"Mr. Stark, have you met our newest lab technician?"
"No, I don't believe I have," said Tony, eyeing the woman. She was a pretty woman, with short brown hair and green eyes. "You are?"
"Mary Fitzpatrick," she replied. Mary didn't look quite as impressed with Tony.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Tony gave her a slight smile before Mr. Boring pulled him away. His eyes lingered on Mary for a few seconds as if he were trying to remember every detail of her face.
Much to Tony's displeasure, the scientists invited him to a presentation later. However, it did include Mary.
"Fancy seeing you here, Mr. Stark," Mary teased, bringing a glass of water to her lips.
"Same to you, Miss. Fitz…" Tony broke off, unable to remember the rest of her name.
"Miss. Fitzpatrick," said Mary. Tony nodded and moved closer to her.
"Tell me, what type of work are you doing?"
"Didn't my boss tell you?"
"He did, but I wasn't particularly interested."
"And you are now?"
Tony nodded thoughtfully.
"Biological experimentation on spiders."
"Huh."
As the conversation continued, Mary's uninterested facade didn't last long. Before she knew it, they were in Tony's hotel room. Obviously, Tony's charming persona had helped, not to mention her recent fight with her ex-fiancé. And well, the rest isn't really PG-13.
Mary awoke naked and in someone else's bed the following day. She couldn't remember much of the evening, but one memory that plagued her mind was the knowledge that neither she nor Tony used a condom. Perhaps, just maybe, Tony remembered, but the chances were slim. Very slim.
She ran into the city, got the nearest cab, and returned to her apartment. During the taxi ride, Mary convinced herself that, yes, she had used a condom. Or Tony used a condom. It didn't matter because she was NOT pregnant. Of course not. That type of thing only happens in movies.
—
Tony took another sip of his drink before setting it down. The billionaire wasn't quite drunk but dangerously edged the line. He was on his fourth or fifth. Or was it seventh? Whatever the hell the percentage of alcohol in his blood system was, Tony absolutely had to finish the designs, or Obadiah would kill him.
Okay, maybe kill is a little extreme, but the blueprints were due three weeks ago, so the consequences wouldn't be good.
Tony picked up the pencil and set to work, trying his best to stay away from the rum. Or, at least until he finished. Luckily, being a genius and all came in handy because the grenade plans were completed shortly after. As Tony took a gulp of the rum, his phone began to ring.
He fumbled over it, finally pressing the 'answer' button.
"Go for Stark," said Tony. The other line stayed quiet. "Look, I'm a busy man here, so–"
"Mr… Mr. Stark, we have some uh, we have some news for you." The other person babbled, stumbling over their words.
"I'm sorry, who is this?"
"New… New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital," the person said. "Just a second, Mr. Stark."
Tony could almost hear the cricket sounds as he waited for the phone to be passed about.
"Mr. Stark?" asked a different woman, an eerie calmness laced in her voice.
"The one and only," said Tony.
"I'm Doctor Rebecca Johnson. We need you to come to New York on behalf of Mary Fitzpatrick."
Ah, Mary Fitzpatrick, one of the clever, intelligent women Tony had had an affair with. He didn't think much about Mary other than her hasty departure. He had even read one of her papers, although biology didn't pique his interest.
"Why is that?"
"Miss. Fitzpatrick gave birth to your son a few hours ago."
Tony froze, nearly dropping the phone. He got Mary pregnant? He didn't remember anything about the night, but that was usual for him, with his various night 'escapades' with women. Still, had they really been stupid enough to forget a condom?
"I'm sorry. Can you repeat that?" Tony asked, praying to himself that he had misheard.
"Miss. Fitzpatrick had yours and her child a couple of hours ago."
No, Tony had not misheard. He had indeed gotten Mary Fitzpatrick pregnant, and she had now just pushed a child out of her. She had just pushed their child out of her.
"Mr. Stark, will you be able to come?"
"Are you… Are you sure the child's mine?" Tony stuttered.
"Well, Miss. Fitzpatrick seemed quite sure, but we will need to perform a paternity test on you if you decide to come," said Dr. Johnson.
"Right yeah, paternity test." Tony's mind soothed at that. This wasn't the first time he'd had to have a DNA test, and it always came back negative. "Just a… just a question. Why do I need to come? I mean, surely Mary is able to—"
"Sir, Mary Fitzpatrick is dead. She passed away during the difficult labor."
"I—what?"
"The baby's going to be fine, but he has no family left. This is why we called you. Are you going to come?" Dr. Johnson asked.
"Uh, yeah, I am." Tony nodded, despite the doctor not being able to see him.
"Great!" said Dr. Johnson. "When can we expect you?"
"I don't know. Few hours?"
—
"What do you mean you have a son?" Obadiah asked, looking at Tony as if he were insane.
"I've got a son," Tony repeated. "They, uh, they called me from New York. A hospital."
"And you're sure they're not just pulling your leg?" said Obadiah.
"I think so. The doctor sounded pretty sure. Besides, they're gonna do a paternity test or something."
"Tony, let's be real. It's not like you're going to keep it."
Tony looked at Obadiah in utter betrayal.
"I don't know," Tony said slowly, calculating his every word. "I… I think I will."
"Are you crazy? You can barely keep yourself alive, not to mention run the company. Tony, the stocks will–"
"I can't let him go to the system! Dr. Johnson said I'm the only family the kid has left!"
