XxxxxxXxxxxxxXxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 25 - Rain

Back on the island, Genie and Tony Tyler played in the swimming pool. Pete sat under an umbrella drinking a beer and wearing sunglasses. Lewis sat next to him smiling. "Man, it is nice not to have to go to Torchwood today."

Pete held up his finger. "Let's hope it stays that way, Director."

"I haven't agreed to that yet-"

"Close enough. Be glad you aren't in the middle of this stuff in Washington. Oh, that's a mess. Where did John go?"

Lewis shook his head. "Something about an emerg-"

The Doctor's scream interrupted Lewis' sentence. He ran and jumped into the water, splashing everyone around the pool. When his head popped up above the water, he saw a wet Pete and Lewis glaring at him.

"Really, son?" Pete asked.

Lewis laughed and sat back in his seat.

He felt her presence and smiled at her as Rose walked towards them. She was holding Samuel in her arms and smiling. "What are you so happy about?"

He threw his head back and laughed, "I'm so sorry, Sweetheart. I can't tell you...and it's taking everything in me not to."

She shook her head and laughed. He swam to the side of the pool and got out to stand in front of her. "Take off all of Sam's clothes. I know how to make him like this."

She lay Samuel down and took off his clothes while the Doctor stood with his hands on his hips.

"Daddy! You splashed more water out of the pool than Jack does!" Genie complained.

He laughed proudly. "Yes. And just for that, I'll do it again!" He took a few steps back to get a running start, then jumped into the pool again.

Water went everywhere. Rose had to move to narrowly miss getting struck by the wave. Pete and Lewis got the worst of it again.

"John!" Lewis shouted.

Genie climbed out of the pool laughing hysterically. "That was brilliant."

Pete pointed at her, "You. Are a rat. He doesn't need encouragement."

She giggled at him.

Rose laughed, "I wish I knew what he is so happy about. It's a nice change. He's been so worried and withdrew the past few days."

Pete nodded, "He has a good reason. Try not to be too hard on him."

He swam back over to the side and leaned on the edge. "Take off his nappy, too."

She raised her eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Hand him to me. It's fine."

"Sunscreen-"

"Rose. He's fine. Just hand him to me."

Rose took off Sam's nappy and handed him to his Daddy. "And here we are. See, it's like a big bath."

Samuel put his hand in the water as he Daddy held him. "Mum. Mum. Mum. Mum."

"Yes. It does feel good. I'd like to take off my swimming trunks, too. But Mum Mum wouldn't like that."

Rose put her hands on her hips and smiled at him. "Mum Mum can hear you."

"So can Papa and Grandfather." Lewis insisted. "Yes, Daddy. Please keep on the trunks."

Pete laughed and mumbled, "Oh good God."

Jack, wearing a pair of sunglasses, nice trousers and a blue oxford, stepped out on the pool deck. "Rose." he called.

Meeting up with Rose, he smiled and quickly kissed her cheek in greeting. He turned and threw his hand up. "Hey, guys."

Pete drank the rest of his beer. "Hey Jack. What are you so dressed up for?"

Jack cleared his throat, "I'm going to see Jake. What do you think, Rose? Yeah?" He looked at his clothing, clearly seeking her approval.

She shook her head. "Let's go see what else you have."

Lewis pointed up at him. "Go see if I have something. You're welcome to whatever. We're about the same size."

Jack nodded, "Thanks. Alright." Jack put his arm around Rose's shoulder. "I might need a pep talk, too. I've nearly talked myself out of this again."

"It's been a week-"

"It's been 300 years!" Jack insisted.

"Right. I'm sorry. I haven't thought about it like that."

Jack pointed at himself. "I'm not his...Jack. But…maybe…"

Rose took his hand. "I could go with you-"

Lewis pointed at her, "Someone needs to go with you -"

"I know that. Find someone then."

Jack shook his head. "Nah. It will be easier to do this on my own. But, thank you, Rose."

"It will be alright. Come then."

They walked together into the house.

Lewis clapped his hands. "Children. Genie and Tony. Lance is in the house and says he has ice cream for the pair of you. Get some towels and don't drip all over the place. Soli is on his way now."

