A/N: Okay, uber long chapter for you today, guys. I want to keep the pacing up on this fic and all of this is playing out in one day, so I could have split it but I wanted to keep the feeling that all these things are kind of happening at the same time, or at least, in the same day.

I must confess I'm extremely nervous about what you'll make of this chapter. It's the chapter I've been most nervous of posting for any of my IM fics. I won't say anymore, just let you read and I'll talk to you at the end.

Hopefully you'll enjoy...

Chapter Forty-Seven

Bruce looked at Tony in concern as the other man went as white as a ghost. "Tony, you alright?" He grabbed Tony's arm and directed him to the sofa, into which Tony promptly collapsed. Bruce took the white box from his shaking hands and looked at the contents. He made a surprised sound and looked at Tony. "Pepper's pregnant?" he queried in amazement.

Tony made some kind of squeaking noise but that was all he could manage. His whole world was tilting on its axis and he didn't know what to do.

Bruce grinned and slapped Tony on the back. "Congratulations!"

Tony was just staring ahead, whole body in shut down at this life altering news.

Steve walked into the office. "Hey Bruce, I was wondering if I could talk to you for-" He stopped talking and stared at Tony. "What's wrong with Tony? He looks catatonic."

"He's just had some surprising news," Bruce informed him and held up the box to Steve.

Steve walked over and took the box from Bruce, picking up the stick. He looked at it quizzically. "What is it?"

"It's a pregnancy test," replied Bruce for the still mute Tony. "Pepper's pregnant."

Steve's face brightened. "She is? That's fantastic news." He frowned a little. "Of course, you're going to have to get married right away now but that's a good thing."

Tony made a strangled noise as his right eye twitched and he grabbed at his chest as it tightened. "Oh God," he said weakly, "I'm having a heart attack, this is it, I can feel it."

Bruce rolled his eyes. "You're not having a heart attack," he said dismissively.

"Yes, I am," gasped Tony, "my arm is tingling and I can taste copper."

"That taste in your mouth is panic," Bruce advised him dryly.

Steve looked confused. "Wait, you're not happy about this, Tony? Why aren't you happy?"

"Is it hot in here?" asked Tony frantically. "It feels hot in here." He pulled at his t-shirt, feeling like it was suddenly trying to suffocate him.

Bruce was unsympathetic. "Calm down, you idiot, or I'll get Steve to slap you."

Steve looked excited at the prospect and took a step towards Tony.

"Hey!" Tony snapped. "Back off, Captain McSlappy."

Steve sighed. "You get your hopes up and then they're dashed." He looked at the stick in his hand curiously. "How does this tell someone that they are pregnant?"

"The woman pees on it and it picks up certain pregnancy hormones in her urine," Bruce explained.

Steve made a strangled noise and immediately dropped the stick, quickly wiping his hands on his pant leg. "And no one felt the need to tell me that sooner?" he asked in annoyance. "In my day women found out they were pregnant by-" Steve hesitated. "Well, I'm not really sure, but it involved a rabbit dying... I think." Bruce gave him an amused look. "That's women's business," said Steve defensively. "Men aren't meant to know about that stuff."

"Things are a little different here in the 21st century, Steve," Bruce informed him. "Men are expected to have as much involvement in the whole thing as women. They even attend the births."

Steve looked concerned. "Is that even legal?"

"This can't be happening," said Tony unevenly. He buried his head in his hands. "How did this happen?"

"Even I know the answer to that one," said Steve, gingerly picking up the stick and replacing it in its box.

Tony dropped his hands and glared up at Steve. "I mean I know how it happened, I just don't know how it happened. We're always so careful with contraceptives. Well, Pepper is anyway."

Bruce shrugged. "Most contraceptives are only 97% effective," he said matter of factly.

"97%?" repeated Tony in outrage. "What kind of success rate is that?!"

"A pretty good one," argued Bruce.

"No one would get on a plane with a 97% chance of landing safely," said Tony hotly. "Why is that acceptable for contraceptives?"

