Two Hours Later
3:14 A.M.
Peter's POV

After the receptionist had kindly allowed him to use one of the showers to get all of the soot off of him, Peter had gone down the street from the hospital to get a cup of coffee to keep himself awake. He yawned for a few seconds before taking a sip from said cup, not caring that it was piping hot and that it could scald him.

Peter entered the hospital again and took the elevator up to the fifth floor, a little relieved that it wasn't as crowded as it normally would be in the very early mornings. In fact, it was a little quieter than usual, although there were still a dozen or so patients being looked after. But he wasn't really focused on that; he instead noticed one of the doctors that had wheeled a dying Christina to the emergency room and he quickly made his way to him.

"Excuse me, sir!" he called out to him, being careful not to spill his coffee.

"Yes?" the doctor replied with a raised eyebrow, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his scrubs.

"Is she okay?" Peter instantly asked, his heart racing out of pure worry.

"She's going to be absolutely fine," the doctor assured him, knowing exactly who he was referring to. "We gave her some Naloxone to reverse the process of the overdose and the symptoms should be completely gone in a few hours. She's just sleeping right now."

"How bad was it?" Peter pondered, still not sighing with relief just yet.

"Pretty severe..." the doctor answered. "There were several prescriptions in her system and it was nearly enough to kill a horse. You're lucky you found her when you did; it probably would have been forty minutes before it truly got her. Right now, she's hanging on and fighting."

Peter nodded his head, a slow sigh leaving him for real now as he closed his eyes for a moment. "Is Sidney with her?"

"Yes, she is. You can go see her, too, if you want. Just know she probably won't wake up for a little while..."

Peter's head bobbed up and down as the doctor walked past him and down the hallway. He then quietly ambled over to the door the receptionist had guided him to and pushed the door open, peering inside and looking at who was in there. Although he had been told that she would be perfectly okay, his heart still sank into his stomach at what he was seeing, a frown etching itself into his face.

Sidney had seemed to have finally passed out from the pure exhaustion she had felt after crying hysterically all the way to the hospital; Peter couldn't even bring himself to blame her for how she felt, as he had been sobbing as well. He had tried to comfort her regardless of this, wanting to assure her that her older sister was tough and that she would get through this. It had barely worked.

Christina, meanwhile, was in a seemingly peaceful slumber as Sidney held her limp left hand, the heart monitor next to her beeping steadily; a cannula provided much needed oxygen to her lungs after what had happened temporarily prevented her from breathing, and she had an IV in her right arm to help keep her hydrated. Her blue eyes were closed and her breathing was even now, she wasn't sweating or shaking anymore and her body remained still but relaxed.

Peter pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed she was sleeping in. He immediately reached out and tenderly grasped her right hand, caressing the back of it but being careful not to snag the IV in her lower arm.

What could Harry have possibly done to cause this? he thought, absolutely confused and angry. If Christina wanted to take her own damn life, Harry must've done something inexcusable; this pissed Peter off beyond belief and he wanted to go to his penthouse and actually strangle him. He hated his guts now and wished that he never went near his best friend again....

"I'm sorry for whatever he did..." he whispered to Christina, knowing she couldn't hear him as he gently squeezed her hand. "Just sleep as long as you want, okay...?" he added, a single tear falling down his cheek.

Not too long later, the door to the room opened and in walked Mary Jane looking as exhausted as ever. It seemed as though she didn't care how tired she truly was, as the sight in front of her was her main focus. A heavy sigh left the redhead as she placed her purse on the coat hanger on the back of the door and walked over to Peter.

"I hailed the nearest taxi as soon as you called," she told him, completely ignoring that she was still in her pajamas. "How bad is it?"

"The doctor told me that she'll be okay," Peter replied with a shaky sigh, looking over at his friend. "She's been asleep for over two hours... M.J, she looked awful when I found her.... I thought she was actually –"

"Hey, look at me, Pete," Mary Jane said in order to calm him down, placing a hand on his shoulder to provide comfort. "You found her when she was still alive. She's hanging on and she will be okay. She's a fighter, okay?"

"I know she is..." he mumbled, preventing more tears from welling up. "I'm just scared, that's all."

