A breath of new life
Tony watched as Loki took June’s hand.
“Everything will be okay,” June said to him as she and Loki stepped through the portal. It closed. Tony sat back not sure what to think. Everyone was safe. Pepper was- Pepper! Tony leapt to his feet, and ran to the entrance of the building. He had to get to her.
Pepper was scared. She was alone, and giving birth to her first child, that alone would have been enough to terrify her, but she was also terrified for Tony. He had promised everything would be okay, and that he would be back. Then he had left to go fight Loki and who knows who else. She had just gotten him back after being told he was dead. She didn’t want to lose him again.
Pepper attempted to stifle a cry of pain as another contraction tore through her body. They were getting closer together. Her eyesight went blurry and she screamed in pain. Then there was a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m here,” It was Tony.
“Tony?” Pepper breathed.
“Yes baby it’s me. I'm here, I’m here,” He kissed the top of her head. She looked up into her husbands bloody face and cried.
“I’m scared,” Pepper barely managed to say before another contraction burned through her, and she screamed again. Then her hand was in Tony’s.
“I am here, You’re safe. I got you.”
Tony wrapped an arm around Pepper’s shaking shoulders and held her hand.
“It’s oka-” Tony was cut off by Pepper crying out in pain. She squeezed his hand hard. He stifled his cry of pain, he was pretty sure he felt something in his hand break, “It will be okay.”
“Will it though!” Pepper cried. Sadly no one had warned Tony about how angry women got when they were in labor, “Will it be okay?!”
“Of course it wi-”
“Oh BULLSHIT!” Pepper snarled clenching her teeth, “You keep telling me you’ll retire, and then you don’t! You always say ONE MORE! It’s always just one more fuckin mission! They told me you were dead! Tony, You were dead! This has to sto-- ARGHA!”
Pepper broke off into another scream of pain that shook Tony to his core. Her hand squeezed hard on his, and he cried out in pain with her. Something in his hand definitely broke.
Pepper felt Tony’s hand crunch in hers. Oops. He let go of her.
“You’re almost there,” His voice was shaky but reassuring.
“Tony you have to-” Pain seared through her body and Pepper cried again. Then a wail sounded through the air. Not hers, and not Tony’s. She opened her eyes. Tony was wrapping their wailing daughter in his shirt.
Tony stared down at his daughter. Their child was a girl. He couldn’t breath. She was beautiful. Her cries slowly stopped, and she looked up at him with her beautiful eyes. Tony scooted back next to Pepper, and held the baby between them.
“I retire,” Was all Tony could find words for. He meant it this time. He was going to be here for his daughter. Pepper rested her head on his shoulder, and smiled. They both smiled.
“I like Morgan,” Pepper whispered after a few minutes of silence. Tony smiled. That was the name he had wanted. Tony was still to awestruck to really put words into an intelligible string, so he just kissed the top of Pepper’s head.
The door to the room opened, and Tony was on his feet in a second. Standing in front of Pepper and Morgan.
“Wow, calm down! It’s just me!” Sherlock threw his hands up defensively. Tony relaxed.
“Sorry you scared me,” Tony mumbled.
“What the Fuck???” Pepper exclaimed loudly reminding Tony that she had not met Holmes. Tony chuckled, and turned around.
“Oh, right, I have doppelganger from the 1800s,” Tony said gesturing at Sherlock who smiled awkwardly, “Pepper meet Sherlock Holmes.”
Sherlock smiled as Tony introduced him.
“It’s an honor to meet you,” Sherlock nodded at the woman, who gaped at him.
“Bullshit.” Was all she stated, “That's not possible.”
Stark laughed a little. Sherlock didn’t get what was so funny.
“There is no way that is the Sherlock Holmes,” Pepper said skeptically.
“I’m the only one I know of,” Sherlock stated defensively. As it he could possibly be an impersonator.
“Oh,” Pepper said sounding a little mind blown, “Well, then it is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Pleasure is all mine.”
Sherlock was about to say more when Stark fainted. Sherlock managed to catch him before he hit the ground.
“What happened!” Pepper sounded alarmed. Sherlock lowered his friend to the ground and checked his pulse.
"He's still alive," Sherlock said quickly, "I think he just finally burned through all of his adrenaline. He's practically been running on it for the past few days."
Pepper still looked terrified.
Tony woke up in soft hospital bed with an IV fluid cord running into his arm. How had he gotten here? Tony sat up and looked around. There was a bed next to him; Pepper was in it with Morgan who was in proper clothes now. Sherlock was passed out in a chair in the corner along with Harley and Peter.
“How did I get here?” Tony asked Pepper who laughed a little.
“You passed out from a head injury, and it’s a good thing you did, because otherwise we probably wouldn’t have come here, and we wouldn’t have found out about all your broken ribs,” Pepper stated then she added sounding a little guilty, “And your broken hand.”
Tony peaked under the blanket, his abdomen was wrapped in bandages. He hadn't been stabbed since the river, why were there bandages? Pepper must have read his silent questioning look, because she answered his question.
“They did surgery,” Pepper explained, “They also set me and Morgan up quite nicely.”
"Why did they do that?" Tony asked confused, "I've never had surgery for broken ribs before."
"Tony sweety, that's because you haven't ever had consistent wailing on your ribs for weeks at a time before," Pepper explained gently.
"Oh... How many did I break?"
Pepper let out a small cough.
"Ten I think is what they said."
Tony couldn't help but let out a squeak of shock. Pepper laughed a little.
"Lotta ribs hu?"
Tony just nodded.
"They said you got lucky. No internal bleeding," Pepper smiled half heartedly. No internal bleeding was a good thing. The two remained quiet for a few minutes.
"Tony?" Pepper broke the silence, "Did you mean what you said? About retiring... permanently?"
Tony took one look at his daughter sleeping peacefully on his wife's chest. He wasn't going to lose that, and it was all he needed.
"Pepper," He stared into his wife's eyes, "I will never fly another mission as Iron Man."
For the first time ever he meant it.