I got better information about Air Force rankings, so Nelson has been upgraded to a Colonel. As always, thank you to everyone who has left a review. I don't own any of these characters, but I hope you enjoy what I do with them.

The sky was the most brilliant shade of blue that Tony had ever seen, crystalline and clear above him. For a mile or two up the coast he just lay on his back and watched the heavens, noting that he needed to modify the visor to have an option that let him see the world without the constant mess of charts and graphs. But then a wisp of thought, that Pepper might enjoy this view, slid across his mind. Tony pointed toward land and hit the afterburners, leaving the thought to drown and die in the ocean.

Colonel Nelson had explained on the phone that Tony would be simulating an attack on some tanks and soldiers out in the desert. All he needed to do was set the Iron Man suit to quarter firing ability and show up. They would even send a helicopter for Pepper if he wanted, and Tony said of course before his brain could remind him of what had happened the night before.

Though he'd never term it cowardly, Tony didn't tell Pepper directly what they were doing that day. He'd made Jarvis do it, but in his own defense he'd asked the highly evolved machine to tell her she was to come along to training nicely. And Tony had great faith in his technological ability.

He'd gone upstairs only out of sheer desperation, desperation for coffee that hadn't been sitting in a pot for at least forty-eight hours. She'd been sitting in the kitchen, immaculately dressed in an expensive and dark suit, pointed toe tapping. In the time it took him to find a mug, poor himself a cup of coffee, put in cream, spill the coffee on himself, and repeat, Tony had opened his mouth at least ten times to say something except nothing made sense. He'd almost made it out of the kitchen but turned at the last instant. "Pepper I…"

"No." She didn't look up from the paper she was reading.

Tony pretended not to be surprised. "You didn't even hear what I was going to say."

"Doesn't matter. I'm not ready to talk to you yet."

"Pepper…"

"That will be all, Mr. Stark." Pepper continued to read, as if she had just told a cat to get off the table.

Tony stared at her for a moment, mouth opening and shutting like a guppy, at a rare loss for words. He retreated to the bar in the living room, exchanging his coffee mug for an extra large glass of confidence before going back downstairs to prepare alone, pausing only briefly to listen as Jarvis informed him that Pepper had taken off with Rhodes in a helicopter.

Tony poured himself another drink before getting into the suit. He'd been on several missions as Iron Man since battling Obadiah, each successful, and he had full confidence that today would go well. Sure, he hadn't been out since Pepper found the scar on his side, but that seemed 

inconsequential to his ability to perform.

No need to keep everyone waiting. If they wanted a show, that's what they were going to get.

XXXXXXXXXX

James and Pepper sat side by side in the helicopter. He tried to talk to her but she waved him off, saying the noise was too loud. This was a lie but he played along dutifully, watching her watch the blue sky streaming past the window.

James Rhodes cared for Pepper Potts deeply. It was not a sexual attraction, never really was. Sure, she was beautiful, smart, tough, all the requirements that he had for an ideal mate. But Pepper had been introduced to him as something that was uniquely Tony's and he could never bring himself to get between what he observed from day one to be an obvious attraction. And over time he'd come to think of her as a friend to him in her own right, sometimes acting as a sister, sometimes as a drinking buddy, other times a pillar. It was Pepper who watered his plants when he was away and remembered to pick him up at the airport when he returned, making sure to stay and have a beer with him to ask how things went. It was Pepper who played hangman and ticktacktoe with him when they waited for Tony to return from being late, again. It was Pepper who remembered to ask him how he was feeling on the first anniversary of his mother's death, content to sit with him and let him talk for as long as he needed.

Which was why when Tony had been kidnapped, he did not dread calling any high level officials or the press, but he did dread calling Pepper. James had held off as long as he could before the media began broadcasting the story and found a private corner of the base to call her, sitting on a crate with his head in his hands. She took it well, not that he'd expected theatrics, saying that she had things to attend to when her voice became wobbly with emotions, making him promise, promise, that he would call back every four hours with news.

