Hi all I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed the story so far. I appreciate all the support and I want to encourage you all to review the story. It can be as nice or harsh as you think it needs to be. It can be just random questions or comments about the way the characters are developing. Every little bit helps make me a better writer and makes it better for you all to enjoy. That and I enjoy hearing from you all. Any way here's the next chapter. Enjoy :)
"Dad?" Is all I can say.
"Hey kid, miss me?"
Next thing I know I'm running up to him and give him the biggest hug I think I've ever given anyone. I can't believe he's really here. That's when everything I've kept bottled up just comes out and I start sobbing into his chest. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. I shouldn't have said all those horrible things. I'm sorry" I just keep saying that over and over again.
I feel dad wrap his arms around me and kiss my forehead. "Shhh." He says and starts rubbing my back. "You don't have to apologize, Nora. It's in the past. It's okay. You were right. I deserved everything you said to me. You were right. It's Okay kid, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere."
I start to calm down. I try to pull out of dad's arms but he pulls me back to him. "Just one more minute." I look up and I think I saw tears in his eyes. I just nod and say "Okay."
When we finally do split up. I look at him. He looks tired and a bit slimmer. I think he was also looking me over because I hear him mutter something about Rhodey not exaggerating about the weight loss.
"You hungry? I brought some bacon cheeseburgers from that place you like. If not there's also some red velvet cheesecake." He offers and that's when my stomach starts growling.
"That sounds great dad." I say smiling at him.
We get the bags of food and take them to the TV room. We don't like eating in the dining room its too big for just the two of us and way to formal. We sit on the couch. Dad hands me a burger and some fries along with a chocolate shake. Not really healthy but delicious nonetheless. "Yum, I've been craving one since I saw you eating one at the press conference." I say as I start to unwrap the burger.
"You kidding me the first thing I asked for after they found me and gave me a check up was a cheeseburger. They didn't let me something about it not sitting well with my stomach. Had to have Happy go through a Burger King drive thru before going to the press conference."
I just laughed. "So what have you been up to for the last nine months kid?"
"Where to begin, Well I spent a semester in Dublin. Gave me a new appreciation for the sun. Worked with Doctor Selvig, the expert on the Einstein-Rosen Bridge after they didn't let me enroll in his class. Made a few friends." I smile and blush a bit remembering Dean.
"Friends or friend?" Dad question skeptically.
"Friends. It was a group of us." I get up and bring him the picture of us from St. Patrick's day Dean had given me as an early graduation gift.
Dad looks at it and gives me a smile before asking: "Who's the blonde giving you a piggy back ride?"
"Oh that's Dean." I try to say without blushing. Unfortunately dad does notice.
"Uhuh, and is he just a friend or is he something more." He tries to ask casually but I can tell he suspects something.
"It's complicated." There's no point in lying to him. He'd find out one way or another
"What's so complicated about it?"
"Well the night I got the email telling me I was graduating earlier than expected and was also being awarded a Ph.D. in Thermonuclear Astrophysics. We all went out to celebrate. So we were dancing and we started talking about how good friends we are and how much we're going to miss each since I was leaving and we kissed. That kiss led to us going to his apartment and you get the idea."
"You mean you…?" dad starts.
"Yeah we did." I answer and can't help but smile.
"You had sex?" He asks even though he says it more like a statement. "Well I wasn't expecting that, not yet anyway but your kind of an adult. Well not legally anyway but the age of consent is lower in Europe. Plus who an I to judge but I still don't see how this is complicated."
"After we you know,-" I start, feeling very weird about discussing this with my dad.
"Had sex, jumped his bones. Coitus,-" he interrupts
"Yeah after all that, we cuddled and fell asleep. When I woke up the next morning, I left before he woke up because my phone died and Rhodey needed to talk to me urgently. Then I got the news about you being missing and I got on a plane and came back here. I'm sure Rhodey filled you in on the last three months." I finished.
"Okay so long distance is tricky but not as complicated as you make it sound."
"Yeah, I mean we still skype and text all the time but its not the same. Plus we won't ever work out."
"Why do you say that?"
For one reason I live in Boston while I'm in school or here at the ranch on vacations and he lives in Dublin, where I have no intention of ever going back to anytime soon. And then there's the obvious he has a soul mate, which isn't me. If that isn't a sign it's not going to work out, I don't know what is."
