Dani couldn't sleep.
Which was something she was getting used to.
She couldn't stop thinking about everything her dad had told her earlier. How he was going to do what it took to save innocent people, even if it meant that he wouldn't make it. He was scared, and that meant that Dani was even more scared. She didn't want her dad to die. She didn't want to feel the feelings that she had felt earlier in the year when he had been taken.
She didn't want anything bad to happen to her dad.
A sudden urge to make sure that he was still home and okay, suddenly filled her, and she rolled out of bed.
She made it to the top of the stairs to go down to the living room, and froze at the sound of someone talking quietly. Someone familiar. She crept down a few stairs, and peered around the wall, gasping at the scene happening below.
Obediah was standing over her dad, who seemed unable to move, holding the glowing arc reactor. He continued to talk quietly, before suddenly yanking the reactor completely from her dad's chest.
She covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming.
"Ah, what a masterpiece," Obediah said, sitting next to her dad, and putting his arm around his shoulders. "Look at that. This is your legacy. A new generation of weapons with this at its heart. Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power back in our hands. The right hands." He laughed, and pulled his arm away from her dad's shoulder, in order to put the reactor into a case. "I wish you could see my prototype. It's not as...well, not as conservative as yours. Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this. I would have preferred that she lived." He closed the briefcase, and stood. "Don't worry about Dani. I'll make sure she's taken care of. I'll put her genius to work."
Dani snuck back up the stairs and waited for Obediah to leave, before running back down and going to her dad. "Oh my gosh! Daddy!"
His eyes widened when he saw her, and his mouth began to move, but no sound came out.
It was terrifying to see him in the state he was in. His skin was unnervingly pale, with strange dark lines covering the side of his head, and there was a hole in his chest. There was a literal hole in her dad's chest.
"What do I do?" Dani asked, attempting to be as brave and strong as she could.
"Work...shop," he got out, his voice soft.
"Workshop. Workshop. Okay. Okay. I can do that. I can do that." She grabbed his arm and struggled to pull him to his feet. "Come on." She got him up and did her best to stabilize him. "Lean on me." She wrapped his arms around her shoulder and began to slowly make her way towards the elevator. "It's okay. It's going to be okay." They got to the elevator, and she slammed her finger into the button to take them down. "Hang on. Hang on. It's okay." Her dad stumbled and nearly fell into the wall. "I've got you. I've got you." She struggled to regain control of him, and keep him upright. "Come on." The doors opened and her dad lurched forward into the workshop, stumbling towards the table where his original arc reactor was enclosed in a glass case. "Okay, okay." Dani ran around her dad, and picked up the glass case. She took a second to look at the reactor, and noticed words had been engraved into the metal.
Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart.
"Tin man." Dani murmured. She opened the case, and pulled out the arc reactor.
Her dad was now laying on the ground below her, having crawled from the door. "Yellow Brick Road," he whispered.
She knelt next to him. "I just put it in and connect it, right? Just like Operation."
He smiled slightly, and nodded, rolling onto his back.
She knelt next to him, and took a breath to try and calm herself.
She could do this.
She had to do this.
Lowering the wires into the hole, she thought of what her dad had instructed Pepper, and attached them to the base in his chest, before twisting the arc reactor into place.
Her dad grunted, and convulsed slightly, causing her panic to increase.
Did she just kill him?
The convulsions lasted a few seconds, before his body stilled, and he was looking up at her again. "Good job," he whispered.
She sighed in relief, and covered her hands with her mouth. "Are you okay?"
"I am now," he replied through breaths, doing his best to smile up at her.
"Tony?" Rhodey's voice echoed through the mansion. "Tony? Dani?" He appeared in the doorway, and stared at the two of them. "Tony! Are you okay? What happened?"
Tony grabbed Rhodey's arms and pulled himself up. "Where's Pepper?"
"She's fine," Rhodey assured. "She's with 5 agents. They're about to arrest Obadiah."
"That's not going to be enough."
Rhodey pulled him up. "What are you going to do?"
"Whatever it takes."
Dani trailed behind and watched as the floor opened and robotic arms set to work putting on the armor.
"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen," Rhodey commented, watching the entire process with awe.
"Not bad, huh?" He looked at Dani, and dropped down to his knee. "We're going for ice cream after this, alright? In Paris."
She smiled and nodded slightly. "Is that a promise?"
He raised his pinky, and she wrapped hers around the metal encasing his finger. "I need you to stay here, alright? Jarvis is going to watch over you. He'll put the house on lockdown. You might be scared, but you'll be okay."
"I'll be brave," Dani said softly.
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "That's my girl." He pushed himself up and looked at Rhodey. "Let's do this." He blasted away a damaged race car, and walked to stand where it had been parked.
"You need me to do anything else?" Rhodey asked.
"Keep the skies clear," her dad said, before blasting through the ceiling and flying away.
"Damn!" Rhodey breathed. He looked over at another suit that was in the process of being assembled, and stared at it for a few seconds, before shaking his head. "Next time, baby." He looked at Dani. "Are you going to be okay?"
She nodded, "yes. I'll be fine here. Just...please don't let anything happen to my dad."
"I won't," Rhodey said. "I promise." He pulled her into a hug. "I'll see you soon, alright?" He released her and ran from the room.
"I'm putting the house on lockdown," Jarvis announced.
