A/N: Kay first off-apologies-I really meant to get this written and up sooner, I did. I'm hoping to get to a place where I update at least once a week, but obviously life does get in the way. Secondly, such huge thank yous to everyone who's shown an interest in this story -favourites, follows and especially reviewers. They all mean so much to me and inspire me to keep going. As to the issue of the ending of this story, I know people are curious-and some people have asked me about it-but honestly at this stage I don't know how I'm going to end it. I'm really just gonna go with what feels right, so I'm not promising happy, and I take no responsibility in the event of any heartbreak this story might cause if I choose to take it in that direction.

Okay sorry, long note. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter and that it was worth the wait.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the fun stuff

She didn't want to go downstairs, so she fought when they tried to make her

'I don't wanna go, Momma,' the redhead whined as she tried to pull her hand from her mother's 'I don't want them to stick things in me,' she couldn't shake the images of those horrible big needles from the hospital

Angela knelt down to look her daughter in the eye 'I know, baby, I know it's scary-but this is the only way you can get better. You want to get better don't you?'

She stopped struggling and bit down on her lip 'I don't like needles,' she murmured almost inaudibly

'Neither did I,' a voice chirped up from the doorway 'but you get used to it eventually…and you could always get one of those line thingy's,' at the noise, both of them whipped around to see Tony standing there in a navy blue dressing gown, hands in his pockets and short hair all messed up.

'Tony!' the little girl beamed and made to go over to him, but then she remembered what her mother had said to her the day before and stopped in her tracks. Angela stood up and frowned at the little boy

'Oh hello, dear, how nice to see you,' she didn't sound like she meant it

'Hello,' Tony didn't sound too happy to see her either 'Are you going down?'

'Oh…well yes fairly soon,' the little girl didn't understand her mother's tone. She still didn't see what was wrong with Tony.

'Yes but I don't wanna go because I'm scared,' she turned her big blue eyes on him

'Hey don't worry about it, it's not as bad as you think it'll be,' he smiled at her

'Will you be there too?' it might not be so bad if he was

Angela took her daughter's hand firmly in her own 'Don't be silly, baby, of course Tony won't be there,'

'Yes I will,' he replied, his smile turning to a smug grin 'I've got to go down now too,'

'Really?' the girl brightened visibly and looked happily up to her mother 'See, Momma, Tony is going to be there,'

'Yes well,' her mother turned a strained smile to her daughter 'He probably won't be near us,'

The smile disappeared again 'Why not?'

'Well…erm…'

'Why won't he? That's not fair!' the girl's small face was turning red-not too dissimilar to the colour of her hair 'I want Tony to be there or I'm not going! You can't make me!'

Angela sighed and squeezed the bridge of her nose between her fingers 'Okay, sweetheart, I'll talk to the nurses about it okay?'

She screwed up her nose in consideration then she nodded, disentangled herself from her mother's hold and walked straight over to the boy, taking his hand in hers 'Come on,' she tugged at him as they both headed for the elevator 'You get to come with me,'

Angela looked after her child in wondered bemusement, and then quickly hurried after them before the elevator doors could close.


'NO. NO! I DON'T WANT IT I DON'T WANT IT TAKE IT AWAY! MOMMA I DON'T WANT IT,' the little girl was squirming in her mother's hold, trying desperately to escape the IV that a nurse was trying to put into her hand

'Ssh, baby, it's okay. It's okay. Don't worry, ssh, it won't be that bad,'

'She's right you know, darling, just a sharp scratch then it's all over. You'll hardly feel it,' the nurse interjected, a friendly smile plastered on her face as she tried to hold the redhead's hand still

'NO!' she screamed 'NOT NEEDLES! NO, MOMMA, PLEASE NO NEEDLES!'

'Baby, they're not going to hurt you, I promise,' her attempt at soothing the girl was failing miserably, and she was still wriggling around in her arms 'You just need to stay still, it won't be that bad I promise you,'

'I HATE NEEDLES, MOMMY. PLEASE I DON'T WANT THEM I DON'T WANT TO!' she was crying now, and her screams were bordering on incoherent

Angela rubbed circles on her back 'Ssh, sweetie, I know. I know you don't like them-but this one's only little, okay? It's not like the big ones they used at the hospital, you'll hardly feel it. Ssh, baby, ssh, it's okay,'

'Mommy, I don't want it, please don't make me, please,' she'd stopped squirming and was just crying into her mother's shoulder now 'No needles, Momma, please,' she sniffled

'You know if she really doesn't like needles then we may want to look into getting her a PICC line or a port,' the nurse said, her face sympathetic 'It's still a needle but after it's been placed it'll just stay there-she won't have to have a new IV placed every time,'

'You hear that, hun?' Angela looked lowered her head to speak gently in the girl's ear 'How about that? Just one needle and then no more ever,'

There was a sniffle and a muffled sob, but no reply

'Ginny? Gin? How about that-can you do that for me? Just one tiny needle,'

She shook her head 'Don't want needles,'

'Hey, Ginny?' the nurse bent down to try and catch the redhead's eye 'How would you feel if we put you to sleep for a little while to put the needle in-and then we just left it there and you wouldn't have to have anymore?'

