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Chapter 6 – Morning Coffee
Rose dressed in her running clothes and walked down the hallway of the suite on the ship. The Doctor was pacing the floor with Samuel in his arms. Sam was chewing his fists and seemed as if he might start crying again at any minute. The recording of the game played on the telly.
She put her hands on her hips. "Baby, I don't feel right about this. I should stay."
He kissed Samuel's cheek. "He's fine. Probably teething. Go for a run. I'll stay here with him."
"Yeah, but-"
"Babies cry, Rose. This one is no different."
"You are sure?"
He rolled his eyes. "We. Are sure. Rose. Take some time for yourself. Don't worry about us."
Samuel whimpered.
Rose walked over and kissed Sam's head. "It's alright, little boy."
She smiled at the Doctor. "And if you can keep your clothes on, let's have a chat when I get back."
He smiled at her like a loon. "Oh, I make no promises."
She kissed his lips and walked out of the room. He watched her leave and mumbled, "Oh, those clothes. If she only knew what she was doing to me."
Samuel started to cry again.
The Doctor started walking again in front of the telly. "And not this again. Samuel. Tell Daddy what's wrong. Daddy can probably fix it."
Sam wasn't having it. He continued to cry.
"See, that doesn't even make sense, Samuel. Daddy is not in grass. We're on the ship. There isn't any grass up here. You are just….cross for no good reason."
Samuel covered his face and continued to cry.
"Well, you sort that out. Daddy is going to watch the football match and you can just cry."
Samuel screamed.
"Or, you can tell me what's wrong."
The door dinged.
"Friday, open the door. They can't hear me over this child's howling." He said as he pat Sam's back and continued to walk back and forth with him.
The door slid open and Pepper stepped in. She stopped and held out her hands, "I'm so sorry. I didn't wake him did I?"
Samuel stopped crying and looked at who had just came in the room.
The Doctor shook his head, "No. He's been up for a while. We are shouting for no good reason at all."
Pepper, wearing her clothes from the night before, walked over and held her hands out. "Would you like to come see me, Sam?"
Sam held his hands out to her and whimpered. Pepper took the baby in her arms and kissed his head.
The Doctor, completely exasperated, threw his hands up. "But, I am listening to you! You're just not making any sense. Ugh. Children. I need coffee. Pepper, want some coffee?"
Pepper laughed at him. "That's why I came over. Is Rose here?"
He walked to the kitchen and rubbed his face as he started a pot of coffee. "She just left for a run. Oh, it's been a long morning already."
Pepper smiled at Sam and whispered to him, "You are driving your poor father crazy. Your Uncle Tony didn't put you up to this, did he?"
Sam clapped his hands again and laughed.
The Doctor leaned on the cabinet and watched them. He smiled, "He really likes you."
Pepper kissed Sam's cheek. "He's so cute. Do you think he's hungry?"
He ran his hand through his hair, "He should be, after all of that screaming. Samuel, do you want something. Bottle? Cereal? Biscuit? New nappy? A babysitter?"
Sam laughed and clapped his hands.
The Doctor sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness for that. He wants a bottle and to lie down on his blanket on the floor. You are wearing out your father, young man."
"You can understand him?"
He nodded his head as he walked over to the food replicator. "Yeah. Everyone finds that odd. Even Rose."
He took the bottle and walked over to take Samuel from Pepper. He kissed his face. "But. It always helps to speak the same language, doesn't it?" He smiled proudly at the little boy and sat him down on the blanket. He handed him the bottle. "And can you manage that?"
Samuel grabbed the bottle and popped it in his mouth. He fell backwards on the blanket and slurped loudly. The Doctor bit his lip looking at him. "That's no good. That will make his ears hurt. Hand me that pillow, just there."
Pepper took a couple of steps to the sofa and picked up the pillow that lay there. She handed it to him and watched as he propped Samuel up on it. Samuel started to complain at being moved around. The Doctor held his finger out, "Ah! No. We're not crying anymore. You're making me mental. Children. Ugh! I'm too old for this!"
Samuel put the bottle back in his mouth and started slurping again. Pepper laughed at the Doctor's grumbling. He walked back into the kitchen and poured two cups of coffee. He handed one to Pepper as she sat across from him at the bar. She looked behind her at Samuel. He had turned his head to watch the match on the telly while he continued to slurp his bottle.
"Cream? Sugar?" The Doctor asked as he sat them both on the bar.
