A/N: And another chapter – 4 in 4 days, that's not too shabby, now is it? :D Had a couple of days off and see what I can get done. ;)

And the Pepperony angst continues in this chapter... and we're not quite done after this either mind you. The next chapter we'll be going back to check on Natasha, so expect some more angst there, people.

Thank you yet again to everyone's kind reviews for this story. I'm finding I can't get to answer them all, which bums me out no end, but I still do appreciate all of you lovely people for taking the time to leave me your thoughts on this story. One of my reviewers mentioned that the IM series is just meant to be a trilogy which I'd heard also, so whether or not GP comes back is a moot point I guess, but I'm greedy, I want her to pop up in the Avengers 2 movie. Is that too much to ask? LOL I hope not. And who knows if there still might be an IM4... they make a ridiculous amount of money and people might be tempted to have one more crack at the honey pot... particularly if RDJ continues to get better looking as he gets older... damn his potent sexuality. LOL We'll see I guess. I do know TPTB must be salivating at the thought of the next round of Marvel movies and IM is undoubtedly the most popular and profitable of them all (except for Avengers now). Fingers crossed that IM3 isn't going to be our last chance to see some Pepperony magic. :D

Okay, after all that blithering on, here is the next chapter. I have mixed feelings about it. Some things I'm happy about, others I'm not. I'll let you make up your own mind...

Chapter Seventy

"Tony?"

He was still nestled into the crook of Pepper's neck, never wanting to move again. "Yes?"

"I love you, so much." Pepper hesitated. "But you smell really bad."

Tony immediately lifted his head and pulled back a little. "Sorry."

Pepper wrinkled her nose. "What is that smell? It's like rotten eggs or something."

"It's sulphur."

"Sulphur?"

Pepper was looking at him with concern and Tony didn't want that. "It's nothing," he brushed it off.

"Tony."

"I just got a little up close and personal with some magma," he said casually. "It's no big deal."

Pepper didn't look appeased. "Are you sure you're alright?" Her frown deepened. "Wait a minute. Happy only went to go and get you a few minutes ago. How could you get here so quickly?"

"I was already here," Tony admitted.

She made a distressed sound. "You said you weren't hurt."

"I'm not," he said hastily. "We're all here for Natasha."

"Natasha?"

"She has a brain tumour. They're operating on her now."

"Oh no," Pepper gasped in horror. "Tony, that's horrible. You have to go and wait with the others."

"I'm not leaving you," said Tony determinedly. "Ever again. You are never leaving my sight again for the rest of our lives."

Pepper half-smiled. "That's not very practical, Tony. I mean, how's that going to work when you go out on missions with the Avengers?"

Tony moved his shoulders a little. It was clear to him what he had to do now. The last time Pepper had been hurt by Hammer, Tony had been foolish enough to think he could walk away from her. It had taken Happy to point out to him that wasn't an option. Tony didn't need Happy this time round. He knew Pepper was the one thing he couldn't live without. That meant there was only one other option. "I've been thinking I'm kinda done there."

Pepper's eyes went wide. "What?"

Tony looked down at her hand which he was still holding and absently rubbed the back of it with his thumb. "Yeah, you know me, Pep, I get bored easily. This whole Iron Man thing has gotten old. I need a new challenge." Tony chanced a glance at Pepper who was frowning now. He continued on with feigned casualness. "I've been thinking about going into the amusement park business for awhile now. Imagine that, Stark World. It'll crap all over Disneyland." Tony smiled brightly. "That can be our motto, Stark World, we crap all over Disneyland. I can see it already."

"Tony, you're not giving up the Avengers or being Iron Man," said Pepper firmly.

Tony kept his smile on his face. "I told you, Pepper, I'm bored with the whole superhero thing. I'm looking to do something different." He kissed her hand. "But we'll talk about all this tomorrow. You look exhausted and need to get some rest. Can I get you anything? Do you need something? Are you in pain?"

"Tony."

"Honestly, Pepper, we can save all the talking for another day. All I want to do now is make sure you're on the mend."

Pepper was looking at him closely. "I don't think I'm the one you should be worrying about. What has Happy told you?"