Genie and Tony looked at one another and said at the same time, "Yeah!" They grabbed towels and ran into the house with Rose and Jack.

The Doctor kissed Samuel and got deeper in the water. Samuel slapped the water with his hand and laughed.

Lewis looked back to make sure Rose wasn't where she could hear them. "So. Fill me in about this problem in Washington. Bad Wolf problem sorted?"

The Doctor nodded, "For the moment. But, I haven't talked to Rose about it."

Pete rubbed his lips, "So far, we've managed to convince everyone its exposure to a chemical weapon."

Lewis shook his head. "Well, that's going to cause problems for Tony."

"No. Not really. Thanks to John, it's going to help him." Pete insisted.

"Why?"

Pete smiled, "He doesn't make chemical weapons. But, now that there is this scare. He has plans for a weapon that will deploy something that will capture the chemical, make it safe, and release it into the atmosphere."

Lewis rubbed his eyes. "Oh, that sounds like something that already-" He looked back at the Doctor in surprise. "You didn't."

The Doctor smiled, "I did. Supply. Demand. Besides, I seem to remember he ends up working out something like that anyway."

Lewis groaned and shook his head. "I'm not getting involved in this. I already know too much."

The Doctor put Sam on his chest and floated on his back. "And this guy is getting a bit of color on his cheeks."

Samuel laughed loudly.

Pete smiled at the scene. "I have a towel when he's ready to come out."

The Doctor smiled at his son, "Samuel and Da Da are swimming. Can you say, 'Da Da'?"

"Mum! Mum! Mum! Mum!"

Pete laughed, "That's how Tony was, too. 'Mum. Mum. Mum.' I thought it was because he was too frightened to say anything else first."

Lewis and the Doctor laughed.

The Doctor asked Lewis. "What's going on with Lance and this girl?"

Lance took the towel from Pete and took Samuel out of the pool. He wrapped him in the towel and sat down with him under the umbrella as he spoke. "He says there's nothing going on."

Pete rose his eyebrow, "Really? I haven't seen her, but I've heard she's beautiful."

"Stunning. Wow. Like…a…" Lewis tried to find the word. "I don't even know what."

The Doctor leaned on the side of the pool. "I talked to Jack about her. He said she's not a threat at all. But, wouldn't tell me anything more than that."

Pete groaned. "You know, what's the use of having this knowledge if we can't use it?"

"Somethings have to just happen. Trust me Pete. If you knew what was going to happen, you would hate it."

Pete looked surprised, "Do you know?"

He groaned and rubbed his face. "Some of it. A little. I sometimes get…..flashes of what will happen."

Pete held his hands out for Sam and held him. "Jack has only told me that I need to move Jacks and Tony to Greece. Just…abandon the mansion."

"What do you think about that?" Lewis asked.

"Well, it's nice to keep for the occasional grand party. Business odd thing. So, for that I'll probably keep it. Howie has wanted me to sell it for years. He believes I need a castle." Pete chuckled.

The Doctor laughed, "A castle? Does he have any idea how impractical that is?"

"It's an ongoing joke with us. Ask him about it at the dinner."

XxxxxXxxxxxx

Tony, The Doctor and Bruce Banner all sat at the bar of Tony's New York penthouse. The three men looked at a tablet with complex figures and read-outs. Four boxes of pizza had been delivered and sat on the bar, opened.

Bruce rubbed his chin. "This information is amazing. Thanks for bringing me over here to use your lab, Tony."

Tony walked around the bar, picked up a thermos and drank some dark liquid. "You're welcome anytime, man. Just...don't go green and trash the place."

Bruce chuckled, "I'll try my best, not to." He reached over and grabbed another piece of pizza.

The Doctor looked up at Tony. "What are you drinking? Chlorophyll?"

Tony nodded. "I'm stuck at 5%. What the hell is that about? Why did it go up?"

"Probably stress."

"Stress?" Tony looked at him in disbelief.

"Yes. I'm going with that. Based on the last week, I'm surprised it's not higher. What with all of these secrets you are keeping lately."

Tony smiled proudly, "Worth it. Totally."

