Sorry for the delay but I'm at a family reunion this weekend and this is the first time I've had the chance to get to the computer

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Chapter 10

There is something about waking up on your birthday. The sun shines a little brighter and the grass seems a little greener. Especially on the big birthdays, and today was one of the big ones; I was finally eighteen.

But more importantly over the past two weeks I had finally found myself again. I knew what I was doing and I wasn't such an emotional roller coaster, I was even painting again. My back only hurt if I did a hard day of yoga and then a physical training session but I was okay with that. Dad and I were closer together than ever before. The suit had been upgraded and we were in the final stages of completing it.

I was up earlier today than I normally would be. I didn't have any plans today; I never did on my birthday just in case…..

We just had the Stark ball thingy that Pepper made me go to every year. Its not always on my birthday but my guess is that Pepper tries to get it as close as possible. My dress was gold this year, and way less revealing than the one I had worn in Vegas. I still wasn't very confident in wearing something that revealing now, and I had a feeling that it will take a while before I became ready for that.

I made my way into the kitchen. "Morning JARVIS," I said as I opened the fridge.

"Good morning Scarlett," JARVIS replied. "And might I offer you a happy birthday."

I smiled and grabbed a carton of milk. "Thanks J," I said.

"Am I to follow the usual rules for today?" he asked. I grabbed a glass and started to pour as I thought about it, normally I made it so JARVIS wouldn't tell my dad it was my birthday. It was up to him to remember. But this year could I break it? Could I let my hate of false happiness win? I thought about the phone conversation Peter and I had, he had basically said that I had to stop living in wants and desires, and go back to how I was getting by before.

"Yeah," I said eventually. "Keep the usual rules," I took my glass of milk and went outside to walk along the beach. Since my last talk with Big Bird I took what he said to heart and found myself again, and I feel great; almost one hundred percent again. Which I was happy about.

New year, new me… maybe. I thought about what I was going to do. The plan was that I was going to join Peter in New York. Go back to college with people my own age. I laughed when I thought about the classes I wanted to take, history and humanities classes, and that none of them were science classes. A Stark not interested in science, I thought to myself. Who would have thought?

I walked into the living room where Pepper was sitting on the couch going over paperwork for the company.

"Hey Pep," I said as I walked over to her. I sat down and leaned my head on her shoulder. "How are you?"

Pepper shot me a smile as I sat down, I had been spending more and more time over the weeks with Pepper and at her house. I was slowly leaving the house more and more, trying to get used to the idea of being away from home. I think Pepper enjoyed having me there with her. She didn't say she was tired of me yet so I was bouncing back and forth.

"I'm working up the paperwork for a certain eighteen year old," Pepper said nudging me.

"Thanks," I grinned. "And what kind of paperwork?"

For the next hour we went through the paperwork and I signed my name a lot. But once we were done I was officially the new co-CEO of Stark Industries.

I was smiling as I went down the steps to the lab. My dad was there and we were putting the final touches on the Mark II. Right now we were deciding about what color we should paint the suit.

I sat down in the chair that was next to my dad's computer as I looked over his ideas for the suit.

"No," I said out loud when I realized that he wanted the entire suit a bright gold. "That's not going to happen."

"Why not?" he asked a little hurt.

"Because if you are going to save the day you need to be discrete and a bright gold suit isn't going to do it," I countered.

"That's what I said," JARVIS called out.

I started laughing. "See Dad? Even J thinks it's too much."

My dad just rolled his eyes and we spent the next two hours going over different color options.

I was finally gaining some foothold for subtler colors when my stomach started to growl.

"I'm going to grab some food," I said before glancing at the clock, "and then I should probably start getting ready for tonight."

"What's going on tonight?" my dad asked.

"It's the Stark fundraiser for the firefighters," I said. "We have it every year, are you coming?"

I could see my dad think it over for a while. "Nope," he decided. "I'm going to stay here and paint the suit."

I nodded my head and turned to walk up the steps. "I'll see you later tonight?" I asked.

"Count on it," he said. "Plus with a brand new painted suit."

I rolled my eyes, knowing that I was going to come back home to find a gold suit waiting for me.

