Chapter 16

Edna had finished cleaning up the table after their meal and had packed away all of their dishes when the voice of the pilot echoed through the cabin.

"We are on final approach to LAX, and with the light air traffic currently in the area, we expect to land within the next few minutes, so please remain in your seat and fasten your seatbelt until we come to a complete stop in our hanger."

Pepper turned her gaze to Tony for the first time since he left the table almost three hours ago. He was still talking to Jarvis, probably planning their arrival at the mansion and making sure that they were still off Shield's radar. Pepper was looking at him closely now, taking advantage of the fact that he was too busy to notice her. For the first time, Pepper noted how tired he looked, his face worn and marked by the stress and the tension of the last 48 hours. She noticed that more white hair than she had remembered was scattered in his dark hair and that the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were a little bit more noticeable. Obviously, the last 5 years had changed him, but then not so much, as he was still the Tony that she knew, Her Tony… Her Tony? But was he still her Tony? She was not sure anymore. And it was exactly when this question crossed her mind that Tony turned his head to look at her. The second his eyes made contact with hers, her heart clinched painfully in her chest when she read the sadness in his brown eyes.

He nodded slowly at her as if trying to reassure her that all was well, thinking that the look on her face was because of the stress of their arrival in California. What he didn't know was that her concerned face was only for him. She was worried for him. He cracked a smile shyly to her and when she couldn't help herself but return it; his smile grew brighter, more hopeful. Then, he focused again on his tablet and continued his conversation with Jarvis. Pepper sighed heavily and turned her head only to find her mother staring intently at her. Pepper gave her a questioning look and Edna just shook her head in disbelief at how her daughter could be so blind to her own feelings as well as Tony's.

"Look, Mommy look!" Dane said excitedly as he was looking through the window at the lights of LA passing quickly below them and becoming larger with each passing second. Dane had just woken up from another nap most likely from the pressure change in his ears.

Pepper turned her attention to him and feigned surprise at the view also just as if it was the first time she had ever seen this view. But inside of her she knew this landscape far too well. She had taken so many times this plane and for many years this view meant that she was 'coming home'. Now, the lights of LA meant only painful memories as she felt her heart beating fast within the large, emotional hole now in her chest.

She reached over and combed her fingers through Dane's hair and finally said "Yeah, it is beautiful, Honey." Dane was smiling up at her like the four year old child that he was, and Pepper was suddenly caught up in Dane's joy. Pepper found herself smiling too, her eyes now full of nostalgia, remembering the time when seeing this view meant that she was returning to their house, the one she shared with Tony...returning to Tony.

Tony, had shifted in his seat and noticed the smile on her face out of the corner of his eye, and he couldn't help himself but smile at the thought that Pepper was now on her way to set foot once again in his mansion… in their house actually...

After the SI jet taxied slowly into the SI hanger and the huge doors closed behind them keeping them out of sight of the rest of the world, Tony stood up and said discretely and quietly to Pepper "OK, according to Jarvis, Fury and his team are still trying to figure out how to get ditch the virus that we implemented, but they are making progress, and it's just a matter of time before they figure it out."

Pepper nodded slowly understanding once again that they were short on time, and started to unfasten Dane from his seat. "OK Honey, here we are." she said as she unbuckled him from his seat belt.

"That was great!" Dane exclaimed, apparently very happy with his first flight. Pepper started to hold out her arms ready for Dane to immediately jump into them, when suddenly Tony reached for Dane and quickly took him into his arms.

"I've got him, Pep, no worries." Tony said quietly to her, brushing shoulders lightly with her as he carried Dane towards the hatch.

"Yeah, flying is pretty cool Buddy, isn't it?" He said as he used his free hand to ruffle Dane's hair.

"Terrific, yes!" Dane confirmed as Tony walked through the hatch and onto the boarding stairs.

Pepper and her mother quickly began to follow them. "They look very good together." Edna said to her daughter.

Pepper looked at her mother in surprise, "Yes, they really do." she said somewhat defensively, not knowing at all where her mother wanted to go with that statement. But Edna continued walking, following Tony and Dane without adding a single word to her statement, suddenly leaving Pepper alone with her thoughts, still standing next to the exit. Pepper was still trying to analyze her mother's change in attitude with Tony in the last 48 hours. She had gone from hating Tony, to encouraging her to tell the truth to Dane about Tony being his father, and finally now to making nice remarks about how Tony and Dane looked good together! Really, Pepper was now lost with respect to her mother's true feelings about everything happening to them. When she finally saw the outline of her mother stepping off of the boarding stairs, she quickly resumed her walk out of the jet.

