789/Rise and Shine, Iron Man

Rise and Shine, Iron Man
Date of Scene:	04 June 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Iron Man, Pepper Potts, 251

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Iron Man has posed:
The weather outside is beautiful. Spring has come, but with it, rains. The grey clouds overlooking the city looks to threaten, but it hasn't yet started. Small rumbles of thunder roll in the distance, so rain isn't far off.

That's outside.

Those within the Tower really need not concern themselves with the weather beyond the walls. Within, it's all climate controlled, the food services on a lower floor are always open, as are the rec centers for the employees that maintain a residence in the Tower. And at the moment? Tony really, really doesn't care what it's doing outside.

Inside the Bunker, several rooms in, is one more 'state of the art' room, that is, his own personal Medical Bay. Here, he's got access to all the latest and greatest tech, all modified and advanced of course by the resident genius. In his medbay, across from 'the infamous chair', Tony is lying in bed, almost as pale as the bedsheets under him. He's hooked up to diagnostic machines with lines monitoring his heart, his respiration, brain-activity.. though right now, he's got a respirator that is breathing for him. Any deviation on any of the machines will send an immediate message up to Jarvis, who has instructions to contact Tony's personal MD. Well, SOME PEOPLE added themselves on the list for notification.

Tony has been like this for at least 24 hours, the reason for his coma as of yet undetermined, unknown but for that one little bit of contact... neurons haven't shut down, muscles are still all working, so who knows?

*ding*

One machine goes off as Tony's heartrate begins to rise slowly.

60.

65.

70.

75.

*ding*

There is movement on the bed, the beginnings of semi-consciousness. With it comes a battle against ventilators...

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper hasn't left Tony's side since she heard. She is now CEO, again, and she brought a massive remote equipment in to work while she sat next to him, but otherwise she's been awake. She's updated him about every stock change, news report, call from the board, everything and anything she could talk to him about. Hell, she even read him a few articles from Scientific American and one Penthouse letter in efforts for something different and something... Tony. Something that would make him laugh. None of it helped.

Now, in a pair of jeans and one of HIS old shirts, complete comfort clothing, Pepper is hunkering across the laptop, staring into a screen and words she hasn't actually read for 20 minutes. She's in that state where she's almost sleeping with her eyes open. The ever perfect, ever together CEO and executive assistant to Tony Stark has finally let herself go. This may be Pepper's breaking point.

And then those stats slightly change. She blinks bloodshot, puffy green eyes. Maybe she's imagined it. She jerks away from the laptop and looks to the monitor, watching that pulserate climb. "...TOny..." She cracks out, practically running to his side. One hand wrapping around his palm, the other up through his dark hair. She looks down at him, trying not to cry but her eyes have gone to full watering now, "...Tony...it's Pep. Can.... can you hear me? Tony, please. PLease. I love you... please wake up."

Iron Man has posed:
At least Tony didn't have to be tied down to the bed, gently restrained. It is, then, in his semi-conscious state that he's seeing everything in his mind's eye. The sights and sounds of the street, added with his time in the desert, and there comes almost a full-blown panic/fight-or-flight response. (Maybe it would have been better if he had?)

Unseeing eyes open wide, and in the next second, his hands are pulling at the mask that is attached to his face. The monitors are lighting up like a Christmas Tree now, and while it might be good for the Winter Season, right now, it's showing, in numbers, one of Tony's panic attacks.

In the distance, in his head, he can hear Pepper's voice, but it's just that. Everything right now; the sights and sounds of the street, of the desert, the bombs exploding in the back of his head, all that is so very much more real. The second he tears the respirator off his face, he pulls in a single, deep breath of his own.

Pepper Potts has posed:
The moment Pepper realizes what is happening, she's moving into action. She doesn't even realize her face is wet with tears, but they're coming unbidden and she can't stop them. She's still Pepper, though. Crying, red nose, in a half panic herself, she's in crisis mode and helping take care of things. She reaches up to his face and helps him pull the mask of immediately, tossing it aside so he can get that air. Then she's reaching for his free, unmonitored hand, and gently resting it against her own chest. Against her, somewhat calmer heart and breath. Trying to coax him into calming with her, having some timing out side of his own panicking body to cling to.

