Chapter 13(1)

LastKiss

"Virginia!" Edna's voice resonated throughout Pepper's bedroom. At the sudden sound of her mother's voice, Pepper abruptly let go of Tony's hand. "Anna is on the phone." Her mother called out.

Fear filled Pepper's eyes as she turned quickly to face Tony. Tony tried to give her a reassuring look.

"Oh no!" Dane started, sounding worried.

Pepper shifted her gaze to her son "What happened sweetie?"

Dane sighed "I'm sure Anna is calling you to tell you what I did this morning."

"And what did you do this morning?" Pepper asked

"Just that I didn't want take the test that she brought to me again," Dane explained.

"A test? What kind?" Tony asked concerned.

"A really boring one, where I have to answer some logic questions. It's way too easy and completely useless and that is exactly what I told her," Dane said firmly, his gaze now drifting to the floor, "And that's probably why she is calling now." He concluded.

"Mmh," Pepper said not convinced at all that that was what Anna was calling about, "Don't worry about refusing to take the test, honey." Then she looked at Tony again and she seemed to understand exactly what he wanted her to do about Anna. She opened the door and answered her mom, "Tell her that I'm in the shower and I'll call her back as soon as possible."

"Ok!" Edna answered from the first floor.

Pepper closed the door again and set Dane back down on the floor. "Ok, sweetheart, you'll have to pack what you want to take to go to Tony's house."

"Now?" Dane asked in disbelief "When are we leaving?"

Pepper looked at Tony waiting for the answer to Dane's question. "I called the private SI jet in NYC before leaving the Stark tower. I asked the pilot to pick us up at the Norfolk International Airport, so the jet should be there in about 2 hours." Tony explained looking at his watch to confirm the jet's schedule.

"OK, so you see, you have to hurry up, honey." Pepper told Dane quietly, stroking his dark hair.

"OK," Dane said somewhat skeptically as he turned to walk away from her. He opened the door and looked back at his mom "But something about all of this isn't right!" then he left the room heading for his bedroom.

Pepper sighed and turned to Tony. "He is really smart" Tony commented smiling at her.

"Yeah, he is just like…" Then she stopped suddenly, not wanting to finish her sentence.

Tony smiled gently at her and immediately changed the subject to order to lessen the sudden tension in the room "OK, I guess you realize that your mom needs to pack her stuff too. You know we can't leave her alone here."

Pepper winced, "Yeah,"

"Do you want me to come with you to help explain the situation to her?" Tony asked.

She took a minute to think about it and then answered "No, I'll go to talk to her alone, it's better that way." She headed to the door then turned back to Tony, "Can you go help Dane pack his things?" she asked, as a bright smile appeared on Tony's face in response to her question. "I know that you are probably not much better than him at packing, but he'll need a little help anyway." She smiled softly back at him.

"Sure, I'll do it," he said sounding just like an impatient four year old himself "And besides, I'm not so bad at packing," he added as he walked over to join her at the door. "Don't you remember the surprise vacation that I organized in the Caribbean for us?" he asked using his most charming smile on her.

"Yeah, I do seem to remember that you forgot almost everything, and that we barely had anything to wear." She pointed out teasingly.

"Yeah, that was the point" his smile brighter than before "And as I recall we ended up not needing any clothes actually, so we can conclude from that trip that I do know how to pack!" he said suddenly very proud of himself.

Pepper shook her head but was not able to hold back a smile realizing just how alike Tony and Dane really were, "Anyway, just try to do your best, and I'll double check his bag when you're finished just to be sure." She said as she started to walk down the hallway towards the stairs, Tony following her, "This is Dane's room" she pointed as they stopped in front of a bedroom door. "I'll go talk to mom, and I'll join you when I'm finished talking with her. So please wait for me in Dane's room." She told him.

"No problem. We'll do a good job with packing, you'll see. You'll be proud of us." He told her in his usual confident tone.

