The Spider gang had set off to Miles's school to look for the boy. Peni insisted on tagging along, and while Peter Benjamin didn't mind carrying her, May demanded she stay to ensure the injury didn't worsen. So, Peni resorted to using her console to minimise boredom. What they all hoped for was that the boy was alright. Same for his uncle, despite him being recently revealed as the Prowler.

The gang arrived in the dorm area, and roamed around until they heard sounds of smashing coming from one of the higher windows. Just after, a book was flying out of it. Curiously, Peter B. pulled it towards him with a web sling and inspected it in his hands. It's a hardcover sketch book, with Miles's name on the front. Guess they found him, though they had a bad feeling about this. Peter threw the book back into that window before making his way up there with the others.

As soon as they entered, Miles was wiping his face and was trying pretty hard not to break down—well, not any further than now. He told them his uncle died.

"We've all been there," Peter B. related, "You know, for me… for me, it was my Uncle Ben."

Peter Benjamin stepped in. "For me… it was my Uncle Benjamin."

"For me, it was my best friend," Gwen reiterated, "And for Peni, it was her father."

Miles looked at his friends. "Where is she?"

"She's fine. Don't worry about her," Peter B. assured, rather too quickly. The boy didn't buy it.

"I will worry. She's my friend. Don't leave me in the dark. Did something happen in the fight?"

The group shared glances at one another until Gwen took a breath and answered properly. "Fine. Um, back in that fight earlier… she got… shot. She'll be fine, but May's taking care of her right now. That's why she can't be here."

Miles clenched his fists and then sighed. "I'm supposed to be the one to stop the collider. But I couldn't even make sure I wasn't followed. And people got hurt because of that. Because of that, Uncle Aaron… What kind of Spider-Man am I?"

Porker backs onto a chair. "Miles, the hardest thing about this job is… you can't always save everybody."

"But I can't stop thinking about him."

"That's perfectly normal," said Gwen, "You're not alone. You've got us. We can help you."

"Look, it was my fault. You wouldn't understand."

"Miles, we're probably the only ones who do understand."

Peter Benjamin walks up to him. "Kid. We did what we could and bad things happen. We didn't make a choice that killed those close to us. You think you do when you look back on it. But in the moment, when things are really out of control? You don't have any choice."

Miles looks down. "…I guess."

He places a hand on the newbie's shoulder. "Try to let it go, son."

"Earlier, you asked what kind of Spider-Man you are," Peter B. reminded, "Well, I'll tell you what kind: a human being—like the rest of us."

"I'm actually a pig." Everyone stared at Porker in annoyance. "…But I am sentient, which makes me like you guys. Sorry, I use humour as a defence mechanism. You were saying, Peter?"

"Well, you get my point," he says before turning to Miles, "We all make mistakes. Nobody expects Spider-Man to be perfect. They know he's his own person with his own life. And we know that better than anyone else."

The others around him made noises of agreement, and it seems they finally got to Miles. "Uncle Aaron said… that I should keep going; that I'm the best of them. So… I'm gonna start my training."

"That's the spirit, kid," Peter B. said, "But I'm sure your family is crushed just as much as you are. Tell you what: get yourself home safely and be there for your family. We've got intel from Peni's spider buddy that the collider's lab is still being repaired, so we've got plenty of time for your training." Miles nods, seemingly taking his advice. "Okay, good. Come back to May's whenever you feel ready." He holds a fist bump. "See you around?"

Miles bumps it with his own. "Yeah… see you, guys."

He says one more thing to the visitors before they leave. "Thanks for coming, and… tell Peni I'm sorry about what happened to her."

They smile before taking the exit through the window, leaving the boy to take a moment to himself. Eventually, knocking was heard at his door. Composing himself, he opened the door to come face to face with his father, Jefferson, in his cop attire.

"Miles. Can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure." He knew where this was going.

"Something… Something happened to—" Jefferson tried breaking the news, and Miles didn't need to imagine how hard it was. Seeing him break down like this, Miles opted to run into him with a hug.

"I know, Dad. I'm so sorry." The two let out their emotions and continued their embrace in the corridor.

The return to May's place was much more solemn. Today's fight took more out of them than they had mentally and physically prepared themselves for. They hoped for the day not to get any worse. Getting out of a taxi whose driver was confused about why their destination was a wrecked house, the group walked around it and went straight to the shed.

May was sitting next to Peni who was still laying on her side on a medical table. They both looked at the new arrivals and noted their expressions. Peter B. informed the two of what happened, unsurprisingly upsetting the listeners. A moment of silence passed before Peni asked. "He's not alone, is he?"

