Virginia "Pepper" Potts had always prided herself on being a relatively calm person. Her cool demeanor, smart sense of fashion, and sense of meticulousness in everything she did gave her the ability to appear in public as an impeccable business woman. Indeed, Ms. Potts was a force to be reckoned with.

Sadly, even the great Pepper Potts of Stark Industries sometimes found herself in situations where she was at a loss of how to proceed. Many times these situations were caused by none other than the thorn in her side, otherwise known as Tony Stark. And while she had a great amount of practice dealing with the eccentric billionaire, this particular situation would be a bit harder to straighten out.

Inhaling deeply, she stepped out onto the curb, wondering just what circumstances had brought her to this small suburban area.

The address on the grey paneled home matched the one that had been hastily scrawled on the slip of paper that now resided at the bottom of her leather briefcase, next to the set of papers that had sent her here in the first place.

A wooden porch swing creaked in the arid summer breeze, red throw pillows tossed haphazardly against the stained oak. The sunshine yellow door was framed by two large potted ferns, giving the place a warm, welcoming look. But what drew her gaze was not the coziness of the place, or even the toys that littered the yard. It was a little boy, looking to be about four or five years old, seated on the porch steps, dangling his legs as he slurped on an orange popsicle.

From her current position it was difficult to see his entire face but his side profile had clearly been inherited from his-

Pepper took another deep breath, making her way towards the modest home.

"Hi." Her greeting was soft, so as not to startle the child. Intelligent green eyes watched her curiously as she drew nearer, their coloring almost a dark hazel. "Is your mother home?"

He nodded slowly. Pepper gave him a reassuring smile.

"Well, do you think I could speak with her?"

Pepper's only warning was another nod before a small, sticky hand grabbed her own and pulled her inside.

"Momma!" he called as he tugged her further into the house.

"In the office, Milo!"

A woman was sitting uncomfortably at an old-fashioned desk, her dark brown hair spilling over her shoulders as she leaned over the desktop.

"What..." The woman's voice trailed off as she glanced up. "O-oh. I didn't see you there. Ms. Potts, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Forgive me for coming in uninvited," Pepper hurried to apologize, trying to discreetly wipe the stickiness from her hand as it was released. "I was inside before-"

"No, no, that's alright. I just... wasn't expecting anyone. Much less Pepper Potts." She gave the little boy an exasperated look. "Milo, what did I say about bringing strangers into the house?"

Milo hung his head. "I'm sorry, Momma. I forgot."

"Milo, you can't forget things like that," she sighed. "We'll discuss this later. There's a snack waiting for you in the kitchen."

"Yay!" he squealed, darting around Pepper's legs to go and claim his prize. Whenever he disappeared his mother gave a tired sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I'm sorry." She extended her hand. "I'm Hannah Lawson. Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner."

Pepper gave her an understanding smile as they shook hands, being sure to use her left instead of her still semi-sticky right. "Pepper Potts, though I assume you know that from your earlier comment." Pepper glanced at the files and paperwork scattered across the desk. "If I caught you at a bad time..."

"Oh, no, not at all. Um, would you like a drink? We can sit on the back patio and discuss, well, whatever it is you came to discuss."

"That sounds lovely."

Hannah pushed her chair back, slowly rising to her feet. Pepper quickly noted the gentle swell of her stomach. It wasn't quite noticeable, not yet. Really it was the way Hannah moved, unconsciously resting a hand on her abdomen, that clued her in.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, pleasantly surprised. "How far along are you?"

"Eleven weeks."

"Only eleven...?" she asked doubtfully, stopping herself from cringing as she realized how her question could be taken. "You don't look that far along."

"Oh, I should though. Twins." Hannah smiled a little self-consciously. "I'll really start showing when I'm twenty four weeks, probably before then, actually." She grinned then. "Thanks for not calling me fat, though."

"I'm sorry I sounded insensitive at first. I really didn't mean-"

"No, no, it's fine. I know. Thank you."

After a small detour to the kitchen, the two women found themselves seated on the back porch, sipping their drinks as they made small talk.

