AN – This is just something I thought of that I've seen around as a plot a few times, but I thought a better spin could be done. Not that it's not expected, but it would be a little different with some different circumstances.

Read, review, let me know how I'm doing. I'm always interested in reader responses.

Disclaimer – not my characters, I just make them do what I want in my head. A lot. A lot a lot.

Chapter 1

Realization of Past Indiscretions

I wonder sometimes if people will ever forget what I did in the past. Sure, I raided enough panties for a whole college football team, but I'm done now. I'm done playing that game. I…somewhat forcedly settled down for one reason or another, including the final realization that all of those naked models were just covering my underlying needs for actual love. But that's all lovey-dovey shit and I'm not really fond of trying to decipher my past.

I have Pepper, Pepper has me. We're fine. She occasionally sleeps in my bed, she takes care of my company, and I screw around with random robotic parts in my basement all day. It sounds like I'm the biggest nerd on earth with a sugar momma bringing home the bacon every day, but anyone who pays attention knows…at least a little better. I'm better looking than basement-dwelling nerds who spend their days hacking into porn sites to see the only girls they will ever see.

"Miss Potts is calling, sir."

"Patch, please." I had my fingers inside the arm of the Mark VI. I had some wires come loose that had to be hand-done. My favorite job. If only she could see me – I was shirtless with magnifiers on. Probably pretty attractive.

"Tony, there's…something we need to talk about."

"If you're on your period again, I'm not interested in hearing about how the female body functions to produce children." A pause for a good pinch from a part of the metal plates. "…What is it, dear." I chimed. I'm sure she'll be really happy from my gut-feeling response.

"One of our lawyers and I will be by shortly. Put on clothes."

How did she always know when I was in some kind of state of undress? Did she have cameras hidden somewhere so she could watch me in the day time? What was this, a prison? Or did she just enjoy seeing me sweaty? Well, I already knew the answer to that…

Nonetheless, I was a good boy and finished as best I could so I could clean up decently for whoever this was that was going to show up. Lawyers means suits. Usually for me, either damage suits or paternity. Less paternity as of late, more damage, but I was still curious.

I was nice enough to at least put on a nice grey t-shirt and a pair of tighter fitting jeans for when they walked in. It wasn't just Pepper and a lawyer, it was two people. Were they both lawyers? More than likely.

After basic introductions, we all found the living area with Pepper and I on one side of the table and the two suits on the other side. Without words, one of the people – a man, older and unhappy looking that I knew to be one of my well kept lawyers. The woman looked older and tired while holding a file. Yep. A suit.

Since Pepper didn't reach out for the paper, I did. Aha. Paternity. Fantastic. I didn't get wind of these unless there was reason to – that the possibility of this one being real was pretty high.

"Ilya Lyubochka. Ex-model. Hmm. I saw where she died recently…"

"Mr. Stark, she had a child 6 years ago. Her mother has come to us claiming that said child is yours."

"Have we done any testing?"

"We wanted to do…more extensive testing." I had been reading the paper handed to me, stating what the woman wanted for the little girl. Mostly money, but it seemed that the woman that claimed she had conceived with him had slowly killed herself because she was never able to return to her pre-pregnancy body and lost her job because of it. But when the man had said they wanted more tests - that meant tests had been done. I popped my head up and looked at both of the people sitting across from me. Pepper's hand found it's way to my back, rubbing softly in a circle. She knew all of this already. She had had this discussion with them.

I have a kid.

Oh. Shit.

The older woman then unfurled her arms and put down the file on the table, opening it. Inside were two pictures. One of the woman I supposedly slept with. Okay, not supposedly. I knew her right off the bat. Somewhat remembered the night, even. She had been pretty, not too bad of a body. Very odd noises, that's what I remember most. Squeaks. She had been so skinny…

The other picture was a young girl. 4 or 5, giggling and playing with a doll as she sat on a couch. Her hair was dark and wavy, but her eyes were light and blue. From her mother, and something she got from Dad. My darkness was from Mom.

Underneath the pictures was a DNA test. It wasn't the first time I had seen that piece of paper. I occasionally got these hits and the women came running with blood samples only to find that they were wrong. All they wanted was money anyway.

I kept blood in the bank at the company for this reason. I shouldn't have to deal with this. But now that something did come through…I had no clue how to proceed.

"The blood test says we are a match. Why further testing?"

"We want to be absolutely sure before we turn the child over to you, Mr. Stark." The woman chimed.

…wait, what?

"Excuse me? Turn the child over? This isn't the normal 'This is your kid, where's my 50 mil?'"

"No, Mr. Stark. The girl's mother is the only family member left, and she is dying of cancer in a small town in Russia. She is interested in back pay, but more interested in finding a home for this child instead of child services taking her."

Oh god. A kid. I could get over HAVING a child, but caring for one? I'm a 'super hero', I just started getting comfortable with the idea that I was dating the woman who had been my assistant for years, and now someone walks up with a 5 year old and says "Here, take this too."

I felt like snapping. But I couldn't. Pepper had noticed my tensed feeling and leaned forward to lean herself on my side to show her presence in all of this. I'm sure she wanted to relieve some of my tension somehow, but how could someone get rid of this? My life already changed so much. A child.

