Chapter 6

Pepper came back in the house feeling completely shell shocked, still wondering if everything that was happening was real or if somehow she was dreaming. Her mother walked quickly out of the kitchen reinforcing the notion that this was indeed really happening.

"Ginny, here you are…" her mother came close to her, "How are you sweetheart?" Her mother asked, hugging her.

She pulled away slowly, "I'm ok mom," she answered, taking a look into the living room, "Do you know where Dane is?"

"Yes, he's in his room upstairs," Pepper started to walk to the staircase "Ginny, I'm sorry..." Her mother said sadly behind her.

Pepper turned to face her, "What for?" she asked

"I asked him to leave you know," she stated "I didn't leave him with Dane, I swear. I thought he left and Dane was playing upstairs. I wasn't vigilant enough" she added, shaking her head.

Pepper sighed "I know… Don't worry… It's not your fault. I suppose that it had to happen one day. I mean, he is his son, he probably deserves to know,"

Her mother cut her "But he left you - I don't think he deserves anything, actually."

"Mom, please, don't do that," she begged.

"Don't do what Ginny? Why you are always defending him? What did he tell you in there? Don't tell me that you've fallen into his trap again!" she chided firmly.

"No!" She hastily replied, "and anyway, it's none of your business, mom!"

"You can't tell me that, I've been taking care of you and Dane for 5 years. I tried to fix you when he broke you. I helped you raise Dane alone, to build you a new life here, I should think I can have a word to say in the story!" Her mother snapped.

Pepper felt suddenly remorseful at her mother's words, "Yeah, I know mom… I'm sorry…. It's just that I'm little confused with my feelings right now. I need time to process everything," she said tears in her eyes.

Her mother came closer and hugged her "I know sweetheart, I didn't mean to be mean. I just want to protect you; I don't want you to suffer again. And now it's not just you, but Dane too."

At her mother words, she cried for the first time today; her tears were now falling quickly and heavily onto her mother's shoulder. She allowed all her sadness and frustration to come out all at once, crying like a baby in her mother embrace.

After few minutes, she pulled herself together and stared at her mother, her eyes red, "I know mom, I know... That's why I asked him to leave; I don't want Dane to go through what I did. I don't want him to enter into his life and then leave as soon as a problem appeared. So, I asked him to get out of our life." She stated sadly, "but it was so hard..." She sobbed, resting her head on her mother shoulder.

Her mother rubbed her back with one hand, pressing the other on Pepper's head to adjust her on her shoulder, "sssshhh, it's ok… Shhhh… Everything will be alright… Shhhh..." She reassured her.

But Pepper quickly raised her head and looked at her "It won't be alright! It can't be alright mom. The man that I love and who is the father of my son is the biggest jerk in the world... I don't how you could even imagine that it would be alright!"

Her mother closed her eyes at this statement. Despite everything, she knew that her daughter was still in love with this man. She knew it and there was nothing she could do to change it.

"Anyway mom, don't worry about that. I'll figure it out… Now I have to see Dane, I have to talk to him. You know how he is," she said wiping the tears from her eyes.

Her mom nodded, and started to walk to the kitchen, saying "Dinner is almost ready, you and Dane can come eat when you want,"

"Okay," she said, already climbing the stairs. After few seconds, she reached Dane's room. The door was closed. She knocked on it softly and opened it slowly. She spotted him lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. "Hey there," she said gently.

He looked at her but didn't move. He had a worried look on his face. "Hey," he answered quietly.

She came closer and sat on the edge of his bed, next to him, "Are you already sleeping? It would be the first time that I didn't have to fight to put you in bed." She tried to joke.

He cracked a smile, "No, we didn't even eat yet," he answered.

Pepper quickly jumped on his bed and started to tickle him "Yeah, my little stomach on legs would never go to bed without eating." She teased him as he started to laugh under her touch.

After few minutes of playing, she moved to lie on the bed cuddling him, stroking his hair, as he hugged her. They stayed like that a few minutes before Dane broke the silence, "Will I get to see Tony again?" he asked, his head still on his mother's chest.

Pepper's heart started to beat fast, she had known that this conversation would come up sooner or later, "Do you want to see him again?" she asked him kindly.

