Most of the characters in this story belong to Marvel Comics and whoever else has current legal ownership of Iron Man at the moment. No infringement on any corporate, business, or individual's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit, just for enjoyment.
Author's Note: If you want more of Dr. Karen Summers, then please read my other two stories that feature this character: The Sense of Touch and Full Moon Rising.
Meeting Iron Man for the First Time
It was exactly 6:03 AM the Sunday morning after Saturday night's SI Firefighter Gala, when Pepper's Blackberry started violently vibrating on the night stand next to her bed. Pepper immediately sat up now fully awake in her bed and quickly reached over to grab her phone, her heart starting to pound heavily in her chest with worry because of both the time of day and what had happened the night before at the Gala when Tony had disappeared from both the rooftop and the planet in less than 30 minutes.
She immediately recognized the number and breathed out a sigh of relief that at least it wasn't Rhodey with bad news about Tony…..again.
"Hey" Dr. Karen Summers, Pepper's college roommate and long time friend said cheerfully. "I have checked the news this morning and I'm pretty sure that hell hasn't frozen over yet considering that there are still thousands of crooks and creeps still waiting in line trying to get in…..so I am waiting here patiently for you to explain the pictures of you and one Tony Stark that are all over the internet this morning." She continued without offering Pepper a chance to respond. "And don't give me that 'it's not what you think" speech either. I saw the looks on both your faces."
In a flash Pepper was on her feet, padding quickly downstairs to where her laptop was sitting on her desk in her study. "What pictures?" she managed to get out between strained breaths.
"Don't play dumb with me, Virginia Anne Potts." Karen said flatly "Just type in 'Pepper Potts' on a current news search and you'll find those pictures. And you better be glad it's me calling instead of your Oma. Good thing I have this news alert set up on my PC on you. That's the only way I can keep up with your crazy life these days!"
'Oh God!' Pepper thought to herself. If Karen was mentioning her grandmother, then the pictures must be bad, really bad. But in her only three hours of sleep fuzz-like brain, she just couldn't figure out what pictures Karen was referring to at the moment. "OK….OK, I'm booting up my laptop right now." Pepper replied trying to remain calm. Suddenly the realization of Karen's words hit her. "Wait a minute…did you just say that you have a news alert set up for me?"
"Yup." Karen said cheerfully "Aren't you proud of me? I am so the pillar of technological prowess these days!"
"Words couldn't begin to describe how I feel at the moment." Pepper said sarcastically quickly logging in to her laptop and starting a news search immediately.
"Oh boy!" Karen replied suddenly serious "Why do I get the feeling that there is a lot more going on with you than just those pictures that are all over the internet?"
Pepper sucked in a quick breath as she opened up the first of 114, 324 articles related to her search on herself. She then noted in panic that 3,349 of the articles had been written within the past 6 hours. "Oh god!" She said out loud.
She quickly opened one of the articles and she found herself staring at the montage of photos taken of her and Tony dancing at last night's Gala from what appeared to be a cell phone. Tracking down the photographer was going to have to wait, she thought to herself as she focused all her attention on the photos.
"Which brings me back to the subject of hell freezing over!" Karen said with undisguised glee. "When last we spoke about one Tony Stark…and that was after he had come back from Afghanistan a month ago as I recall, you had told me in no certain terms that your relationship with him was, and I quote 'purely professional' and that 'hell would freeze over' before you would willingly enter into a personal relationship with him. Well, judging by the photos and the looks on both your faces, excuse me if I am not seeing anything other than two willing participants here."
Pepper was silent as she continued to look at the photos taken at the Gala of her and Tony dancing. There, in picture form, was the reason that she had not wanted to dance with Tony in the first place last night. Since he had returned home from that cave in Afghanistan, their relationship had slowly been evolving into something more than just best friends. But she wasn't sure exactly what they were evolving into just yet. And she still wasn't sure if her change in feelings towards him was just the relief in getting him back home safe, but she knew for a fact that seeing him walk off that transport jet thirty-one days ago had triggered some pretty deep emotions within her. It had taken her 92 days without him to realize that she had spent over 11 years in denial about how she really felt about Tony, and she was still trying to come to grips with that revelation. But what she couldn't deny right now was the expression of love and longing on his face as he looked at her while they were dancing. Those looks of his were both unmistakable and undeniable. And given the looks on her own face, there was no longer hiding just how she felt about him to the rest of the world, and in particular Karen, this morning either.
"Hey, Pep." Karen said a little louder in her phone "Earth to Pepper." She continued even a little louder. "Come on Pepper, level with me. What's really going on here?"
"I….I…..don't…really…know." Was all Pepper could think to say in reply to Karen's interrogation.
"Are you all right?" Karen prodded, now genuinely concerned at hearing the hesitation in Pepper's voice. The Pepper she knew and loved was never hesitant, and never, ever unsure.
"I'm not so sure right now." She replied so quietly that Karen could barely hear her.
"Now wait just a minute!" Karen said firmly, her voice now serious "Don't tell me that spoiled brat did something bad after those pictures were taken? He didn't hurt you did he? If he did, so help me, I will personally wreck that man!"
"No, Kar." Pepper defended quickly "Nothing like that. It's just…" she paused again not knowing how to explain the situation to her friend.
"It's OK, Pepper." Karen said quickly re-entering the conversation at Pepper's pause sensing now her reluctance to tell her what was going on. "I can tell you don't want to talk about things right now, and I do understand. But you know that you can call me anytime day or night if you want to talk about anything….anything at all."
There was a long pause as Pepper gathered her thoughts. "I know Kar, but it's just…it's just that things are so different now between Tony and I." she said taking a shaky, shuddering breath. "He has changed so much since he came back from Afghanistan. He's spending most of his time now in his workshop working on projects day and night with little or no sleep. He hasn't even slept in his own bed once since he came home, claiming he doesn't feel comfortable in his bedroom anymore. I know he's having nightmares every time he falls asleep down in his workshop, because I have Jarvis keeping tabs on him. And I've seen the evidence of brutal torture on his body." She finished quietly, taking another shuddering breath absolutely forbidding herself to cry right now. "Kar, I know he's suffering from PTSD, but he refuses to let me help him or get professional help for him." She explained quietly pausing with a heavy sigh and a quick sniff "And ….sometimes….. I catch him looking at me like he…. like….like…. I just can't describe it Kar." She paused again taking another deep breath. "And I've noticed other things too like he's totally stopped flirting with women…all women even though they are practically throwing themselves at his feet since his return. And ….he told me that….. that he didn't have anyone but me." She paused roughly brushing at her eyes with the back of her hand as tears threatened again to well up in her eyes. "Kar, he left me at the Gala last night after those pictures were taken, and no one has seen or heard from him since. And I'm just worried sick about him." She finished with a strangled sob, her emotions and lack of sleep now starting to get the best of her.
"What about Jarvis?" Karen said quietly, racking her brain in order to come up with a plan to help her. "Doesn't Jarvis know where he is?"
"Yes, he does" Pepper finally got out after a small sniffle "but Tony has forbid Jarvis to tell me where he is or what he's doing. And in all the years I have worked for Tony, he has never done that before."
