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Chapter 34 - Morning Training

Pepper woke up and looked around the bedroom. She picked up her phone and checked the time. It was 1:34a.m. Tony had taken the new medicine to help him sleep. She rolled over and was surprised to find he wasn't in the bed next to her. Did it not work?

"Tony?" She called softly.

There was no reply. She lay back down and then saw him walk in front of the bedroom door. She got out of bed and put on her robe. "Tony?"

He still didn't answer. She tied her robe as she ran to landing in front of the bedroom door. Tony stood there, looking out of the large windows of the sitting room below them. Pepper stood behind him and couldn't see his face.

"Tony?" She asked again.

Exton and Arcite sat below them and turned their head at the sound of her voice.

Exton asked, "Pepper?"

Tony still hadn't turned around.

Exton and Arcite, sensing something was strange, both walked up the staircase. Tony continued to stand and look out of the window. Pepper was grateful he was wearing his boxers.

Exton held out his hand, "Pepper. Don't get close to him."

Pepper was confused. "What's he doing?"

Arcite and Exton walked closer to him and looked at him closely.

Arcite spoke, "He would appear to be asleep."

Exton shook his head. "We shouldn't wake him. Just make sure he doesn't hurt himself. He's never done this before, has he?"

Pepper shook her head. "He's sleep walking?"

Exton nodded.

Pepper shook her head in surprise. "I've never heard of anyone really doing it. He took some medicine to help him sleep."

Exton nodded, "Yes, John has warned us to look out for anything strange. I didn't think about him doing this, though."

Arcite suggested, "Should we contact Primus John-"

"Nah. Just get him back to bed."

"But, he should not be in the same room with Miss Potts." Arcite insisted. "Humans who suffer from PTSD will often sleepwalk while they are dreaming. He is unaware of his present state."

Exton sighed and crossed his arms. "You're right. He could become violent."

Pepper put her hands on her hips. "Then, what should we do?"

Tony turned and started to walk towards the staircase. Exton and Arcite stood in front of him to prevent him from going any further. Pepper saw his blank gaze.

Exton whispered. "I'm ready for a good idea, Arc."

Arcite stood with his arms crossed. "I have expressed what I think we should employ."

He started to walk down the stairs.

Pepper, fearing he would fall, shouted. "Tony! Stop."

Tony stopped walking and turned his head towards her.

Exton looked at Arcite. "John's on his way."

The Doctor rubbed his face and walked out of the bedroom. He was wearing his jammy jams and a t-shirt. "What?"

Pepper put her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, John-"

Tony suddenly became very cross and jumped towards Pepper, or maybe he had meant to attack the Doctor. The Doctor stepped in front of her and touched his forehead with his fingertips, knocking him unconscious. He hit the floor. Pepper gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh my God! What did you do?"

The Doctor sighed. "I put him in a deeper sleep than he was already in. Damn it. That shouldn't have happened. Is there a place he can sleep besides with you?"

Pepper, shaken, pointed down the hallway. Arcite and Exton picked him up and took him to the spare bedroom. They lay him in the bed and Pepper pulled a blanket over him. The Doctor pointed at Exton. "Good call to have me come. He would have fought everyone here."

Exton shook his head. "It was Arcite's idea."

The Doctor looked impressed. "Good call, Arcite."

Pepper shook her head. "John, I'm so sorry about this-"

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Pepper. This was a reaction to the medicine I gave him. That doesn't work. Wow. Has he ever walked in his sleep before?"

"Not that I know of."

"Huh. Well, he'll sleep for about two hours….maybe less. Exton, keep an eye on his room. Make sure when he's awake, he's fully awake. Don't hesitate to tell me to come back."

Exton nodded, "Understood."

The Doctor put his arm around Pepper's shoulder and walked her back to their bedroom. "You'll be fine. Arcite will keep an eye on this room so you can sleep. If you need me to return and explain to him what happened-"

Pepper shook her head. "I think I can….John….is he getting worse?"

He stopped and held her hands in his. "It seems that way, but that's because he's actually….getting better."

"It doesn't seem that way."

He nodded, "I know. He has to process a lot. The medicine has….caused a problem. But, he will sleep for a bit, and he should be fine."

"Was he going to actually hit me?"

"He didn't know it was you. He heard my voice and was going to hit me."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "John. Don't sugar coat things for me. Tell me what the hell is going on with him."

"He's not here right now. He's someplace else."

"The desert?"

