Tony Stark was an absolute mess. Of course, it was to be expected that he would be after Pepper's death, but after two months, it was clear to James Rhodes that there was no way Tony could take care of himself- mostly because he hadn't been sober for more than a few hours the entire time, and those were usually the hours he spent sleeping. He suggested that Tony hire someone to help him around the house. The idea was soundly dismissed. Of course, James did try to remind his friend that there was someone else at stake- 8 year old Howard Stark, a bright young boy who was trying to cope with not only the loss of his mother, but also with his father retreating into his grief. James did what he could for the boy, but it was clear that something had to change quickly.

The gentle suggestions that Tony needed help were getting nowhere, so after another week of taking care of Howard and cleaning up after Tony's binge drinking, James decided he had no other option but to make an ultimatum.

"You're going to hire a helper. I don't care who, but I can't keep missing work to take care of you." He handed Tony a glass of cold water and waited for the protest.

"No, I'm not. I don't want to deal with someone just here to watch the train wreck."

"Fine. I'll screen them. The ad won't say who it's for and they'll have to pass the Rhodey test first before you even meet the finalists."

"You'd do that?"

"To save your drunk ass from choking on your own vomit? Yes. And because you need to focus on getting things right with your son."

"So how are you going to find this magic person who can handle the disaster that is my life?"

"Don't you worry about that. Just get some rest. And in the morning, try to eat an actual breakfast that doesn't involve liquor."

A week after their conversation, James tossed a pile of paper on Tony's table, "I interviewed a few dozen people this past week and these three stood out as the finalists. Rachel, a grandmotherly type I think would be good for Howard; Sarah, the restaurant hostess who saw a brother through to sobriety; and Abe, a professional councillor and life coach who comes highly recommended by a friend of a friend. Tomorrow, you need to get yourself looking presentable and to your office by 10:00am so you can meet them."

Tony flipped through the pages, eyeing the resumes suspiciously, "And you're sure none of them are going to turn on me? One of them is the person I need?"

"No, but it's better than nothing. I'll see you in the morning."

At 10:00am sharp, Rachel walked into Tony's office. James introduced her and they spent 15 minutes talking. Abe followed at 10:30, Sarah at 11:00. When they were all three gone, James was prepared to hear Tony say none of them would work.

"Not Abe. Or at least not all the time. Maybe once a week. I think I'd kill him. Let's offer the job to Rachel."

James called her that afternoon and she turned him down. He called Sarah. She accepted. He also called Abe and scheduled weekly visits. He went to tell Tony. Tony was not entirely happy, but resigned himself to whatever was in store.

Four days later, Sarah arrived for her first day of work.

Sarah had, like most of the world, never seen the Stark family home. Built into the side of a mountain, it looked a lot smaller than it was. The road curved up to a driveway that led to the entrance on the uppermost floor, the tall arching glass entry the only visible window. Hidden from the view of the road, the entire east face of the house was glass and overlooked a steep valley, the hills silhouetted by sunrises, kissed by the golden light every evening.

Howard met her at the door, "You must be Miss Graves."

"Yeah, but it's just Sarah. You must be Howard."

"Yep. Come on in. Dad wanted the other lady, though. More motherly, he said."

"Well I'll do my best to be motherly, then, and maybe it'll all work out."

Howard smiled, "You're going to be better for us than her."

"How do you figure?"

He pointed to her long blonde hair, "You've got some blue in there. You're different."

"I don't exactly scream 'traditional housemaid', do I?" She gestured to her clothes- a 60s mini dress over a pair of wide legged pants, feathers tucked in a few braids in her light hair, beads around her neck. Something jingled as she walked, and Howard could not spot where the bells or bangles were concealed.

Howard led her to the receiving room by the stairs, "Dad will be up in a minute- he's in the shower. Would you like some tea or coffee? I can get it for you while we wait."

"Sure, I'll take a coffee." She settled onto one of the sofas.

Howard brought her the coffee just as Tony was coming up the stairs, "Hey, kiddo- not giving away all the family secrets, are you?" Howard smiled and shook his head. Tony ruffled the boy's hair and then extended a hand to Sarah, "Welcome to our castle. You probably have a few questions about what you're doing here."

"Mr Rhodes told me that I'd be taking care of housekeeping matters, keeping you both company, and helping with Howard's education all while keeping my lips sealed about the family."

"Pretty much. Howie, how about you go get started on your homework so Sarah and I can talk?" Howard disappeared down the stairs and Tony dropped into a chair across from her, "Ok, so here's the deal. I'm a goddamned mess. I drink more than I should. Howie's seeing too much. I know I need to think about him more, but I can't get out of this hole. So you'll be a housekeeper, yeah, but also the buffer between my melt down and my son. You'll have to deal with dragging me back to my bed after I pass out in the bathroom. Make sure I don't wind up like Bon Scott. And you'll have to clean up before he finds the mess. There will be nights you have to help him with his homework, tuck him in, and then deal with me. You won't get back to your own place until late. Can you handle that?"

"Wouldn't be the first time I've been the mop girl. I'm not going to lie, that part of the job sucks, but yes, I can do it."

"You're going to have to make sure that I get to any important meetings no matter how hungover I am."

"Just give me the schedule and I'll drive. But try not to hurl in my car. It's a piece of crap, but it's the only one I've got."

"If I ever do, I'll have it cleaned." He paused as she sipped her coffee, "I don't know if Howie said anything about this, but I thought the other gal might be a better fit...talking to you, maybe not. Maybe we'll be fine." He poured himself a cup, "So what's your philosophy for dealing with drunks and how'd you figure it out?"

"My brother's had some rough spots. We got through it with lot of patience and kindness. It's just a lot of little steps, encouragement, and reminders that falling off the wagon isn't a failure, it's just part of the process."

"And you're sure you can handle a rich spoiled brat on a binge?"

"Not sure how much different it is from anybody else on a binge- just a different name on the label and higher class drugs."

"Well I haven't added drugs into the mix yet."

"Thank god- it's easier to deal with one vice at a time. Trust me, you do not want to know what it's like to talk a meth head out of bad ideas."

"Your brother?"

"No, his ex girlfriend."

"Ah. And how was that breakup?"

"Horrible, and resulted in hospitalisation of more than one of us, but we all surivived."

"Do I want to hear this story?"

"No."

"That bad?"

"A train wreck would be an understatement."

Tony pulled a contract from a folder tucked in his chair, "Read this over and if you still want to work for me, sign it." Sarah read over the terms- weekly pay, no other jobs, and no identifying who she was working for. None of it seemed unreasonable and she signed and dated it without further questions, "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, lady."

"Better than most. What do you want me to start on?"

Tony shrugged, "I'm not really sure. How about I show you the house?" She nodded and he took her downstairs to the spacious living room that bled into an open dining room only separated from the kitchen by a granite topped bar. The library was the only room not part of the open floor plan, a glass wall and french doors keeping the books and the dark wood shelves that housed them tucked deeper under the mountain.

On the floor below, there were four bedrooms. Tony pointed out his room and Howard's room. He gestured to one of the remaining doors.

"Don't go in that one."

"So I'm not going to have to drag you out of there when you're drunk?"

"Nah. I tend to avoid her room when I'm trying to forget how shitty I feel."

"Understood."

He briefly showed her his workshop and then returned to the living room, "So...I guess you can start with the kitchen."

Sarah pushed up her sleeves, noticing that there were far too many empty bottles in the sink compared to how few dishes appeared to have been used during the same time period, "You've got it, boss."

And so began Sarah's days with the Stark family.