Thanks again for all of your reviews, they're making me very happy! :-) And to answer the question: I'm certainly planning to translate the sequel as well...
But for now, I've got a little bit of Pepperony for you.. Or a lot of Tony actually... -) Enjoy!
Chapter 12
After arriving at the penthouse, Tony put a still unconscious Pepper down on the sofa carefully, so that he was able to get out of the Iron Man armor. He then carried her into the bedroom and set her down on the bed. He undressed Pepper from the remains of her scorched clothes and covered her up gently.
"Jarvis, check Pepper's vital parameters," Tony commanded silently while he sat down near her on the bed.
"Heart rate is slightly accelerated, temperature is normal. I can give more information only after analyzing the blood values."
"Alright, J. I'll take a sample shortly."
Tony stroked a strand of hair from her forehead before heading to the workshop to get an injection needle for the blood sample. He took again some drops of blood from Pepper and submitted them to Jarvis for analyzing.
"Okay, buddy, how are things?" He asked expectantly.
"The serum is spreading its effect. The Extremis virus has already decreased by 32.6%. If the speed stays constant, a 100 percent recovery should be reached within 45 minutes."
"45 minutes then," Tony mumbled who had again taken a seat near Pepper on the bed. "You'll have it made soon, Honey," he smiled down on her and took her hand in his.
Pepper still lay motionless on the bed, so other than waiting Tony couldn't do much as he didn't want to leave her by herself at any cost. He could probably make some long overdue phone calls while he was waiting for Pepper to wake up, however. After dealing with the difficulty that comes with trying to fish your phone out of your pocket with one hand, he dialed the number of the hospital in Los Angeles where Happy was in intensive care. Indeed, he should have been informed if anything changed in his condition, but maybe they'd forgotten about it. After all, nearly one week had passed by since the bomb explosion.
"Yeah, this is Tony Stark," he said when the ward nurse answered the phone. "I just wanted to ask about Mr. Hogan in room 311. Has he come out of coma yet?"
"Just a second, I'll look it up… Mr. Hogan hasn't regained consciousness as of yet, Mr. Stark. But his state is stable, and the burn injuries are healing well."
"Thank you, Ma'am." Tony hung up and then dialed Rhodey's number next. After repeated dialing tone, Tony heard only the voicemail.
"Hey buddy, it's me, Tony. Just wanted to say hello. Pepper and I are in New York, and I finished the cure. I hope it'll work as planned… How about you? Did you catch all the villains? Well, you know how to reach me."
One last call was lying ahead of Tony. He dialed the number of the Head of Legal department. It was Sunday admittedly, but with that annual salary there had to be an extra shift included from time to time.
"Mr. Stark! What a surprise," Bob Miller answered after short ringing.
"Hello Bob, let's skip the pleasantries; there's work for you." He explained shortly to the lawyer what had happened in the store department without going into details about Pepper's health condition. "I want you to find out if there have been any casualties or just property damages. Or if somebody wants to file a charge. Offer generous compensation. The main point is it won't come up for a trial or anything similar."
"I understand, Sir. I'll immediately get in touch with the management of Bloomingdale's and the responsible police department. "
"Thank you, Bob."
Tony put his cell phone on the night stand next to the bed and ran his hand tiredly over his face. He glanced over at his watch. Twenty minutes had passed. Suddenly, he noticed a change on Pepper. Her pupils were twitching under the eye lids as if she was having a bad dream, and beads of sweat grew on her forehead.
"Sir, Miss Potts' state seems to be changing," Jarvis reported at the same moment.
"I see that. What's going on?"
"I'm recording an increase of body temperature to 101.3°F, and her heart rate has accelerated as well. "
"Fuck! Is that good or bad now?"
"It's too early for a prognosis, Sir."
"That was a rhetorical question, J. The calculation had produced that no side effects would be expected, right?"
"That's correct, Sir. However, there's always the possibility of the body's incalculable reaction to a remedy. "
"I know why I don't like any medicines," Tony sighed. "Any suggestions?"
