"Why did you bring me here?" I snapped, having been rather angry and on edge since Natalie showed up.

After I'd exhausted myself running and had returned back to Tony's home—my home ever since I took his offer to stay in a guest bedroom instead of traveling back and forth—I'd collapsed a sore, achy mess and refused to deal with him until I cooled off. And I had, slightly. She just kept popping up at work. And sure, a part of my anger was my pride at being a decent fighter getting knocked down a few pegs, but there's always someone better than you at something, so I didn't dwell too long on that. Though I wonder how she had time to practice to that extent with all the education and background she has. The biggest problem was, I was angry at myself for being angry. Bit convoluted, I know, but I was frustrated at how I'd acted out of jealousy. It wasn't like me to lose my cool and doing so in front of people—much less Tony—made me feel twice as ridiculous as before. Especially now that he was going out of his way to try and fix things. I just couldn't accept the fact that I'd acted that way though, feeling that all of Tony's gifts and surprises weren't things I deserved after acting like a child.

"I told you, there's a racing event today, and a car I bought is going to be in it. I thought you'd like to come with us."

Pepper elbowed my side, giving me a pointed look and I sighed.

"Fine. Thanks, I guess."

She sighed as Tony pouted and we stepped out of the car in front of Hotel De Paris to a crowd of roaring fans and press.

"You know, it's Europe," Tony rambled on to us. "Whatever happens in the next twenty minutes, just go with it."

"Go with it? Go with what?" Pepper questioned, the two of us feeling uneasy with that statement coming from him.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Hey," Tony greeted Natalie, removing his sunglasses as I tried to keep from bristling.

"Hello. How was your flight?"

"It was excellent. Boy, it's nice to see you,"

I had to admit, with Natalie working as Pepper's assistant, things were going smoother at the office, especially for her. And she's a decent person, it's just Tony—I winced, grinding my teeth until Pepper elbowed me to stop me. I regret telling her about that bad habit, though I'm sure it pleases my dentist to know that she's keeping me from more dental work.

"We have one photographer from the ACM if you don't mind. Okay?" Natalie explained as a man came over and offered us drinks.

I stopped the man from leaving, leaning over to speak quietly. "Follow me. I don't ever want to see an empty glass, got it? I'll pay extra, especially if it's strong drinks."

"Yes, ma'am," he chirped politely, disappearing in the crowd to restock his tray.

Natalie took our drinks then, making me frown lightly as a photographer stepped forward for pictures as Pepper lightly chewed Tony out.

"When did this happen?"

"What? You made me do it."

"I made you do what?"

"You quit." He nodded to the camera. "Smile. Look right there. Jess, you too."

He hooked an arm around my waist and placed his hand politely on my lower back until I pinched him and he dropped it with a wince.

"Stop acting constipated," he said, either to me or Pepper, I wasn't sure. "Don't flare your nostrils, Pepper. Jess, chin up, polite smile, not too forced."

I smiled sickly sweet. "Don't tell me how to do my job."

"Right this way," Natalie said, leading us further through the hotel's restaurant area once the picture was taken.

"You're so predictable. That's the amazing thing," Pepper commented to Tony as my waiter cleared his throat behind me and I thanked him, grabbing the offered scotch.

I tried not to shatter the glass in my hand when Tony complimented Natalie's appearance, downing the drink with a grimace as Pepper came up behind me and the waiter lightly switched out the empty glass with a full one.

"If you would just talk to him."

"And tell him what?" I grumbled, Pepper having become my sounding board about my current attitude problems.

"Tell him you're jealous and don't appreciate him flirting with every pretty woman he sees."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Do you hear yourself? This is Tony we're talking about."

She sighed. "He might change for you."

"But I don't want him to change because of me," I argued, watching as Tony stepped away with Natalie. "He shouldn't have to change because I can't keep my temper."

"And he should realize that he's upsetting you by flirting with other women and do something about it."

"No. It's my problem. I know how he is, and I should be managing this better."

"Jess, you can't put all of this on you. Nothing's going to change if you don't tell him what's bothering you. You can't stay angry forever."

"I'm angry at myself, not him."

"And he doesn't know that." She nodded towards Tony as he glanced back at us. "He's doing this stuff for you, you know."

"I know," I muttered, feeling shame well up in me as I sipped my drink. "I'll think about it."

Pepper cracked a smile. "That's all I want. Though, could you also be friendlier with Natalie? I know it's a lot to ask, but the tension in the office is a bit…"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll figure something out."

