And here's the next step towards finishing this story. Right now, it made me a little sad. After all this time, I really got to like all the characters. But we're getting closer to the end and that's also something good, after all I started 'Only a Job' two years ago. It's about time Tony and Pepper get a happy ending.

The song to this chapter is 'Better Than I Know Myself' by Adam Lambert.

I don't own the characters or places!

Pepper

My dreams were confusing. First, I saw myself back in LA on a cold winter's day. I was standing in front of my house together with Phil and we were waiting for something. It took me a while to realize that it was the day I first met Tony and his team.

Then the scene changed and I was walking on a path surrounded by a beautiful landscape. Salt Lake City. Back then, Tony had taken me out for a walk for the first time. I didn't know that I needed it, but it had been a wonderful day. Especially since I got to spend time with him.

Unfortunately, the scenes didn't stay that pleasant. The next thing I saw was the inauguration, where Tony had been shot. I knew that Sattler's expression would be burned into my mind forever. The scene shifted and I was in a hospital, waiting for Tony to wake up. Only that he didn't do that immediately. The doctors assured us that he'd be fine, but in that moment, it was hard to believe. There had been so much blood...

Suddenly, I was sitting at my desk in the White House, with tons of papers in front of me. The list of topics was endless and I wasn't even sure what to do first. I only knew that everyone needed my decision as fast as possible. The constant pressure I'd felt in the past weeks was back all of the sudden and it felt like I was suffocating. And then there were the voices. People telling me that I wasn't good enough. That I made the wrong decisions. That they'd rather have chosen Sattler as President because I didn't get it right.

I tried to protest, but no words would leave my lips, no matter how hard I tried. I also tried to scream, but with the same effect. I had to listen to everything silently, with no possibility to defend myself. Tears were running down my cheeks, mostly out of frustration, but I also couldn't stop them.

Then, all things faded around me and with a jolt, I woke up, heart beating heavily in my chest. It was still dark in the bedroom, but there was some light getting through the curtains, telling me that the sun would rise soon. Only then did I notice that I wasn't alone in my bed.

For half a second, it felt like my heart stopped beating, but then I recognized the familiar scent and instantly relaxed. Tony. Tony was here, lying next to me. For a brief moment, I wondered if I was still dreaming. But then I turned my head and he was really there. He was still asleep and there was a peaceful expression on his face. One of his arms was stretched out in my direction, but he didn't touch me. Most probably, he'd arrived in the middle of the night and didn't want to wake me.

He must have left LA directly after my phone call, I realized. I tried not to feel guilty about this, but I couldn't help it. If I hadn't lost control, he wouldn't have had to leave. Who knew how much work he missed now? Surely it would delay him finishing the reactor.

Despite all those thoughts, a small part of my mind was happy he was here. Relieved, even. I might hate to admit it, but I needed him here with me. I couldn't do all this alone, at least not right now. It was too much.

Suddenly, Tony shifted in his sleep and whispered my name. That's when I couldn't hold back any longer. I moved towards him and he wrapped his arms around me, nearly as if it was an instinct. "Pepper..." He muttered again and that's when I realized that he was waking up slowly.

"You're here." I whispered, still a little amazed.

"Always." He pulled me closer and pressed a kiss against my temple. "For you, I'd do anything." He opened his eyes and blinked a few times before focusing on me with a smile.

"You didn't have to come here straight away." I argued softly. "I know you're busy in LA."

"Not really. We need more supplies, otherwise I can't finish the reactor. Stop blaming yourself, Pepper. I want to be here with you." A frown replaced his smile. "You should always tell me when you're not feeling well."

"You can't just come here every time I'm feeling down. That's not how it should work."

"You weren't just feeling a little stressed." He shook his head and closed his eyes again. "Let's not have this conversation now. I arrived here about three hours ago and need some more sleep."

"I have to get up soon." I explained apologetically, already dreading that there was so much to do and I couldn't spend much time with him.

"You don't." Suddenly, Tony grinned. "Phil cleared your schedule for the entire day."

"He did what?"

"Don't look so shocked, you're happy about it. Let's just enjoy the time together. And now we both need more sleep." When he sank back into the cushions and closed his eyes once more, I knew that I'd lost that battle. So I did the only logical thing. I placed my head on Tony's chest and listened to his steady heartbeat until I fell asleep. Deep inside, I was really happy to have a whole day off.

We started the day very late and with a long, hot shower. None of us mentioned the reason for Tony's presence in Washington and for the time being, I was content with that. I didn't want to be reminded of everything that was waiting for me once I had to get back to work.

When we got to breakfast, I was surprised to find many people already waiting for us. Daisy, Jim, Phil, Clint and even Steve, who must have accompanied Tony the previous night. He smiled warmly at me when he sat down. "Good to see you again, Pepper."

"You too." I smiled back at him. "How are things in LA?"

For some time, Tony and Steve explained how all the changes at Stark Industries were going. It seemed to be quite good, everyone was happy that the production of the weapons had finally been stopped. "My father hasn't been very popular." Tony said between two sips of coffee. "As were his methods and morals."

"Not a surprise." I muttered, remembering everything he'd told me about Howard Stark.

"Tony's just renovating the house in Malibu." Steve threw in with a smile. "It's going to be amazing once it's finished."

"He only says that so I move out of the flat as soon as possible." Tony grinned. "They have a competition going on at who'll live there in the future."

"Obviously Bucky and I." Steve said simply. "The flat would be far too big for Rhodey or Loki."

"Who knows, maybe they'll also team up." I smiled slightly. "That would be a competition to remember."

This made everyone laugh. "I don't think that Loki and Rhodey could stand living with each other for a long time." Tony ran a hand through his hair. "They're too different for that."

