A girl out of time

Fourteen - ...forever

Tony's pov

The kids were safe with Happy on the way back to the tower. I summoned my suit but it was taking a little while to show up considering the tower is all the way across town. 

Soon enough, though, the suit showed up and I was in the air speeding back towards my wife within seconds. I wasn't going fast enough, the phone dropped out of her hand as she started to fall out of the sky. 

"Put everything we got into the thrusters!" I demanded, I lurched forwards faster and caught Jaz before she hit the ground. Without hesitation, I flew to the tower her unconscious body in my arms. 

Deciding that the door would just take too long I smashed through the windows to the penthouse causing the rest of the team to jump into a fighting stance. "Calm down it's just me," I said trying to stay calm while my wife bled out in my arms. "Bruce, can you help her?" I demanded of my science bro. 

Without waiting for an answer I flew back out the window and down to the med bay, smashing the window there too. I placed Jazzy down on a bed as Bruce and Dr. Cho entered the room, they set to work and I was ushered out by a nurse. 

I took the suit off and had JARVIS return it back to my lab. I slumped against the wall, sliding down it until I was on the floor. My mind was racing a mile a minute, what if she doesn't pull through? I squashed that I dead back, she was strong. 

I don't know how long I'd been sitting there with my head in my hands. Could have been two minutes to two hours, time seemed irrelevant. I was brought back by the sound of a little voice calling to me, she sounded scared. 

"Daddy?" I looked up to see my kids standing in the doorway. "Hey star, come here." I opened my arms wide and she ran into them. I closed my eyes and hugged her close to my chest. Without looking up I opened one arm, "you too Bambi." I felt Pete crash into me as well. 

Holding them both to my chest I never wanted to let go. Then Bruce had to come over and rewin the moment. He cleared his through to get my attention. "Tony, you can go in to see her bu-" I didn't let him finish, I stood and took the kids by the hand. 

"Tony she's stable but we don't know for how long." His eyes were dull and I felt my heart sink. Plastering on a brave face for my kids I nodded and led them into the room to see their mum. 

*****

Peter's pvo

We'd been in the room with mum for about 30 minutes when something happened. One of the machines started to flash with orange light. I had tear tracks down my face, seeing her like this was the most painful thing I've ever had to do. Her face was scratched and her breathing was irregular. 

I sat beside Dad, his arm around me while Ella sat on his lap, we had been talking to mum. I had said goodbye to her in Russian not wanting Ella to hear it but I think she knew what I said because she said something similar in Italian, with the help of dad. 

Mum began to mumble things and Dad's head snapped to the monitor beside the bed. The orange light was still flashing. "Come over to the bed," dad instructed leading us both over. Ella and I stood on chairs so that we could see Mum's face properly. 

She mumbled incoherently a bit more until she formed proper words, words that made my heart sing and break at the same time. "мама любит тебя, мой паук." Tears streamed down my face knowing those words were for me. They were the last words I heard my mother speak to me.

The next thing she said was for Stella.

Stella's pov

Mummy was still asleep but she was talking. I knew she might not wake up so I had said goodbye the way she used to in Italian, Daddy had to help me a bit but I still did it. 

She said something in Russian that made Petie cry, I was about to give him a hug when Mummy spoke again, her eyes still closed. "la mamma ti ama, mia stella splendente," now I was crying harder. I leaned into my brothers' side giving him a tight hug. That is what Mummy said every night right before she left my room after putting me to bed. 

I don't think Mummys going to wake up, that's the last thing she said to me.

Tony's pov

The orange light on the monitor was starting to fade. I was losing Jazzy, she said those things to the kids. Part of me was still hoping that her eyes would just flutter open, the other part of me knew that wasn't gonna happen. 

She opened her mouth to say one last thing. "I love you more than my own life," I smiled through the tears. "And I love you more than I've ever found a way to say," I responded the same way I always would when she said that. It always used to make her smile. 

I put an arm around the kids who were silently crying while watching their mother. I looked back at Jazzy as her chest stopped moving. I closed my eyes and looked down, the monitors started making a high-pitched noise. I looked at my watch, 1:23 am on the 14 of February.

Sighing, I grabbed the kids before they could see their mother like that for too long. I put them down in the hallway outside. None of us spoke as Bruce and Dr.Cho went back into the room. I just leaned knelt down in front of them, we all clung to each other like there was no tomorrow. 

I didn't think about what the future would be like or how we would all cope with this tragedy or the fact that Valentine's day would now be one of the saddest days of the year. 

I focused on the here and now of holding my children close, one thing repeating in all our minds. 

'She's...'

Peter's pov

'...gone...'

Stella's pov

'...forever'