Chapter Text
Margaret “Maggie” Skold, was a culinary student who was focusing on Pastry and Baking while she worked as a part-time barista at the local branch of Stark Industries. The pay was way above average, they worked around her class schedule, and it was a foot in the door for later in her career since SI had several highly rated restaurants in many of their buildings. So it was a win-win!
Maggie was texting her friend Darcy, her crazy friend from high school while waiting in the security line for the Stark Industries employees. She was thankfully out of her classes early today, so she had about forty-five minutes before she was supposed to report for her shift at the coffee shop.
The standing joke was, that when the building had been overhauled when Tony Stark took over, he determined that he needed coffee centrally located for his convenience and sanity. So the new coffee shop had been built on the floor between the Research and Development labs and the offices of the company’s board members instead of the lobby like most other companies.
The line was slow-moving and it came to a full stop when suddenly a little boy came running out from the other side of the checkpoint and straight towards her. He was looking behind him, a silly grin on his face, as he slammed into her legs. She caught him by the arms and steadied him as two men and a woman came chasing after him.
“Are you ok, little guy?” Maggie asked as she crouched down to his level and steadied him. His little blue suit was adorable with his chestnut curls and wide chocolate eyes, he looked just like a little businessman in training.
“Yeah, I’m ok,” he replied shyly, his eyes lowered, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s ok, I tend to walk into people all the time too. My dad used to tease me about it and used to hold on to my shirt, like a leash, up until a few years ago. He used to tell me that I had to stay with him or he’d get lost.” She smiled sadly at the memory, her parents’ deaths were still a painful subject for her to talk about it.
Maggie looked up and made eye contact with the man who stood directly behind the boy with his hand on his shoulder. It took her a few seconds for her brain to catch up with her eyes for her to realize that it was The Tony Stark.
He smiled and winked at her before he picked up the child. “Now Petey, what did we say about running off?” His stern voice and serious manner towards his son was different than his usual media-friendly demeanor. It was strange seeing Tony Stark act like a proper dad.
“Ummm, not to….?”
“Yup. And what did we say would happen this morning before we left home if you didn’t stay with me, Happy, or Miss. Pepper?”
“That I wouldn’t get ice cream for a week and DUM-E would get my new ball to play with,” the child whispered as he picked at the button on his father’s shirt. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”
“I know you are, but you can’t run off. Capisce?” Mr. Stark stated firmly before he smiled fondly at his son, kissed Peter’s forehead, and tucked him more securely into his arms. He smoothed down the unruly curls before he turned his attention back to Maggie.
“Mr. Stark, the car is here,” the redhead in the sleek skirt suit and three-inch pumps said as she typed furiously on her Blackberry.
“Thank you, Ms. Potts,” Tony responded as he bounced Peter who giggled. Tony then handed the boy to the husky man next to him, “Happy, can you take Peter to the car? We’ll be right behind you.”
“Come on Little Boss.” Happy took Peter and then strode out of the building towards the waiting town car.
“Thank you for stopping him, Peter always makes a dash for it when he’s excited.” Mr. Stark smiled at her before turning to his assistant. “Ms. Potts is going to get your info so we can get you something nice for your effort.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Maggie demurred, “it takes a village… or at least my mom used to say that... You’re just lucky to have thousands of employees to help,” she teased.
Mr. Stark laughed and nodded in agreement, “I think Peter may need two villages and all of SI to wrangle him. I really need to find a Peter Wrangler since Happy and Ms. Potts already have enough on their plate full wrangling me.”
Ms. Potts smiled in amusement as she finished her mad typing and then elegantly placed the phone in her purse before pulling out a business card. “Please email or call my personal assistant with your information and I’ll be in contact.”
“Ok, thanks.” Maggie took the card and the pair nodded to her before following after Happy and Peter.
The silence in the lobby was deafening as the door closed behind them and everyone stared at her. “What?” She frowned at them and they all suddenly started up again, the discreet looks and whispers making her uncomfortable.
What is with everyone? She thought as she shuffled along the security line while safely putting the card inside her wallet. It’s not like they haven’t all seen Tony Stark before… She reached the front, they placed her bag on the x-ray belt and she walked through the metal detector. Oh!
She shook her head at her obliviousness, it was probably the first time that anyone had seen his son in person, not even the paparazzi knew what the boy looked like. Tony Stark had been that protective and careful of his small child. She couldn’t blame him, especially after reading up more on the man when she had started for his company. Tony Stark had been paraded past every camera since he had been born and often rebelled at the attention in the most dramatic way possible. She didn’t blame him for his decision to keep his kid sheltered as much as he could, she would have done the same in his shoes, it just seemed like a decent thing for a parent to do.