"He could be anywhere. He could be dreaming aliens have him. Anything."

She sighed.

"Don't think badly of him. That's what he fears the most. He is trying….extremely hard to climb out of a very dark place he has found himself in. He trusts you. I know it's hard, but-"

She shook her head, "He hasn't scared me away, John."

He smiled proudly at her. "Right. Are you alright? You look…"

She ran her hand through her red hair. "I had to take some medicine….I had a fever. I'm fine."

He felt of her forehead. "Let me take you up to the ship and just check everything out. It's probably something simple."

She groaned, "You really don't have to-"

"If you catch it early, it's never as bad."

Exton tossed him a remote trigger and they disappeared to the ship.

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Pepper sat at the end of a hospital bed, still wearing her pajamas and robe. The Doctor looked over the screen on the wall behind her, wearing his glasses.

"Yes. Well. I'm not surprised."

Pepper looked confused. "What? You haven't done anything."

He chuckled, "I don't have to do anything. The computer has already scanned you."

She nodded, "That's a relief. I was worried I was going to have to get undressed."

He shook his head and grinned as he looked at the screens. "Nah."

"Hell, if I had known that…I would have told Tony to call you tonight then."

He looked around the room and took a blanket from a chair. He wrapped it around her shoulders. "That should help. I know you are chilled already from the fever, and it's always cold in here."

She shivered and wrapped the blanket around herself. "Thank you, John. Yes. Do you know what it is?"

"Cystitis. More commonly known as 'Honeymoon Disease'."

"What?"

He opened a cabinet and looked around. He pulled a small glass bottle of some glowing blue liquid and shook it. "Yeah. It's a bladder infection. It's very common when people are having…a lot of sex."

Pepper covered her face. "Yeah. Just stop there."

He chuckled as he put the bottle of liquid into a small, grey gun. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. This will clear it right up. In the future, try to go to the loo before and after. That will help. And drink some more water. Or cranberry juice. That will help, too."

He turned around and gave her an injection in her neck. "Alright. You should be better by the morning."

"That's it?"

He nodded and took off his glasses. He tossed them back on the desk and rubbed his face. "Yeah. It's a simple infection."

"But, medicine takes a week to clear up stuff like that."

He held his finger up to make a point. "Earth medicine. I have some stuff that's a bit better than they have down there."

She nodded, "Thank you, John."

He smiled. "You're most welcome. Ring me when you don't feel well. I don't mind helping."

She sighed and lay back on the bed. "I just don't want to bother you. Especially, something like that."

He leaned on the cabinet and crossed his arms. "Afraid I would have to see you nude. I get it."

Pepper laughed, "That's it exactly."

He chuckled. "I'll take you back in a bit. I need to watch to make sure your levels even out. Just relax. Are you warm enough?"

She pulled the blanket around her, "I'm alright."

He watched her levels from behind the bed where she lay. "How do you feel?"

"Cold. But, everything else is feeling better."

He nodded, "That's good. And tell Tony to keep his hands to himself for about….ummm…. 24 hours. Maybe 48."

She groaned and rubbed her face.

He continued to watch the screen. "Probably closer to 24."

She propped her head up on her arm. "John. Can I ask you something?"

He didn't look back at her. "Sure. What's on your mind?"

"You're not human. But, Rose is."

He nodded. "Yeah."

"You've told Jack several times to not frighten us mortals. Are you…."

"What? Immortal?"

"I suppose that's what I'm asking. Yes."

"No. I can die. Absolutely. But…hopefully it won't be for a very long time. If I get hurt bad enough that I might die, instead of dying, I'll repair every cell in my body. But, it also changes them. I'll look completely different. This is odd. Genie was talking about this tonight, too."

"So, when you got hurt on the soccer field?"

"You, Tony and Lewis prevented me from changing. I would have regenerated had you not done that. I'm grateful you did. I really would prefer not to change. It will be extremely hard to explain to everyone why Rose is with a different guy, Pete has a new business partner, oh it would just a mess."

She smiled, "So strange. But, Rose."

He looked back at her, "Rose is human."

"But, she's not."

He sighed, "Yeah, she's not. She's….something no one has ever seen. Something there's never been anything like. She doesn't like to talk about it and I'm not sure if she would be alright with us…chatting about it."

Pepper nodded, "I understand. She's just…a friend of mine. I worry. Well…."

"What?"

"She's alright?"

He smiled warmly, "She's alright."

Pepper relaxed.