Tony stared at her, unable to hold his smile any longer. "Everything. Hammer, the Mach VII, the-the operation." He stumbled over the last bit. Tony's face crumbled in pain. "Pepper, I'm so sorry that this has happened to you."

Pepper put a brave smile on her face, even though it wobbled a bit. "I know, but sometimes these things just happen and it's not like losing an ovary means I can never get pregnant. It just means I've halved my chances." She gave a strained little laugh. "It's so crazy," said Pepper, her voice getting shaky. "Babies were the last thing on my mind before today. Then you came in and accused me of getting pregnant with another man's baby-"

Tony made a regretful face. "Again, I'm really sorry about that, Pep. I kind of went insane."

She gave him a tired, but indulgent look. "I know, I was there. My point is, with everything going on in our lives with the Avengers and me with the business, I really wasn't thinking about babies. We're still finding our way as a couple-"

Tony kissed the back of her hand again. "An amazing couple," he interrupted again, "and I do know that's mainly down to you, in case I don't say that often enough."

"We contribute equally to this relationship, Tony," she corrected him softly. Pepper half-smiled. "It's just that sometimes one of us is more equal than the other. It's how all good relationships work." She looked up at him in the low light. "You know, we've never even discussed babies before today. I knew children were something that were never going to be your highest priority and I don't know if I've ever really dealt with that before now. When a doctor comes in and tells you that you've halved your fertility chances, it just makes you stop and think about what it is you really want." Pepper looked up at him with serious eyes. Her voice was low and talking was obvious an effort, but she seemed determined to say what she needed to say. "I know you want me to be happy, Tony, and I know, if I said I wanted to have a baby, you'd probably go along with the idea, but I want you to know, I'd never do that to you or to an innocent child. Babies should be brought into this world by two people who want them more than anything else. I know that often doesn't happen these days, but it's still how things should be. Maybe this accident is a sign, an answer to a question I hadn't been brave enough to ask yet."

Tony looked at her with concern. "What are you saying?"

Pepper spoke with quiet sadness. "I'm saying that I don't think a child between us would be a good idea, and maybe this is the universe's way of signing off on that."

Tony sat back and looked at her with shock. Like Pepper, he hadn't given any thought to them having children before the last couple of days but her talking this way upset him in a way he hadn't expected. "Are you crazy?" he gasped.

Pepper's eyes went wide. "Excuse me?"

Tony couldn't help himself. "A baby between us, can you imagine how amazing that kid would be? It'd be a crime to rob the world of that kind of awesomeness."

Pepper was looking at him like he'd gone crazy. "Just this morning the thought of me being pregnant had you becoming mentally unhinged," she reminded him. "You were like a wolf trying to gnaw his own foot off to get out of a trap."

"No, I wasn't," said Tony indignantly. "I may have had a moment or two of quiet reflection on the matter-"

Pepper arched a disbelieving eyebrow at him.

"Alright," he relented, "maybe that quiet reflection lasted longer than a moment or two and involved me temporarily losing control of my bodily functions, but the point is, what I'm trying to say here is-" Tony hesitated, a little overcome with how emotional he was feeling about the subject.

Pepper put her hand on his leg. "It's alright, Tony, you're off the hook. I told you, I don't want to have a baby. You don't have to tip toe around the subject. I'm fine about my decision."

"Well, I'm not," said Tony emotionally.

"I saw the look of relief on your face when I told you I wasn't pregnant, Tony."

"The relief was from knowing you weren't pregnant with Lewis' baby," said Tony quickly. "Again, really, really sorry about that mix up."

Pepper was looking upset. "You can't sit there and look me in the eye and tell me you wanted a baby, Tony. I know you, that wasn't something you were planning on having in your life."

Tony did as she asked and looked Pepper squarely in the eye. "Alright, I hadn't thought about it before then, I'll admit. I'll also admit that it took me a moment to get some traction on the idea."

"Your version of traction involved punching an innocent man," Pepper said in exasperation. "You were really scared at the thought of having a baby, just admit it."

