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"Evie!" Ethan whisper-yelled then looked back at his mom to make sure she hadn't noticed what was going on. "Evie!"They had been spending the morning shopping for clothes for the big party at Daddy and Mommy's company, when in one store Mommy had ran into a lady she hadn't seen in a long time. It became clear when the two women had sat down that their conversation wasn't ending anytime soon, and Ethan found himself trying to keep his quickly bored little sister from wandering off. In the last half minute, his sister had finally given him the slip and had disappeared into what was a sea of dresses to the little boy. He could hear his sister giggling from somewhere but didn't see her, and after giving his mom one last look to see if she had noticed what was going on, he made a decision. He headed in the direction he thought Eva had gone, and he crawled on the floor with the hopes of finding her without being seen by the store's staff. "Evie! Come here! Evie!" He searched for what seemed like forever but was actually only a few minutes when he found his sister. Eva was in a left corner of the store that was far away from where their mother was. She was giggling at a man who was doing tricks with a yoyo. Ethan watched as she clapped her hands in delight. The man smiled at her, taking the yoyo in hand before asking her, "Here, sweetheart, would you like to give it a try?" "I don't know how," she said shyly. "I'll show you how. It's really easy." "Okay," Eva said, taking a step closer to him. Ethan was on his feet and charging across the room, saying, "Noooo, you leave my sister alone!" The man looked around to see if they'd been noticed then said, "It's okay, sport. I just wanted to show your little sister a trick." Ethan took Eva's hand. "Come on, we're not supposed to talk to strangers, Evie!" "That's right, Evie , you really shouldn't talk to strangers!" the man said. Ethan noticed that the yoyo had disappeared from the stranger's hands, and he had a look on his face that scared the little boy. "Leave us alone!" The man lunged forward, grabbed Eva's arm, and shoved Ethan to the floor. Eva screamed as the man picked her up in his arms. He covered her mouth with his hand. Ethan got up in a flash and kicked the man's leg even as Eva bit his hand. He yelled, and dropped her to the floor, clutching his hand. Once he saw that the little girl had bitten him hard enough to draw blood, he lunged towards them again. "You little BRATS!" Ethan had bent over to pick his little sister up to make sure she was alright and didn't notice when the man came at them again. But fortunately, the entire store had taken notice what was going on and one of the salesgirls had stepped in between him and the children. She didn't stop him though, as he shoved her out of the way, and was going for the children again when Happy appeared, his gun drawn. "Hold it right there!" The would-be kidnapper finally stopped. "Hands in the air where I can see them! And go stand up against the wall!" Happy ordered, not taking his eyes off the man, about to tell children to go find their mother when Pepper appeared. "Ethan! Eva! Oh my..." she cried as she took both of them in her arms. "Someone call the police now!" Happy said to one of the salesgirls. "Happy, you're bleeding!" Pepper exclaimed, noticing the blood soaking his shirt collar. "Yeah, because this... bozo here hit me over the head, and then dragged me into the alley. I’m just glad that I woke up and stopped the guy before he could do whatever he was planning." The entire ordeal lasted, unfortunately, for the rest of the day into the evening because once Tony had heard that his family had been “attacked” he had flown to the police station in his Iron Man suit. Which in turn had had the unfortunate consequence of drawing the attention of the media. Once the police had finished their interviews and had taken statements over what had happened, they’d told the shaken family that they were free to leave. Neither Tony or Pepper had been eager to leave once they realized that a mob of reporters had gathered outside the police station. It was one thing to have to deal with the press and paparazzi themselves but they had made an effort to keep their children out of the public’s eye as much as possible. While the police had been sympathetic to their plight, the lieutenant in charge of the precinct made it clear very quickly that he wasn’t willing to have any of his officers act as personal bodyguards to the Stark family. With Happy taken to the hospital for overnight observation, and since it wasn’t a real option for Tony to clear the way with Iron Man, they had had to finally call in security members from Stark Industries. Waiting for the security team to arrive had in turn added over two hours more to their ordeal, as the members had to wade their way through the media mob. Steve stared at Tony for a long moment, struggling with how to word with the question that he needed to ask without making it sound like he had already turned his back on the other man. Finally he decided that there was no other way to ask the question other than coming out and saying. He just prayed Tony wouldn’t take it as badly as he was anticipating. He sighed, and looking straight into his teammate’s eyes he asked, “Did you do it, Tony?” Shock was the first emotion to enter Tony’s eyes, followed by what was definitely hurt, then a cold anger. He swore at Steve before saying, “Of course I didn’t do it! How… I guess you do think as little of me as I always thought you did.”“Tony--” “No, thanks for confirming it before I made the mistake of turning to you for help!” “I believe you,” Steve said with as much sincerity as anything he had ever said in his life, and seeing the confusion on the billionaire's face continue, “I’m sorry that I had to ask that question but it had to be asked, which I think you already knew.” Tony hesitated, then gave him a grudging nod yes. Steve sighed before he added, “I needed to know so any doubts could be put to bed before the storm that we all know is coming even gets started.” Tony stared at him a moment then said, “Are you sure that you believe me? I mean I know that we haven’t always seen eye to eye. But I promise you that I didn’t do this. I didn’t kill those people.” Steve looked him in the eye for a long moment, and then nodded, “I’m sure.” “I may have entertained the idea of blasting Bowen into oblivion for two minutes but I never seriously considered going through with it. I mean be honest, guys, who among us wouldn’t have had the same thought if this… slimeball had tried to take to take one of your kids?” Steve nodded, “Yeah, I probably would have. Only I think my thoughts would have centered on the variation of snapping his neck instead.” “Point is that even you, Captain America, would be like any other father when it comes to the guy who dared to make an attempt to kidnap your daughter. “Anthony Edward Stark, I am placing you under arrest for the murders of thirteen New York City police officers, and one civilian Leonard Bowen.” One of the marshals began, nodding to two others who stood behind Tony. Tony felt them pull his arms behind him as the first one continued, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read them to you?” The handcuffs locked tightly around his wrists in time with the last words. Tony gave a somber nod, then said, “Yes, I understand.” “Don’t say another word, Tony, not until you see your lawyer. You hear me?” Tony’s eyes met with his best friend’s, nodding his understanding as the marshals began to march him past them and out of the building. As the elevator doors closed, his eyes locked one more time with Rhodey’s and then he was gone. “JARVIS, is Pepper aware of what just happened?” “No, General, she is not. With Mrs. Stark in the midst of all of the Avengers’ progeny, I did not think it prudent to alert her right then.” “Tell her to come upstairs now but so not tell her what’s happened. If you have to, let her think it’s Tony who wants her to come up.” “Very well, General.” “And do not , whatever you do, let her have either of the kids with her when she comes!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Happy closed the door behind them, and took his place behind the driver’s wheel. He intended to put up the privacy screen for them but first there was a question that he needed to ask, “Where to? The house or airport?” “House.” “Airport… wait what house?” Pepper sighed, “The house I rented while you were… here.” Tony nodded, “Okay, why do you want to go there tonight?” “Because it’s obvious that you’re totally exhausted?” He opened his mouth to argue for them not to stop moving until they were back home in New York, but the words never came out. They died in his throat and he finally nodded instead, “Yeah, you’re right. I am exhausted.” She looked into his eyes until he nodded, then she looked up at Happy, “Take us to the house here please.” Their security man nodded, and so they could be alone for the short drive, he put up the privacy screen. “Sorry,” Tony said as soon as it was up. “For what?” “For me being too tired for us to be able to put some miles between us and that ,” he pointed back towards the prison, “place tonight. I just can’t make the trip home tonight as much as I want to go back home tonight.” "Oh Tony… Don't apologize, I know you're exhausted. I am too," Pepper said reaching up, cupping his cheek before she leaned over to kiss him. When she ended the kiss, she heard him sigh before he took a hold of her hand, keeping it there so he could kiss her palm. "Oh man, how I have missed you!” “I missed you too,” she whispered, blinking back tears. Tony kissed her hand again, and then laid his head down on the back of the seat, “How long will it take us to get there?” “About ten minutes, give or take.” “So not long at