Chapter 5

Pepper was more than concerned. How could this have happened? The Ten Rings had managed to catch Tony off guard so easily... He could have died. She and Happy could have found him dead on the floor this morning. And then, of course, she was afraid that Raza would come back. This surely wasn't the last attack. Pepper remembered the video she had found on the Stark Industries server a few months ago. The ransom video of Tony's captivity that had shown her what Obadiah had done. Something so terrible could never happen again.

Pepper smoothed out a crease in her skirt. The shock was still in her limbs. But she was sure Tony would think of something. After all, he hadn't been given three PhDs as a gift. Tony Stark was brilliant; surely he was already planning how to get himself out of this predicament.

A little more unsteady than usual on her high heels, she made her way to the living room. It was late in the evening and a few lamps gave off a dim light. Happy sat in a corner, typing on his smartphone. Agents rushed by every second. S.H.I.E.L.D. scanned the entire house for cameras, listening devices, or any other lack of security. That was a little more than "You won't even notice us," she could tell from Tony's face. He looked pretty pissed.

Tony was sitting at his bar, twirling his glass incessantly with his right hand, his other arm hanging in a sling Romanoff had put on him. The swelling on his face had gone down a bit from the constant cooling, but the bruises were still just as blue and purple. He stared at a spot on the floor with a grim expression on his face and didn't even seem to notice Pepper sitting down next to him.

"Tony?" she asked cautiously after a while.

"Pepper," Tony said without looking up and in a voice that made it clear that it wasn't his first drink.

"You know," Pepper began uncertainly. "It's better to have these agents around, isn't it? They'll search the house, they'll give you extra protection.

"It is my house.

"And it'll still be your house when they're done."

Tony replied only with a sip of whiskey - still not taking his eyes off the ground.

"Are you in pain?" Pepper asked, trying to keep the conversation going somehow.

"A little. I'm okay."

Tony spoke with some difficulty in articulation. Unobtrusively, Pepper scanned the bar with her eyes. The whiskey bottle in question was nearly empty. Even by his standards, he had to be pretty drunk.

"Mr. Stark?" Jarvis' voice suddenly rang through the room. "My scan is now complete."

A jolt went through Tony and he suddenly sat up much straighter.

"Have you come to any conclusions?"

"Yes, sir, apparently I was simply shut down by a cell phone belonging to someone at Stark Industries."

"But none of our employees' phones could do that. How -"

"The phone's identification number matches Obadiah Stane, sir. It was his phone that shut me down."

A shudder ran through Pepper and Tony's whole body tensed.

"What?!"Happy shouted.

"Jarvis," Tony said in a shaky voice. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"One hundred percent, sir."

"Then take care of it, Jarvis."

"Of course."

Pepper saw Obadiah figuratively in front of her. For a moment, she was frightened by the thought that Obadiah was hiding somewhere, plotting his revenge on Tony. Just like Raza. But then she composed herself. Obadiah was dead.

"So the Ten Rings must have his phone, right?" Pepper asked, confused for a moment. "I mean, Obadiah, he's..."

"Dead," Tony said bitterly. "Yes. I made sure he is, after all."

Tony reached for the whiskey bottle and poured himself another glass. He was shaking so badly that he spilled some of it. Tony cursed loudly and Pepper jumped.

"Tony," she said, worried by his emotion. "You're forgetting, though, that it was me who did the reactor blow-up."

Tony paused and looked into her eyes for the first time. It almost seemed as if he only now realized that it was Pepper sitting next to him.

"You're right," he said, and Pepper thought for a second she caught the hint of a smile. "And you saved me. You had no choice - we had no choice."

Pepper was silent; this was a chapter of her life she would like to forget. She and Obadiah had known each other for so many years, they had always worked well together, and had gotten along quite well in private. Obadiah had been an integral part of Tony's life, and by extension, her life. With mixed feelings, Pepper watched as Tony finished his glass and then lowered his eyes to the floor.

"You know, Obadiah was like an uncle to me," Tony said quietly. "He always kept an eye on me after my parents died."

Pepper held her breath. She had never heard Tony talk about it; the subject of parents was basically nonexistent in this house. And talking about feelings wasn't really Tony's style either.

