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8 am, an awful hour on any day, much less a Thursday morning in the middle of a week as quiet as it can be without Pepper around to keep things organized and moving. The phone rings in Tony's condo, the private line that almost no one knows except for maybe ex-girlfriends. If it's not picked up, the caller will hang up and retry. If *that* doesn't work, then the caller will try the office phone. But she figured he'd be home first.
*
Something does pick up, however…but it's not Tony. It's Tony's voice still as he's not yet worked out a voice for JARVIS, and it says 'This is Tony. I'm not in. Leave a message.' There's a pause before he then says 'Now.' and something seems to click over as if recording. Maybe? It's better than having to deal with a phone service and it's just another one of the jobs he's trying to automate. His poor condo gets the brunt of all of the experiments.
The phone at the office has the answering service who will state that Stark hasn't come in yet.
*
The fourth try, when Pepper gets that voice, she sighs quietly. Her voice is definitely *hers*, it's just a bit tired. Distant in a way. Unfocused in a manner that is definitely not Pepper's normally forward, stern tones of a professional working woman. "…Tony, it's Pepper. Just… just wanted to call and let you know I'm alright. Well, in the hospital, but alright. Hopefully out in a day or two. I'm… sorry. Just thought you should know." The line continues another breath or two, as if she's trying to find other words, but she fails and hangs up instead.
*
It's after the fourth call and right before Pepper hangs up that there is a *click* of someone picking up another receiver, "Pepper?" Not a recording this time…although tape has definitely been used to record the hangups. Hooray for the new compact cassette tape that can just be overwritten! "Dammit…" she didn't say which hospital! He's at one of the phones…the one connected to his new Answering Service, and trying to will it, "Call again…call again…call again…"
*
Does Pepper know Tony too well? Or maybe she's just tired of staring at the ceiling, alone, and Jack certainly doesn't have a telephone in his little apartment. Or maybe his willing the universe worked. Either way, it's a few minutes, but the phone does ring one last time. She could have sworn she heard something right before she hung up, but maybe it was her drug addled mind. She had to try. She rings again.
*
The phone picks up almost before it stops ringing, "Pepper? Hello?" If it's someone else, they are totally getting hung up on just in case Pepper -is- trying to call back! Worse comes to worse he might be able to trace the call back, but that takes time and Tony Stark is, as many know, quite impatient at times.
*
"…Hey…'sme…" Pepper's voice comes, a hint breathy with relief or exhaustion. Probably both. But it's definitely her clear, tired tones even if the drugs are making her a bit more spacy than she prefers. She's trying to fight through it, to focus on his voice. "Sorry. Just…wanted to…let you know… Sorry I disappeared… hope you got the…the note." There we things she wanted to say, so many things. If she could just remember them now.
*
"Pepper, where are you? Which hospital? I'll be right there, just tell me which Hospital." He doesn't even need to know which room…he'll find her. Forget work…they can get along without him for a day or so. Tony's basically moving from phone to phone as he rushes to get some clothes on so that he can get out of the condo as soon as humanly possible.
*
That makes her blink, the surprise driving her quiet for a few moments as she tries to actually remember which hospital she's in. "Uh…I don't even… I don't know where they brought me…" Pepper confesses, apparently not having been conscious when she was brought it. It's a few moments of quiet as she flickers eyes around the room, looking for anything. "Oh… Metro-General… on the third floor, I think. A few floors up. But… you hate hospitals. I'm fine. You…you don't need to come…."
*
"Just hold tight, ok? I'll be there as soon as I can." Tony actually looks to the Iron Man briefcase and seemingly considers flying over…but that might be too much of a spectacle. "Metro-General…third floor. Got it." he's not going to deny hating hospitals, but he's not going to just sit around while Pepper is in one! "Don't…move…" is said before he hangs up the one phone and might actually remember to hang up the others before grabbing his wallet and running out of the Condo. He's going to be taking one of his own cars, in this case, the Alfa Romeo for its speed. If he remembers, he'll grab some flowers from a street vendor on the way.