"Okay. If she's in Russia...when will she be here."

"When you sign this paper that you acknowledge her as your child." She slipped over a piece of paper that had an orange tag at the bottom next to a guardian signature.

"So. If I sign this…she's my child for me to care for."

"Yes, these are the adoption papers Mr. Stark."

"…Give me a moment." I fled. Not alone, mind you. As I stood, I grabbed Pepper. I dragged her along into the kitchen quickly, leaving the two staring at us both. With no shame I slammed the door on the kitchen from the living room, and hit my head on the wall next to it. What to do. I mean, the right thing to do is to take this child. But what would that do to my relationship, to my night job, to my life completely? Am I honestly ready for a kid?

"Tony, what are we doing?" She whispered as best as you can whisper a yell. I wasn't sure if she was more pissed at how I responded to being told this, or that we had just left the two sitting along in my living room. How inhospitable, I'm sure she thought. I wasn't really worried about them.

"I...I can't. I can't care for a child. Does she even speak English? I don't know shit about kids, Pepper. I'm not sure I'm even mature enough to do this." I could have broken down crying if I was weaker. I'd dealt with worse. I think I have. Well, being an orphan at 17…was that worse than having a kid thrust upon you?

She felt my struggle. She knew how to help me make this decision. She turned me from staring at the brown wall to instead to look at her in the face. Way too many times recently I'd broken face in front of this woman. Well, that's what she was for, right? If someone had to know that I didn't know what to do, it might as well be her.

"You can do this. If you decide to do this, you will. And I'll be right here for you." She kept my gaze, and all this made me want to do was kiss her. But we couldn't leave them outside long. Something hit me internally. This could be the final straw that would get me to convince her to move in. Besides, I lived through torture for 3 months in a cave. How could caring for a 5 year old be any harder than that?

With that, I kissed her cheek softly with a half smile in appreciation before wandering back out the door once I opened it again. They just sat where they had been, and everything had been picked up but the adoption papers as well as the picture of the girl.

I sat back down in the spot I had had before, but Pepper stayed standing next to me. The older woman handed a pen over to me and I took it, looking at blank line for a moment. Another thought.

"Can two people sign it? Like, where I'm not the only guardian? I mean, I do put my life in risk on a regular basis. She could be orphaned again." I turned up to look at Pepper, who was staring down at me with an odd look. What was it? Shock? I wasn't sure.

"Yes, Mr. Stark. There is another line underneath for use for another guardian."

"Good." Without hesitation, I signed my horribly large signature of Anthony E. Stark before holding the pen up above me to the towering woman.

As she stood there staring at me, I waved the pen in my fingers.

"If I'm going to be a father, you get to be mommy." I knew I would get some kind of reprimand for that, but she knew I was right. She finally sat down on my knee and leaned over to sign on the line underneath my own writing.

Once the signatures were given, the woman took her paper and both of them stood. Pepper got off of my lap, and I stood too.

"We will make the proper arrangements for her to be transported here. I will call Miss Potts in the morning to give you all of the flight information."

"Thank you Miss."

They both left and left us completely alone. For a while, I just stared out the back window over the ocean, thinking. What next? What happens now? How long do we have to set up for this 5 year old?

Wait, did I even look at her paperwork to see her name?

I turned away from my staring contest with the waves of the pacific. Maybe the girl's name was on the back of the picture.

Pepper was already sitting there on the couch, pushing buttons on her blackberry. I wasn't really paying attention as to exactly what she was doing. Probably sending out emails.

I found myself plopped next to her on the couch. Just her warmth made everything easier for the moment. I picked up the picture, and on the back written in Cyrillic was a name of some sort and a date putting the picture at 14 months previous.

"Did you…see what the girl's name was? I was too busy freaking out."

"Emilia Renee." She didn't look up. Whatever she was busy doing was something that needed to be done immediately. I was…intrigued.

"What are you doing anyway?"

"Cancelling appointments for the rest of the week. We have adjustments to make."

"Good. Because I know I won't know what to do."

"Tony," She said quietly, leaning into my shoulder at her side. "You'll be fine. I'll be here."

For a moment, we just sat there on the couch and I kissed the top of her head. I needed to cool down. I needed to work. Electronics made me forget. I needed to go downstairs.

"Will you move in now?" I just blurt it out. That was the last thing we needed.

She moved away and stared at me for a minute. I wasn't sure if I should look at her, but I finally turned and did look straight at her.

"I'll…think about it."

"You should. At least for the beginning. But I'd like it to be longer."

"We'll talk, Tony."

I was up and about quickly, making my way downstairs.

"Find someone to move the stuff out of one of the guest rooms for…Emily."

"Yes, Mr. Stark. Will that be all?"

She had to be mean at a time like this.

"And buy her some clothes and toys. That will be all for this afternoon, Miss Potts." I was down to my door by now, and as I walked in I yelled before I shut the door

"And I expect you home for dinner!"

AN – I'm not sure exactly where I want this to go…we'll see what pops out of my head.