FYI, I have zero medical knowledge and therefore this is going to be interesting….
Tony, May, and Ned shot out of the car, Ned's mother having bid her son and the other two a fast ride towards the hospital, while they were still in the parking lot. She decided that, while she loved Peter like her own, Ned would tell her exactly what was going on, meaning she could deal with the other stuff happening.
The trio rushed into the waiting room, Tony stomping over to the reception desk and demanding to know where Peter Parker was. The poor nurse looked absolutely flustered, stuttering and accidentally tossing a pen across the desk in surprise and nervousness. It wasn't every day that The Tony Stark comes up and asks something of you. She stammered out that only family was allowed to know about his condition, which caused Tony to huff, but May to stomp over as well.
"I'm his family, and so is Tony, and so is Ned here, so why don't you tell us what exactly is going on hmm," May spoke, venom leaking into her voice even though she didn't mean for it to. Upon seeing the girl go pale and still, she uttered a quick apology, adding a please to the end of it. The nurse nodded, typing something into the computer before pursing her lips.
"It, it says here that Peter Parker is currently in surgery."
"When will he be out," Tony demanded, causing the nurse to let out a slight squeak of shock at the sudden voice.
"I'm, I don't, I'm not sure. It might be a while so you can wait here and I'll let a doctor know where you are," she said, confidence slowly returning to her voice. Tony muttered something under his breath before walking away, leaving May to apologize profusely for the behavior and distress caused before she too, arm around Ned's shoulders, walked towards the chairs nearby.
Surprisingly, there weren't that many people there, though it was probably a good thing in all honesty because it meant that people were somewhat safe. Tony was pacing back and forth, looking at the seven people sitting down. There was a mother, father, and young son who looked immensely worried, probably about a child. There was another man, older, who looked haunted by what he had seen in his years past, as well as a young couple looking anxious, one of the males bouncing his leg while his boyfriend played with the hem of his shirt, while holding the hand of his partner.
The seventh person in the room was a younger boy, maybe thirteen at the oldest, so not too young, but still too young to be sitting alone like he was. This kid, Tony noticed, looked aged beyond his years, thumbs twiddling in his lap, a foot tapping the floor silently. His eyes would dart around the room, then towards the hallway leading towards the rest of the hospital for a minute or so before landing on the floor. The pattern would repeat over and over, Tony noticed, as he continued his own pattern of pacing anxiously.
Footsteps sounded, causing everyone in the waiting room to look up. A name was called, it wasn't for Tony, May, or Ned. It was for the mother, father, and young son. They stood, the father carrying the toddler, and walked over to the doctor waiting. Said doctor's face was grim and Tony knew that it probably wasn't good news. He could guess what the doctor was saying and he watched the family's hearts shatter as the doctor muttered that he was so so sorry. The mother cried out as if in physical pain before collapsing to the floor, head in her hands. The father's face was scrunch up, appearing as though he was trying to not cry, before he too fell to the floor, hugging his wife to him, as well as his son, who was crying, probably because his parents were.
May felt tears in her eyes and she hugged Ned to her, who also looked teary eyed. The large boy sniffed, hugging May back and Tony just stood, jaw clenched, feeling sadness enter his chest. The others in the room all looked stricken with the same sympathetic tears that the trio felt.
"That could be us." Tony turned to face May, who looked horrified and terrified. "That, that could be me on the floor, if Peter, if he doesn't, he can't Tony, he can't," May cried out, burying her face in her hands as Tony sat beside her on the loveseat, pulling her into him. Ned was still watching the family, sobbing on the floor because their son or daughter, or whoever didn't make it.
"Peter's a tough kid, I'm sure he's fine. I mean, we don't even know what happened. It could have been worse for all we know. Maybe it was just a minor wound, in an injury sort of way," Tony said before May pulled away from him and looked at him like he just confessed to murdering five people for fun. "What, wrong thing to say?"