Pepper smiled as Milo shot out the door, tumbling down the steps in his hurry to reach the swing set that was set up in the back of the yard.

"Don't get dirty, Milo!" Hannah called. "We're going to Danielle's tonight, remember?"

"Okay, Momma!"

Pepper grinned. "He's adorable."

"He's also a handful," Hannah said laughingly. "Hardly a moment goes by that he isn't into something and making a mess. Last week it was making mud pies, this week it's building a robot." She winced then, glancing at the orange stain on Pepper's light-colored pencil skirt. "I'm really sorry about that. I'll pay for it to be cleaned if you would like-"

Pepper shook her head. "Don't stress about it. It should wash out just fine." Maybe just with a little extra love from those at the dry cleaning service. And from the uncomfortable look on Hannah's face, Pepper knew that she was well aware of that fact. "Really, it's fine. I promise. But, back to the conversation, did he?"

Hannah blinked. "Did he what?"

"Build a robot."

"Oh! Yes, he did. After my hairdryer, alarm clock, and toothbrush all went missing." She laughed. "I don't know how he did it, either. Neither his dad or I were ever good at... electrical systems? Is that what they're called?"

Pepper had to hide a knowing smile. It looked as though Milo had inherited Tony's love of inventing. "The two of you must be proud of him."

"I am. And if Jason were here he would be too." She rubbed the sides of her belly, a far-away look entering her eye. "The uh, Incident... took him from us. It was one of those in the "right place but at the wrong time" things." She gave a humorless chuckle. "And just when New York actually needed more architects."

Ms. Potts blinked. Hannah was a single mother?

Hannah mistook her silence as something different, hurriedly changing the subject.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure you must have something important to discuss, since you appeared in person." She tilted her head, gazing questioningly at Pepper.

Oh dear, Pepper thought. This is going to be awkward.

"I came here on a personal matter, actually. Some things have come up recently, and a... well, an acquaintance suggested I look into them."

"And what do these 'things' have to do with me?"

"They are you, actually. Are you, by chance, adopted?"

Hannah blanched. "Oh, no, no, no, no. I am NOT dealing with this today."

"Please, Mrs. Lawson," Pepper pressed. "This is very important."

"Yes, I am adopted."

"Do you know-"

"My biological parents? My mom is a lawyer in Mobile, if that's what you're asking. Very successful, hates my guts, and gave me a half-sister who probably has no idea I exist."

"And your father...?"

"All my mom told me was that she met him in the bar while she was drunk and then she found herself pregnant. I frankly don't want to think about the implications now that you've shown up on my doorstep."

Pepper gave a suspicious cough.

"Well, that wasn't the reaction I was hoping for."

"And what were you hoping for?"

"I was hoping that maybe you would want to meet him?"

"Ms. Potts, I'm going to be completely honest with you: I was a mistake. My own mother didn't even care enough to put me up for adoption- she abandoned us in a hospital, and never looked back."

"Sorry," Pepper interrupted. "But you said 'us'?"

"Twins run in the family."

"There wasn't anything on-"

"My brother? There wouldn't be. He never made it out of that hospital."

Pepper's eyes widened.

"O-oh."

"I'm sorry," Hannah sighed. "That was uncalled for."

"I apologize for touching on a sore subject."

"No, I was rude. You shouldn't be the one apologizing."

Pepper gave a wry smile.

"This entire thing is a mess. I should have planned things better."

"Story of my life," Hannah said with a half-smile. "Why the sudden interest, if I may ask? He had what, twenty-two years?"

"Actually, he doesn't know. I wanted to see if you would agree to meet before I told him."

"Why?"

"Because if he knew you existed, he wouldn't leave you alone," she replied simply. "Tony's like the dog that won't give up the bone- once he gets a hold of something he won't let it go. If he found out that he had a daughter who didn't want to meet him, he wouldn't stop hounding you. I would go so far as to say that he would randomly appear on your doorstep."

"I have trouble seeing that."

"I've known him a long time," Pepper stated simply. She stood, passing an envelope to Hannah. "If you decide you do want to meet, my information is on that paper. Give me a call."

