A/N: After care consideration and planning, I've decided to end the 'Carrie' portion of this story with only two chapters after this one before easing into the Iron Man 2 storyline. I know a few of you are disappointed at the lack of action thus far since its mostly been drama and romance. But every great story needs such things to make it all come together, and the lack of action will change in the very near future, so I do intend on delivering.

This installment will have a few moments that will have you cheering, but don't take my word for it, see for yourself. ( I own nothing)

Several emotions crossed Carrie's face when Nathan was done explaining everything he did since dropping her off at school that morning. Ranging from confusion, shock, fear, curiosity, a small amount of anger, all ending with a blank look as she looked down at her hands in her lap.

The young Stark remained silent, swallowing dryly as he waited for her to say something, anything at all. It was by far one of the most tense moments he had ever experienced so far, and he hoped and prayed that Carrie wouldn't get angry at him for helping her like this.

A few more mintues passed before she looked at him, uncertainty clear in her eyes. "What...What happens if they arrest mama?" she asked hesitantly.

"She'll be charged with child abuse and neglect, and sent somewhere she will hopefully get the help that she needs." Nathan replied, "Carrie, no mother should ever treat their child the way she was treating you. Mine abandoned me on my dad's doorstep and never looked back, but for the woman who raised you to put you through so much, ontop of what was happening to you at school..."

He trailed off before slumping back in the driver's seat of his car, "I'm sorry I did all of this behind your back. But I couldn't allow you to put yourself through that anymore. You deserve better and-" he was cut off when the telekinetic leaned over the arm rest and wrapped her arms around him, burrowing her face in the crook of his neck as she embraced him.

Nathan let out a sigh of relief as he embraced her back. Waiting a moment or two until she spoke again. "What happens now?"

"The police just want to ask you a few questions for the record. After that we'll talk to the district attorney, if the evidence is as strong as I think it might be, and given your age and the fact your close to graduating high school, you're viable to become emancipated." the hero explained.

Carrie looked up at him, worry in her eyes. "But...where will I Iive? I don't want to be sent to some home and-" Nathan put a finger to her lips and smiled.

"Relax, Carrie. I took care of that as well. If there's one thing my dad ever taught me about the law it was to get to know someone who could find the proper loopolls. I contacted our families lawyer and he sent me the information I needed to ensure that nothing like that would happen to you, all you need is a legal guardian to speak on your behalf."

The girl tilted her head in confusion, "Legal guardian? Who?"

Nathan grinned as he leaned forward and started the car. "That's a surprise for right now. Buckle up and we'll head to the police station." she did so without a second thought as they pulled out of the school parking lot and headed into town.

X

The trip was only a few minutes, the teenagers walking through the front doors of the quiet station where a man stood beside the front desk waiting for them.

Looking about middle aged, with short cut brown hair with streaks of grey running through it wearing a brown jacket over a white button up shirt and black slacks. A detective badge attached to the gun holster on his right hip shinning clearly in the light of the lobby.

"Mr. Stark, Ms. White. Detective David Borros, thank you for coming in so quickly." the detective said shaking Nathan's hand. Carrie was a bit hestiant, but shook as well when it was offered.

"No problem, detective." replied the young Stark seriously, "What's the situation?"

Borros motioned for them to follow him and led them through the station into a quiet room with a table and a couple chairs for them to sit in. "Margaret White was apprehended four hours ago." he said closing the door so they could have privacy. "However, it wasn't for the reason we were contacted. Though the evidence discovered will ensure those charges are put on her as well."

"What happened?" asked Nathan, Carrie gripping his hand under the table as she too wondered what had taken place.

The detective breathed slowly, "When the officers sent to the house arrived she wouldn't allow them entry. Even after they said they had a warrant she attempted to bar them from getting inside, so they had to use a bit of force to enter the home. It was here that she became violent. She screamed at them about 'God punishing them' and 'They would burn in hell'."

"She attacked them with a butcher knife from the kitchen. No one was injured, but one of the officers was forced to taser her to avoid her causing harm to herself or others. When the effects wore off it took three of them to get her in the back of he cruiser, one of the men said it was almost as if she were possessed with how she was acting."