'Put me to sleep?' she lifted her head ever so slightly

'Yeah, just for a little while,'

'But I'd have a needle in me?' she was frowning, and there were still tears streaking down her face

'Yes…but it would only be a tiny one. You'd hardly feel it, I promise,'

'Does Tony have it like that?' she sniffed. The nurse looked to Angela for explanation

'Tony?'

'Me,' his voice was more subdued than normal 'Can I open the curtain now the screaming's stopped?' but it certainly hadn't lost the humour

'Yes, Tony, you can,' Angela replied sounding a little resigned. The white patterned curtain next to them was pulled back, revealing Tony just sitting back down onto a bed, an IV in his arm

'Oh…Tony,' the nurse smiled 'I didn't know you guys knew each other,'

'We sure do,' he smiled as he shuffled into a more comfortable sitting position on the bed

'Yes Tony made quite an impression on Ginny yesterday, didn't he Gin?' she bent her head down to talk into the girl's ear again

'That's right,' he replied before she could 'Pepper nearly ran me down in the hallway,'

'Pepper?' Angela and the nurse asked at the same time

'Yeah,'

'Who's Pepper?'

'I am,' the little girl raised her head just slightly off her mother's shoulder, wiping a hand over her eyes

'Darling your name's Virginia, not Pepper, a pepper is a vegetable,'

'No, it's not that kind of pepper,' Tony added, sounding a little irritated 'It's pepper as in salt and pepper-because she's…fiery,'

'What?' Angela looked at Tony, her face a mask of annoyed confusion

'Tony calls me Pepper, Mommy,'

'But that's not your name, Gin, he shouldn't call you that-you shouldn't call her that, Tony,'

'But I like it, Momma,' she was sitting right up now, and the tears had stopped flowing 'makes me feel speshal,'

'Aw, baby, you're already special,' she tucked a piece of unruly ginger hair behind the girl's ear 'You don't need a silly name,'

'It's not silly,' she looked up at her mother 'You don't have to call me it,'

'She can't call you it,' Tony added 'It's my name for you,'

The nurse smiled at him and shook her head a little, Angela sighed 'Okay, fine…call her a silly name if it makes you both feel better,'

She giggled and then buried her head back in her mother's shoulder

'So, have we made a decision?' the nurse asked Angela quietly

The woman looked from her daughter to Tony to the nurse and back again 'I think that line thing sounds best-would that mean less pain for her?'

'A PICC line? In the long run it certainly means she won't be being messed around as much-having needle upon needle stuck in her. I'll speak to Doctor Miles about it for you, but I expect he'll be for it if you guys are,'

'Well I can sort that out, but she's still going to have to have her session today by normal IV because she's been eating normal food so we can't sedate her for the procedure,'

'Does that mean needles, Mommy?' her voice had raised an octave and she was sounding dangerously close to hysterics again

'I'm sorry, Gin. I promise you it won't be that bad,'

'You can't know that!' she'd started crying again

'I can though,' Tony piped up 'Look,' he held out his arm-needles, tubes and all

'Does it hurt?' she asked quietly

'Yes,'

Angela's eyes widened and she shook her head at him. He ignored her.

'Yes it hurts. But I promise that the sooner you get it over with then the sooner it'll not hurt, and the sooner you'll be better so it will never have to hurt again,'

She screwed up her nose and hummed to herself, then turned to her mother and wiped her eyes

'Okay,' she murmured 'but…I don't want to,'

The nurse laughed gently 'I promise to make it as quick as possible okay,'

She nodded and squeezed her eyes shut

'Momma?' her voice was small and scared

'I'm here, baby, it's okay,'

'Tony?'

'Don't worry, Pepper, it's okay. I'll make sure it's okay,'

I can't lie and say that reviews are gonna make me write faster, because I don't know what life's gonna throw at me that will get in the way of writing. However they will make me very very happy and could help to make the next chapter better. So pretty please?