"Thanks," Pepper smiled, stepping away to go greet a businessman she recognized.

I drank some more scotch before Tony approached me.

"You want a massage?"

"No," I grumbled, trying to keep Pepper's words in mind and not be snippy about things.

"I'll have Natalie make an—"

"No," I pressed.

"I don't want you to be tense," he explained, leading me through the restaurant as Pepper caught up with us. "By the way, I didn't mean to spring this on you."

We stopped by the bar and he leaned on the table, facing me.

"Have I done something to upset you?"

"What do you think?" I said, holding out my glass as my waiter refilled it again.

"I think you've hired someone to follow you with a full bottle of scotch, typically meaning yes."

"Give the man a prize," I muttered, drinking again.

"Look, if I did something, you have to tell me—"

"Anthony, is that you?" Someone chimed in and Tony begrudgingly looked away from me.

"My least favorite person on Earth, Justin Hammer."

"Hey, pal. How you doing?" Justin asked, patting his shoulder as Pepper shot me a look from my left.

"Tell him," she mouthed, making me frown into my glass.

"You're not the only rich guy here with a fancy car," Justin continued, unperturbed by Tony's obvious disinterest. "You know, Christine Everhart from Vanity Fair? You guys know each other?"

Christine headed over, smiling at me and for once, I was able to smile back without the tenseness from before. "Hi, Jess."

"Hello, Christine."

"Yes, yes, we do roughly know each other," Tony interjected, stepping a little in front of me and making Christine raise a brow.

"BTW, big story," Justin said, pointing at Pepper as she smiled politely. "The new CEO of Stark Industries. Congratulations."

"I know, I know," Christine said politely. "My editor will kill me if I don't grab a quote for our Powerful Women issue. Can I?"

"Oh, sure," Pepper smiled, looking a little shocked.

"You too, Jess, if you don't mind. You've been a big help so far, and I know you're an expert in your field."

I smiled a little sheepishly. "If you want, yeah."

"She's actually doing a big spread on me for Vanity Fair," Justin cut in. "I thought I'd throw her a bone, you know."

Christine and I exchanged a look at that. He seems like a prick.

You don't know the half of it.

Editor's idea?

After the senate meeting? Yeah.

Shame.

You and I could always…

I'll set something up. I winked, drinking some more as she cracked the slightest hint of a smile. Pepper seemed to have noticed the exchange too, clearing her throat.

"Well, she did quite a spread on Tony last year."

"And she wrote a story as well," Tony added.

"It was very impressive."

"I helped her set it up," I tacked on. "She's the best journalist I know. You better treat her right, Hammer, or we might just have a problem."

The threat was taken with a choking cough from Justin as the drink he'd been sipping went down the wrong tube.

"R-Right."

Pepper stepped away then, giving me a pointed nod at Tony, but Justin was quick to drape his arm over Tony's shoulders.

"Hey, buddy. How you doing?"

"I'm all right."

"Looking gorgeous."

"Please, this is tough," Tony argued, looking to me for help as a photographer popped up to take their picture. "Could you not—"

"Can I ask you," Christine started as Tony put his sunglasses back on, "is this the first time you guys have seen each other—"

"Fromage. Say brie!" Justin chuckled as Tony forced a laugh.

"God, that's so awful."

"Listen," Christine cut in again, a hint of annoyance in her tone as she got serious. "Is it the first time you've seen each other since the senate?"

"Uh, since he got his contract revoked when you were attempting to…"

"Actually, it's on hold," Justin tried to argue as Tony grabbed my elbow and started to walk off.

"That's not what I heard. What's the difference between 'hold' and 'canceled?'"

"Yes, what is?" Christine asked, Justin following after us as I jerked my elbow out of Tony's grip.

"The truth?"

"No, the truth is, um, why don't we put that away." He shoved away Christine's recorder as Tony pulled out a chair at a table and sat me down in it, much to my annoyance.

He knows I don't like it when he does this.

"The truth is, I'm actually hoping to present something at your expo," Justin explained.

"Well, if you invent something that works, I'll make sure I get you a slot," Tony offered as we all sat down, and a waiter dropped off some menus.

Then, of course, Natalie appeared at his elbow.

"Mr. Stark, your corner table is ready."

Tony smiled at me, though I frowned and finished off my drink once more as we got up. My faithful waiter appeared to refill the glass in my hand as Tony made one last crack at Justin. He then gave me a look.

