Pepper landed in San Francisco to be welcomed by fog and rain. It was a beautiful place, but a lot of it was hidden by a heavy fog bank draped low over the city. Thankfully, the A.I pilot, Winston, didn't have to rely on visibility to land safely, and Pepper breathed a sigh of relief when they touched down an hour and a half later.
She pulled out her phone as soon as the plane was on the ground and rolling towards the terminal, dialing Tony.
"Hello, hello," he cooed on the other end, and she smiled at the sound of his voice.
"Just letting you know we're here. It's a foggy and raining, but we made it, safe and sound," she reported.
She heard Tony sigh in relief, which made her furrow her brow curiously. "Good," she heard him say.
"Were you worried?" she asked. "It's like, the shortest flight I've been on in a long time."
"I know, Pep," Tony said. He knew his lingering trepidation about her trip was only a figment of his imagination, so he pushed it aside. "I guess I'm just being my usual protective self," he stated.
"Overly protective self, Tony. That's the term you're looking for," she teased. "So, what are you up to now?" she asked.
"Nothing," Tony said. "Just tinkering. Missing you, and tinkering."
Pepper smiled. "I miss you, too," she said.
"How's junior?" Tony asked.
Pepper flicked her eyes to Bill Riva, who was at the front of the plane, staring at his phone, paying no attention to what she was doing.
"Fine," Pepper said, patting her stomach inconspicuously. "Just fine."
"No motion sickness, or anything weird happen?" Tony asked.
"Nothing at all," Pepper said, smiling. She saw they had approached the terminal and they were now lowering the stair case. Bill motioned to her that they were ready for them to disembark, and Pepper nodded to acknowledge him motioning to her. "Hey, they're letting us off. I've gotta run. Bill and I are going to head to the hotel to check in, and then we'll need to go to the conference to register. But I'll call you tonight, yes?" she said.
"No problem, baby. Talk to you soon," Tony said, and they disconnected.
XxXxXxXxXx
Tony hung up with Pepper and went back to flipping through the images Fury had sent him. After he'd seen Pepper off, he gone to the office and hopped on one of the computers in the lab. He smiled fondly as he put each image on to the SD card he was going to load into the portable holographic imaging platform he'd designed. It seemed like these images had been taken ages ago, yet it was just a few weeks, which boggled Tony's mind. So much had happened in their lives since then, that it was funny to think they'd only been married since New Year's Eve. "Man, he got some great shots," he mused, admiring the work Fury had done for him. "And she didn't even suspect a thing."
He still couldn't get over that fact that Fury had agreed to do the photography at their wedding. Tony knew having a photographer present and always in their faces would just detract from the enjoyment of the moment. He'd wanted it to be perfect for Pepper, like a fantasy, so a photographer who could specialize in doing his job without being detected was very important.
He'd read somewhere in a file that Nick had done a lot of photo reconnaissance work in his early days at SHIELD, and that it was a skill he'd taken special interest in sharpening. Granted, this was a wedding and not the take-down of some global enemy, but Fury graciously accepted, only after giving Tony hell for thinking he'd do something so unofficial like this in the first place. And, he'd admitted to Tony afterwards, that it was good to get the equipment back out again and rekindle the passion he'd had for it all those years ago. Besides, in an effort to keep their wedding a secret, hiring an outside photographer wouldn't have fit the bill for privacy's sake. Which was also the reason why the guest list included the other Avengers and SHIELD personnel only.
Tony finished loading the last of the images onto the card, and then ejected it. "Phase two, complete," he said, smirking to himself as he held up the card in front of his face, turning it over in his fingers. Next, he needed to solder the imaging components into the housing. They'd arrived at the lab just that morning, and he had anxiously rifled through them like a kid on Christmas, excited to be that much closer to completing this little project for Pepper. His goal was to have it completed by Valentine's Day, but the longer he thought about it, the more he wanted to give it to her sooner. And now, with everything coming together so quickly, he knew he stood a good chance of being able to take it with him to San Francisco to surprise her.
XxXxXxXxXx
Pepper and Bill had checked into their hotel and gone on to the conference to register themselves. The main exhibition building was bustling with people from many different tech companies, all working to set up display booths and information tables. The two found their assigned spot, and Bill instantly began to unpack the materials he'd brought with him to showcase what he'd be presenting in the auditorium the next day to all of his fellow colleagues in the industry.
Pepper helped him to get the basics set up, and to hang the Stark logo banner on the partition behind their table. Then she left Bill to finish arranging everything while she walked around to survey some of the other booths and to network with people from other companies. This was what Tony had sent her for- to glad-hand and make connections. Plus, it felt good to walk around and get a little exercise.
