Like all my other fics, I post as a chapter is written. Its not the best thing to do what that's the only why I find I can do it. I am sorry for the long periods between updates but with a demanding two year old (and an equally demanding boyfriend) plus writing chapters for 6 other fics, I don't actually get to spend much time on it. I appreciate all feedback, so please, drop me a line or two letting me know what liked/disliked and anything you feel I didn't do justice.

"After you, Boss."

Tony nodded to Happy and turned on his heel, marching up to catch the nurse. He still had few minutes at most to mull over everything before they reached the ward. Was he pleased that Annabelle was ready to meet him? Yes! But hell was he nervous. He didn't know what to expect from his first encounter with his daughter. Would she hate him for not being there for her from the beginning? There was a good chance that she would and he wouldn't blame her for it, he just hoped she would understand that it hadn't actually been his fault. He knew, from Russel, that she too was nervous but also overwhelmed about the whole thing and he didn't want to make things worse. Unfortunately, Anthony Stark had a habit of putting his foot in his mouth and say the wrong thing. At this moment in time, he was beyond glad that Pepper had asked Happy to abandon his plans and come with him; although the man was on his payroll, he considered him to be more of a friend than an employee.

The nurse led them along a corridor, pausing briefly to point a visitor in the right direction. According to Tony estimation, they had been walking for ninety two seconds, though it could easily have been an hour. Finally, the trio came to a stop outside a pair of large double doors. The nurse, who had informed them that her name was Caroline Taxx, used the hand sanitiser positioned on the wall to their right and gestured they do the same - which they did. Nurse Taxx turned to the two men and smiled.

"Miss Cooper is in bed four, by the window. She's still in a vulnerable state and I think it would be best if I introduce you. Would that be okay?" Tony nodded and she continued, her British accent rebounding off the walls. "Okay then. I didn't quite catch your friends name, Mr Stark. I assume you'll both be entering the ward, Mr...?"

"Happy. His name is Happy, and yes, he'll be joining us."

Tony turned to smile at Happy, who grinned unashamedly back at the billionaire. The truth was, Happy was well and truly looking forward to meeting his boss' long lost daughter. In all the time Happy had worked for Tony, he had never known the business man to drop every thing for a woman, hell anybody, other than Pepper but he'd been shocked and pleasantly surprised that he'd done just that for the daughter he had only just found out about. Pepper had instructed Happy to be at Annabelle's full disposal, and, more importantly, keep Tony from doing anything stupid that he'd be likely to regret.

"Very well then, if you'd like to follow me." Nurse Taxx punched in the code for the door then wrenched it open, allowing the two men to follow her in. Tony instantly scanned the large room looking for bed four, Happy doing the same thing and they both spotted it at the same time. Happy pointed and while they waited for the nurse to take them over, Tony took the time to observe the girl sitting on the bed. He faltered slightly when he caught sight of her face - she was the spitting image of her mother. Granted, he hadn't seen Gabriella in years and no doubt her appearance had changed, but the girl in the bed looked exactly as she had at seventeen.

She was uncomfortable, he could tell but the way she was sitting. He didn't like the thought of her being in any sort of pain, physical or emotional - he'd been in enough of his own to cover for everyone he knew. He didn't need to be told by anyone that she was nervous, that much was evident by her constant fidgeting. Tony was never one to give free hugs (except for Pepper) but he the urge to walk straighte over to his daughter and wrap her in his arms and tell her everything would be alright.

It took Tony a few seconds to realise Annabelle was staring intently back at him. He couldn't tell what she was thinking but she wasn't looking away, that had to be a good sign, right? He gave her a heartfelt smile and his stomach started to turn as he waited for her to respond. It settled down though, a few seconds later, when she returned his with a hesitant smile of her own.

It had been almost ten minutes since Russel had left Annabelle alone with her thoughts. She'd managed to go over all the worse case scenarios in her head, each one causing her to freak out that little bit more. What if he took one look at her and decided that he couldn't hack being a dad? What if they got back to the States then decided he couldn't hack being a dad? What if Pepper Potts didn't like her and Tony chooses his girlfriend over his daughter? No matter how hard she tried to push the thoughts away, they kept coming back in full force.

Annabelle hated the fact that she had to do this alone. Her mother should be with her, holding her hand as she waited for her birth father to appear. She hated the thought that it could all go wrong and she would have no one to fall back on. Tony Stark was the only person left in her world. Sure, she had friends but it wasn't the same, they were back in Boston and she would be going to live in Malibu, California.