"Anyway, to continue from before we were so rudely interrupted," he started. "If I've done anything—"

"You haven't done anything," I grumbled, cutting him off. "I'm just being stupid."

He raised a brow. "I hardly believe that. You? Being anything less than overtly intelligent?"

"Don't patronize me."

"I'm not. Honestly, I'm not," he said sincerely as we neared the table he'd made Natalie procure for us. "Just talk to me, Jess. You're obviously tense about something. Let me fix it."

"You can't fix everything, you know."

"I can certainly try."

I sighed heavily as we sat down, suddenly wishing Pepper were with us and not Natalie. In fact… "Natalie, could you go find Pepper for us?"

"Of course, Miss Norris."

"I told you—" I sighed as she headed off. "It's Jess."

Tony snorted into his glass of water, making me shoot him a glare.

"Shut it, you."

"Oh, so we're back to teasing again?"

I pursed my lips, turning my gaze out the window and he sighed.

"Jess, come on. I'm trying, you know that, don't you?"

"If the trip to Monaco and the dozens of gifts you've been unsuccessfully throwing at me mean anything, then yes. You're trying in a way only you could."

"Then, what's the problem?"

"I told you. I'm the problem."

"No, there's got to be something more than that. Come on. Explain it to me. Dumb it down," he hummed, leaning back in his chair. "I could order some more drinks. Loosen your tongue, if you want. Liquid courage?"

"No, it's fine. I'm just…" I grimaced, not wanting to say it.

"I won't judge you, Jess."

"I'm jealous," I muttered, shifting my glance back to him. "Of Natalie."

"Her? Why? I mean, she did kick your butt in sparing."

"Because of how you look at her," I answered, looking away again and catching my reflection in the glass of the window. A tired, slim, butchish woman with not even an ounce of the beauty Natalie or Christine have. What does he even see in me? "It's stupid, so I'm angry that I'm acting jealous. It's not you."

He raised a brow. "Isn't it?"

I shook my head. "No. No, it's really not. I know how you are. Six months of being with you has taught me enough. I'm not going to make you change who you are just because I can't keep control over some stupid jealousy."

"You're right. You are stupid."

I rolled my eyes, drinking some more scotch before he continued.

"You're stupid because you didn't even bother to tell me until now. You might not want to make me change, but who said I'm not willing to anyway?"

I shot him a look of disbelief. "You know, I'm on like, my fifth drink, so why is it you're the one who sounds drunk."

He cracked a smile, leaning forward and lightly touching the back of my hand where a scar lay from back when I'd broken into his house months ago. "I really do only have eyes for you."

I snorted. "Sure you do."

"I do. I might act like I don't. Women still catch my eye, but I'm done with sleeping around. Especially if it makes you act like this. I'd like to keep my options open, but meh." He shrugged, pulling his hand away. "Pepper and Happy have been telling me it's my fault. And I promised to fix things. So, I'll fix it. Don't expect me to be perfect though."

I snorted, managing a small, honest smile myself. "You? Perfect?"

He cracked a smile in return, before pushing up from the table. "Restroom," he replied to my look of question and I hummed, waving him off as Pepper headed over, catching my gaze with a smirk.

Oh, here we go.

"So? How was your talk?"

"Don't start."

"Come on," she pushed lightly. "You made up?"

I huffed but couldn't help the small upturn to my lips. "Yeah, yeah we did."

"That's great! Is he going to stop showering you with gifts?"

I snorted. "Tony? Never." I swirled the scotch in my glass. "God, Pepper. I honestly don't deserve him."

"Um, excuse me? I think it's the exact opposite, to be honest." She lifted her own drink, eyeing me over the rim. "What has you so suddenly pessimistic?"

"Look at me, Pepper. Like really look. I'm a mess! An abused child, partially blind, I killed my own father for Pete's sake and even now, I'm nothing but a miserable, tired, masculine—"

"And incredibly intelligent, strong, independent and an overall powerful woman," she interrupted. "Just because you might not see that, doesn't mean he's blind to it."

"There's plenty of other women out there who are strong and smart and beautiful."

"And he's probably slept with half a dozen of them, but he hasn't stayed with them for a reason. Nobody has ever mattered to him this much until you. You keep him intrigued."

"And what happens when he gets bored?" I grumbled, mind bouncing off any number of 'what ifs' as the alcohol started to get to me. "And what about this Iron Man thing? It's only going to bring in more women who are better than me, and I couldn't even keep my cool around one."

