Pepper hadn't intended to be very talkative on the flight to NYC. She'd told Happy she wanted to take the time to get some rest before they arrived, and he graciously obliged, citing that he remembered how tired his sister complained of being when she had been pregnant with his nephews and nieces.

Pepper nodded in understanding. "Though 'tired' doesn't begin to describe it. I'm exhausted all the time now. It's like how I felt when I first got pregnant. Even after a good night's sleep, I was still dragging through the day. Then, I was okay during the second trimester. But now, I'm back to being dead on my feet. A walking zombie most days," she told him. She'd shifted in her seat, with a wince, trying to find a more comfortable position. "A zombie with a watermelon inside of her, squishing everything, that is. It doesn't help that it's getting really hard to get comfortable enough to even be able to sleep, now."

Happy chuckled at her analogy. "Won't be long, though," he said. "That's gotta be a relief, huh? Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel?" he asked.

Pepper shrugged. "It is, and it isn't," she replied. "I've really loved being pregnant, if I'm being honest. In some ways, I know I'll miss it. But in others, like getting to meet our daughter, and having this brand new little life to take care of and watch grow up- that's what I'm looking forward to."

Happy smiled and nodded. "You guys are gonna make great parents," he mused.

Pepper quirked an eyebrow at him, with a coy smirk. "You think so?" she asked.

He nodded. "You bet. Provided she's more like you, and less like Tony. Otherwise, you'll have your hands full," he joked. They laughed, and Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Well, so much for that. I think she's already just like her father," she replied. "But that means they'll get along famously, I suppose."

"Yeah. Until she turns 13," Happy joked.

Pepper winced, and chuckled. "Yikes. You're probably right. I remember when I was 13. I gave my mother a run for her- Oooh!" she cried, suddenly sitting up, and bringing her hand to her lower left abdomen. "Yeeeeoww, that hurts. Wow."

Happily jerked upright in his seat with alarm, wide eyed. "Boss?!" he said. "Is this it? Are you...?"

She shook her head, and waved a hand at him in dismissal, though her face was tightly scrunched up in discomfort, and her eyes were squeezed closed. She was vigorously rubbing the spot on her stomach the pain had shot from now.

Happy swiftly turned around in his seat to face where, in any other helicopter, there would have been a human pilot sitting, and began speaking. (An unnecessary move, as Winston could be called upon from anywhere in the cockpit.) "Code red, Pal. Land this bird immediately, or turn it around. We've got a situation happening here," he rattled off, trying to sound official amidst his panic, though forgetting that the only way Winston would acknowledge a request is if you first called him by name.

Happy then swiveled back around to face Pepper. "I'm calling Tony," he informed her, jerking his phone out of his pocket.

"No! It's not that," Pepper explained, her voice still strained. She slowed the rubbing of the spot on her belly, and took some deep breaths.

Happy froze, heeding her words, but watching her closely, his hand poised above his phone, ready to dial Tony's number in a split second.

The pain eventually subsided, and she slowly sat back in her seat, letting out a relieved sigh, laying a hand over the top of her stomach. "Phew," she said. She gave her very anxious traveling companion a reassuring smile. "It's just some third trimester pains, I assure you. Nothing to worry about. I'm not in labor," she told him.

"You're not," Happy parroted.

Pepper shook her head. "No. We've seen the doctor, and he's assured us this isn't that. Just the unfortunate side-effects of being this big, and weeks away from our due date, but it being still too early to deliver," she said, gesturing to her rounded middle.

Happy frowned, but relented and put his phone back in his pocket. "Alright. If you say so. But I think I'm beginning to see why Tony wanted me to come with you so badly," he said. "And just so you know? I'm sticking to you like glue on this trip."

Pepper chuckled."Yes, I gathered," she replied, with a knowing smirk.

Happy gave her a nod in the affirmative. "I don't trust these doctors, anyway. What do they know? The kid's gonna come when she's gonna come. End of story," he said, as he sat back against his seat, and crossed his arms with a defiant huff.

Pepper smiled. "I can't say I don't agree with you," she replied.

