Tony couldn't remember a time when he'd been this afraid. Not when he was flying a nuclear missile through a portal out of the planet; not when his arc reactor was poisoning him; not even when he'd been informed that it was now his job to run Stark Industries after his father's death.

The only times he'd ever come close to being this afraid had occurred only twice in the past. The first time had been when Obadiah stole his arc reactor for profit and then informed him that he was going to kill Pepper. The second was when he and Rhodey figured out the Hammer Droids were all going to blow, and he knew that Pepper had absolutely no idea.

Both had been times when he had feared that he'd failed to protect the one thing he couldn't live without.

This was another of those times.

"Tony, I'm sorry. I thought I had a handle on it-"

"I don't want to hear it, Banner," he snapped as he paced around anxiously outside the ER. Bruce was lingering by the seats, watching him pace with a guilty expression. He had lost it; he'd hulked out in the middle of Pepper's office and quite literally smashed her. The floor beneath her had collapsed from the force, and she'd landed on one of the cold, metal lab tables below.

Only after the damage was done did he return to his normal state, to discover Tony writhing against his binds in the hall, his eyes wild with fury and panic. When they discovered Pepper's limp, almost lifeless body downstairs, Bruce Banner had to opportunity to see something only two other people had ever seen; Tony Stark cry.

Before Bruce got the chance to gather his thoughts and formulate an apology so they could call an ambulance, Tony had fired up the suit and blasted through the window with Pepper clutched close in his arms, leaving him fumbling for words, alone, in the dark, bloody room.

Now both men were waiting for a doctor to deliver them news on how she was, if she'd be okay… if she would survive. Not many people got attacked by the Hulk and walked away.

"She pepper-sprayed me!" Bruce cried desperately, and Tony whirled on him and threw his hands into the air.

"Because you were going to stab her!"

"This entire thing was your idea!" Bruce snapped in retaliation, and Tony paled at the truth in his words. It was only a joke. She was supposed to get pissed, like she normally did when he played pranks on her, and then maybe she wouldn't talk to him for a few days. But she'd come back; she always did.

She wasn't supposed to get hurt.

"I'm such a fucking idiot," Tony hissed with self-loathing, shaking his head as he pulled at his messy hair for the umpteenth time.

Uncertain of what else to say, Bruce took a seat and watched Tony continue to pace. The man wouldn't stop until he knew Pepper was okay; that was for certain. But a small twinge of worry vibrated through Bruce as a thought occurred to him.

What if Pepper wasn't okay? He hadn't known Tony Stark for very long; roughly about a year; but there was one thing he knew for certain about the billionaire; he couldn't function without Pepper Potts. Not just because she'd been his assistant for so long that she practically tied his shoes for him, and not because she was the CEO of his company, but because he loved her. There was no doubt in Bruce's mind that Pepper was the only person in the world that Tony would literally do anything for, in a heartbeat. He'd probably give up his own life if it meant she'd get better.

When the double doors to the ER swung open, Tony was at the doctor's side inhumanly fast; literally. He'd been so worried when they arrived at the hospital that he hadn't even taken a single second away from thinking about Pepper to remove the iron suit, and the doctor blinked at him in surprise. The only thing that wasn't shiny and unbearably red was Tony's head, for he'd removed the helmet upon arriving.

"How is she?" he asked anxiously, and the doctor took a breath before speaking.

"Miss Potts is stable. There were a fair amount of blood transfusions necessary, and the amount of broken bones was startling. Luckily there was no spinal damage," the doctor, a small, balding man who was likely in his late forties, said.

Had he not been clothed in a heavy suit of metal, Tony would have sagged in relief. "I need to see her," he stated, glancing over the doctor's shoulder at the hallway behind him.

"Mr. Stark," the doctor attempted to say in a calm tone. "She needs her rest. I think it would be best if you just went home for the night-"

"Like hell!" Tony snapped, and Bruce leapt up from his seat when he pointed his repulsor beam at the doctor. "Let me see her!"

"Tony!" Bruce snapped, grabbing his arm and shaking his head. "What would Pepper say if she saw you doing that?"

Slowly, reluctantly, Tony lowered his hand, but his eyes were still narrowed. Before either of the men beside him could blink, he had shot down the hallway, papers flying everywhere as he flew himself down the hallways in search of the redhead he so desperately needed to see.

The doctor nearly had to have had a heart attack when Iron Man flew himself past him, and Bruce had to reach over to steady the fumbling man, shaking his head.

"Damn it, Tony…"

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When he finally found her room, Tony's heart squeezed at the sight of her. Shutting the door and bending the metal frame easily so no one could come barging in, he approached her bedside and hesitantly sat down and examined the state she was in.

