One Hundred Days Chapter 3, an ironman fanfic

III.

Anthony E. Stark, 1971-2008

Part One

By Karl Schinzer

April 28, 2008

Born to Howard and Maria Stark in 1971, Anthony Edward Stark was special from the start. He built his first engine at six years old, his first computer at eight, and took his first solo flight in a Cessna 404 Titan at eleven. Four years later, he headed off to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where the young prodigy filed 13 patents and graduated Summa cum laude at seventeen.

"Tony had a once-in-a-generation mind," said MIT professor Dr. Jacob Levine. "He understood innately how things worked, yes, but more importantly, he was an innovator. A creator. I've taught the brightest minds in the world for thirty years, but none of them could ever hold a candle to Tony. He was a real marvel."

Stark continued his study at MIT for two years after earning his bachelor's degree, pursuing dual master's degrees in aerospace engineering and applied physics. At nineteen, he submitted his thesis on theoretical applications of superconductors in space vehicle propulsion, an academic work that is now one of the most-cited works in its field.

Other than his astonishing academic achievements, relatively little was known about the young billionaire prior to his parents death (at that time, Stark's personal net worth was $4.32 billion; today, his estate is worth $30.8 billion). The loss of Howard and Maria Stark, however, sent the then twenty year-old prodigy into a self-destructive and widely-publicized year of scandalous and bizarre behavior. From December 1991 to October 1992, the Stark Industries heir found himself arrested five times for various offenses, though no charges were ever filed. His fast-living, hard-partying antics made him infamous, and by the time he turned twenty-one his legendary reputation as a playboy far outshone the scientific brilliance that had set him apart at MIT.

"He really turned into a different guy after his parents passed away," says MIT classmate Matthew Singh, who now works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "He was a bit of a ladies' man in his last year at MIT, sure, but nothing like what he was after they died. He had always been pretty shy, even a little standoffish. He really only had a couple of friends. I guess we all figured that growing up so isolated and so smart made interacting with other kids tough. He was only fifteen. There were a lot of smart people there, but he was just... man, he was scary smart."

Singh's picture fits with Stark's behavior once he took the top job at the company that his father had There were a lot of smart people there, but he was just... man, he was scary smart."

Singh's picture fits with Stark's behavior once he took the top job at the company that his father built. Despite the ever-growing periphery of models, celebrities, and high-society socialites around him, Stark had very few constants in his life. One of those was James Rhodes, former roommate at MIT and current military liaison to Stark Industries (Rhodes is now a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force). Another was his godfather Obadiah Stane, whom the Board of Directors appointed interim CEO of Stark Industries in March.

"Tony called him 'Obie,'" reveals Janet Dzioba, a post-doctoral fellow at CalTech who also went to MIT with Stark. "Mr. Stane visited at least once a month, and would take a bunch of us out to dinner or something to talk about the projects we were working on, and give us ideas on how to apply them to the business world. I always got the feeling that he was more of a dad to Tony than Tony's actual father was. I think I met Mr. Stark once for about five minutes at graduation, maybe. Tony didn't really talk about him much."

A Vietnam veteran, Obadiah Stane met Howard Stark when the famous aviator gave the 1967 commencement speech at Harvard University. Stane had attained a dual degree in Business Administration and Finance in only three years after he was medically discharged from the Air Force in 1964. Howard Stark's biography quotes Stane's first words to the industry magnate as, "You're running your company into the ground, but I can fix it."

Stane became an integral part of Stark Industries and of the Stark family; in 1971 he was named godfather to Howard's young son and has served the company as Chief Financial Officer, interim CEO, and Chief Operating Officer. Today, he is Mr. Stark's next-of-kin.

"Stane had a much bigger influence on Howard and on Tony than most realize," former Stark Industries Vice President of Operations Vincent Markwaithe comments. "Part of Howard's problem before he met Obadiah was that he was trying to go in too many directions with the company. Obadiah made him see sense, made him focus on defense and aviation. Most people credit Howard with ushering in the era of the military-industrial corporation, but it was Stane's doing, through and through. And Tony grew up in that culture, which informed his entire career at Stark Industries."

