Under the Weather

"This is it. It's the end. So long, Tony."

Pepper never looked up from her reading. "Are you talking to me?"

"All these years…all the fights, all the enemies, all the battles…this is how it ends."

"How what ends?" she said, turning the page.

"Me. If you want to see me one last time, you better come now. I'm fading fast."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm dying, that's what."

Pepper closed her book and laid it beside her on the bed. She walked to the bathroom and stopped at the door. Her husband sat in the floor beside the toilet, eyes closed and his head leaned against the wall. "You are not dying," she said, placing her hands on her hips.

"I might be."

"Trust me, you're not. However, if you wake A.J., I may kill you."

"A.J….my firstborn son. Don't let him forget me or call your new husband 'daddy.'"

"You think I'm doing this again if anything ever happens to you?"

"You're too good me, Pepper."

"Probably, now get out of the floor."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can."

"Help me?" Tony said in his most helpless, pitiful voice while giving her the full-blown puppy dog eyes.

Pepper shook her head and sighed. She walked over and offered her hand. Tony took it and she helped him to his feet. She closed the toilet lid and guided him to sit. His hands did feel hot. A quick touch of his forehead with her wrist confirmed her suspicions of a fever. She walked to the sink and wet a rag in cold water.

"Thanks." Tony accepted the rag and held it to his forehead. "I have never vomited this much when I hadn't been drunk the night before."

"There's in the plane before the jump over the Expo," she reminded. She smiled at the daggers he tried to shoot her. "It's just a stomach bug you've picked up somewhere."

"Where?"

"I don't know. Maybe A.J. brought it home from preschool." Pepper took the rag from him and wiped his cheeks.

"I think it's something more than that."

"Like what?"

"I'm pregnant…and it's your fault." Pepper gave him a playful shove before taking the rag and walking toward the sink. "What?" he called after her. "Nausea and vomiting are common symptoms of pregnancy."

"They're also symptoms of strep throat."

"Oh god. Do you think I have that, too?"

"I hope not. It wouldn't be good for the baby." Pepper came back and stood in front of him. Tony rested his head against her middle and she stroked his hair. "It's just one of those twenty-four hour viruses. By tomorrow night, you will probably be fit as a fiddle."

"And until I am..."

"Until you are, I will take care of you." Tony sighed like a contented child. "I'm going back to bed."

His head shot up. "What about me?"

"You will join me as soon as you do this." Pepper held out his toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste.

"Then we can snuggle?"

"Yes," Pepper answered with a chuckle. She pressed the items into his hand. "I will be waiting."

Pepper left her husband to his dental hygiene and returned to her book. She was about five pages in when Tony came tottering out of the bathroom. He flopped on the bed beside her and laid his head in her lap. "Feel better?"

"Not really. Whatcha reading?" he asked, trying to worm his head into the space between her belly and her book.

"A book," she said, trying to remember he was sick and not be annoyed.

"Which one?"

"Restoration."

"Oh." He was quiet for a minute. "What's it about?"

"A man who lived in seventeenth-century England," Pepper answered, trying to make it sound as boring as possible so he would allow her to read in peace.

"What does he do?"

"He was a doctor."

"Is it interesting?"

"So far."

Tony toyed with the hem of her t-shirt. "More interesting than, say, cuddling with your sick husband?"

Pepper lifted her book and, once again, saw Tony staring up at her with sad, brown eyes. She blew out a long breath. "No." She closed the book and laid it on the nightstand. Tony raised his head, preparing for a goodnight kiss. Pepper obliged by kissing his forehead.

"That's all I get?" he whined.

"Yep."

"Why?"

"For one, you were just tossing your cookies not 20 minutes ago."

"That was then. Now, I'm all minty fresh."

"Plus, I don't want to catch whatever you've got."

"So that's how it is. I hold your hair while you were kneeling before the porcelain throne when you were carrying A.J., but I can't get a goodnight kiss."

"I can always go back to my reading..."

"No," he quickly recanted. "On the cheek is good." Pepper smiled and turned out the bedside lamp before lying down. Tony curled himself against her, pillowing his head on her breasts. "You know...if I didn't feel like crap, this would be a huge turn-on."

She laughed and pressed her lips into his hair. "I'm sorry you're sick." She placed her hand on his stomach and rubbed gently.

"Me, too."

"You'll feel better soon, though."

"Will you keep doing that until I am?" Tony purred, completely enjoying her touch.

"At least until you go to sleep."

"Works for me." Tony mumbled into her shirt.

Pepper felt him wriggle around, settling in and making himself comfortable. It wasn't long before his breathing evened out and he was snoring softly. She kept up her ministrations, stroking his ailing belly until sleep claimed her, also.

Tony awoke the next morning face down in the mattress. He'd slept so soundly, it took him a minute to get his bearings. He sat up in bed and rubbed his face. It took the sound of retching from the bathroom before he fully realized he was in bed alone. That would explain where his wife was. "See...you should have kissed me last night anyway," he called. Tony felt a pang of guilt. She'd spent the night before taking care of him and now she was sick. More time passed and he began to get worried. Tossing back the covers, Tony padded toward the bathroom. "Pep? You still in here?" He knocked lightly on the door. It wasn't closed all the way and opened slightly. "Hey, are you okay?" Pushing it wider, he stepped inside. Pepper was standing with her back to him. "Are you alright?"

"I will be," she said.

"I heard you in here. You can blame me all you want."

"Oh, I plan on it."

"You do?"

Pepper turned to face him. Instead of looking angry or upset, she was smiling. She held out the pink and white stick she had in her hand. Tony accepted it. Looking past her, he saw two others just like it laying on the sink. "Yes," she explained, "because I'm pregnant and it's your fault."

Author's note: With all the negative stuff and frustration lately, I figured we could use some Pepperony fluff. Ages ago, I saw a prompt on Tumblr to use the line "I'm pregnant and it's your fault." In my mind, I always heard Tony saying it, so, eventually, it turned into this. Chapter 2 will be up soon, if you're interested in Chapter 2. Thanks to my BFF and to nancyozz for their help, input, and encouragement. Anyone want to guess about Baby Stark #2? (Except nancyozz and starkind, because, well, you already know. LOL) Let me know what you think, please. You guys are great! I hope you like it. Reviews are wanted and welcomed. I look forward to hearing from you. :) Happy reading. PEPPERONY FOREVER!