Pepper looked back at him, "I'll do it. Thanks." She fixed her coffee the way she liked it. "I can leave you if you are busy. I was really just looking for a cup of coffee. I don't know how to use anything up here."
He smiled at her. "It's alright. You're welcome to stay. I'd enjoy the company. Tony sleeping? Finally?"
"Finally. Yes. And I wanted to talk to you about that."
He sipped his coffee. "There's some stuff about that I probably shouldn't tell you."
She rose her eyebrows at him, "Oh no. You are going to tell me, John."
He smiled, "Sorry. Right. Never argue with a ginger. What was I thinking?"
"Tony and I….. well, he's probably told you everything about that….."
He smiled and nodded his head as he leaned on the cabinet. "Yep. And I'm worried my mate might be in over his head."
She smiled proudly. "As you should be."
He laughed, "What's the problem? Did he say something I need to pop him on the nose for? I could send my little brother."
"No. He…..well…..he's told you about when he was taken, hasn't he?"
He sat down his coffee and crossed his arms. "No. Not really. I've never asked him. I know that he doesn't like to talk about it. But, I've put together a few things. Plus, it happened in the other Dimension, where I came from. I knew about it there."
"You knew him there?"
"No." He glanced back at Samuel who was going to sleep. "We didn't know one another there."
She nodded her head. "You should probably know. He had gone to this…weapons demonstration…..over in the desert with Rhodes. He'd been several times before. He had military escort, there was no reason to think he wasn't safe."
"But, the convoy was attacked."
"Rhodey and him were not in the same car. I don't know why. Rhodey got away with four other soldiers. They took Tony and killed everyone else. They had him for three months. Rhodey had to get special permission from his Commanding Officer to continue the search. The Army had given up after the first two weeks."
"Does Tony know that?"
She shook her head. "I don't think he does. I've never told him. I'm not sure what Rhodey might have said. Rhodey was sent back to the States; three weeks after Tony went missing. He was not the sort of man you could tell 'no.' The Pentagon gave him very little support to continue the search, but he was determined. He said that Tony would have never given up on him. And he was right. Tony never would have."
"I see why he and Tony got along so well."
"They were more alike than either one of them would ever admit. Rhodes refused to give up, and I'm not sure how, but managed to get the help of a former Congressman from Texas, that you know."
The Doctor looked surprised, "Howie? He was involved in this?"
She smiled and nodded her head. "Howard Shepherd threatened to go to the press and make it known that Tony was being held against his will by terrorists in the desert and the State Department was sitting on its heels. Everyone knows Tony….well, about Tony. So, it would have been a media bloodbath for several career politicians. I don't know if you have ever seen President Shepherd in action, but-"
"Oh, I have. It's something….impressive. Wow. I had no idea about this."
She held her coffee in her hands. "Tony doesn't know about President Shepherd's involvement. That much I do know. He said it was simply, 'The right thing to do.' I'm not completely certain of all of the details, but I'll tell you what I know. Shepherd had several people from….this department with this extremely long name that I can't remember, come and meet with me. The Agent in charge, Phil Coulson, made me start to look at Tony's business partner a bit closer than I had before. He seemed to accept that we had lost Tony so quickly. When Rhodey asked for his support, he refused. He told him it was just too dangerous of a place and we should just let him go. It just seemed all too convenient with the stocks being at the highest they had ever been at."
The Doctor sipped his coffee.
"Meanwhile, there was a helicopter in the middle of the night that took Rhodey back. He was so frustrated because he had been here, well, in the States for a week. Well, five days. He was so certain he would have been able to find him had he been able to be there during that time, instead of fighting with people in Washington. I'll never forget it. I came to the base when he left. He told me simply that he was going to go back. He promised me that the next time we saw one another, he would have Tony. He stepped on the helicopter and then….two months later….he called me to say that he had found him."
"How bad was he hurt?"
"Well, you know about his chest. His heart. He had a terrible infection. He had to have stitches under his arm from his back to his chest. I'm not sure from what. He coughed a lot when he came back, which made everything hurt. He ended up with pneumonia."
"Damn. Sounds like it was worse here than the other Dimension."
"He had….burns….across his back and on his arms. Down the back of his legs. He never explained that. He's never said anything about it, and he doesn't have to. I know he doesn't want to talk about it."
He nodded his head, "I remember seeing the scarring from that. What happened after Rhodey found him?"