There was a tense silence in the room as the information was taken in. Borros sat in his own chair and leaned forward. "When Mrs. White was in custody, the officers performed their search. They found the 'Prayer Closet' that you had mentioned to us, trace amounts of blood were found inside along with the various locks on the outside. They also discovered a series of journals stored in Mrs. White's bedroom depicting the various times she sent Carrie in there, along with...other things..." the man had been clearly on the job for a long time, but from the way he spoke the last sentence even he was uncomfortable and angry at what he may have seen in those logs.

He was a father of three himself, he loved his kids dearly. But this woman...she wasn't a parent, or a proper woman of faith. If he could classify her as anything, it would have been a monster, a demon for what she had done to her daughter for so many years.

Looking at the teens infront of him, he continued, "Margaret White is currently being charged with assaulting a police officer and hindering an investigation. There will also be the charges of unlawful imprisonment, abuse and neglect. With the evidence collected, she won't be getting away with any of it if she can even make it to trial without digging herself in deeper."

Nathan smiled, "Thank you, detective." he looked at Carrie who still seemed unsure. Squeezing her hand to get her attention, he smiled at her as well. "She won't hurt you again, Carrie." he assured her, getting a small smile in return.

Detective Borros cleared his throat getting their attention as he pulled out a pen and notepad. "Ms. White, I know that this is all happening fast and it's alright if you're not up to it right now. But if it's okay I'd like to ask you some questions. A statement from you will ensure that this case will close very quickly."

Taking a deep breath, the telekinetic felt another squeeze on her hand from the one beside her as she nodded and began answering what was asked.

Some of which was difficult, having been silent about everything for so long. But eventually she revealed everything. Time slipping by like nothing as she recounted what she could remember about her life with ther mother. And the more that she spoke, the more shocked and angry it made both the detective and Nathan.

By the time she finished, Carrie was in tears. The emotional dam finally bursting after so long of being locked up tight. Nathan picked her up and set her in his lap as he held her shaking form. Head resting atop of hers as he rocked her gently, whispering that he was there for her and he wasn't going anywhere as he helped her through the emotional backlash.

"Do you have everything you need?" the young Stark asked the detective who nodded serously.

"And then some." he stood and walked around the table, patting the young man's shoulder and giving him a nod of understanding before heading to the door. "I'll leave you two alone for a bit." he said before exiting.

The couple sat in silence, Carrie's sobs had quieted to a light sniffle every once in a while as she remained curled up in Nathan's lap. Allowing his warmth to envelope her and reminder her that he was there and she was safe.

His hand running slowly up and down her back in a soothing way as her tense form started to relax. "You okay?" he asked quietly, doing his best to ease her tension.

She nodded before wiping away a few stray tears. "I...I tried so hard to not remember most of it. T-Talking about it...I..." she couldn't form the words as she shivered, causing the one holding her to tighten the embrace even more. "Why? Why did she do all of this to me? Why wasn't I ever good enough for her?"

Nathan tilted her head up to look at him, Carrie gasped seeing the steel resolve in his eyes. "It wasn't you who wasn't good enough, Carrie. She wasn't a good mother. Whatever her reasons were, they weren't even remotely the proper way to raise you. She treated you with cruelty and instilled fear when you didn't act the way she wanted you to. Making you feel weak and think low of yourself so that she could control you."

"She has issues, whether in regards to the world around her or something else entirely, and she took them out on you. That's not right. But whatever she tried to do, she failed."

The telekinetic blinked, "Failed?"

Nodding, the young Stark continued, "She tried to make you weak, afraid of the world and keep you locked away. Yet you broke free. You stood up to her and stood up for yourself. Your stronger than she is, and you proved it by overcoming what you've been through and ensuring that she never hurts you again. Your a very strong woman, Carrie White."

Carrie blushed deeply at Nathan's words, her chest warming up as she tucked her head beneath his chin. She'd never been called strong before, but it was hard to not believe his words.

He was right, she stood up against her mother and now she was free from her grasp. And a small part deep in her heart hoped that in time, she would get better and they could try and reconcile someday. But for now, it felt like a great weight was lifted from her soul. Like chains breaking away.

