What a bumpy ride, huh? Well it's not over yet!

Happy Reading! :D

Tony laid a soft kiss on Pepper's cheek, and then turned his eyes to Bruce. "Put me back under," he demanded. "I have to go back for her."

"No, Mr. Stark! The risk is too great! With that much anesthesia put into your system in that short amount of time?! It could stop your heart!" Dr. Cho cried.

Tony left Pepper's side, and climbed back onto the hospital bed. "I have to try!" he said, rolling his shirt sleeve back up. "Besides, if I am too late?" he said, looking at each of them gravely. "What have I got to lose, now?"

XxXxXxXxXx

Pepper was trying to calm herself and figure out what she should do next when she saw someone in the distance running toward her. She instantly startled. "Who is it? Who's there?!" she cried out defensively, bracing herself for a fight. Nothing was beyond possibility in this place, and with her being alone now, and completely vulnerable once again, she shuddered to think about what could happen.

The figure began to run faster toward her. "Who are you?! Who's there!" she called out again. She took a few precursory steps back, and was ready to run for her life when the stranger replied back.

"Pepper!" she heard a familiar voice call out, and she immediately relaxed.

"Tony!" she gasped, running to him. As soon as he was within reach, she jumped into his arms. "I thought you'd left me here! I thought..."

"I know, Pep! What happened? You were in my arms and then suddenly..."

"It was the snake! He snatched me away right at the last moment! And I thought it was all over, but then these...these...insects came, and, and attacked the snake, and then killed it..." she tried to explain, pulling back to look at him.

"Insects?" Tony asked. Then his eyes went wide with the realization of what she say. "Insects! You mean the bots?!"

"Bots? What bots?" she said, not sure of what he meant.

"The nanobots! We've been injecting you with them for the last few months! They're what's been fixing you!" he said. "They're what finally got rid of it, huh? The Black Dragon?" he beamed proudly.

Pepper smiled and nodded, and looked behind her at the reptilian carcass lying behind them on the floor. Tony followed her gaze. "Wow," he gasped. "Wait'll I tell Bruce and Cho about this!" he muttered, in amazement. Then he brought his gaze back to Pepper, and his face went solemn. "Honey, we've gotta hurry. There isn't much time. You're dying baby. We gotta get outta here."

"Okay. But how?" she asked.

"Bruce agreed to only put me under for a short time, meaning I could come out of it any second. And you've gotta be with me when that happens," he explained, pulling her into his arms.

"Sounds simple enough," she said, smiling as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "And not a moment too soon."

But Tony gave her a weak smile. "I wish it was that simple," he said. "But, honey? You have to know something. I came back for you. So if, for whatever reason, I don't make it back, too? Just know that I..."

Pepper's eyes went wide. "What?! What do you mean if you don't make it back? What are you talking about? Why wouldn't you?" she asked frantically.

"Pepper, I've been under twice in a very short time. That puts a lot of strain on someone's system," he explained. "So, there's a chance," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "That I won't wake up."

Pepper gasped, and squeezed him tightly around the neck, as she began to sob. "No! I don't want to go, then! Not if you aren't going with me!"

"Pepper, you have to. It could go either way! We don't know until we try," Tony reasoned. He pulled back to look at her. "But in case we don't see each other again," he said. A tear escaped and rolled down Pepper's cheek, and he gave her a sympathetic smile as he brushed it away with his thumb. "Just know that I love you more than you could ever know. I know I'm a hard guy to live with, and I aggravate you to no end sometimes," he said, with gentle smile.

Pepper smiled and giggled through her tears. He continued.

"But I hope you thought our time together was as amazing as I did," he said. "I love you, Pep. And I won't ever forget what you've done for me."

Pepper's breath caught in her chest. "Tony, please!" she whispered. "Please don't make me say goodbye!"

He rested his forehead against hers, and closed his eyes. "I don't know what's gonna happen," he replied. "So if this is goodbye? Please promise me one thing?"

"Anything!" Pepper said.

