Chapter Text
When Richard and Mary Parker died, May and Ben became Penny’s new normal, jumping into parenthood without an ounce of hesitation, putting their own lives on hold in order to be whatever their niece needed them to be.
When she was bitten by a radioactive spider at the age of thirteen, Spider-Woman became her new normal. Jumping from buildings, stopping muggings and grand-theft-bicycles became her average Tuesday night, and she learned how to balance being a superhero and an average school nerd without much trouble.
When her Uncle Ben died in her arms on a random street corner in Queens, Penny learned that life was truly fragile, and that no matter how hard you tried, or what you did, it could be ripped from your hands with one single act of violence. Her life changed again, into something foreign and cold and unrecognizable.
But still, she adapted, and after months of knowing nothing but grief and pain, she learned how to a live a new life without him in it.
See, Penny was used to change, she could adapt to any situation with time, learning from a young age to never get too comfortable with something in fear of it going away, but no matter how hard she tried, no matter how many times she told herself that it was going to be okay, she didn’t think she could ever get used to this.
——
The ventilator was removed almost immediately after Penny’s awakening, followed quickly by the feeding tube in her stomach and catheter taped to her leg. The poor girl looked much more human now that all the equipment was gone, even with the bandages that covered more than half of her body, and even with her missing right arm.
“How are you feeling, Penny?” Tony watched as Helen closed in on the girl, checking her vitals and adjusting dosages for the second time that hour. Penny smiled, her one eye that was not wrapped completely in bandages clouded in pain, but she put on a brave exterior just like she always did.
“Same as I was an hour ago, Doc.”
She was elevated slightly in her bed so she could slowly sip on a smoothie through an extra long straw, courtesy of Sam. It became apparent that the teen was having trouble using her left hand, not only because of it being her non-dominant side, but because of the shakes that seemed to encapsulate it almost twenty-four-seven. The doctors were confident that the limb would settle with time, and that physical therapy would help strengthen it, so for now her meals consisted of smoothies and shakes, and the occasional soft food.
Tony stood idly on the threshold of her hospital room, staying on the outskirts as to not smother the girl, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave. He found himself hovering just a little too close, but could you blame him? The girl had only been awake for a few days, only able to stay conscious for a couple of hours before the exhaustion and pain became too much. He wanted—no, needed— to stay close, at least for the time being.
Penny turned her head as much as she could towards him, beckoning for her mentor to come closer with just a flick of her eyes, and he did without question. He gripped her hand, careful to avoid the needle sticking out of her skin, before taking a seat on the edge of her bed. He ran a hand through her tangled hair, slowly working out the knots.
“Hi, Penny.” He said simply, smiling when she gave a soft snort.
“Hi, Mr. Stark.” She nuzzled her head into his palm when he moved it down to cup her face, closing her eyes with a sigh.
“How are you really feeling, sweetheart? You know you can’t lie to me.” Tony watched her closely, looking for any signs of an oncoming lie, but he found none.
“I’m tired, even though I’ve been sleeping all day, and my side hurts I guess.” Tony hummed, continuing his quest in getting all the knots out of her hair, an idea hitting him suddenly.
“How about we get you some more pain meds then, huh?” He could tell the girl was hesitant to take him up on his offer, not liking the idea of relying so heavily on the medication, but he didn’t like to see her in so much pain, so he held his ground. “I know you don’t like them, Pen, but I’m not just going to let you sit here in pain when I can do something about it.”
“They make me so tired, Mr. Stark; I don’t want to sleep anymore.” Her eyes were drooping shut even as she protested the idea, and the extra dose of meds would no doubt send her to sleep, but the girl needed to rest.
“You need to rest to heal, honey. How about this—“ he reached over to her I.V pole and turned the knob to let another dose through, shushing her gently when she protested—“you were due for more pain meds anyway, so how about you take a nap for a little while, and then when you wake up, maybe we can invite everyone down here to watch a movie or something? Does that sound like fun?” The girl's eyes were already shut, a soft hum of agreement escaping her before she nodded off for good. Tony reached down and placed a lingering kiss on her forehead, “Sweet dreams, Penny.”
——
Everyone was in the communal area when he arrived on the common floor, watching TV, or in Clint’s case, snoring into the couch cushions. Tony flicked the archer’s head on his way towards the kitchen, laughing at the disgruntled groan that escaped the man. Tony was head first in the refrigerator when his best friend joined him, searching for anything he could quickly eat before heading back downstairs. Rhodey was two steps ahead of him though, already pulling out the leftovers from lunch and fixing the man a heaping portion.
“How is she?” Rhodey asked quietly, spooning some rice onto a plate. He watched Tony’s eyes cut toward him before quickly flicking away, “That bad, huh?”
