"I hope no one sees me like this." Pepper whispered to herself. She was babysitting for her neighbor and knew that in her school, many rumors began from that. 'I don't want to wind up like Anne; no body would leave her and her boyfriend alone for weeks. Everyone was saying that the kid she was babysitting was hers and her boyfriends.' she thought. She bounced Emma, her neighbor's 2 yr. old, on her hip as she doodled in her sketchbook. Tony this, Tony that. You name any possible way she could have written his name, it was in her notebook, surrounded by hearts. Someone knocked on the door. Pepper got up and answered it; a very unhappy Emma cried on the couch, "Pick up! Pick up!" she said. Pepper ran back over and picked her back up.

"Pepper!, are you home?" Rhodey shouted through the door.

"Yeah, hang on!" She opened the door and stepped back to let him in.

"Whose kid? Yours and Tony's?" Rhodey asked.

"NO!" Pepper yelled, "I'm babysitting! Besides, I couldn't have had a kid yet."

"TMI Pepper. I didn't need to know that. But I think I know why Tony doesn't like you."

"I don't like him! Who said that? And even if I did like him, why wouldn't he like me?"

'I can think of a lot of reasons for that. Let's see, you talk too much,…'

"Hello, Earth to Rhodey?" Pepper said, waving a hand in front of him. "Why wouldn't Tony like me?"

"Oh, sorry. You have nothing."

"What?"

"Uh, I just told you."

"I don't get it though!"

"Oh. I meant that you have nothing, umm……on top." It took a little bit of thinking for that to sink in, but when it did, Pepper was mad.

"Rhodey! That is the most…" she began to shriek. And then there was another knock at the door.

"Pepper, let me in! I know you're home! I hear Rhodey and you screaming at each other." Tony said from outside the room. Pepper turned a deep red and let Tony in.

"Why are you and Rhodey arguing?" he asked.

"I was just saying that your kid is cute." Rhodey said to tick Pepper off.

"Excuse me? That's her neighbor's kid!" Tony said, embarrassed like Pepper. "I want to know the real reason, please?"

"Fine. I was just telling Pepper why you don't like her like she likes you." he said.

"I already told you that I don't like Tony like that!" Pepper shouted. Emma watched with interest as her babysitter told a downright lie. 'My babysitter is crazy.' So, adding to Pepper's and Tony embarrassment and Rhodey's fun, Emma slipped off the couch where Pepper had put her. She grabbed Pepper's sketchbook and gave it to Rhodey. He flipped through it with interest and noticed that this wasn't just a sketchbook. It was also a diary, ironically given to Pepper by Tony.

"Give this girl a cookie! She just gave me the best proof I could wish for to embarrass you!" Rhodey said excitedly.

"Rhodey, don't! That's my diary! It's the only thing I can tell everything that won't usually tell other people!" Pepper screeched.

"Pep, that didn't make any sense." Tony said. 'Oops, I used her pet name in front of Rhodey. She's gonna kill me the first chance she gets. I bet she wouldn't mind strangling me; it'd give a chance to get her hands on me for more than 2 seconds. Not only that, she'd probably release any and all pent up kissing fantasies on me first. And, she'd get to be alone with me. Ick, images!' Tony thought.

"Did you just call me 'Pep' in front of Rhodey? I thought you knew what I'd do to you if you ever called me by your pet name for me in front of anyone!" Pepper screamed. Rhodey was laughing so hard he was crying. But he wasn't laughing at Pepper's screaming; he was laughing at Tony's face.

"You…you call her 'Pep'? That proves you like each other! And Pepper, you can't deny that you like Tony because I've got proof here! Let's see, oh here's a good one! Dear diary, I think I know why Tony doesn't like me… Wow Pepper, you put a heart around Tony's name. Anyway, I think it's because I have nothing on top (referring to a health class related topic, you know, female anatomy and periods (which I'm still waiting for!)." Rhodey blinked and flushed, Tony was as red as his Iron Man suit and Pepper was banging her head against the doorframe as Rhodey laughed and continued to read. "Continuing on; As I was saying before, that's why I think Tony doesn't like me. Well Pepper,why don't you just ask him why he doesn't like you?"

Emma sat laughing at Pepper and Tony's reactions to this problem. "Show drawings! Show hearts!" she giggled.

"Ok, where are the drawings Emma?" Rhodey asked the toddler. She held out her little hand for the diary/sketchbook.

"Thank you." she said after he handed her the book. She flipped through the pages with a look of frustration. She couldn't find the page. And then she remembered tat the picture was on the back cover of the book. She gave a triumphant smile to Rhodey and flashed an evil grin to Tony and Pepper. She handed Rhodey the book and pointed to the drawings.

"Ooooooh, lookie here, Tony's name written all over the page and surrounded by hearts, stars and lip gloss marks." Rhodey observed. Emma smiled and high fived Rhodey as Pepper slammed her head repeatedly on the doorframe and Tony sank down behind the couch.

"Can I have cookie now?" Emma asked, remembering what Rhodey had said. Rhodey looked at Pepper, "Where are the cookies?" he asked.

"In-smack-the-smack-top-smack-cabinet." she said, accentuating each word with a smack to the head from the doorframe.