"Chris wouldn't want you to be afraid..." the redhead assured him. "She'd want you to stay strong."

Peter nodded slowly as he squeezed Christina's hand that he was still holding, his heart breaking at how debilitated it felt; the only thing that made him believe Mary Jane's reassuring words was the stable beeping of the heart monitor next to the bed.

_____

One Hour Later
4:25 A.M.

A nurse had come inside the room for a few minutes to check Christina's condition and she informed everyone around the bed that she was getting better by the second. They all expressed relief over this news, especially Sidney after she had woken up; Mary Jane instantly made sure that she kept the young girl calm and collected so she wouldn't break down into tears again.

Sidney began to make plans to contact Midtown Middle School and inform the receptionist there that she would need a couple of days off so she could be with her sister. She was aware that the woman at the front desk was one of the kindest people in the whole building so she would cover for her. But, right now, she wasn't moving from Christina's side until she saw that she was awake. She knew she would most likely be okay but she wasn't going to be assured until she saw her eyes open.

Eventually, it wasn't too long until the sun was about to start peeking over the horizon but Christina still hadn't woken up. Peter was slowly beginning to drift off after getting almost no sleep and his head was resting on the bed next to the woman. Mary Jane was currently going to the cafeteria to get some food, even though she begrudgingly acknowledged that most of it was shitty. So, Sidney was the only person still conscious in the room with her sister.

She reached out and placed a careful hand on Christina's forehead to feel her temperature, which seemed completely normal now. She closed her eyes for a moment before silently sighing with relief. "You're gonna make it, Chris..." she murmured quietly so as to not wake either her or Peter up. "I promise."

Seconds later, Mary Jane came barreling into the room, startling Peter out of his near slumber as everyone looked over at her. She seemed to have a panicked expression in her eyes as she stared at just Peter, breathing heavily and seeming as though she had been sprinting.

"They're here..." she mumbled in a semi-quiet tone, her hands shaking lightly.

Peter, knowing who the redhead was referring to, instantly got up from the chair and removed his hand from Christina's. He turned to Sidney and warned her to stay where she was and watch over her sister; he then walked out of the room with Mary Jane, a patient expression on his face as they both moved to guard the door that was closing behind them.

On cue, two middle-aged people rounded the corner of the hallway and came walking right towards them, the woman of the two holding a small boy in her arms as they did so. They both looked utterly exhausted and as though they had just woken up from a long sleep, but that was the last thing on either of their minds as their destination was the most important thing at the moment.

Allyson was the first to notice Mary Jane and Peter standing in front of the door as though they were protecting whatever was inside. This made her slow her pacing a little bit and she became aware of what was to come; her mood transformed from desperate to anxious albeit respectful of what they were doing. She knew exactly why they were doing this and she wasn't about to argue with them about it.

Michael, meanwhile, saw his daughter's two friends guarding the door to her room and instantly felt the most remorse he ever had for what he had done to her. He was aware that Peter Parker and Mary Jane hated his guts just as much as Christina did, if not more than she did. And he completely understood every single reason and he wasn't angry that they despised him; he deserved the hatred, after all, since he was one hundred percent in the wrong for all that he had done.

The two reached the door and didn't even attempt to struggle to get past the two young adults in front of them. They prepared themselves for what was next, especially when Mary Jane took a step forward to face them.

"May I ask what the hell you two are doing here?" she asked in a confrontational tone, glaring at the both of them.

Surprisingly, Michael was the first to speak up.

"Sidney called us," he answered quietly, not wanting to cause a scene. "I think she meant to talk to Allyson but I was the one who picked up. She told us what happened and we got here as fast as we could."

"Well, you two have no right to be here," Peter said in return, also stepping forward. "After all the shit you've done to her, you won't be allowed to see her unless she says otherwise... it's her choice, not yours."

"I know..." Michael mumbled. "I know it is. I want to see her but... I don't want to disrespect her wishes. If you don't want me in there, that's fine. But let Allyson and Aidan in there, at least. That's all I'm asking of you two. You're good people, a hell of a lot better than I am. Surely, you'll have enough kindness to let her little brother in there."

"We're not letting him in there with her," Mary Jane spoke up. "Aidan and Sidney are allowed to be in there but not her."

