I waited for everyone to go to bed. I had decided to confront Tony with this new knowledge. He was the last one up. When he came, he was holding a tumbler half full of a gold-brown liquor. As I watched, he gulped down the contents and smashed the glass against the wall. I stepped out of my doorway. "Tony…"
"Don't!" Tony snapped, holding out his hand. "Just go to bed, Ellie." I shook my head, walking over to him.
"Tony, listen…"
"I don't want to listen to you! Just mind your own damn business!" That made my temper flare.

"You're my friend, Anthony! You are my business." I laid my forearm across his chest and pushed him back, pinning him against the wall and pressing my free hand against his abdomen where his liver was. Tony gasped, doubling over my hand, grabbing at my arms and trying to push me away. But without his suit, I was stronger than he was. The Ides had left me with my strength. Apparently it was easier to let me keep the cables than to pay the money to have them removed. I pushed back against Tony and he whimpered, eyes watering. I stared into them calmly. "Will you listen to me now?" I inquired lowly. Tony nodded quickly, squeezing my wrist, digging his nails into my skin. It hurt, but I was on a mission.
"Yes. Yes, I'll listen. I will, just… stop… Please. Stop." I waited for a moment so that I was sure my point was being made and then I let him go, opened his bedroom door and hauled him inside.

"JARVIS, this is an intervention. Lock the door; I don't want Tony running away from this. He can't do that anymore."
"Yes, Miss Carter." The lock on the door clicked shut immediately. Tony glared up at what I assumed was a camera.
"JARVIS, you're my AI, not Carter's AI! You traitor!"
"I'm sorry, Sir. But I am doing this for your benefit."
"JARVIS, show the liver scan," I ordered. The projection appeared in the middle of the room. "Explain," I instructed as Tony scowled at the image.

"Sir, this is the scan taken from the Mark thirteen suit today."
"Show what it would look like if it were normal beside it." A matching image appeared beside Tony's scan. The liver was clearly smaller in the second holograph than the original. "See, Tony? This is what your liver should look like," I said, taking the image of the healthy liver and placing it over the top of his real scan to show the size difference. "Your liver is thirty percent larger than it should be," I told him. Tony huffed and looked at me, crossing his arms defensively. "JARVIS says that there is some scar tissue in there, too. Now, you're supposed to be a genius, so I'm sure you understand what I'm talking about."

"You're telling me that I've got cirrhosis," Tony said, swallowing heavily. I nodded slowly, watching him closely as he reached out to take the two livers and hold them up against his abdomen. He swallowed again, swaying slightly, blinking. "I think I'm going to be sick," he huffed, clutching at his belly and rushing to his bathroom. I sighed, running my fingers through my hair tiredly.
"Kill the holographs," I murmured.
"Yes, Miss," JARVIS said, letting the holographs vanish as I walked over to the bathroom door to find Tony hunched over the sink, one hand clamped over his mouth and the other latched onto the edge of the basin. He moaned, shaking visibly and I stepped forward, putting a hand on his back. Tony turned into me, putting one arm around my waist and bowing his head over my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him firmly, rubbing his head comfortingly.

"I don't know what I'm doing," Tony whined, taking his hand from his mouth and putting his arm around my neck, pulling me close. "Don't let me do this, Ellie." I rested my head against his.
"I won't," I promised softly.
"I really am going to be sick," Tony said, letting me go and bowing over the sink again. A moment later, he retched and I put my hand on his forehead to support his head, brushing my hand over his back. I turned the faucet on, rinsing the sink out and wetting a facecloth, wiping Tony's heated skin gently. I soaked the cloth again and held it to his mouth.
"Suck," I told him. He did as I said, drawing the moisture from the cloth.

He grunted, turning back to me again and putting both his arms over my shoulders, embracing me so I was supporting some of his weight. "I'm really glad you're here, Ellie… I missed you a lot," Tony confessed, tucking his face into my hair. I laughed softly.
"I missed you, too, Tony. I'm sorry I wasn't around before now." Tony shook his head dismissively.
"It's okay, El. You're here now; when it counts most." Tony sighed wearily and I smiled.
"Come on; bedtime," I said. Tony nodded, turning back to the sink again to brush his teeth before letting me guide him to his bed. He pulled off his shirt and laid back on the bed before noticing my stare.
"El?" I shook my head, rapt.

