Chapter 10

Pepperony

The first night at home was said to be the worst, having to adjust to a newborn baby's sleeping patterns and regulate them as well as finding rest for the parents as well. They had brought their daughter home the next afternoon after she had been monitored for a short while to make sure everything was okay. The whole afternoon was spent just staring at her, amazed at how little she was yet so loved. Pepper had been advised to rest for a few days, take things easy and try not to stress herself out too much, but being a new mother, it made all of that a bit difficult to ensure.

When they first arrived home, Abigail was sleeping soundly in their where they had taken her to rest. The nursery was a beautiful baby pink color with green, blue, red, purple and yellow all across the walls. It looked like a happy room, and it was fitting for a happy baby, but for the time being, Abigail was in Pepper and Tony's room until she got a little bit older. Pepper was starving since the hospital food wasn't quite what she was craving. She sat on the couch for a little while and ate some Chinese take-out food, but then she wanted to go upstairs and check on Abigail once more. She hated leaving her in the room alone, but she would have to get used to the idea.

''I don't wanna leave her in here by herself,'' she whined quietly as her and Tony stood at the door of the nursery.

''I know,'' he ran his hand over her shoulder. ''But she's sleeping, there's not much you can do.''

''But she's in here...alone.''

Tony smiled at how Pepper was so in love with her, just as he was. He never thought he could love anything so much, not until he met Pepper, and then he never thought he could love anything as much as he loved her, but now this little girl was in his life, and she had every piece of his heart from day one. Watching her sleep was so calming and relaxing, he would never get sick of it.

Pepper finally relented from Tony's encouragement and went for much needed long, hot shower to take away all of her stress and worry. She needed to rest, and although she had a little baby to take care of and swoon over, she had just given birth and needed to sleep for a few hours. As soon as the hot water hit her back, she was exhausted. The steam made her tired, and she didn't know if she would take such a long shower anyway, she just wanted to sleep. However, every time she thought about her newborn daughter, she didn't want to sleep, she wanted to make sure she was okay. Her main concern was that she could be crying but neither Tony or her would hear. It frightened her, but she needed to relax. Dr. Tate had told her that the maternal instincts would come out even more now that her baby was born and that it would be highly unlikely for Pepper or Tony to sleep through a crying baby.

It was around three in the morning when Abigail began crying. Pepper had fed her and changed her diaper before she went to bed, making sure that she was comfortable to sleep, but as newborn babies did, she woke up

''I got it,'' Tony told her in a tired, hoarse voice.

''You sure?'' she asked in an equally tired tone.

''Yeah, just go back to sleep.''

Tony walked over to the little bassinet and reached in to pick his daughter up, cradling her in his arms. There was no way Pepper was going back to sleep, she couldn't, she needed to know Abigail was alright and that she went back to sleep, then she could relax. She sat up in bed, smiling at the way Tony was cooing over her. Although he wouldn't admit it, he was talking in a baby voice as he spoke to her softly.

''What's up?'' he asked as he rocked her in his arms. ''What's the matter, huh?'' Pepper watched as he checked her diaper and bassinet to make sure everything was okay, realizing she only woke up to be put straight back to sleep. ''Shh, don't cry, daddy doesn't like it when you cry. No he doesn't, not one bit.''

Pepper put her hand over her mouth, hiding her little chuckle that managed to stay hidden. She couldn't believe how good he was with her. She always knew he would be a wonderful father, but he was a natural at putting Abigail back to sleep just with the movement of his arms and his voice. Abigail was mesmerized by her father's voice, it soothed her and excited her at the same time. Even when Pepper was pregnant, every time Tony was close to her and spoke, his deep voice always resulted in Abigail kicking or moving about, knowing the voice was her dad's. She wondered what sort of skill she would have with their daughter since Tony was the obvious choice for getting Abigail back to sleep. In a matter of minutes, she was silent once again, her little eyelids fluttering closed.

Tony ran his finger over her chubby cheek again, smiling at how soft they were. She was precious, and now she was the most important thing in the world to him. There was nothing that would take her away from him. He continued smiling as he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, careful not to wake her.

''There you go,'' he whispered, placing her gently into her bassinet.

He walked back over to the bed, yawning before laying back down next to Pepper and wrapping his arms around her, content. Pepper moved closer to him, turning her head to kiss him.

''What was that for?'' he asked, a smile playing at his lips as he hugged her closer.

''Everything.'' she turned to him. ''You were there for me through the whole thing. I couldn't have done it without you there with me.''

''Yes, you could. Because you're brave. You're the strongest person I know, and you've given me all I could ever want in life. I have a family now, Pepper. That's something I never thought I would have the chance to have.'' he admitted. ''You and Abby are everything to me, that's all I want.''

Pepper moved closer, her lips pressing against his for a few moments before she pulled away, her head laying on his chest. ''This is the best my life has every been.''

