Alright. Let me know what you think.
Month 1
"You're dad is missing." Those words rang through my head like a catchy melody for the longest time. I almost dropped the phone when Rhodey uttered those words.
I had finally gotten a hold of him and he told me the story of what happened. I didn't want to believe that it was true. Pepper came over immediately after she got the call, offering support. I held it together as long as I could, crying instead in my bathroom, privately so no one would hear me or see me. I didn't sleep well that night either. I couldn't help but think that I was the last person my dad had contact with before he went missing. I just wanted to know what it was he was trying to tell me. Would I ever find out? No. I can't think like that. Rhodey said he's missing, not dead. They weren't bringing home a body. They were looking for one. But I didn't know that. Would whoever kidnapped him, kill him? Obviously they needed something if they kidnapped him, but would they let him go once they got it? What was it they wanted? Money? Weapons? That would be the first guess. Was this a ransom? Or were they just trying to prove a point? If they can manage to kidnap Tony Stark, they hold a lot of power in their hands. Would they come after me next? Was I safe here?
The morning after he went missing I had a visitor. Pepper hadn't come over yet, so I was alone. JARVIS said he worked for the government, one of many I was probably going to see.
"Let him in." I told JARVIS, making my way towards the foyer.
"Skye Stark?" A well dressed man in his early forties stood in the foyer. He was on the shorter side but he had a kind face.
"Who's asking?"
"Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."
"That's quite the name. You should come up with an acronym for that."
"I know. We're working on it." He smiled at me. "Can we talk for a couple minutes." I nodded, turning towards the living room. "I know this isn't the best time, but there are some pressing matters at hand."
I sat down on the couch and he sat down not far from me. "Is this about the fact that I was the last person to speak with my father before he went missing? Because I haven't told anyone that. And I don't plan to."
"No, but we'll get to that in a minute now that you've mentioned it. I'm here to ask if your father would ever sell out this country to save himself? Your father's company is the number one arms dealer for the Armed Forces, he may know details about our National Security. Our biggest concern is that he may tell his kidnappers those secrets."
"No." I said immediately. "He may be arrogant, narcissistic, kind of rude sometimes, but he'd never think of doing something like that. He'd die before he let himself tear down an entire country just to save his own skin. Plus I don't think he really knows that much about the American defense system."
Agent Coulson nodded. "You said you were the last person he contacted?"
"Yeah. The night before last, at about 3 in the morning I got a call from him. It was a video call. He looked terrified. I could hear bullets and explosions in the background. He tried to tell me something, but there was an explosion and he was gone. I tried to get a hold of him again, but it went to voicemail."
"What do you think he was trying to tell you?"
"I don't know." I laughed lightly. "Knowing him it could have been anything."
"Thank you, Miss Stark." Agent Coulson said, standing up. I stood as well, walking him to the door. "We'll let you know if we find anything." He pulled a business card from his jacket. "Here's my card. Call me if you need anything, or if you hear anything from your father.
"Thank you." I went to close the door, but stopped short. "Agent Coulson?" He turned back around. "If the kidnappers decide...that he's...not enough..."
"Don't worry. We've got eyes on this house. Anything seems out of place and we'll be on the doorstep faster than you can say Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."
I nodded and watched as he got back in his car, driving down the long driveway. I didn't know whether to be comforted by those words, or slightly concerned.
Once word got out that my father was missing, the press started showing up at the end of the driveway. Most of them were waiting to hear the news of what was going to happen to Stark Industries. Would I be taking over my father's position? Or would I hand it to Obadiah?
But those things were the least of my concerns. I just wanted my dad safe and sound. I kept my phone by my side day and night, every small buzz waking me, getting my hopes up, only for them to come crashing down again. It had only been a couple weeks, but it felt like a lifetime. I started to fear the worst, even as Pepper tried to be as positive as she could.
That was hard for us. Pepper was like family, and it as just as hard on her as it was me. As far as I knew I could be an orphan now. I didn't know what had happened to my mother, and now the only thing I knew about my father was that he was kidnapped.
The nights were hard. I was alone in the mansion, apart from JARVIS, but it wasn't the same. Sure, I was used to being alone in the mansion, but at least then I knew my dad was coming back. This time, I wasn't so sure.
I passed by my dad's room, the door ajar. The bed was unmade and the clothes he had worn to Vegas still in a pile on the floor.
The tears ran like a waterfall down my face as I let myself cry for the first time that day. I opened his closet door, pulling out one of his dirty shirts from the laundry bin. I held it to my face, taking in his aftershave. It was comforting to me. It was almost like he was close again. He'd tuck me in, telling me everything was going to be alright. That it was all just a nightmare. But this time I wasn't so lucky.
I stumbled my way to the bed, slowly, cautiously climbing into the side my dad slept on. I held his shirt to my chest as I buried my face in his pillow. I cried through the night until I fell asleep sometime in the early morning.
I was having nightmares. Every time I closed my eyes I would see his panicked face and hear the explosion and the screen would go dark. Except I would see him and he'd be bleeding on the ground. I would cry, scream for him but my cries would go unheard. Then I would wake up, sweaty and screaming still.
So I resolved to sleeping very little. I buried myself in my dad's garage and had JARVIS teach me about cars and how to fix them. I worked on the Roadrunner, fixing every little thing my dad was planning on doing, JARVIS patiently walking me through it. It felt weird being alone in his garage. It felt almost wrong, but I knew it didn't matter now.
Pepper came over every day. Happy would too. I would have Pepper watch the news and Happy run errands because I didn't want to face the press who were waiting for my return to the public eye.
Obadiah came over one day to check on me. He was overly concerned for my well being. He brought pizza and asked me what I was going to do about Stark Industries. I told him he was in control again. I knew nothing about being a businessperson and I was in no shape mentally to be running a company.
He told me to call him if I needed anything at all and I let him go with a nod and a thank you. I told JARVIS to warn me whenever he was coming near the house and to not let him in under any circumstance.
After the first month, things really started going downhill.