all.” “No, it’s not. Tony?” “Hmm?” “Would you like somewhere more comfortable to rest your head until we get there?” He cracked one eye open, and looked over at her, “What didja have in mind?" Pepper patted her shoulder. "I'll fall asleep." "It's okay if you do." "No... no, it's not. We've been sep... sep... apart for almost seven months... and I think..." "We'll have plenty of time for talking after we both get some sleep," she replied as she guided his head to her shoulder, "Like I said, I know you're exhausted." She heard him give a hum when she began running her fingers through his hair, "Sleep." "Hmm..." "Shh, sleep. Go to sleep." Thanks to the fact they were in a smallish town where most people settled in for the the night by ten PM, there was virtually no traffic on the road just after after midnight, and seven minutes after Happy started driving, Pepper felt the car stop. She looked out the window as it was shut off to see the house she had been forced to call home for all of these months. “Tony?” she said gently, “It’s time to wake up.” “Wut? Already?” “Yes, already.” “But I just went to sleep like a second ago.” “I know, but I woke you up because we’re at the house, which means soon we’ll be able to go to sleep together in a nice, soft, and warm bed.” Tony sat up at that, blinking and yawning as the car door opened. “Hou… house is clear,” Happy managed to get out between a yawn or two. “Thanks, Happy.” “Yes, thank you, Happy,” The security man nodded, and covered a yawn with the back of his hand. “Go get some sleep, Hap. We’ll take it from here.” “Alright you don’t have to tell me twice. Goodnight.” “Night, Hap.” “Goodnight.” “Oh, Boss?” “Yeah?” “It’s really good to see you here instead of there.” “Thanks, Happy. Believe me, it’s good to be here and not there anymore.” They were in the house a few seconds later. “Is there anything you want before we head up?” Pepper asked, stifling a yawn as best she could. Tony shook his head, “No, all I want is to just go to bed and… go to sleep with you in my arms.” "Okay, that sounds just wonderful. Let's go do just that." Taking his hand, Pepper led the way up the stairs, and down the hallway. There were four bedrooms upstairs. Tony was surprised when his wife led them past a room that looked like it had been slept in for one further down the hallway. "This is the master bedroom," Pepper said, pointing to the attached bathroom before explaining, "I've been sleeping in one of the other bedrooms because I... I uh..." "Didn't want to sleep in a great, big, cold bed all by... all by yourself?" Even in the dim light of the room, Tony could see her eyes were teary, “Oh, honey, c’mere.” He pulled her into a hug, “I love you.” She didn’t respond other than to bury her face into his neck, and that’s the way they remained for a few minutes until she said, “I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared for you before, Tony.” Her statement said a lot about how scared she had been while he was prison. After all they had come through his time of captivity in Afghanistan, Loki’s invasion, Aldrich Killian, and so many other things. “I know,” he said, tightening his arms around her, “I know, I was scared too… almost out of my mind.” “I--” A yawn cut off whatever Pepper had been about to say. Despite the seriousness of what they’d just been talking about, Tony smiled, and after a kiss to the side of her head said, “I think we should get ready to go to bed now.” Pepper let the curtain fall back into place, sighing as she turned around to face the two men seated at the kitchen island, “I think there are even more reporters out there than there were just ten minutes ago.” Tony looked down at the food left on his plate, and said, “I guess we should have made the long trip home last night.” Happy looked up from his phone that he’d working non-stop since he saw the reporters outside when he came over to join them for breakfast at Pepper’s invitation, “I’m going to find a way to get us out of here. I said I’d do it and I’m going to. It just might take awhile.” “We know you will, Happy. Thank you,” Pepper said from where she was standing behind Tony with her arms around his shoulders. She leaned close to him so she could whisper in his ear, “It’s not your fault, honey. We were all very exhausted.” “Still I-” He was cut off by his wife’s hand sliding over his mouth. “No, it wasn’t solely your fault, Tony, and I refuse to let you keep taking the blame. Happy’s going to get us out of here, somehow, someway. Now--” Whatever she had been about to say was cut off when her cell phone began to ring, so instead she kissed his cheek, and then went to answer it. “Hey, Nat, what’s up?” “Hey Pepper, actually it’s Clint and Nat on Nat’s speakerphone.” “Hi, Pepper.” “Hi.” “Pepper, is Tony there where he can hear us?” Clint asked as soon as his wife and their friend finished exchanging greetings. “Yes, he is.” “Can you put the speakerphone on then?” “Yes, of course. Hold on one second, Clint.” Pepper held the phone away from her, and pressed the button, “Okay, guys, I’ve got speakerphone on.” “Hey, Tony, how does it feel to be breathing fresh air again?” Clint’s voice inquired in a half teasing tone “Incredible. It feels incredible.” “Don’t,” they heard Natasha’s voice say. “What? All I was going to say was--” They heard Natasha’s voice say something in Russian, and then in English to them she said, “Hey Tony, good to hear your voice again.” “Thanks, Red.” “Anyway, the reason we called is because we’re flying a quinjet to California to pick up Rogers and Carter. We’re still about forty minutes out from Malibu, and the reason we called you is to ask you if guys would like a ride to New York? A three way surprised look was exchanged before Pepper nodded, then said, “Yes, yes, Nat! We’d love a ride back to New York if it’s not too much trouble?" "No, it's no problem as long as you don't mind taking a ride in a cramped quinjet." “Of course we don’t mind, Legolas! It’ll save us the trouble of trying to find a way out through the hyenas camped outside!” “Alright then, we’ll see you in about four hours,” Natasha replied. “See you then,” Pepper replied, and had been about to end the call when she thought of something, “Wait! Natasha, Clint? Are you still there?” “Yes, we’re here, Pepper,” Natasha answered, “Is something wrong?” “No, nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to ask you how did you know we might need a ride?” Clint is the one who answered, “Word got out on the news that Tony was exonerated and had been released from prison last night.” “So with me out of the big house, that meant Cap was sprung too, so I guess that means Coulson said you guys could fly out and pick up Cap?” Tony asked. “No, actually JARVIS was the one who made to make the suggestion… at about two in the morning, and the Director signed off on it this morning about six AM.” They hung shortly after that, with Tony taking Pepper’s phone briefly to open up a communications window with JARVIS. [[Thanks, J, for looking out for us. Great way to handle the media circus.]] [[You are most welcome, Sir.]] Smiling the billionaire wrote back, [[How do you know it’s not Pepper who just wrote this? It IS her phone after all.]] [[I just knew, Sir.]] His smile got bigger when he replied, [[I’ll be home soon, J. It will be SO GOOD to hear your voice again.]] [[As it will be with you. Have a safe journey home, Sir.]] “Thanks, hon,” he said, handing Pepper back her phone, “Well we have a few hours to k… uh pass before they get here. What do you want to do?” “Well if you don’t mind,” Happy interjected before Pepper could answer the question herself, “I’m going back over to the guest house and take it easy to get ready to deal with those bozos outside.” “That’s fine with me,” Pepper said. “Me too, although you do know that we’re not going to have to go anywhere near ‘those bozos’ right, Hap?” “Hey, I was referring to after we’re settled back in at the tower because you can bet when they get ignored… and you are pretty much going to ignore them for awhile, right?” Pepper nodded, as did Tony before he added, “I’ve got no plans to talk to them anytime soon.” Happy nods himself, “That’s what I’m talking about. When you ignore them, I bet you anything these clowns are gonna try to slip past security, and get upstairs to talk to you.” “Which isn’t going to happen between you, JARVIS, and the Avengers on the job.” “I know that and you two know that but they don’t know that, so they’ll kill themselves in the meantime until they figure out it ain’t gonna happen,” the security said with a long sigh and a shake of his head. With a look to Tony, Pepper turned to him, “I guess we’ll see you in a few hours when our ride gets here.” “I’ll be back over before they get here. Say half an hour before they get here?” “Sounds good.” “Okay, I’ll see you then.” “So,” Pepper began the second the door closed and they were alone again, “What would you like to do now?” “Take my wife back to bed, and try my best to make up for all of the time we’ve lost,” he answered, holding out a hand towards her. Licking her lips, she put her hand into his, and said, “I think you read my mind, Mr. Stark." "Then let's go, Mrs. Stark." She nodded, and started to follow him him out of the kitchen then stopped. When Tony looked at her, she said, "One second." She picked up her phone, and knowing he was giving a "Seriously?!!" look the entire time, did something to her phone. When she was done she put it back down on the counter. "Finished?" "Mmmhmm." “What--” he stopped talking when his wife's free hand covered his mouth. “You will find out later. Right now, the time we should be taking advantage of is busy ticking away.” “Good point, I--” Once again, Tony was made to be silent, this time by his wife’s lips pressing forcefully against his, and that was the last word spoken between them for some time.