"Yes! Tony, he could be dying, he did die in the ambulance! Everyone heard the flatline! He's not okay Tony, you don't know if he'll make it," May sobbed and Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, watching as the mother was placed in a wheelchair, still crying, as the family was then shuffled off into the depths of the building, probably to say goodbye. He really hoped that it wouldn't come down to it for their little hodge-podge family.
"Peter's a strong kid. If anyone could make it, it's him." The trio lapsed into tense silence, broken only by the sniffles of Ned and May as they tried to hold it together. The waiting room slowly lost it's occupants, the old man leaving sorrowfully as a doctor gave him a shake of his head. The couple waiting kissed each other with happiness, tears streaming down their faces as they were led, hand in hand, towards something great waiting for them deeper within the hospital. All that was left was the three who arrived at the same time, and the boy, who looked even more distraught as time passed.
Eventually, another doctor appeared, calling for the child. He stood slowly and wandered, head down, towards the man. The doctor stood beside him, a serious expression on his face. Then a pause and May watched a smile spread across the doctor's face as he told the boy something. The child gave a laugh of disbelief and hugged the doctor tightly, the adult laughing at the antics. The trio could hear the boy's chorus of thanks as the doctor slowly untangled himself from the boy and they both wandered down the hallway again, the child skipping happily along, laughter echoing down the sharp, brightly lit corridor.
"And now it's three," Tony muttered to himself. They waited, and waited, and waited, and waited for what felt like years. Tony looked at the time at one point, noticing that it had been at least four hours since they arrived. They waited, and waited, and waited well past that point. A few times the nurse that Tony terrified came over to give them updates, telling them that Peter was still in surgery, but it was going well. That was all they got, just that he was still in surgery, but it was going well. May was sick and tired of hearing that he was still in surgery, but everything was going well. She nearly clobbered the girl the third time she came over, causing the girl to not give them an update for another two and a half hours, and that was only after Tony asked for one.
They continued their wait, rotating between sitting, wandering, pacing, standing, lying, and sitting in random positions in the chair he was in in Ned's case. Tony was pacing, May was curled up to one side of the loveseat, staring at the floor, and Ned was, well, he was actually sitting normally when the nurse came over.
"If you tell us he's still in surgery and everything's going good and nothing more I swear to God I will," May said, her nerves fired and her control shot. Tony slowly moved between her and the nurse, who merely nodded and left quickly, giving them all their answer. They had been waiting in that area for seven hours when a doctor finally arrived. None of them noticed the woman at first, not until she called for them.
"Family of Peter Parker?" The trio's heads all shot up and they all raced towards the woman, but were stopped when she approached them instead. They all sat, Tony and May on the loveseat and Ned in the chair nearby. The doctor looked skeptical. "You're all family of Peter Parker?"
"Not by blood, but in every way that counts," May said, daring the doctor to say otherwise. The woman, for her part, merely shrugged and sat across from them.
"My name is Dr. Orrow, and I was Peter's surgeon."
"What happened Doc, is he going to be okay? Please tell me Peter's going to be okay," Ned pleaded, held back slightly by May grabbing his arm.
"Peter is alive, but his condition is critical and he isn't out of the woods yet. He was shot and the bullet entered around his left side, fifth rib, hitting it and causing the bone to splinter as well as disrupt the trajectory of the bullet. If the bullet hadn't hit the rib and was slight higher, it would have gone straight into his heart, possibly shredding it beyond repair, killing him. It was lucky that the bullet was wear it was because otherwise, I don't think Peter would be alive right now.
The bullet, as I mentioned, ricocheted away from the heart, just barely missing it by a micrometer, but unfortunately got lodged between his T5 and T6 vertebrae of his spine. Some of the pieces of rib did make their way towards the heart, a few piercing it, but only in the slightest so it was easily repaired. One of the piece, however, did puncture his lung, causing a pneumothorax, or collapsed lung. These pieces and collapsed lung were what caused the flatline in the ambulance ride here.
