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Chapter 36

He stood up and helped her up. Thankfully Pepper was able to do so. Tony went into action immediately. He led his wife to the exit without any explanation to anyone; they made it to the front of their building. "Fred take us to the nearest hospital." He helped Pepper inside of the car and held her hand. "Don't worry Pep. We are almost there, sweetheart." He did his best to remain calm and held her as she trembled with fear.

She was crying and squeezed his hand. "I'm scared Tony. I'm really scared. Please Tony make it right." She sounded desperate. He didn't know how he managed to stay calm. But he smiled at his wife and reassured her once again. Years later Tony would go back to that event and explain to his wife that he didn't know how he managed to remain calm for her.

They made it to the hospital. Tony was able to be with her. A doctor examined Pepper. The bleeding had stopped. "Mrs. Stark, how far along are you?"

"Three months. Please, tell us what's happening." She asked quietly.

"Mrs. Stark do you have any cramping right now."

"No, but half an hour ago I felt like I was going to get my period."

"I'm going to get a picture of the baby." The doctor used the gel. Both Tony and Pepper breathed easier when they saw their baby and heard the strong heartbeat.

The doctor smiled at them and said. "The baby's fine. I want to call your doctor and have her examine you." He politely left the room.

Tony went to her side and hugged her. "The baby's still there. I was so afraid Tony," she sobbed. He held her more tightly and breathed a sigh of momentary relief. They were still worried but at least they knew their baby was fine.

Fifteen minutes later Dr. Brooks greeted them. She examined Pepper and then finally looked at them in the eyes. "Your baby is fine…"

"Why was my wife bleeding then?" Tony asked quickly before the doctor could explain anything.

"Mr. Stark, vaginal bleeding might occur during the first trimester. It is perfectly normal for some women to experience this. Virginia's healthy and her body seems to be fine. However I'm going to take safety measures." She then looked at her patient. "I want you to wear a pad, no intercourse and rest, a lot of it. Virginia this could be just normal but it could also mean a sign of miscarriage." The doctor saw her distressed face.

The doctor looked serious and said, "Virginia, I have to be absolutely honest, there is always a chance of miscarriage, it's your body's reaction to an unhealthy pregnancy. This is not your case; I assure you that this baby is healthy. Just take it easy. Once you are in your second trimester these types of scares would most likely disappear.

The doctor tried to be as honest as possible while being comforting at the same time. Tony thought she failed, Pepper looked anxiously at her, she tried to conceal her fear but he could see right through her façade. Brooks left and his wife's overwhelmed face clouded him. He sat next to her and hugged her. "Nothing will happen to us. I'll make sure of it. This is what we are going to do. We are both going to take a leave of absence for the next couple of months, at least until we are sure that this baby is completely fine." He kissed her cheek and rubbed her belly. She nodded and let her husband hug her to his heart's content. She always felt protected around him. He was her super hero, she was sure that Tony would make everything right again. She had this blind faith on him; sometimes she felt that it was too much of a heavy weight on him but Tony had a way of making her feel safe, loved and protected.

"Tony, what if I lose the baby?" her voice was small and muffled by the pillow.

Tony took a deep breath and answered very honestly, "Pepper, if it happens it would be because there was nothing else we could have done. Pep, I love you sweetheart, you have to stop ok. Don't think like that." he caressed her arm and kissed her cheek again.

An hour later they were back in the Tower. They decided to not let their friends know about their stint in the hospital. It was too intimate. Pepper sat next to her son, Darcy who was on babysitting duty rushed out, she had to meet Steve for dinner at a fancy place. She didn't even notice Pepper's red eyes. The young brunette really looked forward to this night. Tony knew that tonight was the night; Steve was finally going to propose to her. Captain America saved all of his money for a beautiful ring. Tony offered to buy one for him but Steve refused. "I want to buy her the ring. Don't Tony, just help me choose something for her."

Pepper played with Alex, she smiled when the toddler kissed pecked her and showed her some of his StarkPad drawings. "Mommy I did this." he pointed to the mixture of colors in the pad.

"That's very creative Alex." She laughed when the boy frowned at his own picture. "You'll get better I promise bub." She kissed his cheek; he giggled and sat closer to her.

Tony managed to cancel their meetings for next week. He called Pepper's assistant and informed him that starting tomorrow Tony would assume Pepper's CEO place. "No, neither of us will be in the office for at least three more weeks." He stated firmly. You'll send everything to us. It is your responsibility to keep us updated. The board will act as representatives for now. I will only deal with the immediate mergers and the upcoming financial reports. Mrs. Stark is to have a relaxed three weeks, if she calls you and she will you will not give her any negative news." Tony finished and hung up.

He went back to his wife and son who were now watching some show Pepper liked. He sat next to them and watched the show quietly. Soon Alex was asleep on his arms, the toddler perched himself on his lap after getting tired of the tablet.

Pepper stood up, "I'm tired Tony, let's tuck Alex in and then get some sleep." Tony carried his son to his small bed. Pepper was already by her side of the bed waiting for him to join her.

