A big thank you for all those who have commented and read the story. This feedback is really appreciated and I hope it will show in my writing. I hope you enjoy this one.

Pepper walked into the room to find Tony sitting up in the bed, surrounded by a bunch of papers , with a computer on his lap and a huge book, lying open on the bedside table. Tony had asked her to leave a couple of hours ago. He said he wanted to sleep and she should use this time to get some rest as well. Apparently, he didn't. He was clumsily holding a pen in his right hand, adding notes to one of the sheets next to him. It was filled with structural models of various substances, and now Tony seemed to be adding some more calculations.

'Hi. Are you feeling any better?'

'Nope.' He replied dispassionately. 'Actually…since you're here, I'm actually tempted to say yes.'

'You should get some rest, you know.'

'No. You said it yourself, remember? Get yourself together and work on that, right?' He forced himself to smile at her. She approached and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. Tony was starting to get annoyed by the fact that because of how worried she was she hardly ever got close to him, he missed the feeling of her lips against his and her delicate hands on his waist.

'Yes. But I didn't say 'work yourself senseless and knock yourself out eventually'. She reprimanded him.

'Don't worry. I might stop now as well. This is all pointless. The numbers just don't hold together and if I can't do this, no one else can!' he threw all the papers off the bed with frustration. 'Hospitals make me depressed. I want to be home. I could buy this place you know, and get all those people to work for me in Malibu…That's not such a bad idea, actually…'

Pepper knelt on the floor and started picking up the papers. She knew what would happen if Tony got into one of his crazy tantrums and she would do all she could to prevent it. She got the papers back in order and looked at the first page. She was never big on chemistry but one thing attracted her attention.

'Tony…I think as soon as you get better we need to sue the maths professor at MIT.' Pepper said, still scanning the documents with her eyes.

'What? Pep, I'm in the biggest limbo in my whole damn life, and you're talking about maths?' She sat next to him and held his right hand tightly in hers, as she put the papers on his lap.

'You are the genius boy here, but…as far as I'm concerned the square root of 64 is 8 rather than 6. Look, here,' she pointed at the fourth line of Tony's calculations. Tony's face suddenly lit up. Everything hurt, he felt horrible and desperately needed a drink. He wasn't even sure whether his idea would work, but he reminded himself of a Thursday morning, when one red-haired accountant walked into his office to point out a mistake in calculations that he himself had made. Since that day he couldn't stop thinking about her, wanting to be with her. And if it hadn't been for that mistake, he definitely wouldn't have such an amazing girlfriend now.

'Virginia Pepper Potts. CEO of Stark Industries, the brightest and most beautiful women I've ever met,' Tony started speaking slowly, weighing carefully every word. He looked Pepper in the eyes and saw her blushing. He loved it when she did that. They had known each other for years, grown to understand and care for each other, and still she blushed when he was around. 'You know I can be selfish sometimes and I know I don't say it enough, but…Pepper Potts, you complete me.'

###

'Mr. Stark, you do realize that if it doesn't work, you're risking…'

'I know my science right. Just get on with it.' The doctor sighed at the stubbornness of his patient. would fire him, if the guy died. Tony winced as the needle pierced his skin. His heart rate quickened, and he shut his eyes tightly. It burnt as hell, but his confidence wouldn't allow him to admit that he had just signed his death warrant. Then everything stopped.

'Mr. Stark? Can you hear me?' Tony could, but his eyelids felt too heavy to open. His body wouldn't listen to the commands coming from his brain and he fell asleep again.

Hours later Tony finally opened his eyes. He didn't want to move. He didn't want to know whether his remedy worked, scared of what would happen if it didn't. But then…

'Tony? Are you awake?' How the hell did she know?

'Yep. Pep, can you come here? Sit next to me, come on.' He pleaded with her.