Hannah weakly called Milo inside, the envelope held tightly in her hand. Her stomach twisted anxiously as she watched Pepper disappear around the corner of the house, a sharp pang of regret stinging her eyes. They were definitely not tears.

She didn't have time to be overly emotional- her pregnancy took care of the emotional part already.

When Milo came in she shut and locked the door behind them, sending him to his room to play while she returned to the office. Leaning against the door she shut her eyes tightly, nausea building inside her.

There was so much to be done. Paperwork and unfilled forms littered every available surface in the room, a testimony that Jason's death had flooded her with more than just grief.

"Come on, Hannah," she coached herself. "One more day."

But what about tomorrow? Or the day after that? What about the bills and the loans she had to pay back to the bank? The house payment? The funeral expenses? If she didn't make the payments-

No. She couldn't think about that now. Now she had to get ready for her next piano student, and then she had dinner with Danielle and her husband, a good friend of Jason's.

"Mommy?" Milo's voice broke through her thoughts. "I'm hungry."

She sighed. "All right. I'll make you a sandwich."

"With strawberry jelly?"

"Blueberry."

"Yay!"

She gave her head a fond shake. That boy was going to be the death of her.

"When Emily gets here you have to be very quiet and play in your room, okay?"

"Okay."

She watched Milo eat his sandwich, the jelly smudging his face as he took big bites. He licked his fingers as he finished, earning a raised eyebrow from his mother.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he reached for a napkin instead.

"Just don't do it again, okay?"

"Okay, mommy."

The air was quiet for several minutes, and she basked in the silence until Milo broke it.

"Mommy, I miss daddy."

"Me too, sweetheart," she said tiredly, head on the table and eyes closed.

"You still have a daddy. Why don't you miss him?"

"I miss your Grandpa Ben very much."

"No, not him. Your real daddy."

Hannah groaned. He had heard them talking?

"Milo-"

The doorbell rang. Milo hopped out of his chair and hurried upstairs as she opened the door.

"Hi, Emily," she greeted the sandy-haired girl on her doorstep. "How was school today?"

The second-grader gave her a toothy smile. "It was awesome! Mr. Banrey said my rhythm really improved, and the music notes don't look like squiggles anymore! And I'm the only kid who knows how to play piano in the whole grade!"

"Wow." Hannah played along. "Sounds like you had an eventful day, huh? Let's go practice, okay? Are you still having trouble with your half notes?"

Danielle took one look at Hannah before taking charge, sending Diego and Milo outside to see their new puppy while she and Hannah chopped vegetables for soup.

"Alright, what happened?" she demanded. "You've got that look on your face."

Hannah shook her head. "It's nothing."

"Oh, no, no, no. You do not get to play that game. I know you too well for that, Hannah."

Danielle's eyebrows rose as Hannah aggressively hacked at her pile of carrots.

"Gee, what did the orange sticks ever do to you?"

"I met Pepper Potts today."

Danielle instantly became attentive.

"Was this about Jason's contract in New York?"

Hannah quickly shook her head. "No, he told me he never signed the papers. And even if he had, Jason wasn't working for Stark Industries."

"Then why did Potts show up?"

"She wanted me to meet with my dad."

"Your dad?"

"My biological father," she clarified.

Danielle's mouth dropped.

"Are you saying-"

"It was heavily implied. Several times."

"It would make sense, now that I think about it. You know what this means, right?"

"Tony Stark is my father?" Hannah deadpanned.

"Well, that too." She laughed. "This means that you're a Legacy. Like Trip and I."

Hannah snorted. "What?"

"You're Howard Stark's granddaughter. I.e., Legacy."

"Stark wasn't a Commando."

"Grandad said he was." Danielle shrugged. "This is great!"

"For you, maybe. I'm not very happy with the development."

"You told her no, didn't you?"

Hannah nodded. "I did."

"Han-nah." Her friend groaned. "Why?"

"I don't have time for this right now. I have enough on my plate without dealing with Tony Stark."