Karen thought a moment. "I know you, Pepper." She said her voice now stronger and louder. "You can figure out a way around your major-domo and find out where Tony is. I know you can do it."
Pepper thought for a moment before responding, scrubbing at her face one more time trying to wipe away the few tears now falling from her eyes against her will. She sniffed one time loudly in Karen's ear. "Yes, I guess I do have a few tricks up my sleeve for dealing with obstinate AIs. Look Kar….I…" Pepper paused again, not wanting Karen to worry about her any more than she was already.
"I know, I know." Karen replied understanding immediately what Pepper was trying to say "You need to get off the phone so you can go beat up a certain AI and find your man." Pepper started to interrupt her but Karen pushed ahead. "And don't say he isn't your man now, 'cuz I now have the photographic evidence to back that up." Karen said trying her best to sound cheerful "I'm headed now to church to pray for both you and Tony now. Call me when you find Tony, little sister."
Pepper sniffled once and replied "I will….and thanks, Kar."
"Keep your chin up, Pepper. Just put your faith in God. Things are going to work out, you'll see." Karen said as they hung up.
Pepper looked over the photos once more before she shut down her computer. Her conversation with Karen had indeed jogged a memory from long ago as she started to remember some old protocols that Tony had set up with Jarvis for emergencies. And she definitely felt like this was an emergency. She walked back upstairs and quickly took a shower. While she was brushing her teeth, she looked at her face in the mirror and noticed the dark circles under both of her eyes. "You can do this, Virginia." She said to herself loudly. She quickly put on make-up, a black business suit, and then she grabbed her Blackberry, laptop, and purse on the way out of her house.
She spared a quick glance at her Blackberry when she got into her Audi. In the short thirty-two minutes since she had gotten off the phone with Karen, she already had fifty-four missed calls and forty-nine messages. Thankfully none of the calls were from either Rhodey or Jarvis. Quickly glancing through the caller IDs, she was amazed that so many of her business and personal contacts were up at this time of day on a Sunday morning. She felt her body unconsciously shiver when it suddenly dawned on her that obviously Karen wasn't the only one who had a news alert set for her. She still couldn't understand how or why she had become so news worthy.
As she drove, she realized that she was still quite angry about those photos being taken of them dancing. She couldn't help but feel betrayed somehow that such a private moment between them could have been made so public so quickly. She had been her usual cautious self when she had chosen the facility to host the Gala. And she had specifically instructed the management at Disney Hall that the Gala was to be a closed event with only the official event photographers having the legal right to take photos of any of the participants. Yes, indeed, she was definitely going to legally go after the cell phone photographer, and she made a mental note to call SI Legal this afternoon and discuss what action they were going to take against the photographer when they found him or her.
She then saw a text message from Harv and she opened it quickly as she stopped for the next red light, wondering briefly if perhaps it was he who had accidently leaked the photos. She shook her head at the thought as she read his message: 'Pepper, it wasn't me who took those pictures of you and Tony that hit the internet this morning. But Danielle and I did notice that you two did make a very handsome couple on the dance floor at the Gala. On and by the way Danielle says 'It's about damn time!' TTYL' In spite of everything going on right now, Pepper started laughing. Harv and Danielle had been trying for years to get her and Tony together, and it had become somewhat of a button for Pepper that each of them would press whenever they had the chance to tease her. And she definitely could use the laugh right now.
Being early on a Sunday morning, the traffic on PCH1 was light and Pepper arrived at Tony's mansion in less than 20 minutes. She quickly walked through the front door as Jarvis opened it for her.
She glanced over at the now empty ante room next to the living room, where until 8 days ago Maria Stark's piano had proudly stood. Pepper had not been in the mansion when the 'accident' occurred that had destroyed the piano. Both Tony and Jarvis had been tightlipped about the entire 'hole' incident, but Pepper had been through enough of Tony's experiments gone awry in the past 11 plus years to know that the 'new' access port into Tony's workshop was not the result of an explosion or anything else emanating from within the mansion. She had taken the SI contractors up to the roof six days ago so that they could order the materials for the repair job and had asked them about what could have caused such damage. Pepper now knew for a fact that something that weighed in excess of 500 pounds had fallen through the roof as well as four levels of mansion ceilings before coming to rest in Tony's garage on top of her favorite car, leaving a curiously human-like shape in the hood.
Sadly, Maria's piano had been the real tragedy in the accident. She had found Tony several times just standing and staring at the piano's remains the day after the accident. She knew by the look on his face that the loss of the piano had devastated him, but he had steadfastly refused to acknowledge his feelings to her. Pepper had called in the best piano restoration experts on the West Coast the next day from San Francisco and they had been able to salvage all of the ivory keys, as well as the four legs, but rest of the piano had been a total loss. They were going to build Tony an exact replica of Maria's piano using the salvaged keys and legs using the old photos of the piano that Pepper had given them. But it would be a least a month before the new piano would be delivered to the mansion.
She walked into the kitchen to fix herself a cup of tea. "Jarvis" she called out to the ceiling. "Have you heard from Mr. Stark?" she asked testing the current information waters between herself and the AI.
"I regret that I cannot share any information about Mr. Stark with you, Ms. Potts." The AI replied almost sadly.
"Can you at least tell me if he is safe or not?" she asked quietly.
The AI hesitated and for a moment, Pepper was fairly certain that she had found the chink in the AI's armor she was looking for.
"I have made numerous attempts to link up with his on-board computer for the past ninety-two minutes, but I regret that I am still unable to make contact with Mr. Stark." Jarvis replied.
She was now quite certain that the AI had just elected to roll over and play dead for her and she was ready for him. "Jarvis, activate protocol Sierra Alpha Sierra One Niner Seven Zero immediately."
"As you wish, Ms. Potts." Jarvis replied, actually sounding somewhat relieved "Protocol Sierra Alpha Sierra One Niner Seven Zero is now activated."
"Now tell me what's really going on here." She demanded quietly "Where is Tony and what has he been doing for the past eight hours? And most importantly is he OK."
"Mr. Stark left the mansion at 23:00 hours PST last evening bound for Gulmira, Afghanistan on a mission to destroy a cache of Stark Industries weapons which had fallen into the hands of a terrorist organization called 'The Ten Rings'." The AI reported. "His current medical condition is unknown due to sensor damage."
Pepper chose to ignore the sensor damage for the time being. "Knowing how fast SI jets fly, I take it that Mr. Stark traveled on a military jet, then?" she inquired after calculating distances and time quickly in her head.
"Not at all, Ms. Potts." Jarvis replied with hesitation. "But perhaps I could better explain if you were to join me in Mr. Stark's workshop. And may I strongly suggest you use the elevator given the current condition of the main stairwell?" He offered.
Pepper immediately picked up her tea and walked towards the now open elevator car that would take her down to Tony's workshop. As she entered the workshop one of the computer terminals powered up and she walked towards it, quickly sitting down in the chair in front of it. She noticed the broken glass near the stairwell door and absently reminded herself that she needed to replace the glass panels next week. Broken glass in Tony's workshop was a fairly common occurrence, so she really didn't dwell on the cause. She had bigger fish to fry at the moment.
