As Luck Would Have It

38) Nature vs. Nurture

Michelle made it home with no further interruptions and was greeted at the door with a tight hug from her father. To say that Frank was happy to see his daughter would be an understatement. It was more like the wish of all wishes. Michelle knew that he only wanted her to be safe, and he was going to take the opportunity to hug her firmly after such a period of worrying. It didn't help that he still had a few ashy marks on his face and arms from helping all the causalities at the lake. His shirt was ruffled and looked like he had been sweating profusely, either from the heat of the flames or the exertion of energy.

He asked Michelle where she had been and if she was okay. She answered saying that she was okay, but that was a far cry from what she had gone through. I mean, would you come clean to your father that you have spent most of your night held captive in a shady basement and was intended to be a victim of rape? No, Michelle had no intention of disclosing that nugget of knowledge to the person that cared about her the most. Instead, she made up a partially true story where she and Peter were still at the fireworks when the bombing started. They fled away in the opposite direction when a thug decided to take them hostage. She made the excuse that she couldn't answer her phone because the thug decided to snatch her and Peter's phone's. Frank seemed to believe the story, particularly when Michelle revealed that they were given there phones back when Spider-Man came swinging in to save them. This made Frank smile, knowing that the wall-crawler had done something for their family once again.

Michelle continued and told him that Peter had been called by the Police Department and Hospital many times about his aunt being hospitalized from the bombings. Frank was certainly shocked to hear this as he felt sympathetic to Peter and May, especially. Michelle told him that she decided to go with Peter to the hospital and stay with him until his aunt awakened.

Frank was certainly glad to hear that May was awake, but mostly that Michelle, who he had known for so long to just keep her business to herself or in a book, was being compassionate and willing to commit to a human relationship by showing support. It really warmed his heart to know that she had made a close friendship with Peter and could tell that he was someone important in her life. And he was alright with that, the fact that she was making friendships that could occupy some of her time and bring her some happiness. They hugged one last time before returning to normalcy, Frank expressing how glad he is to know that she's safe.

*** *** *** ***

Back at the hospital, Peter and May had been conversing with the doctors and nurses about the upcoming procedure to heal May back to a functional state. They spell out the process, saying that she will go under over the night and into tomorrow afternoon, as the procedure is delicate, and they need as much time as they can to cover every possible set back the operation could encounter. They agreed to go forward with the operation, and Peter agreed to stay with May until she went under.

A few more hours flew by and May and Peter were now in the transition process of being mentally ready for May's procedure. It was mostly a lot of awkward quiet moments, allowing the pair to think about a personal checklist of things that needed to get done before she went. Peter mostly took up this time staring blankly out the window. With the events of the previous night still in his mind, he thought about how he was going to find Lonnie and catch him. He had fought him only once before, and it didn't turn out well for him. Then again, he didn't expect him to be so strong and durable. This time, he knew he had to be more tactical to take him on, which meant catching him by surprise. That's where Michelle hopefully is able to help. Lonnie doesn't know that Michelle is in on the whole thing so that will hopefully be an advantage.

"Something's on your mind" May interrupted his thought process. "I can always tell when you're staring at nothing like it's something."

Peter smacked his mouth uncomfortably, "Just planning some stuff out is all." He said it with little confidence, making May aware that it was much more than he was letting on. "Does this have anything to do with you and Michelle being so quiet this morning?" she probed, making Peter bite his lip nervously. "Possibly..." he nodded stiffly.