A short while later, after retrieving their coats and the pictures from the ultrasound that JARVIS had printed for them from the penthouse, they met Happy in the parking garage. Despite being completely primped and pressed in his usual black suit, the bags under Happy's eyes would suggest he'd partied himself out the night before. Tony and Pepper looked at each other knowingly, and Tony chuckled at his old friend.
"Long night, Hap?" Tony quipped as they approached the car.
Happy grinned sheepishly at his boss. "Yeah, yeah," he said. "It was a hell of a party, boss."
"And, uh, Irene? Where is she this fine morning?" Tony teased, smirking and cocking an eyebrow.
Happy grinned sheepishly again, this time with his cheeks turning crimson red. "Uh, yeah, she's, uh, still recovering. If you know what I mean," Happy said, grinning slyly.
"Ho ho! Happy got lucky! That's my boy!" Tony hooted loudly. Pepper laughed and rolled her eyes at her husband.
"Tony!" she cried, her cheeks blushing as well.
"What?" Tony said, shrugging. "I calls 'em as I sees 'em, Pep," he replied, smirking.
Pepper smiled knowingly at their driver and then murmured to Tony, "Should we tell him our news?"
Tony nodded and grinned. "Do you want to or should I?" he murmured back.
Happy frowned and look back and forth between them. "What? Tell me what?" he asked. "What are you gonna say next? That you're havin' a baby or somethin'?" he joked. Happy laughed to himself.
Tony and Pepper looked at each other knowingly and giggled. In turn, Happy's eyes went wide. He gasped. "Oh, no way!" he cried. "Are you serious?! Really?! Oh my God! That's...that's!" he stammered.
He opened his arms wide to hug Pepper, and she hugged her friend back joyfully. "Oh my God!" he said. He extended his hand to Tony, and Tony took it, pulling Happy to him for a back-slapping hug.
"Congratulations, you guys! That's fantastic!" he exclaimed. "When did you find out?"
"Just this morning," Pepper said, as she rummaged through her purse to produce the ultrasound pictures. She handed them to Tony.
"Wanna see the little guy?" Tony asked his driver.
"Or girl," Pepper said. "Why do I need to keep reminding him of that?" she murmured to herself.
"You already got pictures?!" Happy exclaimed, as he stepped beside Tony.
Tony held one of the images up in front of them. "Yep. It's about six weeks old," Tony said proudly. "Already has a heartbeat. And it's ¼ of an inch long. Amazing, huh?" he said.
Happy examined the pictures and nodded. "It is," he said. "That's a really good picture, boss. I remember when my sister had her kid. Her ultrasound pictures were nothin' like this."
Tony grinned. "Yeah, well, this is all thanks to the infirmary. Nothing but the best," he murmured, gazing at the pictures.
They all three admired the images quietly for a few moments. Tony glanced at Pepper and smiled softly, and she smiled back. He kissed her temple and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close to his side.
After Tony had finished showing Happy each of the images, Happy smiled warmly at his friends. He clasped his hands together. "Well, folks," he said. "We'd better get a move on. Don't wanna keep Mrs. Potts waiting. But really, guys," he said, extending his hand out to Tony again. Tony took it graciously, and Happy then hugged Pepper sweetly again. "I couldn't be happier for you both. This is a happy day. So, congratulations," Happy said, smiling widely.
"Thank you, Happy," Pepper said, smiling warmly.
"Yeah, thanks, Hap," Tony said. "It means a lot. And who knows? Maybe, if it is a boy, we could name him Harold?" he teased.
Happy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, don't do that to the kid," he teased back. "Not unless you want him get his ass kicked every day of his life. Why do you think I eventually took up boxing?"
They laughed, and Tony and Pepper climbed into the car. Happy closed the door behind them, smiling to himself about his good friends' exciting news.
XxXxXxXxXx
A short time later, Happy pulled the car up to the restaurant where Tony and Pepper were supposed to meet her mother and Rhodey for lunch. Mrs. Potts had insisted that he join them, admitting that she quite liked the Colonel, as she called him, and they'd become fast friends in the last few days. Plus, Rhodey was to be her escort again on the flight back to Kansas City, so it only made sense that he come along. And Tony and Pepper were always happy to have their old friend in their company, anyway. Especially today, when they could tell him their exciting news.
Tony had made reservations at a quiet little upscale tea room, which agreed to open for them on New Year's Day, with the help of a little financial persuasion. So they'd have the place to themselves, and could enjoy a nice quiet lunch together.
Tony held the door for his wife and she entered, immediately taking his hand as he stepped inside. The entrance way was very elegant and modern in décor, with colorful blown glass sculptures and vibrant hanging pendant lights delicately illuminating each table from above. The sound of water trickling from the water feature located near the entrance provided a soothing contrast to the noise and bustle of the street outside. The hostess gladly took their coats and directed them to the table where Rhodey and Marilynn were waiting for them. Pepper beamed at the sight of her mother, and they embraced in big hug. "Oh my girl! Let me look at you!" her mother cooed, stepping back with her daughter's hands in hers to survey her. "Oh, marriage suits you, honey! It suits you! You are positively glowing!" she gushed.
Pepper smiled knowingly at Tony and he grinned knowingly at her in return, chuckling to himself.
"And Mr. Tony!" Marilynn exclaimed, turning her gaze to him. "How's my new son-in-law this morning?"
