Salut! Okay, first of all, whoah! Thank you for all the reviews, I've never received so much before. Second, I'm glad to see none of you wants Pepper dead ^^ So anyway, here's the new chapter and I hope you'll like it !

Sorry for updating later than usual but I went to see Iron Man 3 today so yeah. By the way, it's awesome, like really great, I loved it!

Long Is The Wait

Why didn't they believe him? He could see it, hear it, feel it. They didn't believe him when he said she was alive. But he was the one with a hand on her chest, trying to stop the bleeding, he was the one above her, feeling the rise and fall of her chest, albeit small ones but still there. She was alive. He knew it. He hadn't lost it yet.

Suddenly a gasp filled the room and Pepper's eyes flew open. She tried to breathe but a pained expression appeared on her face as she let out a moan. She closed her eyes again and her hands moved up to try and reach her wound, only to stop on Tony's arm. Her fingers grasped it, squeezing. Tony winced as her hand touched his cut arm but the look of pure joy on his face didn't disappear.

"Pep, I need you to stay with me. You hear me?"

"To… Tony? Wha…"

"No, no, don't talk , don't, okay." He took a sharp breath that made him cough again but he didn't seem to notice. Rhodes moved to be ready to take her and get her out. She was alive. Tony… Tony had been right, she was.

Her eyes opened again and focused on Tony's filled with tears ones. Her breathing was frantic and pained but she kept on looking at him with so much love and concern that Natasha gasped then. Because Tony was staring right back with the same emotions shining in his eyes. "You'll be okay Pepper. Rhodey's gonna take you out to doctors. You'll be fine." He leaned forward, face almost against Pepper's. "Don't leave me, Pep," he whispered, "don't."

"Tony, I can't waste more time."

He nodded and moved back, carefully handing her to Rhodes who was reaching out for her. He cradled her to his chest and stood up. He looked up at the ceiling, knowing this was the best way out. Clint seemed to notice it as well and took out an arrow from his quiver. He aimed at a spot away enough from them that they wouldn't be caught by one of the debris. He let it fly and the arrow hit the ceiling. Seconds later it was exploding, leaving a hole there.

Rhodes kicked his thrusters on and flew through the opening, his precious load in his careful arms. Tony watched him disappear, unmoving from his position on the ground. He didn't seem to notice much of anything that was around him, almost as if he was detached from it.

The door near them suddenly blasted open and the Hulk stepped in, anger oozing from him, fists raised, snarl in place, only to freeze when he saw them. His eyes then fell on Tony who hadn't even reacted to his entrance. His expression shifted as he took in the appearance – quite bloody and bad – of his friend. He let out a roar and stomped forward, eyes sweeping around to search for someone he could smash and crush to avenge the genius. But there was no one.

Thor entered too and his expression lighted up when he saw Tony, only for it to fall again when he saw the state he was in.

Natasha had to admit, he didn't look too good, but she was impressed he could still stay conscious. Steve moved and kneeled in front of him, pushing himself directly into his line of vision. "Tony?" he called softly.

The inventor blinked and turned his head to look at him. "Rogers? What…" It was as if he hadn't known they were there. He had been so focused on Pepper, he had probably noticed the colonel simply because he had touched him.

"Can you stand and walk? We're taking you out of here. We're taking you home, Tony. You're safe."

He frowned and put his right hand on the ground to help him get to his feet. But the instant he moved his right leg, the wince he didn't manage to hide, as well as the gasp and groan he let out, made them all move forward in concern. "I'm fine," he gritted out, breath coming in short and eyes closed tightly. He knew them well. Natasha almost smiled at the thought.

"Tony, what… If you can't stand, I can help you." This wasn't helping. It would only push Tony into doing this alone, Natasha knew. The man didn't like showing weakness so accepting Steve's help was out of the question.

There was a movement at the corner of her eye and she turned her head to see Thor catch Bruce as the Hulk left. "I don't need your help," Tony growled. She reported her attention on the two men. It was almost déjà vu. They were clashing and fighting again because they couldn't agree on that. For Steve, it wasn't weakness that you needed to lean on a teammate, he couldn't understand Tony if he didn't try to see it from his point of view.

The genius pushed Steve – admittedly weakly – away and pushed himself onto his feet, wobbling a little as he stood on shaky legs. He wrapped his left arm around his torso – which meant he had broken ribs. He straightened a bit, trying not to appear as weak as he may be because of the numerous injuries he was showing.

