Ok guys, besides the epilogue this is the final chapter. I'm really sorry for the delay in getting this up, I've had a boat load full of work to do, it's my final year at university. I hope you enjoy this one.

Mr and Mrs Stark Proudly Announce

Pepper huffed as she rolled over, trying to get comfortable in bed, she was only four months pregnant and had a slight bump, but after an incident involving a teddy bear and a pair of Prada heels she found herself on bed rest until her next appointment in 3 weeks. She would have got out of bed and done some work in the home office, but Tony had reprogrammed JARVIS to tell him if Pepper tried to leave their bedroom or got out of bed for anything other than going to the bathroom.

"Mrs Stark, Mrs Rhodes has arrived. Shall I tell her to come up here?" The AI asked.

"Yes, thank you JARVIS." Pepper, was glad for the company. With Ed and Beth at school and pre-school respectively, Pepper had been missing human contact. JARVIS was perfectly capable of holding decent conversation, but unlike her husband she needed some form of human contact.

Pepper's thought process was interrupted as a heavily pregnant Joanne Rhodes waddled in to the bedroom. "I can't believe you're doing this for a third time!" She said as she flopped on to the bed next to Pepper pulling out two cartons of Ben and Jerry's from the shopping bag she'd been carrying.

"I can't believe you were six months pregnant when you married Jim." Pepper shot back.

"Hey, just because I got to walk down the aisle without looking a house is no reason to hate me." Joanne said through a mouth full of ice cream.

"I wasn't pregnant when I married Tony. Although between this one and the other two I seem to spend a lot of my time spawning his offspring." Pepper scooped a load of ice cream in to her mouth.

"Could you imagine those two pregnant?" Joanne chuckled.

"Tony wouldn't cope." Pepper thought about it seriously. "It's not that hard to imagine."

Joanne looked at her sceptically. "JARVIS pull up the photo of Rhodey and Tony from the wedding, the one where they're doubled over laughing." Pepper instructed.

JARVIS complied with the task. "Ok now can you enlarge the stomachs so the look pregnant."

Joanne and Pepper laughed hysterically at the result on the screen, they changed the facial expressions as well. "JARVIS, could you email that to General Rhodes for me?" Joanne asked.

"And Tony!" Pepper added, JARVIS sent the emailed image off to the respective husbands.

"I can just imagine Jim sat on the sofa demanding a foot rub and a back rub and a sandwich all at the same time!" Joanne laughed.

"Tony would try and create a pregnancy suit so he could keep being Iron Man."

"They'd compete over who was fatter." Joanne was crying with laughter now.

"What's so funny?" Came a voice from the doorway.

"You." Pepper said smiling at her husband.

"That's not very nice." He walked in the room and tried to steal her ice cream. He looked genuinely hurt when she slapped his hand. "Hey I've been in a board meeting all afternoon!"

"Don't care."

"Pepper…" He moaned

"I'm feeding your child." She looked at him pointedly.

"Try feeding your husband." He made puppy dog eyes.

"It doesn't work when your children do it. You are no different." She ate another spoonful just to prove her point.

… …. … …. …. …. …. …. …. …. …. .. ….. ….. ….. … …. …. …. …..

"Hurry up Pepper!" Tony was quickly walking through the halls of the hospital.

"I am 7 months pregnant Anthony Stark! You slow down!" She snapped from behind him. Joanne had gone in to labour and (unfairly in Pepper's opinion) had managed to deliver the baby before Tony and Pepper arrived. Tony will argue this is because of Pepper's inability to quickly stand and move anywhere.

"Ahh! Here we are." Tony knocked on the door and when he heard Rhodey call for him to come in.

"Hey guys." Tony whispered seeing the baby asleep in Joanne's arms.

"Sup man." Rhodey greeted his friend handing him a cigar.

"Hi." Joanne whispered from the bed, all of her attention on the tiny human in her arms.

"Here Pep, take a seat." Rhodey stood and let Pepper sit down whilst he went and took the baby from his wife. "This is Reuben Rhodes." He handed the baby to Pepper.

"He's perfect Jimmy." Pepper stroked the baby's cheek and watched as he squirmed.

"Yeah well Joanne did all the hard work." He said, still looking at the baby. "I can't believe we made that." The statement was aimed at no one in particular.

"Hey! His godfather wants a turn!" Tony crouched in front of Pepper to take the child.

"He's not a toy." She told him, but handed him the baby regardless.

The baby promptly began to fuss and cry as Tony held him, the other occupants in the room laughed. Something about Reuben being a good judge of character was said by Rhodey as Tony handed the child back to his mother.

… … … … … … … … … … … …

"Why won't this child come out?!" Pepper yelled startling her husband who had been sleeping beside her. It was 3am and Pepper who was now 9 months 2 weeks and 4 days (not that anybody was counting) in to her pregnancy, this baby was now late and she was not happy about this at all.

"You're so awesome and it's super cosy inside there he's just too comfy to come out." Tony rubbed her belly.

"The other two came out on time, why is this one being like you?" She moaned

"Like me?"

"Late and awkward!" Pepper snapped.

"I resent that." Tony tries to joke, but the death glare from his wife makes him realise this is an error.

"I resent back pain and cravings and not being able to see my giant swollen feet and…you! I resent you because this," she waves her hand over her belly "this is all your fault."

"I love you." He kisses her cheek but she just huffs and switches on the television.

"Laura Ellis the waitress who claims to have slept with married billionaire Tony Stark is today releasing her tell all book about the steamy affair she had with the Man of Iron…" Any further reporting is cut off by Tony switching off the television.

"Pepper…"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Pepper, I'm…"

"I'm serious Tony, don't mention… ouch!" Her hand flies to her stomach.

"What?" He sits up worried.

"Ok, I think this is it." She says.

Tony was ready for this. "JARVIS, wake Pepper's mother." Susan Potts had been staying with them so that when Pepper went in to Labour there was somebody to look after the kid. "And wake Happy." Happy was also staying in a guest room, the last time Pepper had gone in to labour Tony had nearly killed them so Happy was driving.

Tony and Pepper's well prepared plan progressed quickly, unlike her labour it may have taken a further 27 hours but Tony was sat on the edge of the bed with his new born son's hand wrapped around his pinky finger. He didn't care that the press were outside waiting for a comment on both the book and baby, he was happy where he was.

"He's so perfect." Tony smiled

"Like us, we're perfect." Pepper whispered not wanting to disturb the child. "I get that things have been difficult this year but nothing's going to stop us now."

A knock at the door interrupted the quiet moment as Pepper's mother ushered in the children and took a picture of the whole family who were finally healing.

"What's he called?" Susan asked

"Edwin Jason, Pepper wouldn't let me call him Jarvis." Tony joked, Pepper whilst consenting to the first name, knowing how important Edwin Jarvis had been to Tony, refused to allow her child to share his name with the complicated computer system that ran their house.

"It's lovely." Susan said, not really understanding the joke Tony and Pepper seemed to be sharing.

THE END.

For reals, well sort of… there's an epilogue which I've done and will post tomorrow. Thank you for sticking with it and I'm so sorry it to so long to finish!

Let me know what you think.