"God, if I knew you were such a depressed drunk," she stopped then, her eyes going wide as she caught sight of something over my shoulder.

"What?" I questioned with a frown. "What? Is Tony naked again, because I swear I'll—" I cut myself off upon catching sight of the television screen where Tony waved off an angry driver and was preparing to climb into one of the racecars.

"Natalie. Natalie!" Pepper called the woman over as I gaped, downing the rest of my scotch and waving away the man who'd finished refilling it.

I think I'd had enough to drink for one afternoon, especially if I wasn't imagining what was happening on screen.

"Did you know about this?" Pepper asked Natalie, frantic.

"Uh, this is the first that I have known of it," the red-head responded.

"This… This cannot happen."

"Absolutely, I understand. How can I help you?"

"Get Happy," I blurted out, standing up and turning to them, downing the entire glass in one quick gulp and grimacing. "I'm heading down there. Pepper get the case and the car. I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to kill him, and I'm going to use his damn suit to do it too."

"S-Seriously?"

"No, not really, but I'm going to cause a scene and need a quick getaway. Christine is undoubtedly drawing in more press by the minute if she saw this. So, we really need to—What the hell…"

On screen, a man had stepped out onto the track, as confident as ever and pulled open his shirt to reveal a glowing chest piece.

"Yeah, Pepper, scratch that last bit. The case is now mandatory, and I guess we're all going," I muttered as Happy appeared and lifted the case.

"Go, go!" Pepper urged Happy on and he raced the car towards the gates leading out onto the racetrack nearest the hotel.

"Hold on!"

The trio sped out onto the racetrack, Happy expertly dodging cars as he did and Jess grimaced.

"Yeah, remind me to get Tony to look into more sportscars for you to drive instead of this thing. Do you know how to activate the case?"

"It needs Tony and a key. That's all I know!"

"Okay, personal note number two, remind me to change that. Pepper, get your phone out, follow what's going on."

"Right!" She whipped out her phone and gasped, covering her mouth in shock.

Jess leaned over and cursed under her breath. The man who'd stepped out onto the track also had some sort of electrified whip and had just sliced through Tony's car. The vehicle flipped and crashed into the pavement, potentially trapping Tony or knocking him out.

"Happy, ram the guy."

"You're joking, right?"

"No, I'm fucking serious. Tony might not be able to get out. We need to stall. Hit him, and don't get out of the car. I don't know what those whips are, but electricity isn't good."

Explosions went off as more racers collided behind the whip-wielding man, and Jess grabbed the case.

"Key?"

"It's in my pocket."

"Car!" Pepper warned, making him narrowly miss a yellow racecar as it zoomed by.

"Pepper, how's Tony?" Jess asked, digging through Happy's suit pocket for the key. "And if you say one inappropriate jab, I'm suing you for everything you own, Happy."

"N-Noted."

"The man just whipped through the car, but he's not in it. He got out!" She grimaced then.

"I take it, he didn't run."

"He, um, attacked the man with a car door."

"Great. Ah! Got it!" Jess grinned as she pulled out the key and settled back into the passenger seat. "And if Tony's smart, he'll hold that guy off. How's he doing?"

"He was thrown, but there's a car on fire between them now. How far are we?"

"Two seconds!" Happy said. "Incoming!"

"Brace yourself, Pepper!" Jess shouted as they sped around the corner and the car slammed into the orange-suited man, pinning him to the gate and wall surrounding the track.

"Are you okay!" Tony called out, jumping down from the gate and coming over to the side of the car.

"Yeah," Happy said, as Pepper struggled not to panic and Jess grimaced, blinking spots out of her vision.

"Were you heading for me or for him, because I can't tell!" Tony snapped.

"It was my idea, you dunce," Jess complained, just as Pepper screamed at Tony.

"Are you out of your mind!"

"Better security!" Tony argued.

"Get in the car right now!"

Jess too bristled. "And what would security do against an electro-whip-wielding maniac!"

"I was attacked!"

There was a subtle whir of machinery and Jess's head snapped back to the front.

"O-Oi! Whip-man's waking up!"

The whip snapped out just as Tony opened the side door, slicing it in half as Happy screamed with Pepper, backing the car up and ramming it repeatedly into the dangerous man.

"Hit him again! Hit him again!" Tony encouraged as Jess opened the door and stumbled out herself, not wanting to be in the car of panicked people any longer.

"Christ you two can scream." She shoved the case into Tony's hands. "Take the case and do something, but let it be known, I want to be able to do something next time, so I'm changing the locks on your suits."