*
A faint laugh comes as he tells her not to move, "No promises…" She teases lightly. But then the phone is hung up and Pepper has not but to wait. He'll find an obstacle course of nurses, stern faces, secretarys and some security to get past to get to her, but the fact that he's actually pretty damn well known seems to work in his favour. A little sweet talking, and the nurse on the third floor does actually direct him to 316 with a warning of: "Not *long*, Mr. Stark. She needs to rest, she lost a lot of blood." And one of those school marm nurse glares, but he's given permission to go.
When he gets into the room, Pepper at least has a private one. There aren't too many monitors hooked to her, but there is an IV and she looks a shade more ashen than the white sheets of her bed. Her face is scraped up, but those are small marks. Heavy bandaging can be seen both on her neck and her right shoulder, the right arm in a sling across her body, but not a cast, so it must not be that bad. Her lips are the same shade as her skin and with all her red hair it looks almost ghostly. There is something about hospital beds that make everyone look *smaller*, more frail. Pepper is no different. Her eyes are closed for the moment, possibly having drifted off while she waited.
*
Tony handed off the flowers to one of the nurses to put in a vase before he steps into the room. Pepper is looked at for a moment; he takes in everything that she's hooked up to and what she looks like, before he goes to sit in the chair in the room. A magazine is taken up, but he doesn't really read it — instead, he just seems to be making sure that she's still breathing as she sleeps.
*
It's about another half an hour that something in the back of Pepper's mind, generally so sharp and aware, pricks through the haze of drugs to tell her something is different in the room. She's not alone. A few heartbeats later she begins to stir, her head rolling a bit to the side, tasting dry lips and hospital air. That's enough for an unpleasant wake up. But blue eyes soon enough flutter open, staring almost directly at Tony. She could hear his breath. She knew his cologne. He was there. A smile comes a moment later, genuine and without hesitation, drugged but happy to see him.
*
Tony may have nodded off himself within that half-hour, but as Pepper begins to stir, his eyes pop open and he gives a little jerk in the chair. Right. Hospital. Pepper. Maybe he catches her gaze, maybe not, but he then quickly looks back to the magazine as if he wasn't sleeping at all. Nope. Not him. He's been awake this whole time.
*
Pep might be drugged, but she's not so out of it as to miss those anctics. A slight chuckle escapes her lips, still smiling, as she drowsily watches his handsome features bent over the magazine. "…Mornin', boss… I don't think I…I'm gonna make it in today." Pepper murmurs, half joking and half apologetic. She really does feel bad for leaving the office. She carefully tries to move now, left hand shifting, trying to put it beneath her so she can gently push herself up into half sitting. It hurts, but she can manage.
*
"Don't you dare move," Tony insists, pulling the chair closer to the bed. "I guess you can take a sick day or…a month," he points out, looking her over. "You look terrible! What happened! I got your note and wasn't even sure where to start looking for you…" although it doesn't seem like Jack went either so there's that. He reaches out a hand then to place on her's to stop her from sitting up, of course.
*
A little breath is given as he insists she not move, but really her body and monitors aren't giving her much of a choice either. She gets propped up a bit more, so she can see him better, and that's it. She settles against pillow then and just takes a breath. That shouldn't be as exhausting as it is. "…No, no…not a month. Back by Monday, at least. They said I should be able to get out tomorrow, as long as everything looks alright. It… it's just a lot of… well, bites, mainly. It's not so bad." Pepper murmurs, really trying to convince them both. "…I tried to stake him. It… it didn't work." That's the short answer.
*
"Bites? What bit you? Did Dracula bite you?" And is it really the real Dracula? Granted, he did come across a Doppleganger demon who imitated him, so who knows? "And even if you're home, you're not coming back to work yet. You're as pale as a ghost and I will not have my employees fainting at their desks." That last bit might be a little teasing. "You're going to stay here until they say you can leave."
