Well, yet another chapter, being off work for Christmas is giving me a chance to write. This is a chapter that's a bit out there but just bear with me.
Chapter 4
Tony just finished the final test on his restored Mark V and the suit had collapsed into its tidy carrying case. He was looking over some final plans that had just been emailed to him by Katie, and with a grin, Tony instructed Jarvis to lock the system until his return. He picked up the case and headed up to the waiting car.
Happy had just finished loading the bags into the Rolls Royce and was now waiting for the passengers to head to the airstrip. Tony appeared and handed the red and gold case to Happy. "Where is she?"
"I have no idea." Happy shrugged and placed the precious case in the front seat.
Tony leaned against the black car for nearly thirty seconds before making an executive decision. "I think I'll meet you guys at the plane." He walked back into the house leaving Happy with his mouth open in shock.
Pepper finished a last minute email for the company and headed for the car. When she arrived Happy was standing next to it waiting patiently. "Tony late as always."
"Not this time, he actually waited for nearly thirty seconds before deciding to drive himself." Happy informed her.
She rolled her eyes and climbed into the car. Happy stopped and picked up Ken and Gloria before proceeding to the airport. "Where is Tony?" Pepper's mother asked as Happy maneuvered the car down the long stretch of road.
Pepper shrugged while Happy answered. "He's coming up fast behind us." His eyes noticed the familiar white Audi gaining on them.
Everyone watched as Tony's car quickly caught up and passed them. Pepper shook her head with a grin. Ken was far from impressed as he eyed his daughter. "You actually get enjoyment out of him being wreck less."
"That's absurd." She responded.
"He passed us at well over 100 miles per hour and you're smiling." He pointed out.
"Yes, well maybe it's another part of Tony that I fell in love with."
"Please, we are all going to celebrate Pepper's birthday, leave the attitudes in California for the time being." Gloria intervened.
Happy pulled up to the waiting aircraft and opened the doors for everyone while several others retrieved the luggage. He was the only one who carried the Mark V. Tony stepped out onto the stairs from the plane. "Wheels up, and the bar is open!" He took Pepper's hand while balancing his drink in the other. "Happy Birthday." Tony gave her a quick kiss before escorting her onto the plane.
The flight took just under four hours and upon landing there was a large black limo waiting for them as well as several photographers. Ken and Gloria were not accustomed to the attention and stood behind Tony and Pepper as he gripped Pepper's waist with his left arm and raised his right, his fingers poised in the 'peace' symbol. The flashes flooded them as they entered the limo.
Happy sat next to the driver with the Mark V handcuffed to his arm. Tony opened the moon roof and took Pepper's hand. "Come on, you know you want to."
"No, Tony I really don't." She knew what he was asking.
"It's your birthday, come on, let go." He pleaded.
"I'll let go in another way." Pepper watched as Tony stood with his upper body coming out of the top of the car. He was waving at the people recognizing him as they went through Lexington towards their hotel. "He enjoys the attention."
"Obviously." Her father quickly fired at her far from impressed with Tony's actions.
When the limo stopped in front of the Seelbach Hilton hotel there was a large crowd waiting for them. Happy stepped out and pushed the crowd back as he opened the door and Tony quickly climbed out throwing his arms in the air causing the crowd to cheer. He helped Pepper out and took her hand in his.
"Mr. Stark, Selena Roberts, Sports Illustrated." The woman pushed her way towards Tony.
"SI, seriously? Love the swimsuit editions" he stopped not intending on answering any questions, but the lady caught his attention.
"Since when have you been a fan of horse racing?"
"Uh, since Pepper told me she liked horses and wanted to attend the race." He simply answered.
"Christina Everhart, Vanity Fair…" both Tony and Pepper froze almost unbelieving that once again they have crossed paths with the woman. "Do you actually think that we believe that your relationship with Miss Potts began when you announced it and not years before when she was your assistant doing your bidding?"
"I'm a one woman man now Miss Everhart, sorry." Tony turned and headed towards the hotel with Pepper at his side.
"So who takes the trash out now?" The woman fired.
Pepper suddenly was red and released Tony's hand and turned to face the woman. Happy was right behind them and quickly stopped peppers advance. "You were the last piece of trash that I had to take out!"
"Pepper!" Happy pushed her towards a shocked Tony. "Come on, inside."
They entered the quiet foyer of the hotel and a bellhop escorted the group towards the elevators. When the doors closed Ken couldn't help but speak up. "What was that all about?"
