𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐒. It had been three long months of stress and anxiety, and yet still no sign of Tony Stark. Julie was about ready to pull out the entirety of her hair as she slammed her head against the desk for the twelfth time that morning.

"Gosh, you could have just said 'no', Jules." Hollyn rolled her eyes, popping the bubble she'd just blown in her gum. "No need to be so dramatic."

"We are a weapons-developing company, Hollyn," Julie reminded her sister for the dozenth time that week. "Not a distillery. No, you cannot take out a loan to develop a wine-line of your own."

"I'm just brainstorming ways to branch out our marketing techniques," Hollyn retorted, folding her hands together while bouncing as she pleaded. "Come on, Jules. When have I ever asked anything from you?"

"Hang on, let me get my planner," Julie replied unamused but did act as if she planned to retrieve the object from the mess of her desk. "I'm sure I've kept track somewhere."

"Okay, fine," Hollyn pouted, folding her arms across her chest. "Maybe it's not the best idea..."

Julie sighed and her expression softened as she noticed that her sister's eyes had glazed over. She didn't hesitate to rise and pull the younger Stark into a tight hug. "I miss him too... I get that you're just trying to find a way to stop being reminded of his absence, but destroying his legacy isn't the way."

"I didn't think of it like that," Hollyn admitted. "I just wanted a fun distraction."

"I know," Julie sighed once more. "Which is why I was deemed the responsible one. Now, I'll tell you what we're going to do, we'll—"

Her suggestion was interrupted by the ringing of the phone in her pocket. Her brows knitted together in confusion at the call to her personal line, but she lifted a finger to keep her sister quiet and answered the device that had indicated Colonel Rhodes was attempting to communicate with her. "Yes?"

The call was short and Julie stood in a dazed stupor once she hung up; however, Hollyn's patience hadn't grown in the past five minutes. Without giving her sister time to think, Hollyn began to pester her with questions, starting with: "Well, what was that about?"

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Two hours had passed and the sisters waited beside the medical team, Happy, and Pepper. It felt like they had waited an eternity for the giant plane to finally land at the California Military Base. The ramp of the plane lowered and Rhodey helped Tony down. The sisters could see that Rhodey had said something, but they were too far away to actually hear any of the conversation. However, Tony made sure his voice was heard as the medical staff rushed toward his side with a gurney.

"Are you kidding me with this?" He questioned, insulted by the idea that he needed to be coddled. He shook his head with disdain. "Get rid of them."

The medical team looked toward Rhodey for guidance, but with a sigh, he acknowledged Tony's request and dismissed the team. It was hardly noticeable, but due to her personal training, Julie was adept at catching minor details, so she quietly watched as Tony's shoulders relaxed and a short, shaky breath emerged from his lips.

It also came as little surprise that Tony's eyes first drifted to Pepper. Whether he was feeling more sentimental or someone had finally broken the wall of emotions he kept hidden, Tony noticed how someone else was feeling. "Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss?"

"Tears of joy." Pepper sniffed as she retorted playfully, even though it looked as if she were holding back her tears at that exact moment. "I hate job hunting."

"Yeah, vacation's over." Tony nodded. He offered his siblings a smile, but Hollyn didn't give him the opportunity to say anything snarky as she wrapped her arms around him.

She kept her arms wrapped around his shoulders, holding him tight as if fearing he'd be gone the second she let go. Her voice was a broken whisper that brushed against his ear. "We thought you were dead..."

"Can't. Breathe," Tony said between his teeth, but ignored the jarring pain in his arm as he was somewhat comforted to be surrounded by family, even if he'd never admit it.

Hollyn finally let go, wiping her nose with her designer sleeve, then climbed into the backseat of the limo that Happy and Pepper waited within. Julie offered a soft smile and a gentle nudge on his shoulder. "We missed you."

Tony's mouth formed a circular shape as he rubbed his shoulder as if trying to make her feel bad, but then offered her a smile with a nod of his head to agree that the feeling was mutual. The silence between them lingered a second longer before they joined Hollyn in the back of the car.

Happy glanced up into the rear-view mirror as he eagerly asked his question of habit. "Where to, sir?"

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy," Pepper requested without really leaving room for debate. That didn't stop Tony from disagreeing anyway.

His head shook with defiance while a single syllable was uttered. "No."

"No?" Pepper questioned, raising an eyebrow with concern as she tried to insist. "Tony, you have to go to the hospital."

"'No' is a complete answer," Tony replied as if his original answer had been perfectly acceptable.

Pepper frowned. "The doctor has to look at you—"

"I don't have to do anything," Tony contradicted matter-of-factly. "I've been in captivity for three months."

"Which is exactly why we should go to the hospital," Julie retorted, trying to order Happy to head straight there.

Tony ignored her. "There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger, and the other—"

"That's enough of that," Pepper tried to interrupt.

"—is not what you think," Tony continued despite the interruption. "I want you to call for a press conference now."

"Call for a press conference?" Pepper asked incredulously. "What on earth for?"

"Hogan, drive," Tony instructed without actually answering her question; however, he made specifications of where to go before Happy pulled out of the airway strip. "Cheeseburger first."

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Obadiah was waiting for them as they pulled up to the Stark Industries HQ. However, he wasn't alone. The building was overflowing with the press and Stark Industries employees.

Obadiah quickly made his way to Tony's side. "Look at this! Tony, we were going to meet at the hospital."

Tony shook his head, unwrapping one of the burgers he had on hand. "No, I'm fine."

"Look at you!" It was as if Obadiah couldn't believe his eyes that Tony was actually standing before him. "You had to have a burger, yeah?"

Tony walked up the steps and entered the building. "Well, come on."

"You get me one of those?" Obadiah asked as he followed.

