Ever since Lucas was born, the Stark household was a lot different. Pepper wasn't working at all anymore, taking care of Lucas and Abby throughout the day, but she always had the help of Tony. He even stopped going down to the workshop for hours on end, instead only going down there a few times a day for a few minutes, always coming back to play with Abby and Lucas, giving Pepper a rest.
Lucas was adorable to say at the least. He had the dark brown hair and eyes like Tony, but he swore his son was just like his mother. He was such a happy baby, and he would giggle every time Tony or Pepper played with his hands in the air, and they beamed at the adorable noise he would make every time. Abby, now three, was also infatuated with her little brother, taking on her role as big sister immediately. Whenever Pepper would give Lucas his bottle or feed him, Abby would always sit down with her and help anyway she could. She held Lucas whenever he would cry and tried to soothe him like her parents did, and in no time he would cease his cries and stare up at his sister in wonder, making Abby smile.
Even the media seemed to be taken by Lucas's charm, making news reports on every channel. Tony and Pepper Stark welcome new baby boy Lucas was the headline for one of the reports in the paper a few days after Pepper and Lucas arrived home.
Within the three months since Lucas was born, Rhodey also had some big news with his engagement to Sarah. Pepper and Tony were thrilled at the news, especially since Rhodey was now godfather of Lucas as well, and Sarah was crowned godmother of both Abby and Lucas, just to show how important she was to the family.
''Why is this always so difficult?'' Tony muttered to himself as he sat on the floor in the living room with Lucas sitting up against his stuffed animal toys for support, trying to give him spoonfuls of food, which he kept dodging or spilling all over himself. ''You're just like your sister, I swear.'' Lucas giggled at his frustrations, finding the noises he was making quite funny. ''At least you're having a good time. Come on buddy, aren't you hungry?''
This went on for a few more minutes before Pepper returned home from the doctors with Abby running through the door. Tony hurriedly cleaned up the mess he had made and then went back to pretending that feeding Lucas was going well, feigning a calm smile when Pepper walked into the room.
''Not going so good, is it?'' Pepper chuckled, walking over to sit in the chair next to him.
''What makes you think that?'' he asked innocently.
''He's laughing at you.'' Pepper smiled at her son.
Tony looked back at Lucas. ''Man, you're gonna get me in so much trouble when you get older.'' he shook his head. ''So, how'd the doctor's go?''
''Fine.'' Pepper answered, but all her attention was now on trying to take over feeding Lucas so he would actually eat something instead of laughing at his dad. ''I know daddy's funny but you have to eat.''
Tony smirked. ''You think I'm funny?''
''You have your moments.'' she smiled, crossing her legs where Tony was sitting and picking up the spoon to feed Lucas.
''Daddy!'' Abby ran into the room, holding up a new set of paints and brushes. ''Can we?''
Tony jumped up from his position now that Pepper had ultimately taken over his failed attempt at trying to feed Lucas and ran over to inspect the paints. Abby loved drawing pictures, and she loved when Tony would draw as well, then they could have competitions, making Pepper judge the best drawing which would always leave Tony as the loser, but he didn't mind.
''We sure can!" he told her excitedly.
Pepper looked over to Tony and Abby running over to the table where they would end up spilling paints and Abby would be squealing with laughter, and then she looked back at her quiet son, staring back at her innocently.
''Don't worry, you'll get to join in when you get bigger.'' she lifted him into her arms and stood up, walking over to the table. ''What are you guys gonna draw for me?''
Abby looked to her mom happily. ''I'm gonna draw...a castle!''
''Me too.'' Tony nodded.
''You can't draw a castle, I'm drawing a castle!'' Abby pouted.
''Well let's make it a competition then.'' he looked over to her.
Abby narrowed her eyes at her dad. ''Fine then.''
''Fine then.'' he repeated as they both picked up a brush and paint.
Pepper chuckled lightly as she walked away, knowing she would have to be the judge for this competition in a matter of time. Lucas rested his head against his mother's shoulder as she walked upstairs to his room to put him down for a nap. In a way, Lucas was very different to Abby when she was his age, even though they were too young to really do much, but Lucas wasn't as hyper, he was a lot quieter. However, Pepper knew that as he got older, things would change, so for now she just enjoyed him being so little, being her little boy.