"The past." Tony answered simply and quickly before turning his attention to Pepper. "That was impressive; I didn't know you were so feisty."
"Drop it."
"I bet you could have taken her."
"Tony."
"You know it was just a…"
"Stop." She clamped her hand over his mouth. "She is in the past I know what happened, so let's keep her out of the present. Remember, I don't want to talk about things I already know about." He nodded with her hand still on his face. "Good."
Pepper removed her hand and Tony grinned. "You could've taken her."
"Shut up!" Pepper landed a punch on his arm as he laughed.
They were shown into the Gatsby suite near the top floor of the hotel. The bellhop showed them the various rooms and Tony had he and Pepper's things put in the master bedroom, while Ken and Gloria were given the bed room with the queen size bed, leaving Happy and Katie to share a room with two large double beds. Happy was fine with the arrangement while Katie was less than impressed but knowing she needed to be disposable at all hours went with it.
"So master party planner, what's on the agenda?" Pepper mocked Tony as he looked around the room. Ken and Gloria sat down on one of the many couches that were placed around the 1,000 square foot suite.
"Well…" Tony looked around, "why don't you ask Katie."
The younger woman stepped forward. "You have reservations at the five diamond restaurant, The Oakroom, at eight. After your meal the Rathskeller room has been converted to accommodate Mr. Stark's requirements."
Pepper narrowed her eyes. "What requirements?"
"Ah well, I figured that you needed an appropriate party, so I've made it tasteful yet conservative, nothing outlandish or crazy." Tony chimed in.
"You, not going crazy at party planning?" She crossed her arms as Tony stepped forward.
He smiled. "Nope, and Katie tell her the best part."
"You and Mrs. Potts have reservations at the spa downstairs in an hour."
Pepper smiled. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Tony kissed her softly not wanting to get out of control; he was saving that for later.
Pepper and Gloria spent the afternoon in the spa, while Tony and Happy checked out the gym, and Ken situated himself in front of the large television enjoying some peace. That night they enjoyed a large five course meal. Gloria and Ken decided to avoid the party and went up to the suite.
Happy stuck close to Katie and even managed to dance with her several times. Tony was keeping Pepper at his side even when other women were trying to get his attention. There was an array of people in attendance, several were colleagues from Stark, some were celebrities also attending the Derby, and of course there was always the selection of gorgeous available women.
As the night moved into morning, Tony continued to dance with Pepper. She untied his tie and let it hang from his neck occasionally holding it to pull him closer to her. It was all about her, and instead of normally stealing the show, Tony kept his attention on her. Eventually they entered the elevator and Tony pinned Pepper against the wall and kissed her. With both of their bodies on fire for release, their kisses here sloppy and hurried, and as they entered the suite they continued to kiss as they made their way towards their bedroom. Pepper pushed off Tony's suit jacket letting it fall to the floor. She ripped open his shirt as she pulled him by the tie still draped around his neck.
Ken was still up watching tv when the pair entered. He was silent in watching as his daughter began undressing her lover as she led him to her bed. It wasn't something he wanted to see, after all Pepper was still his little girl in his eyes. Not wanting to be in close proximity to them, he retreated to his bed.
Tony pushed Pepper back onto the bed and began undressing her. He pulled her dress off and noticed that she wasn't wearing any panties. He exhaled deeply. "Naughty girl." Pepper helped him shed the rest of his clothes as they moved up the large bed. Tony was quick to join them together but instantly slowed their hurried movements. He looked down at Pepper, the love of his life and smiled. "Happy Birthday." They entered the morning screaming each other's names in ecstasy and awoke with the sun greeting them into the mid-morning.
Everyone cleaned up and met down at the waiting limo that took them to Churchill Downs. Pepper was excited and made it obvious. Tony was happy that he was the one making her so happy. There was a large crowd greeting every celebrity or known person that arrived to attend the race. After several pictures and handshakes they were taken to the main area high above the track right at the finish line.
"Can we go to the stables?" Pepper asked out loud to no one as she looked across the track to the layout of barns.
Tony was standing close enough to hear her question. "Sure." He smiled when her face filled with excitement. "Happy…" Tony waived over his friend. "Come with us." He turned to Katie. "We are going to go see the horses, stay here with Ken and Gloria and we'll be back."
Pepper and Tony were taken by a staff member to the backside of the track where there was an array of television cameras catching all of the pre-race activities of the horses.
"Oh, look at that one over there." Pepper pointed.
