Hey all! Sorry to make you wait there. But let me just tell you, funerals arent any fun / . But anyways . I finally cranked out this chapter, but I'm not sure how happy I am with it because it seems a bit forced to me. But thats just my opinion. I'm just glad to finally have another chapter written. And thank you so much to all of you who left such awesome reviews. haha . Seeing those really spurred me on to keep on writing. Make sure you keep those reviews coming as well ;P
I know I wrote in one authors note about the character Jim Rhodes. I had forgotten what his status was and which miliary affilitation he was with, so I kinda just declined to specify anything. lol .
"… it is unclear as to whether he is still alive." Lilly stood, still frozen to the spot as she stared at the screen, no longer comprehending the words coming out of the television set but instead, just seeing the news anchor's mouth open and close, speaking words she had become temporarily deaf to. Not much more was said on the issue, as the situation had clearly just occurred and the news stations had yet to receive much more information, and so the news anchor concluded with a dangling cliffhanger of: "More details as the situation develops."
At this, Lilly suddenly became mobile, and setting aside her ice cream on the kitchen counter, she snatched up her cell phone and rapidly dialed up Rose's number. The phone rang once, twice, and then picked up.
"Yellow?" Rose answered cheerfully.
"Rose, turn on the news. Now!" Lilly said, her urgency obvious when Rose hesitated for a mere second and Lilly responded by yelling.
"Ok, ok, sheesh, give me a moment. Don't get your panties in a bunch," Rose grumbled. Lilly could hear her searching around for the remote, then giving up with a sigh, and actually walking up to her TV and turning it on, flipping through the channels until she got to the news.
"Oo, I do need to go shopping," Rose said thoughtfully into the phone, no doubt responding to the current commercial for Macy's that was showing on the screen.
"No, Rose, not that. This!" Lilly said in a frustrated tone, then suddenly exclaiming when the new anchor returned to the screen, with another go around of the story of Stark's disappearance. The two women were silent for a few minutes as both watched their television screens in their respective homes. There was still no new information, but according to the anchor, there would be shortly as a few of the survivors, including James Rhodes a/n: not specifically sure what rank he is or what denomination of the army/etc. he belongs to x.X .. I forgot, were being debriefed on what happened.
"Oh, Lilly, I'm sorry," Rose said sympathetically as Lilly sat heavily onto her couch with a sigh. "I'm sure he's just fine and he'll turn up in a few hours or so. Stark's a smart guy."
"Yea," Lilly agreed reluctantly. She released a pent up breath she barely knew she had been holding, and ran a hand through her hair. "I sure hope so."
The next few days went by with Lilly in a constantly distracted state of mind, as Stark had still not turned up. She tried to put the issue of Stark's disappearance far away in her mind, but when her mind came to rest for even just a moment, the thoughts would come creeping back. Every day, the news announced the same thing: Stark gone missing after convoy attacked, still don't know of his whereabouts or if he is dead or alive.
Lilly stewed in her office, slamming things about, as she flipped through her paper work and folders. It had been a little more than a week, now, since Stark's disappearance, and the new nor the papers were offering much information, mostly because there was not much to offer, and Stark was still MIA.
'Figures the moment I finally start actually caring for the guy, he goes off and gets himself possibly killed. I mean, seriously, what the hell?' Lilly grumpily thought, slamming more papers around. She slammed one folder down too hard, sending her cup of pens and pencils skittering off her desk and littering the floor. Lilly almost lost it, but instead took a deep breath and put her head into her folded arms on her desk. This was how Rose found her, pens and pencils littering the floor, papers spayed across her desk, and Lilly in the middle of it all, head in her hands.
"Hey there," Rose said quietly, slowly coming into the office. At Rose's words, Lilly bolted straight up in her seat, frantically wiping her eyes and smoothing her hair down.
"Oh, hey! I was just, going over the last few pieces of paper work for my surgery tomorrow," Lilly said, refusing to meet Rose's eyes as she tried to gather together the straying papers, arranging them in a jumbled pile. Rose watched her friend with a frown on her face.
