"Tony, she hasn't come in the last 2 weeks. I'm sure she won't come within the next 2 days. We'll be fine." Pepper stared down her panicking husband. Tony ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "But, even if she does! How would you get to the hospital?" Pepper thought for a second before replying, "Peter can drive me. He just learned to drive, right?" Tony scoffed, not at Peter but at the situation. "Yeah, but Pep, he can hardly leave the bathroom for more than 30 seconds at the minute!" Pepper sighed, knowing he was right. "But, it's just nausea now, though. Right?" Tony nodded. "Right, then." Tony still looked unsure. "Tony... if Peter can't drive me, I'll get F.R.I.D.A.Y to order an ambulance. If she starts to come, I promise to ring you."

2 hours later, Tony was ready to leave for L.A for his business trip. "Oh! Let me just check on Peter." Tony rushed off to Peter's en suite. He went to open the door and he heard retching. "Pete? It's Tony." Saying no more, Tony opened the door. He saw Peter with his arms folded on top of the toilet seat, his head resting between them with a space if he needed to be sick. There was a blanket around his shoulders and a few pillows. There was also a bottle of Gatorade on the side, next to him. "Peter?" Tony let the question hang in the air, who did all this? "Pepper. She came in earlier." God, she's perfect. Tony's thought was interrupted when Peter retched again. He then groaned really loudly. Tony raised an eyebrow. "I feel like I wanna be sick... but I can't!" Tony's heart clenched when Peter lifted his head and there were tears flowing down his face. Tony handed him a piece of tissue and Peter wiped his eyes. "Pete, why don't you go to bed? I'll put a bucket in there so if you are sick, it goes in the bucket." New tears come down his face, "I don't wanna leave Pepper alone..."

"You won't be. You can sit in the room with me if you want?" Tony turned to the new voice and frowned. He was about to speak but Peter voiced his thoughts, "But Pepper, I don't wanna get you sick before you give birth." Pepper rolled her eyes, "Peter, I've had morning sickness. I know what it's like to puke." Peter actually faced her this time when he spoke, "But morning sickness is when your body cleans itself for the baby. The stomach flu will just hurt you." Pepper just stared at him. "Peter... shut up. Just come in the living room. By the time, IF, I catch this flu, the baby WILL be out." Then Pepper proceeded to pick up the blanket and pillows and waddled off to the living room. Peter glanced at Tony. "Even pregnant, she is still a force to be reckoned with. C'mon kid, I'll get the bucket, you bring the Gatorade."

30 minutes later, Tony had said his goodbyes and left, leaving a very pregnant Pepper and a very sick Peter. Pepper was sat with her feet curled up behind her, stretching her stomach. Peter was dozing next to her with his toes slightly digging into her legs. It was nice. Pepper caressed her bump and began talking when the baby kicked. Pepper's heart glowed and she couldn't help the smile that bloomed on her face. Peter rolled over in his sleep and once he had rolled over, Pepper subconsciously placed a foot on his ankle and began to rub it, like she did Tonys when he was ill.

Suddenly, Pepper felt a sharp pain in her lower back. She hissed and brought a hand to rub it. She'd been getting these pains quite frequently over the past 3 days. She'd researched it and it said it could be her body preparing for labour. "Mrs. Stark?" Pepper sighed, "It's Pepper, F.R.I.D.A.Y." There was a pause, "Ok. Pepper?" Pepper smiled, "Yeah, F.R.I.D.A.Y?" She asked, pressing a hand on her back when it began to hurt. "Pardon me for examining you without your consent, but you seem to have signs similar to that of giving birth. Would you like me to alert Mr. Stark?" Pepper let the information sink in for a second before she snapped her practical head on. Before she could respond, Peter shot into a sitting position and leaned over the trash can and threw up. Pepper rubbed his back and replied to F.R.I.D.A.Y, "No, but get a car ready. I'll go to the hospital and... actually, yeah. Say this, hey Tony, F.R.I.D.A.Y thinks I'm showing signs of the very beginning of labour. Pete is taking me to the hospital for a check-up. Don't leave until I text you what they say. Love, Pepper. That ok?" There was a pause as F.R.I.D.A.Y did her work. "Wait, What?" Peter asked once he was finished. "F.R.I.D.A.Y thinks I'm showing signs of the beginning of delivery. Tony said you can drive..." Peter rubbed his neck, looking paler than he had earlier. "I can... but I'm not sure if I can make it to the hospital without being sick," Peter admitted, sheepishly. "That's Ok. If we need to pull over, or, hell, if I need to hold a kidney dish for you to puke in if necessary, then I will," Pepper admitted. "Ok then. Let's go."

