Chapter 21

Pepper asked Jarvis about pictures, the AI produced different folders with different tittles. She went through them by dates. She saw herself, Happy and Tony in what appeared to be Monaco, pictures of her and Jim. Birthday and places, in other folders she started to see the guys and less of Happy and Jim.

She saw herself, Jane, Darcy and Natasha laughing at the camera. She saw Bruce blowing a green candle on his birthday with Tony laughing by his side. Tony and Steve with beers and either singing or yelping in pain. Thor and asleep while Tony and Jane hovered over him with a horn.

Pepper saw early pictures of Alex, a skinny boy shying away from the camera. She saw herself and Alex asleep, Alex, Tony and her playing by the couch. There were also videos. She played some of them. She saw them playing scrabble, Tony trying to pass off words in both French and Spanish. "They exist." He said outraged. Jane who was very competitive; even more than Pepper it seemed. She took off the pieces from the board. "Play fair Stark, none of that."

Another clip of Alex, he was dancing to a song by AC/DC. Tony cheered him on, danced and sang with him. Some clips of her and Natasha laughing, Bruce and Thor playing with Alex. Steve drawing and shooing Tony away. Darcy dancing awfully and some clips of Natasha dancing professionally. She tried to open other folders to see much pictures. "Access restricted. You are not allowed to open those particular folders Ms. Potts." JARVIS said politely, she frowned. "Override Mr. Stark's orders now." Pepper had that power ever since the incident with the Italian stalker. That was a stressing time. "I'm afraid I can't." Pepper logically argued with the AI for thirty minutes before giving up and opening other folders. She saw Steve, Bruce and Tony grinning at her, she had cake on her hair and Thor looked to be singing happy birthday. She saw pictures of Natasha's birthday; Tony kissed her cheek, him hugging her. It infuriated her, Pepper wasn't typically jealous but this woman seemed to bring out the worst insecurities. She didn't understand why Romanoff rattled her, she saw pictures of Jane and Tony hugging and drunk together. There was one picture of Darcy and him horsing around, she was with a red swimming suit and Tony was giving her a piggy ride. Those pictures didn't stir any jealousy; those feelings were reserved for the pictures where Ms. Romanoff appeared.

Soon it was 2:00 PM. And she was hungry and tired of seeing pictures and not remembering much, just some tidbits and some feelings that came from the pictures. She felt that she was close to Steve and Darcy, she liked Jane and Bruce, they were crazy smart and Thor was very funny, he seemed to have grown up isolated because she remembered him enjoying things like grilled sandwiches and coffee with extreme relish.

She ate lunch with Darcy who was at the Tower; "I wanted to grab a quick bite before going back to Columbia. There's always food in here." The young woman heated leftovers.

"I saw some pictures today." Pepper said between bites.

"That's great, Jarvis has some good ones of Steve." She said dreamily and Pepper laughed, this girl was great.

After talking about the pictures and the people in them Pepper asked something " I know you're going out with Steve and Jane is with Thor. Is Natasha going out with anyone?"

Darcy's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Of course, she's going out with someone. Is really obvious don't you think. She spends most of her time by the lab next to him and she takes care of him. He says he needs to train all the time. He doesn't need any sort of physical training. I think they have been together for at least six months, that's when I caught them kissing during some training."

Pepper was getting very good at deception, her face betrayed nothing but polite interest. Inside her heart shattered into a million pieces. Tony and that woman together, she wanted to cry, trash the apartment and do something to that woman. This was why Tony changed; he was in love with another woman. A woman who by all accounts was perfect for him; she was his type, leggy, pretty and with pouty lips.

"Will you look at the time? I have to run. It was good to talk to you Pep." Darcy practically ran out of the room.

Pepper went into her room and lay down, she didn't want to over any reports now; she just wanted to curl up and be miserable. Nothing made sense anymore. Tony was supposed to be a playboy; instead he was this family man now. He didn't need her anymore; soon that woman would replace her. Tony and the baby weren't hers, they belonged to Natasha Romanoff; that notion pained her more than anything she had ever felt. She cried until she fell asleep from exhaustion.

She heard noises and woke up, he head ached and she felt very drowsy. "Must be those pills I'm taking." Pepper got up and cleaned her face, her eyes were swollen and her skin was still a little blotchy from all the crying she did. She took a hard look at herself and tried her best to not feel sad again.

Someone knocked on her door, "come in."

"Hey Pepper, we are about to have dinner." Natasha said while walking inside, she found her in the bathroom.