Neither of them knew how long they sat like that, but their peace was broken by a light knock on the door. Both teens looking up when it opened to reveal a different man that was about three inches shorter than the detective with a bald head wearing a nice black suit and red tie holding a brief case.

"I'm looking for Carrie White?" he asked kindly.

The telekinetic looked at him curiously, "I-I'm Carrie." she said causing the man to smile as he entered the room and held his hand out to her.

"Carl Matthews, I'm the DA that was contacted about your situation." he sent a look toward Nathan who nodded in thanks to him before he sat across the table from the two teens. "I just finished speaking with Detective Borros about what was discovered at your home, along with the arrest of your mother. I can understand that this is a very difficult time for you, if you would prefer that we meet another time, I'll understand."

Carrie bit her lip as she slid out of her spot with Nathan and back into her original chair. As much as she just wanted to crawl in bed and relax after such a day, she realized it was better to get everything over and done with and not delay it.

"I'm...I'm alright, Mr. Matthews." she said with as much conviction as she could muster, despite the circumstances.

The man nodded as he opened his briefcase and took out a couple of documents. "After reviewing your case thoroughly, there is more than enough evidence to put your mother away for some time. Though given her condition, it's possible that she'll be sent to an institution where she might be able to get help. Either way, if all goes well she won't be allowed anywhere near you given the severity of the crime."

"Also, given that you're only a few months away from being a legal adult, and with graduation from high school even sooner, the prospect of you becoming emancipated is very likely."

Nathan remained silent, allowing the DA to fill in the small gaps of information he hadn't been able to tell Carrie yet in regards to her situation and how things would go from there. The meeting took almost an hour, both he and the telekinetic going over the documents laid out before them carefully. He even explained some of the legal text to her so that she could understand it better.

It was pretty cut and dry, especially after the meeting the young Stark had with Matthews almost half a day earlier. Carrie would be granted temporary emancipation while under the supervision of a legal guardian until she graduated from Ewan. After that, she'd be able to make her own decisions and be recognized by the law as an adult despite her birthday being only a few months away.

After talking everything a bit more and signing a few papers, Nathan doing so as well being a witness. The DA started to put everything away when Carrie brought up something that had been on her mind for a while. "Mr. Matthews, you never said who would be made my legal guardian."

The man smiled as he clipped his briefcase closed, "Someone has already come forward to fill the roll, Carrie. And she's more than happy to look after you for as long as you need." All of them looked to the door when there was a soft knock. When it opened, the young woman's eyes widened.

Standing in the opening was Rita Desjardin, a warm smile on her face as she looked Carrie in the eye. "Hi, Carrie."

"M-Ms. Desjardin?" the telekinetic asked not believing it. "But...how...why?" she managed to get out over her shock.

Rita came forward and kneeled infront of her, "Because you deserve to be happy and free. Ever since I was hired at Ewan I watched as you were bullied relentlessly. I did everything I could to help you from the sidelines, but I was always ashamed that I couldn't do more." the older woman reached out and held Carrie's hand with hers. "The incident in the locker room was the last straw for me, and I promised to do whatever it took to get you the justice you deserve. When Nathan told me about his idea I didn't hesitate, I signed the legal guardianship papers without a second thought. You can stay with me as long as you like, even after graduation. I'll make sure that you're never hurt again, and you have a safe and proper home to return to."

Carrie couldn't believe it, she wanted to pinch herself to be sure that she wasn't dreaming all of this. Tears slipped down her cheeks before she lunged forward and hugged Rita with everything she had. The PE teacher hugging her back with tears in her own eyes as they held each other.

The two men in the room looked to one another before leaving together, deciding to give the new guardian and her charge some time alone to talk as they stepped out of the room and closed the door behind them.

"You did a noble thing, Mr. Stark." said Matthews as he watched the to woman start talking together.

"It's all worth it." Nathan replied as he smiled at the scene as well, seeing Carrie smiling and carefree made him feel on top of the world.

