Home isn't just a place

Chapter Five

Tony was relaxing in the living room when he got the alert. Pepper was reading a book, her feet kicked up into Tony's lap, while Tony looked over some more files that Fury had sent over. Clint and Steve were training downstairs while Bruce and Natasha watched Orange is the New Black on the TV in a low volume.

Suddenly FRIDAY was blaring an alarm. Tony jumped. "FRI? What's going on?"

"My Baby Monitor protocol has been activated." she said. Tony felt his heart drop to his shoes. "Happy has sent a distress signal. Would you like to contact him?"

"YES!" Tony cried.

"Tony? Tony!" Happy's frantic voice came over the intercom. By now an alert had been sent to Clint and Steve and they entered the living room, their eyes wide while they searched for a threat. "Oh thank god! No one knows what happened!"

"Happy? Speak to me! What's going on?" Tony demanded.

"It's Peter." he said, and Tony's heart squeezed in his chest. "He just collapsed. He's not waking up. I got him out of there before they called the ambulance. I'm on my way to the tower right now, and he's not responding."

Bruce instantly took over. "Happy? I need you to remain calm. Where is Peter?"

"He's in the front seat, right next to me. I didn't want to leave him in the back I---"

"It's fine, Happy, you did good." Bruce cut him off. "Listen to me. Is he breathing?"

Tony held his breath as he heard a scuffle on the other end before Happy said, "Yes." Tony gripped Pepper's hand like a vice.

"Okay, good. How far are you from the tower?" Bruce asked.

"Uh... five minutes? Three if I book it." Happy said.

"Okay, Happy? I'm going to need you to book it." Bruce said. Happy grunted his understanding and Bruce then swiftly made his way to the med bay, already prepping it for Peter.

Tony was forcing himself to breathe, staving off the hyperventilation. His panic made his heart pound in his ear and the only thing grounding him was Pepper's grip in his hand. Bruce saw the state of the terrified couple and took pity on them, walking over to them.

"Peter is going to be fine," he said. Tony wished he could believe him. "He said he was tired this morning. He might be exhausted. There's all kinds of reasons as to why this might have happened."

"All of those reasons happen over a long period of time," Tony whispered, his grip tightening on Pepper's hand. "Why didn't he tell us if something was going on?"

Bruce didn't answer him. But Tony didn't need him to. He already knew the answer.

(No matter how close they got, Tony was still an outsider to his son.)

The tense silence was interrupted by the ding of the elevator. Tony snapped his head over to see Happy rushing in, an unconscious Peter in his arms. Tony swallowed, fear making his heart skip a beat.

He looked so small.

"Set him here." Bruce commanded. Happy complied quickly, and Peter did not respond. "FRIDAY do a full body scan. Tag injuries."

"Minor abrasion to left arm. Minor bruise on right arm. Entry wound on left thigh. Suspected cause: Bullet. Minor lacerations on left thigh. Suspected cause: stitches." FRIDAY said and Tony felt his heart drop to his shoes.

Bruce removed Peter's pants, displaying Peter's blood-soaked bandages. Tony gagged at the sight. "It's infected." Bruce muttered. "No bullet. But the damaged skin suggested that it was removed. It must have been pulled out with something. Tweezers? The stitches are terrible. They need to be removed." Bruce continued to mumble under his breath while Tony forced himself to stay steady.