Summary: Tony is no stranger to paternity claims from his female conquests, there's a system in place for them. But when one of the tests actually comes back positive, he makes a rash decision to not tell anyone about it, not even Pepper Potts. All Mary Parker wants is for Tony to spend a little time with their son, and she'll badger Tony Stark into showing up at least twice a month in any way that she can.

And then he goes missing for three months in Afghanistan. Tony has a lot to think about in his life now, how he wants to run his company, how his life is going to change with the arc reactor, and what he's going to do about his son, Peter. Then, the Avengers Initiative pops up, and in waltzes his childhood hero, and enemy, Captain America.

Follows IM1, IM2, Avengers, Cap2. Not canon-compliant, but follows the plots.

A/N: The first chapter will follow follow through the story of Iron Man 1 until he returns from Afghanistan. I've made Tony 27 at the start of this story. I brought up the official Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline, and I followed that for the most part, but there will be bigger jumps between movies. There are no warning for now, but that could be liable to change, with ample warning.

This is un-Beta'd so I apologize for errors, I'll catch them as I go along.

I own nothing except my imagination, everything else belongs to Marvel.

November 2004

Tony Stark leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling through his sunglasses, waiting for the printer to spit out the results that three, maybe four, people were eager to see. He wasn't even supposed to be in the office today, he had called a personal day for himself, nursing a hangover from the night before that he had been hoping to not encounter by still drinking in the privacy of his own home.

Virginia "Pepper" Potts had called him after 10am, (still too early in his book), saying that he had an appointment, and it wasn't something that she could field for him. Pepper managed to trick him into getting there ten minutes early, telling him the appointment was an hour earlier than it actually was. She was starting to know him too well, maybe he should start thinking about hiring a new PA.

What Tony had not been expecting to walk in the door was a woman that looked vaguely familiar. When he lifted his sunglasses a little, he remembered her from nearly a year ago, but it was her honey colored eyes, and the brown hair that had been curled around her shoulders when they first met. He was pretty sure that his nearly drunken brain at the time thought it would be a good idea to sleep with someone that looked like him, you know, if he was a female.

This wouldn't be the first time that one of his one-night conquests had made their way to his office; he was Tony Stark, everyone knew who he was by now. No, the surprise had been in the way of the small infant int he car seat that she had brought with her. Before Tony said anything, Pepper had called for a DNA test kit, (and he was glad that those were held on retainer in the building), and now they were waiting. The woman, Mary, hadn't argued about letting the lab downstairs process the DNA, saying they had better equipment than any other hospital or lab. The office was nearly silent, except for the occasional sound from the one month old. It seemed that he had been about to take a nap, and Tony was grateful. He was trying to will away the pounding in his head, and he's pretty sure that if there had been a wailing baby, he might have done something that even he would have regretted.

The printer suddenly jumped to life, and Tony rolled over int he chair, grabbing it before Pepper could. The two women in the room watched him eagerly, both awaiting the results, and Tony looked at the paper, at the words and comparisons of the DNA. He of course had been thinking about what would happen with either result. If the results were negative, nothing would change, except that Pepper would probably put a couple more security black suits on him. This was the third paternity claim this year alone, and he could practically feel her glare when Mary had first walked in. And maybe this one they could keep from Obie finding out about it, keep it from the tabloids this time so they wouldn't have to pay to have it not run.

If the results were positive,... Well, he wasn't actually sure. They would probably try to pay her off, enough money both Mother and baby would be set for a good many years. He was 27, the CEO of a Weapons Manufacturing Company, he traveled when he wasn't out on his own, he spent long hours in his workshop at home, and in the R&D labs at the office, and just generally wasn't responsible enough for a child. Also, two hours was not enough to make a life decision, while nursing a hangover.

"Tony?" Pepper had moved a little closer, pulling his attention. He looked up at her, then folded the paper in half, shaking his head. She nodded once to him then turned to Mary. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing that we can do for you. I can have someone from Security-"

"I'll walk out with her," Tony said suddenly, standing up from his chair, pocketing the paper. Pepper looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "I was going home after this anyway." He grabbed his jacket, sunglasses still on, and slipped it on as a silent Mary blinked, picking up the diaper bag and car seat. He gave a little wave to Pepper, holding the door open for Mary, (he wasn't that much of an ass to not get the door for the new mother), and left walking next to her, hands in his pockets.

"Did that paper really-" Mary started before Tony interrupted her, quietly.

"Where do you live?" He asked as they walked to the elevator, the doors opening as soon as he pressed the button. He glanced down at the carrier, holding the small baby, eyes closed as it slept. He hadn't even asked for the baby's name.

"Why does it matter?" Mary asked him, eyes narrowing a little. Tony took the paper out of his pocket, handing it to her.

