I felt strong warm arms wrapped around me, dad...? I wondered. He pet me and kissed the top of my head like he used to. A flash of memory wrapped around me; suddenly I was a child again, barely four years old. Someone had broken into the house so I ran into mom and dad's room. I panicked when I couldn't find them so I ran into their closet and hid among their clothes, pulling down one of their shirts to wrap it around myself as I whimpered in the darkness. Glass shattered nearby and I could hear my dad scream my name. He sounded so worried and horrified but I was too afraid to speak because I knew the intruder was closer to me than he was. I tried to cover my squeak as I heard someone burst into the room. He called to me again, "Daddy!" The door to the closet burst open and I could hear him pushing aside clothes to find me. When he did he wrapped me in his arms and squeezed me hard like he was afraid the bad guy would try to rip me out of his arms. Slowly I returned to the present. Tony was cradling my head to his chest and stroking my face with his thumb. Icy pain melted in my heart and I started sobbing again.
"Shh... It's okay. I'm here." I couldn't speak but he continued to shush me and hold me close like I was the most precious thing in the world to him, which in turn made me cry harder... I never wanted him to stop holding me... I missed this feeling so much... After everything that has happened to me... I really needed his love...
I cried until I was no longer able to, but still he held me, "Hey let's go get some water and lunch okay?" I nodded, I felt so dehydrated and exhausted. I squeaked when he picked me up in his arms and started carrying me downstairs. "It's okay, I'm not going to drop you." He set me on a really comfy chair and brought my food to me. Pepper Joined us in the living room as Tony sat down next to me, patting my head every once in a while.
"Are you okay, Resa?" Pepper asked me, concern was plastered all over her face along with some dried tears of her own.
I nodded slowly the two tried to make light conversation but it ended quickly, silence filling the large space. I kept thinking about Katie in my head and a thought kept popping up, without thinking I asked, "What happened to Katie?" The two froze. There was silence anyways but the awkwardness made me cringe. "I-I'm sorry! I-I wasn't thinking! Please don't be mad at me!" I cowered, ready for a blow, but none came. I jumped when I felt Tony wrap his arms around me and hold me close.
"We're not mad. No ones going to hurt you." I slowly untensed my muscles, the knot in my stomach unfurling little by little. I opened my eyes slowly, realizing I was safe. Pepper was by my side as well holding my hand. "Katie was-," Tony started, "... Five years ago when Katie was nine years old..." He kept pausing, afraid to speak.
"... You don't have to tell me..." I whispered.
He gave me a light squeeze before continuing, "I'm not sure exactly what happened but... She was on a fieldtrip with her school. They were going to the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium for a few hours before going to Pacific Park... I was going to meet her at the Park but," his jaw clenched and I saw anger flash through his face, "I got a call about half-way through the aquarium tour saying they couldn't find her or her best friend Cindy," he growled, "Her damn body guard lost her because the fuc-," he looked at me and changed his words, "Because the- very horrible-," he grit his teeth, "Body guard thought his personal phone call was more important than protecting her!" He tried to quell his rage before continuing, "I surveyed all of the video cameras in the Aquarium and pier area, and financed the largest scale investigation possible. But the only thing I found was her walking off camera into a deadzone and an unscheduled shipping truck in the loading bay but they both turned out to be a deadend. That was it..."
I shivered; it's like I could feel all her pain and fear in that moment. I clenched my eyes and jaw shut. I could hear her screaming and screaming for Tony as she was being pulled into a white delivery van, a green logo flashed on the side of it... The scene was so vivid yet jumpy, it would flashforward every few seconds with a blur... I opened my eyes to see them looking at me, shock and concern lining their faces, "It's okay, Resa. Everything's going to be okay," Pepper told me.
"... What...?"
"You-you were-..." Pepper started.
"That triggered your PTSD," Tony said softly.
"How-," I swallowed, "How long...?"
"You were unresponsive for fifteen minutes and thirty-six seconds," Jarvis responded.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked. I shook my head; I didn't know how to explain that I could see their daughter being pulled into a van outside the aquarium... That didn't make sense... I bit my lip... I guess I was reimagining one of my old memories... "That's okay."
After spending some time together the three of us went to the store where they forced me to pick out clothes and show off how they looked. I smirked, I guess it wasn't that bad. It was nice feeling normal for a change. Afterwards we had cookies, popcorn, rootbeer, and watched a few movies in the in-home theater. My favorite part, after having parents to spend time with and care for me, was having home cooked meals again. Night loved it too. I could tell as he contentfully sighed as he curled up next to me on my giant fluffy bed. I fell asleep almost instantly, this is the best bed I've ever slept in...
