Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, I luv 'em endlessly.

He opened his eyes in shock, to find only darkness. Did he fail? Was he back in that cave? What the fuck was happening? He gasped again, only to find a tube snugged uncomfortable up both his nostrils. Searching with his eyes he found he was in a hospital bed, several monitors to his left, and right, a pole holding both IV bags and blood bags that had cords leading down to his right hand.

When his eyes finally drifted down to his chest he started at it blankly for a moment. It was wrapped tightly in pristine white gause, and his arms were bare, white, no signs of his escape that had just happened moments ago. Or what seemed like moments ago, He assumed he had passed out from exhaustion. But his chest was different, there wasn't the now-familiar tube edging upwards just slightly revealing the casing and arc reactor. Maybe they covered it?

His arm felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, and it looked alot thinner and paler then it did a short time ago. Thats weird. He finally was able to drop it on his chest, which caused more pain to erupt from what he thought was a healed wound, where he'd thought he'd feel the metal of the reacter. But no such feeling occured. He began to start breathing heavier, beeps from the heart monitor began to increase with his apprehension.

In a sudden need to actually see his innovative life-saving implant, He pulled his other arm to his chest and began tugging at the gauze on his chest. Alarms sounded shortly after he started taking the first layers away, but he didn't notice that until he felt strong arms pulling his arms away from himself.

"Tony, Tony, TONY!" He stopped struggling then, hyperventaliting when his eyes meet with the eyes of his best friend; Col. James Rhodes.

"...Rhodey?" He asked, trying to catch his breath, but his eyes never leaving the air force officer.

"What are you doing?" Rhodey asked him, glaring at him. Tony blinked then looked at his chest again, where the gauze was spreaded slightly enough, where the first layer could show the rough healing skin underneath it.

"Where's the arc reactor?" Tony asked him, looking towards Rhodes with fear in his eyes.

"Reactor?" Rhodey looked confused.

"Yes, the implant in my chest! Tell me you didn't take it out, please, I need it!" Tony said, an almost frightened tone in his voice.

"There was no implant in your chest..." Rhodey was looking more confused now and even concerned.

"Yes, it was right here!" Tony had taken his chance when Rhodey loosened the grip on his arms, and pulled away, ripping weakly at the gauze again, revealing a rough red-skinned patch of area on his chest that nearly covered the entire area, There was at least a hundred stitchs there keeping the skin together.

"Your going to pull out your stitchs!" Rhodey exclaimed, grabbing Tony's hands and pulling them away before he could get a chance to gawk at the change.

"It was there...where is it!" Tony growled at Rhodey.

"There was no implant, Tony..." Rhodes said, keeping a hold of Tony's hands so he didn't damage himself anymore, in this confused state.

"What...What happened?" He asked after a moment, between haggard breaths.

"You were...hit by a RPG. We were able to keep you alive long enough to get back to the base, where they performed emergency surgery. They were able to take out most of the shrapnel, at least enough to get you to the Germany base where they had better equipment. They put you in a medically induced coma through all this to avoid any complications. This is the first time you've been awake since the attack on the convoy....four months ago...." The last part hit him like a ton of bricks. He's been unconcious for 4 months?

"But...but...no thats not right..." Tony began to refute, his breathing once again becoming heavy, and his heart rate was skyrocketing. "I was taken by a terrorist group... the ten rings... they wanted me to build weapons for them....the jericho." He rambled as his breath began to ragged.

"You need to calm down Tony, you're going to give yourself a heart attack!" Rhodes said urgently, trying to process what his friend was saying and trying to calm him down. His heart was still very weak, the doctors had said he'd probably need a transplant within the year if that.

Doctors arrived as soon as the alarm started up again, Tony was fading now. "No, come on Tony, stay awake for me, don't pass out. I need you to stay awake." Rhodes encouraged desperatly as the medical squad stationed especially to Tony's case, pushed him away and out of the room.

"No, no I need to know whats going on!" Rhodes growled in protest as the door was slammed in his face. He grunted in frustration, slamming his fist on the door and hanging his head.

"What happened?" Rhodes looked up to see Pepper, holding two cups of coffee, her hair slightly dismantled. She hadn't taken much effort into dressing up all nice and pristine since she arrived in Germany's US Medical base two months ago.

"He's awake..." Rhodes sighed, moving towards her and taking the coffee she silently offered to him. "...but he's not talking straight... There's something wrong." He was biting back tears.

"What'd he say?" Pepper asked, her voice sounding like she was choking back a sob of either relief, because no one knew when he'd wake up, or of pain that something else was wrong now.

"He was delusional...talking about an arc reactor implant in his chest? Being kidnapped by terrorists and them wanting him to make the jericho missile." Rhodes relayed the babble.

TBC