"Because, I'd like to come over, and talk about this without someone from the company there." Mary looked at the paper, then back up at him, but he was looking forward at the elevator doors as they moved down to the first floor. "So, uh, what is his name?"

"Your sons name is Peter."

Tony took the town car that Happy usually drove him around in to Mary's apartment. He had to park on the street and he looked around the neighborhood before he got out of the car. The sun was setting, there were other kids playing on the street, chasing each other around the corner, a couple of dogs barking and following them. It wasn't a busy street, a busy area, but it also didn't scream the safest place for a new, young mother to live with her infant son, alone. This was not what Tony Stark was used to, either.

Pocketing the keys to the car he locked the doors as he got out and walked over to the apartment building that Mary lived in. She said that the door was broken so it didn't lock properly, and if you just turned it to the left a little it would pop right open. She wasn't wrong. Tony was already thinking about how he could fix that problem.

There was no elevator, how did people live in a building without an elevator? Luckily, Mary only lived on the third floor, so he took to the stairs, eyes pointed down at the stairs in case someone was coming down, and might have recognized him. As Tony saw that paint was slowly but surely chipping off of the walls and the trim, he wondered when the last time this building had been inspected, or even worked on. Maybe he was being too harsh, he lived in a custom built mansion and not an apartment in the city. When he saw a rat trap in the corner of the stairs landing, with a rat in it, he decided was in fact Not being too harsh.

He gave the trap a wider berth, and quickly found apartment 3E. He knocked twice and waited, adjusting his dark sunglasses, hands finding his pockets again. The door opened a couple of seconds later and Mary was there, giving him a little smile, opening the door wider to let him inside. Tony looked around as he walked in, eyeing the little apartment. The walls weren't chipping like out in the hall, but it also looked like Mary had probably painted the walls a soft blue. The floors were hardwood, no carpet except for the new rug in the middle of the small living room, obviously meant for Peter so he didn't hurt himself on the wood. Tony saw that Peter was sleeping in a bassinet by the gently used loveseat, and he wondered if all newborns were as quiet as he seemed to be.

Mary made a motion to the other oversized chair in the living room. "Can I get you something to drink? Water, some tea?" Tony blinked a little, (Tea?), but shook his head and she sat down on the loveseat, by Peter.

"So, how much do you want?" Tony asked after a second, sitting on the edge of the chair. Mary blinked then tilted her head a little. "We usually like to keep things like this out of the media, and I don't think you want the attention, since you came to me first. So, I'm just wondering-"

"I don't want your money, Tony," she told him, looking him in the eye. "I didn't come to try and stronghold you into anything."

"You obviously want something though," Tony said as he took off his sunglasses. "Or else you won't have come to see me at all."

"Well, you didn't leave me with a phone number, so I couldn't exactly call you," she said dryly. "What I want is something that I hope you can give." Tony raised an eyebrow, noticing how Mary's foot started to rock the bassinet when she saw Peter starting to move around, trying to lull him back to sleep. "I would like for Peter to know his Father. I'm not asking you live with him, or come over every day, just, you know come see him, spend some time with him."

Tony frowned a little. Again, he hadn't been expecting that. No money, not demanding they move in together, get married, whatever she could do to use him or his money. Just, spend time with the baby? He studied her for a few seconds, trying to get a read on if she was telling the truth, or trying to play the long game.

Peter was not going back to sleep and he was making it clear that he did not want to stay in the bassinet, letting out little cries. Mary picked him up, then glanced over at Tony as she cradled him in her arms. "Do you think you could grab the bottle in the kitchen? It should be on the counter, I was warming it up before you got here."

Tony got up, the little kitchen not hard to find. "You use a bottle? Not the, whole," he motioned to his chest, and Mary just raised an eyebrow. "You know, how most mothers do it? Feed the baby?"

"I'm not going to say anything to that." Mary shook her head and Tony grabbed the bottle. She stood up as Tony walked over, and in one motion she took the bottle in one hand and slid her shoulder into Tony's. His arm came up in reflex and she slid Peter into it, staying close to make sure he didn't drop the infant.

Tony's eyes widened when she moved, his other arm coming up to wrap around little Peter, freezing up. He saw that Peter already had brown eyes, dark hair peeking out from beneath the little cap on his head. Mary's hand leaned over, putting the bottle in Tony's hand, helping him adjust his arms to feed Peter, then moving him to the loveseat. Peter's hand rested on Tony's finger and Tony felt a shiver run down his spine; followed by warmth.

"Yeah, I mean," Tony couldn't tear his eyes away from the little boy. "I'm sure I can spare some time in my schedule."

April 2005

"Tony." Tony didn't look up from the prototype he was working on, Mary's unamused voice filling his workshop, Jarvis putting the call through. "Tony, there are people moving my furniture. Why are there people moving my furniture, out of my apartment, into a truck?" Tony could hear the inquisitive coos of Peter in the background.