I would love to say that's where it ends, but unfortunately, Peter coded twice more on the table due to a combination of shock, blood loss, and strain on the heart. We brought him back both times within a short window of time, but there is still a possibility of damage that we can't assess until he wakes up. His heart, ribs, and lung were all repaired without any major problems, but the bullet and his spine is where it became more difficult."
"Is he, is Peter-"
"We can't be certain if he is paralyzed until he wakes up, but I'm afraid it is a possibility. Injuries to the thoracic spine can result in paraplegia, or loss of use in the lower half of one's body. It was a difficult process, removing the bullet safely and carefully, and luckily we had one of our best orthopedic surgeons on duty tonight who was able to remove the bullet with little damage done. We aren't sure if there is any nerve damage, and it is possible that he may not feel his lower half immediately upon waking up, but until about a week or so after he does wake up, which should be in a few days, we won't know if it is due to nerve damage, or just swelling from the surgery, which happens and terrifies people.
It's normal though. He is currently in an induced coma in order to help him heal, and on a ventilator to allow his lung to heal somewhat without being forced to move on its own and strain itself. As I mentioned previously, he isn't out of the woods yet and he is in critical condition, but currently, I feel he has a good chance of being alright. He's a strong kid, not everyone can come back from the dead once, let alone three times and still be as healthy as he seems. I say healthy including his injury because I have gunshot wounds in my day, hell I was a resident in downtown Chicago so gunshot and stab wounds were a common thing. Even here, it's not totally uncommon, but my point with this is that for someone with a very serious wound such as Peter's, he's doing amazingly."
"Thank you Dr. Orrow," May said, tears trickling down her cheeks. Orrow smiled kindly before standing up.
"Please, call me Rita. I can take you to see him, but I'm going to have to keep you out of the room he's in, just for today. It's past visiting hours, but I think I can make an exception. Now, if you don't mind me asking, how exactly did Peter get shot?" Tony looked up and noticed that there was a news report on the TV talking about the shooting.
"It's on the news," Tony said, unmuting the TV and turning up the volume.
"Earlier today, Midtown High School of Science and Technology suffered a terrible shock when one of their own turned against them. Police and Fire rescue were called to the school, which was under threat from a, at the time, unidentified shooter. Sources tell us that the shooter was a Junior, Allen Vayor. From what we are told, there was a hostage situation between Mr. Vayor and his apparent bully Mr. Eugene "Flash" Thompson. Mr. Vayor was apparently holding Mr. Thompson hostage, threatening to shoot him and kill him. From what we gathered, there were two other in the room, Isaac Racey, another junior, and Peter Parker, a sophomore. Witnesses say that Mr. Parker stood between Mr. Vayor and Mr. Thompson in an attempt to prevent anyone from being injured. Unfortunately, there were three casualties and one critically wounded. Mrs. Lisa Elis, a math teacher at Midtown, Mr. Isaac Racey, and Mr. Allen Vayor were announced deceased upon arrival, and Mr. Peter Parker was gravely injured while, from what we here, saving Mr. Thompson's life. More details on this story later tonight."
The group just stared at the TV, and Tony noticed the gathering of people around the area, watching the news story unfold. May had fresh tears in her eyes, but from pride that filled her, as well as the sadness inside. She had a watery smile on her face as she wiped tears away. Tony nodded, feeling something eating at him. The kid was too heroic for his own good. Ned just stared, captivated. His best friend saved his tormentor, and took a bullet to the chest. He was a hero! Like Spider-man! Ned, though amazed by his friend, was going to tear said friend a new one for being so reckless.
"He saved someone's life," Rita said, turning towards May, a soft smile gracing her lips. She placed a hand on May's shoulder. "You should be so very proud of him."
"I am, and if he wasn't already in the hospital I'd probably put him in one for being so reckless," May muttered angrily, but her happiness that he was alive, and he saved someone's life, possibly more than one, shone through, bringing the sting from the words.
"Peter's a hero, my best friend's a hero," Ned exclaimed as the trio was led towards Peter's room. Tony fell behind, shaking his head.
If only he knew.