17661/Turn on Your Heartlight

Turn on Your Heartlight
Date of Scene:	15 April 2024
Location:	Avengers Mansion - Medical
Synopsis:	Pepper wakes up in the hospital and Tony gives her some surprising news.
Cast of Characters:	Tony Stark, Pepper Potts

---

Tony Stark has posed:
    The surgery went well, so Tony's not going completely nuts worrying. Still, Pepper went through some pretty major surgery, not to mention the implantation of the Repulsor Tech node. He had really meant it to go into him, since he wasn't entirely sure what effects it might have with the nanobots that are a big part of it.

    He's been in Pepper's room all night, as indicated by the fact that he's still in the same clothes he was when this all started, not to mention the pizza box on the side table. He's currently in one of the recliners that all the medical rooms have so that someone can stay with a patient and still have a fairly comfortable place to sleep.

    At the moment, he's got his personal StarkPhone lying on the tray table that's pulled in front of him, a holographic display of the R.T. Node floating in the air as he eats a slice of pizza and looks over every inch of the node, making sure everything looks right.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper's breathing on her own, the scary ECMO machine that has been giving her heart and lungs a break is out of the room. The small, unobtrusive 'crash cart' is in the corner, and the external defibrillator pads put away. Now, she's on a light flow of oxygen delivered via that small tube in her nose, and the monitors are more 'general', that is, heart, respiration and blood oxygenation levels. Everything is within normal parameters, and she's been downgraded from critical to stable to 'good'.

Optimism works.

Really, the only thing left is that she's not //truly// woken up. Meds to keep her asleep was something that was deemed important until a little more healing has happened. Just in case.

It's not that Pepper actually //hears// Tony; he's been good about that. It's more that she //feels// his presence. There's that something in the air that she simply can tell that he's there, and the first actual sound and movement that she makes is a *sigh*. It's perhaps an acknowledgment of his presence; something that she likes because for some reason, he makes her feel //safe// in a world of danger. A sound that Tony should absolutely recognize.

Tony Stark has posed:
    Tony looks up and over to her the moment she makes a sound, then smiles a little upon recognizing that sigh. He's heard it any number of times they've been together when she's resting against him on the couch while watching a movie, or when she's cuddled up to him in bed.

    He taps the phone, shutting off the holo and sits the recliner up so that he can reach over and gently brush a couple unruly strands of hair back from her cheek, asking quietly "Hey Pep, are you with me yet? It's ok if you're not ready yet, we've got nothing on our schedules, you can relax. Everything's fine."

    He glances up at the monitor, seeing that everything is in expected ranges. She's recovering well, in fact, very well. Faster than she should be, but that's no bad thing. He glances down at the diagram that's now just on the phone screen instead of floating above it and says quietly to himself "I wonder..."

Pepper Potts has posed:
That sound. The sound of his voice that moves through brain fog. It pulls at her, drawing her towards the surface. She doesn't fight against it, but rather works just that little bit harder to find her voice, to open very heavy eyes. The heart monitor registers a small climb, but certainly nothing even remotely dangerous; it's just that physical response as she finds her way through.

It's a whisper, barely audible but absolutely there. Deliberate thought and effort is behind it. "Tony?" As if she even had to ask?

There, she can feel him still, so familiar but so strange. "Where...?" is she?

Tony Stark has posed:
    "Don't worry, I'm here. Everything's fine." He reaches over to take her hand, continuing "You might not be too with it right now, and that's ok. You're fine, so don't worry. You were hurt when the UN was attacked, and now you're in one of the mansion's recovery rooms."

    He squeezes her hand lightly, keeping a smile om his face in case she opens her eyes. Logically he knows she's doing well, but he won't stop worrying until she's out of the medical wing and home where she should be.

Pepper Potts has posed:
The warmth of his hand in hers sends that message to fogged brain, and there's a slight but again deliberate move as she applies that little pressure against his own and nods. Definite understanding, and her eyes begin to open, slowly. There are those greens, a little hazy from the pain medication, but absolutely //there//.

The UN.

The UN? Tony had been outside fighting, she had known he was there, but they both were a little busy. So, when she does open her eyes, she's looking at him, searching his face, those dark eyes of her. Is he okay?

"Everything ok? Meetings.. oh no.."

Pepper must be feeling a little better; she's thinking of all the work that she's missing...

Tony Stark has posed:
    "There she is" he says with a genuine smile. "You look kind of how I felt most Monday mornings when I was younger." He pauses a second or tow, then corrects himself "Most mornings in general, really. Mornings are evil. I'd offer you some pizza, but I don't think you're quite at that point yet."

    He shakes his head and says "And you're not allowed to worry about meetings, I canceled everything across the board. As of right now, your only concern is healing. The business will still be there when you're feeling better."

    He's been so worried about her that he hasn't yet allowed himself to fall into the depression that awaits him for letting her get hurt when she was less than a hundred yards away from him.

Pepper Potts has posed:
The smile is echoed with a weak one, but one is there all the same. It's relief that he's okay, that *all this* is okay, and he's here. "I hope I look better," is whispered, the glint in her eyes one of affection. The pizza gains a soft exhale, that oh so familiar sound; she'll be okay, and she shakes her head. "They need to feed you better."

News of the company, and work gains a crease of her brow. "But we have the partnership with--" and the moment the words manage to exit, she's almost exhausted herself again. Pepper takes it as her own white flag, "Ok."

Falling silent for a long moment, Pepper's gaze hasn't left his face. "Are you okay?"