He raised his head to look at her, "If it makes you cry then no I don't want to see him again," he said, his eyes full of love and compassion.

Her jaw started to tremble; she closed her eyes as she felt her tears coming and hugged him hard pressing his head on to her chest, "Oh, my sweet baby… I love you so much," she said her voice full of emotion, kissing the top of his head.

"I love you too, mommy." He said wrapping his arms around her neck.

She tried to compose herself; she didn't want to fall apart in front of him. She was the mother and she was supposed to be the strong one, even if sometimes he was much stronger than her. She sat up on the edge of the bed, still holding Dane in her arms. She positioned him on her lap and looked at him.

"I know that you love me baby," she started tenderly brushing a lock of hair back from his forehead. "But, you, what do you think about him? Do you want to see him again?" she asked carefully.

Dane looked her in the eyes, trying to be sure if he could really say what he thought, trying to be sure that she would not be mad at him if he said the truth, "I like him," he said, as he watched her face intently noting any change in his mother's mood, then he continued, "I mean… He was nice and we had a lot fun trying to fix Granddad's motorcycle. And he knows a lot about mechanics. And, you know, he promised me that he will help me paint it and that he will even bring the paint." he paused, looking carefully at his mother, before concluding, "So, I'd like to see him again, yes."

Somehow she already knew the answer before asking him. Through Dane's eyes Tony was the smartest person in the world and rightly so. But she was still seeing him like the jerk who had thrown her away.

She knew that if she searched her heart deeply, she knew also that Tony could be a good person, that she had and probably still loved him, and it was for a good reason. Her biggest concern was that she didn't want Dane to be hurt or disappointed because of him. Her thoughts were now tumbling in her head, not helping her to know what the best decision was, or even if there was any best decision.

She smiled gently at him, stroking his hair, "I understand, sweetheart. I don't know yet if you'll see him again but I promise you that I'll think about it." His eyes were full of sadness; she hit gently his nose with her finger "Okay?" He nodded, trying to smile. "Now, what do you think about taking your bath before dinner?" she teased him, tickling his stomach. He laughed and she stood up, carrying him to the bathroom.

The diner passed quickly but in a somewhat awkward atmosphere. Pepper's mother tried to make small talk but Pepper was too preoccupied to even pretend to listen to her mother. Then, bed time came for Dane and Pepper found herself alone in the living room. She was curled in the coach, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. All that happened during the past few hours was running through her mind. Why was it that something that could be so simple had to be so damned complicated! Her thoughts were cut short by her mother voice.

"Hey sweetie, what are you doing?" asked her mother sitting on the armchair in front of her.

"I'm just thinking," she answered casually.

"You did the right thing," she tried to comfort her.

"How could you know that?" she asked to her mother. "One day, Dane will ask for his father and when I'll tell him who he is, he will hold it against me! He will know that I prevented him from knowing his father sooner." She stated sadly.

"Are you sure that you question yourself only about Dane?" her mother asked her.

She sighed deeply, "I don't know mom… I truly don't know," she answered looking at her mother.

"Every decision that you will make, I'll be there to support you." She comforted her "But please, for god's sake, take your time and think about it before doing something you could regret." She begged her.

Pepper nodded slowly "thank you…" she whispered.

Her mom gave her a faint smile as she stood up. "I'm going to bed… Try to get some sleep" she told gazing at her sternly.

"I'll try, I promise." She answered cracking a smile at her mother, "Good night Mom,"

"Good night, Ginny" she told her before walking to the staircase.

After few minutes, Pepper stood up and climbed the stairs. She opened slowly Dane's door to find him asleep. He was so beautiful, the spitting image of his father. It was hard not to think about Tony Stark when you lived with his living portrait every day. She came closer, stroked his hair and gave him a kiss on his head. She loved him so much; she wanted to protect him from pain as much as she could. But it was not so easy. After, a final look at him, she left his room and went to hers. After a shower, she put her night clothes. She went to her window, to look at the moon and noticed the light in the barn and the Audi still parked next to her car. Her heart started to beat faster when she realized that he hadn't left yet. Her mind tried to process the information. He was actually here only a few hundred meters from her. She rested her forehead on the window, eyes closed, her heart almost jumping through her chest as she remembered the last time she had been close to him.