When Ana woke up, it was daytime. She was in a car—an Audi—parked in front of a hardware store. The doors were locked. The initial thought was that she was kidnapped, but she wasn't tied up, and a kidnapper wouldn't have bothered to wrap a poncho around her shoulders. Something on the dash caught her attention. A bag of crackers, a can of soda, and a note:

"Enjoy."

Her dad's handwriting. He must have locked the doors for her own protection. When she turned her head, she found the suit in the backseat. She was starving, so she opened the bag and shoved a handful of crackers into her mouth. Funny how such simple gestures could make her feel home, when they came from him.

Soon, he appeared, carrying two overly stuffed shopping bags. He was in his "celebrity disguise," but this didn't stop Ana from recognizing him immediately. It was such a relief to finally see him. He unlocked the car, put the bags into the trunk, and got into the driver's seat.

"Hey, kid," he said casually, as if this were an ordinary shopping trip.

She decided to play along. Sometimes, it was the best way to cope with the madness going on around them. "Hey, Dad."

"Are you cold?"

Well, it was cold outside, obviously, and she hated the cold, but here, inside the car, it was warm enough. Still, she had traveled from California, and not dressed appropriately for the snow. Damn. She should have thought of this. "I'll manage. What happened?"

"Well, I was driving last night, and you dropped right in front of me. I thought I was hallucinating at first."

She smiled proudly. "Did you really think I wouldn't come for you?"

"I think I always knew I'd see you in a suit one day. This isn't exactly how I imagined it, but… I guess you needed a little push."

"Why did we stop here?"

He ignited the engine before replying. "I needed some stuff. The Mandarin is in Miami, and I'm going to pay him a visit."

"Miami?" asked Ana. She hadn't thought the big, bad Mandarin would be so close.

"Oh, and you were right about Killian. He's another Justin Hammer. Actually, scratch that, he's even worse. He and the Mandarin are in business. It's not a bomb that causes the explosions. It's—"

"Extremis."

"Wait, how do you know?"

"Okay, I'm going to tell you something, but please don't freak out." He was going to freak out, that was inevitable, but he had to know. So, she told him what had happened with Pepper.

After she was done rehashing, he looked both grateful and terrified at the same time. "I guess I'll let you get away with it."

"Get away with it? Dad, you told us to take good care of each other. Pepper was kidnapped! What else was I supposed to do?"

"It's not that. It's the fact that you secretly built a suit, right under my nose, and you don't even bother to apologize."

"What?" she cried. Seriously, what the hell was he talking about?

"What?" he mirrored the question defensively.

"Dad, you are the one who secretly built a suit, for me, right under my nose! I didn't even know until JARVIS called me!"

"Ana, I never built a suit for you!"

"Well, I wouldn't build a suit for myself either! Especially without telling you first!"

He hit the brake so abruptly that they would've flown from their seats if it hadn't been for the seat belts. "How could this be possible?" he was mumbling frantically, hyperventilating. Damn. He was having another anxiety attack.

"Dad?"

"D—do I have amnesia now? I mean, building a suit for you… I'd remember such a thing."

"Well, severe sleep deprivation can cause amnesia. It's not your fault."

It didn't make things any better. "Oh, God…"

Ana leaned towards him and held his hands. "It's okay, Dad," she said softly. "Just take deep breaths. I'm right here."

He sunk into the seat and closed his eyes. Ana found a bottle of water and helped him take a few sips. Then she returned to holding his hands, because he was holding onto her like his life depended on it. "It's okay. Take all the time you need. No need to rush. It's just you and me."

It surprised her to realize how soothing her own voice sounded, especially for someone who had very little patience in interpersonal dealings. But then, she had all the patience in the world for this one person.

His eyes were still closed, but he smiled. "You're such a good kid…"

I'm not, she thought. The truth was, she hated to see him so vulnerable. At times like these, she wished he was indeed the selfish, unapproachable jerk he pretended to be. He had never truly been a jerk to her, so that wouldn't be her problem. As for everyone else… Well, they weren't the ones who had to watch their father suffer like this, were they?

If she had her way, she would use her resources to build a spaceship, and in case of an unstoppable alien invasion, she would take everyone she cared about and get the hell out of the planet. Let the rest of humanity suffer the consequences of their ignorance and short-sightedness. After seeing how they had sneered at her when she had said she wanted to make business connections with extraterrestrial civilizations, with their smug faces, she wouldn't lose sleep over it. The only reason she still helped her father protect the planet was because she wasn't looking forward to becoming an interstellar refugee with her family and lose the privileges they had here. Yeah, she was the real jerk.

