Tony pulled back to look at his wife in wonder. "Venice?" he said. "You bet I remember Venice!"

Pepper smiled adoringly. "So, that idea gets your approval, then?" she teased.

Tony planted a firm kiss on Pepper's lips, and she giggled. He broke the kiss, and pulled her to him, squeezing her in a hug. "Absolutely! Two thumbs way up, Potts!"

Pepper giggled again, realizing that her maiden-name had now officially become more of a term of endearment than it was before, which warmed her heart.

After a moment, Tony pulled back again and looked at her adoringly. "Well," he said, sighing. "I don't know about you, and uh, junior, there, but I'm starving."

"Junior, huh?" Pepper said. "What if it's a 'princess'?" she teased.

"Well, it's ours, and that's all that matters," Tony said lovingly. He kissed Pepper's lips again. "But I'm calling it Junior," he joked, cocking an eyebrow. "At least until we know what 'it' is."
Pepper grinned, and he patted her side, stepping away from her to turn on the shower. "Care to join me?" he said, as he shed his robe.

Pepper smiled and shed her robe as well. "I'd love to," she said. "We can't exactly go around smelling like wedding night sex all day, now, can we?" she teased.

Tony chuckled. "Well, as much as I'd like to disagree with you, today you are probably right. We're having lunch with Mama Potts at noon, so..."

Pepper's eyes brightened, and she gasped. "We are?!" she said excitedly. "When did you plan that?"

Tony smirked knowingly. "During a certain dance at a certain wedding reception," he said. "I knew you'd probably want to visit with her before she flew out today, so, like a good husband, I made the arrangements."

Suddenly, Tony's lips were attacked by his wife's, and he was quickly entangled in her arms. He let out a surprised, "Oaff!" as she did it, and he chuckled as she kissed him.

After a few moments, she slowly let go, and beamed at him. "Not that I mind you practically jumping me," he said. "But what was that for?"

Pepper smiled lovingly. "Because you are the nicest, sweetest, kindest, most thoughtful man," she cooed. Tears started to form in her eyes, and she smiled at him bashfully. "And I love you," she whispered, her voice cutting out from the lump in her throat.

"Whoa, okay," Tony said, putting up his hands in surrender. "I think somebody's a little emotional from her raging pregnancy hormones," he teased.

Pepper shook her head. "No, I mean it, Tony," she asserted. "Everything you've done for me this week, for us, it's just," she said, as she choked back a sob. "Amazing," she finished.

"Come here," Tony said, pulling her into his arms. She rested her head on his chest. "Calm down, okay? And don't cry, Pep," he said, stroking her hair. "I only did it because you were so stressed out about having to push back getting married, and I knew you'd only go through with it if your mother was present. Plus I really, really wanted some good wedding night nooky, so..."

Pepper laughed out loud, and raised up her head to look at him. She smacked him playfully on the shoulder and he giggled. She closed her eyes and shook her head.

Tony cupped her cheek and looked into her eyes. Pepper brought her eyes to his and smiled. Tony brushed that last tear from her cheek with his thumb. "You okay, now? We good?" he asked.

Pepper patted his hand. "Very good," she said.

"Okay, then," Tony replied. He raised up and kissed her forehead. Then, he climbed in the shower, and held out a hand to Pepper to help her inside as well. She took it and stepped in with him.

For the next several minutes, they quietly washed, letting the heat from the hot water soak into their tired bones and aching muscles. Tony gently washed Pepper's hair, a treat he knew she always loved. He massaged her scalp and ran his fingers softly through hair, making whatever tensions were left in her body melt away. Next, he rubbed her down with a puffy loofah and some body wash. She was still facing away from him, and she leaned against his chest as he did this. He washed her arms, and her torso, including her back, and then ran a hand down her body and rested it on her lower abdomen, patting it lovingly. He kissed the side of her head and she raised an arm up behind her to pull him close, enjoying the moment.

Next, it was his turn, and they did an about face. Pepper did the same for him, massaging his scalp as she washed his hair, and then soaped him up with the loofah. She hugged him tightly from behind when she had finished, wrapping her arms around his chest and squeezing him. He patted her forearms lovingly in response. Then he turned around and kissed her, wrapping her in his arms. They stood in the hot water stream for several minutes kissing deeply, enjoying each others bodies.