And he did. Like clockwork, like magic, he heard her voice through the receiver, standing in dunes, or hallways, or darkened rooms where they'd managed to find him a cot to sleep. Obadiah was patient waiting for his updates on the search for Tony, and now James knew why. But if he didn't call Pepper within ten minutes of their set time his phone would ring and he would hear her set phrase, "Hi James, it's Pepper…" As if it could be anyone else.

After a call interrupted a well deserved meal a soldier commented that he must be annoyed at Pepper's constant haranguing. But the truth was James needed to hear her voice as much as she needed to hear his. Because everyone else was looking for Tony Stark because he was a high profile billionaire inventor. They were the only two looking for Tony Stark because he was Tony.

The hardest part was when people above his head forced him to come home after a month. James had yelled and sworn at any superior officer that he was needed to stay in Afghanistan. But Washington felt that he might be able to get people to come forward with information if he went on the networks face to face, not by satellite. He'd told Pepper about this on the flight back, not wanting to get her too excited, and she'd hung up on him. James circled around town for an extra 

hour collecting his confidence before he went over to Tony's, which Pepper had been staying at for the duration.

He'd found her in the living room, CNN chattering away on the TV. The news networks had stopped covering Tony's disappearance in the main headlines over a week ago, dismissing his wellbeing to hourly updates in the scroll bar. James watched her unnoticed for a minute, intrigued by how she was still dressed in a nice formal suit, even though he doubted that she had any reason to. How Pepper tucked her feet under her body almost daintily. How heavy purple the bags under her eyes were.

He cleared his throat. "Hi, Pepper."

She looked over, startled. Pepper smiled for a moment to acknowledge his presence but the smile quickly faded. "Where is he?"

"I tried…"

"Get out," she said quietly.

James was exhausted and stunned. He hadn't expected her to make a banner for his return, but a simple hug would have sufficed. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Pepper quickly got up from the couch and moved toward him. "I told you to not come back here unless he was with you. And he's not…"

"Pepper…"

"So you go back out there," she poked him in the chest, unable to look him in the eye. "You go back out there and you bring him home."

"Don't you think I wish it were that simple?" James found himself yelling; Pepper becoming an easy target for his emotions. "Don't you think I would have done that if I could, that I would give anything, anything, to change what's going on?"

"Why didn't you go with him in the Humvee? Why didn't you protect him?" Pepper screamed. "Get out!"

James turned and left the house, slamming the front door. It took sitting in his truck for about fifteen minutes, watching the sun set, before he'd calmed down enough to go back inside. He found her back on the couch again, placidly watching the TV jabber on. As he sat down Pepper managed to say in a quiet voice, "The board asked me to draft his obituary today."

"Don't write it."

Pepper shook her head a little. "I wasn't planning on it."

"Because I just need some more time to find..."

"I know, I'm sorry about what I said it's just that…"

"I know."

Pepper linked her arm through his, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're here. Just don't stay too long."

He kissed the top of her head. "Yeah." After several minutes James could feel her tears through his t-shirt. "Pepper, are you…"

"I want you to know," she said shakily, "that this is the first time I've allowed myself to cry. It's important that you know that. Because eventually he's going to ask what happened when he was gone and I don't want it to seem like I went to pieces right away. I want him to think that I'm stronger than that. You know what I mean, right?"

James nodded and allowed himself to cry silently too. They didn't look at each other that night because if they had seen each other's sadness then it made the situation real. If they kept all the fear they had to themselves, then that meant there was deniability. That maybe, just maybe, the severity of the situation was all imagined, not factual. Seeing the other cry, that would have just been confirmation and each knew that hope tended to flee in the face of reality.

So during the long helicopter trip James Rhodes did not pressure his friend to speak. But when she looked over at him and he could see all the exhaustion and hope in her eyes, he took her hand softly and did his best to smile. Because in that moment he knew that there was a good chance he was going to have to pick a side in the battle between Tony and Pepper. And like many battles he'd seen, there might not be any winners.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Good afternoon everyone." James and Pepper were in a crowded tent, surrounded by officials and various soldiers. The tent was set up about 300 yards away from where the action was to take place, small TVs set up next to several computers and a central microphone. Colonel Nelson explaining the circumstances. "As you all know, we are participating in a training exercise today. The US Air Force is well aware that Mr. Stark is more than likely just the first in a long line of people who will come into new technologies. Some of these advances will protect us, as Iron Man has demonstrated, while others will pose a considerable threat. Therefore we are taking action to train for such circumstances."

