Nightingale | An Avengers Tale

Chapter 40 ~ arial

"You need to sleep."

Tony Stark glanced up from his hunched over position to see his wife's somber face staring down at him. He glanced back to the multiple screens he had been frantically working on in his vain attempt to find some clue as to where Lily might have been taken.

"It's been 72 hours." She softly continued. "You need rest."

"I'll sleep when I find her." He snapped as he began frantically continuing his search. Ever since she had been taken, he had either been in meetings with the other Avengers or scouring over streams of data in the workshop at the newly remodeled Avengers Headquarters.

"She's right you know." Fury's stern voice made him jump.

A scowl spread across his face as he turned to glare at both of them. "Every hour she's gone the chance of finding her alive drops exponentially." His voice grew in volume as his face flushed. "I was warned this would happen and I didn't listen. And now it's my fault she's gone."

"This is not your fault." Pepper quickly began.

He shook his head as he turned to refocus on the screens. "I could have upgraded my security. Given her a microscopic tracker so I'd know where she was at all times. I could have." His voice trailed off as despair began to fill him. She was gone, and he hadn't been able to do anything to stop it.

"And the people that have her could have never come and then again, they could have still taken her in spite of all the increased security." Fury paused. "You can't plan for everything."

"That's my job." Tony shouted. "My job was to protect her." His voice rose. "And I failed." He quickly ran his hands through his hair as panic began to overwhelm him.

"The Avengers are willing to help; I've called in some of the best S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents to assist." Fury calmly continued. "You don't have to do this all by yourself."

Tony ignored Fury's comments as he again began to run another test. An aggravated groan and a slamming door alerted him that Fury had finally left him alone.

"I'm worried too." Pepper finally said as she gently rested a hand on his shoulder. "But you need rest. Even a few hours might help you find something you've missed." She sighed. "Please."

He sighed as he glanced up at her. Little creases of worry lined her entire face. He slowly nodded. "What if we can't find her?" His voice trailed off as she gently hugged him.

"If anyone can find her, it will be you." She reassuringly began.

"Why didn't I do more?" He frantically began. "She had nightmares every night. I should have known. I should never have left her alone."

"Tony." She quietly began. "She gave up herself to save Morgan. Even if you were here, what could you have done differently?"

"Something." He began to ramble. "Told them to take me instead." He paused. "I would have done anything."

The door to workshop slammed open and the pitter patter of small footsteps alerted both of them that their small daughter would soon be joining them.

"Mr. Bucky and Mr. Sam are back." Morgan cheerfully began as she appeared at the top of the steps. "They said they found out something about some men that were looking for Lily."

Within seconds, Tony was out of the workshop and heading to the Common Area where the two men were debriefing with Clint Barton and Rhodes.

"What did you find?" Tony interrupted.

"Not much." Wilson frowned. "She doesn't exactly have a large group of confidents."

"So you found nothing." Tony snapped.