Pepper waited anxiously outside the med bay. Peter's hands was clutched sweatily in hers, and they just sat there. After several hours, they were starting to become very nervous. Neither of them were allowed inside the room, per Tony's quarantine. They tried to argue to Bruce Banner that they had already been exposed to Tony's virus, but he insisted that they wait outside while he ran the tests.

"He'll be okay, right?" Peter finally opens his mouth and turns to Pepper. He's all sore and bandaged up, and any movement hurts, but he can't help but look at her.

"Of course." She says as confidently as she can. "If I don't kill him first." Peter snorts and leans back in the chair again.

Pepper quietly sighs and looks around the white hallway. The door to her immediate right is still clamped tightly shut, despite how much she wants to wrench it open and look inside. No news for three hours? It cements her worry deeper in her brain.

"When do you think we can go in?" Peter bounces in his chair. Pepper smiles slightly at him. No matter how restless she's feeling, the kid with four times as much energy must be much more uncomfortable.

Just as Pepper is about to open her mouth to answer him, the door clicks open and Dr. Banner pokes his head out.

"Pepper?" She rises immediately, instructing Peter to stay behind and that she'd come get him in a little bit.

She takes long, quick steps into the room, rushing to Tony's side as soon as she sees him. She goes to his bedside and goes to cup his hand, but finds an invisible shield surrounding the bed. She pushes against it, trying to reach him, but nothing will break through.

"I'm sorry, you can't touch him." Bruce says with an apologetic look. He slips on a pair of glasses.

"How is he?" Pepper takes the seat across from Banner. She knows that she's going to hear bad news, she just knows it.

"Well, there's a few things that we need to talk about."

"That's reassuring." She can't help but let it sound slightly sarcastic, before apologizing.

"Tony is in the last stages of his sickness. The first stage were hyper feelings of sickness. A horrible sore throat, stuffy nose, weakness, that sort of thing. The second stage passed much quicker than I thought it would."

Pepper's eyes start to water, as she listens to what she knows is going to turn into bad words.

"He kept assuring me that he was fine, and that he wanted to see you and Peter. I was tracking his vitals at that point, and the sickness was still heavily flowing through his veins. And then, almost instantly, he started moving into the third stage." Bruce gives a Pepper a small look before averting his eyes back down to his paper.

"And?"

"He became delusional. I believe that he began remembering some past traumatic memories. Twice he yelled for you, and once for Peter. Another time was about New York." Pepper nods, swallowing hard.

"Can you help him?"

"I'll be difficult, but I'm fairly certain that I can help." Pepper gasps with relief.

"Unfortunately, there's still a problem."

"What do you mean?" Pepper's heart falls as she looks over at Tony.

"At the rate the virus is moving through his body, it will flow through his veins and reach his brain in exactly an hour and thirteen minutes."

"And what happens when it reaches his brain?"

"It will simultaneously reach his heart and... well." Bruce gives her another apologetic look. "I'm going to get right to work, I need you to go sit with Peter outside." Pepper opens her mouth to protest but moves to the door. Slowly, she says, "Thank you, Doctor." Before moving through the door.

"Well?" Peter stands up the moment she comes out. Pepper gives him a nervous smile.

"He's in stage three, Peter." She says quietly. Does he even know what that means?

"But... he can't be!" Peter says, his expectant look breaking into a heartbroken one. He sits back down, staring at her. "It's hardly been three hours, and his vitals were stable in stage one!"

"I know, honey." Pepper can't do anything except grab the kid in a hug.

"Dr. Banner is going to fix him, right?"

"I sure hope so." Pepper sighs. "Until then, I think you need some food."

"What? No, I'm fine." Peter's stomach growls as a counterargument to his statement.

"Yeah, right. C'mon, let's get something to eat." Pepper says, waiting for him.

"I can't leave his side." Peter says quietly, so quiet that Pepper almost misses it.

"Pete, I don't want to either, but what kind of parent would I be if I let you starve?" Peter's eyes widen at the word 'parent' and he slowly rises, following her silently.

"FRI, if the door opens to the med bay, please alert me." Pepper calls out. She is informed a second later that the request will be carried out if needed.