The DA nodded as he turned to the young man beside him, "I've also put the paper work through about the incident that occured today. By tomorrow, an arrest warrent will be issued for William Nolen for assault with a deadly weapon. And with his record the way it is, it'll be his last strike."

Nodding, the young Stark glared at his feet. "If that doesn't send a message..." he said to himself before shaking his head. "I'll keep you posted if there's anything else. Thank you, for everything you've done."

Matthews patted his shoulder, "Like you said, it was worth it." with that he headed for the exit, leaving Nathan standing there as he watched Rita and Carrie carry on their conversation. His resolve unbreakable as he made the vow that nothing would ever hurt her again, or whoever dared to do so would feel what it was like to make a Stark an enemy.

X

The next day, when the final bell rang at Ewan high the students flooded out like they always did. Among them was Chris and her friends as they made their way down the steps to the side walk. The leader of the Ultra's looked around and scowled when she saw a familiar strawberry-blonde sitting on the hood of and equally familiar lamborgini beside said driver's owner.

Her scowl deepened as she saw them laughing together before they looked up as another couple joined them. Chris was stunned when she recognized them as her now ex-friend Sue Snell and her boyfriend Tommy Ross, the two couples talking amongst themselves like it was something they did every day.

When the hell did they-

"CHRIS!" she snapped out of it and looked at Tina who was pointing at something on the other side of the parking lot. A small crowd had gathered where a police cruiser had pulled up, two officers were in the process of handcuffing someone as they attempted to struggle free.

The lead Ultra's heart nearly stopped when she saw that it was her boyfriend Billy that was being led to the back of the cruiser she sprinted over to them. "WAIT! WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON?!" she demanded.

"Ma'am, please step back." said one of the officers as they shoved Billy into the back seat and closed the door. The delinquent kicking hard at the window and only managing to smudge the hard glass with his boots.

"That's my fucking boyfriend! Why are you arresting him?!" Chris screamed as she tried to reach for the door only for the same officer to keep her away.

"Mr. Nolen is being arrested on the charge of assault with a deadly weapon." he explained causing the gathered students to gasp.

Chris felt the blood drain from her face, "T-They're lying! Billy would never do that! He's innocent!"

"Several witnesses saw your 'boyfriend' take out a knife and attack someone out of anger. Given his past record with violent acts, I'm afraid that Mr. Nolen is in severe trouble this time." explained the officer as he and his partner got into the front of the cruiser and drove away, leaving the brunette standing there with tears streaming down her face while her friends tried to console her.

"I...I have to call my dad!" she said mostly to herself as she took out her phone and dialed the proper number. Even though her parents didn't like Billy all that much, they would do anything if it meant her being happy.

Waiting for several seconds, her father's voicemail picked up instead leaving her confused. She tried again with the same result before calling home. "Mom? It's me. Is daddy home? I need to talk to him right..."

"..."

"Wait...what's going on?"

"..."

"WHAT DO YO MEAN DADDY WAS FIRED?! WHY WOULD THE LAW-FRIM DO THAT?!"

"..."

Whatever color was still in her cheeks faded to complete white as her mother explained the situation more. Somehow, the owners of the law-firm her father worked at were tipped off about him bribing various officials for one reason or another. Mr. Hargensen had been terminated almost immediately after finding out and was being threatened with legal action for smearing the company's good name for the sake of his own agenda.

The phone slipped from Chris' hand and landed on the sidewalk, falling to her knees beside it as she felt the world closing in on her. In one day she had lost Billy, and could very well lose her dad as well.

How could this happen? Who would do this? Her thoughts were broken when she heard her phone chime with a new text message. Looking down at the now cracked screen, she saw that it was sent from an unknown caller, the text already visible with only three words that were as clear as day.

I warned you.

Turning her head slowly, Chris looked across the parking lot and found Nathan Stark looking at her right back. Eyes locking with hers over the rim of his sunglasses with his own cell phone in hand.

The lead Ultra clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, her vision tinting red with her anger. But the hero only smirked at her as he got into his car with Carrie beside him. Sue and Tommy getting into Tommy's jeep not too far away as the cars pulled out and headed in the same direction together.

