Authors note: Again, I own nothing.

C'mon guys, I got over 400 visitors for Fifa Fever and 50 so far for 1713 Voice Messages. If you come, please, please drop a line about what I can do to improve, or tell me what you like about it, otherwise I don't know what to write.

It's just one teeny, tiny little button :)

Danke shun.

Ja, ich kann sprechen die Deusch :P

(And I'm well aware there needn't have been a 'die' in there.

This is a song fic, ever so slightly. If you listen to a certain song while reading it, it may make more sense. The song is my one of my friends who's an up and coming artist in the Australian music industry, so don't be surprised if you hear about him soon. Type in www (dot) myspace (dot) com (forwardslash) mattblarsen

Without the brackets and spaces, of course. I'll put a link to the song on my profile.
***

"I haven't quite decided what I'm gonna do about it," Tony said to Pepper as they walked down towards what was left of the Stark Expo. Everything was in ruins, and someone had to clean it all up.

"Tony, you have to. You either re-hire me as a PA, or you don't," Pepper replied.

"I don't even care anymore…Can't we put it on hold and get some time to think it through?"

"It's not that hard a decision!"

"Will you still…Y'know, stay with me if you're my PA?"

"I honestly don't think I'll have to be your PA, I'll still do all that stuff I did before, just unofficially."

Tony grinned at this.

"You're amazing. You know that, right? I could not live without you," Tony said, sweeping Pepper into a giant hug, glad that he could now that the armour had been removed.

"Tony, put me down!" She said, mock angry. She knew she liked him standing up to her.

He obliged, and seconds later they were walking to the limo that Happy was standing by, watching the two of them approach and thinking that they'd finally gotten over everything between them and were taking advantage of how close they were. On the drive back to Tony's recently destroyed mansion after the flight from Flushing Meadows, he couldn't help watching them in the rearview mirror, and was surprised by what he saw.

Tony was fast asleep on Pepper's shoulder, drooling onto her blazer lapel.

He really was bound to be asleep after everything that happened. 'Even genius's turned superheroes have to crash sometime,' Happy thought.

"We're here, Ms Potts," Hogan said as he drove up to the garage of the mansion. "Do you need help getting him in?"

"Yes please Happy…I can't do anything with him right now, he's a dead weight."

Happy came around and helped move Tony out of the back of the Limo.

"What?" Tony muttered incoherent phrases as his head lolled about his neck.

"Tony we're just taking you inside, stand up," Pepper said, "Just wake up for a few minutes."

Tony staggered upright and blinked wearily, seemingly surprised at his surroundings and that they were already back to the ever so damaged home but helped them both walk him inside. Once they were in the house, he collapsed onto the massive couch in the living room.

"I think this as good as we're gonna get Happy…"

"Fair enough Ms Potts, goodnight," Happy said, and with that he was out the door.

"Tony, get your shoes off…" Pepper said as she pulled on his feet and watched as Tony kicked his shoes off, letting them fall to the floor and then tugged on his jacket.

"Still trying to undress me, Potts?"

"Only in your dreams," came the scathing reply.

"Will be soon, I'll say."

"We'll see, it's not like you're gonna be getting up now."

"No…" Tony's eyes fluttered shut, and he let his head fall back onto the couch.

"Night Potts. I'll figure out some way to answer you."

"Goodnight Tony."

The next morning, Pepper awoke with a stiff neck and sore back, but what she guessed was nothing compared to what Tony would be experiencing right about now.

Speaking of Tony…

"Pepper? Can you come in here for a minute?" Tony's voice came towards her from the master bedroom.

'Oh no,' she thought, but did indeed follow his voice.

"Pepper, I swear I was going to tell you," Tony said, standing in his room without a shirt on, showing Pepper the spidery veins working their way across and over his chest, down lower over his arms and up his neck. "I was going to tell you so many times, but I really couldn't figure out how to."

"Tony, what is that?"

"It was palladium poisoning, from the Arc Reactor. Turn's out it was killing me while keeping me alive," Tony looked up into Pepper's eyes, "Pepper, I need to detox from the palladium, and I need you here. Don't take me to the hospital unless I really, really need to. Just stay here with me."

"Tony, I'm not sure I can handle this."

"Yes you can. I need you."

** Hours Later

In the midst of Tony's forced palladium detox when his condition worsened, Pepper called the hospital and organized for a doctor and nurses to bring equipment over.

Like a man, over my head

What was it that you said?

I'll scream I'll call for help

I don't even make sense.

Fin.