The Untold Truth

Chapter 17

Pepper woke up and felt sick to her stomach. She didn't even care that she was naked. She went to the toilet immediately and began to vomit. It was the side effects of drinking on the birth control pill. At first it was great because the migraines disappeared but now she was feeling unstoppable waves of desire for people she was attracted to, people she wasn't attracted too and even complete strangers and these effects were amplified by alcohol. And the waves were happening more frequently. It's hard for someone who drinks a glass of wine nearly every night to remember not to drink. Of course it was probably not a good idea to drink around Tony but she forgot. She was too distracted by Tony's lips.

"Pepper I need to know everything about this pill you're taking and when you started taking it and you need to get to a doctor as soon as possible," Tony said coming into the bathroom and stopping short because he wasn't expecting Pepper to be naked.

"I'm sorry. I thought you'd be dressed" he said stepping back out of the bathroom.

"I woke up and I had to vomit" she said as she exited the bathroom in Tony's robe.

"You need to come off this pill. It's making you sick. I was up all night reading the side effects of prolonged use and it's not safe. I promise we will figure something else out for your migraines"

"I can't just stop taking birth control-

"I'll wear a condom. It's not my preference but I'll do it when the time comes"

"No you don't understand. I can only come off of this one as directed by a doctor. There's warnings on the package. There are terrible side effects for coming off of it. I could have violent vomiting and diarrhea, sweats and chills, hives and even a fever"

"Pepper why would you sign up for an experimental drug trial so dangerous?" he asked.

"Because Tony my migraines were debilitating and I was missing too much work and I tried everything. I was at my wits end. I was desperate" she said as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Pep why didn't you tell me it had gotten that bad? I could have helped you. I'm not a chemist but I know enough about it to figure something out for you not to mention I can call Bruce" Tony said annoyed that he didn't think of calling Bruce sooner.

"Ok call him but I'm not going to stop the pills until Bruce has a plan but I need to go to the office" she said trying to gather her clothes.

"No you're on a leave of absence effective immediately," he said.

"No way. There's too much to do" she said.

"Nancy is going to take care of some of it and I will do the rest," he said.

"What about the softball game? I was looking forward to playing" she said.

"Fine you're taking a personal day. You go back to the office and then after the game on Friday you're on leave" he suggested.

"Thank you" she said, placing her hand on his chest.

"Come here" he said pulling her in for a hug.

Pepper put her head against his chest and hugged him deeply. She should have told Tony about the migraines but she didn't want to bother him with her trivial problems.

"Now get dressed before I get ideas involving you in my robe" he said as he gave her an eyebrow wiggle.

"Tony don't be fresh" Pepper teased.

"Fresh? I'm being good. You don't know what it took for me to calm myself down last night. You got me so hot I jerked off twice" he confessed.

"Well I'm sorry. I don't know why I can't remember that I can't drink when I get those waves. I'm sorry about last night. I want to do this right" she said.