Running Out Of Time

The Storm

Both Starks had already been in Tony's lab for three hours and she felt like she was going to explode with the amount of times he poked and prodded her. She was grateful for what he was doing for her, but she couldn't help but feel like a science experiment. Also, she was confused as to why he's doing this, he was so uninterested in being a father, and now it feels like he's took a 180.

"Kaitlynn? I need to take a blood sample for you can roll up your sleeve hun?" She turned and looked at her father. She knew she couldn't let him see her one arm as it was pretty cut up at the moment. She would never let him see that, she already scared him enough for one night. 

"Here I've got it Dad, I get that your busy, I'll get the blood sample and you can put a few finishing touches on what you were working on before." She held a hand out for the tools, hoping he wouldn't be too confused that she both wanted and knew how to draw her own blood. After a little convincing, he gave her the tools.

He asked for a few mL of blood, enough for a 3 vials. She did it quickly and and she gave him the vials as soon as she was done, rolling her sleeve down fast enough before he could see her scars. He thanked her for the vials, and she went to lay on the couch he conveniently has in the lab. Looking up at the ceiling she bit back tears. In her mind the only way this would end would be with her dead.

She was terrified to speak this though, as if even muttering the idea of her dying from the illness inside her would manifest it, and would even more so lead to her death then the cancer. Some part of her had learned to live with the thought of death, but she never learned how to accept it. She didn't want to just survive this, no she wanted to live. Maybe if she could live after this, her and Tony could finally make the memories that they never had a chance to make.

As time went by, and a few tears who fell down her cheeks, she slowly fell asleep on the couch. Tony looked at her and chuckled, before looking at the time. He picked her up, and saw the few tears. He made a mental note to ask her about them later, choosing to let her sleep. If she knew about the cancer, then he deduced that she probably hadn't gotten that much sleep as of late. He wasn't about to wake her up if this is the first time she had been sleeping peacefully in a while.

He headed upstairs to her bedroom, knowing she would much more comfortable in her bed then on the couch in his lab. He had Jarvis open the door, as his hands were kind of full. He carefully placed her in her bed, and covered her under the blankets on her bed. He smiled down on her, happy to see that she was smiling in her dream. He slowly walked down to his lab again, the smile fading.

Never once did he feel this hopeless. He had been working on a cure for 5 hours now and he hasn't gotten anywhere. The cancer had progressed farther then most survivors. His daughter, while she was strong, she had never encountered anything like this. He didn't know if she would make it.

And it was that thought that pushed him, to keep moving forward.

He was not about to loose another person.

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Kaitlynn woke up in her bed, frantic, and confused. Afraid that last night was only just a dream, she grabbed her phone, only to see she had a message.

MySpidey:

Good morning My Love!:)

Kaitlynn smiled knowing that her life was normal-ish. She had forgotten all about the cancer killing her slowly, as she texted him back. A warmth spread across her body, and as she looked at her phone with the largest smile on her face. She walked out of her bedroom and everything hit her at once. Like a wave, agony struck her when she had no where to run. No way to avoid the pain it would bring.

Still, she put on a smile and continued walking to the kitchen. When she didn't see her father, she realized that he was hiding in his lab, probably neglecting to eat and drink. She grabbed a muffin and a water bottle for him, plus an apple for her. Heading down to his lab, she heard him blasting some music. As she reached to open the door, a memory came and flooded her mind.

"I told you to never come down here!" Kaitlynn heard her dad yell at her. Terrified, she dropped what she was holding in her hand on the ground, and it shattered in contact with the ground. What exactly was the young Stark holding? It was a picture of her Mom and Tony in Malibu together.

He looked at what dropped and anger swept over his face, and before he could yell, she ran up to her room.

Shaking away the rest of the memory, she put on another fake smile and opened the door to see her father working away at his computer.

"Hey Dad! I brought you a muffin," she said, and put it next to him on his desk. "And a water since I know you probably neglected it, and no coffee doesn't count." She said, seeing the amount of mugs he had stacked up.

"Hey, how many times have I caught you studying all night with a desk worth of mugs?" he joked around playfully, though he couldn't count how many times he had actually witnessed that. He thanked her for the food and water, downing it all in a couple minutes. Kaitlynn nibbled on her apple, not really having an appetite but putting on a brave face for her dad.

"We all know who I got that habit from dad." She laughed and got up. "I'll give you your space now Dad, but please try to get some rest at some point." Kaitlynn then got up and threw away the rest of the apple before leaving the room. As Tony went back to his work, a couple of tears fell down his face.

Another failed attempt.