As promised, here is the update on Tuesday :) it's a bit longer than my other chapters but I would bet you guys don't mind. As you will find out momentarily, Dani meets someone new today. Just FYI, she won't be there long in THIS story because it will mostly be fluff. Which brings me to my announcement:

I have an "outtakes" story to accompany this one. I can write chapters and chapters of extensive fluff and this story will go no where. So, the side story contains all the fluff. If you like that kind of thing, then you can find the story on my profile. If not, there are no important parts in there, you can just stick to this. But, alot of the areas where I didn't write about in this story will be written about in there. I hope you guys like it.

Also, please vote for who I should pair Dani with if you haven't already. For those of you who left a comment on who she should be paired with, I will add those votes after I close the poll (which is on my profile). At the moment, Steve and Bucky are tied for first place.

Enjoy!

-Stax

Chapter 10

Everything was cold. Bone chillingly cold. Dani didn't want to open her eyes, she just wanted to fall asleep again. Maybe then she wouldn't be cold.

She heard a child crying in the distance. She groaned. I have to open my eyes now, don't I? It took all her effort to push her heavy lids open, but as she did, the cold rushed away. She shook herself. What is this place...?

She was standing in a very ornate foyer, in some kind of mansion. The crying, which was getting louder, was up the stairs. Groggily she walked up them, gaining more of her awareness back with every step. She padded down the thick carpet until she found the room that the crying was coming from. Nobody was around. This is so creepy its not even funny she thought as she reached for the doorknob-

And her hand went through it.

She shrieked in shock, and the crying on the other side of the door stopped momentarily. She fought the urge to hyperventilate. Slowly, she reached for the knob again. As her hand went through, it felt cold. Just the part that was inside of the brass was cold.

She stepped back. Did I die? She wondered as the memory of the ice returned to her half-conscious brain. Is this... heaven? Oh no, what if it's hell!? She panicked. ...Calm down, there would be HUNDREDS of crying kids to torment me if this was hell she reasoned. Am I... a ghost? That would work. But it wouldn't explain why I am HERE.

She stepped towards the door. The crying had resumed, and she figured that whomever was there might be able to give her some idea what the hell was going on. She put her hand up to the door- it stood to reason that if the knob let her through, so would the door. Sure enough, as she stepped forward she passed through the door. An awful chill went over her body as the wood passed over her molecules, but she didn't have time to process that.

There was a child on the other side, on the floor, surrounded by crayons and coloring books and bits of metal. He saw Dani and began screamimg at the top of his lungs.

"No, no, no, its ok, I'm friendly! I swear!" She said, putting her hands up in what she hoped was a harmless-looking manner. The kid shut his mouth but still looked terrified.

"Who are you!?"

"I'm... your conscience" she said weakly. An even more panicked look crossed the boy's round features and Dani facepalmed. Way to go, Dani. "Your conscience." You have the BEST ideas. As the child opened his mouth again to wail, Dani interjected. "No, no, no, I'm not your conscience. I was joking! I'm... your imaginary friend! You were sad so your mind made a pretend friend!" Dani was able to relax as the boy seemed pleased with this answer. He looked at her scrutinizingly.

"Why do yah look like Corporal White then?" He asked. How does he know about me...? She noticed a picture on his desk- it was of her, Howard, Steve and Bucky. She remembered the day they took that. "That picture. You see me all the time. Brains are funny, it just picked a random person." The kid looked at her dubiously.

"Then why didn't I get Captain America? Or at least somebody prettier?" Dani snorted.

"Your brain not mine, kid. I dunno." She looked down at what he was doing. "Are you... building a mechanical version of that duck?" She asked. There was a pile of metal that looked quite like the image of a duck that was in the open coloring book. Smiling proudly, the kid held it up.

"Yup! It can walk too!" He said.

"You... made this?" She asked. The child couldn't be more than five or six years old, but the duck was incredibly well made.

"Yep!"

"That's amazing!" He smiled proudly. Something clicked in Dani's head. "Kid... what's your name?" His smile scrunched into a face of disgust.

"You're my imaginary friend, you know my name" he sassed.

"...Tony Stark...?"

