A Helping Hand

Mistakes

Sarah returned to working at the restaurant. With her black dress and pearls, she reported back to the monotony of playing nice for five star wallets.

Tony fell into a pattern- take Howard to school, spend time in the workshop building something, eat lunch, clean house, pick Howard up, homework, dinner, games, bed. He learned to play Cows in the Graveyard.

He met a young woman at the school- the aunt of one of the students. She was pretty, her dark blonde hair streaked with auburn. She laughed at his jokes, knew who AC/DC was, and drove a gorgeous red Corvette. They started dating. Once in a while, they attended events together. The tabloids announced that Tony Stark no longer appeared to be single.

Howard texted Sarah.

Dad's got a girlfriend. You probably saw the rags. She's pretty.

She replied.

Do you like her?

He was busy composing his response when Tony noticed he wasn't doing his homework, "Hey, Howie- who're you texting? Red Badge isn't going to read itself."

"I'm done with it, Dad. Besides, it's a stupid book."

"Yeah, I hate it too. But you still haven't told me who you're texting. Got a girlfriend?"

"No. It's just Sarah."

"Phew. For a moment there I thought you were old enough to like a girl."

Howard rolled his eyes, "Come on, Dad. I'm not the Stark Sarah likes."

Tony sat down on the couch, "Wait, what?"

"She liked you, Dad."

"Well yeah. She's a sweet gal."

He rolled his eyes again, "Jeez, Dad, don't you know anything? She liked you. You know, like liked."

"She told you that? When?"

"When I asked her, that's when. And only a little. But she was better than Alison."

"I know you don't like Alison that much, but at least give her a chance, OK?"

Howard still had not looked up from his phone, "Fine."

Tony thought the conversation was over. He stood up.

"But she's only here because you're Tony Stark. Sarah would've been here just because you're you."

That night, after Howard was in bed, Tony sat in his room and thought about his future with Alison. She was pretty, and even though she wasn't as smart as Sarah, or as curious, she at least seemed interested in his work. But if he could choose between Alison and Sarah...

His head spinning, he went to the closet and reached behind a secret panel for a single bottle he had kept tucked aside through Sarah's purges. It was strong, and drinking the whole thing was a terrible idea. But he wasn't thinking, or, rather, he was thinking too much and figured that one drink wouldn't hurt. Or if it did, that it wouldn't hurt much. It took him some mental gymnastics to convince himself that he would be fine. He broke the seal and took a swig.

A few hours later, Howard woke to the sound of his father retching. He sighed, got out of bed, and found Tony facedown in the bathroom, a mess around him. He shook him. No response. He called his name and slapped him. Nothing. Then he saw the empty bottle discarded on the floor and panicked. He called James. James called the ambulance and both he and it arrived around the same time. En route, Howard texted Alison.

The doctors and nurses were sympathetic and reassuring. They praised Howard for having thought to grab the bottle and for knowing his father's vital statistics. James, however, had medical power of attorney and there were certain things they wanted to share without Howard in the room. When Alison arrived, Howard stepped out- only two people were allowed in the emergency ward. James promised to update him.

He sat in the waiting room and fiddled with his phone. He pulled up his text messages and found a reply from Sarah had come after he had gone to bed.

Nobody will ever replace your mom- keep your chin up. Your dad is a good father and you'll figure this out together."

He texted back.

Dad is in the ER. Drank himself unconscious. I need someone to sit with. Come please?

Sarah saw the message and tossed on clothes, grabbing her bag as she ran out the door. She flew down city streets and highways. She took a deep breath before stepping through the emergency room doors.

Howard jumped from his seat and hugged her, "Oh, god, Sarah, I'm so glad you're here."

She squeezed him, "Anything for you, kiddo. How's your dad doing?"

"They had to give him oxygen. I don't really understand why, but it must have been really bad, right?"

"If that and an IV is all they had to do, he'll be OK. He'll have one hell of a hangover in the morning."

"He was a mess when I found him. The bathroom is disgusting."

"You don't worry about that. I'll help you clean up, get you settled in. But why are you out here instead of with him?"

"Uncle James and Alison are back there. Only two people can be."

"Are you alright with not being one of them?"

"Yeah. Maybe. I don't know."

"You're not convincing me."

"I don't think Alison should be, but she's his girlfriend."

"And you're his son."

"I know..."

"Howard, be honest."

"She keeps saying 'when I'm your mom' like this is a done deal. She won't ever be my mom, even if she and Dad get married. And I hope they won't. She doesn't like that I spend so much time reading Star Trek novels and she doesn't ever want to watch the show. She doesn't build models or help me draw maps of alien cities and she says my Star Trek stories are a waste of time. I feel guilty for liking all the things we used to like together. I'm too geeky for her."

She hugged him, "Have you told your dad any of this?"

"I can't tell him. He's so happy with her and I don't want to make him sad. I went and did something stupid today and you're going to be mad at me, but I think it's why he went and got drunk."

"I won't be mad. Just talk."

"I told him that you liked him a little. I know you said not to, but it just kind of happened..."

"It's OK. But why do you think that caused this?"

"Because I said I think she's only with him because he's Tony Stark and you like him."

Sarah smiled, "Your dad has to follow his heart, honey. But you're right that I like you guys for who you are. You did not cause this, though. He made the decision to drink. He could have went to the lab to think, or played cards, or set soup on fire. The bigger problem right now is that you feel like Alison is trying to replace your mom and you haven't told your dad that you feel like this. He might not have even noticed."

"Yeah, but after this, I don't want to say anything that might upset him."

"This is about your family- you need to be heard, too. Your dad needs to lay that out for her so she's not hurt when you decide to keep calling her by her first name, even if she is an awesome step-mom."

"Thanks for coming, Sarah. And thanks for being the best governess ever." He leaned against her and she put her arm around his shoulders.

"Anytime, honey."