There were plenty of tough times in Peter's life he could talk to Dr. Kafka about, but he decided that the best place to start was when they began.

"My uncle died when I was in high school," he began. "What no one really knows is that it was kind of my fault."

"How?" asked Ashley.

Peter took a deep breath. It was never easy talking about his uncle's death. He had never come to forgive himself for letting it happen.

"It was weeks after I got bit by that spider, and, well, back then, I didn't care about helping others," explained Peter. "All I wanted was a happy and easy life. I saw the guy who did it just before it all happened. I saw him rob the store I was walking towards. I could've stopped him, but I didn't. I didn't care, because I didn't think I had to. I came home to find out my uncle was gunned down. It wasn't until I caught him that I knew it was the same guy I let go."

Ashley was in utter disbelief. The idea of Spider-Man letting a criminal escape sounded incomprehensible to her.

"Uncle Ben always said "with great power comes great responsibility"," said Peter. "I never got what he meant until then. That's why I got into the superhero business."

Peter started to choke up. What he was about to say was going to be particularly hard, because he wasn't just admitting something to someone, but he was finally going to admit the truth about his cause as Spider-Man for the first time to himself.

"But, I didn't do it because it was the right thing to do. I did it, because.. Because..."

Peter gulped.

"I'm sorry," said Peter apologetically. "It's hard."

"It's alright," reassured Ashley. "Nice and slow."

Peter swallowed his throat. He didn't want anyone to know the truth about why he became Spider-Man, but if he didn't say it, it would only keep bugging him for as long as he lived.

"I did it, because… I did it, because my uncle would've wanted me to do it! I wanted to make him proud! He'd be disappointed in me if he knew I didn't do it when I have these powers! It made me feel better!"

"Calm down, Peter," said Ashley.

"I'm sorry," apologized Peter.

"That's quite a secret, Peter," commented Peter. "But let me ask you this: would your uncle have wanted you to do it even if it led to you having a miserable life?"

Peter paused to think. He always knew his uncle wanted him to be a good person, but focusing on that one thing alone kept him from thinking about what else his uncle wanted for him.

"Umm," began Peter.

Ashley sensed Peter didn't know what he wanted to say, so she decided to ask the question with different words.

"I guess what I'm asking is, would your uncle have wanted you to be happy, over anything else?" she asked.

"He did," answered Peter. "But does it really matter? Do I really deserve to be happy after what I did? It's my fault he's gone! I could've stopped it all from happening, but I didn't!"

"You weren't the one who pulled the trigger, Peter" said Asley. "The shooter did. He could've chosen not to do it."

Peter knew that, but to him, it didn't change anything.

"It doesn't make me feel better," he said, as tears dropped from his eyes. "Being Spider-Man made dealing with it easier, until recently. It just seems no matter what I do, whether it's the right thing or the wrong thing, I end up paying for it. I know I threw my costume in the trash, but it hasn't made things easier. I just keep thinking about my uncle and wondering what he'd say knowing I've given up."

It broke Ashley's heart to see the wall-crawler in such sorry shape. It was going to be hard to reason with him, but she was going to try.

"You're a very considerate person, Peter," she said. "And it's great that you want to honor your uncle, but there's only so much we can do to make the people we care about happy, even Earth's mightiest heroes can't make everyone love them."

"I know," acknowledged Peter. "But the people I love, their happiness means more to me than my own. Not just Uncle Ben. Aunt May, MJ, Harry, Ned. They deserve to be happy more than I ever will."

"You may think that, but they have their own flaws too, right? They've made their own mistakes and have their own problems. Can you really say that about Flash Thompson with the way he used to treat you?"

That part made sense to Peter. If Ashley asked him that when he was in high school, he would've said "no," but he and Flash were friends now, and he cared deeply about his well-being.

"They do love you, right?" asked Ashley.

Peter couldn't deny that. After the intermission, there was no way he could.

"You're right," admitted Peter.

"And your aunt?"

"Yeah, she does, but what happens if she finds out what I did? Would she even still care about me?"

Ashley sighed. That wasn't going to be an easy question to answer, but there was a way to respond in a way that could resonate with Peter.

"If she really does love you, she would understand that what you did was an accident, even if it takes time for her to forgive and forget. You would never hurt her or anyone else intentionally. Doesn't she know that?"

Peter knew Ashley got him there.

"Yes," he sighed.

He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to tell the truth to May, but those words gave him a glimmer of hope that she wouldn't cast him out if he ever had to.

"I know you may not ever tell her the truth about your secret life for obvious reasons, but if you ever do, don't be surprised if it doesn't go as badly as you think it could. She'll probably be shocked when she learns the full story of what happened to your uncle, but it may not matter when she learns how many people you've saved over the years. Wouldn't that make her proud?"

"Yeah," answered Peter. "It'd also make her ten times more worried about me than she is now."

"That's how it is when you have a family that loves you," explained Ashley. "Her worrying about you is a sign that she loves you, and if she never stops worrying about you, then it means she'll always love you."

For the first time since that night on the bridge, Peter smiled. He still had a few things to get off his chest, but he felt that this was a start in the right direction.