Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors, and her story line belongs to me.

~0~ = little break

*Warning: Long AN at the bottom!*

Tony requested to be dropped off at the Arc Reactor building, he told me he knew Obadiah would be upset with what he's done so, at least they'd be somewhere private to discuss the matter. I, on the other hand, requested to go back to the house and just meet him there, bringing Pepper along with me.

The drive back to the house was short and quiet. Pepper was busy dealing with the press because of Tony's surprise announcement. Once we arrived, I told Pepper to go ahead inside, needing to make a quick call. I dialed Nick's personal cell, it only made it to two rings before he answered me.

"I take it you heard," was the first thing he said.

"You bet I did. What the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked him angrily.

"Clara, don't you want to know how he escaped? We've got people saying they saw a flying object crash a few miles out from the camp."

"I don't care, Tony is under my protection, therefore, you can't approach him without my authorization. SHIELD can't approach him until I tell him what my job really entails, alright," I told him firmly.

I heard him scoff at the other end making me raise an eyebrow.

"SHIELD," I heard him mutter.

"What? It beats saying Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enfor-"

"Alright, I get it. I just want people to know who we are," Nick defended making me laugh.

"And Nick, tell Phil to do a more thorough search on Obadiah."

"Will do, bye."

I hung up the phone and went inside the house straight to Tony's workshop.

"JARVIS, has Tony sent you anything related to his new body part?" I asked the AI as soon as I got into the shop.

"Mr. Stark has privately sent something to me after he got his check up before he arrived. He has requested that I put it in his private files," JARVIS informed me.

"Pull up the files, make up a list of all the components needed," I ordered JARVIS.

"Ms. Clara, I'm afraid you don't have the power to do that."

"JARVIS, do it, override it under my authority, 'Connors, Clarissa M.' ."

"Override passcode accepted."

A list appeared before me, checking it out.

"Order everything on the list but do it secretly," I said to JARVIS.

"Of course Ms."

Not even a few minutes later, JARVIS informed me of Tony's arrival. I heard him enter his code to the shop as he entered.

"How'd your talk go?" I asked him as soon as he was in my line of sight.

Tony was playing around with a hologram as he answered me.

"Obie has the worst poker face ever, Rhodey probably told him about it."

I nodded, but my mind was thinking about how wrong that was. Rhodey wouldn't tell Obadiah about Tony's predicament, not after I told them not to.

"And?" I baited, "What did he say about it?"

Tony shrugged, "Nothing much, he said he has to talk it over with the board and that I should probably lay low for the time being."

"He's probably right," I said, surprising him, "The press would eat you alive if this got out."

He walked around the shop and noticed the loading list on the side, he gave me a questioning look.

"I took the liberty of ordering the necessary parts that you'd need for the reactor. It should be here tomorrow, but I'm sure you can get started on it right now."

"Should I ask how you got access to that top secret file?" Tony questioned playfully.

I smirked, "Some things are meant to stay a secret."

~0~

The next day, I was down in the workshop with Tony who was attaching leads on his body that was hooked up to a monitor that would show his vitals. The parts for the arc reactor came in earlier than I expected so Tony and I stayed up all night building a new and better one. I walked towards the monitor, eyeing his vitals carefully. I watched as he laid down on the chair and carefully picked up the new arc reactor.

"And this one will pull the shrapnel away from your heart more efficiently right?" I asked him, eyeing the brand new reactor he was holding.

Tony lifted it up and inspected it, "That's the plan, this one-" he tapped the one in his chest "-can be considered an antique now."

I looked at the monitor again and saw that his heart rate was really fast.

"Sweetheart, are you okay? Your heart rate has more waves than the ocean."

He looked over at the monitor and saw what I was talking about, "Huh, oh there's an exposed wire and it's touching the socket wall and causing a bit of a short."

My eyes widened a bit at his nonchalant tone.

"It's totally fine, but show me your hands."

I gave him a questioning look but lifted up my hands to show them.

"Damn, they're too big," I heard him mutter under his breath.