"Tony grew up hearing about his father's involvement in World War II, in the Manhattan Project," Howard Stark biographer Stanley Gerrault says. "I think that he was trying to reach that level for himself, trying to come up with something as big as the Manhattan Project so that he could measure up against his father. What most people don't realize is that while Stark was an excellent physicist, he wasn't anywhere close to Tony. The son was brilliant because of Maria."

Maria Stark née Carbonell (1946-1991) was a prodigy herself. She attended Wellesley on scholarship at the age of sixteen and studied mathematics and piano performance before going on to Yale University in 1965. In 1968, she completed her doctoral thesis on arithmetic combinatorics at twenty-two. The next year, she met Howard Stark (then forty-nine) through a mutual acquaintance and married him in 1970. Tony was born the following year.

"Mrs. Stark was wonderful," Janet Dzioba says. "She actually lived in Cambridge for Tony's first year, I think. She used to meet us for lunch, and I remember she helped me and Larry Belvedere (now a professor of Materials Science at the University of Michigan) with discrete algebra. Tony could have told us what to do in his sleep, but Mrs. Stark showed us how. She was just extraordinarily brilliant."

The vast differences between Howard and Maria explain a great deal about their son. His mind was advanced far beyond his years and yet in other ways grossly immature. He was a witty and charming egotist, yet had difficulty retaining close friends. He was a genius engineer and motivated scientist, but whimsical and inconsistent to the point of exasperating his Board of Directors more times than anyone could count. He treated all women like Playmates, yet he employed a female assistant for He was a genius engineer and motivated scientist, but whimsical and inconsistent to the point of exasperating his Board of Directors more times than anyone could count. He treated all women like Playmates, yet he employed a female assistant for nearly ten years and trusted her to run his life.

The enigmatic Virginia "Pepper" Potts is the second woman to have a permanent place in Tony Stark's life after his mother Maria. Tony met Potts shortly before his twenty-sixth birthday and his fifth anniversary as CEO of Stark Industries. By then, the revolving door of blonde, brunette, and redhead personal assistants had become a running joke at the company water cooler and an ongoing headache for the Stark Industries legal department (From a leaked company memo in 1994: "Q: What do you call twenty pairs of legs and forty bags of silicone? A: Tony's backlog of sexual harassment suits...from the first quarter.").

Tony met Potts at a charity benefit for the World Wildlife Fund. As the story goes, Tony propositioned Potts, who turned him down flat. Tony then lost a debate with the UCLA graduate that ended in a $1 million donation to the WWF from him and a job offer for her-but Potts again rejected him.

"Oh, that was a funny time," recalls Mr. Markwaithe with a chuckle. "Tony sent that woman cards, flowers, receipts for more donations to the WWF-I believe the total ended up around $4 million-all asking her to work for him. I think it took him six months, but she finally agreed."

Pepper Potts was added to the Stark Industries payroll in April of 1998, where she quickly gained a reputation as a shrewd businesswoman and an efficient assistant. "If you needed Mr. Stark to actually see something, you went through Pepper," says engineer Robert Corby, who worked in Research and Development in the Stark Industries robotics group from 1993 to 2001. "My team worked on a project for two years and tried to get it in front of the boss," Corby explains. "Finally, in late '98, Pepper walked into my lab to ask me why I hadn't done anything with it. Two weeks later, I got to present it to the Board of Directors. A year after that, my project was in production and in use." With Tony Stark's assistance, Corby's project became the Stark Industries TALON robots, a line of military robots used for everything from bomb disposal to reconnaissance.

"Pepper has an eye for ideas," agrees thirty-year employee Bridget Vangor, a patent attorney in the Stark Industries legal department. "I don't know how she did it, but the moment Pepper came on board, she was able to focus Mr. Stark. Not that he was suddenly on time to meetings or that he stopped living in the fast lane, but in terms of productivity-well, let me just say this: I filed more patents from 1998 to 2008 than I did in my entire career prior to that point-by a factor of two. And that doesn't include the work I did for Tony privately, either."