The amount of wires and tubes connected to his girl were terrifying. The only thing keeping him sane was the faint beeping that signaled her heart was still beating. She had oxygen tubes in her nose, wires from the monitor attached to her chest beneath the tacky blue hospital gown, and two IVs connected to her arms. One was feeding blood into her system, the other keeping her hydrated.

She was also pretty banged up. Her skin, normally flawless and creamy, was scratched and bruised, bandaged and casted. He hated even thinking about how much pain she had to be in. Reaching over, he took her dainty hand in his between cool metal fingers, bringing it to his lips and kissing each knuckle tenderly.

"I'm so sorry, Pep," he whispered, his voice shaking slightly as tears flooded his eyes. "This was my fault…"

She didn't wake when he spoke, and he watched her sleeping face with desperation. He needed her to open her eyes. He needed to see those scolding, twinkling blue hues again… Even if she hated him for the stupid prank, he needed her to wake up…

"It was such a stupid idea…" he stated, continuing to speak to her on the off-chance that she could hear him. "You weren't ever supposed to actually get hurt."

Leaning forward, he pressed a feather-light kiss to her forehead, grazing his metallic fingertips down her cheek. "You've got to wake up, Potts…" he said quietly, squeezing his eyes shut to fight back the tears, losing the battle as one dripped down onto her cheek. "You've got to wake up so you can kick my ass with your pointy shoes for being such a moron…"

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Everything hurt. Her head, her back, her limbs; it felt like she'd been crushed in the middle of a bus collision. She couldn't remember much… She knew that she'd been working late when she'd received a phone call from some crazy bastard… He was going to kill her, and he did kill Tony… Oh, not Tony…

Tony Stark was dead. She'd watched, useless, from her office door as his insides got slashed. Then the killer had come to get her… and everything after that was blank.

Was she dead? If so, the afterlife wasn't at all what she'd expected, nor what she'd hoped for. There was no light, no angels, no Tony… just inky blackness. But it wasn't completely silent. She could hear a quiet, muffled beeping, along with a voice that was slowly becoming clearer as she regained consciousness.

"…pointy shoes… moron…"

"Tony…?" she whispered, her voice coming out rough and broken as she attempted to force her eyes open. There was a slight jolt beside her as though someone had just leapt up, and she could feel lips pressing to her face repeatedly, not sparing a single inch of skin.

"Pep… oh, thank God…"

Finally managing to get her blue eyes open, she gazed weakly up at him, tears pouring from her eyes. She'd been so sure he was dead… Yet here he was, sitting beside her on a hospital bed, clad in one of his Iron Man suits as he quite literally covered her in kisses.

"You're alive…?" she asked shakily, and he nodded as he brushed his cool, metal thumb over her cheek to collect her falling tears.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine…" he assured her with a nod, unable to believe she was asking about him at the moment. She was the one who was attacked by a Hulk… "How do you feel?"

"I've been better…" she said shakily, still unable to grasp that he was really here. She'd seen him get stabbed. She'd watched him die, yet here he was, right as rain… "How…?"

Shaking his head, he leaned over her and pressed a kiss to her lips, wanting nothing more than to forget this night ever happened. He should have just stayed at the Miami mansion and handed out candy like she'd asked him to…

Pulling back slowly, he gazed down at her for some sort of reaction, only earning the same horribly confused expression.

"How are you alive?" she choked out, shaking her head. Her tears were starting again, and guilt ate away at Tony's insides. This was his fault…

"Banner got a lid on it before he could come at me, too," he said, wishing that Bruce had gone at him instead. He was the one who deserved to be laid up in that bed, not Pepper…

"Bruce?" she said shakily with confusion, clutching the blankets beneath her. "What do you mean…? Why was Bruce there? Tony, I watched you… watched you die…!"

His head snapped up when the steady beeping of the monitor began to increase, and he shook his head at her, cupping her cheek. "Pep, calm down. You need rest…"

"You were dead, Tony!" she sobbed, shaking her head as she came apart. "There was blood, and a knife…! Some crazy asshole killed you!"

Tony froze at her words, slowly meeting her eyes. "Pepper… what's the last thing you remember?"

"The killer," she whimpered, reaching up to clasp the hand that was on her cheek. "He was coming at me down the hall… then there's nothing…"

No wonder she hasn't gotten out of bed to kick my ass yet, Tony thought, his eyes slowly widening. She has no idea about the prank.

The question was… should he tell her, and risk her hating him forever? Or… keep it a secret?