"What about its mother?"
"She's, uh, she's dead."
"And it has no other relatives?" Stane asked impatiently.
"No, he doesn't."
Obadiah checked his watch. "I have to go. We'll talk about this later."
Tony bit his cheek as Stane left, feeling guilty for ever letting such a thing happen.
—
Despite Obadiah's disapproving attitude, Tony still planned on going to New York. He had already informed Pepper and Happy, both agreeing to go with him to the hospital. Obadiah called him once more to try and stop him, but Tony hung up quickly enough. He had enough to worry about.
"Is this the entrance to the hospital?" Tony asked as Pepper led the way.
Pepper nodded as if saying, 'Yes, of course, have ever I been wrong before?' .
She stood in front of the entrance, waiting for them to slowly open. Once they did, Pepper strolled in, leaving Tony behind. He stared at the doors, unsure if it was the right decision. Would this be worth all the sleepless nights and the arguments and the patience?
Going against every basic instinct he had, Tony stepped through the door.
Pepper was waiting for him at the front desk, chatting with the receptionist.
"Hi, I'm here for, uh…." Tony tried to remember the name.
"Mary Fitzpatrick," said Pepper quickly.
"Right, yeah. I'm here for Mary."
"Of course," said the receptionist, blushing like crazy. He dug up two visitor passes and some contracts. "Sign these."
"I can do it," said Tony as Pepper reached for the contracts. He began reading through them as carefully and Pepper-like as possible. He neatly signed on the bottom line for each one.
"Here you go." The receptionist handed them the passes and pointed to the elevator. "Third floor, room 391. That's Dr. Johnson's office."
—
Tony knocked not-so-politely on Dr. Johnson's door. His patience, which was already non-existent, had been depleted to the very last crumb.
"Come in," said Dr. Johnson. She didn't get up, so Tony and Pepper let themselves in.
"Hello," said Pepper warmly. She and Tony sat down on the arm-chairs facing Rebecca's desk.
"Ah, Mr. Stark and Miss. Potts, I presume."
Pepper nodded.
"I'm glad to see you here. Look, let's cut to the chase. The hospital needs to perform a paternity test on you to see if you are the father. If you are not, then you can move on with your life. If you are, then it's up to you to decide the course of action."
"How long will it take?" Tony asked.
"The paternity test? About three hours, I assume."
Three hours.
That wasn't too long.
Tony could do three hours.
—
Tony could not do three hours. By this point, he was absolutely certain of the fact. Dr. Johnson gave him a small room to stay in, given that if anyone saw him, the hospital would be swarmed by paparazzi in seconds.
"Shit, he needs a name," said Tony by the end of hour one. "Or do you think he had one?"
"I don't know," Pepper replied curtly. She went back to focusing on her work.
"What about… Joey?" Tony asked.
Pepper shook her head slightly but didn't look up.
"Ross? Chandler?" said Tony.
Pepper glared at him with an incredibly unimpressed look.
"Fine."
Tony continued suggesting names and eliminating them based on Pepper's reactions. The worst one he proposed was Burger, to see Pepper's response. Pepper, who was used to Tony's trickery, ignored him, determined to not give him the satisfaction.
At the end of hour two, Tony moved on from choosing names. He had an unreasonably long list, and none felt right. Maybe this would be a 'you'll see it and know it' or 'it feels right' type thing? Now, Tony was researching babies. Aside from the basics, aka Hold Their Heads Up, Tony was clueless when it came to kids. The man had absolutely no idea.
Around the middle of hour three, Pepper finally spoke. Unfortunately, it was not what Tony wanted to hear.
"Mr. Stark, I know you're really happy with the prospect of being a dad, but have you considered this might be falsified? The hospital has no proof that Mary isn't lying, and, well, this isn't the first time you've gotten one of these calls."
Tony looked up from his phone, staring at Pepper. He wanted to be defensive, but he knew she had a point.
"All I'm saying is don't get too attached."
Tony nodded, feeling more nervous than ever for the results.
By the end of hour three, Tony would consider himself a baby expert, and much to his patience's pleasure, Dr. Johnson came in with the DNA test.
"Congratulations, Mr. Stark, you're a father!" she said, clapping her hands a few times.
Tony stood there as a smile crept onto his face.
"Really?"
"Yes." Dr. Johnson smiled back. "Would you like to see him?"
"Uh, yeah," Tony said quickly.
"Perfect, why don't you come with me?"
Dr. Johnson led him to the baby ward.
"Your son is currently in the NICU because he was born a month prematurely." She must've seen Tony's worried expression because she quickly added: "He's very healthy at the moment, though."
She led Tony through many doors until they finally arrived at the Newborn Intensive Care Unit. Dr. Johnson instructed him to wash his hands very thoroughly before coming into the ward. Finally, she opened the doors to the NICU, and Tony stepped in without hesitation.
Inside was a series of medical-looking cribs, some open and some with plastic tops.
"Where is he?" Tony asked.
"Right here." Rebecca walked over to an open-top crib, where a minuscule baby was sleeping. He was dressed in a beanie and an enormous diaper. An IV drip was going into his left arm, and a nose cannula hung off his tiny face.
"This is… This is him?" Tony asked.
"This is him."
Tony didn't even hide the grin that appeared on his face. He had only known his son for a few seconds but would already do anything for him.