Pepper leaned over to James and whispered, "Do they really think that someone like Obadiah is going to become a threat?"

"I think they fear something worse."

"What do you think?"

He wanted to say something about trying on that extra suit he'd seen in Tony's workshop, but simply shrugged.

"What you see today is our first attempt to counteract such threats in case Iron Man is indisposed."

"What does he mean by indisposed?" Pepper hissed and James patted her on her shoulder for comfort and the need for silence. He'd already caught a little hell from Nelson by insisting that Pepper came along and he was concerned about showing poor judgment in front of his superiors.

Colonel Nelson continued: "Iron Man will simulate an attack and our two tanks, Humvee, and helicopter will respond. All parties have dummy ammunition, it can still pack a punch, but it won't kill. We will call into each person or vehicle when they have been fatally hit to lay down their weapons. There's no need for anyone to get hurt today, but just in case each soldier is outfitted will full body armor, upgraded by Stark Industries."

"I hope he gave them better shit than what he wore in Afghanistan," a very young man sitting behind a computer commented under his breath.

Rhodes leaned forward in the most controlled manner he could manage, considering the rage he felt was liable to pop the buttons from his shirt. He got right next to the teenager's ear so only the two were privy to the conversation. "Son, if you want to have any hope of living your life upright and without a feeding tube, never say stuff like that near me again. Are we clear?"

The young man nodded and Rhodes stood, satisfied. He looked at Pepper, who smiled genuinely.

"Let's get to it!" Colonel Nelson proclaimed. He spoke into a microphone, "Are you ready, Stark?"

Through a mounted speaker Tony's voice came clear. "Born ready."

XXXXXXXXXX

Pepper watched on several small screens the action being transmitted live from cameras placed near the action. As she studied the screen she recognized something familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"How did they find people to do this?" she asked no one in particular.

"Are you kidding me, Miss Potts?" Colonel Nelson snorted. "We had to turn away five times the amount of soldiers needed. Everyone wants to say they were a part of Iron Man."

Close above them there was a boom, and five seconds later Pepper could see the suit go past the small convoy, then circle back. Tony struck first with a hand repulsor ray, but his aim was off, digging into the ground several yards in front of the tanks. The soldiers returned fire from the 

Humvee with machine guns through the cloud of dirt as he swept past them again, turning sharply. Just as he did, the first tank shot a large round up at Tony, but he was ready and burned the round before impact. Swiftly Tony returned fire, again with the repulsor ray, uprooting the tank so it fell to one side. The Humvee began to return fire again.

Colonel Nelson smiled. "Tank one, you are down."

"Copy, we are disengaging." On the screen Pepper could see men climbing out of the tank.

Tony landed on the ground, the rubber bullets from five men from the Humvee bouncing off his chest like tennis balls. The guns popped from his shoulder and fired, and the soldiers staggered back a little. But instead of going down, the men kept firing. Tony picked up a large rock and hurled it at them. "Excuse me Colonel, but shouldn't those men be done?" Tony asked, slightly out of breath.

"Sorry Mr. Stark, but the specs on their armor would indicate no."

"I don't care what the specs say. I've seen how the bullets I'm supposedly stocking can tear through a person."

"I think I know a little more about battle then you, Mr. Stark."

"Don't tell me what I have and haven't…"

BOOM!

While Tony was arguing, the second tank had slowly inched its way behind him, and Pepper watched in horror as it unloaded a cannon shot directly into his back. It knocked Tony tremendously hard into a nearby rock formation, filling several camera lenses with a hail of dust and pebbles.

"Colonel that was a real round," Rhodes yelled.

Nelson looked around the room, face red with anger. "What the hell happened?"

A brave technician spoke up. "There must have been an error when loading the second tank, sir."

"Great." The major grabbed the microphone again, the dust in the cameras making it impossible for the people in the tent to see Tony, "Stark, are you OK?"