"Oh, don't do that. They're my suits!"

The whip snapped out and sliced through the car, making them both leap into action.

"Open the damn case!" Jess shouted, moving around behind the car and jumping to narrowly avoid being hit by the end of the whip that came slamming back down.

She scrambled to get up, rushing around to the side of the car and yanking the door open on Pepper's left, just as the whip came down again, slicing a chunk of the car off. Jess whipped out a mouthful of curses at the intense burning sensation that ran across her back, but pushed through it as she pulled Pepper from the car and Tony was finally suited up enough to push the car away and go after the man.

Pepper clung to Jess's arm as the man turned his attention to Tony, but Jess was quick to push from her own stupor and nudge her towards the managed car.

"Get Happy out. We need to go."

"G-Go? Go where!"

"Away from here! He can't fight this guy and protect us at the same time!"

Tony was grabbed by the whips then and thrown at them, making Jess's eyes widen before tackling Pepper out of the way.

"Move, dammit!" She shouted at the other woman, pulling her up and shoving her towards the car where Happy was staring in shock. "Happy, can the car—" Before Jess could finish her sentence, Tony was thrown into the hood of the car and Jess groaned. "Never-fucking-mind then."

Tony was kneeling on the ground though, struggling with the electricity that was threatening to short-out his system.

"Tony, you idiot!" Jess called out, mind racing a mile a minute as her back throbbed and adrenaline surged her forward to get Happy out of the car. "Think about the weapon itself, not the electricity!"

"Jess, I honestly love you sometimes," Tony replied, reaching up and wrapping his arm around the whip before curling it around himself until he was right up in front of the man and able to attack him in hand-to-hand instead.

It was easy then, to swing him to the ground and remove the power source in the man's chest, rendering him incapable of much further harm. The crowd that had gathered cheered as armored men gathered the man up and Jess sank against the car in relief. The man spat blood at Tony, cackling.

"You, you lose! You lose. You lose, Stark!" He laughed as he was dragged off, and Tony took one look at the chest piece in his hand before crushing it.

"Oh, my God! Jess!"

He turned around at the concern and panic in Pepper's voice, seeing Jess sagging heavily against the car and the blackened, bleeding gash that ran across her left shoulder towards her spine. His eyes widened as he hurried over and grabbed her arm to keep her upright.

"I'm fine," she tried to shove him off, though the grimace and sweat on her face argued differently.

A quick analysis argued that she wasn't, and he tried to explain as much to her, but she shot him a dirty glare before he could.

"I've dealt with pain all my life," she snapped. "So, believe me when I say that I can handle this."

"Jess, I—"

"Shut up," she stopped him, placing a hand against the chest of his suit. "Shut up and go find out who the hell that guy was and why he had your tech. I'm not dying, so right now, that's your priority, got it?"

He wanted to argue, but she managed a small smile.

"Go, you Iron Moron."

And he did, anger welling in him for the man who'd done this as she was ushered into the back of an ambulance.

I shifted with a grimace in the plane, quickly waving off Pepper's concern as we turned our attention back to the senator on the news station.

"It's just unbelievable. It proves that the genie is out of the bottle and this man has no idea what he's doing. He thinks of the Iron Man weapon as a toy."

"He was attacked in broad daylight by a knock off," I grumbled. "Like to see what Senator Stick-Up-His-Ass would do in that situation. Hell, half the soldiers I know wouldn't have dealt with it as well as he did."

Pepper sighed heavily. "It doesn't change what he did."

I frowned, agreeing with her on that. He still hadn't explained to either of us what he was thinking by jumping into a racecar like an eager five-year-old child. He's hiding something. I just know it. And with how Tony is, he's not going to tell us until he figures it out. So, I've got to get answers. Maybe Jarvis will tell me… I immediately grimaced at the thought, shifting again in the chair as my back throbbed under the thick bandages the hospital put me in. No, I shouldn't go around his back like that. I've just got to get him to slip up.

"I was at a hearing where Mr. Stark, in fact, was adamant that these suits can't exist anywhere else, don't exist anywhere else, never will exist anywhere else, at least for five to ten years. And here we are in Monaco realizing, uh oh. these suits exist now."

"Mute."

We both looked over at Tony as he stepped out with two covered food trays.

"He should be giving me a medal. That's the truth."

Pepper eyed the tray he placed before me and on a table before her, laying out silverware. "What is that?"

I gave Tony a raised brow. "You cooked?"

"This is your inflight meal."