Bringg! Bringg! Bringg! Bringg!
Dragging her eyes open, and hearing her husband uttered something unintelligible, Pepper reached over towards the nightstand. She fumbled for a bit, which was surprising, because what she was reaching for was the landline phone. Still, she finally found it within a few tries, and pulled the receiver off of the hook. “Hello?” “Your wakeup call as requested, Ma’am.” “Thank you, ” she replied with a yawn before hanging up the phone. Without opening his eyes just a crack, and snuggling into her side, Tony asked, “Who was that?” “JARVIS,” Pepper murmured, as she began running her fingers through his hair. “JARVIS?” “Mmmhmm, JAR.. VIS.” She heard him hum and then heard his breathing deepen back into a way that told her that Tony had fallen asleep again. Although she knew they probably needed to get up, she didn’t hesitate to join him, and closed her eyes to go back to sleep. A few more minutes asleep in bed with husband wouldn’t hurt, right?
Bringg! Bringg! Bringg! Bringg!
Tony groaned out loud when the phone woke them up a second, and when he felt his wife reaching to answer it again. He really groaned when he heard the words he heard his wife use to answer the phone. “We’re up this time, JARVIS.” He heard her hang the phone up after that. He didn’t even try to stop his whine of annoyed displeasure when he felt her shift away from him before she sat up in the bed, “Where… you going, babe?” “Shower,” Pepper replied, wrapping the sheet around her. “Don’t go.” She was glad she was standing because the same time he said the words, Tony’s hand was reaching out to try to stop her, “I have to. Happy is going to be here in about twenty minutes, and I want to be ready when he gets here.” When he frowned, she added, “I won’t be long, I promise. Why don’t you go back to sleep while I’m in the shower since it doesn’t take you as long to get ready?” She knew if he were awake more, Tony would probably make some kind of crack about how it doesn’t take anyone as nearly as long as her to get ready. But as it was he opened his sleep filled brown eyes, and gave her a world class sad puppy dog look. “But it’s cold and lonely without you here in this bed with me.” Between what he said, and the look he was giving her, Pepper almost gave in. Almost. The only reason she didn’t was because she really did need to get ready before Happy showed up, especially if she wanted to avoid embarrassing their friend as much as she wanted to avoid embarrassing herself. So instead Pepper reached down to pull the blanket up over her husband, and after blowing him a kiss, then disappeared into the en suite bathroom.
When she emerged from the bathroom about twelve minutes later, Pepper had expected to see Tony asleep again. Instead he was standing in the middle of the bedroom, and except for missing a shirt, he was fully dressed. His back was to her, and he hadn’t heard her exit the bathroom so she slipped her arms around his waist. She rested her chin on his shoulder, murmuring, “I love the look.” “Huh?” Pepper pointed towards to indicate it was his state of shirtlessness she was referring to. “Oh right, about that, I’ve been looking for that for about five minutes and haven’t found it… obviously.” “Where have you looked?” “All over the room.” Releasing her hold on him, she said, “Well, I can help you after I get dressed.” It was only then that Tony noticed that his wife was only dressed in a white towel wrapped around her body and he watched as she gathered up her own clothes before walking towards the bathroom, “You could get dressed in here you know.” “I know but I want to do something with my hair after I get dressed,” Pepper replied, not failing to notice his disappointment as she stopped at the bathroom door, “If you can’t find your shirt, it’s okay. I have another one of yours here too. Just let me get dressed and if you still haven’t found the one from last night, I’ll get the other one for you.”
