So, new chapter, hope you like. reviews are love!

Tony soon fell asleep again, and when he woke up he felt hands on his body. There were tubes being changed and IVs being switched. Tony looked at the whole apparatus and the nurses and doctors and he clenched his teeth with every move they made.

How could this happen to me?

Oh, right I'm the idiot who had too much fun too often, right.

And Tony waited, and waited. His blood was drawn and his vitals all written down. A nurse came to him and smiled.

"Mr. Stark, you may recover."

"Oh good. Thank you." The playboy was absent, the philanthropist was sleeping. The only one who came to play were the Tony no one usually sees. This Tony was soft, sad, kind... He was lowered and so therefore Tony couldn't keep up with his usual façade. Tony didn't fall back asleep and eventually Pepper arrived in a crying yelling messy fuss. She was so worried and wanted to know if he was going to be alright she came over to him and she kissed his dirty head. Tony smiled, best he could, and said,

"Thanks for coming to see me, Pep."

"Don't worry baby, I'm here. I'm here." She stroked his face as Tony winced at an inner pain. Tony looked up at her and smiled. Paper had been crying severely, and she was trying to hide it.

"I'll get better, Pep, I promise. I will then promptly throw out all my expensive cabinet and make you happy...ok?" He smiled and knew he had at least a little of his old humor still in him.

"C'mon Tony, you know you'll just go on drinking. And next time you won't be so lucky. What if you don't get to the doctor in time? What if you go out driving and then BOOM." She clapped her hands,

"No more Tony."

"Oh Pepper, you just have no faith in me."

"Tony! Of course I have faith in you."

"I'm sure."

"Tony, stop it, your being a bitch."

"Me? No. C'mon, Pep, I'm not even complaining."

"May I ask you, Mr. Stark, what's going to happen if you have to get a new liver? Because of you a doner will lose their life. That bothers you? Or not. Are you still a stuck up, too good for anyone who doesn't own a multi-billion dollar business bitch Tony, or are you actually going to care for people?" Tony was taken aback, shocked.

"Where did this come from? Pepper, ah jeez. Why don't you have faith in me, I will change."

"Faith? Of course I have faith in you! Baby, I love you."

"I'm sure, especially because your trust level is so high." This is where Pepper became angry. She furrowed her brows and frowned.

"Speaking of trust, Mr. Stark(italics), why did I find red lingerie all over my room? I would certainly hope it would be your way of giving a gift, except for the fact that I found a young whore in my bathroom, shaving and showering. Thank you, dear kind, honest, loyal Tony, now I feel especially reassured."

"Pep-"

"No way, no excuses. We're done, Tony Stark. You just had to go and be a cheating, lying asshole, and so you get to reap the consequences. I'm not going to be taken advantage of anymore."

"Pepper!"

"And on top of that, I quit! You find yourself another CEO, or get up off your lazy butt and do it yourself!"

"Pepper! Wait!" But Pepper didn't listen, she just walked out the door, angry expression frozen on her face.

No. No. No! Pepper was gone, she left him. He tried to call her, but she never answered, he tried so many times, he was working himself into a fizzle of worse conditions. His heart rate surged and his blood pressure rose. Soon the doctor had to sedate him, against his will, else Tony would have probably gotten up to go out and look for her.

He woke up a few days later, but he couldn't tell. And then he remembered Pepper. He moaned and then started to sob.

Tony Stark sobbing was never going to be a sight anyone could get used to. But Tony did so and he pulled himself into gasps of pain and anguish as he felt tears rushing down onto the blankets below him. He shook severely, and realized how much pain he was in even with the medication going directly into his blood. What was worse was that the pain wasn't sharp, it was dull and constant.

He hated it. He couldn't control his sobs when the door of his room opened and in came Nick Fury, followed by Bruce, and then Thor, Clint, Natasha, and Steve. They all looked at poor shaking sobbing Tony and he tried to speak through his sobs,

"She-e left-ft. Pep-per-r's-s g-gone."