Once he was asleep, Pepper just stood there for a while, admiring him. Her family was complete. She had a wonderful husband, a beautiful daughter and a healthy little baby boy, there was nothing else she needed, she was perfectly happy.
''Rhodey!'' Abby squealed as she ran out of the car and over to Rhodey who had only just made it out of his door.
Tony and Pepper had to go into Stark Industries to do a few things today, and since Lucas hadn't had a good night sleep and wouldn't settle for anyone other than his mom, they were taking him along as well. Pepper didn't mind taking him into the office with her, he was such a quiet baby it wasn't a problem. Abby, on the other hand, got to spend the day with Rhodey and Sarah as her parents went into Stark Industries, and she was excited to say at the least.
''Hey there Ab!'' Rhodey laughed as he caught her up in his arms as she squealed with excitement, her little backpack on. ''Bring some cool toys?''
Abby nodded her head eagerly. ''I did!''
''What about my pictures?'' Sarah asked, appearing beside Rhodey.
''Uh huh!'' Abby nodded again.
Pepper walked over with Lucas in her arms, and Tony followed behind her over to them. Every time Tony saw Abby with Rhodey, he couldn't have been more grateful for having a friend like him. Rhodey had been there for them through everything and he helped in any way he could.
''Hello little Lucas,'' Sarah moved over to Pepper, smiling at the baby in her arms.
Pepper chuckled lightly as Lucas turned away, hiding his face in Pepper's shirt. ''He's a little bit grumpy today, didn't sleep very well.''
''He wouldn't stop crying.'' Abby told her.
''Hey, I remember someone else who used to be like that when she was little baby too.'' Rhodey pointed out.
''Nuh uh!'' Abby shook her head. ''I did not.''
Rhodey put Abby down to go over and join in on Sarah and Pepper's conversation before Tony motioned for them to walk away a little bit to speak about something. Rhodey had been monitoring a group of people who were smuggling weapons out and selling them to overseas terrorists, and he wanted to know what was going on.
''Heard any more about it?'' Tony asked, knowing Rhodey would know what he was referring to.
''Sort of. The base is telling me little bits and pieces...I don't really know what's going on other than what we found out on our own.'' Rhodey told him, referring to the night they both took off in their suits to find out about this group. ''They've been travelling, could be across the country or next door, we just don't know.''
Tony nodded in understanding. ''We'll check it out tonight.''
Rhodey nodded his head in agreement as they were called back over to say goodbye as Pepper and Tony were going to be late. Tony lifted Abby into his arms to give her a kiss and a hug as well as hold her high enough to give Pepper and hug and give Lucas a little kiss on his cheek before she ran back over to Rhodey and Sarah, ready to play around all day.
''Bye!'' Abby waved along with them and soon enough they were gone. ''What do you wanna play first?'' she turned to Rhodey and Sarah.
''I don't know, it's up to you.'' Rhodey told her and laughed as he watched the excited expression spread across her face.
Rhodey couldn't believe his luck when it came to choosing the games to play. Of course, Abby wanted to play hide and seek, which meant he was going to be the seeker all the time because Sarah and Abby ganged up on him, or at least he was sure they did, he couldn't lose that many times. This went on for almost an hour, and Rhodey had grown familiar with the places Abby liked to hide. When he found her underneath the kitchen table, she wouldn't admit that she lost, and then she changed the came so she didn't have to be the seeker. She reminded Rhodey of Tony so much when it came to playing games, she was so competitive and wouldn't admit defeat no matter how obvious it was.
Sarah wasn't on Rhodey's side either, he had to defend himself whenever Abby would make him 'it' when they played games. Sarah found it hilarious that the three year old could so easily bully Rhodey and he couldn't fight back, he was such a pushover when it came to her.
They spent most of the day playing games like this, and building big towers out of blocks, and then they ate ice cream and watched cartoons once they were sick of playing all of the games. Abby always found herself having such a good time at Rhodey's, even more so now that Sarah lived there as well, they were the best babysitters and they enjoyed themselves just as much as Abby did.