"Lilly, how are you doing?" she asked in a worried tone.
"Me? Just fine. Just trying to finish this paper work," Lilly said, repeating herself. The two women were silent for a moment, and only the sound of shuffling paper was heard as Lilly continued to reorganize. But soon her movements slowed then stopped altogether and she slouched in her seat, tossing the papers she was holding onto the desk.
"I can't stop thinking about him," Lilly whispered, staring off into space. "I know we basically just met and all, but I learned so much about him that night. So much more about the guy I didn't think existed about him. I found that I actually kind of had feelings for him and we were really hitting it off. And then this." Lilly looked down at her hands, and sighed. Then she shrugged her shoulders in a tired sort of way and stood, running a hand through her hair.
"I'll be fine," Lilly said, forcing a smile and finally meeting Rose's worried gaze. "Really I will. I need to try and start concentrating for surgery, anyway."
"All right, if you say so," Rose said, still unsure. She hugged Lilly for a second and pulled away, holding her at arm's length and looking her hard in the eye. "You just call if you need me, though, ok?" Lilly gave a small smile.
"Will do."
"Hey, let me know, and we'll hit the bar some night after work and really get your mind off things," Rose suggested, from the doorway after opening the door.
"All right, Rose, I'll let you know," Lilly responded with a chuckle, walking back towards her desk, bending to pick up the spilt pens and pencils as she went. She finished picking up the spilt writing utensils and sat back down at her desk, staring blankly at her pile of paperwork as her mind went back to depressing thoughts about the situation.
"They'd better find your ass, Tony Stark," Lilly muttered aloud, finally pushing the situation back into the recesses of her mind for the time being so she could concentrate on her work.
The weeks went by, and Lilly completed two surgeries during that time, both turning out successful and curing the patient of their ailment. Her place in the hospital was now officially solidified now that she had operated, and the night after her first operation, George and Rose took her out for celebratory drinks. Even though her two previously scheduled surgeries were finished, she had long since said goodbye to those easy workdays where she found herself scrounging for something to do. Nowadays, her days were filled with paper work in preparation for her next patient and speaking and teaching at seminars there in the hospital and in outlying hospitals in the area on various topics. Even her weekends were busy at times when her presence was requested at another dinner, alongside her colleagues, or when the one occurrence she was asked to present an award.
It had now been about 3 months since Tony Stark's disappearance in the Afghan desert, and Lilly had eventually moved on. She still regretted that she would never fully get to know the man, as the situation was looking as of now that he wouldn't be found, at least not alive. His story would pop up into the news every now and then, but the news anchors and newspapers had long since ceased the constant chatter on the subject. Instead, they had continued to talk about Stark Industries, which was now being managed by Obadiah Stane, Tony's second at the company, since Tony's disappearance.
It was a Saturday morning and finally, Lilly was not required to attend any event that night, and no serious paperwork was bogging her down. She had been good and actually worked hard to get the major things out of the way in the beginning of the week. She needed a good day to herself, and she was determined to finally have one. Pouring her a bowl of cheerios, Lilly padded sleepily into the living room, flipping the television on as she settled onto the couch. Both Figaro and Tabitha jumped up onto the couch with her, sniffing curiously at her bowl of the cereal.
"Just cheerios you guys, seriously. And I know you know what they taste like. Yea, I'm looking at you, Tabby-girl," Lilly said, narrowing her eyes at Tabitha. There had been an earlier incident where Tabitha had apparently gotten a taste for the cereal, jumped up onto the counter, and went to town on the box, eating her fill before Lilly caught her. Tabitha just gave her a sweet and innocent meow. Lilly chuckled and scratched the cat under her chin, Tabitha purring appreciatively.
"All righty, let's see what's plaguing the world today," Lilly said aloud to herself, changing the channel from the history channel it had been currently on, to the news.
