Peter woke up first to Pietro snoring loudly next to Wanda. He unwrapped himself from around his sister and sat up to where he could see Pietro. He rolled his eyes at the boy snoring and rolled off the mattress, he shook his legs a little in an effort to make the legs of his pajama pants that had twisted in his sleep fall back down to where they belonged before walking over to Pietro. He groggily ran a hand through his hair and ended up making it stand up on end. He started shaking him awake while making sure not to wake up the redhead next to him. Pietro groggily rolled over and looked at him, before sitting up. Peter snorted lightly to himself at the older boy's longish ash-blond hair sticking out in different directions.
"What is it Peter?" he asked, his voice husky from sleep as he motioned for the sixteen year old to leave him alone.
"You're snoring and we have school," the younger boy replied.
Pietro groaned and plopped back down on the bed, "Go away Peter, I want ten more minutes."
"Don't wake up Wanda!" Peter whisper-yelled at him, "She needs her sleep and it's six, we've slept long enough. Help me get the girls up P, we still gotta get the stuff outta here." he replied.
Pietro groaned but conceded, "How are you this awake already, little brother?"
Peter shrugged, "We have school," he replied before walking over to his sister.
He knelt back down on the mattress on the floor and pulled the covers down that were almost completely pulled over Penny's head. She had a habit of cocooning herself in her covers, Peter rolled her over and started gently shaking her awake.
"Come on princess up and at 'em," he announced lightly, "we have school soon and Pietro and I need to clear out our stuff from Wanda's room."
After a few more minutes of coaxing, he managed to get the thirteen year old awake. She sat up and yawned before stretching and rubbing her eyes. He smiled lightly, she looked a lot younger than she was when she slept and when she first woke up. He kissed her forehead and greeted her a good morning before pulling her up into a standing position. She still had her brown teddy bear tightly grasped in one hand and was leaning against his chest with her arms dangling between them, she wasn't exactly fully awake yet. He gently pushed her up into a standing position, knowing that if he let her, she'd fall asleep while leaning against him.
"Come on princess, wake up, I'll make you hot chocolate with extra sugar at breakfast."
"M'kay," she sleepily replied.
She yawned again and rubbed her eyes with her free hand while Peter handed her her pillow and gathered up the blankets he'd brought from his room. Pietro had managed to get Yelena and Kate up in the time it took Peter to get his sister up. Which wasn't really much work in the first place, all he needed to do was wake up Yelena. The blonde was a heavy sleeper and wasn't a morning person, especially when she got a good sleep, which she seemed to get for the night considering it was almost six fifteen and she usually woke up by five thirty. Kate, on the other hand, was a relatively light sleeper, while she did love to sleep, she easily woke up once Yelena had moved off the mattress. The two girls were gathering Kate's blankets and their pillows up in their arms and walking out to their rooms. When Peter came back, Penny was curled up in a large soft chair that Wanda had in her room, almost fully asleep again. He groaned a little and pulled her up into a standing position.
"No, no, no princess. You gotta wake up. Come on, let's get you to your room, you need to change."
"'M tired Petey," she replied, her voice was small, making her sound like a little girl.
He internally awed at how young she sounded but quickly shoved it down, knowing he couldn't cave to her wanting to sleep longer, "Sorry princess but we have school, it's Tuesday... You get to leave early today for your doctor's appointment, remember?"
She seemed to wake up a little more, "Oh yeah....are you coming?"
"No, I can't really afford to miss school, but Nat is going with you and Pepper and Happy's driving you."
"Oh..."
He grinned and kissed her forehead again, "Now that I have you awake, we need to get dressed and I need to get my mattress back on my bed."
"Can I help?" she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.
Peter shook his head, "Nah, I got princess, but thanks for asking."
