The Road Trip [Stark's Daughter]

Part 11- The Hospital

Peter entered the name of the hospital into his phone and followed the directions. After twenty more minutes, he pulled into the hospital parking lot and turned off the car. "Are you ready for this?" Peter asked.

Sage didn't know what to say, so she joked, "We've got to get past the front desk first."

"We?"

"Well you are coming with me right?"

Peter looked at the golden flecks in her forest green eyes, she looked scared. "Only if you want me to," he said.

"Come on," Sage said as she opened the door.

She grabbed King and made sure to put his service dog vest back on. Peter placed a hand on Sage's back as they walked to the front entrance. It was comforting. The automatic doors opened when they got close enough and Sage stopped. Peter leaned over and whispered, "It's okay, I'm right here."

Sage nodded and grabbed his upper arm, her hand lingered on his bicep for a moment before she held his hand. She kept telling herself that things would be fine but it was nice to have Peter's reassuring and kind heart next to her. He let her take the lead when they got to the counter.

"Hi, my name is Sage and I'm here to see, uh, some family."

The man behind the desk gave her a smile, "What's their name, hon?"

She struggled to answer the question, "I-" she started.

A voice sounded behind her and cut her off, "Sage?"

The voice was feminine and soft, it was oddly familiar. Sage was afraid to turn around but she saw King out of the corner of her eye, he was excited. "Sage?" the voice said again.

Peter turned to face the woman and almost choked on his words. Sage heard the strangled noise he made and turned to check on him. He grabbed her shoulders and gently spun her around to face the woman.

Pepper Potts was standing a few feet away with wide eyes and a hand over her mouth. She wore a beautiful dark green skirt and matching suit jacket with her orange tinted hair pulled back into a clip.

Peter nudged Sage forward, encouraging her to go talk to Pepper.

Her hand tightened on King's leash as she slowly edged her way towards her birth mother. The two stared at each other for a long time, just taking in their appearance. Sage regretted not brushing her hair or changing her clothes but Pepper clearly didn't notice let alone care. Her eyes filled with tears as she met her daughter's green eyes.

The man behind the counter leaned over to Peter and said, "So this is, oh this just got interesting."

"You're here," Pepper said, her voice quiet. She stepped forward and wrapped Sage in a tight hug, "I missed you so much."

It took a moment for Sage to hug her back but when she did, she never wanted to let go. "I missed you too," she paused. "M-mom." Sage began to cry.

"Oh my-" the man behind the counter said, dropping his pen.

Even Peter was struggling to believe his eyes but he was happy for Sage.

The two pulled away from each other at the sound of the pen hitting the counter and the man quickly apologized. Pepper turned back to Sage and smiled. That was when she saw Peter. Pepper kissed her daughter on the forehead and told her that she needed to have a word with Peter.

Peter started to panic when he saw Ms. Potts coming towards him. Even when she smiled, his heart rate escalated. He straightened up and waited to be yelled at but when she got close enough, she hugged him. "Ms. Potts?" Peter asked.

Pepper stepped away and said, "Peter, did you bring Sage here?"

"Well, yeah, I-"

Pepper shook her head and leaned towards him again, "You shouldn't have done that."