"Great!" Tony exclaimed. "Couldn't be happier actually," he said. He gave Marilynn a bear hug and she patted his cheek lovingly.
They went to sit down, and Tony pulled out Pepper's chair for her. She sat down, and he slid it in for her, raising the back of her hand to his lips to gently kiss it before sitting down himself. Rhodey extended his hand and Tony clasped it jovially.
"She's right, Pepper. You really are glowing this morning," Rhodey agreed, once they'd all been seated back down.
Pepper blushed. "Well, thank you," she said bashfully. She pursed her lips, and looked sidelong at Tony. He beamed at her in adoration. He put an elbow on the table, and rested his cheek on his fist.
"Well?" he said to her expectantly. "Seems like a good time to tell them, wouldn't you say, Pep?" he said.
Pepper chuckled bashfully. "Wow," she said to herself, her cheeks suddenly reddening. She looked at Tony again. "This is, um, a lot harder than I thought it would be, but..."
"What my wife is trying to say, if you don't mind me helping you out here, honey," Tony said, smirking. Pepper graciously smiled at him, and sighed in relief of having the spot light taken from off of her and placed firmly on her husband for the moment. "Is that the reason why she's all-a-glow this morning, is..." he said. He paused to look at Pepper lovingly, his eyes sparkling with excitement. Pepper smiled shyly, and he winked at her before continuing. "Is that we're pregnant," he said, matter-of-fact, quickly going back to an excited grin.
Marilynn gasped, bringing her hands to her mouth. Rhodey spluttered and began to chuckle jovially. Pepper chuckled,too, and Tony kissed her cheek. He put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her to him, grinning.
"Oh my heavens!" Marilynn cried. She began to fan her face to shoo away oncoming tears. "Oh my goodness! I'm gonna be a grandma? Really?! Oh my!" she cried. "Oh honey!" she said, pulling Pepper into her arms. Pepper began to tear up, and she swiped at the tears as she and her mother hugged.
Rhodey slapped Tony on the back and Tony grinned proudly. "Congratulations, man!" he said. "Way to go."
"Thanks, Rhodey," Tony said, beaming.
"Wow, look at you guys," Rhodey said. "Engaged, married, and pregnant all in the same week."
Tony smirked. "What can I say? I like to work fast," Tony teased, snapping his fingers. He winked at Pepper and she chuckled. "So, Mama Potts," he said. "I guess we'll have to change your name to Grandma Potts now, won't we?"
Marilynn beamed, and closed her eyes, bringing her hands to her chest in adoration. "The best sounding name in the world," she cooed.
Pepper looked at Tony. "I told you she'd be thrilled," she said. Tony just chuckled and smiled back at her.
"So, how long have you known?" Marilynn asked.
"Just since this morning," Pepper replied. "I hadn't been feeling well in the mornings since the day after Christmas, so I took a pregnancy test, and here we are."
"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up," Tony teased. "Tell the story the way it actually happened, Pep. You took the test last night, and it looked to be negative..." he coaxed.
"Right," Pepper said, her cheeks blushing. "And then..."
"And then, once again, she was sick this morning. And I insisted she was pregnant, but she said..."
"Really, Tony? You're going to gloat about this, right now?" Pepper said, smirking, yet trying to sound annoyed.
"You bet!" he challenged. "Hey, if it hadn't been for me, we probably wouldn't have known about junior, there, until much later, now would we?" Tony asserted, pointing at her stomach.
Pepper rolled her eyes. "You never miss an opportunity, do you?" she teased. "Anyway, I showed Tony the test that I took, thinking it was still negative, and somehow it had gone from negative to positive overnight."
Rhodey furrowed his brow. "But, you're sure, though? It wasn't a faulty test?"
Tony shook his head. "Nope. We did an ultrasound this morning. Got the pictures to prove it."
Marilynn gasped again. "Oh! You have pictures?! May I see?!" she squealed excitedly.
"Of course!" Tony exclaimed. "We even printed you some copies of your own!"
Marilynn squealed again and clapped her hands happily. Pepper dug the pictures out of her purse and handed them to her mother. "Oh my goodness! What a darling!" she cooed. "My first grandbaby, Colonel! Would you look at that!" she said, handing the pictures one by one to Rhodey as she looked at them. Tony and Pepper chuckled at how giddy she was.
Rhodey gazed at them, and smiled at his friends warmly. "Wow, you guys," he said. "This is really exciting. I couldn't be happier for you," he said.
"Thanks, man," Tony said proudly. "We couldn't be happier, either."
Rhodey gazed at his best friend in admiration. Ten years ago, he never would have imagined that Tony would have been in the seat he was sitting in today. He felt proud to call Tony his friend these days, as he knew his reason for being had gone from wild parties and one-night-stands to marrying the love of his life, and now expecting his first child. It was amazing to him how, with the help of finding the right woman to love, a man could change so drastically into someone so much better. And he could only hope that he'd be lucky enough to find a woman like that someday.
"Oh," Marilynn cooed, gazing lovingly at the last of the pictures. "I love this baby, already."
Pepper smiled, as tears began to form in her eyes again. Tony smiled at his wife in adoration. He kissed her cheek and rested his head on the side of hers, laying a gentle hand on her belly. "So do we, Marilynn," he said softly. He raised up to look into Pepper's eyes again. She gazed at him lovingly. "So do we."