Peter leaned over and grabbed the edge of his large mattress and flipped it over to its side and started pushing it out of the room. He knew he could easily lift it up if he wanted to, but he also knew Penny was watching him and the average person couldn't lift a queen sized mattress over their head, let alone someone of his size. He still felt bad for lying to her about where he was going every evening, but he didn't want to risk her knowing he was Spider-man. His stomach grumbled, reminding him that he'd missed his pre-breakfast snack as he pushed the mattress back fully into his room. He shut the door behind him before easily picking up his mattress and setting it back on his bed. He picked up the comforter and the top sheet that had been discarded on his floor and set the balled up mess on top of his bed before pulling off his t-shirt and pajama pants. He pulled on a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt with another science pun on it before pulling on another gray and black flannel t-shirt. He went into the bathroom and grabbed his comb and ran it under the water and started combing it through his curls in an effort to tame his bedhead. When he got downstairs almost five minutes later with his backpack in tow, Pietro was already sitting at the island eating some eggs and toast that Nat had fixed for breakfast. The oldest of the compound's kid's waved to him and motioned for him to join him at the counter where Pepper placed a large plate of eggs and toast down for him. He ran over, dropping his backpack at his feet, and started eating his first plate. Kate came downstairs a few moments later with Yelena following behind her a few seconds later. The older of the two jumped up and sat on the counter with her feet dangling off the edge, much to her sister's chagrin. Natasha fussed at her to get off the table while Yelena grinned largely with a cup of coffee in her hand that Kate had given her. Kate sat down in front of her and handed her a piece of toast while chewing on some toast herself. Yelena thanked her and started eating her breakfast; Penny came downstairs a few minutes later. Her curls were pulled up in a large bun on the top of her head, a few stray strands of hair were falling out in her face. Natasha set a plate down with the breakfast she and Pepper had concocted for the group and waved her over. Pepper smiled warmly at her and handed her the last dosage of prednisone she was supposed to take. Penny set it down on the napkin next to her and started gingerly eating her breakfast. Peter looked around the room and noticed Morgan wasn't with them.
"Is Morgie still sick?" he asked.
"Unfortunately, Stephen thinks she has the flu." Pepper replied.
"Awww, that sucks, can I see her?"
"After school you can, make sure you wash your hands after. We don't need a flu outbreak here." she replied, warning the boy.
Nat nodded in agreement, "A group of sick superheroes is not something we want to take care of and even though you most likely won't catch it, your sister won't be that lucky."
"Okay." the teen replied, nodding his head quickly.
"Can I see her, Miss Potts?"
"I don't know sweetpea...your immune system isn't the best. I'd hate for you to get sick."
"What if I wear a mask and get a shower right after?" the young brunette asked.
"I don't see why not, but let's see what your doctor says first, okay? We'd like to get your system up before flu season officially starts up. Tony and I were looking at your medical records and it looks like you catch the flu every year?"
"Yes ma'am. At least a couple of times ...and strep, and bronchitis...."
Pepper frowned a little, "Let's see if we can fix that this year yeah?"
Penny smiled a little, "Yeah."
Pepper looked over to Peter, "Did you take your medicine this morning?" she asked, referring to the special medication that Bruce and Tony had made for his ADHD.
"Yes ma'am," he replied, picking up the little pink and blue pill and swallowing it with the last of his apple juice, "all done."
"Kate?" Nat asked.
"Mmmm?" the brunette asked, turning her head to look at them.
"Did you take yours?"
Kate paused to think about it, Yelena shook her head and laughed, "That's a no, Kate Bishop," she replied. "Besides, I have it right here," she replied, handing her the bottle of ritalin.
"Thanks, how did you know?" the blue-eyed teenager asked.
"You always forget it,"
Kate blushed a little and looked down at the bottle in her hand, "...Oh...." she replied softly.
Yelena giggled, "Why are you turning red mmm?" she asked.
Kate looked up at her, her eyes wide, "N-no reason," she replied quickly before taking one of the pills in the bottle.
Yelena narrowed her eyes at her and shrugged, "Whatever, you'll tell me eventually you always do."
"Do not!" Kate replied indignantly.
"You tell me everything, Katie," the blonde replied.
Kate blinked rapidly in response before standing up and walking over to the sink and rinsing her cup out. Her ears were red at Yelena's words, she was confused as to if the blonde was flirting with her. Was she? It also shocked her a bit to the blonde calling her Katie since she wasn't half asleep or sick, she was fully awake and now her head was a mess.
Yelena was grinning to herself, and hopped off the counter to go join Kate over at the sink.
Peter looked at them confused, he leaned over to Pietro, "What was that?" he asked.
Pietro snickered, Peter was really oblivious and he found it hilarious, "They like each other small fry," he replied.
"Duh, their best friends, like me and Ned." Peter replied, still oblivious to the situation.
Penny, Pepper, and Nat were grinning at each other, all knowing what Pietro was referring to as they watched the two girls walk into the living room where Kate ended up sitting in Yelena's lap. Pietro groaned and rubbed his hand over his forehead. He reached over the counter and got another piece of toast and put three more spoonfuls of eggs on Peter's plate. The younger boy thanked him and took a bite of his eggs.
After a few seconds Peter spoke up again, "You never answered my question." he replied, before stuffing a forkful or eggs into his mouth.
"I did." the ash-blond replied.