"He took him back to the base. He fought being unconscious and being cared for by the medical doctors there for several days. Rhodey called and kept me updated. I wanted to join him, but Rhodey told me it wasn't safe. They took him to the base in….New Germany. The thing in this chest had to be kept secret. Some idiots tried to remove it and it nearly killed him. He doesn't know anything about that at all. But, Rhodey refused to leave him after that. Shepherd told him to stay put and was officially put as Tony's security."
"This is remarkable. And Tony doesn't know it was Shepherd?"
She shook her head. "No. Not unless Rhodey has told him. I haven't brought it up with him because I know it's just…."
"Something he doesn't like to talk about. Right. So, then Tony came back to the states."
"Just as he promised me, Rhodey brought him back. He got into the car and I'll never forget it. He asked for me to call a press conference and he wanted an American cheeseburger."
He smiled, "A cheeseburger. What happened at the press conference?"
"I didn't call a press conference. I told him no. We got him a bagful of cheeseburgers, and took him home. Rhodey stayed with us several weeks afterwards. He was on some pain medication that knocked him out. He was very weak. He tried not to show it, and wanted to convince us all that he was fine. I wasn't there, but he managed to bruise some ribs at some point. Rhodey told me he had lost his footing and fell down the stairs. This was in Malibu. So, Rhodey and I tried to keep him….in one place. When he would walk up any stairs, one of us would try to help him. He hated that. I felt so bad for him. I remember, he went downstairs to the shop. He took the pain pill and Rhodey found him asleep in that Roadster he has there. Right across the back seat with his legs hanging over the side. I just tossed a blanket over him and let him be."
He nodded his head.
"Then we found out, that his business partner had been the one behind the attack. He had wanted them to kill Tony. But, they had refused….knowing who he was."
He sipped his coffee and nodded his head. "Right. He was more valuable to them, alive to make weapons. What happened to the business partner?"
"Well, officially…a car accident. The real story, he made a suit, like Tony's, and attacked him. Tony had me overload the arc reactor there at Stark Industries, and it blew up the roof. He was electrocuted in the suit. I don't know how Tony wasn't. He was right there, too. I was sure I had lost him."
The Doctor glanced back at Samuel. The bottle had fallen out of his mouth and he was sleeping on the floor.
"The news asked for a press conference about it, but I refused. We just issued a statement. Press conferences are so…uncontrollable. And when you are dealing with someone like Tony, you have to hold the reins very tightly."
He smiled at her. "Indeed. Very good idea to do it that way."
She sipped her coffee. "Can you imagine?"
He smiled at her, "One day I'll tell you a story. You would find it interesting. I didn't realize you knew about the suits then though."
"Tony made them while he was recovering. It kept him busy, and in one place so we didn't have to worry about him taking another tumble down the steps. After the incident, he told me he had stopped. Rhodey had to come help me get him home, and out of that suit that night. I couldn't even be in the shop with him. He was unconscious and I just knew he wouldn't make it. I kept waiting for Rhodey to come upstairs and tell me that we had lost him. For weeks, months after that, I would find myself looking in on him when he slept."
He smiled, "Those two hours a day?"
She smiled, "I've never met anyone who sleeps less than he does. He just…. Goes. He told me that he has been taking something though."
He crossed his arms and groaned, "All-Nighters. That explains that. I'm going to take them from him. Damn it. You can survive longer without food, than you can without sleep."
"Really?"
He nodded, "Oh yes. Six days is a human's limit. Around that. Everyone is different. Rose's is probably…two days."
Pepper smiled, "Mine is probably that. I have to sleep."
"Women need more sleep than men. And that's not…being…like that. It's true. They think more, and have a harder time turning off their minds when they sleep. So, REM sleep takes longer for them to reach."
"Really? John, that's interesting. How much do you sleep?"
"Well, before I came here, I really didn't sleep. Tony sleeps more than I did. But, I find I have to sleep now. It's….annoying."
She laughed at him. "You sound like Tony. 'I have stuff to do. Who has time to sleep?' That's what he says."
He laughed, "Exactly."
He refilled their coffees. "Speaking of sleep, how did you sleep? Ship and everything?"
She smiled, "I really haven't slept well since the guy got in our apartment in New York. Timon was amazing though. He stayed in the apartment with me, watching some soccer game. I was worried someone else would get in. Does he sleep?"
