Chapter 18

Tony's right hand held onto the handle on the ceiling of the vehicle, and his left hand held onto the edge of his seat, literally. He was hyperventilating like there was no tomorrow, and with the amount of pressure he was putting on his teeth to not scream bloody murder, he was certain he was going to need dentures very soon – as in sometime during the next five minutes, assuming that he lived that long.

"Pepper…" he exhaled in broken breaths. "Slow down…please!" He begged of his girlfriend as he felt the car shake abruptly for the tenth time since the ginger had taken control of the wheel.

"Will you calm down, Tony?" Pepper spat. "I'm going five miles below the speed limit," she emphasized her point by showing five fingers of her right hand to the inventor.

"It doesn't feel that way," Tony replied and his right foot automatically pressed against the floor of the passenger seat as if he could somehow influence the speed the car was being driven.

"I am! Can't you see?" She pointed to the speedometer as if it was obvious.

"No, I CAN'T see! THAT'S the problem! You blindfolded me, Potts!"

"Oh, yeah!" Pepper said as if she had just remembered that small detail about their date, and tapped on her chin with her left index finger. "Well, trust me, we're fine," she waved a dismissive hand toward the young man next to her even though he could not see the gesture.

"I'll believe you when my feet are back safely on still ground. Why did you blindfold me, anyway? I thought we were just going out to the movies?"

"Change of plans."

"Change of plans?" Tony squealed. "Is your new plan now to kill me? What did I ever do to you to deserve this, Pepper? Is it because of JARVIS? Or is it because I teased you last night with my Brit accent? Have I said I'm sorry? Would that help any?"

"Will you give it a rest, Tony?" she sighed. "I have a surprise for you." She responded as she made another silly turn that was completely unnecessary with the sole purpose of throwing off the scientist's navigation skills so that he would not find out where she was taking him.

"A surprise death?" He whimpered.

"No. Stop it, alright? It's not funny." She replied before she slammed on the break and honked. "Hey! You! Get out of the way!" She spat to no one in an effort to scare off the inventor even more. "Jeez! These pedestrians think the entire sidewalk is theirs!"

"It wasn't meant to be a joke, and the sidewalk IS theirs!" Tony gulped. "I'm afraid for my life, Pepper."

The ginger sighed loudly and placed the vehicle in motion once more. "You're such a wimp."

"I'm Iron Man. I am not wimp. In fact, I'm the furthest from a wimp there is!" He said with the steadiest voice he could muster, but it still sounded as terrified as he felt.

"It's OK if you are one, Tony," she teased him. "The promise of the ring still stands even if you are awimp."

"That's so not the same, Potts." He responded and followed it with a yelp when the car came to a sudden stop. "The promise of until death do us part is supposed to happen after the wedding, NOT before!"

"Technicality," she responded and patted his left knee with her hand.

"BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL!" Tony spat.

"Relax," she smacked his left shoulder. "We aren't even moving." Pepper pointed out and unbuckled her seat belt. "We're here."

"Where?" Tony asked, afraid to remove his blindfold lest he see a pile of dead pedestrians on the ground, under the hood or attached to the car. "Where are we? The third level of hell?"

"Don't move," Pepper scoffed as she exited the vehicle, walked around it and opened the door for the inventor. She then leaned down to unbuckle his seat belt as he finally let go of the "Oh, shit!" handle on the car's ceiling, and helped him out of the car. "No peeking, either."

"What's the big deal, Pep? I came to see you, not just hear you."

"I know you did," she closed the door and grabbed both of his hands in hers, leading him to the entrance of the building as she walked backwards and looked over her shoulder, watching for the door. "And I love you for it. And we can spend the entire day together tomorrow. I promise."

"Tomorrow?" Tony was taken aback and his grip on her hands increased. "Then what are we doing today?"

Pepper did not verbally respond to his question, but she instead slid her hands up his arms until she reached his head and removed the blindfold from him. The scientist's eyes immediately found hers and he blinked a few times to adjust his vision. The redhead smiled widely at him, placed her hands on his shoulders and then turned him around in place.

"Pepper?" he asked over his shoulder as he looked back at her. "What…" He began saying but the ginger grabbed his chin and forced him to look away from her and to his front. "Pepper! Why…oh…OH!"

The answer to his question was now standing in front of him.

"Dr. Richards?" Tony whispered and his eyes opened wide.

"Hi, Tony, it's a pleasure to meet you," Reed extended his hand to the scientist, and Tony dumbly shook it. "Miss Potts," he gave the redhead a nod. "It's nice to finally meet you."