Peter shook his head, "No, you said they like each other, which is obvious because they are best friends. You can't be best friends with people without liking them. It's like me and Ned or Wanda and MJ."
Pietro smirked, "Do you want to kiss Ned Pete?" he asked teasingly.
Peter looked at him flabbergasted, his mouth was wide open, "Wha-No! Ew! Not that there's nothing wrong with that- I am bisexual after all b-but Ned's my best friend that's just...gross...." Peter seemed to shudder at the thought of kissing Ned.
"Well, Kate wants to kiss Lena and Lena maybe wants to kiss Kate I can't tell; you know Lena, she's hard to read."
Peter gained a look of knowing, "THEY LIKE EACH OTHER!" he exclaimed.
Pietro slapped his hand over his mouth, "Not so loud small fry! And yes they do..."
Peter rolled his eyes and licked his hand.
Pietro quickly pulled his hand away with a disgusted expression before wiping his hand off on the napkin, "Did you just lick me Peter Parker?!" he asked.
Peter nodded proudly, "Yes I did. When did that happen? Are they a couple? I have so many questions!"
Penny was giggling at her brother's excitement, she didn't realize he was that oblivious.
"One, don't lick me again or I will get you back. Two, You're really oblivious Pete. Three, for a while, they flirt all the time. It's not just conversation. Four, they are not a couple. They both think the other doesn't like them that way so they torture themselves with flirting while believing that the other doesn't know. Any more questions please refer to my sister because that's all I know." he replied, showing a piece of toast into his mouth.
Peter nodded and grinned "Oh....anyways. I make no promises on licking you again, you keep putting your hand over my mouth."
Pietro rolled his eyes, "Such a little shit," he muttered.
"Pietro," Pepper warned.
"Sorry Pepper." the boy replied, offering her an apologetic smile.
"Don't apologize to me," she replied and motioned to Peter.
Peter turned and gave Pietro a big, cheeky grin.
"I'm sorry little brother," Pietro replied sweetly, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Thank you P."
"You boys finish up your breakfast, Happy's going to take you to school in fifteen minutes."
Peter nodded and Pietro offered a thumbs up before they both continued eating their last servings of breakfast.
An hour later the teenagers all piled out of the SUV in front of the highschool, where Ned was waiting for them, The chubby boy greeted them all and then continued on to do his and Peter's handshake. Pietro tried to follow but once again failed halfway through, making him grumble about it being too hard. Peter shrugged and told him that maybe he wasn't cool enough to remember it, his comment ended up getting him attacked by Pietro. He ended up getting his hair roughly ruffled by the taller of the two, causing it to look like he didn't do anything to it that morning. Yelena had taken another picture of them and sent it to Wanda saying that they needed her back tomorrow to control them. However, Wanda wasn't really needed because the blonde soon was in between the pair, she had Peter pushed back with one hand and Pietro by the ear with the other. A sharp look to Peter was all it took for him to apologize, Pietro apologized after Yelena let go of his ear which was now red, he was rubbing it with a sore expression. Peter was trying and failing to contain his mess of curls before the first bell rang. After the first bell rang, the Parker siblings went off to their English class and Kate and Yelena went to their chemistry one. Pietro and Ned followed suit soon after to their robotics class.
Yelena decided on not dressing out in gym for the day for three reasons that really were all one reason if she thought about it. The first being her normal gym partners wouldn't be there. With Wanda being out because of her sensory overload and the issue with her powers yesterday and Penny leaving early for a doctor's appointment, she'd be by herself. That pushed her to reason number two, she didn't really want to get a new partner for the day because her usual partners were gone. Yelena wasn't a big fan of getting too close with new people if she didn't have too, the only exceptions for this general rule was missions and dance when she needed partners, other than that she preferred to stick with her friends or by herself. Third reason: if she dressed out without the other two here, Flash was more likely to talk to her. Wanda was a good buffer for the boy, apparently she wasn't scary enough for him because he kept coming around. Wanda, however; seemed to put a slight amount of fear in him and he avoided her, he claimed he didn't want to catch whatever creepy plague she carried. Yelena personally found it funny how Wanda liked to portray herself as scary to people at school when she was one of the sweetest people Yelena knew. When Penny was around, he came around still but his attention was more focused on her, the smallest member of their group was easily cast aside by the boy. Yelena was also pretty sure that he was one of the people who bothered the younger brunette when they weren't around. That was why Yelena was sitting on the top of the bleachers stretched out next to Penny, who was waiting to get called to the office to go to the doctor's appointment. She was finally getting seen by the asthma specialist who also specialized in allergies, essentially she was getting a two in one doctor, which had thrilled Pepper to no end. Yelena sat up and crossed her legs after adjusting the legs of her romper when she noticed the thirteen year old picking at her fingers.
