Spiderdad

56

"How long has this been going on?" Doctor Cho asked as she pulled out her stethoscope.

"Since yesterday afternoon," Peter replied tapping the medical bed below him rhythmically with the tips of his fingers.

She nodded in understanding then rested the head of the stethoscope to his back, right between his shoulder blades, "take deep breaths for me."

Peter stopped his tapping and hesitated, then he drew in lungfuls of oxygen and released them, each breath taking all too much effort. He glanced at Tony out of the corner of his eye, pretending not to notice the concern in his eyes. 

"You have a very evident heart murmur," Doctor Cho reported as she stepped away from her patient and recorded her findings.

"Kittens get heart murmurs a lot when they're growing," Peter offered.

"Kid, not helpful," Tony huffed.

Peter rolled his eyes and Doctor Cho smiled softly in amusement. Her simper disappeared instantly as she looked over the results from the last tests she'd performed.

"The murmur is from valve damage," she observed, her brow creased.

Tony's eyes widened and Peter fought back any expression of fear or concern.

"Peter, have you recently engaged in any high-intensity activities lately?" The doctor continued.

Peter shook his head, then paused, "Wait... would a panic attack count?"

"If it was severe, yes."

Peter nodded stiffly and Doctor Cho sighed, recording the panic attack in her notes. Several minutes passed of Tony anxiously tapping his toe, Doctor Cho asking questions and running tests, and Peter making the occasional head-shake worthy comments. Finally, Doctor Cho came to a diagnosis. She stared at her screen, a worried frown pressed onto her lips. 

"What's wrong?" Tony demanded.

"Your predictions were right, Tony," Doctor Cho hesitantly replied, hating every word that left her mouth, "alcoholic cardiomyopathy."

Tony's heart dropped and his eyes were filled with dread. Peter could hear his pulse quicken, making him squirm anxiously.

"What's that?" Peter asked, his voice soft and innocent in a way that made a pang of guilt shoot through Tony.

"It's a heart disease caused by long-term and severe alcohol abuse," Doctor Cho explained, "the heart tissues weaken and thin making it harder for it to pump blood. It eventually leads to heart failure or other life-threatening heart conditions. Your self-healing factor was only able to suppress any symptoms, which was the worst possible thing it could have done for itself. Now the damage is irreversible."

Peter stated blankly at his feet as she spoke, trying to wrap his head around her words, "heart failure....?"

She nodded, "fifty percent of patients don't live longer than five years after diagnosis. I think you'll have between five to ten years if your anxiety can be managed— it's putting a lot of stress on your heart." 

Peter clutched the hem of his shirt tightly, "I-i got a kid to take care of. I h-have MJ," his voice broke and wavered as tears stung his eyes, "th-that isn't enough time."

Doctor Cho hesitated and glanced at Tony, "I'll give you two a moment."

The moment she paced out of the room, Tony walked up to Peter and wrapped his arms tightly around him. Peter threw his arms around his father, every muscle in his body trembling. Tony's mind instantly started racing, sorting out everything he'd ever learned about heart disease and medical health issues. He was already trying to put together cures or anything that could possibly help his boy live a little longer. He couldn't let Peter die.