The lift doors opened and Pepper walked in with Natasha, who carried a stack of paperwork. Tony took a look at the ladies, "Damn it, boys! Party's over. Who told them that we had pizza up here?"

Pepper grinned at his remark. "Pizza, does sound good."

He propped himself against the bar and crossed his legs, still drinking from the thermos. "Pepper brought Natasha. That means I have to sign something."

Natasha smiled, "It's all marked, Mr. Stark."

He groaned. The Doctor noticed that Pepper took a slice of pizza and kept her distance from Tony. "You've been out of town for weeks. It's piled up."

He shook his head and looked back at Bruce. "Welcome back to the real world. I'm going to need an ice pack after I sign all of that shit."

Pepper was used to his complaining. "There are three in the freezer. That's one for both hands and an extra for when I smack you in the head."

Bruce laughed under his breath.

The Doctor chuckled, "I'd stay out of arm's reach of her, mate. Otherwise, we're going to have to change the sign."

Tony nodded his head and smiled at her.

"What sign?" Pepper asked.

Tony smiled and pointed at a small dry erase board on the refrigerator door. "A gift from my pain in the ass friends, here."

Pepper looked at the sign that had, "Tony has been accident free for 8 days." She laughed, "So, we're not counting Soli popping you in the eye then?"

Tony groaned and dropped his head. "Damn it."

The Doctor smiled, "What? Soli did what?"

Pepper walked over to the sign and erased the number. Then she drew a zero in its place. "Soli punched him in the eye last night. He thought he was someone else, and was trying to protect me. He must have used a dermal regenerator on it this morning."

The Doctor looked back at Tony and laughed under his breath. "My little Quauthin."

Pepper turned back around, "See, now you have something to work towards."

Tony shook his head. "Damn it."

"Where is Soli?" She asked as she ate her pizza.

The Doctor didn't look up from the tablet. Something on it had all of his and Bruce's attention. "Soli is at my place. The nanny is tutoring the children for me. Soli is doing really great."

Tony nodded, "He is. I saw some stuff he had written last night. His letters are backwards-"

Pepper pointed at Tony threateningly. "And he's learning."

He crossed his arms. "What?"

"You told me to stop you-"

He ran his hand through his hair. "Right. Sorry. He's doing fine. Honestly, it's impressive. Anyway, Natasha, pizza?"

Bruce rubbed his hands together and got up to walk around the bar to wash his hands. "I think that fourth figure is the one we need to look at closer, John."

The Doctor picked up the tablet and nodded. "If that becomes a variable, this is going to become explosive."

Bruce took a towel and dried his hands. "Well, maybe it is." He looked beside of him and noticed Natasha. "Ugh."

Natasha had taken a slice of pizza and looked back at Bruce. "I think most people say 'hi'."

Tony walked back to stand next to the Doctor and look at the tablet. "Natasha, this is Bruce. Pepper, have you met Bruce?"

Pepper's eyes became huge, "THAT BRUCE?"

The Doctor chuckled, "She's heard of you, Bruce."

Bruce smiled, "I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's nice to meet you, Miss Potts. And..."

"Natasha." She helped.

He smiled, "Natasha."

The Doctor stopped looking at the tablet and became interested in the conversation. He propped his head on his chin and looked at them. "Natasha, there's drinks in the fridge."

"I'm alright. Thanks." She ate a slice of pizza.

The Doctor sat back and put his hand on Tony's back. "Oh! I'm sorry, I nearly forgot. That error, down in the shop."

Tony looked confused at him. "Error?"

"Yes. You asked me to remind you to mention it to Pepper-"

"OH! Yes! Right. Thanks, John." Tony jumped off of the stool and motioned for Pepper to follow him as he walked to the shop. "Miss Potts. Come here and take a look at this."

She wiped her mouth and looked confused back at Tony. "Okay." She followed him to the shop. He stopped and they walked together the last bit, him with his hand on her back.

The Doctor looked at Natasha. "Natasha. You're Pepper's..."

"Assistant." She replied without looking up from her pizza.

He nodded. "Natasha. Natasha what?"

She looked up at him. "You mean my last name?"

"Yes."

