Author's Note at end of story...

Chapter 8: Taking Time

"Sir, the carbon-fiber process is complete. I must say, your new design for the protective casing is quite impressive—even for my standards." Jarvis declared to Stark as the manufacturing robots came to a halt. The product of Tony Stark's mind, and twelve hours of production lay on the workbench, still glistening from the water used to clean its surface.

Tony picked up the intricate creation and carefully examined it, slowly turning it over between his fingers and taking the time to scrutinize it from every angle. He ran his index finger over the smooth edges and then brought it up to his face to blow off the remaining drops of water. Crafted from an extremely strong yet light-weight carbon fiber material, the small circular piece will be used to replace the damaged casing to his arc reactor.

"This is perfect, Jarvis. We do good work." Tony shook the piece of metal in the air and walked over to the leather sofa at the back of the workshop. Grasping his abdomen with his free hand, he carefully eased himself into the cushions of the couch.

"As always, sir." Jarvis replied. "Would you like me to bring the medical robots online to assist you in installing the new casing?"

"No, I got it…" Tony paused, then murmured, "righty tighty, lefty loosey, right?" He grinned to himself.

"Sir…" Jarvis said, a tone of warning eliciting from his voice. "I could inform Miss Potts or Colonel Rhodes to come and assist--"

"No, no…not necessary. After all the fun I put Miss Potts through this week, she deserves some time away from this place." Tony glanced at the table in front of him, in search of a screwdriver.

"Yes, well…perhaps Colonel Rhodes--" Jarvis' suggestion was again cut off by an impatient Stark.

"Relax, relax…I am fully capable of doing this myself." He located the missing screwdriver and brought it to the front of his chest. "Just do me a favor though—if I do somehow manage to screw this up completely," Stark smirked, "make sure Rhodey gets my Hotrod."

The hot August sun was particularly unforgiving on the first Saturday afternoon of the month. Children ran by in their swimsuits and their parents scurried behind, carrying armfuls of beach equipment and picnic baskets. The city of Malibu was abuzz and it seemed every citizen of the beautiful beach town was headed toward the ocean.

Pepper Potts, after leaving a rather stressful and busy week behind her, decided that an afternoon in the sun with a glass of wine in her hand was exactly what she needed. After maneuvering her 

car into a parking space, she grabbed her purse, a sunhat, her sunglasses, and a book, and made her way towards a small outdoor café near the Oceanside.

"Pepper!" A large woman wearing a colorful Hawaiian-print muumuu raised her portly arms toward the approaching redhead.

"Hi Estelle!" Pepper grinned as she was wrapped up in an affectionate embrace.

"My dear, it has been far too long…" Estelle put her hands on her hips and scolded her friend. Then, thinking of a reason why Pepper had not been in to see her, spoke up again with a playful grin, "That handsome boss of yours been keeping you late at the office?" Estelle asked and raised her eyebrows suggestively while poking her in the ribs with her elbow.

Pepper laughed, and then shook her head at her friend. "What? Oh, no…no--Just your regular, day to day work stuff. I'm so sorry I have not been by lately. Business has been good I imagine?" Pepper glanced around the small café and noticed each table was full of people gabbing away and enjoying their afternoon lunch.

"Oh, my dear…you have no idea! In fact, we plan on expanding soon. Joe, next door, had to sell…so we are planning on picking up his whole space and widening the dining room and the patio!" Estelle made a squeal, and clapped her hands together. "Speaking of which, I think I have a space for you right outside…just like old times, eh?"

Pepper followed Estelle to the back patio and took a seat under the shade of a large umbrella. For years now, the Sandy Beach Café had been Pepper's special haven and social outlet ever since she had moved to Malibu. Estelle, the owner had been one of the first friends Pepper made when she had moved to the area, nearly ten years ago. There was no denying the woman's natural ability to make people feel loved and welcome. Her bubbly and exceptionally kind attitude was a welcome addition to Pepper's life; and it seemed only fitting that she came for a visit today.

Estelle handed her a menu. "Here ya go honey. I think Jay is on the patio today, he'll be right by to take your order." She tapped Pepper on the shoulder and gave her a warm smile. "But I'll send out that glass of wine first!" With that, Estelle strolled away, giggling to herself.

Settling herself into the comfortable patio chair, Pepper threw on her sunglasses and placed her wide-rimmed sunhat atop her head and took a deep breath, inhaling the salty ocean air. Realizing this was her second attempt at creating a relaxing atmosphere for herself, she suddenly felt the urge to turn off her cell phone. Digging through her purse and searching for her Blackberry, she failed to notice her waiter approaching with a glass of Chardonnay perched precariously on a beverage tray. As her head came up from her successful search, the edge of her hat slapped the edge of the tray, sending the tall glass of wine toppling over the edge and straight to the patio floor.

