Let's Begin

Ch. 17

When Peter woke up, he was in his bedroom at the Compound. Frowning, he tried to remember how he had gotten there before the events of the previous night returned to him. Although he didn't remember it, he knew he must have fallen unconscious on the way home. He couldn't remember anything after leaving the warehouse and even if he had been worried about it all be a dream or a ruse, his worries were quickly displaced. Upon opening his eyes, the first thing he spotted was his dad sitting beside him in a chair, clutching his hand while his mom slept tucked up beside him in another chair.

"FRIDAY?" Peter whispered, not wanting to wake either of his parents. "What time is it?"

"It is 3:42pm."

He glanced at his windows, not surprised to see them blackened so the room would remain dark.

"You've been asleep for a total of ten hours and thirty-seven minutes."

"Oh." That was a long time, he imagined.

When he turned back to look at his parents, his ribs pinched painfully. Moving slowly, he laid back down and lifted his shirt to see bandages wrapped around his torso. He wasn't sure why they were there as the worst he'd had was a swift kick to the chest. Surely you didn't bandage bruises, right?

"Peter?"

His eyes flicked towards his dad to see him waking up and looking worriedly at him. Peter put his shirt back down and turned to face his dad.

"Hey, kiddo," Tony said, leaning forward and brushing Peter's hair back.

Peter flinched slightly when his hand neared his forehead and Tony pulled back quickly. Guilt flooded through Peter and he looked down at his bed.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, fiddling with the sheets.

"No, I should have expected that," Tony replied softly, more concerned than offended. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess," Peter replied. Tony nodded in understanding. "Why is my chest bandaged?" he asked, remembering the strange sight he'd been met with earlier.

"You have a few fractured ribs," Tony told him. He pointed to Peter's chest as he said, "Those bandages won't help much with pain though, so you might want to take it easy for a few weeks."

"Oh yeah!" Peter said suddenly and a little too loudly. Pepper stirred and he softly apologised, but she didn't wake up. Talking softer, Peter turned to his dad eagerly and said, "I was thinking, maybe I could have a couple of days off school?"

Tony let out a breathy laugh and nodded. "Well, considering Principal Jones is under investigation for hiring a known felon, I'd say you'll get just that."

Peter tilted his head to the side. What did that mean?

With a warm smile, his dad told him, "Mr. Patrick was actually a man named Leonard. He's dead now."

"I hope you're not sharing graphic details with our son," Pepper murmured, opening her eyes and sitting upright.

Tony and Peter both looked quickly at Pepper. Despite the innocent looks on their faces, she didn't buy it. After giving Tony a warning look, she turned to Peter and smiled warmly at him.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Like I've been dropped out of a plane," Peter answered. Pepper frowned but Tony didn't look surprised. "I'm fine, Mom."

"Uncle Bruce is going to come in and check on you anyway," Pepper told him.

Peter tried not to grin at the thought of seeing Uncle Bruce again even if it was under not-so-great circumstances. It had been a while since he'd seen his uncle and now was as good a time as ever for a family reunion, he supposed.

"I am," Bruce said, shutting Peter's bedroom door behind him. He smiled at Peter who grinned widely back at him. "How are you doing, Peter?"

"I've been better."

Bruce rolled his eyes and pulled his stethoscope from around his neck.

"How are you and Uncle Hulk?" Peter asked eagerly.

"We're both doing well, thank you," Bruce said before performing a few routine checks.

After Bruce had tested Peter's breathing and given him some pain pills, he looped his stethoscope around his neck and smiled down at them.

"Peter will be perfectly fine," Bruce informed them all. Peter grinned wide and Tony and Pepper thanked him. "It's my job, guys," Bruce reminded them, "Although I should let you know that the team wants to come say hello."

"Yeah!" Peter cheered.

Bruce looked at Tony who shrugged and sat back in his chair, putting an arm around Pepper's shoulders.

"I'll let them in," Bruce said.

As soon as he had opened Peter's door, the entire team of Avengers came pouring in. Rushing to Peter's side, the room filled with questions of how he was feeling and if he needed anything. Could they get him candy? Was there a new movie he wanted to watch that they could find? And finally, when they rounded on Tony, they wanted to know why the team hadn't been called in the help.