Chapter Text
When I woke up, the first thing I saw was the clock on the wall telling me it was 11 a.m. I'd gotten a few hours sleep so I gathered before I'd fallen asleep, it was about 8 a.m.
I yawned and went to stretch but stopped instantly as I felt pain shoot up my spine. As I lowered my arms down, I noticed something. In the same moment Dad entered the room.
"Please tell me you didn't sign my arm cast while I was asleep!" I tried to look serious but really I thought it was hilarious.
Dad faked an innocent look before he took a seat beside my bed. "Maybe I did..."
I shook my head but grinned. "So...what happened after you left?"
Instantly Dad looked down, avoiding my eyes.
"Come on Dad,"
He looked back up to me and sighed. "Pepper called me, saying she was at Stark Industries. Stane had made his own suit and that's why he stole my Arc Reactor, to power it. I flew over there and...well, battled him,"
I looked at him confusingly. "What do you mean battled?"
"Well...he knocked us onto the freeway..."
I sat there for over half an hour as Dad began explaining last night from the time he left me to how he'd almost incinerated himself in the plant's Arc Reactor. My eyes were wide and my jaw dropped as I listened to how he'd risked his life to stop Obadiah. I felt a twinge of sympathy as he talked about Obadiah's death but that quickly vanished as I remembered everything he'd put us through. I couldn't say he deserved to die but he'd done some horrible things from trying to kill me and Dad to risking those poor people's lives on the freeway.
"So...he got...incinerated in the Arc Reactor?" I asked wearily.
Dad nodded his head solemnly. I couldn't begin to understand or imagine how he felt. Obadiah had been not only his friend, but his father's friend.
A silence descended in the room. I couldn't stand it, I needed him to talk.
"But...Pepper said you were in a hospital gown?"
Dad looked up to me and laughed nervously. "Oh, that...I was kinda...knocked unconscious by the blast the Arc Reactor caused. It was kinda lucky that I was because it gave the Mark I Arc Reactor time to recharge and recover from the fight. If I hadn't been unconscious, I'd probably be dead,"
I tried to ignore that last comment. I didn't want to think about how close Dad had come to death...again.
"So...Pepper took you to the hospital and that's why you were in a gown?"
"Yes. Pepper insisted on the hospital but as soon as I was awake, I was outta that stupid gown."
I laughed. I know how he felt. The hospital gowns are awful.
"What are you going to tell the media?" He'd (obviously) been seen on the freeway last night and was no doubt splashed across the front pages this morning.
Dad shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I have a media conference to explain last night in an hour," He said, glancing down at his watch. "That Coulson guy said he'd prepared something for me. Apparently the "Iron Man" was my bodyguard or something along those lines,"
"A bodyguard? Are people going to believe that?"
Yet again Dad simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Iron Man...hmm...has a nice ring to it. Though technically you should be called Gold Titanium Alloy Man but I don't think that's as catchy,"
We laughed, me a little less enthusiastically as it hurt too much.
"Speaking of the media, what did you tell them about my hospitalization?" I was curious to know what the world had been told.
"You tripped and fell down the stairs,"
"What?! Couldn't you have said something more...interesting like my Audi fell on my while I was working on it?" Now I was gunna be known as clutzy for the rest of my life!
"Hey, it wasn't my idea! Thank Agent Coulson for that cover story," Dad said grinning.
I sighed. "How long do I have to stay here?" I'd barely been here for a day (most of that time was spent unconscious) and I was already sick of it.
"Oh, a week...maybe two. The doctor says it depends on how long it takes for your ribs to recover," He spoke seriously but suddenly a beam appeared on his face. "I can't wait till your outta here, cause we have a lot of work to do," He could have easily done this work by himself but I was happy he was going to wait for me. "I need a new Arc Reactor, this one is getting annoying," He said as he pulled open the front of his shirt. The next moment I was almost doubling over in laughter. Still attached to the outside of the old miniature Arc Reactor was the ring that read "Proof that Tony Stark has a Heart."
We spoke for a few more minutes (me still trying to hold in my laughter), before he looked down at his watch and told me he had to go. He kissed my gently and promised he'd be back in a couple of hours.
Before he left the room, he reminded me to keep an eye on the news for the conference.
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I kept the TV on the news channel Dad had said would be screening the Conference live. I still had 15 minutes before it begun. I suddenly had to urge to see my reflection. Very slowly, I swung my legs over to the side of the bed and gingerly lowered myself to the ground. It hurt less than I thought it would. I hobbled over to the bathroom and shut the door.
I turned around and gasped as I saw my reflection. I had a huge bruise on the side of my cheek, the one I'd landed on. I also had some cuts on my face from the glass of the waterfall. Carefully, I turned around and rose up my gown. Across my back were not only nasty bruises and cuts but also deep red lines from the edge of the stairs. Just looking at them seemed to make them hurt more. I hoped that I wouldn't get any scars from the some of the huge cuts on my back.