"I'm still not seeing what the big deal is here," interrupted Steve. "You love Pepper, right? You were going to marry her anyway and start a family at some point. What's the big deal about doing it now rather than later?"

Tony could feel his right eye twitching uncontrollably at the 'M' word and felt his stomach turn over. "I'm not ready for marriage. Pepper and I have only been together for six months. I need more time to ease into this whole couple thing before I can even consider... umm... you know." Tony's eyelid was back to twitching, not even having to say the word to react.

"You should have thought about that before you got Pepper pregnant," said Steve disapprovingly. "You have to do the right thing by her, Tony, otherwise it's just not right."

Tony put a shaky hand to his face. "This is all happening too fast, I can't think. A minute ago I was just looking for a piece of paper, now I'm suddenly a father and I'm meant to know what to do next."

Bruce sat on the edge of the sofa and tried to calm Tony down. "Okay, let's think about this logically. Maybe the test isn't Peppers?"

Tony gave him a disbelieving look. "And who else would it be? Happy's?"

Bruce grimaced. "Alright, I'll concede we have limited choices, so it probably is Pepper's. Maybe it's a false positive?"

Tony brightened. "Can that happen?"

Bruce nodded. "Yes, that can happen."

Tony groaned as he suddenly remembered something. "No, it's not a false positive. The other day Pepper told me she was giving up caffeine and she was craving donuts," he said unhappily. "Oh God, this is really happening. I'm going to be a father," said Tony weakly and then the news sunk in a little deeper. "Oh God," he said in horror, "I'm going to be a father."

"Try not to say it like that when Pepper tells you," Bruce advised him. "It makes you sound like a jerk."

"But why would Pepper want a baby?" Tony asked in anguish. "She's already got me and you'd think I'd put her off the whole idea of it."

"You don't want children?" Steve asked in surprise.

"I never thought about it," said Tony honestly.

"You've never thought about having children with Pepper?" asked Steve in disbelief.

"No."

Steve shook his head in amazement. "Well, I sure have."

"What?!" snapped Tony, glaring at him angrily.

"Not with Pepper obviously," said Steve quickly. "I just meant kids in general. I want to be a father."

"I haven't even mastered being a grown up," said Tony in distress. "How the hell am I meant to be someone's father? I mean, I wrote on Pepper in bed last night, what the hell will I do to a helpless baby?"

Steve looked at Bruce uncertainly. "Is that a sex thing?"

"Fortunately, no," Bruce reassured him. "He wrote down scientific formulas on Pepper while she was sleeping because he was too lazy to get out of bed to find some paper."

"Tony," said Steve, giving him a critical look.

"I know!" exclaimed Tony. "I'm barely getting the being in a relationship right. If I can't handle being with one person very well, how am I supposed to handle two people?!"

"Well, you're just going to have to work out how," said Bruce firmly. "Pepper is going to need you, Tony. You don't think she's scared and shocked as well? This isn't all about you." He looked over at Steve. "Steve, put the box back in that top drawer over there. Pepper obviously is dealing with this herself and will want to tell Tony privately about this." He looked down at Tony. "And you, you man up, do you hear me?"

Tony was still staring dazedly ahead. "Okay," he said shakily. "Let's go." Tony rocked in place but didn't manage to stand up. "Am I standing up?" he asked hopefully, unable to make the assessment for himself.

Bruce looked him over as he remained seated on the sofa. "Not in the strictest understanding of the concept," he said dryly. He took Tony's arm. "Let's try that again."

Bruce helped Tony stand up which he needed because his legs were still shaking. Tony knew Bruce was right, he had to find a way to deal with this so he wasn't quite as big a mess when Pepper actually told him. The trouble was, Tony had no real idea how to do that. He was going to be a father and there was no way in hell that he was prepared for what that meant. Tony grimaced. Pepper was going to hate him and this had the potential to end badly, Tony just knew it.

oooOOOOooo

Pepper hurried into her office and glanced at her watch. "Happy, how long do you think it'll take us to get to my next meeting?"

