They'd laid her to rest in a private room in the hospital, emergency surgery was a stressful procedure to carry out on her already destroyed body. Nobody was going to medically explain to her what had happened until weeks after the trauma, so for now, she was sleeping under the care of the two men in the room with her. It hadn't matter to either of them how much the medical staff had tried to shoo them away from her on the claim that they weren't supposed to be there. They both knew they had to protect her, or else they'd never be forgiven. The gala had turned into a disaster from the moment she'd started to scream, the possibility of more funding and resources had disappeared instantly, but it didn't matter. They'd gotten her out of there and into the care of the most qualified doctors in New York.

Neither man was speaking to the other, but both where thinking the same thing. Why hadn't they know what she was going through? How had they let her keep something like this to herself?

Tony's disappearance from her life had affected her much more than either of them had realised.

Sighing softly to himself Happy Hogan reached forwards and gently took her hand in his, reasonably certain that she wouldn't know he was doing it but the action made him feel slightly less useless, especially when Rhodey copied him. In her sleep, Pepper seemed to tighten her grip on both of them, expression relaxing a little.

From their little haven, none of them could hear the noise from downstairs. Ironman had just almost crash landed into the foyer of the hospital, sending patients and paperwork flying as he abandoned the armour, approaching the nearest, terrified member of staff to ask about the whereabouts of his girlfriend. Tony suspected the reaction he was getting probably wouldn't have been so bad if the press hadn't presumably been making such a fuss of the fact he was 'dead'. The staff where all behaving as if he was a zombie and staying as far away from him as possible.

Once the nurse in front of him had just about managed to stutter out directions he tossed her a wink and turned away, internally debating if it would have been much easier to just crash through the window or something?

He hated hospitals, they where huge, confusing and stank of bleach and death. But he had to find her. How was he supposed to live without the one woman he lived for? His hunt seemed to take hours, wondering through corridors like a lost student at MIT years ago.

Finally, somehow, he'd happened upon the right room, leaning up a little to gaze through the window, just to check the directions he'd been handed where correct. For once, he wasn't thinking about himself, but about the damsel sleeping in the hospital sheets, her hands wrapped into those of his two best friends. Was he going to do this right? How did you do this? He'd never had to reappear in anyone's life before, he made a habit of staying away once he'd been thrown out of it.

Maybe he should just turn around and walk away, maybe she was better off without him there to cause all this trouble. What had happened with her was going to be his fault, he'd already decided on that. Pepper was going to hate him for whatever had happened to her for not being there to protect her from it. Wasn't that what his job was supposed to be? He was her lover, her partner, her boyfriend and he adored her, and by now, he probably should have married her.

Tony had two options, walk away, and give up on her.

Or man up, and walk in there, and take whatever happened next.

Thats what true love was, right? Taking whatever came and holding her hand through all of it.

Biting his lip, he pushed the door to her hospital room open, making her two bedside accomplices jump about six foot in the air. The looks of complete shock at the sight of him would have been almost amusing if it wasn't for the situation. Stark had barley the time to question either of them about anything before they'd both left, seeming to ceremonially agree that it was better left the the sleeping woman to explain everything she'd been through since he'd disappeared from her life.

Tony had barley been in the room on his own for five minutes before he'd started to panic, just standing at the end of her bed and watching her hurt. She looked destroyed, not that she'd confess it to him, but her sunken eyes and pale skin gave it away, Pepper looked nothing like herself.

He'd broken her heart.

He'd never realised what it could really do, leaving her alone like that, after all those promises and nights together and affection. He'd thought about it before, only once or twice before the disaster, that maybe he should go. Maybe he deserved better than this, and maybe she did to, but watching her now, the pain etched into her cheeks, how could he ever have thought about that?

Anthony Stark hadn't even noticed the tears running down his cheeks until he lent down over her, brushing her messy ginger curls from her forehead, just... watching her. Was this what she's been doing when he was sleeping? Watching him and worrying like this? Nobody had actually told him if she was going to wake up or not. Or if this really was the end. Was it possible his the woman he had always through had an ice-cold heart and no emotions had going to die of a broken heart and he hadn't been there in time to save her?

"Pepper..." The words had slipped from his mouth before he'd realised, leaning down to rest his forehead against hers, burying his face in her hair and just inhaling the scent. She still smelt like an apricot: "Pepper don't do this... I need you... I'm so sorry I left you." If Stark could see himself now he had a feeling he'd probably want to be sick. He wasn't really into the whole over dramatic confessions of love at the best of times, and right now was probably one of the worst.

"I don't know what happened..." It seemed like he couldn't stop the words despite his own thoughts, still clutching her as his legs started to give way, tears dropping onto her face: "I don't care... Virginia... I love you... I know it sounds stupid and selfish but I do... I need you.." Somehow Tony Stark was on his knees beside her bed, her hand clutched in his as he watched her, tear-stained and worried: "You're not allowed to go.. I'm sorry. I'll give up, I swear, give up being iron man and just marry you if that's what you want me to do Gina..." The words seemed to wonder away as he pressed her hand to his lips, dropping his forehead against the sheets and trying to calm himself down, wishing he didn't feel quite so much like a badly acted lead character in a romcom: "Please don't leave me Pepper..." He managed to choke out between tears, finally giving up and letting himself come apart against her touch.

