Disclaimer: I do not own the Still Corners. Nor do I own Iron Man. I just threw them both in a chipper and used the results as mulch. I think I might have killed my garden.

Chapter 11: Last Night in Italy

Still Corners- The Trip

Angela waited until Stark had entered the room for his debriefing before ducking into an alcove and calling Mike. It was one in the afternoon on a Tuesday in Cleveland, so her brother was back at work. It only took him four rings to answer regardless.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Genie? What's going on?" In the background she could hear a few doors close. He was probably close to the hospital floor and not back in his office. Angela usually made it a point to call him on his way in or on his lunch. She knew working hours were hectic for him.

"I'm headed back to Malibu," she informed him, "Probably tomorrow."

There was a beat of hesitation before he carefully asked, "Does this mean you've solved your problem?" Angela smiled. She could hear the carefully guarded hope in his tone. It echoed her own feelings.

"No," she answered. "But someone else did and they offered to help me out. So, I'm going back with them."

She still couldn't believe what she'd seen. The reactor in SI's power plant was a huge, unwieldy thing. To scale that tech down to the size of a softball was comparable to someone taking the EDVAC down to a smartphone in one generation. And Stark had probably made it out of scrap.

Beyond her marveling at his genius and sheer guts, she was bowled over by the idea that he was going to share the mini arc with her. Angela was reminded anew that for all her boss could seem an irresponsible, shallow, playboy, he had a good heart. She vowed that she would be worthy of the trust he was showing her.

"Someone else did?" Mike asked, sounding incredulous.

"Yeah," she repeated, struck by how strange her life was. "I can't get into it over the phone, but keep an eye out for breaking news starting tomorrow probably."

"Breaking news," he murmured. As she expected, it only took him a moment to put things together. "Son of a bitch," he hissed. "I cannot believe it."

"Believe it," she drawled. Leaning back against the wall, she asked, "I don't have to re-warn you about keeping stuff quiet, do I?"

Mike huffed at her, unimpressed by her chiding. "Of course not. That's really great, Genie. I'm glad he made it, and not just for your sake." There was a pause and then the sounds of the hospital behind him completely faded away. "He figured it out and he's going to help you, so you'll be staying with the company?"

"Maybe." Angela glanced at the door the briefing was taking place behind. "I don't know how long it will take, but…" She licked her lips. "I'm going to see if there's another division I can move into. I can't do what I was doing anymore."

He let out a heavy breath again. "Take your time. Don't make a hasty decision. I know you've been feeling guilty, that's natural." Angela flipped some hair out of her eyes, irritated with her brother for psychoanalyzing her. "But don't let it stop you from doing what you're good at," he counseled. After a pause Mike's voice went bright and teasing. "And give the man a minute before you jump all over him about another job."

She chuckled. "I will. I think we'll both be occupied for a bit anyway," she confided.

"Do you want me to meet you at the airport when you get home?" He asked.

"No," she answered immediately. "Like I said, busy. Let me get things around before you pounce on me."

"Alright. I hate to cut this short but I sort of stepped out of a consultation," he admitted sheepishly.

"Michael Timothy," she scolded.

"I thought it was an emergency," he defended himself.

She made a disbelieving noise. "You are going to lose your job doing things like that," she reprimanded.

Mike scoffed. "Says the woman who can't stop smart mouthing her boss."

"He thinks it's amusing and is unlikely to fire me," she shot back. "Go. Be a doctor. I love you. I'll call you later. Maybe skype the young one's later this week, okay?"

"Alright. Love you too. Bye," he ended.

She told him bye and then hung up the phone. The door across from her still hadn't opened. It didn't surprise her; she'd only been on the phone for around five minutes.

Restless, she flicked through her contact list. It was ten in the morning in Malibu. Making up her mind, she dialed and waited for the woman to pick up.

"Potts," the red head answered professionally. She sounded like she might have a trace of a head cold.