"What do you feel like?" She says, once they're in the kitchen.

"I don't really care. I'm used to eating really basic food." Peter says sheepishly. Pepper sighs. "Tony has the cooking ability of a rock. What did you eat the entire time I was gone?"

"Mostly takeout, cereal." He shrugs.

"What do you want now." Pepper rummages through the cupboards. "Real food, I mean."

"I don't know, whatever you want, I guess." Pepper returns with a box of pasta and jar of pasta sauce. "What about this?" Peter's stomach just grumbles in agreement.

Ten minutes later, the pasta is served, and they run through the hallways, laughing. Pepper started to chase Peter with a bite of pasta, trying to get him to eat it, and he insists that he is perfectly fine with his meager amount. When they arrive in front of the med bay, Pepper finally forces him to eat.

"Thi' ith grea'!" He says through a mouthful of noodles. Pepper laughs. "You're just like Tony." Peter beams, before shoveling another giant bite of food into his mouth.

A few minutes later, the door opens and Bruce pokes his head out. Both Pepper and Peter look at him expectantly.

"Well?" Peter says excitedly. Bruce just shakes his head and opens the door to allow them to come in. Pepper's heart falls to her feet. He didn't fix Tony?

Peter is undeterred. He simply marches past Bruce and straight towards the line of equipment set up.

"Hey!" Bruce cries out, moving to stop him. Pepper places an arm in front of his chest. "He's a science prodigy. Let him work his magic." Bruce says nothing but gives a curt nod and starts to watch Peter work.

Peter on the other hand, is completely oblivious that he's being watched by arguably one of the best scientists in the world. He's in the zone, using the blood sample and using different chemicals that he mixes together. Every so often, he flits over to the whiteboard where he walks through a long, complicated equation and then back to the compound that he pours something else into.

"Heat." He turns around suddenly to Pepper. "I need lots of heat." She smiles at him and calls out, "FRI, send up an arm to Mark 47, please." A second later, the hand piece to a suit flies forcefully onto her hand. She wiggles her fingers before turning on the palm reactor and heating up the liquid inside the beaker. It starts to boil, and Peter quickly puts the beaker in the freezer. A second later, he pulls it out to see that it's changed from a deep purple to a light yellow. Grinning, he turns to Pepper and asks for a syringe.

She places it carefully in his hand, and he fills it all the way up with the yellow liquid. He moves quickly across the room to the bed where Tony is laying, and types in the code on the panel to remove the invisible barrier. It slides away, and Peter steps onto the platform that Tony's bed is on.

He looks down at Tony, biting his lip as he sees how much pain Tony is in. Tony won't stop shaking, and his hands are white from squeezing the sides of his bed so hard. His eyes are tightly shut, and the lines between his eyebrows are deeper than Peter has ever seen. Taking a deep breath, he pushes the needle into Tony's neck, and slowly pushes every drop of the anti-virus solution into him. The reaction is immediate.

The dark purple color that had been crawling up his veins towards his brain slowly drains away as the yellow liquid pushes it down. His shaking gradually begins to lessen, and the deep lines between his eyebrows fade away as his eyes unclench. His hands fall back to his side, and Peter sets the syringe back down on the tray next to him. The heart monitor that he's hooked up to beeps steadily, and a quick analysis of his vitals shows that he's perfectly healthy once again.

"You did it, Peter!" Pepper cries happily, grabbing him in a big hug. Peter grins against her hug, unable to contain the pride that he wears on his face.

Bruce Banner just stands in the middle of the room, his mouth open and completely dumbfounded.

"Hey, guys." Tony's voice causes both of them to turn back around and stare at him. "I know. I'm not dead. You must be disappointed."

"Mr. Stark!" Peter cries, running to him. He looks as though he might jump right onto him, but instead carefully leans over and lightly hugs Tony.

"I'm still mad at you." Pepper laughs, kissing him lightly. Tony returns the laughs. "Eh, what's new?" Loudly, he keeps talking. "I think it's fair for me to thank you, Doctor Banner. Thank you for bringing me back to my family."

"Well, uh, actually-" Bruce stutters, shaking his head slightly.