"It sounds like you're moving, Mary why didn't you tell me you were moving?" He smirked a little at her frustrated noise.

"Tony!" He often heard that tone when he bought Peter something that he didn't actually need, and she knew that it was overpriced. "I only mentioned once that I was thinking I might move when my lease was up, not that I was going to move."

"That's not what Peter said he wanted last time I was over. He said that he didn't want to live with Manuel anymore." Tony flipped a piece back into the metal cylinder he was working on, watching everything move into place.

"Who's Manuel? No, those will need to go last, please be careful with that, that was my mother in laws." Mary asked, while talking to the movers.

"Manuel is the rat that lives in your hallway, he's the brother of Joan, who was caught in the trap last month." Every time Tony went to visit them, which was roughly 3 times a month, there was a new trap out, and there was a new rat caught in the trap. "I swear, the cockroaches at the door, they spoke to me last week. They spoke Russian. They were talking about moving out as well."

"The cockroaches didn't speak to you," Mary said with a little sigh.

"But you didn't deny that they're there," Tony shot back. "I'm not going to let my son, and the mother of my son, live in a place where the paint chips off faster than I can drink a bottle of scotch."

"From what I remember, that's pretty fast." There was a sound, like the phone being fumbled, and Tony glanced up from his work. There was the beep of a few buttons being pressed, then the familiar burble from Peter.

"Did little hands take Mom's phone?" Tony asked, a fond little smile on his face as he went back to his project. He never got the hang of doing the baby talk thing, but Peter never seemed to mind, and Mary didn't care, as long as Tony never showed up with alcohol on his person, or inside of him. She said no swearing once he was old enough to start repeating words. Tony had made no promises. "You know, I'm okay with this, because I think Mom was trying to yell at me about getting you a new place. And let me tell you, Petey, this new place is nice, and you'll have your own room." He always referred to Mary as Mom, but never to himself as Dad. He was just the guy who showed up a couple times a month, that's all, he wasn't a Dad.

Mary's husband, he would have been Dad. If he were still alive, Pete would probably be his. Mary wouldn't have walked into that bar, and she wouldn't have gone home with him, both of them drunk for two different reasons.

"It seems Peter likes to grab everything that he can now," Mary said after she had reclaimed her phone from the baby.

"Has he mastered rolling over yet? He has genius in his genes, you know." Tony soldered a piece, blew the smoke away and leaned away from his work. "You should look into getting him enrolled in school for next year."

"We've had this conversation, he's six months old, Tony." He heard Mary giving a couple more directions to the moving people. "Where are you moving us, Tony? I think I deserve to know that."

"Closer to Malibu, not as dangerous where you live." Tony had found a nice apartment complex, kid friendly, and not on a busy street, easy to not be spotted and recognized.

"We don't live in a dangerous place," she tried to argue.

"Didn't you say that three cars were broken into last week?" Tony asked, putting the solder gun down, leaning back in his chair. There was a little bit of silence, and Tony smirked a little. "Peter will get his own room, that's right across the hall from you. It's not ostentatious, or anything. That's more my thing."

"Says the man with the custom mansion." Mary let out a tiny little sigh. "Thank you, Tony." Tony smiled,

October 2005

Tony knocked on the apartment door once, before pushing the door open, setting a big basket down by the door before shutting it. He grinned when there was an excited squeal. "Hey, Petey! Aw man, did Mom put that party hat on you?" He walked over to where Peter was on the floor, surrounded by his new presents from his earlier party. Mary was in the kitchen, cleaning up paper plates and wrapping paper.

"Yes, Mom put a birthday hat on the birthday boy." She called out, pulling the straps to tie the garbage shut. Tony snorted a little and sat down across from Pete on the floor. The now one year old clapped his hands, grinning at Tony, then put his hands on the coffee table, pulling himself up.

"Hey, you can pull yourself up now!" Tony smiled. "I know you were working on that last time, good job!" Tony didn't see Mary peek her head out of the kitchen. "I mean, I don't mean to brag, but I was already doing that before I turned one, too. Chip off the ol' block." Tony smiled as Pete turned towards him, letting go of the table, putting his hands out towards Tony. "Are you trying to show off for me now? Alright, come on, show me what you've learned," Tony said, putting his hands out, palms up, for Peter.

Peter was concentrated, determined, to make it over to his Daddy. He put one unsteady foot out in front him, followed by the other, letting go completely of the table. He did it again, then again, quick steps propelling him over to Tony before he almost fall into Tony's arms. Tony grinned at him and picked him up.

"Look at you! You made it over to me!" Tony blew a raspberry on Peter's cheek and set him in his lap. "Mary, why didn't you tell me he had learned to walk?" He was secretly keeping a folder on his private server at home of all of Peter's firsts. It was something that Jarvis had suggested.

