Second last chapter! Thank you to everyone who has stuck around and reviewed this story. It really does mean a lot to me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Iron Man.


I woke up in a haze. I remember feeling this way the last time I woke up from a drug induced sleep. My mind was foggy. Where was I? What had happened? Why the hell was I in so much pain?

I was in a bed. For a moment I thought I must have been back home but the hum of machines that I could hear wasn't normal. Hospital. I must be in a hospital. Why?

I opened my eyes, only to be immediately assaulted by the insanely bright lights above me. I moaned as I instantly shut my eyes. Could someone turn off the fucking lights? Why the hell was it so bright? After what felt like years my eyes slowly adjusted and I could open them properly. I was in a large room, with muted grey walls. There was a large TV and sofa at the other end of the room and a huge window showing a view of towering skyscrapers. Waking up in a room like this, someone might think they were in a hotel, not a hospital. If it weren't for the army of machines surrounding the bed, it would look exactly like a 5 star hotel room. No doubt dad would be paying thousands of dollars a day for this room.

I looked down at the numerous tubes and wires on my body. I had five wires stuck onto my chest which lead to a machine beeping in rhythm to my heartbeat. I had a nasal cannula on my face with those annoying prongs stuck up my nose. I also had no less than 4 tubes coming out of my arms and I prayed one of them was pumping drugs into me because I sure as hell needed them.

Dad was currently asleep in the chair next to my bed. His head was resting near our joined hands on the bed. I took a deep breath and squeezed his hand slightly. That movement was enough to rouse him from sleep. His head shot up instantly and his eyes roamed my face.

"Morgan!" His voice was dripping with relief. "How are you feeling?"

I opened my mouth but all that came out was a harsh croak.

"Here." He reached over and poured a glass of water from the jug sitting beside the bed. He directed the straw into my mouth and allowed me to take a few sips before taking it away. The cold water was soothing as it went down. "How do you feel?"

"Pain," I croaked.

"I'll get a doctor," he said as I stood.

"No." I reached out and grabbed his hand. I didn't want to be alone. "What happened?" My mind was still clearing the haze and I couldn't remember why I was here.

He sat back down and took my hand back into his. "Do you remember Ivan's attack at the expo?" I noticed as he was speaking how terrible he looked. He had dark bags under his eyes and it looked like he'd aged 10 years. His clothes were wrinkled, like he hadn't changed them in a few days, and he smelt like he hadn't showered either.

I closed my eyes and searched my memory. It took a few minutes before the puzzle pieces of the night fell back into place. "The drones," I said as I opened my eyes.

Dad nodded. The sadness was clear in his eyes. "Ivan programmed the drones to explode. You were near one when it went off and I…I was too late to save you." Guilt and despair laced his tone.

"Not your fault," I said croakily. "I thought I could save…" More of the nights events came flooding back. "Daniel and Jacob!" I exclaimed suddenly. "Are they okay?"

"They're both fine," Dad reassured me. "You did save them. You saved that little boy. You also saved a lot of other people I heard."

"Couldn't just stand there…and do nothing," I said in my defence. I knew he was going to be angry after he heard about me running into burning buildings, but what else could I have done? Stand there and watch it burn to ash?

"I know. I would have done the same." I sadness was creeping back into his eyes, mixed with something else. Pity. "I'm so proud of you." With his free hand he reached up and stroked the hair from my face. The action stirred up the remaining missing memories.

"Dad." Something in my voice must have warned him of what I was about to say because something in his face changed. "I can't…I can't feel my legs."

He didn't say anything. He just continued to stroke my hair. That scared me more than anything.

In the silence of the room the reality finally hit me. "I'm paralysed."

"No. We just have to…I'll go get the doctor. He can explain it." He stood again to leave but I managed to reach out and grab his hand to stop him.

"No, I want you to tell me."

"The doctor can explain it better."

"Please."

After a moment of indecision, he sighed and sat back down. He grasped my hand with both of his and looked into my eyes. As I looked at him I realised I'd never seen him so scared in my life. He was trying to hide it, but deep down I knew he was terrified.