"That's the one entry of Bob Baffert." The escort informed them.
She turned to Tony. "He's the horse from California."
"Cool." Was all Tony could respond not knowing what she was talking about.
Pepper took his hand and pulled him towards the horse. Several guards stopped them about five feet from the animal but they were allowed to observe. Happy was a few feet back clutching the red and gold case. "He's gorgeous." She commented. "Wouldn't it be cool to own one of these awesome animals?"
Tony narrowed his eyes. "And do what with it?"
"Race it. They can make money too." She informed him.
"Really?" Tony looked at the horse more closely. "He looks like a lot of maintenance."
"Oh, and you're not?" Pepper mocked.
"Point taken." He looked around and saw a white haired man in sunglasses leaving a small group of reporters. Tony watched as the man walked right up to the horse and pat the animal on the face. He had no idea who the guy was but apparently Pepper did.
"He's beautiful, Mr. Baffert." Pepper spoke up.
"Thank you." The man approached them and looked at Tony who was avoiding eye contact through his own shades. "I've seen you before."
"Yeah, I don't think so." Tony responded. "Pep, want to go look at another one?"
Bob snapped his fingers. "You're Tony Stark, the Iron Man."
Tony wanted to deny it by shaking his head, but once again Pepper had other plans. "Yes he is, I'm Pepper Potts, co-CEO of Stark Industries. It's my first Derby."
"Welcome. Here, would you like to see him up close?" Bob offered and Pepper drug Tony close to the horse. "His name ironically is Iron Dust."
"That's a cool name." Pepper ran her hand down the white blaze that stood out against the horses black coat.
Tony suddenly had an idea pop into his head and while Pepper was admiring the animal he pulled Bob aside. "What's it take to run one of these things?"
Bob laughed. "A race horse? Well, you've got to own one first."
He glanced back at Pepper laughing as the horse was licking her hand. "How much for that one?"
"You serious?" Bob looked at the man over his sunglasses before removing them. "I don't own him but everything's for sale in this business."
"Find out." He patted the trainer on his shoulder and walked up to Pepper. "It seems he likes you."
"He's so gentle." Pepper held out her hand for the horse to lick once again.
"Want to walk around some more?" Tony offered and put an arm around Pepper's waist leading her away from the horse. "We'll be back." He informed Bob as they walked down the row of barns.
"I'd bet on that horse." Pepper spoke as she looked at the man escorting them.
"His current odds are 10-1, so he's not the favorite but he should be in the front group to cross the wire." The man informed him.
After twenty minutes of walking around they found themselves back at Baffert's barn. The white haired man smiled and greeted them. While Pepper went back to the horse Tony met with Bob. "Okay, I'm not sure how much money you're thinking to spend, but the owners want $350,000 for him right now before the race. Depending on how he finishes, that number could go up."
Without hesitation Tony held out his hand to the man. "Deal." Bob shook his hand nearly stunned at the lack of negotiation. "And you stay in charge of him." Tony turned and went back to Pepper. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You really like this horse don't you?"
"He's just…" She was speechless as she pet the animal.
"Well, Happy Birthday." Tony watched as she turned in his arms with a confused look. "I didn't know what to get you, and you can always get dresses and stuff, so I figured what's the big deal. He's yours…I just bought him."
Pepper's eyes grew and her mouth fell open. "Really, for me?"
"Yup, congratulations Miss Potts you own your very own Kentucky Derby race horse." She quickly embraced him and Tony hugged her back. "Wow, does this mean I did good?"
She moved to pull him into a deep kiss. They separated out of breath and smiling. "Thank you."
Ken and Gloria were enjoying the pre Derby races from their perch in the large suite. There were screens around them broadcasting the pre-derby festivities on the backside and when Tony and Pepper came on the screen they both watched.
"Mr. Stark is it true that you just bought Iron Dust?" a reporter asked as He and Pepper walked alongside the black horse being led by two grooms.
"Yes." Tony answered shortly.
"Miss Potts, do you have any comments on Mr. Stark's purchase."
"Well, we plan on continuing racing him in the very capable hands of Bob Baffert. It's our first racehorse." She offered.
"And he's a Derby contender." The reporter added as they stopped to let the party pass. "You heard it, the connections of Iron Dust has changed in one hour to post."
Ken's mouth fell open as Gloria smiled. "Isn't that sweet, he bought Pepper a horse." She said while her husband shook his head.