Pepper froze at his words, lost in his sincere chocolate brown eyes and hypnotized by his smile. Tony noticed it and his smile faded slowly on his face, worried about what was hiding behind Pepper's now changed expression. They were both transfixed on their spot, gazing deeply into one another's eyes. After a few seconds, Pepper broke the silence "I'm almost always proud of you." She said then turned away from him quickly and headed for the stairs.

It took few seconds to Tony to process Pepper's words, and when it finally clicked in his head, it was too late; she was already halfway down the stairs. When she left his field of vision, he sighed and turned towards Dane's door. He knocked on it softly and opened it.

"Hey" he said as he spotted Dane sitting on his bed staring intents at his closet "Do you need some help?" he asked.

Dane turned to Tony and looked at him incredulously"Yeah, I really need some help in figuring out what's really going on." Dane said bluntly.

Tony closed the door behind him slowly, playing for a little extra time, as he tried to figure out what to say. He walked closer to Dane and sat next to him on the bed. "You don't like the vacation plans that we made, do you?" Tony started.

"Tony, I'm maybe just a kid, but I am smart enough to know that everything that is happening is weird." Dane said, "Yesterday, mommy didn't even want to talk to you and today she wants to go on a vacation with you, and to your house!" Dane stated.

You better believe it's weird, kid' Tony thought. "It's more complicated than that," Tony tried to explain.

"Yeah and next you'll tell me that I'm too young to understand." Dane said anticipating Tony's reply.

'OK, he is definitely Pepper's son alright' Tony thought. Tony paused and tried to find a way to talk to Dane that would better explain the situation but not give too much away right now. "Well, listen… I'm not going to lie to you," Tony started looking Dane straight in the eyes "This is going to be something more than a simple vacation but I can't tell you what exactly right now." Dane was listening to him, his full attention on Tony's next words, "The only thing that I can tell you is that going away for a short time is really important for you and your mother's safety." Tony concluded.

Dane tensed right away "Is she in danger?" he asked in worried voice.

"I don't know for sure yet, but there is a possibility." Tony then saw real fear in Dane's eyes "But don't worry, I'll never let anything happen to her or to you." He said trying to pour all of his heart into his words.

"Why are you going to protect us?" Dane asked.

"Because I care so much about the both of you," Tony stated simply, hoping Dane would understand his sincerity.

"But why?" Dane asked again. Tony sighed heavily not knowing what else to say in order to answer his question. After several seconds of silence Dane added "I don't understand Tony. You've only known me since yesterday and it seems that you haven't seen mom for a really long time. And suddenly now you want to protect us because you say that you care so much about us? Ok, it's really good that you want to help us, but I think that you are hiding something from me and I just don't like it."

Tony reached out and pulled Dane gently onto his lap very grateful that Dane did not resist. "You are really too observant and smart for your age, kiddo." He teased him and he looked down at him and smiled broadly. Dane smiled proudly back at Tony. "I know that you want to understand and I promise you that you will… soon… But I just can't tell you any more. That will be up to your mom." Tony could see the disappointment on Dane's face. Dane looked quickly away from him. Tony put one finger under his chin and gently turned Dane's head back around to look at him once again. "Trust me, OK?"

Dane nodded slowly. Tony cracked a smile and added "Don't worry I'll take care of you both. You just need to focus on the swimming pool and your future meeting with my robots."

At the mention of the robots, Dane finally smiled, "Yeah, OK. But I still want to know the whole story."

Tony smiled back at him thinking just how much Dane was just like his mother when it came to negotiations. "I know that, and I also know you won't forget to remind me that I told you would know as soon as possible. Right now we need to focus on you packing up before we both end up in trouble with your mom. So just think about the good things that you'll see in my home, and later on, we'll have a serious talk and explain everything. Deal?" Tony asked holding out his right hand to Dane.

Dane reached out to take Tony's hand and they shook in agreement. "OK, deal!"

As Dane continued to shake his hand, Tony made a face at him "My god you've got some kinda strength in that grip of yours, buddy" he said faking pain.

Dane burst into laughter. Tony couldn't stop grinning as he watched him laugh. He finally stood up, picking Dane up in his arms as he did so and walked towards Dane's dresser. "Ok, so let's see what you need," Tony started.

