As the days went by, Tony and Pepper's lives grew increasingly hectic. After moving to Toronto, Tony saw no reason not to proceed with his idea of expanding Stark Industries into Canada. Just like in the United States and several other countries, Canada was filled with talented and gifted students waiting for an opportunity to showcase their abilities. In Los Angeles and New York, two of the company's main locations, these young talents had the support of Abe Klein, Maria Hill, Bruce Banner, Cal Oakley, and Abraham Zimmer, along with being close to other Avengers. In other words, they had Stark's trusted people around them to ensure the ideals of their projects and guide them in the best possible way. On the other hand, Canadian youth had no such support — at least until now. Tony soon found the perfect building for the company's headquarters in Toronto and brought some of his friends to work there, such as Eriksson Miller, Katherine Rennie, Tessa Springfield, and Jan Kolins.

With Toronto becoming the main headquarters, Tony was buried in paperwork more than ever. He knew he could leave things as they were, with the official headquarters remaining in the United States, but his father had been clear about his wishes for the company to be run solely by the family. Tony knew how difficult it would be to manage it from afar without appointing a new CEO, so he believed he had made the right decision. Things weren't easy for Pepper either. With Kate on maternity leave, all the responsibilities of the art school fell on her. Pepper was in charge of managing the place and helping organize some events, but now she also had to handle Kate's duties, which were more related to classes and students on a personal level. She was effectively doing the work of two people, and it was wearing her out.

"Hi, babe," Pepper said as she arrived home and found Tony in the kitchen. She set her things on the table, approached him, hugged him from behind, and kissed his shoulder.

"Hi, beautiful," Tony said, turning to kiss her lips. "How was work today?"

"Extremely exhausting," she sighed. "I don't think I've ever felt this tired."

"You should slow down, Pep..."

"You know I can't. With Kate on leave, I have to handle everything there."

"But you have people to help you. You don't need to take all the responsibility yourself."

"And neither do you." The redhead moved away from him and sat on a stool by the island while watching him cook. "Did you manage to get everything done that you wanted?"

"I did... I also spoke with Bruce. He said he plans to stay in New York."

"Not surprising."

"Not?" Tony asked, looking at her intrigued.

"Come on, are you telling me you don't know why he made that decision?" Seeing his confused look, she continued. "For a guy as smart as you, you miss a lot of things... It's obvious that it's related to Natasha."

"Nat?"

"Do you know any other Romanoff agent?"

"Where did you get that idea?"

"You don't have to be a genius to see there's something going on between those two."

"You really think so?"

"Just look at how they act around each other."

"I never thought Bruce would be Natasha's type... or she is his."

"Well, whether they'll work out or not is another story, but there's definitely more than just a work partnership between them." Pepper shrugged. "Where are the girls?" she asked, noticing the silence in the house.

"Playing upstairs."

"Tony, the last time you left them playing unsupervised, it took days to get all the paint off them."

"Don't blame me; you're the one who taught them to appreciate art."

"Yes, but art should be on paper, not on themselves." She rolled her eyes.

Tony laughed. "Why don't you make sure they're okay and take a shower? I'm almost done here, so we can have dinner."

"Sure." Pepper nodded. It was still hard to believe Tony could cook, and more so that he did it well.

"Everything okay?" Tony asked as he saw her pause for a moment after getting up.

"Sure."

"Pep, you still feeling unwell? I told you to see a doctor."

"You know how to spot a lie," she said, giving him a reassuring smile. "You said I should slow down with work."

"But you've been like this since our trip. I know you've tried to hide it, but you've done a terrible job."

Pepper sighed. "If the symptoms persist, I promise I'll see a doctor next week, okay?"

"Do you really promise?"

"God, it's in these role-reversal moments that I realize how annoying I can be sometimes," she grumbled, making him laugh.

Pepper grabbed her things from the table and left the kitchen, heading to find the girls. She found them playing in the game room, this time not covered in scribbles, but the place was a mess. She spent some time with the twins and then went to take a shower. About 30 minutes later, the three of them came downstairs for dinner. As had been happening in recent days, Tony noticed that right after the meal, Pepper would always find an excuse to leave the space they were in. She was constantly trying to act normally, but her behavior was clearly affected. This only made Tony more worried.

After dinner, he let the girls finish eating and followed the redhead to the bathroom. It was a pattern he had started to recognize: she sought refuge there whenever something bothered her. A few minutes later, Tony found her pale, opening the bathroom door with a look of surprise.

"Damn it, Tony," she grumbled when she saw him. "You startled me."

"We should see a doctor." He went straight to the point without any beating around the bush.

"I've told you it's not necessary."

"Pepper, do you really think I haven't noticed that you've been different lately?" Tony was firm but tried to stay calm.

"So now I'm crazy?" she asked, slightly offended.

"That's not what I said," Tony tried to be patient, not taking her words personally. "I saw you get up to vomit two nights ago. And this morning, and during our trip. How many more times has this happened that I haven't noticed?"

"It was food poisoning from the Thai food," Pepper protested. "I took the medicine and felt better soon after. You, being the observant person you are, must have noticed that too. And during our trip, I was recovering from the flu I caught from your daughter."