"Peter did it all." Pepper grins proudly at Peter, who blushes.

"It was nothing much." He looks down at the ground.

"He's too humble." Tony laughs. "You're a very smart kid, Peter. I owe my life to you."

"Well, you saved my life in Iran, so we're pretty equal now, I think." Peter grins. Tony smiles back. "I second that!"

"How long before he can return back to his own bed?" Pepper says.

"Tonight should be the last day that he has to spend in here." Bruce says.

"Hmm, sounds good." Tony says, winking at Peter. He clearly means, I definitely will not be doing that.

"I mean it, Tony. You're pretty weak right now. I don't want you to accidentally hurting yourself."

"Pfh, fine." Tony rolls his eyes. "But only because Pepper will hold me to that and she's scary." Pepper rests a hand on top of his head.

"Darn right."

That night, Peter and Pepper slept in the adjoining guest room to the med bay. Normally, Pepper would sleep with Tony, but seeing as he wasn't to be moved and the bed wasn't big enough to fit two people, she was forced to sleep in the small cot on the floor of the guest room. The day had completely drained Peter, and he had fallen asleep within a few minutes of laying down. She, on the other hand, was having trouble even finding a comfortable position to sleep in.

Deciding that Tony was surely still awake, she crept from the guest room to the med bay. She saw Tony there, a small light on above his bed. He had a floating screen in front of him, reading something on the virtual page in front of him.

"You look like you're getting so much rest." She says as she steps up onto the platform. Tony grins at her arrival. "And you look like you were really worried about me." Pepper starts to protest, but Tony silences her. "I know you, Pep. I can tell that you haven't been sleeping. And that you've been stressing out. You do that thing with your eyebrows." She opens her mouth to protest before sighing.

"You're right. I was so anxious for so many nights. I knew that something really bad had happened, and the moment that I realized Peter was gone... I tried to call you, but you didn't respond. And it just... I thought you both were dead." She stares at him, trying to keep the small crack out of her voice.

"Believe me, I thought of you every night. I couldn't help but imagine how you were doing, how you'd react when I got back. And what I could do to make it up to you."

"No more giant stuffed bunny rabbits." She teases, kissing him gently. He laughs in between kisses and says, "No more giant stuffed bunny rabbits."

"Now, come up here." Tony wiggles in the bed and makes room for her to lay next to him.

"Tony Stark, this bed isn't made for two people." She points out.

"So?"

"You're too much." She grins and shakes her head, getting up and laying next to him on the bed. She wraps her arms around his back so that her hands are clasped over his stomach. He holds her hands in his own, and she can feel the happiness radiating off of him as they both fall asleep.

In the morning, a bleary Peter walks from his room to see Pepper and Tony curled up together. He grins, and silently makes his way through the room and towards the kitchen.

"Hey, FRIDAY?" He says, starting to rummage through the cupboards.

"Yes, Peter?" The automated voice replies.

"Where's the pancake mix that Mr. Stark bought a few weeks ago?"

"Top right self, third cupboard."

"Thanks, FRIDAY!" Peter reaches it and gets the other ingredients before starting to make pancakes. He starts to mix the pre-made powder in with the eggs, oil, and milk. He turns on music from his phone, and starts to dance while he makes them.

Suddenly, the song Hooked on a Feeling turns on and Peter starts to dance. He jumps and spins, and just acts like the total goofball he is. The spatula becomes a microphone, and flips are incorporated into his dance (not in the kitchen, of course).

He's getting so into it that he starts to flip pancakes into the air, and then catching them on his spatula as they came down. He flips one over his shoulder, but quickly realizes that he's flipped it too far. He throws the spatula, desperately trying to catch it. He watches in horror as the pancake hits Tony, followed by a plastic spatula.

"Mr. Stark, I'm so sorry!" Peter cries rushing towards him. Tony's face is starting to turn red, and Peter worried he triggered some sort of weird reaction. His worried are soon dashed as Tony bursts into peals of laughter.

"Oh my gosh, Peter!" He cries. "That was the best thing I've seen a very long time." Peter then looks over to see Pepper laughing too, with a phone camera pointed at him.