*
"I…don't think I have much of a choice in staying here until they say. I'd be lucky to fight the door open, much less get down the hall. It'll get better… takes a few days to get the blood back, they said." See? She was paying attention. Pepper listened to everything the nurses have said, even as her brain wanted to drift to sleep, she fought it. She smirks about the fainting comment, "I won't faint. I promise." Her hand turns a bit, beneath his touch, so she can grasp his hand gently with icy fingertips. "…not Dracula. He didn't bite me. He… he was… Proud? I tried to stake him? It was… weird." She looks distinctly uncomfortable, remembering that. "…A few of the women from the club, though. And the first one I staked, tried to fight back. He got in deep… But… but I won. I killed him." Her frown deepens, not quite meeting his eyes. If anything, she looks ashamed in her discomfort. "…Dracula left me with the stake. So… so I would kill them, I think."
*
Tony seems a little relieved when she says she wasn't bitten by Dracula, "Just don't drink his blood, ok? That's…bad. How do you feel about garlic right now though? Or sunlight?" He looks to the window to see if curtains can be opened. Pepper then gets another look and he tries to warm up her cold fingers in his hands, "Look, I have a tracer for you…and if you get taken again, I want you to activate it, ok?" So it's not something on all the time. He's willing to give her -some- privacy at least. "And I'll come help. Wherever you are."
*
Her pale lips pull into a rather firm smirk as he asks about garlic and sunlight, "I…I think I'm quite fine. I…hope at least. I didn't drink any blood. And sunlight feels just fine." Though, as she says that, some memory seems to hit her and a touch of the teasing in her smirk leaves, "…though, that woman, Lily…the one who told me about the stake. She had red eyes. She… she was like him, I think, dead. And she could walk in the day time." Pepper's blue eyes flicker over Tony's shoulder, staring at the window beyond as she takes a moment to actually consider if she could be changing. She then shakes her head rather firmly. "No. I'm fine. I didn't die. I'm fine." Her hand tightens around his, drinking in that warmth, that reassurance. She just gives a quiet, slightly numb nod to the comment of the tracer.
*
Tony reaches into a pocket with his free hand…he did remember this…and puts a watch on Pepper's wrist. "Just push the button here…and it'll turn the tracer on," he points to a little knob that looks like the one meant to wind the watch, but is in addition to it. "I tried to make it subtle," just in case. He also looks to the window as she does but looks back to her, "You're not going to die, ok? And when you get out, I'm taking you out to dinner." When she feels up to it. A nice, little Italian place that uses lots of garlic.
*
Pale eyes flicker down to her wrist, studying the elegant watch that he puts there. She tilts her head at the knob, considering exactly what it does. "…Easy enough. I think I can manage that. Thank you, Tony… really. I am sorry. I.. thought I could do it. Be done with everything. I just… I wanted to get him out of my head." Pepper's eyes crinkle a bit as she says that, a touch of that fear returning. The headaches, the distraction, that voice which was always there. She was getting desperate. "…and I know I'm not going to die. I… I got out. Somehow. Got lucky. I don't want to die. I… I'm fine. It's all fine."
*
His free hand reaches out to lightly brush at her hair, looking so bright against her ashen features. "We'll get him. You don't have to do this yourself." Tony really does look concerned, even though he tries to stay a little flippant, "I can't have anyone trying to distract my best assistant. Only -I'm- allowed to do that."
*
Her head shifts, leaning into that touch, the comfort there. It lets her breathe just a bit easier, some knot of fear in her chest releasing, something she didn't even realize was there through the drugs and the dizziness. She just leans against his hand, eyes shutting again for a moment or two. Though, the comment about him distracting her does make her smile, "…I work for you, I… don't know that you asking me to do things counts as a distraction. But…" that ghost of a smile she was holding with the chuckle disappears as quick as it game, "…We need to get rid of him. He'll do it again. It…it's a game to him. We need to find that book. The DarkHold."