Tony and Pepper accompanied the horse to the paddock and watched the horse being saddled and the jockey mounting their new purchase. Pepper was grinning widely as Bob showed them to the owner's boxes. They watched as the horses were loaded into the gate and it then dawned on Tony that his new purchase could instantly make him money. "How much if we win?"
"About 1.3 million." Bob spoke as he kept his eyes trained on the horse.
"Damn." Tony then turned his attention as the gates opened and the horses ran past the grandstand for the first time. Iron Dust was the only black horse in the field making him easy to track. As the horses entered the backstretch Tony noticed his horse sitting in second place. He could feel the excitement and began cheering on the horse alongside Pepper.
As the horses rounded the final turn and entered the homestretch both Tony and Pepper were screaming with excitement as their horse battled for the lead. The large chestnut horse running next to Iron Dust managed to gain the lead with less than two furlongs remaining. Iron Dust crossed the line in second with the third place horse several lengths behind.
"Dammit!" Tony yelled and Pepper turned to him and smiled. "He was so close."
Pepper laughed. "Let's go congratulate him."
"He lost." Tony pointed out.
"There's always the Preakness." Bob spoke up.
"More races?" Tony asked and when Bob nodded he looked at Pepper. "Cool."
After bidding goodbye to Bob and their new horse, Tony and Pepper went to find her parents. They were driven back to the hotel and Tony received a text that he won nearly half a million for second place. He shared the information with everyone that his investment earned him a profit if less than an hour. Pepper laughed as Happy shook his head. It was always business with Tony, unless it was just a party.
While they were sitting on the tarmac waiting for their luggage to be unloaded screams could suddenly be heard from inside the terminal. They all looked through the glass as people began running. "What's going on?" Tony asked as one of the workers turned up his radio.
'Alert the police, a man just rushed the metal detectors with a bomb strapped to his person and is running down the terminal towards the tarmac.'
Tony grabbed the radio. "What terminal is he heading for?"
'He was screaming something in another language and heading towards the taxing airplane heading for runway 3.'
The instant the message came through they saw the man run out of the terminal dragging a woman along with him, and airport security attempting to stop him but failing. It appeared he was going to intercept the plane and with a hostage and security was unsure how to proceed.
"Happy, the case." Tony removed his jacket and handed it to Pepper. She folded it over her arm and went to her parents to move them away from him as Happy freed the case and tossed it at his boss. Tony set the case on the ground and activated it. He reached down and pulled the evolving case to his chest and extended his arms. They all watched as he transformed into Iron Man in a matter of seconds and took to the air.
Tony focused in on the explosive device, and once he located the connection point he rushed in. The hostage was thrown to the ground under Iron Man's force but was unharmed. Within seconds, Tony had the explosive off the man and was back in the air. As he flew over the runway the bomb went off. The thrusters on his hands were damaged as was a section of the chest piece. He lost his momentum and began his decent to earth.
"This is gonna hurt!" He yelled as the one hundred foot fall ended in the grass next to the run way. Tony groaned and remained on his back. "I wasn't considering explosives when I overhauled this thing."
"Tony!" Pepper yelled as she watched him impact the ground. Happy held her as they all watched the fire and rescue from the airport stop where Tony landed. He suddenly appeared walking with several firemen and shook their hand before having to walk back towards Pepper. Once he was close Happy let her go and she ran towards Tony.
He flipped his faceplate back as she enveloped him. "I'm fine, unlike my suit."
She managed to push back and looked at the damage up close. "Oh my God."
Tony shrugged as she held him again. As the police and federal agents arrived Tony gave them his statement and they all boarded the plane. With the damage, it took several hard pulls from Happy to extract Tony form the suit. The flight was quiet as Tony sat and sipped a glass of scotch and watched the governments reaction to the terrorist. Senator Stern was giving his two cents on the incident and as always the man irritated Tony, but he listened to what the senator had to say.
Pepper rode with Tony as he drove his car back to their home and Happy took her parents' home. Tony drove directly into his workshop and the first thing he did was throw the pieces of the former Mark V at one of his robots. "Hey Dummy, dispose of this thing will you." He walked over to his desk still irritated by the senator's comments.
"Stop letting him get to you." Pepper knew why he was upset.
"He's the only ass in the free world that is against me and what I do. He can always find one thing to bitch about even if everything turned out well and no one was hurt. The man is relentless and is capable of doing nothing but causing problems." Tony stood in front of her and yelled, pointing at nothing in particular.