"That's an excuse, and you know it. You're afraid of rejection."

"Well, yeah."

Danielle rolled her eyes. "That's a sucky reason. Pepper Potts came to your house, for goodness sakes. The man obviously wants to meet you."

"He doesn't know."

"And why not?"

"Because Ms. Potts wanted to make sure we would meet before she told him."

Hannah watched in mild amusement as Danielle banged her head on her kitchen table.

"Now we know why you're so infuriating. Pops is gonna flip when he hears this. He always said you reminded him of Howard." Danielle tapped her manicured nails on the wooden surface. "Actually, why don't we drive over Friday? Ma's been talking about having you and Milo visit a weekend for months now."

"I don't know..."

"Oh, come on! Have a wild side!"

"The last time someone told me to have a wild side my parents told me I was adopted, you and Diego broke up, Truman got drunk and got into a bar fight with a biker, and Jason and I were arrested for breaking and entering a deserted hospital in an attempt to find my birth mother."

"The first and last two were not my fault." Danielle pouted. "And it was spring break."

"Well we sure lived up to the college fling stereotype," she said wryly.

"Pops gave Diego the shovel talk when we got back." Her friend giggled. "Basically regaled him with epic battle tales of how he fought with Captain America and then finished it off with a well-placed threat to gut him with a rusty old spoon."

"That must have been terrifying."

"Well if he wanted normal he shouldn't have set his sights on a Commando's granddaughter."

"I'm surprised you aren't still single."

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Just think about coming, okay? Pops can answer any questions you have about your grandparents. He knew Maria and Howard for a long time."

"I'll think about it."

"Good, now hand me those carrots. You've already defaced them enough- we're not trying to make baby food."

Hannah pouted."We're going to need it soon anyway."

Danielle smirked, rubbing her own belly.

"For me or for you?"

"You're expecting?!"

She beamed. "It's why I invited you to come over. You have to come to Georgia with me, if only to see Pops face when we tell him he's going to be a great-grandfather."

"If only for that," Hannah laughed.

"How's the family?" Gabe Jones asked, smiling at Hannah. The others had all gone inside the large cabin-like home, leaving her sitting with Danielle's famously known grandfather at the fire pit, and Hannah was sure Danielle had ditched her so Jones could interrogate her himself. She was honestly surprised that he had taken this long to corner her, though she supposed he had been distracted by the news of Danielle's pregnancy, which he had whooped and hollered about loud enough to cause the neighbors to complain. It was... memorable, to be sure, seeing a ninety-something year old dance around like he had.

"They're doing good. Truman's starting his last year of med school, and Mom and Dad are still living it up in California."

"Good." He nodded. "And what about you?"

"I'm okay," she sighed. "It's been rough, but we're making it."

"The peanuts?"

She laughed. "They're doing fine. Morning sickness has taken a toll, but I'm starting to feel better- I can feel small flutters sometimes."

The wind changed, blowing smoke into her face. She made a face, checking her pocket for her inhaler in case her asthma began acting up. Gabe caught the action, standing to his feet and grabbing the water hose. As the flames sizzled out, Hannah looked at him.

"If somethings bothering you, kiddo, speak up. We've had this conversation before."

"That was a waste of a perfectly good fire," Hannah evaded.

Gabe rolled his eyes. "It was a horrible fire, simply for the fact that it was built in the month of June."

"Then why'd you build it?"

"Every single Howling Commando left the front with the unhealthy obsession of watching things burn. It was either a campfire, or set off a few charges."

Hannah chuckled. "Pyromaniacs."

"Exactly." He raised an eyebrow. "Have you told them yet? About the peanuts?"

'Them' being her parents and brother.

"No, I haven't."

He grunted, giving her a disappointed look. "Hannah..."

"I just... I know how they'll react. They'll all rush over to help and-"

"Isn't that what family is supposed to do?"

"Yes but-"

"You worry too much, you know that? You gotta slow down, kiddo."

"Yeah," she huffed. "You've told me before."

"Then why haven't you listened?"

She bit her lip. "I don't know."

