Only one more chapter after this one and then I'll put Iron Man 2 up. It shouldn't be long for me to start the second story which will be called Melody Barnes: Mamma Who Bore Me. So for those of you who don't follow me as an author can find it once it's up. Thanks for sticking with me, guys! Enjoy!
Tony was checked out by a doctor as Melody and Clint were wheeled into the ER. Tony could hardly focus on himself. Not after everything that happened with Melody. The doctors were shocked by his arc reactor and they wanted to keep him there to talk to him about it, but he refused. He had to see Melody.
When he tried to get to her room, they told him that he couldn't. That she wasn't ready. The doctors were still working on her. Tony sat down in the waiting room next to Pepper, not saying a word as they held hands. They both didn't know what they would do if they actually lost Melody. When Tony saw her unconscious body being put on the ambulance, it made his heart tighten. And as he sat in the hospital, he thought about the first time he saw her.
It was a hassle getting into the hospital. The paparazzi hounded him ever since he parked his car. He hurried to the front desk, got help from a nurse he would probably give his number to later and went upstairs to the nursery. He was actually nervous about meeting his niece. He had no idea how to react around a baby. He never wanted children and had no experience with them, but he was going to have experience with this one. It was his niece and he knew that he was going to love her.
When he got to the window of the nursery, he saw James bouncing the little girl wrapped up in the pink blanket. He was so lost in the little girl's face, it made Tony smile. James had just happened to look up and spot Tony, signaling for him to come inside the nursery. Tony gave him a smile and opened the door to get inside. "Hey." James laughed out as he looked down at the baby.
"What's new with you?" Tony joked.
"I've got this baby girl." James told him just as he looked up. "And she's pretty awesome." The two laughed and James looked back down at the child. "It's so weird, man. You just get handed this baby after it's born and you don't know if what you're doing is right, but you just keep doing it because that's all you can do and you just wish she could talk and tell you that you're doing a good job." He looked back up at Tony and shook his head. "I'm talking too much."
Tony laughed and nodded. "Just a little bit, but I like it. I never thought you'd be a dad. You like it?"
James laughed as he nodded. "It's scary, but I like it." He looked down at the girl again. "And I love this child like crazy." He looked back to Tony and moved closer to him. "You want to hold her?"
Tony shook his head. "I don't think I'd be very good at it."
"I didn't either and look at me now. I can't put her down."
Tony sighed. He wanted to be close to his niece, but he didn't feel like he'd be good at handling a baby. He nodded and put his hands out. James gave him a few instructions before putting her in his arms and that was the first time Tony got a good look at the girl. She was gorgeous. She had Emily's bright blue eyes and blonde hair, growing in little curls at the top of her head. "Wow." Tony spoke as he looked down at her.
"I know." James whispered.
"I think I'm falling in love."
"I know." James told him proudly as he crossed his arms.
Tony felt like the girl had a super power of making people fall in love with the little bundle of joy. "She's really quiet." Tony commented.
"Yeah." James jumped in excitedly. "She, like, hardly ever cries."
Tony looked away from the girl to James who was still just staring at her. "Do you have a name?"
"Um," James looked up from the girl to look at Tony with a smile. "Em likes Melony."
"Ew." Tony told him right when he heard it. "Name her Melody."
James looked at him confused and shrugged. "What's the difference?"
"Melony is ugly and Melody is pretty."
"Fine." James said as he and Tony looked back down at the baby. "We'll name her Melody."
Tony laughed a little. "Did I just name your baby?"
"I think you did." James laughed out. "Em never finds out?"
"Promise."
Tony let go of Pepper's hand and put his face in them, thinking about all the things that could go wrong with Melody. If anything happened to her, Tony didn't know if he would be able to live. A doctor came out and walked right toward him, Pepper nudging him so he could get up. "Mr. Stark?"
Tony nodded. "How's Melody? Is she okay?"
"She's doing fine." Tony let out a relieved sigh and smiled. "We gave her a blood transfusion and took the bullet out and she's responding well to the new blood. She's sleeping now. She also has a minor concussion, but she should be able to go home in a few days."