"I won't let you do this again."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm better equipped this time…"

Pepper sucked in a quick breath. She recognized the desert now. It looked very similar to Tony's video game. "Oh no."

Suddenly out from the dust came a slightly scratched and dented flash of red and gold. It flew full force into the tank's long cannon, sending the machine skittering sideways across the desert sand. "Stark, stop, right now," Nelson commanded, but Tony might as well have been deaf. With a mighty twist, the cannon came off as the men inside scrambled out. Tony quickly stuck the rod under the tank's body and pushed hard, the machine screeching over to its side then its back.

"Has he lost his mind? That tank cost millions of dollars and he's destroying it like it's tin foil."

"I'm not sure he's lost his mind sir," James said diplomatically, "but you did fire a live round at his back."

Nelson's mouth dropped open a little. Tony was trying to pry a tread off the tank. "So? That was an accident."

"He doesn't know that."

Tony managed to break off about half the tread just as the ground soldiers started to fire more lethal bullets. He shook the metal once for feel and then started swinging it at the soldiers. Pepper was horrified to see a young man catch the end of the tread and smack harshly into the upturned tank. Tony moved in as if he was going to finish the job, the other soldiers moving to protect their comrade. Pepper watched as one young man stepped forward and begged Tony to stop. Iron Man barely looked at him before backhanding the soldier, making his helmet fly off and blood to poor from his face.

Nelson flipped the on switch for the microphone. "Go ahead and use real rounds now boys."

James balled his hands into fists. "You sent them out there with real ammunition."

"I had them take it just in case your boy went rogue. Looks like I was right to be concerned."

James threw his hands into the air. "This is ridiculous!"

Nelson spread his hands on the consol in front of him. "Send in the helicopter."

Before the beats of the helicopter blades could even be heard, a soft whistle cut the air. Tony was quick, snapping the tread into the air, deflecting the small missile from the helicopter into the first tank. The machine exploded, sending the soldiers diving out of the way. A piece of metal flashed from the fire ball and lodged into Tony's chest plate knocking him back a few steps, and Pepper couldn't help but cover her mouth to see how close it came to piercing the arc. Iron Man's face plate looked down at the damage with only one eye still lit, then ripped the scrap from his body, sparks flying from the gash left behind.

"Don't you know I can't die that way?" Tony asked, but no one had time to answer because the 

helicopter was on him, raining bullets from above as the soldiers fled. "Ah, 30,000 points."

"What is that nut talking about?" Nelson asked.

"I have no idea," Pepper lied.

Tony flew into the air and grabbed the door of the helicopter, the weight of the Iron Man suit making the copter lurch downward until it hovered about twenty feet off the ground. He pulled the door off smoothly, and it clattered to the sand. "Why did you come for me?" he screamed at the pilot.

The people in the tent could only hear the soldier's shaky response. "I…I don't know what you're talking about, sir."

"You don't think I knew you would come back for me?"

"I…what?"

"His name was Yinsen."

James could see Tony reach into the cabin and pull the pilot out, holding him by the neck. He squinted at the screen. Come back for him? Yinsen? James studied the pilot and leaned over to Pepper. "The pilot is bald."

Her eyes were wide already, glued to the TVs. "So?"

"The man who coordinated Tony's kidnapping and Obadiah were both bald. How much did he sleep last night?"

She looked at him. "Oh shit." Suddenly Tony dropped the pilot, who managed to roll on impact and appeared unharmed. Pepper turned to a nearby soldier. "Give me your shoes."

"Excuse me, Miss?"

"Your shoes, now. I'm not going out there in heels."

"You're not going out there at all," Colonel Nelson growled. On the screen Tony stuck an arm into the blades of the helicopter. There were a lot of sparks and hard screeching noises from the metal on metal contact, and chunks of armor were stripped off his arm, but eventually Tony got the blade stopped and in his hand. He the blade away and let go of the helicopter so it fell to the ground, then stared at what he'd done below, seemingly satisfied.