I sat at the bar and picked at the sandwich I had made. This was my first outing since everything had happened and I was worried. How was I going to act? How was I supposed to act? Would I be hounded with questions or would they talk about me behind my back?

"Scarlett?" Jarvis called. "Miss Potts would like me to let you know that she will be here to pick you up in three hours."

"Thanks J," I replied as I picked up my sandwich and took another bite before I headed to my room to get ready.

I jumped into the shower and did my yoga routine as I let my hair dry. I was going to keep it down tonight so I needed it to air dry so it would be easier to curl.

Once my hair was curled and pinned and my makeup done I had about forty five minutes before Pepper showed up.

I slipped on my slip as I made my way over to where my dress was.

It was a straight cut with a gold dress and a gold lace cover that was long sleeved and had a scoop collar on it. I slipped on my gold shoes and walked to the front door where two minutes later Pepper showed up.

"You look beautiful," she said as she saw me. Pepper was in this stunning blue gown and the necklace that I had given her for her birthday.

I blushed and muttered quick thanks as we headed to the Disney concert hall.

"Did your father say anything about showing up?" Pepper asked.

I shook my head. "He said that he had other things to take care of," I answered as Happy pulled the car up to the curb. Happy opened the door and Pepper got out first.

I followed and was shocked when Happy pulled me in for a hug. "Happy birthday," he whispered in my ear before kissing me on my cheek.

I grinned and told him thanks and walked up the carpet to meet with Pepper.

Pepper, once again being the godsend she was, managed to maneuver us around the carpet so no interviews were given but we did pose for several pictures. Once inside I saw Clint and that agent guy standing over to the side.

"I'll be back," I told Pepper as I headed over there.

"You look stunning Tweety," Clint said as I gave him a hug.

"Thanks Big Bird you look pretty dapper yourself," I teased back.

"Ms. Stark," agent guy said.

I nodded as I acknowledge him. "Agent," I said in a mock serious tone.

Clint laughed as he threw an arm around my shoulders. "Happy birthday by the way."

I grinned and looked between the two of them. "Big Bird, not that I'm not happy that you are here to help with my boredom but why are you two here?" I asked.

"Precaution," Agent spoke up. "Just in case something was to happen."

"Are you expecting something to happen?" I asked.

"No," Clint said. "But there is a very good chance that the person responsible for this is here."

I nodded as I looked around; it was crazy of me to think that the person who was behind everything could be here. I could have smiled and shook their hand. I could have thanked them for coming tonight.

"How's your back?" Clint asked me drawing me back from my thoughts. "In those heels?"

I smirked at him. "Ask again in a few hours when the pain medication wears off. Besides these hardly count as heels, they are less than six inches."

Clint snorted. "You remind me of someone," he said.

"Of someone?" I fake gasped. "Is this a good someone Clint Barton?" I asked.

"A very good someone," Clint assured me. "My best friend."

I gave him a small smile. "Thank you," I whispered as I kissed his cheek.

"Come on," Clint said holding his hand out. "Dance with me."

Clint led me out to the dance floor. In my heels I was a respectful height compared to him so it wasn't very awkward. Our dancing consisted of mostly just swaying back and forth, some dips and twirls but that was all Clint's doing.

"This is nice," I said. "I can't remember the last time I danced with someone who wasn't on the board of Stark Industries."

Clint gave me one of his rare smiles. "Well, anything I can do for the birthday girl."

I opened my mouth to say something when my dad stepped in.

"Dad?" I asked.

"Do you mind if I cut in?" My dad asked Clint.

Clint just shook his head and let go of my hand. "Remember to call me if your back starts to hurt."

I nodded my head and my dad picked up my hand that Clint had dropped.

"I thought you weren't coming," I said as we started to sway.

"That was before everyone thought I wasn't going to come," my dad countered. "that I was locked up with PTSD."

"Ah, anything you can do to keep the media wrong," I commented.

"Right," my dad agreed. "You look beautiful by the way."

I was stunned silent. "Thank you," I managed to stammer out.

My dad just smiled at me as we continued to dance. It was nice just the two of us.

"So what colors did you decide on for the suit?" I asked him.

"Gold and hot-rod red," my dad said smugly. "JARVIS will have it done tonight."