X

The rest of the week went by smoothly with no other incidents. With Tommy and Sue's help, they were able to gather all of Carrie's things out of her old house and moved it over to Rita's where she was now staying.

Carrie had started acting much more open and carefree than she ever had before, with her mother facing a long sentence in an institution for her mental instability there was nothing putting her down.

No one bothered her at school anymore either, with word getting around that she was now "dating" Nathan Stark no one dared approach her with ill intent. Even more so now that they saw her hanging around Sue and Tommy every so often.

When asked about the sudden change, the couple would just shrug and say "Why not?" In only a couple short days, Carrie had formed a rather stable friendship with Sue while the same could be said for Tommy and Nathan. The four of them hanging out a couple more times together after the first and having a great time.

The Chamberlain natives laughing when Nathan told stories about how his dad first created his Iron Man suit, and how one of his lab robots kept dousing him with a fire extinguisher even though he wasn't burning when he was testing it out.

Rita had been happy to have Carrie in her home. The woman lived alone in a two story house she bought over a year ago and was glad to have someone to share the space with. The telekinetic took one of the spare bedrooms and settled in rather nicely, and the two woman got along very well with their relationship of guardian and charge.

Nathan had also been a frequent visitor to the home. Rita had started bringing Carrie to school with her and the young Stark would come and pick her up at the end of the day and spend time with her until the teacher returned home.

He stayed for dinner each time, helping to cook it once or twice before either heading back to his hotel room or crashing on the couch if it got too late.

Though each time he slept over, Rita would come down the stairs the next morning and find Carrie curled up asleep with him on the pull-out. Both clothed but looking content in their position.

She didn't have the heart to repremand either of them. Nathan was a safe zone for Carrie and she knew that the young man could be trusted alone with her. Like only a few others, she saw the growing affection between the two and how inseperable they seemed to be.

It was adorable how they were together, and with how protectful Nathan could be it was easy to tell that nothing harmful would befall the young woman.

Depsite all of that, prom was coming up very quickly. The four teens had all made the proper plans and made sure everything was ready for the event. The young Stark pitching in a great deal so that none of the others emptied their wallets too much, of which Tommy was infinitely thankful for.

Nathan just smirked and told him, "What's the point of being a billionare if you can't have a little extra fun once in a while with friends?" No one could argue with that logic as they made sure everything was in place.

X

Prom was now only a day away, and everyone was excited for the night the seniors had been waiting for all year.

In the Desjardin home, two of those that would be attending the event decided to spend the day before just relaxing. Carrie sitting on the couch in the living room curled up with a good book while Nathan was sitting on the floor infront of her wearing his suit's left gauntlet making adjustments with a set of small tools laid out on the surface of the coffee table.

Rita was out running a couple of errands and wouldn't be back for a little while, so they had the house to themselves for the time being. And with all the plans had been made with Sue and Tommy everything was set of the next evening so they had nothing to worry about.

The young Stark removed a small panel on the gauntlet's wrist, hearing Carrie turn a page in her book behind him as he reached for the small screwdriver he had set aside.

Only for his hand to touch the surface of the table. Looking up, he didn't find the tool where he had left it and bent down to look and see if it had rolled off when he wasn't paying attention.

Not seeing it on the white carpet, he sat back up and blinked when he found it where he had left it before. "What the...?" he thought confused before shaking his head and picking it up to tighten a small screw on the armor component.

Finished, he set the screwdriver down and reached for a wrench and again touched surface. Looking up, he found the tool on the floor beneath the table making him confused. Was he losing his mind or something? He never left tools laying around like that.

Shrugging it off, he layed down so he could reach better and picked up the wrench coming back upright a moment later only to freeze.

ALL of the tools were now missing. "Okay, what the hell?" he asked outloud.

"Something wrong?" asked Carrie as she turned another page.

"I think I'm starting to lose it." he replied as he looked around the room. "Did you see where..." he trailed off when he looked into the tv on the other side of the living room, the reflection showing something moving above him.

