Tony just looked at Pepper blankly, the phone still ringing in his suspended hand, his mind reeling from the fact that it was looking like they were suddenly front and center to this circumstance he'd been fortunate enough to avoid to this point. "Uh...I, uh, I should take this," he simply muttered.

"Tony? Who's Nick Fury?" Pepper asked again, her eyes searching his face for any kind of explanation.

But he didn't answer her. He just nodded toward the nurses for some help to assist Pepper back to bed, and they quickly stepped in. But Pepper frowned at him as he left her embrace, and all he could do was give her a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, baby. But I've gotta take this," he repeated regretfully. He moved toward the door, and they made eye contact once more. "I'm sorry," he mouthed again to her, before he disappeared through the door.

Pepper did as the nurses directed, and eased herself back into bed. But she kept her eyes trained on the door her husband had just walked out of, a pit growing in her stomach with every second he was absent.

xXxXxXxXx

Tony quickly made his way into the hall. The phone had stopped ringing only momentarily, but Nick had promptly called back, and it was once again ringing as Tony was finally clear of all of the eyes in Pepper's room, and was able to answer.

He gritted his teeth in dread, and swiped his thumb across the phone's screen before it to his ear. "Yeah, hello," he grunted impatiently.

"Caught you at a bad time, Stark?" the familiar voice said at the other end.

Tony spluttered in a sardonic chuckle. "You could say that! Pepper walked for the first time in months just now. But I'm guessing you're calling to tell me something that will shorten our celebration time considerably," he chided.

"Oh! Then I offer my congratulations. I'm calling to give you dibs on breaking up the sale of a large shipment of your old weapons, but by all means! Keep the party going," Nick retorted.

"My weapons? Where?" Tony asked, unable to help himself.

"Russia," Nick replied.

Tony huffed. "Of course it's on the other side of the globe. Why wouldn't it be?" he asked rhetorically. He then squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before he spoke again. "Nick, I appreciate your consideration, seeing as how they are my weapons, and all? But I can't leave Pepper. Not right now. And besides, I've only got the one suit. I destroyed the rest after the fight with Aldrich Killian. And since Pepper got hurt, my focus has been on trying to help her. So, I haven't built any more."

"I'm sorry, Stark. But am I missing something? Last time I checked, you can only man one suit at a time, right?" Nick retorted.

That's exactly why I wanted to build a legion of UNMANNED suits before Pepper got hurt! So, the world would be protected, Pepper and I could go live our life together in peace, and I wouldn't have to HAVE this conversation anymore!, Tony bitterly thought to himself. Then, he huffed in frustration. "The one I have is really only meant for emergencies," he tried to explain.

"Some would categorize this situation as an emergency. You would be the first person on that list. Or so I would have thought," Nick replied.

Tony scowled. "But that's what I'm saying! It doesn't matter what I do or don't think. The suit I've got may not be up to doing a trip to Russia! It doesn't have the power the others had. I just..." He paused, and exhaled sharply. "Look. Can't somebody else go this time? What about our own in-house Russian expert herself? Surely, Natasha-li will be happy to jump on this one."

"She's already onboard for the assist. As are Clint and Cap," Nick explained.

"All this for what amounts to seizing a weapons cache?! What on Earth for?!" Tony demanded.

"It's a doosy. That's why," Nick responded. "We'll need a little fire power on our side. The sellers travel with quite an extensive security detail, and we'll never get close enough to the shipment unless we can take them all out. That's where you come in."

"Then, who are the buyers?" Tony asked.

"Can't put a name on them yet, but they've got someone brokering the trade that goes by the name of Rocco Martinova," Nick informed him.

Tony's blood suddenly ran cold, and he froze in his steps, his eyes going wide. He scrubbed a shaky hand over his goatee. "Holy hell. Are you kidding me?" he gasped in disbelief.

"What? You know him?" Nick asked.

Tony swallowed hard, and nodded. "Yeah. Yes," he stammered. "He was hired by a trouble-making board member of mine a few months back to sneak into Pepper's room and flood her IV with a rare toxin call The Black Dragon in an attempt to kill her. Only because we found a doctor from Korea who specializes in repairing the nerve and tissue damage from it is why Pepper's still alive today."