Crash! The glass shattered into hundreds of little pieces, sending wine across the patio and directly onto an expensive set of Italian shoes.

Pepper gasped and covered her mouth with her right hand in shock as she watched the whole thing happen in what seemed like slow motion. Jay, a young man in his early twenties began to panic, mumbled an apology, and ran off to find some towels and a dustpan.

Pepper's eyes went to the shoes that had been so tragically assaulted by the wine. The owner of the posh set of loafers casually shook his left foot free of the liquid, then his right. Pepper's eyes traveled up and over the entire expanse of the man now standing at the edge of her seat. His own eyes hidden by a pair of dark sunglasses, she noticed that instead of seething with anger, his mouth was upturned into a smile. "Well…at least it wasn't red wine."

Pepper removed her hand from her mouth, but a look of distress still remained. "I am so sorry! I am not usually this clumsy! I blame it on the heat and the sun in my eyes." She admitted to the stranger. She regained movement of her arms, and scrambled to hand over her napkin. He took it gingerly from her hand.

"Thanks." He said kindly.

Jay returned and handed more towels to Pepper and her new companion, then proceeded to clean up the broken glass.

The man gestured to the chair across from Pepper. "Would you mind if I just…?"

"Oh! Of course, please." Pepper spoke up, offering the vacant seat to him. He nodded then sat down. Pepper took this moment to give her new companion the once over. He was dressed in a light blue polo shirt and brown khaki pants. His skin was evenly tanned and his hair was a sandy blonde, which lead Pepper to believe he was probably a local of the area. She glanced at his face again and found that he was quite handsome. His features were worn a bit, and the sunglasses he wore didn't hide the lines that creased his eyes, but such characteristics in a man always made Pepper pause, and she guessed that he was probably in his early forties.

Finished with attending to his shoes, the man glanced up to find Pepper watching him. She quickly looked down at her hands, embarrassed at being caught staring.

He removed his sunglasses and set them down between them. "So, does this mean you owe me a drink? Or should I just go ahead and order you another one, seeing as how you managed to lose yours?" Pepper found herself at a loss for words as she watched an attractive smile appear on his face. She suddenly felt too hot and removed her sunglasses and brought them to her lap.

Looking down at her hands again, then back up, she answered smoothly, "Well, seeing as how I managed to destroy my drink and devastate your shoes all in one move, I would say that drinks should be on me." She laughed in spite of how stupid she felt at the moment. She then realized it was a nervous laughter, and suddenly felt self conscious. It wasn't often Pepper Potts was out of her element.

She watched as the man extended a hand across the table. "I'm Richard. Richard Hansen."

Pepper brought her own hand up and placed it into his. He grasped it firmly and shook it slowly. "Pepper Potts." She stated bluntly.

"Pepper? Well, that's not a name you hear too often." Richard released her hand and sat back in his chair, keeping his eyes on hers.

"Yeah. It's really just a nickname that kinda stuck." Pepper replied, feeling nostalgic. A feeling she always got whenever she introduced herself to someone new.

Richard nodded his head. "I like it. Incidentally, I also do love pepper." He flashed her another smile and then motioned for Jay to come back over. "I'll have a gin martini please, on the rocks. And the lovely Miss Potts here will have another glass of whatever she failed to receive the first time."

Pepper thanked Jay as he left quickly, and then turned her attention back to Richard. "So, Mr. Hansen, what brings you to the Sandy Beach Café?" Pepper asked, regaining her confident demeanor and ready to strike up a conversation.

"Richard, please…" He interjected.

Pepper smiled. "Richard."

"Well, I just had a business luncheon across the way, and I felt that if I were going to indulge in a cocktail, I might as well do it somewhere less stuffy, and with far better looking company." He laced his hands across his stomach and leaned further back into the chair. His eyes roamed across her face and Pepper shifted in her seat. "And yourself?" He questioned.

"It's Saturday." She stated simply. On more than one occasion, her mentioning of her affiliation with Tony Stark and Stark Industries would lead to a conversation directly related to that fact; leaving her no choice but to excuse herself from the conversation to escape. She opted to keep her explanation simple today.

"I see…a little 'fun in the sun' for you today?" He glanced down at the thick book on the table. "And a little light reading?"

"Exactly. I had also planned on a glass or two of wine, but you've seen how that's gone so far." Pepper pointed out just as Jay returned with their drinks. They both picked up their respective glasses and just as she was about to take a sip, Richard held his up between them. "Here's to…Saturday. No work, no rules…" He waited for her reply, and was pleased when she raised her glass as well.