"This is the Mark III suit that Mr. Stark is currently traveling within." Jarvis explained as the engineering sketches of the Mark III lit up the terminal's screen.
Pepper's eyes grew wide at the sight of the red and gold suit now on the screen, and she tried her best to keep her voice low and calm in response. "You mean he's flying inside the suit." She said quietly in more of a statement than a question to the AI.
"That is correct, Ms Potts" Jarvis calmly confirmed. "And current telemetry from the Mark III indicates that Mr. Stark is traveling at Mach 1.7 and is currently in route for Malibu. ETA is approximately 7.35 hours based on his current speed."
Pepper continued to look at the schematics in amazement. "This is how Tony got out of that cave in Afghanistan isn't it, Jarvis?"
Pepper suddenly heard the swish of air behind her and she turned to see the floor panels about 30 feet from her slide apart exposing a part of the sub-basement beneath the workshop. She quickly walked over and peered into the sub-basement as the lights brightened in the sub-basement, and she saw a welded and braised version of an iron suit that she quickly assumed was the Mark I. Next to the Mark I was the sleek, silver Mark II which in appearance was very similar to the Mark III but she assumed that it had been created without weaponry.
"The Mark I is a replica of the one Mr. Stark built in the cave and used in his escape from the Ten Rings terrorist group. Mr. Stark had to abandon the damaged remains of the original Mark I in the desert during his escape." Jarvis explained "And the Mark II is the prototype for the Mark III."
"Leave it to Tony to build an arc reactor and a flying metal suit using stone knives and bear skins." She said quietly, turning away from the suits as the floor panels once again slid securely back into place.
"Actually, Ms. Potts, Mr. Stark used parts from SI weapons that the terrorists had in their possession to build the original miniaturized Arc Reactor and the Mark I." Jarvis offered in correction "But your stone knives and bear skins analogy is essentially correct."
"I am surprised that the US Military hasn't tried to intercept Tony considering he is essentially a UFO to them now." She commented, returning to sit down in the chair in front of the terminal screen quickly putting her head in her hands at the thought of Tony being shot down by friendly fire.
"Actually two USAF F-22 Raptors did intercept Mr. Stark one hour and thirty-three minutes ago and engaged the Mark III in air to air combat." Jarvis reported.
"What!" Pepper cried out unable to stop her sudden outburst.
"And from intercepted air to ground conversations, Colonel Rhodes was able to keep the F-22's from destroying the Mark III." Jarvis continued to explain as Pepper closed her eyes in disbelief. "Unfortunately, one of the F-22s did crash as the result of the battle, but Mr. Stark was able to save the pilot's life when his chute failed to deploy. The Mark III did sustain some minor damage in the brief battle which has unfortunately resulted in my communications link being lost to the suit. However, the medical sensor damage appears to be the result of an armor piercing missile fired by a tank during Mr. Stark's ground battle with the terrorists earlier in the day."
Pepper's eyes snapped open wide upon hearing the words 'armor piercing missile'. "Jarvis, I am assuming that Mr. Stark has reported his physical status to you since the medical sensors were damaged."
"Of course, Ms. Potts." The AI replied quickly "But Mr. Stark has been known in the past to not accurately report his physical condition on occasion."
"On occasion." Pepper quietly agreed "Please continue to track the Mark III and keep me updated on Tony's ETA."
"Of course, Ms. Potts" Jarvis agreed quietly "The on board computer that is currently in control of the Mark III is a clone of myself who will continue to protect and monitor the suit and Mr. Stark's well being until he returns home to Malibu."
Pepper knew that Jarvis was trying to comfort her in his own way and she was grateful as always to the AI for his 'human' side. She looked up at the ceiling and smiled tiredly towards one of the security cameras. "Thanks, Jarvis." She said sincerely, laying her head down on the desk briefly. "Please patch me in to Colonel Rhodes, Jarvis."
"At once, madam." Jarvis obeyed and quickly connected with Colonel Rhodes' personal cell phone, one that had of course been upgraded by Tony in order to prevent hacking.
"Jimmy" Pepper said quietly "Are you someplace where you can talk to me privately?"
"Give me a sec, Pep." He said and she could hear a door closing and heavy footsteps in the background. "Yeah, I can talk now."
"Just what has your little brother gotten himself into this time?" she asked quietly concern permeating her tone "Because he is scaring me to death at the moment."
"Dammit!" Rhodey exclaimed nearly dropping the phone "That's what I was about to ask you."
"Well, if it wasn't for his com link failure, I still wouldn't even know about his earlier encounter with your F-22s because Tony had Jarvis hide this little trip of his to Afghanistan from me."
"Boy, that's great." Rhodey replied dejectedly as he continued to walk down a hallway, his steps quickening. "I know we're in deep shit now if Tony had Jarvis lock you out of this."
"Jimmy…I'm really worried about Tony." She said her tone low and serious.
"So am I." Rhodey replied equally as serious. "Look, Tony said he was headed back to Malibu before we were cut off, so let me know when he gets there. I am going to talk to my CO right now and beg some personal time off from him so I can talk to Tony in person. And I want you to be there when I do, Pep. But considering what has just happened, I doubt very seriously that I will be able to get to Malibu before tomorrow at the very earliest."
"I understand." She replied weakly, the realization of what was happening to them all suddenly weighing her down.
"Hey." He said softly, concerned about the obvious change in her tone. "You OK?"
"I….I'm fine, Jimmy." She finally got out.
"No, you're not." he responded quickly. "I know you have a ton of crap going on with you right now. And before you ask, yes, I've seen those pictures of you and Tony on the internet."
"Yeah, you and about four million of our closet friends have seen those pictures by now." Pepper replied her voice quiet and somber.
"Well, look at it this way, Pepper." Rhodey replied with a small chuckle "The way you two have been dancing around each other for years, it was only a matter of time before the world had concrete proof of your relationship."
"Trouble is, Jimmy" Pepper started "I'm not exactly sure what our relationship really is at the moment."
"You know what?!" Rhodey said sternly, finally fed up with the constant denial from both Pepper and Tony about their feelings towards each other. "This is what makes me want to take both of you over my big brother knee sometimes." The stress of the current situation was spurring him on now as he spoke. "That man has been in love with you since the first day he met you, but he was just too stubborn to admit it, and too chicken and fucked up to do anything about it that wouldn't have forced you to leave him." He continued lecturing her. "And you have probably loved him for more years than you would ever admit to anyone, especially yourself." His voiced suddenly lowered a little. "You know my great grandma use to say that things happen for a reason. So maybe Tony's kidnapping has forced the little dweeb to grow up a little, stop drinking his life away, and made him more into the man that you could see yourself being with." Rhody continued his voice softening even more. "And whether or not either of you want to admit it; those photos prove that you two are in a relationship, no matter what either of you say."