It took her a little time to adjust her eyes to the harsh, bright lighting in the SI hanger. When she was finally able to focus on where Tony and Dane were walking, she immediately recognized the car and the driver. Her heart started to beat fast and she found herself walking down the stairs as fast as she could. When she finally reached the floor of the hanger, she started almost running to the car, passing up Tony and her mom to quickly stand in front of the driver.

"Happy!" She exclaimed. Happy gave her a bright smile and opened his arms to welcome her. She hugged him saying "It is so nice to see you again. I've missed you."

"It is always a pleasure to see you also, Miss Potts." He answered back formally.

She took a step away and looked up at him challengingly "Come on! Miss Potts?! Really?"

"I'm sorry, I was just teasing. It is really nice to see you too." He said laughing a little. "I've missed you too, Pepper."

Pepper pulled him into another hug and Pepper could have sworn she heard a small sniffle come out of Happy's huge body.

Tony walked up to them slowly, Dane still in his arms "Happy, what have I told you about you hugging Pepper?" he asked half amused, half offended.

"Sorry, boss, matter of habit." Happy said teasingly, pulling Pepper even closer.

Tony grumbled and Pepper pulled back from Happy laughing at the private joke between them. For a few seconds it was like nothing had changed between any of them.

But Happy quickly broke the spell and asked "So, who is this big boy?"

"He is my son," Pepper said looking at Happy with a smile on her face. "And you remember my mother, Edna Potts, of course?" She said looking at her mother.

"For sure, it's always pleasure to see you, Mrs. Potts" Happy said to Edna shaking her hand briskly.

"Nice to see you again too, Happy," Edna answered smiling back at Happy.

Happy then turned his gaze to Dane who smiled to him "You know what young man? You have exactly the same eyes as your mom." Happy said, turning to smile at Pepper. Dane smiled back at him proudly looking over at Pepper. "So what's your name?" Happy finally asked.

"My name is Dane." Dane replied proudly "Dane Anthony Potts!" he finished with an unmistakable Stark dramatic flair.

Upon hearing Dane's full name, Happy let out a small gasp of surprise, his eyes opened widely, rounded like marbles. His gaze shifted rapidly from Dane, to Tony, to Pepper, and finally to Dane again. Happy was not a genius, but Tony would be willing to bet right now that Happy figured out faster than he that Dane was his son.

Happy opened his mouth to comment when Tony said loudly staring at Happy intently "OK, OK, now that the presentations are all done, maybe we could go, because we are playing against the clock here."

Happy took the hint in Tony voice and gaze and turned immediately, walking quickly around to the other side of the car to sit down behind the wheel. Tony came closer to Pepper and gave Dane to her and then he turned to walk back to the back of the limo as the SI ground crew began loading their luggage into the limo's trunk. Dane had his chin tucked into his mother shoulder so he missed the look of relief that passed between his parents. They both knew that they had once again come close to Dane finding out that Tony was his father. And Pepper knew that the more time they spent together the greater the like hood would be that Dane would figure this out on his own. Pepper knew her mom was right. She made up her mind right there and then that she would not wait too much longer before telling Dane.

After a very silent ride to Malibu, the limo finally reached the mansion. Pepper's eyes were wide open, her mouth dry, her hands were almost shaking, and her heart was beating so fast in her chest that she could bet that everyone in the car could hear it. It had been 5 years, 5 long and painful years since she had left this house. The house that she had known for 20 years, where she had used to go every day as Tony's PA for the first 10 years, then where she had lived with Tony for 5 years, and finally the house that she missed so much the last 5 years.

The first tear rolled down on her cheek the second the car passed through the first security gate. Her memory of the last time she saw the mansion had become so painful, and she suddenly felt as miserable as she had when she had left 5 years ago.

Tony who was in the passenger's seat directly across from Pepper, wanted to look at her but was not at all sure he had enough courage to do it. He eventually looked at her and quickly noticed the tears as they fell from her eyes. He wanted to reach out to her and pull her into his lap but he knew he couldn't for fear of upsetting Pepper even more.

She was transfixed in her seat, eyes wide open, silent tears streaming down her face, looking through the window at the mansion as they continued up the driveway. Tony was really worried about her, and he turned his gaze to Dane quickly who was now deep asleep with his head on Pepper's shaking shoulder.

He sighed heavily in regret. So much pain, so much time wasted because he had been too blind to what was happening to Pepper five years ago! He knew that he should have never sent her away from their home and from him. Her sadness was his entire fault and that was killing him! He looked back at Pepper who was now trying her best to wipe the tears away. If it was within his power he would gladly go back in the past and change everything! But he couldn't! So the only thing that he could try now was to fix everything that he had screwed up! But the real question was: How could he fix the past? Just how was he supposed to fix people?