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" He was visibly frustrated.

"Why do you have to take any discomfort so seriously? I've just been stressed," she defended herself, trying to stay calm. "You more than anyone knows how difficult these past few weeks have been. Or do I need to remind you of all the times you practically begged me to stop, to not forget to eat or sleep?"

"If it's just stress, fine, I'll lose the battle. But what if it's not?" Tony persisted.

"What do you want? For me to walk into the first doctor's office and get a series of tests?" The redhead was starting to feel irritated by his insistence.

"Not the first one. Your friend's office is about 15 minutes from here," he argued more reasonably.

"You're crazy, I'm not going to die, I don't have any terminal illness," she was getting increasingly frustrated. "You're letting your desire to protect us get a bit too loud."

"Just admit that I'm right," Stark said, clearly worried, his voice low and tense.

"I won't because you're not," Potts said firmly, but her voice was beginning to waver. In fact, she was starting to consider the possibility that she might be wrong.

For the past three weeks, she had been feeling unwell. She had attributed the symptoms to isolated causes: fatigue to the flu, nausea to poor diet, and vomiting to food poisoning. But as Tony persisted, she began to question if it could be something more than she had imagined. She thought about changes in her daily life, like the aversion to smells she used to love, her unstable mood, and the feeling that her body was different. The menstruation she had the day before seemed to be the only thing not justifying her symptoms. Pepper started to consider a scenario she had dismissed as impossible: the possibility of being pregnant. Her mind filled with dozens of scenarios, and none of them seemed to have a happy ending.

"Pep?" Tony called, noticing she was distant. "Pep?" He held her by the arms, trying to bring her back to reality.

Her boyfriend's touch jolted her from her trance, and she looked at him in fright as if she had just woken from a nightmare.

"I... It's just that..." she began, but couldn't finish. She didn't know what to say. "Do you hear that sound?"

"What sound?" he asked, curious. "I don't hear anything except the twins trying to avoid eating all the vegetables on their plates."

"That buzzing. A-and I..." Potts couldn't finish the sentence and soon felt her strength fading as darkness began to overtake her body.

Tony had always had an aversion to hospitals. Since he was young, he found those places cold and morbid, and that feeling hadn't changed over the years. Now, sitting in the waiting room, time seemed to drag, with minutes turning into hours. He was dazed, barely remembering how he had ended up there. He vaguely remembered running out with Pepper in his arms, talking to a neighbor, and calling Happy.

"Mr. Stark?" A nurse's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"How is Pepper? Can I see her? What happened?" he asked quickly, his words coming out in a frantic rush.

"She's fine," the young blonde with a reassuring smile said, calming him. "The fainting spell seems to have been caused by mild dehydration. She's receiving IV fluids now, and a doctor will speak with you shortly."

"Can I see her now?" Tony asked, anxious.

"Of course," she nodded, guiding him to the room where his girlfriend was.

Tony sat in the chair beside the redhead's bed, watching as the nurse made notes in the chart and checked some information. After a few minutes, she left the room, leaving them alone.

"Not going to say anything?" Pepper asked, noticing Tony was just watching her in silence.

"I will..." he began, but the words seemed to fail him.

"Then go ahead. You've been quiet since you got here."

"It's just that..." Tony hesitated, trying to find the right words. "Do you have any idea of the scare you gave me?"

"It wasn't intentional," she tried to justify, but her voice was weak and tired.

"Not intentional?" he questioned with incredulity. "I saw you faint in my arms. When we got here, no one was telling me what was happening, they just told me to wait outside."

"Look on the bright side, you won," the woman tried to find a positive angle. "You were right this time. I really needed to see a doctor."

"I don't know if I should be angry with you for saying that or kiss you for being okay." Stark was torn between frustration and relief.

"I prefer the second option." Potts gave a weak smile and then remembered something important. "Tony, where are the girls?" she asked, worried. The thought of her daughters waiting for her in the waiting room was terrifying.

"They're fine," Tony reassured her. "I asked the neighbors to keep an eye on them. And of course, I called Happy. He sent me a message just before I came to see you, saying he had already arrived."

"One less thing to worry about..." Pepper gave a weak smile, relieved.

He nodded.

"Virginia?" A female voice pulled the couple from their thoughts. "I'm Dr. Campbell. How are you feeling?"

"A bit tired," Pepper admitted, with a pained expression. "And my head hurts."

"That's normal," the doctor spoke with a calm and professional tone. "You're mildly dehydrated, but nothing to worry about for now."

"For now?" the couple asked in unison.

"Your blood test came back showing that your HCG levels are a bit high."

"Is that bad?" Tony didn't understand what was happening, which made him even more worried.

"It will depend on you," the doctor answered calmly. "But, medically speaking, the combination of your symptoms isn't ideal, especially in the first trimester. We need to monitor your condition closely and run some additional tests to confirm."

"Sorry, first trimester?" The redhead clearly didn't fully understand.

"Yes, according to the test, you're pregnant, and I would estimate at least six weeks. But we'll need to run more tests to be sure."

Pepper was in shock, looking at her boyfriend, who was also stunned. The weight of the information began to settle in as they both tried to process the unexpected revelation.

She was pregnant.