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"That dinner was delicious if I do say so myself," Tony sighs as he leans back in his chair.

Mumbles of agreement came from the rest of us who were enjoying the meal. Pepper and Bruce had joined Tony, Loki and I for dinner. I go to take another mouthful of the delicious warm cheesy pasta, when a yawn escapes.

"Feeling a bit tired there, Shortcake?"

I look over at Tony and nod, chewing the pasta.

"I'm not surprised," Bruce states. "You have had a pretty big day, and the medicine that Dr Cho gave to you will make you tired. I am actually surprised you've lasted this long."

I yawn again, rubbing my eyes. "I think I might go to bed now actually," I mumble as I push my chair away from the table.

"You haven't finished your dinner though." Pepper says.

"That was too much for me to eat. I am stuffed." I wave it off as I start walking away to go to my room.

Bruce, Tony and Pepper all exchange worried looks before Tony calls out after me. "You sure you'll be alright, darling? Just remember if you need any of us, just get Jarvis to call on us."

"Alright. Goodnight," I call as I exit the door and head to the elevator. A chorus of goodnights follow me. I grimace as I make it to the elevator and press the button to head to my room. The pain was definitely better, but I could still feel twinges as I leaned against the wall of the elevator.

Finally, the door slides open, and the hallway lights up. Pushing off the wall, I stumble down the hall to my room. Walking up to my door, I go to twist the door handle but misjudge.

"Ow!" Grumbling about my clumsiness under my breath, I rub my head where it had connected with the door. This time open the door, and walk into my room. Lights come on immediately as I trudge to my bed, flopping on to it. Closing my eyes, I welcomed the peace that came as I sank into the covers. I need to get changed. I'll get to it in a few minutes. Without realising it though, the call of sleep was too much and soon I was asleep.

***TONY P.O.V***

I watch Alexis as she closes the door behind her. Placing my fork down, I rub a hand over my face.

"She will be alright, Tony." Pepper places a hand on my shoulder. The familiar heat and weight of it calming my racing mind. I sigh, and rest my head in my hands as I lean on the table.

Shaking my head, I mutter, "Today shouldn't have happened. She shouldn't have been in that position. She can't protect herself. This was a bad idea to have her come here. Why didn't I just take her to a hospital when I first grabbed her?!"

Looking up, I see that it was only Pep and I at the table. The others must have left. Perhaps Loki has more tact that I give him credit for, I think absently as I turn to Pepper.

"Why didn't I take her to a hospital, Pep?"

She just gives me a small smile and takes my hand in hers. "Tony, you are always wanting to do the best for others, and I think that in that moment, when you grabbed her, I think that you saw another little girl. Who would have been her age and who still holds your heart. "

Ayden. My Angel. I could see her. I could her little giggle as I would chase her and pretend to miss her. God. Why did she leave? Why did she have to be taken? I was startled out of my thoughts as I felt a hand wipe my cheek gently. Raising my own hand, I feel a wetness and then realise that they were tears.

"Tony?"

I take a breath and look back at Pep. She was looking with a small smile on her face. Her hand still rested on my cheek. Turning, I placed a kiss on the palm of her hand. Clearing my throat, I say, "Sorry, Pep. It's just…..hard, you know."

"Yeah I know."

" Do you think I did the right thing? When I brought her here?"

My eyes locked on to hers. I needed to know what she was really thinking. She took a deep breath before answering.

"At first, I didn't think that it was a good idea. You are known for your spontientity, and I was worried that you would just forget about her after a few days. And I was also worried that we would have a lawsuit on our hands." I snorted quietly. All of the points she had were definitely valid about me. "I was also worried about how broken she seemed, and I saw how you were trying to break through that protective shield that she had up, and I was worried that you would get hurt because she wouldn't let you in. However, then I saw her open up to the man that people don't believe has a heart. I saw her bring a spark of life to you, and you also gave the same to her."

"But are we doing the right thing by still having her here?" I ask.

"Is it right legally? No. We need to make sure that she has no family that is looking for her. I don't think that there is otherwise Jarvis would have told us. So we need to look into getting custody of her legally. And I believe that she is where she needs to be with us because look at the team now. Loki is actually talking to others, and not threatening us. And everyone loves her."

"Thanks, Pep." I give her a soft kiss, as I stand up. Picking up my plate, I walk towards the kitchen. Stopping as I reach the doorway, I turn.

"I'm not trying to replace….Ayden… am I?" I ask.

Pepper shakes her head as she gathers up the other plates. "No. You aren't trying to mould Alexis into someone she's not. Ayden will always be in your heart, but I think that you are making space for Alexis in there as well."

Nodding, I go and place my plate in the dishwasher, and grab a quick drink of water.

"Do you think that Nat would teach Alexis some basic self-defense so she isn't completely helpless?"

"I am sure that Nat would be thrilled," Pepper replies as she stacks the remaining dishes in the dishwasher. "You know how she feels about girls being defenseless."

"True that. I'll ask her when she gets back."

As Pepper stands up, I wrap my arms around her waist and place a kiss on her shoulder. I feel her lean back against me. "How is it that I got so lucky to have you?" I mutter, "I have no idea how I managed before you."

I feel her chuckle quietly, "We both know that you didn't manage before I came along. You were later to everything and never knew what was happening in your life."

I laughed, as I let her go, and walked towards the lounge. "Where'd Banner and Loki go?" I ask as I look around the room.

"I have no idea,' I hear Pepper call from the kitchen. I shrug and go to the couch before turning on the TV. Flicking through the channels mindless, I let my mind drift to my latest project. Suddenly, I get jerked from my thoughts as I hear.

"...taken today from the small scuffle today that involved Captain America, Iron Man and two not yet identified people out…" I accidentally skipped to the next channel.