"Do you know who is currently in the room across from where I am standing?" Angela asked teasingly.

Pepper gave a little laugh and a sniff. "How is he?"

Angela paused to consider her words. "A bit banged up around the edges but still himself. He's in debriefing with base command right now so I expect him to come bursting out at any moment." The woman on the other end of the line chuckled wetly. "You might want to tell Happy to prepare for a food run when we get there," Angela warned. "He's been muttering under his breath about wanting real American cheeseburgers."

Pepper groaned. "Thanks for the heads up."

"Don't worry about it." She considered hinting to Pepper that Stark had solved her power problem, but didn't want to lead the woman down the path to wondering why the boss would have a fix for it so soon.

There was a long silence on the other end, punctuated by Pepper's sniffle. Finally the red head added, "I'm just so relieved."

"I think everyone will be," Angela admitted. She, herself, felt as if she had dropped a heavy weight. After another few seconds she commented, "You should probably use this time to take a break."

Pepper gave a grunt of disagreement. "There's going to be so much to do. I have press releases."

Angela cut the other woman off before she spiraled into a list of things she needed to do. "I know. But give yourself thirty minutes, take it in. There is no way you have let out even a tenth of the stress you've been under in the last three months."

With a sigh of acknowledgement, Pepper prodded, "The same can be said for you, you know."

"Oh, I know," Angela mused. "But I still have something to get off my chest."

An unhappy noise escaped her friend at her phrasing before she changed the subject. "Do you want me to have your apartment opened up today?"

Her apartment and it's state hadn't crossed her mind in awhile. "You said you were going to be busy. It can wait."

"It's a short phone call and a good distraction. Although, maybe you should stay with Happy and I for a few days," Pepper mused. "The initial media reaction is going to be explosive."

"Thanks for the offer, Pep, but no. I want to get home. And I think, in the feeding frenzy, I should be able to duck out of this one." Licking her lips, she wondered how truthful that assertion really was.

"Maybe." Pepper sounded skeptical. "Happy's going to complain about security at your apartment," she warned.

Angela grumbled, "I know."

"What about the land in Topanga? Where are you on that?" The red head wondered.

"The purchase agreement went through a few days ago. I am the proud owner of five acres of prime mountain real estate." Against her will Angela let out a yawn. She still wasn't sleeping well and the excitement of the day was catching up with her. "You can tell Happy I took his suggestion to buy the adjacent lot too. Thanks for going out there for me. I appreciate it."

"It wasn't an issue. I think we both needed something pleasant to get our minds off things," Pepper demurred.

"Well, thanks anyway. I would have ended up buying site unseen out of frustration if you hadn't offered to take a look." Closing her eyes, Angela scrubbed a hand over her face. "Now I just need to get a building plan together."

"One step at a time," her friend counseled.

"Says the woman who was just going over all the work she's going to have in the next few days," Angela teased, attempting to stifle another yawn.

"Well we both need to take our own advice," the red head quipped. "It sounds like you need your thirty minutes now."

"At the moment I feel like I could alternately hold a siege on the finance department or sleep for a week," Angela shared. "I really am ready to come home and just never think of Italy again." She doubted it would be that simple, but was unwilling to examine the things lurking in the undercurrents of her mind.

Her attention drifted to the two, squishy looking chairs set further out in the room, close to the door. "You know, I think I'll let you go and shut my eyes for a few minutes after all. This debriefing might actually take awhile."

"Go," Pepper urged. "We'll see you soon."

Angela knew she was including Happy in that statement. "Okay. Bye, Pep."

"Bye, Angie."

Ending her call, she walked over to the closest chair and lowered herself into it. Her shoulders eased against the backrest, releasing the tension in her spine.

Dimly, she contemplated going back to her lab, but was hesitant to stray too far from where Stark was just yet. She had a feeling that if she spent the evening sitting alone in her lab she'd start questioning whether the whole meeting with him was real.

