Tracking the Sun Chapter 7, an avengers fanfic

Whoo! Sorry this one took a bit longer to put out; I've got a whole bunch of little things going on in the real world that makes it hard to find the time to work the chapter out. But I'm trying! T^T That being said, thank you to all of those who reviewed for the last chapter: Guest, kittygirl998939, kingdomheartslover13, I'm a Nerd and Proud, RawR, brightsidetolife, Veuve Noir, Silver wolf, chibi heishi, and TheFriendlyStake! It's you guys who really keep me going. :) And for those of you who enjoyed reading about Charles and Erik in Chapter 3, see my new spin-off one-shot "Watching the Stars": www. fanfiction .net (without spaces) /s/10153993/1/Watching-the-Stars

Chapter 7

When Tony emerged from his workshop he found Steve waiting for him in the living room. He glanced at his watch and found that it was only five in the morning. Huh. He hadn't meant to stay down there that long. And it meant that Steve had either woken up early or never gone to bed.

Absently rubbing at the injection mark on his arm, Tony wandered into the room. "Hey. What are you doing up?"

Steve, who had been blankly watching an early morning news program, looked over at him and they had spent enough time together that Tony knew that carefully constructed expression of neutrality on his face was just that, constructed. There was something going on beneath that façade that Steve wasn't letting him see but Tony was pretty sure he already knew what it was.

"What were you doing down in the shop?"

Tony flopped down onto the couch with a scowl. "For shit's sake, Steve, you've already got me on house arrest, I don't need to be under constant watch too. I'll be fine."

He saw irritation flash through the Wolf's eyes. "It's not house arrest—"

"Isn't it? Between you, Coulson, and Pepper I might as well have a tracking anklet strapped on my leg." And it was true. Although everyone had been giving him some space over the last few days it was obvious to him that he had been constantly under observation. He knew it was for his own personal protection and safety and whatever but that didn't mean it hadn't been any less stifling. Living in such close contact with the Pack was bad enough on a normal day, this was just getting unbearable. Though not quite bad enough for him to go running off. Not now, not in the state he was in.

Steve didn't try to deny anything. Reaching over, Steve grabbed the remote, turned the TV off, and gave Tony his full attention. "Until we get this all sorted out we just want you to be safe."

Yeah, Tony knew that. But it didn't prove him wrong. "Can I go out for food?"

"Wait until Bruce gets back. He can go with you."

"House arrest! I'm pretty sure I'm owed a call to my lawyer."

Steve just stared down at him with an unamused expression, crossing his arms over his chest. "Are you done?" Tony heaved a heavy sigh and leaned his head back over the back of the couch. He knew that voice. It meant he was about to get chewed out. There were few things he hated more in the world and he wasn't really in the mood for it right now. "I'm not going to play this game with you, Tony, not today. You almost died three times and we've finally got a lead on who's after you."

"I noticed."

That didn't seem to comfort Steve. In fact it had the opposite affect and made him furrow his brow, his eyes growing dark. "From the start you've done nothing but crack jokes. What is it going to take to make you take this seriously?"

Tony rolled his head around so that he could actually see Steve's face. It was a necessary evil if Tony wanted to glare at him. "Look, they tried three times, they failed three times. Obviously they suck."

"Tony—"

"Don't interrupt me. But more than that, if by some miracle they do manage to land a hit and I die, well, then maybe it's just my time to go."

Tony was expecting a response but not quite as violent as Steve launching himself at Tony. He nearly knocked the couch over as he slammed his hands down on either side of Tony's head, his jaw clenched tight and his eyes hard as steel . The sudden movement made Tony flinch back and a snarl instinctually rolled up from his chest at being caged in as Steve spoke. "Never, ever say anything like that again."

The snarl died away at his mate's tone, harsh, desperate, and sounding just as strung out as Tony had felt for the last few days. "Steve…"

"No, you listen to me." There was a low growl in Steve's voice and it was all alpha command. "You are too strong, worth too much to ever think that way!"

Tony swallowed and stared up at the Wolf with wide eyes. What was he supposed to say to that? Steve's face crumbled and he collapsed forward, his forehead pressing against Tony's. All of the steel in his blue eyes fell away to reveal such a heart-broken look that all Tony wanted to do was pull Steve close and hold him. "I'm not ready to let you go."

Giving in to his instincts, Tony wrapped his arms around Steve's broad shoulders and pulled him forward against his chest. "Hey, hey. It's alright. I, I shouldn't have said it like that." And now he felt like an ass. It wasn't a new sensation for him but this time it involved Steve so the guilt hit harder than usual.

Steve squeezed his eyes shut, his nose brushing up against Tony's cheekbone. "I've been trying to stay calm but this whole thing is just…it's eating me up inside, Tony. And for the last few days it has almost seemed like you don't care anymore, like you've giving up, and it's killing me."

Tony sighed and tightened his arm around his mate's shoulders. Maybe part of him had given up. Because maybe he could feel his life ticking away with every stuttering heartbeat. Maybe it'd be easier to go out with his boots on, as a martyr, as something fucking special rather than just another person knocked down by cardiac arrest. Tony cursed then closed his own eyes and pressed a tight-lipped kiss on Steve's neck, holding himself there so that he could breathe his mate's scent in deep. "I won't." He was definitely an asshole. He had thrown up the white flag and left Steve to fight his battle for him. But not anymore. It didn't matter if it was an assassin or his heart, Tony was going to do everything he could to keep life from killing him just a little longer. If not for himself then for Steve. "I haven't given up, Steve. And I won't."

"Will you at least tell me what is going on?" Steve pulled away, his hands sliding down to grab onto Tony's shoulders, holding him tight enough to bruise. "Tell me what's wrong. Let me help, Tony."

"You can't help, Steve. Not with this. But I'm dealing with it."

Biting back a snarl, Steve looked away. He hated this. He hated how, out of everyone, Tony was the one person who he couldn't help. He couldn't help his mate and every alpha instinct he had was tearing him apart inside.

O~O~O~O

Steve watched Tony and Peter in the yard from the house. Tony had brought out some sort of analytical equipment and they were testing Pete's webbing. While it was heartwarming that warmth couldn't penetrate the cold that had gripped him inside ever since he had brought Tony home from the sniper incident.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the house phone ring. He knew it wasn't for Tony—anyone calling for Tony just called his personal cell phone—so he pulled himself away from the window and went to go pick it up.

As he suspected, the call was for him. "Hello?"

"Hello, Steve. This is Phil. We have work for you."

