Bad things do happen in Monaco

The last time Tony had been in Monaco he had been attacked by a Russian wacko while trying to fulfill his childhood dream due to his –inevitable- at –the- time- upcoming-death.

This time he was there to see his team win the city circuit while he would be in the garage along with his whole family. It had been a few weeks since his last mission and he was still very precautious about leaving them, especially at such a long distance. That was one of the reasons he had picked the kids up from school on Friday afternoon and ran off to the airport before Pepper could protest.

"We need some time off!" he had exclaimed and they had left it at that. Of course he knew she knew the real reason behind this sudden trip but she knew better than to argue with him about that. He had even persuaded Millie to follow them, which was not the hardest thing to do since she desperately wanted a way out of all the business work and she loved F1. It had been one of the first things she had done with her father after they had both come to terms with their –different- situation.

They stayed in a hotel right next to the circuit and they woke up every morning by the sounds of F1 cars. Pepper and Logan weren't actually fond of the alarm clock but no matter how much they whined nothing could change.

"How come and you let Rail-head behind?" Tony asked his daughter as they were waiting for the kids to change and take a walk around the city before the race.

"I told him to come but he was not very fond of the idea. He literally cannot handle the noise." Millie said looking out the window from the lounge room of their suite.

"Really?" Tony frowned.

"He even bought ear-shields, big, red ear shields that cover half his head because my music gets him a headache." She said laughing at the memory. Tony burst into laughter too.

"It took me a lot of time to find where he got them. It seems he has a cousin working for a military lab, they use them to cover their ears during explosions' test." She said laughing even harder following her father.

"I can't believe that kid!" he said.

"Who are you two making fun of?" Pepper said walking pushing Logan's baby carrriage with Marie and Edward following her sharp.

"Rail head" Tony said trying to compose himself.

"Poor Riley; why don't you give him a break?" Pepper said rolling her eyes. At that Millie got her cell phone out of her purse and showed her a picture of Riley in said headphones while doing paperwork. She tried hard but she too burst into laughter.

"Oh, Mrs. Stark, don't be so harsh on the kid." Tony faked a professional tone which made everyone laugh.

They took a walk around the city enjoining the little freedom they had. At this time of year Monaco was full of celebrities, so reporters and paparazzi could only be in so many places. Unfortunately one of those places was the playground.

They had pasted that damned playground a dozen of times and Edward and Marie started whining that they wanted to play. As it was a holiday weekend Pepper let them have fun and got their youngest son out of his baby carriage to put him in the swing. Tony followed her and Millie went down the street to get some coffee.

"Isn't that Millie Stark?" she heard a voice say and eyed him carefully without turning around. Bloody paparazzi! She paid and left trying to hide her face as much as she could only to confirm the man's suspicions.

"Ms. Stark, wait, a few questions!" he said and ran after her.

"Not in the mood of answers." She replied.

"Is it true you've been working on functional limps for the handicapped?" he asked but she ignored him.

"Rumors have it you claim you can create an artificial heart, is it true? How do you feel playing God?" again no answer.

"Is it true you have been in a relationship with Riley Rogers, your P.A?" he asked and she stopped at that. She smiled her I-want-to-smash-your-face smile and handed him her coffee.

"Would you mind?" she asked him and he lend her another hand for her extra cup.

"Watch, it's hot." She said and she spilt it all over him. "I warned you." She said as he spilt the other coffee on him as well and screamed out of pain.

Millie ran to the playground to warn Tony and Pepper. She found them swinging all three of their children. They were happy and they laughed. She stood there for a second thinking when it had been the last time she had done that; probably before her foster parents' death. She felt like she had never really been a kid and it was at times like this she felt like the odd one out, like the paraphony in an otherwise perfect melody.

"Millie!" Edward waved at her and flew out of the swing to meet her. She waved too, losing her melancholy and ran near them.

"We need to go, I met a very annoying paparazzi on my way here; I stalled him but not for long." She said.

Had the situation been different Tony wouldn't mind show off his family and let the world know how happy he is but he had come to realize that exposing his kids was the worst thing he could do to them. They were in danger just because they were his blood, imagine what would happen if they got as exposed as he got.

They got Logan back to his carriage and walked out but it was already late.

"Mr. Stark!" he yelled holding a camera in his hand. Tony looked at him but ignored him and kept on.

"One word, Mr. Stark, how do you feel being back in Monaco with your family? Last time things had gone a bit crazy." He said and Tony rolled his eyes.

"How do you feel being a husband and father in comparison with your former lifestyle?"

"Dude, come on, it's been five years!" he exclaimed.

"A picture with your kids, Mr. Stark; Mrs. Stark, Miss Potts?" He kept on and Tony halted at his spot letting Pepper and the kids walk away.

"Dude, please, I'm with my family trying to have a good time, why can't you let us enjoy our time in the playground? It's important to my kids. Do you have kids?" he asked him and he nodded.

"Good, then you know what I'm talking about, now please take this and let me be." He said getting his check book from his inner pocket. He wrote him a check and handed it to him.

"Thank you Mr. Stark but I'm not for sale." The man said smirking.

"Oh, I'm not 'buying you', that's for your camera." Tony said and snatched his camera throwing it on the ground and crashing it with his shoe. He smiled at the man and wished him good day running off to get to his family.

The race had been exciting and although they didn't win they got to the podium winning second place. Edward had been slightly disappointed but he got over it quite fast with a big ice cream after dinner.