Even Pepper was a bit confused. "Did you just make that?"

"Yeah. Where do you think I've been for three hours?"

I huffed, picking up a fork and prodding at the omelet. "Well, if I'm lucky, you were answering work calls about your latest crazy idea. You ready to tell us what you were thinking yet? What you're trying to hide from us?" I asked, lifting my eyes to his, where I saw his gaze shift to the hint of bandage peeking out of my loose shirt.

"I don't want to go home. At all."

"So, don't," I shrugged, regretting it instantly at the flare of pain and dropping my fork, which Tony was quick to grab. "Damn."

"Careful," he murmured, pausing to watch me attempt to prod at his food again. "Let's just cancel my birthday party and, and, uh… We're in Europe. Let's go to Venice, Cipriani. Remember?"

Pepper scoffed, apparently the two of them sharing a fond memory from Cipriani. "Oh, yes."

"It's a great place to be to, to… be healthy."

My eyes narrowed at those words, something Tony never really mentioned out loud was his heath kicks—his disgusting green juice being the only thing he actively boasted about. Is something wrong with his health? He seems fine, other than the whole metal in his chest… thing… The argument going on between a reluctant Pepper and Tony flew in one ear and out the other as my gaze drifted to the lump under Tony's shirt. His chest piece… Something's wrong. That explains everything. The sudden increase in drinking his stupid juice, the, the racecar thing. He's acting out, doing crazy things, because…

"He's dying," I murmured under my breath, not realizing I'd said it out loud, though they hadn't apparently heard me.

Do I let them know I know? Pepper, probably not. She'd panic. Hell, I'm a little panicked right now. What do I do? What can I do? Is there anything I can do? No, I can't panic. I can't let it show. And yet, my hands were shaking, and I forced myself to set my fork down. So, what? I let Tony know? I question him? He'll just deny it, and even then, what can I do? I suddenly felt very tired and excused myself from that section of the plane to the restroom where I splashed water on my face to try and knock myself out of it.

"Either way, I need to help. He can't do it alone. This damn racecar stunt proves that. He's giving up, dammit." I pressed a hand to my face, wishing beyond anything else that I could go on a long, exhausting run as I grit my teeth. "Dammit, Tony. Why couldn't you just tell me?"

"Yes, but the fundamentals of the company are still very, very strong despite the events in Monaco."

"Yes, of course." Natalie leaned forward to speak with Pepper. "The AP wants a quote."

"Don't tell him. Fax them," I responded, walking in from the kitchen and plopping a raspberry in my mouth. "Word of mouth is never a good thing in cases like these. Paper proof only. And, uh, thanks, for covering for me while I'm recovering."

Natalie cracked a small smile. "Of course, Jess."

I managed a small one back, having done my absolute best to push aside any jealousy over her since my discussion with Tony. Not because of him, really, but she didn't honestly seem to care about his advances and I had to applaud her for that, and for the actual work she does with Pepper around the office. Or, Tony's home in this case. Ever since we'd landed, the office had become ground zero for the mess Tony had started. His home was secure enough to keep a majority of the press and others away, so it had become the base for the moment as Pepper and Natalie tried to start fixing things. I offered to help, but Pepper had been keen to shoo me away to sleep as per doctor's orders because I had apparently pushed my body into exhaustion as well before I'd been clipped by the electrified whip. That, and sitting in a chair too long, hurts. It'll definitely be tender for a while. Dealing with child abuse has at least allowed me to learn how long it'll take me to heal. The door opened then, and I nearly groaned as Rhodey stepped in, looking ticked.

"Where is he?"

Natalie turned. "He doesn't want to be disturbed."

Pepper though had no such problems. "He's downstairs."

Natalie looked at her in surprise as I nodded to the staircase.

"I'll come with you, Rhodey."

"Thanks," he muttered, some of his bite disappearing as we headed down, me a little slower than usual. "How's the back?"

"Been better. Go figure I'm the one who gets hurt though."

"Yeah, you are kind of accident prone, aren't you? First, you get shot, now this?"

"Both were not my fault and were only a result of me being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"You mean, next to Tony."

I paused on the steps, looking to him with a frown. "Don't you start."

He held up his hands in defense. "I'm just saying."

"Look, I get that he's reckless and jumps into danger headfirst, but ever since he was taken in Afghanistan, all he's ever done is try to help."

Rhodey raised a brow. "By getting you shot and jumping into a racecar only to get attacked by a maniac?"