“No luck, huh?” Pepper said when she emerged a short time later to see him still without a shirt on, seated on the bed. “Nope, nada.” “Hmm, alright then. I’ll get the other one for you.” When she excited the room, Tony got up and followed her to the room he knew she had been in since she staying at this house. He wasn’t really surprised when he saw her walk over to the bed, and pick up his shirt from it. She jumped a little when she saw him standing there, not having realized that he had followed her. She held the t-shirt out towards him, “It’s clean… for the most part.” When he arched at eyebrow at her, Pepper added, “I’ve been sleeping with it.” She didn’t feel the need to explain after further since she knew he’d understand. “Did it help?” he asked, taking the shirt from her. “It did a little… at first anyway because it still smelled like you. But after awhile it--” “Started smelling more like you,” Tony stated as he held the shirt up to his nose and inhaled. “Yeah.” “Honey, I'm not complaining if I smell like you on our way home.” “Well, you’re probably going to.” “And that’s fine,” he replied, pulling the t-shirt on over his head. Seeing what was his t-shirt on Tony again made her smile, making her want to cry at the same time, and she couldn’t stop her face from crumbling. Tony immediately pulled her to him when he saw her tears, “What’s wrong?” Pepper wanted to answer his question because she knew her breakdown was worrying him for a few minutes all she could do was cry and let her husband hold her. So she let herself cry until the brief storm of emotion passed, and her tears began to dry up. While staying in his arms, she said, “Sorry.” “For what?” “For worrying you… and because I know you can’t stand to see me crying.” “No… no, I can’t. It hurts me when you cry, and I don’t know what to do to make whatever it is better.” “I’m sorry,” she whispered again. “Hey hey, shhh, stop apologizing for how you feel when something’s wrong. Now, can you please tell me what’s wrong?” She sighed, “Nothing is wrong… I just started thinking about how this time yesterday you were still locked in a maximum security federal prison, waiting for them to kill you… and how I had begun to lose hope that anything but that was going to happen.” “Me too.” Pepper pulled away so she could look at him, “What?” “Literally, like hours before the call came in, I had a conversation with the warden that I didn’t really want to have but I guess it was one he felt like we needed to have since the stay was about to run out. I think he wanted me to be prepared for the very real possibility that I would be executed after all. I think even before that conversation with him, I think I had already come to the point where I accepted the fact that I was never going to walk out of prison alive.” “Oh, Tony--” “Tony? Pepper? Hello? Anyone here?” Whatever Pepper had been about to say was lost, as was the moment, and they both knew it. “We’re upstairs, Hap!” Tony called out so he wouldn’t come upstairs to look for them. “Be down in a minute!” “Okay!” Wiping her eyes, Pepper pulled away from him and started towards the door, “I’m going to go wash my face, and then I’ll be downstairs.” “Don’t take too long.” “I won’t. Promise.” They parted ways in the hallway, with Pepper heading back to the master bedroom while Tony went on downstairs. He wasn’t at all surprised to find their bodyguard looking out the window in the direction where the mass of reporters were situated, “How’s it looking out there?” “Like a three ringed freak show. I have to say I’m surprised none of those jerks have tried climbing over the fence and ringing the doorbell yet.” “I won’t say that too loud, Hap. We don’t want any of them getting any brilliant ideas, do we?” Happy laughed sardonically, looking at his watch, “No, no we don’t. But maybe it wouldn’t matter if they did since our ride should be here in about fifteen minutes. Give or take a few.” “Wait, it hasn’t been fifteen minutes since you came in. It’s only been about three minutes.” The security man shrugged, “I came over here late so you lovebirds could have a little more time to yourselves before we had to get ready to leave.” Tony rolled his eyes but was cut off from making any further comments by the entrance of his wife. Instead of saying what he had planned to say to Happy, he turned to her, “We’ve got about thirteen minutes, give or take, before they get here. Is there anything you want packed up to take with us?” As Pepper seemed to be thinking about this, he added, “Keep in mind there probably isn’t a whole lot of the room on the quinjet with everyone who is going to be on this flight.” Pepper nodded her head, “Okay, not taking up too much room shouldn’t be a problem. I only want to pack up the personal or work related things I brought with me when I came here. Then after we’re back home in New York we can send someone to pack up and ship back what’s left.” “Sounds like a good plan. Need some help getting together everything you want to take?” “No, I think I can handle it,” Pepper replied over her shoulder, disappearing back upstairs. After she went back upstairs, Tony walked over to where Happy was still standing by the window, and moved the curtains back so he could look out too. At seeing how huge the gaggle of reporters was just beyond the community’s wall, he gave an impressed whistle, “Wow there are a lot of them out there, aren’t there?” “Oh yeah.” “Good thing we have a ride out of here.” “You can say that again.” “Good thing we have a ride out of here.” Happy rolled his eyes, shook his head but didn’t verbally respond to the billionaire. The next few minutes were quiet at the two men watched the reporters, and Pepper finished packing upstairs. The silence was only broken when she came back downstairs, and her cell phone started ringing again. Tony answered it, putting it on speakerphone, as his wife set down one backpack and a briefcase on the floor, “Yo, Katniss, how far out are you?” He grinned when Clint responded as he could practically hear the archer’s eye roll. “ETA is one minute, thirty seconds. Everyone ready to go on your end?” “Yes, we’re all ready to head them up and move ‘em out when you get here.” “Good.” “So are you planning on landing in the front or the back?” There was a bit of silence before Clint replied, “As much fun as it’d be to mess with the reporters you’ve got out front, I think the Director would prefer if we landed this baby in the back. Got the room?” Tony looked at Pepper, who nodded yes, but he said, “Yeah, the back has enough room. I can’t give you the co-or…” His voice trailed off as they heard the sound of an aircraft flying overhead, “Never mind, you don’t need them.” “See you in a minute.” Pepper put her phone into her pocket, then as Happy grabbed the backpack and briefcase from the floor, took one last look around the living room of the house she had called home for almost four months now. “Pep?” “I’m coming,” she said, turning around, and reaching forward to take his hand that he was out towards her. The three of them exited the back of the house just as the quinjet set down. The ship was cloaked, they couldn’t see it, but they could observe its effects. The grass was pressed down in what Pepper assumed was the shape of the quinjet, and there was a definite breeze in an area where the wind wasn’t naturally blowing on its own. Happy shot a perplexed look in the couple’s direction, specifically Tony, “How the heck are we supposed to get into something that we can’t see?” The sound of a door opening was heard before the billionaire had to answer the question, and his mouth turned into an amused grin when the bodyguard’s jaw dropped.When the ramp to the cloaked aircraft finished lowering, four faces were returning their gazes from inside. “Come on board!” Clint called out from the pilot’s seat, “Welcome! Welcome!” A quiet quickly fell over the quinjet since everyone on board, except for the pilots, were all pretty tired. Besides that, the truth of the matter was neither one of the couples felt up to maintain a conversation right at that moment. So within a few minutes of takeoff, Happy was the one to break the silence in the back with a soft, “Need anything else, boss? Because if you don’t, I want to get a little shut eye before we land.” “No, Happy, I think we’re good. Pep?” Pepper didn’t open her eyes but snuggled further into her husband’s side, getting as close as she could, and she didn’t say anything. “I’ll take that as a no from her,” Happy said before putting his head back against the rest, ‘SHIELD sure didn’t design these seats for comfort, did they?” No one responded to him and obviously he didn’t expect it because within a few seconds of making the comment, they all could hear soft snores coming from him. Tony turned his eyes from their sleeping bodyguard, and looked across at the two people sitting on the other side. Steve met his eyes, and for a moment the two of them just stared at each other before Steve rested his head against his wife’s, and closed his blue eyes. Although he wasn’t sleepy, Tony decided to follow suit, and was about to close his eyes when he felt Pepper try to snuggle even further into his side. “Honey, are you cold?” he asked quietly. “Mmmhmm.” Just as Tony was about to call up to the front of the quinjet to ask if they still had the blankets stowed on the aircraft, that’s when he saw movement from that direction caught his eye. He turned his head in time to see Natasha walk just past them and open an overhead compartment where she pulled out a plain grey blanket. As he continued to watch, she unfolded it and covered both of them with it. She then turned around to grab a blanket for Steve and Sharon before finally grabbing one for Happy. When the last of their passengers were wrapped into the blankets only then did Natasha return to the front, nodding at Tony as she passed him. “Thanks, Red,” he mouthed at her. She smiled at him in return, “You’re welcome.” Tony came out of the light doze he’d been in on and off during the flight home when he felt the quinjet land. “We’re home, everyone,” Clint’s voice announced a second later. Across from them, Sharon was the first to stir, and since he was leaning his head against hers, Steve soon followed. Out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw Happy stretch and begin to unbuckle the safety harness. The only person still asleep on the aircraft was his wife. “Pepper?” “Hmm?” “Honey, wake up. We’ve landed… we’re home.” Her eyes opened, and she slowly she sat up, blinking blearily, “We’re home?” “Yes, we’re… I’m finally home,” Tony replied, with his smile widening into a Cheshire cat grin. “Yes, you’re finally home,” Pepper confirmed, cupping both sides of his face before she gently kissed him. “Wow,” Tony huffed a few minutes later when they were forced to end the kiss so they could breathe, “Did we just really not notice everyone getting off this thing, because I totally don’t see another soul. Not even Happy!” Looking around the aircraft, Pepper blushed when she realized he was right. Everyone else had left the ship, “Oops, looks like we did, didn’t we?” She laughed as she felt Tony kiss on the side of her face, and then grasp her hand. “Come on!” Together they walked down the ramp at the back of quinjet, and as soon as their eyes adjusted to the sunlight on the landing pad, they were greeted with a sight neither of them had been expecting. All around the quinjet, the Avengers had gathered with their families, and were all standing in a half-moon. The moment they emerged outside, there was an outbreak of applause from everyone present, applause that included the kids although they didn’t quite understand why they were clapping for their aunt and uncle.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“You’re late,” May stated without looking at the person who just sat down beside her on the bench. “Job went long.” Knowing that was both the only explanation and apology she would get, May nodded, and finally looked at him, “Why did you ask to see me, Eliot?” “I had a meeting with someone very interesting,” Eliot pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and holding it out to her, “Someone who wants to hire my services as a retriever.” “And why would SHIELD be interested in one of your clients, Eliot?” “Take the paper and you’ll find out why, Mel.” She rolled her eyes at him, and took the paper from him, “You know I hate it when you call me....” Her voice trailed off when she saw the name on the paper, “ She’s your client?” “No, she wants to be my client. I haven’t accepted the job yet. I think you can figure out exactly what she wants me to do,” May nodded, and put the paper in one of her pockets, “I’ll pass this along to the Director. Thanks for the tip.” “Anytime. Tell Coulson tell I said hello.” “I will. Tell Lacey the same from me?” “Sure.” May stood up, “I need to get this to Coulson ASAP.” Eliot got up too, “Take care of yourself, Melinda.” “You too, Spencer.” With a sigh, Pepper pulled back the curtains of the rented house she was staying in, and looked outside. She had yet to hear back from the man she had talked to about breaking Tony out of prison and she was starting to get worried. Time was about to run out for Tony’s and if this fell through, she didn’t know if she’d been able to find someone else to get him out in time.
The phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts. She answered it right away, knowing that it couldn’t be anyone but the property’s security calling her. “Yes?”
“Ma’am, there’s a Mr. Phil Coulson requesting to see you,” the now familiar voice replied.
Pepper carefully considered the pros and cons of turning the SHIELD Director away, but finally decided it would be better if she found out what he wanted now rather than later, “Let him in, Brisby.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Hanging up the phone, she went about the room tucking away anything she thought even might remotely give Phil a clue as to what she had been up to. She knew from past meetings with him that he was a perceptive man, and it wouldn’t take much for him to put it altogether with just a few careless clues left in the open. With everything hidden away, the last thing she did as he pulled up into the driveway was turn on the coffee pot in the kitchen, and went to the door.
With a clearly plastered smile on her face, Pepper opened the door just as he was stepping onto the porch, “Phil! What an unexpected surprise!”
“But a welcomed one I hope.” Coulson said, giving her a genuine warm smile as he extended his hand towards her.
“Oh of course! Of course!” she replied, allowing him to shake her hands. “Would you like to come inside?”
He nodded, “Yes, I would although I can’t stay long.”
They went inside, and while Pepper was in the kitchen fixing the cup of coffee she had offered him, the Director took the opportunity to look for the clues to confirm what he already knew to be true. It took him less than a thirty seconds to find what he knew would be a very incriminating document in a court of law, and he shook his head. He thought about having it in his hand when she came out but thought better of it, but instead putting it back in its hiding place , and went to sit down in the chair she had left him in.
Pepper emerged from the kitchen a few seconds later, carrying a small tray with two full coffee cups, and the accompaniments on it. As she set the tray down, she asked, “So, what brings you here?” She carefully handed him one of the cups, and took the other before sitting down.
Coulson stared at the steaming, exquisite smelling liquid in the cup, wishing suddenly that he didn’t have to have this confrontation with her. He delayed answering her question by taking a sip of what he knew was very expensive coffee, thinking about how he would say what needed to be said.
He set the cup down, and looked at her, “There is no easy way for me to say this, so I’ll just come out with it. I know what you’re trying to do.”
Pepper gave him a confused look, “I’m not sure what you mean, Phil.”
“I think you do.”
“No, I-”
“Mrs. Stark, please,” he said quietly. “I’m not here to arrest you but you can’t continue with what you were trying to do.”
Any pretense of warmth disappeared from her face, and was replaced by anger, “What I’m trying to do? I don’t have a clue what you mean, Phil, but all I am trying to do is comes to terms with the fact that they’re going to execute my husband a few weeks from now, and that there’s absolutely nothing I can do to stop it!” She wiped away a few tears, and refused to look at him.
Without another word, Coulson stood up, and retrieved the piece of paper she believed that she had hidden so well from him, and sat back down. He laid the paper on the table between them, “Let’s try this again. I am not here to arrest you, Pepper, but your activities have to cease as of this moment before someone in the governmental authorities finds out because they will have you arrested on conspiracy charges.”
Pepper stared at the incriminating paper, and wiping away more tears, “I can’t lose him, Phil.”
“I know,” Coulson responded gently, “But do you really think he’d want you to take this kind of a risk for him?”
“No, he wouldn’t,” she admitted after a minute, “But losing him this way is not something I’m sure I can bear either. He’s been in… a part my life one way or another for so long now that I’m not sure I’ll be able to live without him. There’s always been something between us since the day we met. Whether it was him just being my boss or being the man that I love . I am not ready to lose him, especially for something he didn’t do!”
The Director nodded, remembering the time while he was still a field agent and had been tasked by then SHIELD Director Nick Fury with debriefing Tony about the circumstances of his escape from Ten Rings. He remembered going to the firemen’s benefit Tony’s company was hosting in hopes he’d finally get the man to agree to talk with him. But what he remembered most from that night was seeing Pepper as she danced in Tony’s arms, and thinking there was something special between them even then on that night.
“I know how much he means to you, but you can’t keep doing what you were doing or you will get caught, and sent to prison for a long time. You’re very lucky that this was brought to my attention first instead of one of the several federal agencies who have been tasked with keeping an eye on your financial activities. I won’t arrest you but they will, and without any hesitation.”
“So Eliot Spencer is one of yours? A SHIELD agent?” she asked, attempting to change the subject.
“No, Mr. Spencer is not a member of SHIELD.”
“So he doesn’t work for you then?”
“No, he does not.”
“Then how do you know what he knows?”
“We know because he maintains contact with one of my agents, and passes along any information he believes that we should know about.”
“I’m curious as to how or why in the world one of your agents would have someone like Spencer as a contact.”
“Sorry but that’s classified.”
Pepper sighed, “Of course it is.”