She went back to eating her pizza. "Rushman. Natasha Rushman."

He crossed his arms and nodded, "Rushman, huh? So, if I was to say to you... the Cyclops as fallen..."

Natasha's eyes got huge in surprise as she looked back up at the Doctor. "I would say, the rest of Greece waits for Odysseus. Until then, we remain."

He laughed. "I thought that was you. Brilliant!" Then he started to speak in Russian. "Explain to me, what is your assignment here?"

Natasha answered him in Russian. "I was sent to ensure that no more suits were made. There was some odd activity that has since stopped. Although, no one can explain the CEO or Pepper's absences. The bodyguard staff they have now keeps them airtight from everyone."

Bruce chuckled in surprise. "What is this? Russian?"

The Doctor smiled, "Do you speak Russian, Bruce?"

Bruce shook his head. "I don't. Wow. It's just not something you expect to hear in New York." He went back the bar stool and became engrossed in the tablet's information again.

Meanwhile, Tony and Pepper walked down the stairs to the stop. She shook her head. "I'm not sure I understand. An error? Down here?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Damnest thing."

He opened the door and Jarvis turned on the lights. Tony turned around and grabbed her quickly. His lips crashed into hers. She held him tightly and returned his kiss.

He moaned and rested his forehead to hers. "Do you have any idea, how hard it is-"

"No. Show me." She teased.

He smiled as he looked into her eyes. "You too?"

She closed her eyes and nodded, "Oh, yes."

He started to kiss her again. She walked him over to the sofa. He had already unzipped her skirt and slipped it off with her underwear. She unfastened his jeans and pushed them down as they continued to kiss one another. She pushed up his t-shirt that he wore and ran her fingernails down his back. He grabbed her bum and held it tightly.

She whispered to him. "Hang on."

He watched as she turned around and lay down on the arm of the sofa, causing her bum to go into the air. He rubbed his face. "So, from behind. Like this?"

He watched as she brought her hand down and started to tease herself. Overcome with how much he wanted her, he grabbed both of her hips and drove himself deep inside of her. She cried out. "Oh yes!"

He continued to pound himself into her, roughly. She heard him tell her, "You're mine. Just mine."

She pressed her face into a pillow that lay on the sofa as he continued. She was sure she heard him begin to growl and she felt herself become extremely wet. He continued, "Hide your face if you want, I'm going to make you scream where they can still hear you."

She panted, "Do it, then."

He growled and continued to pound inside of her. "So, Bossy. I love it."

She took a deep breath and shouted into the pillow. Her legs had became numb.

"Yes." He growled. "You feel so good. Oh God."

She shouted again and called his name. She heard him growl loudly behind her.

He took himself out of her, knelt down and licked between her legs. She tried to move away from him and he pulled her closer to his mouth. He sucked and licked her. She shouted loudly into the pillow again as she felt herself collapse.

She climbed onto the sofa and lay down on her back. She saw him stand up and rub his beard. "Oh, that's awesome." He pointed at her. "I'm not finished yet."

"Keep in mind that we have to walk out of here. One of us, with high heels."

He grinned. "Oh wow. I haven't thought of that. Are you….?"

She propped her head up on the pillow, "I'm alright. Just…gently now."

He smiled warmly at her as he lay down on top of her and started to kiss her lips. She put him back inside of her and he began to stroke slowly. He moaned. She whispered, "You are so loud."

"You are so tight. My God, it's fucking hot." He continued to kiss her, "This entire work thing...it's just getting in the way of me wanting to make love to you."

She giggled at him. "Who else do you trust enough to do this?"

He kissed her, "No one. But, think about it." He continued to stroke slowly inside of her.

"Oh, that's…"

"Okay?"

She closed her eyes tightly, "So, good."

He stopped stroking and looked in her eyes. "Do you need a break?"

She whispered. "I'm alright."

He caught her lips with his and kissed her again. "I've been giving something some thought."

She smiled, "I hesitate to ask."