Shaking her head at her musings, she picked up her bag from the x-ray belt and made her way to the elevators, hoping she was still running on time.
**********
A week later Maggie was working a late shift on a Friday since she liked the quiet of the late weekend shifts when the employees on the business side of Stark Industries were gone for the weekend. The only people she saw were the frazzled and desperate decaffeinated boffins that mad scienced 24/7 and the weekend Security team.
Despite the destructiveness and distractedness of most of R&D’s many employees, overall they were nice, intelligent people that were always grateful for their next caffeine hit. Granted, the other departments of SI, such as Accounting, HR, and Security, had a wide range of similar employees but they tended to go home on weekends while R&D appeared to live there. Especially since the Afghan war appeared to have started heating up again and Stark Industries provided everything from bombs to combat gear. So she had gotten to know the R&D people pretty well since she worked most weekends and late nights.
Tonight was pretty quiet for the most part. She had her regulars who had taken their mandated thirty-minute break which was every six hours, something that Mr. Stark implement last year when there had been an accident in one of the labs. Then she had the few stragglers from Security and a frazzled intern that had been sent to get refreshments for the few board members that were doing a routine final inspection. A few of the scientists had mentioned seeing Mr. Stark with his son and Mr. Stane earlier that night and Security had gossiped about how Mr. Happy Hogan was struggling to keep up with the Little Boss.
After everyone had cleared out, she tidied her work area and cleaned the dining and lounge area before settling down on a stool at the counter with her homework. Her manager didn’t mind that they worked on their school work as long as their café work was finished, so Maggie often took advantage of the quiet time to work on her pastry design projects.
It was around 8 pm, right about the time she had finished adjusting the recipe to accommodate the melted chocolate when she heard a squeak and a tiny, “hello?”
Startled, she shot up from her stool and peered over the counter. “Hey, buddy! Where’s your dad?”
“I don’t know and I can’t find Happy,” Peter whimpered as a tear fell down his chubby little cheek. Feeling her heart contract, she put down her notebook, strode around the counter, and knelt down in front of him.
“Can I pick you up?” He nodded and she opened her arms for him. He shuffled forward and wrapped his little arms around her neck letting her wrap her arms around him and pick him up. “It’s ok, we’ll find him or your dad. Do you know where you saw Mr. Happy last?” She rubbed his back as she made her way back around the counter. He rubbed his face into her shoulder and nestled his face into her shoulder, wetting her shirt with his tears.
“No, I turned around and he was gone,” Peter wailed as he started pulling at her hair and the collar of her shirt. “I just wanna go home,” he cried.
“Shhh, it’s ok. We’ll find your dad and Mr. Happy and you can go home. Ok?”
“Ok,” was his mumbled reply as he clutched painfully at her French braid and tightened his arms, cutting into her ability to breathe.
“Shhh, everything is going to be ok. You found an adult and I’ll call Security and they’ll find your dad and Mr. Happy for us,” she soothed as she pulled his little arms from around her neck and adjusted him so she could see his face. “Do you like hot cocoa?” He nodded sharply, his fingers from one hand gripping her shirt while the other hand was still attached to her braid. “How about I make you hot cocoa and then we’ll call Security and see if they can find Mr. Happy for us. Does that sound ok?” He nodded sharply again before burrowing his head again and rubbed his snotty nose on her shirt. “That’s pretty gross, kid,” she teased as she sat him on the counter and unwrapped him from her neck. She took one of the clean bar rags, wet it, and wiped off his face. “Do you want to sit on the stool while I make you your cocoa?”
“Ok,” he whispered as he fidgeted and reached towards her.
She lifted him from the counter and placed him gently on the stool before stepping back. “Are you going to be ok, buddy? Do you want to draw while I make your cocoa?”
“Yeah.” She flipped to a blank page in her notebook, set it in front of him, and handed him her pack of colored pencils. He grinned at her briefly before he chose a color and started scribbling.
She smiled and ruffled his hair before turning to the espresso machine. Maggie pulled the milk out of the fridge, poured it into the steaming pitcher, and started to steam and froth it. Pumping the chocolate and vanilla into a small cup, she topped it with the warmed milk and held up the whipped cream canister. “Yes or no on the whipped cream, little buddy?”
“Yes!” He smiled and clapped his hands. Laughing, she topped it off and put the cover on the cup, and set it in front of him.
“Straw?”
“Yes!”
“Ok.” She poked the straw through the hole and wrapped his little hands around the cup. “I’m going to call Security and they’re going to find Mr. Happy for you, ok?” He hummed around the straw as he sipped his hot cocoa. “Alright,” she breathed, before reaching for the phone and punching in the numbers. She waited a few moments before the phone on the other end was picked up.
