Take Care of My Heart

Chapter 3 - Debunked

Back on Earth 616B, Peter B. Parker couldn't decide whether to go dressed as Spider-Man or himself. It wasn't like he had anything to hide in Earth 928B, but considering the situation, wearing his red and blue pajamas didn't feel very appropriate; he was going to a hospital, after all, not only to visit Miles, but also to face his parents.

What the hell was he going to say to them?

Ultimately, he settled for a casual suit without a tie. He checked himself in the mirror of their wardrobe, making sure to look as neat as possible, but then he scoffed at himself.

Why was he so worried about how he'd look? Was it the nerves?

"Hey, MJ!" he called out, then exited the bedroom to the living room. "I need your opinion."

There, sitting at the dining table, was his red-headed wife with their daughter. She was fixing Mayday's clothes to make sure she too was dressed appropriately. To Peter, this sight would have normally looked beautiful and wholesome.

Once MJ finished, she went over to fix his suit next. "You look nice." she told him.

"Are you sure?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She simply nodded. When she was done with his collar, she brushed him neatly.

His doubtful expression wasn't lost on her. "Hey, it'll be okay." She cupped his cheek. "Just be yourself."

Peter smirked, shaking his head. "When has that ever worked out?"

"I can name a few things..."

"Yeah, it's just..." He took her shoulders, letting out a sigh. "... I'm afraid."

"That's okay."

"No, I mean..." He gazed blankly, turning solemn. "... I think about Mayday, how much I love her and want to see her grow... and then I think of Miles." He raised a hand over his mouth, his eyes now wide and glistening. "Is this what losing a son feels like?"

Just what right did he have to call Miles a son?

"Don't think about that!" MJ seized his coat. "Stay hopeful. You said it yourself; they have the technology."

Peter sighed again. "I'll do my best."

"That's it, Tiger."

They smiled at each other before MJ lifted her heels to peck him on the lips.

"Come on, May!" Peter reached out to his baby daughter, who quickly leapt off the table and swung across the room into his arms.

"I still can't approve of you making her those web-shooters."

*****

The futuristic world of Earth 928B was beyond anything that Rio Morales and Jefferson Davis could have imagined, but all this wonder was tainted by the sickly figure of their son.

He was bedridden and unconscious in Nueva York's ICU, strapped to numerous machines and IVs, the heartbeat monitor beeping semi-regularly. Without his costume, he looked like any other patient. With him now wearing a hospital gown, they thankfully didn't have to see his swollen chest, but symptoms of his cardiac event showed in other places, such as his ballooned hand.

Rio was seated at his bedside, gently stroking his curly afro, which had since dampened from this illness. "My baby boy..." she cooed, unsure if he could even hear her. She was calm. Her husband right next to her, abjectly silent.

A whole day had passed since they were brought into this dimension, twenty-four hours of powerlessness snailing by; it was like being in limbo.

What could they do?