"When that blast went off near you, it…it…"

The more he stuttered, the more annoyed I became. I just wanted him to spit it out. He'd always been as blunt as a butter knife yet now he could barely get any words out.

"Come on, just say it."

"You landed badly on your back. The doctors say you have an acute spinal cord injury. They had to perform surgery to stabilize your spine and decompress the pressure. You also had some internal bleeding which they stopped. They've strapped your broken fingers and stitched up most of your cuts."

He was avoiding saying it. I opened my mouth but he cut me off before I could get a single word out.

"They said your spine is in shock from the accident. This could be causing your loss of sensation." By the way he was speaking I could tell he had tried to memorize every single word the doctors had said. "We just have to wait a couple of days and see what happens."

As I absorbed his words, one caught my attention. "Could."

"What?"

"You said could. The shock could be causing the sensation loss."

"Yes, it could. Or it may be because you've…permanently damaged your spinal cord. In the next couple of days, once the shock has worn off, we'll be able to know what's happened."

"So if in the next few days I can't feel my legs, that's it. I'm permanently paralysed?"

"Yes." Tears were brimming in his eyes. I should be the one crying but I wasn't. I guess I, like my spinal cord, was still in shock. I couldn't accept the fact that I might never walk again. It just didn't seem possible. I was only 17. I couldn't spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair. I had spent 6 weeks in one after Obadiah's attack and that 6 weeks had been hell. Now instead of 6 weeks, I could be spending 60 years in one.

I couldn't accept it. Not until I knew for sure. It was just shock. I'd get the feeling back, I had to.

"I'm so sorry Morgan," dad said, his voice breaking as the tears now flowed down his face. "This is all my fault. I couldn't save you."

"Stop it!" I yelled, startling him. "Stop feeling like you are personally responsible for every person in this world. That you're responsible for every little bad thing that happens in this country. Just because you're Iron Man doesn't mean you have to save everyone. You can't!"

I took a deep breath as the heart monitor beside me began steadily increasing in rhythm. "This is not your fault. It's not my fault. It's not your father's fault. A crazy man wanting revenge is who is responsible for this. Not you. I'm sick of watching you blame yourself for every tiny thing that goes wrong. You're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders when you don't have to! If you keep feeling like this you will run yourself into the ground, and soon it'll be you in this bed. Just…stop it."

My speech would do little to quell his guilt over everything that had happened. He would still blame himself for not being able to save everyone. For not being able to save me.

I sighed in exhaustion and let my eyelids close. I wanted to go back to sleep. In my dreams I was happy, I could walk, I could fly. In my dreams my world was perfect. In reality, my world was crumbling around me.

I felt dad's hands gently brushing back my hair again. He whispered the words "I'm sorry," repeatedly as I slowly drifted back to sleep.


When I came to I was alone in my room. I felt guilty for thinking it but I was glad dad wasn't there. I couldn't stand to look at him and see the shame on his face. It wasn't his fault what happened but I still felt some anger towards him. At least I think it was towards him. I had so many emotions churning around inside of me, I didn't know what I was feeling or who these emotions were aimed at.

I think I was partly angry at myself. No one had forced me to go to the expo. I could have just gone straight into the hospital and let dad sort out the mess. But I had made the decision to go there. No one made me run around the expo helping people. I made that choice, and now I was dealing with the repercussions. I tried to tell myself I should have just stayed, I shouldn't have gone there. But this is who I am. I can't stand around and let other people do all the work. It was in my nature to help. If I hadn't have gone there, all those people I saved might not have made it. The family in the burning building, the girl pinned under the drone, Jacob. Knowing they were alive because of me made the sacrifice of my legs almost bearable.

I looked down at my legs, covered underneath the bed sheets and blanket. I couldn't describe the feeling of looking at them but not being able to control them. I tried to wiggle my toes. I focused every bit of energy I had towards my toes. Nothing. I grunted in frustration and threw my head back against the pillows.

This was just temporary. I couldn't give up the hope that this was just shock. Until I knew for sure, I would hold onto that last thread of hope. It was all I had.

A knock on the door startled me. I brushed away a tear from the corner of my eye as the door slowly opened.

