A/N: Hey guys, thank you for the reviews. I'm still working on the next few chapters, but I thought I'd give you this one. I'm currently stuck in hospital (down in the cafe with my netbook at the moment) and it's boring.

I hope this chapter answers a few questions that people have messaged me about. If not, then let me know and I will try to clear it all up.

Tony Stark stood in the background with his assistant Virginia 'Pepper' Potts. His eyes were fixed on the woman with dark curls standing amongst a small crowd of people.

"Is that her?" Pepper whispered to him, watching as the coffin was lowered into the ground. The man just nodded at her slightly. "And are you going to talk to her at all?" The woman wondered. When she had found Tony sitting in his office, completely phased out from the world, she panicked. When he opened up and told her what had happened, she was speechless.

Then Tony had insisted on going to the funeral. He didn't care if people saw him there, someone would remember who the woman was and how important she had been to him. It wouldn't take long for the world to figure out what had happened and what was going on. His private life never stayed private for very long.

"No. Jas didn't want me to go looking for her. I can't just walk over there and say, 'Hey, I'm Tony Stark. I knew your mother. Oh, and by the way, I'm your dad.' Yeah, that would work." He replied quietly. In all honesty, he did want to go over there and speak with her. Tony Stark didn't usually care about the repercussions of his actions, he generally left that for Pepper Potts to deal with. But he just couldn't do it, not today, not to his daughter.

"Then what are you going to do, Tony?" She asked as the crowd started to thin out. The service was over, and everyone was beginning to depart.

"Exactly what her mother asked me to do. Nothing. She didn't want me to interfere, so I'm not going to." The look on Pepper's face showed that she wasn't convinced with what he was saying. "It was her last wish, Pepper. If Ruby wants to find her father, she has everything to do that. Jasmine said that she has the Stark intellect, she can prove that by working it out." He told her, the smallest hint of a smile on his face.

There were only two people left by the open grave now, a dark haired young woman, and a tall man with light brown hair. Tony frowned as he saw the man wrapped his arms around the woman, his daughter. When the man let her go, they headed over to a dark blue car, where the man pulled out a large black bag and passed it to her.

She took the bag from him, before giving him a kiss on the cheek and turning away. Even at a distance, Tony could see the tears in her eyes. She hadn't shed any, she had held everything in, the kind of thing that he would do. Something else that he noticed was the look of determination on her face, and he wondered what she was thinking.

Tony and Pepper stayed there watching, as the blue car drove away and the woman disappeared in the distance. Now that everyone was gone, it was Tony's turn to say goodbye to the woman who had been his life.

He could understand why she had left him, why she had never told him about their daughter, and he didn't hate her for it. He was disappointed that she felt he wouldn't be able to cope with having a family. But he knew her, and he could see her reasoning.

"She's beautiful, Jas. You've done an amazing job with her. I know you didn't want me to find her, but I wanted to be here, to say goodbye properly. I'll always remember you, Jasmine Matthews, and it will forever be you." Tony said, before dropping a single red rose onto the coffin below.

He slowly turned around and walked back to where Pepper was waiting for him. He was trying so hard to keep himself together, to not let his emotions show through. Tony Stark was good at doing that, putting on a hard outer shell so that no one could see what was really going on behind those brown eyes of his.

"Time to go, Miss Potts." He said, walking past her and over towards the Rolls Royce that was waiting for them. He had said his goodbye, and he had seen his daughter in the flesh. Now he just had to wait and hope that she really would come and find him.

As Tony and Pepper left, Ruby Matthews was finishing getting changed. The sleek black dress that she had been wearing for her mothers funeral was now safely folded and in her bag and she walked out of the building wearing her denim shorts and purple tank top. Her high-heeled black shoes were no longer on her feet, and instead she wore a pair of purple converse trainers.

Ruby watched as the two strangers who had been present drove away in a rather expensive black car. She had been suspicious of them, because she had never seen them before, but the man looked familiar, like she had seen him somewhere before.

She shook it off and pulled her phone out of her pocket. "SWAIN, what's the plan from here?" She said, touching the earpiece she had just put in.

"Before your mother moved to Denver, she lived in Los Angeles. I would recommend starting there, miss." Came a male, British voice in her ear.

"California, nice. So, what do you say then, SWAIN? Road trip to LA, give Maggie-May one last run before it time to head to the junk yard?" She asked, a small smile on her face.

