Tony had been on the road for a little over five hours the next day, with a garment bag containing his tux, and a small duffle bag for a change of clothes, toiletries, and his shaving kit, along with Pepper's holographic image reader filled with pictures from their wedding (courtesy of Nick Fury's sneaky reconnaissance) that he was going to give to her as a surprise this weekend. He'd thought about bringing along the "suitcase" suit, just in case there was a situation that arose where he needed it. But he decided to leave it at home. This weekend was about him and Pepper, and he wanted only to focus on that. Besides, what are the odds that I'll need it at any point in these next two days, anyway?, he thought.

The final decider, though, was that Pepper would be riding back with him, and he had to leave space for her luggage as well. The R8, for all of its bells and whistles, didn't sport a very large trunk, as was typical with more luxury sports cars. So space for added luggage was already at a premium.

Cruising up Highway 101 had given him the chance to enjoy driving again, and the roar of the R8's engine reinvigorated the gear-head in him. It had been a long time since Tony had been able to get out onto the open road, and he'd realized how much he'd missed it. There was something about driving something so powerful that was unlike anything else. The feeling of it giving him a jolt of adrenaline when he shifted gears, and having the g-force push him back against his seat when he mashed the accelerator was absolutely thrilling. It was very similar to the way he felt flying the suit. No wonder I like it so much, he thought.

He could feel the testosterone coursing through his veins as a result, and was happy to know that he'd be topping off the evening by having the privilege of making love to the most beautiful woman in the world. This made him smile to himself. "Not bad, old boy," he murmured to himself. "Not bad at all."

A soft smattering of rain had hit his windshield periodically, and he could see the giant gray storm clouds hanging heavily in the sky on the horizon to the north. "Wow, that's a hell of a storm," he murmured to himself. The closer he got to the bay area, the blacker the sky became.

"JARVIS," he called. "Call Pepper. I need to let her know I'm close."

"Calling Ms. Potts," the AI replied. Tony heard the phone ring, and Pepper answer.

"Are you here?" Pepper asked anxiously.

"Not yet, baby. About another hour, but I wanted to find out if they've changed the venue for the Gala," he asked.

"No, not that we've heard. So, I think we're safe," she replied.

"Alrighty, then. I'll head over," Tony said. "Man, you weren't kidding about the rain! It looks like I'm driving into the seventh level of hell."
Pepper chuckled. "Try being here for a few days! It gets a little depressing when you haven't seen the sun for so long."

"Well, never fear," Tony said. "You won't be feeling depressed for long," he purred to her, smirking.

"Then I'm holding you to that promise," Pepper purred back. "Bill and I are heading over now. I'll see if they'll let us check in a little early. I'll make sure there's a key waiting for you at the front desk."
"Perfect," Tony said. "See you soon, Pep."

"See you soon!" Pepper replied, and he heard her disconnect.

Tony gunned the engine, the anticipation of seeing Pepper again lighting a fire in his belly.

XxXxXxXxXx

About an hour later, Tony had reached San Francisco, and found that any daylight that had managed to filter through the clouds on the outskirts had been blotted out by the clouds in its entirety. All of the street lights were on, and it felt so much later than 3:00 in the afternoon. He'd had to slow his pace through the city, as there were many areas of caution where streets had been washed out, and landslides had occurred. He saw where the mud had crashed through windows and taken out parts of walls of houses and buildings. Cars were covered in it, buried up to where their roofs were barely visible. Navigating all of the detours through the city had added on several minutes to his time. And, predictably, his phone rang. It was Pepper.

"Where are you?" she asked.

"I'm having to take all of these detours around the landslide areas," he explained. "The damage is pretty bad in some of these places."
"How horrible," Pepper said. She sighed. "And there's more bad news."

Tony frowned. "What is it?" he asked.

"There's been an accident on the bridge. You're going to be stuck waiting for them to clear it," she said.

"There's no way around?" Tony asked.

"Normally, there would be, Sir. But I'm afraid the landslides have caused major damage in the Berkeley, San Rafael, and Sausilito areas, as well. In this instance, you would better served to wait for the accident to be cleared, I'm afraid," JARVIS explained.

"Damn it!" Tony exclaimed, smacking the steering wheel with his palm. He sighed in frustration. "I'll get there as soon as I can, Pep. I'm coming up on the bridge now." He looked out his windshield to see cars backed up for miles, and Emergency Services vehicles in the middle of the bridge, their lights flashing, their colors watery and somewhat muted in the rain. "Yeah, I can see where the accident is, Pep. And it's a doosy. On second thought, don't count on me being there anytime soon."

"Just be safe, and get here as soon as you can, Tony," she said. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Pep," he said, disconnecting. He shifted into neutral and killed the engine. "And so I wait," he murmured, scowling.

XxXxXxXxXx

Pepper gazed out the window from her room at the House on the Cliffs, and sighed with frustration. She watched the line of headlights coming over from the city sitting at a complete standstill, headed up by the red and blue flashing cherries on top off the ambulances, police cruisers, and fire engines. "At least he's in there somewhere," she mused to herself, smiling weakly at the thought that Tony was so close to her, yet so far away.

