Peter climbed higher, ignoring the frantic shouts from below. His earpiece came on with a crackle.

“Peter! Get out of there! Now!” Tony ordered. “It's going down! Get out of there!”

Peter focused on the small figure leaning out the window. “I can't. There's a kid up here!”

Tony’s voice was forcibly calm. “Peter, we can't save her, okay? Please, just listen to me! Get out of there!”

Peter pulled himself higher. “No. I'm not letting her die. Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Tony started to say something, but Peter pulled the device out of his ear, shoving it in his pocket. Then, moving steadily, he inched himself closer.

The girl looked at him, tears streaking her face. “Help me!” Peter reached out his hand.

A flame billowed, and she jerked back, almost losing her grip on the windowsill. Peter tightened his grip on her hand, pulling her closer. He started to climb down, but the building imploded, sending them both flying. The last thing he remembered was curling around the small girl to protect her.

Tony ducked behind the wall, covering his head. The shock wave hit, dust covering the ground in sheets. He coughed harshly. Several seconds passed before he glanced out. The building was a pile of rubble, the dust still settling over everything.

------------------

"Wake up..."

"Please..."

"I'm scared..."

Peter opened his eyes to the young girl crouching over him. She sobbed in relief when she saw his eyes open. They were in a small space, trapped under piled rock.

"I'm scared..." the girl whispered. Peter nodded, even the slight movement causing him pain. "I...know. I am...too." her eyes widened. "But you're a hero."

Peter pulled what remained of his mask off, and smiled gently. "Even heroes...get scared." She wiped her eyes. "Really?" He leaned his head back. "M-hm." She sat on her knees, hugging herself

"Are you hurt?" She asked after several minutes. Peter closed his eyes. "Yeah." It hurt the most in his legs. He couldn't move them. His ribs were painful, along with several pretty deep cuts and bruises on his upper body. He heard the girl's voice faintly, as if from a distance, then nothing.

Tony searched feverishly, his eyes scanning the piles of rubble. "Peter! PETER! Answer me!"

Peter jerked awake, gasping as pain shot through his body. The little girl was asleep, her head on his shoulder. She stirred when he moved, sitting up and pushing her hair out of her eyes.

"When will they find us?" She asked solemnly. Peter winced. "I don't know." She rubbed her eyes. "You shouldn't sleep. Mommy says that if you sleep when you're hurt, it might make it worse."

He smiled halfheartedly. "Yeah. Your mom is a wise person." The little girl grinned. "Yeah. She tells me that all the time. She says that I have to obey her, or I might get hurt."

She leaned closer, her face shining with mischief. "I think she just wants me to stop trying to uncover the aliens."

Peter tilted his head. "Is that so? What aliens?" Her eyes lit up, and she started prattling on. He gasped at all the right places, throwing in a wow occasionally.

"That sounds really interesting." He said when she was done. She hugged herself. "Of course you know about the aliens being real. I mean, you're spiderman. You fight them all the time."

Peter chuckled lightly, forgetting the pain for a minute. "What's your name?" She cocked her head. "Sadie. What's yours?" He raised a finger to his lips. "I've gotta keep my identity a secret."

She nodded seriously. "You've gotta make sure the bad guys don't find you." Peter closed his eyes wearily. "...yeah."  His mind wandered, and his thoughts drifted to Tony. He'd probably be freaking out, wondering if they were okay. If only he had some way to contact him...

His eyes shot open, and he cursed under his breath. "Sadie, look in my pocket. See if you can find a small earpiece.

She felt around, her small fingers rummaging in the one pocket that she could reach.

She pulled it out, and handed it to Peter. He grabbed it with trembling fingers, and turned it on, sticking it in his ear.

"Mr Stark?"

-------------

Tony was lifting a giant slab of rock when he heard Peter's voice. "Mr Stark?" Tony closed his visor. "Pete?"

------------

Peter sobbed in relief when Tony answered. "Pete?" Peter coughed weakly. "Yeah. Yeah."

"Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay."

Peter closed his eyes. "Relatively. I don't know where we are, but I can't move. I can't feel my legs, and my ribs are really painful. And several bad cuts."

-------------

Tony took a deep breath. "Okay. We found a heat signature. I'm hoping it's you two. Just stay with me, ok? Just stay with me. Please."

Silence. He tried again. "Pete?"

In the background he heard a little girl sob. "You can't fall asleep!"

"Peter!"

-------------

Sadie shook Peter's arm, her voice panicked. "You can't fall asleep!" The pain returned, worse than before(and before it was pretty bad), and his eyes fluttered once, then didn't open again.

Sadie started whimpering, rocking back and forth in the gloom. "I'm scared..."

------------

"Pete?"

"Pete please answer me."

"Peter, I swear I will kill you if you die."

