So much love from you guys! I'm blown away! I appreciate you all SO much!
I know it's been a while since the last update on this fic, but I hope you enjoy it! :D :D More is coming soon! (VERY soon!) :D
A short time later, Bruce knocked on Pepper's door.
"Come in?" he heard her tell him. He eased the door open and entered the room to find she and Tony together, both smiling when they saw him. They appeared to have been talking, as Tony was sitting on the edge of the bed next to Pepper, holding one of her hands in both of his.
"Dr. Banner! To what do we owe the pleasure?" Tony bellowed jovially, with a wide grin.
Bruce gave him a shy smile. "I, uh, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" he asked.
The couple shook their heads and smiled. "Not at all!" Tony informed him. "My missus and I were just chit-chatting. But it's nothing that can't wait. So what's up?" he asked.
Bruce took a deep breath. "I...just came to say goodbye, Tony," he told him reluctantly.
Tony frowned. "Oh," he said softly in disappointment. "Yeah, I uh...I guess that makes sense, huh? You're probably anxious to..."
Bruce nodded. "Yeah, I've got...patients that...are probably wondering where I've..." he stammered.
"Of course. Right," Tony said, nodding, his tone glum.
Pepper's eyes had been on her husband as the two men had been talking, and she smiled sympathetically at how much it appeared Tony didn't want to see his friend go. "You'll be deeply missed, Bruce," she said, then turning her eyes to her new friend.
"Thank you, Pepper. That means a lot," Bruce replied, giving her an appreciative nod and then moving his eyes back to Tony.
Tony pasted on an encouraging smile, and nodded. "She's right. And I think I speak for us both when I say we can't ever repay what you've done for us," he told his friend.
Bruce gave them both a bashful smile. "It was your idea. I was just the tag along. But thank you," he muttered. Then his eyes brightened, and he snapped his fingers in recollection. "Oh! On that note, I was just visiting with Hel...uh, Doc, uh, Dr. Cho?" he stammered awkwardly.
Tony gave him a curious look, and a corner of his mouth quirked upwards, his proverbial ears perking to Bruce's near slip in using her first name. But Bruce ignored it and continued.
"And she's really making some interesting discoveries with the bots! She thinks they've learned how to rewrite their own programming in order to manufacture new cell groups! You've got to check it out. Really. What she's been able to do in that lab since she's been here is..." He paused, shaking his head in awe. "Remarkable," he continued. "She's... pretty remarkable," he murmured to himself, his expression suddenly going a bit trance-like, as if he'd suddenly forgotten there were two other people in the room, and had fallen into deep thought. But with a goofy, fond smile ghosting over his lips.
Tony's eyebrows raised, and he looked at Pepper, the two of them exchanging knowing glances. Then he turned back to his friend. "Yes, she is, Bruce," he murmured in agreement as he studied Bruce's face for a moment longer.
Bruce then snapped out of his trance and glanced back up in Tony, his eyes widening and his cheeks flushing in embarrassment. "I, uh...I was just thinking she...you...she'd really like you to...come take a look at her findings. In her lab. When you..." He paused to clear his throat. "When you get a chance," he finished.
Tony gave his colleague a sly smirk, and then frowned and narrowed his eyes, as if pondering a deep question. He then shoved his hands in his pants pockets, and took a few deliberate steps toward the flustered scientist. "Say...Bruce?" he purred, raising his eyes to meet his. "Have ever thought about, maybe, staying on? And helping Dr. Cho in her work?"
Bruce spluttered sheepishly. "She doesn't need a lab partner, Tony. The woman's brilliant. She'll be just fine on her own. She doesn't need me mixing in," he argued.
"But, come on, man. You're no slouch," Tony rebutted. "What about all those degrees you've got? Surely, some of what you know could aid her in her research? Right?"
Bruce brought his eyes up to look at him. "I...can't," he murmured regretfully. "I just...it...would never work."
Tony's eyebrows raised again. "What wouldn't work? Working together? You've been doing it for months now. And from this end, I've never detected any issue between you two." He paused to give Pepper another glance over his shoulder. "In fact, I'd say you two are...quite compatible," he said, slowly turning his eyes back to his friend.
Bruce sputtered again in embarrassment.
"Tony, stop. You're embarrassing him," Pepper gently urged her husband.
Tony swiveled his head around to look at his wife again. "About what, honey?" he asked before looking back to Bruce. "I'm just trying to point out that when you find someone you can..." he rotated his hand in the air as he tried to find his next words. "Work with so easily, that that's something worth hanging on to, that's all." He turned his glance back to Pepper. "Right, Pep? Take it from two people who know, wouldn't you say?" he asked. He gave her an admiring, reminiscent smile. Pepper smiled lovingingly at him in return.
Bruce's eyes flicked from Tony's to Pepper's, and then back down to the floor. "I,uh...I guess I...could consider checking in with her every once in a while..." he slowly began, his voice quiet. "Just to...stay...abreast of the...progress that she's..."