“She’s just stubborn, you know she’s stubborn,” Tony said, an almost irritated edge to his voice, “She doesn’t want the meds anymore because they make her tired, and she doesn’t want to sleep, but when she’s not on the meds, you can just see how much pain she's in. I made her take another dose and she conked out, but I’m sure I’ll receive my due scolding the minute she wakes up.”
“Did Cho say anything else about her situation?”
“Just that it was going to take a lot of getting used to. She’ll be in physical therapy for months.”
Rhodey chuckled dryly as he shoved the plateful of leftovers into the microwave and nuked it. “Yeah, I know a thing or two about how that goes; Maybe I can help her out when it comes time to start.”
Rhodey watched his best friend closely, not only to make sure he was eating a proper meal, but to really see how the man was doing. Truth be told, Tony wore his heart on his sleeve, at least around those he felt one-hundred percent comfortable with, so it wasn’t hard to tell the man was struggling.
“How are you doing with all this?” Tony’s eyes widened, as if he was shocked anybody would ask how he was coping.
“I’m fine; it’s Penny we have to worry about.” The man said before turning back to his meal, shoveling food into his mouth like it was going to be snatched out from under his fingertips.
“Tony, I’ve known you for thirty-five years, man. You know you can’t lie to me—“ Rhodey leaned forward and put his hand palm up on the table, an open invitation that could be accepted or denied—“I can see that you're struggling, and that’s okay, Tones; I’d be even more worried if you weren’t. That’s your daughter downstairs, fighting for a semblance of her old life, I can see you frantically trying to put back all the pieces. You're trying your damn hardest to be what you need her to be, but you’re only human. Even you have your limits; you're bound to reach them eventually. I think it’s time for you to take a break.” Tony’s head shot up at that, making eye contact with the Colonel for the first time, looking aghast at what he was suggesting.
“Are you saying that I should leave her?” Rhodey didn’t flinch, even as the younger man's voice grew in volume.
“I’m saying that you have another daughter at home, and that you’ve been down in the hospital room for a week straight. Penny will understand if you need to go check in on Pepper and Morgan for a night. Besides, her aunt will be back in a couple of hours, and the whole team is here. She’s in good hands.” Rhodey could see the moment the man's anger and frustration turned into reluctance and possibly guilt, not wanting to leave Penny, but also missing his wife and daughter. He took the initiative and wrapped his arms tightly around Tony’s form, not giving him any room to deny the comfort he so desperately needed. Not that he did.
Tony melted into Rhodey like a popsicle that’s been left out in the sun too long, drooping into his chest without a fight. They stood there for a long while, not saying anything because nothing needed to be said. The man needed no further convincing.
“Okay.”
——
“— and I’ll be back first thing in the morning, but if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call. Seriously kid, doesn't matter what time it is, you need me, you call, got it? I—“ Penny watched silently from her bed as her father figure paced the length of her hospital room, rationalizing, more to himself at this point, why he was going to go check in with Pepper and his daughter, even when Penny had agreed the minute he started rambling.
“Mr. Stark.” The girl cut him off, something she normally wouldn’t do, but felt that this would go on for hours if she didn’t. She waited for Tony to turn his attention back to her before continuing, “Don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but I don’t want to see you back in this room for at least another three days.”
Tony froze, eyes widening a fraction as he tried to comprehend what she just said, “What? Why?” Penny snorted, only succeeding in furthering his confusion.
“Look at yourself, Mr. Stark! You’re going stir crazy! You need to get out of this room, this building better yet, and go see your family.”
“You are my family.” Penny smiled, her eyes tearing over without her consent. The man said it with such finality, with no room for argument whatsoever, that Penny didn’t even try to argue. Not that she wanted to in the first place.
“I know I am, and you’re mine, but they need you too, more so than me right now.” Tony looked hurt for a second before he masked over his emotion into the neutral front that he was so used to projecting— “Tony, I’m always going to need you, but there’s nothing you can do right now. I’m still going to be here when you get back.” Penny reached out and gripped her father figure—no, just father’s— hand in her own, and smiled when he pressed a kiss to her temple, and then to her cheek, forehead and all over just to get her laughing.
“Fine, but I’m sending someone down to sit with you.” If it made him feel better, then Penny wouldn’t protest the company, even when it made her feel like a child who couldn’t be left alone.
“I love you, Dad.” Penny whispered, trying out the word for the first time, closing her eyes when the man didn’t immediately respond. It wasn’t till she was gathered up into a hug, tears falling on her shoulder that she knew it was okay.
“I love you too, baby. So much.”
——
Sam and Bucky came down to sit with Penny as soon as Tony left, cramming into the girl’s bed like a pack of sardines, the girl laughing at their antics.
“I’m pretty sure Dr. Cho wouldn’t approve of this.” Penny snorted, but there was no actual heat behind her words. Sam was on her right, her head resting on his shoulder, while Bucky laid on her left, gripping her hand with his flesh one. She relaxed back, kicking into their warmth before focusing on the movie that was playing on the screen before them.
