Can't touch this

Disclaimer: This is not mine, sorry folks.

Author's note: Please review so I can know if I shall continue this.

Chapter 10: Realize

A month had passed and Pepper thought it was perfect – almost perfect, without the part of being fired and lose her Tony for the second time in her life. Thomas Altmann had found her a new job at Alexis Research Facility and she was dating him.

″I do NOT want to see you EVER again in my life...″

Those stupid words caught her attention at one of the conferences she had with the assistants of every and single CEO in the States. The announce that she was indeed the new PA of Alexia Brighton caught the attention of the press, they just overwhelmed her with questions about why she'd left Stark Industries and Tony Stark and headed to the second largest company in the U.S. She didn't comment at all. She just smirked at them and walk over them. They didn't need to know why she'd left Stark Industries from a stupid mistake, but no, she didn't quit, she was fired... by her boss, ex-boss, ex-boyfriend she thought.

″Ms. Potts?″ A man called her.

Only Tony didn't send his assistant to this conference, only God knows why, maybe he didn't had another assistant after all. Maybe he was way to busy to drink to notice she was gone. She didn't hear any news about Iron Man since that strange night. Some reporters brought this particular subject to be discussed in one of the nights she'd spent over Alexia's house. The house wasn't as big as Tony's but it was nice though.

″Ms. Potts? Are you listening to our problem?″

When she heard the question she shook her head and looked at the man standing in her face.

″Ummmm... yes. Just send the files to my fax and I should get them tomorrow morning.″

The man was strangely looking at her as she shook her head once again.

″You okay Ms. Potts? You look a bit stressed.″

″I'm fine Mr. Altmann.″

Thomas Altmann didn't think that. He thought she has still problems with her new function and she wasn't comfortable with many of other things. Such as her new car. Alexis Research Facility bought her a new Peugeot 107. Damn it. Tony bought her an Audi. This was a nightmare she couldn't wake up from any hard she tried and anytime she found herself between the walls of her new office, a smaller one than she had at Stark Industries. It was even smaller than that one at Tony's mansion.

When she left the company she turned on her old Blackberry to see how many messages she'd find herself into. But to her surprise she had only one message which was from, -

″Virginia, mine dearrr, do not you mind if I come with you?″

This strange accent was most definitely coming from her boyfriend, Thomas. The ″mine″ thing wasn't holding too good on her.

″It's called ″my dear″ not ″mine dear″, Thomas.″

″For me it'll be always ″mine″.″

She forced herself in a smirk but he noticed she was far too busy to do anything else than checking her Blackberry so he said goodbye and left her there standing damn confused. Usually, he'd come to her and kiss her on her cheek. Another bad feeling about losing Tony. Tony would only kiss her on her lips or her forehead or when he'd tried to -.

″No, you're not thinking of that.″

Oh no, come on, she couldn't think of Tony kissing her, trying to seduce her by kissing her on the neck.

James Rhodes, Tony's friend left a message in her inbox. His words were simple.

″Meet me at 8 p.m in the front of your company.″

It was already eight and she began to run straight to the main exit when her eyes focused on a silver Audi R8 which was begining to scare her.

″It's Tony, damn him. Damn it!″

This was a false alarm, Pepper breathing more easily when Rhodey got down from the driver's seat and showed her a false smile, this worrying her worse.

″Get in we need to talk.″

His tone sounded a little bit weak. But she wasn't sure if she'd ever seen him that way, maybe once when Tony got kindapped by some damn terrorists back in the past, but only that time. If something bad happened, and if it was her fault – and more than sure it was – she'll never forgive herself. She tried to stay calm as she got in the very familiar car and touching the yet very familiar leather on the seat. One more ingredient was that Rhodey's face dropped dead when he turned to face her.

″Damn it, Rhodey. Tell me what happened.″

Instead of answering her, he rolled the car's keys in their place and hushed the car from the parking line, taking her at her top speed as Tony did. Another small detail, she thought. Something bad happened, oh no no no no no. God, please do not let something bad to happen, please, I didn't wanted to say that. God, I love him. Please not.

″Rhodey?″ Her voice was unsure asking him about what her ex-boss could've done if she'de left him with his heart broken and a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand.

