I had too.

I'm not sorry.

>:)

(Basing the hospital scene kind of like a dentist thing because I've never actually been to a hospital aside from insta care and my pediatrician for vaccines)

~

When Tony finally came too twenty hours later, his first thought was 'how am I still alive?'

The question sat with him for what felt life hours as he tried to comprehend what exactly had just happened.

The next thing he noticed about his situation was a slow but steady beat ringing out in the back of his head. He found it madly infuriating but oddly soothing at the same time. He couldn't explain it, but he subconsciously knew what it was after it showed no sign of stopping.

Tony's body whined in protest as he opened his eyes then immediately screwed them shut, blocking out the harsh light.

Besides him, he heard someone wake with a snort. Blinking, Tony turned his head to see one if the only friendly faces he knew.

"Honey bear?" Tony asked, his voice hoarse.

Tears welled up in Rhodey's eyes just as fast as he wiped them away. "Yeah yeah, sure, Tones. It's honey bear."

Tony chuckled softly, weakly pushing himself up so he was sitting back on his pillow.

"Here," Rhodey offered his help and readjusted the pillows behind Tony.

Tony smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

Fully sitting up now, Tony was finally able to see what had happened. He remembered the crash, though it was foggy, and vague flashes of strangers in blue scrubs racing him down a long hall and through a door.

Bracing himself, Tony decided to look down at his chest.

White bandages covered most of the skin he could see and various machines were hooked up to the limited areas exposed. Strangely, he wasn't in a hospital gown, but he did have an annoying little wristband that was itchier than it seemed. For unseen reasons, Tony felt as if he should be in more pain then just the dull ache he had in his chest, but he figured it was the amount of painkillers the doctors most likely jacked him up on.

Huffing dismissively, Tony faced Rhodey again. "What happened?" He asked calmly.

Rhodey's face seemed to fall and he started to pick at an old scab on his arm. "Well, a semitruck rammed into your Lambo and sent it flying off a cliff. Took nearly twelve hours to find you: no one knew where you had gone or why you left except Rodgers, but he's not exactly talking. Says he caused your accident?"

Tony grimaced. "He didn't exactly cause it, but... well, we got into a fight. Pissed me off and I drove off in a fit of rage. Then it started raining and I couldn't see the road and that's when the semi hit."

Rhodey made a sound of acknowledgment. "Alright."

Tony yawned and sank back into his pillows. He was really tired and wanted to go back to sleep. "Rhodey, I'm tired." He announced.

Rhodey smiled softly, setting his hand down. "Go to sleep then. I'll be right here if you need me."

Tony grinned softly. "Thank you."

Closing his eyes, Tony curled in in himself as much as he could and breathed a sigh of relief. He was alive, he was okay. Everything would be okay.

Seconds later, Tony was snoring softly.

~

The next time Tony woke, he felt peaceful and surprisingly well rested considering his sleep schedule.

He was also not alone; Rhodey had kept his promise. Smiling, Tony rubbed his eyes. "Morning, Rhodes." He slurred.

"Colonel Rhodes had to leave. It's Steve. Steve Rodgers."

Oh. Tony internally signed, his smile fading.

"Tony, I'm so, so, sorry, I- I didn't mean-" Steve continued, tripping over his words.

"What time is it?" Tony interupted, tuning out Steve's words. Yes, he was grateful that the captain was apologizing, but he didn't want to be around Steve at the moment. He didn't know what it was, but he and Steve never fully got over each other's differences.

"Three twenty-eight pm. Thursday." Steve answered, clearly anxious to get a response from Tony aside from asking what the time is.

"What did they-" Tony started, only to be cut off by a loud knock on the door.

"Come in!" Tony yelled, refusing to meet the Captain's gaze.

The door swung open and in walked Tony's younger sister, Mary Parker. "Anthony Edward Stark!" She practically screamed. "Don't you dare do that to me and Peter again, do you hear me?!?"

Tony grinned sheepishly. "Heyyy, Mary!"

Suddenly, Tony was engulfed in a bone-crushing hug, his shoulder growing wet as Mary started to cry.

"Oh, no, Mary, sorellina, don't cry-" Tony whispered in her ear, rubbing circles into her back.

Finally she let go and stepped back, her bottom lip quivering slightly, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "Peter's worried, he kept begging to see you after the crash. It was all over the news this morning."

Tony hummed. "Well, tell him that his old uncle's fine. I'm just a bit banged up, I'll be back on my feet before you know it!"

Mary laughed softly. "That's my big brother."