She strained her ears for any sound from the other side of the door. When only unintelligible mumbles and the low hum of the buildings furnace reached her, she sucked on her lips in displeasure.

Curling her legs up under her, she settled her battery into her lap and laid her temple against the chair's stiff fabric. Closing her eyes, Angela tried to relax her racing mind. She didn't think she'd actually fall asleep.

…...

After the third round of the same questions, Tony was ready to call it quits. When the base commander called in people from Intelligence, and then demanded Tony repeat his story for the fourth time, Rhodey stepped in. Tony needed rest, not a military tribunal.

Before they left, they brought up the issue of getting Angela uncoupled from the base. It ended up being laughably easy. The man in charge made it clear that he wasn't concerned about her going home, as she hadn't brought a return on his investment. That comment solidified Tony's opinion of the man in charge of the base. He was a douche bag.

It was getting close to eleven at night by the time they were done and Tony just wanted to go home. Of course their flight didn't take off for another six hours.

When the two friend's exited the briefing room, Rhodey jutted his chin at a wheelchair that had been left outside the door. "Look, right there. There's a chair for you."

"Yeah, no," Tony shook his head. "I don't need wheels, I have you."

"Well, I'm getting tired of lugging you around," Rhodey complained, adjusting his hold around Tony's waist. "You should think about a diet."

Tony jerked his head toward Rhodey, offended, when he caught sight of her. Both men cut off their teasing as they approached the woman curled up in the lobby chair. Tony regarded her with some surprise. He'd figured Angela would have gone back to her lab, not stuck around for the three hours he'd been in talking with the brass.

Reaching forward, Rhodey gently shook the woman's shoulder. She made an enquiring hum in her throat, before opening bleary eyes and looking around. A yawn, that she belatedly covered with her hand, stretched her jaw.

Her green gaze landed on the pair. "Finished?" She asked huskily.

"Yeah," Tony answered softly. He quickly analyzed her form. She looked a little better than she had before. Self consciously he rubbed along the side of his face, feeling his newly trimmed goatee again.

Angela unfolded herself from the chair carefully, being sure to grab the strap on her battery before standing. His eyes narrowed. Tony really couldn't wait to get that fixed. It was a reminder he didn't like.

"Our flight out is at five. We'll pick you up," Rhodey offered.

"Pick her up?" Tony enquired. He thought the base would put all their guests together.

"We have rooms a few buildings down," Rhodey explained. "Angela just made a bunk room across from her lab because she's stubborn."

"No," Angela drawled, turning to walk with them toward the door and the waiting jeep. "I made a bunk room because I wanted to stay with Mike and I couldn't move very well on crutches."

"Why were you on crutches?" Tony asked. He looked her over again, as if he could see how she'd been injured.

"I broke my foot," she explained laconically.

They got in the jeep, with Angela in the back and Rhodey driving. Tony turned around from the front seat and asked, "What else?"

She shrugged. "Not much. Broken pinky, bruises, and a few cuts. Besides this," she gestured at her chest, "I got off lightly."

Tony didn't think that was getting off lightly at all. He had a moment to shudder over the thought of having something so limiting as a broken foot while stuck in the cave.

"Oh yeah," Rhodey hummed sarcastically. "You were just fine."

Tony watched the corner of her lips curl up. "Still alive," she reminded with a hint of her old smugness. And no small feat was that, he knew.

Rhodey snorted. "Because you're a crazy badass," he chuckled.

Tony saw her look up toward the rearview mirror and raise a haughty eyebrow. The streetlights of the base barely illuminated her eyes. In the low light they looked black. "I am a mad scientist," she boasted. "Badassery is a prerequisite," she finished primly.

A part of him recognized the return of some of her familiar swagger. Tony had thought she was pretty from the moment he first saw the twenty four year old version of her bent over an R&D table, but the look she was sporting at the moment really worked for her. It was more than polished arrogance. There was something sharp about it.

"Mad scientist?" Tony asked incredulously.

