard shot back, his voice collected - the complete opposite of his wife's. "And if you'd been paying attention, you would have seen the sign we just passed that said medical parking-"

She turned her head and shot him a piercing stare, which shut him up immediately. "Pull up at the front," Maria repeated. Knowing better, Howard complied. "Anthony left in an ambulance and you're choosing now to become an upholding citizen? Well, let me tell you something, you're three decades too late!"

"I'm just as worried as you are," he exasperated.

"Really? It's hard to tell," Maria told him, slamming the car door to reiterate her point.

Howard got out, too, and glanced at her. "You seriously want to fight about this now?"

Maria didn't want to fight. Her son was in bad condition. That was what mattered. She took a deep breath and rushed into the emergency room, fear and panic coursing through her veins. "Excuse me," she called out, grabbing the sleeve of a passing nurse.

The woman eyed her manicured nails and designer outfit. "Look, I don't know who you're looking for, but if you'd go upstairs, the receptionist-" She trailed off, seeing a familiar face behind her. She might not have recognized her, but she did him. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Mrs. Stark," she apologized. "Right this way," she told them. "Your son was brought in five minutes ago. The doctor's trying his best to stabilize him."

"What's wrong," Howard asked. Contrary to what his wife thought, he really was worried.

Maria stopped listening upon seeing the sight in front of her. The doctor had just retrieved a bag of warm saline and connected it to the IV port on her son's arm. His chest was exposed. She saw faint handprints, probably from the CPR that was administered earlier. "What are you doing," she spoke, getting his attention.

The doctor raised a hand to silence her. She was about to tear into him, but quickly noticed he had on a stethoscope. Letting him to his job, she held back and waited until he finished.

"Mr. and Mrs. Stark," he greeted, removing his gloves to shake their hands. "I'm Dr. Michelson, the attending physician." He took a deep breath, then continued. "Your son's left lung has collapsed. I have a nurse bringing in x-rays for confirmation of liquid in his pleural space. Great news is that I was able to raise his body temperature. Unfortunately, it's not where I'd like it be for his operation."

"He needs surgery," Maria croaked, heart racing.

"He's got a pleural effusion and it's really serious. His right lung has already started working overtime to compensate for his left. The procedure itself is simple: incision to the cavity. It'll drain everything out. Our catheters aren't efficient enough."

"So do it," Howard retorted.

"I want his oxygen level up at least 8% first," Dr. Michelson replied. "He is stable though, which works in our favor. If you want, stand next to him. He should be waking up soon."

Maria nodded, grabbing hold of Howard's hand as they walked over to their son. She felt helpless.

"He'll be fine. The kid's strong willed."

"It's your fault. You did this by forcing him into working at SI."

"He's learning the value of a dollar," Howard said. This was his fault. He wouldn't argue against it.

"He hates it," Maria softly said, brushing a stray lock of hair from Tony's forehead. "But that doesn't stop him from showing up and wanting to prove something to you. I tell him it isn't worth it, but he doesn't listen." She glanced at her husband for the briefest second. "Just pat him on the back or tell him he did great. It'll mean the world to him."

Howard glanced at his son, then at Maria. "He knows I care."

"No, he doesn't," she argued. "He thinks the exact opposite."

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll talk to Tony when he pulls out of this." He never considered himself a family man. He did not have time, patience, or paternal instinct for it. His life consisted of mechanics. He liked producing weapons of mass destruction. Nothing else mattered. So when Maria told him one night she was pregnant, he felt nothing but fear. He never wanted children; had never even changed his mind after falling in love with her. He was already a terrible husband. He did not want to add 'terrible father' to the list. But she was thrilled and he let her have that. He'd do anything to see her happy, and the same went for his son. It just took him sixteen years and a heart stopping phone call to realize it.

"You think he'll wake up if we talk to him?"

"It's a simple procedure," Howard reassured, an attempt to calm her worries.