Assistant, friend, caretaker, mistress, babysitter-these are all the names that Pepper Potts has been called over the past decade. And indeed, her inclusion in Tony Stark's small, immediate circle was unconventional, but it was her influence that ultimately helped to pave the way for the extraordinary last decade of Tony Stark's life. ❖

To be continued.

"So, Gigi, how've you been holding up?" Barb's voice is light and her words fast-paced, as though it hadn't been months since she'd last made contact.

"Barb," Pepper replies stupidly, so surprised to hear from her former foster sister that she doesn't have a coherent response.

("Gigi?" Tony would be delighted. "Your sister calls you Gigi?")

"Right in one, good work. I can see why they pay you the big bucks."

"What's going on? Why are you calling? Has something happened?"

Barb never calls just to shoot the shit; the girl who has been Pepper's 'sister' since they were both sixteen has zero tolerance for small talk, and she has never once called Pepper in the past six years unless it was to plead for a bailout.

"Relax, Gigi," Barb laughs at her. Her Worcester accent is more pronounced than ever. "I'm calling, you know, 'cause I haven't heard from you. You know, since your famous boss bit it."

("I like her," Tony would say with a smile. "'Bit it.' None of this 'passed away' bullshit.")

Something cold slides down between Pepper's shoulder blades, and she is suddenly outraged. "Barb, I'm working. What do you need?"

There's a heavy, dramatic sigh. "I swear to god, I'm just calling to see how you're doing. There've been all these articles lately, talking about you and Stark and how you were best friends or whatever, and I was like, jesus, I just thought you were like a secretary, not like, the sexy secret mistress."

Pepper knows exactly the articles Barbara is referring to. They've been everywhere: "Stark and Potts: the dream team behind the meteoric success of Stark Industries since the year 2000."; "Pepper Potts: the extraordinary woman that was Stark's right hand." ; "What's next for Pepper Potts?"

("Funny, my right hand does like to pretend to be you. How do they know these things?")

"Mr. Stark is my boss, and that's it," Pepper says shortly. It's been harder lately to remember to talk about Tony in the present tense, and she has never felt more disappointed in herself. She's supposed to be the one who still believes. "They're still searching for him."

Barb barks out a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, just like Elvis is still walking around, and so is Kurt fucking Cobain. Christ, Gigi, you got it bad. I mean, it's been Obituary City lately. I just figured you'd be looking for another job by now."

"Well, I'm not."

There's a few seconds of silence. "I really was just calling to see how you are," Barb says after a moment. She's quieter, a little more sincere. "I didn't know... I didn't know if you were, like, really broken up about it."

The rare display of softness from her hard-ass foster sister is enough to crack the dam that Pepper has so carefully built around herself. She inhales deeply. "I... We weren't, you know, together," she explains lamely.

"I fucking hope not. Not with him sleeping with every set of legs and titties that come within a fifty mile radius."

"He's not really as bad as that," Pepper defends half-heartedly, and cringes. Has she ever sounded more pathetic?

Barb snorts. "Yeah, and you claim you stuck around for ten years because the job was fulfilling. Jesus, Virginia, you really were in love with the prick, weren't you?"

Her breath catches in her throat. "Barb, don't be ridiculous."

"I'll quit it if you will. I mean, at least be fucking honest with me. I'm not going to sell your dirty secrets to The Enquirer."

Pepper's heart stops dead. She's silent.

She has never once called Pepper in the past six years unless it was to plead for a bailout.

"Barbara, you are unbelievable," she snaps after a heartbeat. "If I wanted to talk to the press, I would talk to the press. Send me an email with how much you need to keep from being evicted, and I don't want you to call me again."

"Gigi, it's not like that-I mean, the guy just wanted me to get a quote, you know, something juicy-" Barb is pleading, whining, and Pepper wants to scream.

"Goodbye, Barb," she bites out, and slams her handset down.

She's breathing rapidly, harshly, and she is just so angry that Barbara fooled her, even for a few moments-when did she become so fucking predictable? Pepper's eyes sting. She hasn't cried in two months, and one call from her sister is going to make her tear up?

She reaches out for a glass of water and lifts it to her lips with a trembling hand. She's angry, but not at Barbara, not really.

Jesus, Virginia. You really were in love with the prick, weren't you?