"Oooh! I like 'Tony'. Mommy and Daddy and all my nannys call me Anthony. CALL ME TONY NOW!" He said, standing up exitedly.

"Well then, nice to meet you, Tony" she said with a grin. "You can call me Dani."

"Yah, your first name is Danielle right?" She nodded. "WE BOTH HAVE AWESOME NICKNAMES NOW!" He violently threw the purple crayon at the wall.

"Woah, calm down" Dani chastised him.

"Hey-"

"What?"

"If you can go through doors then I CAN GO THROUGH YOU RIGHT?"

"I don't-" Dani began, but the hiper boy wasn't listening. He football charged towards her and she didn't process that in time to step out of the way. She was knocked over to the ground, completely unable to resist his momentum. "Ouch."

"Oops! Sorry!" He said.

"Tony- here, grab my hand" she said, standing up and holding her arm out. "Now pull on it." Sure enough, she couldn't resist the pull. I should be stronger than him... its like I dont exist. She pulled again and her hand went through his. Interesting...

"THAT IS THE COOLEST THING EVER" Tony raved. "YOU'RE LIKE A GHOST! LETS GO SHOW DADDY!" He ran out the door, followed by a slightly dazed Dani. This is so surreal... Down two flights of stairs and three hallways, they came to a workshop where Howard was hunched over a chunk of wires and circuits. "DADDY!" Dani was surprised that she didn't need to catch her breath. Tony was gasping for air as he enthusiastically tried to get his dad's attention. "DADDY LOOK AT MY NEW FRIEND!" That got him to look up. He had bags under his eyes and a foggy expression on his face but it was definitely Howard. "Its Corporal White!"

"Anthony what are you talking about?"

"My new best friend!" He said happily, pointing at Dani. Howard shook his head.

"You have an imaginary friend?"

"Yup!"

"Anthony I don't have time for this-"

"CALL ME TONY NOW!" Dani stepped in front of Howard and waved her hand. "SEE? SEE, SHE'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!" He really can't see me? "SHE'S TOUCHING YOU!" Her hand went through him, just like it had with the door. Howard shivered a bit and leaned slightly away from her.

"Anthony-"

"TONY! T-O-N-Y!"

" ...'Tony'... why don't you go show... your mother? Or Beatrice? Beatrice is nice!" Tony got red in the face and clenched his tiny fist.

"Mommy doesn't like me and Beatrice went to the bar."

"Did she now? Well, I guess we're firing her too, you'll have a new nanny as soon as I find one." Almost as an afterthought, he added "and mommy doesn't hate you." Tony looked even more frustrated.

"I heard her say it to you when you though I was in bed." Howard froze. Dani stepped over to Tony.

"Tony, I'm your friend now. You... wanna go finish the duck? We could paint it yellow after." Tony looked at her.

"Yellow AND red. Those are my favorite colors" he insisted. Dani nodded. She could see Howard visibly relax in her peripheral vision. As Tony left the room ahead of her, she turned around and flipped Howard off. "What does that mean" came from behind her. She spun around to him trying to form the shape with both his hands.

"Uh... Tony, don't do that. It's not good." He opened his mouth to protest but she started walking out of the room. "LAST ONE TO GET TO THE DUCK IS A ROTTEN EGG!" She yelled, and Tony ran after her as fast as his short legs would carry him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dani sighed as she sat on the plush chair by Tony's bed. Convincing him to put on pyjamas was not unlike hostage situation negotiations. She had to promise him all the fun stuff that they would do tomorrow. But now he was asleep and she had nothing to do. She couldn't turn on the radio, read a book, or even color in the coloring book because she couldnt move anything.

She got up and moved to the picture on his dresser. For her, that image had been taken less than a year ago. For Howard it had been more like fifteen. She smirked at the composition of the photo; Bucky and Steve were on either side of her, arms draped over her shoulders. She had her arms around their waists. And then Howard was just kind of standing there next to Steve. He still looked happy, though. She remembered how much of a fan Howard was of Steve. She would bet that Tony heard alot about that from him.

Am I really that short she wondered, noting that she came up just past her friends' armpits. Yes, I'm HORRIBLY short. Or they are horribly tall. Maybe I was slouching...

