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Summary: Andros Stark had one mission and one mission only. He succeeded, but even victory has a price. And sometimes, success can cost more than failure.

2020

Prologue

Twenty-five year old Anthony Edward Stark moved surreptitiously in the night. His life depended on it. He had spent most of the good part of the dark hours of the day doing his usual rounds for provisions. After five years of scrounging for every meal, he was running out of places to raid. At first, the quantities had been abundant due to the chaos the sudden attack had caused on the normal citizens. After five years, however, both the survivors and the rations were beginning to become scarce.

Gonna have to move again, he thought bitterly, hoping that other solutions presented themselves before a decision had to be made about relocating once more. He hated moving, even though it had become necessary many times in the past. The uncertainty of what would be out there was as heart-wrenching as the fact of leaving behind the place that was once home. Then again, home now was any place that was still standing, left over from the world he knew.

The last structure he was now searching had seemed promising from the outside, but after a thorough inspection of the inside, it had turned out to be a dud. The only salvageable item he had found was a pack of salty crackers that had expired last month.

Beggars could not be choosers, and a beggar he was today.

It was ironic to the inventor how many useless items people kept in their homes. What was the point of having a huge house if nothing inside was worth it in case of an emergency? Cash was useless and so were most other possessions. The only currencies of the day were guns, medicine, food and shelter, all of which were as difficult to find as water in the desert.

"That should be enough for tonight," Tony told himself before he exited the building through the same hole in the wall he had used to come in. He looked left and right to make sure there was not anyone else around before he sped down the dark alley and made his way home. Home today was an abandoned basement in what used to be a used cars dealership. Home tomorrow… Well, no one really knew what it would be.

He rearranged the goodies he had found tonight, held them in his arms, and began avoiding the traps he had previously set himself as he made his way inside the basement. He doubted he would find more food or other necessary supplies around here for much longer, but he did not dare to think about what this meant. One could only run away for so long before reality caught up with you and mocked you in the face.

It was darkly funny, a technology-obsessed inventor like him, living without society; without civilization.

He was almost near the end of the long hall of booby traps, but as fate would have it, one of the cans slid down from his arms and landed on the exact spot to set off the final line of defense against intruders. In the dead of the darkness around him, he heard the expert and quick cocking of a gun immediately before he felt the cold metal of its barrel resting against his forehead.

"Don't. Move. You've got a loaded, .357 Magnum short-barrel revolver pointed at your head, and I will blow your fucking brains out if you don't do as I say."

The blue-eyed boy could not help the smile that graced his face.

"Pepper, it's me: Tony," he whispered, making sure he did not make any sudden movements or raised his voice to push her to pull the trigger. That was how the last person that had tried sneaking inside had ended up with a bullet in his head, courtesy of Patricia 'Pepper' Potts.

"Oh, really?" she asked and he felt the barrel press harder onto his forehead. "Prove it."

"Isn't my voice enough?"

"You could be using a voice modulator."

"No one has any of those around anymore, Pep," he said in a normal tone of voice and then felt the gun being removed from his head. The darkness was then replaced by light – the only light in the small basement – and he sighed in relief. He watched as Pepper took a couple of steps back from him, lowered the gun, and put the safety on again before strapping it to her belt.

"You could've told me it was you from the beginning. You scared the crap out of me."

"Sorry," he gave her an apologetic smile before he bent down and picked up the can that had caused the redhead to go on full alert. "Are you feeling any better?"

She shook her head and bit her lip.

"No. I'm getting heartburn again."

"Really?"

Tony walked over to the area where they kept a few boxes, all lined up in neat rows. Each box held different items, classified by their use, and he began dumping his loot in the appropriate makeshift containers.

"I think I saw one last heartburn pill left. I'll get it for you."

"Save it. It's not as bad as other times," she replied and walked over to one of the two chairs in the room. "I'll just drink some water and hope it goes away."

"Are you sure, Pepper? Last time, you couldn't sleep, and it's time to go to bed."

The inventor finally finished sorting out the items he had brought. He then grabbed one of the cans he had brought with him today, and took out from his back pocket a Swiss Army knife. He selected the closest thing it had to a can opener, and then made himself busy unlatching the lid of what would be their dinner tonight.