He caressed her cheek, "I read someplace...somewhere before, 'I want to undress you. Touch you. Kiss you. Taste you. I want you hard and hot and deep and fast. And then I want you slow and sweet. I want you under me and on top of me and sitting and standing. I want to see your eyes when pleasure makes you light up. I want to hold you when you come down and try to find your breath. I want everything with you'."

She smiled at him, "Tony."

"I'm so sorry I scared you this morning."

"Tony. I'm alright. You haven't scared me away."

He smiled, "Good. So, what do you think?"

"About what?"

"About what I just said. Good wedding vows or what?" He teased.

She rolled her eyes. "I don't think wedding vows are supposed to beginning with wanting to undress someone."

"Depends on the someone. I always want to undress you." He caught her lips again and kissed her. She held him tightly and he began to stroke again. "The best lunch date, ever."

Meanwhile upstairs, The Doctor and Natasha had finished their conversation in Russian. Bruce couldn't help but be impressed. The Doctor walked over to the fridge to get another bottle of beer. He pointed at Natasha, "Good chat."

Bruce chuckled, "Sounded like it. Sounds like you might have put an end to the Cold War...again."

Natasha rolled her eyes and took another slice of pizza.

Lewis walked into the room with Soler, who was holding his hand over his eye. Lewis announced, "And we have an injury."

The Doctor rubbed his hands together, "Oh, let me see." He knelt down in front of the little boy, who wasn't crying, but was very quiet. The Doctor looked at it, picked him up and sat him on the top of the cabinet so he could get a better look.

Lewis stood beside of him, "The children were playing and he fell. His head just….scrapped across the sand."

The Doctor nodded, "Yes, this is really painful. Soli, it's alright to cry."

Soler sighed, "I don't think it would help, John."

Lewis smiled proudly at the little boy. "He's so strong. Very tough, young warrior."

The Doctor wet a towel and cleaned the sand off of the injury.

Lewis turned and smiled at Natasha and Bruce. "Bruce? Right?"

Bruce shook his hand. "Yes."

He smiled and pointed to himself. "Lewis."

Natasha smiled, "The famous Lewis. Pepper has mentioned you."

Lewis nodded, "Good things, I hope."

"I'm Natasha, her assistant."

He pointed at her, "Yes, I've heard of you. Yes. What have you heard about me?"

"That you are in charge of the bodyguards for everyone."

He nodded, "Yes. With John. We manage it together." Lewis helped himself to pizza while The Doctor looked over Soler.

Tony and Pepper walked back into the kitchen. Pepper carried her heels in her hands. Tony clapped his hands together. "And that's taken care of. Thanks for reminding me about that error, John. Pepper knew what it was immediately."

The Doctor nodded his head and smiled, "I'm glad."

Lewis pointed at Pepper's bare feet. "Feet hurt?"

Pepper smiled, "Yes. Heels-"

"Oh. Say no more. John refuses to let Rose even wear them."

Tony spotted Soler sitting on the cabinet. As soon as the little boy saw him, he began to cry. "Tony."

Tony quickly held him, "Shhh…..what's wrong?"

Lewis explained what had happened while he ate.

The Doctor added, "He might have some sand in his eye, but I didn't see any."

Tony looked at the side of the boy's head, "That's really scratched up. I know what this needs." He took something out of his pocket and put some cream on the side of Soler's head. The little boy stopped crying almost immediately. "There. I've been putting that on my eye all morning. I got into a fight with a short Quauhtin last night."

Soli looked up at Tony.

Tony held his arms out. "Need me, then? It's alright. You're alright."

Soli wrapped his arms around Tony's neck. Tony lifted him off of the cabinet and held him. "See, you're alright. It's okay."

Pepper walked over and rubbed his back, "Soli. Do you want a band-aid?"

"Do, we have any band-aids?" Tony asked her.

She opened a cabinet and groaned, "No. Jarvis. We need band-aids. Latex free ones with the next grocery order."

Jarvis replied, "Yes, Miss Potts."

Tony looked confused, "Latex-free?"

Pepper rolled her eyes. "They break me out. You know that."

Tony shook his head. "I didn't know that. You know, Pepper. You are a high maintenance woman."

Pepper smiled back at him, "Only during business hours, and I have a staff to attend to me."