She leans over, kissing his temple, but not pressing her face over his or doing anything that might feel like she's trapping him. "Tony. Breathe. Focus on me. It's Pepper... you're not alone. You are fine. You are alive. Breathe. Five count in... come on. One... two, three, four, five..." SHe coaches him soft and soothingly, still just keeping his hand against her heart.

Aspen (251) has posed:
Aspen had woken up just as her phone was ringing. She had two options... She could try to hunt down Adrien and make sure she was okay or... The phone gets her attention. More, the message it carries has her rushing back to the Stark Tower and the Penthouse. She'll find Adrien later.

The moment Jarvis shows her where she needs to go, she's rushing down the stairs. She's still dressed in the outfit she was wearing for that little joy ride. Snug jeans, a tank top and her sneakers.

She arrives just as that first breath is taken and a bright smile curves her lips and she rushes over. "Tony! You're okay." The relief is clear in her voice. "Relatively."

A heartbeat more and then she turns, eyes casting about for... Aha! The nearest clean up is grabbed and water begins to fill it as do tiny pieces of crushed ice. "Drink. Slowly. Okay?"

Iron Man has posed:
From the single breath that has Tony drawing air into his lungs unaided, to the thrashing... Pepper's there to hold him, and there are those heartbeats, those long seconds that it really does look as if he's going to fight her as well. Her voice, however, the scent of her, and the warmth begin to crowd through, pushing aside the ghosts and demons of his recent past (and slightly distant past). It's a total... and as she begins to count, his voice, though hoarse and breathy, sounds.. "Three.. four.."

Aspen was let in by Jarvis; he'd contacted her as requested and saw nothing that would countermand such a request. Not even the fact that she would be directed to not only the Bunker, but deep within its rooms. No one, but no one, has been this far, alone, other than Pepper. And, while she has full access, it's not a place where she regularly goes. But, the Artificial Awareness led the Aquatics Division Head via lights, very much like a landing strip to the point where she would need no more direction. And there, Tony's got some of the wires pulled off his heart leads, but he hasn't yet done damage to the IV line. He's got only a couple of minutes before the doctor comes in (and will quite probably put him out so he can rest..).

Water.. crushed ice sounds amazing, and when Tony actually figures out what it is Aspen is actually saying through the haze, he blinks, nods, but definitely keeps a hold of his anchor.

Pepper Potts has posed:
If Aspen hadn't been the one to bring him in, one on Tony's trusted list, and an employee that Pepper respects highly? Well, the woman would NEVER be in this room. Especially not with Tony like this. There is a momentary mother lioness flicker of protectiveness through Pepper's reddened eyes and, really, Pepper looks *savage*. Her hair on the edge of being greasy, face without make up, sticky with tears, eyes completely red and puffy but fierce. She looks absolutely as if she'd murder someone for the man below her, and she probably would. Fortunately, it's not Aspen.

Pepper takes a deeper breath in herself, trying to calm her own heart before adrenaline spikes her pulse and changes the one thing she's giving him to be an anchor. "...Breathe in again, Tony... I'm here. Dr. Matthews is here...You are safe and sound. Just bteathe." Peppers voice comes far more calmly than she looks. Her heart keeps steady time below his fingertips. "Soon as you take another breath, slow... she'll get you that ice..." She then gives Aspen a small, approving nod for the woman to come closer. "...he just woke up. It was a... shock." Pepper explains softly. How she manages to sound so calm, professional and corporate when she looks like that is a complete mystery.

Aspen (251) has posed:
That savage looks from Pepper gets a smirk from Aspen who nods back.

The water and ice is gently put into Tony's hand. "Remember, slow drinks, Tony, okay? Your throat is going to be very dry and too much at once will be painful."

She gives a crooked grin, one hand going to her hip. "It's a shame you needed a nap so bad. You missed a hell of a show. Sadly, the car is ruined. My heart broke a little."

She sobers after a moment though. "Get some rest though, alright? Seriously. I'll come check on you later and fill you in on everything." As she turns to leave, she nods at Pepper. "Miss Potts."