"It's just that Tony has changed so much since he came home from Afghanistan, Jimmy." Pepper said sadly "And I'm so confused about not only how he feels towards me, but how I feel towards him at the moment. And those pictures all over the internet and the hundred plus voice mails on my Blackberry certainly aren't helping my emotional well-being at the moment either."
"Whether you want to believe it or not, Afghanistan changed you too, Pepper. Not many people could have run a Fortune 500 company successfully for three months under the conditions you were working under, but you found a way to do it. You're a strong person, Pepper. And you know you don't really give a shit about what the world thinks of you as long as you know you're doing the right thing. That's one of the reasons why you're still with Tony." Rhodey assured her softly. He paused briefly before continuing. "Look, I found out that Tony not only took out a bunch of terrorist scumbags today, but he also blew up a pretty large ammo dump including a Jericho Missile assembly too. Oh and by the way, according to my intel, he also saved about 50 civilians from almost certain death at the same time. So don't you give up on my little brother being your knight in shining armor just yet, OK?"
"I won't, Jimmy." she promised, a small smile creeping onto her face at his choice of words "I'll call you after he gets home."
"OK." He replied "Talk to you soon." He said as he hung up.
Pepper folded her arms, laying them on top of the desk as she rested her head on her arms trying her best to relax her shoulders and neck. She felt the beginnings of a headache now. She hadn't eaten yet and she knew that her low blood sugar was part of the reason for the headache. She had lost a lot of weight during the three months that Tony was gone and she still had yet to recover from it, so any drop in her blood sugar was really noticeable to her now.
"Ms. Potts" Jarvis announced "I have taken the liberty to order breakfast in for you. It should be delivered within 15 minutes."
Pepper raised her head up from the desk and smiled. "Thank you for taking care of me, Jarvis."
"Always my pleasure, Madam." The AI replied cheerfully "Might I also suggest that you lie down and relax until your breakfast arrives. Your blood sugar levels appear to be quite low this morning."
"You're right, Jarvis." She said forcing herself to get up and turned to walk towards the stairs.
Suddenly the elevator doors opened to her right. "May I suggest taking the elevator instead, Ms. Potts?" Jarvis said quietly.
"Good idea." She replied turning quickly and stepped into the elevator. She hated feeling weak, but she also knew that walking up two flights of stairs was going to be just a waste of energy that she really didn't have to spare this morning. "Thanks again, Jarvis."
"Ms. Potts" Jarvis began in what Pepper recognized was full lecture mode "I know we have had this discussion in the past about your eating habits, but given your metabolism and your fairly recent weight loss, you must realize the importance of calorie intake for you."
"Yes, mom." She said with a small smile, finding it always ironic that an AI would know how to take better care of her than she would. While Tony was held captive, it had been left to her by Tony's attorneys to run SI in Tony's place. Her acting as Tony's proxy had really angered Stane. Pepper had never trusted Stane in the past and his aggressive actions towards her in trying to wrest control of SI from her in Tony's absence had proven to her just how right she was in her initial assessment of Stane.
So Pepper had spent a lot of her time at the mansion during Tony's absence because somehow she just felt safer there and away from SI and Stane. Jarvis and the bots were always there to support her as she struggled to keep Tony's company going against greater and greater odds as the days, weeks, and then months continued to pass without any word on him.
Jarvis had tattled on her numerous times to both Happy and Rhodey during those three months when she wasn't eating properly. Happy would sit down and eat with her at least twice every day trying to make sure she got enough to eat. And Rhodey would call her at all hours of the day and night trying to make sure that she was taking care of herself. Rhodey's sisters even called her on a regular basis too from Tennessee following up for their brother and doing their best to make sure that she took care of herself.
She slowly walked out of the elevator and into the living area. She sat down heavily on the large couch and swung her feet up. She immediately felt the heat from one of the HVAC vents on her. Jarvis knew she was cold natured and had decided to turn up the heat for her this morning.
"Thanks, Jarvis." She said looking up at the ceiling when she suddenly remembered Rhodey's words. "Can you run a cross check and locate any invoices that include the Jericho? I certainly didn't sign off on any, and as far as I know, R&D hasn't released the missile out for production yet. I'm just not sure now where the demo Jericho that went with Tony to Afghanistan really ended up. Mr. Stane had offered to take care of getting the missile assembly reloaded on the jet, but at the time I was too busy to follow up on him actually doing it."
"At once, madam." Jarvis replied.
Pepper closed her eyes and tried to relax. SI's R&D department was large, but through the years Pepper had gotten to know most of the R&D personnel. However, there were several groups in R&D that worked primarily for Stane that she simply didn't know as well as she would like. And with Tony's announcement that SI no longer would make weapons anymore, she had suspected that Stane and his R&D groups were somehow continuing their weapons development well beyond what SI was already contractually obligated to fulfill. She just couldn't prove anything at the moment.
"Ms. Potts." Jarvis said quietly "It seems that a review of the manifest from Mr. Stark's jet failed to account for the Jericho missile when the jet returned to LAX from Afghanistan. It appears that a man named 'T. Apollyon' had signed for the missile assembly when it was still on the ground in Afghanistan, and that the transfer had been approved by Mr. Stane."
"Any idea who this Apollyon could be, Jarvis?" She said staring up at the ceiling thoughtfully.
"None, madam." The AI replied "I have cross checked that name across all known customers and contacts, and I have found no record of anyone by that name."
Pepper was silent as she suddenly recalled a distant memory.
"Ms. Potts." Jarvis said quietly "The name Apollyon is Greek for 'The Destroyer'."
Pepper winced. It was Sunday school when she was a child when she had heard that name before. "Revelations." She said flatly.
"That is correct, Ms. Potts." Jarvis confirmed "The verse is 9:11."
Pepper squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "911, Jarvis. Somehow I get the feeling that whoever this Apollyon is, they certainly had some very non-peaceful intentions for the Jericho."
As she lay on the couch with her eyes closed, she found herself tensing up even more as she realized that Mr. Stane was most-likely double dealing weapons to known terrorist organizations. She had no idea how or even if she was going to tell Tony about her suspicions. Even though she had always been mistrustful of Obadiah's intentions regarding Tony, Tony had always given her the impression that he trusted Stane implicitly.
Suddenly Pepper's eyes snapped open as she heard a metallic clang on the table beside her. She looked over and watched both Dummy and Butterfingers setting up her breakfast on the table. She sat up quickly.
"Thank you guys for breakfast." She said tenderly patting Dummy's pincher as he daintily handed her a napkin. She opened the Styrofoam container and breathed in the heavenly scent of veggie lover's omelet from one of her favorite restaurants in Malibu. She knew that Jarvis must have offered them a big tip both for the early hour order and the quick delivery from the restaurant. "Thank you Jarvis for ordering this for me."
"You are quite welcome, Ms. Potts." Jarvis replied as the bots beeped noisily at her as they turned and rolled away towards the elevator. "You are required to finish both the omelet and the orange juice. Then I would suggest a short nap in order for your body to digest the meal and your blood sugar levels to stabilize."