The next morning I woke up feeling great! I took a shower, It felt so wonderful! I don't remember how long it's been since I've been able to take one! Then I picked out my clothes and brushed my hair and teeth. I looked in the giant mirror in front of me, the girl staring back was unrecognizable. I actually looked a little healthier, my hair was still thin black and choppy, and my teeth were still messed up but I did see a little improvement... I ran my fingers through my hair... The dye was fading out everywhere especially at the roots; an inch of strawberry blonde peeked at me from my hairline. I wrinkled my nose; I hated black hair... It didn't feel like me... But at the same time I remembered why I'd done it. I bit my lip as I remembered stealing the first package of dye I saw from some hair store down in Santa Monica. What was it called again? Forever Blonde..? Something like that. I didn't feel good about stealing it but I was desperate... I didn't want mom or her boyfriend to find me again... For a second I thought about growing out my natural color but then I decided against it. Tony and Pepper said they would protect me, and I don't want to be mean, but I'm sure they said that to Katie too... I should go blonde... Bleh...! Brown would work better. Most people have brown hair. After deciding to ask Pepper about that later I left my room and headed downstairs. The place was silent and empty, "Jarvis."
"Yes Miss Stark?"
"Where are Tony and Pepper?"
"Downstairs with two guests. Shall I tell them you're awake?"
"No. It's okay," I walked to the pantry and grabbed some of Tony's favorite cereal and poured myself a bowl. Halfway through eating I heard the doorbell ring making me jump, "Who-who is it?"
Jarvis pulled up a life video feed of the front door. I breathed in quickly and spun so fast off the bar stool that I knocked over my bowl of cereal and fell to the floor before scrambling to my feet and down the staircase. I could hear the four of them talking but I couldn't make out what it was and honestly I didn't care. I got to the glass wall and tried to open the door before pounding on it for their attention. They rushed over and Tony swung the door open. Before he could do anything I hugged him as tight as I could, "Hey, it's okay. What's wrong?"
"We have a guest at the door," Jarvis answered.
"Don't let him in!" I shrieked. Holding Tony in a death grip as I began to hyperventilate.
"Who is he?" One of the men asked.
"Breathe slowly," Tony told me, "Everything will be okay. I'm here." I tried to believe him but I knew too much from personal experience that not everything would work out the way we wanted them to...
"Richard Rockwinn owner of VateX Labs."
Hearing his name made me shake even harder. "You're trembling like a leaf..." Pepper walked over to me.
"P-p-p-please d-d-d-don't l-l-l-let h-him t-take me!"
"No one's going to take you," Tony told me. I was so terrified! I could imagine my pupils dilating as I clung to him. My knees trembled so much that I was afraid I'd fall if he moved.
"He's not leaving," another man commented, "Should I make him leave, sir?"
"Please, Happy."
I could hear the man, Happy, trudging past us and up the stairs. "So who really is this guy? Do you know why he's here?" The first man asked Tony, "I'm James Rhodes, by the way." He told me. I didn't even bother to look.
"From the way Resa's reacting I'm guessing to get punched in the face," Tony growled.
"Jarvis is there any more info on this guy?" Rhodes asked him.
"Only that the man is exceedingly rich, married with two kids, owns private estates in France, Turkey, and Switzerland, owns a yacht and two private jets, and has just recently visited a Marcus Mays aliases Dwayne Roberts and Martin Matthews at the local prison." Aliases...? I trembled.
I could feel Tony tense. James scoffed, "Only! The man's loaded!"
Bloodmoney... I shook harder remembering what he did to us... "Sir, Happy has requested your presence."
"Don't go! Please don't leave me!"
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to protect you," He gave me a squeeze and kissed my head, "Rhodey, Pepper."
"No!" I tried to cling to him but they pulled me away. Pepper wrapped me in her arms and tried to calm me down. He's going to take me! He's going to try to take me! I don't want to be away from Tony! I don't feel safe without him...!
"So as you can see. I have rights to Theresa Almstead. She belongs in my care."
"No way in hell, Dick."
The man narrowed his eyes, "Are you defying a court order?"
"I guess I would be if I hadn't already officially and legally adopted her," he looked at the paper the man had given Happy, "Three days after your legal rights were terminated."
"What!" He hissed.
"You're not the only one who does their homework. I guess this is goodbye Dick..." Tony started walking inside, "Oh!" he turned around, "And don't come back!" The glare Tony sent him screamed of murder before he turned around and walked inside to go comfort his daughter.
Happy gave him a triumphant look, "Yeah that's right! I'm this family's head of security! If I find you back here again your going to prison for trespassing, buddy," he said tapping his badge. "Trespassing." The man growled as he stared off in the direction Tony went before stomping off, "Yeah, that's right! And don't you come back!"
Tony's heart broke as he looked through the glass to his daughter wrapped in her mom's arms. He'd never seen someone that terrified in his life. He opened the door, "Everything's okay Resa," She jumped up with a mixture of terror, doubt, and hope spread across her face. He hugged her and lifted her into his arms before sitting on the couch next to Pepper, "He was threatening me with court papers saying he had legal rights, but that was before I terminated them with all the incriminating evidence I dug up on him."
"What..?" she asked startled.
"No one's taking you away... I made sure to dig into the lives of everyone surrounding Dwayne and Louisa. None of them are fit to challenge us for parental rights."
She squeezed him tight, "Thank you so much!"
Rhodey and Pepper smiled, "You're right Tony. This was a great decision," Rhodey said, "Doesn't mean I'm not still worried about you though."
A/N: Thanks for reading ^^! Please rate and review :D .. I don't know when the next few chapters will come up I have 2 essays due in the next few weeks but I'll try my best lol :D . lol most likely though I'll do these first because of procrastination though OTL lol ...