Chapter 2

She walked with Nick Fury, showing her the designs of the built set, pointing out details as she glanced and took notes, shaking her head. It was walking into the past, but for Steve Rogers, it was too far in the past. She had to check her data, but then, again, even she didn't remember exactly when he went M.I.A. She shook her head.

"Nick, I don't think playing a baseball game is a good idea," She said, suggested, walking into the bedroom. "What if one of your agents plays the wrong one and it tips him off. He may not be Tony Stark smart but he's not a stupid man. He has a memory of an elephant. Trust me; I've seen it in action."

Fury paused, eyeing her, shaking his head. She remembered the days when he still had two eyes. It seemed long ago now. Though, she knew Fury enjoyed the eye patch look. She rubbed her chin, eyeing the backdrops, the cloths, and the bed.

"My men have been very through," Fury responded. "I am more than capable, Ms. Stark, of coordinating the release of Captain America."

"Steve," Nienna corrected. "His name is Steve."

"You know-"

"Nick, don't pull the general speech on me. His name is Steve. I did know the man. Maybe not as well as some of his men in the field, but when I was working with Howard, I spent a lot of time, talking to Steve. Mostly, I was decoding what Howard was saying. So just referring to him as Captain America is selling him short. He was everyone's friend, on or off the field."

Fury paused, raising his eyebrow. "Don't get sentimental on me, Stark," he ordered. "Sentiment will do little for us at this point."

"If I may be frank, Nick, it is exactly what we need," She responded, before pull the sheet up, eyeing it. "The silk bedding might be a bit too much. Why didn't you just get standard cotton?"

"Because all the cotton sheets have gone missing," Fury responded.

Nienna looked up at him confused for a moment then groaned. Tony. Of course. She had wondered where Tony had gotten all the coverings for the repainting of the garage. She typed out a note to buy more cotton sheets for S.H.E.I.L.D, or at least, have Tony write them a check.

"I just would watch the details, Nick," Nienna advised. "And I'll take care of the missing sheets."

"One more thing," Nick called, forcing her to stop. "When he does finally wake, I want you to be his tour guide, maybe ease him into it."

Nienna stopped, staring at him. She felt her breath caught in her throat. She was never one to focus on the past, and honestly, Steve Rogers was the past, a part of her life that was over with. Now, she would have to force herself to look back onto the past.

"Is that wise, Nick?" She asked. "I could make things a whole lot worse, rather than better."

"Nienna, as a friend, I am asking this favor of you," He said, lowering his voice, softening it. "You are someone from his past. You could make the transition a lot smoother."

She shoved her hair out of her face, letting out a breath, shaking her head.

"All right, Nick, I'll help him," She agreed. "But if any of your agents interfere, I will not be happy. You know what I am like when I am not happy."

Fury smiled, looking as if he was suppressing his laughter. She turned exiting the room, deciding how she would tell Tony.

Nienna walked through the doors of the all too familiar Malibu home. Things were beginning to shift to New York, though she knew Tony much preferred his home in the warmth. Tony preferred to see skin, but somehow, Pepper persuaded him to start moving to New York City, even have his own building in the works, somehow, that one did not shock her.

"Jarvis, where is Tony at?" She called to the AI.

"Downstairs, Madame," The familiar British voice said over her head. "Shall I inform that boss you are home?"

"Not necessary," She answered. "I will tell him of my arrival."

"Madame, I may advise against that."

"Why? He's not having sex with Pepper, is he?"

"No, if I may hint towards the time of year and the month."

Nienna paused looking at the calendar. It was May. May meant...…oh. OH! Of course, Tony was working on his mother's day gift. That was considered odd, since he usually made Pepper go out and buy her one the day before or told her to buy herself something on his credit card.

"Thank you, Jarvis, do announce that I have arrived home. I hate to ruin my surprise for whatever he has done wrong this time. I wonder if it's to say sorry for stealing the sheets."

She paused by the closet, taking her heels off, and wondered to the living room, sitting down on the couch. She pulled up the photos she had on the pad up, and sighed. She browsed through frequent photos of Tony as a child and older, something Pepper helped her transfer onto her pad and computers, because being with Tony meant you had to have more than one computer. She shook her head, unable to grasp the fact, he was grown now. Not some child of twenty, but an actual man, in his forties, and successful. A lot of people, including Howard's business partner, thought Tony would drive the business into the ground.

She had known differently. She knew Tony had something in him to make it an even bigger success. She sighed, shaking her head. Her little guy was all grown up. She heard an explosion, and winced, well to a point. She got up, putting the pad down, and rushed down the stairs, quickly dialing in the code.

She coughed, waving away the smoke. She stared at him, her heart racing, fearing, and adrenaline rushing through her veins. She had the image of Tony held captive in her mind again.

"For crying out loud, Tony!" She yelled. "What the hell happened?"

She rushed over to him, helping him up from his spot. He was tossed to the ground, but he looked pleased with the explosion, which frightened her most. She brushed him off.

"Just the day job, mom," He replied in a childish tone. He put his arm on his shoulders, showing her the screen. She knew the holograms of the Stark tower too well. He seemed to be proud about something, what she wasn't sure.

"How do the blue prints of the Stark Tower have anything to do with you scaring me to death?" She demanded. "You about gave me a heart attack!"

He hugged her to his side, flashing the security, and it made sense. He was testing out ways to protect the building.

"I want Stark Tower to be the safest place to be," He answered. "I don't need greedy hands getting onto my things. I hate when people touch my things."

"Why do you look at me when you say things, Tony?"

"Oh, I don't know, perhaps, I have to share you with captain Ice cycle," He remarked. "I refuse to give you up to New York so easily. Remember, Man child, and Man child needs his nanny."

She groaned, eyeing him. She looked at the hologram, moving the model around.

"You have to be the most infuriating man, Tony," She remarked. "One minute, you forget they are even there, and then the moment they get attention from someone else, you act like you care again."

"So, are you telling me, you are going to do it?" Tony asked. "Because you can't, there are obligations here for you."

"Tony, I think someone can just as easily do your laundry and cook your meals," She argued. "Pepper will be home soon. Have her act like the girlfriend, and she can go back doing those things for you. I can still maintain your schedule from New York. Everything has been covered."

Tony let out a puff, sitting down in his chair, turning, eyeing it all.

"You are too efficient," He mumbled, pouting. "I need to get you to lighten up."

"Tony, you are lighten enough for the both of us, now go clean up, I am starting dinner," She ordered.

She turned heading upstairs to the kitchen. She settled in the motions of starting dinner, settling everything up, so Tony actually ate, and didn't lock himself away in, what she called the 'dungeon' or better known as his work shop, for too long.

She heard her phone ring, and chose to ignore it.

"Nienna, Nick Fury is on the line," Jarvis announced. "He said it's urgent."

"Very well, Jarvis thank you," She responded, picking up her phone. "What is it, Nick? I'm making dinner and about to scold Tony for stealing government property."

"That can wait, we have a situation with Steve Rogers," Fury informed.

"Oh? What is that? Someone still the frozen body?"

"No, he's awake."