The little family had been at home now for two weeks, and everything was going well so far. Magazines, newspapers and other media sources had all offered Tony and Pepper huge sums of money in order to be the first to publish photos of their baby, but there was no way they were even considering it. The media had gone into frenzy when they found out Pepper had given birth, reporters once again swarming at their main gate in order to get a photo or a word from the family, but Tony and Pepper were used to this sort of thing now.

It was winter now, and their house was toasty warm and comfortable, they didn't want to leave. Pepper was on the floor in the living room with Abby, who was sprawled out on the little blanket underneath her. She couldn't hold her head up properly or sit up, but she seemed to enjoy kicking her legs about and waving her arms. It made Pepper smile every time her daughter looked at her with those big brown eyes and reached her hands out to her mom. Pepper put her finger in Abby's hand, moving it about as if they were playing together.

''You're going to be such a wild little girl,'' Pepper sighed. ''We won't be able to keep you in one place. You know who you get that from? Your daddy, not me. God, I can't believe how much you remind me of him just by looking at you.''

Abby had the most stand-out brown eyes, just like Tony's, it always made Pepper's hear warm at the sight of those big, round eyes looking back at her. She didn't have much hair at her young age, but whatever she did have was dark brown. There were certain features that Tony had taken notice of that reminded him of Pepper. The way she looked at him, the little smile that played at her lips. He knew that when she grew up, she would be just like her mother.

Pepper heard footsteps in the hall behind them, and it wasn't long before Tony was sitting down beside her and watching on as their daughter played. It was a change of pace for Tony, who was used to flying off as Iron Man and fighting against the bad guys, now to be sitting at home with his wife and daughter, finding that same excitement in just sitting together and watching them smile. He never thought he would have this life, and when he was expecting it, he had no idea what it would be like. It was perfect. He didn't find it boring like he had always thought it to be, it was the greatest feeling in the world.

''Rhodey called,'' Pepper looked over to him. ''He's gonna stop by later with another present for her.''

Tony chuckled. ''He takes his godfather role seriously.''

''She has a room full of toys and the house is scattered with them, mostly from him.'' Pepper laughed. ''He's going a little overboard.''

''And you thought I would spoil her.''

''You do.'' she pointed out.

''I'm allowed.'' he didn't bother denying. ''What about your mom?''

''She'll be here tomorrow.'' she reached her hand out to play with Abby's again. ''With probably even more presents.''

All over the room was cards and balloons with toys attached, from their friends and colleagues, congratulating them on a happy, healthy baby girl. Along with Rhodey's mass of gifts for Abby, her mother was visiting for the day tomorrow and that meant even more gifts. Tony and Pepper didn't even need to shop for toys, there was already so many. Her mother hadn't been able to visit, so Pepper knew that things would be a bit hectic in the house tomorrow when she met her granddaughter.

Pepper was sitting on the couch in the living room with Abby in her arms the next day, giving her her bottle, when Jarvis alerted them a car had arrived in the driveway. Pepper could barely hear since Tony had altered Jarvis's voice to be quieter for when Abby took her naps, but luckily he was right behind Pepper.

''To-''

''Don't worry, I'll get it.'' he told her before she could even get his name out.

Tony rushed over to the front door and walked outside, the cold air hitting as he made his way over to the taxi and helped Esther out.

''Tony! How are you?'' she asked happily, slinging her handbag over her shoulder. ''How's fatherhood?''

Tony gave a note to the cab driver, telling him to keep the change and escorting Esther inside. ''It's the best.''

''I can't wait to meet the little one,'' she beamed.

Tony took Esther's coat and hung it up gentlemanly before walking into the hall, guiding Esther to where Pepper and Abby were in the living room. He was actually excited to see her expression since he had witnessed how taken Rhodey was by Abby. She just made people melt, she was gorgeous. They made their way out of the hallway and Esther soon discovered Pepper sitting on the couch nursing her daughter.

''Oh my god,'' Esther rushed over. ''Is this my granddaughter?'' she put her hands over her mouth in shock.

Pepper smiled up at her mother. ''It sure is.''

Luckily, Abby was awake and looking up at her grandmother with those big brown eyes that Tony and Pepper loved so much, and now Esther was just as fascinated by them. She sat down on the couch next to Pepper and just stared at the little baby, looking over all of her features.

''She's beautiful Gin. Absolutely beautiful.'' she cooed. ''Her little nose, oh it's precious.''

Pepper could see her mother's eyes watering and moved to lift Abby in her arms. ''Do you want to hold her?''

Esther nodded, staring at her granddaughter as Pepper gently placed her in her arms. Abby's arms waved around as she happened to love doing lately, and Esther laughed at the baby touching her face with keen interest to who she was. Pepper looked over to Tony with a huge grin on her face, happy to see her mother and daughter together like this. Tony moved over and stood behind Pepper, putting his hand on her shoulder and pressing a kiss to her temple.

