Hours had passed since Tony had been allowed to enter Pepper's room, yet his mind had no concept of real time. He was hypnotically entranced by the sounds of the machines currently keeping her alive synchronized with the rise and fall of her chest as the respirator inflated and deflated her lungs. The beep of the EKG machine had begun to echo in his mind like the ping of a submarine submerged deep in the darkness of the ocean. Only when the door opened, did he awaken from his trance to notice the rest of the world around him once again. Tony slowly turned around in his chair to see who it was, blinking to adjust his eyes from the bright overhead light shining down on Pepper's body from above her bed to the darkness of the doorway.

It was Rhodey, and as he walked in he staggered back in his first steps, overcome with the horrific sight of his best friend's wife lying, so broken and battered, in the hospital bed, barely clinging to her life. "Oh my God," Rhodey gasped, bringing a hand to his mouth in shock. "Oh my God, Tony, I'm...I'm so sorry," he murmured breathlessly.

Tony smiled weakly, and stood up slowly to greet his friend. Rhodey walked briskly to him, and hugged his friend sympathetically. "I came as quickly as I could, man," he said.

Tony nodded. "Thanks," he said, in a barely audible whisper, patting his shoulder. He sank back down into the seat he'd held for hours, and grasped Pepper's hand again. He turned his gaze back to her face, and worked his jaw, trying to keep away the threatening burn of new tears. "I hate hospitals," Tony murmured. "Nothing good has ever come to me in a hospital. It's always ever been about pain...and death... for me. But I have to stay here," Tony said. "Right here, in this spot. So she knows, Rhodey, that at least I'm here now. Because when I'm with her, I can protect her, you know? I can..." Tony murmured, his voice breaking. He choked back a sob. Tony slowly shook his head. "This is all my fault. God, why didn't I go with her? Why did I think it would be okay for her to go alone?" Tony begged. His shoulders began to shake with new sobs, and he covered his eyes with his hand, hiding the tears streaming out of his eyes now. He lovingly stroked Pepper's hand with his thumb as he cried.

"Tony, don't do this to yourself. It was a freak thing. There was nothing you could have done," Rhodey tried to reason.

"I could have got her out," Tony argued, raising his head again to look at his wife. "I could have kept her safe. If I had been there, and had the suit, I could have saved her!"

Rhodey sighed, wanting desperately to make his friend see that a chance happening so unpredictable wasn't anyone's fault. It was terribly unfortunate, but there wasn't anyone who was to blame for Pepper being caught in the middle of it. Especially not Tony. And especially not from so many miles away. But Rhodey knew that Tony would have to come to this conclusion on his own, in time. And with the wounds so fresh and the shock still so potent, now was not the time to try to argue this with him.

"I know there has been a lot going on since it happened, Tony," Rhodey said. He stepped behind Tony's chair, and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "So if you need me to call her mother to let her know what happened, I'd be glad to do that for you."

Tony's eyebrows shot up. "My God. Marilynn!" he gasped. "She doesn't know! I haven't told her! I hadn't even thought that far ahead yet! Oh my God! She doesn't know! She doesn't..." he said, his voice wavering and trailing off again. Tony covered his mouth with his fist, and gritted his teeth. He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing back the new tears forming in his eyes.

Rhodey patted his friend's shoulder. "Tony, let me call her for you. Please. You're in no shape to talk to anyone right now. And at least she'll know, and we can make arrangements to get her here, huh?" Rhodey suggested. "You know she'll want to come as soon as possible."

Tony, still squeezing his eyes shut, nodded in agreement. He let go of Pepper's hand long enough to fish his cell phone out of his pocket and hand it to Rhodey. Rhodey nodded and took it from him. "I'll just be outside," he said.

Tony nodded and smiled weakly, grasping Pepper's hand again as his best friend left the room.

XxXxXxXxXx

Rhodey quietly shut the hospital room door behind him, and sighed deeply. "Here goes," he muttered to himself. He found Marilynn's name in Tony's list of contacts and dialed. He braced himself as he prepared to deliver the sweet lady the terrible news.

"Hello?" Marilynn answered, her bright Southern voice said.

Rhodey smiled weakly to himself. "Hello, Mrs. Potts. Colonel Rhodes, here."

"Well, my stars! My good friend, the Colonel!" she cooed lovingly. "How are you darlin'? To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Rhodey pursed his lips. "I'm afraid, ma'am, that I'm calling because..." he said. He exhaled sharply. "Because something's happened to Pepper. To Virginia, I mean. And Tony is too shaken up to talk to anyone right now. So, he's asked me to call you."
He heard Marilynn gasp. "Ginny?" she whispered.