Pepper's jaw clenches and her throat closes up and she is furious. "God damn it," she whispers into the silence of her apartment, and grabs at the pillow beside her on the sofa, pressing it to her chest.

STARK FOUND ALIVE

By JAMES KEEGAN

Published: April 30, 2008

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Stark Industries CEO Tony Stark was rescued at approximately 3:00 pm local time in a remote area of Afghanistan's Helmand Province, approximately 450 miles from the site of his abduction.

Missing for 94 days and presumed dead by most, Mr. Stark was spotted by an Air Force Pave Hawk helicopter in the Dashti Margo desert (literally, the "Desert of Death"). Local sources indicate that the billionaire arrived at the Kandahar Combat Hospital under heavy guard at approximately 3:45 pm. Mr. Stark's condition is unknown at this time.

Up until now, the search for Mr. Stark has reportedly been focused in the remote regions of the Kunar and Nangahar provinces, where the CEO's military escort came under fire on January 27. It is unknown what information may have come to light that precipitated the search and rescue effort by Special Forces operators in the Dashti Margo desert.

"We are pleased to announce that Anthony Stark is safely in American custody," said the Department of Defense in a statement. "The rescue is the result of outstanding work led by the Air Force Special Operations Command."

Very little has been confirmed about the circumstances of Mr. Stark's captivity. However, due to the Taliban's strong presence in the Helmand province where Mr. Stark was found, it appears likely that his abductors were Taliban insurgents.

"This is a shining hour of triumph for the United States military," the White House said in a press release once Stark's rescue was confirmed by the DOD. "We are proud of the American service members whose extraordinary efforts have returned Anthony Stark to the country he loves so much."

Kandahar Combat Hospital staff received notice of an inbound casualty at 3:20 pm. By the time the search & rescue helicopter arrived at the helipad outside the building, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit had been called in for reasons that are unclear at this time.

By 4:00 pm, news of the inbound casualty's identity had begun to spread throughout the base.

"I can safely speak for the entire Stark Industries family when I say that we are thrilled at this news," said Chief Financial Officer Peter Fontaine this morning. "We hope that Tony will heal swiftly after his terrible ordeal and we can offer only our tremendous gratitude to the superb work of the American soldiers who rescued him today."

Mr. Stark's executive office and Stark Industries interim CEO Obadiah Stane were unavailable for comment.

Jane Coupling and Arnold Denton contributed to this report.

Pepper drinks loose-leaf Earl Grey. It's a habit she learned from her British expatriate grandfather, who cared for her from the time she was six to fourteen. She has a routine developed from years spent observing his careful, age-spotted hands prepare a tea service.

When she was little, he would make her a cup of warm milk and add a dash of tea from his own mug. By ten, she had declared herself an adult and wanted to make her own.

"Can't let it steep too long, love," he instructed her in his soft voice as he poured boiling water from the antique copper kettle that Pepper had inherited from him after his death. "Don't want to drown it."

Over twenty years later, Pepper doesn't need to think as her hands move through the preparation, carefully measuring and spooning into the strainer, grabbing her mitt for the kettle. She inhales deeply the scent of bergamot and cornflower and rose, her mind automatically filing away notes on this new blend.

("This tastes like perfume," Tony had grimaced once after she'd made him a cup. "Seriously, I'm drowning in Chanel no. 87 or whatever it is. How can you drink this stuff? At least add some rum to mine.")

She almost doesn't hear her phone ring. But ten years of practice has trained her well.

("Uh, Potts, I need you to, ah, well, you see-I'm in Santa Fe. Can you bail me out please?")

It's early-only 5:15 in the morning. It's much too early for anyone in the office to call her.

Suspicion balls up in her chest and she sets down the kettle on the granite countertop, stepping over to her room to grab her BlackBerry.

It's on its fourth ring by the time she reaches it, and it's an unknown number. "Hello?"

"Pepper?"

Pepper doesn't collapse. She doesn't break down. She doesn't scream, or drop the phone, or fall to her knees.

Instead, she hears Tony's voice and her chest expands and there's at least three heartbeats between his "Pepper?" and her "Tony?" Her voice is soft, hesitant, and it breaks on the second syllable of his name.

