AN – There's no reason to keep this going deep into weeks and weeks, really. The captivity, that is. That and I'll lose my mind trying to write Pepper alone and worried for that long. There's only so much I can write on her part before I think I'm boring everyone, including myself.

A deep appreciation and love to all of my readers who have continued through this with me. This started off as something meant to be cute and maturing for Tony – and it still is, but with another element of fear. I fully intend to finish this story after the captivity, but I really really want to give an epilogue of sorts deep on into the future, into Emily's teenage years. Kind of like what I gave at the beginning of chapter 3. I'm very interested in giving that image of what I think this little girl will be like personality wise after all of the things in her life. But that's for a later time.

And I shoutout to saichick, because she's the writing mentor that I always needed – someone who encouraged instead of discouraged, unlike my real mother.

Chapter 16

Insomnia
or, A Way Out

"Miss Potts?"

"Y-yes, Jarvis?" I hadn't expected him to call from above like that. The house had been quiet for a few hours while I read. Anything, just anything to get my mind off of what wasn't here. I missed the giggling. And the stupid come-ons Tony always shot at me even though he didn't have to anymore. The yelling at Dora was something I greatly missed, and the never-ending parade of Barbies. It had gotten to the point that I wasn't sleeping. I laid in bed for hours on end, reading, watching TV, something to occupy my mind when all it could think about were the two dark-headed 'children' of the household.

"You asked about the possible tracking of the Mark II reactor. I believe I do have a way to do so. Shall I run the signal trace?"

I almost jumped out of my seat. A possibility. Something shining light of hope. The idea that I could find Tony by the thing stuck in his chest made my heart leap, and the memories of the times before seemed closer all of a sudden.

"Yes, please, as quickly as possible! And constantly!"

"Yes ma'am." Then all was quiet again. But it wasn't for me. I couldn't contain my excitement. The possibility of a signal – I didn't know what it could be, but it was better than absolutely nothing. I had to force myself to keep going in my book. It could be hours before Jarvis said anything again. I couldn't stare at the ceiling like I was waiting for my sign from God. Something else had to occupy my time – or at least I had to try.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

They took Emily not long after they brought her.

She was asleep and comfortable on my chest while I stroked her back and tried to comfort her as best I could in her sleep. She looked exhausted. She probably wasn't sleeping well.

I found out firsthand how much she wasn't sleeping.

Long after the night had set in according to my frosted windows and the darkening of my room, the door to the rest of the world opened. I could hear sniffling and before I was awake enough to understand it, someone was crawling into my bed with me. A small someone that attached to my open skin like it was the breath of life.

She was shaking, but not crying anymore. Her body was so tired. That's why she had fallen asleep on me before. She was extremely unsettled in this place to the point that she wasn't sleeping. Now that the guards had seen her sleep with me, she was allowed to come back so she wouldn't drive them insane through the night. This not only comforted me, but definitely comforted her because she was asleep on the lower corner of my pillow in seconds.

The cables in my chest were highly annoying in this situation. Normally, when hooked up to my reactor, I could snuggle her in close with no problem, and she would appreciate the night light.

Now, I couldn't hold her fully because my cables had to be placed correctly not to bother her. Even where she lay was awkward, because I had to lay my cables over the side of her head. She didn't seem to mind, but she might in the morning.

I was able to sleep better when I was touching her. It seemed so much more like home than this bumpy medical mattress in a sterile laboratory with her soft breaths ever few seconds. I still missed the low hum of my reactor for several reasons, but I managed.

When the same guards took her from me again in the morning, I was too groggy and physically drained to fight. She was too asleep to do much of anything but be picked up and carried off into the light until I was left in the utter dark, and completely alone.

At least in Afghanistan I had had a friend. Here, I had no one for long periods of time.

Not long after, the same guards were here for me. They pulled me out of bed and told me to put these scrubs on that they shoved into my hands. They didn't leave. After a few minutes of staring at them half asleep, I realized they expected me to put them on in front of them. No underwear. Just change clothes from the scrub pants I had on then to the ones I was being given.

After changing, they bound my hands again and out the door we went back into the hallway. At least, that's what I thought. I was blindfolded and being let by the tug of cables in my chest. One of the guards was leading me by pulling the battery. That was a constant state of fear that was unnecessary. I would have come without the anxious feeling of possible pain. I guess it was a rope on a feisty piece of livestock in a way. Is that really all I was here – the goose they were waiting on to lay the golden egg with enough cajoling?

We went through another doorway and into blinding light – the smell had changed, and the blindfold was taken off to show something of a backyard for the building but with a 15 foot fence where there were suits lined up in rows – different models, it looked like, with different builds and different weapons. All had the trademark holes in their chests, and there stood my favorite friend in this whole place. Another little squirrely bald man was holding a black box next to him.

I wished I could see outside more. I wanted to know where we were. All I could see was the green tops of trees that looked far away. We could be anywhere from what I knew of tree types.