"Excuse me?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing personal Rissa. JARVIS call Pepper upstairs."

I watched on the other monitor when Pepper picked up the intercom.

"Pepper, how big are your hands?" Tony asked, getting right to the point.

"What?"

"How big are your hands?" Tony repeated himself.

"You know, saying it twice won't make it any clearer for her, right?" I commented.

Tony just gave me a look.

"Clara's right Tony, I don't understand why-"

"Just get down here. I need you," with that, Tony ended the call.

A few moments later, we saw Pepper coming down the stairs and into the workshop, her eyes focused on Tony lying down on the chair with the arc reactor in his hands. She sent me a look which I replied with a shrug.

"Hey, let's see them. Show me your hands," Tony said once she was in the shop.

Pepper did as she was told and held up her hands for Tony to see.

"Oh, wow. They are small, very petite, indeed," He commented making me roll my eyes.

"Sorry Pep, we just need your help for a sec," I told her with a sheepish smile.

Her eyes moved from me to Tony.

"Oh, my God, is that the thing that's keeping you alive?" She asked, slowly making her way next to Tony.

"It was, it is now an antique," He held up the new reactor, a bright blue light emitting from it and showed it to her.

"This is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future," Tony explained to Pepper who looked like she was having a hard time wrapping her head around the entire situation.

"Tony's trying to upgrade his old one for the new one but, he ran into a little speed bump," I told Pepper, putting my index finger and thumb together to show how little the problem was.

"Speed bump, wh-what does that mean?" She looked between Tony and me, a bit frantic.

"It's nothing major," I blurt out, trying to calm her.

"Yeah, it's just a little snag. There's an exposed wire underneath the device that's contacting the socket wall, causing a bit of a short, it's fine."

I bit my lip as I watched Tony turn the reactor in his chest and practically yanked it out of himself. Pepper was eyeing Butterfingers (a machine Tony built) who was hovering above Tony with suction. Pepper jumped when she heard the wire detach from Tony's chest. He took the old reactor and passed it to Pepper who was now panicking.

"Well, wh-what do you want me to do?" She asked as she took the reactor from him.

"Just put that on the table over there, that is irrelevant," He told Pepper.

I noticed his breathing got a lot heavier when he took out the reactor. I placed my hand on his arm, the touch made him turn towards me.

"How are you feeling? Are you good?" I asked, concern lacing my words.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Tony tried to assure me.

Pepper turned back to Tony after placing the old reactor on the table, "Now what?"

"Now, I want you to reach in, and you're just gonna gently lift the wire out," Tony instructed her.

Pepper looked into his chest then looked at me before finally looking at Tony, "Is it... safe?"

"Yeah, it should be fine," Tony assured her, "It's like Operation, you just don't let it touch the socket wall or it goes 'beep!'"

"That's the simile you're going with?" I asked, a bit amused.

"What's 'Opera-' what do you mean, "Operation"? Pepper asked the two of us, clearly not knowing what the game was.

"It's just a game, never mind," Tony told her, waving it off when she didn't understand.

"Just gently lift the wire, okay? Great."

Tony sat straight and waited for Pepper to do as she was asked. I held my breath and waited for her to put her hand in his chest. She was just about to put her hand in before she took a sharp intake of breath.

"You know, I don't think that I'm qualified to do this," Pepper began rambling.

"No, you're fine," Tony tried to tell her but she kept talking.

"I'm not good with this sort of things. Clara's right there, I'm sure she's more than qualified to be doing this!"

"Pepper!" I exclaimed.

"I can't do it because my hands are too big," I explained to her.

"Besides," Tony cut in, "You are the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I've ever met, next to Rissa of course. You're gonna do great."

Pepper looked at Tony and her expression turned from a frantic one to a calmer one. Her eyes softened at the words Tony said to her. My face had its own smile on it, ecstatic that my baby boy has someone else like that in his life besides me. I glanced at Pepper to give her an encouraging smile. She took a few calming breaths.

