"Um, she's on the SHIELD ship," I said, digging through Tasha's backpack for no apparent reason.
"Is she alright?" Pepper asked.
"Well, um, we were in Japan today and the Storyteller, the guy we're after, well, he bombed the place. We knew that, but that's not the point. But she, flew into the explosion after it happened. She has some pretty bad burns," I said, my voice shaking.
"What?" Pepper asked, "Tony, is she going to be okay?"
"I don't know," I said, my voice still wavering. I covered my face.
"Oh no," Pepper said, "Call me as soon as she wakes up."
"I will," I said, uncovering my face. I saw something white sticking out from the backpack.
"Is she in good hands?" Pepper asked.
"She's with the doctor SHIELDs got. She's not awake," I said.
"Is the suit off?" Pepper asked.
"Yeah," I said, "AVIS helped me with that."
"Oh Tony," Pepper said, "You sound really worried."
"I am," I said, "What if she doesn't come out of this Pepper?" I was amazed as my voice broke.
"Tony, go be with her. Call me okay?" Pepper asked, "And stay strong."
"I will," I said, pulling the white thing from the backpack. It was an envelope.
"I love you," Pepper said.
"Love you too," I said. Pepper hung up and I flipped over the envelope. Tony was all it said. I looked at the envelope, confused, but opened it. Inside was a piece of paper, which I unfolded. It took me a fraction of an instant to place who's handwriting it was, and it wasn't Tasha's. The note read:
Tony,
I'm writing this to you, despite my prayers that you will never have to read it. Tony, I'm writing this to you because you are now the one taking care of Tasha.
Tony, our daughter is amazing. She's smart, and beautiful, and funny, and good with people. She's like you Tony. She's so amazing. I can only hope you see the same in her. She graduated high school when she was 14 and started at MIT. Although, I would love for her to be my little baby forever.
Tony, I feel terrible for taking her from you. That wasn't my call to make, it was ours. And I know you loved her. I guess I'm glad for this disease, because it means you get to be in Tasha's life too.
Tony, I should probably warn you. Tasha has a suit. It's like yours, the Iron Man suit. After the Battle of New York, she decided she wanted to be a superhero. Tony, if she gets her chance, she's going to take it, no matter what you say. Protect her, Tony. She's going to need it. Because, like you, she's nuts. But she has a heart of gold. And she'll be nuts to show that.
Tony, I can only hope you can love her the way I do. She is an amazing little girl. And just so you know, I'm glad you have Pepper. Yes, I know about Pepper. She tried really hard from keeping me from that, but I'm smart too. But don't tell her. Just make sure you hold both of those girls, because life is too short.
Thank you Tony. I hope you can love her the way I do.
Love,
Whit
P.S. I gave you some pictures. They're momentsI should have let you be a part of. So here they are.
I read the letter over and over. Whit. A part of me found happiness in the words. But a part of me felt sadness at one sentence: Protect her Tony.
Protect her. And now Tasha may or may not be on the edge of death, because I failed to do Whit's dying wish. I looked through the pictures she had enclosed. There was on that was a picture of a little, 4 year old version of Tasha, her hair in pig tails, her smile too wide as she held the straps of her backpack. I saw on the back it read Tasha's First Day of Preschool. There was another picture of a slightly older Tasha, in front of a sign that read Brookside Elemamentary. On the back it read Tasha's First Day of Kindergarten. There was a picture of Tasha standing in a garage, not much older than 8, building what appeared to be a remote controlled car. Another of her at 10, standing in front of a sign that read East High School. One picture was a silly one of Whit and Tasha, Tasha probably 12 at the time. But Whit looked so different from the woman I remembered. Where curly blonde hair used to be, there was now a little bit of light fuzz, on top of a bald head. Where there used to be long thick eyelashes, there was nothing. Her skin was dry and cracked, under her eyes were little wrinkles, due to aging. But she still was beautiful. Her smile was something I hadn't gotten to see nearly enough of. At least not in the end. But she was beautiful when she wore it.
I continued to flip though the pictures. There was a picture of Tasha when she was only a little older, showing a Captain America tee shirt. Another of her standing in a cap and gown, holding a diploma. The last picture was a picture of her pointing at the dorms of MIT. She was showing off her sweatshirt. I put the pictures down. There I closed my eyes, which we were. I laid down on the bed, and let myself cry. In that moment I realized something. I loved my daughter. I didn't want her to die. I loved her like the child she was. And that in itself, felt better than anything I had felt in a very long time.
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Natasha Stark: Arrival
FanfictionNatasha Stark-Pells is the name. Let's just say I'm not your average 16 year old. I graduated at 14 from high school, I am an engineering wiz, I am more beautiful than Aphrodite, and have enough sass to make a grown man cry. Yeah, my life was great...
Chapter 26:
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