"Yeah, well. I'm renaming this mission. It's going from Operation: Lost Puppy to Operation: Almost Baked Bun," he stated. Then he frowned. "Once I...get approval from the boss, that is," he added sheepishly.

Pepper giggled at how serious he was taking the task he'd been given. "You know, I don't think he'll mind the change?" she joked, trying to sound matter-of-fact. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to at least attempt to get a quick cat nap in before we land."

Happy smiled, and nodded in approval. "No problem," he said. "Enjoy."

Pepper smiled back, and then settled in against the back of her seat, closing her eyes and folding her hands across her belly.

After a few minutes, Happy saw that she'd dozed off, and he smiled, glad that she was getting some much deserved rest.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his pocket, and he quickly took it out to see what the reason was. It was a text from Tony.

"How goes it? How're my girls?" he'd asked.

Happy hesitated, trying to decide if he should tell him what had transpired or let it go, seeing as how Pepper said this wasn't the first time it had happened, and there was no lasting effect from it.

"Honesty's the best policy," he muttered to himself finally, and set to typing his response.

"Had an anxious moment just now. Everything is fine, but Pepper had one of those pains she says you know she's been having. Thought for a second I'd be delivering a baby! Made my heart drop into my shoes," he wrote.

A lengthy pause fell between messages. Then, a new text appeared from Tony.

"Welcome to MY world, Pal! Don't tell Pepper, but those freak me out every time they happen! She swears it's nothing. Doc says it's nothing. But one of these days, right? Just keep me posted, huh, Lost Puppy?"

Happy typed his response.

"Will do, Boss. And about that...can we change the name to Operation: Almost Baked Bun? That's actually more accurate, if you ask me," he wrote. Then he hit send.

He waited for several seconds, but there was no reply.

"Seriously. I just think it sounds better," he typed, hitting send again.

Still no reply. He huffed in defeat, and had all but concluded Tony had ignored his request. Then his phone buzzed with the next text notification.

"Yeah, whatever," it read. "But you're STILL to be like a lost puppy behind her today, got it? I don't want you more than two steps behind. At ALL times."

"Of course," Happy muttered, typing the same thing and adding "You got it" before hitting send.

"What's she up to, right now?" Tony asked.

"Sleeping," Happy replied.

Tony sent a thumbs up emoji, followed by "Good. Glad to hear it. She's got almost NO sleep in the last few days."

"She said as much," Happy replied.

"Let me know how the rest of the flight went when you land. And thanks, Man. I owe you one," Tony responded.

"No, you don't," Happy responded. "But I'll think of something."

Tony sent a laughing smiley face emoji and another thumbs up. Happy smiled at the reply, and shut off his phone's screen before slipping it back into his pocket. He settled back in against his seat and watch Pepper with a leery eye for a moment before his eyelids became too heavy to lift, and he dozed off as well.

XxXxXxXxXx

They'd landed a short time later in New York, and Happy dutifully texted Tony as promised that the rest of flight had gone smoothly. Pepper made it to her meeting right on time, seemingly refreshed and without any lasting concerns- which made Happy feel very relieved for the moment. He still felt a little uneasy about her having this issue, however, as he agreed with Tony that, soon enough, one of these episodes wasn't going to be just another pain. And, vigilant as always, he kept an eagle eye on her from the back of the room as she sat at the conference room table with her colleagues in discussion, while he was simultaneously looking up the nearest hospital, the area traffic reports, and even the weather on his phone, leaving all tabs open and at the ready in a moment's notice.

If Baby Stark decides today's the day, I'm coming prepared, he thought to himself.

The meeting broke for a quick recess after the first hour, and Pepper excused herself from the table, walking directly to where Happy was seated. He quickly stowed his phone in his jacket pocket, and stood up to greet her. "Come on, Lost Puppy. I'm headed to the bathroom. And on the double," she said, with a smile, trying to look inconspicuous. Then she leaned in. "This kid's been jumping up and down on my bladder this whole time like it's a freaking bouncy-house," she explained in a hushed voice.

Happy chuckled, and stepped to the side. "Lead the way, Madam. I go where you go," he said, gesturing for her to take the lead.

Pepper proceeded to walk to the exit quickly, but with a stilted gate. Happy could tell she was pretty uncomfortable, and in need of some immediate relief.