Dani ran up the stairs to the living room, and hugged her favorite pillow on her favorite couch.
There was no way that she would be getting any sleep tonight. She already knew that and accepted it. Her dad, Pepper and Rhodey were all in danger, and it all had something to do with Obediah.
She had to stay awake until she knew that her family was safe.
. . .
"I'm lifting the lockdown," Jarvis announced.
Dani's eyes snapped open as she pulled from the doze she had slipped into. She sat up, and looked around the room, spotting a clock on the wall that showed the time being 4:47.
"Dani?" Pepper called.
"Pepper?" Dani got off the couch and ran to the entryway, stopping in shock as she watched Pepper lead a bunch of men in suits, two of whom were keeping her dad upright.
"Daddy?"
He tried to smile at her, but it turned more into a grimace. "Hey peanut."
She got out of the way as the agents filed into the living room, and deposited her dad on the couch. "What happened?"
"There was a fight," her dad explained, leaning his head against the couch and closing his eyes. "I won."
"And Uncle Obadiah?"
Her dad didn't answer.
"Oh."
She didn't know what she was supposed to think, or feel about that. Obadiah had tried to hurt her dad, but he had also had an active role in her life. There wasn't a time that she could remember him not being around.
"Come here," her dad lifted his head, and beckoned her over.
She padded over to him, and climbed onto the couch in order to sit next to him. She could see a few cuts on his face and hands, but for the most part it seemed that the armor had done its job in protecting him.
He wrapped his arm gingerly around her shoulders, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "It's been a long night, huh?"
She nodded, "I didn't want to sleep until I knew you were safe."
"We're going to have to find a way to break this habit of you not sleeping," he mused. "I'm worried you're headed down the same path I went down, and that's not healthy or ideal."
"Well then maybe you should stop almost dying," she suggested.
He chuckled weakly, "if that's what it takes, then I'll do my best."
A man stepped over and began to do an examination of her dad, looking at the injuries that could be seen, and listening as her dad listed off the pain he was feeling in his muscles, chest and abdomen.
"You'll be fine. Just take some ibuprofen or tylenol to help with the discomfort."
"Square deal."
Another man in a suit walked over, and looked down at Tony. "We'll be in touch tomorrow with your alibi," he said. "Along with how you should move forward."
"Looking forward to it."
The man nodded, and glanced at Dani. "We will, of course, keep her existence under wraps."
"You're speaking as though you have a choice in that matter."
The man nodded, "right. Get some rest. We'll be in touch."
And just like that every single person wearing a suit disappeared.
"Were they spies?"
"Something like that, I guess. I'm not so sure yet."
"Huh. That's cool." Dani leaned her head against his shoulder, and closed her eyes. Exhaustion was suddenly beginning to set in, but she was too nervous to go to sleep.
Her dad had almost died tonight, and she had had to save him.
She opened her eyes and stared at the arc reactor shining under her dad's shirt. Unease settled into her stomach as she thought about what the arc reactor was doing. She didn't have a complete understanding of its purpose, but she knew that it was keeping her dad alive.
"Tomorrow is going to be insane," Pepper muttered, scrolling frantically through her phone. "The news is going to be all over us."
"We'll manage," her dad replied. "Go home."
"Tony-"
"Go home, Pepper. We'll deal with all of that tomorrow. Go get some rest. Here, I'll walk you out."
Dani sat up, so that her dad could push himself to his feet. He swayed for a second, and grimaced, before holding his hand out to Pepper and leading her to the door.
"Bedtime, don't you think?"
Dani realized that she had zoned out, and blinked multiple times to get herself to focus again.
Her dad was back in front of her, holding his hand out. "Come on. I think it's almost illegal having you up this late."
She accepted his hand, and allowed him to lead her to her room.
"You should know that I'm very proud of you," her dad said once she was settled into her bed. "You were extremely brave tonight, and I don't think I would have been able to do anything without you."
She stared into his eyes, and shrugged. "I'm sure you would have found a way to manage."
"Maybe, but it wouldn't have been so efficient. I'm proud of you." He kissed her cheek. "My little shining star." He stood, and sighed heavily. "Try and sleep, alright?"
She nodded, "will you have Jarvis put the house on lockdown?"
"Jarvis?"
"Right away, sir."
"You're safe, Dani. I'm not going anywhere. I promise."
She nodded, and wrapped her arms tightly around the stuffed ewok, hugging it tightly to her chest. "I love you to Pluto and back."
He smiled, "that far, huh? How am I supposed to compete with that?" He thought for a second. "I love you to Pluto's moon and back. There."
She giggled, feeling her nervousness begin to lessen.
Everything was going to be okay. Maybe not immediately, but with time.
"Night night." He switched off the light and left her room.
Dani didn't know what to expect for the future. She was 9 and had already come close to losing her dad twice. In the same year. How was she supposed to process and deal with all of that? How was she supposed to accept the path that her dad was most likely set on.
Having their dad as a hero seemed to be every kid's dream. But none of them knew the paralyzing fear that would settle into their gut as they realized that being a hero meant sacrificing one's life for the good of others. It meant taking the chance of not being able to come home.
And that terrified Dani.
.
.
.
Thank you guys for reading! I'm so happy that so many of you seem to be interested in Dani's story. I'm excited for you to see her journey from this movie throughout the others. The next chapter will probably start the process of following the Iron Man 2 storyline.
Thank you again for reading! :)