So there was less excitement for the last chapter than i expected :( Thanks for those lovelies who enjoyed and reviewed, hope you enjoy this one.

'Tony, Tony where are you?'

I heard Rhodey yelling for me.

I dragged my feet up the stairs which led back to my house, each step was agonising, my heart ached, my lungs threatened to suffocate me. My eyes stung and the lump in the back of my throat grew. My mind raced, every possibility about Pepper's fate ran through my mind. The darkness within me was growing, I could feel the rage, I could feel the anger rising. Any control I felt I had was slipping away from me. The Extremis was powerful, now that the symptoms had lessened, the other side of the equation was much worse. I feared I was losing my grip. My mind was flying, I couldn't string together coherent thoughts, nothing which was of use to me anyway.

'Tony!' I heard Rhodey yell again, he was waiting at the top of the stairs.

I saw him, I saw his face. The look of shock matched the anger within me. I couldn't face anyone, I pushed past him.

'Tony.' He tried to stop me.

Every word sounded a mile away, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk. Every vein was pulsating with rage.

'Tony, Stop.' Rhodey yelled, he finally caught up to me and pulled me back.

I tried to push him away; I succeeded only for a moment. Before I could take another step toward the house he pulled me back.

'Stop Tony, wait.'

'Leave me alone.' I yelled.

I fought against his hold, I pushed him back. He refused to give in. I took a swing at him and my fist met with his jaw, I swung again and again, 'Tony, stop,' he yelled, he tried to block the punches, I couldn't think. I was blind; control was out of my hands. I swung again; this time he dodged my fist and pulled my arm down and twisted me into a headlock. He wrapped his arms around me. 'It's ok, Tony, it's ok.' He said over and over.

Whatever adrenaline was driving me was gone. I fell to my knees, I finally felt the tears which I realised were silently falling since I realised Pepper was gone.

I clutched at his arm, trying to push him away to no avail.

'Jarvis called me, Tony, we'll find her.' I felt Rhodey's hand on my shoulder.

'It's my fault.' I whispered.

'No, it isn't, you couldn't have known.' He tried to reason with me.

I couldn't accept that, it was my fault, I should have sent her away from here, I shouldn't have let her get close in the first place. But my need for her overrode logic.

Rhodey took my hand; I opened my fist and let the small heart drop the floor.

He looked at my hand, 'Christ, come on.'

He pulled me up to my feet, he led me up the path and in to the house. He sat me in a chair; he returned with a wet cloth and wiped my hand. My mind drifted in and out. I heard him talking to someone; I heard sirens, then several voices. Rhodey must have spoken to them because they left without talking to me.

'Tony, what happened?' I blinked through the haze; Happy knelt beside me, 'Tony?' He repeated.

I sighed, 'she was waiting for me and they took her.'

Happy ran his hand through his hair, 'are you alright?'

I shook my head, 'they took her because of me.'

Happy stood up and walked over to Rhodey. They both stood with arms crossed. They were speaking in hushed voices but I could still hear them.

'He's in shock.' Happy whispered.

'I'm just worried about what he'll do when he snaps out of it.' Rhodey said.

Happy sighed, 'he's going to get her back.'

'Then he'll kill everyone responsible.' Rhodey said.

'And that's a bad thing?' Happy asked.

'He will hate himself; he will live in regret if he does.' Rhodey explained.

'We're not going to be able to stop him.' Happy said, I noted a hint of concern, maybe even fear in his voice. 'You've seen the power he has, he won't let anyone stand in his way, he beat the shit out of you.' He continued.

'He's not in the right frame of mind.' Rhodey retorted, he held a bag of frozen peas to his face.

He was right. I looked at the bandage Rhodey had wrapped my hand in, bruises had formed across my knuckles and blood seeped through the cotton, I clenched my fist. The pain shot through my arm. I closed my eyes and rubbed my face.

'He needs us, we need to stand behind him, if he needs our help, we're doing whatever it takes.' Happy continued.

Rhodey cleared his throat, 'of course we're going to help.'

I stood up, 'this is my mess, and no one else needs to get hurt.'

Happy looked over at me, 'we're helping you.'

I shook my head, 'no, no one else is getting involved.'

Rhodey stood with his arms crossed, 'Tony.'