"To Saturday." The sound of their glasses clinking together caused them both to grin.

Tony limped carefully up the staircase of his workshop, gripping the handrail forcefully the entire way. "Jarvis, remind me to install a damn elevator in this place." He muttered as he finally came to the top of the stairs.

Prepared to find something to eat, he headed towards the kitchen but was cut off by the sound of a security chime.

"Sir, Colonel Rhodes is approaching the front entrance. Shall I allow him entry?" Jarvis inquired.

Tony sighed. "Crap, I knew I forgot to do something today." He distinctly remembered waking up this morning and finding a sticky note on his bedroom door. Pepper's neat handwriting graced the front of it: Call Rhodey. He said it's urgent. "Let him through Jarvis. Tell him to meet me in the kitchen." Tony continued through the hallway.

Outside, James Rhodes slammed the door of his car, straightened the tie of his military uniform, and began murmuring to himself he angrilly stalked up the steps leading to the front door of Tony Stark's mansion. As he approached the entrance, a new and unfamiliar piece of equipment halted him in his tracks. The new hand scanner glistened in the sunlight, and Rhodes looked at it as if it were about to come to life.

"Greeting Colonel Rhodes. Please place your right hand on the surface of the scanner." Jarvis' voice came from nowhere and caused Rhodes to jump slightly. He slowly brought his hand up to the device and placed his palm down onto its smooth surface. A blue line floated under his hand and then a soft beep indicated his approved entry into the house.

Rhodes walked through the door and resumed his search for Stark. Again, the voice of the AI startled him as it now came from overhead. "Mr. Stark is awaiting your arrival in the kitchen."

Lengthening his stride, he strode purposefully into the kitchen and came face to face with the elusive Tony Stark. He sat casually on a kitchen stool, casually peeling a banana.

"I—you—Why?--" Rhodes face contorted in anger as he tried to force out the words he had planned to shout at the man who had caused him such a headache over the past five days.

Tony sat on patiently on his stool and took bite of his banana, waiting for his friend to finish his attempt at scolding at him. The calm look on his face only enraged Rhodes more.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD…" Rhodes took a deep breath. "Do you have any idea what kind of shit you have me in? Why haven't you called me since you got back? And what the hell happened to you?" Rhodes finally noticed the bruises on his arms and the outline of bandages under his t-shirt.

"Just got in a little scuffle with some old friends. But don't worry…they're gone now. NOT to be returning." Tony bit off another piece of the fruit in his hand. Rhodes sighed, and took a seat next to his friend.

"Dude, I thought we had an understanding here? I keep the government off your back, you get to go play war hero, and in turn, you keep me informed of any new progress being made to regain control of compromised weaponry."

Tony sagged his head. "Yeah. I know. I'm sorry Rhodey." Tony frowned and raised his left hand in front of the man next to him. "Go ahead, hit me. Make you feel better…" Tony made a sad face. Rhodes rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, ok man. Joke all you want. But I don't have time to deal with that shit right now, there are other things going on that you need to know right now." Rhodes stated.

Tony perked up, slightly interested. "Yeah? Shoot."

Rhodes pulled out a manila folder from his briefcase and slapped it on the countertop in front of Stark. Flipping it open, an angry pair of eyes stared back up them both.

"This is Vincent Case. He is a know felon from right here in So Cal—He's on the FBI's most wanted list and has been linked to several robberies from right here at Stark Industries." Rhodes explained. Tony sat up a little straighter, ignoring the throb of pain from his ribs.

"He and his gang have been buying and selling weapons from right here under our noses for the past ten years. We have only now just gotten enough intel on the guy to make a real bust. But it turns out, he's not the mastermind—it's his brother."

"Who's his brother?" Tony asked quickly.

"No one knows. No one has ever seen his face. The perps we've picked up have only ever done business over the phone or with the brother and his partners. We are assuming that anyone who has seen this guy, is either working with him--or dead." Rhodes continued flipping the pages of the file. Tony's hand flew to newly revealed page stopping his progress.

A picture of Case and some of his men loading cases of guns onto a freight truck—clearly labeled: Stark Industries.

"Right under our noses, huh?" Tony shook his head in disbelief.

Rhodes looked at his friend. "Yeah, man. Right under our noses."

AN: Before you all go freaking out on me, just remember…I am a hardcore Pepper and Tony fan. This story is turning into more of a movie for me and therefore I must add some plot twists to help me establish a better connection with our favorite pair…Trust…have Faith. Chapter 9 is in the works as we speak….