Coulson smiled at her response, and then was somber again, “I am very serious, Mrs. Stark, when I say that you can’t continue on with this because you will be caught. It’s only a matter of time before the other agencies catch on, and believe me they won’t hesitate to send you to prison for a very long time. Please say that you’ll stop, if not for your sake but that of your children.” She hesitated, then knowing he was right about what would happen if she got caught by the U.S. federal authorities. “So how did it go?” May asked as she hit the button to close the hatch, and Coulson strapped himself into one of the back seats of the quinjet. When she didn't get an immediate answer, May half turned and saw that he had his eyes closed and was resting his head on the back of the seat. She turned back around, and finished the pre-flight checklist. “About as well as you’d expect it to go when you’re dealing not with just a woman who is desperate to keep her husband from having to make the walk into the execution chamber but also someone you consider to be a friend," Coulson's answer finally came when they were in the air. She didn't say anything for a second as she made an adjustment on one of the controls, but then a possible secondary meaning to what he had said occurred to her, and she turned, "Wait, Phil, you didn't tell her about what our plan is, did you?” If it had been anyone else but May, that question might have earned the person who asked it a glare. But as it was all Coulson did was open his eyes, and give his longtime partner what was for the most part a disappointed look, “No, of course I didn’t tell her." He sighed, and closed his eyes again, "I was tempted to tell her the truth, probably more than I have been in a such a long time, but I didn't. I know if we have to let things go as far as letting Ton... Stark's execution be carried out, we are also going to need her reaction... her grief to look like the real thing..." When May heard his voice trail off, she turned around and looked at him, "You're doing the right thing, Phil. You know that right? I mean it like you said, if we want everyone to believe that he's dead, her reaction to his execution has to be the real thing." "I know. I just wish that saving his life also didn't involve us allowing her to believe the lethal injection killed him." He shook his head, and looked at her again, "She's going to be so mad when she finds out we... that I let her go through all this pain, and I could have stopped it at anytime by telling her what our plans were." A beep from the console behind her gave May a reason to allow him a few minutes to be alone in his thoughts. She spoke quietly with the SHIELD flight communications agent, and once she had things settled with her, turned her seat back around. "Phil?" "Hmm?" "You know it's true that I don't know Mrs. Stark as well as you do, but surely the fact that we are going to save her husband's life will help her to understand why you couldn’t tell her what our contingency plans were at this time.” “I hope you’re right. I really hope you’re right.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“I know you have quite the busy day so thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Warden,” the lawyer said as he sat down from across the other man.
The prison official nodded, “You’re welcome, Mr. Rooney, Your office indicated something serious had come up and that is why you needed to see me?”
The lawyer nodded, and sighed, “There’s no easy way to say this. Last night, Mrs. Stark decided to run an errand late last night and because it was something she knew wouldn’t take long, she didn’t call her security man to go with her.” He paused when the warden took off his glasses before running a hand over his face.
“Let me guess,” he said, “Something bad happened while she was out.”
“I’m afraid so. A man came up to her and at gunpoint, forced her to hand over her handbag which had what she’d consider a small amount of money in it but likely a lot of money to everyone else around here.”
“Did he recognize her?”
“No, he never recognized who she was, which is amazing because he couldn't help but take notice of her rings, how expensive they look, and demanded that she hand those over.”
“I imagine that went over well with her.”
“Like a led balloon, I’m afraid to say. Mrs. Stark argued with the robber briefly before he forced her to remove her rings, and give them to him. He told her that he’d shoot her and take the them off her dead hand if she didn’t comply with his demands.”
“Please tell me complied, and she didn’t force him to shoot her…”
Rooney nodded, “She did.”
The warden couldn’t help but let out a visible breath of relief, “Good. I mean the loss of her rings is regrettable but if losing them saved her--”
“Unfortunately, things didn’t end there.”
“What happened next?”
“The assailant noticed that she was wearing a necklace tucked down inside of her blouse, which in turn he demanded that she give to him too. Mrs. Stark argued that he already had her rings, and she wouldn’t let him take the necklace away from her too. The
only
thing that stopped him from shooting her then was the fact the gun he was using had no bullets in it so instead he backhanded her, then while she was stunned, he made a grab fort her necklace. She wasn’t stunned long from the blow, and started fighting him again but she wasn’t able to hold him off. He knocked her to the ground, this time kicking her in the ribs a few times before he snatched the necklace off, and took off.”
“Is she alright, Mr. Rooney?” the warden asked.
The other man nodded, “She is, although she has a cracked rib or two along with some bruised ones. The hospital kept her overnight last night for observation, and released her early this morning.”
The prison official sighed, shaking his head, “We’re fortunate that today isn’t a scheduled visiting day.”
“Indeed, but even so Mr. Stark needs to be told what happened.”
“I agree, but he’s going to be angry when he hears this.”
“Wouldn’t you be if some thug robbed and assaulted your wife?”
“Yes, I would. I’d be very angry in fact! But regardless how much I might sympathize with him, I can’t tolerate any sort of violence or disruptive behavior from him. If he reacts either way, there will have to be consequences that he isn’t going to like.”
“Then let me tell him, Warden, what happened. I think I can help him not to react in a way that will force you to have to take punitive actions against him.”
The prison official thought it over for a second before he nodded, “I’ll let you meet with him to tell him, but only if he’s in both in hands and leg restraints.”
Rooney nodded, knowing about the incident they’d had with Tony close to the beginning of his client’s incarceration here. Because of it, he knew he couldn’t offer an argument to the man that’d make him change his mind. Lastly he found himself reluctantly agreeing with the decision because he knew that both of the restraints would helped to keep Tony from doing something he might later regret.
“Not that I condone her being robbed in the least, but I don’t understand why couldn’t Mrs. Stark have given the man everything that he wanted from her? Especially when it came to the necklace? What was so special about it that she risked her left to keep him from getting it?”
“As I understand it, there are two reasons she wouldn’t give him the necklace when he demanded that she hand it over. One, the necklace was a gift to her from her husband for their last anniversary before all this started, and two Mrs. Stark had put Mr. Stark’s wedding ring on the same necklace so she could quote
wear it close to her heart
unquote until she is able to return it to him.”
Berry shook his head, and sighed, “Poor woman.”
The lawyer nodded in agreement.
“I really hope, and
pray
every night that we won’t be forced to carry out your client’s death sentence, Mr. Rooney.”
“So do I, Warden.”
“Well, we should get this over with I suppose. I’ll have the guards move Mr. Stark to the conference room, and once he’s there, you can go tell him what happened.”
Rooney nodded but was silent as the prison official picked up his phone to call down to the death row cell block.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Are they here yet?” Pepper asked when she heard her husband slip into the room, not taking her eyes off the tiny wonder nursing away in her arms.
“Yeah, they’re down in the family room with Rhodey and Monica,” he replied, stepping up to the bed so he could brush his fingers over the back little head.
“Well just give this little lady a few more minutes to finish up her first meal, and they can come in."
Tony nodded, sitting down on the edge of the bed to wait while his newborn daughter finished, and then burped by her mother just to make sure no air was in her little tummy. He took the baby while Pepper fixed her gown back, handing her back to his wife once she was ready for her.
With a bright smile, Pepper looked up at her husband and said, "Okay, Daddy, I think we're ready for Emmy to meet her family."
“I’ll go get them then. Be right back.”
While Tony was gone, Pepper studied her new daughter’s face. The baby had drifted off back to sleep within minutes since filling her little tummy up. With her little face relaxed in sleep, it made the task of studying diminutive features easier.
Pepper could see their baby girl had her mouth and her Daddy’s nose. She had only been in the world for a few hours, so it was impossible to tell what color her eyes were going to be. Right now they were the baby blues that babies came with, and Pepper hoped, with time, they’d darken into the same gorgeous shade of brown her Daddy’s were. Maybe they would, she mused, since she had a dark tuft of hair of hair present on her little head.
It was the exact
same color as Tony’s.
She came out of her observations by the sound of voices speaking quietly outside the room's door.
"Alright, remember what Daddy said about being quiet so you don't scare your baby sister?"
"Uh huh."
