I'm back in the saddle, as they say! Grief for our couple handled, processed, and compartmentalized. (Well enough to pick up the proverbial pen for them again, anyway. Pepperony forever!) And OOOOH BOY, does it feel good! Writing feeds my soul. And I've been doing a LOT of it lately, just not on existing stories, as what I was writing wouldn't be suitable for posting. To THIS kind of forum, anyway. Lots of toxic, yucky, black tar-like emotion I needed to let filter out over Marvel's latest atrocity. (You understand, I'm sure. And are SO good to be so patient with me!)
As long as you're willing to read fanfic, I'm willing to write fanfic. That's the deal. We die-hard Pepperony fans need to stick together, and be unwilling to let Marvel kill our love and loyalty to our poor couple! I LOVE these two immensely, and I'll be damned if Marvel ends them on MY watch (even if that means they live on in fanfic, only.) Plus, our poor boy is hurting something fierce right now. He needs Pepper back in his life like never before. (RDJ would agree. He said so himself.) So here's my effort in giving her back to him.
SO, without further ado, Happy Reading! May true love conquer all. ;)
Tony had let the doctors know Pepper was calm enough now for them to finish their examination, and promised her that, after a phone call to Rhodey and her mother to tell them the news, he'd be right back. This seemed to reassure her, which, in turn, made him glad in the fact that she found comfort in his presence. But even better, before he left, she allowed him a soft kiss to her cheek, which thrilled him to no end, and he went out to the hall to first call his mother-in-law, unable to help a giddy grin.
Though she had been back and forth between Kansas and L.A. a few times since Pepper had been transported from San Francisco, the stress of her daughter's condition had taken a toll on her own health. At that point, Tony insisted she take an extended rest at home, and he'd keep her up-to-date on Pepper's well being. And if anything urgent came about in that regard,however, he promised he'd fly her out again straight away, without hesitation.
As he dialed, he felt butterflies in his stomach out of excitement to tell her the news. He quickly dialed, and listened as it rang twice. Then he heard her pick up.
At that moment, his nervous excitement got the best of him, and he quickly babbled, "Marilynn? It's Tony. Listen. Something's happened!"
He heard a gasp on the other end. "Oh, Lord in heaven! Don't tell me!" she cried. "Is she?..."
Tony frowned, his brain short circuiting, at her reaction. "Huh?" is all he could manage to utter.
"Did she...?" Marilynn began.
"What? Did she what?" Tony urged, not following her train of thought.
He heard her take a deep breath, and try again, though her voice was shakey. "Is she...still with us?" she asked cautiously.
Tony frowned. "Wait, " he said. "Is that what you think I called to tell you? That we...lost her?" he asked.
"Well, did you?!" Marilynn huffed. "Oh, tell me it isn't so! I could not bare to lose my precious Ginny! Oh Lord! What am I gonna do..."
Tony closed his eyes, and shook his head, trying to regroup. "Marilynn, wait. Just stop for a second, okay? Calm down," he said. "We haven't lost Pepper. She's fine. Actually, she's more than fine. She's..." he paused, as a delighted grin spread across his lips. "Awake. And talking, and..." he started to babble. But quickly reigned himself in. "And she needs to see you. We both do," he informed her.
He heard Marilynn gasp again. "She is? And she does? I mean, you do?" she stammered in disbelief. "Oh, honey! This is wonderful news! Boy, you had me going there! I thought for sure..."
But Tony's attention was diverted, as Rhodey suddenly appeared out of the elevator. Tony looked at him in surprise. "Marilynn, I'm sorry. I gotta run," he said urgently, interrupting her, keeping his eyes fixed on Rhodey. "But I'm sending the jet as soon as we get off the phone. See you in a few hours, okay?" he said.
"Okay, darlin'. You go on. And I'll be ready and waiting!" she replied joyfully. "I can't wait to see you two! I love you, both!"
Tony smiled at her motherly affection towards him. "Ditto, Mama Potts. Can't wait till you get here," he said.
They said their goodbyes, and Tony quickly put in the info to book the plane for her, and then shoved his phone back in his pocket before turning his attention back to Rhodey. His expression was both surprised and relieved at his best friend's sudden appearance, and he gave Rhodey a back-slapping brotherly hug in response. "I was just gonna call you! How the hell did you know to come over?" he asked.
Rhodey shrugged sheepishly. "A little birdie told me the good news, and I drove over immediately," he explained. "Actually it was a little birdie who can turn into a big green, angry birdie, if you really wanna know," he joked.
Tony chuckled. "Banner," he muttered, smirking to himself in amazement at his friend's kind gesture to include Rhodey in the joyous occasion. "He's one in a million, that guy."
"I'm quickly getting that impression, yeah," Rhodey replied. "I'm glad he could help you out with getting Pepper well, too. How's she doing by the way?"
Tony guided Rhodey over to the nearby window into Pepper's room, and leaned against the frame. They both saw the doctors and nurses bustling around her, and it took Pepper a minute to realize they were standing outside the window, watching the goings-on. But when she did, she made eye contact with Tony, and gave him a soft, reassuring smile. He smiled, and winked back at her. And after a lingering look between them, he turned his eyes back to Rhodey.
"Uh...she's doing well, it seems. Considering. Brain function seems relatively normal, she can speak, she has her vision back," he reported. "By all accounts, she's in full recovery."
"Awesome. That's terrific, man," Rhodey gushed happily.
"Yeah, it is," Tony said. "Except for one thing."
Rhodey frowned. "And that is?" he said.
Tony pursed his lips. "She thinks it's 2008," he replied, matter of fact.
"2008?" Rhodey said, not understanding the significance right away. But soon, his eyebrows raised in realization. "Ohhhh," he purred, nodding in understanding. He winced and inhale sharply through his teeth. "Yikes. That means..."