I chuckled and rolled my eyes. "Of course," I chuckled.

We continued to dance until the song was over.

"Come on," my dad said. "Let's go somewhere and talk."

I nodded and the two of us walked up to the balcony.

"Listen," my dad began. "I know you don't agree with what I am doing. But I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed working around with you on this."

I smiled and leaned against his arm. "I had fun too," I said. "But I want you to know that the idea of what you're doing is the right thing and I'm proud of you Dad."

My dad smiled and put his arm around me. "We did pretty well,"

"Yeah, we did," I agreed.

I shivered a little against the chill of the air. My dad slipped off his jacket.

"You know," my dad said. "I haven't been the best dad in the world and I'm trying to work on it."

"I know Dad," I said as I pulled the jacket closer to myself. I felt something hard hit the side of me but I ignored it.

"So, kid," my dad said as he faced the street. "I guess what I'm trying to say is happy birthday."

My head snapped towards my dad. "Wha-what?" I stuttered.

My dad rolled his eyes and reached into the jacket that I was wearing and pulled out a small ring box. "I said happy birthday."

I smiled as I opened the ring box; it was a diamond ring, shaped like the mini arc reactor.

"Dad," I said as I slipped the ring onto my right ring finger. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah," my dad said clearing his throat. "Well you're an adult now."

"I love it," I said dragging my gaze from the ring to my father. I gave him a huge hug as I felt tears of happiness rush up to my eyes. "Thank you," I whispered.

I pulled back from the hug and looked over at my dad.

He was smiling and cleared his throat. "So shall I go get us drinks to celebrate Stark Industries gaining another CEO?"

I nodded and handed him his jacket so he could go back downstairs.

"Pink champagne, right?" my dad asked.

"Right," I confirmed as a grin broke out on my face.

I watched my dad go downstairs as I turned to look over the view from the balcony. I stared up at the stars and thanked every God or deity out there for what had just happened to me. I fiddled with my new ring as my mind traveled to what was going to happen now. I had planned on going with Peter in the spring. I wonder what bonding my dad and I might do to that.

I wondered if I was going to wait till I was twenty-one to go back to the company. Or if I was going come back earlier?

I covered my mouth as I started coughing. I finished and looked around for my dad, he should have been back now with our drinks.

Maybe he just got distracted; this was his first public appearance since he shut down the company.

Five minutes passed.

Ten minutes.

After half an hour I started to head back in. I looked around for any sign of my dad, but I couldn't see him anywhere.

"Pepper," I called out seeing her stand out. She turned her head towards me. "Have you seen my dad?" I asked.

"I think he went home," Pepper said.

"Oh," was all I could manage as I swallowed down every emotion I was currently feeling trying to keep my face neutral because there were people with camera's around.

"Sweetie?" Pepper began.

I shook my head and waved her off. "It's fine, I'm tired I think I'm just going to head home, too."

Pepper gave me a small smile as I turned and headed out of the concert hall, I stopped right before I exited, there were still cameras and I needed another moment to compose myself. Once I thought I managed to slip my mask of indifference on I headed out and walked the carpet.

Happy was waiting at the end with our car so I made eye contact with him and managed to avoid any reporters that were bombarding me with questions.

Happy opened the door for me and I slid in, he didn't say anything as he drove home.

He opened the door and I thanked him quietly as I walked away.

"Scar," Happy called out. I turned around and stood there as he walked towards me. He gave me a huge hug and I returned it. He kissed the top of my head. "Happy birthday," he said.

I pulled back and gave him a watery smile as he pulled a bag from the passenger seat of the car.

"You didn't have to get me anything," I protested as he handed me the bag.

Happy just gave me his no nonsense face and I opened it.

There were new sketch pencils and a brand new sketch book.

"Happy," I said breathlessly as I picked up the beautifully bound sketch book. "This is-"

"You deserve it," Happy said waving off anything else I might say. "And I know that you don't hear it as much as you should, but you have grown into a beautiful, strong woman and I'm proud of you."

My eyes started to water. "I needed that," I confessed.

Happy just nodded. "Good night, Scar," he said.

"Good night," I whisper back as I headed back into the house.