Pepper finished lacing her new pair of boots, the man she traded with not bothering to fit his feet into her slender stilettos. "Colonel Nelson, while I appreciate the bang up job you've done 'handling' Mr. Stark so far, Mr. Rhodes and myself are the only ones who are going get this to end." Tony hurled the helicopter blade at the ground, and the pilot leapt out of the way, scrambling toward the badly damaged Humvee. "I've signed the release form already, I'm taking a truck, and I just dare you to stand in my way."

Nelson looked at James and sighed. "I think I know why Mr. Stark hired her." He threw them some keys. "Rocket launchers are in the back. Good luck."

XXXXXXXXXX

James and Pepper sped across the distance between the tent and what might be kindly considered a disaster zone. He watched the rock formations draw nearer. "Please tell me you have a plan beyond talking."

"It's a good plan."

"You must have a lot of faith in your connection with Tony."

Pepper gripped the steering wheel tighter. "I'm not sure if I'd call it faith."

"Well," James uncovered the rocket launcher in the back, "we'll need to get him on the ground to talk first."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Ten percent power, sir."

Tony wasn't sure why his game kept talking to him like this. "That's enough. Stop talking to me, I can win this without you."

"Very well."

He looked down, the heat detectors showing that Obadiah had crawled beneath the truck. "Hiding, like the coward you are." He raised an arm vindictively, and changed to full power.

"Hey!" He turned and saw an insurgent, eye pressed to the scope of a rocket launcher. "Catch!"

Tony was just quick enough to move the repulsor ray's beam into the path of the oncoming rocket, detonating the projectile about five feet from his body. The explosion knocked him out of the sky like God had hit him with a baseball bat, and Tony hit the ground so hard that parts of his body were covered in up to six inches of sand. "One percent power," the voice garbled, and then the screen in front of his eyes went blank. Tony ripped off the face plate.

He'd finish this on his own.

XXXXXXXXXX

James smiled a bit in spite of the situation. "Well, that worked."

Pepper didn't seem reassured. "Or it made him angrier."

"I held up my end of the deal. I got him on the ground for you. Your turn."

"Thanks."

"I'll be right behind you."

Pepper looked over to where Iron Man had fallen to earth about thirty feet away. She saw Tony stand up unsteadily and pull his face plate off. In truth, the entire suit was in shambles, the back that had taken the missile impact and the arm he'd stuck into the helicopter blades completely stripped except for some wires that snaked along his skin like external veins. He looked around, chest heaving, small bits of metal tumbling off as he took several tentative steps. Suddenly, the pilot ran from behind the Humvee. Tony raised his good repulsor arm.

"Stop!" Pepper screamed at the top of her lungs.

Tony turned his body toward her, the arc and repulsor competing in brightness. Pepper looked into Tony's clouded eyes and saw little of the man she knew. His response was quiet. "Mom?"

Her mind faltered for a minute, face twitching slightly at the confirmation of exactly how gone Tony was. But what could she do but play along? "You need to stop, Tony."

His arm fell to his side, and the pilot finished running to the relative safety of James and Pepper's vehicle. "But I'm winning. Look what I've made, look what I've done."

She looked around, blinking rapidly from the dust in the air and her fear. "It's wonderful."

Tony began to walk forward. "Are you proud of me?"

Pepper wanted to throw up. "It's time to go home, Tony."

"Where's dad?"

Pepper held out her hand like they were going to cross a busy street. "Please, just come with me. I want to help you."

Tony stopped about ten feet from Pepper, his eyes clearing slightly. "You're dead."

"Please…" Pepper backed up until she was able to put a hand on the handle of the truck's door.

"Is this a trick?" Suddenly the repulsor ray came back up, pointing at James. "You did this."

James held up his hands, eyes imploring compassion. "Tony, you gotta wake up."

Tony repulsor began to glow brighter. "I'll fix …"

Terrified, Pepper opened the driver's side door. She managed to get her body behind it just before the repulsor ray's blast hit the side panel. The force of the blow knocked her back about ten feet, landing on her back, the crumpled door on her chest, it's glass blown out, the metal rim of the window like a twisted hanger. The pilot moved to her side immediately, and Tony raised his arm to strike again.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tony could feel the anger in him be quickly traded for confusion.

"Tony Stark," he heard the click of a gun cocking and looked over to see James pointing a small caliber revolver at his head. "I don't want to blow your brains out, but you are leaving me with precious few options."