'I couldn't wait for you to wake up. There's so much I need to tell you. But…This thing you made, is it…?' she sat next to Tony on the bed, impatiently awaiting a reply. He didn't seem to be keen on opening his mouth. Instead he just threw his arms around her waist, pulled her close and she responded in the same way. They just sat there, holding themselves in each other arms, not wanting to let go. Pepper could feel his breath on her neck and the warmth coming from the arc reactor kept assuring her, that this wasn't all just a dream.

'Yeah, I think it is.' He sealed his statement with a passionate kiss. It had been nearly three weeks since the last time he got so close to her, since he could feel her soft lips against his. The small of her perfume reminded him of that first moment they shared together on the rooftop. The thought saddened him a bit, seeing that he had put her through hell again. Seeing that being close to him, was always dangerous for her. Still, he couldn't help but grin, as the dull, throbbing pain in his stomach was replaced by the feeling of butterflies, as he felt her delicate hand on the back of his neck. She leaned her forehead against his and smiled back. He looked into her ocean-blue eyes, and couldn't help noticing how tired and worn down they were.

'Pep, I want to go home.' He repeated his request. 'This place gives me creeps.'

'Tony, I don't think the doctors will…'

'Don't think. Not the right time for that.' She didn't get a chance to reply, as Tony landed another passionate kiss on her lips. Not that she had anything against it, quite the opposite.

###

'Thank you so much. This is really appreciated. So, we'll see you on Wednesday, ok?'

'Indeed Miss Potts. Just please, make sure he stays in bed, takes his medications and doesn't do alcohol. Oh, and the bandages need to be changed every day. Now, I think that's all.' Pepper and the doc exchanged pleasantries one last time and then she was free to run up to Tony's bedroom.

'Happy now?' she asked, still amazed at his negotiating skills. It took Tony nearly an hour to convince the doctor that he could recover perfectly well at home and in the process he got so excited that he nearly fell off the bed, while attempting to stand up.

'As long as you're here, very happy. Just give me some Advil.'

'Tony, no. I think you're getting addicted to this thing.' Pepper couldn't believe that anyone could consume pills in such quantities and still not overdose.

'So? It hurts.' He gave her his hurt-puppy look, but she remained firm in her decision.

'You were allowed to come back here under a couple of conditions remember? But…I can give you chocolate milk and toasts.'

Tony was happy to have Pepper around, but at the same time she knew him too well, and was an expert in making him obey.

'How about a little smooch? I'm sure it would make all the bad stuff go away.'

'Well…'she teased him. 'I'm not sure. And anyway, Tony, I don't think your behavior so far made you deserve it.' The expression on Tony's face was priceless. He looked like a kid, whose lollipop had just been stolen. And Pepper though little kids were cute.

'I am sorry Miss Potts. I nearly died, in the process of saving the world AGAIN. Now, I don't know what else you want me to do.' He decided to play the game and smiled at her, using what little remained of the strength he had.

'That's what I mean Tony. You nearly died. AGAIN!' Just thinking about it, made her want to cry. If he carried on like that, once the again would turn into finally, and she didn't want to see that.

'Pep, I…You know I had to…' he mumbled. 'I…I…' Ok, he had to admit it, he wasn't an expert in apologizing, but he wanted to tell her badly how sorry he was.

'YOU, Tony need to stop talking, lie down and rest. I'll get you that milk.' Disappointed at the outcome of the conversation, Tony gave in. He was about to close his eyes, when a wave of pain shot through his body. God damn it, side effects. But then he felt the pillows around being shifted, and Pepper's hand brushed his cheek. Oh no, I must be dead, seeing that there is a red-haired angel right next to me. That thought calmed him down and he fell asleep, listening to the sounds of the ocean outside.

I'm sorry it's so short, but I hope you enjoyed it nevertheless. I'm sort of moving next week, so I'm very busy, but I'd rather update shorter but more often that the other way round.

Please REVIEEEEEEEW! ;) Your advice is REALLY appreciated, and even crap writers, such as me :P, can get better eventually :DDD I promise!