Tony shook his head. "There's only one left. I need it."

Without another word to add to their conversation, Obadiah led Tony toward the front of the room where the press had crowded together. "Hey, look who's here! Yeah!"

With the exception of Hollyn, the others from the limo stayed behind in the crowd rather than joined Tony up on stage. As chaotic as everything was, Julie was determined to remain alert. She frowned at the sight of work once again interfering with her private life.

Phil Coulson stepped up beside Pepper. "Miss Potts?"

She nodded her head. "Yes."

"Can I speak to you for a moment?"

Pepper shook her head and tried to correct what she assumed to be his misconception. "I'm not part of the press conference, but it's about to begin right now."

"I'm not a reporter," he shook his head and introduced himself, "I'm Agent Phil Coulson, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"That's quite a mouthful," she noted.

"I know," Phil agreed, "We're working on it."

Julie frowned and interjected her own input between gritted teeth, "You know, we've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA—"

Phil interrupted her, failing to hide the inconvenienced look on his face, "We're a separate division with a more specific focus. We need to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape."

Noticing the tension, Pepper sought to resolve the issue, "I'll put something in the book, shall I?"

"Thank you." Phil nodded his head appreciatively.

Obadiah clasped his hands together from the front of the stage to gather the attention of the crowd. "Well, let's get this started, uh..."

"Hey, would it be all right if everyone sat down?" Tony asked as he took a seat in front of the podium. "Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can... A little less formal and..." Tony faded off as he took a bite of his cheeseburger. Hesitantly, the crowd took a seat on the ground.

"What's up with the love-in?" Rhodey asked, knitting his brows together in confusion.

Pepper shrugged. "Don't look at me. I don't know what he's up to."

"This is new for me too," Julie agreed with a concerned nod.

Tony finished chewing, cleared his throat, and then continued, "I never got to say goodbye to Dad. I never got to say goodbye to my father. There's questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels. I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

"Mr. Stark!" One of the reporters raised his recorder in the air, trying to gain every inch of room so that whatever the celebrity had to say would be heard.

"Hey, Ben." Tony gestured for the reporter to continue.

"What happened over there?"

"I had my eyes opened." Tony stood and moved behind the podium. "I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International—"

The room erupted in chaos as the reporters and photographers alike stood and tried to force their way closer to the podium.

"—until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be."

Obadiah quickly stood up beside Tony. "I think we're gonna be selling a lot of newspapers."

Julie looked over her shoulder. "Alex—"

"Yeah," the head of security agreed with a nod of his head, even though she hadn't requested anything.

"What direction it should take," Tony refused to shut up, "one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well."

Alex made his way over to the stage as Obadiah guided Tony away. He probably shouldn't have been back at work so soon, but three months away from work was too long. Besides, keeping busy prevented the deafening silence that resulted from being alone. It was an oxymoron, sure, but it was almost as if there was something foreign, crawling through his veins, trying to tell him something important... or worse: drag him back down into the darkness he'd escaped. Now focused on his job, Alex swooped in to the rescue and took Tony's arm before leading him back into another room. Hollyn followed close behind, checking her shoulder, but realized that there wasn't anything she could do to help the situation. After all, it was the sole Stark son that had reached the peaks of fame, and after his latest stunt, the rest of the Stark's failed to shine under his shadow.

The last thing that could be heard as they left the premises was Obadiah trying desperately to correct the mess that Tony had left behind. "What we should take away from this is that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever. We're going to have a little internal discussion and we'll get back to you with the follow-up."

Tony was led down several corridors to a back room where Julie and Pepper were already waiting. It seemed that since the crowd was focused on the front of the room, the back of the room had an easier time leaving, but only since they managed to leave before the crowd could turn to them for answers.

Julie took a deep breath, folding her hands together. "I really, really think we should have gone to the hospital first, Tony."

"Uh, ya think?" Hollyn asked, crossing her arms. "There's something obviously wrong with his brain."

"I'm standing right here," Tony reminded her, implying he didn't exactly enjoy being referred to in the third person. It created a feeling of being insignificant or helpless, something he'd felt enough of in the past three months. "And I'm fine."

"Tony—"

"I'm fine!" Tony snapped. His eyes hardened, narrowing as his gaze directed toward the floor as if he was trying to convince himself more than the others. His breath had also grown heavier as if even that small outburst had taken more energy than he was prepared to handle. But he kept up a brave face, especially as Obadiah entered the room.

A single look was enough for the others to understand that he wanted to speak with Tony alone.

Hollyn scoffed and rolled her eyes, but with a flip of her hair, she turned and exited the room. Pepper followed next, casting one last concerned look over her shoulder that Tony missed while Julie narrowed her eyes as if distrusting Stane's intentions. However, she didn't put up a fight and also left.

"Close the door behind you, would you, Al?" Tony asked almost playfully as if that would lighten the mood before Obadiah tried to talk some sense into him.

Alex cautiously nodded his head, stepped outside the room, and pulled the door closed. Immediately Obadiah's shouts were heard, but they knew they'd only make it that much worse for Tony if they intervened.

It only took a matter of seconds for things to turn from bad to worse as a few reporters managed to squeeze their way past security and rushed to hear the hidden news.

Alex immediately straightened, puffing out his chest as he stepped forward to stop the gathering small crowd; however, it appeared he'd already had too much excitement for one day as his body was still trying to adjust to the stress of his first week back since his brush with death.

The room began to spin, and his knees buckled, causing him to collapse in the arms of the first reporter. The camera within the other man's arms was apparently more important or worth more than the fragility of the weakened human, so Alex ultimately ended up on the floor with his eyes rolling up inside his head as he fell unconscious, thinking that something was severely wrong and whatever perfect little world Stark Industries seemed to create had all turned to hell.