Five months later…. Twins turn six months old today

"To long I've been afraid of losing love I guess I've lost…" she sings to herself as she does the dishes. "Well if that's love it comes at much too high a cost …"

She looks out the window and onto the patio where her father and his younger friend talk. She sighs as she dries the dishes and puts them into the cabinet.

"I'd sooner buy defying gravity… kiss me goodbye I'm defying gravity… and you won't bring me down."

She hears the door open and hears her father grunt at the music she is listening to on her ipod.

"Not this crap again," He growls as he opens the fridge for a beer. "Why are you inside when our guest is outside?"

"Because I know what you're trying to do and it won't work."

General Ross slams the fridge door and looks at his daughter. "He is a very respectable Commander in the Navy and the son of a well-known army family."

Betty rolls her eyes and closes the cabinet. "Well good for him. I'm sure one woman out there will appreciate those qualities."

General Ross clenches his fist and puts his beer down, "The sooner you accept one of these men the happier you will be."

Betty shakes her head and turns to her father, "The sooner you accept the fact that I love Bruce the happier I will be. You think him to be this uncontrollable, rage monster with no off switch when in fact you're wrong,"

"Betty…"

"No General! This time you listen to me!" Betty yells and for once, startles her father. "I've seen that man treat the poor who cannot afford health insurance and does it for nothing. I've seen him sacrifice himself in order to protect a pregnant woman. I've seen him cradle a newborn baby with the gentlest touch. He is no rage monster. He is a man with a gift and a curse and he is the man I love. Keeping me hostage here will never change that."

And with that she storms out the back door and runs into the woods behind her house.

Pepper was sitting on the living room rug with the twins watching them play together. It was amazing how much Will looked like Tony, especially the tone of his skin. Everything about Will was Tony, except his eyes; he had his mother's eyes while Maria's changed to Tony's dark chocolate eyes from the light blue slash grey they were when she first opened them. Today marked their half birthday and Pepper still couldn't believe how big they have gotten. They also mastered the art of crawling very early. However, Tony recalls his mother once saying he learned how to crawl at five months so the twins were right on track for being Starks.

They set their wedding date to be the day before the twin's first birthday, October 18, and they were currently following all of ideas Pepper had when she was little.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Jarvis announced Natasha was entering the house. Tony and Pepper had decided to give each of the Avengers their own passcode since they were now treated like family. Pepper looks up from the twins playing and sees Natasha come rushing in and she looked distraught.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Pepper asks and stands up.

"Is Tony here?"

Pepper shakes her head. "Since Thor is in town he and Bruce decided to take him out to eat… and learn how to eat the way we do."

She thought that would earn a chuckle, but Natasha looked like she had seen a ghost.

"I saw Phil."

Pepper nearly drops the baby toy in her hand. "Wait… no he… Tony said Loki…"

Natasha nodded and sits down on the couch. "I know I am just as confused… I mean Loki stabbed him in the heart. I saw him walking with two women, one I recognized as Agent Melinda May, a SHIELD agent."

Pepper sat back down with the twins , but kept her gaze on Natasha, "Surely if he survived that stabbing Fury would have to you guys, right?"

Natasha shrugs and runs a hand through her hair. "I don't know what to believe anymore. But I know what I saw was real. Phil Coulson is alive, I don't know how but he is."

Pepper knew if this was in fact true that Tony would flip out. Out of all the Avengers, Agent Coulson was closest to Tony and Pepper and his death really hit Tony hard. It drove him to find Loki…

"Oh my gosh," Pepper says as she comes to her realization. "Of course Fury would lie to you guys. Think back to before Loki stabbed Phil."

Natasha nods, "I remember we were arguing in the lab about Fury's motives."

"Exactly!" Pepper says and goes to sit with Natasha. "You weren't working as a team. But after Phil supposedly died you all had someone to avenge."

Natasha clenched her first and stood up. What Pepper was saying made complete sense to her.

"How dare he!" She snapped and kicked the couch. "How dare Fury play us like that, especially with Phil!"

"What about Phil?"

Pepper and Natasha quickly turn to see Tony, Bruce, Thor, and Clint standing in the doorway. Natasha looked at Pepper and she knew she had to tell them.