"I'm okay, Potts, are you okay?"

He sounds exhausted and somehow tight; there's a hard edge to his voice, a thin layer of desperation and difficulty that she has never heard before, but he sounds alive.

And now she is crying, but silently; she can't help it and she hopes he can't hear how rough her voice is. "Tony-I don't-Tony, you're all right?"

She keeps babbling his name and half-formed questions until she hears him laugh a little, a laugh that gets cut abruptly short with a whoosh of air that sounds a lot like pain.

"I'm all right," he assures her. "Rhodey found me, and I'm okay. I just-I needed to call you first."

"Of course you did," Pepper says, trying to regain her composure as she speaks to this person who is Tony but also Not-Tony; the weariness and sincerity in his voice is a combination she has never heard from him before.

He's been weary and playful ("Gymnasts are so accomplished," he had commented one morning with a mock-yawn.). He's been sincere ("I'm only trying to reward you, Pepper," he had told her quietly after presenting her with a new car a few years prior. "I couldn't do any of this without you. It's just a reward, I promise.")

But this Not-Tony, this man who has been missing from her for three months, who is exhausted and in pain-she doesn't know what to say to him.

She swallows tightly. "I'll send you your things," she says finally, her voice wavering only slightly. "You'll need a suit for the return trip."

He doesn't respond for a moment. "Yeah, you're right about that," he says finally. "They're telling me I've gotta get off the phone. I wasn't technically supposed to call, but... well, I had to."

That strange note in his voice is still there, that odd hesitation and quietness.

"I'm so glad you did, Tony," she whispers back.

"See you soon."

The phone clicks, her Blackberry beeps, and Pepper goes to work.

Stark arrives in Germany

By Johan Schaeffer

2 May 2008

LANDSTUHL, Germany - Since 2001, the dark blue MPVs that transport wounded American servicemen from Ramstein Air Base to Landstuhl Regional Medical Centre have become familiar sights to the residents of Kaiserslautern, Germany. Many of the locals are members of the United States military themselves and have friends and family serving in a foreign theatre of war. The MPVs that carry the wounded are normally treated with reverence and solemnity; the vehicle that arrived in the late evening on 1 May was instead given a celebration.

"As soon as we heard the news, we knew that Stark would be coming to Ramstein," said RAF Flight Lieutenant Daniel Lipton. "Everyone wanted to welcome him back to the land of the living."

The 30 April rescue of American businessman Anthony Stark in Afghanistan came as a surprise to many. The headlines devoted to the missing MD of Stark International had grown increasingly pessimistic as search efforts proved unsuccessful. A world-class engineer whose estate is worth £15.68bn, Stark had been assumed dead.

"I think quite a lot of papers in the States even published his obituary," said Klaus Gottfried, a physician at St Johannis Hospital in Landstuhl who attended an impromptu welcome parade for Mr Stark. "I am not surprised. Who could have predicted that Stark would escape his captors and manage to survive in the desert? It is an impressive feat."

Details about Mr Stark's rescue are scarce. NATO commander General Dan McNeill said: "Mr Stark was found approximately sixty-five miles outside of Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province. He was alone and upright, but wounded and very dehydrated. United States Air Force Pararescuemen led by Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes retrieved Mr Stark at approximately 3:00 pm."

No information about Mr Stark's abductors has yet been revealed. The lack of braggadocio from insurgent groups in Afghanistan and elsewhere suggests that the usual suspects may not have been involved.

MP David Miliband said: "I shall not comment on the specific nature of Mr Stark's captivity, however I will say that I am quite pleased he is safely recovered. I have not seen Tony since we were at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology together, but I look forward to welcoming him back to civilization."

No NATO or United States officials have offered any information to explain the strange facts of the rescue. One of the most pressing questions is how did his abductors transport Mr Stark nearly 400 miles from Jalalabad, Afghanistan to the largely uninhabited region outside Lashkar Gah? The prevailing theory is that the travel took place in Pakistan, re-entering Afghanistan in the heavily Taliban-controlled Helmand Province.