"Tony Stark has been found!" came the abruptly announced topic as the camera focused on an excited newswoman, apparently on scene at some airport with a huge crowd behind her standing at the base of a giant plane. This was the second time due to Stark that Lilly almost dropped her food. Lilly's heart leapt into her throat as she fixated on the television.
"This is an exciting day as the president of Stark Industries, Tony Stark himself, who was previously believed to be long since dead, was found wandering the Afghani desert a few hours earlier and has been brought home, much to the relief of his colleagues and friends," the newswoman chattered animatedly. Lilly just stared at the screen open mouthed, her cheerios long since forgotten in her lap. Figaro took the opportunity to hesitantly glance up at his owner, creep closer to the cheerios, and stick his head in the bowl, lapping at the milk. Lilly didn't even notice.
The camera-man panned the camera away from the newswoman to focus on the plane as the boarding ramps were currently being lowered down. Then Tony Stark came into view, being led by James Rhodes. Stark was dressed in a smart, blue suit, his right arm in a sling, and his head held high as he descended from the plane. All of the words being spoken by the newswoman became background noise to Lilly as she focused on Stark, watching as he reached the ground and waved away a stretcher that was rolled up to him. He left Rhodes' side, exchanged some words with a red-haired woman, then climbed into his Bentley with her, and drove out of view. The camera moved back to the newswoman, who was still talking, and Lilly finally snapped out of her shocked state.
"Seriously, Figaro?" she exclaimed in an annoyed tone, just realizing the cat had almost drank all of the milk from the bowl. Figaro, realizing he'd been caught, ran off the couch and into another room.
"You'd better run," Lilly grumbled, putting the soggy remains of her cheerios onto the coffee table. Suddenly the exorcist theme sounded in the room, causing Lilly to jump. She rose from the couch and walked over to the kitchen counter where her phone was currently ringing for her. She smiled briefly. Her friends always thought her strange for having that as her ringtone. It wasn't her fault she had an affinity for horror flicks and happened to like the music. Picking up her phone, she glanced at the number on the caller ID screen, but didn't recognize it. She answered it anyway.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Hello, Ms. Scott. How is your day so far?" came a male voice from the other side. A wide smile slowly spread on Lilly's face and she leaned against the counter. She'd recognize that voice anywhere.
"I thought I told you to call me Lilly, Mr. Stark," she replied, deciding to not answer his question.
"And I thought I told you to call me Tony," came the smart response, the hint of a smile in the tone. Lilly chuckled.
"Fair enough. Wait, how did you get my number?" she asked suddenly.
"Oh, I have my ways," Tony answered enigmatically. "And by ways I mean an excellent assistant. So you never answered my question. How was your day?" Lilly shook her head and smiled. This man never ceased to amaze her ... or make her question his sanity.
"My day has been fine. How about yours?" Lilly asked, wandering back into the living room and settling back onto the couch, temporarily muting the television.
"I've had better days," Tony said simply.
"So I've seen on the news," Lilly replied.
"So you've been checking up on me, have you? I hope I didn't worry you too much," he said, the smile evident in his speech. Lilly smiled as well, a pale blush spreading across her cheeks.
"Not too much."
"So that means you did worry about me," Tony said, in his quick manner of speaking. "Did you miss me?" Lilly just laughed and she could hear Tony chuckling with her on the other side. They were silent for a beat.
"Well, did you?" Tony asked in a soft and serious tone. Lilly was silent for another beat, not sure if she wanted to admit that of course she had missed him; more than she was almost willing to admit to herself. She opened her mouth to respond.
"Wait, hold on a second," Tony interrupted suddenly, just as she was about to speak. Then his voice sounded distant as he was speaking with the phone held away from his mouth. "Yea, hi. Four hamburgers please, thanks." Lilly laughed as she heard this, shaking her head. She seemed to do a lot of that when it came to Stark.
"All right," Tony said, his voice coming back loud and clear from the other side.
"Let me guess, 'the great American Hamburger'?" Lilly questioned.