"I..." Tony began, swallowing. "The police had called to tell me that my parents had been killed in a car accident. I was twenty-one at the time. It was the middle of the night, and I was home alone, and then... Obadiah called me a few minutes later. I didn't answer, so he left messages on my phone every five minutes. He knew I was there and kept telling me not to leave and not to do anything stupid, that he would be there soon and everything would be fine. Obi was on a plane on his way home when... when he heard about it."

Tony swallowed again and cleared his throat.

"Obi had an hour's drive from the airport to me and he called every five minutes."

Tony closed his eyes and breathed heavily.

"The whole time I was sitting on the floor next to the phone in total shock, but I heard every single message from him. I couldn't answer the phone, I just couldn't talk. But Obadiah kept calling and his messages helped me... When he was finally here, he told me that I was not alone, ever, and that he would take care of everything. And then he hugged me...something my dad had never done."

Tony didn't bother to use a glass anymore, he drank straight from the bottle.

"Sometimes I felt he looked at me as his own child. He's been by my side all these years, taking care of the company, watching my back, bailing me out from time to time; he's always been there, ready with advice and support whenever I needed it..."

Pepper was still surprised that Tony was so open about his feelings. Nervously, she looked down at the bottle. Maybe it was the alcohol that had loosened his tongue so much. But Tony's drunkenness was not usually so obvious. He had given lectures at scientific congresses, completely drunk, and they had still been better than the rest of the lectures put together. Tony usually functioned quite well even with alcohol. So where did his sudden emotional declaration to her come from? Tony looked Pepper in the face again.

"So please explain..." he said, and it was barely more than a whisper. "...why he tried to kill me. He of all people... After all the time he sacrificed for me, after all the time we were such a good team... I just don't understand why he did it. I mean, he paid terrorists to kill me! And why would he do that? So he could take over Stark Industries? Or was it because he was so disgusted with me? With my character and my behavior? Did he hate me so much that he wanted me dead? I don't get it. And you know what the worst part is? That I hadn't even noticed his growing hatred all these years".

Tony ran his hands through his hair and looked very upset. Pepper felt a little close to tears, moved by Tony's story, but she tried not to cry, it would be inappropriate.

"I don't think he hated you," she said, noticing that her voice was shaking. "I don't know what made Obadiah do that. He lost his mind, clearly. He was greedy, jealous, maybe he wanted out of your shadow, maybe he didn't feel appreciated. He put so much into Stark Industries, but it's always been Stark Industries. Not Stane Industries. You got the awards and the publicity. But I don't know. It certainly doesn't justify the madness that was growing in him and what he was trying to do."

"He must have hated me," Tony replied. "I think he did. At least in the end. Maybe for the reasons you mentioned."

Pepper was silent. She had no idea what Obadiah's thoughts had been. Convincing Tony of anything else made little sense. Maybe it had really been hate, maybe something else entirely. They couldn't ask him, it would remain a secret.

"When I was..." Tony said even more bitterly. "When I was trapped in that cave, Yinsen asked me if I had a family, and when I told him no, he said, 'So you are a man who has everything and yet nothing...' and I started thinking about who would be waiting for me at home, worrying about me. And it was hard to realize. All this showed me that the only one who ever really cared about me... was me. And that I'm responsible for that myself.

For a moment all the atmosphere seemed to be sucked out of the room, it was so quiet. Pepper wanted to disagree, she wanted to tell him how much she had feared that he was dead during those three months, how many tears she had cried in fear and pain, how much she had dreaded the news of his death and how much she had missed him. But she understood what Tony really meant. He had no family, no wife or children, no parents or aunts and uncles, and hardly any real friends. There was no warm, caring, loving place to return to. Just a lonely mansion. And neither she, nor Rhodey, nor Happy, nor Jarvis could take that feeling away from him.

"Tony," Pepper said quietly. "I know it's hardly comforting. But there are people who care about you. You are not alone."

Tony met her gaze and suddenly grinned.

"Like a personal assistant waiting for me at the airport, when I arrived back in America, red-eyed from all the tears?"

Pepper felt herself blush and looked away.

"For example," she muttered softly.

"Pepper..." Tony said, sounding surprised now. "I didn't mean to - it was supposed to be a joke. I didn't-"

"Tony, just tell me everything's going to be okay," Pepper interrupted. She was tired and scared from what he had just told her.