She couldn't help her hands twitching in her lap, it had always been a nervous habit of hers. Her mother would constant run her hands through her hair whenever she was nervous. Annabelle had never been good at meeting new people, preferring to to stand silently in the background and hopefully not draw attention to herself. Most of the time it worked, but, like today, there was nothing she could do to avoid it. The twitching wasn't entirely down to nerves either, she felt uncomfortable in the way she looked to. Her mother had always brought her up to look her best, even if she were only meeting friends in the park. She dreaded to think what her mom would be like if she could see her now, dressed in hospital scrubs with her hair a mess. She wanted to smile at the thought but stopped herself at the last moment, realising that her mom should and never would again be there to scold her for being less presentable than usual.

Annabelle wasn't sure whether it was the sound of the double doors opening or the movement she could see out of the corner of her eye that caused her to look up. Her breath hitched in her throat as she caught sight of the man she'd only ever seen on screen or on paper. He was standing next to another man, one that she had seen him being escorted by. She couldn't remember his name, that was even if she'd ever known it, but he had a kind expression upon his face. Not smiling but... almost. Tony was studying her, she knew he was. Was he seeing whether she looked worthy enough to be his daughter? Her heart fell when she thought this. She wasn't good enough, she knew it. But, just as she felt herself tear up slightly, he sent a smile her way. It wasn't the smile her used in interviews, or the sarcastic smile he normally sent peoples way but a true smile, one she truly believed she'd never seen him give before. Suddenly, she felt some of her nerves slip away slightly and she sent him her own, hesitant smile.

She thought she could see him breath a sigh of relief at her response, like he expected her to glare at him or something. He turned to his... bodyguard? Was that what he was? And said something to him. Annabelle couldn't hear him, nor could she read his lips, but whatever he said made the other man grin and laugh - that she heard.

Nurse Tax started walking towards her, a polite smile upon her face as the two men followed behind her. Annabelle felt her palms begin to sweat but tried not to think too much of it. Tony didn't take his focus off her, and nor did she, until the nurse stopped directly in front of her bed.

"Miss Cooper, this is Mr Stark and his friend... Happy. Would you like me to close the curtains whilst you talk?"

Annabelle nodded and thanked her before returning her gaze to the billionaire standing in front of her. She couldn't see his eyes because, like whenever he appeared in public, he had his thick sunglasses shielding a good portion of his face.

"I trust you all understand that these are not strictly visiting hours so I must ask you to please be respectful of the other patients on the ward. I'll leave you to it." She drew the curtains closed behind her and left the three of them gazing silently at each other in the confines.

No one was quite sure what to say. Both Annabelle and Tony seemed unable to form a single word and Happy didn't really know whether he should be there or not. After five full minutes of truly awkward silence, Happy was finally the first one to speak.

"Miss Cooper, I was wondering if you'd eaten anything this morning?"

His question seemed to shock both the girl in the bed and the man standing slightly to her left. Tony turn to Happy, raising his eyebrows but Happy stood his ground with an amused expression. Annabelle wasn't sure whether she should answer truthfully or not. But, in the end, she decided to be honest.

"Um... no, I haven't. I wasn't all that hungry." Tony tilted his head at her and she could see the worry in his eyes and she couldn't help but smile on the inside at his concern.

"Well neither has he." He jabbed his thumb at Tony and frowned at him, knowing exactly what he was doing and while he appreciated it, he was annoyed that Happy was trying to force them to talk when clearly both of them was as unsure as the other. "So I'll go and get you something, anything it particular that you would want?"

Annabelle widened her eyes in surprise, she could see why he was called Happy, the guy was just... happy.

"Oh, um, anything with blueberries would be nice, and an orange juice please." She turned back to Tony when she heard him chuckle and saw he had an ear to ear grin spread across his face. She didn't know why he did, but it made her smile to.

"Coming right up, I'll be back in a bit boss."

"I'm sure you will, I'm sure you will." It was the first time since stepping within hearing distance that Tony had spoken. Happy gave a bark of laughter before patting Tony on the shoulder, giving Annabelle and smile and leaving through the curtains.

For the first time in his life, Tony didn't know how to approach a woman, and Annabelle could clearly see that. At first it made her chuckle but then the reality of the situation set in - he didn't know how to speak to his own daughter. It was something every one was supposed to do, but not him, not Tony Stark. The silence was making Annabelle feel very uneasy, having never been in a situation like this before, and she knew Tony could sense this because every few seconds he would open his mouth to speak, only to close it again straight after. Finally, almost four minutes after Happy left, Annabelle broke the silence.