Tony smiled at the doctor as he shook his head. "Thank you so much. If anything happened to her, I'd lose my mind."
The doctor gave him a small smile and pat his back. "Anything I could do to help."
When he walked off, Tony turned to Pepper who he immediately pulled in for a hug. "She's gonna be okay." Pepper told him as she rubbed his back. "She's gonna be all right." Even though he knew Melody was going to be all right, he still felt like she was still in trouble. Like he had to see for himself that she was okay and he had to watch her like a hawk.
Melody woke up and immediately put her hand to her face, trying to pull out the wires attached to her. "No." She heard Tony's voice say as he grabbed her hand. Her eyes opened all the way to see Tony giving her a slight smile while looking down at her. "You kind of need those things in your nose."
"Tony!" She pulled him down into a hug as he just laughed while patting her back. "I'm so glad you're okay. Obadiah said that he took away your arc reactor."
"He did." Tony told her as he broke away from the hug. He looked behind him and Pepper stepped forward. "Thanks to Pepper for saving the first arc reactor." Pepper looked at him, giving him a bright smile as they stared into each other's eyes. "She saved my life."
Melody smiled at the two before Pepper broke away from the stare to look down at Melody. "I'm so happy you're okay." She told her before leaning down and giving her a tight hug.
Melody hugged her back as tight as she could manage, afraid that she would lose everyone in a heartbeat. "What happened?" She asked as she let go of Pepper and looked back to Tony.
He cleared his throat before looking back to her. He still felt partly responsible for all of this. "You lost a lot of blood so you had to get a transfusion and you have a concussion."
"They said you should be out of the hospital by tomorrow." Pepper told her excitedly.
"How long have I been in here?" Melody asked as she put her hand on her head, wondering just how long she had slept.
"Two days." Tony answered with a shrug, trying to show her it was no big deal.
Melody's eyes grew wide, her breath quickening. "What happened with Obadiah? Is he-"
"He's dead." Tony told her as he rubbed her shoulder.
Melody sat there for a moment, letting it all sink in. Obadiah had been a huge part of her life. He was a part of her family and then he just turned on them. She was glad he was dead, but at the same time she felt this sadness that she couldn't shake off. Then another emotion kicked in. "Clint." She spoke quickly while looking up to Tony and Pepper with panicked eyes. "What happened to Clint?"
The sound of a curtain being opened up quickly came from behind her where she saw Coulson standing next to Clint in his bed. Clint picked up his bandaged hand and waved it. "Hey, Mel."
She smiled at him, giving him a little wave. "He needed a blood transfusion like you." Coulson told her. "And he broke his hand, but he should be fine by tomorrow too."
Melody gave Clint a small smile, just glad that he was okay. "Maybe we should give these two some space." Pepper advised as she pulled on Tony's arm and motioned for Coulson to step out. "Who wants coffee?" Pepper asked as she got the two men out of the room. "It's on me."
When the door closed, it was just Melody and Clint. They were looking at each other in their hospital beds in silence. "Thank you." Clint finally spoke as Melody looked to him with a confused face. "For saving my life back there."
She shook her head and gave him a small smile. "Why wouldn't I save your life?"
He shrugged with a playful smile tugging at his lips. "I don't know. Maybe because I told you a huge secret that would leave you very emotional."
She shook her head at him. "It's not your fault that I'm an experiment." She laid back into her bed when a thought occurred to her. "It's not your fault, is it?"
Clint laughed as he shook his head. "No, it is not my fault."
She smiled at him while nodding. "Good."
"Mel," He began, his face growing serious. "What is going to happen with us?"
Melody studied him for a minute and then looked away, looking straight at the ceiling. "Clint, I've loved you more than I have ever loved anyone in my life, but…"
She looked over to him and he nodded, knowing what she was going to say. "You don't trust me."
She shook her head while throwing her hands up. "How can I after everything that happened?" She sighed sadly and shook her head. "You lied to me since the moment we met. Were you even in the Army?" He sighed and shook his head. Melody looked back to the ceiling and took a deep breath, knowing this was going to be one of the hardest things she had to do. "I love you, but I don't even know who you are."