Steve closed his eyes then reopened them with a sigh and wandered back over to the window, cradling the wireless phone against his shoulder as he looked out at Tony and Peter again. He had been afraid that this was coming. He had been doing his best to delay or postpone missions, or at the most to send Natasha, Clint, or Thor out to handle whatever it was. It had worked so far but he knew it wasn't going to last forever. "This isn't a good time, Phil."

He heard the man sigh. "I know but unfortunately this isn't something we can put off any longer."

"Is it at least a short job?"

Phil hesitated and Steve heard him flipping through some paper, probably the mission file, before coming back with an answer. "It shouldn't take any longer than four days. Probably less for you. But it's close, just the next state over."

"Four days…" Before all of this started, before Tony's life was first threatened when that bomb was delivered to his office, four days would be a great length. But now just imagining leaving Tony alone for that long seemed like an eternity. For the past few weeks he had felt the need to always be on watch, to keep an eye and ear out for everything and anything that came near his mate to make sure that nothing was a threat. He knew that if he left Tony wouldn't be completely alone. Some of the others were sure to stick around, Bruce at the very least. But Bruce worked. There would be times when he wouldn't be able to be there and Tony would be left unguarded. And as much as Steve knew that Tony would watch out for himself it wasn't enough.

Phil seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. The man always had been good about reading people. "How's Tony?"

That was a good question. Steve eyed Tony as he crouched down beside Peter on the grass to get a close-up look at Peter's web. He looked normal but Steve knew that it was partly a façade. "He's hanging in there."

"That good, huh?"

Again, Phil was very good at reading people. "We had a little rough patch but things are better now. Although I think he's keeping something from me."

"What kind of 'something'?" He wondered if Phil was personally concerned or if he was he was asking from a professional stand-point. Maybe both. He was good at doing both simultaneously.

"I don't know, and that's the problem." Tony wouldn't tell him. That itself wasn't unusual but there was something almost haunted in his eyes now and that's what chilled Steve to his core.

"I suppose all you can hope for is that he'll tell you when he's ready."

"Yeah…" But Steve had the sinking feeling that Tony would only be ready when it was too late. Physically shaking his head to rid himself of those kinds of thoughts, Steve turned his attention back to a problem that he could actually solve: the upcoming mission."Phil, can you send me the files? Email is fine. I'd like a chance to read through them and pass them along to the rest of the pack."

"Of course. I'll get those out now. I'll also reserve your standard set of gear and have a vehicle for you to use delivered to your location for your use. When do you think you'll be able to leave?"

Steve could hear the man typing in the background. He knew the answer he should give. He should say 'as soon as possible'. Technically he could put a bag together, change, and gather up the correct members of his pack within an hour of reading through the mission file. "I can head out tonight by six, eighteen-hundred hours."

There was a slight pause as if Phil was about to automatically snap back to make it sooner but the agent hesitated before letting out a light hum. "Alright. I'll have the car and gear ready for you."

Giving a half-hearted 'thank you', Steve hung up. Then he made his way to the study where he knew Tony had put his tablet down. He needed to review those files and decide who he needed to bring with him and start planning out his strategy for how to handle the mission. If he worked quickly, he might even be able to spend some time with Tony and Peter before he left.

As promised Phil had the documents emailed to him within minutes and he spent the next half hour carefully reading through it, taking notes on a pad of paper he scrounged up for later. He could see why SHIELD wasn't able to put this off. A Wolf had gone wild after the natural death of her mate and needed to be contained before she harmed herself or others around her. Her family had been trying to take care of the situation, to keep her contained, but last night she had escaped and, worried she might hurt someone, they contacted SHIELD. If he brought Clint, Natasha, and Thor they would quickly be able to search over a wide area and there was a possibility that they could finish early. So that's what they would do.

He called a meeting and thankfully everyone was at home—or, more correctly, on the property—so it didn't take long to assemble his team around the dining room table turned conference table. They had worked so long as a team now that they easily started to come up with a plan of attack. In the past they had handled cases similar to this one so they already had a general strategy outlined. After that they just had to talk out the details and who would be in charge of managing which aspects of the case.

But time rushed by and despite Steve's best efforts by the time they had wrapped up their talks Tony had disappeared down into his workshop and Peter had curled up in a chair in the media room and was working on his homework. It hurt, but Steve told himself that there was nothing he could have done; he couldn't have cut their debriefing short, possibly jeopardizing not just the mission but his pack's safety during the mission, to spend time with his family. When he came back he would make sure that he made time for them.

Knowing that time was starting to run short, Steve hurried up to his room to pack a small bag for the trip. He wouldn't need much, not if Phil had the van he was going to drop off stocked with the standard supplies. He was about halfway done when he realized he was about to get a much appreciated visitor.

Steve smelled Tony coming up the hall before he heard the sound of his footsteps padding towards their bedroom. He glanced over at the Cat and offered him a small, tight smile as Tony closed the door behind him and casually leaned up against it. "So this is where you snuck off to. I was wondering where my stalker went." Tony fell silent for a moment and Steve could feel that Cat's eyes on him as he pulled out a spare change of street clothes out of the closet. "You're getting shipped out again?"

He ignored the 'stalker' comment. He knew Tony had been feeling caged in, he wasn't very subtle about that. "Yeah, another mission came in. And I wouldn't say shipped out. It'll just be four, five hours away."

"That's too long a drive to make every night."

"You're right." It seemed like a simple exchange but Steve knew it went far deeper. It meant that he was going to have to leave Tony and put a hold on the vigil he had been keeping over his mate.

Tony, of course, smirked, and he pushed off of the door to stroll over to Steve. "Let me get this straight, do you actually think I'm capable of taking care of myself? Miracles do happen!"

"Stop it, Tony. You know that's not how I think."

Tony snorted but actually stopped and Steve wondered to himself what his silence might mean. Tony had never been one to back down from an argument. Finally Tony spoke up after Steve had remained still for too long. "Did you forget how to pack a bag? I'll give you a hint: the clothes you're holding go inside it."

Growling, Steve moved again and shoved the shirt in his hands into the bottom of his bag. "I don't want to leave you here alone."

"And we're back to this. You've successfully brought our conversation full circle back to our last one."

Steve frowned and turned back around to face the Cat. "It wasn't my intention. I don't mean to keep bringing it up but it's not exactly easy for me to push aside. I'm still worried about you and, honestly, nothing about your behavior over the last few days has changed that."