He looked back at the numbers. "This is taking longer than I thought."

"Problem?"

"Nah. Everything is fine. You still feel alright, yeah?"

"Why, John. I think you are worried."

He smiled at her, "How would I explain something happening to you to Tony?"

"Tony. Oh, he's crazy."

"What has he done now?"

She groaned. "Oh, I don't even want to go into it. He's just…oh my God. Insane."

He laughed. "Oh, alright."

"You should see what he's been doing to Arcite. He's convinced he's a Vulcan."

He laughed, "Yeah. He's from Zeta Latiri. Very similar. Oh! Lance has asked for a transfer to you and Tony."

"Lance?"

"Yeah. Tony asked me about it this afternoon, too. I guess they found they get on together rather well while they were gone. I've approved it. He'll be hanging out with you guys more often. But, he needs to still be with the rest of the Primaries. He's in training for something…big."

She sat up and took the blanket off of herself. "John, I really feel a lot better."

He smiled and pointed at the screens. "This is reading as almost normal again. Do you want something to help you sleep?"

She shook her head. "No. I've never had a problem going to sleep. But, I am a light sleeper."

He nodded. "You have too much on your mind. You feel responsible for too much."

"Have you met who I live with?"

He chuckled, "I'll take you back to New York. You're fine. But, don't hesitate to ring me if I'm needed. Even if you think it's nothing. I'd rather you ask me a million times for nothing, than that one time you decide you shouldn't, but needed to."

She nodded, "I'm grateful. Thank you, John."

They returned to the penthouse in New York. Arcite stood where they arrived with his hands behind his back. "Welcome back."

The Doctor pointed at Pepper. "She's going to sleep until morning. If there are any problems, alert me."

Arcite bowed his head. "Yes, Primus."

He turned to Pepper and kissed her cheek. "Rest. If I need to punch Tony in the nose, just tell me. He's not your responsibility."

She smiled, "Thank you, John."

He nodded and looked back at Arcite. "I'm relieved."

Arcite bowed, "Primus."

He typed in something on his wrist and winked at Pepper as he disappeared.

Arcite stood in front of Pepper. "May I offer you a warm glass of milk? I have read that humans often find that helpful in falling back to sleep."

Pepper smiled, "Thank you, Arcite. I believe I'll be alright. Good night."

He nodded his head, "Good night, ma'am."

She walked back into their bedroom and closed the door. She lie down on the bed and saw Tony's t-shirt laying in the floor. She picked it up and smelled of it. She mumbled, "Oh, Tony." Tears fell from her eyes as she fell into an uneasy sleep.

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Tony jumped nearly to his feet as he woke with a start. His heart was pounding nearly out of his chest. He was covered in sweat.

He lay back on the bed and tried to catch his breath. What had he dreamed about that had wound him up so much? He closed his eyes and tried to remember. He ran his hand through his hair and tried to catch his breath.

He looked around the room in surprise. "This isn't my room. What is this?" He threw the blanket off of himself and rushed out of the bedroom. He arrived in the hallway to find Exton there. He reached out to put his hand on his shoulder only for his hand to go through Exton's form.

"I'm sorry, I'm not completely up here yet."

Tony covered his face with both of his hands. "Don't fuck with me when I first wake up, man. Damn it."

Exton chuckled, "I'm sorry. We had to move you. You were walking in your sleep."

"I don't walk in my sleep."

"I beg to differ-"

"Pepper?" He walked down the hall.

"She's fine. John came and prevented anything from happening. He also took her to the ship and gave her some medicine for an infection. He said she was ill. She's sleeping now."

Tony stopped and looked seriously at him, "Nothing happened. Right? "

Exton smiled and put his hand on Tony's shoulder. "She is fine. John asked me to ensure you are fully awake before I let you see her-"

"I'm awake." He grumbled.

Exton mumbled, "Good enough for me."

Tony walked into the bedroom and saw Pepper sleeping peacefully in their bed. He gently sat beside of her and felt of her forehead. It had returned to her normal temperature. He smiled in relief. She was okay. John had fixed whatever sickness she had.

He reached over to pick up her phone from the table next to the bed. He was curious what time it was. When it held it, there was a message from Happy. It said simply, "Call me later. I need to talk to you."

Tony bit his lip and shook his head. He knew what Happy wanted to talk about. Him. And how she shouldn't be with him. He quietly sat down her phone and looked back at her resting peacefully. Not wanting to wake her, he slowly got up and walked to his closet. He took a pair of jeans, a long sleeved black shirt and a pair of socks and trainers. He quietly walked out of their room and dressed outside of the door.