"Please sit down. This is really hard and... I guess we have a lot to talk about..." She waited for a response, a reaction but she didn't get one for almost a minute. He was just smiling sadly at her but she could see he was building up the courage to actually talk to her.

"Sorry, I -" Tony stopped himself, unsure of how she would take his comment. He cleared his throat before continuing. "You look unbelievingly like your mother."

The dam broke. It was one thing to hear it from every one who had ever said it, but to hear it from the man who fathered her, who had never seen her, nor seen her mother in over seventeen years, was something entirely different. Annabelle heaved great sobs in to her hands as she tried to control herself. But it wasn't only because he said it, it was because it happened to be the first time it had been voiced since her mothers death. Tony, who regretted saying it almost instantly, didn't know what the hell to do. He had just reduced his daughter to tears with a simple comment, one that was supposed to be a compliment. It took him no more than ten seconds to inched towards her and wrap her in his arms. She tensed at the contact but eventually relaxed in to him, understanding that he wouldn't move until she did.

"I'm sorry... I didn't how it would effect you. I'm so, so sorry." His words words held layers upon layers of apologies, and they both knew it. She nodded against his chest and he released her, but sat on the edge of the bed, taking her hand.

"I miss her, so much that it hurts."

"I understand the feeling."

A silence was left between them, but not the same as the one before. They hadn't said much to each other but somehow, it was enough.

"Annabelle," he started, his voice forcing her to look at him. "I've never done this before, but I'm willing to try. I wish I had been told from the beginning, got to be there every step of the way but I understand why your mom thought against it. I was in no state to hold responsibility for myself, let alone you. Hell, if it wasn't for Pepper, and Happy now I think about it, I doubt I would be as stable as I am now. But I want to get to know you, be the father I should have been. I want you to know that I will do every thing in my power to help you get through this."

"Thank you." She meant it. In all the interviews she had actually watched, she didn't think he;d ever sounded as sincere as he did right now. A smile creeped to her lips, but the sorrow in her heart still didn't allow for it to fully form. At the moment, she doubted it ever would. "I was so scared you would reject me. All my life I have wondered who my father was, but I never asked because I feared being told I wasn't wanted. I know now that you knew nothing about me, that you didn't know I existed, and while that is still hard to fully grasp, I will never hold it against you because I know it wasn't your fault. But I also don't blame my mom, she had her reasons and I respect that."

"Your mom has raised you well." He smiled at her as she let the comment sink in. Her mom had been the best mom a girl could hope for, and she'd like to think her mom would be proud of her. "I can honestly say I doubt you would have turned out as well as you did if your upbringing had had my input."

They chuckled lightly together as the thought of Peppers reaction burned in the back of her mind. She was scared, terrified to ask, but she needed to know. She needed to leave here knowing whether her existence would or wouldn't be the ending of a great relationship.

"Um... T-" Did she call him Tony or dad? She had called Alan 'dad' because to her, he what just that. Tony knew what she was must be thinking because he squeezed her hand when she had been silent for too long.

"I don't expect you to jump right in and accept me as who I am supposed to be. Calling me 'Tony' is fine."

"Thanks." She smiled her small again, that was a weight off her chest. For someone who appears to be such an asshole on TV, he's surprisingly a really nice guy. "What does... what does Ms Potts think about all this?"

He had not been expecting that. Of all the things she could have said, that she could have been worrying about, a question about Pepper was not one he thought he would be hearing.

"She's... she can't wait to meet you." He watched her eyes widen in surprise. "She's back home, getting the house ready for you. She's supportive of every thing. You look... relieved. Why were you so worried what Pepper thought?"

"Because..." Now how should she word it. "I... was worried. I didn't want to be the reason to the end of the only stable relationship you've had. I didn't want it to, if it had to, come down to you choosing between me and her."

"It would be you."

"What?"

"It would be you. I may have only met you today. I may have only known about you for the past few days. But, trust me when I say that if anyone asked me to choose between them or you, I wouldn't hesitate to choose you in a heartbeat."

Annabelle was speechless. This was something she never expected. She could feel tears steadily building in her eyes again and it was only a matter of time before they started to fall. Tony Stark was a very different man in person to the one depicted by the media.

"Why?" It was a whisper, so quiet because she couldn't trust that she wanted to actually ask the question.

"Because you're my daughter and I loved you the moment I found out about you, no one will ever get in the way of that."

Sorry to leave it there! I felt that it was a pretty good time to do it!