He stripped and moved besides her, holding her like he always did at night. "You smell nice." He sniffed her deeply and she chuckled a little. Tony kissed her shoulder. After a couple of minutes he felt his wife relax completely and sleep. Tony kissed her forehead and slept too.

Next morning a squealing Darcy entered their apartment. Pepper and Tony were having some breakfast. Alex ate his cereal too, he was barely awake, and he slept more hours now. "He proposed, he finally did." She went directly to Pepper's side and showed her the ring.

Pepper smiled and hugged the young woman. "It's a beautiful ring Darcy."

"Oh, Pepper it was so romantic. He got on one knee and he looked so nervous. He stuttered and I said yes. You have to help me organize this wedding. Jane's maid of honor." Darcy could barely breath from all the excitement.

"Does Jane know?" Tony asked while drinking his black coffee.

"Of course, I told her as soon as we got back to the Tower." Darcy hugged Pepper again. "I want something small Pep, just my parents and you guys."

Darcy rambled about the wedding for fifteen more minutes. Pepper looked happy to indulge her friend. This was perfect. Pepper would have a distraction. Tony smiled and had to ask about Steve's whereabouts.

"He's in bed. I wore him out." Tony smirked; he loved Darcy's openness and honesty. He would make sure to tease Captain America later.

His wife and Darcy spent the whole day talking about the wedding and all they would have to do. Both Jane and Natasha stayed away from them. The spy was truthfully happy for Darce but she wanted no input on the wedding. Jane looked uncomfortable. Tony deduced that it was because of Thor's absence. It had been close to three weeks since he went to Asgard.

Steve wore a silly grin all day. When Clint commented on it, Tony couldn't pass up the opportunity. "Must be because of Ms. Lewis' boundless energy..." Steve didn't catch on but then looked at Bruce who laughed and winked at him. He blushed like only he could. The wedding was to take place in three months. Darcy wanted a Spring/Summer wedding. They would get married by the church, that was the only condition Steve placed. Darcy wasn't religious by any standards but she decided to accommodate her fiancé. "He has his belief systems, they don't affect mine and it makes him happy." She shrugged.

Pepper worried for the next few days about her unborn child. She rested as much as possible but it got to a point in which she had to do something. Tony knew her very well. Her assistant was uncooperative; she knew that her husband had a lot to do with her employee's reticence to talk about any major issues about the company.

By the second week of her imposed vacation Pepper had nothing to do. She had organized her closet, Tony's closet and even arranged Alex's piles of toys. Her husband insisted on buying their son more toys than he could play with. She was bored, the spotting stopped four days ago. Pepper felt better now, she wanted to go back to work but Tony was firm on his decision to wait until her second trimester.

She knew that her husband worried about her but she couldn't handle the lack of activity anymore. She dressed and went down to Tony's workshop; he took their son downstairs. Alex was used to spending time with his dad every morning they would go down the workshop. Alex played inside the playpen while Tony fixed something or talked to Bruce about research.

She entered the key password and went inside; as always there was music playing, loud rock. One of his favorite playlists, Alex was dirty; he was playing with his StarkPad. "Why is our son so dirty?" she found the answer when she looked at Tony. He was fixing one of his cars or upgrading it.

"Hey Pep" Tony slid away from the car and looked at her. He had grease all over his white shirt and the arc reactor. He was sweaty, Pepper thought he looked sexy; him dirty, working with his cars was a weakness for her. She licked her lips. She remembered the first time she entered one of his workshops it had been years ago.

She had been working for him for about a month when he asked her to meet him at the Malibu house. It was the first time she met JARVIS, he gave her the codes to make it to the workshop. She was skeptical about going to meet her boss at his house. He flirted constantly and she had to admit Tony Stark was a handsome man. She found her boss under some vintage car. Dirty white wife-beater, grease stains all over his body. Ever since then Pepper had a slight fascination with this man and his sweaty, grease stained body.

Pepper cut her musings short when her husband approached her and kissed her. "You were staring Potts." He smirked and she smirked back. "Not Potts anymore." She bit his lip and touched his sweaty biceps.

"Not that I don't love having you here but my experience tells me that there's something going on." He said.

"I'm bored, I want to go back to work." Tony frowned.

"Don't give me that look Tony. I know you told my assistant to keep the major business deals out of my reach. I want to work, I'm going crazy without anything to do."

He sighed, "Pepper I'm not holding you back…" he was ready to argue with her for hours if possible but his wife didn't give him any opportunity.

She laughed, "You think I'm asking for permission. Oh, honey, no. I'm letting you know that if you as much as think of firing my assistant there will be hell to pay." She kissed his lips again and took the baby with her. "I'm taking Alex for a bath, then we are going to Jane's."

Tony nodded. He felt some relief; Pepper going back to work meant that she wasn't worried. She was the most responsible person he knew. She wouldn't place herself or the baby in any danger. He knew that accidents could happen but he felt optimistic about his wife going back to work. He hoped she took it easy. He would have to talk to her assistant again. Pepper's stress levels should be kept to a minimum.