Pepper giggled, clung to Tony's right arm and pressed her body against him as she extended her right hand to the doctor to shake his, but the older scientist instead grabbed Pepper's hand and kissed it lightly. "You're lovelier in person than you sound on the phone."

Neither of them caught the small twitch of Tony's left eye, and the young man was glad for it. He was not necessarily jealous of the older man's courtesy, but the inventor could not yet control his initial reaction to seeing another man catch the attention of his ginger. Tony cleared his throat and looked up to stare at the doctor. "Dr. Richards, why…how…what's going on?"

Pepper gave Reed an apologetic smile before she turned her attention to the inventor. "This is the surprise, Tony. Marsha is friends with Dr. Reed and he was in town this weekend for a conference today. He's going to take you with him, backstage and all."

Tony's eyes widened even more and he shifted his gaze from Pepper to Reed. It was not as if he was a fan boy of the renowned scientist, but he knew a great researcher when he saw one. "Really, Pepper?"

"Really, Tony," she smiled at him before she stood on her toes and gave him a quick peck on his cheek. She then turned her attention to Reed again and gave him a nod. "Thank you for doing this for him, Dr. Richards."

"Not a problem. I'm sure Tony is going to teach me a thing or two that I don't know."

"I don't doubt it," she agreed with him as she shook the man's hand again. The redhead then stood on her toes once more and whispered in Tony's ear. "I love you. Have fun."

Tony's eyes softened and he smiled. "Love you, too," he responded in a regular tone of voice, which Pepper had not expected him to use since they were being closely watched by the doctor. He squeezed Pepper's hand and when she saw Reed's knowing-look on his face, the ginger blushed.

"Alright. Call me when you're done. I'll come pick you up."

"I will," Tony responded and watched the girl until she returned to the vehicle and left. When his eyes returned to Richards, the doctor was smirking at him.

"She's a keeper," he said to Tony.

"You have no idea," Tony said and followed Dr. Richards to his vehicle.

xxxXXXxxx

Pepper's eyes were glued to the screen of her computer in her room. The burst of anger that had hit her hours ago when she had first encountered the information that was now displayed on her monitor had now turned into a combination of disappointment and sadness. Tony was not due back to her house for another fifteen minutes as Dr. Richards had offered to drop him off after dinner, and she was glad that Tony had taken his time with the doctor as she was not sure how she would have reacted with him around just a couple of hours ago.

He decommissioned my suit, she thought bitterly as she reread the report of the fate of the Rescue armor. She had spent the time Tony had been out in reviewing, reconnecting and familiarizing herself with his old and new systems, knowing that once her life became normal again, she would need to be ready to help Iron Man in any way she could. She had admired the advances he had made to the entire system altogether, and with the help of JARVIS the transition to understanding the new processes had been smooth.

However, when she began reviewing the current statuses of the suits, the Rescue armor had not shown up as active. This had sent her on a search of her precious suit, only to find out that Tony had not wasted any time in dismantling and retiring the Rescue armor altogether.

He didn't even tell me. He wasn't going to tell me; I just know it.

At first, Pepper had been fuming when she saw what Tony had done to the armor that had taken her months of convincing to get. However, as she had read the report of why the specs were being archived, her anger had melted immediately. If it had not been for one line; one simple line that Tony had input in his log, she would have put on his Iron Man suit that was currently in her room and would have flown over to the conference to scream at him.

The ginger's eyes landed on said line again, and she had to hold back another loud sigh of resignation. She was not certain if Tony even realized what he had written in the log, or if he had even considered that she would one day read it. But in the end it did not matter because he had made his point of why Rescue would never come back to life, extremely loud and clear.

Ever since her return, Pepper had seen the romantic side of the scientist, and she had little by little learned that Tony's passion for technology and knowledge was not just limited to what he did for a living – he transferred it to everything he cared about; including but not limited to their blossoming relationship. If it had not been for his devotion to them, the ginger would have exploded in anger at finding out she would no longer join Iron Man in the trenches of war.

"Miss Potts?" The AI suddenly said, scaring the redhead nearly out of her wits. She was still to get used to the random callings of the intelligence practically running her home, and she knew that her father and Marsha were also having a difficult time adjusting to their new permanent guest in the house.

"Yes, JARVIS?"

"I apologize for startling you, but your father requests your immediate presence in the living room."

"I'll be right down. Thank you, JARVIS."

"My pleasure, ma'am."

Without another glance at the report on her screen, Pepper stood up from her swiveling chair and headed out of her room, down the stairs and into the living room. The first sight that caught her attention belonged to the luggage by the door, and the second sight that robbed her gaze was of her father and Marsha running around the living room, keys and coats in hand.

"What's going on? Going somewhere?"

