Aleron was nervous, it was a fact hard to ignore. Tony was feeling the same way, though he knew his daughter was in good hands. Yinsen was a good doctor who knew just what he was doing. The fact that Pepper was half way across the world didn't help the fact that both of them were nervous. Aleron was crying as the anestheologist sedated her and Tony was now trying to comfort her.
"Would you like to hear a story before you go to sleep," Tony inquired as he pulled the story book from the duffel bag.
Aleron nodded her head as she rubbed her eyes sleepily. Tony read from the book until Aleron fell asleep and he kissed her on the forehead before a team of surgical nurses whisked her away to the operating room. Tony was concerned, but he knew that he shouldn't be, it was the fact that it was his daughter's second time in surgery. It took about 4 hours for Dr. Yinsen to complete the surgery and once Aleron was in the recovery room, Tony's cell phone rang. He stepped out the room to answer it.
"Hey Pep, how was Japan," Tony sighed quietly.
" Okay, but, I'm worried about Aleron," Pepper responded quietly.
"Don't worry about her Pepper. She's just fine. Let me go, I'm not supposed to have my phone on in the hospital," Tony said.
Tony turned and walked back into the room and sat down beside the bed as Aleron began to wake up. Tony smiled brightly as Aleron opened her emerald-blue eyes.
"How are you feeling," Tony smiled brightly.
"I've been better," Aleron laughed.
Just then Jane Foster burst in the door.
"Tony, the Avengers need you in Central Park," Jane panted breathlessly.
"Can you watch Aleron," Tony said turning his attention to Jane.
" Don't worry about it," Jane laughed breathlessly.
Tony ran out the door, headed to Central Park. It was the Masters of Evil who attacked, but it was suspected that Loki had something to do with this. Back at the hospital, Jane's pager beeped for a code blue in Central Park. She ran out the door leaving Dr. Yinsen in charge. About an hour later, Tony stepped in the room and almost fell into the chair beside the bed. Aleron's emerald-blue eyes sparkled with energy, but Tony's didn't. It was about 7PM when Tony fell asleep while watching cartoons with Aleron. About 10PM, Pepper walked into the hospital.
"I need to see Aleron Stark," Pepper panted breathlessly.
"She's in room 125 on the fourth floor," the attendant redplied quickly.
Pepper smiled as she ran through the door and hit the elevator button for the fourth floor. She wanted to beat her head up against the wall as Justin Beiber elevator music played. The elevator fianlly stopped for the fourth floor and she stepped out, proceeding to find the 125th room. It took about 15 minutes to find the room. She opened the room and laughed when she saw Tony passed out in the chair, the lights off and Aleron watching cartoons.
"Shouldn't you be asleep by now," Pepper laughed.
"Mama," Aleron exclaimed.
"Ssh, keep it down, your father is trying to sleep," Pepper laughed, turning her attention to Tony.
Pepper smiled as she handed Aleron a small box wrapped in floral paper tied with a bow. Aleron unwrapped the gift after Pepper helped her untie the bow.
"What is it Mamma," Aleron curiously asked.
"It's a Lokuloku Pig Toy, no matter what you do to it, the thing always bounces back into its original shape," Pepper explained quietly.
Aleron began to cry from pain. Pepper called the nurse and explained what was going on. The nurse stepped in the room a few minutes later and gave Aleron some medicine then went back to making her rounds. Once the medicine kicked in, Aleron was back to the happy kid she was before. Tony was still passed out in the chair. It was now 11 PM and Aleron was getting sleepy. Pepper sat on the edge of the bed after searching the room for the storybook and began to read the next story. Shortly after finishing the story, Aleron fell asleep. Pepper kissed her daughter's forehead and tucked her in before turning off the television.