"For an average driver, about half an hour," replied Happy as he followed her into the office, "but luckily for you I'm way above average, say fifteen minutes. I know some short cuts."

Pepper smiled at him. "What would I do without you, Happy?"

"Be fifteen minutes late for your next meeting for one thing," he teased her.

Lewis walked into the room. "John and Cody are already on the road," he informed Pepper. "They'll meet us there and scope the place before you get there."

Pepper sighed. "This still feels like a lot of overkill to me. All this preparation on your team's behalf, Lewis and we've never had a problem."

"Maybe we've never had a problem because of all of our forward planning," Lewis countered.

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Spoken like a true soldier," she said in amusement.

"I'll meet you down in the car," Happy said and was about to leave when he turned around. "Oh, and I almost forgot, Lewis, I was in the foyer this morning and a courier dropped this off for you." He walked over to the set of drawers against the wall and pulled out the top drawer and drew out a white box with a ribbon on it. Happy handed it to Lewis. "It doesn't have a card, but the guy said you'd know who it was from."

Lewis took the white box and looked at it quizzically as Happy left the room. Pepper moved around to the front of her desk and eyed the box curiously. "Is it your birthday, Lewis?"

He shook his head. "No." Lewis opened the box and gave a gasp of surprise.

Pepper couldn't help herself, hurrying over to his side so she could see what it was. "Oh, Lewis, is that what I think it is?"

Lewis looked to be fighting back great emotion. "I can't believe it, Greg said Jenny wasn't going to have the pregnancy test until tomorrow."

Pepper knew how long Lewis and his partner, Greg, had been trying for a baby and all the failed attempts over the years with adoptions and surrogacies. He'd confided in her one night when they were both caught back late about their troubles in being able to complete their family. Lewis told her he and Greg were trying one last time after Jenny, Greg's sister had offered to donate an egg and carry the baby for the couple. Lewis had provide the sample and Pepper knew Lewis had been anxiously awaiting the outcome. She hugged Lewis, happy for the man she'd grown so fond of. "Congratulations, Lewis, you're going to be an amazing father. I'm just thrilled for you."

"Thanks," said Lewis shakily, hugging her back. "I-I can't believe we're finally going to have a baby after all of this time."

"You need to ring Greg," said Pepper firmly as she drew back from the hug.

"I'm working," Lewis protested, "that'd be very unprofessional of me."

Pepper sent him a pointed look. "So would disobeying a direct order from your boss. Go and ring Greg, this is a huge moment in your lives, one you've been waiting eight years for. If you don't, I'm firing you on the spot."

Lewis grinned at her, his face full of excited happiness. "I'll only be a minute," he promised her, already hurrying towards the door and fumbling for his cell phone.

He practically ran Happy down as they passed in the hall and Happy was looking back at him curiously as he walked back into Pepper's room. "Where's the fire." He hesitated. "There isn't a fire is there?"

Pepper laughed. "No, Lewis just got some really good news."

Happy brightened. "He and Greg are going to be daddies?" he asked excitedly.

Pepper grinned. "Looks like."

Happy nodded approvingly. "Couldn't happen to a nicer pair of guys. That's some supportive family they've got going on there, Greg's sister offering to be a surrogate and all. Good luck to them, I say."

"That's very progressive of you, Happy," said Pepper indulgently.

Happy shrugged. "Love is love and I just apply the same rules to them as I do to you and Tony, don't feel you have to fill me in on any of the details of your sexual exploits and I'm happy for you all." He pursed his lips. "I wonder if a baby is going to affect our poker nights?"

"Poker nights?"

"The MMMBop boys and I get together most Friday nights and play a few hands."

"I can't believe you're calling them that too," said Pepper in exasperation.

"Tony is paying me to," Happy confessed.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"How much?"

"A hundred dollars and there is an extra hundred in it every time I get someone else to call them that as well."

Pepper groaningly laughed. "Is that cute or psychotic?"

"I don't know, but it's definitely profitable."

