When he'd later look back on it, and try as he might, Tony wouldn't be able to tell you what they'd been arguing about. Oh yes, they sometimes got into arguments, a fact that wouldn't surprise most people who knew their history and how long they'd known one another. All he would remember about the argument... no *fight* was that they were both genuinely angry with each other, which had unfortunately lead to some words neither of them would have ever said or mean under normal circumstances.

"I don't *believe* you!" Pepper said, her eyes furiously smoldering, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

"I don't know why you wouldn't! I mean how long have we known each other?" Tony countered, his eyes equally as angry as his wife's were.

"Apparently not long enough because I didn't see this kind of thing coming from you!" she countered. "I mean of all the immature, childish, idiotic-"

"Pardon the interruption," JARVIS's voice suddenly interjected.

"What is it, JARVIS?" Tony asked glaring in his wife's direction while trying to ignore the fact that the AI sounded relieved to have a reason to intervene.

"Sir, I have Mrs. Tanesha Hobson on the line. She says she needs to speak to you immediately."

The angry flush in Pepper's face was immediately replaced by a paleness of concern before she asked, "Tanesha Hobson? Isn't she-"

Tony nodded, "Rhodey's sister, yeah. Put her through now, J."

"Yes, Sir."

A second later they heard a woman's voice, "Hello, Mr. Stark?"

"Yes, I'm here, Mrs. Hobson." Normally he would have told her again to call him Tony but he heard the urgency in her voice, plus she had called him. "What's wrong?"

They heard Tanesha take an audible, shaky breath on the line, and then she said, "James is in the hospital because... well I, that is, we think he may have had a heart attack."

Pepper gasped, and Tony stared at her wide eyed.

"What?" he finally managed to get out.

"My brother may have had a heart attack," Rhodey's sister repeated. "Hello?"

Pepper snapped out of the shock first, "Mrs. Hobson, it's Pepper, Tony's wife. How serious is Jim's condition? Do you need us to come to the hospital?"

"I-I don't know how serious it is yet. The doctors are still running tests. I called you because their preliminary tests said it was a heart attack, and if it was they say they'll want to schedule my brother for surgery as soon as possible. So yeah I guess I guess you need to come here."

Pepper looked at Tony, who was clearly still in shock, and shook her head. "Mrs. Hobson, I'm going to have your call transferred over to my phone to get the details. JARVIS, If we get cut off, you have her phone number, right?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

Grabbing a pen, Pepper left Tony alone to seek out a piece of paper. For several minutes he stood rooted to the spot where she had left him, listening to her voice carry over from the next room as she took down the information.

"Tony?" she said when she returned to the room, and received no response. "Tony, can you please give me some kind of response because you're really starting to worry me?"

He blinked, and finally looked at her, "Did I ever tell you that a suspected heart attack is what took… killed Jarvis?"

"Suspected? The coroner didn't know for sure?"

Tony shrugged, "No autopsy. Jarvis was old… and since the police found no signs of foul play anywhere in the house, the coroner ruled that his death had been caused by natural causes brought on by a suspected heart attack."

At hearing the worry, the fear in his voice, Pepper put down what was in her hands, and crossed the room. She pulled him into a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around him, saying gently, "I'm so sorry that you lost him that way." She knew that the old butler had been almost like a father to Tony and she knew the sudden loss of him had devastated her husband more than the loss of his actual father had. "But you're not going to lose your brother the same way."

"You don't know that. Not for sure."

Pepper felt him lay his head on her shoulder, his arms tightening around her, "No, I don't know that for but Jim is a whole lot younger than Jarvis was when he died, and he's getting medical attention right now." When she felt him nod, she continued, "You know that it is completely possible that whatever is going on that it's possible that it wasn't a heart attack, right? I mean Tanesha did say when she called the doctors were still running tests. This could turn out to be something that is just one huge, scary but very FALSE alarm."

"I hope you're right. Oh man, how I hope you're right."

She held onto him for a moment longer, then said, "Do you want to go to the hospital and wait with them for news?"

"Yeah, I'd like to to go."

"Then let's get ready and go, okay?"

"Okay."

They parted with that, and Pepper started towards the bathroom. Tony's voice stopped just short of the door.

"Wait a second. The kids… should we take them with us?"

HIs wife thought about it for a second, "No, I don't think so."

"If Rhodey's seriously sick…"

"Tony, they're kids. I don't think we should hide the truth from them if this turns out to be something very serious. But right now for all we know he has a bad case of heartburn-"

"Pep, come on? Heartburn?"

"Hey, don't dismiss the possibility since I've actually heard of that before. Anyway, with everyone else currently at the tower, I think we should leave them here until we know something more concrete."

"If you're sure…"

"I am. In fact why don't I go ahead, call Natasha, tell her what's going on, and ask her if she or Clint would mind if the kids stayed down there tonight while we're gone." Ethan and Eva had gone down to the Bartons' floor to play with their children earlier that morning, thankfully sometime before their parents' fight had begun.

Tony nodded, "I'll get ready while you're doing that."