"Peter? Please wake up. We're all worried about you. We need you to wake up."

"Pete? I hope you can hear me." Tony's voice. "You've been out for three weeks. We're trying not to give up." A heavy sigh. "But it's hard. We need you to wake up. I need you to wake up. You're the best thing that's happened to me since Pepper. I couldn't live without you, kid. Please...please, if you can hear me...wake up." The pressure on his hand disappeared.

"Peter? Its MJ. Me and Ned are really worried about you, and so is Mr Stark. All of them have been here several times. We all miss you. At first I thought you probably just wanted to miss the chemistry test, but that was two weeks ago, so I guess it wasn't that. Anyway, I have to go. My mom is picking me up. I really hope you wake up soon. Miss you, loser."

"Hey kid. Me again. I've been working on a new suit for you. It's pretty neat. New design and all. You just have to wake up and try it. It's been..." his voice trailed off. "Six weeks since you fell. That girl was okay, though. She visited you several times. She's quite precocious. Told me about the aliens." Something squeezed his hand. "Miss you kid. Please wake up soon. You're gonna miss your birthday. Ned insisted on getting you a present. Said he didn't care if it took years for you to get it, he didn't care. I really hope it doesn't take that long. Please, kid. I need you to wake up."

------------

The room was silent, the only sound coming from the heart monitor.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Then Peter's eyes fluttered. And opened. Then closed, and opened again. His eyes took in the white room, and the medical equipment attached to his arms. He turned his head, groaning from the effort, and looked out the window. It was grey and dreary, rain sliding down the pane. He frowned in confusion. It had been sunny when the explosion happened. Then a fragment of memory drifted through his mind.

Been out for six weeks, kid.

Peter lifted himself onto his elbows, surprisingly not feeling any pain. His head was spinning, and he felt really weak, but other than that, he felt fine. He gently took the IV out, then the heart monitor. When he tried to stand up, his legs buckled, and he fell back on the bed. "Ow." His voice was creaky from disuse.

About the fifth time, he managed to stand up. He made his way over to the door, cringing at the cold floor under his bare feet.

The door opened easily, and he walked down the hall to the elevator. "Main floor, please." Friday's voice chimed in. "Of course. And may I say, welcome back." Peter smiled slightly. "Thanks. Where is everyone?"

"Ms Romanoff is on the main floor, Mr Rogers and Mr Barnes are in the gym, Ms Potts is in her office, Clint and Bruce are out, and boss is away."

"Okay. Thanks."

When the elevator opened onto the main hallway, Peter crossed the floor to the door of the living room.

Natasha was stirring something on the stove, classical music playing softly in the background. Peter watched her for several minutes.

"Hey Aunt Nat." Her head shot up. "Peter?" She whispered. He took a deep breath. "Hey." She was on him in seconds, hugging him so tightly he could barely breathe.

"My маленький паук. (little spider) We were so worried." She pulled back slightly, cradling his face in her hands. "You shouldn't be up. Sit down." He sank onto one of the bar stools.

"How long ago did you wake up?" She questioned gently. Peter shrugged. "Twenty minutes."

She hugged him again. "Oh маленький паук." When she pulled away, there were tears in her eyes. "Please don't do that again." Peter grinned softly. "Don't worry."

She turned off the stove, pushing the pot to the back, then helped peter up, walking with him to the couch.

Natasha didn't ask questions, knowing he would be tired, and Peter eventually fell asleep on the couch, Nat making sure no one woke him.

It was late that night that Tony returned. Peter was fully awake by then, and had reunited with the rest of the team. Bruce was shocked by his recovery, and insisted on a full checkup, which revealed nothing, other than the fact that Peter was well. The team gathered around him, no one wanting to let him out of their sight.

Tony lowered the output in his repulsors, his suit clanking on the deck. The suit was off before he got inside, the spinning rims having taken care of it. He made his way to the main room.

He paused outside the door, and listened. Low voices, then a helpless burst of laughter that Tony recognized.

He pushed the door open, seeing a scene that would be forever imprinted in his memory.

Peter was laying on one of the couches, his eyes squeezed shut, holding his ribs as he laughed until he couldn't breathe. Natasha looking pleased, having got him to laugh.

Steve and Bucky were on one of the other couches, in the middle of a heated debate, while Clint just watched everyone. Bruce was sitting beside Peter, watching the teenager.

Tony cleared his throat.

Conversation immediately ceased, and Peter's eyes shot up. A smile lit up his face, and he struggled to stand, Natasha having to help him up. He hobbled around the couch.

Peter was halfway across the distance when Tony moved forward, hugging his kid, because why not?

This was no time for being aloof. No time to refuse a hug, because his kid, his Peter was okay. And he was here. Awake. And that was all Tony could ask for. A simple hug.

-----------------

Should I do another part, like with a Ned and MJ reunion?