I sat the bag on the counter of the kitchen as I headed down towards the lab.

I was at the top of the stairs when I started to cough again, once I was finished I started to head down the steps. I had picked up my dress as I walked down the steps so my hand wasn't on the railing. Which turns out was an incredibly stupid thing to do. I was about halfway down the steps when my back had a cramp, I dropped the bottom of my dress and I slipped and fell down the steps. I cried out as I tumbled down the steps, my head crashed against the floor, which was covered in glass. I pressed my palm against the floor and cried out as tiny pieces of glass cut my palm.

"Ow," I groaned and I tried to push my way up the floor while avoiding the glass. My back and other various body parts were hurting from being hit against the steps. And my dress and legs were cut from the glass. "JARVIS," I called out, "is my dad here?"

"No Scarlett," Jarvis said. "He is out."

"Great," I groaned. "Can you call him?"

I reached for the edge of the railing and tired to pull myself up, but my legs weren't working again.

"I'm afraid he didn't answer," JARVIS replied.

I let my head fall back against the wall as the tears finally over spilled. "Can, can you call Clint?" I asked.

"Right away," Jarvis answered.

I kept trying to push myself up but my hands kept sliding on the glass.

"Mr. Barton is on his way," JARVIS said. "He said to stay put and keep breathing."

I felt a rush of relief as I heard that Clint was coming to help me, I couldn't control the tears however and I knew at this time that my makeup was ruined. I couldn't help but wonder how had this night gone from one of the best nights in my life to this.

"Scarlett!" I heard Clint call.

"Down here!" I yelled.

I saw Clint's silhouette from the top of the steps. "Shit," he said as he started running down the steps.

"Be careful," I said soberly. "There is glass on the floor."

Clint rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. "Do you have glass in you anywhere?"

"I think so," I groaned as Clint scooped me up.

"What happened?" he asked as he brought me back up the steps.

"I was walking down the steps and my back cramped up," I confessed. "So I let go of my dress and I slipped on it."

"What about the glass?" Clint asked as he sat me on the counter.

"It was already there," I said, wincing as Clint picked up my palm and started to pick the glass out. "Why does this keep happening?"

"Because you keep acting like you have never been injured," Clint said "You've been healed but sometimes this is going to happen."

I nodded and remained quiet as Clint grabbed a bowl of water and a plate. "Where is your dad?" he asked.

"I don't know," I whispered. "He left the concert hall and I haven't seen him since."

Clint nodded as he wiped the blood away from my palm before moving to the next one.

Once all the glass was removed and the blood cleaned up Clint helped me to my room, he stood outside the door while I changed into a baggy t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. I looked at the mirror and saw my hair that had turned into a rat's nest and that I now had raccoon eyes.

"You can come in Big Bird," I called as I turned on the water in the sink.

I heard Clint hop on the bed and I placed my ring on my ring holder.

"So how much longer are you going to hang around here?" I asked as finished wiping the make-up off of my face and started on my hair.

"Want to get rid of me so soon?" Clint asked "Tweety, I'm hurt."

I rolled my eyes as I finished brushing my hair. "I'm trying to figure out how much time I have left with you. I'm going to miss you."

"I'm here until we figure out what's going on at Stark," Clint said.

"And if you never figure it out?" I asked as I plopped on the bed next to him.

Clint turned his head towards me.

"It's possible, whoever did this planned this thoroughly and the longer this goes without any hint the harder it will be to catch them." I said. "It's the truth."

Clint nodded as he took in this information. "If we never caught him, and that is a big if then yes, I will eventually be reassigned." He confessed.

"Will I ever see you again?" I asked.

"Of course," Clint said. "And with you going to New York I'll see you more often."

I smiled and then curled into the bed, I was tired after the events of the day.

"Good night Big Bird," I mumbled.

"Good night Tweety," Clint replied.

I felt the bed rise up as Clint got off of the bed and the soft click of the door as he shut it.

JARVIS dimmed the lights of my room and I let my eyes close.

I woke up to a note on my side table.

Tweety, take these pills and make sure you get a good nights sleep tonight.

Happy birthday

Clint

I smiled as I took the two small pills that Clint had given me. I guess it was a testament that Clint was a part of the tiny family that I had put together, I coughed again as I swallowed the pills.