Tony rolled his eyes. "As heartfelt as I assume that sentiment was meant to be, my position hasn't changed. I. Will. Be. Fine. I'll be here, at home, most likely sprawled out on our very comfortable bed watching TV or surfing the web. If I need anything JARVIS will be here and if all else fails Peter will be here too. And Bruce, I guess, when he's not at work. I'm going to have a small army of babysitters to take over your psychotic overprotectiveness for the week."

"Fine, alright." He was willing to concede victory to Tony if it meant that their last words to each other before he left wouldn't be snarky asides. Sighing, Steve set his bag down and walked over to Tony. Resting his hands on his mate's shoulders, he slid them up his neck and cupped Tony's face in his hands. "I'm going to miss you."

The corner of Tony's lips curled up in a dry smile. "You say that every time you leave."

"That doesn't make it any less true." Leaning in, he placed an unusually gentle kiss at the corner of Tony's lips. Tony let out a light grunt then reached up to grip Steve's arm, giving his bicep a tight squeeze as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. There was a strange look in his mate's eyes as Steve pulled away, his gaze darting across Tony's face to try and look for any other clues to help him place it. Whatever it was, it wasn't positive and it was honestly the last thing Steve wanted to see before he left the Cat for half a week. But he had to go. "I'm going to call every night and you'd better answer."

Tony snorted and it was almost worth hearing his condescension just to see a spark of humor come back into his eyes. "Or what? What are you going to do, big dog?"

"Whatever I have to."

Tony's smile grew. "That's open ended."

Steve smiled back, his thumb brushed across Tony's cheek before he shook his head. "Nothing is more important to me than you, Peter, and the pack. Remember that."

"I know." Steve opened his mouth to argue, that, no, Tony didn't know. But then Tony squeezed his arm again and he looked back at the Cat's face to find Tony staring back at him. "I know, Steve."

And in that moment Steve could tell that he truly did.

O~O~O~O

Day one without Steve was alright. Tony and Peter convinced Bruce to hang out and they blew stuff up in the lab for six hours. Tony had grown more comfortable with loud noises and being startled, satisfied that they wouldn't instantly cause him to keel over and die. That, and he had also reached the decision that there was no point in living at all if he didn't occasionally enjoy himself. In the end it was probably a good thing that Bruce had stayed behind too though because otherwise either Tony or, worse, Peter probably would have ended up with third-degree burns.

Day two was a lot more boring. It was Monday so Peter was at school and Bruce left for the SHIELD labs before Tony even woke up. That had given him all day in his workshop, blessedly alone for once, to work on projects. He had thought about strapping his heart monitor back on but then had been distracted by re-engineering the thrusters on a new jet design he was developing. He'd get on it tomorrow. Maybe.

Day three started out much the same except Tony was awake when Bruce left. Mostly because Tony hadn't gone to bed the night before. They bumped into each other in the kitchen as they both were hunting for coffee and it might have been Tony's sleep-deprived imagination but Bruce seemed to look him over extra hard, the scientist's eyes narrowing behind his glasses. "Tony, are you sure you're going to be alright while I'm away today?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yes, dear!"

Bruce was so concerned he didn't even look exasperated. "I mean it. Steve asked me to look after you while he was away and I'd be really grateful if you cooperated."

Leaning onto the counter Tony gave Bruce his most unimpressed look. As far as he was concerned he had been cooperating. He was behaving extremely well, in fact, considering everything he could be doing. But he was feeling particularly shitty today and he didn't feel up to fighting about it. "And how would I do that?"

Bruce raised a brow then counted off on his fingers, "Don't sneak out of the house, don't answer the door, and try to stay inside."

"Oh my god, did Steve make you a list?"

"Not necessarily. Tony—"

That wasn't a 'no'. "Bruce, look at me. Hey, " he waited until the beta had met his eyes before continuing, "it's me. Tony fucking Stark. Alpha. CEO. Genius. I think I can manage not to get shot or blown up for eight hours."

"That's," Bruce furrowed his brow, "I'm not sure that proves anything but more than that that's not entirely what I'm worried about."

"Then what are you worried about?"

Bruce studied him for a long moment before shaking his head. "I'm not sure yet."

Tony raised an eyebrow but didn't offer Bruce any clues or answers. Sensing that he wasn't going to get anywhere, Bruce shook his head again before filling a travel mug full of coffee and saying good-bye. Tony lingered in the kitchen for a good few minutes before hearing Peter shuffling around upstairs, getting ready for school. He couldn't drive the kid to school himself but he made sure to give Happy a call to swing by in half an hour. Steve, and therefore Bruce, didn't want him leaving the house for his own safety and Tony on occasion respected their wishes. But more than that, as stubborn as he was and as far in denial he suspected he might be, he wasn't about to put Peter in danger by getting behind the wheel when he felt this shitty. When his heart might give out half-way through the drive and cause him to drive the car straight into oncoming traffic.

He instead fulfilled his parental duties by putting together a lunch for Peter that was almost passably nutritious and sending him on his way. Which left Tony all to himself again. Left him alone with the realization that he had made a promise to himself yesterday that he would work more on his heart today. Which was just…still not what he wanted to think about.

But it had to be done.

Pouring himself some coffee in the biggest mug he could find, Tony muttered to himself as he stomped back down to his lab. Flopping down in his chair at his desk, Tony brought up a projected screen with a quick wave of his hands. "JARVIS, wake up, buddy. It's time to go to work again."

"And which project would you like to start with today?"

"Pull up the data I started last week about my heart thing."

"Wise choice, Sir."

Tony gulped down his coffee then stretched over to grab the heart monitor he had built as a stream of information flooded his screen and the hologram of his circulatory system appeared in front of him. He skimmed through what JARVIS had saved from the last test but didn't linger on anything for too long. Since he had stopped the test half-way through the numbers didn't really mean anything but it was good to keep all the same. That way he could compare those partial results with the outcomes of future tests to start looking for trends over time.

Draining the rest of his coffee, Tony released a breath and began to strap on the heart monitor. "Okay, let's hook this back up." It only took a few seconds for him to pull it on before pulling the liquid compound he had created from a locked drawer and a new syringe he had swiped from Bruce's medical supplies. Yanking the cap off of the syringe, Tony carefully drew some of the liquid up into it. "Note that I am using a slightly altered compound for the tracers this time so hopefully it should…" Flicking the syringe to try and get any bubbles out, he efficiently slipped the needle under his skin and pushed the plunger down. "Ah! Nope, alright, no less painful but looks just as effective. How's it reading, J?"

"Excellently. But, Sir, my scan is also indicating that you did not take your medication today."

"Obviously. That would only skew the results of this test which is sort of the point of this whole exercise. Try to keep up."