And then she's making her way back upstairs. Because she hasn't slept in two days... And now she has the kid to find so she still isn't going to get to sleep.

The brief nap thanks to Flatline doesn't count.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony is fuzzy, his head is clouded in a fog, and as he finds his footing, figuratively, he's looking between the two women, trying to follow everything they're saying. Some of it's lost, but his car? His CAR?!

Sitting up in his bed would send machines beeping again, if he was completely hooked up, but as it is, one can almost imagine the response of the monitors just by the look on his face. "My car?" Tony leans back, waving his hand away from the offer of water and ice now. "Just kill me. That car... it was perfect. It was brilliance on four wheels..."

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Thank you, Dr. Matthews... I'm sorry if I'm not quite... Myself. It was good to see you." Pepper offers gently, a weak smile across her tear stained face. She's trying to look more corporate and less savage. She probably isn't much succeeding. It's been a long few days. But then the woman is heading out and Pepper is left alone with Tony as he bemoans his car. She just blinks at him, partially wanting to cover him in kisses, partially wanting to strangle him.

So, a normal reaction to Tony Stark.

She reaches her free hand up, through his hair. Unless he's pulled back from her other palm, she's keeping her hand against her chest, not in a lacivious way at all. Just trying to give him that touch stone, that centering piece. "You have billions of dollars, Tony. We... can get you another car. We can DESIGN you a better car. YOu...however, you... we couldn't get another Tony. I... couldn't get another Tony." And there are the starting tears again, though she's not breaking into full sobs, some saline trickles down her cheeks.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony's not pulling away or otherwise doing a 'don't touch me' move. He's more in the 'here and now' than he had been, though the news of his Lamborghini is like receiving the news of the death of a 'loved' one. He looks up from his front stare, and the color does look as if it's coming back to his face, his neck.. the glow of blue in his chest hasn't faltered a moment. His gaze lingers there for a moment, and he brings up his other hand, the one with the IV in it, and moves to thumb that bit under her eye to take away some of those tears. It's unsteady, but it's a real, genuine, gentle gesture. "I don't know. That was a pretty sweet ride," is whispered.

Pepper Potts has posed:
So, if he's not pulling away, she keeps his hand tucked there. In fact, she sinks a bit to his side, so she's partially in the bed with him, making it easier for him to touch her face. She gives a crackling, tearful little smile, but it's actually a smile. She leans into the touch against her cheek, her other hand tightening that press of his palm to her chest, as if she could hug all of him in close with that motion alone. A motion that says she is NOT letting go any time soon. That she was terrified for his life.

"...You were in a coma... you could have died... and all you can think about is your car? Tony Stark, if...I didn't love you so damn much..." A rasping chuckle comes and a slight shake of her head, "... lucky... you're so handsome..."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony shuffle-shifts, and even with that, a couple more leads to his heart monitor gets disconnected. No problem, though. The doctor is on his way, and Jarvis has been giving the medico much needed information and, of course, his own personal opinions on the matter. (Damn that AA. Why couldn't he just be an AI?) With more room on the bed, now, Tony rubs his fingers together to dry the tears from them before he plays with the controls on the bed to get a little more comfortable. Head up.

"Yes, yes I was. Last thing I remember from that is people dropping all around me as the guy came at me. Next thing I knew?" Tony gives a hint of a lift of a shoulder before he looks beside him, dark eyes meeting light, "You. I heard a voice, something that.. it didn't seem to belong in everything." His voice lowers. "But, when I heard that voice? There was nothing more... real than that. All those shadows, the-the nightmares?" Tony most definitely suffers from PTSD. "I knew you were there." He offers a sidelong smile next, giving himself that boyish air, "The car, on the other hand..." He *tsks* softly, theatrically mournfully.

Though, there is that admission to love once again, and for a long moment, Tony is silent again before, "You got me through this, Pep. If-- if I didn't have you? And, well... an amazingly loyal Director of Aquatics.. remind me to give her a bonus at the end of the year.. end of the month. Hell.. by Friday. The accountants can do it.. But if I didn't have you?" He shakes his head and looks.. sincere, "I might as well be dead."