"I don't care," Maria said, turning to look at her son's lifeless form. She grabbed his hand. "Hi, sweetheart. You're doing great. Keep it up. I know it hurts, I know you're tired, but keep fighting just a bit longer, alright? It's almost over. Because, as crazy as it sounds, we need you. You can't leave us." She broke off with a sob, her eyes filling with tears. She knew her son was going to be fine, but she had just came too close to losing him. The paramedics had gotten Tony out of the water just in time.

"Hey," Howard teased. "You know I hate it when you cry." He was going through the same feelings as Maria, but had to stay strong for her.

"He looks so pale," Maria commented, watching as Dr. Michelson reappeared.

"Alright," the doctor said, turning to look at the worried couple. "We're gonna drain out just enough liquid from his cavity to bring him out of unconsciousness. He'll most likely not know where he is, but don't worry. It's normal. He'll calm down."

They nod and watch as the doctor wiped clean a space between Tony's two ribs. Once he found a sight for injection, Dr. Michelson drove the needle through cartilage so the pressure in Tony's lung could be relieved for a limited amount of time. As predicted, his patient gasped for air within ten seconds.

Tony scanned his surroundings. He saw machines, machines that had wires attached to him. There was a beeping noise, too, and out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed his parents; then the syringe being pulled out his chest. Panic overtook him. He tried to sit up, but was immediately forced back down. "What the...where...where am I?" God, his chest hurt.

He felt something touch him, something warm. He turned to look at it, then heard a familiar voice. "Baby, we're right here." It was soothing. It calmed him. He looked up and was relieved to see his mother. "I know you don't like following rules, but you need to stay still. You'll hurt yourself if you don't," she told him, rubbing her hand up and down his arm.

Whatever they just gave him, it worked. He could no longer fight the hands that were still on him. "Mom." He gasped. "I can't. It...hurts. Can't breathe."

"Can you do something about this," Howard asked, his voice stern. "He's in pain."

"Painkillers actually have an effect of lowering respiratory drive, which is what we're trying to steer away from." Dr. Michelson did, however, lift Tony's head to put a pillow behind him. "This should so the trick," he told his patient, pulling the oxygen mask over Tony's face.

"I know it hurts, sweetheart, but it'll just be awhile longer," Maria told Tony, holding his hand. "They're fixing up an OR."

That set off another panic attack. He needed surgery? What happened? He tried to get up a second time, but like his first attempt, he was forcibly pushed back down, only this time by his father.

"Did you not hear what your mother said? Quit it."

"Howard," Maria chastised. "I should had phrased that better," she said, redirecting her attention to her child. "You're fine. It's nothing. The doctor just needs to remove liquid from your pleural cavity."

Tony didn't have the strength to argue. He just grasped onto his mother's hand as hard as he could so she couldn't leave. He didn't know how he got here, but remembered what happened. An explosion. Out of nowhere. It had knocked him into the water. He had almost made it out, but then a splitting headache came on and stopped him. He couldn't move, so he gave up. Darkness took over and he gave in...but now, now it was the complete opposite. It was bright, safe. He didn't want to leave. If only he had the energy to stay here.

Pepper walked into the hospital, not sure where she was headed. She had been staring at the front entrance for quite some time trying to muster up the courage to go in. No one knew the condition he was in. Howard Stark had brought in the best lawyers to prevent any information from escaping out. It killed her to not know if he was alright or not. School had started three days ago and Robert had left for Maryland the same time. Now nothing was preventing her from seeing him...not that he was. She just wanted a nip an argument before it happened.

"Mrs. Stark," she quietly called out. She had just exited out the fourth floor, not knowing her reasoning behind it. It just felt right. She wasn't even sure if it was her, and if it had been, Maria wouldn't had heard her. No one could given how low she'd just spoken. Taking a deep breath, she followed after her. She turned the corner and heard her talking to a well-dressed man, obviously her husband. Her obsession with E! confirmed it was the Howard Stark. She wasn't even near him and could feel the intimidation he allured.

"He's been talking to JARVIS ever since you brought in that stuffed animal."

"Well, if you were ever home, you'd know the kid requires a lot of attention. He's bored out of his mind just sitting there. Which reminds me," Maria casually slipped in. "You remember what we talked about, right?"