"Of course…" JARVIS almost seemed reticent, as if he wanted to say something more but was hesitating. Sometimes Tony wondered if he had programmed him to be a little too human.

Tony sat through the whole test this time, going through his work email as he watched the tracer compound move like black ink in his veins under his skin and travel up his arm. He tried not to let his anxiety get to him as numbers and data points kept being added to the chart. There was no point in being anxious until after the test finished. Especially because it would affect the final results.

JARVIS stayed quiet the entire time and only spoke once the test was finally finished. "The scan is complete. Would you like me to upload the results to your tablet?"

Letting out a small breath, Tony undid the fasteners on the heart monitor and pulled it off. He had successfully made it through step one of the whole thing: complete the test. That was enough for one day. Step two, actually reviewing the results, could wait a bit. Rolling his chair back, Tony didn't even so much as glance up at the screen. "Nah. Save it and store it."

"I suggest that you at the very least forward them to Dr. Banner so he—"

"Alright, enough. I'm closing the matter for now so stop talking about it."

"Sir—"

Tony glared up at the screen, now empty of all the graphs and charts. JARVIS was being unusually persistent and it was starting to grate on his nerves. "How about this? I'll sleep on it. I'm tired anyway."

"I must insist that—"

"Mute." JARVIS immediately fell silent, the command overriding whatever desires the AI had to the contrary. He was grateful for it because he didn't have the energy to argue about it anymore. He hadn't slept well for the past few nights, even worse than he had been now that Steve wasn't there. His nerves felt frayed and he figured a mod-morning nap couldn't do anything but help. And, hey, if it also was a way to procrastinate that was just taking two birds out with one stone.

O~O~O~O

Peter looked up from his book as he heard footsteps tromping down the staircase. After Happy had picked him up from school he had come home to find the house quiet. It was weird and made Peter feel lonely so to make himself feel better he had grabbed a book his Pop had bought him and took his favorite seat in the media room. The footsteps were the first sound he had heard other than the sound of his own hand turning the pages for hours and it startled him a bit. He had thought that his Dad was sleeping.

As Tony drifted past the open doorway to the study it was clear that he had been at least trying. He was dressed in a pair of boxers and an old t-shirt with his hair a mess and sticking up at odd angles. His face was pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. He didn't look okay and it scared him.

"Hey, Dad?"

Peter had been quiet but his Dad's ears had still caught in and he stopped to blink groggily at him from the hall. Almost like he was surprised to see him there at first and then he gave a small, forced smile. "Yeah? What's up, Pete?"

"Is, is Pop coming back soon?"

"Yeah. The last time he called in he said he was wrapping things up. Why, you need something?"

"No…" The truth was Peter was on edge and just wanted his Pop to come back. There was something…wrong with his Dad and he didn't like it. There had been for a while but he could tell that it was getting worse, that it was worse today. He didn't know what it was, but he didn't like it. There was something about the way he smelled, the way the air around him felt that was off. "Aren't you supposed to be resting?" That's what Pop had said before he had left. That his Dad was going to be resting and he needed to sleep so Peter shouldn't feel too bad if his Dad wasn't able to spend a lot of time with him.

His Dad made a face. "Relax, I'm just grabbing something to drink."

Peter sat up a little later with a frown. "What are you getting?"

"Not alcohol. Jesus, you're worse than Bruce."

Peter frowned but settled back against the cushions and tried not to take his Dad's rude behavior personally. Everyone was getting more and more stressed and the smell of it was starting to seep into every room in the house. But the scent hung around his Dad the most and Peter wanted it to stop. His Dad had said that everything would be okay but Peter was worried that for the first time his Dad would be wrong. "Okay. Did you want pizza for dinner? I, I could call Uncle Bruce, maybe he could pick some up when he comes home?"

"Sure..."

Peter nodded and watched as his Dad turned away and walked away. Swallowing, he crossed his legs under him, pulling them in tight before opening his book again and trying to remember where he had left off.

He had just found his spot and gotten back into the story when he was jerked back to reality. Peter jumped then frowned when he heard a loud crash coming from the kitchen. His Dad had seemed upset, but he usually didn't throw things like that. Biting his lip, Peter let out a small, questioning noise before pushing himself up and off of the couch, letting his book fall to the side. He had never tried to calm his Dad down before but he was the only one here now. How did Pop do it? No, he couldn't be an alpha like Pop. How did Uncle Bruce do it? He was a beta like him. Peter just knew he shouldn't get mad, that might just make it worse.

Padding down the hall, Peter peeked around the corner into the kitchen. "Hey Dad?" His eyes immediately caught on a smashed porcelain mug sitting in a puddle of what looked like tea. Okay, so there was the damage, but where was-?

His inner dialogue died as he saw a pair of socked feet sticking out from behind the island as they gave a violent jerk. Stumbling forward, Peter all but launched himself over the counter to find his Dad on the ground practically seizing as he gripped at his chest. "Dad! Dad!"

Jumping down, Peter crouched next to him, watching helplessly as the Cat gasped for breath, his face pale as he stared back up at his son with wide, dilated eyes. "What's wrong?! What do I do? What do I do!? Dad!"

"B—B—Bruce…!"

"Uncle Bruce? Should I call Uncle Bruce? Oh God, oh God," Fumbling his phone out of his pocket, Peter could barely hold it, his fingers were shaking so bad. He needed to get it together. His Dad needed him for once, he could do this!

He had never been so happy to have the older pack member on speed dial because there was no way he'd be able to type out a full number right now. Reaching down with his free hand Peter clasped his Dad's tightly in his own, scared that if he let go that his Dad would stop breathing. The phone rang once, twice, then finally, finally there was an answer.

"Hello?"

"Uncle Bruce! Something's wrong with my Dad! Please, you gotta help!"

"Tony? What happened?" Uncle Bruce's voice fell low, serious, and Peter wanted to cry. He wanted him here. He wanted Pop here.

"He, he's on the floor holding his chest. He's not breathing!"

There was a pause that seemed to take forever before Bruce was back on the line, his voice tight. "Alright, Peter, listen to me. I think Tony is having a heart attack."

"A heart a—!" What did that, what did that even mean?!

"I've just sent for an ambulance. They'll be there in minutes but in the meantime do you have any aspirin in the house? Anything in your room or in a first aid kit?"

"Y-Yeah. I mean, I think so!"

"Good. Go get it."

"But Dad-!"

"Peter, go get it."

Tears slipped down his cheeks as he pulled his hand out of his Dad's, leaving the phone there in case, in case his Dad needed to talk to Uncle Bruce, if, if he could talk to Uncle Bruce. He ran into his parents' bedroom and their connected bathroom. He knew they kept a small First Aid kit in here, there had to be some asprin in it!