"Are you alright?" the woman asked; Pepper glared at her. "I'm fine, I'll be out in a few minutes." Her voice was so cold that it left no doubt; she didn't like that woman. The Russian spy shrank back and left the room quietly.

Pepper breathed deeply and put on a little make up to conceal the swollen eyes. She wouldn't let this woman see her cry. She was strong and would get over this, "Just face it Potts. You have no right to be angry with any of them. Tony Stark is not yours. He never was and now he'll never be." She made her way to the living room. Steve and Darcy were eating by the TV watching some show. Natasha and Jane were by the counter. Bruce, Tony and Alex were not there yet. Thor just came into the door and went to Jane's side.

Pepper grabbed a plate and served herself some Italian food. She ate her pasta slowly. Steve was very charming and made her laugh with some of his corny old jokes. Tony and Alex came into the room an hour later. Alex was fussy and squirmed away from his daddy. "No, down now." Tony frowned at his son. He was being a pain in the neck today. He didn't want anything to do with the blocks or the bots in the shops. He was in a grumpy mood. His son had been fussy since mid-afternoon when Tony and Bruce hit a slight breakthrough. Tony was tired too; he took a look at his son and spoke patiently to the child on his arms. "No, you are going to eat and then have a bath." Alex frowned back, and hit his dad on the forehead. "NO." The boy yelled.

"That's it, you're on time out." Tony said softly and placed Alex in the playpen in a corner far enough from the table.

Alex pouted, he was in trouble now; Daddy did the thing with his eyebrows. "No, mommy." His eyes filled with tears and stretched in Pepper's direction. She looked at the baby and her eyes filled with tears too. She looked at Tony and then at the baby who wailed, "mommy, mommy up, up, peas, peas."

"Pepper don't…" he didn't get to finish. "You won't take him away from me. He's mine. He's my son." Pepper's eyes also welled up with tears. She picked up her son and carried him to her room.

"I think is best if we go." Jane spoke up, his friends left. Tony sat on the couch and tried to make sense of what had just happened.

He could hear Pepper singing to Alex, soothing him. He had to apologize that much he knew, but he just didn't understand why Pepper reacted that way. He waited patiently. He would let her calm down first.

She felt everything close in around her, seeing her boy begging for her. It was the final straw, she felt him slipping through her fingers. She wouldn't let Tony and that woman take him away from her. Pepper bathed a subdued Alex and put him to sleep on his crib. "I'll always be here, even when Tony marries that woman. I'll stay baby, for you, even if it kills me to see them together." She touched his little face and kissed his eyes.

Pepper went to her room and showered quickly, she cried a little but composed herself before completely breaking down. She dried herself and curled up on her bed once again. She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep when Tony knocked on the door. "Pep, please open the door." He knocked for about ten minutes before giving up. "Whatever I did wrong, I'm sorry ok. I really am." He said through the wood. She didn't acknowledge him and sobbed into her pillow.

She slept fitfully; when she managed to finally achieve sleep she had a horrible nightmare. She was in a huge hospital room, it was dark, and suddenly a light illuminated a bed. Tony was there his face was a bloody mess, a hole on his chest and blood poured out of his body. He convulsed and more blood poured out. She tried to stop the flow but it was useless. She saw her bloody hands and screamed.

Pepper jumped up and touched her face, she was crying. Her hands were clean; she looked to her side expecting to see Tony by her side. The bed was empty. She stood up and quickly left the room. She sprinted to his room and opened the door. He was sitting on his bed, his reading glasses on.

He looked up and saw her face. He got up and ran to her side. "What's wrong?" Pepper hugged him and cried hysterically. "Pepper I'm worried now." He hugged her back and rubbed her back.

"There was so much blood and take off your shirt." She demanded. She raised the hem of his black shirt. Tony helped her. His wife was terrified, and he had only seen her this way once: after Manhattan.

Pepper saw the blue light and kissed it. She hugged him again, and sobbed. "I'll make you some tea."He tried to get up but she clung to him.

"I don't want tea." Her voice was muffled against his shoulder, she shook a little. Tony carried her to bed. He spooned her but Pepper turned around and hugged him. She nuzzled his neck and placed little kisses on his chest and chin. It felt great to feel her lips over his skin once again. This was his Pepper, the one who took care of him after missions and soothed him with her small touches. He debated on whether to let himself correspond her caresses or stop her before she regretted her actions. He didn't have to make a decision. Pepper lay on his chest and draped herself on him. She stopped the kisses but touched his chest lovingly. Tony could tell that she was calmer, she breathed easier, and he rubbed her back and squeezed her against his chest.