"I'll be damned. Small world," Nick replied. "How did he get out of your grasp, then?"

"He was never in it," Tony explained. "We only know who he is because of the surveillance footage we got from the hospital after the fact. No one had any clue he had even been here until days later when one of Pepper's doctors noticed signs she had been poisoned. And Bruce found the cap to the syringe he used, which we tested, and found out what he injected her with."

"So, needless to say, the guy is slippery. We found out Interpol, the FBI, the CIA- they've all been looking for him. But no one has been able to even get a bead on him."

"Until now," Nick replied.

"Right. Until now," Tony agreed.

"So, then? Aren't you glad I called?" Nick asked.

XxXxXxXxXx

A few minutes later, Tony re-entered Pepper's room, as the nurses were finishing getting her settled back in. Pepper gasped when she saw him. "Tony!" she cried. "What was that about? Why did you have to disappear? What's happening?" she asked anxiously.

Tony slowly meandered over to her, and sat on the edge of her bed as the nurses finished up. He gave them a polite smile, and a weak wave goodbye as they headed out the door, and then he regretfully turned his eyes back to Pepper's expectant expression. Her chest was heaving in anticipation, and he leaned forward to grasp one of her hands in his.

"I...uh. I gotta go, baby," he began by stating.

Pepper exhaled slowly. "You've got a new mission, don't you," she deduced reluctantly. "A new...Iron Man mission."

Tony could see the trepidation in her eyes, and he worked his jaw for a moment in thought before he swallowed hard, and nodded. "Yeah," he answered simply. "Nick Fury is the Director of SHIELD. And as of a couple of years ago, he's been the one to mostly...assign me to missions as they occur. And it just so happens, there's something that's come up that I've got to do," he explained. He took a deep breath and began again. "Look, I was hoping we wouldn't have to go over any of this until much later. Like, after we got you out of here. Because there is a lot to explain. And with everything you've been through, and have had to overcome, I guess I didn't want to pile it on. But now, I'm regretting that decision."

"Because here we are," Pepper observed, her voice thick with sympathetic regret.

Tony stopped talking and exhaled slowly. "Right," he replied. They didn't say anything, but just looked at each other, contemplating the sudden sense of gravitas this situation had caused between them, until Tony took his eyes away from hers after a few moments, and began to speak again.

"I guess before I go any further, I gotta know," he started by saying. "Are you...upset with me? With...how this has played out?"

Pepper searched his face for a moment, seemingly mulling over her answer before she spoke. Then she slowly shook her head. "No," she said. "I'm not upset. I'm just...really confused. And, if I'm being honest, a little frightened."

Tony let out a soft sigh, and gave her an understanding smile. "That's okay. I get it," he said. "Like I said, I know I haven't told you everything. Not even close. But, I promise. I will. However, right now I feel like you need to know why this mission is particularly important."

Pepper listened silently as Tony went on to explain who Rocco Martinova was, and why he believed he'd tried to kill her. She gasped when he briefly explained what the Black Dragon toxin could have done to her had Bruce not discovered the syringe cap and caught it in time, and he noticed her grit her teeth as angry tears welled up in her eyes. She swiped at theme bitterly. "That bitch," she said of Dianna Wardly. "What a monster she's turned out to be!"

"She has," Tony agreed, nodding. "Obviously, she'll stop at nothing to get her hands on the company. So as soon as I can get in front of Rocco, and as much as I want to just blast his ass from here to kingdom come for hurting you, I'll get him to talk so we can get Dianna out of that boardroom, out of our lives, and she and Rocco can spend the rest of their miserable existences behind bars," he told her resolutely.

Pepper bit her lip nervously, but nodded in agreement. "Of course. Go," she urged.

Tony nodded in the affirmative, and moved to leave, but Pepper reached out, grasping his arm before he could go. "Tony, wait," she said. "I just want you to promise me one thing?"

"Anything," Tony immediately offered.

"Be careful? Come back to me? Preferably alive?" she asked, her voice still filled with trepidation, despite her attempt to ease the tension by giving him a playful smirk.