She introduced herself to a few people, and they chatted about the conference and the presentations they were going to give, trading business cards with several of them. Once she'd made her way around to as many as she could for the time being, she walked back toward their area. But something stopped her in her tracks. A sharp, pin prick of pain came from her lower abdomen, just above her pubic bone. "Ow," she murmured, frowning, her hand instantly going to the spot. The pain soon passed after a couple of minutes, and she slowly recovered, finishing her walk back to their table, but with her brow furrowed in concern.
She found a chair to sit down, a little worry still painting her brow. Bill smiled once he saw her return, but then looked at her with concern when he saw her expression. "You okay?" he asked.
Pepper nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. Just a little stomach ache is all," she assured. "I met some interesting people on my little networking sojourn," she joked, changing the subject. She showed him the stack of business cards she'd collected, and Bill nodded and smiled. "There," she said. "Now, if Tony asks, you'll have proof that I did actually do something while I was here."
They chuckled, and Pepper exhaled, making a note to call her doctor once she had a moment alone, especially if these pains continued.
XxXxXxXxXx
Pepper had excused herself from the conference later that afternoon. She felt tired, and really needed to lie down. And she'd had a few more cramps throughout the day like the first one she'd had, and was growing more and more concerned with each one.
Now, back at the hotel, she undressed, ready to change into some sweats, but not before using the bathroom. But what she saw made her gasp. She'd been bleeding, not profusely, but enough to equal the beginning of a period. "Oh my God!" she whispered. She bit her lip and reached for her phone, quickly dialing Dr. Stephens office.
The receptionist picked up, and Pepper asked to speak with the doctor urgently. Unfortunately, she was with a patient, so Pepper asked that she be called the moment Dr. Stephens was available. The receptionist promised that she would be, and Pepper hung up, immediately dialing Tony.
"Hello, my beautiful bride," he purred.
"I'm bleeding," Pepper said, bypassing any salutations, her voice anxious.
"What?!" Tony said. "What do you mean, 'you're bleeding'. Like how bad?!" he asked, his voice panicked.
"It's really light, but I'm also cramping, Tony! Oh God! What if...what if I'm..." she stammered, not able to bring herself to say the words.
"Okay, okay, Pep. Slow down," he assured. "Did you call the Doc?"
Pepper nodded. "Yes," she said, chewing her lip.
"And?" Tony said.
"I couldn't talk to her. She's with a patient right now," she explained. "They'll have her call me the second she's available."
"So where are you right now, honey?" he asked.
"I'm back at the hotel," she answered. "I felt tired, so I came back to lie down."
"Good girl," Tony remarked.
Pepper continued. "I've been having these sharp pains all day that come and go. And just now, went I went into the bathroom to change clothes, I noticed I've been bleeding," she said, her voice warbling from the lump developing in her throat. A sob caught in her chest, and she put the back of a hand to her mouth, trying to keep her composure. "Tony, I'm scared," she whispered.
XxXxXxXxXx
Tony closed his eyes, and frowned, his heart aching at the sound of her voice. "It'll be okay, baby. Just wait to hear what the doctor says, okay? And we'll go from there," he assured, trying to sound brave for her.
He could hear another little sob from her on the other end, and she muttered an, "Okay."
"In the mean time, try to get some rest, Pep, okay? Take it easy. I'm sure everything is fine."
"You think so?" Pepper asked hopefully.
"The doc said the baby is healthy. I don't see why it wouldn't be, now. But all the same? I can be up there in a flash if you want me to be," he reassured.
"No, it's okay," Pepper said. "I'll talk to the doctor, and see what she says. I'll let you know what she thinks, and if anything is wrong, we'll book another jet for you to head up here immediately."
"Sounds like a plan," Tony said. He smiled, his expression tinged with worry. He wished he was there to comfort her in person. "Call me as soon as you hear from the doctor, okay?"
"I will. I promise," Pepper replied.
"And Pepper?" Tony said. "Thank you."
"For what?" she asked.
"For keeping me posted and telling me what's going on with you, even though it's a little scary right now," he said.
"Well, I know how it feels to be kept in the dark on these kinds of things," she said, needling him.
Tony rolled his eyes. "I'll never live that down, will I?" he said, smirking.
He heard Pepper chuckle, and then inhale sharply. He froze, his eyes wide. "Oh, ow," he heard her gasp.
"Pepper?! Talk to me, baby," he said, his heart pounding.
"It's just..." she said, her voice strained from the pain she felt. "Another cramp. Oooooo, yeow, that one hurt."
Tony huffed. "That's it. I'm coming up there," he stated firmly. "You didn't tell me they were that bad."
"They haven't been," Pepper argued. "That was probably the worst one I've had so far."
He heard a beep on the line.
"Oh! That's Dr. Stephens! I'll call you back!" Pepper said.
They disconnected and Tony pursed his lips, staring at his phone. "Damn it!" he exclaimed. He shook his head in disappointment. "Why didn't I go with her?"