AUTHOR'S NOTE: You guys absolutely have blown me away! I love love love the reviews and please keep them coming! I sure helps make me want to write more! Here is a bit more. Sorry it is so short, but I kinda wanted more of this part addressed in the movie, so, here ya go. Also, if you have an idea about what you want to see coming up, please let me know.

He tossed down the remote for the television in disgust. Watching TV wasn't as fun if you didn't understand the language it was in, though it proved that hospitals were the same world wide- even Chinese hospitals only had ten channels. Looking around the room, his eyes soon fell on the arc reactor glowing softly in his chest. This was it, this was going to be the last time he saw it there. He knew he should be glad. He was doing something he had thought about since waking up in the cave. No more pain on rainy days, no more having to deal with plasmic discharge (which still grossed Pepper out), and no more having to worry about it failing and killing him. Hell, he should be thrilled to be getting rid of the damn thing! Then why did he have that impending sense of wrong? He was pulled out of his thoughts as the door opened and Pepper walked inside.

"Hey. They said you were about to be taken to surgery." She said and he nodded, glancing at the clock as she went to his side. He automatically reached for his hand as she looked at the reactor.

"You going to miss it?" he asked.

"Kinda. It made a great light to read by at night when you were asleep." She replied and he chuckled quietly.

"I'll make it into a nightlight for your side of the bed." He said and she grinned.

"Sounds like a plan. What about you? Still want to do this?" she asked and he nodded slowly.

"Too late to decide otherwise."

"No, it's not."

"I'm ready, Pep." He said and she nodded. He stared at her hand, stroking his thumb over her knuckles lightly.

"Nervous?" she asked quietly and he grinned.

"Terrified." He replied simply and she leaned down to kiss him.

"It's all going to be okay, Tony. " She said and he nodded again.

"I know." He muttered and she turned his face to hers.

"Promise me that you are going to be okay." She said, but before he could reply, the door opened again.

"Okay, Mr. Stark. We are ready for you." The nurse said and Pepper backed away from the bed. The nurse made sure all wires and cords were inside the vehicle at all times and pushed Tony out of the room, Pepper following. It wasn't far to the surgery theater and she watched as they wheeled him inside. Moving to the window, she felt an arm go around her waist.

"He's going to be fine, Pepper." Rhodey said and she smiled gratefully at him. They watched as they inserted acupuncture needles into various spots on Tony's body and he looked over.

"I promise." He mouthed to Pepper and she swallowed back her tears. She could see his fear in his eyes as the doctor and nurses stood around him, chattering in the foreign language. Just before Dr. Wu put the surgical mask on, he smiled kindly at Tony.

"It's going to be fine, Mr. Stark. Just try to relax." He said and Tony nodded. He took a deep breath, looking at Pepper as the anesthesiologist lowered the mask over his face and the world slowly faded to black.

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Pepper glanced at the clock for the hundredth time as Rhodey handed her a cup of coffee. It had been three hours since they had begun the surgery, which was an hour longer than they had predicted, and there still was no word from the surgical team on how Tony was. She tried to decide which was worse- being the one in the hospital, or being the one that is helpless and waiting. In her mind, the latter won hands down.

"They still have the blinds closed, but the room was quiet." Rhodey said and she nodded. So, no change yet.

"What is taking so long?" she sighed and he sat down beside her.

"Wu said it might be longer than expected. Don't worry, he is in good hands. I'm sure it won't be much longer." He said, though secretly was thinking the same thing. It would be a tragedy if they got this far, through so much, only for Tony to not survive the surgery. Both of them looked up, however, as the door finally opened and they were on their feet before Wu reached them.

"He's fine. There was a lot more shrapnel than expected. We had to do some repair work on the original scar tissue left from the metal. We were able to put a plate over the area of sternum that was damaged and had to shift his heart and lungs back to their original positions, but he did great." Wu said and both Rhodey and pepper breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can we see him?" Pepper asked immediately.

"Yes, but I must warn you, we had to leave the ventilator in for the time being, just to make sure his lungs do not collapse from the trauma. He is also restrained to stop him from moving. He needs to be completely still for a couple of days to allow the healing process to begin without hindrance." He said and they nodded. He led them down the long hallway and into the post-surgical recovery section of the hospital. "Nurses will be in and out to check on him. Let them know if you need anything at all." He said and allowed them in the room. As soon as Pepper saw Tony's still form, her heart sank. He looked awful- pale and with wires sticking out of him from everywhere. The ventilator was pumping steadily, a harsh sound in the stillness of the room, but the heart monitor showed good vital signs.