Dani tried to pick up the image to hold it to her chest. Of course her hands went through and hit the wall behind the picture. She slammed her head on the dresser. She dragged herself over to the plush armchair and settled in with the intent to fall asleep. It was several hours before rest gave her a break from her guilty mind.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Holy shit, Tony, you broke ALL OF THEM?"

Tony was standing in the middle of a kitchen full of broken glass.

"Holy shit, Dani, I wanted to see how high I could stack them" Tony said, furrowing his tiny brow. Dani shook her head.

"How many times do I have to tell you, don't say the swear words you learn from me."

"Holy shit."

"More like 'little shit'." Dani started to walk towards him. "Stay where you are, I'm going to find a clear path for you-" Tony climbed up on the counter top and walked along that to get away from the heap of glass. "Or do that...WOAH DONT TRIP!" She said, instinctively dodging forward to catch him. The seven year old caught his balance and gave her a cheeky grin. "You are gonna be the death of me, you know that?" She looked around at the mess. "I didn't know your family even had this many cups and glasses."

"There were some plates and bowls in there too" Tony called over his shoulder as he was leaving the room. Dani facepalmed several times.

Tony was a handful, to say the least. She couldn't physically move him out of harm's way, so she had spent the week she had known him doing nothing but warning him when he was in harm's way and having mini heart attacks. She wasn't there all day, every day. Quite like when she was with young Steve and Bucky, she skipped hours at a time. But unlike then, her time jumping was over short periods of time. When his private tutor was here, when he was sleeping, when he was deeply occupied in a project- she time jumped. She saw him almost every day but only for about a fourth of the day total.

That was more than enough time for him to stress her poor heart out.

A loud crash sounded from the next room.

"What!? You just got done making a mess, what is it this time!?" She yelled, dashing to ensure his safety. He was standing next to the overturned bookshelf with puppy dog eyes. He knew as long as he was safe, she wouldn't be mad at him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tony had been asleep for a while now. Dani was still here.

It wasn't like she needed sleep. She didn't have a body that tired anymore. Sometimes, she wondered if she was dead. Or, if she really was his imaginary friend. Maybe imaginary friends don't know they are imaginary friends. Maybe they think they are real. I don't even know anymore...

Her mind needed rest sometimes, she slept for that reason only. Occasionally she was left while Tony slept, and she could wander around and think. Which was nice and all, but it meant she was going to wind up thinking about Steve and Bucky. Sighing heavily, she set out to wander the mansion.

Once she was out in the hall, she could hear arguing. A man and a woman- probably Howard and his wife. Come to think of it, Dani hadn't seen Maria Stark, Tony's mom, the entire two weeks she had been here. I really shouldn't eavesdrop... but if I don't find something to distract me I will start crying again. That settled, she headed downstairs to find the source of the fight.

A slightly secluded sitting room held Howard, and a woman. The woman, whose blonde hair was pulled into a harsh bun, was facing away from the door through which Dani entered. Her high pitched voice filled the small area.

"-Didn't want this, do you know what I gave up for you?" Howard was resting on a red velvet couch, glass of what Dani presumed was alcohol in his hand. He looked slightly upset, but equally bored.

"Dear, you know very well WHOM I gave up for you. I fund all your expensive shopping flings and I don't even expect you to raise our son." He took a large gulp of the reddish liquid. Dani felt uncomfortable, and turned to leave.

"OUR SON? YOU DARE CALL HIM OUR SON? DON'T YOU CALL HIM MY SON, HOWARD. NOT AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO ME." Dani stopped in her tracks. Conflicted feelings taged in her chest, but her ever present sense of curiosity prevailed. She moved further into the room.

"Listen, Maria, I never meant for her to get pregnant. I'm not even seeing her anymore, I'm trying to do right by you-" Dani gasped. Nobody heard, of course.

"You work with that bitch every day, how do I know you still aren't doing things behind my back!?" Feeling like she was in a soap opera, Dani leaned forward. Who!? WHO!?

