HELLO MY LOVELIES! It's been a while, but as promised, here is the Long-awaited sequel to my story Skuldalið. I've been working on this for a few months, and I think I have a substancial amout done that I can now start posting. I'll be uploading what I have as soon as I go over and edit everything.

Malibu, California, 1999—New Years Eve

Nine year old Erika Stark sat with her dad's assistant on the couch, watching a Disney movie.

"Where's Daddy?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Her dad's assistant, Pepper, hugged her closer and ran her hand through Erika's hair. "Your dad had to go to Switzerland to talk to important people. He should be back tomorrow."

"Oh. Okay." She yawned.

"Okay, time for bed," said Pepper, turning the TV off.

"Not tired," the little girl mumbled.

Pepper smiled and scooped the child up in her arms and took her upstairs to her room. She tucked the little girl in and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Erika."

The mumbled, "Night, Momma," nearly broke Pepper's heart.

Present Day

Erika adjusted her violin for what seemed like the thousandth time, glancing at the sheet music in front of her. "Okay, let's try this again," she sighed, setting the instrument in place. She played a few notes, then delved right into the music.

Five minutes later, a pain in her left leg made her abruptly stop and grit her teeth, almost making her drop her violin.

"Damn it!" she cursed, setting the violin down with a huff and massaging her leg. She reached for her cane—polished black wood with a bronze Chinese dragon acting as the handle—and hoisted herself up from the couch, hobbling up to her bedroom for her pain medication.

"Miss Stark, May I remind you that you have already consumed more than the recommended dosage of medication in the past two hours?" J.A.R.V.I.S's voice sounded overhead.

"Don't care," Erika grunted. "Hurts."

Stupid pain meds. Stupid nerve damage. Stupid kidnapping terrorists with their stupid torture, and their stupid fucking—"

"Miss Stark, you're rambling out loud, again."

Erika flipped the AI off and popped two pills. "When's Dad gonna be back from lunch with Rhodey?" she asked tiredly. "I wanna do more tests."

The cane only got her so far, so Tony had offered to build her a brace with a built-in numbing agent to help her get around easier. He'd been doing a lot of building, lately—her brace and the Mark 42 were only a few of the many projects he had going.

Tony hasn't been sleeping well, and he's had a lot of people worried about him. Erika wondered if the stress from dying in the wormhole and being scared back to life was finally catching up with him.

"Sir is expected to return from his meeting with Colonel Rhodes in approximately one hour. However, due to a recent anxiety attack, he is now en route back to the house."

Erika choked on the water she was using to take her pills. "Panic attack? Him?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Shit."

When Tony got home, Erika confronted him down in his workshop. "What's this I hear about a panic attack?" she asked, hobbling through the glass doors of the workshop.

Tony disengaged the suit and tried his best to look normal. "What? What attack? I don't know what you're talking about," he said quickly, sitting at a workbench and pulling up a hologram. "Hey, let's work on that brace of yours, yeah?"

Erika sighed. "Dad, don't deflect—J.A.R.V.I.S said you freaked out during your lunch with Rhodey. What happened?"

Tony sighed. "It's nothing, alright? I t was a fluke. I'm fine. Brace. Now. Please."

Erika shook her head. "Fine, whatever helps you sleep at night."

Erika held up her badge the minute she approached the Stark Industries building and had Happy in her sights. "Where's Pepper?" she asked, making her way to where he stood.

"She's in a meeting with someone. I don't like the look of him," said Happy, watching the glass doors from a distance.

Pepper came out with a tall blond man in a suit and Erika's immediate thought was "Hell No' when she saw him kiss pepper's cheek. She never took her eyes off of him until he was in a black SUV and Happy took a picture of the car. "You're right," she said. "I don't like him."

Happy moved to get Pepper and tell her that her car was ready. "Erika," said Pepper. "What are you doing here?" She moved to hug the younger girl.

"Just here to give you a head's up—there's something at home for you, and I swear it wasn't my idea," said Erika.

She almost laughed when they got home and pepper saw the rabbit, and she really did laugh when they came in and the Mark 42 was sitting on the couch.

"I'll leave you two alone," said Erika, wandering down the hall to her room. She didn't want to be Tony when Pepper found out the Mark 42 was walking around without Tony in it.

Later, when she came out to the kitchen to get a glass of water (more pain meds), she was surprised to see Pepper coming down the stairs in her pajamas, looking upset.

"What's wrong?' Erika asked, immediately thinking the worst. "Is something wrong with Dad? Did he have another freak-out?"

Pepper gave her an incredulous look. "So you knew about his trouble sleeping? Why am I the last to know?" she sighed, looking tired.

Erika gave her a sheepish look. "I caught him dozing in his lab. I was happy to see him sleeping, but then the freak-out started." Erika sighed and leaned heavily against her cane. "I'm scared, Pepper—I don't know how to help him."

Pepper gathered her in a hug and held her.

A/N: There's chapter one. Hope you like it!