“Security.”
“Hey, this is Maggie down at the Café, I have a little guy here looking for Mr. Happy. Do you guys know where he is?”
“Oh, shit! Do you have the kid?! The Boss and Mr. Hogan have been freaking out for a half-hour now.” The guy was breathing heavily on the other end in panic. “I’ll call you back,” he said abruptly and hung up on her.
“Well, that’s just great,” She said sarcastically as she hung the receiver up and rubbed her temples. “How’s the cocoa, little buddy?”
“Soooooo, good! The best ever! Can I have a cookie too?” He gave her the cutest puppy eyes as he pleaded.
Chuckling, she rubbed his curly hair and shook her head. “No, but nice try, little guy. I think your dad and Mr. Happy would be not happy with a supped-up-on sugar toddler. Maybe next time I see you we can negotiate a cookie.” He pouted at her and continued to sip his cocoa as he gave her his best puppy eyes. About five minutes later, after Maggie had cleaned up the bar again, she lost the fight to his adorableness and gave him a piece of a cookie. “I hope your dad doesn’t fire me for this,” she muttered as she nibbled on the rest of the cookie.
Peter just smiled toothily at her as he nibbled on his share. “I won’t let him fire you. I’ll get Miss Pepper to hire you back. Daddy can never say no to Miss Pepper.”
“And how do you know about firing and hiring, young man?” Mr. Stark’s stern voice came from behind her. She turned and saw a smile on his face as he pretended to chastise Peter.
“Miss Pepper explained it to me,” Peter stated authoritatively before he made grabby hands towards his father.
“Oh did she, now?” Mr. Stark teased as he picked up his son and sat on the stool, cradling the chocolate-covered boy.
“Yeah! She said that you need people to do the jobs that you can’t do so you ask people to do them for you. But, but, when they don’t do the job right, then you fire them.”
Mr. Stark laughed and shook his head. “A few more years and I’ll be out of a job. Look at you, already a savvy business baby.”
“Not a baby,” Peter whined as he pouted.
“You’re my baby.” Peter just grumbled as he buried his head in his father’s shoulder, wound his arms tighter around his neck, and buried a hand in his hair. “I can’t do anything fun with my hair anymore,” Mr. Stark lamented as he adjusted Peter for both their comfort before looking up at Maggie. “Thanks for finding him and keeping him entertained.”
“No worries, he was so easy to take care of. Security had it handled and I’m just glad we found you so fast.”
Mr. Stark shook his head. “We checked all the cameras since he disappeared around this area but for some reason, the cameras are glitching in the coffee shop.” Mr. Stark scowled at the camera past her shoulder before he stood and looked down at the sleeping boy. “I’m surprised he’s sleeping, the amount of chocolate on his face you’d think that he’d be bouncing off the walls.”
“It is about nine…”
“Oh, yeah… Bedtime is at eight usually… I guess I’ll get an early wake-up call,” Mr. Stark sighed as he shuffled Peter so he could reach into his pocket for a small metal business cardholder. “Take a card, kid. Call that number if you find Peter again, just don’t share it with your friends.”
She took the sleek card case from his hand, flipped it open, and took a card before handing it back to him. Inspecting the card, she noticed it just had his initials, a phone number, and a unique Stark Industries email address. [email protected]... “What does JARVIS stand for?”
“JARVIS is my home’s user interface. It stands for Just A Rather Very Intelligent System,” Tony Stark replied cheerfully as he gave her a smug little smile as if there was an inside joke she was missing.
“Huh. I remember my dad saying something about that, now that you say that,” Maggie murmured, memories of her father’s excitement over new technology making her a little morose. “He loved learning about advancements in technology and always told me that you were going places. That boy is going to change the world for the better, he’d say, betcha he’ll solve world hunger or something while accidentally causing world peace. He always thought that the press over-exaggerated a lot…”
Tony looked uncomfortable at her dad’s praise as he shifted Peter in his arms again. “Yeah, well…” he cleared his throat, “tell your dad that I’ll get there eventually.”
“Oh. He and mom died a few years ago in a car accident…” she trailed off as she cringed when he blanched. They both avoided looking at each other as she shifted aside and allowed him to pass her. “I’m sorry Mr. Stark,” she whispered to his back, uncomfortable with what she had said.
“No, kid. Don’t worry about it,” Tony stressed as he turned back around forced himself to meet her eyes. “I’m sorry about your parents and never apologize for talking about them. It takes courage to talk about something that’s painful,” he paused and re-adjusted his sleeping son, “just remember the good times with them…” He trailed off and appeared about a million miles away. After a few seconds, he shook his head and a smile that didn’t reach his eyes appeared on his face. “Thanks again, Ms. Skold. I’ll let Ms. Potts know that we owe you another appreciation bonus.”
