Chapter 20
The sound of the fading repulsors told Pepper that she was finally alone in the Makluan Temple. After waiting for three days since their arrival on Sunday afternoon, Iron Man had finally been needed for a short mission in New Jersey, giving the redhead a window of opportunity to do what she had been wanting to do since it had dawned on her that she was over two months late.
"JARVIS?" Pepper asked while she got comfortable in front of her laptop on one of the work tables.
"Yes, Miss Potts?"
"I need you to help me draw a blood sample and analyze it immediately."
"Who is the subject?"
"Me."
The AI went silent for a moment and then the main computer screen showed a list of steps on how to use Tony's medical equipment to extract the blood from herself. The steps also showed images and videos to assist the ginger in performing the new task all by herself.
"Please refer to these instructions to begin the procedure, ma'am. However, I must advise you that Mr. Stark has a protocol in place so that immediate notifications of all medical tests ran in his lab are sent to him in the moment they occur."
Pepper groaned. "Seriously? Any way to override that directive?" she asked as she loaded on her laptop the specs of the protocol JARVIS was referring to. "This is kind of private – girl stuff, you know?"
The AI went quiet again and Pepper worried for a moment that the system was already ratting her out with Tony, but when it finally came back online, Pepper breathed a sigh of relief.
"There are a few particular exceptions to the implementation of this protocol," JARVIS began as said exceptions appeared on Pepper's laptop. "The most applicable in this case would seem to be for non-life-threatening routine medical checkups. Since user Rescue has not been tested for quite some time, it is entirely possible a routine checkup is due."
"Are you sure this won't red flag my tests, as long as I'm not dying?"
"Absolutely."
Pepper remained silent as she analyzed the protocol and accompanied algorithms and sighed. "How do I know you're not telling me what I want to hear, JARVIS?"
"I am incapable of overriding the procedure myself, but I am allowed to provide options to you, Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Stark to override the established procedures yourselves. My programming is not meant to be absolute or unyielding; I'm merely here to assist you."
Pepper was still not convinced that Tony would not sneak a peek at the activity logs or the camera feed, but it was a risk she had to take in order to clear her conscious. "What's my level of access to the system?"
"Equal in authority as Mr. Stark with the only exception that you are not allowed to wipe it clean."
"So," Pepper mused aloud. "If I asked you to not show to Tony the feeds for my testing and/or the logs and final results of the procedure, you have to follow that request?"
"Indeed, unless Mr. Stark specifically requests exact times and dates of the logs or video feeds."
"Right," the redhead said. "Here goes nothing. JARVIS, anything and everything that happens and has occurred since 4:10 PM should not be revealed to Tony unless he specifically requests it. This includes video feeds, logs, usage of medical devices, analysis of samples and most especially the final results."
"Processing request," the AI said. "Request active."
"Alright."
Pepper stood up from the table and walked over to the instructions and videos shown on the main screen of the computer. She reviewed the files several times until she felt comfortable enough with the procedure. She then walked over to the medical section of the lab and drew a few samples of blood.
Once she had drawn what she needed, she placed the samples inside the automated laboratory station and activated the control panel to begin the analysis. "JARVIS, I need you to run all of the available tests including quantitative and qualitative hCG tests."
"This request will take 24 hours to complete."
"That's fine, just keep it under wraps and send the results directly to my secure e-mail."
"Will do. However, I should point out that perhaps an in-home pregnancy test would be faster than an hCG blood test?"
"I know, but that means I have to leave the temple and risk somebody seeing me buying the test. I can wait a day for the results."
"Very well. Mr. Stark has just now sent a message for me to relay to you."
"Which is?" The redhead asked as she walked away from the medical section of the lab and returned to the work table to continue her studying for the GED, but JARVIS message took the will to study from her.
"He has informed me that the mission is taking longer than expected and he might not be back for another hour or so."
"Tell him to be careful, and turn on the news to whatever channel is broadcasting the mission."
Pepper walked up to the practically obsolete command chair and sat in it, watching and monitoring Tony's vital signs while watching the development of the mission on TV.
xxxXXXxxx
The hour or so turned into ten, and by the time Tony returned to the temple, it was already way past midnight. The emergency he had helped with had turned into several emergencies when the power grid of half of the East Coast had suddenly fried, leaving many innocent people stranded, trapped, or simply on the verge of death when their life support or other ancillary medical equipment went down for the count.
After five hours of flying around helping others, Tony had sent a frustrated and tired Pepper to rest, and the redhead had reluctantly agreed. She had also been helping in restoring power in any way she could from the temple, but Tony knew that she had wanted to be in the Rescue armor and in the field with him.
"Welcome home, Mr. Stark," JARVIS said as soon as Tony walked out of the chute. "Another successful mission, I presume?"
"For the most part, yes, I suppose," Tony agreed as he began peeling off the remains of the battered suit with the help of Extremis and dumped it inside the restoration bin. Every part of his body ached and demanded rest, but he could not any longer just fall asleep on the first available surface or in his own bed without cleaning up first; at least not while his redhead was around to scold him for it.