Rhodey squeezed his eyes shut and nodded. "Yes, ma'am. She's in critical condition. They've stabilized her, but she's in a medical coma, right now. It's...pretty bad," he said.

He heard her quietly start to cry, and his heart wrenched at the sound. "What happened?" she begged, her voice warbly from her tears.

Rhodey swallowed hard. "Have you seen the news about what's happened in San Francisco within the last couple of days?"

Marilynn gasped again. "Yes!" she said. "Oh,don't tell me! Ginny was involved in that mess?" she said. "What in heaven's name was she doing there?"

Rhodey shook his head. "It was only supposed to be a quick trip. She was supposed to be back home in just a few days. That was the plan, anyway" he explained.

"Oh, good Lord!" Marilynn said. She sobbed for a few moments, and Rhodey bit his lip, his own eyes stinging with the threat of tears. His heart was already broken for his friends, but having to hear Pepper's dear mother cry for her on the other end was torture.

"So," Rhodey said, trying to stay on task. "Needless to say, the jet is at your disposal for whenever you want to fly to San Francisco."

"As soon you can get it here, I'll go," she said. "If it were to land in my front yard this instant, I'd be ready."

Rhodey chuckled, despite the gravity of the moment. "You're a good woman and a wonderful mother, Mrs. Potts," he said.

"And you're a good friend, Colonel Rhodes," she replied. "I'm sure Tony is happy to have you there. I'm sure they both are."
Rhodey smiled weakly. "Tony's pretty shaken up, right now. He needs all the support he can get. I don't think he's left Pepper's side since she was admitted."

"Colonel, tell me something," Marilynn said. "As much as I hate to ask this, because I think I already know the answer, I have to know," she said. "How's my grand baby?"

Rhodey winced. "I don't have an answer for you on that, I'm afraid. I really only got here just minutes ago. And Tony can barely function at the moment. So he hasn't told me much past what I've already told you, unfortunately. But judging by everything that Pepper's been through, I'll be very honest with you," he said glumly. "I don't think it's looking too good."

He could only hear silence from the other end. "I see," he heard her utter finally. They sat together, silently, on the phone for several moments, Rhodey hearing her softly cry again. "Well," she said finally. Her voice was thick with anguished sorrow. "You let me know when that plane's comin', Colonel, hmmmm? My little girl needs me, so I'll be waiting anxiously to hear from you, of course."

"Of course, ma'am," Rhodey said.

"I told you before, sweetie. Call me Marilynn," she said softly.

"Of course, Marilynn. I'll be in touch," Rhodey said, smiling at her kindness to him even in this difficult situation. They bid each other goodbye, and Rhodey sighed heavily. He took a few deep breaths before finding the number for Stark Aviation. He dialed it, making the arrangements for a jet to be readied as soon as possible to fly to Kansas City.

When that was completed, he slowly opened the door to Pepper's room. He noticed Tony hadn't moved from his spot beside Pepper's bed. It was as if time had frozen briefly in there, while he'd been outside in the hall, on the phone.

Rhodey stepped inside, and closed the door softly before walking back over to his friend. Tony didn't acknowledge his presence, other than holding out his hand when Rhodey went to hand him back his phone. "The jet's being readied now to fly to Kansas City," Rhodey reported quietly. "Marilynn says she'd be ready to go now if it dropped in her front yard this minute," he said, smiling weakly at her comment.

Tony smiled weakly, too. "Good," he muttered. "Thanks."

Rhodey nodded. "No problem," he replied.
Tony slowly sat back in his seat, still holding on to Pepper's hand. He scrubbed his other hand over his face, and sighed. He shook his head. After a moment he spoke. "How'd she take it?" he asked.

"Well, as well as to be expected, I suppose," Rhodey said. "She's in shock, she's in tears, I..." he said, his voice trailing off. "I don't have to tell you it's tough, Tony."

Tony nodded his head weakly. "Yeah," he murmured.

Rhodey furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, mulling over the conversation he'd had with Marilynn. He knew the question he most needed to ask Tony, but he just couldn't bring himself to ask it. It was something that obviously Marilynn had wanted to know, and he wanted to know as well. But Tony was barely keeping it together as is, without adding the pain of having to answer such a question with what he could only assume was going to be more bad news. So Rhodey just kept quiet. He figured all pertinent information would become available in due time, in one way or another, and that his most important duty, for the time being, was to be the kind of support he knew his friends needed him to be.