Parenthood (Tony Stark's Daughter)

Chapter 17; The Deal

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Tony and Maggie walked briskly down the hospital hallway. Maggie dragged her hand along the white walls as her feet carried her closer to her aunt's room. She was nervous and excited at the same time. She had so many thoughts on her mind that she didn't even know she was falling behind.

"Come on, Maggie. It's this room." Tony called to her, now standing in front of room 209.

Maggie jogged to his side and grabbed his hand in her own. Her heart swelled when he didn't reject her.

"You might not like what you see in her, Maggie." Tony warned her.

"I'm ready." She pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

The sterile smell hit her first. Then, the sounds of different monitors and electronic machines beeping and making sounds. She saw her aunt laying in the hospital bed, reading a book. She had a cast on her ankle and a few cuts on her face, but other than that, she looked okay. She was still that 40 some-year-old woman with shoulder-length brown hair and green eyes that needed glasses.

"Aunt Kathy?" Maggie called quietly to her, not wanting to startle her incase she fell back into a coma. Or at least that's how Maggie thought comas work like.

Her aunt's green eyes tore away from the book and glanced up at her. A smile broke over her face.

"Maggie, I'm so glad you're here!" She exclaimed while setting the book aside.

Maggie ran to her aunt's side. She hugged her gently. Tony walked in behind her, awkwardly closing the door.

"Are you okay, Aunt Kathy?" Maggie asked as she drew away.

"Oh, I'm fine, really. How have you been holding up?" Kathy asked her. She glanced at Stark.

"I'm....alright." Maggie answered quietly as Kathy brushed a piece of her chocolate brown hair behind her ear.

Tony stood a few feet away from them, not really knowing what to do. He and Kathy never really....got along. She was always the protective older sister of Melissa, therefore, she never liked him.

"Stark," Kathy greeted coldly.

"Hey, Kathy." He replied back casually as he took a pair of sunglasses out of his dress jacket and put them on even though it wasn't bright in the room.

Maggie glanced wearily between the two. She didn't want them to fight; she loved both of them.

"Maggie, dear, why don't you go get some money from Stark and get yourself something from the vending machine down the hall." Kathy said smiling at her.

Maggie really wasn't hungry or thirsty, but she nodded and went to her father. He whipped out a $10 dollar bill and gave it to her. She walked over to the door, not before glancing back at Tony. Then, she left with the door cracked open.

"How is your leg-" Tony started but Kathy cut him off.

"Why don't we cut to the chase, Stark?" Kathy asked, her entire demeanor changing from a sweet, loving aunt into a scary, demanding, lawyer-like woman.

Tony's eyes widened a bit. He motioned for her to continue.

"I want custody of Margret." She stated, sitting up in her bed.

"Well, that was blunt." Said Tony He looked over at the book she had laying on the edge of her bed. The title read, How to Win a Custody Battle.

"I want her. It should be blunt." She responded.

Tony walked to the window and drew back the curtains. He gazed outside at the city.

"Come on, Kathy. You're in no condition to take care of her." He motioned towards the cast. "Besides, you already have what like, seven kids of your own?"

"Three," she corrected him. "The world may see you as a hero, but I know what you really are. You're no hero, Stark. You're a cheater and a drunk. You can't take care of a child."

Her words affected Stark more than he thought it would. He had been told that he was a drunk and a lady's man before, but that was before he met Maggie. He grimaced but continued to stare out the window.

"You don't know that." He defended himself.

She gave an unhumorous laugh, "Of course I do. You can't raise a child when you have to go play with your Avenger friends. I'm perfectly capable a raising her. She would have a nice big home in a nice neighborhood. And she would have lots of fun toys to play with. She would go to a good school and have friends. Do you even take her to school? Does she even have any friends?"

Tony wanted to tell her off. He wanted to tell her that she would have the Avengers as her friends, and that he would find the best tutors around the world to teach her. He wanted to tell her that he loved Maggie, and he wanted to care and provide for her. But all that came out was;

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to sign the papers to give over Margret. Be at court tomorrow morning. I'll pay you-" she began.

"I don't want or need your money, Kathy." Tony turned around to face her.

"Then what is it going to take to persuade you?" Kathy asked.

"You don't need to do anything."

Kathy sighed before continuing. "Think about it, you can't have a kid when you have a huge company like Stark Industry. A child ties you down. Believe me, there were a few times in my early motherhood where I just wanted to drop everything and go. But I'm older now, and I can take another child. Tony, what do you say?" Kathy's eyes bored into his with determination.

Tony hesitated for a moment. He realized what Kathy was saying was right. He couldn't take care of a seven year girl. He knew nothing about little girls. He liked to think he knew women, but when it came to little girls, he was clueless. He was too busy with his millionaire life to even settle down and marry Melissa. He would be a terrible father.

"You've got yourself a deal, Kathy."

Neither of them knew that Maggie was listening at the door with tears streaming down her face.

A/N; please don't be mad at Tony! You guys can see where he's coming from right? Ive seen that Tony has gotten a lot hate on here, but it's Tony. He's not going to be very...happy about having a kid thrust on him. I'll get better I promise.