"I…"

"This isn't the past. This isn't a game." The gun didn't shake. "Show me you understand. Stop."

Tony shook his head and looked down at his hand as the small circle of light sputtered and died. "I..." The Iron Man suit felt very heavy, and he began to pull at the loose pieces like they were leaches. "Rhodey? What happened here?"

James sighed and lowered the gun. "You happened."

"Where's Pepper?"

"Pepper…" James jumped and slid across the hood of the truck to Pepper's side, and Tony followed. The pilot had managed to shove the door off her body. Now it was Tony's turn to feel sick to his stomach. There were some cuts and bruises certainly, and he didn't like the way her left arm was pinned under her body. But what made his heart clench were the glass shards piercing her flesh, and the fresh trickles of blood running into the sand. There was a very large piece embedded in her side, similar in placement to his scar. Tony reached to remove it.

"Wait," the pilot batted his hand away. "You don't know how deep that is. If it's really in there, and we pull it out now, she'll bleed out before we get her to a hospital. Stay here, I'll call for help."

Tony put a hand on Pepper's arm and looked up at Rhodes. His friend's jaw was clenched, and he stared at Pepper intently. "James I…"

"Now," Rhodes managed through his teeth, "is not the time for explanations."

Unexpectedly Pepper began to move under his touch. Both men leaned forward over her face, and felt a wave of relief as her eyes opened. In the distance, sirens could be heard.

"James…"

Tony leaned in close, "It's all right Pepper, I'm here."

Her voice was weak, eyes half mast. "Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't touch me."

His face fell. "Pepper…"

"I don't want you touching me." She began to squirm. "I don't want you near me." Fresh blood poured from her wounds. "Please…"

"Why?"

"You scare me."

The words knocked Tony back to a sitting position. Around him paramedics streamed by, shoving him out of the way. He could see what was happening, but it was like the world had been put on mute. Tony stood and began to walk into the desert. But suddenly he felt lightheaded, and sank to his knees before collapsing face down into the grains of sand. Somewhere he heard Rhodes calling his name, but the darkness was more appealing than his friend.

As unconsciousness took over like a wave, Tony thought that maybe this time, of all the times before, he wouldn't wake up. And maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing.

XXXXXXXXXX

"You are a very lucky man, Mr. Stark." Tony winced a little and turned his head back into the immaculate white hospital pillow. "If this gash had been any deeper you would have been in danger of damaging the tendons in your spine." The doctor pulled on the final stitch and deftly made a knot. "This will make one heck of a scar, though."

"Add it onto the pile." He'd woken in an unfamiliar bed hearing the hum and ping of machines after being out cold for over five hours. At first Tony thought that he was back in that wretched cave, and he managed to tear out his IV before a nurse could calm him down. Among the various other injuries he's sustained, it turned out that at some point he'd cut his back severely, and when the adrenaline wore off, the blood loss had kicked in. The doctor had told him all this stitching him up had told him all this. "You know," Tony offered, "I could always get plastic surgery."

The doctor had Tony sit up so he could roll fresh gauze around his back and chest. "Now why would you want to do that? You certainly have others that you don't seem that concerned about."

"Well, scars aren't known for their attractiveness. Plus, aren't they just, like, big badges of failure?"

The doctor shook his head and helped Tony pull on a fresh t-shirt. "Ah, now that's where you have it wrong, Mr. Stark. A scar doesn't say I've failed. It says I've survived; it's a sign of strength."

Tony looked into the man's eye and thought he saw a familiar sparkle. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Steve Fink."

The magic was gone. "I'm sure that name made you popular on the playground."

A voice came from behind the doctor. "What do you know about playgrounds, Mr. Stark? You don't seem like the type to swing from monkey bars."

Both men looked toward the door, and Tony was overwhelmed with a feeling that could best be described as heartburn. "Agent Coulson. Why am I not surprised to find you here? By the way, does anyone call you Philly?"

"Only my mother when she's drunk," Coulson responded, matter of fact.

Tony was nonplussed. "I thought I'd see James before I saw you."

