A/N: Bit more Bailey centric, and I can't be asked to write so much about Tony's time in kidnapped-land since most of us already know what happened so yeet, gotta deal with it guys. Also, sorry about the big ass delay, I finally finished my GCSEs (exams us UK peeps have to do at the end of year 11, if you didn't already know) and have been given a whole day of doing nothing after a few days of constant outings and shopping with friends and family, so now I'm back with no homework nor any revision to do and will be posting as much as I can. So yeah, ENJOY THIS CHAPTER Y'ALL! OH AND COMMENT YOUR OPINIONS AND STUFF CUS I NEED CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM AND MOTIVATION DUE TO MY LAZY ASS NOT BEING TO DO ANYTHING ON TIME! ENJOYYYYY!

Warning: angst if you squint or if you're sensitive, and a bit of change in the canon stuff, so beware if some of it ain't accurate since it was changed to fit with the scenery.

~February 18th 2009~

Screams, bloodshot eyes, dried blood from the neck down to the waist. Strange figures with tools, a white lab coat, glasses, a circular metal, a white cloth on top of his body, continuous screams throughout. Vision blurry, no escape, stuck, cold and hard metal table, blue lights, hard to breathe, something being pushed into his chest, wires dangling.

No focus, can't focus, too much pressure, not enough oxygen, pain stretching across- Why is there a hole in the chest? No way of knowing, too blurry to see. Red, blue, white - a lot of white, too much blue, red on white, red on skin.

More screams, but this time coming out of his mouth. Sounds of sirens, explosions, clanking of glass, people talking, muffled words, muffled screams, muffled heart beat, muffled gunshots.

Flashbacks - flashbacks? - of a vehicle in the air, fire everywhere. Music played quietly in the background. The lab coats are back, cotton on stick, in hand, touching his chest, a hole, slowly filled with a metal, with wires stuck inside him.

Blue, white, red, white, red, blue, red, white, blue, white, red, blue, white, blue, red-

Cloth. In hand. On mouth. Calmness. Mouth open. Calmness. Closed eyes. Removal of cloth. In hand. Away from mouth. Calmness...

Calmness...

Calmness...

Calmness...

Calmness..

Darkness.

Coughing; that was the first thing Tony did when waking up. His eyes were wide as he watched the dust come out of his mouth. Oxygen slowly coming into his lungs as the dizziness gradually went away, his mind more aware of what's going on.

Then, he noticed - Something was in his nose. A tube with tape around it to stay on his nose, making it uncomfortable. So without a thought, Tony started to pull the tube out of his nose, a surge of pain rushing to it as more of the tube was coming out of his body, covered with mucous and blood and sticky liquid.

"Agh, fuck." He puffed out another dusty breath. Looking to the side, he tried to reach for something, he didn't know what, but he continued to try to reach it.

Tony then saw a figure a few meters away from him, standing in front of a small mirror, shaving his now clean chin. He looked at the suited man for a bit before trying to reach for thing in front of him. Unfortunately, he was stopped by something pulling him back and a metal moving.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." the man said with a slight accent in his tone. He stopped shaving and looked at Tony. The bearded man moved back to his original position, his head shifting to the car battery on the side, a few wires on its side.

His brown eyes followed the wires; from the car battery to it being underneath his cloth-covered chest. Panic flowed through his bloodstream as sweat began to cover his forehead, his shaking hands trying to rip the cloth.

The cloth was gradually ripped off, layer by layer as a sudden pain stretched across his chest, the feeling of energy powering his body. He couldn't handle it, the prodigious feeling that invaded his entire being. No he couldn't.

Finally, he fully ripped all the layers of the material, revealing his sort-of-robot-like chest, a hole in the middle, covered by the car battery wires and a circular machinery, stuck on his chest, metal all around it.

Panting, Tony looked at it, disbelief all across his face. No, he definitely couldn't handle it. He doesn't think he ever will.

"He can't be missing."

"Bailey..." The little girl looked at the bald man towering her, brown eyes piercing through the man. Stane sighed. "Look, Bailey-"

"There's no body." She finalised before stomping into her dad's lab, slamming the door as hard as I can before instructing J.A.R.V.I.S. to not allow anyone in unless it's Pepper.

She couldn't handle it, of course, she was still young, but she was old enough to know that her denial isn't naivety - after all, she is a Stark. Sighing, she slumped on her dad's stool, looking at all the reports on the screens around her, only understanding half of it.

Every single one of them had the words 'STARK MISSING' written across the top. Every single one of them had something bad to say about her dad. Every single one of them had subtly mentioned something about Karma biting his- a bad word that I'm not allowed to say, of course she thought bitterly. Every single one them had negativity. But, not a single one of them had sympathy.

They didn't understand. But how will they ever understand? Bailey knew that they only cared about money more than giving out their condolences towards the little girl. She knew that no matter how long, all they care about is gossip and putting other people down.

Another sigh escaped Bailey's wobbly lips, tears finally escaping from her already puffed up eyes. A sob echoed around the room as a pair of sad, brown eyes stared at a picture of Tony Stark. She knew, she couldn't lose him at an early age. She just knew, because she couldn't handle it.

It's been three months - three agonising months - and still no signs of Tony. As usual, Bailey dragged herself out of her room and into the kitchen, her head down as always.