Once they made it out to the hallway, however, Pepper suddenly yelped, and turned her stilted gate into a brisk jog. Happy quickly went after her, stopping abruptly when he saw her yank open the door to the women's restroom, and disappear inside. He hesitated for a moment, second-guessing his next move, but decided it was for the greater good, and whipped the door open (immediately grateful he wasn't opening the door on a private room, but a full-sized restroom with multiple stalls.)

"Pepper?! You okay?" he called out.

"Fine!" he heard her answer from inside, and he quickly breathed a sigh of relief, closing the door again to allow her her privacy. But then he spun around, suddenly noticing the curious looks he was getting from the other people who had watched this happen, and realized that it must've looked strange to see a man chasing a pregnant woman down the hall, and practically into the bathroom.

He jutted a thumb in the direction of the ladies room. "I'm her security," he awkwardly tried to explain, in his defense. "She's...pregnant, so..."

The people watching him quickly lost interest when they realized there was no cause for alarm, and turned back around to the conversations they were having before Pepper had made a break for the bathroom. Happy took another deep breath in relief, and leaned back against a nearby wall to wait for her to return.

Moments later, Pepper emerged with a very relieved look on her face.

"Better?" he asked, trying not to look amused.

She smiled sheepishly. "Yes. Much. Though, for a second there, I wasn't sure I'd make it!" she told him.

Happy chuckled. "Yeah, I noticed," he said.

The two turned to make their way back toward the conference room, when after only a few steps, Pepper suddenly halted in her tracks, and gasped. She brought a hand to her stomach and hunched over, mashing her other hand against the nearby wall for some support, and scrunching her face up in pain again. "Huh! Oh, wow!" she squeaked, her voice choked off from strain, and Happy immediately doubled over as well, putting an arm across her back, and the other hand on her upper arm to lend support.

"What?! Is this for real, this time? What's going on!" he begged, his eyes wild as he searched her face.

She didn't readily answer, but began to take deep breaths, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth.

"Is she going into labor? Should someone call an ambulance?" a woman from across the corridor called to them.

Happy raised up to look at her, and shook his head, waving at her in dismissal. "No! Thank you! It's just...Don't worry! We've got this!" he stammered. He then bent back over to speak to Pepper again, who was now panting, her eyes still squeezed shut.

"That's it. That's it. Breathe," he instructed, keeping one hand on her back while simultaneously pulling his phone out to dial Tony.

But just as he'd brought up the number on his screen, Pepper slowly raised back up, her face flushed and her breathing still ragged, but much more at ease now. She eyed his phone. "No. There's no need. I'm fine," she said to him breathlessly.

"But..." Happy began.

"I promise. This wasn't a contraction. Just a swift kick in the wrong spot," she explained. She patted Happy's shoulder. "It was a bad one, but it's over. We're good."

Happy just stared at her, his eyes filled with apprehension. "Are you sure?" he asked. "There's a hospital 4.3 miles from here. We could go get you checked out," he offered.

Pepper smiled at his obvious concern. "Yes, I'm sure. Though your vigilance never ceases to impress me, Happy," she teased, trying to lighten the mood. "4.3 miles, huh?"

Happy gave her a bashful grin. "Yeah, well, you know. I've also taken the liberty of monitoring the traffic, and the weather," he explained. "We can't be too careful."

Pepper chuckled. "No, of course, not," she agreed, with a wry smirk. "And I'll be sure to let Tony know you're taking very good care of me," she said. "Though somehow I'd bet he already knows you are. He wouldn't have given you the Lost Puppy position if he didn't have faith in your abilities," she teased.

"I appreciate that," Happy said, smiling proudly. They began walking again. "But I should mention he approved the name change. Just so you're aware," he informed her.

Pepper quirked up a corner of her mouth, trying to stifle a giggle. "Did he now? Operation: Bun in the Oven, is it?" she quipped.

"Uh, 'Almost Baked Bun'. And yes, ma'am," he corrected, oblivious to her amusement as they walked back into the conference room together. "Seriously, it sounds better, doesn't it?" he asked, as the doors closed behind them.