"Mr. Stark, considering all the anger that I've seen from him in the last few hours, I don't think you want to have him anywhere near you." Coulson turned toward the doctor, "Could you give us a minute?"

The instant the doctor left the room Tony asked, "How's Pepper? Where's Pepper? I need to see her."

"We're shutting down the Iron Man project."

"What!"

"Temporarily. Orders from Mr. Fury." Coulson came into the room a little further so he could stand face to face with Tony. "We're cleaning out your workshop of all Iron Man related materials as we speak."

"I didn't agree to this. I am a private citizen with undeniable rights, and I will bring a shit storm on you if you continue any action toward my lab."

"The official line," Coulson continued without missing a beat, "is that there was a malfunction within the suit itself, that's good enough to satisfy the press and the soldiers who participated in the training exercise."

Tony began to unconsciously rub the hem of his shirt. "I don't build things that malfunction."

"Well, you may have to let your pride take a hit here because the truth would flat out ruin you, and S.H.E.I.L.D. will not let that occur. The Avenger Initiative is too important a long term goal."

"Look Agent Coulson, I appreciate S.H.E.I.L.D. cleaning up my mess, but I take issue with you guys acting like you think I need training wheels on my bike."

"Well, when you can demonstrate to us that you can ride your bike without running over people, we will back off."

Tony was angry. "I have been taking care of myself for years, and I think that I know what's best for me."

"That would be more convincing if you hadn't almost killed one of the things S.H.E.I.L.D. views as necessary for your long term ability to function."

"Pepper." He remembered everything in an instant, the attack, the video game, her bleeding on the ground. Her blood had been so warm.

"Take some time off to make necessary changes." Tony opened his mouth, but Coulson shook his head. "Not optional, not even close."

"How can I make changes if I can't work on my armor?"

"How can we trust you after you go rogue and blow up your own country's tanks thinking it's a video game? And yes, Pepper told us."

Tony tried crossing his arms, but it stretched the stitches in his back too tight. "How many people do I have to say this too? I'm..."

Coulson cut him off. "If you do not take this time for some serious self evaluation and change, then it will be Nick Fury here instead of me, and you don't want that mess on your doorstep."

"I don't see what the big deal with him is."

Coulson buttoned his unassuming tan suit. "Mr. Stark, I have served with special forces in three public wars and five private ones. I am certified in everything this side of dog neutering. My Blackberry tells me more information and has more capabilities then Bill Gates' personal computer. And if you provoke me, so help me, I could knock you out and make you into a prostitute in Chiapas by morning. But even with all that, I still get sweaty palms when I see that Nick Fury is calling me. What does that tell you?"

Tony paused to consider his options, and then asked dryly, "So he didn't lose the eye in a tragic cake frosting accident?"

"Lucky for you, he'd find that funny." Agent Coulson lips upturned in what Tony guessed passed for a smile, which quickly faded. "Get your shit in order, Mr. Stark. Then we'll discuss you getting your toy back."

"I want to see Pepper."

"The doctors will come and get you when Miss Potts is ready for visitors. I'll be checking in with you in a day." He turned to leave.

"Agent Coulson?" Tony called.

He paused in the doorway but didn't turn around. "Yes?"

"What are you?"

"I'm the person they send in to deal with people like you."

"And who am I, exactly?"

Agent Coulson shrugged and looked over his shoulder at Tony. "You tell me." And just as quietly as he'd arrived, the man disappeared as if was never there.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tony waited for over an hour, feet alternately dangling and swinging from the side of the bed. He didn't really think about anything, just stared at his hands, watching the fingers weave together like a basket then apart again. For a man who could buy and sell a small country, he had the hands of a person who did physical labor for a living. This wasn't a putdown of people who put in a hard day's labor; Tony had a great respect for anyone who worked hard.

He turned his palms back and forth, examining the calluses, soldering burns, scars, and scratches. If he'd been upset about the rest of his body having scars, he'd never been vain about his hands. They were, he realized, a great deal like his father's, and it warmed him deep inside.

"Mr. Stark?"

His head shot up. "Yes?"

A young nurse smiled at him. "Miss Potts will see you now."