Looking up, he blinked when he saw all the tools he brought with him hovering close to the ceiling. Realization hit him then and he felt a bit dumb for not thinking of this sooner as he smirked and looked over his shoulder at the girl behind him. "Really, Carrie?"

The telekinetic giggled as she lowered her book with a beaming smile on her face. With a wave of her hand all of the tools lowered and laid gently back on the table where they had been placed before. "Sorry, I couldn't help it." she said not losing her smile.

"Using your powers and making me feel like I'm losing my mind, that is an act of war, Ms. White." said Nathan as he removed the piece of armor he was wearing and turned to face her completely. Carrie swallowed, eyes wide as she wondered what he was up to.

The young Stark grinned wider, "Retribution!" he shouted before he jumped at her, fingers going to her sides as he began tickling her mercilessly. The house was quickly filled with hysterical laughter as the telekinetic was unable to stop him.

"Hahahaha! N-Nathan! Nathan stop! P-Please!" Carrie exclaimed between fits of laughter as she tried feebly to escape his grasp.

"Not until you wave the white flag of surrender!" he said back keeping up the 'torture'. So distracted was he that he had no time to register Carrie's hand snapping up, the hero was frozen in place a moment or two before he was levitated two feet in the air above the couch.

Attempting to move and finding that he was completely immobile in his suspended condition, Nathan looked down at the girl below him. Her hand raise with the palm facing him, face red as she took slow, deep breaths while she looked right back at him. "...now that's just not playing fair." he said causing Carrie to giggle, her concentration not breaking at all.

"I did tell you to stop." she replied when her breathing was back under control, "Now what will you do, Mr. Stark?" she asked tilting her head in a challenge.

It was one of the many things he loved seeing since everything turned out for the better for her. Carrie smiled and laughed much more often, she wasn't as anxious and was able to let her guard down a little easier than before. She was still cautious around new people, but she had really opened up a great deal during the time he had spent around her.

Nathan also loved seeing the more playful side of her come out. It only did when they were alone, but that made it all the more special to him.

"How about I tell you how beautiful you look and promise to give you my undying loyalty?" he offered with a straight face.

The telekinetic seemed to think it over, giving him a chance to admire said beauty. Thanks to Rita and Sue, they were able to help Carrie get a better wardrobe instead of the clothes she had been forced to make herself. Though she still liked it simple, but even the white t-shirt and jeans she was currently wearing didn't hinder how good she looked in his eyes.

"I get that almost every day, got anything better?" Carrie asked after a few seconds of 'thinking' making Nathan roll his eyes.

"That's cold." he said before looking down at her again and smiled, "How bout a loving kiss from yours truely?"

There was a slight pause before he slowly started to lower back down, his body settling gently over her smaller frame as they kept their gazes locked. Carrie went to say something, but Nathan beat her to it as he kissed her softly.

Since their first kiss in the hotel room after the fight she had with her mother, they had shared a couple more here and there throughout the week. The hero allowing her to lead at her own pace since she was still very new to the physical aspect of relationships. He didn't want to do anything she might be uncomfortable with.

Slowly, she started responding to the contact. Moving her lips with his as they fell into sync with one another. Since their relationship started evolving, she had been happy knowing that Nathan was giving her most of the power regarding where the physicality was going. And even though it still scared her sometimes, it was outweighed by the excitement she got knowing that there was someone out there that was hers that she could do this with.

She may have been new, but sensations she got when she and Nathan were together like this made Carrie into a quick study. Which prompted her to test something she read about as she opened her mouth and poked her tongue at Nathan's lips.

The young Stark responded to her by letting his own tongue come out and embracing hers. Their gentle kiss becoming more heated as it turned into a full blown makeout session. Nathan having a hand on the arm and back of the couch to keep most of his weight off of the telekinetic, her own hands coming up and gripping his arms as they lost themselves in each other.

Around the room, a few things rattled briefly as Carrie felt her senses overloading. This increased to new levels when Nathan broke the lip contact and kissed down her jaw to the side of her neck. Sharp gasps and soft mewls coming from her parted lips as her fingers dug into his arms, the feeling of his teeth gently scraping along her pulse point making her body jerk in pleasure while a few books fell from a nearby shelf.