He shook his head, "No. Quauhtin don't sleep. Well, maybe an hour for the entire week, but never when they are on duty alone. It's been a problem with Lewis. He needs to sleep, but refuses."
She smiled, "I slept…really well, up here on the ship. It's odd being up before Tony, but…he was exhausted. I woke up, couldn't figure out the shower and I was worried I would break it."
He chuckled, "It's different. Yeah."
She smiled, "So, I managed to brush my teeth and change."
He looked confused, "Where did you get a toothbrush?"
She sipped her coffee and smiled, "You don't know this about Tony?"
"Apparently not."
"He never uses the same toothbrush twice. He's….weird. I buy them by the hundreds. He has handfuls of them in his bathroom up here, and at home. It's…a sickness. He's so strange."
He laughed, "I didn't know that."
She laughed, "Yeah, I never have to worry about not having a toothbrush around Tony."
"I need to get him on the toothbrushes I use. It has the toothpaste in the bristles. All different flavors. I'll get some next time we're out."
"Buy a million of them for him. I'm serious."
He laughed and nodded his head. "I'll take care of it."
She sipped her coffee. "I figure I'll find Timon later and ask him to take me back to New York. If he sleeps a while. He needs to sleep."
"I can ask Legate to take you back down. But, you haven't really talked to me about what you needed to say."
"Can you read my mind or something?"
He smiled at her, "No. Not unless I'm touching you. And it's not something I do without permission. I find it….similar to assault. It's a forbidden thing to do, where I'm from."
She nodded her head. "That makes sense. John. I'm sorry. I feel embarrassed asking you about this."
He smiled at her. "It's alright. I'm not offended."
She sighed and sipped her coffee. "I don't know where to start."
"Then I will. Tony has PTSD. He doesn't sleep with you because he's frightened he will hurt you while he is sleeping."
"Would he do that?"
He nodded his head, "Oh, it's possible. Rose has broken my arm."
"Rose has PTSD? Well, I suppose she would. I forgot about that."
He bit his lip and nodded, "Yeah. Well, it's not as bad as it was. She's doing better."
"Why? Did you treat her with….some…"
He smiled, "Some strange, alien, space medicine? That's what you want to ask, isn't it?"
She sat down her coffee and shook her head. "John. I'm sorry. It's just…"
He pointed at himself. "I'm not from here. It's okay. You know. I'm not ashamed of it or offended. You should hear some of the stuff Tony says about me and the guys."
She relaxed and laughed, "Oh, I can imagine."
He put some more sugar in his coffee, "Friday, dim the lights over in the sitting room."
The lights dimmed as Samuel rubbed his face and continued to sleep.
Pepper looked back at him, "When did he go to sleep?"
"Let's just be grateful he did. So, Tony. He said he went to a doctor. He didn't seem to think much of them."
"Last night, he woke himself up screaming. He tore his shirt and was covered in sweat. He says going to the doctor is no use. The medicine they gave him, doesn't help. He's decided he's just going to stop sleeping. Granted, this was all said last night."
He nodded his head, "Right. I understand. Well, he has to sleep. I'll get those damn All Nighters from him. That's the first thing."
She shook her head as she sipped her coffee, "I can get them from him. I'll handle that. John. Can you help him?"
He smiled warmly at her. "I knew this took a lot to talk to me about this, Pepper. I've never said no when someone has asked me for help. I'll do whatever I can. And know you can talk to me when he's being an idiot or whatever."
She relaxed and smiled, "You might regret that offer. He's an idiot rather frequently."
The Doctor chuckled, "Put me on speed dial, then."
"Thank you, John. Really."
He smiled at her and sipped his coffee. "I'm glad to help. He doesn't have to know we've spoken about this. I imagine it would embarrass him."
She nodded, "It would. Thank you, John."
He poured her some more coffee. "Want some breakfast?"
She shook her head. "No, thanks. Coffee is good."
The door slid open and Lewis walked in with Legate.
The Doctor sat up on the cabinet and pointed at them, "Apparently, knocking is a human custom. Good morning, gentlemen."
Pepper laughed at his remark.
Legate walked over to the kitchen, "And good morning, here." He bowed his head to Pepper. "Ma'am. Interest you in some breakfast?"
Pepper smiled, "I'm fine, thank you."
The Doctor, seeing Legate's huge smile asked, "What are you so damn happy about, Legate?"
Legate poured himself some coffee, "I got in a training with Lewis!"
