Chapter Text
They'd all been awake for 36 hours straight.
Well, almost all of them.
Tony was the only one still up at the mark in the marathon race his family were involuntarily signed up for.
Thankfully, Pepper, Ethan, and most importantly his baby girl Eva were all passed out leaving him to maintain a lobe vigil.
They had returned from the island only a day ago? Or was it last night? No, it had to be a day ago since it had been 36 hours since he slept right? When they got back doesn't really matter anyway as much as what had happened when they got home. Well not quite home yet as they'd still been on the jet when it started.
Tony and Pepper both had their seats back, their eyes closed when they heard the voice of their twelve year old son, "Mom, Dad, I think there's something wrong with Evie."
"What seems to be wrong, honey?" Pepper asked, yawning and looking at him.
He shrugged, "I don't know. I think she got like sunburned or something?"
Tony opened his eyes too, "What makes you think she might've gotten sunburned?"
"Her arms and legs are really red and she says they hurt, like a lot. She also says that her back hurts too."
"I'll go," Tony asked without consulting his wife.
"We'll both go."
They both hopped out of their seats, and followed Ethan over to the couches where he and his sister had been napping. Eva was sitting up, had pushed her blanket off her, and was crying. When she saw them, she reached out towards...
"Mommy, it hurts!"
How strange! She usually wanted her Daddy when she was hurt or sick.
Pepper carefully sat down on the couch, "So Mommy where it hurt, baby."
The little girl held up her arms, and not only were they angry red but blisters were forming too.
"Oh my... Does your back hurt too, baby? Brother said you said your back was hurting you too."
"Uh huh. Hurts lots, Mommy."
"Here lean forward on Mommy so Daddy can look at your back, baby."
Tony went around to her back, and carefully lifted up her shirt, " I don't see anything.. Oh my... Pep, the upper part of her back looks as bad as her arms do!" They hadn't even looked at her legs yet but both of her parents bet they were just as bad as the other areas of her body!
"Hurts!" the little girl whined again, leaning into her mother's arms.
Pepper looked at her husband, and they shared a silent conversation.
"I'll go see what we’ve got available for sunburns," Tony said, getting up.
"Do you need me to help too, Daddy?" Ethan asked, jumping up. He didn't like seeing his little sister in pain anymore than their parents did.
"Sure, sport. We'll be back in a minute. Try to stay still, baby."
They made a good search of the plane, and when they didn't find anything for sunburn, they asked the crew if they knew of anything onboard for it.
"Sorry, sir, but no."
"No."
Even the flight attendant had to say no also, but she did make some helpful suggestions.
"I think we do have some children's tylenol onboard, sir, and I've been sunburned one too many times in my life to know a cool wet cloth will help to relieve the pain too."
Tony nodded, and looking down at Ethan, he said, "I guess we'll get the tylenol for your sister, and wet all the clean rags and small towels we can find."
"Do you need any help with that, Mr. Stark?"
"Yes, thank you. We would appreci--"
"TONY! OH MY... TONY!"
At his wife's frantic voice, he broke off his conversation with the young woman, and looked in the direction she was calling him. Ethan had already zoomed down the hallway, and Tony only saw an after blur of him when he looked. His feet finally got the signal to follow his son's example. He nearly ran into the boy when he reached the hallway himself.
"Ethan, what--"
"Daddy, Evie's puking!"
"What?"
"She's puking, Daddy! Evie's puking her guts out!"
As Ethan's words sank in, he heard Pepper yelling again! "TONY!"
Tony moved his son to one side, and ran the very short distance to the kids' cabin. "Pepper, what--"
At that moment, Eva hunched forward as her little stomach's contents continued to violently empty out onto the bed. For her part, the little girl's mother held her hair back away from her face so she wouldn't get any of the mess in it. Meanwhile, all Tony could do was watch as his little girl continued to throw up, and wrap his arms around his son who was already hugging his middle.
"What's wrong with Evie, Daddy?" the boy asked, his eyes watching his sister.
"I don't know, buddy. I don't know," he responded truthfully.
Finally, Eva stopped throwing up, and sagged back onto the bed in exhaustion. Once she was certain the little girl was finished, Pepper got up, and carefully folded the blankets around the vomit, and removed them. She looked at Tony, "I think we need to find her something to use in case she starts throwing up again."