"Yes, sir." She replied with a smile taking a huge bit of the omelet. She closed her eyes and hummed in contentment as she ate. Maybe a nap would be a good idea. She hadn't slept more than three hours last night in between finishing up at the Hall and trying to find Tony afterwards. And without her mandatory six hours of sleep, she knew she would crash and burn later during the day, and she knew she couldn't afford to do that today, not with everything going on around her.
It suddenly occurred to her that Tony could very well be injured when he returned to the mansion. She quickly went over a list of first aid supplies in her mind that she wanted to have on hand when he returned. "Jarvis?"
"Yes, madam." The AI replied.
"Please make sure the bots get the PMS out and ready to go so you can scan Tony when he gets home. You know how he is about going to the hospital." She said quietly.
"At once, madam." Jarvis eagerly replied. "Since I helped design the armor myself, I am certain that there has been no penetration of the armor, but there is however a high likelihood of severe bruising and possible broken bones at the point of impact depending on the proximity of the tank to the Mark III. The PMS scan will detect any such injuries."
Pepper thought back to when Tony designed the medical scanner. He had teasingly told her that he designed it for her to help with her pre-menstrual cycle symptoms. That of course had started a major argument between the two of them, with Tony eventually apologizing enough so that she would allow him and Jarvis to use the PMS on her. She was forced to admit at the time that his invention had been amazingly accurate in finding two long mended bone fractures she had when she was a teenager. As usual Tony had insisted that the scanner be called the PMS in her honor, and the name had somehow stuck.
"Jarvis, please wake me in three hours or if something changes with Tony." She said finishing both her omelet and her orange juice. She lay back on the couch and closed her eyes as she felt her headache starting to ease. She felt some of her tension dissipate now that her stomach was full. She soon felt herself drift away to sleep.
"Ms. Potts." Jarvis called out to her quietly, rousing her from her nap. "It has been three hours since you fell asleep. I trust you slept well."
Pepper stretched out her arms over her head "Yes, very well. Thank you Jarvis." She replied sitting up on the couch. "What's Tony's ETA to Malibu?"
"At current speed, three hours forty-three minutes." The AI responded quickly.
Pepper got up and turned towards the elevator. "Jarvis, I'll be in my office attempting to return some of my missed calls and emails. Please keep me informed of Mr. Stark's progress home."
"Of course, madam." Jarvis complied "And just so you will know, Mr. Stark has already seen the photos of you dancing with him at the Firefighter's Gala last evening."
Pepper rolled her eyes at the ceiling of the elevator. "I bet he just laughed about them."
"No, Ms. Potts." The AI replied "He was most concerned about what your reaction to the photographs would be. He had hoped that you weren't going to be too upset when you saw them."
Pepper didn't quite know how to process the fact that Tony was worried about her feelings instead of his own image as an international playboy being blown away in the short span of 14 photographs. She would have never expected such a reaction out of him. She felt her heart clinch in her chest at the thought of him now putting her well being above his own.
She spent the next three hours on the phone and on her laptop, doing her best to run damage control as she responded to the 492 emails that she had gotten already this morning, as well as the 224 voice mails. She had received voice mails from all but one of the SI Board members already this morning, all of them surprisingly congratulating her and Tony on their new 'relationship' and wishing them well. Some had even asked when their engagement announcement could be expected. It seemed that everyone knew more about her relationship with Tony than she did at the moment.
She sent out pre-emptive emails to the major gossip media with fair warnings about them publishing any negative press regarding the photos telling them all of SI's intent to prosecute the photographer as well as anyone who used those photos to her, Tony's or SI's detriment
She also had a long conference call with the on-call attorneys and PR personnel for SI. SI Legal quickly promised to begin tracing the origins of the cell phone pictures immediately. They had all discussed courses of action to take against the photographer when they found them. PR expressed their opinion that the photographs would actually have a very positive impact on SI in general and both her and Tony in particular citing the stability of their past work relationship. SI Legal has concurred in its opinion that her and Tony being in a relationship would be taken as a sign of stability within SI. It now seemed that everyone she had talked to this morning was quite comfortable with them being a relationship. That consensus of approval still surprised Pepper.
She was on a call with the one Board member who had not already called her today when Jarvis flashed a message on her computer screen that Tony had just arrived back at the mansion. Pepper politely but quickly ended the call and literally ran down the stairs towards the workshop. She slowed her approach on the stairs and gingerly stepped through the broken glass. She had been so busy with the phone calls and emails that she had forgotten to get the bots to sweep up the glass. As she entered the room, she overheard Jarvis fussing at Tony and Tony fussing back at Jarvis as the suit bots frantically tried to remove the armor from Tony's body. She slowed her approach taking in the chaotic scene before her with a mix of caution and concern as she quickly noticed what appeared to be bullet holes in the armor. So much for Jarvis' claim of the strength of the armor. She heard Tony's cries of pain mixed with his curses as the suit bots continued to pull and yank on the armor. She couldn't help the look of concern now on her face.
"Please be gentle, it's my first time." Tony remarked with a strained smirk as the suit bots continued to try their best to remove his armor but without success.
She continued walking slowly towards him, noting the stressed look on his face. "What's going on here?" she asked not able to keep the concern out of her voice.
"Let's face it." He tried to joke as he turned to see the worried expression on her face match her voice "This isn't the worst thing you've ever caught me doing."
"Are those bullet holes?" she asked incredulously.
"No, just dents." He replied, struggling once again with the suit bots.
"Jarvis" Pepper called out loudly "Why can't you remove the suit?"
"Two reasons, Ms. Potts." The AI replied tersely "Mr. Stark refuses to stand still in order to allow the suit bots to operate properly and two of the mechanical locks in the suit are proving not readily releasable."
"Everyone freeze!" Pepper yelled loudly and all the bots immediately ceased their movement. Tony too stopped moving and stood there looking at her in complete amazement. In the now uncomfortable silence of the workshop she could hear Dummy's long, loud whistle in the background obviously quite impressed with her taking control of the chaos at least for the moment. Pepper had to suddenly stop herself from laughing at the ridiculousness of entire situation. "Exactly where are these locks located on the suit, Jarvis?" She asked quickly removing her shoes, knowing that she would need to climb up on the platform with Tony in order to pry the locks open. She walked over to one of the large rolling tool boxes. "Jarvis?"
"A keystone, slotted screw driver will do just nicely." Jarvis responded knowing exactly what information she was asking the AI for.
Pepper picked out the proper screwdriver and padded on stocking feet back to where Tony stood on the platform. He was watching her intently now, and she noticed that his eyes had started to darken as they roved over her legs and he started to shift uncomfortably on the platform. Some things never change, she thought quickly to herself as she climbed up onto the platform with him, holding onto one of the suit bots for support.
"Where Jarvis?" she asked as she stood precariously behind him. The platform was quite small and she found herself pressed up close behind him in order to keep from falling off.
"At the small of the back you will notice a slot approximately one inch in length. That is the release for the lower half of the suit. The slot should be turned counter-clockwise one full turn in order to release the lock."
"Jarvis" Pepper said as she studied the area. "This area is pretty scuffed up." She suddenly felt Tony turn as if trying to look behind him at what she was doing causing her to quickly wrap both arms around his waist in order to keep herself stable. "Tony!" she yelled as he visibly winced "Stop moving, or so help me I am going to take you down with me when I fall off!"