She waited until his breathing evened out. "Are you better now?"

"Yeah."

He opened his eyes, straightened up in the seat, and started the car again. For a few minutes, they remained silent. Then, she teased, "What's with the lumberjack style?" She didn't think she had ever seen him in a flannel shirt before.

"Wait until you see my watch. Limited edition." He showed her the Dora the Explorer watch.

Ana laughed. "Where did you get that?"

"It was my new friend's sister's… I like it, reminds me of the good old days. Remember how I once had to go to the office wearing pink lipstick and a princess tiara because of you?"

She tried to recall the memory, but couldn't. "I don't remember."

"You know what, if I decide to invent time-travel one day, it's going to be to turn you back into your three-year-old self. That was your cutest version."

Speaking of time-travel… "Oh my gosh! I totally forgot to ask JARVIS what he found in the Quinn Worldwide servers!" It wasn't exactly a priority right now, but still… She was curious.

"How did JARVIS call you, anyway?"

"From an encrypted line. Didn't you programmed him to do so in an emergency?"

"Nope, that wasn't me. Or, maybe, it was. Who knows?"

Ana sighed, looking out the window. This was going to be the worst Christmas ever.

…

It hadn't taken them long to find a motel nearby.

"Pick your bed," he said, as they entered the room they had rented.

She looked around. This could be the least comfortable-looking place she had ever stayed, but that was the least of her concerns. She sat on the edge of one of the two single beds. He closed the curtains, turned on the lights, and started placing the stuff he had bought on the other bed.

"You know there's no need for this, right? You can just use my suit to storm the place."

"Your suit is yours. It's staying with you."

"Dad, I can't fight in it anyway. At least not effectively. Just take it and fly to Miami."

"And leave you here with no protection? No way. We're sticking together. This was my plan anyway, before you came to me."

Ana wished he would get some rest first, but that wasn't going to happen. So, she went to help him. Working together like this reminded her of the workshop. Which didn't exist anymore. She tried not to be sentimental about it, but after some inner struggle, tears pooled in her eyes.

Of course, he noticed. "Kid?"

"You had to do it, didn't you? You had to give that reporter what he wanted? Do you really believe he cared about the Mandarin, or the people he killed? He just wanted a good story, and you took the bait!"

"Well, I'm sorry the Stark shrewdness eluded me, okay?" he snapped. "It's not easy to think everything through while your best friend is in a coma!"

She didn't want to say anything she might regret later, so she didn't reply. They kept working in silence, until he said, "I'm sorry, kid. I know it's not easy for you either. You shouldn't be spending your holiday saving Pepper from kidnappers, or making Christmas bulb bombs in a shady motel room with me. You should be out there, seeing the world. Enjoying yourself. Do what other rich kids at your age do. I'm sorry I dragged you into this."

"I've already seen the world," she reminded him softly. They used to go on vacations frequently when she was a kid. She had seen every place that was worth seeing. "With you. And I've never been good at enjoying myself, so don't worry about it. I'm exactly where I want to be."

"But you're right. I can't afford to be impulsive. I could've lost Pepper. Or you. I didn't even know I had a suit for you when I threatened the Mandarin."

"Maybe you did, deep down."

"Still, it doesn't make any sense, you know. The suit doesn't have a name, or even a model. That's not my style."

"Yeah, having a few tricks up your sleeve to protect me in your absence doesn't sound anything like you at all."

He smiled. "Smartass…"

…

It was more than 10 hours to Miami. They took turns driving. He was the one on the wheel by the time they found the mansion. He drove around a bit, then stopped in a secluded spot behind a thick foliage of bushes and trees.

"It's kind of… nice," she commented as they observed Killian's mansion from this safe distance. "Especially for a terrorist."

"Yeah, you'd think the Mandarin would be living in a cave. Something else is going on here. I'm going to climb up on that tree to see better."

"You go ahead, I'm staying right here."

"Seriously? It's not even that high."

She shrugged.

"Alright," he huffed, and started climbing himself. Ana pulled her suit out of the car. The damn thing was heavy. She struggled a bit, but it wasn't impossible either.

"Just a bunch of security guards", he said, coming down. "Nothing I can't handle. You put on the suit, and follow my lead. Stay invisible."

"I follow your lead? Shouldn't it be the other way around? I'm the bulletproof one here."

"We're trying not to make too much noise. Do not engage unless you absolutely have to. Come on."

She did as he said. Ana's repulsors were ready to shoot, but she never needed to use them. He took out the guards with ease. The interior of the mansion was hot, stuffy, full of alcohol, drugs, and prostitutes. It wasn't nice. It was just messed up.