Howard sighed and looked at the door that separated them from their son. "Unfortunately."

"Don't tell me you're scared," Maria lightly teased.

"I'm not," he denied. "I just don't think it's the right time. Like you said, Tony needs his rest."

"You're doing this," Maria reaffirmed. "There's no way out of it. I'll lock you inside if I have to."

"What if he doesn't want to hear it?"

"That won't be a problem. And didn't you say you needed to talk to him? Something about how the warehouse didn't explode because of something he did?"

"Yeah," he replied. At first, he thought his son had unintentionally set something off, causing the explosion, but after forensics looked around, he was told that the explosion was caused externally; and that meant one thing: someone had tried to kill him. His son had clocked in two minutes prior the explosion. It made sense. He played it off for Maria's sake, not wanting to worry her just yet...at least not until he heard Tony's version of the event. He knew better than to keep this from her. He dealt with dangerous men on a daily basis, but none held a candle to Maria.

"Then what are you waiting-" Maria cut off mid-sentence, catching Pepper's figure in her peripheral vision. "We have a visitor."

Howard turned to look at the person. "Tony's not accepting visitors. Come back another time."

"Ignore him," Maria apologized, motioning Pepper to walk up. "His manners disappear on lack of sleep," she explained, a silent warning telling him to behave.

"I'm sorry for intruding," Pepper spoke, ignoring the stare she was getting from the man beside Maria.

"Don't be," she smiled. "Tony will be glad to see you. He's been around so many guys, a girl will do him good."

"If this is a bad time, I can go. I actually came over just to see if he was okay. I also have his school work," Pepper replied, taking off her backpack. She didn't want to make things difficult.

"Tony's fine. Go on in."

When Pepper was out of sight, Maria glanced at Howard. "Why do you have to be so rude? She's a nice girl, Howard."

"Every girl that boy hangs out with is nice," he responded, shooting her a knowing look.

Maria rolled her eyes. "Not that kind of 'nice.' So be good when you see her again. I have a feeling she'll be around a long time."

Howard scoffed. "Maybe you're the one that needs sleep."

"Trust me, it's mother's intuition. She's my ticket to grandchildren."

"You really do need sleep." He laughed. "Grandchildren?"

"Course," she smiled. "I need babies to spoil once I'm older."

He shook his head. "You're getting ahead of yourself, Maria."

"Says the one who got wrapped around Tony's finger when he was a baby. Now, let's go. Those two need their privacy."

Tony knew who his visitor was. JARVIS warned him. His first thought was to get up and lock the door, but what good would that do? She'll think I'm purposely avoiding her. He wanted to move on, wanted to go back to his old life. He was afraid her walking in would make him regret everything he'd said. He respected her choice, respected that she chose Robert instead of him...but seeing her here seriously cast doubt on her decision.

The door swung open, so he held his breath, looking expectantly at it as it opened more and more until his brown eyes met her blues ones.

"Hey," he said, his voice low.

Pepper smiled. "Hi. Can I come in?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Were you trying to hide him?"

"What," Tony asked, eyeing the direction of her gaze only to see that he had not covered Waffles as good as he thought. "Oh." He brought his stuffed bear out of the covers and set him on the bed table. "I'm not supposed to have anything that hasn't been sterilized."

"Why," Pepper questioned, walking up to his bed upon hearing so. "What happened?"

"Nothing," he said, and too quickly.

"That was the wrong thing to say," she told him, her voice stern but laced with concern.

"I'm fine." He sighed. "It's stupid. Everyone's being careful around me cause I'm Howard Stark's son. They know he'll burn this place to the ground if something bad happened to me."

She took a seat next to him. That made sense. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of a weapons manufacturer's wrath.

"What are you doing here," Tony asked, busying himself by folding the end of his sheets. "Won't you get in trouble if he finds out you visited me?"

"Robert doesn't run my life," Pepper explained. "Besides, he's back in Maryland." That caused him to look up. Maybe he wasn't ready to move on. "You could had texted me that you weren't coming to class." It was her way of hinting she was worried. "I had to dissect a frog."