"But of course. Compared to what I've been eating for the past three months, these bad boys are going to taste like heaven," Tony said. Tony told her to hold for a moment as he paid the drive through attendant and received his food. Lilly played with the ears on her bunny slippers as she listened to Tony talk in light tones with whoever was sitting in the car next to him. She assumed it was his assistant, the red haired woman she had seen get into the car with him earlier on the news. She laughed to herself as she heard him unwrap one of his hamburgers.
"Are you laughing at me?" came his voice, moments later after he swallowed the bite of food.
"I am indeed," Lilly teased.
"So, about our dinner plans," Tony brought up, after finishing another bite.
"You still remember?" Lilly asked, genuinely surprised. Well, partially surprised at this point. She knew that had to pretty much be the reason he was calling in the first place and so she had been anticipating him bringing the subject back up.
"Knowing I had you here to take to dinner is part of what kept me going these past three months. I didn't want to miss out on that chance," Tony said honestly, the tone of his voice soft and low and Lilly knew he was speaking sincerely.
"I would love for those plans to still take place," she said, softly as well.
"Tonight then," Tony said.
"Tonight? But shouldn't you get to a hospital or something? At least take a rest?" Lilly exclaimed in a worried tone.
"You're starting to sound like my assistant. Yes, you, Pepper," Tony said, the last part slightly muffled as he was directing it towards his assistant in the seat next to him. "And I am a grown man and can take perfect care of myself. I would like to take you to dinner tonight. I'll pick you up around 8 o'clock. Fiore sound good?" Tony asked, naming a classy Italian restaurant.
"That sounds great, Tony. Just take care of yourself," Lilly agreed, chiding him gently as she glanced up at the television set. The camera was currently trained on a black Bentley pulling up against a curb lined with paparazzi, reporters, and people of all kinds. "And I should let you go, as it seems you've arrived at your destination," she said, with a half smile. Through the phone, she heard his car door open and the background noise on his end suddenly increase in volume as the many people waiting outside clapped and called out to Stark. On the TV screen, she watched as the very event happened.
"Glad to know I have an angel watching over me. See you tonight," Tony said quietly into the phone as Lilly watched on the screen as he climbed out of the car. Lilly's heart beat faster at his words.
"Bye," she said, hanging up her phone. On the television, Stark hung up his phone as well, and finally acknowledged Stane who was trying to talk to him. Lilly grinned to herself and giggling like a 15 year old girl with a Hollywood crush, she quickly dialed Rose's number.
Rose had already heard the news that Stark had returned, and admitted to just have been about to call Lilly when Lilly phoned her first. Lilly excitedly told her what happened, and Rose exclaimed how happy she was for her. The two friends chattered about the plans for that night and what Lilly should wear for nearly an hour before Lilly finally said she had some work she wanted to get done before that night. She said goodbye to Rose, then fetched her paperwork and forced herself to concentrate for a few hours on it.
A few hours passed, and Lilly barely got anything done. She sighed, setting aside the piece of paper she had been looking at, and ran a hand down her face. At least she had tried with good effort. She was just too nervous and excited to be able to concentrate on anything else. Glancing at the clock, she realized that it was a quarter to seven. She leapt to her feet with a happy exclamation that it was finally time to get ready.
Lilly took a hot shower, letting the hot water run over her body, trying to let it calm her down a bit. The last thing she wanted was to be wound up so tight that she just snapped when Tony arrived. After her shower, she applied all of her lotions and makeup still wrapped in her towel, as well as drying her hair and taking a straightener to the slightly more unruly parts that insisted on sticking out at odd angles. The clock read a quarter to 8. Once that was all finished, she walked into her bedroom and got dressed in the outfit she had laid out earlier that afternoon. Lilly had opted for a knee length, "little black dress" with thin straps and a wide, square neck-line, cutting just high enough to cover her properly, but being low enough to reveal a generous amount of cleavage. The dress hugged every curve of her body perfectly. Checking out her reflection in the mirror to make sure everything looks all right, Lilly found nothing wrong with her appearance and so she emptied the purse she used every day, and put the necessary things like her phone, etc. into a small, black clutch. She slipped on her black satin, peep-toed pumps, now standing a good three inches taller than before. As a last minute addition, Lilly put in a pair of simple, silver dangle earrings with a twisted and intricate design, to complete her look. And almost as if on cue, the buzzer for the speaker box to her apartment went off in the hallway near the front door.