He walked downstairs. Exton and Arcite were going over something on the kitchen table together.

Exton stood up, "Tony. Need the room?"

"Nah. I'm going to the shop."

"Right. Lance will be here in a bit. Shall I send him to you?"

Tony nodded, "Yes. Go ahead."

Tony went down to his shop. He took a deep breath. "Jarvis. Wake your ass up, man. Daddy's here."

"A bit early, isn't it?" Jarvis asked as the computers, screens and lights all turned on in the shop.

"Oh, stop complaining." Tony told him as he walked over to the food replicator and made himself a cup of coffee.

"Yes, sir."

"Turn on the sensors for the desert."

"They are on the main screen."

The screens behind his large desk showed maps and complex read-outs. He sipped his cup of coffee and sat down to look over the maps.

Jarvis spoke. "There is a special report on CNN that you might want to see, sir."

"Put it on then."

He sat back and propped his feet on the desk, watching CNN while he sipped his coffee. The time in the corner of the television told him it was 4:48 in the morning.

The reporter spoke. "There has been a lot of activity in the area. US soldiers have had to pull out of the region."

He sighed. He thought of Rhodey and the look that he would have on his face at this news.

The reporter continued, "There are unconfirmed reports that there are two units who are still inside of the zone, but the State Department has refused to comment."

"Which means they are." He took a long drink of his coffee. "Jarvis. Open the floor."

"Yes, sir."

The floor opened with a loud hiss. He sat down his coffee mug and went down the ladder. When he got into the room in the floor, he looked at the first suit he had made during his captivity. "I've got it, Rhodey."

He turned around and stepped up to a suit that hung on the wall. "Jarvis. I need Suit 78 warmed up."

"It's ready to go, sir."

The suit was lowered in front of him. The front of it opened with a loud hiss. Tony turned around and backed up inside of it. The suit closed and the lights in the mask glowed.

Tony saw all sorts of pre-flight checks being done by the computer. "Jarvis. I need the location of the kill zone where the two squadrons are presently located."

Jarvis spoke, "Accessing that information from the satellites now, sir."

Tony looked at all of the read-outs. As soon as Jarvis displayed the numbers on the screen, "Pop us there, Jarvis."

"Yes, sir."

Tony popped away.

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Two squadrons were taking heavy fire in the desert. The insurgents had taken position in the caves nearby and were impossible to see.

Tony stood on the edge of the mountain range, with his cloaking device engaged, surveying the scene. The screens in front of him displayed where the enemy and friendly fire was located. He became excited. "Jarvis. Music would be great here."

"Of course, sir."

AC/DC's Highway to Hell began to play in his suit. He curled his lip up, "Hell yeah. I'm thinking we can start on the North Ridge there, and then work back down."

Jarvis spoke, "That's my assessment as well, sir."

"Alright, let's do it."

He turned off his cloak as he rose into the air. He spun around and had blown up the Northern Ridge before anyone knew he was there.

The soldiers were able to jump into their HumVees and leave. A missile was launched towards them from the east. Tony shot at it with a missile from his suit, causing it to explode just meters from the HumVee. Pieces of it hit the vehicle.

"Jackasses." Tony groaned.

He flew over where Jarvis told him the insurgents were. He took aim and fired just as they did. Bullets bounced off his arm and elbow.

"And this is where I don't want to be." He insisted. "Jarvis, minus -0.2 latitude and pop."

Tony disappeared and reappeared on the other ridge. He was able to fire again, surprising the insurgents. He laughed.

Jarvis spoke, "There are incoming aircraft, sir."

He quickly flew south as the jets flew overhead. A beep sounded in his suit. "And they saw me."

"Unidentified aircraft. This is the-"

He switched off the channel. "I didn't like that station anyway."

He spun around quickly and fired back to the caves again, causing them to collapse.

Jarvis spoke. "All of the enemy have been neutralized. The two squadrons are well underway."

Tony landed on a ridge. "That's how it's done! You're welcome, Rhodey. Jarvis, pop us back."

Jarvis popped them back into room in the floor, in the shop.

Lance stood at the top of the ladder, looking at him with his hands on his hips. "I really shouldn't ask."

The suit opened and Tony climbed out. "Morning training. Want some coffee?"

Lance rolled his eyes and laughed. "Yeah. I'll make us some."

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