"Schedule a major maintenance session for the Mark II, and render me a preview of the proposed upgrades for the Mark III." The inventor ordered as he stretched his limbs and popped his back.
"Maintenance is estimated to take fourteen hours, and rendering will be ready in three."
"Don't wake me up for it," the inventor added as he walked up to medical station to take a couple of pain relievers from the first aid kit before he headed to the kitchen. "Anything to report? Where's Pepper? She asleep?"
"She is currently showering and has left you dinner in the oven, sir."
"Really?" Tony asked while he filled up a glass with water and chugged down the ibuprofen pills. "What did she make me?"
"Spaghetti and meatballs."
"Oh, yeah! I'm starving!" Tony's mouth was watering when he took out the still warm food from the oven, and wasted no time in sitting in the small two-person kitchen table to practically vacuum his dinner plate. After he ate to his heart's content, the genius cleaned after himself and left the dirty tableware inside the dishwasher, and put away the leftovers in the refrigerator.
"So, I take it Pepper has been awake even though I told her to go to bed?" Tony stretched again and headed out of the kitchen and down the hall to the bedroom.
"Indeed. She has been in the shower for a long time now, however. Per your specifications there are no sensors or cameras in the lavatory, but the water pressure of the shower has not stopped for the past hour."
"An hour? That's weird. How long has she been inside?" Tony asked as he stopped his trek to the bedroom and stood outside the bathroom door. He pressed his left ear to it to hear the running water and his bare feet felt some of the steam coming from under the door.
"Two hours." The AI responded.
Tony's head snapped back and he looked up at the ceiling as if expecting JARVIS to detect the surprise on his face. "Two hours? What gives, JARVIS? Why didn't you tell me as soon as I walked in here?"
"There are no procedures associated with the prolonged usage of the facilities, sir. At least not after the incident with Mr. Rhodes getting ill inside."
"Oh, yeah," Tony remembered the awkward situation and scratched the back of his head. In one of the occasions Rhodey had stayed overnight to help with the search for Pepper briefly after she had been taken, Tony had been forced to take down the door to his bathroom with his Iron Man suit to check up on Rhodey who had been inside for an hour only to realize his friend was still sitting on the toilet and was obviously sick. The other young man had been embarrassed and angry for days, and as a compromise Tony had agreed to remove all security features from the restroom despite his promises that he had only rushed inside because he refused to lose another friend.
"I definitely don't want to do that to Pepper but two hours is just too much. Hey, Pepper?" he knocked on the door twice. "Can you hear me? I'm back, Pep."
The genius waited for a few seconds for any response and when he received none he tried again, his knocks much louder this time. "Yo, Potts! The man of the house is back. Is everything alright?"
The sound of the running shower was his only response.
The hell? He thought as he debated whether or not to override the lock of the door. On the one hand, Pepper could just be listening to music while taking a bath and she would surely be upset if he walked in on her. On the other hand, she could also be in danger and or severely injured and in the need of help.
There is no bath that requires the shower to be on, Tony reasoned after a moment of hesitation and before his fingers flew to the keypad on the wall. She can kill me later.
"Cover up, Pepper. I'm coming in!" He gave her a last warning before the hissing of the lock removal was heard and Tony walked inside.
The first thing that he felt was the sting of the water vapor in his eyes, and the amount of it surprised the heck out of him. The room was so hot that even the tiles under his feet felt warm, and after taking a few steps toward the shower stall he felt hot water scalding his feet.
"Damn!" He took a step back and ran to the bathtub. He opened the cold water faucet and dunked his feet inside the tub and felt instant relief from the burning water. "Son of a bitch!"
He leaned over to the towel rack and grabbed two hand towels. He then sat on the edge of the tub and wrapped his feet in the fabric to offer some protection from the approaching hot water and his eyes stared in the direction of the stall.
"Pepper? Are you OK?" He tried once more and began walking to the stall, the wet towels squishing under his feet. The transparent walls were covered in thick steam, making it impossible to be able to see inside. "Pepper, I'm coming in."
He pulled open the door and took a step inside, careful not to bump into her and scaring her. However, when he was not able to immediately find her, Tony had just about enough of wasting time.
"Shut off," the inventor ordered and the water immediately stopped running, and seeing no other option he got on his knees and began patting the floor – all 110 square feet of it.
"Pepper, speak up. Pepper? Pepper?" He called after her, and when he finally reached the center of the room where the drain was located, he gasped. There in front of him and going down the gutter was a fresh trail of blood.
"No!"
He crawled on the floor to follow the direction where the bright red liquid was coming from and it took him to the corner of the stall, revealing to him almost immediately a nude, unmoving and wide-eyed Pepper Potts.
"Oh, please no!"
His initial instinct was to find the origin of the blood on her body and he was quickly able to determine it was coming from a large gash on her forehead. At first he thought that she had probably slipped and hit her head somewhere, but that would not explain why her eyes were open, irritated and unblinking.
Unless, of course, she was already dead.
The thought alone made Tony sob.