"Uh huh, Daddy."
"Okay, here we go."
The door slowly opened, revealing three of the faces she had been expecting to see. Eva was in front of her brother, and Ethan was in front of his father. The boy nudged his little sister forward when she just stood there staring at her mother i..
"Come on, sweetheart. It's okay. Come here and meet your new baby sister," Pepper prompted her.
Eva came up to the sides of the bed and gripped one of the bars standing on her tiptoes in an effort to get a better look at the bundle nestled in her mother’s arms. The little girl girl was trying so hard to see that she didn’t notice when her Daddy came up behind her, and she gave a squeak as two strong hands lifted her up to set her down on the bed.
He ran a hand over her ginger curls, and smiled, “There you go, princess. Just don’t move around too much and jostle Mommy and sissy. Okay?”
“Okay, Daddy!”
“Inside voice, baby.”
Eva slapped her hands over her mouth, and then nearly whispered, “Oops! Sorry!”
“It’s okay, sweetheart.”
Smiling at the interaction between her husband and oldest daughter… how strange but wonderful to use the word older in connection to Eva because it meant she now had
two
beautiful daughters to love. Speaking of which it was time the little angel in her arms met her big brother and sister.
Pepper leaned forward a little, unwrapping the blanket just a little from the baby’s face, she said, “Ethan, Eva, this is your sister Emmaline.”
“Emma… line?”
They heard the pause in their daughter’s voice, and smiling Tony said, “Emmaline, princess. Say her name just a little faster.”
“Emmaline. Emmaline. Emmaline.”
“That’s right, honey. Emmaline.”
“Can I hold her?” Ethan blurted out loud, having been quiet during the exchange between his parents and other sister.
Pepper exchanged a look with Tony, and then looked back to her son, “Sure, honey.”
Ethan stepped closer to the bed with his arms out.
“Honey, why don’t you do sit down with Daddy over there on the couch, and let Daddy show you how to hold Emmy since she’s so little, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy!” Ethan brightly agreed before bouncing over to the couch.
“I wanna hold her too!” Eva said as she tried to figure out how to get down off of the hospital bed.
Fortunately, Tony hadn’t taken Emmy from her mother yet, so it was very easy to help his oldest daughter down from the bed, telling her as he did, “Okay, sweetheart, go sit down beside your brother and Daddy will show you two how to hold your sister. But Ethan gets to hold Emmy first since he asked first.”
“Tony, where are Jim, Monica, and Colton?” Pepper asked as she carefully placed Emmy into her Daddy’s arms.
“They’ve gone to get something to eat.”
“Why?”
Settling the newborn into his arms with experienced ease, Tony shrugged, “Rhodey said something about wanting to give us some family time together before they come to see Emmy.”
Pepper sighed, “But
they’re
our family too.”
“I know, Pep. But you know how stubborn Rhodey can be when something gets into his head.”
“Sorta like his BFF?”
“Hey! Not in front of Emmy!”
“Why not? Our daughter might as well know what she’s in for right from the start.”
“Daddy!”
Tony leaned over and kissed his wife, “We’ll continue discussion this later, Mrs. Stark.”
“I’m counting on it, Mr. Stark.”
“Daddy!”
“I’m coming! I’m coming! Just hold your little horses!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Sir, Ma’am, I have been asked to inform you when you arrived home that the Avengers have assembled on the common floor in the hope they will be able to meet and welcome Miss Emmaline home.” “Think she’s up to a meet and greet yet?” Pepper asked, looking at her asleep and being held securely against her Daddy’s shoulder. Tony nodded, rubbing her little back, “Probably if we don’t stay too long.” “JARVIS, are Ethan and Eva already on the common floor with everyone else?” Steve and Sharon had volunteered to watch them until Tony and Pepper came home with Emmy. The doctors had kept her in the hospital a little while longer after the baby girl showed some signs of having mild jaundice. “Yes, Ma’am, along with General and Mrs. Rhodes as well as Doctors Banner and Ross.” Tony’s eyebrows shot up at hearing this, “Bruce and Betty came too?” “Yes, Sir.” “So do you want to go?” Pepper asked after a second. “Yes, I do. They all need to meet Emmy, and there’s no better time like the present.” Although Rhodey and Monica had already met the baby, the rest of the team had stayed away in order to give Tony and Pepper time with their new daughter before she came home. “Shall I informed everyone you have decided to join them, Sir?” “Yes, but tell them we need about ten to fifteen minutes to get the baby settled.” “Certainly, Sir.” “I think she needs a change,” Tony explained when he noted the look his wife was giving him. “Ah.” As if on cue, the baby began to whimper. Smiling at his wife, Tony shifted his daughter to where she was laying in his arms, and said, “I know, princess. I know you’ve got an icky feeling diaper, and believe me, sweetheart, we’re gonna get that taken of.” They had reached their floor some time back and the entire time he was taking he laying her down and getting her ready. “Want me to change her?” Pepper asked, having followed them into the nursery, and after setting down the baby’s bag. “No, no, Mommy. Daddy’s got this one. Isn’t that right, Ems? Tell Mommy that Daddy’s going to get you all nice and clean and comfy again!” Fighting back happy tears, Pepper leaned against the doorway, and listened as her husband lovingly cared for their daughter’s needs. “So are you going to ever tell us her name or not, Tony?” Bruce asked as he watched Clint hand the baby off to Steve. Tony didn’t give a reply to Bruce, instead watching Steve as the other man settled his daughter in his arms. Steve studied the little face, “She’s really is beautiful, Tony, Pepper.” “Thank you.” Pepper said, noticing that her husband was asking with his eyes if it was okay for him to tell the, Emmy’s name. She mouthed a yes, it was. Tony turned back to Steve, and watched him as he said, “Her name is… Emmaline Margaret Claire.” Four eyes shot up to look at the billionaire, and but it was Sharon who found her voice first, “Did you just say--” “Margaret. Yes, I did, and yes we gave her Margaret as one of her middle names on honor of Aunt Peggy. She…” He stopped there, and didn’t continue until Pepper grasped his hand, “She was… one of the brightest parts of my childhood. I miss her, and since Emmy will never be able to meet her Aunt Peggy like Ethan and Eva did, I…” He glanced at Pepper, “Rather, we wanted to have her be a part of Emmy’s life in some way.” For over a minute the only sound to break up the heavy silence in the room was the sounds of the kids’ laughter and voices wafting in from the playroom down the hallway. The glisten of Steve and Sharon’s eyes wasn’t a trick of the light, and neither was the hoarseness of their voices when they said together, “Thank you.” Steve looked at his wife before he continued, “Thank you, Tony. Thank you, Pepper. It means a lot to the both of us that you honored Peggy this way.” “Believe me, Steve, the honor is ours . I only got to meet her a few times, but I know she was an extraordinary woman. I really wish she could be a part of my children’s lives now like she was in Tony’s.” Sharon ran a hand over the soft spot of hair on the baby’s head, “Just the same, thank you both so much .” “So is there are special significance attached to Claire?” Betty asked, breaking the silence. “Other than the fact we both liked the name Claire, there is none.” They couldn’t fail to notice the look Bruce and Betty exchanged, “What?” “Well,” Bruce began smiling, “You do realize that her initials spell out E equals MC squared right?” Across the room they heard a snort of laughter, and as all eyes turned in her direction Jane said, “Sorry but the scientist in me appreciates both the humor and irony!” The entire room knew when what they were saying dawned on Pepper and burst into laughter after Pepper smacked Tony on the arm. “Hey! What as that for?” “Because you’re the one who suggested Claire as part of our daughter’s name!” “I didn’t realize what her initials spelled out until Bruce pointed it out just now. Thanks a lot, Banner!” Tony replied, shooting a mock annoyed look in his direction before turning back to his