"What are you thinking about cupcake?" she asked, the nickname sounded weirdly American compared to the rest of the ones she spoke.
Penny looked at her, "Hmm?"
"What's on your mind Penny Parker? I really need to figure out what to call you," Yelena replied, muttering the last part to herself.
"Oh, it's nothing." the younger girl added, she was still absentmindedly picking at her fingers.
Yelena pulled her hands apart, "You'll make yourself bleed, something's bothering you. You do that when you're nervous."
"I just wish Peter could go with me...." she replied.
"My sister is going." the green–eyed girl announced.
"I-I know and I like Miss Nat..."
Yelena nodded knowingly, "But my sister is not your brother?" she added.
"Yeah...." she replied softly, "It sounds dumb."
Yelena shook her head, "Not really, I've figured things out, why you act the way you do. Why everyone acts differently with you..."
"Oh...." the younger girl replied, a slight frown forming on her face.
"It makes sense, he makes you feel safe, yes?"
"Yeah...."
"Well then it's not dumb," Yelena decided to slip down to the spot next to her and slipped her hand into the thirteen year old's. "Natasha will make sure nothing happens to you. Happy is going too, if I remember correctly, wasn't he to marry your Aunt?"
Penny nodded her head.
"Do you think your Aunt May would marry someone she thought wouldn't be safe with her children?"
"No, I don't think so..." the younger girl replied.
Yelena scoffed lightly, "I can guarantee you that she would do no such thing Penny Parker. She was really protective of your brother and of you."
Penny smiled faintly,
"And Pepper Potts? She's a mother, your mother, if we want to be legal. Mothers don't usually hurt their children and she is one of those mothers. You see how she is with the little Stark and Peter." she added.
The younger teen nodded, almost lost in thought as she thought about the blonde's words."I suppose..."
"What makes you think she'd be any different around you?"
"Past experiences tend to prove otherwise Lena." she replied quietly.
"Well, they are not those people. Have I mentioned that I am not opposed to killing them for you?" she asked.
Penny quickly shook her head, "No! You can't kill them, they're still family."
Yelena frowned how could she possibly think of them as her family? "They are not your family. Just because they are blood does not mean they are family, we are your family, Peter is your family and we will never hurt you. Family doesn't treat family like that." she replied.
"I know..." the girl whispered before looking up at her, "I thought we were friends?" she asked, tilting her head to the side causing her bangs to fall in her face.
"We are, but friends can be family too, and you are family. We are all family."
The thirteen year old smiled faintly, "I like our family," she replied lightly.
Yelena smiled a little and leaned back on the bleachers, resting her arm behind her, "Me too bugs." she replied.
Penny scrunched her nose, "Why is everyone doing that? You keep trying different names but they sound weird."
Yelena rolled her eyes, "Because it's something they do, I want to have something like everyone else, Kate is Katie, Wanda is Wands or witchy, Peter is Pete or Spider Monkey, I prefer spider-"
"Why do you call Petey Spider Monkey anyways?" the younger girl asked, accidentally cutting the sixteen year old off.
"He has a habit of climbing Pietro to get what he wants," she replied, it was partially true.
Peter did do that, he liked to annoy Pietro by latching onto him with his stickiness and holding on until he felt like letting go. He also did it when he helped Wanda get things from Pietro when he was in an extra teasing mood. Yelena said he reminded her of a monkey when she noticed how much he liked to hug people and by how often he latched onto the older boy and the name stuck. Spider came from the spideresque powers the young brunet possessed. His identity as Spider-man was actually how Yelena first met him, she met him behind the mask a few hours after their mission had ended. When she'd seen the teenager whip off his mask it had shocked her, his voice wasn't as deep as it sounded with the mask, it was higher pitched and a little squeaky at times. He also looked a lot younger than she'd expected; the spider-teen had held his hand out to introduce himself, offering a large grin on his face. Yelena remembered gingerly taking his hand and watching the younger boy interact with Pietro who had decided to stand up for the duration of the flight home. The blonde smiled slightly remembering their first interaction.
"Oh, I guess that makes sense, but why Spider? Pete hate's spiders." she replied.
Yelena smirked, the spiderling had a newfound fear of spiders, which she found ironic considering he was half spider himself, "Exactly," she replied.
Penny giggled a little.
"Anyway Pietro is P or Silver, everyone has nicknames. I tried stealing Kate Bishop's but she refuses to share and calling you peanut sounds so weird to me, I think Peter would personally get offended if I even considered calling you princess."