"You have a bullet wound in your shoulder." Clint crossed his arms.

Tony threw him a dirty look, that was somehow made worse by the state of his face. "It's a through and through. Looks worse than it is."

"What about the knife in your thigh?" He kept on going, raising an eyebrow.

Bruce was regaining consciousness. "I was able to walk here, so it doesn't bother me." Now that was a lie if she knew one. But she still didn't say anything. Clint was on a roll after all.

"And your broken ribs?"

Tony's glare intensified. "I don't need help," he growled.

Bruce smiled at Thor while putting the pants the man had kept for him on. He then glanced at Tony and paled a little when he saw all the blood on him. "Tony?"

The genius turned to him and visibly deflated a little. It wasn't much but it was something. She didn't know what it showed, what they must understand by this. She knew Tony trusted Rhodes – he gave him Pepper, without over thinking it. He gave him Pepper, trusted him with her safety where he didn't trust them. But maybe it was because he was injured, maybe it was because his body was betraying him and it was some leftover of their friendship coming through, she didn't know but he seemed to relax a bit around Bruce.

"What… You should sit," Bruce stated carefully, stepping toward him.

Tony rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. Can we go now or do you want me to do the extended list of my injuries?"

Natasha smiled. "The list would be great, yes." Tony glared at her too.

Steve put a hand on his good shoulder, which made Tony jerk away. Unfortunately, the movement was enough to unsettle him and he tripped, falling backwards. He hit the ground on his left arm, before anyone could catch him, and let out a pained scream. His breath got caught in his throat and he winced as he moved on his back. Bruce rushed forward and helped him sit up.

Clint and Steve kneeled down around him while Thor hovered behind Bruce, not knowing what he could do. Natasha sat next to Bruce, wincing at the harsh coughs Tony was making, blood splashing on his hand, as he struggled to breathe again. "We need to get him out. I don't like that blood he's coughing," Bruce stated.

"I'm…" Another cough cut him off. "Fine."

"Tony, you're coughing blood. Your lungs might be pierced. If there is blood in them…"

"There's… not." His breathing was slowly getting back under control. "Cheek cut, that's all."

Bruce wasn't buying it but he didn't insist. He reached for the genius, but Tony pushed him back. "Tony, I'm not asking you. I'm dragging your ass out of here and I'm helping whether you want it or not." His voice was firm and didn't let any room to protests.

But Tony wouldn't be Tony if he chose to let that stop him. "I don't give a damn about that. I can walk, I'm getting out without your help." He struggled to his feet again, wincing all the way up, making Bruce roll his eyes skywards as he stood up as well.

"Then let's go, shall we, Tony?" Natasha smirked as she saw the look on Bruce's face. He was playing it well. They all knew Tony wouldn't be able to walk. He barely look able to stand on his feet very long, there was no way he could walk back all the way out of the warehouse. The adrenaline that must have pumped into him during the battle and the situation with Pepper must have started wearing out. It was only a matter of time before he crashed as the pain flooded back completely.

The genius pushed his right leg forward without so much as a slip of the mask he had put on his face – for that, Natasha admired him. And then he tried to move his left one. And that's when it went from bad to worse. He cried out as his right leg buckled under his weight. Bruce caught him before he could hit the ground face first. He lowered him to the ground and turned him around carefully, taking into account all his injuries. "Okay Tony, no more…" he trailed off when he realized the engineer was unconscious. "Well that's one way to resolve the problem. Steve?"

The soldier moved forward and took Tony's body carefully in his arms, his shield now slung over his shoulder. He stood up slowly and nodded at the others. "Let's get out of here."

Thor opened the way and Steve followed, carrying the battered body of Tony in his arms. Clint, Bruce and Natasha exchanged a glance before following, Bruce taking the Iron Patriot's helmet before leaving.

When Fury saw the form of Iron Patriot flying to them, he knew something must have gone wrong. And when he saw he was carrying someone, this feeling grew stronger.

Until he realized it was Pepper Potts and then he screamed at the medics to get a move on because someone injured was coming their way. If he flew her there ahead of everyone else that meant she must be really bad. Or Stark had pushed everyone into taking her out before they took him out – which was a very likely possibility.