“Are you comfortable?” Bucky asked, looking down at the girl at his side in slight worry. Penny gripped his hand tighter, a genuine smile chasing his concern away.
“Very, are you?” Bucky nodded, turning on his side so he could slowly run his hand through the girl's hair, knowing that it brought her comfort.
“Nowhere I'd rather be, doll.”
They spent the remainder of the night like that, cuddled up to each other and watching terrible Rom-Coms, tears running down their faces from laughing too much. The only time the boys even got out of the bed was when Penny needed her bandages changed, or needed to use the bathroom, but they were back as soon as she was settled, this time bearing candy and large bowls of popcorn.
“No movie night is truly complete without copious amounts of junk food.” Sam said, unwrapping a Twix bar and throwing it back whole. Bucky unwrapped another of the fun sized candies and presented it to Penny when he saw her side-eye the bag. She didn’t accept it at first, but after a minute she opened her mouth and let the man feed her the sweet. He could tell she was slightly embarrassed by the action, so he quickly unwrapped the other bar and shoved it into Sam’s mouth, laughing at the disgruntled choking sound that escaped his teammate. That had Penny in stitches, her own embarrassment forgotten as she watched the two heroes half heartedly swat at each other.
“A little warning next time would be nice, thanks.” Sam griped, but he was smiling, just putting on a show for Penny’s sake.
And it worked, the girl hadn’t felt this light and like her old self since before The Snap, and she was basking in the normality.
“Thank you guys, for everything.” Her eyes were falling shut once again, the excitement of the night wearing her down. She didn’t miss the soft smiles she got from the heroes laying next to her though, or how their eyes misted over slightly. She only smiled, letting their whispers lull her back to sleep.
“Of course, kid.”
——
Everything was going well, all things considered. Tony stayed at his cabin with his wife and daughter, promising to stay away from the tower for the allotted three days, and only calling Penny to check in twice a day, which was a feat in and of itself.
Penny was currently sitting with Steve by her bedside, playing a mindless game of chess when she started to feel sick. It was just a little bit of nausea that she figured was from consuming so much candy the night before, but it continued to grow. The look of distress must have been clear on her face, because Steve was suddenly moving the game board out of the way and slipping into her view.
“Penny? What’s wrong?” The girl tried to answer, but she could only blink blankly at his face, unable to respond. She leaned back against her pillows and groaned, a wave of vertigo hitting her suddenly much like the nausea. Steve stood up from his chair and gently cradled the girl’s head in his hands. Her sudden downfall in health and awareness startling him.
She was just beating him in a game of chess a few second ago, and now her eyes were rolling back into her head and she looked about ready to vomit.
“Friday, call Cho and have her come down here now—“ The Captain gently started to tap the girl’s cheeks, trying to get her to focus on him— “Come on Penny, you’ve got to tell me what’s wrong, doll.”
And that’s when her face started to twitch, her cheek muscles contracting in spreading intervals. Her eyelids fluttered uncontrollably, almost like she was rapidly blinking something away, but the girl was not conscious.
“Penny—“ her body started to convulse, her limbs flailing uncontrollably, and Steve’s eyes widened in realization.
“Friday, get Cho down here now!” Steve glanced down at his watch, and started to time the seizure. He wanted to move the girl to her side, but he was afraid to move her, so he settled on watching her breathing, and making sure she didn’t choke on anything.
Cho arrived then, bursting into the large hospital and throwing on a white lab coat as she made her way over to the bed. “How long ago did the seizure start?” Penny was still shaking, her limbs seizing up and little grunts escaping her in fast intervals.
“It’s been a little over a minute.” Steve started to run a hand through the girls hair in comfort, shushing her when her sporadic movements became more aggressive.
“You’re okay, Penny. You’re alright.” Her face was scrunched up, and he couldn’t tell if it was from pain or if she had any control of her expression.
“I’m going to administer an anticonvulsant; I don’t know how well it would work with her enhanced metabolism, but it’s all I’ve got for right now.” He watched carefully as Helen plunged the medicine into her I.V before turning back to the girl still shaking in her bed.
The door was thrus open for a second time, Bucky and Sam rushing into the room, worry clouding their faces. Neither of them said a word, only standing on the sidelines in concern. Steve met their gazes grimly.
“I think it’s slowing down.” That had all three men snapping their attention towards the doctor, before looking down at Penny. She was indeed coming to a slow standstill, the violent tremors that encapsulated her a moment before coming to an end like a bad earthquake.
Steve slowly stood up to get out of the doctor’s way, making his way towards his teammates.
“What happened?” Bucky whispered, eyes still refusing to look anywhere but at Penny.