"Really," he asked, not bothering to hide the smile on his face. He remembered she was scared of them. "That's so awesome."

Pepper responded by punching him lightly on the arm.

"Ouch," he shouted, feigning hurt by rubbing the point of impact. "That hurt. I'm very sensitive right now, Pep."

She chuckled. "You're pathetic." Then her face turned serious. "So what happened?"

Tony shrugged. "All I remember is being knocked in the water, then waking up here."

"Do you want to remember?"

"No. My mom said I was complaining about chest pains and not being able to breathe, so I'm guessing I was in really bad shape."

"Well," she began, setting her hand on his arm. "I'm glad you're alright."

Tony smiled and looked at her hand. "Me, too."

A silence overtook them. Neither knew what to say to the other. He hadn't expected her visit and she didn't plan on staying long, but couldn't bring herself to leave. For some reason, she felt like staying.

"You never answered my question," he said, breaking the silence. "What are you doing here?"

Pepper decided to start off with a neutral topic. "Homework."

"Oh," Tony responded, disappointedly. He looked down in an effort to hide it, but it didn't go unnoticed.

"But also because I was worried about you," she added, which brought another smile to his face. She didn't know why she blurted it out - maybe because of his disappointment...but it just slipped out. Maybe it was time to face the truth. How did she really feel about him? "I think I need to apologize."

He looked at her with confusion.

"I was really harsh on you. And then this happened, which made me feel even worse." Before she knew it, she was rambling. "I didn't know if you were okay or not. I didn't know if you made it out alive...I didn't know anything. And what's with the high road act? Huh? It's stupid. You're really gonna give up? That easily? Or was this part of your plan? Did you not call just so I'd have no choice but to come here? Cause if it was, then you're a jerk, Tony. You know that? Why would you do this to me?"

Tony stared at her, more confused than ever. She had gone from sad, mad, to sad again in a matter of seconds. He didn't know what to say. "I, um...what?" He scratched his head, a dumbfounded look on his face.

"What do you mean 'what?' Were you not listening?"

"No, I did. It's just that...uh, are you on your cycle?" Yeah, that was a stupid thing to say, but it was the only thing he could think of. He blamed the drugs.

Her eyes widened. "What?!"

"Was that rhetorical like mine or did you actually want me to repeat what I said?"

"How about you just shut up," Pepper suggested.

Tony nodded and agreed. "Wait." He looked at her with furrowed brows. "Did you say I was stupid?"

She crossed her arms and stared pointedly at him. "And a jerk."

"What do you want me to say? I've been held in here for days, Pepper. I can't even leave this room without my dad's bodyguards dragging my ass back in here."

"Well, I didn't see any guards outside."

"That's because dad's here. Which is so much worse. He keeps glaring at me through that window. It's like he's waiting for me to do something so he can yell at me for it."

"I actually overheard him talking to your mom. He is worried about you."

Tony scoffed. "Yeah, right. The only thing he cares about is his business."

Pepper could sense the hostility he had for his father and decided to leave it be. It wasn't her business. "So do you know when you're getting out of here," she asked, changing the subject.

"Why do you want me out of here so badly?" The question caught her off guard. "You miss me?"

She looked at her hands, not able to form eye contact. She had been too angry at herself to miss him. "I think Robert and I are about to break up. It's not your fault, I know, but, I don't know...it feels like it is. We were working things out before you came in and complicated things, and now I just don't know what to do. Robert's safe. I trust him. He's not gonna go off and do something stupid when I'm not around." She looked up. "I don't know if I can say the same about you."

He was glad they were about to break up. At least he got something out of it.

"What I said at school, I didn't mean half of it. I was just confused about everything." She took a deep breath, then looked at him expectantly. How he'd respond would be crucial to her decision. "Why me? You could have any girl in the world. I just don't get it."

Hopefully you guys enjoyed the family aspect! Look forward to Pepperony fluff in the next one. I'm working on it as we speak!