A/N: Loved the movie! Loved the characters. The question of the 3 months has bothered me ever since, so I've been working on this for a little while now. First fic! Please be gentle. I thrive on praise, but can take constructive crit too, so any feedback would be great. :)
Disclaimer: Ironman and its characters belong to Marvel Comics. I'm only borrowing them because they won't leave me alone. I promise to return them. Please don't sue me.
--
Day 1:
"Pepper." The voice on the phone was unexpected. She looked out the window, over the ocean - it was late afternoon, and she was getting ready to go home. The caller, however, was in Afghanistan, where it was nearly four in the morning.
"Mr. Rhodes!" Her voice showed her surprise, both at the hour for him, and his informal use of her name. Quick to recover, though, she went on, "hello! It must be really late there. How did the demonstration go? Did Mr. Stark depart on schedule? Please tell me he did. He has a meeting tomorrow afternoon with the engineers at Cal Tech."
"Pepper, it's Tony … I - I shouldn't even be calling you yet. They told me not to, but you need to know," Rhodey's voice was hesitant and heavy with emotion.
Pepper felt herself go cold as a sudden dread cleared business from her mind. No. Something was horribly wrong. She heard him try again. "Tony is…" Please, Rhodey, don't say it. There was a hollow feeling in her chest and she was having trouble breathing. She did not want this call. Finally, very quietly, he said, "Pepper. There was an attack on the convoy. The soldiers who were protecting him are dead. Tony is missing."
And at that moment, her world fell apart.