Family Lines

Chapter 51: Clearing His Name

Tony assumed Peter went to clear his head. In the meantime, he made some calls to help clear his son's name. Although his actions proved otherwise last night, he knew Peter was telling the truth. He knew his son would never actually hurt John or cause his death. Tony was just frustrated. The guilt from shouting at him lingered, though.

"Tony, have you seen Peter? We were supposed to go out today," Stephen said, poking his head through the threshold.

"He's probably gone for a walk," Tony said, writing down some information.

"A walk? Like a regular walk or a clear-his-head kind of walk," Stephen asked.

"The second one," Tony said.

"What happened," Stephen asked.

Tony set his pen down.

"I got some news last night involving John's suicide. Peter was there the night it happened. His prints were on the contraband they found," Tony explained, "He was trying to explain his innocence, and I snapped at him."

Stephen's face twisted into a scowl.

"Did you not believe him," Stephen asked, his tone turning somewhat hostile.

Stephen wasn't the biological father of Peter, but he damn sure protected him like one. If it came down to defending Peter or Tony, Stephen would pick their son. It's one of the reasons Tony fell for him.

"Of course, I believed him, Stephen. I raised that boy. Peter wouldn't hurt anyone. Not on purpose, at least," Tony reasoned, "That's why I'm trying to find a way to clear his name."

"Have you talked to our lawyers yet? I heard Mr. Murdock was out of town," Stephen asked, knowing that was their go-to lawyer.

"None of them have the skill set of Matt. But I'm trying to see who else is available," Tony said, "It's hard to know who to call when all evidence points to Peter."

"Well, you can stop now," Klaus said, walking in.

"What the hell are you doing here," Tony asked, standing up.

"I called him," Sam said, revealing himself, "I asked him to compel the police to get rid of the evidence on Peter..."

Tony pulled him inside the room and turned to him in a quiet voice.

"You had Klaus compel the police," Tony repeated in question form, "Why?"

"I have a gut feeling that he's innocent," Sam explained, "So you don't have to worry about clearing his name. It's already done."

Tony gave a breath of relief and hung his head. He sat down in his chair.

"Thank you, Sam," Tony said.

"Are you forgetting someone," Klaus asked, wanting his credit.

"Thank you as well, Klaus," Tony said, looking at him, "I need to call him and let him know."

"You can try, but he hasn't been answering the phone all day," Dean said, adding himself to the conversation, "I was gonna offer to take him hunting to blow steam. I know I was pissed, but, Jesus, you'd think the kid would pick up."

Tony tried his cell phone as well. It went to voicemail after a few rings.

"Peter, it's your father. I was calling because... I'm sorry about last night. I was stressed, and I shouldn't have yelled at you," Tony said, "Call me back... Love you, son."

He hung up the phone. There was that feeling again like something was wrong with Peter. Tony went to his room and glanced around but didn't touch anything.

"Something isn't right. What's missing," Tony whispered, trying to find what was out of place.

Tony turned to the corner that usually had a backpack. It was missing. Then he looked at the nightstand where it should've held an old family photo. The picture was gone from the frame. Tony called his cell phone again and heard buzzing. He picked up his phone that was hidden in the bed sheets.

"STEPHEN," Tony shouted, causing him to come running.

"What happened," Stephen asked, looking for any threats.

"Peter is gone," Tony said, lifting Peter's cell phone.

Author Note: It's been a while since I read through this. So I'm sorry if some of the gifs repeat themselves.