High Commissioner of Pakistan to the United Kingdom Dr Maliha Lodhi said: "The rescue of Mr Anthony Stark is a great success against the terrorist action in Afghanistan. I offer my congratulations to Mr Stark and his family and friends."

When pressed for her thoughts on the unusual circumstances of Mr Stark's recovery, Dr Lodhi declined to comment.

Requests for comment to the press office of Landstuhl Regional Medical Centre commander Brigadier General Keith W. Gallagher were turned down.

The Daily Telegraph, 2008

"Potts, you need to get me out of here." Tony's voice is low, frustrated. "I'm fine, but they're not letting me go. They've got me quarantined."

Pepper swallows. "Tony, Jim told me that-"

"Told you what?" His tone is sharp. "What did he tell you?"

"He said that there were medical complications," says Pepper. "What's going on?" She is wary; tony is defensive, and it scares her. In ten years, she's only ever seen him get defensive on his father's behalf.

"Yeah, well," Tony mutters into the phone.

Something tightens in her gut. "That's not an answer," Pepper says coolly, and part of her is relieved that she still has her Assistant Voice, that the cool mask of professional words and professional voice isn't gone, but there's a knot in her stomach that she has never felt before. She is anxious; her pen beats out a rapid rat-a-tat on her desk and her foot bounces and she realizes that she is still afraid for him.

"There was shrapnel," Tony says abruptly. "In the attack. So I uh-there's a-I've got something in my chest. Like a pacemaker."

Pepper's mouth suddenly tastes like metal and she can feel her pulse speed up. "What-what do you mean? Tony, you said you were fine-"

"I am fine. Well, mostly fine. It's not exactly a pacemaker," he says quickly. "It's a, ah, it's kind of like a battery. Well, it was a battery. Now it's a reactor. But they thought it was a bomb, and it's not, but-"

"You have a reactor in your chest? Like a-a nuclear reactor?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Tony says easily to her. "It's not nuclear. Point is, I'm fine, but they think it's dangerous-"

"Tony, you have a reactor in your chest! How did it get there? Are you okay? What is it doing?" Pepper is shrill, and she knows it, but she had believed Jim when he'd told her that Tony was fine, just a little banged up, and now it doesn't seem like he is.

"It's fine," he repeats, exasperated. "I'm fine, you're fine, we're all fine. It's fine. But they're not letting me leave, Pepper, and I need you to fix it. Fix it, please."

Millions of questions are still bubbling up in her chest, but Pepper tamps them down, grits her teeth, and takes a deep breath. "I'll take care of it."

A deep, heavy sigh. "Thank you."

Pepper exhales slowly. "Not a problem, Mr. Stark."

Stark on his way home

By BEATRICE WYSS

Published: May 5, 2008

LANDSTUHL, Germany - On January 27, a business trip meant to last for 36 hours turned into 100 days of captivity and struggle. After a miraculous escape from mysterious circumstances, Tony Stark is bound for home.

Mr. Stark wears a sling on his right shoulder and a few contusions on his face are now mostly healed. A haircut and a shave makes the haggard survivor look just a little bit more like the billionaire that disappeared over three months ago.

He wears a suit that hangs a bit more loosely than it used to along with an expression of mixed exhaustion and uncertainty-two things which are strange to see on the man whose trademark was his ego and his frenetic personality.

The walk across the tarmac is Tony Stark's first public appearance since his rescue in the desert sands of Afghanistan nearly a week ago. His office has refused all interview requests and no medical officers working with Mr. Stark at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center have spoken publicly. The only information about Stark's condition has come from the Department of Defense.

"Mr. Stark displayed extraordinary fortitude in the face of terrifying circumstances," said the Pentagon. "He suffered blast injuries in the initial attack and had suffered additional wounds when Air Force Pararescue Jumpers recovered him on April 30. None of Mr. Stark's injuries are life-threatening, and he is expected to make a full recovery."

But what about the injuries that are not so obvious as a bruise or a healing cut? What toll might Mr. Stark's captivity have taken on one of the world's most notorious billionaires? Is this Tony Stark the same man he was when he boarded his private jet three months ago?