When Mary didn't answer, he looked over to see her hand over his mouth, but her eyes were sparkling. "That's because those were his first steps, Tony."

Tony's eyes widened a little and he looked back at Peter who was reading out to grab one of his toys on the floor again. "His first steps? And they were to me?" Tony blinked, thinking about what had just happened.

"Well, why wouldn't he want to walk to his Da-"

"Not my title," Tony stopped her out of habit, looking over when she walked over. She set down a plate with a small cake on it, with a single red candle on it. Peter dropped his toy and squealed at the sight of the cake. "You're going to give him more cake?"

"Everyone just had cupcakes at the party," Mary said, sitting down across from Tony and Peter. "I thought that you and Peter could share your own cake. Making memories and all that."

"At one year old, I'm not sure if he'll actually-" Mary reached over, putting a finger over Tony's mouth, stopping him.

"Look, there's cake, and Peter wants to share." Mary made a motion to Peter reaching for the little cake.

"I can take a hint," Tony chuckled a little. And if he didn't have to explain to Pepper later why one of his outfits had chocolate cake remains when she picked up his dry cleaning, then he wasn't complaining.

July 2006

"You missed the ceremony?" Mary asked as Tony worked on his hot rod in the workshop. "Your best friend went to give you an award, and-"

"Well, they didn't tell me, or else I would have been there," Tony countered.

"I think the point of a surprise is that they don't tell you what's going to happen. Peter, don't you even think about it." Tony smirked a little. Whatever Peter was about to do, he was all Tony. Mary never failed to remind him of that.

"What's the little genius going to do?" Tony asked, reaching for a different tool.

"Going to put a new design on my freshly painted wall," Mary grumped a little, and Tony heard the disgruntled huff of Peter.

"No, Mama. Color," Peter argued.

"Color on the paper, baby." There was the rustling of papers, and the movement of some crayons and markers. "Come say Hi to Da-"

"Tony, to Tony," the engineer quickly corrected. He could practically hear Mary rolling her eyes. After nearly two years, she was still trying to get him to accept the 'Dad' word. There was a little shuffle as the phone was probably being pressed to Peter's ear. "Hey, Petey."

"Hi!" Tony couldn't help but smile at Peter's excited voice. "You fly today?" He asked in his broken sentences, still learning, quickly, to put together his thoughts into words. "Go bye-bye?"

"Yeah, buddy, that is today." Tony glanced at the clock that Jarvis was projecting onto the screen that showed the hot rods engine. He should have left already, but he had promised Mary that he would call to say bye to Pete. "I'll be leaving very soon."

"Come over?" Pete asked him hopefully.

"Sure thing," Tony nodded a little, even if the little boy couldn't see it. "As soon as I get back home, I'll come over. Did your Mom tell you where I was going?"

"Uhhhh, maybe?" Tony let out an amused chuckled.

"I'm going over the ocean, and I'm going to a different country." Tony leaned up a little, taking his attention off of the engine. "Remember when I showed you that globe? The round one with all the blue on it?"

"I like blue," Peter said seriously, but Tony knew that he remembered. "It spinned."

"That's right, Petey," Tony smiled a little. "Ask your Mom to show you where I'm going, later, okay?" Jarvis pulled up a little screen, showing Pepper Potts on the phone, walking through the mansion, heading downstairs. "Listen up, buddy, don't draw on Mama's wall until I get back, yeah?"

"Otay!" He could hear Peter grinning. "You leave now?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to leave now. Be good for your Mom, and I will see you real soon. Bye, Petey."

"Come soon! Bye-bye Daddy!" Tony froze a little when he heard Peter say the word that he had been trying to avoid.

"No, Peter, wait," Mary called from the background. "Don't hang-" The line went dead as Peter hung up the phone, and Jarvis started playing his music again. Peter had just called him Daddy.

He went back to his engine, thoughts becoming jumbled as he pulled a panel off, Pepper coming in and trying to get him to his plane.

He was an engineer. He was a CEO. He was young still. He was- He was under attack. The last soldier got out of the car, telling him not to move, which didn't really fill him with confidence when he saw the young man fall to the ground, holes appearing int he side of the humvee. Rhodey, Rhodey would know to do.

He quickly slid out of the humvee, trying to ignore the unsteadiness of his legs, the shake in his hands. He looked around, eyes lighting on one of his guns on the ground and grabbed it. Tony tried to fire it, tried to reload it, but it wouldn't budge. Cursing, he threw the jammed weapon to the ground.

The humvee behind him, that's where Rhodey was. "Rhodey!" He screamed, keeping his back against the truck. "Rhodey!" Rhodey would make sure that he got back home, that he got back to seeing Peter.

"Get down!" He barely heard Rhodey shouting back, but he could see his arm movements. "Get down!" Tony could do that, he could get down, get to safety. Ducking down, he ran, trying to present as little of a target as possible. There! He could take cover behind those rocks, boulder, whatever!