The colonel stopped next to a gurney and put Potts on it. Two doctors immediately set to work while Fury approached to hear what Rhodes was saying. "A bullet wound. We thought she was dead. She fell unconscious on the way here. No other injury." He grabbed the arm of the nearest doctor. "You'd better save her or you'll have someone to answer to."

"Let them do their job. They are going to make sure she stays alive, colonel." The doctor stepped away and they took Pepper to the quinjet that would take them to the medical area of the Helicarrier.

"The others are coming with Tony. He's badly injured as well. I didn't get to see all of it but he had a broken finger, a nasty gash on his left arm and cheek, a bullet wound in his shoulder. From his breathing, I gathered he had a couple of broken ribs coupled to a broken nose."

Fury made a face. He could sympathize with that. It could have been worse, far worse, but he guessed they needed him in a proper shape if they didn't do more. And they only had Tony for about two days. It wasn't long enough for them to throw their worse – he knew how those people usually worked, going gradually up the ladder. "She'll be fine."

"I hope so. You didn't see him Fury. He was… I've never seen him like that. If she doesn't live…" He sighed and licked his lips. "He's gonna be hell to be with while in the medical area."

"I can guess. But I'd rather have him there than somewhere I don't know of. Even if he complains all the time."

Hill arrived then and cleared her throat to get their attention. "The teams inside said the warehouse is under control. There are fifteen people alive out of the eighty people they counted."

"We didn't try to keep them alive," Rhodes said, making a face. "I guess it's a good thing they're still some of them not dead."

Fury nodded. "Agent Hill, prepare a medical team and a quinjet, Stark's gonna need care too." She acquiesced and left them, heading towards the agents and other members of SHIELD standing not far. "We will get what we need to out of those few, colonel. Don't worry about it."

The colonel looked back at the warehouse. "The whole trust thing…" Fury raised an eyebrow at that, he didn't know Rhodes knew about it. And he didn't expect him to talk to him neither. "Do they know Tony might never trust them again fully?"

"I told them." He looked surprised at that. "I know Stark doesn't trust me, but I also know why he has trust issues. I may not know all of the problems he ever had but I can understand how he will forever be wary of the people who proved him they could betray his trust once. I told them and they didn't take it very well."

Rhodes smiled sadly. "They thought they would get it all back. They thought things will be the same once they had it back." His eyes moved back to the warehouse where they could see the door open. Thor was walking out, followed by everyone else. "You won't mind if I stick around for a bit?"

"Do you really have Tony's full trust?" Fury asked him. It was something he always wondered. It seemed strange to him because their relationship was rocky at its best. There were moments where it was so far stretched, one has to wonder. He was aware the colonel had wanted Tony to stick with the weapon industry and that he stole Tony's suit. He didn't know the extent of their relationship, after all they'd known each other a long time so maybe Tony could get over it but… it seemed strange to him.

Rhodes smiled softly. "I hope. I think so. Even if I don't have his full trust, it doesn't mean we're any less friends."

The form of Stark lying in Rogers' arm came into view as a medical team hurried to meet them. "I guess you can stay at the base for as long as they're both there."

On those words he strode forward, hearing the other man follow.

Clint rubbed his hand on his face as they all waited in the debriefing room. Bruce was nervously tapping his fingers on the table. Steve was moving his leg up and down in anxiety. Thor was frowning at the table. Natasha was wearing an impassible look but she was rubbing a finger up and down the fabric of her pants, proving she was as concerned as the others to the experimented eye. Rhodes was chewing on his lip as he sat in Tony's chair.

They've been back on the Helicarrier for three hours now. They had all changed, got into comfortable clothes, ate something even though their stomach was too twisted with worry to take much. Then they had all headed to the debriefing room, knowing Fury would want to talk to them and knowing it was unlikely Tony and Pepper would be out of surgery yet. But they all knew they would head to the medical wing as soon as it was done.

Clint couldn't erase Tony's expression from his mind. The utter loss and desperation as he held Pepper, the tears, unbidden, so real and true, rolling down his face as he clang to his last shred of hope that the woman he loved would live… God, let Pepper live, please, he thought pleadingly. Tony would completely close off from them if she didn't. He doubted even the colonel could reach him then, especially when he already had trouble reaching him in the warehouse.