I needed to take a shower; just washing my face wasn't enough. I needed to clean all of the blood off of my legs and arms. I ran the water as I stared at myself in the mirror. There was bruising all over my chest from the tumble I took down the steps, I sighed as I took a step into the shower, the cuts on my hands and legs burned as the water hit them. The water finally turned from the pink color to clear as I washed my hair and body. I finally decided to leave the warmth of the shower and dry off with a towel before putting on a robe. My father wasn't in the house still so I got dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a blue slouchy top. I had slipped my ring back on my right finger; I probably wasn't ever going to not wear it. It was the first gift I can remember my dad actually giving me. I will probably never forget last night, both the good and the bad.

I saw that the package that I ordered for the arc reactor had arrived and was sitting on the counter wrapped in paper.

I sighed thinking about the bad, I needed to clean up the mess that was made downstairs. Grabbing a broom and the dustpan I slowly, very slowly, made my way down the steps. I swept up the glass and threw it away. I walked over to the sink that was in my dad's lab, grabbed a rag and got it wet. I needed to clean the blood off of the floor. I was scrubbing when JARVIS alerted me that I had a phone call.

It was Uncle Rhodey.

"Hello?" I answered as I continued scrubbing the last blood spot off the floor.

"Well is that my eighteen year old niece?" he joked on the phone

"It sure is," I teased back as I leaned back on my knees; I wiped my forehead, and stood up. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, you could come outside and come with me to enjoy your birthday present," he said.

"Really?" I asked the excitement in my voice.

"Really, really," he said.

"Give me five minutes," I said as I threw the rag in the sink and very slowly made my way back up the steps.

"I'll be here," he promised.

Once I was ready, Rhodey and I made our way to the air base.

"What are we doing here?" I asked.

"Well we are going to fly a plane," Rhodey said.

I stopped and turned to look at him, a huge grin on my face. "Seriously?!" I squealed.

Rhodey nodded his head and we headed over to a tiny plane, Corey was there and the three of us got into it.

The flight was smooth and I landed it a little hard but it went extremely well. Both Rhodey and Corey were proud and they both promised that we could do it again soon.

Rhodey and I were headed back to the car when he got paged to go to the command room.

Rhodey decided to take me along and the two of us walked into the room.

"Talk to me," Rhodey said as soon as we entered the room.

"We ran an ID check and cross-referenced with all known databases. We have nothing," one of the men told him.

"Any high altitude surveillance in the region?" Rhodey asked.

"We got an AWAC and a Global Hawk in the area," he replied.

All of that talk went over my head as they went back and forth between Rhodey and a few other men. From what I gathered whatever was in the air was tiny and wasn't from us.

"Let me make a call. Sergeant, clear a hole." Rhodey said as he picked up his phone, he walked over to where I was standing and pulled out his phone.

"Tony," Uncle Rhodey said into the phone,

I couldn't hear what my dad was saying but judging by the roll of Uncle Rhodey's eyes I assumed that he was being an asshole.

"It's Rhodes," he practically yelled into the phone. "I said it's Rhodes!"

He shot an exasperated look at me and I just raised my eyebrow at him.

"What in the hell is that noise?" he asked.

"Yeah, well, I need your help right now," he stated.

I was growing tired of hearing this one sided conversation so I turned to face the screen. No one was paying much attention to me so I snuck a little closer to the screen to see what was going on.

"No, Scarlett is here with me," Rhodey said. "Do you want to try again?"

I turned around to face Rhodey once I heard my name being dragged into the conversation. Rhodey ignored my look and just continued to talk to my dad.

"You sure you don't have any tech in that area I should know about?" Rhodey asked.

"Bogey spotted! Whiplash, come in hot," One of the officers in the room called, I turned my head to the screen and I felt my stomach drop. Because the bogey that they were so worried about was actually my dad in his suit.

"Oh my God," I whispered at the same time Rhodey announced to my dad that they were going to blow it to kingdom come.

Rhodey walked up to where I was standing to watch the screen, I gripped his arm and he looked down at me. "Uncle Rhodey," I said in a hushed tone. "It's him."