There was also studio equipment. Cameras, lights, props… Did this mean none of the things in those Mandarin videos were real? But people were dying, so it had to be real to some degree. Eventually, they found a bed… with two girls in it. Or, rather, her dad did. Ana was still invisible.

They heard the toilet flush, and then the Mandarin himself emerged. Her dad hid behind the bedhead just in time.

"Well, I wouldn't go in there for twenty minutes," the Mandarin laughed.

What the hell?

Then he gave the girls fortune cookies, and started reciting that line about them not being even Chinese. He was either high, or drunk. Or both. Her dad revealed himself, sent the girls out, and started questioning him. Ana was standing a few feet behind, blasters ready to be shot, just in case this was a trap.

The Mandarin's real name was Trevor Slattery, and he was an actor with drug addiction. He fell asleep while telling his story.

"Ana?" her dad whispered. "Are you seeing this?"

"Yeah," she whispered back.

He kicked Trevor awake, and the fake Mandarin continued telling his story. Apparently, he was hired by Killian. What was worse, Trevor didn't even know people had actually been dying. Not that he seemed like he cared, but still…

"DAD, GET DOWN!"

A guard had appeared right behind him, and Ana fired the repulsor. She didn't miss, but the guy just… healed. And she hadn't even gone easy on him. He grabbed her dad and disarmed him.

"Ana Stark, I presume?" he said, scanning the room. "I know you're here. Show yourself, or…" He squeezed her dad's throat.

"Ana, don't…" he whimpered.

"Miss Stark?" JARVIS asked. He sounded like he, too, wanted Ana to get out of here. But that wasn't an option. She turned off the stealth mode.

The guard grinned. "There she is. Now, get out of that suit. Nice and easy."

"Kid, no…"

"Shut up!" he hissed, and squeezed his throat even harder.

The suit opened up, and she stepped out of it. "Let him go."

After knocking him out with a punch, the guy came to grab Ana and dragged her away from the suit. Then he turned to Trevor. "Okay, Trevor. What did you tell them?"

"I didn't tell them anything," Trevor lied.

"Nothing?"

"No."

"You should've pressed the panic button."

"Well, I panicked, but then I handled it."

More guards stormed in. "Get rid of that suit," the first one told the others. "I'll take care of the girl."

Ana didn't like the way he looked at her. She had always hated that kind of look, the one that made her feel like a piece of meat on display. He hauled her over one shoulder, carried her to a small, dark room upstairs. One hand was on her ass. She knew it was on purpose.

"There you go," he said, putting her down. He searched her for weapons, and used the opportunity to keep touching her in the inappropriate places. Ana hated this with every fiber of her being, but she forced herself to remain as unresponsive as possible. Guys like him enjoyed watching their victims struggle desperately. Three years of being bullied had taught her that much. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. Then he made her sit on a chair, and zip-tied her to it.

"Aren't you a pretty little thing?" he sneered. "I'm Eric, by the way. Nice to meet you, princess."

She made no reply, and fixated her gaze on a spot on the wall. It angered him. "Not so fierce now, huh?" He pulled her hair to expose her neck and kissed it.

"Savin, that's enough!"

Maya Hansen was standing at the door. "What?" Eric asked angrily.

"Killian was asking for you earlier. Don't keep him waiting."

"Fine!" He clearly wasn't happy about it, but he left.

"I'm sorry about that," Maya said once they were alone.

"Seriously? Are you guys going to pull a good cop-bad cop on me?"

"I just don't want this to get any uglier than it needs to be."

"You work for a mass-murderer. It can't get uglier than that."

"Your arm… You're bleeding."

Ana looked at her arm. There was blood on her upper left arm. She must have popped the stitches.

"Let me patch you up."

"I don't want your help."

"It might get infected."

"I don't care."

Maya didn't listen to her, fetched a first-aid kit, and started stitching the wound. "Tony's safe, by the way. I need him alive."

"Until you don't," Ana reminded coldly.

A look of regret crossed Maya's face. Ana didn't know if it was genuine or not, and she didn't care. Given the chance, she would kill Maya without hesitation. For luring Pepper into a trap, if not for anything else.

After Maya was done tending the wound, she left the room without a word, and closed the door. Ana was alone in the darkness.

A/N: So, just in case it's not obvious, I'd like to confirm that it wasn't Tony that built Ana's suit. It was JARVIS. Ugh, I hope this "slow-burn" is not too slow… On the bright side, we're only 5 chapters away from them becoming an official couple.