*
"All right," Tony offers, "We'll try to find that book, although I don't know that we can just go to a Library and look for it in the card catalogue. I can go tomorrow if you want…" it doesn't even occur to him that there might be some of more occult natures who might know of, or own, said book. "Can't you kill vampires by burning them and staking them and exposing them to sunlight?" Although she did say there was one who could walk about during the day. "You just work on getting better. I'll do some research until you're up to helping it, ok?"
*
Another faint laugh and Pepper gives a slight shake of her head, "No, no…it…won't be in the library. There is only one. Some…ancient artifact. I don't know if it's possible to find at all, that's just what she said. I…I just need out of here, and I can start looking. I… really don't want to stay here, Tony." Pepper confesses after a long moment, looking towards that big, beautiful window at the side of her bed. No guards, so many other patients around. She probably feels like a sitting duck for him here, strapped up to all these machines.
*
Pepper says, "And…just a stake works. A wooden stake. But I couldn't get it into his chest. He was too strong."
*
"That's why I'm going to help you." In the suit. It has its own enhanced strength — surely it can drive a stake through a vampire's heart! "You need to be here right now, Pepper. You've lost a lot of blood and you're in pretty bad shape. If you leave now, you're going to be even easier to get because you can't fight back." Tony gives her hand a squeeze, "I'll stay here with you, ok? Until you're stronger and they let you out."
*
"You…don't have to do that. I know you're busy, Tony… I know. I pulled you away enough, and the office, god…I don't even want to think how messy things are. You go. I…I'll be fine." Scared or not, Pepper tries to put on a game face and a smile, looking back up to his eyes, doing her very best to be brave and convincing. "…besides, if he comes here and the worst happens, you'll know how to find me now." She nods to the watch. It was a nice safety blanket.
*
Tony just gives a shrug, "You and I both know I'm not that busy…" although he does need to come up with some tech. Hmm. "I'll bring what work I can here," and tie up one of their phone lines if need be. After all, he -is- Tony Stark! "Nothing's going to happen. You're going to get some more blood in you and heal up and then we'll kick this Vampire's ass, got it?"
*
A pointed, tired look is given in Tony's direction as he says he's not that busy, but Pepper doesn't protest too much. "…If…if you can find Jack? Let him know. He'll probably want to take some time too, so you're not always stuck here… Hopefully it won't be too long. A day or two, at most." The a smile glimmers through upon her pale lips, more reassuring, if fairly exhausted for the conversation alone. Being drugged sucks, sometimes. "And yes, then we… we handle things. But first… I think sleeping. Sleeping sounds…damn good right now." She admits, forcing her eyes to stay open, but it's a fight.
*
There's a glimmer of disappointment when Pepper asks for Jack, but Tony tries to hide it quickly. "Sure…I'll try to get in touch with him and let him know." Although he's surprised that the other hasn't been out of his mind looking for her and approaching him yet. Interesting. "You do what the doctors say and go to sleep. I've got this…" he looks to the magazing, "…fascinating…magazine to read in the meantime."
*
Were Pepper a bit more awake, she'd probably catch that glimmer. There is even something in the back of her head that pauses, trying to figure out that look, but sleep is far more tempting than contemplation. She gives him a pale smile and a slight smile, turning her head to place a single kiss against the wrist of his hand that was in her hair. "Thank you, Tony. You…you're the best friend a girl could have." She admits softly. This wasn't about work any more and she knew it. She then sinks back, letting her eyes close. Her breath will even out within moments.
*
The Great Tony Stark has been Friendzoned! How is that even possible? He lets go of Pepper, letting her sleep without him bothering her. He'll even push the chair back so that he's out of the way and thumb through the magazine. After about ten minutes though, he'll place a call to the office to have some work brought to the hospital so he can at least have something to -do-. He's also going to ask for some paper so he can begin working on some projects that have been commissioned.