Penny nodded, "I don't think I'll let anyone call me princess other than Pete."
"My point exactly, this is harder than I thought, but at least I know what doesn't work. I feel like I'm getting close." the blonde announced.
"Maybe." Penny replied, shrugging slightly.
The coach walked over to them and waved Penny down, she grabbed her backpack and stood up.
"Bye Lena," she announced, waving slightly to the green-eyed blonde.
"Bye Penny Parker," she replied.
She watched Penny disappear down out the door before pulling her earbuds out and turning on her own music and waited out the rest of the class.
Penny walked into the front office, with her ID gripped tightly in her hand, to see Pepper scrolling through her phone. She had changed from her t-shirt and pajama pants from that morning into a pencil skirt and a matching blazer with a white shirt with heels, her strawberry blonde hair was neatly pulled up in a ponytail. She looked up at Penny when she heard the door open and smiled widely at her.
"Hey sweetpea, are you ready?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am," the brunette responded, she was surprised to see the woman without a disguise like Nat and Steve usually did.
Pepper slipped her phone into her purse and waited for Penny to scan her I.D. and get her slip, acknowledging she was leaving early.
"Have a good day," Pepper bade as she walked out the door.
"Have a good day Miss Rousseau," Penny replied, waving sweetly at the woman behind the desk.
"Bye hun, have fun!" the woman called, waving back at her.
Penny nodded her head and followed Pepper out to the car where Happy was waiting for them. He took Penny's backpack and put it in the trunk before opening the door for them to get into the vehicle. Penny climbed into the car after Pepper did and sat next to her, she noticed Nat was sitting across from them.
"Hi Sweetheart." the redhead greeted.
"Hi Miss Nat."
Natasha sighed lightly, "Nat is fine sweetie, no need to call me Miss, makes me feel old," she teased lightly, she really wanted the girl to call her Nat again.
Penny's cheeks turned red, "Oh...sorry..."
They fell into silence for the rest of the ride, once they got deeper into Manhattan, Happy pulled over in front of the small office. He stepped out and opened the door for them; he paid the fine for the car in order for it to stay parked on the street and followed them into the building. He and Nat took a seat in the waiting room, while she and Pepper checked in with the receptionist. Pepper placed her hand on Penny's shoulder and guided her back to where the other two were waiting for them. She sat next to Penny and set her purse in her lap and crossed her legs. Penny folded her hands quietly in her lap and started bouncing her leg up and down while picking at her fingers again. Pepper and Nat shared a look and were about to speak up when Happy moved from his spot across from them and squeezed himself into the smaller seat next to her. He put his arm on the back of her chair and gave Pepper a curt nod, as if he was telling her that he had it handled. Pepper stood up and took his seat across from them.
"Are you okay honey?" he asked.
"Yeah..."
He frowned a little, "You know you don't have to say that when you're not right?"
"I know..." she replied quietly.
"Your brother does the same thing, you're very similar."
She looked at him, "Really?"
He smiled a little, "Yes. Both of you do this thing when you're nervous. Want to know what it is?"
She nodded her head.
"You get quiet, really quiet. Which usually isn't that noticeable with you because for the most part you're pretty quiet but for your brother...."
She grinned a little, "Pete's always talking," she replied faintly.
He nodded, "Yes he is," he replied, smiling a little at her, "then you fold your hands and start playing with your fingers, like you're doing right now." he replied, pointing to her picking at her finger nail.
"Oh..." she replied, slightly separating her fingers.
"You also start bouncing your leg, Peter was doing it yesterday. You do it most of the time on the way to school, Pete does it before a big decathlon meeting. He was a nervous wreck the first time he met Tony."
Penny smiled a little, imagining her brother's reaction to meeting the billionaire. "How else are we similar, Uncle Happy?"
Happy smiled a little bigger, "Well, you both are really smart. Crazy smart, you both like Harry Potter and fantasy books. Love Star Wars, even though I'm pretty sure you only like it because Peter does."
She nodded slightly in agreement.
"Mhmmm," he acknowledged, "Both of you have these big brown eyes that can guilt anyone into doing anything, you just haven't figured out how to do it yet. The second you do, no one will be safe because then all three of Tony's kids are going to be suckering people into things," he continued, Penny could tell he didn't really think that would be a bad thing by the way he was talking about it. "Both of you have those messy brown curls and a need to make everyone around you happy. I think what makes you two the happiest other than each other is making everyone else happy or seeing them happy. So, there are many similarities."
"You really think I'm like Petey?" she asked, her large brown eyes boring into him.