Sarah loved the little girl almost as much as Rhodey did, and she loved being a part of her life and the fact that Pepper and Tony wanted her to be involved in her life like an aunt would be. She always wondered if her and Rhodey would have kids, and every time she saw him with Abby or Lucas, she knew he would be a wonderful dad, but she was in no rush to have children just yet with planning their wedding and living their busy lives.
In the afternoon, the front door bell rang and Abby instantly looked over.
''It's mommy and daddy!'' she smiled, getting up from the couch and running over to the door.
Rhodey chuckled at her immediate energy boost and followed her over to the door. Abby couldn't reach the handle, so Rhodey opened it to who he thought would be Pepper and Tony here to pick Abby up, but he was wrong.
Standing at his front door, were three men dressed in black who didn't look friendly at all. They had balaclavas over their face and hid their identity, and they didn't say anything. Rhodey had many suspicions to what this was in regards to, but his mind was at a complete blank due to the fact Abby was standing by his side looking at the men in confusion, and her and Sarah were his priority right now.
''Who are you?'' he asked, shielding Abby behind him.
''You should know that, Colonel Rhodes.'' The main man spoke. ''We know you've been watching us for a while now.''
Then it clicked. From all the things going on in the military, and his and Tony's endeavors, he figured out these men were part of the smuggling group that were making their way around, and they were keeping tabs on them. They had found out about Rhodey and Tony closing in on them, and now they had come to his house. The man inched their way closer to the door, walking inside. Rhodey knew how dangerous these men were, he had watched them mercilessly take care of anyone who got in their way. Smuggling weapons gained them a fortune, and no one was going to mess with that. They would do anything to protect their operation, and this proved that.
''This is between us, alright? This doesn't have to get ugly here.'' Rhodey told him, signalling for Abby to move backwards.
Sarah walked up the hall with a smile on her face, hoping to see Pepper and Tony, but her expression soon changed to horror when she realized who was standing at the front door at the position they were now all in. Panic began to flood over her, and she walked closer to pull Abby into her arms since she looked quite frightened.
''It's not nice when people pry into your life, is it?'' The man said, walking into the house.
''You brought it on yourselves.'' Rhodey shook his head, putting his hands behind him to guard Sarah and Abby as the men got closer. ''It's not just me, the government's been keeping their eye on you for a long time now.''
''And who's been giving them all the information?'' The man asked. ''It's not the best idea to get involved.''
The other men circled around the three of them, forming a trap and Abby held onto Sarah with all her might, her lip beginning to tremble with fear as she hid her face in Sarah's shirt, trying to make it all go away.
''You have a nice house.'' The man commented, looking around. Rhodey noticed that he subtly pulled out a switchblade knife from his pocket and began twirling it in his fingers, playing with it as he looked over to Sarah and Abby. ''Even nicer family.''
Rhodey walked in front of them. ''Don't you dare.''
The man walked back a little bit. ''You're feisty for a man whose life I could ruin in a matter of seconds.''
Rhodey didn't say anything in return, worried that they would retaliate against Sarah and Abby. He had never been so scared before. He didn't care what happened to him, if it was just them he would happily fight back, but he couldn't risk either Sarah or Abby getting hurt, he couldn't stand it. The man nodded at him as if to congratulate him on choosing to stand back, and then he continued walking around the room and observing everything with a few comments.
Sarah gave him a pleading look, and Abby tried her hardest not to cry, but the tears were in her eyes. Rhodey nodded in understanding, but he didn't know what to do. Then he remembered the panic button Tony installed near each of the light switched, just like the ones in his house. Being War Machine, Rhodey was in a dangerous situation when he became involved in certain missions, and Tony made sure there was on in the house for emergencies, but for two whole years, it hadn't been touched.
Rhodey made his way over to the wall without being noticed by the other men, moving slowly and casually. He reached out his hand, and without looking, he pressed the panic button which would send an immediate signal to wherever Tony was, letting him know what was going on.
''Hey!'' One of the men yelled, pointing over to him.
The main man walked over to him hurriedly, wondering what was going on. With a glance back over to the girls, and then back to Rhodey, the man just shook his head with disappointment, but Rhodey saw the threat in his eyes.
''Bad move.''