"Hey Ethan buddy, would you like to go do that for Evie?" Tony asked.
Ethan looked up at him, "I... I don't know what to g-get, Daddy."
"I think a bucket of some sort would be good," his mother suggested.
"Where do I find one?" the boy asked, pulling away from his father.
"Go ask Miss Allie if she can help you find one."
"Okay, Daddy." The little boy disappeared, leaving them alone with their sick little girl.
Pepper had placed the soiled sheets in the corner of the cabin as far away from them as she could. While she was doing this, Tony had taken a seat on the bed, and was carding his fingers through Eva's sweaty locks.
"Hurts, Daddy!" she moaned.
"I know, baby. We're going to get you some medicine to help it feel better." He watched as his wife sat down on the foot of the bed.
"Tony, what do you think is wrong with her? I mean I don't think getting sunburned, even this badly, would make her throw up like that. Would it?"
"I don't know, honey. I just don't know what's wrong. Maybe we should call-"
Ethan came back into the cabin right at that moment, "Will this work okay, Mommy? Miss Allie says that this is the only kind of bucket on the plane!" It was a small bucket that they both recognized a bucket that had previously contained ice in it.
Although she was unsure it could do the job if her daughter started throwing up again, she took the bucket from her son, nodding her head, "It's fine, baby. I'm sure it'll work just fine."
A knock on the door frame claimed their attention, "I'm sorry that it's so small, Mr. Stark, Miss Potts, but it's the only one we could find on short order."
"It's fine, Allie. Thank you."
On the bed, Eva continued to moan.
"Was there something else, Allie?" Tony asked when she didn't leave.
"Uh well, Mr. Stark, I hope you don't mind but I told the captain about Miss Eva's being so sick that she's throwing up and..."
"And what, Allie?" Pepper prompted, rubbing her baby's arm.
"Well, ma'am, I think the captain is contacting the ground. He's trying to get permission to land so Miss Eva can be taken to see a doctor."
They exchanged a look, then looked back at her.
"I'm uh sorry if I overstepped, Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts but I just thought--"
"Oh, no, no, no! We're not upset because of what you did, Allie!" Pepper reassured the young man.
"In fact, we want to thank you," Tony said, picking up where his wife left, "Because it saves us time from having to talk to the captain ourselves."
The intercomm chimed at that moment, the timing couldn't have been better. They all turned their attention towards the panel, "Mr. Stark?"
Tony gave Allie a nod, and she pressed the button to activate their end, "Yes, Captain Charles?"
"Sir, has Miss Stayman told you that I've been in communication with ground control?"
"She has, Captain. Thank you."
"My apologies if I overstepped, sir, but when she told me your daughter is really sick, my little granddaughter flashed through my mind, and well sir, I just had to act."
Pepper answered, "It's okay, Captain Charles. As we told Miss Stayman, we're glad and grateful for your initiative to take action on our behalf. It probably saved us a lot of time."
"Yes, ma'am, I believe it did. We've been given clearance to land at Orlando International airport, and an ambulance will be on standby to transport your daughter to the hospital."
"Thank you, Captain."
"You are most welcome. We'll be landing in about eight minutes. Everyone needs to get strapped in before then please, and I'm sorry to say this, but that includes your little girl too."
Both of Eva's parents cringed at hearing this because it was going to be very uncomfortable for their little girl. Nevertheless, Tony responded to him, and promised, "We will be, Captain. Thank you."
"Charles out."
"If you don't need my help, I will go get strapped in myself?"
"I think we've got it from here, Allie. Thank you."
The young woman nodded, and turned back at the door. Looking at Eva, she said, "I hope you feel better soon, sweetie."
"Thank you," Pepper said on behalf of her daughter.
When she was gone, Tony turned his attention to their little girl, "You and Ethan go get strapped in. I'll take care of our little princess here."
"Okay, I'll--" Pepper said, letting go of Eva's hand.
"NO! Don't go, Mommy!" cried the little girl, raising her arms.
Her mother sat back down beside her, "Baby, Daddy is going to take good care of you, okay? He's going to bring you out into the main cabin, and help you get strapped in, and you'll be able to see me and brother. Okay?" She tried to slip away as she talked, and Eva started whimpering again.
"Want you, Mommy!"
Pepper sighed, and looked at her husband, "I think you and Ethan need to go get strapped in. I'll take care of the little miss here."