"He needs parental supervision," Allyson finally said. "That way he won't do anything to harm her further. He's still a baby, and I don't want him to pull at her IV or something like that."

"Yeah, but after you stole Chris's father from her, I don't think you're fit to be around her," Mary Jane snapped at her, narrowing her eyes as she said this.

Allyson's blood boiled at those words, as it had been the hundredth time she had heard them. She had to restrain herself from lashing out at the younger redheaded woman in front of her as she stared at the floor for a moment. She briefly heard a cooing sound leave Aidan and that brought her back to reality as she turned her head to look at her husband. "Michael..." she whispered. "Will you let me take it from here?"

"Of course," he replied, nodding his head. "I'll just go sit over there." He then walked to a chair several feet down the hallway so he could give his wife and the others some space.

Allyson then turned to face both Peter and Mary Jane. "Listen to me right now, okay?" she began bitterly. "Christina already knows this, but I did not steal Michael from her and Margaret! That's the last thing I would have ever done. I wasn't even aware that he was married and had a daughter. If I knew before I became pregnant with Sidney, I would have left straight away. But I didn't want to raise her alone... so I stayed with him. Besides, he and I were just about to get married when I found out he already had a wife. I really don't like him right now... I hate him, even."

"Then explain Aidan..." Mary Jane interrupted in a puzzled tone.

"Aidan was a complete accident..." Allyson replied, "...but a perfect one. The only good thing that came out of our affair was our kids... My kids. I love Aidan just as much as I love Sidney but I never meant to have him. Nevertheless, I'm happy to have him in my life."

"Look, Allyson, you may not be as bad as Michael, but you're not entirely in the right either," Peter said after a long moment of silence.

"I'm aware of that," the older woman replied, sighing heavily. "Just... please let Aidan and I in. I want him to see her... and I think that may provide her with comfort knowing that her baby brother was here. Five minutes. That's all I'm asking."

Peter just stared Allyson dead in the eyes for a moment before drifting his gaze to the small child in the woman's arms. He had rarely ever seen Aidan with Christina but the first thing he noticed was how he was the spitting image of his oldest sister; he looked identical to her, with the exception that his hair was naturally brown while hers was blonde.

The thought of Aidan nearly having to grow up without Christina in his life got through Peter's head and he finally relented, his shoulders sagging. "Five minutes," he mumbled, moving to push the door open.

"Thank you, Peter," Allyson said, genuinely grateful as she smiled gently. "I greatly appreciate it."

"Yeah, don't mention it," Peter replied before facing Mary Jane. "Why don't you go in with her? I need to talk to him." He gestured toward Michael, who was still sitting in the chair at the end of the hallway.

Mary Jane reluctantly nodded as she started towards the door. "Okay, fine..." she murmured under her breath. "Just be careful."

"No promises," he replied before making his way down the hallway. He contained his pure anger at the man he was walking towards, as he knew he needed to be reasonable with his intentions. After a while, he sat in the chair next to him, his hands balled into fists for the time being.

"So... would you like to tell me why you're here?" he started, gritting his teeth as he did so.

"I came here... to apologize to my daughter... and to everyone else, including you," Michael answered, completely honest and truthful this time.

"That's bullshit," Peter replied, scoffing lightly.

"Okay, I'm not gonna make up desperate lies to win you over like I tried with Chris at Margaret's funeral," the older man fired back. "Everything I did to them was unforgivable and if you still hate me after I explain myself, I get it. I won't hold a grudge against you for that. You're completely justified in that. I regret leaving them... I deeply regret hurting them."

"Then why did you leave them?" Peter asked, a frown on his face now. "You broke their hearts, you know? Margaret tried to hide the pain, but Christina couldn't. She needed you. Your child needed you. How could you have left her like that?"

"I was selfish, Peter," Michael admitted, tears brimming the corners of his eyes. "I took their love for granted and I was weak. They didn't deserve what I did to them. They were the greatest thing that ever happened to me and I destroyed it. I'm never gonna forgive myself for that...."

Peter's eyes widened as he finally looked over at Michael, genuinely surprised at how... remorseful Christina's father seemed. And it didn't look fake in the slightest. He seemed to be completely serious as he talked about the anguish he felt because of what he had done in the past. He was shocked to see a very human side to the man he had hated for nearly a decade now.