I sighed and begun walking back to my bed. I stopped halfway and looked around the room at the flowers. Their smell and sight invaded the senses but I liked it. It brought colour to an otherwise dreary room. I took some cards from the bouquets of flowers, curious to see just who had sent them. There was a beautiful arrangement of sent from a modelling agency that wanted me to sign with them, flowers that ranged from Tulips to Lily's from fans (fans of what though? I'd never done anything for them to be fans of), some very pretty arrangements from boys (some who had been brave enough to write down their phone numbers) and even a beautiful arrangement of orchids (my favourite flower) from Pepper. I smiled brightly, completely forgetting about what I'd just seen in the bathroom mirror.
Just as I'd settled myself down on my bed, a cute (very cute) doctor walked in. He couldn't have been over 20. I wondered how someone that young could be a doctor. He had medium blonde hair that made him look like he'd just walked in from surfing, bright blue piercing eyes and a smile to die for.
"Hi, Morgan. Good to see you awake," He smiled down at me. It felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest. My heart monitor registered the suddenly speed at which my heart was beating. Oh God, how embarrassing.
But the doctor kept his smile and pretend to ignore it. He walked to my bedside and looked over me quickly. "How are you feeling?"
"Umm...good, Dr..." I leaned slightly and squinted at his name badge. "Shephard."
"Call me Daniel," I felt a blush making my way up my cheeks as he smiled more. He looked at some of my monitors and checked my I.V.
I remembered my trip to the bathroom and how I looked. I suddenly felt stupid. Here I was, blushing over a cute Doctor where he probably thought I looked like crap. But despite my humility, I was curious. "How could someone as young as you be a doctor?" I was surprised at myself. Despite my beating heart, my voice sounded calm.
He had picked up my chart and was flipping through it before he placed it back down, still smiling. God, that smile could light up the dark. It was gorgeous. He was gorgeous.
"Well, like yourself, I have an above average IQ. I graduated high school at 15, finished my medical degree by 18 and I've been working here ever since," Wow. Hot and smart. "Do you have any questions about your condition?"
"Uhh...no," I smiled slightly and diverted my eyes from his face.
He reached out and rested his hand lightly upon mine. "Well if you think of any, just let me know," He lifted his hand and turned to leave the room. As he reached the door, he looked over his shoulder and winked at me.
He winked at me! I felt over the moon. There was no way he could have any interest in me with the way I looked but I was still ecstatic.
I was picturing his face in my mind when my attention was draw to the TV. An anchorwoman was sitting behind a desk with a serious look upon her face. "A Press Conference has been called here at Stark Industries after last night's unusual events. A man, in what appears to be a Red and Gold Iron Suit, was seen battling-". She stopped mid sentence as, I gathered, someone spoke in her ear piece. "The Conference is starting here live on NBC News. Maybe we will finally know just who is this Iron Man."
The scene on screen changed from the studio to the familiar Stark Industries Press Room. There were rows upon rows of reporters waiting for Tony Stark to appear and reveal the truth of last nights events.
A hushed silence fell over the crowd as Rhodey walked up to the podium. "By now, you've all received the official statement about last's night's events. A Stark prototype malfunctioned, and caused damage to Stark Industries, and the surrounding area. Fortunately, a member of Mr. Stark's personal staff was nearby and able to…"
My mind wasn't taking in what he'd said. I'd already heard the real story anyway and my mind was back on Dr Shephard...Daniel. Suddenly I heard my father's name and my attention was back to the screen.
"And now, Mr. Stark will read a prepared statement. He will not be taking any questions."
I watched as Rhodey stepped aside and my father took his place in front of the crowd. "It's been a while since I was last in front of you so I'm going to stick to the cards," He lifted his hand which contained the cue cards in question. Everyone chuckled lightly.
"There has been speculation that I was involved with the events that took place last night-"
Before Dad could even finish his first sentence, someone in the front row raised their hand and shouted out a question.
"I'm sorry, but do you honestly expect us to believe that it your bodyguard in a suit?"
I realized, with anger, who had interrupted my father. Even though the camera shot only showed the back of the reporter's heads, it was hard to miss her blonde hair and her snide voice.
Dad didn't seem fazed at all."I know it seems confusing," He said, equally snide. "And it's one thing to contradict the official story, but making accusations that I'm a superhero-"
"I never said you were a superhero," She'd caught him out.
"Didn't you?" Dad looked stuck for one second before he recovered himself...slightly. "Well, good, because that would be ridiculous, and...fantastic. I'm just not the heroic type, clearly." What a big pile of bull that was. He was the most heroic person I'd ever met. "What, with all my public mistakes-"
Rhodey leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Thank God otherwise Dad could have rambled on about his many mistakes. That would take a while.
Dad recovered himself and looked quickly down to his cards. "The truth is..."
He hesitated. Everyone was on the edge of their seats (in my case, bed) waiting to hear what he was going to say.
He locked eyes with the camera (I felt like he was staring out to me) then down to the press. "...I am Iron Man."
There was instant uproar. Everyone was up on their feet, screaming out to Tony but it was all one big roar. I felt my eyes widen and my jaw drop. In anger.
"WHAT?!"
Someone was going to have hell to pay when he got back here.