He'd been to caught up in his own emotions to notice the woman in the pile of pillows and blankets move, eyes slowly blinking open in shock at the sound of the voice above her. Pepper had already decided she must have died. She'd had to try and force herself to come to terms with that thought, that she might be on her own forever, her and...

And...

Screwing her eyes closed she slipped than hand that wasn't encased down her body under the covers, the pain had disappeared, replaced by a dull ache between her legs and inside her that she could barely feel for the medication being forced into her body.

Her bump was gone.

Virginia wasn't quite sure if it was a feeling of relief or heartache that suddenly washed over her. She'd lost it. The only small part of the man who'd stolen her heart was gone from inside her body.

But it seemed to have been replaced by him.

His voice was as crystal clear as she remembered it, insisting with her that he loved her, part of her was secretly enjoying the chance to listen to him confess everything she'd missed hearing him say for all these months. He loved her, he seemed insistent about that. Pepper wanted to open her eyes, wanted to throw herself into his arms, it didn't matter if he was real or not anyone. She'd lost the baby. The one thing she had been forcing herself to live for had been ripped from inside her before it could cause her any more pain.

How would she explain it to him? That she'd failed as a mom? She couldn't even do the one thing that women where made to do by nature.

Virginia Potts had lost Tony Starks baby.

Keeping her eyes closed tight she just laid there, letting the sound of his tears wash over her as she tried to think about it. If he was real, if that really was the man she loved holding her again then maybe he didn't need to know? Maybe she could find a way to cover up the truth until she knew what to do about it.

But he was going to notice that she was alive soon, he was going to realise and then probably panic and ruin the entire moment and all she needed to do was open her eyes.

They'd have to deal with what had happened. There was nothing else she could do about it. She had to know if he really was there against her again.

Holding her breath she reached out, hand suddenly against hair she recognized just from the feeling.

He was real.

Before she could think she'd sat up, eyes wide open and gazing at the sight of him kneeling at her bedside, shoulders shaking from the tears. Pepper had never seen him cry before, she'd never wanted to see it. And she never wanted to see it again. He looked as broken as she'd been for the past few months, sobbing on her knees at his bedside praying that there would be a way to bring him back to her.

"Tony..." She'd spoken without meaning to, reaching towards him with both hands, desperate to make eye contact with him again.

Stark wasn't quite sure if he was imagining it, the feeling against his hair and the sound of her barely audible voice above his sobs, but for some reason, he looked up anyway.

Only to be met with the blue-green gaze of someone he never thought he'd see again.

"P-pepper?!" Anthony almost choked on his words, staring at her in complete shock, eyes red from crying as he looked at her.

For a while, they both stayed silent, just looking.

Neither of them had ever believe they could miss the other like that.

"I..."

"You..."

"Oh god..."

"We..."

Words seemed to fail both of them, still lost in each others gaze as the strawberry-blonde moved, slipping her hand properly around his, gently running it over every callas, reminding herself of the map of his flesh that she knew so well. He didn't stop her, surprised by how soft she still felt.

Pepper knew she should say something, should speak, should tell him what had happened before he touched her again, but she couldn't. Stopping him became too difficult the moment his hand closed tight around hers, clutching it as if it might be yanked from his grasp at any moment.

Tony moved before she could stop him, someone forcing himself to his feet and perching on the end of the bed, tumbling into her arms the moment she offered them, clutching her to him as he burred himself against the crook of her neck, just taking in the feeling.

She curled up against him, eyes closing despite the tears that where pouring from under her eyelids, fists wrapped in his shirt. For a moment, she let herself go, taking in the scent and the feeling and the heat of him pressed against her.

The silence closed in again for a few minutes, time loosing all matter as they indulged themselves. There was no other answer for the feelings, maybe for the very first time, and maybe for the last time, She knew she loved him, and he loved her. This wasn't going to stop, even death couldn't do them part.

Hiccuping a little, Pepper pulled back, catching his gazed between her tears as she tried to calm down, trying to think of how to say it, her hands wondering up to rest against his cheek, stroking it gently: "Tony... I need t-"

He'd cut her off with his fingertip, pressing his forehead against hers as she cupped the hand she was pressing against him: "Tomorrow..." He muttered, leaning in so close their noses where touching, his warm breath gracing her lips again: "We'll talk about it Tomorrow..."

Again, they both just stopped, lost in each others warmth and affection again. Neither of them quite sure what to do with the other.

But the moment she found his warm lips pressed against hers she knew.

They where going to be okay, the pain, the hell she'd dragged herself through for the past through months, determined to make it work and have him back in her arms again, was suddenly worth it. Pepper had never imagined this moment would ever come, his hands slipping backwards into her hair to gently tip her neck to the side, deepening the gentle affection she was so desperate for, allowing her to loose herself as she relented, letting him indulge.

Tony Stark was alive.

And he was hers again.

THE END

Thank-you for the support and dedication of each of you for seeing this through until the end, it has been an emotional journey to say the story was written based on a very personal experience someone close to me when through last year, and is dedicated to her and her partner.

Hopefully someday the stars with bless you again and you'll regain that twinkle in your eye, but until then, we'll be by your side and in your heart to hold you tight.

If you would like me to, i am willing to write a few more (shorter) storys on the subject of Pepper and Tony dealing with everything she's been through since he's been gone, and dealing with some of the subplots in this story more in-depth.

Also, if you have an opinions/thoughts/questions about this Story, please feel free to ask!

Gingerfloss xx