The Doctor looked at Lewis in surprise, "Training? You?"
Lewis, wearing a pair of jeans and an oxford, smiled, "Yep. It's true. He did good, too. Almost won." Lewis stepped over and looked at Samuel lying on the floor. He smiled and took his bottle from him and walked over to the kitchen where they sat.
Legate nodded his head and danced from the excitement he felt. "Lewis is back. Oh yes! We shouldn't tell everyone. See if we can win some money on this."
Lewis sat at the bar next to Pepper and sat the bottle in front of him. "Good morning, Miss Pepper. How did you enjoy sleeping on the ship?"
She smiled, "It was nothing at all what I would have expected."
Legate handed Lewis a cup of coffee. He thanked him and looked back at Pepper. "Excuse me, Pepper. But, I wanted to tell you. A Quauhtin Warrior is bound to protect the family they serve. But, there are limitations to that. For example, if Jackie Tyler came in here and needed to smack John around for some reason, I would have to allow that."
The Doctor pointed at Lewis, "I still don't think that's right."
Lewis laughed at him.
Pepper looked confused, "What are you getting at?"
"You and Tony are in the area of grey when it comes to that. We protect you, but you aren't really one of the Primaries. If he does something that merits a smack or something stronger. Know that you can ask me, or Legate, or any of the guys, and we'd be happy to break a leg if needed."
She laughed and covered her mouth. "I don't even know what to say about that. Thank you, I suppose."
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Is this a custom here? Howie threatened me with Marines when he met me."
Pepper laughed, "Howie has threatened Tony with Marines, too. Thank you, Lewis."
Lewis smiled, "Tony's alright. I shouldn't have to break his leg. But, it would be my pleasure if you feel it is necessary. Just say the word."
Pepper sat back and pointed at Lewis, "Is he serious, John?"
The Doctor nodded his head, "Oh, he is. Lewis. Stop threatening the mortals."
Legate continued to dance from his excitement, "Oh, I can't wait to see Tony and Lewis spar. My money, is on Lewis."
Pepper smiled at them. "Speaking of money, how did you guys do at the card game last night?"
Lewis and Legate groaned loudly.
The Doctor's face spread into a huge smile. "Oh yes. We need to do that again, boys. Very soon."
The door slid open and Tony Stark walked into the room rubbing his head, "John? You have coffee?"
Legate poured him a cup. "Coming up."
The Doctor shook his head, "Apparently, not a human custom. Huh."
Pepper sipped her coffee and laughed quietly at his remark.
Tony sat next to Pepper at the bar and thanked Legate as he sat the cup in front of him. He put some sugar in it and looked back at Pepper.
She smiled at him, "How did you sleep?"
He nodded his head. "Better than I have in a long time. Thank you."
She continued to look at him and they both smiled at one another.
Lewis pointed back at Samuel sleeping on the floor. "My Arles is doing the same thing."
The Doctor groaned, "That little guy started screaming one hour and 43 minutes ago. He's only been asleep for, 14 minutes and 14 seconds."
Pepper laughed, "I've heard Tony talk about it, but I've never heard you do that until now."
He rolled his eyes. "Sorry."
Tony waved his hand in a circle. "Round it, John. He started screaming almost two hours ago. He's only been asleep for about 15 minutes."
He nodded, "Right."
Tony sipped his coffee and made a face of disgust. He picked up the creamer and shook it to find it empty. He sighed and sipped his coffee again. As he did, he spotted the bottle sitting in front of Lewis. He picked it up, took off the lid, and poured the milk into his coffee. The men watched what he was doing and Pepper covered her mouth and laughed silently.
Legate pointed at Tony. "John. Isn't that-"
The Doctor quickly covered Legate's mouth and said something in Quauhtin.
Lewis looked over at Tony and watched, with the rest of them, as Tony sipped the coffee. Finally satisfied with his drink, he nodded his head. He hadn't noticed the rest of them looking at him. He asked, "What's Sam screaming about? Was he playing cards last night, too?"
Legate cleared his throat to keep from laughing, "Be glad you left when you did, mate."
"Lance hand you guys your asses?"
Lewis groaned, "He's on my list. He has taught Rose how he plays. She was the one who handed us our asses. I couldn't believe it. I can't remember ever losing so much money."
The Doctor laughed and shook his head. Unseen by Tony, Pepper looked up at him. He put his finger over his lips to ask her not to say anything and let him continue to drink his coffee with the milk from the baby bottle in it.