I sighed. "It's Tony. He likes to make noise. You make enough noise, you get people who dislike you. That's how the world works. Trust me, I've worked under rich and famous people long enough to know. The thing is, he's trying to be good. He hasn't quite worked it out yet but look at the alternative. You tell me. How many soldiers out there do you think will actually do the right thing in one of his suits, hm? You're one of the few people who know about Stane. He was a decent guy too until he got power and look what that power did in the end. It got him and a number of others hurt or killed. Tony is someone who doesn't allow that power to go to his head."

"You can't be serious."

"You know what I mean!" I hissed, making sure we weren't being overheard. "Yes, he is a narcissist and sometimes acts like a child who just got a new toy for Christmas, but as Iron Man, he's doing good. As much good as he can. All I'm saying is give him a chance, and for right now, just be a friend. Because that's what he needs right now."

Rhodey frowned, catching the look on my face. "Hold on. Something's going on, isn't there?"

"That's for him to explain," I muttered, starting down the steps again. "He doesn't know I've worked it out either. I haven't found a good way to bring it up, but it's… not good."

"I'll… keep that in mind."

We reached the door to the lab and I entered the key code, allowing us to step in where Tony was seated in one of his cars looking over holographic information hovering in front of him.

"Tony, you've got to get upstairs and get on top of this situation right now," Rhodey declared firmly, making me sigh.

Go figure.

"Listen. I've been on the phone with the National Guard all day, trying to talk them out of rolling tanks up PCH, knocking on your front door and taking these." Rhodey pointed at the suits lined up on the wall, trying to get the point across, but I was eyeing Tony.

He's too quiet.

"They're gonna take your suits, Tony, okay? They're sick of the games."

I stepped over to the car, ignoring how Tony pointedly ignored me. He's pale, sweating. God, I was right, wasn't I? I then glanced at the information on the hologram he'd pulled up. On a man named Ivan Vanko. Arrested for selling weapons-grade plutonium illegally. Physicist. Father was accused of espionage and deported. So, what's the connection? Why's he got problems with Tony? Something to do with Ivan's father maybe? Did Tony or Howard have a part in his deportation? So, what? A revenge plot?

"You said nobody else would possess this technology for twenty years. Well, guess what? Somebody else had it yesterday."

"Did he help make it?" I asked, speaking quietly, but enough to get both the angry Rhodey and Tony's attention.

"What?" Rhodey questioned as I pointed at the hologram.

"Ivan Vanko. His father was a physicist like he was and was deported from the U.S. for possible spying. I was at the senate meeting just like you. Nobody else is capable of coming up with this technology on their own, except the ones who came up with it in the first place. Ivan already said at the racetrack that he was after Tony. This is a grudge. So, since Tony has no idea who he is, my guess is this guy's father was deported from the U.S. after working for Howard Stark and coming up with the suit. Or, well, the chest piece thing, I guess. I'm still not entirely sure how that thing works."

"You're defending him again?" Rhodey complained.

"Please. I'm a lawyer. It's my job, so yeah. I am. But you've got to admit, it makes sense as a theory, right?"

Rhodey sighed heavily, running a hand over his head. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess it does, but it doesn't stop the rest of the world from seeing it one way."

"Never said it would. Just wanted to figure something out." I glanced at Tony. "Did I get it right?"

He managed a smile, but it looked pained, making mine slip from my face as he opened the car door. "Better than anything I've got."

He couldn't even get out of the car before he was sinking to the ground and Rhodey went to help him up, seeing as I couldn't with my injury.

"You all right?"

"Yeah," Tony lied. "I should get to my desk."

I was quick to head over. "What do you need?"

He seemed surprised that I wasn't questioning him but waved a hand as Rhodey helped him over.

"Cigar box. Palladium."

I opened it as Tony fell into his chair and pulled out his chest piece the same time I grabbed one of the palladium plates from inside it, understanding dawning on me. He's frying the cores. Whatever is powering that is too much for the system it's in and is frying it away piece by piece. Which means… I grimaced as Rhodey eyed the smoking core of Tony's chest piece.

"Is that supposed to be smoking?"

"If you must know, it's neutron damage. It's from the reactor wall."

It's slowly frying him too. I took the chest piece from him, carefully pulling out the blackened, charred core and replacing it with the new one, handing it back without a word—though I could feel Tony's eyes watching me the whole time.

"You had this in your body?" Rhodey questioned, eyeing the fried piece of metal. "And what about the high-tech crossword puzzle on your neck?"