Tony chuckled at her comment and sat Soli back on the cabinet. "Is it feeling better?"

Soli nodded his head. "I'm okay."

Tony looked at the boy's head again, "John, can you use that …..healing tool on him?"

"Not until it fully appears. I can bring it back later-"

Tony waved his hand, "Ah. He'll be alright. Soli. Do you want to go back to John's, or stay with me?"

Soli felt of his head, "It's bright there. I think I'll stay here. If that's alright-"

Tony nodded his head. "That's fine, man. Cool."

Natasha looked confused, "So, who is he?"

Tony and Pepper looked at one another and stumbled over words. "Ummm….he's….."

Tony finally decided, "He's a friend, who is staying with us. Soler, this is Natasha and Bruce."

Soler waved at them, "Hi."

They both waved back at him and smiled.

Natasha reminded Pepper, "Ms. Potts, you have a 2:00-"

"Ugh. Yeah. And that's blocked off for three hours. Who is it?"

Natasha shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure."

Pepper looked back at Tony. "Okay. Can you look at this? We need to go."

He helped Soli off of the cabinet and stood next to her at the bar, putting his hand on her back. "Right. Show me."

"Well, all of this. I know. Boring paperwork. But, it's all about the Expo, and SST and, well just everything."

"Have you read through all of this?"

"Yes. And everything makes sense, except this." She flipped to a place she had marked in the files and pointed.

Tony looked at it. "No. I'm not agreeing to that. Who is this?"

She closed the file and pointed. Tony groaned. "I think he does this just so I'll call. Damn it." Tony took out his phone and dialed a number. He signed the other paperwork as he waited for someone to pick up. After a bit, Tony spoke into the phone. "Mike. It's me. Pepper is going over this shit you sent over. I don't sign stuff with 'almost' and 'approximate' in it. Who did you have write this up? An idiot?"

The man apparently did.

"Well, have the idiot fix it and resend it. And I want a prototype...hang on..." He sat the phone down on the bar. He held the side of Pepper's head and cupped his mouth to whisper in her ear. "You are so sexy. When is the secret project that the freak can't know about?"

She smiled, "March 28."

As she answered, she could feel him run his tongue, slowly across the edge of her ear unseen in front of Bruce, Natasha and the Doctor. She closed her eyes and whispered, "Oh, my God."

He whispered in her ear, "Are you going to have to change those knickers before you return downstairs?"

She covered her face, "Oh, you have no idea."

He took his hands away from her face and laughed.

She took a deep breath and tapped the papers. "Finish this."

He picked back up the phone. "Mike. March 15th. I need it in London, so gas up at damn Zeppelin or whatever. She can't be late. Got it?"

The Doctor looked at Pepper. "Pepper. Just really quick, can I tell Rose…..ummm…what we were talking about this morning? Please?"

"No." She insisted.

He groaned and bounced his head on the top of the bar. "You have no idea how hard it is to keep a secret like that from my wife! Please! It's driving me mad."

"No." Pepper mouthed.

"She is going to get it out of me. She…..she…..has her ways. Pepper. Seriously, I can't even be around her at the moment because…I can't tell her without breaking my promise to you. Reconsider this."

Pepper grinned at him. "Just Rose?"

"Yes. Just Rose. I promise. No one else."

She sighed, "Alright. Just Rose." She pointed forcefully at him, "I'm serious, John! I'll break your damn neck."

He smiled, "I have a rather strong neck."

She pointed forcefully at him again. "I'll have Lewis to do it."

Lewis laughed, "I have no idea what she's on about. Just let me know, Pepper."

The Doctor chuckled, "Oh, my mate is in way over his head."

Tony ended the call. Pepper pointed at the last file. He signed it and smiled back at her. "Just in time for your 2:00, Miss Potts."

She smiled, "Thank you, Mr. Stark." She turned to walk out of the penthouse.

Natasha joined her. "It was nice to meet you, Doctor Smith. And Bruce. And Soler."

Bruce was clearly awe struck by her, "And you."

Soler smiled, "Bye!"

Pepper turned, smiled and waved bye.

They left.

Bruce turned back to Tony. "Did you know she could speak Russian?"