"In general, a temperature increase is considered to be a normal reaction of the body to fight against an infection. In this case, the remedy is probably classified as intruder since the Extremis virus has already merged itself with parts of the body."
"You mean it's struggling against the remedy?"
"You could say so, Sir. I recommend no medication for now, as long as the temperature is ranging within this scale."
"Alright. Let me know if anything changes."
As Tony couldn't do anything except wait, he decided to rest a little bit near Pepper. He took his shoes and pants off and slipped - dressed with t-shirt and shorts – near Pepper under the blanket. Carefully, he slid his arm under her neck, so he could lay her head on his shoulder and pulled her warm body gently into his arm. With his free hand, he shifted his pillow so his head would have a slightly upright position.
"J, be a good boy and switch on the TV. Some news channel."
Immediately, the big flat screen TV on the opposite wall brightened. Fortunately, he wasn't in the news for a change, instead there were some sport results. Tony didn't catch a lot of them anyway, as his eyes closed after a few minutes of visual streaming, and he slept soundly.
Sometime at night…
From somewhere, Tony heard a noise. It was jarring and penetrating, paired with a deep buzz. Slowly, he woke up and tried to locate the sound. It was coming from the night stand near him; the ringing and vibrating came from his cell phone. Still drowsy, he reached for the phone. But instead of an incoming call, the device signaled a wake-up call.
"At last you're awake, Sir," Jarvis piped up. If Tony didn't know better, he'd say Jarvis sounded worried.
"Yes, I am. Is anything the matter with Pepper?" He sat up and glanced over at her, who still lay unconscious near him. Her face was reddened now and her skin damp, as if she'd be sweating profusely.
"Miss Potts' body temperature has risen to a dangerous level in the last 30 minutes. It's 107.1°F now."
"And you're waking me up only now?" Tony burst out with anger.
"Sir, I've been trying for half an hour to wake you up. But you sleep too deeply."
"Sorry about that… what can I do to lower the temperature?" He calmed down again.
"Under the given circumstances, I suggest to bring Miss Potts to a hospital."
"You know, that's not possible. They wouldn't understand what's going on with her and only run silly tests on her. There must be something I can do for her here. Help me, Jarvis!" Tony sounded increasingly desperate and angry at the same time.
"I've searched my databases for domestic remedy on high temperature. You could try with a cold bath. It's important that you let lukewarm water run into the tub first; otherwise Miss Potts can suffer from a cardiac arrest. Only when she's in the water, you let cold water follow until it has reached a temperature of about 77°F."
Tony didn't need to be told twice. He jumped out of the bed and headed to the bathroom where he ran warm water into the tub. When the bathtub was half-full, he went back to the bedroom to get Pepper. He lifted her carefully from the bed and carried her into the bathroom. He let her slide down gently into the tub that was filled about two thirds, so far. He then turned the warm water off and let only cold water run in. He kneeled beside the tub and watched out for Pepper's head not to accidentally slip under water.
"Jarvis, tell me when the right temperature is reached." Fortunately, his sensors were just everywhere.
"Of course, Sir," the prompt reply came.
After seven minutes, Jarvis reported that the required water temperature was achieved.
"What now?"
"Bring Miss Potts back into bed and cover her well, so that the body can heat up itself again. Thereby, a sweating effect should be achieved which makes the body cool down itself."
"Whatever you say, J."
Tony pulled out the bath plug to drain the water and took some bath towels with him to the bedroom, and spread one of them over the sheets. Back in the bathroom, he took another big towel and covered Pepper's cooled down, wet body with it. He then lifted her out of the now empty tub. He brought her back to the bedroom and laid her on the towel he had spread on the bed before. He dried her thoroughly and wrapped her into the second towel. He covered her up with the blanket up to her chin before laying his hand on Pepper's forehead. She felt hot and damp. Again, all he could do was wait.