″Why did you do this to him, Pepper? What did he do to deserve this?″

His questions were so mechanical that Pepper stopped to think for a moment.

″I simply couldn't saw him flying like an unconscious mad-man in that red and gold suit every day if you can understand me.″

″Ahem.″

″What happened?″

″He's not okay -″

He stopped for a moment to calm himself down.

″- when I heard about it, I couldn't make a sense to it. As like you didn't know him at all, Pepper. He didn't want to talk about it first but I told him to do so or he'll... simply, go crazy.″

The car rushed herself down the highway through Malibu.

″Why are you taking me there?″ She asked in a demanding way.

″Well, he is... um... well, not there.″ He said ending it with a sigh.

″Not there? What do you mean? Where is he?″

Slowly the gates to Tony's mansion opened large to let the car pass through them and Rhodey slowly took her into the dark garage.

″He is at the hospital.″

″Wha... what, what happened? Please tell me.″

His face dropped dead once again.

″Last night, Jarvis told me he isn't feeling really good in fact that he is having a constantly nightmare everynight and it happened like that everytime since the night you'd told him that you don't want him anymore. He just starts to have this nightmare, you know, everynight and simply starts to scream after you...″

″...to come back. To him.″

Suddenly her eyes were filled with hot tears.

″He loves you. How could you do this to him?″

″I...I don't know. I felt him so, I didn't know how to react. No one ever did this to me in that way. Now damn it and tell me what's wrong, why he's in the hospital?″

″Last night as I've said, Jarvis informed me he's not all right at all and when I got here he passed out. I needed to get him to the hospital as quickly as I could. And at the hospital he...″

Pepper felt so horrible that she was the main cause for this and she started to sob loudly.

″...had a heart attack.″

Suddenly the whole world stopped for Virginia ″Pepper″ Potts. Guiltiness hit her so hard that she couldn't stand a second more on her feet so she felt down and Rhodey got to her in a second and held her with his protective hands. She couldn't ever imagine her standing there and do nothing just simply cry. It was her fault however. She had told him that they couldn't be together anymore so he's started to explain her why she's doing this, knowing all the details, even that Thomas had an eye on her since then and he'd started drinking heavily so he shouted her that she was fired and from that moment nothing mattered anymore.

″You were the girl of his dreams and you left him, alone like he wasn't cursed to care that arc reactor forever with him as long he lived but the pain that you caused made him in nothing more than a month to lose the control of his dreams. Not only that he had nightmares with you, he dreamt that he is back in that hell and they tortured him and he was constantly calling your name, tossing and turning in his bed, full of sweat. I've never told him what I've seen all those nights spent in there, many of them just to be sure everything is all right.″

He put his hand over her shoulder to calm her down as she was shaking.

″And the worst of all, -″

Pepper wasn't ready to hear this, not now.

″- he said last night that he's going to hell and no one could bring him back from there, if only angels would've been made to take you in heaven, why his angel let him fall down and broke his heart? All of these when he was sleeping.″

Pepper felt like fainting would be the only solution not to hear Rhodey's words anymore, no, NO!

″Calm down please. Let me take you to rest.″

Somehow, Pepper managed to open her mouth and tell Rhodey.

″He told me then... he, he never wants to see me ever again in his life. He doesn't want to see me because he doesn't love me anymore.″

″Believe me dear Miss Potts that if I only was the one to see that suffering man only living through his dreams then I could not comment it.″

″I want to see him.″

As soon as those word left Pepper's mouth she'd found herself in a large hug from Rhodey.

″First, let me call Thomas and that damned boss.″

Then the ring stopped and at the end of the wire was standing Thomas.

″Goodbye forever. I am oficially not your ″mine″ girlfriend anymore. And by the way, I quit.″

″What? Pepper? What do you mean?″

″Seriously, I quit. Damn it!″

When the silver Audi parked in the hospital's private parking lot she slammed the door and Rhodey took her by her hand and they went inside.

The room 111 was quiet. In the bed was standing helpless, the ex-playboy, Tony Stark who recently had a heart attack. Another tear came up and warmed her cheek. He looked damn bad.

″Miss. Potts, he's not going to wake up until tomorrow, do you mind standing here?″

″Not at all.″

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