It had always been a silent agreement between parent and child, that they would keep their problems to themselves. Tony didn't ask her about what happened before she came to live with him, and grace never asked about Tony's childhood. This followed after Tony's capture. She didn't ask about what had happened there nor did she treat him any differently.

She also was the only one who supported Tony's decision to stop making weapons. So as a result.

She was the only one he could trust.

The pair often found themselves together in the garage. Working on what Tony called the Mark II. And when her father had been testing it, she had been on communications with Jarvis, making sure everything was working as it should. She was also the one to suggest decorating the suit, with Tony agreeing happily. No one, not even pepper knew what they were up to. But as they worked, they both realised that things had changed.

To Grace, her father had this haunted look in his eyes and his carefree attitude, had been dampened. Sure he still had his sharp wit, and she would always love her father. But it was as if he was seeing the greater picture. It was as if he was becoming just a little more human.

To Tony, Grace too had changed. That or he was suddenly more aware of things he hadn't noticed before. Grace had more confidence now, she wasn't stuttering as often as she used to, and sometimes she would look him in the eye when they talked now. She was still his shy little girl, but he discovered that when her mind was focused on something, when she was working, she gained a silent confidence.

He also noticed things, he hadn't really taken in before. Like how much she got along with Jarvis, and his robot dummy. An example of this was when, he had threatened to donate dummy to a city college. She had looked horrified at the thought, and had comforted, yes Comforted the robot, saying how she wouldn't let that happen.

However the biggest thing he noticed, was her aversion to Obadiah. Sure she had always kept her distance, when she was younger, but he had put that down to nerves. However, when Obadiah had come over with pizza, Grace despite her growling stomach, had refused to go anywhere near the man.

"What is your problem with obi kid?" He'd asked her this one time when they were in the garage. She'd paused in her talking to the robot You.

"…I don't know" she finally conceded. "He just gives me a weird feeling"

Tony had laughed at that, Obadiah had always been a close friend of his, and someone he had trusted.

Though he now wished he had listened to his cautious girl, as he lay there, unable to move, as Obadiah taunted him. For a moment, he felt that pain of betrayal that he had been protecting himself against. But then he heard her.

"Dad? Do you want something to drink?"

Obadiah smirked, and a sinking feeling filled his being

Oh god, please. Not now! Anything but this.

As soon as Grace didn't get a reply, she instantly felt something bad had happened. However she had assumed that maybe something had happened to his arc reactor. Panicked, she wondered round the house, till she made it to the living room

And she would never forget the sight before her.

Her dad lay there, unable to move. Paler then she had ever seen him, he looked sickly.

As if he was on death's door.

She rushed towards him, not noticing the presence behind her as she fretted over him.

"Dad? Oh god what happened?" She took note of his missing arc reactor. "What happened to your arc reactor?" She didn't notice the widening of his eyes, as he found himself unable to warn her, when Obadiah grabbed her hair, yanking her off her dad.

"Well look what we have here, tony, it's your bastard child" Grace, didn't cry out when he yanked her hair. She narrowed her eyes. She was right not to have trust him, but to do this to her dad.

It was unforgivable.

Obadiah smirked darkly at her, before looking at her dad.

"Hmm, I'm going to need someone to... make me more arc reactors." Tony eyes widened.

"And with you being more disobedient and well dying, I'm going to need someone, less volatile." He tugged at her hair again, and she couldn't help the whimper of pain that passed her lips. With one last satisfied look at tony he paralyzed a squirming grace, and waltzed out the door carrying a limp over his shoulder. Leaving tony to watch angry and horrified as his father's best friend, took his best friend, his daughter away.

Phil Coulson, considered himself a good agent. Over the years, he had worked his way through the agency, and he completed his missions efficiently. And a key factor to being a good agent was to not get emotional attached.

However with Grace Tonya Stark, he had done just that.

True to his word, he had kept an eye on the girl, and he hadn't liked what he'd seen.

He only ever really got to see the girl when she was leaving school and when he was around the area. As he had thought, Grace was incredibly smart, and she did well academically. He didn't have a problem with that.

He had a problem with the people at the school. Grace was made an outcast, and she gradually became a victim of bullying. He couldn't get involved. He hadn't even meant to be getting involved with her.

But when she had seen him that faithful night, claiming she believed in heroes, and when he found out she had named the bear he had given her "Phil". He couldn't help it.