"Pepper," Virgil began. "Marsha just got called to review some urgent, major project in New Mexico. Something about a hammer that fell from the sky…" Virgil shrugged. "Anyway, I'm going with her and we won't be back until Wednesday. Will you be alright while we're gone?"

"Yeah. Are you taking the car?"

"No," he answered and handed the keys to the girl. "We're taking a cab."

Pepper grabbed the keys and put them inside her shorts' pocket "Anything you'd want me to do while you're out?"

"Not really," Marsha answered as she slipped on her shoes. "But if you need anything, you can call me or your dad. For anything, OK?"

"I will," Pepper said with a smile, already getting used to the fact that Marsha would one day become her official stepmom. "Be careful, you two."

"We will be, sweetheart," Virgil responded and gave Pepper a hug and a kiss. "Be a good girl, OK?"

"Always," she chided with a roll of her eyes and then hugged Marsha as well. "I'll see you guys Wednesday."

"Alright," Virgil said as he led Marsha out the door and carried the bags with him.

"Have a great trip, Mr. Potts, Ms. Ray." The AI chirped in as the door was about to close.

"Thank you, JARVIS," the man responded, hoping he would one day get used to his house talking to him.

xxxXXXxxx

Tony input the code to the front door of the home, walked inside and closed the door behind him. The entire household's lights were off, which he had not expected as it was not even nine at night yet. He was aware that his meet-up with Richards had taken longer than originally planned, but he did not anticipate coming home to an empty house.

"Pepper?" The inventor called as he tried to turn on the lights but the switch would not work. He exhaled deeply and the excitement of the day wore off immediately and was replaced with concern for the members of the household he was yet to see or hear. "JARVIS, lights on."

When neither the lights nor the AI responded, Tony took out his pod with every intention of overriding the system and turning on the lights himself, but a voice in the room prevented him from continuing his task. "Had fun?"

Tony nearly dropped the pod as he was not expecting Pepper to be there, but he recovered almost immediately. He relied on his memory to find his way around the living room and sat in the closest chair rather than the loveseat where Pepper's voice was coming from. "Why are the lights off, Pep?"

"Helps me think," the ginger responded. "I did that a lot when I was with Axonn-Karr."

Tony was taken aback by her response, and the tone she was using made him feel uncomfortable. "Had a lot of fun, yeah," he answered her earlier question. "Thanks for arranging that for me."

Pepper did not make any comment but Tony heard her readjust her position on the couch. Tony did the same and waited for her to speak but when she did not, Tony cleared his throat. "Have a lot to think about?" He inquired. "Where are your dad and Marsha?"

"Out," she deadpanned. "Won't be back until the middle of next week."

"Oh," Tony said. "Is everything OK with them?"

"Yes. They're fine."

"So," Tony began. "What are you thinking about?" he asked again and heard Pepper sigh.

"I saw him again today, Tony. He was in my room after my dad and Marsha left."

"Who?" Tony asked but then his mind answered the question for him. "Pepper, are you OK? Did he hurt you?" he asked as he stood up and stumbled his way to the couch. He wanted nothing more than to turn on the lights to check up on her, but he did not want to break whatever comfort zone the redhead was trying to build with the darkness around them. "Did he hurt you?"

"No," she said in a low voice that was not quite a whisper. "He didn't hurt me."

"God, Pepper. I'm so sorry. I should've been here with you."

"You didn't know he was going to show up. I didn't know he was going to show up, and apparently JARVIS did not register that he was going to show up."

"JARVIS? What do you mean?"

"The infrared cameras showed no signs of him, Tony. I think…" she hesitated. "I think it's…"

"What, Pepper? You think what?"

"I think…" she took another deep breath and exhale slowly before biting her bottom lip. "I think he's inside me."

"W-what?" He placed his left hand on her thigh as it was the only thing he could see while his eyes adjusted to the lack of light.

"Before he appeared, I had this feeling that something was off." She took a hand to her chest. "It was as if I felt I was being watched. I felt something pressing on my chest, and when I turned around in my chair there he was."

"Oh, Pepper…" Tony was at a loss. "Are you sure there was no data collected? Nothing at all that we can analyze?"

"No," she said. "He ran towards me but he…" she sighed again. "He went right through me this time."

"Is that why you think he's hiding inside you?"

"Yes. It…it would make sense, right?" she tried to reason. "JARVIS had no record of him for either of his two appearances. He has only appeared in the dark, and only when I'm alone. So, either I'm losing it, or he somehow transferred himself into me…maybe with the diadem. I don't know."

Tony's shoulders fell and he pulled Pepper into his arms, kissed the crown of her head and closed his eyes. He despised feeling useless to her, and with no data or video or even audio to review, he was no closer to helping her be rid of the shadow of Gene Khan.