He threw himself to the ground, crawled over and pulled out his phone. Yes, it was late in the States, but all his mind wanted to do was call Mary, to talk to Peter. He started pressing buttons, stupid country codes, international calling, all the- -thunk-

... He knew that logo. He knew that weapon. He had built that weapon.

Tony threw himself up, trying to get away, but logically he knew he wouldn't get away, not in time. The blast threw his body back through the air, landing on his back. His chest Hurt, it stung, his head was swimming. Tony gripped the buttons of his shirt, ripping it open, looking at the armored vest, noting for a second that it was darkening with something.

The next thing he knew was pain. He could hear this screaming, tortured sounds of someone, but he couldn't focus. There were people around him, and everything just hurt! The screaming, that was him. His body shook, it convulsed in pain. It felt like someone was cutting him open. Then, finally, finally, his vision faded to black, the pain drifting away as he lost consciousness again.

Water. When he had woken up, attached to the new electromagnet, he had been thirsty. Stuck in a cave, in the desert, in a dry land, he had craved it. Tony changed his mind as his head was forced into the tub of water once more. They pushed his body down further, water splashing up, hitting the new chest piece, the exposed wires. He gasped underwater as he felt the shocks, the sparks across his body. Images flashed before his eyes, people, places, things.

"Daddy!"

Yinsen, that was the man that had saved his life, he was nice. As nice as could be for someone who was also being held captive. The man also had a suit on, and a little part of Tony missed his own suits from back home. Tony worked better without a suit though, clothes that could easily get dirty. But the man had hit a nerve while they were playing their game.

"Got a family?" Tony asked him, pouring some water for them as Yinsen rolled the dice.

"Yes, and I will see them when I leave here. And you, Stark?" He looked up at Tony. Tony froze a little, looked at the man, then down at his mug. Did he? Yes, he had Peter, he had a son, but was he truly family. Tony hadn't acted like a Father, like a Dad should. Not that he had the best role model growing up. Tony had tried to take some cues from his butler Jarvis, but he hadn't been a father to him. Howard hadn't prepared him to have a family. Tony knew what not to do, but he didn't know what was the best thing to do with Peter. So was Tony really family with Peter?

Yinsen picked up on this, and the little unsure sound that Tony made, hummed, and nodded once. "So you're a man who has everything," he paused for a second, "and nothing."

Tony looked back down at the game board. "For now." Yinsen raised an eyebrow at the inventor. "I, uh, I have a son." The doctor looked surprised at this. He had met Tony Stark once, as he had mentioned to him, and he followed him in the tabloids a little, it was hard not to hear about the exploits of Tony Stark. But he had never heard about the Stark Industries CEO actually having a son.

"I see him, a few times a month." And as Tony said it, he knew it sounded pathetic now. What kind of father only sees his child a handful of times a month? "I try for once a week." His voice was weaker than he wanted.

"Does his mother not want you around?" Yinsen asked he moved the marble pieces, handing the cup and dice over to Tony and taking his own water mug.

Tony hesitated, wincing at himself. Peter was almost two now. Tony had wasted two years already. "Uh, no," he shook his head. "I didn't want to be around, actually."

"Doesn't sound like you'll be doing that when you get home," Yinsen said with a little smirk. Tony nodded. He sure as hell would change that

And then they had a plan. The suit was almost built, almost finished, and he had finished the power up sequence on the shit laptop they had provided them. He double checked the wires tot he bomb on the door as Yinsen hooked up the suit pieces to the contraption.

"Okay, say it again," Yinsen prompted Tony as he suited up. They checked the gloves, the jacket, before bolting on the chest and arm pieces.

"Forty-one steps straight ahead," Tony started to say. They'd been over for days now. "Then sixteen steps, that's from the door." This was the map that they would use to get out, this was Tony's map to get back to Peter. When they were out Tony would pay to have Yinsen's family moved to wherever he wanted, he'd get them a nice house, a car, whatever he wanted. "Fork right, thirty-three steps, turn right."

There was banging at the door now, and yelling. It was happening a little faster than Tony thought, but it seemed they were being discovered already. The blast and the boom from the bomb threw him off, and he could see the shocked look on Yinsen's face as well.

"How'd that work?" Tony couldn't help but ask.

"Oh my goodness," Yinsen murmured before coming back over to Tony, finishing getting Tony in the suit. "It worked all right."

"That's what I do." Tony said with a light air, but a heavy heart. That's what he did, and that's what had gotten him with an arc reactor in his chest. Before he knew it the computer was running, Tony was locked in the suit, and Yinsen had this look in his eye.

"We need more time," Yinsen murmured and Tony blinked. "I'm gonna go buy you some time."

