Their little star

Pepper

Once the phone call with Maria ends, Pepper can't help but just sit there, in her office, looking into the empty space in front of her. She just needed a few seconds to collect herself, she knows fully well that Skye's life would be on the line. She's out there, working as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, she had been there when Skye had asked Stark to help her with Ian Quinn. But she had told herself that Skye would be fine, she's with her mother and if she had learned anything, Melinda May would probably burn the world if anything were to happen to Skye, and her siblings not far behind on that note.

But here she is now, just finishing a phone call from Maria that Skye have been badly wounded and that her life is on the line. With a shake of her head, Pepper turns her attention towards her computer, deciding that she can go down that line of thoughts later, right now she needs to make sure Maria has everything she would need.

There was no limit to how much she would help with this, and she makes sure to hide all of this from Tony, deep down, she knows he will find out sooner or later and all she can do is make sure it will take him a while before he does. If Coulson is coming to base with a hurt Skye, she can't let him, or the others head that way either.

After she is sure that she has sent all the help she can, she makes sure to send a message to Maria that things are on the way, and she also asks if she knows what happened to Skye. She's not sure she wishes to know how it happened, but she also knows it will help her sleep if she knows some parts. Placing down her phone, she turns her attention towards her computer screen. She knows just how much work she needs to do, but in this moment, she's not able to focus on any of it. And the moment her phone vibrates, she turns towards it, reading the message on the screen and her heart drops.

Two-gun shoot wounds to the stomach.

-X-X-X-X-

Three days, it takes Tony three days to find the information that she has purchased a ton of medical equipment and sent them to an unknown location, or at least an unknown location for him. And being Tony, he doesn't ask her about this when they are alone, no, he makes sure to ask about this with Steve and Bruce in the room. In that moment she is happy that neither Clint nor Natasha is there, but she knows that they will probably show up at any moment.

As if her thoughts could summon to assassins, Natasha and Clint walks through the doors and Pepper makes sure to take a deep breath, hopping that by now, Maria have managed to defuse what ever has happened and maybe sent Coulson away from her base. Because from the look in Natasha's eyes, she can tell the red-haired woman knows that something is wrong.

"When was the last time either of you talked to your sister?"

Pepper asks, completely ignoring Tony's question and she can feel how he looks at her with narrowed eyes. But her own attention is on Natasha and Clint, and she can see how they look at one another before Natasha is the one to turn back to her.

"Skye? It's been a week, but that's normal seeing how she's out traveling the world with her mother."

"Not her, I mean Maria."

"A few days? Why?"

Pepper takes in a deep breath, she had guessed Maria or Melinda hadn't told them since they were still here, she just wished she didn't have to be the one to do this.

"Why don't you travel to her base. I talked to her the other day, from her tone... I don't know, something felt off and she refuse to tell me when I asked about it."

She decides to say, hopping this will be enough. Maria would have to be the one to inform her siblings more deeply when they get there. She can see worry in their eyes about this information and Natasha simply nods her head as a thank you before the two of them leave the room.

"What was that about?"

Tony asks and Pepper only holds up her hand, feeling bad about just putting Maria in a bad spot. Pulling out her phone, she makes sure to send the deputy director a message, warning her that her siblings are on the way.

"JARVIS, have they left the building?"

"They just took off."

"Okay, what is all of this about?"

Tony asks for the second time and Pepper turns to finally look at the three men.

"Three days ago, I got a call from Maria, asking if I could send her top-of-the-line medical equipment and medical care. Skye had been shot in the stomach and her condition was not good."

She starts to explain, expecting that they would explode, but seeing the shook and worry in their eyes, Pepper knows she should have known better. The short times they have spent with the young woman, she has managed to warm her way into their hearts to and they care about her.

"She was shoot. How?"

Steve is the first one that managed to find his voice.

"I don't know, Maria refused to tell me this. I only know about the two wounds to her stomach. I had expected her to contact Natasha and Clint from the start, but since she didn't... I don't want to be the one to give them bad news. And all I could do now was to push them in the right direction."

She explains, a pained smile growing on her lips, realising she would like to go to. Hearing that her phone is vibrating, she sees an incoming call from Melinda instead of Maria and the worry grows.

"Hello?"

"You don't have to be worry Pepper. I'm not mad, I'm just surprised it took this long before they would figure out something was off."

"The only reason as to why they are on the way is because Tony saw what I have bene buying."

"Well, you don't have to worry. She sent us away on a mission, we are not at the base, and we are not allowed back for another two weeks. So, you can take the rest of the Avengers to see her, and I'm about to call Gwen and Victoria too inform them about what has happened."

Melinda explains and Pepper can't help but wonder how on earth Maria had managed to pull this off. But she's not in the right spot to ask about it and if she should ask anyone, it would be Maria.

"I will do just that, want me to keep you updated?"

"Always."

With that simple answer, the phoneline goes dead and Pepper lowers her phone. Looking at Tony, Steve and Bruce, she smiles slightly.

"We can go and visit her tomorrow, today we will let her siblings have their own time."

She informs them, she can see that Tony isn't all to happy about this news. But she can also see that he knows that she would need just them, so he can't go against anything, not yet at least. Once they reach the base, Pepper knows she will have a hard time getting him to go back home.