Chapter Text
Meredith Quill sighed wearily as she gazed out of the hospital window, watching as the sun rose over the horizon. The scenic picture was ruined by the continuous beep of the heart monitor and the painful ache that spread all throughout her body.
A brain tumour.
It had come out of nowhere. Swooping down and ruining her and her son’s life.
Peter… her little Star-lord. Sleeping in the chair by her bedside, refusing to leave her side, worried that each sight of her might be the last time.
These last few months had been very hard for him. The constant trips back and forth from the hospital and the sight of her wasting away in a bed, had caused her son to fall into silence. Whilst he had always adored the tapes she made for him, he was now attached to them, as though knowing that they would be the only thing left of her soon.
But this shouldn’t have happened.
Meredith knew that many viewed her as being some ‘dumb hick’ from Missouri, but she wasn’t dumb… she knew something was wrong the last time her Spaceman visited her. He had only visited twice before in all the time that she was pregnant and after she had Peter… this time, he looked almost distressed.
Like he knew it would be the last time.
Peter had recently turned eight, and was watching his favourite show on the TV. David Hasselhoff and a talking car. What more could a boy need.
It was a tense meeting.
Ego seemed as though he just wanted to get out, and only stayed for around an hour. When he got up to leave, he leant in to kiss her…. But changed his destination from her lips to her forehead.
Less than a week afterwards, she began to have headaches, which were later confirmed to be a brain tumour… a rather advanced brain tumour.
She wasn’t stupid.
For some reason or another, her beloved Spaceman had given her a brain tumour, an advanced one so that she’d be gone quicker.
And she knew why…. Peter.
Every Mother believes there is something special about their child, but she knew there was something…. Unique about her own son. And judging by Ego’s questions about Peter during his visits, he knew it to.
Questions like, how quickly does he heal? How he every shown any unusual abilities?
The first visit, Meredith was very happy to answer, talking about Peter (who was three at the time) seeming to bounce right back to normal after suffering a concussion.
The second time, she was a little more hesitant.
This time, she chose not to reply, quickly changing the subject despite Ego’s clear annoyance.
When she was gone, Peter was not going with that man… and that was not happening. Ego had once given her a phone (or a communicator as he called it), for her to talk to him whenever she wanted… he never answered, but the strange phone might come in handy.
Messing with the dial, which was very similar to a radio knob, she sent messages out to whoever would listen.
Please save her boy when she was gone. Please save him.
“I’m disappointed in you Meredith.”
The heart-monitor spiked when Meredith heard the familiar voice, arm stretching out to try and pull Peter close to her.
Standing in the doorway to her room, dressed in a Doctor’s uniform (and obviously stolen), was Ego. He shook his head, “How could you do this to me…” he whispered, “… You didn’t think I wouldn’t hear about the Terran women asking the universe for help? For someone to look after her son… someone who wasn’t his Dad!”
Meredith shook her head weakly, “You ain’t his Daddy…” she whispered, “… you’re nothin’ but a sperm donor. I don’t know why you decided to kill me and take him, but I won’t let you.”
A dark look flashed across his face, only for it to melt back into insincere affection. “The brain tumour making you paranoid sweetie…” he muttered, walking closer, even as Meredith tried to push herself away, “… You’re my river-lily, remember?”
“Then why kill me?”
Ego was silent for a few moments, before shaking his head. “You don’t understand…. I love you, but you’re a fatal distraction.”
Meredith frowned as Ego continued. “I can’t keep coming back here… one day, I may choose not to return and that’ll kill me. Everything will fall apart because of my love for you.”
“I don’t care if you love me…” she hissed in anger, “… if you were so afraid of staying, then you never should have made that first visit!”
“… You don’t mean that.”
“Come closer and I’ll show you exactly how much I mean it.”
Once again, the dark look flashed across his face, before he wearily sighed. “I didn’t want to have to do this Meredith… I did hope that this would be easy.”
As Meredith desperately tried to resist, Ego walked around the bed and lifted Peter into his arms, which startled the young boy awake.
“Momma?” he muttered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, “Momma, what’s going on?”
“Shh, shh, shh…” Ego whispered as he leaned over Meredith, “… I’m sorry Peter, but your Momma can’t be here anymore.”
Before Meredith could say anything, before she could warn her son, Ego gently placed two fingers against her forehead. Almost as soon as his fingers made contact with her, her vision began to go black and her body went numb.
Beside her, she could hear the heart-beat monitor beeps slow down… and Peter begin to cry as Ego carried him away. “MOMMA! MOMMA!”
Meredith wanted to reassure him. She wanted to speak out and tell him everything would be alright…. But she couldn’t.
She couldn’t speak… and she couldn’t promise everything would be alright whilst he was with Ego, because she knew it wouldn’t be.
……………………………………………………………..
Seconds after Meredith passed away, the Doctor and several nurses rushed into the room. They would then have to inform her Father of his daughter’s demise… and his grandson’s disappearance.
The security cameras showed nothing.
Peter Quill had simply vanished.