When he bowled in through the door he stopped for a moment and his hands grasped at the threshold. Their bathroom was a mess. The medicine cabinet had been thrown open and there were pill bottles spilled across the counter top. One of the bottles had been open and the pills inside strewn into the sink. What had happened to his Dad?

Swallowing again, Peter pushed all the bottles and pills he didn't recognize away with shaking hands until he spotted the asprin and grabbed onto it so tight he heard the plastic bottle crack. Then he ran back down the hall, leaping down the stairs, then skidded on the tile in the foyer as he ran back into the kitchen. His Dad was there, just like he left him, but it seemed harder for him to breath. Collapsing down next to him, Peter scrambled for the phone again. "Okay. Okay, I found some. I found some, Uncle Bruce!"

"Good. You're doing very good, Peter. Now you've got to get him to take some. He's a Shifter, give him four."

Peter wrenched the bottle open and dumped a whole pile into his hands and it took him two tries to count out four of them. "What, what if he won't swallow it?"

"We'll only jump that hurdle if we need to. Just put them in his mouth."

Leaning over his Dad, he set the phone down. "Please, please, please…Please just swallow them, Dad. Please." His Dad had been watching him and he looked like he was trying to help but in the end Peter had to put them all into his mouth for him then grabbed onto his Dad's hand again as he tried to swallow them. He choked a bit but after one terrifying moment Peter saw his swallow and he leaned his head down against the Cat's shoulder, shaking all over.

"It, it's be okay, Dad. It'll be okay!" It had to be.

Peter didn't know how long they stayed like that on the kitchen floor but it seemed like hours before he heard a soft noise echoing out from the front of the house. He looked up as it started to get louder then jumped to his feet as he realized what it was. It sounded like a helicopter.

Running out of the kitchen, Peter sprinted back through the house and burst out through the front door. The doors flew back and he had to cover his face as a blast of wind hit him, a helicopter landing in their large driveway less than fifty feet away. It had barely touched the ground before paramedics were climbing out of it, pulling a stretcher out behind them.

A wave of relief washed over him and he waved frantically at them before hurrying back into the house. "Dad! They're here! They sent a helicopter! Dad?"

Peter's eyes widened as he rounded the corner into the kitchen and realized that his Dad's eyes were closed. And he had gone still. Even his chest, his chest wasn't moving. "Dad…? Dad?!"

"Master Peter," Peter jumped as JARVIS finally spoke up and even the AI sounded tense, "Master Tony is unconscious and has gone into cardiac arrest. The paramedics are on their way inside, may I suggest standing back to allow them clear access to your father?"

Peter had gone numb. It didn't feel like he was in control of his body, like he was watching a movie of himself, as he stepped back and pressed himself against the wall just as the front doors banged back open. He opened his mouth and it felt like he was being choked as he cried out. "Here. In here!"

O~O~O~O

Steve paced anxiously by the side of Tony's hospital bed while Bruce shuffled quietly around the room. He could barely look down at the bed ad every time he paced by it just made his worry grow. Tony's skin had taken on an almost grey pallor, his eyes sunken, and his normally strong body looking so fragile.

His eyes jumped over to his Beta as Bruce left out a soft hum and he saw the other Wolf bent over Tony. "Steve, he's coming around."

Releasing a breath it felt like he had been holding all day, Steve raced to his mate's side and grabbed tightly onto his hand while at the same time being careful not to pull at any of the wires or tubes attached to the Cat. "Tony!" He saw Tony's eyelids flutter and gave his fingers a soft squeeze. "Tony…Can you hear me?"

"Mnn…Steve…"

Tony's voice was quiet but it was there and it was the best thing Steve thought he had ever heard. The Cat's eyes opened, his gaze unfocused as he tried to look around for the source of the noise. When he finally caught sight of Steve he grunted and looked like he was going to try and push himself up but Steve stopped him with a hand on his chest. A hoarse protest burst out of him but Steve just shook his head then moved his hand up to stroke Tony's hair back out of his face as Bruce frowned down at him. "Tony, you just had a massive heart attack. You need to take it easy."

"Ugh…" Tony winced, "I thought we solved this problem…"

Bruce shook his head, resting a comforting hand on Tony's shoulder. "Just because you got a new heart doesn't mean you can't have heart problems. You might be healthier than you were growing up, but you're still at risk. Now, Steve has been telling me you've been having chest pain leading up to this."

Tony rolled his head over to look at Steve. "You knew?"

Steve swallowed and nodded. "I noticed. I just didn't know how bad it was." It hadn't even crossed his mind that it could ever get this bad.

Bruce was frowning now and Tony turned to look back at him as the doctor spoke. "Why didn't you say something? You know something like that might be important."

"I…was trying to ignore it so it would go away."

Steve's breath caught up in his throat and he gently lifted his mate's hand to his cheek before pressing a kiss up against his knuckles. "God, Tony, you can be such a stubborn ass."

Tony huffed in a soft imitation of a laugh before he fell quiet again. Steve's eyes darted up to his mate's face to check that he was still conscious and breathing. "…Peter…He was there…He saw?"

Steve's jaw tightened before he nodded. Bruce spoke up again, his tone softer this time. "He called me and I called the ambulance."

"Is he okay?"

Squeezing Tony's fingers again, Steve placed another kiss against the back of his hand. "He's scared and worried, just like the rest of us."

"Shit…"

They all sat with that for a long moment before Bruce sighed. "You're still not out of trouble, Tony."

"How bad?"

"You're being kept alive by wires. I'm frankly shocked that you've regained consciousness. We're prepping for surgery."

"Shit…"

Attempting a smile, Steve took in a shaky breath. Bruce had been right; no one expected Tony to be cognizant before he went on the operating table. If at all. "You'll be okay, Tony."

Tony closed his eyes before slowly opening them again. "Sure 'bout that?"

Steve nodded and didn't let a speck of doubt show on his face. Not about this. "You have to be."

"…Sorry for being an ass."

Tony never apologized without being forced to. Not to Steve. It was too unlike him and for once Steve didn't want to hear it. It sounded too much like he was making amends. Like he was saying... "No. Don't, don't apologize."

"Love you."

That pushed Steve over the edge and he felt tears that had been threatening to fall finally begin to roll down his cheeks. It was only the second time Tony had ever told Steve he loved him. Now he knew this was his version of saying 'good-bye'. But Steve didn't have the heart to tell Tony not to say those three words. "I love you too."

