Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay, I've been researching PTSD to try and write Tony's reaction to stuff etc, and it's something I want to do justice to as my mum is a Complex PTSD sufferer. And, it's my Chemistry GSCE tomorrow. Joy.

Chapter Five

Pepper had talked herself to sleep. She'd told Tony of when she'd first met him, about how she'd corrected a critical mistake in his math, to which he promptly replied "My math is never wrong" but didn't understand where the urge to say that came from. She'd stopped talking when she told of him finally going missing eight months prior. She'd also told him he was a superhero.

He'd taken it pretty well, considering. Never mind the fainting spell at the mention of dying of Palladium poisoning or again at being a superhero. Now, she'd sent him to bed, promising to take him home tomorrow. She herself was tired and suffering jaw ache, and leaped at the chance of sleep herself.

Darkness. All around him. Black. Darker. Engulfing him, trapping him.

He was slowly losing air. Fabric in his mouth, touch fabric. There was moisture entering. His throat was constricting.

Oh God he was drowning.

"Short shallow breaths. You'll recover quicker."

From what? Oh pain. Excruciating pain. Burning through his flesh. And he was screaming, screaming as the pain tore him apart.

Tony woke with a start, bolting upright. His body was covered in a cold sweat and he was breathing shortly. He wiped a hand over his face, and, pulling on his trousers, left the room.

Once standing in the main room of the suite, Tony didn't know what to do. He opted for standing by the window, watching the rain fall. When Pepper emerged sleepily from her room and asked him how long he'd been there, he replied; "long enough to watch the sun rise." When she asked him if he was okay, he had no answer. He wasn't sure. The voice of his dream was still haunting him. As if understanding, Pepper walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head between his shoulder blades.

When he'd been informed he was a millionaire (or billionaire) he'd been amazed. But it meant nothing until he saw he had a plane.

"I have my own plane?" he's asked. Pepper had only smiled and encouraged him onto the plane. Stunned, he'd followed her.

When on the plane, Pepper had sat across from him and handed him a notebook. At his confused glance, she'd stated that it was for him to write down anything he saw – dreams, flashes, slight memories as well as déjà vu moments. He'd smiled and accepted the book.

If Tony had been impressed with the plane, he was flabbergasted by the Malibu house he owned. He'd taken a while to even enter the house, opting instead to just stare from the outside, but had eventually allowed the schoolboy inside him lead him into the house, and giggle like a maniac. He was startled, however, by Jarvis speaking.

"Welcome back, sir," he said. "You have been missed."

"Is that the computer system you told me about?" Tony hissed to Pepper.

"Yes," Pepper replied, still smiling.

Pepper hadn't allowed Rhodey to meet them, or for Happy to drive them, deciding that bringing more people into Tony's life now before he could remember anything would be too soon, and cause him stress. They'd agreed, albeit reluctantly, telling her to call them if she needed anything.

Once the initial excitement had worn off, and Pepper had shown Tony everywhere except the workshop, they decided to order takeaway. Pepper knew it was risky, and that the press would wonder why she was ordering enough Pizza for a few people, but also knew that Tony needed to eat.

Once they'd eaten, Tony noticed a staircase he'd not seen before. Pepper was in the kitchen cleaning up, and, seeing as it was technically his house, Tony saw nothing wrong in following the staircase. He found an electronic keypad on a glass wall. Somehow, he already knew the code, and let himself into the room.

"Whoa," he breathed, and he looked about him. There were cars everywhere, and computers. He was in awe of the lot. He took a few steps into the room, and accidentally kicked something. Looking down to see what it was, he was assaulted with the sense of power again that he often felt at some point in his dreams. He picked up the piece of metal and examined it, before placing it on a chair. Taking a few more steps forward, he noticed two metal suits in the far corner.

He suddenly collapsed to the floor, screaming.

When Pepper heard the muffled scream she ran as fast as she could from the kitchen, kicking off her Jimmy Choos in the process. Jarvis swiftly informed her that Tony was in the workshop. Frantically running down the stairs, she entered the workshop, the door having been opened for her by Jarvis. Seeing Tony on the floor, seemingly in agony, Pepper rushed to his side and tried to hold him still.

"Tony?" she called to him. "Tony!" he wouldn't reply, but was muttering something under his breath between screams of pain. She could faintly make out the words "drowning". He thrashed about against her hands screaming and muttering for an indefinable time, before slumping, spent, against her. Virtually crying now, Pepper stroked a hand across his head. His breathing had evened out, and she realised that he'd fallen asleep.

Looking up at the main screen, Pepper asked Jarvis to show her what had happened before Tony collapsed. Form what she could see for the first three times she watched the video footage, nothing had happened; he'd just fallen. But a closer look showed her that he'd seen the suits. When she mentioned this to Jarvis, he'd replied;

"A symptom of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is that when a sufferer sees something that may cause a link to their traumatic ordeal, they will relive certain parts of their experience."

Sighing, fearing that maybe he did have PTSD; Pepper pressed a gentle kiss against Tony's head and continued stroking his hair, willing him to awaken soon.