She reached up with her left hand to tap a finger near her chest piece. A smirk lifted her lips.

He shook his head in amusement. Tony supposed that did qualify. He supposed it also made him a mad scientist. An answering wolfish grin stretched across his face.

A few minutes later they pulled up in front of the building her lab was in. Rhodey reminded her again that they'd be back by to pick her up in the morning. Angela nodded, hefted her battery, and slid out of the jeep.

Tony watched as she walked toward the dimly lit entrance. Her shoulders were back, her gait easy and confident. It was a walk he recognized from seeing her at work. There was something new about it that Tony thought seemed lonely though. Angela never looked back.

The two men waited until she entered the building before driving a few streets further over to their own accommodation. Tony's eyes were drooping by that point, and though he'd eaten a sandwich a few hours before, he was hungry again. Sleep seemed the more pressing matter, however.

They trudged up the stairs to the second floor and halfway down the hall before being faced with their respective doors.

"Four am, man. Don't make me wake you up," Rhodey threatened.

Tony grunted a reassurance at him. He wasn't going to mess around and miss their flight. Tossing a wave over his shoulder, Tony limped his way into his room. It was small, but probably much larger than regular housing, and done up in neutral colors.

Without bothering to examine the place further, he toed off his shoes and let himself fall backward onto the bed. He had enough time to register how nice it was to be warm, how good it smelled, and how soft it was. Right before he fell asleep he thought about Angela, somewhere in the basement of that brick building, alone.

…...

Early into the flight back home Angela scooted over next to him on the bench seat of the cargo plane. She took a moment to strap herself and her battery in before turning to him. "Do you want updates on anything from back home or with the company?" She asked.

He felt his brows furrow as he considered it. The most pressing thing on his mind was the misappropriation of his weapons. "The information you found. Was anything ever done with it?"

Her face smoothed out and her posture became more proper. Tony felt affection curl through him when he took note of her pulling on her professional mien.

"Once I was released from the hospital, I was able to get in touch with Mr. Stane. I briefed him on the situation and sent him a copy of the information I compiled." She paused to take a breath, and Tony felt a bit of exasperated fondness that the woman was back up running so soon after what had happened to her. "About a week ago, Pepper briefed me on the four employees who were arrested."

"Only four?" Tony asked, incredulous. There was no way only four people could do what he saw. Although he supposed there didn't need to be more than that working directly for his company. His teeth gritted in renewed anger. "Who?"

She flexed the fingers on her left hand before confiding, "I thought the same thing about the number." Her face drew tight, then she visibly forced herself to relax and continue. "There was Gerald Aster the Deputy Director…"

Tony cut her off. "Deputy Director of Inventory," he finished. A heavy breath left him, and he nodded his head. That made sense. Someone from Inventory had to be in on it.

"The other three were Blake Hoeft, Pauline Mullvan, and Jason Bein." She didn't bother with job titles that time, which was unfortunate.

Tony was forced to ask for clarification. "I know Hoeft and Mullvan. Who's Bein?"

"He was a foreman in Safety. Bald guy with a blonde chin strap beard? Ex-military?" Angela watched him for recognition. "Late twenties," she added. "Pepper said he was hired in 2004."

He shrugged his good shoulder and shook his head. "Nothing."

She hummed. "Well, he dealt with disposal. I don't remember him myself."

As a Deputy at the time, she wouldn't have dealt with a disposal peon anyway. Still, just the four? It didn't seem right to him.

His face must have said something on his thoughts because she added, "Pepper said the search hasn't ended so much as it's died down."

Tony considered Pepper's assessment of the situation. Obie was probably able to find the ring leaders quickly but was still rooting out any accomplices. That meant there were still potential leaks in his company, which was unacceptable.

"She also said that Mr. Stane has made some changes to the tracking systems," Angela continued, smoothing some stray hairs off her face. "I didn't get into detail with her about those. You'll have to talk to her about it," she offered apologetically.