"I think she should make one last trip, Miss Matthews."

The woman let out a groan. "Remind me to reconfigure you at some point. Stop calling me Miss all the damn time." She moaned. "Why I kept putting it off, I do not know. How long to get there?"

"Drive time is estimated at 15 hours and 35 minutes, calculated using current traffic conditions. Drive time estimated at 13 hours and 20 minutes if you drive how you usually drive, Miss Matthews." SWAIN replied to her.

"Are you telling me I'm a bad driver?" Ruby said in a huff as she got into a slightly old and dirty Audi TT.

"No, miss. I am only pointing out your lack of awareness of the traffic laws, mainly speed limits, red lights and stop signs."

Ruby turned the key in the ignition. "You do know they are only suggestions, right? I'm not the only person in the world who ignores them."

"Of course, miss. And which music would you like for the drive?" SWAIN asked her.

She just shrugged. "Surprise me. 13 hours is a long time, give me a good mix." Ruby replied, before putting the car in drive and heading of out to the main road. She was actually looking forward to the drive, it always helped her to clear her head.

At the moment, she was thinking about what her mother had told her before she passed away. Ruby had found out that her mother had sent a letter to her father, telling him all about his daughter. She had then told her that she was free to go and find him if she wanted, but he had been asked not to find her. Her mother had insisted that if she really wanted to find him and meet him, then she could do it easily.

Ruby knew that she had to try now, to find him. She had none left anymore, her mother's family was all gone and she had very few friends. She spent most of her time working, rather than socialising, unless it was going out and getting completely drunk when she had a bad day.

Her mother had told her that she inherited her father's attitude, and interests as well. Ruby had never been bothered about finding out about her father, she knew there was a reason why her mother walked out on him, she knew everything, apart from who he was. But her mother still liked to talk about him from time to time, and point out the similarities between the pair.

"Miss Matthews, I recommend stopping and getting some rest." SWAIN called to her, after she had been driving for around 7 hours.

"Aw, come on, we're about half way now." Ruby moaned. She was happy to just keep driving, but she would admit that a break for some food would be nice. "Ow, what did you do that for?" She cried, as she absentmindedly touched the earpiece that then pricked her finger.

"Miss Matthews, your blood sugar is low. If you do not stop to eat and rest, I shall be forced to contact the police to have you stopped." SWAIN replied.

Ruby let out a groan. "Right, yeah fine. Why do you have to always bring up the police? Maybe for once, you just ask me nicely rather than threaten me all the time with the police."

"You did not programme me to ask you 'nicely', Miss Matthews."

"Yeah? Well maybe I should change that as well. Put it on the to do list, SWAIN." Ruby said. "Find me a good place to stop at, and by good I mean somewhere that isn't a cheap motel."

"There is a selection of suitable hotels in the area, miss. I highly advise stopping soon."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Okay, don't get so worked up, SWAIN. Just pick and place and I'll stop there for a few hours." She watched as the GPS in the car suddenly changed and she was directed towards a hotel just a short distance away.

It didn't take long for her to check into a hotel and throw herself on the king size bed. She hadn't realised just how tired she was until she felt the soft material beneath her. She was just starting to doze off when SWAIN called in her ear. "Sorry to disturb you, Miss Matthews, but I must inform you that someone is trying to track you."

She immediately sat up on the bed. "What the hell? Why would anyone be interested in tracking me? Block them, send them on a wild goose chase. And see if you can track them back."

"I have already, miss. They currently think you have checked in to a hotel in Kansas."

A smile formed on her face. "Nice job. And who is this mysterious person?"

"I regret to inform you that I am unable to trace them. They seemed to be using highly advanced technology." SWAIN told her.

"Hmm, more advanced than you? Well, that's interesting. How many people out there have that kind of technology?" Ruby asked, trying to work out who it could be and why they would be interested in her.

"There are a few with the capabilities to create that kind of technology. But I am afraid I cannot give you any more information, miss. The list is rather long and would take some time."

She let out a sigh and threw herself back on the bed. "Fine. Set an alarm for 3 hours. I'll grab something else to eat before heading off again. How are the levels looking now?" She asked, her finger once again being pricked by the phone she now had in her hands.

"Much better. You need to make sure you look after yourself, Miss Matthews." SWAIN told her seriously.

"When did I programme you to sound like my mother?" Ruby asked, rolling onto her side and getting more comfortable.