"Well, I would also try to win." Daisy threw in. "A big flat in the middle of Los Angeles. Sounds like a dream. The weather is much better over there than it is here."

"Always so rainy and dark." Jim agreed. "But Washington also has its beautiful sides."

"I prefer Miami." Clint said. "But here, it's also not so bad." While saying this, his eyes were on Phil. He smiled back happily.

"So what are your plans for the day?" I asked the others curiously.

"Not much." Daisy answered to my surprise. "I'll spend the whole day talking on the phone to my fiancée."

"Paul and I will plan our holiday this summer." Jim explained. "We want to go to Europe." He grinned. "Paris, the city of love."

"We'll enjoy the day outside." Phil said, taking Clint's hand. "The weather is quite nice." That was true, outside it was sunny. "You should do the same. A bit of fresh air would be good for you."

"You all took the day off?" I asked incredulously, raising my eyebrows in surprise.

"Don't look so surprised!" Daisy crossed her arms. "There were times when you also thought that you don't have to work on a Sunday."

"But now -"

"It's different, we get that." Jim threw in. "But ever since we moved in here, we've been working non-stop. Enough is enough. We all need some time for ourselves."

"He's right about that." Tony said softly, placing a hand on my arm. "You should get some rest." He was looking at me through wide, pleading eyes. It was unfair, he knew that I could never say no when he looked at me like this.

I sighed deeply. "Fine. But tomorrow, we need to keep going."

"Strategy meeting at 10 o'clock." Daisy nodded. "You can't always work so much, things have to change."

Before I could protest, Phil spoke. "You can't do everything by yourself, Pepper. Deep inside, you know that."

I was silent for a few moments, but then I nodded reluctantly. "Alright." Six people smiled widely at me. "So what are we going to do today?" I turned to Tony, not wanting to talk about work any longer.

He grinned. "We'll go for a walk. But not in the city."

Tony's destination was a park about forty minutes outside of Washington. He'd deliberately chosen a place not too close to the city, saying that it would be good for me to have some peace. Once we were on our way, I realized how true it was. The walk with Tony through the forest nearly felt like one of the times we'd been outside together during the campaign. The only difference now was that two bodyguards of Nick's team followed us at a safe distance, but I ignored them. So did Tony.

On our way, I told him about all the business trips I'd have to go on soon. Europe, China, Australia, the list was endless. Tony only smiled at that, but I could see in his eyes that he didn't like us being so far apart for a longer period of time. I didn't like it as well. Yes, I wanted to see the world, but together with him. Not because I had to pay dozens of statesmen a visit.

We changed the topic quite fast and talked about other things instead. For example, Tony told me that Scott, who'd accompanied us during the last months of the campaign, seemed to have found a love interest at Stark Industries. Her name was Hope van Dyne and her father was a famous scientist, though Tony didn't seem to like him for some reason.

It felt so good to have some time for ourselves, even if the day passed too fast. Much too soon, we were on our way back to the city. To my surprise, Tony wanted to stop at a book store. First, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but as soon as we were surrounded by books, I changed my mind. I bought at least half a dozen new things to read and when we left, I probably grinned like a small child.

"Than you, Tony. It was a beautiful day." I whispered when we'd nearly reached the White House again.

He smiled softly. "No need to thank me for that, Pep. I love you."

When we got out of the car, I was surprised to see a familiar looking person walking towards us. "John, what are you doing here?" I raised my eyebrows at my assistant. "I thought you also had the day off."

"I did." John replied with a sheepish smile. "But I forgot my car keys here yesterday and since I want to visit a friend this evening, I need them." To prove it, he showed us said keys. Only then did he seem to notice Tony's presence. "You must be Mr. Stark, it's an honour to meet you. I've already heard so much about you." He smiled widely at Tony.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Knight." Of course Tony had known immediately who John was. They shook hands and I noticed an odd look on Tony's face, nearly as if he was trying to figure something out. "I heard you only started to work here recently."

"Last week." John nodded proudly. "It's always been my dream to work in politics."

"Well, then I hope you have a long career ahead of you." I frowned at this. It didn't sound like Tony at all to be this polite with someone. Was something wrong?

"Thank you so much, Mr. Stark." John replied. "I hope everything is well in LA." He glanced at his watch. "I need to go. See you tomorrow, Virginia." With one last smile directed at me, he left. I noticed that Tony turned around to look after him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"He seems to be nice." He said when we entered the building.

"He is." I agreed. "I hope his enthusiasm about his job won't face. We need people like him."

"He's definitely very motivated." Tony nodded thoughtfully. "From what I read about him, he seemed rather shy."

I laughed. "Once you get to know him better, he's actually very straightforward. He reminds me of you sometimes."

"Does he?" He quirked an eyebrow.

"Sometimes, he talks before he really thinks it through. Which is not a bad thing." I added hastily when Tony looked sceptical.

After a few moments, he relaxed. "I'm glad that you found someone who's doing a good job. That will make it easier for you." All of the sudden, he seemed completely relaxed again. Just that I knew Tony well enough to see that it wasn't the case. Something was bothering him about John, though he didn't want me to know what it was.

I decided not to mention it right now and have a closer look at him during the next days. I smiled. "We still have two hours until dinner."

He raised his eyebrows. "Do you have something special in mind?" We'd already reached my rooms now and as soon as the door was closed behind us, I grabbed his jacket to pull him closer.

"Maybe." I leaned in so our lips brushed. "It involves not leaving the bedroom for the entire time."

Tony grinned. "I like how you think, Ms. President." He wrapped his arms around me and carried me towards the bed with fast steps.