Chapter 31

"You ready for this?" Stark asked, standing in front of the court room.

I let out a shaky breath, fixing the suit that had been thrown at me this morning, and nodded, "Yea… Let's do this".

He gave me a small, reassuring smile, before putting on his Million-dollar-For-the-press-Stereotypical-Stark grin, and stepping forward, throwing open the doors.

"All rise".

We all stood up as the judge walked into the room, taking his seat at the top of the room.

He glanced over us, eyes finally resting on me and my battered and bruised body, his frown betraying his worry.

Glancing down at the sheet of paper in front of him, his eyes widened dramatically as he saw who he was dealing with.

He slowly read out the first line, "The case now in procession, Anthony Edward Stark versus the British Secret Intelligence Service, Sector Six".

"Based on the previous information, and everything that I have heard today, it leaves no doubt in my mind who the guilty person in this room is" The Judge concluded, "Tulip Primrose Jones, Head of Special Operations at MI6, I hereby sentence you to life in prison for Child Labour, Illegal Unpaid Employment, and Child Abuse of the highest form. As for Alexander Jonathan Rider, the British Government shall grant you full compensation for all that you've done. Anthony Stark… Congratulations. You've just got yourself a son".

"STARK!"

I winced at the yell, and we both turned around only to find Mrs Jones storming towards us, two court guards running after her.

"This is illegal, you can't take my agent away from me!" She shouted, her expression furious.

"Yea, well, I just did" Tony replied, "And if you have any further complaints... Talk to my lawyers"

"… Do you think I could have stopped it?"

Tony glanced down at me, and then at the grave I was sitting next to, "… No, Alex, I don't".

I reread the writing on the headstone again.

Here lies Benjamin David Daniels.

A patriot to the end.

May he rest in peace.

"You can't blame yourself for what happened, Alex" Stark said gently, "You couldn't have prevented this, no matter what you think".

"I know" I finally replied, "I just… I wish he was still here, you know?"

"I know" He said, his hand coming to rest lightly on my shoulder, "I know".

"So… What now?" I asked, slowly closing the door behind me.

He shrugged, "Who knows? I guess you can go back to school if you want. Go to college. Get a degree. Have a normal life".

I stared at him, "… You're really serious about this, aren't you?"

He frowned, "Serious? About what?"

"About this" I repeated, "About being my guardian, about being my… my father… You're really going to try your best, aren't you?"

"As opposed to what? My worst?" He shot back, before slowly shaking his head, "I know I may not be the best role model, Alex, but I can guarantee you that I'll try my hardest to make this work… I didn't have the best childhood myself, you know. I mean, I was used by my government, not directly anyway, but… But there were other things. Other things that you and I have in common… But I'll be damned if I'm the cause of pain in your childhood. Or what's left of it anyway… We'll make this work. Somehow. I promise".

I gave a wry smile, "You shouldn't, you know. Make promises around me. Not many people I know ever kept them".

He stared at me, "… Then let's make a new start, shall we? Put both of our childhoods behind us. Start something new. Something better… I mean, after all, we do have the team to guide us".

"Yea, and I'm sure Pepper won't hesitate to put you back in line".

He mock glared at me, "And why do you automatically believe that I'M the one who's going to mess up?"

"Because, Mr Stark" I explained, grinning for the first time in what felt like years, "I don't make mistakes… I was simply Brought Up That Way".

So... Uh... Yea... The End.

I'm not the happiest with the ending, but I think it worked out for the best.

So, thank you for bearing with me this past few years, and don't worry, cause I'll be posting a new story soon!

(ANY SUGGESTIONS AS TO WHAT YOU WANT ME TO WRITE?)

Until next time,

Rachel :)