"Stick to the plan!" Tony yelled. He would get Yinsen out of this alive, he would do it. He would repay this man for keeping him alive, for giving him a chance to get back to his son, to change his life. "Stick to the plan!" Yinsen ran off, grabbing a gun, shooting off into the hallway. "Yinsen!" He was breathing heavily and looked back to the progress bar, willing it to finish faster.

It felt like hours, even though it must have been maybe a minute. The lights dimmed, the helmet came down, and he felt the power rush through the lines through the suit. It didn't feel as heavy now, he could move, and he could get out of there, he could find Yinsen and get them out.

The Ten Rings fell before him like bugs, their bullets bouncing off the suit. The door they tried to block him with, child's play to knock down. The first sign of distress he noticed was when he swung his arm too hard, getting it stuck in the rock wall. This was a part of his life that he was going to end. Never again would something he created be used to kill, to destroy, to torture. This was not the legacy that he wanted to leave for Peter, for his son to grow up seeing.

He counted out the 33 steps, then turned right. "Yinsen!" There he was, on the ground, but alive.

"Watch out!" Yinsen called out to him, voice weak, but audible in the suit. Tony stopped short then leaned back when he heard the projectile headed right for him. It hit the wall and Tony put his arm out, opening a panel in the arm, arming his own little missile, and firing right away. Silence, the man went down.

"Stark." Tony leaned down on his knee, raising the face plate, to get Yinsen up.

"Come on, we gotta go." Tony looked around, maybe there was something that he could put Yinsen on, like a stretcher. "Move for me, come, we got a plan." They had a plan to get out of there. "We're gonna stick to it."

"This was always the plan, Stark," Yinsen said softly, and Tony looked at him, confused.

"Come on, you're gonna go see your family, see my family. Get up." Tony was ready to do a fireman's carry if he had too.

"My family is dead." The admission froze Tony's insides. "I'm going to see them now, Stark." He must have seen the look on Tony's face. "It's okay. I want this," Yinsen nodded a little. "I want this."

Tony had to bite back some tears, a tiny, tiny, smile on his lips as he understood what Yinsen was saying. He took a breath and gave a little nod. "Thank you for saving me," he near about whispered, but the Doctor had heard him.

"Don't waste it. Don't waste your life." Yinsen looked into Tony's eyes. "Get back to your son." Tony stayed with him, until he took his last breath. Tony turned his head to the exit to the cave, face set, determination, and revenge, coursing through his veins. He was going to end this.

The bullets pinged against the suit annoyingly, the sounds ringing through his ears. "My turn," he said icily, putting up his arms, shooting out flames. Chaos erupted, people running, ammunition and missiles exploding. Tony was going to take out every Stark weapon in this camp. It was when the turret started firing that he felt some resistance in the suit. He had to put up his arm to try and block the bullets, the suit starting to lose some power from his arc reactor.

By some force of luck, (for the terrorists), a bullet lodged in the gear of the leg of the suit, sending him down to kneel. He never stopped shooting out the flames though. A few more explosions and he knew that he had a shot window to get out of there. He forced himself up, leg stiff and straight, looked down at the arm and flipped a switch. His suit was propelled up into the air, the explosions of the weapons below him giving a little extra boost, and he was flying! Tony Stark was flying through the air!

And then, he wasn't flying anymore, he was falling. He let out a shout, the boots shorting out at the top of his arc. At least there was sand below him, not rock, not mountain side.

The sand wasn't a soft landing though. But, Tony Stark was alive. He was alive, and now he had to get home.

The explosions should have been tracked, the military should have been able to see them; he had made enough of a ruckus during his escape. Now he had to just keep walking, to make himself visible from the air, to be seen, to-

He turned his head, stumbling in the sand, the sound of blades in the air coming closer. Helicopters! Tony started to wave his arm, shouting, something welling up in his chest. They had been looking for him, they had come, they had actually come!

Tony fell to his knees, holding up a peace sign, an annoying stinging behind his eyes. He saw Rhodey hop out of the helicopter, running towards him. Rhodey, his best friend, he was leading the charge.

"How was the 'fun-vee'?" Tony let out a strangled laugh and Rhodey pulled Tony into him, concealing silent sobs, but Rhodey could feel the tremble in his body.

It was when they were on the helicopter, headed back for the base, that Tony took Rhodey's arm. "I don't want the press to report I'm back yet," Tony told him. "I don't want them to know until I'm heading back for the States." Rhodey tilted his head, but nodded a little. "Rhodey,..." He took a breath, but was interrupted when the helicopter shook as they landed.

Tony took a breath, arm in his sling, suit on, sitting next to Rhodey on the cargo plane. They were getting closer to California, and he knew that the news would be reporting his return soon, about half an hour after the plane landed. "Rhodey," he tried again. The other man looked over at him, and Tony stared straight forward, getting his courage up. "I need you to do me a favor, after we get back."

"Of course, Tony," his friend nodded. "What ever you need."