Tony Stark has posed:
    Tony nods, "Not a scratch. It takes some serious work to hurt Iron Man, you know. Couple Nazis with giant octopus robots aren't going to do it. We do need to do some work on your injury avoidance, however. I don't especially like hospitals, and I'm fairly certain you'd rather be about anywhere else."

    He's staying fairly upbeat, she doesn't need to know how worried he's been. It might come up once she's feeling better, but for now he's focused on not making things worse for her.

    "And what do you mean they? I ordered this myself, pizza is easy to handle when there isn't a table to spread a meal out on."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Once again, there lies relief on her face; he knows better than to lie to her, even if she's in her own bed.

Okay, maybe not.

But, Pepper's expression doesn't contain disbelief or any doubt of his claim, and she nods, a long breath escaping her once again. "I would rather not be here." A weak, ghosted smile returns, "I don't have any choice, do I." Given the sound of the machines, and .. it's very strange. The morphine doesn't hide everything, and there's a subtle, soft *buzz* that moves through her.

"I can't just stay home," Pepper reminds softly. "One day, when we retire.. out in the woods somewhere. On a mountain side by a creek." We.

"But you can get a table," is added. "You need to take care of yourself." She can't take care of him... not right now. "Please."

Tony Stark has posed:
    "Well, now that you've woken up a little I'm feeling better, so I may pop upstairs to grab a shower and change of clothes." Sometimes it's handy having a hospital in your house. "We do have something fairly important to talk about however, before you just happen across it."

    The node may have bandages over it, but it can easily be felt through them. "Ok, um.. you know how I was hurt years back, the injuries that ended me up with this?" he taps the arc reactor under his shirt. "Well, some of your injuries were pretty much the same. On the plus side, yours is the latest model, kind of like the Ferrari to my Chevy."

    His eyes search her face, trying to get a feeling for how she's taking the news.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper is feeling a little more herself, yes. The haze in those emerald eyes is fading, the clouds are pulling back. The pain meds will undoubtedly turn from 'constant' to 'on demand' when the doctor passes through again. "You should," and the hand in hers is given a soft squeeze again.

It's those next words, however, that has her searching his face, looking for those clues, the faint sounds of the alarm klaxons. Pepper does go from 0 to 60 rathe quickly, and as he begins, she can hear the silent 'just hear me out' that usually predicates some 'good news/bad news'.

Does she remember that? Like it was yesterday. When she realized, really, that she would have a hard time without him in her life; long before he realized that she was, well.. a viable contender for his affections. Those days. Pepper nods once, her eyes not leaving his.

"What?" The news filters down, and there creeps that dawning realization that.. oh god. "Oh no.." she murmurs, "No, Tony.. no." She remembers the problems he had, the surgery later in Wakanda for a new housing.. and the sleepless nights next to his bed. "What am I going to do?" She's not //like// him. He's made his life, the entire support system surrounds him, as well it should. But her?

"No.."

Tony Stark has posed:
    He squeezes her hand a little tighter, "Hey, it's not that bad. I ironed the bugs out with mine. And it's not like you have to change your lifestyle or anything. Think of it like a pacemaker, plenty of people have those and go about their lives. It's just a little fancier. But on the plus side, you can be your own nightlight, so there's that."

    He shrugs a little and adds, "It was a choice between doing something a bit extreme or losing you, so it was no choice at all. I can't imagine my life without you at this point, so I went with option one. But it really won't get in your way, I fixed every problem my implant ever had, so you won't have to deal with any of that stuff."

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Not that bad," Pepper repeats, her voice still so soft. She is pale and small against the backdrop of the hospital bed, and probably seems moreso now. "I'll keep myself up," is lamented on the heels of her first. Still, she doesn't have the energy to argue, to fight, or much of anything. The decision was made, and obviously it was one that was needed, given the reach of expertise at hand that is wielded.

She has the same thing as Tony now, and as she's very much aware, there's no coming back from that. "Go take your shower," Pepper finally says, her expression keeping in the tears of realization. She's alive, and now.. now she knows the cost. "And find something good to eat."

She'll cry after he goes.

Tony Stark has posed:
    He leans forward to kiss her gently, "Try not to worry. I'll be here for you every minute, and I've been through it all myself. We'll get through everything together, and that's what is important. We can get through anything as long as we do it as a team."

    He pauses a moment in thought, then says, "Huh, not sure when it became we instead of me. You must be making me grow up a little or something." He stands and releases her hand, saying "Ok, shower and fresh clothes, then I'll be back. Twenty minutes tops." He looks at her again as he heads for the door and says, "Trust me, this will be okay" before leaving the room.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Her eyes close as he leans to give her a kiss, her lips moving to return it. When he leans back, offering up the promise, Pepper nods, holding onto those words tighter than he could truly understand.

"We've always been a team, Tony," Pepper responds quietly. Even if he didn't realize it, doesn't realize it, she's always been there by his side, making sure everything was done so he could do what he needed to do. NEEDED to. She's understanding him a little more, now, and perhaps he's understanding himself a little more?

As he releases her hand, Pepper nods at the plans laid out before him, by himself. "I'll be here." She watches his exit, listens for the door to close behind him, and there, there in the quiet buzz of the room, the backdrop of the songs of the monitors, she's able to cry. Cry in relief that she's alive, cry in the fact she's not alone, that everything will be okay, even if her entire life is changing... once again. Those tears, thankfully, turn into sleep.