"Huh." He sat back in his seat, rubbing his jaw. "You know, I've been alive a long time, Hannah. And lord willing, I'll live a bit longer."

"I doubt you're going to just keel over and die," she laughed. "You're still pretty spry for a ninety-four year old."

"No thanks to you and Danielle's hi-jinks."

She gave him an unapologetic grin, earning a scowl.

"As I was saying, I've lived a long time. I've learned how to read people. And right now, I'm reading that you, you little sneak, have a lot more on your mind than you're letting on."

"Now I know where Danielle gets it," Hannah teased. "You're a family of mood-sensing stalkers."

He raised a dark eyebrow. "Very funny. Now come on, spill it."

She stared at the still smoking ashes, watching them flicker in and out.

"I found out my father is Tony Stark."

"And?"

"AND? That's all you've got to say?"

"What do you want me to say? That I'm surprised?"

"Aren't you?"

"Nope. I figured it out years ago."

She stared at him.

"Are you kidding me? Why didn't you say something?"

"There were... circumstances." He said hesitantly.

"Like me having a dead twin and being aborted?"

"That was the tip of the iceberg." He said quietly. "Some things were kept from you for your own protection- we all agreed it would be best."

"We? Who is we?"

"The Commandos, my superiors, a whole lot of other people I'm not supposed to mention."

She scowled at him. "More lies. How surprising."

"Not lies. Just silence on some matters."

Hannah pursed her lips. "When did you figure out that Stark was my father?"

"When Danielle brought you here for the first time."

"That was fourteen years ago. How-"

"You had excellent marks in school, far above average. You were a prodigy with music, and you are the spitting image of Howard. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together. I made a call and the HC's did a little digging for me."

"I didn't have high marks."

"You did, they were just covered up so they wouldn't draw attention to you. We couldn't risk that."

That was the reason I got so many B's in math? That's why I got so frustrated when I kept getting the same answer? Because they "covered them up"? Disbelief filled her. How had she never realized any of this? How could she not have picked up on any of these things? She had checked and rechecked some of those math problems, spent hours relearning the things she had missed, and now she learned that she likely hadn't gotten them wrong in the first place? What was wrong with these people?

"Is Danielle just pretending to be my friend as well? Was Jason a plant to keep an eye on me?" She snapped.

"Danielle is the only reason we knew you existed in the first place. And Jason... never doubt that that wasn't real. He wasn't supposed to get involved, but it turned out for the best."

"You're lying." She said slowly, staring at him with wide eyes. "Please tell me your lying?"

Gabe shook his head.

"Jason was placed when... threats were made against you. He was supposed to watch from a distance, but when things started to go sour... He really did love you Hannah, there was no faking that kind of devotion."

Hannah sat in stony silence for several long moments, mulling over everything.

"How did he die, really?" She asked finally. "And where?"

"Undisclosed location, 30,000 feet in the air. Died honorably, from what I was told."

"The Incident?"

"Yes. The transport was attacked and he fell protecting his comrades."

She took a deep breath through her nose, fighting tears.

"At least tell me his parents aren't his parents?" Hannah asked in a flat attempt at humor. "They're not actually my children's grandparents?"

"Nope, those two are still real."

"Stupid in-laws." She grumbled.

Gabe gave a small bark of laughter.

"You gonna be okay, Hannah?"

"It's a lot to take in."

"Yeah, well you're taking it in really well."

"Actually, I just refuse to hit an old man."

"Hmff." He grumbled. She gave a watery laugh, wiping at her eyes.

"I'll be okay. I've got a lot to keep fighting for, after all."

"As long as you keep telling yourself that, you'll be alright."

Their conversation ended when Danielle popped her head outside, proudly announcing that she had successfully gotten Milo to eat at least half of his vegetables.

"It's a miracle." Jones grinned, well aware of how much Milo hated that particular food group.

"Says the man who used to sneak his onto my plate." Danielle retorted.

"You never knew!" He said defensively.

"Oh, I knew alright. I fed them to Max when you and Grandma weren't looking."

"God rest that poor dog's soul."