“I have no idea. One second, she was beating me at a game of chess, and the next she looked sick, her eyes rolling back as she started convulsing. It literally came out of nowhere.”
“One of us should call Tony, tell him what happened.” Steve nodded, knowing the man would no doubt blame himself for not being here with his daughter.
“I’ll do it.” Steve left the room with one last look at Penny, pulling out his phone as soon as he was out in the hallway. It rang twice before the man answered.
“Hey Steve, what’s up?” Cap hesitated, not wanting to break the news of Penny’s sudden decline. “Steve, what’s wrong? Is it Penny?”
“Tony, you should come back to the tower as soon as possible.” The man’s breath hitched from down the line, already spilling into a panic.
“Tell me what happened, Steve, or so help me God, I will—“
“She had a seizure, Tony.” It was quiet for a moment, Steve allowing Tony the time he needed to process the shocking news.
“She what?” There was shuffling on the other end, Tony no doubt scrambling into a suit and shooting off to get back to the compound as soon as possible.
“It came out of nowhere Tony, I was playing a game of chess with her when she started feeling sick. She lost focus and started to convulse. It only lasted a few minutes, and Cho’s taking her back to do an MRI now, I think.”
“Dammit, She was doing so well, and the second I leave—“ Steve cut off his friend before he could spiral into a guilt induced panic.
“It was not your fault, Tony. There were no signs, no one saw it coming.” Steve leaned back against the wall he was resting on, closing his eyes and rubbing a hand roughly through his hair.
“I should have been with her.” Tony’s words were choked, forced, and Steve knew he was doing everything he could to put up a front.
“You can’t be with her twenty-four-seven, and she wasn’t alone. I was right there with her.”
Tony let out a sigh, “I know I can’t, but it still hurts. Thanks for being there with her Cap. I’ll be there in less than twenty minutes, but keep me updated in the meantime, alright? I’ll go ahead and give May a call and have Happy pick her up.”
“Of course, Tony. Fly safe.” With that, Steve ended the phone call and headed back into Penny’s hospital room.
Bucky and Sam were the only ones still there, leaning against the back all like the were when he left, like they were frozen in time. “Did they take her back to run some tests?”
“Yeah, took her to do an MRI or brain scan or something as soon as you left.” Bucky said, his head hunched down and his arms crossed. Sam reached over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“She’s going to be okay, man, she’s in good hands.”
“But she was doing so well.”
“She still is, this is just a minor set back, and even if it isn’t we’ll still deal with it just like we always do.” Sam said, fierce in his resolve and leaving no room for argument.
“Sam’s right, she’s going to be just fine.”
The three men decided to wait for Tony to arrive, knowing that he would come right down to Penny’s hospital room, and no doubt panic when he found it empty. It didn’t take long before the door swung open, the disheveled me running in.
“Where is she?” Tony was panting, having run all the way from the hanger bay, his hair windswept and sweatpants rumpled.
“She’s back with Cho. They’re running some tests now to see what caused the seizure.” Steve said, grabbing the man by his shoulders and bringing him in for a hug. “She’s going to be okay.” He rubbed his friends back, letting him rest his head on his shoulder and catch his breath. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Tony said, but made no attempt at moving. Steve held him for as long as he needed, standing in the middle of the hospital room without a care of what was going on for the time being.
“How about we go see how she’s doing, she knows it with Cho, alright?” Steve gave a quick nod to Sam and Bucky, promising to keep them well informed, before leading Tony back through the medbay. They stopped by the MRI room, and found Penny already inside with Cho. The doctor glanced up when Steve gently knocked on the door, and waved them in.
“See Penny? I told you your dad would be in soon.” She gestured for Tony to come up to his daughters side, and he did so without complaint. He took her left hand tightly into his own, and brought it up to his lips. Penny still didn’t look very coherent, her eyes wandering around aimlessly, not looking like she was taking anything in. Tony looked at Cho in concern.
“Is this normal?”
“Yes, confusion or trouble focusing is very common in the aftermath of having a seizure. The recovery process varies for each patient, but we need to look out for sudden trouble breathing, or possibly absent seizures. She is doing very well all things considered, but the seizure did seem to cause some pain in her right side. Nothing was torn or damaged further, but she’s going to need to take it very easy the next few days.” Cho Walked out of the main room and into the observation area to look at the scans they just got finished taking. Tony leaned down close to Penny, and tried to catch her wandering gaze.
“You’re going to be okay, baby. It’s going to be alright, nothing to worry about.” He knew that she probably couldn’t understand him right now, but he was willing to try in the off chance that she did. “Penny? You with me kiddo?” She let out a soft grunt before going lax completely, seeming to have fallen asleep. “That’s alright, Pen; you need as much sleep as you can get. You just rest for now, and let me take care of everything, alright?”
She was going to be fine, Tony was going to make sure of it.