"Ah, Mr. Stark, glad you could join us. We were just going to do a little test to make sure we have the right components for our suits to be powered efficiently by your reactor. I believe we have the correct plug-in specifications…"

Why did I have to be here to witness this? Really? Maybe he had this need to show off his suits or something?

The smaller man opened the box, and the leader pulled out my reactor, connections and all, and plugged it into the suit that looked most like the one that Obadiah had used against me before. It turned perfectly into place. I expected it to – it was made based on the original design I did in Afghanistan. Obadiah took the reactor before and made his suit work. Why wouldn't it work now?

The thing kicked on, whirring and buzzing and moving shortly thereafter. There must have been someone already in it.

The man – who I realized I didn't have a name for – looked like he could shit his pants in happiness. But this also meant a whole lot more was on me getting out of here faster.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Miss Potts, I have a signal."

That was the best phone call I had picked up all day. It was odd to pick up a call from 'Tony' when it was really Jarvis on the other side. But I knew what it would be about.

"Where is it? Is it close?"

"No, Miss Potts – It's in central America. The reactor has been activated for use within a suit, but it is not the Mark VI."

…But that didn't make sense. If it wasn't the Iron Man suit…

"Have you contacted SHIELD?"

"Yes ma'am. Director Fury is looking as we speak."

"Thank you, Jarvis." I hung up and set my phone back down on my desk. I just stared at it for the longest time. A signal meant we had an idea of where he could have been taken. But was it possible that they were both dead? That someone had taken them both to end the Stark line and just wanted the reactor for their own purposes?

To end my train of thought, Natalie walked in to ask me something about a memo I wanted to have sent out. She probably already knew the news as well. It wouldn't've surprised me if Fury told her to keep me occupied.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Honduras? Not a bad place to go to not be noticed." There were few prospects as to who would take Stark and his kid at the same time. We knew they wanted something only he could give, but the kid as collateral? That meant it was something big. Something he wouldn't give willingly. And from what we could tell, it had worked.

"Coulsen. I think I'm craving some Hispanic food."

"I'll assemble a team, sir."

"You've got 5 hours."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"What do you have to say, Mr. Stark?"

"Have you done anything about the icing problem?"

"Excuse me?"

I couldn't help but laugh. Without my reactor they hadn't been able to flight test, so they hadn't gotten my joke. The smaller, bald squirrel holding the box stared at me, probably trying to think of what I had passed a joke about.

"Nothing. So, what was this all about?"

"I wanted you to see what changes we had made to your original Mark I. We have different forms, similar to what your most recent challenger did with Hammer's resources and blind eyes…" He waved his hand across the stockpile of metal that looked like a jumble of different pieces put together to make different things. Like legos making different ships with all the same parts. All I could do was point out possible flaws in creation, hindrances in fighting, movement and flight. But I wasn't about to say anything.

"So, answer my question – what do you think?"

"I think…that you need a lot of reactors." I said quietly, still looking them over. One even had exposed wiring. It was probably incomplete but he wanted to try to show off, I guessed. Why not gloat in front of a captive audience?

"You are correct. And more and more are being built. This is why I needed your expertise. I need this piece of equipment to make it all work. And I thank you for generously giving your support to the endeavor." His words seeped darkness and greed. He had a dark grin on his face as he unhooked the reactor from the suit and put it back into the box to be taken inside.

It was then that I realized that there was no one in the suit he had just plugged in. Were these all drones like what Vanko had created? Or were they manned?

"Are these suits for men to run, or-?"

"Some are droids, but the ones in blue to the right are for men to be able to pilot. This was our first test one-" He patted the one that had been moving moments ago on the shoulder, which was higher than his head "so if the first one works, then the others should as well, correct?"

I nodded my head quietly and looked down at the ground, trying to think of ways I could make reactors that worked but not completely. That would look functional, but had some sort of glitch that would take hours of work to fix, especially for the non-knowledgeable scientist.

"Oh…Mr. Stark, I do have something to ask you." He came close again, his hands behind his back, as the other scientists filed into the building. He came up a little uncomfortably close to me. My mind told me to headbutt him and run, but that wouldn't get me anywhere.

"Emily…doesn't sleep well alone, does she."

"No, she slept with Pepper and I in Malibu." So maybe this was my way to get to be kept with me.

"Hm. Then she'll sleep with you. No reason to keep such a cute little girl from her sleep." He had already started to walk away-

"No, wait…could she stay with me? During the day, I mean. In that room. It's big enough for us both."

He stopped and turned his head enough to look at me with one eye.

"If you teach my men to create a working prototype of your implant, we will talk more." He turned again, and walked back into the building. The same treatment I had received before, I got again. A blindfold, painful chest tugging, then being thrown back into the large workroom completely alone and worried not for my safety, but for the wellbeing of someone who never should have had to deal with something like this if I hadn't drunkenly slept with a Russian model.