"Was that a rhetorical questions?"

"Yes, it was. Now, 3 hours peace if you don't mind. You're the one who told me to rest so leave me alone to rest." She moaned, actually wanting to get some sleep. It had been a stressful few days, and she hadn't been sleeping well.

She had been spending every waking minute at her mother's side until she died. Ruby had watched the cancer take her away from her, she had seen her going from a bright and energetic person, to someone who couldn't even get out of bed by the end.

There was a loud buzzing sound, and Ruby groaned as she found her phone and tried to stop the noise it was making. "I'm up, I'm up!" She shouted, hoping SWAIN would turn the stupid alarm off. "Christ, SWAIN, turn the damn alarm off." Ruby called, putting the earpiece back in.

"I trust you slept well, Miss Matthews?" SWAIN asked. Ruby was sure that if SWAIN could, he would be smirking.

"Would have been better if that stupid noise had not woke me up. I mean, really? Could you not have used a different sound?" Even though the alarm had now stopped, Ruby could still hear it ringing in her ears.

"This one seems to be the most effective at waking you up, Miss Matthews." SWAIN pointed out.

"What time do you think we're going to get to LA around?" Ruby asked, wandering across the room and to the bathroom.

"Estimated arrival time is 9am, if you leave within the next hour, miss."

Ruby let out a groan. She was going to be driving all night, not the greatest of times to drive, but at least she knew the roads would be quiet, until she hit Vegas of course. Not to mention she wasn't technically allowed to be driving at night. "Book a hotel for when we get to LA. And make sure they stock the room with jelly beans." She called, turning on the tap and splashing water over her face.

She was longing for a nice hot bath, but knew it was going to have to wait until she reached Los Angeles. Ruby Matthews was on a mission, and she was determined to see it through. Her best friend, Liam, had been against it, he didn't want her to leave Denver, he didn't want her to go anywhere.

So many times he had begged and pleaded with her to forget her little trip and just stay there. But she wouldn't, not now. She had someone she wanted to see, after that, she would return home, but not before. She had given Liam to keys to the house she had lived in with her mother, knowing that he would take care of everything until she returned.

If anything was wrong, SWAIN would tell her, he always did. He was rather brilliant like that, that was probably why she never went anywhere without him. Every single device she owned was connected to him. Her phone, her computers, and the damn car she was driving. He was always there for her when she needed him.

Ruby was back on the road again quicker than expected, wanting to just get to LA already so that she could relax a little. "Miss Matthews, you seemed to be highly popular today. There have been several searches on you in the past few hours." SWAIN told her some time later.

"Location?" She asked, not taking her eyes from the road.

"Untraceable. They seemed to be using a very advanced system, which I cannot bypass."

"Well, isn't that peachy." Ruby mumbled. "What exactly is it they are looking for, SWAIN?"

"They are just generic searches, miss. There is very little information about you available to the public."

A smile formed on her face. "Just the way I like it." She said. "Keep an eye on these searches. Make sure they don't go digging around. There's a lot of things that not even my mother knew about me, I don't want anyone else to get their hands on that kind of stuff."

"Of course, Miss Matthews." SWAIN said, before turning the music back up.

Ruby had to admit that she was slightly worried that there was someone interested in her, and the fact that they had the technology to block her. She was good with technology, so her curiosity rose to know that there was someone out there better then her, and interested.

She shook the thoughts out of her head as she made an effort to focus on the road ahead of her. It was well into the early hours of the morning now, and she just had to remind herself that in just a few more hours, she would be able to sleep in a nice comfy bed for as long as she wanted.

The next time she bothered to look at the GPS, she saw that there was less than 15 minutes to go before she reached her hotel. The drive seemed to have just flow by, and she was glad it was almost over.

"SWAIN, you did make sure that my reservation was under an alias, didn't you?" Ruby asked, only just thinking about it.

"I did, Miss Matthews. Rachel Peters room is ready, including the jelly beans."

"Brilliant, thank you." She called back, happy to know that so far everything was going smoothly. "Any more searches?"

"No, miss. They stopped several hours ago. Whoever it was, seemed determined to find something but gave up when they found nothing." SWAIN told her.

A grin stretched across her face. "Good, that's just how it should be. Send Liam a message, tell him I'm almost there and that I will call him at a more decent hour."