"Not a problem," Tony brushed off. "You were a bit busy."

Angela frowned and then tipped her head back, making a thinking noise. "Stocks dipped when you first disappeared, but only by eleven points or so."

Tony leaned his shoulders against his backrest. "Nice to know the market has such regard for me."

She raised a dark eyebrow. "Would you rather they had tanked while you were out of the country?"

He tilted his head in amusement. "Point taken."

"They rebounded by the end of the week anyway," she continued. "Mr. Stane held a press conference and gave a speech. Something about 'honoring your leadership of the company by following the direction of your flag.'"

He chuckled at her critique and tried to discreetly stretch his back muscles. "Anything else?" Tony kicked his legs out in front of him.

She shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of, Mr. Stark. I'm sure Pepper has a whole outline for you."

"Tony," he emphasized, rolling his head along the wall towards her. "You got to start calling me Tony, Panda. You're giving me a complex thinking you don't like my name."

"I highly doubt that." She squinted her eyes at him. "Besides I'm your employee. Not even Pepper calls you by your first name."

There was something that crossed her face when she said that she was his employee. He wasn't sure how to interpret it. Frowning, he wondered if he should give her a warning about what he was planning to do. Tony glanced around and saw that Rhodey wasn't that far off. It was probably better not to say anything just yet. There was no reason to start an argument about something he had no intention of changing his mind about.

It didn't really matter. He'd find some other place in the company she wanted to work. He wasn't going to let Angela go.

Part of his thought process was dwelling on how to lock her down about the arc reactor as well. He was still going to share it with her, but the arc was intensely private for him. He reminded himself that she would have the same stake in keeping it private. It wouldn't hurt to remind her of that, though.

"Pepper calls me Tony," he argued.

Angela cocked her head at him, "Once in awhile."

He leaned toward her. "Yeah. Well, you're right. You're my employee. You have to do what I say. And I'm telling you to call me Tony." She rolled her eyes. "You're coming home with me and I don't want to hear 'Mr. Stark' or 'Boss' every five minutes," Tony pushed.

At her continued look of obstinacy he softened. "Thirteen years, Panda. Please?" He was completely serious this time. JARVIS' 'sir' was one thing, and Pepper mostly called him by his surname as a joke between them. Angela used it as a defense.

She licked her lips, and Tony tried not to follow the motion. "To work in your lab, not to stay," Angela protested.

Tony raised a hand and pointed at her. "To stay. For a few days at least."

Angela furrowed her brows in confusion. "Why?"

He turned the finger towards himself. "Uh, boss. We covered this." Her face went thunderous and he knew he'd better talk fast. "Okay. Fine. Apparently you need more reasons. One, the media will be rabid when we get back." He saw her open her mouth to comment so he kept talking. "Two, I'm going to show you how to build one of these." He patted his arc.

That successfully diverted her. Her jaw slacked, causing her lips to part. "Build?"

He grinned at her surprise. "You're going to need to know how in case anything happens and you need a quick fix." Tony took a deep breath and reminded her, "It's going to be keeping you alive. And I might not always be available to be your mechanic."

"I couldn't afford you," she said with humor.

Tony gave a mock considering look. "I don't know. Someone told me I was a cheap date."

He was gratified when she gave an unguarded snort of laughter. "You're not going to let that go are you?"

He affected an offended air. "On second thought, you're right. I'll have you know I am a very expensive date. You couldn't afford me."

Angela shook her head and mumbled, "Ten dollars."

Tony felt his eyebrows raise at her attitude. "I don't remember you being quite so sassy before, Panda."

"You're the one that wants me to call you Tony." He let out a breath at her finally calling him by name. "People I call by their first names get more sass," she explained with faux condescension. "Sorry, it's a bundle."

He couldn't help but grin.

…...

Notes: Oops. It's Monday. Sorry. I could give you excuses, but nah. Bit of a transitional/filler chapter with some tidbits. Next week we start the ball rolling forward again.