''Hello little one,'' Esther looked down at her granddaughter in awe. ''I'm your grandma. That's right, I'm your grandma.'' she turned back to Pepper. ''That feels so odd saying I'm someone's grandmother.''

''It feels odd saying I'm someone's mother.'' Pepper agreed.

''Oh darling, you were born to be a mother, it comes so naturally to you.''

''You should see Tony with her.'' Pepper turned to smile and Tony who seemed to shy away. ''He's her favorite person.''

''I wouldn't doubt that.'' Esther smiled over to Tony. ''The girls are always taken by their father the most.''

''He puts her to sleep in minutes just talking to her.''

''You sound like fatherhood agrees with you, Tony.''

Tony smiled. ''It seems that way.''

Esther looked back down at the little girl in her arms. ''Well you have both done a wonderful job here, she's gorgeous. Her eyes...they're...''

Pepper chuckled. ''Yeah, she has that effect on people, making them speechless.''

''I've never seen such beautiful eyes, she's stunning.'' Esther shook her head in amazement. ''I can't believe this is my granddaughter. Little Abby, so precious.''

As Pepper expected, Esther had in fact brought presents for Abby. She had a gift bag full off little things for both the baby and her parents. There was a little pink blanket for Abby to play on or have when she sleeps, and there were a few little stuffed animals to add to her quickly growing collection. There was a giraffe, a monkey and a teddy bear which Pepper would later add to the nursery where Abby could one day play with when she was old enough to sit up properly. There was also something that Esther brought that seemed extremely familiar to Pepper.

''What's this?'' she asked her mother, holding up the little headband.

Esther smiled. ''You don't remember?''

''I've seen it before, I know that, but I can't remember where...''

''It was yours.'' her mother told her. ''You used to wear it all the time.''

Pepper's eyes widened as she remembered. ''Oh my god, I had no idea you still kept this.''

''Of course I did. I wasn't going to throw it out. I hoped one day you could pass it on through a family of your own, and here we are.''

Pepper took the headband and slid it over Abby's head, looking at the pink piece with a cute flower pattern on the side. She remembered it instantly when her mother reminded her that it was hers, and now she could give it to her daughter. It was nice, Pepper didn't have anything that she could pass on to her family. She had moved to California when she finished college in search of a job, and being so far away from her mother they didn't stay in contact as much as they used to. Pepper had no one in California, and she didn't think she would have that family background for her family like everyone else seemed to, but this made everything better.

''It's a little big for her.'' Esther laughed. ''She'll soon grow, you'll see.''

''She's already growing up too fast.'' Pepper whined as her mother put Abby back in her arms. ''Soon she'll be walking and talking.''

''I think she'll be running before she walks.'' Esther commented. ''She's going to be determined like Tony, once her mind's on something she won't stop until she does it right, and she's going to be independent just like you, wanting to accomplish things without help and stubborn as anything.''

Pepper looked down at her daughter in her arms, looking back up at her. ''As long as she's happy.''

Another week had passed them by, but it also brought a new milestone for baby Abby. Pepper was bathing her in her little tub inside the shower, cupping water in her hands and running it over her body. Pepper was just as drenched in water as her daughter was since Abby had a tendency to pound the water with her fists, creating big waves of water that splashed all over Pepper. Tony walked in after hearing Pepper's laughter, kneeling down behind her to see what was going on.

''Geez Pepper, she's the one in the bath.'' he joked, referring to her now drenched clothes.

''Well, this is very entertaining to her-''

Pepper was cut off by Abby letting out a laugh. It wasn't a little giggle though, it was a laugh. Her smile turned wide and her eyes squinted as she let out the most precious noise, filled with happiness.

''Oh my god!'' Pepper's eyes widened. ''She laughed! Did you hear that!''

Tony nodded. ''Yeah, I'm right here.'' he laughed. ''It's funny when you pick on mommy isn't it?''

Pepper elbowed him behind her. ''Come on Abby, can you laugh again?''

Abby continued playing in the water for a few minutes before splashing again, her arms sending the water everywhere, even on Tony. But it worked, she was laughing yet again at the parents being soaked by the water. Pepper wasn't sure if it was the fact they were getting wet or just the sensation of the water flying into the air that was causing her to laugh, but nevertheless, it was the best sound she had ever heard.

''She's never done that before.'' Pepper smiled.

''I don't think you'll be able to get her to stop now.'' he laughed along with her.

''I don't care, she can laugh all she wants.''

For the rest of the afternoon they just watched as Abby flailed her arms about in the water, laughing at how much water was splashing out onto her mom and dad who had a smile on their face as their daughter looked as happy as ever.

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