Chapter one

"Help! Someone - help! I'm d-down here," he cried. He relaxed his whole body, giving up in no time. Nobody was coming. Nobody was going to help. Peter groaned.

"Come on Peter - come on. Come on Spiderman," Peter grunted as he steeled himself and lifted. He groaned and cried out as the pain in his chest and back increased with the pressure of the collapsed roof structure. He screamed painfully and -

Peter shot up and cried out in pain as his ribs shifted slightly.

"Oh my god, oh my god, ohmygodohmygodohmy-"

He couldn't breath and his chest tightened painfully.

"Kid, come on, kid. Breathe. Come on, breathe with me," a familiar voice was saying gently and Peter felt and gentle hand take his and rest it on the man's chest. He could feel the calm rising and falling of his chest as he breathed in and out slowly, and Peter steeled himself to copy the man's calm, gentle breaths. He took a deep, shuddering breath and let it go slowly. He followed the man's steady breaths until his own breathing was under control and his vision became clear once more. Peter could now recognise the man that sat before him and sighed as he tried to stop the tears that continued to fall.

"M-Mr. Stark," Peter said softly. "What happened? Where am I?"

"You're at the Avengers Compound in the med bay. You stopped the Vulture from stealing tech out of my plane last night. Don't you remember?" Mr. Stark told him gently. Peter groaned at the memory and flopped back onto his pillow - all the while cringing at the pain this action caused him.

"I also blew up your plane in case you don't remember," he mumbled.

"Yeah that's not important. What i really want to know is how you got three shattered ribs, a crazily bruised spine and a broken leg. FRIDAY ran some tests and has proved that those particular injuries are not from the plane crash," Mr. Stark said, eying Peter with a look of concern and ... something else Peter couldn't quite place. Peter closed his eyes at the memory of the warehouse and whispered softly,

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I know that whatever happened was the cause of your freaky nightmare and panic attack, Peter. This is very clearly something we need to talk about."

"I- I don't ... I can't - "

"It's okay, Peter. Take your time," Mr. Stark said softly. Peter took a deep, shuddering breath and stared up at the ceiling.

"I followed him f-from Homecoming t-to a w-warehouse. He had told me n-not to follow him a-and I didn't listen. He was t-talking to me and then he b-brought out his wings and I-I thought he was trying to get me so I jumped out - out of the way and he didn't get me. B-but then he said that he wasn't actually trying to get me and he started to leave and then the building collapsed and oh god! I couldn't breath and it was crushing me and nobody was there and I-I couldn't-" Peter felt a comforting hand on his shoulder and he looked down from the ceiling, calming down slightly (he hadn't realised he'd been hyperventilating until then). He searched Mr. Stark's eyes - which were filled with concern and ... guilt?

"How did you get out?" Mr. Stark asked hesitantly.

"I lifted it."

"Wha- how?"

"I had to," Peter shuddered.

"I'm so sorry, kid." Peter stares at him in confusion.

"What are you apologising for?" he asked incredulously.

"It's all my fault you were out there without the suit. If you had had the suit, I would have known that you were in danger. I could have helped you out of that mess," Mr. Stark said with a confliction that Peter could not understand.

"You didn't know that I was going to go after him, though, Mr. Stark," Peter said softly. "You couldn't have known."

"But i should have counted on it." Mr. Stark sighed, then stood from his seat. "I'll leave you to get some rest. I'll have FRIDAY let me know if you have another nightmare, okay?" Peter day back against his pillow again and sighed in resignation.

"Okay." Mr. Stark closed the door softly behind him as he left, and Peter closed his eyes, immediatly drifting off to sleep.