"Yeah," Tony replied glumly.
"Damn," Rhodey grumbled. "So, what're you gonna do? Is there any chance her memory will come back?"
Tony shrugged. "Don't know yet. She only just woke up, as you know. So, we'll have to see what Dr. Cho thinks. But let's hope, right?"
"Right," Rhodey agreed, nodding resolutely.
Just then, Dr. Cho could be seen finishing her chat with Pepper, as the nurses finished up with her as well, and walking to the door to exit the room. Tony straightened up, and both men anxiously awaited her appearance in the hallway.
Dr. Cho left the room, and eased the door closed behind her. Tony watched her quietly, but with rapt attention, unti she came to stand infront of them. "So?" he expectantly asked. "What's the word?"
The doctor smiled warmly. "First, let me say, I've never, in my whole career in medicine, seen anything as...as..."
"Amazing?" Tony offered.
Dr. Cho shook her head. "With all due respect, 'amazing' doesn't begin to cover it," she replied. "Dare I say...miraculous? If I may be so bold?"
Tony grinned. "You may," he said, jokingly giving her permission. They all chuckled.
"Her cognitive functions and basic faculties are at full capacity. She will need extensive physical therapy considering she's got some severe muscle atrophy, as was expected. But the nerve damage she sustained has, for all intents and purposes, virtually healed."
"So we were successful?" they all heard a voice say behind them. Bruce had joined the group, unbeknownst, until he spoke up.
Tony grinned at his friend in triumph. "Sounds like," he replied.
"Amazing," Bruce purred, in disbelief.
"I believe the word you're looking for is miraculous," Tony joked, with a smirk. And they chuckled again.
Tony turned his attention back to Dr. Cho. "Doc," he said. "This is all terrific, and I couldn't be happier. Honestly. But there's still one hurdle left. What can we do about recovering her long term memory?"
"Ah," the doctor said, nodding her head in understanding. "Well, of course, we need to confirm our findings with a new brain scan I'm going to get scheduled for later today. But, based on my initial examinations, I have no reason to believe it can't, or won't, return. My best advice would be to allow her time. To rebuild those synapses. To recall things on her own, as they come. Patience is key, Mr. Stark. Trying to force the issue could do more harm than good," she advised.
Tony took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "Got it," he said, finally, nodding in acknowledgement. He put on a brave face, but on the inside, he couldn't help but feel a little saddened by the fact that he, now, was the only one who could remember their most personal and intimate moments together. Let alone, the events leading up to now- including their wedding, which was the toughest thing for him to accept, at this point. He turned his eyes to look at Pepper again through the window as he thought about this. He could see she was tired again, probably for two reasons, he figured- her body's need to finish healing, and also the side effects of the pain medication they'd given her. Funny thing. She's been asleep for months, but is ready to go back to sleep within minutes of waking up, he thought, chucking to himself at the irony. Her eyes were half closed, but somehow, she must have sensed him looking at her. Because she lolled her head in his direction, and looked at him. He gave her an awkward smile, not expecting her to have noticed him staring, but also because he hadn't meant to disturb her.
But she didn't look away. They just gazed at each other, both clearly processing their collective thoughts, and she gave him a gentle smile. She held on for as long as she could, but then Tony saw her eyes slowly close as she was unable to fight drifting off to sleep, her chest rising and falling, under its own volition for the first time in months. He continued to watch her for a moment, taking in how much had changed in just a few hours time, this time for the better. The last time things had changed this drastically was the night of the accident. He remembered feeling completely shattered, standing at this very window, desperately pleading with the universe to spare her life.
The other three in the group had been chattering away, and Tony hadn't been listening to anything they were saying as he'd lost himself in thought. That is, until he heard his name being called.
"Tony!" was said again, and he realized it was Rhodey trying to get his attention.
He turned his head away from watching Pepper peacefully sleep, to acknowledge him. "Yeah. What's up?" he asked his best friend.
Rhodey gestured between himself and Bruce. "We were just gonna go grab some coffee. You good here? Or you wanna come with?" he said.
Tony smiled and waved a hand in dismissal. "You guys go ahead," he said, nodding toward to elevators.
"You sure? You don't need a break?" Bruce offered.
Tony chuckled. "I've already caught my break, today," he replied, happily. He glanced at Pepper, and smiled lovingly, and then smiled back at his friends. "All I wanna do now is be with her, you know? Does that make sense?"
Both guys smiled in response. "Perfect sense," Bruce replied.
Bruce and Rhodey soon left together, and Dr. Cho left to schedule Pepper's brain scan with neurology. As a result, Tony found he was standing in the hallway alone. So he walked to the door of Pepper's room, and quietly walked inside, gingerly closing the door behind him so as not to disturb her sleep. He ambled to the chair beside her bed- the chair he'd occupied so often in the last few months, watching vigilantly for any sign she was going to make it. And now, as he slowly sat down, his could feel his body suddenly grow weary, too, from the heavy dose of anesthesia still filtering out of his system, and also the adrenaline rush of everything that had happened now tapering off as well.
He scrubbed a hand over his face, and yawned deeply, then exhaling slowly. He leaned forward, and gently took Pepper's hand in his. He picked it up, and kissed it softly, letting the kiss linger for just a few moments, before resting their clasped hands back down on the bed. He then laid his head down beside his wife on the mattress, resting it in the crook of his other arm, and continued to gaze at her reverently for a moment, before his eye lids got too heavy, and he helplessly succumbed to sleep.
Unbeknownst to Tony, as he'd made himself comfortable next to her, and subsequently fallen asleep, Pepper had semi-awakened, though she'd kept her eyes closed. But now, she opened them to a slit, and peered down at him, peacefully resting. And she couldn't help but smile to herself in response.