"Right. Staying abreast. Exactly. That's...all I was...trying to..." Tony interjected. He heard Pepper huff behind him, and he turned to look at her. When their gazes met, she just shook her head and rolled her eyes at his double entendre. Tony frowned and shrugged his shoulders, trying to feign innocence. "What?" he mouthed, to which Pepper replied with a smirk and a dismissing wave of her hand before she turned her eyes away from his.
"Well," Bruce said, after taking another deep breath. "I...really should be going."
"Of course," Tony said, reaching out to shake Bruce's hand. Bruce grasped it, and smiled widely. "It's been a pleasure," Tony told him. "You take care, huh? Stay out of trouble?"
Bruce smiled, and chuckled. "I'll try to," he replied. "I always at least try to."
Tony chuckled good-naturedly.
"I have to get a hug from you before you go, if you don't mind, Bruce," Pepper said, raising her arms to him. "It's the least I can offer after all you've done for me."
"Sure. Absolutely," Bruce agreed, walking to her, and hugging her. When they broke their embrace, Pepper looked intently into his eyes. "Promise me you'll take care of yourself?" she requested. "You're pretty remarkable too, you know. I am honored to have been able to meet you. And I hope this isn't the last time we see each other?"
Bruce smiled widely at her, and shook his head, glancing at Tony for a moment before bringing his eyes back to hers. "No, it won't be," he said. "Besides. Somehow, I don't think Tony would allow it."
XxXxXxXxXx
A couple of weeks had passed, and Tony and Pepper had settled in to the routine of what was involved in the rest of her recovery. Her mother had wanted to stay, but needed to return back to her farm in Kansas for a time, and Bruce had once again obtained seclusion in Columbia.
Tony had continued to be of great support to Pepper during her ever increasingly rigorous physical therapy sessions, as hard as it was for him to watch her endure this. It was because her physical boundaries were pushed so much at times, that she'd be left in a state of complete exhaustion afterwards, and sometimes even in tears from the pain and exertion of it all. But he was always quick to try to shore up her resolve, usually by cracking some joke to make her smile, or to tell her how proud he was of how much she'd accomplished.
"I know you're working so hard," he'd whispered lovingly to her during one occasion, as he dabbed the sweat from her brow with a washcloth. "But just think! It won't be long before you'll be able to leg-press a VW bus! Just a couple thousand pounds to go, baby, and it's yours!" And Pepper had inevitably (and breathlessly) giggled at his joke with whatever strength she'd had left as she finished her last repetition.
"Awww, that's the spirit, my favorite little power lifter!" Tony playfully cooed once she was done, while laying a kiss to her dampened forehead, and stroking her hair, making Pepper laugh even more, and keeping her smiling long after.
But the support hadn't ended there. In that time, Tony had completely devoted his time to his wife, attending to her every need as it arose. And he never failed to bring her roses each Monday as he'd done since she'd come to Cedars-Sinai all those months ago. In short, she thought, he really was proving to be her 'knight in shining armor' that he'd joked about being. And she found she was falling more and more in love with him for it.
But, as each new day would come and go, Pepper felt increasingly worried that her memory wouldn't improve much past the point that it already had. The truth was, she hadn't recalled anything new since the night she'd dreamt about her and Tony at the Firefighter's Gala. And she was beginning to feel like she never would.
She knew Tony was concerned,too, as he'd occasionally asked if she'd dreamed about anything else from the past. But the answer had been no each time, so he'd eventually stopped asking, citing that he knew she'd tell him if she had. So, he would just look forward to when that would be, and be patient in the meantime. "No pressure, Pep," he'd said to her with a brave smile, though she could see the worry in his eyes. But, nevertheless, since then, they hadn't discussed it.
However, there was a certain matter that had demanded their attention even more. A milestone was soon arriving. A goal date had been set for Pepper to take her first steps on her own since the accident. So, naturally, this was at the forefront of both of their minds. Tony had certainly noticed Pepper's increasing anxiety over what was ahead. He'd caught her several times drifting off in thought over the subject, or trying to put on a brave face whenever it was brought up.
Finally, the eve of her "big day" had arrived. After she'd finished her last physical therapy session, and she and Tony were settled back in her room, and alone together again, he asked her how she felt she'd do the next day. Instantly, there appeared on her face the false smile to hide her worry once more.
"I'll be fine," she said politely, while averting her eyes.
But Tony frowned. "Hey," he said, tilting his head to get her attention. He waited to speak, until she raised her eyes back up to his, which she eventually did-reluctantly. "You don't have to do that. You don't have to put up a front with me, Pep. If you're scared, then just tell me you're scared," he assured her.
Pepper bit her lips together for a moment, and then shrugged. "Fine," she said in defeat, sighing. "I can't help it. I just keeping thinking- 'What if I can't do it?'" she stated.
"But you can," Tony urged.
"But what if I can't?" Pepper countered. "What if I'm doomed to be in this bed forever? Or a wheel chair? What if I'm not strong enough to walk on my own? What if..."
"Pepper, you're psyching yourself out. I promise. You'll do great," he assured, reaching for her hand to hold in both of his.
But she still looked uneasy. "What makes you so sure?" she asked meekly.