Tony smiled and nodded. "I will," he promised. "And yeah. That's what I'd prefer, too," he joked back.

Pepper chuckled softly back at him, and then leaned in to kiss her husband, gently cupping his cheeks with both of her hands, and placing an earnest, lingering kiss on his lips. When the kiss broke, she rested her forehead on his and he raised his hands to stroke her wrists as she was still holding his face. "I mean it," Pepper reiterated. "I can't do this alone. I don't want to live without you."

Tony's heart flooded from the loving warmth of her words, and he smiled. "You won't have to, Pep," he assured. "I promise. This will all be over soon. And you and I will be able to get on with our lives."

Pepper smiled. "I'd like that," she said.

XxXxXxXx

It wasn't long before Tony, Clint, Steve, Maria Hill, and Natasha were in the air in the Quinjet, headed west toward the GPS coordinates Nick had sent in the meantime. Tony was suited up, and awaiting the drop point in which he'd fly out of the jet, and go solo for a little reconnaissance work before they all swooped in to intercept the deal with Rocco. The others would hang back until Tony gave the report on where, and how, everything was taking place.

"Been a while, ay, Boys? You all look like thoroughbreds waiting for the Kentucky Derby to start," Natasha quipped, noticing her associates fidgeting and pacing around the cargo hold as they flew toward their destination, obviously all of them anxious for the mission to reach its official start. She was piloting, and Maria Hill was her co-pilot. The two women gave each other a knowing look.

"Why, thank you," Tony purred back at her, with a smirk.

Natasha scoffed in disgust and rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean it like that," she explained. "I just meant that..."

"Oh, I know what you meant! That the lean, mean, ruggedly-handsome yet polished to a glossy-finish stallions you've got waiting in the chutes are all ready to run. I get it," Tony interjected cockily, making Steve and Clint roll their eyes. "Particularly, the front runner in the Red and Gold silks, if you don't mind my saying. Just waiting for that starter pistol to fire, honey."

"Yes. It has been a little while, Natasha," Steve answered back, steering the conversation away from any more of Tony's prattling commentary. "And you know us. We're always happy to get back on the job."

"But especially you, right, Stark?" Maria asked over her shoulder.

The others looked at Tony questioningly, and he stammered for a moment. "Well, I uh...I..." he began, not wanting to divulge his initial hesitation at having to come on this mission, but the desire to confront Rocco being the deciding factor that he was even there at all.

"Nick told me about his messing with Pepper," she went on to say. "He tried to poison her before she came out of her coma, isn't that correct?"

"Poison her?" Steve asked, his eyebrows raised. Both he and Clint had their eyes trained on Tony, awaiting his response. He flicked his eyes back and forth between each of them, and then he exhaled heavily, understanding each man's concern.

"Hey, if you're wondering if I'm going to compromise the mission in any way because of that, fellas, the answer is no," he assured. "Don't get me wrong, though. I'd love to kick this guy's ass into oblivion. But it isn't about me, or even what he did to Pepper, now, is it? It's about stopping the sale of these weapons, destroying them so no one else can get their hands on them, and then bringing him to justice. Right? I'm sure we can all agree," he said, looking back and forth between them.

Steve softened, then slapped his friend on the shoulder and smiled, nodding. "You've come along way, Stark," he commented. "How very big picture of you."

Tony just gave him an assuring smile, but Clint's eyes narrowed skeptically as he watched this exchange. "That's all well and good, Tony, but I gotta say I'm not sure I'd be able to keep it together if I was faced with the guy that had tried to poison my wife. Might wanna remember these words once you get into the heat of the battle, pal. Just sayin'," he commented.

Tony looked at Clint, and then worked his jaw for a moment as he considered his words. "Yeah, I get it, Barton," he replied, nodding. "And thanks. But don't worry. I will."

Clint pursed his lips, and then flicked his eyes across to Steve, and the two men shared a knowing glance. Cap nodded in acknowledgement of what Clint was saying, and Clint nodded back, the two men drawing the same conclusion that, regardless of what Tony was saying now, they'd be wise to be prepared for what could happen between him and Rocco once they were actually face to face.