Lewis looked at the Doctor, "What the hell are you laughing about John? You lost more money than anyone else."
He bit his lip. "How can I put this guys? Rose felt badly about it."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Shit."
The Doctor laughed silently as he sipped his coffee. "Worth every penny."
Tony groaned, "Man. Keep that shit to yourself. I don't need to know how many times you and the misses bumped uglies yesterday-"
Legate held his hand up, "I do. We have a bet."
The Doctor looked surprised, "You do? About that?"
Legate smiled, "Just tell me the number. We all have money on it. I don't want any more details."
The Doctor looked surprised back at Lewis. "Is he serious?"
"I'm not telling you my number, but I have money on that. Yeah."
The Doctor shook his head. "There is a lady present. This isn't appropriate conversation-"
Pepper pointed at Tony, "I live with him! Do you think this isn't something I haven't heard before, John?"
Tony continued to drink his coffee. "I've changed my position on this. I want in on this bet. Lewis, come here." Lewis leaned behind Pepper's stool and Tony whispered something in his ear. Lewis nodded and shook his hand.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "You lot are serious?"
"As a heart attack. Tell us." Tony insisted as he refilled his coffee, again using the milk from the bottle as his cream.
The Doctor sat his coffee down and thought. "Let me check with Rose." He chuckled after a bit, "She says you guys need a hobby."
Legate laughed, "This is more fun."
Pepper looked back at Tony and laughed, "They seriously do bet on everything, don't they?"
"Everything. It's contagious, too. How many, John?"
The Doctor looked confused as he rubbed his chin, "Well that's odd. We have different numbers. I said 8 and she says 10."
Tony smiled, "Maybe she's rounding."
Legate poured himself some more coffee, "Maybe she's bad at maths."
Lewis laughed, "Maybe you're doing it wrong and need to take that class, mate." He looked at Tony. "John needs a book, Stark."
Tony held his hand out, "We bought him movies. He needs to study."
Pepper laughed at them. "You guys."
The Doctor shook his head and laughed as he thought, "Hang on. No. She's right. It is 10. I forgot about the yacht and the shower."
Lewis smacked the counter. "Damn it. Lance won again. How does he do this?"
Tony groaned as he sat down his coffee, "You are a disappointment to your entire….alien race….Time Lord. Hand me your phone."
"My phone?" he asked as he reached in his pocket and tossed it to him. Tony stood up and dialed a number as he walked down the hall.
Pepper looked impressed. "Lucky girl."
The Doctor rose his eyebrows at her and grinned.
Legate poured himself some more coffee.
"That's not counting last night, after the cards, right?"
Lewis rolled his eyes. "Oh shut up, man."
Pepper looked down the hall at Tony who dialed a number on the Doctor's phone. "What is he doing?"
The Doctor shook his head. "I have no idea."
Tony laughed, "Hey! Listen, its Tony. John and Logan's friend. Logan suggested I call you. I hope that's alright." He turned and walked down the hall, they watched as he laughed and shut the door to the Doctor and Rose's bedroom. "Yeah, that Tony."
Lewis pointed down the hall. "Who's he on with?"
The Doctor shook his head. "I really don't know."
Pepper sipped the last of her coffee and started to get up. Legate stopped her and took her cup. "I've got it, Pepper."
She sat down and smiled, "Thank you, Legate. Did your father enjoy seeing his old ship?"
Legate nodded his head and smiled, "He's never been happier. He's still down there this morning. John, I think it's fair to say Poltious is going to be rather worthless for a few days."
Lewis laughed, "Ah. Let him be. A holiday is a good thing. I'm back on duty today."
Legate looked confused, "Quauhtin are never off duty, Lewis. You drilled that in my head before I could walk."
Lewis nodded, "They are when the Primary demands it so. Luce checked. As it turns out, she has the right."
The Doctor looked surprised, "Really?"
He nodded his head. "Makes sense. I was surprised as you, though. How did she know?"
"I wonder if she did." Legate asked.
The Doctor smiled, "Knowing Rose, she just did it. She's used to being in charge at Torchwood. That sounds like something she would have told someone there."
Tony walked back down the hall with a spring in his step. He tossed the Doctor his phone, "And thank you." He sat back down next to Pepper.
She smiled at him, "What are you up to?"
He sipped his coffee, "Drinking coffee."