"Because you scared Peggy off the last time you came in to yell at her, she won't even talk to me now. She didn't know I was married, you know?" Dani stuck a fist in her mouth. Holy crap, they WERE fondueing! ...did she cheat on Steve? She did some quick math in her head. No, it was quite a while after Steve... and I... were iced. Still...

"I'm not going to pretend he is my son, Howard. If you want him to feel a mother's love then you will send him off to Peggy like I wanted you to do when you brought him home!" Mouth open, Dani backed out of the room. She had heard enough. A tear fell down her cheek at the thought of what Tony was going through. He hadn't asked for this... she decided then and there that she would do her best to mother him. His issues in the future probably stemmed from this crap...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Someday I'll bring him to meet his mother she mused as she watched him work. The now ten-year-old was looking- and acting- more and more like his father every day. He had Peggy's sass, though. Now, his concentrated gaze was fixed on the family vacuum cleaner. The maid was currently searching for it, but Dani warned him whenever she got close.

"See, if I make it self- propelled and give it a program so it avoids my legos and the edges of Mom's expensive rug, then we can get rid of that nasty maid forever" he reasoned to her as he attempted to screw a sophisticated looking motherboard into the handle. Dani hummed in agreement- footsteps were coming down the hall now, so she leaned through the door to check if it was the surly cleaning woman again. She smiled and stepped back inside.

"Jarvis is coming and he has cookies" she said, flopping onto the floor. Dani had originally had mixed feelings about the new butler. Obviously, Tony liked him enough now to name his AI after him in the future. What creeped her out about the man, however, was the fact that he played along when Tony talked about his "imaginary friend". He always brought extra cookies for her (which Tony would then eat) and nod and listen when Tony recounted their adventures. But that even wasn't what creeped her out.

Tony, like many small children would, insisted that Jarvis interact with her. And to some degree, he did. He would turn IN HER DIRECTION and greet her, even though his eyes wouldn't meet hers. Without fail he would turn where she was. One time she had asked him a question about the cookies and he had answered.

Dani had two theories about this. Either, she REALLY WAS Tony's imaginary friend, and Jarvis was making up fake responses to say to the air. Tony was then imagining a matching question for her to have asked. The thought that this was a possability caused her to shudder. I can't be imaginary... I have too many memories...

The other option was that he could see her.

Sometimes when he was in the kitchen alone, she would lean on the counter and talk to him. He never acknowledged her presence, ever. But once, when she mentioned something funny Tony had done, she could have sworn he got the tiniest of smiles on his face.

Either way, he was growing on her. He brought her cookies, for crying out loud.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I'm too old for an imaginary friend" Tony said from his bed. "So why do I keep imagining you here?" Dani, across from him on the tattered couch, shrugged.

"I'm too old to BE an imaginary friend, I'm twenty two. You're fourteen, you aren't too old." Tony gave her a look. "Well, maybe I'm NOT your imaginary friend. Maybe I am... your guardian angel!" The stink eye directed at her intensified.

"That car would have stopped. I would have been fine" he insisted, referring to an incident earlier this week where she had stopped him from walking into oncoming traffic. Her dubious look indicated that she disagreed.

"I got my "visions" with that, you would have died. Trust me on this."

"You're just in my head, you can't know that."

"Like hell I can't, I got the visions that time you almost cut your finger off. The doctor said if you hadn't unscrewed it so quickly they would have had to amputate. Need I remind you that it was me that prompted you to undo the screw instead of stand there trying to shake it off your hand?"

"Stop using the 'potato peeler invention incident' to guilt me into listening to you" he pouted. She shook her head. "Also... how do you know you're twenty two if you actually skip around like you say?" She stood up, pulled out her phone and walked to him. She had discovered the phone in her back pocket one day, and it was as intangible as she was. Conveniently, whenever she dropped it or when it left her hand, it disappeared and returned to her pocket.

"See this? This timer has been running ever since I got here. Its been a bit over four years for me, see? I was eighteen when I got here. So, I'm actually almost twenty two and a half." He gave her an amazed expression.

"So..."

"Yep, I'm pretty old."

"No, what is THAT thing?" Dani facepalmed. The rest of the afternoon was spent explaining cell phones.