"He's not. He'll be with his family, and we'll also be there for him."

She nodded. "Good."

"Also… he's sorry about what happened to you."

"It's okay. I'll tell him thanks."

Gwen noted the smaller girl's lack of energy. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"She's fatigued from the blood loss," explained May, "She'll regain her energy soon."

"And how's the stitching doing?" asked Peter Benjamin.

"Well, there hasn't been any sign of further bleeding, so it's doing its job. I'll remove it once the skin is fully sealed."

Everyone seemed content with that information, though Peter B. eventually addressed the elephant in the room. "So, uh… About the house. What are we going to do about that?"

Right. May's house was in no condition for further accommodation. She sounded surprisingly hopeful. "I've already arranged for it to get repaired. In the meantime, we can stay at my holiday home. It's a little bigger, and it's more secluded." The others seemed on board with that idea, so she got up. "That's settled then. I'm gonna start packing essentials, so keep an eye on Peni."

By evening, they prepared an RV they had no idea was just sitting around in the shed's basement. But it's ready on the road now, and it's connected to a car trailer that's carrying Peni's robot alongside suitcases. Seated on the front are May and Peter B, with the former being the driver. The others are seated around a table in the middle, and Peni was assigned to the bed at the back. Without further ado, the engine ignited, and the RV took off down the road towards the further outskirts. It eventually found itself on a highway orbiting around the city that now looked smaller from here. They still have a while to go.

The road trip, while quiet, was absolute bliss compared to the recent fight. Gwen was using her smartphone and took in her surroundings: a dimly lit interior, Peter Benjamin sitting next to her and playing cards with Porker seated on the other side, some music playing softly from one side. She glanced at Peni laying on her side, looking at something on her console. Sometimes, Gwen would see a smile gracing the smaller girl's lips, and then she'd think to herself that things are going to be okay.

May had the idea to start her music playlist. They were gentle songs as well as classic pop. Then the next album to play from the queue was A Very Spidey Christmas. They're not exactly near the season yet but May loved hearing her late Peter's singing. And so did Peter B.

"Hey, he's got a nice voice," he commented. May hummed in agreement.

Gwen gets up from her seat and sits on the bed next to Peni. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Not at all."

"How're you finding the music?"

She shrugged to the best of her ability. "Don't really like it."

"I'm not exactly in a Christmas mood myself," she pulls out earphones and connects its jack into her phone. Putting one earphone in her ear, she holds the other side to the other girl. "Wanna listen to rock instead?"

Peni took the earphone into her own ear, and they both listened to the music from Gwen's dimension. Even though her body was tired, her psyche was pumped up from the energy the music is giving her. She was enjoying it. It's like the kind of music she listens to.

At some point during the drive, there was suddenly imminent danger as told by everyone's Spidey senses. Almost as if they were about to drive into something. Peter B. was the first to warn about it. "Stop the RV!"

May, although startled, hadn't wasted a second pulling the handbrakes, screeching the vehicle to a complete stop. And just when they thought that helped stop uncertain danger, the car had rocked violently from the immediate halt, causing Peni to suddenly cry. Gwen shot up in fear, and everyone had immediately rushed over to check on the little girl, and they saw blood seeping through her hoodie. Her stitches had gone undone.

May cursed to herself as she grabbed the first aid kit from a glove compartment, then sprinted towards the bed to deal with the suffering girl, sincerely apologising to her in the process. Gwen started to panic whether Peni was really going to be okay.

Peter B. exited the vehicle to see what had set off their Spidey senses, and acknowledged a pothole that was close to being driven on. He sighed to himself after putting two and two together; they had to avoid driving over the pothole to prevent the RV from jerking, thus hurting Peni. Unfortunately, the handbrake caused the jerk anyway. He went back inside to notify the others about it.

"I'll drive around it," thanked May, "I promise I'll be more careful."

A few minutes later, the lady made sure the bleeding had stopped and the stitching was as secure as earlier, before returning to the driving seat and driving slower as promised. She even kept the RV on the truck lane intended for slow vehicles. Everybody resumed their activities, though Gwen was having trouble enjoying the music. She kept glancing at Peni, who was looking more tired.

A little late into the night, they had reached their destination. In comparison to the last house, this one was quite bigger and was surrounded by trees.

"You know, when you said holiday home," remarked Porker, "I was expecting a beach or pool."

May was the first to get up and head for the door. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint. There is a great lake nearby though. Anyway, the house is pretty dusty, so do you guys mind helping me clean it up?"

"It's the least we can do," Peter Benjamin accepted.