Tony was never meant to look like that. The man they knew was strong, loud, confident, he was cheerful, always had a word to relax the atmosphere, he cared too much, he could threaten you without so much as blink and with a smile on his face, he could terrify you with a few words because of how deep they could cut. Tony Stark was someone you never messed with, one of the bravest and strongest persons Clint knew, not because he could beat you up in seconds (because that wasn't him) but because he wasn't someone you could break easily. Most people would have broken down after what he went through (and Clint didn't even know the specifics of Afghanistan, just the overall) but he didn't.

But he looked so broken in that warehouse…

Sure after Rhodes had taken Pepper to the medics, the Stark they knew had come back full force. Clint had been impressed he could stand up once, let alone twice, on his own. But that didn't put the image of Tony clinging to Pepper like a life line away.

The arrival of Fury and Hill in the room jolted him out of his thoughts and he turned to face them. Steve straightened immediately and clasped his hands on the table in front of him. "Do you have news?"

"Not yet. They're still in surgery," Fury said moving to his seat at the head of the table. Hill stopped behind the chair and stood up straight, face an emotionless mask.

"This waiting is killing me," Rhodes let out, sighing.

"And us as well, colonel." Fury leaned forward on the table. "We already started questioning those captured. None of them were badly injured thankfully."

"What did they say?"

The corner of Fury's lips rose in a half smirk. "Well… Thomas Lang was rather talkative. He was in the same room as Tony and Pepper when they escaped and made those hideous creatures."

"DASC," Bruce cut him. He got raised eyebrows as that. "Tony calls them DASC. Decaying Acid Spitting Chameleons."

Rhodes chuckled, shaking his head, not surprised. Fury swept a hand around, conceding the point. "Stark did a number on him. The guy's scared shitless. They wanted him to do a program that would allow them to control every computer and electronic system in the world."

"I wasn't aware it was possible," Steve said, frowning.

Fury raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him. "Stark has Jarvis connected permanently to multiple servers all around the world. If there is someone who can do it, I don't doubt it's Stark. Fortunately for everyone, he's on the good side, or we might have a real situation to face." Clint bit his lip to keep from smiling. A situation is what you could call it, indeed. "Anyway, the man behind this whole thing has escaped us."

"What?" Bruce exclaimed, body jerking forward as his hands clenched around the armrests.

"According to Lang, he left not long after they put Stark to work in the morning. He wasn't there when we arrived."

"Do we have a name?"

Fury chucked his tongue. They all groaned. "The guy wasn't scared enough of Stark to tell us what he looked like. He was scared of that guy more apparently."

Clint rolled his eyes. They're always scared of the bad guys more because they think the good ones won't have the guts to do anything. Yeah, well the good ones aren't SHIELD usually. "So now what?"

"Now we wait for them both to get out of surgery and to recover."

The only sound in the room was the regular beep coming from the cardiac monitor to which Pepper was connected. She was still sound asleep, having gone out of surgery a little over an hour ago. The doctor was optimistic, saying nothing major had been touched, she had lost a lot of blood, but nothing that couldn't be fixed. It had been a huge relief to everyone. They had all gathered in her room, waiting for news about Tony, knowing the doctor knew they were here and would take Tony here as soon as he was out of surgery.

When they asked though, he hadn't said anything and so they still had no news on Tony. They hoped he was alright and everything was going on well.

They had taken two couches to the room, on which Thor, Steve, Clint and Natasha had taken a sit. Rhodes sat on a chair next to Pepper's bed, eyes on her face as she slept peacefully. Her lower lip was split and there was a bruise on her cheek. It was the only sign that anything had happened to her. They were glad for that, even though they knew it was probably because Tony had made sure of that.

Bruce was standing behind him, tapping his fingers on the back of Rhodes' chair. He was deep in thought.

His mind kept going back to Tony's reaction in that warehouse. He hadn't seen him when Pepper was shot, but from what he gathered he had been pretty bad. He understood why, but it was hard to associate Tony to that image. But when he had been back to himself, the man he'd seen was the one he knew well. The one that didn't take any shit from anyone, the one that didn't accept contact from people if he hadn't started it or gave any sign they could touch him.

It was hard to imagine that man as someone that was desperately clinging to Pepper. He knew it could be true though, because Tony loved her and that meant more than they realized. She was his constant. When everything came crashing down, she was there. Afghanistan, Manhattan, what they did. She was there – always. Of course Tony would break if she were to disappear, to go, to die. The way back would be a long and hard one.