'Rhodey, no one else is getting hurt because of me.' I walked to the bar.

'We're all here because we're your friends Tony; we're all here by choice.' He retorted.

'She was taken because of me.' I yelled, 'because I wanted her to stay with me, I shouldn't have let her stay.'

'She stayed because she loves you, and we're here to help because we care about you both.' Rhodey said back.

I sat back down, I hung my head.

Rhodey knelt beside me and Happy on the other side, 'what can we do?' Rhodey asked.

I shook my head, 'I don't know, I don't know where they've taken her, or if she's even alive, I don't know.' I closed my eyes.

Happy rubbed my back, 'we'll work it out, we will find her.'

'What if she's gone?' I muttered, I felt sick saying the words, but the odds were not in my favour, I knew how these situations worked, I knew what kidnapping meant, 'what if I've lost her forever?' I breathed. The rage was rising again.

'Don't think like that, you can't let yourself go there.' Rhodey said firmly.

'Sir, incoming call from a blocked number.' Jarvis announced.

I swallowed hard. I stood up, Happy and Rhodey looked at me, a ransom call, this was good, they would bargain for her life, 'answer it.' I said firmly. I clenched my fists.

'Tony Stark…' came the voice, 'as you know by now, Miss Potts is in our company, so as long as you do what we're asking everything will work out.'

'Let me talk to her.' I said firmly.

The voice laughed, 'certainly.'

'Tony?' Pepper's panic stricken voice echoed throughout the house.

I bowed my head, she was alive, at least she was alive.

'Pepper, are you hurt?' I asked her calmly.

'No, I'm alright Tony, I'm so sorry.' She breathed.

'You've nothing to be sorry for.' I said quietly, tears threatening my eyes again, 'I should have been there to protect you.'

'It's not your fault Tony; don't ever think that, I love you so much.' I could hear her voice waiver; I knew the pride would never let her break down in front of them.

I sat back down in the chair, I felt my hands shake; the lights in the house began to flicker on and off, an indication of the Extremis and my mind battling hard to contain the rage which pulsated through my body.

Happy and Rhodey exchanged worried glances. I inhaled deeply; I controlled it as much as I could. I concentrated on the signal from the call, within seconds I could see where they were, how many there were and most importantly what kind of tech they had. I squeezed my eyes shut, the flickering intensified and the lights above me exploded.

'Tony, just come and get me ok?' She whispered.

I opened my eyes, 'I will, I'll find you and this will all be over, Pepper, just be strong for me.' I said as calmly as I could. She didn't need to hear my rage, I needed to be calm for her, and I needed to be confident so she would be.

'Tony, I want to dance with you again.' She whispered.

I dropped my head in my hands, 'we will, I promise.' I whispered back.

The voice came back on the line, 'now that we've gotten that out of the way, the request is simple.' He said.

I ordered Jarvis to switch off loudspeaker and braced myself, 'name it.'

'Your life for hers.'

I nodded. 'Done.' I said unflinchingly.

'Seventeenth Street, the cliff base at the end of the drive, tomorrow night at eight, be there or be square.' He laughed then disconnected the call.

I stood up; I ran my hands through my hair.

'What is it boss?' Happy asked, 'what do they want?'

'You know, the usual.' I lied, I feigned a smile.

Rhodey's head dropped, 'what do they want Tony?'

'What they always want.' I said simply.

'This is bad.' Happy added.

I smiled weakly, 'it could be always be worse.'

Rhodeys eyes said it all. He knew me almost as well as Pepper did, he knew what I meant and he knew that there was no question that I would do what needed to be done. I knew she was alive and where she was, and all they wanted was a simple trade. She would hate me for a while, and she'd be angry, but then she'd be ok, as long as she was alive everything would be worth it.

I smiled at my friends, 'I'm going to try and disable as much as I can on the suits and Extremis so it can't be used to full capacity.'

Happy shook his head, 'you won't be able to protect yourself if you do that.'

Rhodey looked down at his feet, he didn't need to say what he was thinking, I could see it.

I cleared my throat, 'it is what it is,' I left them, 'I'll see you later.' I said over my shoulder.

I walked with my head held high. I could make a difference, and I would. Pepper's life would be spared, and that was all that mattered.

So this will only get worse before it can get better, hope you're all still with me!