Tony froze immediately and Pepper quickly released her hold on him. "OK, Jarvis, here goes." She said as she inserted the tip of the screwdriver into the damaged slot. She struggled but managed to turn the release one full turn immediately hearing a 'pop' as the lock released.
"The remaining lock is located four inches below the base of Mr. Stark's neck, in the midline running between the shoulders." Jarvis patiently instructed her.
Pepper stood up on her toes as she inserted the tip of the screwdriver in the slot that she had located in an area that was filled with small dents, resembling dozens of hail dents. This area had obviously been the target of some fairly heavy duty artillery of some kind. But luckily the armor had held. She turned the screw driver as hard as she could, but she couldn't budge the slot at all. She tried again with both hands. "Tony" she breathed heavily onto his neck with her sudden exertion, not realizing that she was doing it. "Can you lower your shoulders? I'm standing on my toes back here and I can't quite get the leverage I need to turn the screwdriver."
She immediately noticed that the skin on his neck at the base of his dark curls of hair had become pebbled in goose bumps where her hot breath had traveled over it as she spoke to him. She had no idea that just her breath alone could have such an effect on him, and she suddenly found herself resisting the strong urge to lean up and press a kiss into those dark curls. 'Oh god!' she thought to herself quickly tamping down the strong feeling 'What on earth am I thinking?' she fussed at herself. Given the seriousness of the current situation, only Tony would have the ability to derail her thoughts so quickly and completely.
She took a deep breath as his shoulders began to lower and suddenly the scent of Tony's cologne, mixed with sweat, oil, and something she could only describe as 'Tony' entered her nose and her brain at the same time almost causing her to drop the screwdriver. Quite apparently Tony had the same effect on her as she did him. And that knowledge was most disconcerting considering exactly where she was standing at the moment. As she struggled to keep her balance she felt him reach back with his left arm and gently wrap his armored hand around her left thigh in order to help steady her. She bit down on her bottom lip in order not to be distracted again from her task by the feel of his hand on her leg. She carefully re-inserted the tip of the screwdriver and put her weight into turning the screwdriver with both hands. She suddenly felt the slot start to turn and held her breath as she continued to bear down on the screwdriver's handle. Slowly it turned one full turn and she heard another 'pop'.
"You did it, Pep." Tony said softly as he stood back up to his full height on the platform, letting go of her leg. "Jarvis, help get Ms. Potts back down off the platform before she falls off."
Dummy immediately rolled to her rescue extending his arm up to help safely lower her to the floor.
"Thank you, Dummy." She said patting him on the head as he turned to wheel away from her, once again taking his place alongside Butterfingers who was currently on fire duty at Jarvis' request.
"Apparently, the release and removal system for the suit requires some updating." Jarvis commented as Pepper rolled her eyes turning to walk back towards the tool chest.
"What makes you say that, Jarvis?" Tony replied standing completely still as the suit bots began removing pieces of the armor storing them under the floor panels. "I was sorta happy with the way Pepper was cuddling with me up here."
Pepper had walked back to the tool chest to put the screwdriver back in the drawer and upon hearing his last remark slammed the drawer closed with a loud bang as she shook her head in disgust. He really was going to be the death of her unless she killed him first. She whirled around and looked up at him, their eyes locking.
"Too soon, I guess?" He said a shy smile on his face immediately placing both hands in front of his crotch area covering what she suspected was the result of her touch from earlier. His under suit was skin tight, and she had to force herself to keep looking at his eyes and not down at his muscular body.
"Way too soon, Mr. Stark." Pepper replied a deep frown now etched upon her face.
One of the suit bots began pulling on the back piece of the suit as they continued to lock eyes. "Owwww!" Tony cried out suddenly in agony.
Pepper forgot all about being mad at him upon hearing the genuine pain in his voice, knowing that that area of his back was where the tank had hit his armor with its armor piercing missile. "Jarvis, lower the platform immediately!" She ordered the AI.
"At once, madam." Jarvis replied as the platform immediately began to lower.
Pepper quickly moved behind Tony and gently pried the dented piece of armor from his back. She felt Tony suck in a quick breath and then hold it against the pain.
"Can you walk?" she asked him as he nodded curtly. She held onto his waist as she slowly steered him towards the PMS which Dummy had wheeled over closer to them now that they were done dismantling the suit.
Pepper helped him lay down on the examination table and gently pulled his legs up onto the table for him. "Don't move Tony. Jarvis is going to scan you now."
"It's just a couple of bruises." Tony said between clenched teeth.
"Just a couple." Pepper said sarcastically, earning her an eye roll from Tony.
Pepper caught his eye and gave him a small smile. She noticed that he immediately relaxed and managed to give her a small smile in return.
"Jarvis?" Pepper asked suddenly impatient with the uncertainty of Tony's condition. "Does he need to go to the hospital?"
Tony reached out and quickly grabbed her hand. He looked at her, his bourbon eyes pleading with her blue ones. "No hospital." He begged.
"Mr. Stark has suffered extensive bruising in the lower to mid left back. This includes both muscular bruising as well as bruising of the four lowest ribs in that area. His left kidney appears to have narrowly escaped injury. Mr. Stark also exhibits symptoms of moderate to severe dehydration as well as low blood sugar. Recommended treatment includes immediate hydration with electrolytes coupled with liquid dietary supplements. The bruised areas will require direct application of cold packs for the next 24 hours followed by heat treatments." Jarvis reported quickly.
She gently pulled him up into a sitting position on the examination table. Pepper opened and handed him a lemon-lime Gatorade and he quickly gulped it down. She opened another for him and handed it to him as she took the empty bottle from his hands. "I know you're thirsty, but you need to slow down just a little, Tony."
He shook his head and proceeded to drain the second bottle somewhat slower than the first.
"But first things first." Pepper said taking his hand again to help him off the table. "You need a shower. You smell…."
"Sexy…masculine…..rugged?." He quickly cut in a small smile breaking out on his face as he glanced quickly over to her as they walked slowly to the elevator.
"Actually, terrible." She replied smiling over at him as she caught his eye. "Jarvis have the bots bring up Gatorades and Ensures from the pantry. Gatorades at room temp and the Ensures need to be slightly chilled, not cold. I will also need one of the small ice chests filled with small bags of soft ice for cold packs."
"At once, Ms. Potts." Jarvis replied as the elevator slowly moved up towards the third floor.
When the elevator door opened, they slowly walked out as Pepper immediately steered them towards Tony's bedroom. Tony suddenly froze.
"Not there." Tony said looking down at the floor. "Somewhere else."
Pepper still couldn't quite understand Tony's refusal to sleep in his bedroom. She suspected that Jarvis knew, but there was only so much Jarvis was willing to share with her out of respect for the privacy of his creator. Pepper nodded and turned them in the other direction. She knew that all of the other guest rooms had relatively small bathrooms, except for the one that she used when she stayed overnight in the mansion. That was one of the reasons why she chose that particular bedroom as hers. And since her bathroom was also the only one of the guest rooms that had a large double walk-in shower with two benches, it seemed the only logical place to put Tony for a shower.