Tony Stark had never hated himself more than in the instant he saw Pepper Potts lying in a hospital bed. There were small bandages on her face and arms, the whiteness of the medical tape 

a strong contrast to the purple bruises that spotted her body. The sheet was pulled up to her chest, and Tony inwardly cringed at the thought that there were more injuries beneath. He took a few steps inside the door and stopped, waiting for Pepper to hold out a hand for him to take, an invitation to intimacy he needed but could never ask for. But she just stared at him, so Tony couldn't bring himself to even sit by her side, opting instead to stand at the foot of her bed, his hands in his pockets.

She spoke quietly, but without hesitation or anger. "Don't say anything. I want you to listen. Then I want you to go."

"Pepper I…"

She shook her head, pushing the button to make her bed rise up. "Don't say anything. I want you to listen. Then I want you to go. Nod if you understand."

Tony nodded, though the thousand things he wanted to say knocked against his teeth, begging for release.

Pepper looked him in the eye. "My parents loved each other, so much. And we were happy. When I was seventeen my mom was diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer. She told me that if anything happened to her, I had to take care of my father. And I promised her, because what else was I supposed to do. She was my mom.

They preformed a double mastectomy the next week, but it was too late, the cancer had spread, everywhere. When the first round of chemo showed miniscule results my father pushed her to have another round. Do you know what a person looks like after chemo? It's awful. But my dad sat in the hospital bed with her and held her close like nothing had changed, and told her she was still that beautiful girl he fell in love with, and that he wasn't ready to lose her just yet. So she agreed to try a second round. I wanted to tell him that this was crazy. But how could I? He was my dad.

Chemotherapy also makes your immune system weak. She got a really bad infection and slipped into a coma, and we had to put her into a care facility. My dad was there all the time, so I got really good at keeping the house in order, paying bills, cooking some meals. After about two months I knew she was gone. But nothing I said changed my dad's mind.

The day after I turned eighteen I our family attorney told me my mom had given me the power to make the decision in this sort of situation. I told my dad that I was going to take her off life support. He fell on his knees and he cried and he begged me, begged me, to not do it, to give him the power of attorney. He told me that when I really loved someone, I would understand and do the same.

I gave him the power. She struggled for months before dying. You know what happened after that.

The reason I'm telling you this, Tony, is because I promised myself a long time ago that I would never be like my father. Never…care so much about a person that I let it blind me to what was really happening. And for years I followed you no matter what, because I thought I saw in you some answers or some potential. And I thought that I could fix you, right? That if I just kept working, you might…

I can't watch you slowly die because I hope you will get better. You have to want it too. And after today, I don't think we want the same thing.

I know you don't have an answer now. They say they're going to release me in two days, and then I'm staying at James' for a day or two, and I'll be by to pick up my things. I'll have my letter of resignation ready, so be prepared to show me you understand…I don't know. Just that you understand, or I will leave your house and never come back. You can go now."

Every inch of Tony's being begged him to speak, but he resisted, balling up his fists and walking away.

"Tony," Pepper called.

He turned around hopeful, but she had the same pained expression on her face. "I really do care for you…deeply. And I think, I hope, that maybe you do too. That's what makes this so difficult."

Tony bit his lip, and left.

XXXXXXXXXX

The house was silent and cold like a tomb, and Tony instinctively poured himself a drink. Jarvis tried talking to him about the copious amounts of emails and phone calls that needed answering, but when Tony threw his drink at a wall speaker, the AI got the hint.

Tony wandered from room to room, lost in his own home, eventually, inevitably, ending up outside of Pepper's room. He toed open the door. Her room was immaculate and ordered, much like Pepper herself. She'd had even managed to make the bed that morning, and just in front of the symmetrically placed pillows Tony saw the pony he'd given her. It sat on its haunches, waiting for Pepper to return. As he sat on the bed he picked the stuffed animal up, examining it carefully. There was nothing special about it, it wasn't expensive or unique. But when he held the pony close to his chest, and could feel the softness through his t-shirt, Tony remembered how good it felt that the first face he saw coming off the plane when he got back to America was Pepper's.

And for the first time in a very long time, Tony Stark put his head in his hands and cried.