Steve started when a moment later he felt a hand on his arm and looked back to see Bruce standing behind him. He hadn't even seen his Beta move across the room. "Steve…I need to ask you to leave now."

Releasing Tony's hand, Steve shakily took a step away from Tony's bed. "But he's my mate."

"I know."

"He's my mate, Bruce." He needed Bruce to understand. His mate was lying on a hospital bed looking more dead than he was alive. There was no way to describe the way his world was on the edge of falling apart.

"I know, Steve." Bruce urged him further away by gently pulling his arm back. Steve felt numb and let Bruce guide him out of the room. "I'll take care of him but I can't have you here during the surgery."

"But if something goes wrong—"

"That's exactly why I can't let you stay."

Steve's mouth fell open, ready to argue but then he forced himself to listen to Bruce's words. If he stayed, if he stayed and something went wrong, he didn't know how he would react. If he would throw himself at Tony, if he would tear at the doctors to try and get to his mate. Steve felt broken inside and was sure it was showing on his face, unable to keep it off. "I'm trusting you to take care of him, Bruce."

"I'll do everything I possibly can but we won't really know what we're up against until we start the surgery.."

"Please, just…keep me updated."

Bruce nodded and finally got Steve all the way out of the room. As soon as he was out, nurses and doctors flooded in, blocking his view of his mate. "I'll do what I can." Bruce repeated.

O~O~O~O

Tony slowly came to, surfacing from the fog of the pain medication. He could sense movement around him and reached his senses out to figure out what was going on as his vision flickered in and out. He was still in the hospital. Must have just gotten back from the operating room. The movement was a person steadily moving around the room and they smelled familiar. The corner of his lips turned up into a weak smile that probably looked more like a grimace. "Bruce…"

The movement paused and then walked over to the bed. Tony blinked a couple more times and reached out a hand which Bruce quickly but gently grabbed onto, grounding Tony as he fought through his drowsiness. "Welcome back, Tony."

"Bruce…How'd it," Tony grimaced again and swallowed, his throat feeling like someone had stuffed a bag of cottonballs down it, "how'd it go?" Honestly he didn't want to know. He was afraid of the answer. But he knew he had to hear it at some point so there was no point of drawing it out any longer. It was better to just get it over with. If it turned out he was dying he wanted to have the time to get his affairs in order. Finish up that will.

Bruce must have heard something in his voice or felt a tremble in his fingers because he gave Tony's hand a comforting squeeze. "Luckily for you, the rest of the heart still looks healthy enough so once you completely heal from the surgery you should be good as new. Or, good as you were after your last heart surgery."

"Thank god." The last thing Tony wanted was to have to be treated like he was made of glass for the rest of his life. He would have rathered his heart go out completely. "Good old Dad had a strong heart."

"He would have had to, to be able to put up with you." Tony snorted then grunted as the sensation caused a dull pain in his chest. He still had to be healing and knew then that most of the pain was being kept at bay by medication. "The pack's waiting to see you. Should I let them in?"

"Just Steve…and Peter. For now." He didn't know if he was quite ready to be surrounded by worried faces. Two would be plenty.

"Okay. I'll send them in. And Tony?"

"Hmm?"

"You are terrible at following directions."

Tony's face drew up into a frown, confused. Had he done something in a half-drugged state because there was no way that Bruce would be able to hold that against him. "What?"

Bruce's lips drew up into a frail smile and Tony realized that he was being teased. "I asked you to do one thing when I left the house: stay safe, and then you go and have a heart attack on me. You're terrible at following directions."

"Well, you know me…" Tony teased weakly back. He wished he had the energy to be a bit more enthusiastic about it. "Tell me one thing, I'll do the other just to spite you."

"Yeah."

Bruce offered him another smile, stronger this time, then slipped away and out of the private recovery room Tony had been moved to. A few minutes passed where Tony floated in and out of consciousness, his body still struggling to break free of whatever anesthesia they had given him. But then the door to his room opens again and the scent of his mate and child snapped him back awake.

O~O

Steve had been waiting outside with the rest of the pack ever since Bruce had pushed him out of Tony's room. Peter was sitting by his side, hugging his knees as he stared blankly down at the children's magazine Clint had dug out of the stack of magazines in the waiting room for him. Steve was so focused on the noises coming from the other side of the door that he had leapt to his feet before Bruce even started to open it up. His Beta looked exhausted but quietly happy and it gave him some fresh hope that things would eventually be alright.

Bruce's eyes met his and nodded. "Tony's awake. He's asking for you, Steve, and Peter."

Everyone breathed a collected sigh of relief and Steve gently took Peter's hand and urged him to his feet then followed Bruce back inside. Bruce walked them down a short hallway lined with doors until reaching one near the end and he motioned Steve towards it. "He's inside. I'm going to take this chance to grab a power nap in the break room but call me if anything goes funny. Tony should be stable for now though."

"Thank you." Swallowing, Steve watched his Beta go then, squeezing Peter's hand a bit tighter in his, pushed the door open.

Tony eyes were open and on him as Steve stepped inside and he hurried in and immediately walked over to the bed then, much to Tony's apparent amusement, actually climbed up onto the small hospital bed. Tony had to roll over to make room for him and Steve spooned up against his back, taking care not to jostle Tony's IV or the wire hooked up his to his chest to track his heartbeat. He knew it probably went against hospital protocol but he needed to have Tony in his arms again and feel that his mate was safe now. Tony opened his mouth, as if ready to let a smart remark roll off his tongue, but then Steve wrapped his arms around his waist and Tony closed his mouth again.

It was Peter instead who broke the silence, the boy walking up and gently leaning against the plastic side of Tony's bed. His eyes darted from the wires to the machine then back to Tony's face. "Dad..."

"Hey, Pete." Tony's voice was a bit hoarse but it was steady and Steve was beyond grateful for that.

"Are you okay?"

"Now, actually, yes…I hear I'm doing alright. Except there's this huge Wolf taking up too much space on my ridiculously small hospital bed."

Peter giggled nervously as Steve snorted and tightened his hold around Tony's waist. Tony pushed back lightly against him but then sighed and seemed to resign himself to it and changed his focus. "Pete, can you see about getting me some food?"

Peter looked relieved to have some semblance of normalcy back but Steve frowned. "Tony, I don't know if—"

"Relax, Steve. They operated on my heart, not my stomach. I'm hungry."

"Okay." Steve could grant him that. He had been in the hospital for almost two days now and Bruce had told him before he had noticed that Tony hadn't eaten well after Steve had left. Pushing himself up a bit so that he could look at Peter over Tony's shoulder, he made sure that he had Peter's attention. "But, soup or something, okay Peter? Thor is right outside, have him take you down to the cafeteria."