"I think we should do that more often." Pepper told him before they got to bed.

"I have suggested that more than once, Potts." Stark said kissing her naked shoulder.

"We can't travel all the time." She whispered.

"Uhm, I disagree." He said.

"We got work and kids got school and I know you're going to say we can afford private teachers or that you'll invent some kind of A. I teacher but kids need some kind of normality." She said stopping him of what he was doing.

"You are a fun killer." He pouted making her laugh.

"We can always go to Paris next month but I was thinking something more private." She said biting her lip.

"Me and you, mon' amour?'' he asked her and she nodded.

"Me and you, no kids and no reporters. How about Greece, I've spotted a nice little island. We need some time alone, you know. " She said and he kissed her.

"I've noticed, you know we're lacking a combination of red hair and blue eyes, right? And I'm so dying to have a baby girl like that." He said covering them with the sheets.

Pepper could not sleep and Tony was not to blame. He seemed unease too, tossing and turning but his eyes remained closed. Pepper on the other hand felt like someone had plugged her in. For the first time after almost twenty years she felt like she could use a cigarette. She had seen a really scary dream. She didn't really remember what it was about but she could not stop shaking. The only think she could remember was Tony drinking back in the mansion and then crashing upon the Stark Tower in New York wearing the suit. He had looked terrible in her dream. She couldn't understand why but her instinct was telling her that something was terribly wrong. She shook his shoulder gently trying to wake him up.

"Tony, wake up."

"Logan's your son before the sun rises." He mumbled.

"Tony, please it's important." She said and got his attention. He opened his eyes and sat up yawning.

"What's up, Peps?" he asked her.

Pepper swallowed hard and tried to look calm.

"Baby, what's wrong, you're shaking!" Tony noticed and hugged her tight. This wasn't normal; it should be the other way around.

"I saw a very, very scary dream." She said sobbing trying to keep her tears back.

"What was it?" he asked her rubbing her back.

"I… I don't remember exactly, only that you put your suit on while you were drunk and you flew to New York to crash on the Stark Tower." She said and he frowned. That didn't sound pleasant.

"I must have been terrible." He commented. Pepper nodded against his chest.

"You were, I don't know why." She said calming down. She got free from his embrace and looked at his eyes, illuminated by the blue light of the arc reactor.

"Tony, I want you to promise me something." She said but he didn't respond.

"If something happens to me…"

"No, no, nothing is going to happen to you…" Tony said shaking his head violently.

"Listen to me Tony! If something happens to me, if something happens to all of us, don't lose yourself in the dark. I don't want you to destroy your self; promise me you'll be strong and that you'll keep on helping people both as Anthony Stark and Ironman ok?" she said with her hands on his face.

"I don't give promises I can't keep." He said covering her hands with his.

"Damn it Stark, I'm serious! I need to know that you can be there for our kids if something happens to me, that you will not crash down all that we built together!" she yelled and she was shaking again. She knew how dependant Tony was and that was the meaning of that dream. She had to know he could handle something like that.

"Are you dying?" he asked in a very serious tone taken her aback.

"No, I'm not, why would you think that?" she asked him.

"I don't know, the whole conversation about you passing maybe? Besides I wouldn't be surprised if you were dying and hiding it from me just to get back at me." He said making her roll her eyes.

"Tony I'm not dying and this is serious. Now promise me." She said.

"Promise you won't die, not ever, not before me." He said looking quite serious.

"I can't promise you that!" she said and he pointed a look at her. "It's not the same!" she said but he really didn't seem ready to back off. She sighed heavy.

"Ok, I promise." She said and he smirked.

"Ok then, if you keep your promise I will keep mine." He said and lied down again.

"We got a flight tomorrow." He said and got her back down.

The next morning they got to the plane alone, without Tony. He had been called by SHIELD the moment they had reached the airport. Both Starks had been worried about the phone call and Tony spent more than an hour making sure it wasn't a fake one. That earned him two more calls by Fury. They had a situation in the Middle East and he had to go there immediately. Pepper didn't like that. That feeling had not let her and her worry had increased as they were taking off. She sat on her seat going trough a few reports from various departments occasionally trying to get Millie do the same rather than watching Lion king with babies, but that had failed.

They were over the Atlantic when the night fell. Soon they would be within the America's air space and their worries would end. Nothing was going to happen; they would have the "birds" watching out for them.

"Look mum, a spaceship!" Edward said.

"Ship!" Logan echoed from his chair. Pepper looked out the window at the little lights that were getting closer. That was not good.

"Jarvis, is there a verified aircraft flying with us?" she asked the computer.

"No, Mrs. Stark. I have already ran a scan and asked for code number but they don't answer. I contacted the military air force and they will be waiting us as soon as we enter our airspace. Mr. Stark is on his way too." He said not making Pepper feel safe at all.

"Kids, come on here." She said gathering them around her as Millie ran past them.

"Where are you going?" she asked her.

"If we are going to be attacked, I'm not going to sit back and watch them." She said and disappeared in the pilot's cabin.

The plane started maneuvering avoiding the missiles coming towards them.

She could hear Millie cursing from the inside.

"I'm coming, Pepper, hung on!" she could hear Tony yell through the speakers of the cabin.

"Daddy's coming, daddy's coming." She kept saying trying to calm her children down.

The last thing she saw were flames coming from the back of the plane and her babies screaming.