Tony raised his head to look into his wife's eyes longingly. "That you go on to lead a long and happy life. You're a remarkable woman, Pep. And you deserve everything you want in the world."

Pepper wept bitterly, and cupped her husband's cheek. "I only want YOU!" she gasped hoarsely before crashing their lips together, and kissing him hard for what could possibly be their very last kiss. Tony held her tightly, reciprocating the kiss, trying to memorize every detail of the way it felt. The softness of her lips, the sound of her softly moaning, the taste of her kiss, and the warmth of her body against him.

Slowly, reluctantly, the kiss broke, and they rested their foreheads against one another. "I love you," Pepper murmured.

"I..." Tony started to say, but he halted his words when he suddenly saw they were both starting to sink into the floor. He looked up at Pepper intently. "Hold on to me," he said. "Here we go."

Pepper gasped, and threw her arms back around his neck again, squeezing him tightly. They both squeezed their eyes shut, waiting for the result of what there was to come.

XxXxXxXxX

"Come on, Tony. Breathe!" Bruce demanded of his friend, as he squeezed the manual respirator he'd put over Tony's mouth. He'd stopped breathing not long after he was put under, as a result of the excessive amount of anesthesia in his system, which left Bruce no choice but to try to pull him out of sedation almost immediately. Even the lessened dose of anesthesia they'd all agreed would be used was proving to be too much for his body to take. And watching the heart monitor's slowing blips on the screen made it all the more certain.

"If his heart slows much more, we'll lose him," Dr. Cho said gravely. Then something drew their collective attention. Pepper's EKG machine beeped back to life, and Dr. Cho rushed to her side. "I don't believe it! How can this be?" she murmured, her eyes wide with shock. She switched the respirator back on and it started to expand and compress with a hiss, filling and emptying Pepper's lungs with air. A steady heart rate began to show on the monitor, and Dr. Cho gasped, turning to look over her should at Bruce. "He did it!" she exclaimed in amazement. "He actually did it!"

Bruce smiled in understanding, but his expression quickly went back to one of great concern. "But at what price?" he muttered sadly.

Just then Pepper's body began to tremor, just like it had previously with the seizures. Dr. Cho jabbed the emergency button to the nurse's station, and almost instantly they came running to assist. "Wasn't she code blue?!" one of them asked in confusion.

"She was! And she might be again if we don't work quickly!" Dr. Cho replied, as they went to work on stabilizing Pepper.

Suddenly, Tony's EKG went crazy, tracking a sudden, and very rapid, heart rate indicating impending cardiac arrest. "We're losing him! We're..." Bruce cried out, but immediately was silenced as Tony's chest began to heave, and his eyes popped open. He batted away the manual respirator from his mouth, and bolted upright off the bed, gasping for air. "What happened?! How's Pepper? Did she make it?!" he demanded breathlessly. But he didn't give Bruce time to answer. He spun around to see Dr. Cho and the nurses frantically working once more. His eyes darted to Bruce. "Did I do it? Did I bring her back?!" he demanded.

"Her heart started beating again, and then she began to seize," Bruce explained.

Tony frowned, but then their attention was quickly grabbed by the sound of Pepper choking and gagging on the respirator tube down her throat.

"Pull it out! She's trying to breathe!" Dr. Cho exclaimed, and she assisted a nurse in removing the tube as quickly, and as carefully as possible, from Pepper's airway. As soon as it was out, Pepper began gasping desperately for air, inhaling sharply, but then coughing violently as a result. Tony flew off the bed and ran to her side, cupping her face in his hands. She had her eyes squeezed tightly closed, the bright lights of the hospital room surely an assault on her pupils.

"Pepper! It's okay, baby! We made it! We made it out!" he cried triumphantly, a wide grin spread across his lips. And in his boisterous exuberance, he planted a firm kiss on his wife's lips. Pepper's eyes flew open in surprise, and she looked at him in complete shock when he released her and gazed into her eyes intently.

Pepper's chest heaved for a moment, before she attempted to speak. "M-Mr. Stark?" she finally stammered hoarsely.