Throughout these three months, the Stark girl went through a series of emotions; at first it was sadness, with the idea of her dad not being able to come back pained her, then it was hope as it neared her birthday, but it drastically turned into anger as the little girl sat in her room, tears flowing down her face on the day of her birthday, knowing fully well her dad broke his promise to come back for her ninth birthday. However, anger turned into sorrow as the belief of her own dad coming back was slowly deteriorating as each day became a full two months. This sorrow quickly turned to defeat as the idea of her dad never coming back was set in stone, supported by the large amount of news reports about him.

Of course, Pepper, Rhodey and Happy were there to look after her, to make sure she was eating the right amount, to make sure she was doing all of her homework that her dad gave her before he left, but every once in a while, they would allow her certain amount of space whilst still being around to comfort her.

Today was like any other day, with Bailey waking up, getting changed, going to the kitchen for breakfast, going to the library to read about whatever she can find, going to the lab to grief like the petty person she is, then back to bed where she blasts AC/DC music as loud as she can, much to Pepper's annoyance.

However, when she got to her dad's lab around lunch time, she was met with Pepper, Happy and Rhodey huddling around each other, whispering to one another. The small brunette tilted her head in curiousity, her eyebrows furrowing as her small feet moved her whole body towards the adult, who were for some reason, still unaware of her presence.

"Rhodey?" The little girl said in a whisper, scaring the three adults. They jumped slightly from the unexpected guest in the room, but when they were met by a pair of innocent Tony-like eyes, their shoulders slumped a bit.

"Yes?" Rhodey knelt down to Bailey's height, offering her a smile.

"What's going on?" The three adults looked at each other, all having a knowing look plastered on their faces, making Bailey's curiousity grow into a childish irritation. Pepper then walked towards the little girl, taking Rhodey's place before giving the exact same smile Rhodey gave to the Stark.

"You'll find out soon." A loud whine echoed around the room as a tantrum was slowly building.

"But I wanna know now!"

"Bail-" A louder whine.

"Now!"

"What's the magic word." A glare was shot at Pepper before a groan escaped the girl's lips.

"Please."

"Now say the whole thing again."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

"Ugh." The three adults chuckled at Bailey's antics as she crossed her arms and reluctantly responded. "May I know what's going on, please." She said, the last word being spoken with a bite.

Pepper looked at Rhodey and Happy with a raised eyebrow, as if to ask them about something, with both of them nodding their head. The ginger-haired woman turned her head back to Bailey.

"J.A.R.V.I.S, turn the news on."

"Gladly, Ms. Potts." A large screen then turned on behind Bailey, a familiar voice was heard.

"And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International." An uproar was heard in the background, but all Bailey could focus on was the voice of her very own dad.

With wide eyes, she slowly turned around to face a slightly injured looking Tony Stark, a tear escaping and sliding down her cheek. She couldn't believe, she really couldn't. But alas, here he is, alive and well, with the obvious change in mind and perspective.

Bailey turned around to face Pepper again. "He's alive?"

She smiled back at her. "He's alive." A grin then appeared on the little girl's face.

"Stane owes me his position."

"Bailey!"

"Fine- wait, where's Dad?"

"You called?" Bailey's head snapped to the teasing voice, finally facing a bandaged Tony Stark with a smirk on his face as he leaned against the side of the door with his good arm. A wide smile was stretched across her face as she ran towards him, her arms wrapped around his waist as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

Now, she knew, she could handle it.

"I don't trust Stane."

"You finally believe me, old man?"

"Shush, child." Currently, Tony and Bailey are sitting on her bed with their finished dinner plate on the nightstand as they bicker about Tony's survival and Stane's suspicious denial against taking the Stark Industries out of weapon manufacturing.

It's been a week since Tony's return, and throughout the whole week, both Stark's were having a lovely Father-Daughter catching up time whilst still having a belated mini-birthday celebration over a Star Wars marathon and Baskin Robbins. At first, after Bailey hugged her dad for the first time in three months, she threw a tantrum at him for breaking his promise about coming back home safely and not missing her birthday. It took around a few hours until she finally finished spilling her emotions out before falling asleep straight away in Tony's arm. Luckily, after talking it out when she woke up, Bailey reluctantly accepted his apology for breaking the promise and made him promise again to not break nor make another promise he knows he wouldn't be able to follow through with.

Tony sipped his glass filled with green liquid as he looked at the lit up buildings outside of Bailey's window. His mind has been creating ideas and tinkering with invisible tools ever since he got out of that cave in an iron suit. Bailey yawned, watching her dad taking another sip of the liquid, knowing fully well that his brain was already at work. She sighed at this, bored out of her mind whilst Tony is off in Tinker-land doing who knows what.

"Dad."

"Hmm?"

"Stop thinking."

"Why?"

"I can feel it and it's giving me a headache." He chuckled at her reason, shaking his head before putting his drink on the nightstand.

"Sorry, kid. Didn't mean to bother you with my powerful mind." In response, she giggled, immediately jumping on him and wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. He gladly hugged back.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She asked when she pulled away after a minute of comfortable silence. Tony shrugged, not fully knowing how to answer in a way that will not only pitch his idea perfectly, but also allow his nine-year-old daughter to understand what he is saying. She might be a genius, Tony thought, but she's still a kid.

After a few minutes of figuring out on what to say, Tony finally grinned and turned to fully face his daughter.

"What happens if I make a full bodied, metal made, superhero suit?" She blinked a few times at her dad, innocent eyes staring back at tired, yet excited eyes.

Just then, she grinned back, her brown eyes sparkling in the city light. "I'll attack you with a three thousand kisses."

"Only three thousand?"

"Would you rather me giving Stane kisses?"

"...I'll stick to three thousand."

"That's what I thought."