"Will you be OK to stand here for a few seconds while I get you some clean clothes?" She asked stopping him and letting go of his arm.
"Sure." He replied quietly as she quickly turned and walked into his bedroom.
She pulled open one drawer pulling out a pair of black sweatpants and then another drawer pulling out some boxer briefs for him to wear. Since she was going to ice down his back, she didn't bother getting out a shirt for him to wear. Tucking his clothes under her right arm, she quickly walked back out into the hall way rejoining Tony and putting her left arm around his waist to help support him as they slowly continued their walk.
As they walked further down the hallway Tony quickly realized where they were headed and he stopped suddenly. "It's OK, I don't need a lot of room to take a shower. Any of these other guest rooms will do."
She gently tugged on his waist and he let himself be led once again slowly down the hall. "My room has the largest shower with benches. You're going to need the extra room and someplace to sit down."
Surprisingly, he didn't fight her. She could feel his body weaken as they walked.
As if on cue, Dummy wheeled up next to them carrying a box full of Gatorades and Ensures. Pepper quickly grabbed a Gatorade, twisted the cap off, and handed it to Tony.
"Please put the box in my bedroom." She told the bot as he quickly sped off down the hall way. Within seconds, Dummy emerged from the bedroom beeping at Pepper as he passed them in the hallway, headed for the freight elevator. "Thank you, Dummy." She called out behind her as she steered Tony into her bedroom.
Butterfingers rolled into the bedroom behind them carrying an ice chest full of small bags of ice for Tony's back. He beeped once and quickly left the bedroom as Pepper patted him on the head in thanks as he wheeled quickly past them.
As they stopped in front of the bathroom door, Tony was just finishing the bottle of Gatorade, and she had noticed that he was slowing down a little more as he drank the room temperature liquid.
"After your shower, I want you to drink at least one Ensure before I ice your back." She said taking the empty bottle from him. "You need more than just carbs right now."
"OK" he agreed quietly as they entered the bathroom.
She looked over at him and noticed that his eyes were once again glued to the floor. Then it suddenly hit her. In the years that she had known this man, she had never once seen him ashamed or embarrassed about anything. She suddenly remembered that the last time he had used his bedroom was to bed the reporter from Vanity Fair just before he left for Afghanistan. She now knew that it had been shame that had kept him away from his bedroom since he had returned home from Afghanistan. And now he was obviously both embarrassed and ashamed at being in her personal bathroom.
These new revelations made it hard to keep her emotions in check as she took his hand and led him into the shower and pushed him gently down onto the closest marble bench. She noticed that he still refused to meet her eyes. She reached out and gently ran her fingers along his shoulder feeling for the zippers of his body suit when she suddenly felt his large hands close gently around hers.
"I got this Pep." He said quietly and she looked down at him quickly in surprise. "I know that giving your boss a shower isn't in your job description."
Pepper couldn't help herself as her eyes misted over at his words. She cleared her throat quietly and gathered strength for what she was about to say. "Tony, you do need to realize that I'm not in here helping you as part of my job duties….I'm in here as your friend….because that's what friends do." She slowly entwined their fingers and gave his hand a small squeeze.
He slowly tilted his head up to look at her and his eyes sought hers. "Thank you" He began softly, his bourbon eyes sincere. "for being here with me…and for being such a good friend to me."
She smiled at him doing her best to blink away the beginnings of tears at his words as he tenderly squeezed her hand, quickly moving her eyes away from his and back down to his body suit. She cleared her throat again. "Now, how do I get this off of you?"
"You don't know how many years I've waited for you to ask me that question, Ms. Potts." He said, the gentle tease coming back into his voice as he slowly let go of her hands and moved them to the Velcro flap which was hiding the zippers.
She knew at that moment that he was now doing his best to make this less awkward for both of them. "In your dreams, Mr. Stark." She replied using one of her standard remarks.
"Almost every night." He replied so quietly that she almost didn't hear him.
She sucked in a quick breath as her fingers began to work the zipper down across his chest slowly. She wasn't at all sure if he had even intended for her to hear his comment. Those three words confirmed in her mind just how serious he was being about letting her know how he really felt about her. She had completely had finally unzipped the entire top section of the body suit. He winced as she pulled his left arm slowly out of the suit. As she pulled his right arm out of the suit she gently pulled the rest of the suit off of his back. What she saw made her own face contort in pain. On the left side of his lower back, she saw a bruise that was not only large but a dark shade of purple that had already turned black in places. "Oh, Tony." She said quietly as she gingerly laid her hand on his back.
"I'm guessing my back looks pretty bad, huh?" he said almost gritting his teeth in trying to get the words out.
"Yes it does." She said sadly as she gently pulled him up to stand and reaching down to the flap covering the zipper for the lower half of the body suit.
"Hey!" he said suddenly alarmed grabbing her hands quickly to still them. "I got this."
She stopped and looked up at him noting the worried expression on his face. "God, I hope you're not hiding some more bruises like the one on your back under the bottom half of the suit." She gently fussed.
He slowly let go of her hands and she suddenly dawned on her the real reason behind his hesitation to let her help with the lower part of the suit. "OK, then." She said smiling at him as she did her best to reassure him that everything was OK between them. "If you can get the suit pulled down far enough to get a towel over the Stark family jewels, then I can help you pull the suit off your legs. You know you won't be able to do that with those bruised ribs."
"Deal." He said with a small twinkle returning to his eyes as she handed him a towel and turned around in order to give him some privacy.
She heard him grunt several times in pain and had to hold herself in place in order to keep from turning back around to help him.
"Uh….I'm ready now." He said hesitantly after a few seconds.
She turned to see him still standing, the towel wrapped around his waist tightly.
She immediately kneeled in front of him reaching up along his right leg under the towel until she found the edge of the suit and gently pulled it down about six inches. She repeated the process with the left leg. She had to concentrate in order to keep her eyes focused on the towel in front of her, ignoring the obvious tenting of the towel. It took her a few seconds of gentle tugging down both legs before she had the suit pulled down around his ankles.
"You can sit down now, Tony." She said as he sat down gingerly on the bench. She noticed that he placed both hands on top of his crotch after he sat down in an effort to hide the obvious pup tent he had developed.
She pulled the suit off of his feet in one smooth pull and threw the suit bottom to rest next to the top part of the suit on the floor outside the shower. She stood up and moved the body wash, shampoo, and a wash rag next to him on the bench. She handed him the detachable shower head. She then placed a large bath towel on the hook next to the bench within easy reach of him. And finally she placed his clothes on the other hook.
"I'll be right outside the bathroom if you need me." She said picking up the pieces of the suit and walking outside the bathroom making sure to leave the door open so she could hear him if he needed help with anything.
"Jarvis, warm please." Tony called out as the water turned on.
Pepper could hear a few grunts of pain as he showered, but soon only the sound of water running could be heard through the doorway. She leaned against the door jam for a few moments, just enjoying the soothing sound of the running water and the silence of the bedroom. It was the first peaceful moment she had had since she had woken up from her nap.
