alright we're still trying to get back at the snitch gene

fury: i saw we chop his head off

me: nah... too alice in wonderland

fury:feed him to the sharks?

me: too easy

fury:... QUAGMIRE FROM FAMILY GUY

me: why do we keep quagmire for torture in this story?

fury:...not sure...

me: and truthfully he's a really funny character on the show

fury: actually yeah he is

me: oh well! Jarvis?

Jarvis: on to the next chapter

Chapter 31

Tony and Bella walked hand in hand when they caught up with the others outside.

"There you two are! We thought you guys decided to go to round two" Bruce joked. Bella blushed and Tony looked away frantically.(somebody was rather loud)

"Yeah, well… um" he hesitated. It wouldn't have been so awkward if his dad wasn't here expecting an answer from his embarrassed son and his girlfriend.

"Well… we're waiting" Howard said raising an eyebrow.

"Aren't we a little bit too old for this" Tony asked

"No" Howard said flatly. Tony cursed mentally and Bella turned a few shades darker.

"Umm…"

"Just go ahead and say it" Howard said. The couple exchanged glances before turning back to him. Howard sighed and rubbed his temple. "Am I going to be 'Grandpa Howard' in nine months" Tony started choking on air and Bella's face completely red.(hehehe... grampy howard XD)

"DAD! We haven't been together that long" Tony hissed "Besides, we haven't even considered kids yet"

"Yeah, but by the sounds of it you want to" Rhodey smirked. Tony glared deadly at him and Rhodey shrunk back. Bella finally got control of herself and cleared her throat.

"I'm going to go inside" she murmured and walked away before anyone-more specifically Tony- could say anything.

"I'll go after her" Imara said. Tony nodded briefly at her as she walked by before glaring at the guys. They took in his furious expression and they shifted uncomfortably with guilt.

Back inside, Imara found Bella curled into a ball on her bed. She sighed and sat down next to her then wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Are you okay" she asked

"No, I'm not. I never considered the possibility of me getting pregnant" Bella whispered "And know that I do, I'm actually scared"

"Why? You would be a great mother to your child, Bella. Your nice, gentle, caring and a wonderful person to be around" Bella laughed shakily and Imara stared at her quizzically "What's so funny"

"You reminded me of someone I know. She'd always say the same thing to me whenever I was feeling sad" Bella explained and started to think of Esme.(i'm going to find away to add her and carlisle into this story sooner or later)

"Well who ever she is, she's very wise because she's right" Imara said nodding "Bella, if you were to become pregnant you would be an excellent mother"

"I know, but…"

"But what"

"But what if Tony doesn't want kids" she whispered

"Then ask him"

"I can't ask him! You saw his reaction to how Howard asked if I was pregnant" she protested.

"That doesn't mean anything. Tony loves you Bella, a lot. I mean, he built the Jericho just to save you. He may be a little conflicted when answering but all men are when it comes down to this"

"Thank you Imara. Though I do have one question"

"Yes"

"Do you think that maybe the Mandarin would let you leave with us" she asked quietly. Imara considered it but then shrugged.

"I'm not sure" she answered "But it's worth a shot" she said adding the last part quickly to ease the pain in Bella's eyes. Bella smiled and hugged her tightly then pulled away.

"Let's go back to the others" Bella said and they walked out the room. They walked into the foyer the same time the guys were.

"Bella, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so straightforward about the whole you being… well, you already know" Howard said

"And we're sorry for too about commenting on you and Tony's err… private time. Right Rhodey" Bruce said. He nudged Rhodey who jumped startled.

"Huh? Oh! Right, I'm sorry too" he said. Tony rolled his eyes and shook his head. Bella giggled and smiled widely.

"I forgive you guys. Just make sure it doesn't happen again" she smiled. They smiled back at her and walked into the dining room. Imara followed them, while Tony stayed behind with Bella.

"You sure you okay? You seemed kinda off when you walked off" he asked rubbing circles on her back. She smiled up at him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I'm fine. I never thought about the fact that I could get pregnant is all" she said. She bit her lip and hesitated for a moment not sure if she should ask him.

"Okay. Though if you want my opinion, I always wanted to be a dad" he whispered in her ear. (hehehehe...papa tony)She looked up at him and he smiled widely. She smiled back and kissed his cheek, before they walked into the dining room to join the others. The Mandarin wore a smile on his face as he watched them walk in, while Bella exchanged a look with Tony. Imara walked up to the Mandarin and whispered something in his ear. He thought for a minute before waving her over to the others. She walked over to Bella confused and stood beside her. Bella read the confusion in Imara's eyes and sighed. Tony rubbed her knuckles and sighed.

"So, is there a special reason for your trip" Mandarin asked

"Yes. We have the Jericho in my private jet" Tony said getting straight to the point. He nodded at the S.H.I.E.L.D agents and the disappeared off to the private jet. He looked down at Bella, who was playing with a strand of hair. Tony watched her carefully, until she looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back and kissed her forehead. She sighed content and he rubbed her back.

"I wanna go home, Tony" she whimpered

"Soon, baby. I promise" he whispered into her head. The agents reappeared with the Jericho and placed it down. Tony knew that they had to get out of here quick, fast and in a hurry. "There you go. Now, can we go"

"Of course! I know you all must be dying to leave" the Mandarin said and they nodded "So… what are you all what for? Go on, now" They exchanged glances before moving towards the door. Bella looked over her shoulder at Imara and frowned. "Imara"

"Yes" she turned towards the Mandarin away from Bella.

"Aren't you going with them" he asked smiling. Gene stared up at his step-father questioningly, but he ignored it.

"Y-yes but…"

"but nothing. Now go on" he said shooing her. She smiled and bowed respectively, before running off to join the others. (yay! imara lives! XD)Bella gave her brief hug and they walked out. As soon as the door closed, the atmosphere had changed and the mood tensed. Imara looked at Bella questioningly but she shook her head and lead her to the jet. As soon as they were in, the pilot took off and was a good 50 feet away when the Guys-minus Howard- looked out of the window.

"What are they looking at" Imara asked as she moved to the window. Before anyone could answer her, a loud explosion erupted and everyone stared awestruck. Tony looked away from the window and turned to Bruce.

"I told you we could pull it off" he smirked. Bruce looked up at him and raised his eyebrow.

"You wanna see me angry, Stark" Bruce asked

"Bring it on! I got the Mark 4 in the back" Tony noticed the look on Rhodey's face and chuckled "With the War Machine armor"

"Wait are we waiting for then? Let's go" he said running into the back. Tony and Bruce ran after him, while Bella shook her head.

"Are we missing something" Imara asked

"You have no idea" Bella mumbled while the sounds of rocket thrusters were drowned out by the sound of loud roar echoed in the distance.

me: so there you have it! tony and howard have been reunited, bella and tony are considering kids, imara lives(i think i'm going to have her work at S.H.I.E.L.D now), and the exploding Jericho worked! that's everything right?

fury: you forgot the fact that gene and the ten rings are no more *smiles widely*

me: oh yeah! well that's everything then!

fury: yup

me: wait a sec... tony and bruce forgot to fix the whole in the wall...

fury: they're dead meat

Jarvis: review and keep reading