"Of course I was scared," said Tony without hesitation. "I don't know how anyone couldn't be terrified of being responsible for another human being so completely." He paused and tried to sort through his emotions. "But when you told me you weren't pregnant, after the shock wore off over the whole thing and I got you to forgive me, I don't know, I guess I had this moment of loss."

"Loss?" she repeated softly. "Tony, there was no baby."

He gave her an uneven smile. "I know, but in my head there was and in between the moments of unbridled panic, I got to imagining what our baby would be like." He gave her a teasing look. "My looks, obviously because-" he pointed to his face, "hey, you know." Pepper actually smiled at that, which made Tony ridiculously happy. "And your brains, for reasons even more obvious." He leaned in and stroked her face. "It'd be a killer combination."

Pepper looked sad again. "Tony, you don't have to say all this. I-I just don't think I was meant to be a mother."

"Pepper," said Tony in disbelief, "if there was anyone in this world who was meant to be a mother, it's you. Your mothering abilities are the sole reason I'm still alive." He wrinkled his nose. "You're calm in a crisis, endlessly patient, you can deal with temper tantrums and think on your feet." Tony looked at her lovingly. "And you make people feel like safe and loved. Just what part of that doesn't sound like a natural mother to you?"

Pepper looked truly moved by his words, but she remained unconvinced. "Tony, this has been a big, emotional day," she said weakly. "You're going to wake up tomorrow and want to take all of this baby talk back. I know you. Babies aren't something that is going to fit into your world."

Tony closed his eyes as Pepper's words impacted on him, but not the way she was no doubt intending. He opened his eyes again and spoke from his heart. "Okay, here is the bottom line, Pepper, this is how it really is. When I thought you were pregnant with our baby I freaked out, totally. There were a lot of reasons but the biggest was that I didn't want things to change between us." Tony gave a dry, humourless laugh. "How's this for ironic? I'm a futurist. I make my living out of predicting change and making it happen. I boldly go into frontiers that don't even exist yet. My whole mission in life is to challenge and change the world around me. I look at the things in this world and see endless possibilities and I'm filled with ideas and drive to do the impossible. That's the Tony Stark who goes out into the world every day." His face clouded over. "But when it comes to the private man, everything is different. There is a reason why there has only been you, Happy and Rhodey in my life for the longest time. I don't like change. I want things around me to stay the same."

"I know," said Pepper softly. "You need something to hold onto while you reach for the stars. I've always known that."

Tony looked at her in surprise. "I only worked that out just now."

Pepper gave a smile. "For a genius you've always been quite dim, Tony Stark. Just as well you're so cute otherwise I don't know if I'd have hung around so long."

Tony knew she was only teasing him but it floored him how well she understood him when he barely understood himself. "I was scared a baby was going to change the dynamics between us, Pep. The only reason I am who I am is because we are who we are. I don't ever want to lose that and I know that makes me ridiculously selfish-"

"It makes you ridiculously human, Tony," she interrupted him gently. "And I happen to love that about you."

Tony's heart swelled to hear that. "My point is, I was wrong to think like that. I'm a guy who doesn't deal with the concepts of limits in my professional life, and yet in my private life, I'm closed down. I don't want to be like that. If I hadn't have let you into my life twelve years ago, I would have missed out on the best thing that ever happened to me."

Pepper put her hand on his chest and rubbed it. "Tony," she said softly.

"I want it all with you, Pepper," said Tony earnestly. "I want to wake up with you in my bed every day for the rest of our lives, I want us to get married and have kids and just do it all. I want every bit of life and love I can squeeze out of every day we have together until we're old and grey. I don't want to miss out on a single thing when it comes to you. All the loving, all the fights, all the laughter and tears. I'm greedy when it comes to you, Pepper, I want it all."

Pepper was openly crying now. "Oh, Tony," she breathed and then gave a watery smile. "Your eye didn't twitch when you said the M-word."

Tony realised she was right. He gave his own wobbly smile. "Hey, look at that. I accidentally grew up a little without realising it." Tony reached out a hand and brushed a pale red lock from Pepper's forehead. "Just please don't tell me babies are off the table, Pepper."

Pepper's chin shook a little. "It may not be so easy now, Tony."