A pout settled on Peter's lips. "I can do it on my own."

Steve reached out and ruffled Peter's hair. "I know. But this way he can help you carry food back up if you want to get something for yourself too." In reality he didn't want Peter to be alone right now. He knew Peter probably had the capacity to run down to the cafeteria on his own—he had proven just how capable he could be when he had saved Tony's life—but Steve had lost family before. Peter had just almost lost his father and Steve wanted to keep a comforting presence at his son's side for as long as possible.

Peter nodded then reluctantly left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Momentarily alone with his mate, Steve closed his eyes as nuzzled Tony's cheek. "…How are you really doing?"

Tony grunted and adjusted his position in Steve's hold. "Hurts a bit but Bruce must have me on some good meds if they're as strong as they are on me." The 'as a Shifter' was implied.

Steve ran his fingers through Tony's hair then down the side of Tony's face, happy just to be touching his mate, warm and breathing and in recovery. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Tony spoke up again. "…What day is it?"

It took a second for Steve to answer. The last few days had been such a jumble of fear and worry that time had sort of stopped making sense. "It's the seventeenth."

"Damn it..."

Steve tensed at Tony's dull hiss. "What's wrong?"

"I was supposed to start my heat three days ago."

Letting out a small breath that it wasn't anything more serious, Steve bent his head down and smelled Tony's throat where his scent had always been concentrated. He smelled tired, injured, but not like he was anywhere near the start of his rut. His heat was still a long ways away. "You don't smell any different."

"Maybe I should call Bruce."

He genuinely sounded concerned and Steve nuzzled him again. "We can if you want to, but I don't think it's anything to worry about. With what you've been through, it's probably just delayed."

Tony twisted his head to frown back at him. "Delayed?"

Shrugging, Steve explained as best he could. "Your hormones become unbalanced. There's more than that but I got the talk a few years ago so I don't remember it all. After the Howling Commandoes my heat was more than a full season late."

Tony frowned again before facing forward again. "What about now? Shouldn't you be a mess?"

"My mate is being hunted and just had a near-fatal heart attack. I can't say my body is in any better a mood than yours is." His and Tony's heats had synchronized about a year after they had mated and by all accounts he should be a mess right now too. But he didn't think he had it in him to even get aroused with Tony looking the way he did.

"Well that's just…great. There goes my vacation plans…"

Steve smiled and rested his forehead against the back of Tony's hair. "If it makes you feel better I'm not going to let you go back to work for at least two more weeks. You can have a, what do they call it? When you stay at home for your vacation?"

"A 'staycation'?" Tony snorted but Steve didn't need to look to know that his mate was smiling. "You're ridiculous…"

"I know." Tilting his head, Steve placed a kiss against Tony's head. He thought he was being perfectly reasonable but he was going to let Tony call him whatever he wanted. Because he was still here, still speaking, and that was all that mattered.

O~O~O~O

There was no denying it. One day after his operation and Tony was bored as hell. He had the best room available including the best channel package the local cable company had to offer but it wasn't nearly enough to keep his attention.

He wanted to be back home. He wanted to be in his workshop. He even would have been happy to be back at work. Pepper had actually forbid him to do any work while he was in the hospital, intent on forcing Tony to strictly obey the doctors' commands that he should get some rest. But he didn't want rest. He wanted to research, to build. And most of all he wanted to know exactly what was going on with the investigation.

He flipping through channels on the television when part of his wish came true and there was an unexpected knock on his hospital room door. Tony hardly glanced up and just shouted at the door instead. "Unless you're here with food or entertainment, keep walking!"

The door creaked open, "Well, I don't have food but I do have something that might entertain you for a little while."

Looking over at the familiar voice, Tony grinned and shut the TV off as he caught sight of Phil Coulson. "Agent! What brings you here?"

Coulson offered him a small smile and walked over to his bed. "I'm here on business, though it is good to see you looking so alert."

Groaning, Tony rested back against his angled bed. "I'm going out of my mind. Tell me you're here to sign me out because I'm about to shift and claw my way out of here if I need to."

"No you're not."

No he wasn't. But Coulson didn't need to know that. "Their blood is on your hands."

"It's a risk I'll have to take since the doctors have told me that you need to stay at least one more day for them to ensure that your heart is working as it should." Of course he had already been informed of the situation. "I wanted to let you know that we just got an emergency call that I'll need to send Steve and your pack out again. I'm about to let Steve know but I thought you should hear about it before he does given your condition."

Tony smirked then shrugged at the implication that he needed Steve here with him. Although part of him didn't like the idea he wasn't about to admit that weakness in front of anyone, not even Coulson. "It's fine. When you get in touch with Steve let him know that I'll be fine and it won't hurt my feelings if he does his job. I'm already in the hospital, it's not like I can get into any more trouble than I already have."

"I wouldn't put any money on that but I'll let him know. But I didn't come in just to tell you that, I brought you a small riddle to solve." Tony raised a brow, trying to look condescending even in a hospital gown with an IV strapped to his arm. If Coulson handed him a crossword puzzle Tony was going to throw it right back in his face. He had an app for that on his phone that lost all entertainment value about six hours ago. "I just came from the police station. They've been interviewing your sniper on and off for about thirteen hours now but he hasn't told them anything yet. They took his personal possessions but the only thing on him that gave any type of clue was this."

Phil pulled out his phone and passed it to Tony. On the screen was a picture of a small piece of paper that looked like it had been handled and folded over and over again, the corners crinkled and creased. It was a short letter typed out in a standard word processing font that read: Get it right or consider yourself a dead man. 07 761 1430 1445. J.H.

Tony narrowed his eyes at the image as Coulson nodded down at it. "They've tested it for fingerprints but the only visible ones left came from the sniper. They are running his prints through the system to try and figure out who he is but so far they haven't gotten any hits. Listening to him speak the few words he did, he seemed to be from an Eastern European country so he might not yet be registered in the United States databanks. Any information you could give us on what those numbers could mean would be a great help."

"'Us'? Did the police finally let SHIELD in?"

"Given the escalation of the attempts on your life and seeing that Steve is starting to step in, they've finally decided to accept our offer of collaboration."

"Good for you."

"Good for you."

Tony snorted then turned back to the phone. "Right. Anyway…this letter. You haven't figured out the numbers yet?"

Coulson maintained a neutral, if not slightly curious, expression. "Not that I am aware of. The police had been holding onto it but turned it over to me an hour ago when they decided to work with us. I decided a good first step would be to come ask you about it."