"Nathan..." she whimpered, her heart beating hard against her ribs as he came back up and captured her lips again. She didn't want this to end, everything felt good, everything felt right, nothing could destroy this moment.

However the shrill sound of a cell phone ringing had managed to burst their little bubble. Making both teens jump to alertness, breathing heavily as they assessed what was happening around them while trying to calm themselves down.

Realizing that it was his cell phone that ws ringing on the coffee table, Nathan mentally cursed as he looked down at Carrie. "To be continued?" he asked. The strawberry-blonde nodded, unable to speak as she regained herself while the hero untangled himself from her and picked up his phone.

Seeing that it was his dad calling he straightened up a moment before answering the call. "Hay dad, what's up?" he asked, doing his best to not sound out of breath as his dad's face appeared on the small screen.

"Hay, Junior. Nothing much, just thought I'd check up on you." Tony replied, "You ready for your first prom?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. And I think everything will turn out great." Nathan replied sending a smile at Carrie who was now sitting upright on the couch.

Tony raised an eyebrow, "Did I call at a bad time? You weren't doing anything naughty, were you?"

His son's face darkened, along with Carrie's though it couldn't be seen. "No! Nothing like that!" he answered a little too quickly and loud.

"I'm gonna take that as a definite yes." the older Stark said not falling for it. "Just remember what I said before, don't go making me a grandpa too soon, I'm not old enough for that just yet."

"Christ dad!" Nathan said pinching his nose and doing his best to hide his steadily reddening face. "It was nothing like that. And even if it was I wouldn't be giving you any details!"

Tony smirked smuggly, "Whatever you say, Junior. Whatever you say. And since you're doing your best interpretation of a tomato after what was said, can I assume that Carrie is there with you?"

"Yeah, she's here." came the reply.

"Then put her on! I'd like to meet the girl you've been telling Pepper and I about. You're starting to make me think your ashamed to have your new girlfriend meet your dear old dad." said the elder Stark making his son roll his eyes.

"Gee, I wonder why that is." Nathan said before sitting down beside Carrie and moving the phone back a bit more to get the both of them in the frame. "Dad, this is Carrie. Carrie, my dad, Tony Stark." he introduced.

Carrie waved at the small screen, "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Stark."

Tony gave her a smile, "Please, just Tony. I'm not nearly old enough for the Mr. part. So, your the 'beautiful, loving and...' what else did you say about her Nate, 'angelic' was it?" he said looking at his son.

In that moment, Nathan would have given anything to reach through the phone and strangle his father. His face beet-red while Carrie's had become a dark-pink realizing how he described her to his father.

The older man chuckled, "It's nice to finally meet you, Carrie. Nate's told me a lot about you and I'm glad to hear that things are going better for you now."

"Thank you, Nathan told me that you helped too. I'm greatful." said the telekinetic. Tony just waved her off.

"Compared to the other stuff I do for the good of world peace, that was nothing. Though I was happy to help, Nate deserves all the credit. He's got an unbreakable drive when he puts his mind to something, he gets it from me."

"Among other things." Nathan muttered before coming into the conversation. "Where's Pep? Isn't she usually riding your ass right about now about something you 'suddenly forgot about'?"

"She's out with Happy right now running some errands for the company." Tony replied, "Told me to tell you to have a lot of pictures taken when you two head to prom and to have fun...but not too much fun."

The teens started blushing again, "I'm hanging up now, dad. I'll call you the day after tomorrow.

"Later, Nate. Party hard, and make your old man proud." with that the call ended leaving an awkward silence.

Nathan tossed his phone back on the coffee table and leaned against the back of the couch with his hands over his face. "Well, that was mortifyingly humiliating." he said with a deep sigh.

"Your father seemed nice. Not nearly as colorful as you described." said Carrie.

"Get to know him a bit more, then you'll see." the young Stark replied as he sat up straight and looked her way, "Sorry about that, by the way. Dad's a genius in every sense of the word, but his mouth runs faster than his brain does. Thankfully that's a trait I didn't inherit...completely anyway."