Pepper smiled as she watched Lewis down the hallways, talking happily away to his partner. "It's nice seeing a couple so happy and ready for the responsibility of a child."

Happy gave her an interested look. "No tingling of the ovaries for you and Tony out of all this, Pep?" he teased her.

Pepper laughed. "Heavens, no. I think Tony's head would explode if I talked about babies this early on in our relationship. He's already got that eye thing going when you say the 'M' word."

"That is pretty funny," agreed Happy in amusement.

"I'm really happy where we are right now and honestly, we both have our own babies to deal with at the moment. Tony with the Avengers and me with this China deal." Pepper grimaced. "I still feel badly that I'm keeping this China deal from Tony. I keep second guessing myself that I should involve him in the process. The thing is, I know he wasn't that on board with it when we discussed it months ago so I don't know how he'll react when he finds out I went ahead and brokered the deal without his approval or knowledge. You know how Tony is about surprises," said Pepper nervously. "He loves giving them and hates getting them."

"Tony gave you his company because he knew you were the best person for the job. You weighed up this deal and made your call and that's your right as CEO," Happy argued. "Tony can't give a person a job and then get upset when they do it." He paused. "Well, he can, but that doesn't mean he's right. Besides, after this morning it's a done deal and Tony is just going to have to get with the program with it. He put you in charge and you're doing a great job, Pepper and making a lot of fantastic deals for Stark Industries. Tony gave you free reign with the company and you've only improved the company's stock, so I say, if he has an issue with this deal, he's an idiot."

Pepper patted Happy's arm. "You give a pretty good pep talk when you want to, Happy Hogan."

"I just call it like I see it and if Tony doesn't see that he's got a brilliant, forward thinking woman in charge of his company, he deserves to sleep in the lab every night."

"You heard about that, hmm?"

"I heard he wrote on you." Happy grimaced. "That isn't a sex thing, is it?"

"No," Pepper laughed, "it isn't."

"Thank heavens for that, because I did not want to even think what that could mean if it was."

Lewis was off the phone and sticking his head through the office door. "We have to go now if we're going to make it," he informed them, still grinning like a loon.

Pepper collected her brief case. "Alright, daddy to be, lead the way."

Lewis' grin widened. "I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of hearing that word."

Pepper smiled, enjoying seeing her friend so happy.

oooOOOOooo

Maggie lent eagerly over the table, the last of their lunch food being cleared by the serving staff. "So, what do you think of my ideas for promoting the Avengers?"

"They're all really good," said Steve sincerely. "I'm just not sure the rest of the Avengers are going to go for the whole concept."

Maggie took his opinion in her stride. "At least give me a shot to convince them. How about I come back with you now and I can talk to them about my ideas?"

Steve hesitated, thinking about the state Tony was in when he last saw him. "Today might not be a good day," he hedged, "we've got some stuff going on."

Maggie looked intrigued. "What kind of stuff?" She wrinkled her nose. "Sorry, that was very nosey of me. Of course you don't have to tell me."

"It's fine, there is just a bit going on with some of us today," said Steve vaguely, not wanting to give away any confidences.

"Alright," said Maggie, not easily put off, "how about tomorrow? Do you think everyone will be in a better frame of mind tomorrow?"

"I honestly don't know," admitted Steve.

Maggie obviously decided to let the subject be for now. "How about I take you on a tour of my city?" she offered instead.

"You know I was born here, right?" said Steve in mild amusement.

"You were born her nearly a hundred years ago," Maggie countered. "I want to show you my New York. Well, the bits that still aren't under repair from the mantis attacks," she conceded. Maggie smiled at him. "And then you can show me your New York." She winked at him. "How about it, soldier, I show you mine, you show me yours?"

Steve tried hard not to the blush at the innuendo and wasn't sure if he succeeded. "Okay, sure, that sounds like fun." Anything was better than waiting on Fury and his agents to come up with something concrete on Hammer and the Defenders. And Maggie was easy company and right then, Steve felt like something easy.

oooOOOOooo

Natasha's eyes narrowed menacingly. "No."