Tony just smiled intently into his wife's eyes. "Because I know you. You've never backed down from a challenge, and you always come out on top. No matter what," he explained. He shrugged. "And besides," he said. "I'll be there, too. For moral support or...literal," he said, smiling.
Pepper smiled. "Believe me, I'm grateful," she said.
Tony smiled again in reply. "Let me tell you something Pop always said- 'anxiety comes from not being prepared'. And I think sometimes that's true," he said. "But you've worked your ass off getting ready for tomorrow, right?"
Pepper just smiled softly, and nodded.
Tony nodded in acknowledgement. "And they wouldn't be pushing you to do this if they didn't believe you could do it. So, honey? You're prepared. You're ready," he reiterated, looking intently into his wife's eyes, and running his hands down her upper arms. "You got this," he said, with a cocky grin, and a confident sparkle in his eyes.
Pepper studied his face for a moment, her brows knitted together in thought. But then her expression slowly brightened, and she was unable to help smiling at her husband, adoring the look of boyish enthusiasm on his face. It was infectious, and she took great comfort in his belief in her, even if her own was faulty.
Tony could see her worry lifting, and this gave him a big sense of relief. So her grinned lovingly back at her. "There you go. There's that go-getter girl I know," he mused, and Pepper chuckled softly. He bent forward to plant a kiss to her forehead, and Pepper leaned into it, closing her eyes to relish it. Then he pulled back to look at her once more. "You'll do great," he said again. "I just know it."
Pepper smiled bashfully, her cheeks reddening from her insides fluttering as a result of his affection.
"But I do know one thing we've over looked," Tony told her.
Pepper frowned. "What? What is it?" she asked, searching his face.
Tony smirked and turned his eyes toward her socked feet. "I can't have my wife taking her first steps in beige, hospital-issued socks, with little heart shaped rubber grippies on the bottom, and un-painted toe nails!" he joked, grasping the toe seam of one of the socks as he spoke, and playfully yanking it off her foot to expose her unpainted toes.
Pepper spluttered, and giggled. "Oh? And what would you suggest I do about this, then?" she asked playfully.
"Not what would you do. What I'll do," Tony corrected, pointing to himself. "You're going to get a patented, world class foot massage, and a custom paint job, from none other than yours truly," he purred.
Pepper gave him a skeptical look. So he held up his hands. "Hey. You won't find a steadier, or stronger, set of hands. So let me do this for you, and I swear to God! You'll never want to book another pedicure with anyone else again!" he told her, with a smirk.
Pepper broke down, and giggled again. She rolled her eyes at his impetuousness. "Alright, alright. With an argument like that, how can I say no?" she teased, shrugging.
Tony beamed, then patted one of her bare feet. "Wise choice," he clucked, before suddenly standing up. "So, that means I am now on a mission to find all the necessary implements. Be back in a flash. You just sit tight."
Pepper frowned. "Where are you going to go to find all of these things?" she asked. "Not far, I hope?"
Tony smiled to himself at her implying she didn't want him gone from her side for too long. "Uh...Not far. Just down to the pharmacy, slash, gift shop, slash...whatever. Like I said- be back in a flash," he told her, before grandly swinging the door open, and walking into the hall.
Pepper just raised her eyebrows in surprise at his sudden departure, but then he spun around and popped his head back in, and her eyes flicked over to him. "Forget something?" she asked.
But he said nothing. Instead, he worked his jaw for a moment, and narrowed his eyes in thought before he strode back in, and walked briskly back to her bedside, laying a swift, but tender kiss to her lips. Pepper's eyebrows raised again, and she squeaked in surprise. But soon she relaxed as she let herself melt into his kiss. Slowly, he eased the kiss to a stop, and they collectively opened their eyes to look at each other. Soft, loving smiles graced both sets of their lips.
"What was that for?" Pepper asked breathlessly.
Tony shrugged. "I've wanted to do that for a while today. Just hadn't got around to it. Figured now is as good a time as any," he rattled off in explanation.
Pepper chuckled and nodded, biting her lower lip. "Odd timing, but I'll give you a pass. Because I'm glad you came back just for that," she cooed softly. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck, and bent to kiss him once more.
After a moment, the kiss broke, and they smiled at each other again. "I'll always come back for that. Just so you know," Tony replied.
Pepper nodded and smiled. "Good. And good to know," she said coyly.
Tony smiled, and then patted her arm before he broke from her embrace. He took a deep breathe, and exhaled sharply. "Okay, focus Stark," he ordered himself, making her laugh. "Good bye for real, this time, Pep," he told her.
"Yes! Good-bye! I've been promised a foot massage and a pedicure! You've got your work cut out for you! So, you shouldn't dally," she urged, teasingly.
"Yep! On it! Tout suite!" Tony barked, as he jerked the door open once more, and proceeded to march through it, but not before he gave her a parting wink and a smile.
She smiled, and playfully blew him a kiss. They chuckled at each other, and Pepper watched as Tony disappeared out into the hallway.
After a few moments, she found she was unable to stop smiling. And the flurry of lovesick butterflies in her stomach remained at a fevered and relentless pitch,as well. She shook her head in amazement at how he'd made her feel. How he was always making her feel. "That man," she murmured to herself, still grinning.