"Hey," said Tony huskily, "since when have either one of us been about easy? Just tell me you're not ready to write me off as the father of your children just yet and we'll face everything else together."

"Oh, Tony," she said around a choked laugh, "I can't believe we're having this conversation." She blinked away fresh tears. "This is so crazy, neither one of us are ready for a baby."

"I'm not saying we have to start trying right away," said Tony intently, "I'm just saying that if I'm going to have children, I want you to be their mother and if you are going to have children, I'm sure as hell going to be their father." He pulled a face. "My heart couldn't take another you having another man's baby. I aged twenty years in the eight minutes I thought you and Lewis-" Tony couldn't even complete that sentence. He grimaced. "I mentioned I was really sorry about that, right?"

"I think I remember something in passing," said Pepper wryly. "Alright, Mr. Stark, I'll do you a deal. I'll only have your babies-"

"Yes!" said Tony triumphantly.

"If you give up this ridiculous talk about quitting Iron Man and the Avengers."

Tony's face fell. "But me being Iron Man is putting your life at risk every minute of the day. I can't keep on doing something I know is going to get you killed, Pepper. I won't."

Pepper rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You're so dramatic. I'm the head of a multi-national company, I've made my own enemies. There are no certainties in this life and whether you're Iron Man or not, one day I'm going to die."

Tony's face tightened. "Don't say that."

"You know it's true," said Pepper stubbornly. "We've all got a limited time on this earth. The important thing isn't how we die though, it's how we live. Tony, you've taken a lot from this life, but Iron Man is a way to give back and you need that."

"I need you more," Tony rasped. "Pepper, I've made my choice."

"No, you haven't." She sighed and suddenly looked very tired again. "Tony, there is this huge part of me that wants you to do what you're saying, to give up Iron Man and stop risking your life every five minutes."

"Then I'm going to do it," said Tony quickly. "End of discussion."

"But there is this even bigger part of me who knows that Iron Man is as necessary to Tony Stark as I am," she continued on determinedly. "Tony, people talk about making a real difference in this life but most don't have the resources and strength to do anything about it. You do and I don't want you to throw that all away. The world needs Iron Man and I'm not going to be the one who takes him away from them."

"Well, Tony Stark needs you and he isn't going to do anything to risk losing you," insisted Tony stubbornly.

"They're not mutually exclusive," Pepper reminded him. "And besides, Iron Man or not, Tony Stark is always going to have enemies. Don't you think having Iron Man in your back pocket is the best way to protect me?"

Tony's brow wrinkled, finding Pepper's logic hard to argue against.

Pepper stroked his face. "You know I'm right."

Tony's frown deepened. "I don't like this," he grumbled. "I need to do something."

"Then kiss me," Pepper said softly.

Tony covered her hand with his. "You really scared me today," he whispered brokenly.

"I know," she said regretfully. "I'm sorry."

Tony shook his head, knowing he was the one who was sorry. He bent down and captured her lips in a soft kiss, revelling in Pepper's sweet taste once again. "Don't ever leave me," he begged her, lips moving against hers.

"I wouldn't know how," she promised him before returning his kisses.

The gentle touch of Pepper's lips were cathartic to Tony, but deep down something still churned away inside of him but Tony didn't want to deal with that emotion right then. He just wanted to be near Pepper and not let her out of his sight.

"You still smell so bad," she whispered against his lips.

Tony broke the kiss and drew back, a contrite expression on his face.

Pepper reached up and took a hold of the front of his t-shirt, a little smile on her lips. "I didn't say stop."

"You should be resting," Tony protested but he let Pepper pull him back down anyway.

"I know," she sighed against his lips. Pepper sounded exhausted.

Tony rubbed his nose against hers. "Close your eyes, sweetheart. I'll be here when you wake up."

Pepper's eyes drooped close. "Promise?"

"Promise," he said huskily. Tony kissed her forehead and sat up straighter, watching Pepper as she drifted off to sleep, the pain medication finally taking its toll. Tony didn't let go of her hand as he watched her sleep, lost in his thoughts about how close he'd come to losing everything today. The thought was like a lead weight, pushing him down and Tony hung on tightly to Pepper's hand, determined never to let her go again.