The Beginning of Us {Book 1}

Chapter 17 - Flat Line

For this chapter, I actually had to do some research because I am not that smart with medical things. I'll tell u at the end so I don't spoil anything. :) read on!

Tony's POV

BEEP.... Beep..... Beep....

I opened my eyes. This was the noise that was running through my head. It would go faster and then slower. Sometimes even stop. By that 'beeping' noise, I instantly knew there I was. Everything was blurry at first. I looked over to my side table where there was fresh flowers and an untouched breakfast. I smiled slightly. That hurt.

"Shit.., ow..." I said to myself slowly sitting up. I looked over to the other side of the room. A window was open and sleeping near by was Pepper. She was in her work clothes But she stayed by my side. My Pepper. I took a quick glance over at the clock on the wall. 10:35am. At that second, alarms started going off near Pepper. She stirred and slowly woke up.

"Work..." She sighed to her self. She turned off the alarms and picked up her bag going went to the bathroom. Minutes later she came out looking freshened up. Same clothes but looking.. Brand new. She went up to me and sat down on my bed near my side table.

"Love you hon..." She kissed my cheek. "Wake up soon..." And she walked out.

Wake up soon?! What the hell...?! How did she not see me awake?! I got out of bed, mostly in pain and walked up to her before she got to the door.

"Pepper?! It's me!!! I'm okay!!!" I said to her up close but she just kept walking like if I wasn't even there. Once she was out in the hall way, she made a right to the entrance of the hospital. I decided to follow her. I tapped her on the shoulder. She didn't even turn around. I looked around seeing doctors and nurses rush here and there to see other patients. I didn't want to lose Pepper but I had to find out what the hell was going on. I rushed in front of Pepper going to the front desk.

"Excuse me?" I said and tapped the desk. The nurse looked straight at me.

"Yes?" She said. Yes! Someone that can hear me!

"Umm.. Okay.. Do you know what's going on? Like why can't my---" she cut me off.

"Down the hall to the elevator. Go to level 7 and the first door on your right. Thank You!" She smiled. I realized that she wasn't talking to me. I turned around and front a man right behind me talking to the front desk lady.

"Shit..." I said to myself. I realized once again that I lost Pepper. I ran outside to the parking lot and found her getting into a black car. "Pepper! Wait!!" I rushed to her side before she got in. She put her purse in the back seat and sat in front.

"Stark Industries please" she asked the driver. I dived in the back seat before it was closed.

"How... Was time with Mr. Stark?" The driver asked. Pepper sighed and looked down. I could tell that wasn't a easy conversation to talk about. She sniffed a little. "Oh... I'm sorry... I didn't mean---"

"No... No it's okay..." Pepper piped up. "It was okay. I stayed over the night." She sighed. "The doctors said he was getting better as the days pasted but he's still hasn't waken up." Pepper finished. She silently cried to herself. I made her go though all this pain. What have I done?

We arrived at Stark Industries and half of the building was gone.

"Holy shit..." I said to myself. Pepper got out of the car and opened the back seat door, letting me climb out. She grabbed her purse and closed the door. She looked though the front door window and smiled.

"Thanks for picking me up" she said to the driver. He nodded and drove off. I stood looking at the building still in my hospital gown. Pepper walked to the building opening the door, letting me slip past her to get in. She put a fake smile on her face and waved to the front desk.

"Morning Miss. Potts!" A lady at the front desk said.

"Morning Charlotte!" Pepper said smiling. A fake smiling. She seemed to have quite mastered it. I followed her to the elevator up to her office/mine. She opened the door walking in and sitting down at her desk. I stood over her shoulder watching her work. I went in front of her and started waving my hands back and forward but she didn't blink. I slammed my fists on the table. The name tag on the desk fell off. My name was still there. Pepper looked down and picked it off the ground.

"Pepper....." She continued working. "Pepper... Please...if you hear me..." I begged. I couldn't take this anymore. Not just for the fame or the money but that I couldn't even tell my girlfriend that I love her. "Pepper..." I sighed. She stopped typing on the keyboard and looked up. Right at me. Like if she can see me. I looked back at her and smiled. That also hurt but it didn't bother me because Pepper ca--

She looked back down.

"You shouldn't have come here. I didn't agree to do this here." She said in a serious tone.

"I know... Payment... It's over due" said a dark and rough voice said behind me.

"I already payed it" Pepper said.

"You have to pay it again!!" Yelled the voice. I turned around quickly and saw a man, dressed in black with a one of those clown masks on, holding up a gun at Pepper. I stepped in between the gun and Pepper.

"No.... What the hell is going on here?!" I yelled. Before I was going to yell again, I remembered that they couldn't hear me. What's the point? He loaded the gun and pointed it back at Pepper.

"Come on..." He said. Pepper bent down to her purse and grabbed out from it a brown bag. Inside? Money. A whole lot of money.

"I'm guessing your having to steal from Stark...." He grabbed the bag. "I see..." I looked toward Pepper and sighed.

What...
Was...
She...
Doing?

"Well...." The man said. He switched his gun to his other hand and searched around the bag.

"This..." He threw the bag on the ground. "Won't be enough..." And a gun shot was sounded

Still in between them, I got hit. But how? Physically... It felt like it. They couldn't hear me but they were able to hit me? Blood was oozing out from my stomach as I held it tight. I fell to the ground on my back. I looked up, seeing Pepper coming up to me crying. The side of her stomach was bleeding. The bullet went through me and hit Pepper, scraping the side of her stomach.

"Tony...." She held me in her hands.

"Pepper.....?" I said coughing up blood.
It felt real. But a different kind of real though. Dying like this... Felt different. It was more calm then fast paste and it didn't really hurt that much. Workers started to flood into the room once they heard the gun shot. Then... I heard it again. That.. Beeping noise. Wait... No... It was the same noise but it was like...

A flat line.

A/N: So apparently it is possible for someone that is in a coma to have dreams. Even tho the brain is shut down, not working. Thing is... It's very rare for that to happen. So yeah... added a little twist. :) Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Keep reading my Gallifreyans!

- author / abbey