Johanna Reid nay Stark

A/N Now it gets more interesting for Jo. Please read and review

Chapter 3

"Happy replied, gosh he hasn't replied to me in like two weeks, I can't believe it. Right, he says that Mr. Stark wants to know what it's about, and that he's not a 'show pony who I can trot out for my friends whenever I want, so it better be real important'" Peter reads from the text.

"We can't tell him in a text, umm I don't know what to do" Jo says panicking again from her seated position on the chair still.

"Relax its ok we'll work it out. Maybe we should just go over to the tower and try it that way and hope he'll let us talk to him?" Ned suggests.

"Can we really just turn up like that though, it's like the most secure building in the city, you can't just walk in" Jo says incredulous.

"Maybe you can't" Peter says winking at her.

"Oh god Peter what's going through that little head of yours now?" Jo asks looking apprehensive.

"Well he has his JARVIS installed in the tower and she knows who I am so maybe if we turn up he might let me in and I can ask if they'll let you two in?" Peter suggests looking hopeful.

"It could be worth a shot, I guess" Jo says carefully, but you can't tell him why I'm there, just say that I really need to talk to him, as a favour to you or something, whatever you have to say just don't tell him who I am" Jo says, and Peter nods solemnly promising not to.

"So, are we going to Avenger's Tower then?" Ned asks looking hyped and terrified at the same time.

"Yes" Jo says with a shaky breath and picks up the polaroid and all the letters and the article, and putting them in her backpack, before shouldering it and heading for the door.

They use the subway again to get to the tower emerging back into the bitterly cold air with shivers from all of them, and craning their necks to see to the very top. After one final look shared between them they all step into the entryway, Jo and Ned stop just inside the door and wait hoping that they're not about to be shot or something by hidden lasers, while Peter walks into the centre of the room.

"Mr. Parker, Sir wishes to know why you have come so unexpectedly and brought company even though Sir is under the impression that no one knew of your relationship with him" JARVIS said seemingly from everywhere at once.

"That's not actually what he said is it JARVIS" Peter says with a smile.

"No but I chose to paraphrase since some of his language may be inappropriate in front of minors." JARVIS said again.

"Well could you tell him that I have come with my friend Johanna Reid and that she has discovered something that she really needs to talk to him about, she doesn't want me to say anymore because she wants to talk to him in person so please as a favour to me can he come down here, or can we go up, but it's essential that we get to talk to him and the sooner the better" Peter says knowing full well that Mr. Stark is likely watching the feed of this right now.

They all jump when doors on the other side of the room open and an elevator is revealed. "Sir is on the 42nd floor" JARVIS says and Peter looks over to Ned and Jo with a tentative smile.

The three of them stepped into the lift tentatively, there was no buttons so they just looked around expectantly, and as expected the doors closed and they felt the acceleration as the elevator shot upwards carrying them up the 42 floors in only about 20 seconds. The doors opened and Jo wasn't sure she's even going to be able to take a step she was shaking so badly. Peter went ahead of the other two knowing how terrified they must be, they followed him out and into a bland looking corridor, a door at the end of the corridor slid open and they entered the room. What they saw when they entered made even Peter stop, this was clearly Mr. Stark's personal lab, various bits of Iron Man armour amongst other tech that they didn't recognise was scattered around the huge lab, floor to ceiling windows covered the entire wall of the lab allowing the light from outside to flood in.

Jo was overwhelmed for a moment and imagined that this must be how her mother had felt walking into the Park Hyatt all those years ago with a man she'd only just met. Speaking of the man, Jo could see a figure bent over one of the various desks fiddling with something that seemed to be giving off sparks but he wasn't distracted by them and kept going. She watched as Peter stepped over and cleared his throat.

"Umm, Mr. Stark I'm sorry for barging in like this, these are my friends Ned Leeds and Jo Reid, Jo really needs to talk to you and I think you are going to want to talk to her as well." Peter says carefully.

"I already heard you say that downstairs kid, JARVIS passed it all on, so Ms. Reid what can I do for you?" Tony said turning to face Jo fully and she forces herself to breathe again.

"Umm, you m-might not remember but in December 2000 you met a woman in the Golden Rabbit bar in Manhattan and you a-asked her to go with you, she w-went and you went to the Park Hyatt t-together" Jo said her voice shaking on every word. She saw the frown forming on the man's face and pulled her rucksack of her back, walking over to place it on a nearby table that was clear of stuff luckily. She unzipped it and rummaged around pulling out the note with her mom's name on it.

"You left this the next morning when you left before she woke up" she then pulled out the polaroid picture "and here's a picture that I think was taken at the bar of you two" she handed both of them to him and he took them his calloused hands rough when they brush against hers.

"Yeah, I remember her why? We had a good night but that's all it was, I never saw her again" he said starting to look sceptical.

"Umm I was born September 2nd, 2001, and well my mom always told me that my father was someone she'd had a one night stand with but she insisted that she knew he didn't want anything to do with her so she said she didn't tell him that I exist. Mr. Stark my m-mom died in a car crash yesterday morning and I found this box in her room, I've got a letter she wrote for you, I haven't opened it b-but…" Jo cuts herself off knowing that she's going to cry soon and so instead she just holds out the letter. She looks up into his eyes and can see the dawning realization of what she's saying in his eyes, he snatches the letter from her and she jumps back slightly. He rips open the envelope and his eyes quickly scan the lines of writing before he reaches up running his hand through his hair. She doesn't quite know what to do at this point and the look in Mr. Starks eyes is starting to scare her, he looks angry and she becomes convinced he is angry at her, she starts putting the things back into her bag and slings it over her shoulder backing away from him slightly.

"So I'm… I'm your father, is that what you're saying then" he says looking for all the world as though he's going to cry. She keeps backing up until she walks into Ned who is still frozen behind her, he puts a hand up squeezing her shoulder and stepping around so that he is between Jo and Mr. Stark, because he doesn't like the way the man is behaving either.

"Yes, but I don't want anything from you or anything like that, I was just kind of hoping I might at least you know get the chance to know you, it's only ever been me and my mum and so you're now the only family I have left so… yeah, but don't worry if you don't want me I can just go now and you'll never have to see me if you don't want to, I can go back to those foster parents they seemed ok" Jo realised she was mumbling.

"Don't worry Jo you can stay with either of us, we won't let you end up with strangers" Peter says confidently re-appearing in Jo's line of sight and offering her a slight smile.

"Jo, if you don't mind me calling that, I never forgot about your mother, I have had a lot of one-night stands over the years and it's always the same, they would recognise me and I could tell that they just wanted me for my fame and money, but your mother she was different, I knew that she had no idea who I was. She walked up to me in the bar and just asked if I wanted to dance, there was no pretence to it, just a simple request for a dance and we had so much fun, I asked her to come with me and she did, I wanted so badly to stick around and be with her but I knew that she wouldn't want the kind of life that would come with being with me, so I left before she woke up, I kept tabs on her to make sure she was ok over the years but I never knew she had a child… But now I know about you I want to be in your life. I'm not perfect so you'll have to get used to that but I want to try and do better with you than I did with your mother." He said looking into her eyes he could see the resemblance to both himself and to Sandy in this girl's face and was sure that she was his, there was no doubt about it.

"I would like that Mr. Stark" Jo said carefully but now stepping out from behind Ned again.

"Please if you don't mind call me Tony, Mr. Stark makes me feel old, which I'm definitely not" Tony said with a smile.

"Ok, Tony" Jo said.