Left in the rain

twenty-seven

Monday 20th June 2022

Pepper holds Peter as he lets out a tired whine. She bounces him and tries to get him to latch onto her breast but he just lets out a rough cough and another whine.

Tony had been sent to check out an assumed hydra base but he mentioned to Pepper that Peter was looking pale and clammy.

When taken down to the med bay it was discovered that Peter had somehow contracted whooping cough. Pepper and Tony had assumed that he was fully vaccinated but they were wrong and now their baby boy is letting out pain coughs and sometimes even some red bile. 

Peter is stripped down to his nappy, which hasn't escaped the effects of the illness that has caused his stomach to release stuff from both ends. Pepper hasn't managed to get him to take any fluids because he's sweating and slightly lethargic. 

"C'mon baby. Just drink some milky and then you can go back to sleep" Pepper coos and Peter lazily turns his head but doesn't move to grab the nipple in his mouth like usual so Pepper moves her nipple into his mouth which he gives a small tug on, once the milk hits his tongue he starts suckling slightly faster, Pepper strokes his curls that are coated in sweat. Soon enough he falls back asleep but Pepper is happy with the milk he drank so she doesn't try and wake him or take him to get a drip.

Peter is curled against Pepper and has a tight grip on her shirt when he lets out the cutest little sleepy sneeze against her chest. Pepper strokes up and down his back but she can't help her heart clenching every time she hears the pain filled wheeze and the sniffle through the blocked nose. Pepper can only assume the amount of time she will have to stay in the bathroom with the shower running to help clear her baby boys sinuses.

Peter lets out another wheeze but then Pepper feels something extremely concerning. He sucks in the air but doesn't exhale. She puts her ear near his mouth where she hears a very faint wheezing noise but no where to how it should be.

She quickly stands up and makes her way down to the med bay where she franticlly places Peter on the bed and paces while explaining what's happening.

"I-uh, he was breathing fine and, and then he just- it like slowed, his wheeze stoped and I didn't realise other than that. Shit. What if I weren't there. I'm a bad mum." Pepper mumbles and Cho lightly grips her shoulder before leading her to a chair. 

Bruce is placing a oxygen mask over Peters face and gets a stethoscope out and his face scrunches up in relief at what he hears.

"Okay, so I think that Peter is gonna be fine but you might have to stop breastfeeding until he is better. I can make tablets to substitute for the milk he has as he only has milk for nutrition. I also recommend sitting in the bath with Peter for a while to help clear his throat. You should also give him a lot of lemon and honey tea in his bottle as it'll help with the cough and the blockage." Bruce advises and Pepper releases a sigh of relief. Sure she's sad that she can't breastfeed Peter she's glad that Peter is okay.

Pepper walks over to the bed where Peter has an oxygen mask strapped to his face, she climbs onto the bed and holds him. He turns and grips her shirt "mmh, mama..." he mumbles sleepily before going to sleep again. Pepper keeps a gentle but consistent rub up and down Peters back and has to hold back her tears at the still prominent wheezes underneath the oxygen mask. 

Pepper really needs Tony right now but he's busy and there isn't any guaranteed time that he'll be back. Especially considering Natasha and Wanda are away at the farm.

Pepper can't believe that it's technically her own fault that Peter had trouble breathing. She should've just made him drink some water. And Not only is he got whooping cough which is bad enough for the boy who is mentally a baby who doesn't understand why he feels icky and he's not gonna like not being able to drink.

And on top of her sick child she has a short online meeting that she can't miss as there has been some problems with the marketing scheme that Pepper usually uses for most stuff.

///

Later that day Pepper had the meeting and Tony is still on his mission. 

Petter is placed in Pepper and Tony's bedroom but looked much smaller than usual as he's covered in a thick blanket and has a machine giving his oxygen and tracking his breathing. Pepper will just have to do the meeting on her bed as she can't move Peter as she usually would and she doesn't want to leave him alone just in case of his breathing. 

The meeting rings and Pepper knows how bad she looks, she's still in her pyjamas and she won't apologise for not giving a damn about what her outfit choice is.

Soon enough the faces of the business men and women pop up on the screen and she can tell they want to ask about the clothes she's wearing.

"Hello everyone, I'd just like to address a few things before we begin with the actual meeting. So, I'm assuming that you guys can see the different background and the weird outfit but I really can't film else where as my son currently has whooping cough and he had very limited breathing earlier and is attached to a couple machines that I can't move around. I also don't want to leave him alone in case he stops breathing. Now onto the marketing scheme. I think that the major flaw in or usual scheme is that..."

///

20 minutes later is when Peter wakes up and he lets out a shrill wheezy cry.

"Ma!" Peter yells and Pepper turns her gaze to Peter who has pulled his pacifier out of his mouth. Thankfully he hasn't messed with the oxygen tube that's in his nose.

Pepper gives a quick apology for the interruption and then makes her way over to Peter who she grabs and helps take the oxygen tube off before turning off the oxygen they had near by. Peter curls into his Mama and lets out a few wheezy coughs before letting out a small whine.

"Milky." Peter says and Pepper sighs, she takes him over to the bed to get settled back near the laptop for the meeting. She grabs the bottle of lemon and honey tea that she'd set on the side for when Peter awoke. She passes the bottle too hot but he eyes it suspiciously "Milk?" he asks and Pepper shakes her head. 

"No milky, just drink the tea baby." She pats his back as he starts drinking the liquid his face scrunches up in distaste but he doesn't make a noise and just sops drinking the gross drink.

"no like mama. No more." He says and Pepper accepts that but she knows that soon enough he'll be hungry and she hopes hat Tony will be back by then.