"You sure you're not his soul mate?"
"I saw his mark on his ribs that night. Its definitely not me."
"Well kid, that sucks your first heart break."
"Yeah. Been too busy to really deal with that. I feel like I have nothing to give him and that now I'm just leading him on." I say sadly.
"Nora don't say that. You obviously care about him and he cares about you. So you're not his soul mate, doesn't mean you can't enjoy the time you did spend with him. Besides it's his loss. Just because you don't have marks doesn't mean you won't find someone." If only you knew dad.
"I know it just sucks. On the plus side the sex was ama-"
"Don't finish that thought. There are some things a father doesn't need to know about his daughter."
"Okay, sorry."
"I can't believe I missed another one of your graduations." He says remorsefully.
"If its any consolation I didn't show up either and I was supposed to give a speech." I say.
Dad Just starts laughing, "I was supposed to give the commencement speech this year." That's when I start laughing.
"Well there's always the next one." I say with a smile.
"Yeah, I heard. Harvard." He says proudly.
We sit there and finish our burgers and fries. "You feel like some father-daughter science time?"
"What are we building?" I say happily can't wait to go down there and do something besides look at satellite images of the desert.
"How far did you get with miniaturizing the ARC Reactor?" He asks curiously.
"It took me about a week before I finally got a successful simulation for the chemical components using-"
"Palladium?" He asks.
"Yeah, how did you know?" I ask curiously.
"You were right." He says and starts unbuttoning his shirt.
"Dad what are you-" That's when I see it. "Is that an arc reactor?"
"It is." He says casually.
"Why is it in your chest?" I ask curiously.
He sighs before he says "It's attached to an electromagnet inside of me keeping shrapnel from piercing my heart."
I can't stop staring at it. How did I not notice it before? All I can think to say is "Oh"
"Wait shrapnel?" he nods, "Care to elaborate a bit?"
"Earlier when I said you were right I meant it. I don't know how but the guys who kidnapped me attacked the convoy I was in with Stark Weapons. I got hit with shrapnel from one of the weapons. A doctor that was held captive with me managed to get some of the shrapnel out but not all of it so he put a magnet in me. It was originally powered with a car battery but I managed to built this thing with spare missile parts." He says tapping the ARC Reactor in his chest.
"Spare missile parts?" I ask confused at everything he's telling me.
"That's why I was kidnapped. They wanted me to build them a missile. Instead of making them what they wanted I busted my way out."
"What did you build? Wait, How did you escape?"
He pulls out a flash drive and says, "Lets go downstairs and I'll show you."
We head down to the basement and dad looks around before finally sitting down in front of the holoscreen. "You really didn't leave this place for three months?"
"Couldn't give up on you dad. Us against the world, remember?" I say with a shrug.
"Yeah, I know kid."
He pulls up a file and a bunch of blueprints come up. "You definitely give a new meaning to the knight in shining armor concept dad. You manages to build this out of scraps of missiles in a cave all on your own?"
"Pretty much." He says sadly.
I look at dad and I see something in his eyes. He looks sad and remorseful. "There's something you're not telling me is there."
"Nothing you need to know."
"Dad-" I start before he interrupts me.
"Nora! There are some things I can't tell you kid. There are some things you are better off not knowing and I don't want you to know, okay. So please drop it." He says sternly.
I stay quiet for a bit but the look in dad's eyes says it all. "Okay"
"The arc reactor you have now was able to power that thing and the electromagnet at the same time?" I ask.
"Yeah, I'm surprised it worked as well as it did. I want to build a better suit but in order to do that I need a more stable power source."
"Why do you want to build another suit?"
"The terrorists who took me were part of something called the Ten Rings. I'm sure the answer to finding out how they got Stark weapons is from them. I'm going to need a suit to find them and take them down. So what do you say kid, will you help me."
I know that what dad wants to do is dangerous but I don't want to help build weapons. Then I realize that he's going to do this with or without me. "Okay I'll help you build the new ARC reactor and the programming for the suit but the weapons are all you."
"Wouldn't have it any other way." He says, "So want to get started."
"Yeah, can I see the scans of the current Reactor and of the electromagnet, see what we have to start with?"
"Jarvis bring up file ARC Two." He says.
And that's how I got started on the path of not only helping my dad become a super hero but also how my entire life became a giant mess. I had no idea what was coming my way.