She'd been ready to go downstairs since she'd talked to him. She wore a long, fitted, strapless, black sequined floor length gown, with a black satin shawl she'd be using to hide her growing belly, and long black opera gloves, to hide her engagement and wedding rings she just felt the need to be wearing tonight. She'd gone all week without wearing them, and had felt naked in the process. So she thought, in honor of the occasion, she'd slip both of them on, but cover them with her gloves in keeping with their efforts to hide their marriage from the public. Her hair was down long, and in big round loose curls (a favorite of Tony's, she knew), but she'd pinned it up on one side with an antique diamond clip Tony had found for her long ago. It was very ornate, and sparkled in her hair beautifully. She wore black satin flats, an added consideration by her when packing, as she knew, with the state she was in, dancing all night with Tony in heels wouldn't feel as magical as it should if her feet were aching. And she didn't want anything to take her away from being in his arms any longer than necessary. She chewed her lip anxiously, keeping her eyes on the bridge. "Come on, come on," she said.

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door. Pepper turned away from the window reluctantly, and walked over to it to answer it. She opened it to find Bill looking very dapper in a black tuxedo.

"Bill!" Pepper said jovially. "Your looking very nice, I must say."

He blushed at her compliment and waved a hand to dismissed her sheepishly. "Oh, go on," he said. "And, you! What about you? You look as beautiful as ever, Ms. Potts."
It was Pepper's turn to blush. "Now, Bill," she said. "Flattery will get you no where, but do keep trying," she teased. They laughed together.

"I came to see if you would join me for a drink before Mr. Stark arrives?" Bill asked. He looked at his watch. "He should be along any minute, right?"

Pepper smiled regretfully. "Well, he would've already been here by now. But unfortunately, the accident on the bridge has left him stranded on the other side."

Bill winced. "Darn the luck," he said. "Well," he said. "I'll be happy to keep you company, if you'd like? Want to head downstairs to wait, instead?" he asked, offering her his arm.

Pepper smiled and took it. "That sounds lovely, Bill," she said. "Thank you for thinking of me."

"Well, I hope you don't mind my saying so, but who could turn down the chance to be accompanied by someone so lovely as you, Ms. Potts. Even if it is just until your real date gets here," Bill replied.

Pepper chuckled coyly as they left the room and walked down the grand staircase to the main floor, where other people dressed in black tie were milling around, mingling with each other. The band was still getting set up, but the food was being laid out on the tables at the far end. It was a very regal room, with richly carved walnut woodwork, scrolling and weaving its way around the archways of the entrances and up into a tall vaulted ceiling. The flooring was original parquet throughout, and on the far south facing wall, almost the entire wall was floor-to-ceiling windows, with the top most being arched. They looked out onto a grand veranda where many Adirondack chairs were placed so that people, in obviously better weather, could sit and gaze out across the ocean to their heart's content. Pepper wished it was better weather, as she would've loved to go outside and dance in the moonlight with Tony.

She and Bill walked over to the bar, and Bill offered to buy Pepper a drink. "Cranberry juice and club soda would be fine," Pepper said. Bill looked at her a little curiously, and she smiled sheepishly. "I'm abstaining. For health reasons," she explained.

"Ah," Bill said, nodding in understanding. He turned to the bartender. "A cranberry and soda for the lady, then. And a glass of Merlot for me, please?" he asked. The bartender nodded, filled their order, and put their respective glasses in front of them. Bill paid him, and raised his glass in a toast. Pepper did likewise. "To a bright future?" he said.

"Hear, hear!" Pepper said happily. They clinked their glasses and each took a sip. Pepper looked around, watching more people filter into the room.

"It's a terrific old place, isn't it?" Bill asked.

She turned her eyes back to him. "It is," she said. "Did you read the literature they sent on it?"
"I did! Did you? I thought I'd be the only one!" Bill joked. They chuckled.

"Well," Pepper said. "I have to admit, I have a thing for architectural masterpieces. This place fascinates me. It truly is a marvel, considering everything it's been through since it was built."

"That's why they haven't bothered to inspect this place during the storm," Bill added. "I overheard the hotel manager talking to some of the staff when we checked in. I guess they figure its held up through two major earth quakes without any sizable damage. So what's a little rain?"

XxXxXxXxXx

Tony was growing increasingly impatient. It was dark now, and it seemed he'd only moved a few yards from where he'd been originally parked. He could see someone walking in his direction. It was a police officer, stopping to talk to the drivers in front of him. Tony saw the man stop at the vehicle in front of him, talk to them for a few moments, and then start making his way toward him. Tony rolled his window down and greeted the officer.

"How we doing this evening?" the man asked.

Tony shrugged. "Just trying to get over there," he said, pointing across the the bridge. "My w...uh, company's CEO, is waiting for me at an event at the House on the Cliffs. And needless to say, I'm running late," Tony said, internally scolding himself for almost openly calling Pepper his wife.

The officer gave Tony a sympathetic smile. "Won't be long now, sir. It was a nasty accident. But traffic will get moving again soon, and you can get to your event. Just blame it on the rain, huh?" he joked.

Tony chuckled good-naturedly, and the officer moved on. Tony watched him in the side mirror as he walked away, and then he rolled up his window. "J, call Pepper again, please?" he asked.

"Calling Ms. Potts," JARVIS replied.

It rang a few times, but then went to her voice mail. "Damn," Tony said, disconnecting. He figured she must have left her phone in the room and gone to the party already. Tony revved the engine a few times in defiance. "Come on, come on," he grumbled at the still-stalled traffic. "Pep's waiting."