"Hello?" Lilly asked, pressing the button after she hurried to the console.
"I'm ready down here when you are," came Tony's voice. Lilly smiled, her heart jumping at his voice.
"I'm ready. Be down in a minute," she said before hurrying back to her room to grab her clutch and check her appearance one last time. Content with how she looked, she tore herself away, made sure her cats were ok, then left her apartment and headed for the elevator to the lobby.
Lilly stepped out of the elevator when the doors opened and she glanced about, looking for Stark. Then she turned towards the entrance to the lobby and spotted him standing near one of the sitting areas, looking up at a giant painting that hung on the wall, his hands in his pockets. Lilly took a moment for herself to look him over when he wasn't watching her. Stark was dressed in a crisp black suit with a simple white dress shirt which had the first two buttons unbuttoned at the top, causing the shirt to gap open slightly. His hair was casually mussed and Lilly suddenly found herself with the overwhelming urge to simply run her fingers through it. Thankfully, she suppressed it before she embarrassed herself.
"I've always liked that painting myself," Lilly commented casually, continuing to walk towards Stark. At the sound of her voice, Stark turned towards her, but found himself at a loss for words temporarily, something that rarely happened. Lilly tried not to blush too badly as she watched and felt his eyes trace a path from her toes to the top of her head, and she could almost feel the line of fire they left.
"You look … amazing," Tony said, re-gathering his wits about him, and stepping forward to meet Lilly. He took her hand and brushed his lips across the back of it, his eyes focused intensely on her own. Lilly smiled coyly.
"Thank you. You look very well, yourself," she replied, her eyes sparkling with a myriad of emotions. "Onward to dinner then?"
"Here we go," Tony said, agreeing, as he offered her his arm, which she took. He then led her out of the lobby to his Bentley that was waiting, parked on the side of the curb. Stark opened the door for Lilly and helped her inside, then climbed in after her, allowing his driver to then shut the door behind him. Then, once the driver returned to his seat, they were off.
"Wait, you did what?" Tony asked in disbelief, staring wide eyed at Lilly, a smile playing on his lips. Lilly was laughing too hard for the moment to answer him, so she simply motioned to hold on for a second, as she tried to stifle her laughter with her napkin.
"Yea, my friends and I were a bunch of hoodlums. That's how my best friend and I met, actually," Lilly stated, referring to her earlier comment that had caused Tony to nearly choke on his chicken parmigiana. "Let's just say, I was extremely lucky when it came to being able to get out of trouble with the higher authorities." The two's eyes met for a moment, and then they both burst out in laughter again.
"Wow, Lilly Scott, I am amazed!" Tony exclaimed after he finally reigned in his laughter. "I never would have thought the nation's youngest and most accredited neurosurgeon of our time had such a wild past."
"I haven't even told you the half of the trouble I would get into," Lilly said, peering at Stark with a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she absently spun her fettuccini around on her fork. "But those are stories for another time."
"Are you insinuating that you want to see me again?" Tony said, slyly. Lilly chuckled, glancing down at her fork which she was still turning around on her plate, before she flicked her deep green eyes back up to him, and equally sly half smile gracing her lips.
"Maybe." The two held their gaze for a few beats, then Lilly finally lowered hers, finally eating the fettuccini she had been twining around her fork for the past few minutes. Stark smiled to himself, and also took their moment of silence to eat some more of his meal. Lilly's smile slowly faded as she chewed thoughtfully, her eyes trained on her plate.