"More than you think honey." he replied as he looked into the large doe-brown eyes that mirrored Peter's, "What has you so nervous anyways?"
She sighed softly, slouching a little into the large chair, "I was kind of hoping Pete would be able to come with us...."
Happy frowned, he knew the brunette felt the safest when he was around, "I know honey, but I'm here."
"I know...I didn't think you'd stay....." she replied.
"Why not?"
"Usually when you drive us places you leave....."
"I was definitely going to stay for this, I stay for Pete's appointments too." he announced.
"You do?"
He nodded, "Yep, I used to have to help your aunt hold him down when they tried to give him shots,"
"Pete's still scared of needles?" she asked.
"He's not really scared of them anymore honey, more terrified."
"Why?" she asked.
"He went on a field trip a few years ago and got bitten by this spider, he said it felt like getting stuck with a really big needle. He ended up getting real sick from it, ever since then he hates them." he replied.
"Oh..."
"It's not really that Pete's not here is it?" he asked.
She looked at him and blinked a little before sheepishly nodding her head, "No.....I don't like doctors....they never helped before."
Part of Happy broke at the statement, he pulled her closer to him and kissed the top of her head gently, "Well these will honey, they always will. You don't need to worry about that anymore, okay? I promise you, if I thought that you and Pete weren't safe with Tony and Pepper, I would've never let them sign those papers. I would never have let May make them your god parents if I didn't trust them. Tony's my best friend and Pepper's like my sister. Honey, I trust both of them with my life. I'd never let anything happen to you or to Peter." he replied.
She was leaning against his arm a little, "I know Uncle Happy....sometimes it's just hard to forget. I know Aunt May wouldn't let someone hurt me or Peter. And if she loved you and was going to marry you then you're safe too." she replied.
"Okay." he replied softly, he was glad that she considered him safe.
Pepper and Nat were sharing a knowing look as Happy talked the thirteen year old down from the panic attack she was obviously going to throw herself into. As off-putting as he liked to portray himself, he was generally a teddy bear when it came to kids. They both saw how he seemed to melt a little at being called Uncle Happy, he seemed to enjoy it. Pepper made the mental note to tell Morgan that it was okay. The eight year old had been asking if she could call the man uncle for a while now and both her and Tony had been telling her they didn't know. But it seemed he didn't mind it as his smile seemed to grow every time the thirteen year old repeated the phrase. Ten minutes later, a nurse pulled the group back to a room and checked on Penny's vitals before letting them know that the doctor would be in to see them soon. Penny was sitting up on the examination table with her legs crossed while making small talk with Happy, who was standing over by the window. There were only two other chairs in the room and he'd given them to Nat and Pepper, who were both currently seated. A few minutes later, the doctor came in. She was a woman with blonde hair, in her mid-thirties. She greeted them all and asked a series of routine questions to which Penny answered to the best of her abilities. She asked Pepper questions as well and seemed concerned when given the minor details of Penny's past medical history. After she finished typing down the answers to her questions, she sanitized her hands before pulling on a pair of medical gloves. She took the stethoscope from around her neck and put it in her ears before instructing Penny to take some deep breaths. She nodded her head along slightly as she listened to the girl's breathing. She quickly finished her examination and sat back down in her chair, crossing her legs daintily.
"Alright," she started, "based on your answers and how your breathing and the breathing test from earlier went you seem to have a pretty severe case of asthma."
"Is there anything you can do for it?" Pepper asked, "We want to get her in the best health as possible." she announced.
The woman nodded,"Well Miss Potts, there are several things we can do. I see here that Stephen Strange already prescribed a rescue inhaler and some epipens?"
"Yes he did, he felt it was best we see you for a consult." the strawberry-blonde replied, nodding her head lightly as she spoke.
The woman nodded, "He was correct in his referral. Based on your past prescription from when you were six years old you were on the Flovent inhaler to control your daily symptoms. Considering that was seven years ago and you've gone without treatment during that time, your condition has significantly worsened. I'd like to try her on Symbicort. It's a two in one bronchodilator that will help manage her symptoms, we can start her on 160/4.5 micrograms. She would take one puff in the morning after breakfast and one before bed every day. I'd also recommend starting her on Singular, which would help reduce the inflammation of her airways. This would also improve her immune system since it also deals with the mast cells. She would take this before bed every night, as it makes you drowsy. Do you have any questions?"
"What if it doesn't work?" Pepper asked, she was leaning forward writing down everything the woman was telling them; she wanted to make sure that she was doing what was best for the young teenager and that she knew all the options for her treatment, "What if this doesn't improve her condition, what do we do then?"