"I've never actually seen your chest before," I breathed. Tony's chest was covered in scars with a sunken circle in the middle of it.
"You can touch it, if you want," he offered quietly. I sat down on the edge of the bed and placed my fingers lightly against the scarred circle in his chest before spreading them out, feeling the scars under my fingertips. "If you think this is interesting, I'm sorry you didn't see me with the arc reactor implant," Tony said with a lopsided smirk, watching me affectionately.
"How did they patch the hole?" I wondered, returning to the circle in the center, pressing the skin gently.
"There's a metal plate fixed to my sternum," Tony explained. "If you press a little harder, you can feel the bolts." I did as instructed, feeling six hard lumps around the edge of the circle.

"And under that?" I asked. "You know, where the wires and everything used to be?"
"Well, my lungs have taken up some of the space, but there's really just a gap there now."
"Does it feel strange?" Tony shrugged.
"It took a while to get used to it after the arc reactor was removed, but now it feels normal to me." I bit my lip hesitantly and Tony tilted his head on the pillow. "What is it?"
"I was just wondering if your breathing or your heartbeat sounded different now, after all that trauma." Tony chuckled and held his arm out to me.
"Come here," he invited. I leant forward and he pulled me down, stroking my hair as I rested my head on his chest.

His heartbeat was slightly muffled by the metal plate, but other than that, it was completely normal. I smiled, just listening as Tony slowly stopped stroking my hair and his breathing slowed and deepened in sleep. I sat up carefully and pulled the blankets up over his chest, smoothing his hair back gently and kissing his forehead. "You're a lot of work, Tony," I murmured to the slumbering man. "You're lucky I love you. Sleep well, Mate." I got up slowly and left the room, flicking off the light as I did. From there I went straight to Bruce's door and tapped in it. I didn't hear anything inside, so I tapped a little louder and heard a groan. Once more I tapped, and this time I heard a grunt and rustling material, before footsteps padded up to the door and Bruce opened it, blinking at me sleepily and scratching his unclothed abdomen.
"Ellie? What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, placing a concerned hand on my shoulder and looking me over closely.

"It's Tony," I sighed. Bruce frowned, pinching his eyes and sweeping his hand back through his hair.
"What about Tony?"
"May I come in?" I asked. Bruce blinked and stepped back.
"Sorry, yeah. Of course. Come on in." I took the invitation and walked over to sit on the end of his bed, sighing tiredly and leaning forward, folding my arms on my lap and resting my head there. The bed beside me sank, and Bruce put his hand on my back, rubbing gently. "Take your time, El. Would you, uh… would you like a drink?" I shook my head, sitting up.
"No thanks, Bruce."
"Okay. What can I help you with, Ellie? Why are you here?"

"I'm sorry, Bruce. I didn't want to wake you, but I need to talk to you about Tony." Bruce nodded, resting his elbows on his knees and leaning towards me attentively, blinking in that cute way of his. I wasn't sure how to start and shrugged helplessly. Luckily for me, Bruce is a genius.
"He's sick, isn't he?" he asked knowingly. I nodded, pouting.
"Yes, he… JARVIS, show the holographs, please," I requested. JARVIS obliged me wordlessly and Bruce took his glasses from the bedside cabinet, putting them on and squinting at the projections. He breathed deeply, eyes widening.
"Is this Tony?" he inquired, pointing to the figure with the enlarged liver. I nodded sadly as Bruce examined the images. "Is there any scar tissue?"

"There is mild scarring through Mr Stark's liver, Dr Banner," JARVIS confirmed. Bruce grimaced, taking his glasses off and pinching his eyes again, waving at the holographs. JARVIS got rid of them instantly.
"Ugh, Tony," Bruce groaned, shaking his head. He blinked up at me, sighing. "Does he know?" I nodded, fidgeting with my fingernails.
"I told him this evening. I came here straight from putting him to bed."
"How'd he take it?" Bruce asked me worriedly.
"He felt sick and ran into the bathroom; then he hugged me and almost cried; then he threw up; then he hugged me again; then he brushed his teeth and I put him to bed and listened to his chest until he fell asleep."

I sighed, pulling my legs up and resting my chin on my knees. "He said he doesn't know what he's doing. We need to help him, Bruce. He's really got a problem." Bruce nodded, standing.
"Right, then. Come on," he said, holding out his hand.
"What are we doing?" I asked, taking the offered hand and letting him pull me to my feet.
"We're going to go find all the alcohol in the house, and we're going to get rid of it."
"Right," I acknowledged, nodding and following him out of the room. "Good plan."