The grin was still on her face when she pulled up at the hotel. After grabbing her bags from the boot and handing the keys to the young valet standing there waiting, she headed inside to check in. SWAIN had spared no expense it would seem in picking a rather high-class hotel for her to stay in.

After checking in, the first thing she done was pile a load of jelly beans into her mouth. She loved them, she always had. Then she let herself pass out on the bed, determined to sleep for more than 3 hours. SWAIN was not to wake her unless it was an emergency.

While Ruby was finally getting the sleep that she needed, Tony Stark was waking up. He pulled on some clothes before stepping out of his bedroom and finding Pepper already waiting for him.

"JARVIS told me you were searching for her last night." The woman said, handing him a mug of coffee.

"Yeah. She checked into a hotel in Kansas. What the hell could she be doing in Kansas? And how did she get there so fast as well?" He moaned, trying to work out what his daughter was doing. "And I couldn't find anything else either. Nothing."

"Well, she hasn't lived the high life that you have, Tony. She won't have the media all over her." Pepper reminded him. "And I thought you were going to leave her alone?"

Tony let out a sigh and looked at her. "Pepper, she's 17, still a minor. And she is my daughter. I'm allowed to try and find out what she is up to."

"You really want her to find you, don't you?" She asked him, sensing that he actually wanted to contact his daughter.

"If she's trying to find me, then she's heading the wrong way." Tony pointed out. He was on the west coast, and she was heading east, the opposite direction.

This time it was Pepper who let out a sigh. "Tony, if she is piecing the information she has together, then it may lead her in a different direction to start. Maybe she is doing other things along the way."

He wasn't so easily convinced. There was something else going on, he was sure of it. "JARVIS, are there any cars registered to either Jasmine or Ruby Matthews?" He called, taking a swig of his coffee.

"Yes, sir. I have one Audi TT in silver registered in the name of Jasmine Matthews." He replied.

"Track that car. I want to know where it is right now." Tony called, hoping that he might have a way to find his daughter.

"Of course, sir. Will there be anything else?"

"Is she still in that hotel in Kansas?" He wondered.

"No, sir. She checked out late last night. She has not checked in anywhere else."

"Tony, are you sure you should be doing this?" Pepper asked him in concern. She had a feeling that he was not going to do anything until he had found his daughter, and that included all the work at Stark Industries.

"Like I said, Pepper, she's my daughter and a minor. I'll be in the workshop if you need me." He told her, getting off the couch and heading down the stairs with the mug still in his hands. He was determined to find her, no matter how long it took.

"Sir." JARVIS called. "You have an incoming message from an unknown source."

"What does it say?" Tony asked, not really paying much attention. The message flashed up on the screen. "Give it up, or I'll set the lions on you." He read from the screen. He couldn't help but chuckle a little. "And you can't trace it?"

"No, sir."

"Any luck with the car?" He asked, wondering who the message could have been from, and why JARVIS wasn't able to trace them.

"Not yet, sir. It is actually proving more difficult than expected. I have used the cameras around the area where the hotel was that she checked into, but there has been no sighting of the car." JARVIS told him.

"Okay, so maybe she isn't actually using the car then. Doesn't explain how she managed to get there so quickly." He commented, trying to work it all out in his head. "Has she bought a plane ticket or anything?"

"There are no records, sir."

Tony let out a groan of frustration. Finding his daughter seemed to be harder than he had hoped. Maybe she really was a Stark after all, a sneaky one who didn't want to be found just yet. But he was going to find her, he was all she had left, and she was all he had left of Jasmine. "Just… keep looking, JARVIS."

"Of course, sir."

Tony ended up just sitting there, looking through the pictures he had of his daughter. There was one from every birthday, every school play and event that she was in. Her graduation, her first car and her licence. Jasmine had made sure to give him a picture for all the memories and important days he missed in his daughter's life.

Of course it could never make up for if he had actually been there, but it was something, and it was much better than nothing. Just looking at her, he could see the elements of her mother, but there were those little bits of Tony there as well. Her dark hair was one thing, even if it did have her mother's curls. But he loved her eyes, because they were Jasmines. While Tony's eyes were brown, hers were grey. Ruby had those grey eyes, but they weren't cold, they were sparkling and full of life.

A/N: Again, if there is something that is bothering you, please let me know. Also, since this is my first Iron Man fic, suggestions are always helpful, just try not to be too mean, I bruise easy.

Well, let me know what you think. Depending on how much people like it, I might try and get another chapter done in the next few days.

Pippa.