It when she was 9 that he first spoke to her. She was waiting for her driver, alone down the street from the school, most likely to avoid her class mates.

She had noticed him first, and she smiled happily, despite the bruise on her forehead.

"PHIL!" The small had run towards him, and after a few moments of hesitation she had hugged him.

"Hey sweetheart, it's been a while." She nodded, in agreement

"But what are you doing here Phil?" She peered up at him, with her cute brown eyes peering up in admiration he wasn't sure he was used to.

"Well, I was in the area, so I thought I'd check up on you" She certainly looked better, and she now looked a healthy weight, and she had a glimmer in her eye, that couldn't be classed as the innocence of a child.

She'd lost that, and it would be something she could never get back.

But she had a glimmer of happiness in her eyes.

"Grace." He pushed away the chocolate locks, to look at her forehead.

"Who did this to you" He'd hoped it wasn't Tony.

Tony was an asshole, but he prided himself being a good judge of character, and he was sure that Tony stark wasn't like the lowlife that had hurt her.

Grace however seemed to realise were his thoughts were leading and she shook her head rapidly, the pigtails in her hair swaying as she did so.

"It wasn't Daddy!" She insisted. "Daddy would never hurt me! "Phil smiled. She had placed so much trust in the playboy, it was a contrast from the untrusting little girl he had first met.

"Then who was it?" Grace didn't answer in so many words, but she glanced at the school building.

"You're being bullied?"

Grace frowned

"It's my fault Phil, I can't get along with the other kids" She went on to explain, timidly that she was doing really well in school, but the other children said that it was weird that she was. She also mentioned that she got picked on a lot in Pe.

Phil didn't need to ask why, just the fact that she was wearing a jumper despite it being incredibly warm.

"Why don't you tell Tony sweetheart?" Grace shook her head

"I don't want to be a bother, besides… It's not as bad as before…"She trailed off

Before she lived with Tony.

After that he had insisted that she tell her dad, though she had been stubborn in her refusal to do so. Therefore he had decided to give the girl his email address, so that they could keep in contact. She had agreed and even said she would make sure her dad didn't know

"You're a superhero Phil" She had said with a smirk "You have to keep your identity a secret!

So they had emailed each other over the years, though during the time her father had gone missing, she hadn't replied to him, and he understood that she had wanted her space.

"Oh Rhodey! Did you find him?" He was snapped out of his musings by Miss Potts,

"Wait…WHAT?!"Pepper looked frantically at him.

"Obadiah's kidnapped Grace?!"

And that was then that agent of shield.

Felt his blood run cold.

Grace soon found herself able to move, and decided to take in her surroundings. It was dark, and she could hear a slight buzzing sound, which upon inspection was from some of the machines in the vicinity. Her feet were dangling from the ground and she realised her wrists were handcuffed to a metal bar and that she was amongst a cluster of chains. Dangling she realised that she would need to get out of this predicament.

However it was then that she heard the clicking of heels, and then she came face to face with Pepper

"Grace! Are you okay"

"Yeah, I'm ok-"She heard the buzzing sound slightly louder, and upon seeing Pepper's horrified stare towards her right, she turned her head, to see two bright eyes, and a metallic figure. Pepper looked at her fearfully,

"Go! I'll be okay!"

The metallic suit, started to lean towards Pepper

"But-

"PLEASE!"

Looking at her one more time, Pepper scrambled away from her. The metallic suit, soon followed, and it was so intent on following pepper, it smacked her head with its hand as it left.

The blow was enough to make her dizzy, as she swayed from her chains. She also felt something warm drip from her temple.

Ah, she was bleeding.

Feeling light hearted, she decided she needed to get out. So using her right hand, she bent her thumb, until she felt a sharp pain. After dislocating it she managed to free her hand.

Falling to the ground ungraciously she stumbled down the corridor, holding her bleeding head. Hoping to find help.

She had not however, expected to see Phil Coulson pointing a gun at her.

Upon noticing her, he lowered her gun.

"Grace!?"

Grace couldn't hear what else he said, as the next thing she knew, she was swaying slightly.

And then everything went black.

Eventually she woke up, and found herself in a sterile room, with lights that were much too bright. A doctor came in, and told her she still had a slight concussion, and her thumb was going to be a little sore, she hadn't noticed her father in the bed next to her, pestering a nurse.

She smiled.

They were okay.

Everything was okay now.