Natasha rolled her eyes, Nick looked concerned. He couldn't have Tony like this, not when they needed him to be available.

Bruce was afraid for Tony. He lost Pepper, and when Tony loses something...

Clint felt sorry for the guy, but he had it coming, he drank more alcohol in a day than anyone should in a week.

Steve suddenly realized how much this big high-up philanthropist could be affected. He hated watching people in pain, but Steve knew it was probably self-induced. Tony was known to be a heavy drinker.

They all stood awkwardly for a moment and then Tony started to calm down.

Nick was the first to speak.

"Tony, tell us what happened, slowly and clearly." Tony nodded and shivered.

"I called Pepper so that she could know, and she came and then we-we got into a fight about the drinking and then-n she left-ft. She said we were ove-rr." Tony was off sobbing again, the hurt going deep to his heart.

Why didn't Pepper love him anymore? Yes there had been a whore, but he thought she had left.

She wasn't even hot! Why? Why was he so obsessed with sex? Natasha rolled her eyes again and walked over to the hospital bed, where Tony was sobbing blindly. She slapped him.

And then walked back. The slap wasn't hard, but enough to get his attention. Tony shook himself, and sighed. Pain seeped through him, and he was trying not to whimper, cause he wouldn't dare whimper in front of...them. They all sighed soon, one by one, and then slowly they filed out, and went to talk.

Tony sat in his bed, whimpering, feeling his insides twist with pain. He didn't hear the door open or close, and when a someone nudged him he look at them and gasped.

It was his doctor.

"Tony, we have to replace your liver. You are dying, even though we tried to treat you. Your liver has too much scar tissue and dead cells to heal itself. I've brought your doner with me." He stepped aside.

"Hello," she said. It was a girl-no woman of about 25, with long orange hair, pretty features, but the only thing 'wrong' with her was the long scar reaching from the top of her forehead all the way down passing the corner of her mouth and down to her shirt line, and it probably went further down.

"You can talk if you like, or I can go prep her." Tony shook his head to say yes, he wanted her to stay. The doctor left.

"So why are you donating?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Not really. I don't understand why a pretty girl like you would want to die."

"At least I'm dying for a good cause. I could do it myself...I just can't stand the pain I guess." She laughed.

"May I ask, how did you get your scar?"

"You don't want to know."

"No, please. If we both die I'll never know."

"I'm sure it would make a difference."

"Please." Tony begged. Actually begged.

"Fine. I live in Manhattan, and so I go to work every day in Manhattan, and one day I had to stay late. When I went out to get my car, it was gone, and so I walked home. But I never made it. About six blocks away from my house, my car pulled up. Out jumped a man, he had a knife. He ran and grabbed me, dragging me into an alley. He ripped my clothes and slashed here," she indicated the top of her scar,

"To here." She pointed all the way down, tracing the path of the scar, all the way down her body, down her leg, to where she took of her shoe and showed Tony the bottom of her foot. Tony's brows furrowed.

"Yeah." She said, putting back on her shoe. She turned to walk away, but Tony said,

"Stop." She turned.

He beckoned her.

"Thank you." He said, holding her hand.

"Thank you."

He let her go. She went away and poor Tony felt the stupid damn deep inside feelings start again. Not like Pepper...no, not like a whore either...

Why he had ever done those girls. He didn't even love them, hell, he didn't even like them! He shifted in the bed and it jerked on the wires and IVs. He groaned and shifted back. He thought about her story. He imagined the knifing, and he winced in pain as he felt a spike in something. A wire came loose. A beeping sound went off, a quick annoying pace. A nurse rushed in and rejoined the wire, smiling sadly as she recalibrated the machine and left. Tony tried to sleep, but he couldn't. He felt like acid was eating him from the inside out. He was hungry. He was sweaty, he was tired.

He needed some help. And so did that doner. She needed help most of all.

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