"In my medical opinion this regimen should help her condition as long as she continues them as prescribed. However, if she still needs help controlling her symptoms, we have two options. The first being adding a third inhaler, probably the SPIRIVA, inhaler. The second would be a biologic."
"A biologic? What does a biologic do?"
"A biologic is essentially a shot that she would receive either once, twice or four times a month, depending on her symptoms. She would continue taking her current regimen if we needed to go this route and it would be administered at home. However, I do not think that there is anything that would show that Miss Parker would need either of these treatments in the future."
Pepper nodded her head.
"I will send a prescription home for a nebulizer and albuterol treatments."
"What would we use this for?"
"It is preferred that Miss Parker does not rely on her emergency inhaler in case of an emergency when she's at home. She'd keep this preferably in her room by her bed. It is a machine that turns the liquid solution into an aerosolized solution, it would help in cases of an asthma attack or difficulties breathing that are not helped by breathing exercises. I'd also like to start you on Cetirizine miss Parker to help with your allergies. Most of my patients have allergies that can make their asthmatic symptoms worse. Cetirizine is the prescription name for Zyrtec, Miss Potts, she'll take this once a day. I'd like to see you back here in a month to see how everything is going. Do any of you have any questions?"
"What happens if that nebulizer machine or the inhaler doesn't work in an emergency?" Happy asked.
"Take her to the nearest emergency center."
Happy nodded.
"So we will be starting her on three medications, the Symbicort, Singular, and the Cetirizine?"
"Yes, as well as the nebulizer in case of emergencies." the doctor replied, nodding her head as she checked over her notes.
"Also, my youngest daughter has the flu. We've been keeping Penny from seeing her just in case, and we were wondering if it would hurt if Penny could visit her."
Penny looked at the woman, "Please? I promised I'd wear a mask and change and get a shower right after, I really want to see her."
The woman gave her a small smile, "I don't see why not, as long as you wear a mask. You have a compromised immune system young lady, so you need to take precautions."
Penny smiled at her, happy with the news, "Thank you," she replied.
"Any more questions?"
Pepper smiled at her, "I think that's all the questions I have. Do you have any sweetpea?"
Penny shook her head, "No ma'am."
"Okay then," the doctor announced, "I will see you all next month. It was nice meeting you."
After the doctor left the room Pepper smiled largely, "I say we are making progress sweetie; what about you?"
Penny nodded, "I think so too Miss Pepper."
Pepper grinned larger, it was the first time the girl had called her by her first name instead of Miss Potts, it made her feel like she was getting closer to her, "Let's go get some ice cream in celebration, pick up your medications at the pharmacy then head back to the compound so Happy can go get the others. You can go with him if you want sweetpea."
"Okay, is that okay with you?" she asked the man.
He nodded, he'd be happy to spend some one-on-one time with the teenager, "Of course Honey."
Two hours later, Penny was sitting in the front seat of the SUV that Happy drove to pick them up from school everyday. She was wearing another one of Peter's sweatshirts that was covered in oil stains from lab days with Tony. Happy was pretty sure that it used to be one of Tony's old ones that Peter stole from the man. He smiled faintly before having JARVIS take a picture of the girl and sending it to Tony. When they pulled up to the school, Penny hopped out of the front seat so Pietro wouldn't have to climb into the back seat. He thanked her by giving her a quick peck on the forehead. Once again, Kate and Yelena took the back row and the Parker siblings took the middle row. Kate was laying across the backseat in Yelena's lap, while the blonde picked at a strand of her hair. Peter had one of his arms draped around his sister's frame and was resting his head on top of hers.
Peter looked at Penny, "Is that another one of my sweatshirts?" he asked.
She turned red, "Yeah...I put the other one back...it didn't smell like you anymore." she replied softly, her voice was slowly growing smaller.
Peter smiled faintly, "You know I stole that from Mister Stark right?"
She looked at him wide-eyed. "You did!" she hissed.
He laughed a little, "Almost two years ago," he replied grinning at her, "he let me keep it,"
"Why'd you take it in the first place Pete? You can't steal from Mister Stark."
Peter laughed a little, "Morgan let me go into his room to pick out a sweatshirt for her, she was cold. She found it for me and she was giving me this really sad look and I couldn't say no, so I put it on. When Mister Stark came back, he saw me in it and he was so happy he gave it to me."
"Did Morgan make you play tea party?" she asked.
"Worse, I had to play princesses. She made me wear this really small pink tutu and I had all these flowers in my hair. Mister Stark took a picture of it!" he replied, groaning slightly as he mentioned the picture.