"Hi," Pepper said softly as she stepped into the room. In her arms was a small bouquet of colourful flowers.

"Hey," I said with a forced smile which I'm sure she saw straight through. I was relieved to see her safe and unharmed.

"How are you feeling?"

"Alright." I could see she wanted to bring up the topic of my legs, but was unsure of how I would react. I looked up into her eyes and saw the same thing I'd seen in Dad's. Sympathy and pity. I hoped that if this turned out to be permanent that those looks would eventually stop. If everyone looked at me like that for the rest of my life I would probably scream at them.

"I'm fine Pepper. You don't have to tiptoe around the fact that I might be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life."

"I'm so sorry Morgan." She placed the flowers down beside the bed before grabbing my hand gently.

"It's okay Pep." I squeezed her hand. "I'm still processing everything and I'm just taking it one day at a time."

She nodded and smiled at my words, her vibrant colour hair bouncing with the movement. "You know, no matter what happens, I'm here for you. We will all help you get through this."

"I know. Thank you Pepper."

She leant down and softly kissed me on the cheek. Tears threatened to appear in my eyes so I was glad when a knock at the door drew Pepper's attention away from me.

Two doctors walked into the room. They were both mature, grey haired men who were no doubt the best doctors in the city. Dad would have made sure of that. "Miss Stark, I'm Dr. Smith and this is Dr. Knight. We have a few things we'd like to discuss with you."

"I'll wait outside," Pepper said.

"No, please stay." I didn't want to be alone for this. She took my hand again and turned to face the doctors.

I was hoping they would have some more news but they were only stating what we already knew. Spine in shock. Have to wait and see. Wait for the shock to wear off. Perform some tests after that. Nothing new. I just nodded a lot and acted like I was listening. All I wanted to hear was that I was going to walk again. Until they could tell me that, I didn't care what they had to say.

When they left the room the only sound was coming from the machines. I was worried Pepper would start talking about my injuries again so I changed the topic before she could start it. "So Hammer helped fake Ivan's death. I knew he was desperate to compete with Stark Industries, but that's desperate."

Pepper took a seat beside the bed. "Yeah. He'll be in jail for a long time after what he did."

"Somehow I always knew that was where he was going to end up."

Pepper gave me a weak smile but I knew her mind was still elsewhere. All the light in her eyes disappeared as she rested her hand upon mine. "I'm sorry Morgan."

"For what?' I questioned.

"I should have known something was happening." The regret and shame she was feeling was etched upon her face. "You didn't call me all day. I thought I was giving you space but if I had called and you didn't answer, I would have realised something had happened to you."

"Pepper, stop." I firmly grasped her hand in mine as I looked up into her eyes. "I'm getting sick of everyone around me blaming themselves for things that are not their fault. We all thought Ivan was dead. There was no way for you to know that he was alive and was going to kidnap me. The only people to blame for this whole situation is Ivan and Hammer."

"But I-"

A knock on the door interrupted her, for which I was glad. It was bad enough that I had to deal with Dad's guilt, I couldn't handle Pepper's as well. I knew in a situation like this it's normal for people who escaped unscathed to blame themselves but it gets annoying quick, especially when that blame is misplaced.

The door opened slightly and a familiar face hesitantly peered inside.

"Oh sorry, am I interrupting?"

I couldn't stop the involuntary grin that spread over my face when Daniel looked at me.

"No," I said instantly.

"No, I was just leaving," Pepper said as she retrieved her handbag. She shot me a small smile before she slipped out of the room.

While I tried to appear relaxed and calm, the heart monitor machine told him I was anything but. "How are you feeling?" Daniel asked as he pulled the chair closer to my bed and took a seat.

I looked down at my half paralysed body and shrugged. "As well as can be expected."

He opened his mouth but I spoke first. "I swear to God if the next words out of your mouth are 'I'm sorry', someone's going to get hurt."

He let out a small chuckle. "Okay I won't say it." As I looked at his face, I realized it was the first time someone had looked at me without pity. Maybe it was from his years as a doctor, learning to control his features, or maybe it was because he didn't really know me all that well. Whatever the reason, I was glad to be able to have a conversation without feeling pitied.