wife, “The fact her initials spell out Einstein’s equation for the Theory of Relativity is not my fault entirely alone. As I recall, honey, you were there right beside me when we were considering baby names!” “Yes, I was but I am not the one who’s the scientist here!” Tony finally shrugged, “Okay so her name spells out E equals MC squared. It’s still perfection, and if everyone else in the world realizes it too, they’ll probably just dismiss it as a Stark family eccentricity.” “More like a Tony Stark eccentricity,” muttered a voice that sounded a lot like that of his best friend. “That too. But hey if it works, why look a gift horse in the mouth?” Pepper had opened her mouth to comment on what he just said but her words never got past her throat because Emmy started crying from where she was nestled in Jane’s arms. “I think this little girl is either over being handed around or--” “She’s hungry,” her mother said, as she bent down to take the baby into her arms. “Yeah.” “Well if you will all excuse me, Emmy and I need a little girl time now.” “Okay, kiddos, it’s bath and getting ready for bedtime time!” Tony said as they stepped onto their floor. When he saw Ethan opening his mouth to protest, he added, “No, you don’t have to go to bed right now. You just need to be ready to go for when your bedtime gets here. Okay?” “Okay,” the boy reluctantly agreed. “Okay, princess?” “Okay, Daddy!” “Thank you.” He watched them start down the hallway, and then turned back to his wife, “Want me to go see about them or get her settled for the night?” Emmy gave a wide yawn. “I’ll take care of her.” They had intended to visit with the Avengers only for a little while early but the visit quickly turned into one that lasted for over two hours/ They were talked into staying to have dinner, and then they’d stayed for another half hour to allow the kids to play a little while with their cousins. Emmy had handled all the attention well, considering, but after Pepper returned to the living room after feeding her, the baby was either with her Mommy or Daddy for the remainder of the visit. As long as she was in either of their arms, she slept like the little angel she is. “Alright, I’ll go see about getting the rugrats get bathed and ready for bed.” He kissed her again and then followed their older kids down the hallway. Pepper watched her husband until Tony disappeared into Eva's room. Their oldest daughter, but how strange and what a wonderful to say the word oldest in front for her name. was at the age where she wanted to bathe herself. There were nights where she would tell Tony, "I can do it myself, Daddy!" and Tony would stand or sit just outside the bathroom door. Of course on those nights, Tony would also asked JARVIS to keep an eye on her to make sure if she somehow fell down, the AI her alerted him immediately. Emmy began fussing right at that moment, drawing Pepper out of her thoughts. She smiled down at the baby, she cooing, "Come on, let's go get you ready for bed, sweetheart."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Thank you for seeing me… for seeing us, Mr. President,” Pepper said, holding out her hand. President Sadler extended his hand to take hers in his own, and with a nod, firmly shook it. He then gestured the man standing beside him, “Mrs. Stark, this is the Attorney General of the United States, Alexander Harris.” The Attorney General extended his hand to Pepper, “Mrs. Stark.” “Mr. Attorney General,” she shaking his hand too. When you’re with the leader of the free world, you pretty much follow his lead, and Pepper did just that as she allowed the two men to select where they wanted to sit. Once they were sitting down, she decided it was probably polite to wait for President to take the lead in the conversation. She was surprised when he was not the one to break the silence. “Mrs. Stark,” Harris began, “I know that you had hoped to meet privately with the President today.” She nodded, “I did.” “I’m sorry but that wasn’t ever a real possibility, because what I already know what you’re going to say to me,” President Sadler said. “I asked the Attorney General to be present, and I now give you the only answer I can give under the law. I am sorry, Mrs. Stark, but I must deny your request for clemency.” “But I haven’t even made it yet, Mr. President. How can you deny it when I haven’t asked you yet?” “Because whether or not you say the words, Mrs. Stark, I still can’t grant your request.” “But you’re the President of the United States!” “Which is precisely why he cannot grant your request, ma’am,” Harris interjected. “But Tony is innocent!” “Not according to a legally seated jury of his peers who found Mr. Stark guilty on two counts of federal capital murder. The same jury who sentenced him according to their findings after hearing all the the evidence presented in court,” the Attorney General countered. The President nodded in agreement, “I’m sorry, I wish that I could do as you’re here to ask me for, but I won’t overturn a jury’s decision. Mrs. Stark.” “Please, Mr. President,” Pepper said, barely keeping her voice from breaking, “I’m not asking you to pardon or free Tony. I’m just asking you to commute his sentence to life in prison. Please, sir, I don’t want to have to face my children and tell them that their father is not ever coming home again. Please, Mr. President, I’m… I am begging you with fiber of my being to save Tony’s life. Please, don’t let him die like this! He’s innocent.” Sadler sighed, “I’m sorry but as the Attorney General has pointed out, a jury of Mr. Stark’s peers found otherwise.” “So that’s it then? Your final answer is no?” The leader of the United States sighed, then gave a firm nod of the head, “Yes, it is. I’m sorry but no has to be the only answer that I can give you.” “If you won’t save… won’t save my husband’s life, then why did you even agree to see me, Mr. President?” “I would say it was out of personal respect for you, Mrs. Stark, or out of respect for what Mr. Stark’s family has done in the past for this country. But given the circumstances, I don’t believe you’ll accept that as an answer.” “No, you’re right, I won’t. Not when you’re simply going to allow Tony’s execution to go through and you won’t do anything to stop it when you have the power!!” She knew that she should at least thank him for taking the time to meet with her but instead she fought to not break down completely in front of the the President of the United States. The politician opened his mouth to re-iterate about how he wished things could be different but then he closed it. He decided that the last thing she wanted to hear was empty words, especially when she was long the battle not to cry in front of him. Instead, while Harris handed Pepper a few tissues, the politician quietly got to him feet then slipped away towards the agent standing at the back of the room. He spoke a few quiet words to the agent while he waited for the attorney general to join him. “Yes, sir, Mr. President. I’ll escort Mrs. Stark out when she’s ready to leave.” “Thank you, Aaron.” It was only five minutes when Pepper raised her head, looked around, and realized that she was the only one still sitting in the room. She jumped a little when she heard an unfamiliar voice speak from behind her. “He asked me to express his regrets but the President had a previously scheduled meeting he had to get to, ma’am.” Pepper nodded, and reached forward to snatch another few tissues, wiping her eyes, “Please just give me a minute and I’ll be ready to leave.” “President Sadler said that you’re free to use the room as long as you need to, so please, ma’am, take your time.” “Don't you need to go be where he's at? The President I mean?” “Because we’re in the White House, a very secure locale, it’s not as urgent that I stay with the President at this time.” Pepper picked up her things, “Still I don't want to keep you from doing your job, Agent…” “Pierce, ma'am.” “Agent Pierce,” he replied, raising his hand to stall her, “and it’s fine if you want to take a few more minutes in this room to collect yourself. I know that you didn’t exactly hear what you had hoped you’d hear from the President.” She looked at the man, and when he looked like he was being sincere, she sank back down in her seat, “Thank you.” Pierce nodded, then moved as far away from her as he could without leaving the room to give her some privacy.