She started giggling at the thought of Peter wearing the green and blue hoodie, a tutu, and flowers in his hair.
"It's not that funny princess," he replied, grinning at seeing her laughing so hard.
"It kind of is Pete...Can I see the picture?" she asked, looking up at him expectantly.
Peter shook his head, wide-eyed, "Oh god no, I think I wiped them all out." he replied triumphantly.
"Not all of them kid," Happy replied, smirking slightly in the rearview mirror at the doe-eyed boy.
"What are you talking about Hap?" he asked, his eyes growing slightly wider.
"Tony printed a few out and has them framed, he also saved one that can't be deleted."
"Why did he print them?!" the brunet basically screeched.
"One for May, one for me, Pep has one in her office, and he has one in his office at the company."
"Oh my god," Peter groaned, his face was bright red.
Penny was giggling loudly and Pietro had a very amused smirk on his face, "Can I see it Uncle Happy?" she asked, leaning forward in her seat.
"I'll show you later honey, I think your brother might have an aneurysm if I show you now."
Penny looked over at her brother who was covering his face with one hand, his entire face was bright red along with his ears, "Okay," she replied happily, grinning to herself.
"Princess please..." the brunet begged.
"You have pictures of me in diapers Pete," she replied shrugging,
"Because those are adorable"
She squeaked in derision, "No!"
"I'm your big brother, I'm always right, you'll always be adorable." he countered, brushing off her disagreement.
She huffed and rolled her eyes, "Will not."
"Hate to break it to you princessa but he's right." Pietro replied.
She looked at him with sad eyes, "I thought you were on my side Pietro," she replied.
He averted his eyes, "Who taught her that!" he asked.
Peter was snickering and Happy had a faint smile, "I don't think you actually upset her P," the younger boy replied winking.
"Princessa please don't do that, it kills this Sokovian's heart," he replied, dramatically placing his hand over his chest.
She giggled a little, "He's so dramatic," she whispered.
Peter nodded in agreement.
"Beside's princessa," the ash-blond continued, now grinning at her, "chaos knows no sides."
Peter rolled his eyes as the older boy turned back around, "How was your appointment princess?" he asked.
"It went well. She put me on three different medicines. An allergy pill, a pill for inflammation, and another inhaler. She also gave me a nebulizer just in case. I think Miss Pepper was really happy about everything."
Peter looked down at her for a second, it was the first time he'd heard her refer to Pepper by her name, "That's good princess, and I promise she's not the only one."
Everyone in the car nodded their heads in agreement with his last statement.
"See," he replied, he pointed at his backpack that was sitting on his toes, "I got you your homework, I went by all your classes and picked it up. Why didn't you tell me Brad was in your computer class?" he asked.
She tensed slightly at the name, "He uh doesn't bother me anymore."
Peter felt her tense and his spider sense slightly went off at the lie, "Okay..." he replied, he didn't believe her., "let me know if that changes okay?"
"I-I will," she replied, offering him a small smile.
Peter and Pietro shared a look through the rearview mirror and the two girls in the backseat shared one as well. Soon they all pulled up at the compound and they all piled out of the car. Happy followed the group of teenagers into the kitchen where Pepper had laid a snack out for them. Pietro and Peter were the first to reach the table and were happily devouring the platter of carrots, celery, apples and grapes she'd set out. After they finished their snacks, the group dispersed. Happy went to go see Tony in his office, he was attempting to get the man to destress. The billionaire was stressing over the upcoming interview between the two Parker kids and his lawyer. He was worried about how the younger of the two would handle it and Peter would handle hearing every detail. Happy's goal was to help get him to destress from the situation. Pietro went to bug his sister, who was in her room doing school work; she wanted to catch up on the past two days of work she'd missed. Her protests to his entering her room uninvited could be heard from up the stairs; Natasha rolled her eyes in disapproval. Kate went up to her room to do homework, she wanted to get her school work out of the way before she grew distracted by anything and everything, and Yelena went downstairs to train with her sister once again. Pepper handed Penny a mask and waited for the girl to put it on before following the two Parker siblings upstairs to Morgan's room.
A/N:
Thank you for 1.8K views! That means a lot to me. I've decided that this book will probably have between fourty-five to fifty chapters, meaning we're over half way to the end.
On another notes, all the medical jargon is factual if you were wondering. I've taken or am currently taking all of these medications in my life. I used talk I've heard my pulmonary and asthma/allergy speciallist use in my own appointments.
Once again thank you for all the views and I will post my next chapter on Tuesday!