Irondad and Spiderson

Reunion, Nuturing, and Pancakes

    Pepper waited anxiously outside the med bay. Peter's hands was clutched sweatily in hers, and they just sat there. After several hours, they were starting to become very nervous. Neither of them were allowed inside the room, per Tony's quarantine. They tried to argue to Bruce Banner that they had already been exposed to Tony's virus, but he insisted that they wait outside while he ran the tests.

"He'll be okay, right?" Peter finally opens his mouth and turns to Pepper. He's all sore and bandaged up, and any movement hurts, but he can't help but look at her.

"Of course." She says as confidently as she can. "If I don't kill him first." Peter snorts and leans back in the chair again.

Pepper quietly sighs and looks around the white hallway. The door to her immediate right is still clamped tightly shut, despite how much she wants to wrench it open and look inside. No news for three hours? It cements her worry deeper in her brain.

"When do you think we can go in?" Peter bounces in his chair. Pepper smiles slightly at him. No matter how restless she's feeling, the kid with four times as much energy must be much more uncomfortable.

Just as Pepper is about to open her mouth to answer him, the door clicks open and Dr. Banner pokes his head out.

"Pepper?" She rises immediately, instructing Peter to stay behind and that she'd come get him in a little bit.

She takes long, quick steps into the room, rushing to Tony's side as soon as she sees him. She goes to his bedside and goes to cup his hand, but finds an invisible shield surrounding the bed. She pushes against it, trying to reach him, but nothing will break through.

"I'm sorry, you can't touch him." Bruce says with an apologetic look. He slips on a pair of glasses.

"How is he?" Pepper takes the seat across from Banner. She knows that she's going to hear bad news, she just knows it.

"Well, there's a few things that we need to talk about."

"That's reassuring." She can't help but let it sound slightly sarcastic, before apologizing.

"Tony is in the last stages of his sickness. The first stage were hyper feelings of sickness. A horrible sore throat, stuffy nose, weakness, that sort of thing. The second stage passed much quicker than I thought it would."

Pepper's eyes start to water, as she listens to what she knows is going to turn into bad words.

"He kept assuring me that he was fine, and that he wanted to see you and Peter. I was tracking his vitals at that point, and the sickness was still heavily flowing through his veins. And then, almost instantly, he started moving into the third stage." Bruce gives a Pepper a small look before averting his eyes back down to his paper.

"And?"

"He became delusional. I believe that he began remembering some past traumatic memories. Twice he yelled for you, and once for Peter. Another time was about New York." Pepper nods, swallowing hard.

"Can you help him?"

"I'll be difficult, but I'm fairly certain that I can help." Pepper gasps with relief.

"Unfortunately, there's still a problem."

"What do you mean?" Pepper's heart falls as she looks over at Tony.

"At the rate the virus is moving through his body, it will flow through his veins and reach his brain in exactly an hour and thirteen minutes."

"And what happens when it reaches his brain?"

"It will simultaneously reach his heart and... well." Bruce gives her another apologetic look. "I'm going to get right to work, I need you to go sit with Peter outside." Pepper opens her mouth to protest but moves to the door. Slowly, she says, "Thank you, Doctor." Before moving through the door.