My gaze shifted to the odd zigzag pattern trailing up the side of his neck. Poisoning him from the inside out. He needs a better conductor as a core, but he'd smart enough to know that. He would have been using a new one now if he could. So… he doesn't have one. He's dying because the device saving his life is trying to kill him too.

"Road rash," Tony lied again, eyes latching onto mine as I stared back evenly.

I know, you idiot. Don't lie to me. Let me help. Help me figure out what to do to help you.

Tony let out a soft sigh of relief as he finally tore his gaze away from me and replaced the chest piece, turning away and drinking his juice before grumbling back at us.

"What are you looking at?"

"I'm looking at you," Rhodey replied, as I kept my mouth shut. "You wanna do this whole lone gunslinger act and it's unnecessary. You don't have to do this alone."

"You know, I wish I could believe that. I really do," Tony snapped, making that heaviness in my chest sink lower. "But you've got to trust me. Contrary to popular belief, I know exactly what I'm doing."

"And what about her, huh?" Rhodey gestured to me and I sighed heavily.

"Rhodey, don't."

"No, I'm going to, because you're getting caught up in this too. He says he's fine working alone, but you're here running around saving his business, defending him in courts, defending him to me and the media. You're out there getting hurt trying to help him." Rhodey whipped back around to Tony. "And you're still going to say you're better off alone?"

Tony looked me right in the eye. "Yes."

Rhodey was silent before shaking his head. "No. No, you're an idiot. You're a damn—" Rhodey bit back his curse, lowering his voice as he started for the door, shooting me one last look. "Get out of this, Jess. I don't know how you've managed to stick around him for this long, but you need to go. It's obvious how little he cares for you and I don't want you taking the fall for his mistakes."

I almost laughed, managing a shaky smile instead as I looked to Rhodey. "Then, I must be twice the idiot he is, because I'm not leaving him, Rhodey."

Rhodey shook his head, stepping through the door and leaving.

"Why didn't you tell me you were dying?" I questioned, not looking away from the glass doors Rhodey stepped out of.

"Who says I'm dying?"

"I do, because I'm not stupid, Tony." I sat on a spare chair he'd moved into the lab for when we worked together on his suit.

"You just said you were twice as stupid as me."

"Tony."

He was quiet for a second. "When did you figure it out?"

"The plane trip back from Monaco. I didn't say anything, because I was still trying to figure it out and didn't know how to bring it up to talk about it," I explained. "The core of your chest piece is poisoning you because it's not a good enough conduit for the energy keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart. Like radiation, except more…" I waved a hand at my neck. "…visible."

"You don't have to worry about it. I've got it figured out. I know—"

"The hell you do," I cut in. "Because you're not stupid either, Tony. If you had another core that could work better, you'd have used it by now instead of almost collapsing down here. If Rhodey and I hadn't come down, what were you going to do? Crawl to your desk?"

He pursed his lips, not answering and I winced, forcing myself to push aside the anger for his recklessness and the stress of discovering the seriousness of his condition.

"What… What I mean to say is…" I ran a hand through my hair. "I might not be the best person for this; I might not know as much, but what can I do to help?"

"Why? Rhodey is right. You should just go. You've already been hurt because of me. I don't want to have to risk myself to keep you safe."

God, he's making it so difficult to be nice when he's being such a dick. "Yeah, I know what you're doing."

"No, you don't."

"Yeah, I do. Six months of us being together, and you don't think I know when you're being cruel to try and push me away to protect me? See, Rhodey was right. You are stupid, but you care more than you let on. I wouldn't be with you if you didn't, because I've seen what it's like for someone to be cruel and not care in the slightest. And what you're doing is the exact opposite of that. So, stop being depressed. Stop being mean to me like a dumbass and tell me what it is I can do to help."

"Jess, I really don't think—"

"Jarvis?" I called out, standing up.

"Yes, Miss Norris."

"Tell me what he needs so I can get working on it."

Jarvis sounded almost amused. "Of course, Miss Norris."

"Also, get me some schematics. I'm tired of getting hurt because I'm stuck standing around."

Tony heaved a sigh. "I hate when you team up on me."

"And since you're being a dick, I'll take it as us being even," I chirped, leaning over and kissing his jaw. "Now, no more moping. If you're not going to help me down here, get your butt upstairs to help Pepper and Natalie with your business."

He wrinkled his nose at the thought. "Yeah, no. I'll stay here, thanks."

"Good. Order some food. It's going to be a long night."