"Mysterious phone calls on John's phone?"
He shook his head and smiled, "I have no idea what you are talking about."
She rose her eyebrows at him.
He laughed at her annoyance.
The Doctor threw his hand up, "I'm still not over this bet. Rose wants to know, too. What numbers did you guys have?"
Legate pointed at himself, "I said 6. Lewis had 4."
"Four?" he asked, "I'm insulted."
Lewis shook his head. "I was drinking. Forgot who I was talking about."
The Doctor pointed at Tony. "Your number, mate?"
Tony smiled, "I said 16."
The Doctor got off of the counter, smiled proudly, and shook Tony's hand. "See. Why we're friends. Cheers."
Tony shook his hand. "Yeah. See. I've got your back."
Pepper rolled her eyes.
Tony finished his coffee and sat it on the bar. "That's really good. What sort of milk does Sam drink? It tastes….."
The Doctor smiled, "Taste it by itself and tell me."
Tony took the bottle, removed the lid and drank the milk. "It's odd. It's like…. Cantaloupe. Cantaloupe milk." He looked back at Pepper. "Is that a thing?"
The Doctor shrugged his shoulders, "I don't think so. I think it tastes like….ice cream. Not as sweet-"
Tony sipped it again. "Oh, it's sweet. That's the reason I said cantaloupe. It's….odd though. Here, Pepper. Try this."
Pepper shook her head and tried hard not to laugh, "No, thank you. I'm fine with my coffee."
Tony turned to his other side, "Lewis. Try this and tell me what you think."
Lewis sipped his coffee, "I don't drink Rose's breast milk."
Tony coughed as the Doctor and Legate began to laugh at him.
"This is breast milk? But, it's from the computer."
The Doctor smiled, "Rose copied her milk before she stopped breastfeeding Sam."
Tony sat up and rubbed his face in surprise. "Well."
Pepper put her hand on his back and laughed, "Sweet, huh?"
He nodded his head. "Yeah. Huh. I wasn't expecting that."
The men continued to laugh at him.
He turned to Pepper and smiled, "I might need to ask you to burp me."
Pepper rolled her eyes and laughed at him. "You are ridiculous. I can't believe you didn't know that was what that was."
The Doctor pointed at Legate. "Legate, could you take Pepper back to New York? Timon and Mortimer are there and everything is clear."
Legate smiled, "I'd be happy to."
Tony pointed at himself. "I could do that-"
The Doctor shook his head. "No. I need you to stay a minute. We need to talk about Velt. It shouldn't take long."
Tony nodded and turned to Pepper. "Is that alright?"
She smiled, "Yes. Of course. I'm ready to go back and take a shower. How long will you be?"
"Not long. I'll walk you to the transporter. Legate, come when you are ready."
She turned to the men. "Thank you, John. Lewis. Legate."
Tony walked with Pepper out into the hallway. As soon as the door slid shut behind them, he took her hand in his and kissed it. "This is alright?"
She smiled at him. "It's fine."
He held her hand as they walked to the transporter room together. "Are the banks open today, Pepper?"
She nodded her head. "Yeah. It's Friday."
"Are you busy?"
"Not really. I had left it open. Remember, I had planned for you to get home last night."
He smiled and nodded his head. "That's right. Yeah."
They stopped walking and looked at one another.
"What do you need at a bank?" she asked him.
"I wanted to ask you if you could do something with me today. It will probably take several hours. We'll take a break and have lunch together or something. What do you think?"
She smiled, "Visiting a bank and then lunch?"
He nodded, "Close enough. Yes."
She smiled at him. "I'll call Natasha and tell her I'm not coming in today."
He smiled as Legate walked behind them and pat Tony's shoulder, "Take your time, Pepper." He disappeared into the transporter room.
She looked back at Tony. "That was fun last night."
He pointed at her. "You, were amazing. I believe I can do better."
She sighed, "Tony-"
"I'd like to show you first hand. Maybe….another time? Soon? Tonight?"
She smiled at him, then looked back at the transporter room. She leaned and whispered something in Tony's ear that made his mouth drop open in shock. By the time she stood up where she could see his face, he had recovered. "Yes." He cleared his throat. "Square deal. That's our plan. Yes."
She laughed at his reaction and walked into the transporter room.
He ran his hand through his hair and exhaled slowly. He whispered, "Oh, yes. This is….awesome. This can work."
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