Chapter 6(2)

Hours passed and Pepper returned home from work early, having a hard time concentrating since she hadn't gotten enough sleep throughout the night. After checking in with Jarvis again, she discovered that Tony was still not home, and it was impossible not to worry now. There was nothing on the answering machine from either Tony or Rhodey, and Pepper was finding herself on edge trying to convince herself that nothing had gone wrong. She turned on the news and didn't hear anything, which she took as a good sign since nothing had become major yet.

With all of her worrying, Pepper gave herself a migraine and decided to lay down in bed for a while, closing her eyes to try and soothe the pain in her head. It was a terrible day and all she wanted was for Tony to be home with her. Her breathing slowed as her head's pounding faded away after a few minutes, and before she was even aware, she was sleeping on the couch with a soft snore, finally getting some rest as her thoughts were no longer running wild.

Tony arrived back in the workshop around nine that night, relieved to be home. The military groups had in fact been taken by rebel groups, stripped of their weapons, and although it took a long time, they were rescued and safe. He and Rhodey had flown in and inspected the area, checking for explosives or any dangerous material that could be a threat to the team that was about to go in and ambush the rebels, led by Iron Man and War Machine. He was glad that he had Rhodey to count on when it came to doing this sort of thing, and Rhodey was happy to help his fellow personnel in his suit.

However, Tony didn't manage to make it out unscathed like he was hoping. A few grenades had been launched in his direction and a few pieces of the metal suit had been blown off despite their heavy duty assurance. His legs had gashes around them and his face was bruised in different areas where his helmet had made a forceful contact with his skin during the operation. He also had a bloodied lip, one that he knew he wouldn't be able to hide from Pepper. She was all he thought about the whole way there and the whole way back. He hated having to leave her, and this time he was gone for longer than he expected, although he had been away for much longer than this before, but it was different now because he wasn't just leaving Pepper, he was leaving their daughter as well. He was Iron Man and always would be, but when he first began this thing he had no idea he would end up being a father, it made him lose concentration every time he left, wishing he was back at home.

After asking Jarvis to inform him where Pepper was, he decided to patch his leg up in the workshop so she didn't notice anything when he ventured up to the bedroom, cleaning his wound up and dressing it with a bandage. His bruises would be impossible to hide since they were on his face as well as his now swollen lip, but she had seen worse and there was no way he could cover it up.

Pepper was sleeping when he first walked into the bedroom, slipping by silently to take a quick shower and try to clean himself up. When he returned, Pepper was awake and sitting up and looking over to him with a yawn.

''Are you just getting back?'' she asked as she rubbed her eyes, looking over to the bedside clock.

''Mm, sorry.'' he looked over to her. ''Took longer than I thought.''

Pepper looked at Tony with a serious expression for a few moments, and he knew what she was doing. She was looking for signs that he was hurt, trying to figure out if he was okay. She couldn't miss the bruises on his face or the swollen lip, but luckily he made his way over and laid down on his side of the bed before she could notice how he was walking, trying to take pressure off on of his legs. He was readying himself for one of her usual questionnaires about if he was hurt or okay, but instead she moved over and wrapped her arms around his neck with a sad look on her face as if she was going to cry. Tony held her back, clinging to her with all his strength but being careful of her growing bump.

''You're hurt.'' she stated in a sad voice.

''It's just a few bruises, I'm fine.'' he assured her, feeling guilty that he wasn't being totally honest with her about his injuries, but she didn't need to worry about that now. ''I'm okay.''

Pepper held him tighter, embracing him in silence for a few moments as he held her back. ''I kept thinking...''

''What?'' he encouraged.

''That you weren't coming back.''

Tony's heart beat faster, aching that she had to think about that while he was gone. It was because he hadn't left in a few weeks, and the first time he did, it was for over 24 hours. ''I always come back.''

''I know,'' she nodded. ''I couldn't help it.''

''It's okay.'' he told her soothingly. ''I won't be going again for a while, not like that anyway.''

''I don't want you to stop because of me.'' she told him honestly, pulling away to look at him.

''I'm not stopping,'' he shook his head. ''But things like that...not for a while at least.''

Pepper was about to say something when she was startled by the kicking that once again started, rapidly and wildly. ''God, she's been doing that all day and night.''

Tony hands went to her stomach to feel his daughter's movements, smiling. ''She is going to be a handful.''

''I think she knows when you're gone.'' Pepper told him. ''She hears your voice, and she kicks. But when she doesn't hear it for a while, she kicks like crazy. She misses you.''

''My voice?'' he moved closer to her stomach, his lips almost touching as he spoke and soon enough the kicking began once again. ''Huh, how 'bout that?''

''I think she's a 'daddy's girl' already.'' she laughed.

Tony's hands remained on her stomach. ''I missed you too.''

Pepper yawned and Tony insisted she sleep, after all he had woken her from her few hours she was catching up on. His arms went around her waist as usual, but he could no longer wrap them all the way around, so he settled for resting his hands on either side of her and his face buried into the side of her neck.

''Are you sure you're okay?'' Pepper asked again for reassurance.

Tony kissed the side of her cheek, ignoring the slight pain it gave his swollen lip. ''I'm fine. Go to sleep.''

There was no argument from Pepper after that. Having Tony in the bed, holding her, feeling him right there beside her gave her all the comfort she needed to fall fast asleep, and not too long after, Tony himself was falling into a deep sleep, exhausted.