"Come on, Pepper, say something," he kneeled in front of her and lightly slapped her cheek with one hand while the other checked for a pulse on her neck. When he found one, and after he was briefly reminded of what had occurred during the car pileup, he ran out of the stall, kicked off the hand towels on his feet and grabbed the closest large towel he could find.
He took it inside the stall with him and placed it on Pepper's front to cover her exposed figure. He then carefully lifted her and readjusted the towel so that it covered her completely before he picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the bathroom, down the hall and to the medical portion of the main lab. "JARVIS, prepare the x-ray, CAT scan and MRI machines. Pepper is injured."
"Immediately, sir."
The inventor laid Pepper on the medical table and began strapping on to her any device he could think of to monitor her stats. He then grabbed a small flashlight and shined its bright light onto her eyes before he spoke again. "Pupils are unresponsive."
"Noted," the AI stated while Tony used a corner of the towel covering Pepper's body to dry her face.
"Heat up the table to help dry her up."
"In process."
"Dammit, Pepper, what the hell happened to you?" Tony mumbled as he held the ginger's right hand in his and looked up to the heart monitor to read that her beat was steady and calm. He then reviewed her current temperature and was surprised to see it was also at a normal range. "I don't understand."
"Machines are ready for scanning, sir."
"Alright," Tony took a step back and let go of her hand. "Show me anything, whether it's normal or not."
"Scanning in progress. Estimated completion time is five minutes."
After he saw the redhead become encapsulate in the machine that would give him a better idea of what had happened to her while he was out, he decided to return to the bathroom to analyze the scene. As he walked near the beat up Mark II, the boy called upon his still workable helmet and placed it on his head with the purpose of scanning every inch of the room.
To his disappointment, the scans of the room showed nothing significant that would explain why the redhead was in an apparent state of shock, leaving him with no other theory for now that she had just tripped and hit her head on the wall on her way down. He cursed under his breath as he left the bathroom and headed to their bedroom, but he saw nothing out of order other than Pepper's change of clothes lying on the bed. He gave the room one last scan before he removed the helmet, sent it back to the repair bin, and returned to the main lab.
"JARVIS, what was Pepper doing before she went inside the bathroom?"
"She was in the kitchen, making dinner."
"And before that?"
"Watching the news station for updates on the blackout and your whereabouts."
"Did she drink anything unusual? Take any medicine or anything?"
"She took some pain reliever pills. She stated she had a headache."
"Same pills I just took?"
"Indeed."
Tony walked over to the first aid kit and took out the bottle. He read the label and confirmed the pills were not expired. "How many did she take?"
"Two."
"That's the normal dose," Tony said to himself before he began reading the possible side effects. "We're drawing a blood sample, JARVIS. Run a toxicology test and an allergic reactions one, too."
"As you wish."
By the time Tony put down the bottle of pills and returned to Pepper, the capsule was being retracted from the redhead's body. Tony ran his hand on the side of her face and sighed. "Why does this keep happening to you, Pep? Why can't you just get a break?"
The inventor waited patiently and in silence, pressing Pepper's hand to his lips while JARVIS processed the results of the scans. Once he saw that the scans were almost complete, Tony stood up from the stool he was sitting on and proceeded to draw a blood sample from Pepper's left arm before walking over to the automated laboratory station.
"Scans show no major internal damage other than a minor concussion, likely caused by the forehead injury, sir. There are no broken bones or internal bleeding, although I was not able to determine a physical reason why her eyes will not close. An initial search of the symptoms, however, reveals that perhaps Miss Potts is suffering from a catatonic state."
"Catatonic? As in severe shock?" Tony stared at the unmoving redhead with fear; he could not image what had caused the ginger to jolt out of reality, especially while in the protection of his own home. "Compile the literature available for catatonic state: causes, treatment, everything; I'm giving it a read. Also, is there anything I can drop in her eyes so that they don't dry up?"
"We can try to use a similar compound used during laser eye surgeries."
"Do we have some handy?"
"I can process one right now."
"Do it," Tony commanded as he opened up the control panel of the lab station to load the blood sample but was surprised to see an analysis was already taking place. After a few taps on the touch screen, Tony's eyes widened when he saw the list of tests that were being ran on an earlier sample of Pepper's blood.
"Is Pepper sick? Why is she running so many tests?"
"A routine check was requested by her, earlier today."
"Routine check?" Tony shook his head. "This is way more than just a routine check, JARVIS."
"User Rescue has never been fully scanned, sir. It seemed appropriate to perform all available analyses."
"I guess." Tony shrugged, still not convinced that so many tests were actually needed given the MRI and CAT scans picked up no major issues within her. "I did insist she checked up with a doctor after she came back so…" Tony's voice trailed as he reviewed the status of the tests that were in progress. He scrolled down the list of the pending tests and his jaw suddenly hung when he saw the latest test that had just been completed.
"Gene," was the only word Tony could utter in his state of shock.
A/N: What? Why are you looking at me like that? Oh, THAT! Well, all I can say is that, in case you haven't read any of my other stories other than the Armored Adventures ones, not everything is at it seems with me. Isn't that right, fantasia-49? ;)