Because of the pain he was feeling - and had probably been feeling for a very long time. Maybe his whole life. It sounded to her as if Tony had never experienced what it felt like to be loved by someone. And what a terrible feeling that must be...

"Of course it's going to be okay," Tony said with a forced smile. "We're going to find out where the Ten Rings are, and then we're going to smash that ring once and for all. I'll take care of it."

"Okay. Thank you," Pepper replied, though it wasn't exactly what she had meant.

"What would I do without you?" Tony asked, now a little flippant and falling into his usual talking mode.

"You'd have to learn your social security number," Pepper said, jumping in. "And how to tie your own shoes."

Tony laughed briefly, then looked intently at Pepper.

"I'm afraid you're right. I... Pepper, I, um... thank you."

"That means a lot," Pepper said jokingly. "I know how hard it is for you to say thank you."

"Better not get used to it."

"It would never occur to me."

For a moment they both seemed light-hearted, but Pepper wasn't fooling herself.

"Tony, if there's anything..." she said hesitantly. She didn't know what words to choose without putting Tony back into his usual defensive mode. "I've just noticed that you've been under a lot of stress lately, and you seem a little -"

"I'm fine, Pepper, don't worry," Tony said quickly. "Really."

And there it was, his defensiveness. Well, those weren't the right words. Maybe she should start counting how many times he said he was fine when it was so obviously not true. Pepper bit her lip and slowly reached out to Tony. She wanted to touch him and comfort him.

"We're done with the house," Romanoff's voice rang out, suddenly standing in the doorway. Pepper flinched away from Tony.

"Oh, am I interrupting?" Romanoff added with a grin. "Looks like a very happy gathering."

Both Pepper and Tony glared at her angrily. Pepper was annoyed at the inconvenient interruption - couldn't Romanoff have waited a moment longer? - while Tony pretty sure was pissed off by her mere presence.

Then it occurred to Pepper that Happy was still in the room with them; he had put his smart phone away a long time ago, and now he looked as if he had gotten into a situation, he would rather not have been in. Pepper felt herself flush again.

"So, the scanning of the house is done," Romanoff said now in a serious tone. "Tomorrow we'll scan the rest of the property. As of tonight, our agents will stand guard outside the gates. Also, let me quickly introduce two of our agents that will accompany you ever time leave the house."

Two tall, thin men about Tony's age stepped up beside Romanoff and nodded briefly at Tony.

"This is Agent Shaw and Agent Bennett. Don't try to shake them off or trick them. They'll follow you like a shadow - in a separate car, if you prefer. They will stay in the background, not interfere in your affairs, and only speak to you when necessary. Get used to each other."

Tony was anything but enthusiastic, but didn't try to argue. The agents said goodbye and Romanoff looked at them again.

"Has Jarvis completed his investigation?"

"It was Obadiah Stane's phone," Tony answered. "They used it to shut Jarvis down. He was the only one besides me who had such extensive access to confidential files and programs. He would have been able to put Jarvis on standby."

"Obadiah Stane's phone," Romanoff commented thoughtfully. "Interesting. I'll pass the information on to Agent Coulson. And you, in the meantime, make sure that -"

"Already done. I've had Jarvis revoke all of Stane's privileges. The phone is worthless."

"Very good."

Romanoff's eyes darted to the bottle of whiskey beside Tony, then back to Tony himself. She didn't say anything, but it was clear to Pepper that she had noticed his condition even without the telltale bottle.

"I'll retire for the day, then."

"That's so incredibly sad," Tony said, putting all the sarcasm he could muster into the words.

"I feel the same way," Romanoff replied dryly, then disappeared.

One by one, the agents followed her out of the house.

Pepper looked at Tony, who was now hiding behind a perfect poker face. She watched with an uneasy feeling as Tony finished his whiskey and then headed for the bedroom, claiming to be tired.

Pepper turned to Happy, but he returned her look with a "none of my business" expression. So she decided to call it a day and go home.

So, as Obadiah had been a huge part of Tony's life I wanted to give their relationship some credit. I don't think Tony would have just moved on. Obadiah was a good friend of Howard Stark and therefore, somehow, one of Tony's last connections to his father.
Have fun and please let me know what you think!