Pepper knew that getting Tony to calm down was near impossible at the moment. "It's nothing; he's just making random accusations don't…" Her sentence was cut off by Tony yelling and throwing a punch at one of his computer screens. She jumped back startled by his outburst.
Tony stood and let his adrenaline settle down as he looked across the desk at Pepper who was frozen in place. His chest heaved as he looked down at his hand. The screen had broken and made several cuts to his knuckles. Blood dripped from his hand to the ground but Tony couldn't feel any pain at the moment. Pepper felt the tears well up in her eyes and she had to get away from him. "Pepper…" tony watched her retreat up stairs and he sat back in his chair and sighed. "Jarvis."
"Yes sir." The AI responded and brought the room to life.
"Scan this and make sure there's nothing embedded in the skin." He set his hand on the table as several sensors went over his hand.
"All of the cuts are superficial; I don't detect any glass shards under the skin." Jarvis informed Tony.
Tony rubbed his hands over his face and sighed loudly. "Pepper." He spoke and stood rushing towards the stairs. He looked around and found her sitting on the stairs behind the repaired water fall. "Hey…" He walked up and sat next to her putting his arm around her. Pepper wrapped her arms around her stomach and Tony noticed the flash of discomfort across her face. "What is it, what's wrong?"
"It's noting. I've just had a stomach ache since we took off." She leaned into him for comfort.
"Maybe you should go lay down." He pulled her to her feet. "Come on." Tony walked her up the remaining steps to their room and helped her down on the bed. "Do you think it was something you ate?"
"I don't know." She looked up at him and tried to smile.
Tony pushed several strands of hair back away from her face. "Get some rest, we had a long day. I'm sure it's just stress." He sat with her until she dozed off before returning to his workshop. "Jarvis, keep an eye on Pepper for me."
"Of course sir." He went silent for a moment. "The Mark V was properly destroyed, would you like me to put together a new one?"
He picked up the broken monitor. "Let's hold off on that for the moment Jarvis." Tony tossed the monitor in the trash as he went to sit down. His head fell back over the back of the chair and he just looked at the ceiling. "Do you ever get the feeling like you're missing something in life?"
"I don't house human emotions sir."
"It was a rhetorical question Jarvis. I just wish I could get everything in order and decide what I want to do with my life." Tony went quiet and this time Jarvis remained silent.
Nearly an hour went by and Tony was still staring at the ceiling when Jarvis spoke up. "Sir, Miss Potts requires your immediate attention."
Tony sprang to his feet and scaled the stairs two at a time. He could hear Pepper's distressed moans as he entered the bedroom. "Pepper?" She was curled into a ball groaning in pain. "Pepper, please tell me what's wrong?"
"It hurts, my stomach." She gritted her teeth as Tony rubbed her back.
"If I may suggest, I can perform a scan of Miss Potts' abdomen in the shop." Jarvis spoke up.
"Pepper?" She nodded and Tony scooped her up into his arms. Dummy was pushing over a table to the middle of the room and Tony gently placed her onto it. He held her hand as Jarvis started the scan. "It will be all right." Tony encouraged her. "Jarvis, have Doctor Major come evaluate her."
"Right away."
Pepper looked up at Tony. "What's wrong with me?"
"I don't know baby, but we'll know in a second." Tony leaned down and kissed her forehead.
Suddenly Jarvis spoke up. "I have completed my diagnostics. Maybe we should wait for the doctor?"
"Jarvis." Tony threatened.
"Very well…" A screen appeared next to Pepper so Tony could look across her to see. "The problem lies with your uterus."
"What?" Pepper questioned as she looked at the image Jarvis projected.
"Using the current measurements, the fetus is around five weeks from fertilization, no heartbeat is detected, your body is doing what it needs to in order to expel the…"
"I'm pregnant?" Pepper looked from the screen to Tony who's eyes were still locked in on the highlighted fetus. "You said there's no heartbeat, what happened?"
"It's hard to say, but the pain is being cause by your contractions."
Tony looked from the screen down to Pepper. She was looking up at him tears filling her eyes. He didn't know what to say, but what he did know was that Pepper was pregnant with his child, and a feeling of emptiness suddenly filled Tony. He tried to offer Pepper as much comfort as he could as she cried into his shirt sleeve.
The doctor arrived and did a quick examination confirming she was indeed miscarrying. He left Tony with a set of instructions that Jarvis took upon himself to remember. That night Tony sat next to Pepper as she remained on the table of his workshop losing their baby.
Damn, I am one cruel ass person no?
TDCSI