Pepper kept an eye on Peter the whole time as he was known for putting on a façade when he was sick or hurt. His expression stayed the same the whole time... save halfway through and nearly there. There was no music playing and the pain in Pepper's back increased by quite a lot in the journey. Suddenly, there was a loud gulp. Pepper looked at Peter, whose expression was grey-faced and tight-lipped. Sweat was on the side of his head. "Pete?" Pepper asked, cautiously. His skin blanched even more and Pepper had a couple of seconds to shove the kidney dish under his chin before he threw up. Between the 3 heaves, bless him, he kept glancing up at the road to make sure they were ok. After the 3rd heave, he profusely apologized to Pepper for the grossness of the situation. She just replied with, "Honey, I had to deal with Tony when he had food poisoning once. And he had the shits. So that was fun!"

Nearer towards the hospital, on a quieter road, they had to pull over. This was the 2nd time Peter threw up. He stumbled out of the car and bent over, practically in half. Pepper moaned to herself as she felt another sharp pain. Peter must have heard it with his enhanced hearing because he straightened back up and stumbled back into the car. Because it was a quieter road, they could drive faster. Pepper saw that Peter looked very pale and that his arm snaked around his middle and he was slightly bent over. "Pete? Are you ok?" Pepper asked. "Yeah... my stomach just really hurts..." he trailed off, eyes squinting in obvious pain. "Peter? Where does it hurt?" Pepper asked, "My right side..." Pepper's heart sank. "How long has it been hurting?" Pepper asked. "About 3 days before I got sick. I just thought it was a stomach ache for something I ate. It didn't really feel that bad..." He trailed off, suddenly looking very pale. "Describe the pain." Peter's eyes fluttered and for a small second, Pepper thought he might pass out, but he straightened up and pushed on the gas. "Like somebody is stabbing me." Pepper immediately connected the dots. "Step on it, Peter." Her voice serious.

He did.

They got to the hospital in 5 minutes. While Peter was parking, Pepper went to sign in. "I also want to check in my son. I think he has appendicitis. He's been complaining of a stabbing feeling in his right side of his abdomen and has been throwing up consistently for the last 3 days." The nurse checked him in and looked up. She nodded. "I'm guessing your gonna want one of Tony's doctors for that. And for you?" Pepper nodded. "Ok, you're both booked in." Pepper suddenly remembered, "He also looked like he was gonna pass out just before we got here. He may have passed out so can you send someone to go and check? The number plate is *** ***. Thank you." The nurse nodded and radioed for someone to go and get him. Another up nurse with a wheelchair came to her. "Come on Mrs. Stark. Let's go and see if you're having your baby."

*5 minutes before that*

Peter slowed his pressure on the gas as they pulled up to the drop-off part of the hospital and unlocked the doors. "I'll go in and you go and park." Pepper got out of the car and very slowly made her way to the double doors. Peter didn't leave until she was in through the doors, safe if anything happened. His right side really, really, really, hurt now. He drove slowly through the car park which wasn't very crowded. He pulled into an empty space and turned off the gas. Suddenly, his stomach twisted and he lunged for the kidney dish from earlier and threw up in it again. Tears flowed down his face as his stomach jumped with heaves and his right side pounded. When he'd finished, he placed the kidney dish on the seat telling himself to remember where it was and to put it in the bin when he got chance. He opened his car door and went to get out but the movement caused his right side to flare up with pain so bad, that his eyes rolled into his head and he passed out.