"Are you sure? You know it'd be easier for me to carry her."
"Please, Mommy..."
"Yes, I know but I can take care of her. You two go get strapped in."
"Come on, sport, let's go get strapped in."
"What about Evie?"
"Mommy's going to take care of her."
Twenty-five minutes later, the jet had been on the ground for some time. The paramedics were trying to finish up with preliminary treatments for Eva so they could take her to the nearby children's hospital. The delay for starting the drive to the hospital was one of the paramedics, a young woman, was trying to get an IV started and Eva was having none of it.
"Is this really necessary right now?" Tony asked in a sharp tone. He was weary of listening to his little scream every time the woman came near her.
"Yes, sir, it is. Unless I can get an IV started, I won't be able to start giving her fluids, which she is in need of because of the burns she has, and the vomiting episode you told us about."
"An IV is also necessary, sir, ma'am, if you want us to be able to give her medication for the pain," her partner, a man slightly older than her, added.
Tony sighed, and glanced at Pepper, who nodded at him, telling her thoughts in the matter with the simple action. She thought they should allow the paramedics to do their job, and get the IV started. He knew she was right because sooner or later, some medical official was going to insist that an IV be inserted. It was an important part of getting their daughter more comfortable, and as much as they didn't want to hear her cry from being stuck by a needle, they had to let it happen.
"Okay, do whatever you need to," he told the paramedic, "Is there anything I... we can do to help with this?"
"If you could keep her arm still so I won't have to stick her more than once, that would be very helpful."
Both of them knew that Eva would probably be upset with whichever one of them who held her little arm for the paramedic, but this needed to be done to help their baby start feeling better.
"I'll do it," Tony finally said.
Pepper nodded, "Okay."
"Just tell me where you need me to move to."
The young woman nodded, and directed him to a place where he could hold Eva's arm without being in her way while she looked. She ready the needle, and she looked over at Pepper. "Maybe you could try to distract her until I get the n-e-e-d-l-e in? It's going to sting but only for a second, and maybe..."
"Maybe if I distract her, she won't notice what's going on until you've already got it in?"
"Yes, ma'am." After all, it couldn't hurt to try, could it?
After showing Tony how straight she wanted Eva's arm, she prepared the IV needle, and giving Pepper a nod got ready to insert it.
"Ready."
Pepper took her cue, and said to her daughter, "Eva, sweetie, look at Mommy. What do you want to do for Mommy and Me time when you start feeling better? Hmm? We can do anything you want to, baby girl..."
The paramedic looked at Tony, the only signal she gave him to prepare. He tightened his grip on Eva's arm a little, and nodded for her to go ahead. He watched as the young woman pushed the needle into his baby girl's arm. He flinched, thinking about a moment last year when his arms were being held down by straps so IVs could be put into his veins. He hated having to do this to his little girl, but at least this was being done to help her, not hurt her as they were going to do to him. When the needle went in and Eva didn't immediately react, he had a brief moment to hope the reason she didn't react is because Pepper had managed to completely capture her attention with what she was saying about the promise of a day of fun.
But then he had to watch as his baby girl's face crumbled, she started to cry, and try to draw her arm closer to her body. The paramedic still needed to tape the IV in place, so he quickly started saying, "It's okay, princess. You're okay. I know that hurt, but you're okay, baby, and this owie is going to help you with starting to feel better."
"Okay, got it," the young woman said, smoothing the tape into place. "I'll get a normal saline line started, and then an analgesic to help her start feeling a little better." She yelled up at her partner, "Okay, we're ready to go, Joe!" She looked back at them all, "I need you all to hang on tight."
"You mean you're going to let us--"
"Ride in here? Yep!"
Ethan looked quite excited at the prospect, "Are you going to turn on the sigh rings?"
Despite the situation neither Tony or Pepper could keep from smiling at that, "It's si rens , buddy. You know like Ren and Stimpy?"
"Oh... yeah!"
Tony looked at the young woman, "And I think that's a good question. Are you going to turn them on?"
"Sorry if this answer disappoints but no. Your daughter is stable and her injuries, while not very comfortable, are non life-threatening in nature. So, no we'll be driving the speed limit to the hospital with the sirens off."
"Awwww!"
"Sorry, kiddo, but no sirens and going the speed limit are two of the biggest reasons why you and your Dad will get to ride to the hospital with your Mom and sister!"