"I'm sorry, Pepper. I wish I knew more about the Makluan and how their artifacts work. I thought I knew it all, but even my dad is finding new things about them every day. I want to help you, Pepper. I want to but I don't know how."

Pepper closed her eyes and pressed herself closer to her boyfriend, feeling safe now that he was around. When she opened her eyes again and looked over his shoulders, she saw Gene Khan standing by the corner of the room, glaring at her with piercing, reptile-like eyes. She closed her eyes again and tried to ignore the pressure on her chest. It eventually died down and when she opened her eyes once more, the image of Gene was gone. "It's alright, Tony. I don't expect you to solve all my problems, you know?"

"I haven't solved any, if you ask me."

"You have," she reassured him with a kiss to the side of his face. "JARVIS, dim light #1."

The AI immediately did as told, and the skylight above the fireplace turned on, providing enough light to see the other's face, but not too much to be distracting.

"Thank you for the surprise, Pepper," he said again and kissed her forehead in an attempt to divert her thoughts from the Mandarin and his crazy plots. "But next time come with me. I missed you a lot."

Pepper smiled at him and shook her head. "You need time to yourself, Stark. You can't be expected to include me in everything you do."

"Too late, Pep," he told her. "I already do," he added and pointed to the promise ring. The ginger giggled lightly before Tony's hand rested on her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, and shivers ran down her back when his other hand brushed her hair. "I really like your hair like this," he informed her as he twisted the end of it. "I mean, not that your short hair didn't suit you but I like it better long."

"You've already told me that, Tony."

"I know, but I want to make sure you don't forget it."

"And don't cut it behind your back?"

"Something like that."

Pepper chuckled and pulled away from his hand. She bent her arm over the back of the couch and rested the side of her head on it. Her face then changed to a serious look and Tony felt as if he had just been caught doing something he was not supposed to do.

"So," she began, "Rescue is down for the count, huh?"

Tony's jaw dropped and he looked away. The conversation with Virgil at the hospital came to his mind and he wondered if the man had slipped up and told the redhead that she was Rescue no more, but he then remembered that he had given the ginger free range of his server and his logs. "Pepper, I'm sorry. I just…it was too much…I couldn't…well, you just…"

"I read the report, Tony. You don't have to explain why you did it, but I'd like to know why you didn't tell me right away."

"I…" he sighed. "I know how much you wanted your armor, and you only got to use it once. So, well…I knew it was going to be disappointing for you to find out that I made the call that I should've probably consulted with you first."

"I didn't get to use it just once. I used it a lot when I was out and about chasing Gene with Axonn. Besides, I'm not as weak as you think me to be."

"I don't think you're weak. I just think you don't realize how much trouble you get yourself into sometimes."

"Says the guy who built a suit of armor at fifteen?" She scoffed.

"It's not the same."

"Isn't it now? Because that was you and this is me?"

"Glad we have an understanding," he deadpanned, beginning to get irritated with the conversation he knew had no right to be upset about. "I at least have some protection, Pepper. But you, you went out of your way to chase criminals when you had nothing to guard yourself with!"

Pepper was taken aback by his sudden outburst. She had not intended to demand he reinstituted her suit, but merely to make sure Tony understood life was not going to be as easy as he had wanted it to be before the Makluan had kidnapped her. He was yet to learn from her of the terrible thing she had done while in the other dimension, and if he was reacting this way to her being in a little bit of danger, she knew he would not take the rest of her story in stride as she had hoped him to do. She knew they would be better off ending the conversation this very instant, but something inside of her pushed the next words out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"I wouldn't have had to do it alone if you had just listened to me when I tried asking you for help! I knew my dad was in danger, but you didn't even give me a chance to tell you. You practically blew me off!"

"I…" Tony closed his mouth. "I know," he conceded, his features and tone softening with the realization he had acted no better than her. "And I regret that I almost had you killed, Pepper; which is why I'm not putting you in danger ever again."

"So, are you're planning on breaking up with me soon or how do you plan to achieve that little self-imposed task of yours? You know damn well that Iron Man's girlfriend will always be a target, right? I mean, I was already a target before I was even dating you."

Tony looked down at his lap and everything became quiet between them. He had no response to her question, and Pepper did not offer an answer herself. The only thing keeping her from becoming exceptionally mad at him was the memory of the one line on the report that had eased her anger a while ago: X-51 Stealth Infiltrator Armor's final status is permanently decommissioned due to its user going MIA; all specs and backup copies of design will be erased; search for user will continue indefinitely but user will not be placed in danger ever again - customized specs for suit of armor are not to be used for any other design – user is irreplaceable.