She'd been at it for over thirty-six hours when he finally heard the cry. Tony nearly rocketed out of his chair, and the Captain's hand was the only thing that kept him on the ground.

"It's still going to be a while," he warned, but Tony waved him away.

"The hell it is," he argued, standing up and righting his clothes. "I'm Tony freaking Stark and that's my kid. I'm going in." As he marched down the hall, Steve smiled and shook his head before picking up a newspaper.

Tony was at the birthing room door in record time, eagerly peering through the windows. When a nurse appeared, he made a beeline for her.

"How is she?" he asked, his words nearly running together. "Are they okay? Is everything alright? How's Pepper?"

"Mr. Stark, calm down." The nurse put her hands up and laid them on Tony's shoulders. "Your wife and baby are fine, but they've been through a lot. They need to rest."

"But they're my wife and baby," he said petulantly, brow creased. "C'mon, let me in. How much do you want?"

"Mr. Stark, this isn't about money…"

"Half a million?"

"Mr. Stark—"

"Fine, a full million?"

"Sir." In that moment, the nurse sounded remarkably like Pepper, and Tony shut his mouth out of habit. "I'm sorry, I know you want to see them but they're both exhausted. Come back tomorrow morning and I will personally escort you to your wife's room, but for now, go home." She smiled gently. "Go celebrate, drink, sleep, and come back tomorrow."

Tony deflated, the nurse's kindness making it impossible for him to argue. "Alright," he finally said, shoulders sagging as he turned to walk away, but an instant later he'd turned on his heel and shot past the nurse.

"Mr. Stark!" she shouted, but the words were lost as Tony burst into the birthing room. The amount of blood he saw rivaled most of his own battles, but then his eyes settled on Pepper's face and he grinned. When she saw him, she frowned, eyes hazy with from the epidural.

"Tony?"

Several doctors whirled around and began to approach. "Hey, get this guy out of here!" one of them yelled.

"Pep!" He looked around frantically at the doctors, wondering what to do next.

"Doctors." Pepper's voice was soft and exhausted but still authoritative, and the advancing doctors stopped to look back at her. "Let him stay." Giving each other skeptical looks, the men backed away and let Tony through to his wife.

Any other day, he might've graced them all with a smug smile, but not today. There were more important things.

"Hey," he said as he came up to the side of the table, his hand instantly winding with Pepper's. "How do you feel?"

"Like dirt," she said honestly, "but proud." She smiled. "Wish you could have been here."

"Me too."

"Did they tell you what we had?"

He shook his head. "No, no one's told me anything."

Pepper's hand tightened around his and she closed her eyes, smile widening as she fought a losing battle with sleep.

"Valerie," she whispered before she drifted off. "We had a little girl."