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Hey...shh... It's alright. The nightmares... aren't real. And any time they come...I... I'll be here. Now. I'm always here. You know that. The moment I heard it happened, I came here. I set up shop to run the company and not leave this room..." And from the look of her, not sleep or shower, "Because I wasn't leaving you alone. So... when that comes, you just think of this, alright?" Pepper coaches quietly, still the assistant in some ways. Still the support structure. But there's more care to her voice now, things she'd never let herself say before and now she's taken that leap and isn't turning back.

"...So, no thoughts about be dead, alright? You aren't. No one is dead and you are going to be just fine because you have to be fine, because I thought if you didn't wake up maybe I might as well be dead too, because I couldn't handle this without you. I mean, my heart can't handle the shit you do routinely anyway, but if you didn't do it, it'd just be worse-" Pepper is rambling again, now that she's not having to focus on keeping calm so HE can keep calm, that wave of emotions and exhaustion is kicking in.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony can hear it. The fear, no.. the terror finally kicking in, followed by the relief and the need to just push everything out 'there', and as she talks, Tony turns his head, takes his free hand to tuck under her chin gently, and lift it to kiss her. He knows the exhaustion, frustration, "I know.. I'm really hard to deal with, and if I didn't have you, I probably would be on the street, inventing stupid little gadgets to make a buck in Penn Station." Lord knows he doesn't play any instruments. "Shhhhh.. I'm okay. Now, any second, the doctor is going to come through that door, and he'll probably start lecturing me. I'd leave if I were you because I might say things I don't want you to hear." Tony offers a tight smile, but it is still so very honest as it does reach his eyes, however pained they may be. "Go to sleep. I'll get him to take this line out, and I'll figure out a way to get upstairs to sleep in my own bed tonight. Okay? You can keep an eye on me there, too."

Pepper Potts has posed:
The kiss has shut her up. It always does. It always helps. That kiss? That's *her* touchstone. When she's panicked, threatening heart attack (as she often does), and her too brilliant mind is flying a million miles an hour, Tony can always bring her back to reality with that kiss. Now, it also makes her heart skip a touch, but that's for other reasons. So she quiets, leaning into it, letting it calm her breath those few moments and remind her he's very much alive. Then he's pulling back enough to speak and she blniks at him drwosily.

"...Sleep?" What the hell is sleep? Pepper doesn't need sleep, she's superwoman! Even if her hair is a mess and her eyes look like she's on some awful drug. She frowns a bit more, "I... I'm going to go finish up things over there. The doctor can clear you, then we'll BOTH go to sleep in your bed tonight. Deal?" She asks, still half breathless from the kiss.

Iron Man has posed:
"The company can wait, Pep. You're... you're doing an amazing job, but it isn't worth your health. Please." Tony pauses before, "For me." Lifting his hand, he runs his fingers through the mess that is her hair, and follows the length to the end, "So, go on. Get something to eat, because I know you're starving. Go feel like a human again."

Finally, even if it's only been a few minutes, the doctor appears; Tony and Pepper's personal physician. As the older gent approaches, in suit and tie rather than white coat, he's taking his stethoscope down off from around his neck. "Pepper," is given in greeting, and he turns to look at Tony, and he's diagnosing even from a distance. "Tony."

Tony looks towards Pepper and offers theatrically, "Run while you can." before he comes back around to the good doctor, "Doctor Mayes. I think I'm good to go." Uh huh...

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Pot. Kettle, Tony. I'm going to remind you that you said that." Pepper states flatly, as he mentions it not being worth her health and that the company can wait. She smirks and leans in for one last kiss before she begins to gently withdraw from his bed. The last thing to let go is his hand at her chest.

Then the doctor is there and Pepper is suddenly VERY conscious of how she looks. How little she's slept. How many lectures HE could give her if he realized and wasn't totally focused on Tony. So, she steals to the side and shuts her work laptop, picking it up since she does plan to work for eating, but eating is not a poor choice. She gives Tony one last, long look, then disappears upstairs to take care of herself for the first time in 72 hours.