F.R.I.D.A.Y had alerted Tony a few hours back and he was with Pepper within 4 hours.

5 hours after Tony's arrival was Peter's 9th hour in surgery for a ruptured appendix.

2 hours after that, 7 hours since Tony came back, Pepper gave birth.

It was a beautiful baby girl, whom they called Morgan. They alerted all of the Avengers who were in the area of the great news. All of them held Morgan, who seemed more than happy to revive hugs. The nurse came through and picked up Morgan who made little protest as she passed to another warm stranger and smiled at the new parents. "I'm going to take Morgan to the nursery while Mum has a rest. Also, Mr. Stark? Your son is asking for you. He's in room 876 and is very drugged up, so he may be incoherent when you see him. A nurse will meet you there to discuss things with you." The nurse left, mumbling nonsense to Morgan and Tony turned to Pepper. She smiled, "Tony, he was incredible." She said to him. "Why, what happened?" He asked, retaking his seat on the bed. "He fell asleep on the couch when you left and I started to get contractions, though none of us knew this at the time. When I was speaking to F.R.I.D.A.Y about what to say to you, he eventually twigged on and was, albeit, hesitant. He said he was worried about us crashing if he needed to puke. We got through the journey ok for the most part, except when we had to pull over once so he could be sick and when he was sick in a kidney dish in the car because he said he didn't want me in pain just because he didn't feel well. He dropped me off at the entrance and I checked us in." Tony nodded, ready to thank Peter for everything. "Then a nurse came in and told me that he passed out and was having surgery for a ruptured appendix and needed 4 stitches in his forehead because when he passed out, he split his head open." Tony winced through his teeth. "Ok, I'm gonna go see him. See you in a bit."

Tony walked up to room 876 and met with the nurse waiting outside. "Mr. Stark?" The nurse asked, picking up a clipboard. "That's me... how's the kid?" His voice cracked at the end and the nurse smiled sympathetically. "He's fine... well... I say fine. He's better." Tony frowned. The nurse handed him a clipboard and began explainng. "His appendix was removed successfully, but we also had to remove some tissue surrounding the area because it had begun to turn to necrosis. I'm sure you know what that is?" Tony nodded. "Right. He has had to have an IV and 4 stitches in his forehead because he passed out from severe pain and dehydration. When he passed out, he cracked his head on the road. He is going to be 100% fine." Tony handed the board back to the nurse and made a move to turn to the door when the nurse stopped him. "I just remembered, he also is still suffering from nausea and vomiting. This isn't uncommon, but it isn't common. About 30% of patients who have an appendectomy suffer from nausea and vomiting. This isn't caused by infection, but by some signals confused by the brain. If he complains of any more abdominal pain, call a nurse and they will come and up the pain meds."

Tony walked into the room and saw Peter propped up on pillows, looking very drained. "Hey, kid." Peter turned to face him. "Hey, Mr. Stark. How's Pepper?"
This kid...
"She's fine. She had a baby girl. We've called her Morgan." Peter smiled, though he looked exhausted. The nurse was right, there was a faint smell of vomit in the room and Tony frowned. "Honestly, how are you, Peter?" He asked. Peter shifted and an expression of pain shot across his face. "Hey, hey, easy. The nurse said take it easy."

Peter's face blanched and Tony had to shove a kidney dish under his chin as bile dribbled out. Peter pulled back and wiped his mouth. Tony put the dish away in the bin and sat next to Peter on the bed and brushed the bangs away from his eyes. Peter leaned into the touch and sighed. "How about this. When you feel better, I'll bring Morgan in here and you can hold her. I'd bring her in sooner, but I just can't risk her getting sick." Peter nodded and his eyes fluttered. "Ok, you're tired. I'm gonna go and give you some rest." He nodded again, his eyes closed. "Ok, dad. See you tomorrow." Tony stumbled but regained his footing as he left with a smile on his face.

Dad.

He was a dad now.

He was a dad of 2 beautiful children.