"Damn it,"Quickly, I go back and turn up the volume as the reporter continues on with the story.

"...from discussions with witnesses to this battle we have uncovered that the young girl was seen with Captain America and his associate before the incident happened. Iron Man was quick to arrive at the scene afterwards and was seemingly quite protective of the young girl. Tony Stark was seen to exit out of the Iron Man suit to wrap the young girl in a hug, before storming over to the villain of this altercation and punching him in the face. Tony Stark then took off in the Iron Man suit with the young girl. We can only assume that they went back to the Avengers Tower. But who is this young girl? We have had many people speculate that she could be a long lost love child of the once playboy. While others say that they say Tony Stark took the same girl off the street almost a month ago. So, is she a long lost Stark heir, or a stray taken off the street as Tony Stark's next pet project?"

I turn off the TV with a shaking hand.

"F**K!" I throw the remote on the couch and stand up. Turning around, I see Pepper standing there with the same horrified face. "How am I meant to explain this?" I whisper as I pull at my hair. "What am I meant to do? I promised to keep her safe and now those...vultures know about her." I stare at Pepper, begging to her silently to guide me. Slowly, she walks towards and takes my hand out of my hair.

"I will call PR in the morning and we will get started on sorting this out," She starts to lead me towards the doors and to the elevator," But for now, we are going to bed because we both need to be at full capacity tomorrow to deal with this."

I let her guide me into the elevator which Jarvis automatically starts to take us to our floor.

"Excuse me Sir."

"Yeah Jar," I mutter as I try to get a grasp on my swirling thoughts.

"I thought that I should inform you that Ms Alexis has fallen asleep on her bed. She is currently in a deep state of sleep but I believe that her dreams are distrubed. I believe you asked to be informed if this happened"

I snap up. "What do you mean Jarvis?"

"I believe that she is experiencing a nightmare Sir. She is not sleeping as she usually would and is occasionally crying out."

The elevator doors slide open at that moment and Pepper and I quickly make our way to Alexis's room. I quietly turn the handle of the door and open the door. The light of the hallway illuminates Alexis as she tosses her head. Soft whimpers break the stillness of the room. I walk over and carefully sit on the bed next to her, and place a hand on her shoulder. She immediately gasps and arches away from the touch as if I had struck her. I flinch before trying again.

"Alexis. Its okay. It's just a dream, Honey. You are safe." I repeat this softly as I try to gently shake her awake. She cries out before biting her lip to muffle the sound. Doing that in her sleep can not be a good sign. "Alexis," I call a bit louder as I reach to stroke her hair. Come on Shortcake wake up.

Suddenly, she jerks awake and sits up, gasping for air. I watch as she notices me. She starts to try to get away, but I quickly grab her wrist to prevent her from escaping. Sobs were beginning to wrack her small frame as she tried to pull her wrist from my grasp. "Shortcake. It's me. It's Tony. You're safe." I say softly, as I watch recognition fill her hazel eyes. I carefully reach with my other hand and brush the tears from her pale cheeks. "Are you with me?"

She launches herself at me and knocks the wind out of me. Pepper puts a hand on my shoulder to stop me from careening off the bed. Alexis wraps her arms around my waist and cries softly into my shoulder. I could feel her tears soaking through my shirt, but all I cared about was the young girl who had seen too many horrors in her life at such a young age. I carefully wrap an arm around her and hold her head against my shoulder as I whisper, "Shhh you're safe now honey. It's alright. You're safe," over and over again. I feel Pepper move from behind and watch as she sits beside Alexis. Her gaze meets mine and she smiles softly as she starts to rub Alexis back to help her calm down.

I don't know how long we sat there, but eventually, Aleixs's breathes slowed until she fell back asleep. I stared at Pepper as I realised that I didn't know what to do next. She giggles softly as she stands up and whispers, "Just lie her on the bed, then leave the room while I change her. She is pretty exhausted so she probably won't wake up. I nod and carefully begin the process of untangling Alexis from my person. I lay her down with her head on her pillow before walking out the room. "Put the lights at 10% Jar," I whisper as I shut the door carefully behind me.

As I stand in the hallway waiting for Pepper, I realise just how much Alexis had wormed her way into my heart. A heart that many accused me of not having for many years. I should adopt her. The thought flashes through my mind but I quickly grab on to it and start turning it over. There isn't really anything stopping me, I think. I have plenty of money so she will never want for anything. I already love her as my own and I know that Pepper does. I just need to make sure that she has no existing family, and if she does why they aren't looking for her.

"Hey Jar, you still there?"

"Always Sir."

"How could I check if Alexis has any family or who she is related to?"

"A DNA blood test would be a good start I believe Sir. However, it will take a few days before it will be complete. I believe that Dr Banner will be able to help in this area as he cleaned up the cut of her head earlier today."

I grin before nodding. "Great. Is he still awake?"

"Yes Sir. Dr Banner is back in his lab."

"Brilliant. Tell him that I want him to do a DNA test on Alexis's blood. Should be an easy thing for him."

"Of course Sir."

Then the door to Aleixs's room opens and Pepper steps out. I walk over to her and she smiles at me, "She is still asleep. A lot calmer than before which hopefully means that she will sleep the rest of the night through peacefully."

I press a kiss to Pepper's cheek. "Thank you," I whisper as I sneak past her into Alexis's room where I see the mentioned girl laying under her covers. I see that Pepper had picked up her mini arc reactor and placed it on her bedside table. It's glow illuminates the peaceful expression on Alexis's face.

I quietly make my way over and stroke the hair away from her face. "I promise I will keep you safe," I whisper to her sleeping form, before bending down and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

***Hope you enjoyed it!***