Clint nodded while looking away from her as a tear fell down the temple of Melody's head. "I love you." Clint told her. "And I know you need the time to know you can trust me again." He looked back to her, noticing she was still staring at the ceiling. "Melody," She looked back to him as another tear fell out of her eye. "I will wait for you."
She shook her head. "I can't make you do that."
"I want to do that." He looked up at the ceiling again, taking a huge breath. "You don't understand what it's like when a marriage fails. You put so much of your life into one relationship and it doesn't even work out. You feel like you've wasted so much time." He looked back to Melody, giving her a small smile. "I don't want to waste any more time on the wrong girl when the right girl is taking her time to figure things out." Melody wanted to be with Clint. She wanted to be with him so bad, but she knew she shouldn't. She had to figure a lot of things out before she was with Clint again. But she knew that they would always be waiting for each other. Because he was the right guy. And she was the right girl.
Happy dropped Tony and Melody off at the house so they could get changed quickly before the press conference where Tony had to explain everything. As Melody pulled on shorts and a new button up shirt that wasn't bloodstained, she saw the letter from her father sitting on the nightstand. She slowly moved towards it and took a deep breath before ripping it open and reading.
My Dearest Melody,
As you know now, my condition has gotten worse and the doctors believe that I don't have long. Tony suggested that I write to a future you for all the milestones in your life that I won't be there for and this one is for your college graduation. I knew you were smart enough for this. Your mother and I made a deal that on the day of your graduation that we were going to tell you everything about why she left.
Melody continued reading, the letter explaining SHIELD and how she was an experiment, but none of it explained why her mother left. There were notes of her as a child about the possibility of her becoming an agent, making her angry beyond words. Once she first got this letter, she thought that it was going to be long and heartfelt. She thought it was going to be her father writing his heart out on how much he loved her, but it wasn't. It was data. Showing further of the fact that she was an experiment and always had been.
I know you'll be angry. You'll probably rebel. You'll probably say you hate me and your mother, but I would take it all, knowing that you now know the truth about who you are. I also want you to know that you were never just an experiment. You were my daughter before I agreed to the project.
I hope now that you've graduated that you'll do something amazing with your life, but I also hope that you do something you absolutely love. I wish I could be there to explain it all in person and to watch you walk across the stage while you got your diploma. Know that no matter what you think about this entire thing, that I love you with all my heart and I wish I could be there for everything amazing that you do in your life. I hope these letters help and I hope you find your mother if you haven't meet already.
Love, Daddy
Melody sat there for a moment with the letter in her hands, not knowing what to do. One thing she knew was that she had to pull herself together. She took a deep breath and with shaky hands put the letter back on the nightstand. She stood up and moved to her vanity mirror, cleaning up the small tears that were still on her face. "Hey," She heard Tony's voice from the doorway, causing her to jump. "We gotta go."
She turned to face him and tried to move pass him, but he grabbed her shoulders, stopping her. "What's wrong?"
She shook her head and tried to move pass him again. "Nothing's wrong."
"No." He told her as he pulled her back. "Something is very wrong. I can see it all over your face."
"Just drop it." She practically yelled at him, this time pushing past him. Tony stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. Melody was changing. She had been for a few days now and it wasn't a change for the better.
They all waited in the back room for the press conference to start when Clint walked through the door. "What are you doing here?" Melody asked him as he walked right up to her. "I thought you were leaving for a mission."
He gave her a smirk. "You really think that I'm going to miss this press conference. She rolled her eyes and looked back to Tony who was reading the paper as Pepper finished his make up.
"'Iron Man,'" He looked up to Clint and Melody, turning the paper around so they could look at it. "It's kind of catchy, isn't it, Clint?"
He shrugged causing Melody to give him an eye roll. "Don't make his head any bigger than it already is." She whispered to him.