"A swimsuit!" Dane replied quickly almost yelling.

This time, it was Tony who burst into laughter, and Dane began giggling right along with him.

In the meantime, Pepper had found her mother who was finishing preparing diner in the kitchen. She had her back to the door, focusing her eyes on the pan in front of her on the stove.

"Hey mom," Pepper said softly.

Edna turned her head to look at her daughter "Hey sweetheart,"

Pepper was worried and she was sure that her mother could see it on her face. In her mind she tried to figure out the best way to tell her mom that they would all have to go to Tony's house. The one thing that she did know for sure was her mother's reaction: she would not be happy at all.

"Is everything's all right, Ginny?" Edna asked concerned now at the expression on Pepper's face.

Edna's voice brought Pepper back to the moment. "Yeah…" then she nodded, then quickly shook her head "Well, actually, not really." Pepper finally admitted.

Edna started to worry suddenly and assailed Pepper with questions. "What happened? It's Tony, isn't it? Is he giving you hard time? Is he trying to force you to see him again? Is he wanting to come back in your life no matter what now?"

Pepper tried to stop her tirade "No, no, no Mom. It's not that at all," she started but Edna cut her off quickly.

"Oh my god!" Edna cried out "He wants to take Dane! That's it, isn't it?"

"Nooooooooo" Pepper said loudly in disbelief, "You're mistaken, Mom, he would never do that. Tony is certainly not a perfect person, but he would never do such a thing. How could you even imagine that?" Pepper said almost offended at her mother's accusation.

"I'm sorry Ginny, but I know that you've been talking to him just now, and here you come back to me looking like the walking dead telling me that's something wrong. So I have no choice but to imagine the worst." Edna justified herself.

Pepper suddenly felt sorry for her mom. And from her mom's point of view her version of reality couldn't possibly be anything other than worst case scenario considering her and Tony's past history.

"So, what happened?" her mother quietly urged her after taking a few calming breaths.

"Yeah, well, OK… Listen, Tony found out that we, mostly Dane are probably in danger." Pepper could see her mother visibly tense at her words "He want to help us and protect us but it's best if we went to his house in Malibu for a short time. His house is much more secured and protected than this place." Pepper explained hoping that her mom could see the sound reasoning behind the decision to leave.

"And you believed him?" Edna said in disbelief.

"What do you mean?" Pepper asked.

"Come on Virginia. Don't be so stupid. We have been fine for 5 years! And now he comes back, finds out about Dane, and all of a sudden we are all in danger and we need to go to his house? Please! Don't you think that story about being in danger is too convenient for him?" Edna said in an angry tone.

"No, you're completely wrong mom! This is not part of a scheming plan for him to take us back. He has proof, and trust me it's real." Pepper explained.

"Really, Ginny? And what proof does he have? Please amaze me!" Edna said wryly.

"Mom, please. Stop this. You could at least trust me here." Pepper almost begged.

"I'm sorry honey, but I don't trust your judgment at all when it comes to Tony Stark." Edna stated.

Pepper sighed gazing at the floor. She should be angry at her mom for her words but instead she felt sad, tears now filling her eyes. Sad to not be able to convince her about the danger, sad to even be in this situation, sad that her mom hated Tony, sad that she blamed him for everything and anything, sad to see her life…she sighed heavily trying to stop this train of thought as she wiped her tears away.

"Ok, I'm sorry, honey," Edna started seeing how emotional Pepper was at the moment and she walked closer to Pepper "Listen, it's not that I don't want to believe you or that I don't want to understand, it's just that I'm afraid. Everything Tony says is too convenient, and I just don't want him to get you back in his life with lies." Edna said as she touched Pepper's arm softly trying her best to comfort her.

Pepper looked at her mom and sniffed once "I do understand your point of view but believe me, what he's telling me is the truth. Tony found out that people from a secret governmental agency called Shield knew about Dane being Tony's son." Edna was now listening carefully as Pepper gave her the details. "You know that Tony has this arc reactor in his chest which is keeping him alive," Edna nodded "Well, Shield found out that Tony may have passed down some of the chemical components of his arc down to Dane."

