Rescued - COMPLETED

2

"Where is she?" Happy asked, now panicked about the fact that his co worker and friend didn't come in with Stark. "Is Pepper hurt?"

Tony ran his hands down his face with a drawn out huff, pulling at his skin while he tried to figure out what to say.

"She's-" he began, but couldn't get much out.

"Oh God," Happy assumed. "She's not...is she...I told you that suit was a bad idea!"

"Happy, she's fine!" Tony snapped. Then, he looked up at his security detail and took a deep breath. "She's pregnant."

Happy almost choked on his own saliva, suddenly entering a coughing fit as the news hit him, making Stark raise an eyebrow questioningly. That was definitely not the reaction he expected, knowing Hogan usually kept his real thoughts to himself.

"Ohhhhh my God!" Parker mumbled excitedly. "I'm gonna be an uncle! Hey, Mr Stark, I can totally babysit if you..."

Tony eyed him with a look that questioned his sanity and shook his head, dismissing the kid so he slowly trailed off, getting the hint. Then, he turned the conversation back to Happy.

"She was knocked out, but..." He sunk back into the cushion with fatigue. "She doesn't know."

"You gotta tell her," Hogan answered simply.

Another glare from Stark. "No shit, Sherlock." He ran a hand through his hair. "When she wakes up, I'll talk to her...if I can figure out what the hell to do next."

Tony was again stuck in his own thoughts until Hill paged him to meet the rest of the team for a meeting. He just hoped they had answers or a plan or...something, because the idea of raising a child while trying to retake the planet from an alien species was not on the top of his to do list for this lifetime.

While the group was assembled, Tony waited in his seat impatiently, fidgeting with the buttons on his pants pocket as something to do with his hands in the meantime. Parker took the seat next to him, rambling about some web setting in his ear, but he tuned it out again. Then, slowly, the rest of the team formed around him at the table, including someone who made his heart skip: Pepper.

Romanoff had helped her into the room, but she looked alive and healthy, and to Tony, she was glowing. She smiled at him guiltily, but he immediately stood and pulled out the seat next to him for her, helping her sit down; he was sure she was a little sore from the fight, and probably was still waking up fully. Pepper had glanced at him in confusion, as it was not something Tony usually did, but accepted his help graciously.

The meeting started immediately, not giving them much time to talk, but he was just thankful she was up and moving. Not thankful that Nat hadn't called him, but that didn't matter right now. He ignored Fury as he instructed them on the next steps, even though it was important information, and instead rubbed his hand up and down Pepper's thigh, squeezing gently every now and then and earning a blush from her while she tried to keep her eyes off of him and pretend like it wasn't happening. Then, he was nervously tapping, resting his chin on his other hand while he focused on the table.

Fury assigned teams, announcing they would head back out after a day of preparation, and when the Iron duo came up, Tony snapped his attention back to the meeting for the first time since it began.

"Rescue's sitting out," he demanded, staring Fury down to let him see his sincerity.

"What?!" Pepper asked, obviously irritated with Tony's decision. "Are you drunk?! There's no way I'm sitting out -"