"I want to tell Christina just how sorry I am for hurting her and her mother," Michael continued. "But I also want to apologize for what I said to you... about you just pitying her and not caring about her. You do. You seem to care about her... maybe even love her. I respect that about you. You're a good person, Peter. I figured you should know that. You're good enough for her."

Peter's expression seemed to soften just a little bit as he nodded his head slightly, feeling more tears in his eyes. "Thank you, Michael..." he mumbled. "I appreciate that. It'll still be a long time before I even try to forgive you... but thanks."

Michael chuckled as he nodded as well. "No problem," he replied. "You don't ever have to forgive me. That's up to you." He then paused for a brief moment. "Who... Who made her do this to herself? Do you have any idea?"

Peter seemed to have been brought back to the situation at hand as he stared straight ahead. His hands clenched into fists once again as he remembered everything Sidney had told him after arriving at the hospital.

"He told her she wasn't good enough," she had said through her sobs. "He said that she should have died that night..."

"Harry Osborn..." Peter simply answered, closing his eyes out of anger.

Michael allowed that familiar-sounding name to go through his mind.

_____

Allyson stood over the bed and frowned at the younger woman attached to all of those machines, just wishing that Christina didn't have to be going through this. Her heart wrenched painfully in her chest while she held Aidan and walked towards the bed. The tiny boy's cooing kept her determination strong and she forced herself to keep moving. She spotted Sidney and smiled sadly. "Hey, sweetie..." she greeted gently.

"Hi, Mom," Sidney replied tiredly. "I'm glad you came."

"Yeah, me too," Allyson said. "Your dad's outside. They're not quite allowing him in yet. I just wanted Aidan to see her."

Sidney just nodded. "Go ahead, it's alright."

Allyson's head bobbed up and down as she carefully set Aidan down on the bed so he could sit next to his oldest sister. "Hi, Christina," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "I hope you're resting well. You... You have quite the protective friends, not that I blame them. But they let me in. I brought Aidan with me; I wanted him to be able to see you."

There was no physical response from Christina but everyone in the room was okay with that.

"I'll make sure Aidan knows everything about you," she spoke up after an eternity. "I'll tell him so many stories about his big sister. I'll let him know how much he looks just like you... and where he gets his contagious smile from. But... I want you to make it and be strong, kid. He needs you in his life...."

Allyson then glanced downward and caught a glimpse of her baby boy gently grasping Christina's right hand. He then peered up at his mother and pointed at his sister, his blue eyes wide with worry. "Chris..." he let out in a mumble.

"She's sick right now, sweetheart," Allyson answered his sort of question. "She's not feeling well, Aidan. But she's hanging on. She's just sleeping right now. She'll feel better soon, okay?"

Aidan just nodded his head before looking back at Christina.

Allyson could have sworn that she saw the brunette's right index finger twitch ever so slightly for just a moment, but she seemed to be the exact same as she was before. So she didn't say anything.

A few minutes later, Peter entered the room again and just gave Allyson a look, which meant it was time for her to go. The older woman nodded and looked back at her stepdaughter with an endearing expression in her eyes. "Feel better, Chris..." she mumbled, and then turned to leave the room.

"Thank you for coming," Peter said, surprising everyone in the room, including himself.

Allyson paused for a slight moment before nodding her head. "You're welcome," she mumbled.

Peter then reached out for a couple of seconds to ruffle the little boy's hair with a tiny smile before Allyson left the room. He then glanced over to Sidney, sighing quietly. "How're you holding up, kiddo?" he asked.

"I'm doing the best I can," Sidney answered, rubbing her eyes to keep herself awake. "Just exhausted..."

"Me too," he replied before walking back to the bed.

He sat down in the chair and shifted it forward so he was closer, going right back to holding Christina's hand. He stared at her for a long moment, just praying that she would open her beautiful eyes again sometime soon. She didn't deserve this pain and he just wanted her to recover; he began to think that what had happened to her was all his fault and that he had indirectly caused her agony to take place.

He knew Christina would tell him otherwise but he couldn't stop blaming herself.