Clint folded his arms in front of his chest. "Yes."

"This isn't a negotiation."

"That's right, because I'm coming and there is nothing you can do to stop me."

"I could break your leg," said Natasha coolly.

Clint didn't flinch. "You could try."

"You're not coming," she reiterated, her tone brooking no further discussion on the subject.

Clint ignored her and her tone completely. "Let's settle this like men." He made a sweeping gesture at all of the various game tables in the games room. "Choose your battle field, Romanoff."

Natasha's eyes didn't leave his. "Air hockey," she said without hesitation.

Clint smiled. "Good choice."

"I know."

"I'm going to ruin you," he informed her.

"You can try," she returned smugly.

oooOOOOooo

Thor looked out the window of the private jet at the scenery below, lost in his thoughts.

"Sir, we're almost ready to land, you need to fasten your seat belts."

Thor turned his head towards the flight attendant. "Thank you." He nodded approvingly. "Your iron beast of flight was most comfortable to travel in." Thor held up the arm rest he'd broken off early on in the flight. "If a little flimsily made."

The attendant smiled professionally and took the arm rest without comment. "I'm glad you enjoyed the flight, sir. Is there anything else you need before we land?"

Thor would have liked to have said the right words to say to Jane Foster at their first meeting after so long apart, but he knew that wasn't what she meant. "Nay, you have met all of my needs, mortal, I am most grateful."

The attendant took her words in her stride and nodded. "Thank you, sir." She walked back to her seat as Thor settled into his, unaccustomed to this nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach. How could one tiny mortal have such an effect on him? Thor glimpsed his reflection in the window and saw that he was smiling, the mere thought of Jane causing that reaction in him. He took a deep breath, consoling himself with the fact the if he could face down Ice Giants and not flinch, than one Midgardian woman should be no source of fear to him. As the plane's wheels touched the runway, Thor had not completely managed to convince himself of that fact.

oooOOOOooo

Pepper sent Tony a warm smile over the vase of red roses in the middle of the table. "Did I tell you that this was very sweet of you, Tony?"

Tony returned her smile nervously. "You did." He'd organised Pepper's favourite food to be delivered to their apartment from her favourite French restaurant and had spent the afternoon setting up the table nicely. She'd been suitably impressed and pleased when she'd finally come home that night from another late night at the office. "I figure I still kind of owed you an apology from last night."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "You know I can't wash that ink off me, right? It was a permanent marker."

"It's not poisonous," said Tony hastily, worried that Pepper might think it was harming their baby. The room started to tilt again at just thinking those words. Their baby. The initial shock had worn off, but Tony was still struggling to come to terms with being responsible for a helpless little human being when he regularly got it wrong with a totally capable human being. There was no way Pepper wasn't going to end up hating him by the end of all this when she saw just how truly useless he was going to be at being a father.

Pepper gave him a strange look. "I know. It's alright, Tony, I didn't think writing on me was a malicious act, just a thoughtless one."

Tony quickly covered her hand with his. "And I know that about myself and I'm working on it," he tried to reassure her.

"I know," she said casually and smiled at him.

Tony couldn't help but stare at how beautiful Pepper looked in the glow of the candles he'd lit. He really was the luckiest man in the world that she'd taken a chance on him and Tony desperately wanted to prove to her that she hadn't made a mistake. The trouble was, he wasn't overly confident that he wasn't going to say the wrong thing when Pepper told him her news. Tony kept rehearsing his reactions over in his head, surprise but moving instantly into thrilled excitement. He just hoped he could pull it off without losing control of his mental facilities. Pepper deserved for him to be lucid and supportive, not the semi-hysterical mess that Bruce and Steve had been forced to deal with that morning.

"You're staring at me," said Pepper uncertainly and touched a hand to her face. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, no," said Tony immediately, "you look beautiful, glowing in fact." There, that was a good opener for her to tell him about the baby.

Pepper just smiled. "It's the candle light," she said easily, "it hides a multitude of sins."