"It's got a nice ring to it." Tony continued, ignoring her comment. "I mean, it's not technically accurate. The suit's a gold titanium alloy, but it's kind of evocative, the imagery anyway."
"Here's your alibi." Coulson told him as he handed him blue index cards. When Tony took it, he looked kind of depressed. "You were on your yacht. We have port papers that put you in Avalon all night, and sworn statements from fifty of your guests."
"See," Tony began as he looked down at the index cards. "I was thinking maybe we should say it was just Pepper and me alone on the island."
Clint let out a little laugh as he looked down, causing Coulson to look back at him unapprovingly. Clint waved his hand in an apology, making Melody smile even more. Coulson looked back to Tony, giving him a smile. "That's what happened. Just read it word for word."
Tony began to flip through the cards, but furrowed his eyebrows as he read. "There's nothing about Stane in here."
"That's being handled." Coulson told him. "He's on vacation."
"Small aircraft have such a poor safety record." Clint told him with a shrug.
"But what about the whole cover story that it's a body guard?" Tony asked Coulson. "He's my…I mean, is that…that's kind of flimsy, don't you think?"
"This isn't my first rodeo, Mr. Stark." Coulson answered with a polite smile. "Just stick to the official statement, and soon, this will all be behind you. You've got 90 seconds."
"Agent Coulson," Pepper called as he moved towards the door. Melody and Clint both followed her, Clint for Coulson and Melody for Pepper. "I just wanted to say thank you very much for all of your help."
Coulson smiled at her as Clint and Melody were staring at each other with small smiles on their faces. "That's what we do. You'll be hearing from us."
Melody nodded as she looked over to Coulson. "From the Strategic Homeland Intervention-"
"Just call us SHIELD." Clint told her as she looked back to him.
She nodded while giving him a small smile. "SHIELD."
The two walked out and Melody watched them, leaning against the door as she watched him walk away. "Why?" She asked as Pepper laughed at her. "Why do I need to fall in love with a top secret agent of a top secret government division who only got close to me because I was an assignment?"
Pepper put her hands on Melody's shoulders, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Why don't you go find a seat?"
Melody walked out of the room and into the lobby where the press conference was being held. Reporters sat around Rhodey who was finishing up his speech as Melody sat down next to Happy who was watching in the back row. They smiled at each other and when Melody looked forward, she caught Clint staring at her from where he was standing with Coulson. She gave him a shy smile before looking back to Rhodey, her eyes finding their way back to Clint. "And now, Mr. Stark has prepared a statement. He will not be taking any questions. Thank you."
Pepper sat down next to Melody as Tony went up in front of the podium. Once he got up there, he looked at all of the flashing cameras, thinking about the lie he was about to tell them. "Been a while since I was in front of you. I figure I'll stick to the cards this time." Everyone let out a light laugh as he pulled out the blue index cards. "There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop-"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark," Melody rolled her eyes once she heard the voice. "But do you honestly expect us to believe that was a bodyguard that conveniently appeared despite the fact that you-"
"I know it's confusing." He cut her off. "It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a superhero."
"I never said you were a superhero." She jumped in quickly with a smug smile.
"Didn't?" She shook her head as she looked up at him, a smile still on his face. "Well, good, because that would be outlandish and…fantastic."
"What is he doing?" Pepper whispered in Melody's ear.
All Melody could do was smile. She knew exactly what he was doing or more of what he was going to do. "I'm just not the hero type. Clearly. With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public."
Rhodey moved forward, leaning into his ear to whisper, "Just stick to the cards, man."
Tony nodded to Rhodey and looked back to the crowd. "The truth is..."
Tony paused. If he said what was on those cards, he wouldn't be telling the truth. Why should he keep it a secret? Because of SHIELD? What were they gonna do to him? Who were they to tell him what he can and can't do? He was Tony Stark and he was going to be a superhero. "Come on, Tony." Melody whispered, feeling an anger towards SHIELD and that reporter up front and everyone who had ever done them wrong. She was sick and tired of being the innocent girl everyone walked over. She was tired of all the bullshit. "Stick it to them."
"I am Iron Man."