"I don't mean to make a big deal out of it, but I'm just unsure sometimes about your reputation," Lilly said quietly, immediately feeling that she had said it too brashly. She also hated to broach the subject, but she felt that it was necessary if this had the chance of going any farther. She didn't want to simply become another notch on Stark's bedpost, no matter how charming and genuine he had seemed to be. Stark glanced up at her from his plate, his eyes reflecting the seriousness in hers. He lowered his fork, finishing the bite he had taken before he chose to spoke.
"I understand where you're coming from on that, and you have all the reason in the world to doubt me," he replied. "But I can only reassure you and ask, that with time, you come to fully trust me. The past three months … it made me really think about my life and my priorities. Constant fear for your life tends to have that effect on people." Lilly watched Stark sadly as he spoke about an apparently painful memory for him. This obviously was neither the same man from the dinner party nor even the same man from the Burger King meal. Even though his wry and sarcastic sense of humour still remained in full force, this new Tony Stark was a damaged man. His seldom revealed vulnerability cried out for someone to save him from the demons that had taken a hold of him and were threatening to completely drag him under. But even seeing this in Stark, Lilly also saw a tiny glimmer of strength in his gaze and in his words. This new Stark may be somewhat broken, but he was in no way beyond repair. Understanding this about Stark made Lilly's heart swell with compassion and she leaned forward suddenly, grasping his hand that rested on the table, causing him to look up at her suddenly in surprise.
"Hey, I believe you. And I'm willing to make you work for that trust if you're ready to work," she said with a smile. Stark matched her smile with a wide grin of his own.
"Anything for you, Ms. Scott," he whispered.
Tony exited the Bentley first after they had pulled up in front of her apartment building, then offered her his hand and helped her out of the car. She thanked him softly, and walked with him to the large, glass doors of the entrance to the building. They both stopped just outside the doors.
"Thank you for dinner, Tony. It was amazing," Lilly said, sincerely, looking shyly up at him from beneath her lashes.
"It was no problem. I had a great time with you," Tony replied softly. "I look forward to the next time and more stories from your wild childhood." Lilly chuckled and felt Stark take a small step closer to her. Her laughter ended "mid-chuckle" as her breath caught in her throat when her eyes locked with Stark's and saw the untamed passion evident there, turning his mahogany eyes an even deeper brown. He reached a hand up, trailing the outside of his fingertips along the base of her jaw, before gently cupping the back of her head in his hand.
"Tony," Lilly started, barely audible. But, before she knew it, their lips met and the metaphorical "fireworks" exploded inside of her. Her words forgotten, Lilly slipped her arms up around his neck, pulling Stark down to her, as he pulled her up against him with his free hand, leaving it resting on the small of her back. The kiss was short, but short didn't mean that it lacked passion. When Stark pulled away, though only a few inches and keeping her in his hold, Lilly found herself breathless and glad that his arms were around her as they were the only things holding her up.
"Goodnight, Lilly," Tony whispered against her lips.
"Goodnight, Tony," Lilly whispered back. Stark pressed his lips firmly to hers a final time, then abruptly released her, returned to his car, and pulled away from the curb. At the sudden absence of Stark's presence, Lilly felt confused and disoriented, so she stumbled back against the brick wall, using it for support. She slowly touched two fingers to her lips, which were still warm from Stark's kiss. A smile slowly spread on her face and she practically floated into the building and back up to her apartment, sure that she would be dreaming of Stark that night.
YAAAAAAAY ! .. haha .. finally, some lovin . sigh not the best written kiss, but I did my best. I just couldnt find the best way to phrase it. But anywho. This story will most likely get a tad bit more dramatic, and plus we'll be seeing Lilly and Stark's relationship moving a bit faster since they got over the first speed bump of getting together in the first place :P . And thats that. Working on the next chapter, will try and have it done before this coming Wednesday (21st). But in the meantime, you all know the drill. Push that pretty little button down there and tell me what you think !