After a while, they slowly broke the kiss and Tony rested his forehead on hers. She smiled warmly and look up into his eyes. "Ready to get out?" she asked. "I think 'junior' is actually getting hungry," she said. "Because suddenly, I am feeling ravenous."

Tony chuckled and reached to shut off the water. "Oh, this is definitely my child," he teased. "The only thing that disrupts a tender moment for a Stark, ever, is a growling stomach."

Pepper giggled, and Tony held out a hand to assist her in getting out of the shower safely. Pepper smiled to herself at this gesture, and accepted it. He'd never done this before, and it hadn't ever occurred to her that he should. But now that they knew she was pregnant, she found it sweet that he was being extra protective of her.

She grabbed a towel off the warming rack and began to dry herself off. Tony climbed out and did the same. She wrapped her hair in the towel and piled it on top of her head, and then set about slathering on some moisturizer. Tony watched her apply it as he finished drying.

"How's that rug burn?" he asked.

Pepper turned around to look in the mirror, and Tony looked at her back. There was only a little red mark still remaining. "See," she said. "It looked far worse that it was."

"Good thing," Tony said in relief. "I don't like it when I leave a mark on you, how ever much fun we have putting it there," he said.

He wrapped his towel around his waist and stood beside her at the vanity to begin the process of sculpting his hair. "No harm, no foul," Pepper replied. She snuck a quick kiss to his cheek, for which he tilted his head to the side. He smiled at her and she beamed back at him before she swiveled around and walked out of the bathroom to their closet.

"So, are we telling Mama Potts you're pregnant?" Tony called out from the bathroom.

Pepper raked through her clothes, selecting a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a pair of brown leather riding boots, and a long white tunic sweater with a chunky off-the-shoulder rolled collar. She picked a wide, double-buckle belt in the same shade of leather as her boots to cinch around her waist, and a chunky silver necklace to complete the ensemble. She exited the closet and laid the items on their bed. "I don't know," she said. "Do you think we should? Doesn't it seem early? I mean, I want to make sure everything is okay before we announce it."

Tony stepped to the bathroom doorway to reply, combing his hair as he talked. "That's why we're doing the ultrasound this morning. To make sure everything is okay," he persuaded. "And come on, Pep. Wouldn't it be cool to deliver the news in person? I know your mother would appreciate that."

Pepper glanced over at her husband, and chewed her lip in thought. "Yeah, you're right," she said. She sighed happily. "She'll be thrilled!" she said excitedly.

"Oh, I know she will," Tony said. "In fact, she asked me specifically when we'd be giving her a grandchild."

Pepper looked at him curiously and smiled. "She did? Last night?" she asked.

"No, when we had lunch after she got into town a couple of days ago," he said.

Pepper stopped what she was doing. "You flew her into town a few days ago?" she asked.

"Well, yeah," Tony said cautiously, shrugging, unsure of where this was going. "Why? What was I supposed to do? I had Rhodey take the jet from L.A., pick her up in Kansas City, and fly here, where I made him take her shopping and to a spa to get all done up for the wedding."

Pepper brought her fingertips to her mouth, as new tears began to stream down her cheeks. "You did that?" she asked softly. She smiled sheepishly at Tony again at her emotional display and Tony chuckled, looking at his wife with an empathetic smile.

"Okay, that's it," he said, with mock determination. "Me and Mini-me need to have a talk."

Pepper watched as he walked over to her, and knelt down in front of her so that he was eye level with her belly. He put his hands on her hips. "Now hear this, mini-Stark," he said to her middle. Pepper laughed and shook her head. She laid her hands on his shoulders as he spoke. "This is your father speaking. You be nice to your mother. She's a little emotional right now, so if you could go easy on the morning sickness and the hormones that make her all moody and make her cry all the time, this would make life a lot easier. For the both of us. Do this and I may just make it up to you later on. In the way of letting you stay out past curfew, or taking your dates out in the R8 or somethin', you know. Cuz' I'll be the cool dad all your friends will be jealous of. And we'll be best buddies. Promise." His kissed Pepper's belly and looked up at her with big brown puppy dog eyes. "Promise," he repeated. Pepper held his face in her hands and smiled at him. She started to cry again.

Tony frowned, and quickly got up off his knees to pull her into his arms. "Well, so much for the crying," he joked.