"You look more beautiful now then I've ever seen you before," said Tony earnestly.

"I look like a woman who's been at work since seven thirty this morning," she said dryly and then promptly stifled a yawn. "Sorry."

"You're working too hard," said Tony, instantly solicitous. "You're going to have to think about slowing down a bit, especially now."

Pepper frowned. "What do you mean, especially now?"

Tony frantically tried to cover his gaff. "I mean, especially now I can see I'm obviously working you too hard," he hedged.

"I'm running a multi-national company, Tony," she said wryly. "I knew it was a lot of work before I took it on and frankly it's a whole lot less work now that you're not involved. I'm fine, I'm loving it in fact." Pepper seemed to hesitate. "But there was something about work I wanted to talk to discuss with you."

Tony tried not to show his impatience. He didn't care about the company right now, he just wanted Pepper to tell him about the baby so they could work through everything and she could know that he was totally on board with the whole thing. Even though he wasn't but Tony was working on it... in between panic attacks. He shook his head. "Let's not talk about work right now. Tonight is about us, Pepper, just you and me. Let's talk about that." He sent her a hopeful look over the top of roses. "Is there anything you'd like to talk to me about us, Pepper, or tell me maybe?"

"Well, there was one thing I wanted to talk to you about," she conceded. "And it's pretty important."

Tony mentally prepared his reactions – surprise, not shock and then excitement, not unconsciousness he rehearsed to himself. He took her hand. "What is it, sweetheart, you can tell me anything?"

"I know you said you wanted to do a big party in Italy for my birthday next month, but I'd much rather just spend it here, with you and the Avengers and some friends. Maybe we could just have a low key celebration instead?" Pepper gave him a concerned look. "Are you disappointed?"

"No," said Tony unsteadily, caught off guard, "it's your birthday, I just want to make you happy."

Pepper looked relieved. "Oh good, I hate being the centre of so much attention. I'll have a lot more fun if it's just a little party with my real friends."

"And is that it?" he prompted her. "There is nothing else you want to tell me?"

"Not if work related stuff is off the table." She sent him a curious look. "Why? Is there something you want to talk about?"

Tony was caught. He didn't want to bring up knowing about the baby because he was worried that it'd start the whole conversation off on the wrong foot if Pepper thought he was snooping. "Ah, no, I'm all good except that I really, really want you to know that you can rely on me, no matter what, Pepper." He looked at her expectantly, mentally willing her to tell him about the baby. "I'm your go to guy for anything you need."

Pepper arched an eyebrow. "Did you sign that paperwork I left for you on your desk yesterday and asked you three times to get it done before tomorrow? Did you make a decision on the hospital board stuff we were discussing like you promised me you would? Did you remember to record my show for me like you said you would?"

Tony was sunk, having not done any of the things Pepper had asked him to do recently. "What was the first one again?" he tried to put her off. This wasn't good news for his 'you can rely on me' campaign.

Pepper just smiled and shook her head. "Some things never change," she said wryly.

Tony gave her a weak smile as it became clear Pepper had no intention of telling him about the baby tonight. This wasn't looking good at all. He'd only known about the baby for less than a day and already he was a nervous wreck. He was never going to survive this pregnancy...

A/N: Okay, so, what do you make of the whole baby/no baby thing? I figure I've either made both groups who wanted a baby and didn't want a baby to be happy, or both groups to be annoyed. It seems like an all or nothing scenario from where I'm sitting. LOL Hence my nervousness. .

In my mind it's way too early for Pepperony to be having babies, but this is a way to have the s/l without actually having the s/l, if you get my drift. We get to see Tony being cute and grappling with the prospect of fatherhood, without their actually being any baby or pregnancy to have to deal with. I'm hoping the pro-baby people aren't too upset with me and the anti-baby people are happy enough with the compromise. I'm trying to take the fun elements of a baby s/l and leave out the complications of writing one actually into my story. It works for me in my head, but it remains to be seen if it'll work for you guys. Let me know if you feel gypped or if you can live with the compromise, won't you? ;)