The telekinetic giggled, "It's fine. I'm just glad I finally got to meet him." she paused and looked serious for a moment, "Does...Does he know about..."

Nathan shook his head, "He doesn't know about your powers. That's your secret to tell and I'm leaving it up to you on who you want to reveal it to." Carrie sighed in relief before kissing him on the cheek and resting her head on his shoulder, his arm coming around her shoulders a second later as they both sat in a comfortable silence.

"Nathan?" Carrie asked.

"Hmm?"

"What happens after prom?" the young Stark looked down at her confused, seeing the worried and somewhat striken look on her face as she continued, "I...I know that you have to go back home soon, I'm just wondering what'll happen between us."

Reaching over and picking up her face to look at her, Nathan saw tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. It appeared that he wasn't the only one thinking about what would happen when everything was over here in Chamberlain.

Infact, he approached his father when he called a day or two ago about it. It turned into one of only a handful of serious conversations the two of them had, but in the end they came to an agreement that worked out.

"Come with me." he said wiping a few tears away.

Carrie blinked, unsure if she had heard him. "What?"

Nathan smiled, "Come back to Malibu with me. I know it's a bit soon to be asking something like that, but you can have a fresh start in a new place. I talked to my dad about it, and there's more than enough room at our home for one more."

The telekinetic could hardly breathe, "Y-You want me...to come live with you?" she asked making absolutely sure that she had heard him correctly, praying hard in the back of her mind that she had.

"I've never been more serious, Carrie." the young Stark replied. "If you feel comfortable with it, I don't want you to feel pressured into doing this if you're not ready to. There's other ways we can stay in contact if you want to wait, but I don't want what we have to end. Whatever it is, it feels too special to just let it desolve away."

Before he could get another word out, the strawberry-blonde knocked him onto the other side of the couch. Arms wrapped around him tightly with her face in his chest crying tears of joy. "Yes!" she exclaimed into his shirt.

"R-Really?" he asked back both happy and stunned that she had agreed so quickly.

Carrie looked up and beamed a bright smile through her tears as she nodded, laying her head back down and keeping her hold tight on him. She couldn't be more happy. As much as things had changed in her life, she didn't want what she considered the best thing to happen to it to go away without her.

And she loved the idea of a fresh start somewhere else, somewhere that no one knew her and her past could be left behind her. On top of that, with everything Nathan told her about California she couldn't help but want to see it for herself.

The front door of the house opened and Rita stepped inside with a couple of bags in hand, looking over at the couch where the teens were holding one another as they looked back at her wide eyed. "Don't mind me, just passing through." she said as she went into the kitchen. "The two of you better not have soiled my couch!" she called back a moment later making the couple laugh.

"Nothing happened, Rita. No need to call a cleaning specialist." Nathan said to her as he and Carrie got off the couch. "We can talk to her about it tonight, she can help make sure that things can go smoothly." he said to the telekinetic who smiled and nodded before heading into the kitchen to help her guardian put things away.

Smiling after her, the hero couldn't help the feeling of joy that flowed through him knowing that she wanted to leave with him. He had hopes that she would agree to it, and giving her a chance to start over new in California would have been another bonus to it all so that she could leave everything that had hurt her behind.

Compared to everything else that had been done in the last week, it would be easy to get Carrie the okay to leave with him when it was time to go. But for now they'd worry about prom and having fun before taking that next step.

Nathan's thoughts were interrupted when his phone let off a small noise. His eyes hardening when he realized what the sound meant and he wasted no time in picking it up and checking the screen. His insides boiling in anger when he read the text message that had been intercepted.

I need you and the others to do something for me. White and her boytoy won't know what hit them tomorrow night.

A/N: Things are starting to come together well for Nathan and Carrie, but with prom less than 24 hours away will there be blood shed or happily ever after?

I know a lot of you were expecting the prospect of Carrie leaving Chamberlain, and that had been my intention from the start. Even though the two of them have know each other only a short time, they have a strong connection and have a routine already forming between them. And with Carrie in Malibu with Nathan things can really get rolling with the rest of the plot.

The story is starting to regain steam again folks, drop your reviews and I'll see you next time.