"You filmed me?" Peter groans. Pepper and Tony just laugh in response.

"Well, these were going to be for you guys, but I'm suddenly feeling very hungry." Peter crosses his arms over his chest as he stares at both of them.

"We're just kidding, Pete." Pepper ruffles his hair. "Thank you for making breakfast."

"FRIDAY, archive the latest video on my phone." Tony calls, before sitting next to Pepper. With a grin, they all start eating breakfast together.

Somehow, all of them are thinking of the same thing. They don't say anything, but to each of them, they look just like a happy family. They're eating breakfast together, laughing about something and teasing each other.

"So, Peter, I think it's time to give school a try again." Tony says.

"Really?" Peter says, trying to hide the excitement from his voice.

"Don't act sad about it, eesh." Tony laughs. "If I was you, I would be milking the injuries a little more."

"Well, I just really miss my friends." Peter shrugs. It's the truth; he doubts Ned knows anything about Iran, and although he's not eager to tell him, he knows that everyone must be pretty worried about him.

"And, now that Flash is gone-" Tony says.

"Wait up, who's Flash?" Pepper says, looking between the two of them. Tony and Peter give each other a knowing look before responding, "No one." In unison. Pepper gives them a "mom look" but says nothing else.

"As soon as you're fully healed, I think you should probably go learn some useless knowledge that will never do anything for you in life." Tony says sarcastically. Pepper smacks his arm.

"It's a good part of my cover, anyways." Peter finishes off his pancakes and starts to take his plate to the table.

"Peter?" Pepper says slowly.

"Yeah?" He washes the leftover syrup off his plate.

"Have you gotten... any more messages from your Aunt?" Peter's blood runs cold. His hands slip and the plate drops from his hands into the sink and his phone suddenly becomes a rock in his pocket.

"I... I haven't checked." In reality, he had. He didn't want anyone to know, but he checked the messages that she sent every night. He had to scan through lots and lots, and he had no idea what he was expecting to see. An apology, maybe? An "I love you", even? But there never was. Just mindless threats and vulgar insults.

"I think she's almost completely given up on me." He says, trying to remain nonchalant. In reality, his heart is jumping wildly in his chest.

"Really?" Pepper says skeptically. "That's funny, because I've gotten several calls from the school telling me that someone came to pick you up, but that you weren't there. Do you have a guess on who that person might be?"

"Peter, has she been texting you?" Tony speaks up, staring at Peter from across the table.

"I... uh-" He looks between the pair of them. "I mean she did text me a little while ago, but it was way before anything..." He trails off as he sees Tony share a frightened look with Pepper.

"Yeah." Peter looks down at the ground. "She has been texting me. A lot." Pepper lets a small gasp escape her mouth before moving to Peter's side. "Can I see the messages?" With a disgruntled groan, Peter hands over the phone after logging into it. He immediately looks back to the sink, where his hands shake.

"Tony." Pepper's voice is devoid of emotion, but Peter knows that she's probably staring at Tony with the most horrified look on her face. He squints his eyes shut as he hears Tony's soft footsteps pad over to Pepper. They're silent for a few minutes, and then Tony moves across the room and grabs Peter in a hug.

"You read them every night, don't you?" He whispers. Peter nods hard against Tony's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, kid. You shouldn't have to go through all... that."

"Do you ever reply?" Pepper asks, finally letting concern squirm through her voice.

"No. I just read." Peter sighs, pulling back from Tony's hug. "There's not really a point in me replying, if she knows that I read them."

"Now I'm questioning if we should even let you go back to school." Tony frowns.

"I'm thinking the same thing, Peter." Pepper looks at him. He stares between the two of them. "C'mon, I'm already so far behind, and I miss all my friends, plus if Aunt May ever comes around, I can handle myself."

"Like you handled yourself with Flash?" Tony raises an eyebrow. Pepper looks at Peter quizzically. "Who's Flash?"

"No one." Tony and Peter say in unison.

"Still, that was different. I know my powers better now, plus I won't have to worry about getting in trouble with her." Peter pleads. "How about a week of school and if something weird happens, then we resort to homeschool? But until then, please, please let me go to school."