"Chris..." he whispered, squeezing her delicate hand in his. "I hope you're not having bad dreams or anything like that. I hope you're sleeping well. I'm right here... Sidney's here, M.J's here... We're all here. And we're not gonna leave your side until we know for sure that you're alright. We all care about you... so much. We want you to wake up."

No response. Peter lowered his head as he suppressed more sobs.

"Christina... please wake up..." he pleaded gently, sniffing as he wiped more and more tears away. "I just want to know that you're completely okay. Your family needs you. Sidney and Aidan need you... Michael and Allyson need you. M.J. needs you.... I need you."

Sidney listened to every word Peter said to her older sister with a small smile, noticing the pure care in the man's voice. She finally confirmed just how much he adored Christina and it made her feel happy to finally know.

"I don't ever want to lose you, Chris..." Peter murmured, sighing deeply. "I want you to stay strong for me... for all of us. Your strength is my favorite thing about you. That's because you always make me feel safe whenever I'm near you. And...."

He then took a deep breath, not caring about his worries or concerns when it came to his life anymore. All that mattered at the moment was Christina and only her.

"I... I love you..." he mumbled under his breath, but he made sure she could possibly hear him. "I love you... so fucking much. And I wish I had told you sooner."

There was a full minute of silence, during which Sidney closed her eyes for a moment, feeling more tired than ever. She had been determined to stay awake but sleep was finally beginning to win her over since it sounded really appealing right now. She tried to fight it regardless.

Peter was still holding Christina's hand, his thumb tracing invisible circles on the back of it as the beeping of the heart monitor continued at a steady pace.

Then, a surprising thing happened.

Out of nowhere, Christina's fingers seemed to twitch slightly but they then spread apart as if they were stretching a little. Moments later, Peter could feel her hand weakly squeezing his and he gasped with shock. He instantly looked back up and in her direction, a relieved grin spreading across his face.

"Thank God..." he mumbled with pure solace in his tone.

_____

Christina's POV

The brunette's eyes struggled to open as she groaned from the pure sleepiness she felt; all she could see at first was blackness as she finally began to stir. The first thing she could sense was a hand carefully gripping hers and the beeping of what seemed to be a heart monitor to her right. Her lips parted and she could finally breathe through her mouth, which was something she felt as though she needed despite having a cannula in her nose.

"Christina...?"

She hummed lightly and her head moved to the right. Her eyelids finally moved upward and opened, but her vision was blurrier than ever as she stared ahead. She tried to say something, anything, but all that left her was a slurred and tired mumble.

"Chris, it's okay, you're safe..." the man in front of her said soothingly.

"Huh...?" she murmured faintly, sighing a little bit as she yawned blearily.

"Sidney's going to get a nurse to check on you," he said. "You're okay now. It's all over."

Her vision finally became a little clearer and she lit up just a tiny amount.

"Peter...?" she weakly replied.

"Yeah, it's me," Peter said with a soft smile. Christina could feel him caressing her left cheek as he looked at her. "Everything's alright. Nobody's gonna hurt you. Just go back to sleep and get some more rest, okay?"

Christina languidly reached out in a panic and grasped both of Peter's hands tightly, not wanting him to leave her side. "D-Dont..." she whispered.

"I'm not gonna leave you, sweet girl..." Peter assured her with a sad frown etched into his features. "I'm not going anywhere. Get some sleep, alright? I'm here, Chris...."

Those were the words Christina needed to hear and, right after she instinctively pulled Peter to her to kiss his forehead, it didn't take long for her to fall asleep again, absolutely exhausted.

A/N: hopefully, this chapter was nowhere near as depressing as the last!

so, christina's okay! she's just absolutely exhausted but who can blame her?

anyways, thoughts on this chapter? what did you think?

did you like how protective mary jane and peter were over christina?

also, michael is redeeming himself... fucking finally! what do we think of that?

what did you think of the small moment with aidan being concerned about his older sister? i thought it was adorable!

allyson really is a kind soul, isn't she?

also, PETER CONFESSED HIS LOVE TO CHRISTINA... but she didn't quite hear him lol. thoughts on that?

predictions for the next chapter? what are you hoping to see?

be looking forward to the next chapter, as it could possibly end up being one of your favorites!😁

-denbroughswife