"What do you mean it's him?" Rhodey asked. I still hadn't taken my hand off of his wrist.

"It's him," I said urgently again. "Rhodey, it's him."

"He said he didn't have any tech in the area," Rhodey said trying to calm me down.

"It's not tech," I said again, watching the screen as drama between my father and the pilots unfold. "It's him."

"I don't understand," Rhodey said again.

I didn't know how else to explain it, it was my dad in that suit and he was being shot at; somebody needed to stop it.

Our phones started to ring at the same time and I looked at my ID to see Clint's name flashing at me. I sighed as I pressed the green phone button on my phone; this wasn't going to be a pleasant call.

"Hello?" I asked hesitantly.

"What is going on?" Clint asked. I could hear in his tone that this wasn't my physical therapist Clint; this was Hawkeye, a SHIELD special agent.

"It's my dad," I responded as I made my way towards the back of the room. I shot a glance towards Rhodey who seemed to be having an intense conversation and judging by the vein that was throbbing in his temple, it was probably a conversation with my dad. "I'm with Rhodey right now but Clint, it's my dad in his suit."

"Fuck," Clint swore as he understood what was going on. "Do you know what he was doing?"

"No," I said as I started to panic slightly. "Clint, are they going to shoot him down?"

"No, no," Clint said "Tweety Bird, listen to me, we are taking care of it. Rhodey is on it and so is SHIELD. Your father is going to be fine."

I found myself nodding along to Clint's words, despite the fact that he couldn't see me. "Ok," I said. "He is going to be fine."

"Major, we don't even know what we're shooting at. Call off the Raptors," Rhodey said as he went back up to the officers. I turned to face the screen again.

"They called off the planes," I said a little breathlessly. "Clint, he is ok."

I heard Clint sigh as I relayed the information. "Ok, I'm going to handle the stuff on my side, but Coulson is going to want to move the meeting forward."

"Ok," I said breathlessly as I stepped out of the room, I needed air. All of the stress of that situation was getting me. "I, I can do that," I stuttered.

"Tweety?" Clint called. "You sound a little weird."

"I think I'm going to be sick," I admitted to him.

"Ok, um, can you find a trashcan?" Clint directed me through the phone.

I looked around but the spinning wasn't helping me.

"Scar?" I heard Rhode's voice call me, I turned around to face him but I guess that was one spin to many, because I soon found myself throwing up. I was bent over and grateful that I had pulled my hair up earlier.

"Woo," Rhodey said as he ran over to me, he took my phone away from me and started to rub circles on my back. "Are you ok?"

I felt myself nod my head as I slowly stood up; I wiped my mouth and looked him in the eye. "Yeah," I answered. "I just, the stress," I tried to explain. "My dad."

Rhodey just nodded his head in understanding. He took my arm and gently led me to a small kitchen-looking room. He set me in a chair and grabbed a bottle of water. I took it and sipped slowly, I noticed Rhodey staring at me and I returned the glance.

"So that's what your dad's been working on?" he asked.

"Yeah," I admitted with a small sigh as I took another sip. "Since he's gotten back."

Rhodey nodded and silence passed as I finished the bottle of water.

Once I had finished he helped me up and we went back to his car.

"Are you going to come check out the suit?" I asked as he finally pulled into our ridiculously long driveway.

Rhodey paused for a second and looked at the house and then he looked back at me. "No, its better if I don't."

I nodded my head and opened the door. "Hey Uncle Rhodey," I said. "Thank you for today, I loved it."

Rhodey smiled and nodded his head. "Anytime," he promised.

With another smile I stepped out of the car and headed inside the house. I was going to give dad a huge lecture once I was inside.

AN: poor Scarlett, another birthday with a sad ending, however there was a positive note!

A little short on the reviews for last chapter :/ but a HUGE thank you to the four people who reviewed last chapter.

Guest: Thanks for the review, I'm glad you like it!

: aw I'm glad you liked Tony, I keep trying to keep him believable

Purple Pizza: Right?! When I was writing it, I kept wanting to skip ahead and get to the team work together but I felt like it needed to be explored and developed before we got to the fun stuff

JJAndrews: Wow, that was oneof the highest compliments that I could have had, Thanks for the review!