"How is this possible? I don't understand?" Edna asked impatiently.

"I'm not sure either mom, but all we do know is that Dane has been tested in secret by Shield. And they had kept Tony in the dark about me being pregnant and having Dane in order to study Dane without Tony's interference, knowing that Tony would have never allowed the testing." Pepper noticed that Edna winced at her words. "The worst part is that Shield had their agents everywhere around us since before Dane was born." Pepper added.

"What do you mean by everywhere around us?" Edna asked.

"Anna, Ally, some of my coworkers, and probably a lot more people than we know about." Pepper said.

Edna gasped and brought her hand to her mouth in both fear and anger.

"Yes I understand how you feel, mom," Pepper said "Tony wants us all to leave as soon as possible, because Shield will figure out soon enough that Tony has found out everything that they have done to all of us. And when they do find out, Tony has no idea about what they are going to do to us." Edna nodded slowly "After hearing all of this, I thought we should listen to him." Pepper concluded.

"I can't believe it…" Edna said completely shocked.

"Yeah, me neither, mom" Pepper told her "I just don't feel safe here anymore, and even with all that has happened between Tony and I, I have to say that when it does comes to security, I do trust Tony and I feel really safe with him. Tony is the most competent person I know that can fix our situation. And I really don't want to put Dane in any danger because of the bitterness I held for Tony."

Edna couldn't do anything other than nod in agreement at her last statement.

"We are leaving in one hour. We need to meet the SI jet at Norfolk International Airport in less than two hours." Pepper stated.

"OK," said Edna.

"Please pack what you need for at least a few days. I'll go to pack some stuff for me and Dane right now. We really need to leave this house as soon as possible." Pepper said to her mom as she headed towards the stairs. She stopped suddenly when she heard a sob behind her.

She turned to find her mom crying. She walked quickly over to her and hugged her. "Hey, we'll be ok, don't worry. Tony won't let anything happen to any of us." Pepper tried to reassure her mom.

"Yeah I know sweetheart, it's not that…" her mom said "Just because I wanted to protect you and Dane, I did everything to keep Tony away from you, and by doing that I probably put you in even more danger."

"No, don't do that! Don't blame yourself for something that you couldn't have possibly known. We all made mistakes. But now the most important thing is Dane's safety. We'll sort out the other details later on."

"Yeah, you're probably right" Edna said wiping away the tears from her eyes and pulling away from Pepper. "I'll go pack up diner for us to have on the plane and then I'll go pack my stuff. Go on now and get everything for Dane and you." Edna concluded as she turned back to the stove.

"Thank you mom." Pepper said as she headed towards the stairs again. She knew that it was hard for her mom, probably even harder than for her because Pepper was only worried for Dane, but Edna was worried for Dane and Pepper and she couldn't do anything to help. However, this was Pepper's decision, not hers. She could give her opinion, but in the end, it was Pepper who would have the last word. And Pepper knew that being only a spectator when this decision impacted the two most important people in your life, was more than hard for Edna!

Pepper walked slowly down the hallway towards Dane's bedroom. She could hear two low voices behind the door but couldn't understand what exactly they were saying. So she slowly opened the door being careful to not make any noise so they wouldn't hear her come in the room. She quickly spotted Tony and Dane laying on the floor in front of the remote control car that Dane got last Christmas.

"Yeah definitely, we could change out the motor completely and gain a lot in speed." Tony said.

"I knew that," Dane said smiling "I wanted to add a high RPM motor featuring a higher KV stator that's been wound with a low-resistance red wire for faster speeds, and vented end bells for cooler operation." Dane said proudly having thought out his improvements in detail.

"Yep," Tony said obviously impressed as he turned his head slightly so he could look at the car from a different angle "I think that would work nicely."

"Yeah, but mommy said it's too expensive being that it's only for a remote control car." Dane said sadly.

Tony laughed ruffing up Dane's dark curls with one hand. "Don't worry about that buddy, we'll manage to come up with something back at home, you'll see."

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