Thankfully she was alive, the proof of that just there in front of their eyes, in the form of her chest rising and falling regularly, her heartbeat strong and constant in the silence of the room.

"How long before she woke up?" Steve asked, looking at Banner.

He shrugged. "I don't know. It depends on the dosage of the drug they gave her, on how exhausted the whole ordeal had made her. It could be minutes or hours."

Steve nodded. Rhodes sighed and took the chart that was on a side table. Bruce leaned forward, reading it over his shoulder. "I'm surprised she wasn't dehydrated or starving," he quietly said, looking up at his friend.

Natasha chose to answer him: "They needed her healthy. She was leverage on Stark. Killing her or leaving her to die wasn't their goal. Threatening to hurt her, to kill her was."

Clint quietly added: "Tony might not have been as lucky."

The colonel leveled his gaze at his before looking back down at the chart. There wasn't much written on it really. A quick description of the bullet wound stating no intern organs had been touched, no massive artery neither, nor her lungs because the bullet had sunk straight into one of her rib. A vein though was pierced which explained the amount of blood. Thankfully the blood flow in veins was slow enough that it hadn't killed her. She would recover quickly and without any after-effects.

It would have been a good enough cause to celebrate if Tony wasn't still in surgery.

The door opened then and they all turned to look at the doctor who had entered. He gave them a tired smile, his features were tight and grim and it didn't look good.

"Doctor?" Steve asked, hope in his voice. Bruce made a face at that. He wasn't sure it was too good for the captain to be so hopeful. He had seen the state of their friend and he might not be a medical doctor but he could recognize bad when he saw it.

"According to his medical file, I should speak to miss Potts, but seeing as…" He gestured at the bed where Pepper was lying, resting from her own operation. "The second person to contact is a James Rhodes."

The colonel's head snapped up. "It's me but… whatever it is you have to say, you can say it to everyone here. They're Tony's friends as well."

Clint, Steve and Thor smiled happily at that, thanking the colonel silently while Natasha nodded. Bruce would have shown his gratitude as well if he hadn't been standing behind the man where he couldn't see him.

"Very well, sir." The doctor sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Mister Stark wasn't in a good shape. He had lost a lot of blood from the bullet wound in his shoulder and the wound in his thigh, which he must have had worsened by walking and running probably as well. The gash on his cheek was a bit deep but it should heal fine and not leave much of a trace. He received several hits on the head but there didn't seem to be any lasting effects on his skull and brain. The wound in his arm was infected, not by much but it was more than enough. It was a worrying wound as muscles were torn and nerves were cut. The blade that was used also touched the bone partially just above the elbow, which must have caused a lot of residual pain."

Bruce was feeling himself blanching. He wasn't the only one too. Clint was swallowing, looking a bit green and Steve was paler than he had ever seen him. Natasha was biting hard on her lip as she closed her eyes and Thor was clenching his hands into fists hard, breathing deeply in and out. Rhodes had opened wide eyes and his breathing was losing its regular rhythm. Bruce didn't say anything but he could see the way the dark eyes were glinting – tears were slowly worming their way there. No one blamed him.

The doctor looked uncertain for a second. He wetted his lips before keeping on going on. "This leads us to his broken bones. A finger, from what I gather, that was snapped but should recover fine, a broken nose that, while problematic to his breathing right now, will recover as well. And… Three broken ribs, two on his left side and one on his right." The doctor took a breath. "When he came into our care, one of them had just pierced his lung. Blood had started to gather there. Thankfully it didn't happen before that time, otherwise the situation would have been so much more worse."

Steve put his head in his hands, fingers grasping his hair tightly. Clint caught Natasha's hand and she squeezed back, giving him the silent support he needed. Thor closed his eyes and brought a hand to his heart, head bent forward. It was so much worse than they thought. Tony, how were you able to stand? Bruce wondered as he sat on the chair that was next to the colonel's – he could no longer stand. The colonel had pinched the bridge of his nose, tears leaking from his closed eyes. They had come so close to losing him.

"He went into cardiac arrests twice during the operation." Bruce caught his breath as Steve's head startled up. "He's alive. We put him under artificial respiration and the night should be determining here. He was lucky." The doctor concluded. "He was very lucky."

So damn close.

And voilà! Tell me what you think about this one. Are you happy, Pepper's not dead! :) Until next week,

AngelShep