"No," says renowned psychologist Dr. Arnold Lincoln, who specializes in post-traumatic stress disorder and provides care to veterans free of charge. "This type of experience changes a person. We know he was injured. He may have even been tortured. But physical wounds pale in comparison to the incredible psychological stress of captivity."

When pressed for details, Dr. Lincoln shook his head. "I won't diagnose Stark. He's a complex person and I've never had the chance to meet him. But I will say this-no one comes out of a situation like that unscathed."

The Santa Anas blow hot across the tarmac, ruffling her hair and stinging her eyes. Pepper had arrived at Edwards Air Force Base a full two hours in advance of the ETA. She can't help it; she is pathologically punctual in the best of times, but today is different. Today she is on edge in a way that she has never been before.

She had spent the past two days juggling the ongoing media storm as well as calling in every favor she had banked with half of Congress.

("Senator McCain, Tony asked me to thank you for your support and to congratulate you on the nomination," she had said smoothly. "He's very frustrated about his detention in Ramstein. I understand these are unusual circumstances, but is there anything you can do to get the brass at the Pentagon to let Tony just come home?")

Last night, she'd gotten a call from Jim. "You are unbelievable," he had said admiringly. "I know you did it. How did you do it?"

She had only smiled into the receiver. "A good P.A. doesn't assist and tell, Jim."

The eye-roll was practically audible. "Hah, hah. And for the record, I'm also laughing at the fact that you still call yourself just Tony's 'personal assistant.' More like a genie."

Pepper had gotten a little uncomfortable. "So, did you get Happy and me clearance to pick him up at Edwards?"

"Yes, it's set," Jim had said. "I'll see you tomorrow, Pepper."

"Can I talk to Tony, please?"

There had been a moment of silence. "Well, he's sleeping."

Pepper hadn't missed the hesitant note in Rhodes' voice, the subtle touch of discomfort. She had known him well enough prior to Tony's abduction and she'd certainly spent enough time on the phone with him over the past three months that she could recognize the little pauses for what they were.

"It's... It's four in the afternoon where you are. Why is he sleeping? Is he all right?"

"Sixteen hundred, actually."

"Answer the question, Jim."

His sigh had blown static into the connection. "I haven't been able to spend enough time with him to really tell," Jim began uncomfortably. "But the medical staff has told me... He's sleeping erratically, Pepper. He sleeps for an hour at a time, maybe every eight or ten hours."

Pepper's throat had gotten tight. "Well, you know Tony," she'd said in a faux light-hearted tone. "He's always been a little nocturnal."

"It's not that. He's jumpy, he's not sleeping right... I just wanted to warn you," Jim had said quietly. "He hasn't told me anything about his captivity, but... this is strong evidence he was at least sleep-deprived. Good chance he was tortured, too. Just... be careful with him."

Pepper had known all of the awful possibilities from the beginning. She'd had dreams where Tony was beaten or starved or tied up. She'd prepared herself for him to be different. But Jim saying it out loud-

Good chance he was tortured, too.

Pepper had shut her eyes tightly and composed herself. "I understand."

And now, thirty hours later, Tony is only a few minutes away. She twists the 1804 silver dollar ring on her finger, the ring she'd created in a flight of fancy, a moment of weakness where she had just needed to pretend he was there with her.

She can't hide the joy when she sees him. He looks tired, and smaller, but she doesn't fight the smile or the glimmer of tears in her eyes, and when he heads straight for her she sees the uncertainty in his eyes and she sees the small smile.

He isn't the same man. But then, she's not the same woman, either.

Notes

People

Some of the people mentioned in this chapter are real. Not including those mentioned in prior chapters:

David Milliband (British Member of Parliament who did attend MIT at the same time that Tony Stark would have); Dr. Maliha Lodhi (The High Commissioner of Pakistan to the United Kingdom in 2008).

Places

All locations mentioned in this chapter are real. Not including those mentioned in prior chapters:

Afghanistan: Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, Dashti Margo desert, Kandahar Combat Hospital.

Germany: Kaiserslautern, Ramstein Air Base, Landstuhl, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, St. Johannis Hospital.

Miscellaneous

Stark Industries TALON robots are actually the Foster-Miller TALON robots, which have been in service since 2000.