Pepper watched him in silence as he threw the lid in the corner where the trash was kept and grabbed a small red box from the food container. He then turned around to face her, walked over to where she sat, and took the chair next to her.

"I found some tuna," he offered her the can and she shook her head.

"I'll just have some water," she said, nose wrinkled, and looked away.

"No, Pepper," he frowned. "You have to eat something. You haven't eaten all day. That's probably why you have heartburn in the first place. Your stomach still works even if there's no food in it, did you know that?"

Pepper scrunched her nose even more, and then pulled away from the tuna can.

"Just water, please."

Tony groaned. "How about some crackers? They're only a month past their expiration date. I think they're going to be fine."

"Water."

"Pepper, please!" he leaned his concerned face closer to hers. "You can't keep doing this. You need food to live, and I need you alive. So, please, at least a few crackers."

The redhead sighed in defeat, accepted a handful of the crackers, and began eating them slowly. Tony gave her a thankful smile before he stood up and walked over to where they kept the rain water. He had concocted a simple filtration system with whatever they had around, and while it was probably never going to be EPA- or Department of Sanitation-approved, it was better than the alternative.

"On second thought," Pepper said as she stared at his back. "I think I'll take that pill after all."

"Alright," he said as he began filling a plastic cup with water. "But that's your last one. I'll have to find something else for it. I wonder why you're getting so much heartburn lately. It's probably because you haven't been eating well."

"I don't think that's what it is," she cleared her throat.

"What else could it be? It has been picking up lately, and all I can associate it with is your horrible eating habits. We can't afford to get sick, Pepper. There are no doctors or hospitals."

"I honestly don't think that's what it is."

She watched him turn around, cup of water in hand, and then stop by the medicine box. He grabbed the last heartburn relief pill they had and walked over to her. He handed her both items and she immediately swallowed down the pill. As soon as her face was free from obstructions, Tony crouched down before her sitting position in the chair. He then leaned closer to her, brushed her rather long bangs from her face, and locked lips with her. When he finally pulled back, he smiled at her and ran his thumb over her cheek.

"I'm not trying to be an asshole, Pepper. I just love you and I'm worried about your health. If something bad happens to you, I don't… I don't know what I'd do. I'm trying to find good stuff for us to eat, but it's getting hard to do. The last thing I want to be is the cause of an illness to you."

Pepper gave him a smile and shook her head.

"It's not the food, Tony. I can assure you that," she ran a hand over his bearded face and frowned. "Didn't find a razor, huh?"

Tony scoffed. "Not even a pair of scissors."

"Oh, well. There's always tomorrow. I have my eye on a location I think will have some good stuff for us."

"Are you sure you don't want me to go again?" he asked. He then stood up from the floor, walked back to the rain water storage, and began filling a cup of water for himself. "It's no problem if you want to stay in."

"No, Tony," she immediately responded. "This has been the arrangement forever, right? We alternate raids."

"Yeah, I know, but you're not feeling well. You haven't had a good night's sleep for a week now, and who knows if someone else is out there just waiting to take advantage of you. Besides, imagine how much more difficult the raid will be with heartburn. If you don't eat tomorrow, you aren't going anywhere."

Pepper scoffed and stared down at the crackers she still had in her hand.

"For the last time, it's… it's not the food."

"Then what else can it be? I wish we were back at the Temple so I could get it running again and scan your esophagus and stomach. I'm worried you'll start bleeding soon."

Pepper took in a deep breath and then set the cup and crackers aside. She wringed her hands together and then began biting her right thumbnail.

"Actually," she began with a soft voice, "It's just a side effect."

"A side effect of what? Not eating?" Tony insisted as he waited for the cup to finish filling with water.

"No. It's a side effect of… pregnancy."

"Really?" he said nonchalantly, not immediately registering what she had said. "I didn't know."

Pepper bit her bottom lip as she waited for the news to sink in. When he dropped the cup he had been holding in his hands, she knew it had hit home. By the time Tony turned around to face her with an utterly shocked face, tears had already filled her eyes. It took all of her will not to break down before speaking again, and her words were still shaky at best.

"Tony, I'm pregnant."