"Don't agree so quickly." He could feel Rhodey's eyebrow raise. "I need you to pick something up at a store for me." Rhodey was about to open his mouth, probably to ask if Tony was serious; but the engineer continued. "It's not for me, it's for my son." That stopped Rhodey.

Tony dared a look back at the man next to him, trying not to smile at the bewildered look on the mans face. "My son, he's turning two tomorrow, and I'll never be able to make it to the store to get his gift without being seen."

"Two?" Rhodey exclaimed quietly. "When did you find out about this?"

"A couple weeks after he was born," Tony answered. Rhodey was trying to figure out just how long Tony knew about this, and how long he had been keeping it a secret. "No one else knows about him, or his mom," Tony prompted. "Not even Pepper or Happy. Well, technically Pepper knows, but she doesn't know that the paternity test was positive. Not the point I was trying to make, but-"

"I'll get his present, Tony," Rhodey told him, cutting him off. Tony seemed to sage a little in relief, not knowing that he was tensing a little. Then after a second he asked what Tony was waiting for. "What's his name?"

"Peter Richard Parker," Tony answered, a small smile on his face. He carefully reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone, pulling up the picture that Mary had texted him a couple days before he had left for Afghanistan. Peter was wearing a blue Captain America hoodie that Tony had gotten him, a little pair of jeans, and a red shirt, grinning up at the camera with frosting all over his face. "He's a little ham, that's for sure."

Tony wanted to call them, wanted to hear their voices, but he had purposely not turned the service back on, knowing that he would be bombarded. He had nearly cried when Rhodey had handed him back his phone back in Afghanistan. They had found it in the sand, not far from where Tony had been injured, and Tony had been afraid that he had lost some of his favorite pictures of Peter, the ones that he didn't have Jarvis save, just in case.

"He looks just like you," Rhodey said, smiling at the picture, and Tony felt a little surge of pride. His best friend was smiling at his sons picture. That was his son. "I won't tell anyone, Tony, but i do wanna meet him sometime."

"I promise," Tony nodded, putting his phone back in his pocket.

Tony Stark was,... selfish. He sat in the drivers seat of the black car, on the dark street, half way down the block from a familiar building. It was late, but not too late, but he was restless, and he couldn't help himself. He knew that he should be resting, should be at home. Jarvis had the scans of the arc reactor, and as much as he need to make a new one, he knew the power would hold up for at least another three weeks if it came down to it. He needed to see his son tonight. Tony grabbed the box from the passenger seat, the present that Rhodey had picked up, and had even gotten wrapped. Taking one more breath, he opened the door, and stepped out, pocketing his keys and heading for the apartment building that Mary and Peter lived in.

He used his good arm to knock on the door, not too loud, but not too soft. Peter had probably just gone to bed, but he kind of hoped he hadn't. Tony had been unable to get a hold of them after the press conference, and he knew that they would have been watching; everyone would have been watching.

After a minute or two Tony knocked again, no one coming to the door yet. He vaguely heard the main door opening, but didn't pay it any attention, until he heard a gasp.

"Tony?" He turned quickly hearing Mary's whispered exclamation. She was standing there, keys in her hand, holding Peter in her other arm, the little boy asleep against her shoulder. Tony felt himself freeze, just taking them in, looking at Peter, at how he had grown even in just the three months that he was gone.

"Uh, hey," he said a little sheepishly, then held up the present. "I know it's not until tomorrow, but I have Peter's birthday present."

Mary teared up a little and hurried over to him, wrapping her free arm around his neck to hug him. He held back a wince and a hiss and hugged her back with one arm, his other hand reaching up to softly run through Peter's hair. He teared up a little himself, being this close to his son again.

When Mary let go she quickly unlocked the door to the apartment and ushered Tony in. He set the box down and Mary went around turning on lights. "I'm sorry if it's really late," Tony said quietly. A little part of him wanted to wake up Peter, but another part of him, a new more responsible part of him, knew that Peter needed to sleep. "I guess, I just couldn't help myself."

Mary gave him a soft smile, then put a hand on Peter's back, rubbing gently. "Peter, wake up baby, we're home." Peter snuffled a little in her shoulder, wiggling a bit. "There's a surprise for you baby." The soon to be two-year-old sat up a little in her arms, still tired, then stretched his arms. Mary put her forehead against the boys, and whispered something to him.

Tony felt tense, and he didn't know why. It had only been three months, but what if Peter didn't want to see him? What if he started crying? What if Tony had hurt him by not showing up? Did Peter think that Tony didn't love him anymore? That he had abandoned him? Did-

"Daddy!" Tony looked at Peter when he shouted for him, throwing his arms out towards Tony. Tony felt his lip wobble a little and took a big step closer to sweep Peter into his arms, holding him close to him. He felt little shakes in Peter's body, and then he heard the quiet cries. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy," Peter chanted quietly, his face against Tony's neck.