"Is it too much of a problem to ask? Because I'm..." Tony gestured to his position at the moment.

"Okay okay!" Pepper agreed and she reached into his chest.

A disgusted look crossed her face before she exclaimed that there was pus in Tony's chest.

"That's probably not pus. It's most likely an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device," I reassured her.

"Yeah, what Rissa said, it's not from my body," Tony convinced Pepper.

"Ugh, it smells!" Pepper cried, trying her best not to smell it and to not look in the hole.

Tony smirked, "Yeah it does."

I wrinkled my nose as the smell got to me.

"The copper wire," Tony reminded her, "The copper wire, you got it?"

"Okay, I got it! I got it!"

"Okay, you got it. Now don't let it touch the sides- ah!" Tony jolted, making me jump as well, "When you're coming out!"

A loud beep and a flash of red came from the monitor, alerting me that the wire touched the socket wall.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Pepper muttered.

"Th-that's what I was trying to tell you before!" Tony exclaimed, still convulsing a bit because of the shock.

I tried to comfort him by rubbing my hand up his arm.

Pepper pulled out a long, copper wire string covered in slime from Tony's chest.

"Okay, now make sure when you pull it out, you don't-"

Before Tony could even finish what he was saying, Pepper gripped the wire and gave it a hard pull.

"Pull out the magnet at the end of it!" Tony blurted out really fast, "That was it, you just pulled the..."

"Oh, my God. What do we do? Should I put it back?" Pepper asked me, her hand hovering over the hole.

"No! No, don't. Just put it on the table," I told her as calmly as I could.

I could see on the monitor that Tony's heart rate accelerated and that he was in cardiac arrest. I think Pepper noticed Tony's shortness of breath because she asked him what was wrong.

"Nothing, I'm just going into cardiac arrest because you yanked it out like a trout... Never mind just take this."

Tony gave Pepper the new reactor to stop her from yelling out how she thought it was safe for her to do that. I grasped Tony's arm tightly, still looking at his vitals.

"Should I start CPR?" I asked him worriedly.

"No, it's fine we just have to hurry," He told me before looking back to Pepper, "You gotta switch it out real quick."

"Okay, Tony. It's going to be okay," Pepper assured Tony, making me more antsy seeing as we're wasting time.

"I'm gonna make this okay."

"Let's hope," Tony replied.

"Pepper! Can we please hurry it up!" I blurt out, my anxiousness getting the better of me.

Pepper winced, "Right, sorry."

"Okay, you're gonna attach this to the base plate," Tony pointed to the wire at the end of the new arc reactor before she placed it down the hole and connected it. There was a small zap and Tony shouted from the shock before laughing. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding before leaning down and resting my head onto his arm.

"Was that so hard? That was fun right?" He asked Pepper sarcastically.

I lifted my head to watch him turn the reactor in his chest.

"Nice," Tony commented.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, his vitals looked stable as of now.

"Yeah, I feel great," He told me.

I looked at Pepper to ask her the same thing. I knew that this experience would probably traumatize her.

Pepper looked at me with wide eyes, her hands just in the air, coated with the plasma. She swallowed before nodding.

"Don't ever, ever, ever, ever ask me to do anything like that ever again," She told him, making me chuckle a bit.

"I don't have anyone but you," He confided to her quietly.

I wasn't offended, I knew what he meant by that and it just made me smile even more.

"Anyway..." Tony stood up from the chair.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Pepper asked, holding up the old arc reactor.

"That? Destroy it. Incinerate it."

There was a bit of edge and bitterness in his words that made me wonder what happened to him when he was gone.

"You don't want to keep it?" Questioned Pepper.

"Pepper, I've been called many things. 'Nostalgic' is not one of them."

I noticed the change in his attitude and so did Pepper.

"Will that be all Mr. Stark?"

"That will be all, Miss Potts."

Pepper started to walk away, the old reactor in her hands. I walked over to her and whispered, "Keep it, just in case."