"Jarvis?" she said quietly after a few minutes.
"Yes, Madam." The AI responded quickly.
"How are Tony's vitals?" she asked.
"They are improving rapidly with his re-hydration." Jarvis replied.
"This body suit needs to be redesigned in order to allow better cooling and wicking abilities for Tony, Jarvis." She noted solemnly knowing for a fact that this was not his last flight within the Mark III. "And you need to add some sort of mechanism for hydration while he's in the suit, maybe something along the lines of an IV drip."
"Agreed, madam." The AI concurred. "I will begin to create design modifications for Mr. Stark's review and approval."
"Thank you, Jarvis." She said as she put the body suit into the laundry shoot. "And please have that cleaned and disinfected."
"At once, Madam." Jarvis replied then quickly added "Mr. Stark is now finished with his shower."
Pepper heard the water turn off in the shower and she had to almost physically hold herself back from walking into the bathroom to check on him in the silence that followed. To her surprise within just a few minutes he slowly walked out of the bathroom.
"I'll head back down to the workshop to sleep." He said quietly, not looking at her.
"Like hell you will!" she said firmly. "I'm not letting you out of my sight until I'm sure that you are going to be OK." She walked up to him and nudged him gently in the shoulder to make a point as he staggered slightly at her touch "And since you're clean now, I'm going to let you sleep in my bed."
He jerked his head up and his eyes met hers, a surprised look on his face.
"I promise I won't try anything." She teased with a small smile.
"Hey, a guy can dream can't he." he teased back as she took his hand and pulled him gently towards the bed.
"Now get in before I change my mind." She replied pulling down the comforter and top sheet for him as she guided him down into a sitting position on the bed. She picked up the bottle of extra strength Tylenol from the night table next to the bed and shook out two caplets into her hand as she handed him a bottle of vanilla Ensure. "This is the price you pay for being a hero."
He snapped his head up to meet her eyes as he took the caplets from her, a question clearly written on his face.
"Of course I called Jimmy after I managed to out-protocol Jarvis." She said quietly as she watched him wash down the Tylenol with the Ensure setting the now empty can on the night table. "Please don't ever lock me out again, Tony." She paused as the pent up emotions of the morning caught up with her. "I was so worried about you, not knowing what had happened to you. It was like…..like I had lost you all over again."
She knew that she had probably said too much and moved quickly in order to turn away from him not wanting to break down in front of him. But he was faster than she was and he quickly reached out to grab both her hands in his, holding her gently but firmly in place in front of him. "I'm so sorry, Pepper." He apologized in a quiet voice "I wasn't sure just how things were going to turn out and I sure as hell didn't want you sucked into the political and legal mess with me if things went badly."
She sniffled once trying to hold back her tears, still refusing to look at him. She looked down at her shoeless feet as she carefully formed her next words. "No matter what you think, Tony, I have already been sucked into this mess with you." She said quietly. "Locking me out just makes it that much harder for me to have your back when you don't let me know what's going on." She slowly raised her head up to look at him in order to gauge his reaction to her words. To her amazement the look on his face now was one of undisguised love. Her eyes widened as Tony's eyes caught and held her eyes.
"Are you sure about this, Pepper?" he asked softly, squeezing her hands tenderly his eyes still locked with hers.
"With what I've been through with you in the past 11 years, being in legal and political trouble is different how?" she said doing her best to add just a hint of teasing behind her words.
He suddenly smiled at her warmly and she slowly smiled back at him.
"Now lie down and turn over on your stomach so I can ice down your back. You know I have lots of other things to do today other than play nurse." She ordered as he slowly lay down on the bed and gingerly turned over onto his stomach.
Pepper reached into the ice chest next to the night table pulling out one ice bag and gently laying it on the bruised area on his back.
"Ugggh, shit that's cold!" he mumbled into her pillow.
"Stop being a baby." She said as she walked over to the desk powering up her laptop. "Fifteen minutes on and off for an hour and then I'll give you a break for a couple of hours."
"God, woman, but you're mean." He said quietly as he shifted his legs in apparent discomfort.
"I can be meaner, you know." She said a small smile breaking out on her face knowing that he couldn't see her. "After all I am the one doing triage from last night's dance." She quickly regretted mentioning the dance as his body immediately stilled.
She looked over at his still form on the bed and she could visibly make out a renewed tension throughout his body.
He slowly turned his head so he could look at her. "I'm sorry I left you alone after our dance." He said sadly. "When I went to the bar to get your martini, I found out that the bastards had my Jericho and I knew that I had to do something about it."
She hesitated to tell him how Stane had let the terrorists take the Jericho because she knew that he would never be able to rest and recover once he knew about Stane double dealing behind both their backs. Her silence suddenly filled the air between them.
"And I really wanted another dance with you, Pepper." He whispered so softly that she barely heard him.
She felt her emotions once again threatening to overtake her at his softly spoken confession, as she continued to fight to remain silent.
"Pepper…?" he said again a little louder.
She finally found the courage to look over at him. He had raised his head off the pillow now, desperately wanting her to look at him, his bourbon eyes nearly black with emotion as their eyes met across the room.
"I'm …..I'm sorry I forced you to dance with me But ….you looked just…. so beautiful in that blue dress that I just couldn't take my eyes off of you." He quietly explained. "I knew I had to do something to get your attention….and to get you close to me."
Another long moment of silence stretched between them as they continued to stare at one another. "Jarvis showed me the pictures that hit the internet of us dancing." He said weighing back carefully into the thick silence still between them "I can only imagine the mess those pictures caused for you…..and I'm sorry."
"Oh, Tony" she began, as her emotional walls began to crumble down around her. She quickly walked towards the bed suddenly wanting to make things right between them. "The only trouble those pictures have caused me is trying to keep up with all of the well-wishers and the 'it's about time' people that have been calling and emailing me since early this morning." She explained leaning down to him and reaching out to take his right hand. "It seems that everyone including all of the SI Board members are absolutely ecstatic that we shared that dance."
Pepper watched as his shoulders visibly sagged with relief at her words.
"So does that mean when we start dating, our stock will go up?" he asked tentatively as he began to stroke the back of her hand with his thumb.
She reached over and removed the bag of ice from his back, tossing it into the ice chest and standing up as he continued to hold her hand. "Well, some of the Board members are already convinced that our stock will open higher tomorrow because of those pictures." She said smiling down at him. "I guess we'll just have to wait to see what odds we get tomorrow from the Vegas odds makers on our chances of success."
After a few seconds of silence from him, he suddenly shifted in bed pulling her closer to him. "Promise me this, Ms. Potts. No matter what the odds, please never, ever give up on us." He softly pleaded pressing her hand to his lips quickly.
She slowly reached down with her free hand and tenderly brushed the hair back out of his eyes. "I promise, Mr. Stark, that I will never, ever give up on us." She replied sincerely as a huge smile lit up his entire face. She immediately smiled back at him knowing for a fact that no matter what happened from this moment on to them and between them, she would never, ever break that promise.