"How's Jacob?" I asked.

"He's fine. They found his mother here in the hospital when I bought him in. She's got a broken leg but will be fine."

"Thank God." I'd be lying if I said the thought that Jacob's mother died in the attack hadn't crossed my mind. It was a relief to know that not only was she okay, but that she had been reunited with her son.

"I told your father about your promise to Jacob. He popped in to say hello to him yesterday."

I was amazed that Daniel had remembered that promise, let alone made sure I didn't break it. For the first time in days, a genuine smile spread across my face. "Thank you so much." I couldn't put into words how much it meant to me that Daniel had done that. I made a mental note to thank Dad when I saw him as well.

"It's the least I could do."

I could feel a blush creeping up my cheeks as I looked into his crystal blue eyes. For a moment I forgot about everything. Forgot about my legs, forgot about dad, forgot about Ivan and the pain he'd caused.

Then that moment passed.

"You're so brave," Daniel said. There was genuine awe and respect in his tone. "Your dad told me everything that happened. Even after being kidnapped and attacked by this Ivan guy, your first instinct was to go to the expo to help. A lot of people have contacted your dad, telling him that his daughter saved their life. You're a hero."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "And look what being a so-called 'hero' has gotten me," I said as I gestured to my legs. Although it would have been easy for me to regret my choices, I didn't. I hate that my choices led to this but I couldn't, and wouldn't, change them. How could I when having my legs back would mean that those people would be dead.

"I know it's horrible having to just sit and wait to see what happens but you can't give up yet."

I had a question rolling around in my brain that I was afraid to ask, but I had to know the answer to. "How many injuries like this have you seen?"

It looked like that was the last question he'd wanted me to ask. "A few," he answered.

"And how many of those regained the use of their legs?" I held my breath as I waited for the answer. I knew these past cases would not affect my results or recovery but I still had to know.

Daniel bit his lip as his eyes searched my face. "None."

I let out the breath I had been holding in a rush. That answer had all but cemented my idea of my future. I had to just get use to the fact that this was real life. This was permanent and I had to deal with it.

"Don't give up hope just yet," he said as he saw the light in my eyes die. "This could still just be temporary. And even if it isn't, we will deal with it."

"We?" I questioned. "Look, this could have happened before," I said, gesturing between us. "But you didn't sign up for this."

"I'm not going anywhere Morgan."

"But I don't want you to feel obligated to-"

Daniel reached across the bed to firmly grasp my hand. "I'm not going anywhere," he said decisively. Our eyes locked and suddenly no words needed to be said. I know my worries about him staying out of some weird sense of obligation would arise again later but in that moment I knew he wanted to be with me, legs or no legs.

Our fingers intertwined and stayed like that for some time. We talked for hours and I was beyond grateful that no one interrupted us doing that time. In the back of my mind I wondered where dad was. Had Pepper somehow managed to keep him away, knowing that I'd want some time with Daniel alone? Daniel and dad had obviously spoken to each other since that night. That made me wonder what dad thought of him, not that that really mattered to me. But surely dad would approve of him. He's sweet, charming, handsome and a doctor! What more could dad want for me?

We learnt a lot about each other in those few hours. Like myself he had graduated high school at a young age before going to university to study medicine. He'd known he wanted to become a doctor from the age of 7 when his younger sister had broken her arm after falling out of a tree and he couldn't do anything to help her. Unfortunately we had another thing in common. His mother had died when he was 4 years old. The pain that showed in his eyes when he spoke of her was something I could understand. We passed over that painful topic and started talking about the first time we met.

I was surprised to discover that even though I had been covered in bruises and definitely looking worse for wear, Daniel had felt something the moment he had laid eyes on me. I had certainly felt something for him. I was even more surprised when he told me he'd wanted to ask me out on a date but had been too shy and nervous to ask, thinking I wouldn't be interested. He'd regretted his decision since that day. He swore if he ever met me again he'd ask me out.

"So Morgan," he said with a playful smile. "Would you like to go out on a date with me?"

"I would love to."


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