She looked at me questioningly but nodded before she made her way back upstairs.

"Hey, Butterfingers, come here," I heard Tony call out.

"What's all this stuff doing on top of my desk? That's my phone, that's a picture of me and my dad and one of me and Rissa," He was pointing out things to the machine before kicking a garbage can to the side of the desk.

I walked over to him to see what he was trying to do.

"Right there," Tony pointed to the garbage, "In the garbage, all of it except for the picture of me and Rissa."

I frowned when he told Butterfingers to throw away a picture of him and Howard.

"Tony, don't throw it out," I voiced my thoughts.

I reached in to grab the picture of a young Tony and Howard, dusting it lightly before setting it back on the desk.

"I have hundreds of pictures with dad all thanks to you, so what's one down the trash?" He asked me, putting on a muscle tee on.

I glanced down at the photo again, smiling softly as nostalgia hit me.

"This one is one of my favorites so you can't throw it out," I told him.

Tony muttered a whatever under his breath.

"So are you gonna start your project soon?"

Tony shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe. I'm going down to the base to see Rhodey, try to get him into the loop and ask him to join me in this project."

"Are you still gonna make me one?" I asked him, smirking.

"Yes Rissa, I will make you your own suit," He said dejectedly, obviously not liking the idea of me in a suit, thinking it would be too dangerous, if only he knew.

"Alright, I'll be back tonight. I have to fly into New York tonight to update my people, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon most likely," I informed him.

"Do you need the jet?"

"No it's fine," I said, thinking about how taking a quinjet would be faster.

Tony gave me a peck on the cheek before bidding me goodbye and to have a safe flight.

~0~

Maria got a quinjet for me in under 20 minutes, the flight to New York lasting just as long. I headed to Nick's office. I opened the door and was thankful that he already called down Phil to be there.

"Tony's fine. The arc reactor in his chest is pulling the shrapnel away from his heart. It's the best option right now to keep him alive without having to undergo any surgeries," I informed the two, getting right to the point.

"Are you gonna stay there with him?" Nick asked me.

"Yeah, he's starting on this project that I want to keep an eye out on. It's better if I stay there with him that putting a tail on him all times."

I turned to Phil, "Did Pepper set up an appointment with you?"

"She said she would, but I have a feeling I'm going to have to barge in Stark Industries to get that meeting."

The corner of Phil's mouth turned up making me chuckle quietly.

"You probably would have to, and I'll only let you debrief Tony if I'm present during the meeting" I told him sternly, still not liking the idea of SHIELD approaching Tony.

I walked to the window of Nick's office, the one looking over the New York City skyline.

"Nick, I want you to do another thorough background check on Obadiah Stane, and this time, put a tail on him. I want to know his every move. Something about him doesn't feel right to me."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nick nod his head.

"Is that all?"

I shook my head and turned to face the two.

"I want you to compile all the physical files we have on Captain Steve Rogers and give them to me."

Phil and Nick shared a look. The seriousness and the hint of sadness in my voice left no room for arguments.

"Um, alright, but can I ask why?" Nick questioned.

I was already walking towards the door when he spoke. I paused by the door frame and looked back at them.

"I'm just feeling a bit nostalgic," I said quietly, and with that, I left with a nod.

AN: I am so so so so sorry! I've been MIA for like 3 months now because school sucks so much. I never have time to write anymore, but thankfully it's now winter break! I'm hoping that I can get maybe 1-2 more chapters in after this one, but I make no promises! I know I've been updating my other FF but that's only because I've had a chapter in my drafts for so long and it only needs to be edited. This chapter was literally written like 5 minutes ago which maybe explains why it's so short. I'm sorry for any grammar and spelling error! I just really wanted to post a chapter because I feel so so bad! Anyways, Tony is about to start building the suit and Clara's there to help! Yay! More Tony/Clara bonding time! I'm sorry for the sucky chapter, but I hope you can still leave a review and maybe check out my other Stev/OC FF called Family Ties! Thanks so much and have a Merry Christmas! -E