"Alright…" Tony rolled his head around on his shoulders and shook himself out, "… I've got this. I don't need Jarvis." His talking out-loud quickly veered off into mumbling to himself.

Jarvis had some sort of virus which neither of them wanted Edwin to catch.

He could do this… he was a genius, he could definitely look after a six-month-old for a few hours, whilst Jarvis purged his operating systems.

Rhodes snorted, prompting Tony to turn to him. "Tony, relax…" he rolled his eyes, moving over to the cot, "one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten. Ten fingers and ten toes. Two eyes, two ears…. I think you can keep all that the same, right?"

"Don't joke about this!" Tony leaned into the cot and lifted a cooing Edwin into his arms, settling him against his chest.

He still couldn't get used to the feeling of holding his son like this, the warm feeling in his chest as the child snuggled closer to him.

Edwin was his life.

But taking care of a six-month-old was hard, even when Jarvis was around. He stroked the soft black hair and grinned to himself, feeling Rhodey's eyes on him.

"See, you'll be fine." James gestured at the baby, "You don't need me Tony."

Shrugging, Tony carefully laid his son down on the changing table and fumbled around for the necessary supplies. "I just… don't want to screw up." He mumbled as he started to undo the black onesie, "I've screwed up a lot of things and… I don't want to screw up him, or Jarvis."

He didn't look his best friend in the eyes as he removed the nappy and threw it into the bin, "Hey Eddy! How was your little sleep?"

Edwin was slowly becoming more and more alert, sleepily looking up at his Dad and giving him a gummy smile, albeit, a tired one.

"Yeah, was it a nice sleep?"

Now, Edwin was cooing.

"That good? Wow! How does some play-time sound?" Re-clothing the baby in a little t-shirt and trousers, he brought Edwin into the living room, lying him on the floor gym, placing a little velvet blanket over him to keep him warm. Soft crinkly animals and light up devices that kept a child busy for ages.

"Tony, nobody is perfect…" Rhodey rolled his eyes, sounding exasperated as he sat beside Tony, "…. Not even you as much as you hate to admit it. You're not going to screw this up."

"…. What if I turn out like Dad?" Tony didn't look up at his friend, instead focusing on the baby, who was lazily kicking his feet and babbling at the dangling objects all around him.

"Do you want to turn out like him?"

"What? No!"

Rhodey shrugged, "Then you won't. You know that your Dad's parenting style… wasn't the greatest no matter what Stane says. So you'll try and be better. That's all that Edwin needs."

Silence.

"Tony… you are nothing like Howard." Rhodey said firmly, but soft, "You are smarter and kinder, and come on… Jarvis wouldn't leave you alone with Edwin unless he trusted you absolutely."

Silence.

"Just… think about it for a moment Tony."

Tony ignored him, flicking on his computer and focusing on the blueprints that were on there. Obadiah had been on his case recently and he was eager to avoid any more lectures.

With Rhodey keeping an eye on Edwin, time seemed to fly by, and soon he was sending the new missile blueprints over to Stane. Checking the time, he shuffled out of his chair and scooped up the six-month-old, lifting up the t-shirt to blow a raspberry against the baby's tummy, smiling at the soft babbling Edwin let out.

"Look at how cute you are! Look at how cute I made you!"

Rhodey chuckled at the goofy tone, as Tony grabbed a nearby toy and waved it near Edwin's face, laughing as the baby reached out for it, tiny hands grasping at the soft material eagerly. As Tony started to give the giraffe a funny voice, Edwin's face scrunched up briefly

For a moment, it looked like he was going to cry.

And then came the gloriously cute baby laugh.

Tony and Rhodey both glanced at one another, before Tony let out a delighted laugh of his own, picking Edwin up and nestling him in the crook of his arm.

Neither him, nor Rhodey noticed the doors sliding open and Pepper striding into the room.

She stopped in her tracks as she watched Tony with the giraffe, making Edwin laugh again and again.

"Tony- " Pepper spoke up, her voice full of emotion as she stared down at her boss and his son.

"Pepper…" Tony beamed up at her, "… Did you hear him?"

"Yes. I-It was… beautiful!" Pepper moved to sit on the sofa, beside Rhodes, unable to take her eyes off of the father and son pair, "Jarvis will be sorry that he missed it."

"And that's why I'm recording it." Rhodey said softly, holding up his phone, as Tony continued to make Edwin laugh, "He can watch it when he's all better."

Knowing that he was being recorded, Tony turned his attention to the camera and beamed, "Jarvis, we have the best kid ever."

….

It took a little over twenty-four hours for Jarvis's system to be cleared, and when he entered the living room the next day, Tony had gone back to playing with Edwin, lying on his back with the baby on his stomach.

It was a brilliant sight.

He watched for a few more seconds, before stepping forwards and taking a seat on the floor next to his husband and son, not even caring for the fact that his suit would crease. "Morning love." He whispered, running his hands over Edwin's head, "Any problems?"

"None what-so-ever."