Tony shook his head. "Who? Pepper?"

"No, that Natasha."

"Phhhhh…..She speaks like, ten languages. She's a freak."

"Where is she from?" Bruce asked.

"Legal. I think." Tony answered. "I have no idea. I've never seen her smile. Personally, she's...just strange. Like a Vulcan. Well, I think they have more of a personally."

The Doctor laughed, "Oh, she was smiling up here."

Tony looked surprised, "Yeah?"

The Doctor pointed at Bruce.

Tony laughed, "You want to take on thawing out that iceberg? Good luck with that, man. Damn. I've heard of Extreme Sports, that would be like, Extreme Dating. What do you think, Sparky?"

Soler sipped a juice box he took out of the fridge. "What's a Vulcan?"

Tony shook his head. "Well, that answers that question."

Bruce laughed. "I didn't say anything about dating anyone."

Tony pointed at Soli. "There's pizza just here. Have you eaten?"

Soler sat down next to Bruce and Lewis handed him a slice of pizza. "I'm going to get back. Everything good here?"

The Doctor nodded, "Yeah. Are the guys finished putting Bruce's house back together?"

Lewis nodded, "Lance is there now. He says it looks good. Just like new."

It started to rain outside. Soler sat down his slice of pizza and walked to the window slowly. "Tony?"

Tony sipped his chlorophyll. "Yeah?"

Soler pointed at the window, "What is that?"

He looked back at the Doctor. "Does he know what rain is?"

"Probably not."

Tony walked over to the window and knelt beside of Soler. "It's rain. The clouds pull water from the ground up, and then it brings it to the land. Have you ever seen that before?"

"No. Is it safe?"

Tony smiled, reached in his pockets and put everything on the cabinet in the kitchen that was in them. "It's going to be cold, but you have to feel it. There's nothing like it."

He took Soli's hand and opened the door to the large platform. They both stepped outside. The Doctor and Bruce watched as Tony told Soler to hold out his hands and let the rain fall into them. The little boy laughed and then opened his mouth to let the rain fall into it. Tony laughed with him and then splashed the puddle that had gathered between them with his palm.

Bruce smiled at them, "How could he not know what rain is?"

"He's not from here. The best I can work out, he's been on a ship his entire life."

"A ship, huh? Like a Zeppelin?"

The Doctor looked back at Bruce with a serious expression, "No. Like a ship in space."

Bruce sat back in surprise. "Huh. Really?"

The Doctor nodded, "Yep."

"Then that would make him-"

"Yep."

"And you?"

"Yes."

"And Tony?"

The Doctor laughed, "No. He's from here."

Bruce nodded his head, "Well…..this is certainly surprising."

"It's alright?"

Bruce smiled, "I have no problem with it. It's just, out of anyone I've ever met, Tony is the one I would have suspected first."

The Doctor laughed. "Really?"

Bruce laughed and crossed his arms. They continued to watch the two play outside in the rain. "He is nothing at all what I expected."

The Doctor chuckled.

XxxxXxxxxXxxxxxxxxXxxxxxxx

Pepper, Natasha and Exton walked back into the offices downstairs. A woman dressed in all white stood up when they approached.

"I'm so sorry I'm late." Pepper insisted.

The woman smiled, "It's completely fine Miss Potts. I've already set up in your office."

Pepper looked at Natasha in confusion. "I'm sorry. Do you have a presentation, or something?"

The woman in white shook her head and smiled. "I was instructed to give you this card." She handed Pepper a card and smiled. "Take your time, I'll be inside." She turned and walked into Pepper's office.

Pepper looked at Exton, "Do you know what this is about?"

He laughed, "I couldn't tell you if I did."

She opened the envelope and read a message written inside. "The guys have told me how hard this week has been for you. I thought you probably needed a bit more than flowers this time. – the Secret Admirer."

Pepper smiled at the card. "Oh, that man."

Natasha didn't understand. "Miss Potts?"

"Natasha. I'll be busy for the rest of the day. Finish up everything, and I'll see you tomorrow." Pepper walked into her office and saw a massage table had already been set up.

The woman smiled, "Oil, or no?"

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