Her gaze met Tony's and that's when he saw it: sadness, pain, regret, it was all there. Tony's smile faded as they had a staring contest as a result of neither of them willing to look away.

"Mary?" Tony finally asked. "What's wrong?"

Mary bit her lip, stifling a sob.

"Mary?" Tony asked a little more tentively.

Mary sighed and sat besides Tony on the bed, resting her hand if his knee. "When they found you... they thought you were dead. They got you out of the car, identified the... the body, then a paramedic trying to save you found your pulse.

"You somehow managed to pull through and survived, but you gave everyone quite a scare during surgery." Mary laughed emotionlessly. "You flatlined. Once, during surgery. It was terrifying in those seconds before they restarted your heart." Tony stared down at his hands. Poor Mary, having to go through that. After her husband, Richard, was killed in a plane crash, she had been very overprotective of her 8-year-old son, Peter, and Tony himself.

"But, you pulled through! You survived, and you're here, and, and.." Mary burst into tears again and hugged her brother. "I'm so, so grateful you're alive..."

Tony smiled, running his hands through her hair. "I'm not going anywhere, sorellina.

A nurse sudden walked in, seeing the two siblings, blushed and made to leave, but Tony stopped her and said it was fine. "She's my sister, it's okay."

The nurse nodded quickly, clutching her clipboard closer to get chest.

"What happened?" Tony asked. "I remember the crash and my friends and sister told me what happened before I woke up, but I don't know much after that."

The nurse nodded in understanding, then lifted a page on her clipboard as if checking something. "Well, Mr. Stark, I can't tell you much about the actual surgery, but you were rushed in on a chopper with a sprained wrist, two broken ribs, three fractured ribs, your left leg fractured in multiple spots, and a concussion. You were pretty banged up, but we had our best doctors on the case and they fixed you up pretty nicely. The only major injury we should be concerned about is the shrapnel left over in your chest and a part of the dashboard that lodged itself in your chest.

"Of course, we were able to get it out, but it did cause some serious damage. However, I'm not qualified enough to properly explain what the 'serious damage' is so I will be right back with the head doctor of your surgery." The nurse gave a small, closed lip smile.

Tony, slightly bewildered at her speech, nodded. She left in a hurry with another smile.

Mary sighed and grabbed his hand from the chair she was sitting in. "It's going to be okay." She whispered.

"I hope so." It was just then that Tony finally noticed Steve had left. He frowned slightly, "hey, when did Rodgers leave?"

~

Five minutes after the nurse had initially left, the door opened again and the nurse stepped in, a shorter man with mousy dirty-blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a nose that could only be described as somewhat similar to a hedgehog's followed. He wore the traditional doctors scrubs with a stethoscope hanging limply around his neck.

"Mr. Stark, this is Doctor John Watson." Dr. Watson waved and Tony offered him a small smile. "He'll be able to explain your... condition better than I can. I'll leave you too it!"

True to her words, the nurse left hastily, leaving Dr. Watson with Tony and Mary.

"Like she said, I'm Dr. John Watson, but you can call me John. Formalities aren't really my thing." John spoke in a crisis English accent. "Now, you were recently in a car accident, correct?"

Tony nodded skeptically. Didn't this man operate on him just hours earlier?

As if reading his mind, John gave a short laugh. "I didn't operate directly- I more or less told everyone what to do from behind the scenes if that makes sense."

It did, and Tony made this clear. "So, then, about this 'condition'?"

"Oh! Yes, yes, that. Well, basically.. I better sit down. Not as young as I used to be." John chuckled, pulling the second chair in the room to the edge of Tony's bed and settling himself. "Now, as I was saying, the stuff that makes up a dashboard was pushed into your chest. Thankfully, it didn't pierce your heart, but it did some damage.  That damage along with toxins from your arc reactor, and the shrapnel already embedded in your chest," John pointed to the white bandages hiding Tony's chest from the world. "causeing your heart to fail."

"At the rate it's going, your heart can only last so long. Eventually the shrapnel, toxins, and dashboard pieces will shut down your body. Our only course of option at this point is a complete cardiac transplantation or an extensive surgery that might not even work." John explained with a grim look.

"Is.. is there a third option?" Mary asked, clutching Tony's hand.

John's gaze sank to the floor. "No."

Tony swallowed thickly. "No?"

"Well... there is one,  it it's not a fun option." John said slowly. Mary's grip tightened.

"Which is..?"

"If no course of action is taken, then, you have three months to live."

Silence fell over the room, broken only by Mary's scream.