"Thanks. One of you stay behind and take care of Peni."

Everyone had left for the house, except for Gwen, who stayed sitting next to the smaller girl. "You alright?"

"I'm exhausted. Too much happened today. I just wanna be in PJs and be in a proper bed."

"I know the feeling. So… what about your waist?"

She hummed in thoughtfulness. "Well, it feels like a breeze that burns on the inside, as if my nerves are exposed." That made Gwen cringe, thinking they probably were exposed. "But the stitching stops that sensation. Obviously, touching it hurts a lot more. That one feels like it's being pinched to the max."

The injured girl recognised the other's leg bouncing, and judging from her mood, it wasn't from excitement. She more or less knows why but tries to urge the other into opening up. "Hey… You've been on edge, like, all day. Penny for your thoughts? No pun intended."

The leg bouncing had stopped, and Gwen had a small smile, though it disappeared too soon as she then looked away and eventually answered.

"I thought I was gonna lose you."

Peni looked at her.

"Say, can you help me shift further back?"

"Sure." Gwen carefully lifted the girl like her life depended on it, moving her to where she wanted to be. Now that there was space in front of her on the bed, Peni requested one more thing: "Lie down with me." Gwen looked at her momentarily before doing so, laying on her side too.

Despite the stoic exterior, Peni saw the other girl's eyes getting glazy, and used her clean sleeve to dry the unshed tears. "I'm sorry for scaring you. Was this… how you felt with your Peter?"

She nodded with a sniffle, her expression turning distraught as she started chewing on the nail of her thumb. Peni held onto that hand and gently moved it away from her mouth.

Eye contact remained between the two until Gwen shifted herself closer and rested her head against the other's chest. It was easier for her to let out more of her emotions there, shuddered breathing against a soothing heartbeat. Peni welcomed it and further comforted the other girl by stroking Gwen's hair, followed by words like "It will be okay. I'm still here. You don't have to worry anymore."

Gwen couldn't deny she needed this. She just wished she could hug back, but she can't risk it with the injury.

This went on for a while, until Peni pointed out something. "You remind me of my mom."

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm. Ever since my dad died… my mom's been more worried about my safety. Since I tinker with tech a lot, and add that with the fact I'm a Spider-Girl, it's not uncommon for me to get hurt. And when Mom finds out, she freaks out. Worst case scenario: she breaks down. Sometimes I comfort her and tell her I'm alright and that she's overreacting. But I'm happy she cares about me. So… thanks for caring about me."

Gwen pulled herself away from Peni's chest and sighed. "You don't need to thank me. We're friends."

"Yeah. We are." Peni held her hand and stuck out her pinkie. "Friends forever?"

Gwen locks her own pinkie with it. "Yeah."

That made the smaller girl smile. She then yawned.

"You can sleep, you know."

Peni hummed and went ahead to rest her eyes. Gwen decided to do the same.

After an indeterminate amount of time later, somebody walks in on them. Both girls, waking up with their pinkies still linked, turn to see the intruder: Peter Benjamin. "Well, house's all clean and ready. You two can continue your sleep there."

Gwen nodded and hopped off to let Peter carry the little girl out of the RV.

"I can probably walk, you know?" Peni said.

One look at her yawning made Peter wave aside her suggestion. "Save your energy for the recovery. The walking can wait."

The house tour was to be saved for another time as they made a beeline for one of the bedrooms upstairs, passing the others in the way. By the time they reached the bed, Peter glanced at the girl in his arms before turning to Gwen with a whisper. "She's already asleep."

She smiled in response. "She said she wanted to sleep in PJs."

"That part will have to wait. She needs all the rest she can get."

He lowered the little girl onto her side of the bed and ensured she was resting on her unwounded side. "Mind staying with her tonight? Make sure she doesn't get worse?"

"Sure. I don't mind."

"Thanks. Well, goodnight."

"Night."

After he left them alone, Gwen stealthily got on the bed and looked at the slumbering girl. After what happened today, she realised how glad she was to see Peni sleeping in front of her again.

About an hour or so into the night, she woke up to small whimpers, and tried to adjust her eyes.

"Peni?"

The girl in question looked back at her. "Sorry. I think I put my arm on my side in my sleep and touched my injury. It woke me up."

Gwen looked at the arm and had an idea. She held onto Peni's elbow with her right hand and secured it between them. As a result, Peni's hand is also resting nearby, so she holds onto it with her other hand. It would not only prevent the arm from touching the wound again, but also serve as a constant reminder that the girls are there for one another. "Is that better?"

Peni got tense, but she seemed to relax afterwards. "Yeah… Night."

"Night."