"That's right, Petey," Tony said quietly, a tiny tremor in his voice. "Daddy's here, Daddy's got you." Mary looked at Tony, blinking when Tony claimed the title of Dad. A few silent tears rolled down Tony's cheek, sitting down on the couch to hold onto Peter, showing no sign of letting him go. "Oh, I missed you so much, I missed you everyday."

"You were gone so long," Peter cried quietly, voice a little muffled into his neck. "You didn't come back."

"I'm so sorry, buddy, I'm sorry." Tony rubbed his back, running his other hand through the little boys hair. "I tried to get back to you sooner."

"You came back," Peter said this time. "You came back for my birfday. Mama said you wouldn't miss it."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Peter fell asleep in Tony's arms later that night, and Tony didn't care. He'd hold his son forever. He and Mary had managed to change Peter into his pajamas without Tony having to let go of him, and now Mary was sitting on the couch in her own night clothes, a mug of tea in her hands.

"He missed you so much," Mary said quietly, not wanting to wake up Peter. She had a feeling that he wouldn't wake up though, not now that he was with Tony. "I didn't want to tell him that something had happened, that the news was reporting you missing, but after the first three weeks..."

Tony nodded a little. "There were times I thought I wasn't going to make it out, and I thought I'd never see him again. I fought, so hard, to be able to come back here." He gently rubbed Peter's back. "I want to change things, I want to be a father that he deserves."

"Tony," Mary said softly. "You are-"

"No, I'm not," Tony shook his head. "You raise him, you do everything with him, and for him, and I just show up to reap the rewards. He's going to grow up thinking I'm the fun parent, or he's going to think of me as the absent parent." Mary tilted her head a little, watching Tony. This was a completely different man. "I show up a few times a month. Three out of thirty days, that's just sad, Mary."

"So, what are you going to do about it?" She asked him. She wasn't going to complain if he wanted to take more responsibility, her own job was starting to demand a little more attention from her, and Peter was starting to spend more time at her parents place.

"Well, I can't go public with him yet," Tony said first. "I think after my announcement today, that would be a bad idea." Mary nodded a little.

"And I don't think my job would appreciate the attention we would get." Tony nodded at Mary. He knew that she worked for the government, for the FBI, and they probably didn't want that spotlight.

"I have let someone know, though," Tony admitted and Mary raised an eyebrow. "He's my best friend, Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, or Rhodey. He, uh, he didn't stop until he found me over there," Tony finished quietly. "I know that he can keep a secret. But, he could also help us when I can't show up in person." Mary wondered how long Tony had been thinking about this. "I want to be more involved in life, I want to be there, to do things with him, and for him. I want to have a room in my home just for him to sleep in, a room that's just his."

"Let's take it one step at a time, Tony," Mary said, but she was smiling. "Can you stay tonight? I know it's already late, but if you have to-"

"I can stay," Tony nodded. "I took a different car, no one will know it's mine. I don't think I would be able to let him go anyway..."

"You're going to be so sore if you sleep with him in your arms, like that," Mary told him as she got up to put her mug in the sink. "You can sleep in my room with him, I'll sleep out here."

"I can't make you sleep on the couch in your own house," Tony said, frowning a little.

"The couch is a pullout, Tony," she smiled at him, pushing his shoulder lightly, making him get up from the couch. She pulled off the cushions then effortlessly pulled out the mattress, the support bar coming to rest just past the coffee table, the clearance of the pullout not requiring the coffee table to be moved.

"Then I can sleep here," Tony offered.

"Peter is used to sleeping either in his room, or in mine if he has bad dreams," Mary told him as she went to the hall closet to get a blanket and pillow. "It's just for one night, Tony, just sleep in my room."

Tony let out a little sigh, smiling, and nodding. "Alright, but when you spend the night at my place-"

"Again," she smirked at him.

"- I'll make sure that you have an actual bed, not some pullout," Tony finished.

"Go to sleep, Tony," Mary said, chuckling softly. "I'll see you in the morning, with the sun."

Tony nodded a couple times, then turned to head down the hall, Peter in tow. He opened the door to Mary's room, saw that the bed was still made, a few clothes laying on the chest at the end of the bed, but for the most part it was clean of anything else. The glow from Tony's arc reactor was visible through his shirt in the dark, and he didn't have to turn on the light to see around the room because of the glow.

Pulling back the covers, Tony gently pulled Peter off of him, laying him down in the middle of the bed. Tony took off his jacket, and shoes, then slid int he bed beside him, pulling the comforter over them, and Peter instantly cuddled back up to Tony, his little hand now over the arc reactor, snuggling against Tony's chest. Tony kissed the top of Peter's head, and wrapped an arm around him. He had no intentions of going anywhere, of leaving Peter ever again.