Swallowing The Spider

[Before Transition]

Finding Ben's room number was pretty easy but the nurse wouldn't tell me which room because I wasn't family(one of those nurses who was just tired and didn't have time for anyone who came here and was not looking to be a patient), in fact it was too easy because all I had to do was wait for the nurse to go deal with something else and then I just turned her screen around on her desk and searched Ben's name.

Someone should really make places like this more secure as it was way too easy to find out where someone is in the building but then again this is a hospital not witness protection, though some people who are injured and need treatment at the hospital will undoubtably be wanted dead by powerful people(hospital assassinations are quite regular and most the time they will just choke it up to heart failure or something, not the stuff that was injected into his IV).

After climbing some flights of stairs I finally make it to his floor and journey on towards his room, before entering though I take a moment to look in through the window and make sure that Ben is well enough to have visitors because I don't wanna upset the hospital or the rest of the Parkers(vengeful/evil Peter can be quite scary with that high intelligence of his, I'd be scared to see what he can do when he decides to get rid of his humour and be utterly ruthless) don't wanna have a to deal with a weeping May Parker.

Looking through the window I can see that it is just Ben in the room at the moment but I can see some jackets/cardigans on the chairs inside the room so I assume that Peter and May are also here but they have popped out for a little for some reason or another, which is great for me as I would like to talk to Ben privately and I can see that Ben has spotted me looking through the window and he is waving for me to come in.

I gently open the door and pop my head through it and see Ben looking at me with a slight smile on his face. "It's good to see you again kid, come on in and take a seat. I'm afraid I didn't quite catch your name the last time we met, you know on account of all the being shot and bleeding out on the pavement I was doing." He says with a chuckle, I guess I know where Peter got his humour from, Ben certainly isn't letting a bullet through his body get him down. "Ah, it's Nicholas James but you can call me Nick Mr Parker. How are you feeling? Are you okay? There's no permanent damage is there?" I begin asking him in worry.

"Hey kid, I was a U.S soldier in the army so I can handle a bullet wound okay. This little hole ain't gonna keep me down, I've still gotta mow the lawn and look after my family and till they're fine I'm not gonna be laying down for a single moment." He says with another chuckle and a smile on his face but I can see the glint of determination in his eyes and the conviction in his voice, this is a man who's had a brush with death and doesn't wanna leave his family unprepared for life without him.

I didn't really know what I was gonna say when I decide to visit Ben in the hospital but now I have too much to say, I take a breath before I just start spurting out words. "I- I'm sorry for what happened to you, it was my fault that you got shot. If I didn't try to be a hero and help you that guy would have just threatened you with his gun and you would have let him take your care and you wouldn't have been shot, this is all my fault. I'm so sorry and I will do anything to make it up to you, anything at all just name it and I will do my best!" I end up startling Ben with my word vomit and he looks a bit bewildered before he tries to speak to me.

"Listen kid, I-" But just at that moment Peter bursts through the door clenching his fists with May Parker following him in, I guess he was listening from outside the door. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" He shouts as he strides across the room and grabs me by the collar slightly tearing my shirt with his supernatural strength, May grabs onto his shoulder from behind and it looks like she's about to say something but Peter isn't near finished with his rant.

"IT'S YOUR FAULT MY UNCLE BEN WAS SHOT AND THATS HE'S IN THE HOSPITAL NOW, WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE! ITS BECAUSE OF YOU THAT HE'S IN HERE, IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU HE WOULD STILL BE ABLE TO USE HIS LEGS!!" He finishes with a literary blow that I wasn't prepared for and threatens to knock me out.

"Y-You, your legs- You, you can't walk anymore?" I question in anguish, I made this man into a cripple and it's my fault that he will never walk again. It seems my question makes everyone momentarily forget that Peter is still grabbing me by the shirt though that could be because I'm so big and built while Peter is still seemingly scrawny that they're not worried that Peter is gonna hurt me but that I'm gonna decide to hurt Peter. "That's right kid, I'm paralysed from the waist down because the bullet hit my spine and the doctors say that I'll never be able to walk again but that isn't your fault Nick it's that shooters fault." Ben begins to tell me but I can't help but have my doubts.

It's because of me that he got shot in the first place, if I didn't interfere he might never have got shot in the first place and I decide to make my opinion known. "But if I didn't try to stop that carjacker then he might never have even fired his gun in the first place, for all we know he could have just wanted to threaten you with the gun but because of me tackling him he ended up shooting you! I fail to see how your condition isn't my fault, as far as I can tell it seems to be almost entirely my fault!" I tell him.

Peter face begins to morph into a picture of rage as he snarls at me but before he can get any words out Ben begins to speak again. "That's pure bullshit! I'm an old man son, you don't think that he couldn't have just pushed me out the way and stolen my car and that he couldn't have just locked me out and made off with my car. No, that man wasn't thinking clearly, he was panicking and was in a rush because he had just committed a crime." Peters face settles into a frown at that and I can see the guilt on his face.

"That man got out his gun for no others reason then to use it, he could have just pushed me out of the way but he decided to pull his gun out on me instead because he was in a rush. I was going to get shot either way and whose to say I wouldn't have been shot directly in the head, the way I see it you saved me kid. You saw someone in trouble and instead of just watching or filming it on your phones like any other kid would have done you decided to help me, you decided to risk your own life to help an old man and I can't help but be grateful to you for it. You truly are a remarkable young man.." Ben smiles gently at me and I can hear May sob slightly while smiling tearily at me but it isn't quite the same for Peter.

Peter loosens his grip and his arms fall down to his sides but I can see the despondent look on his face and that's when I realise that Peter hasn't yet gotten the responsibility speech, right now he is just a boy who ended up letting a criminal run and eventually shoot his Uncle Ben while opposite to him is me who his uncle has just praised as a remarkable young man and he can't help but feel depressed at it.

At this rate Spider-Man might not exist and I can't allow that to happen, there has got to be something I can do to put him back on the right track...

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<AN> I now have a Pa treon up and running and their are already some chapters on there, please take a look. Some support from you guys would be appreciated and motivate me.

(pa treon.com/GutsyRipper)

A special thank you to my patrons Julian Rocamora, Tim Brown and Stormrall. Thank you for the support.