"Well the first thing I have to say is that the cops are idiots."

The man tilted his head. "Your judgment might be a little biased, but I assume that means you know what the numbers mean."

Tony nodded and passed the phone back to Coulson. "You'd be right. Oh-seven is the floor number I was on and seven-sixty-one is the room number."

The SHIELD agent frowned as he reexamined the photo. "I don't remember the rooms being numbered."

"It's not listed on the door but that's how we refer to them within the company…" Tony's voice trailed off. Right. Most people wouldn't have knowledge of the numbers. If you didn't have insider knowledge or the building's blue-prints, you wouldn't be able to tell.

"And the other numbers?"

"Fourteen-thirty is military time for two thirty in the afternoon when the meeting started and fourteen-forty-five—"

Realization dawned quickly on Coulson's face and he looked up from the image to meet Tony's gaze. "Is approximately when the shot was fired. It's a roadmap for the assassination attempt."

"Exactly."

"Then J.H. might be our mastermind behind it all."

"Looks like it."

"I don't suppose you can enlighten that as well, can you?"

"I'll have to get back to you on that one…"

Coulson gave him a knowing look but took his leave after that to let the police know about the new lead and get back to the investigation. Tony watched him go and settled back against the thin mattress to think.

He already figured it out. He knew it wouldn't be long until Coulson put the dots together either. Judging by how much that paper had been handled the sniper had received it at least a few days before the actual shooting, meaning that the sender had to have had advanced information about where and when the meeting was going to take place. Very few people had access to that kind of information, not to mention the specific room number the meeting was going to be held in. He didn't think any of his people would be willing to sell him out but there were a few folks lingering in the company who had connections to others who would like to ruin him. One person in particular came to mind. And their initials just happened to be J.H.

He didn't have any real evidence to back up his suspicions but nothing else made as much sense. He just didn't think Hammer had the balls to take things this far.

Leaning forward, he rested his head in his hand and wondered what the hell he did to make his life so complicated. "Shit…"

Half an hour later Steve had called, just like clockwork, to let him know he had to leave. That he had to take the whole pack out again but was letting Bruce stay at home to both let him rest and so that someone could watch Peter while Tony recovered. That he was so, so sorry and if there was anything he could do to stay he would have done it but lives were on the line and—Tony had cut him off there and had spent the next ten minutes promising Steve that he would be okay. Bored, but okay.

A few hours later he was still mapping out a plan of how to handle the situation—which lawyers to call, what steps he needed to take with the police to protect himself—when he was interrupted by yet another knock on the door. But instead of a familiar face it was just another nurse. But she was smiling which was suspicious because he had scared all but the most jaded nurses away. "Hello, Mr. Stark. How are you feeling?"

His response was terse. "Fine." He didn't mind happy people but didn't like this peppy-happy thing she had going on.

"Aw, you seem a little worried. Watching the news?"

What? Oh. He had turned the TV back on about fifteen minutes ago just to have some background noise and it looked like it had landed on a news station. "Sure." Whatever would get her out of his room faster.

"Well maybe this will cheer you up."

She pulled something out from behind her back and he flinched back in his bed before realizing that, no, it wasn't a bomb or a gun. It looked like a CD case. "What is it?"

She kept that smile on her face as she bustled over to the television. "A DVD was sent to you. Maybe your boyfriend sent you a homemade video?"

She winked at him and Tony fought the urge to roll his eyes; he already knew it wasn't from Steve. Not that Steve wouldn't have wanted to send him some cutesy video but more because he doubted Steve would be able to record something, download it onto a computer, and burn it onto a DVD. And even if he figured it out he wouldn't have been able to do so since he had been sent back into the field earlier that day. The only person who was at home was Bruce, who was taking a much-deserved break and keeping an eye on Peter at home. But he wasn't going to tell the nurse all this. So he just smiled as politely as he could manage instead and nodded as she slipped it into the old DVD player beneath the TV mounted on the wall. He grabbed the remote off of his bedside table and shooed her away.

He couldn't even begin to guess what the hell the DVD was about so as soon as the nurse shut the door behind her he flipped the DVD player on and pressed 'play'.

He heard the disc whir to life in the machine and when an image flickered onto the screen it was the last face he expected to see. And then it all made sickening, horrible sense.

It was Justin Hammer, looking entirely too smug and it made Tony's blood run cold. "Hi Tony. I know, this is so low tech, right? But when I heard you were in the hospital for a heart attack of all things it was the simplest way I could think of."

Tony leaned forward in his bed and jammed the 'up volume' button.

"See, here's the thing, Tony. You have turned out to be really, really difficult to kill. And at this point I figured the police must have almost caught up with me, so why not go for broke? So here it is, I'm laying all my cards on the table. I need you to drop any and all charges and forget about the whole 'double-dealing' thing. Why, you may ask, would you do something like that? It was supposed to be real easy, you were just supposed to die and that would solve my problems. Now you've forced my hand, Tony. You really only have yourself to blame."

Tony's eyes widened then narrowed into dangerous slits as his world narrowed down to the television screen. "What did you do, you son of a bitch…?"

"I had to think long and hard about how to solve this. I mean, I can't kill you and you surrounded yourself with inhuman bodyguards. But then I realized that your boyfriend leaves a lot to go play the hero, along with the rest of his team so I gave them a reason to leave. I've been scoping your house out for a while and I knew that someone would have to stay to keep an eye on the little brat you adopted. Can you imagine how happy I was to find out that it was Dr. Banner who got left behind? To make a long story short, I'm sure by now my men have gone in and taken custody of the boy. Now you have a choice to make: you can drop the charges and destroy every piece of evidence you have on me and my company's dealings or I will make sure you never see the boy again. I wouldn't usually go to this extreme, Tony, but you backed me into a corner and this is what I have to do to protect myself. Oh, and you're relatively smart so I'm sure you can understand that if you involve the police or whatever agents you have in your back pocket in SHIELD, the boy will be the one to pay for it. I have nothing to lose any more so don't try to test me."

Tony was moving before Hammer even finished talking and tore off the wires attached to his chest and ripped out his IV. Alarms started blaring above his hospital bed but he didn't even hear them, just raced towards the door on unsteady legs.

It was like history was repeating itself. Tony was away from Peter and because of him, because of what he and Steve did, how they lived their lives, Peter was in danger again. Except this time the enemy was purposefully going after Peter. The only thing that gave Tony any hope at all was that, like before, Bruce was going to be there. And he knew that Bruce would do whatever it took to protect their son.