"He looks awful." She breathed and Rhodey gave her a pat on the back. Slowly, she walked to the bed, wanting to touch him, hold his hand, anything, but there were so many wires she was afraid to.

"Hey, Tony. Pep and I are here. You did great, buddy." Rhodey said from the other side of the bed, hoping in vain that Tony would give him a sign of acknowledgment. He looked at Pepper encouragingly and she took a deep, shaky breath.

"Tony, I'm here. Don't forget your promise to me, okay? I love you." She whispered and kissed his forehead softly.

They sat in the room with the sleeping man without a word for a couple of hours, both watching either the ventilator make his chest rise and fall or the heart monitor that beeped regularly. It was going into the third hour when Tony showed some sign of waking. Pepper was at his side in an instant, her smile falling at the look of terror in his eyes. He was trying to breathe on his own, but couldn't due to the ventilator. His arms, secure at his side, jerked violently, making the bed shudder.

"Tony, take it easy. You're okay. They don't want you to move, man." Rhodey said, but Tony never heard him. Sheer panic had grabbed him and, between that and the sedatives that were muddling his mind, he was in a full blown panic. He began to fight the restraints, tears streaming down his face at the pain and helplessness. Rhodey ran into the hall, calling for help as Pepper cupped Tony's face.

"Tony, focus on my voice. Calm down, baby. You're okay. Listen to me! You're okay!" she said and his eyes finally met hers. She saw the pleading in the dark brown orbs and she forced a soft smile. "You're okay. Try to relax. We are getting someone for you." Reaching down, she took his hand and felt him squeeze hard. "You have a ventilator in helping you breathe and they had to restrain you from moving. You are going to be fine. You kept your promise to me, Tony. You did it." She murmured and he started to calm. Noticing something red showing through the bandages, she barely stopped her gasp. He was bleeding on his chest, the blood seeping through the thick bandages like they were Kleenex. Before she could say any more, she was unceremoniously shoved out of the room as a team of nurses and doctors rushed in. She and Rhodey watched from the hallway as they swarmed around Tony's bed, obscuring their view of him. "Oh god, James…"

"He's going to be fine. He's alright, he just panicked. He's fine." Rhodey said weakly, trying to convince them both. They waited for what seemed like an eternity before the team slowly began to file out, a doctor coming over to them.

"He's fine. We removed the ventilator and gave him another sedative." He said and Pepper nearly sobbed in relief.

"What about the blood?" she asked.

"Torn stitches. We repaired them easily. Don't worry, he will be fine. You can go back inside now." He said and they did. Pepper was thankful to see the ventilator gone and Tony relaxed again as she resumed her spot beside him.

"I'm telling you, Tony Stark. You scare me like that again and Extremis will be like a fond memory." She threatened, hoping the joke would make him laugh, but he was too far under again. Rhodey grinned at her, though, and eventually they settled back into their chairs.

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He woke slowly to the sound of soft beeping, the world too bright as he opened his eyes. He had a vague sense of waking before, but didn't remember much more than hearing Pepper's voice and the world going dark again. His throat was sore as he swallowed dryly and looked around the room. He saw Pepper curled up in a chair beside him, her hand over his even in sleep, and he smiled weakly at the sight. He had kept his promise, that was what she had said to him before. OF course he had- he couldn't leave her. He tried to lift her hand up to kiss it, but his hand wouldn't move. With a frown, he pulled harder, the effort only causing a shot of pain through him from his chest. Christ, that hurt. Okay, Stark, don't do that again. He thought and opted instead to just squeeze her hand lightly. Pepper jerked awake quickly and looked at him.

"Tony! You're awake!" she said and moved to him. "Are you okay? Do you need anything? Are you in pain?" He grinned again at all of her questions, unable to answer them. Looking over at the side table, at the cup of melted ice water, he tried to tell her what he needed. She understood immediately and held the water up for him, helping him with the straw. Taking a couple of short sips, he nodded to her. She smiled at him as she set the cup down and took his hand again. He could feel the drugs pulling at him once again, but refused to give into them just yet. Sensing he needed to say something, Pepper leaned close to him.

"Night…light? He rasped and she smiled. Reaching over to the table, she took the arc reactor and placed it in his hand. He grinned again as his eyes closed, the glowing orb safely in his hand.