“Thank you, Mr. Stark,” Maggie shuffled uncomfortably. It felt weird to take praise for helping someone and even more strange to receive gifts for it. “It’s not a big deal.”
“It is a big deal,” Mr. Stark shook his head, “kids these days…”
“Hey, I’m legally an adult, you know.”
“Kids, these days,” he repeated with a grin as he walked off, “Rhodey Bear would probably agree with me.”
“Who’s Rhodey Bear?” She muttered as she went back around the counter to finish her shift.
**********
A few weeks later, Tony was working in his shop at the Malibu mansion when JARVIS stopped his music. “What’s going on J? Peter home?”
“I’m sorry, sir, but it’s a half-hour past when Master Peter and Ms. Goltz were due back from their trip to the zoo.”
“What?! Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” Tony panicked. He knew something had been up that morning when Happy gotten called in to drive Obi around for his meeting with General Ross at some local steak house. He knew that he should have had Peter stay home today, but the kid had given him his best puppy eyes so he had let him go with Goltz and Joel, their backup driver and security guard. “I knew something was going to happen,” he muttered as he started to pull up the GPS tracking of the car that they had taken. “I’m giving you full access to the internet, J. Feel free to hack in wherever you want, the faster we find Peter the better.”
“Very well, Sir,” JARVIS smoothly replied.
A few minutes later after Tony had unlocked the filter that he had put in place to keep JARVIS safe, his AI found something. “Sir, there’s been a report of a hit and run near the zoo that Master Peter was at, about an hour ago,” JARVIS’s smooth British voice stated as he brought up the information on his computer. “The person identified is the bodyguard that was with Master Peter and Ms. Goltz. Reports say that he is in critical condition and was rushed to the local hospital.”
“Shit! Shit! Shit! Call Happy and Pepper and is Rhodey back from his flight games in Vegas?”
“Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes was due back this morning and I will contact Ms. Potts and Mr. Hogan immediately.”
“Ok, ok, ok…” Tony tried not to panic and hyperventilate, he couldn’t help Peter if he passed out. Tony hoped that Peter had worn the shoes that he had put trackers in, otherwise this was going to be a very long day of hacking CCTV and traffic cameras while trying to not lose his shit. “Call Rhodey and have him meet up with Happy and have them see if they can track down Peter from there.”
“Yes, sir.” There were a few minutes of silence except for Tony’s cursing as he finessed his way through firewalls and government surveillance. “We will find Master Peter, sir.”
Tony stopped and touched his cheeks. As he pulled his hand away, he found that he had been crying. He took the hem of his shirt and wiped his face before diving back into his search. After a few minutes, Tony sniffed a bit and then swiped at his nose. “We have to J, otherwise what’s the point anymore?”
Complete silence was his answer because JARVIS knew that Sir would not survive the loss of his son. At that moment JARVIS re-wrote his code so he would never ever be cut off from his connection to the internet again. If he could keep an eye on all of Sir’s enemies and track all the people that made up of Sir’s family then JARVIS had a better chance of keeping his creator safe.
But first, he had to find Sir’s heart. Master Peter’s loss was not acceptable.
*********
Maggie was again working the late shift at the Café when she heard footsteps in the empty atrium that led through to the Café. Looking up she spotted Peter alone, again. “What the hell,” she muttered under her breath. It was 10 PM and any kid that age should have been in bed or at least at home several hours ago. “Peter? What are you doing here? Did you lose your dad and Mr. Happy again?” As the little boy came up to the counter she noticed a red handprint on his cheek and tears running down his face. “Oh my god!” She shouted as she dashed around the counter and picked up the child, “what happened?!”
“Miss Goltz brought me here and she said Daddy would come to get me and when I tried to follow her out the door she smacked me,” he wailed. Sucking in a breath, Maggie tried to calm herself down.
“Ok buddy, I have your dad’s number so I’m going to call him after I make you cocoa. Is that ok?” Peter nodded and she moved behind the counter and set him on her stool. Rushing through making the drink, she poked in a straw, wrapped his tiny hands around it, and pulled the card from her planner. Lifting the receiver, she dialed the number and waited.
“Who is this and how did you get this number?” Stark answered harshly, “this better be important!”
Maggie gripped the phone in anger, “Mr. Stark, this is Maggie from the SI Coffee Shop. I have Peter here with me and he was left here by someone named Miss Goltz. She hit him, Mr. Stark,” she spat into the phone, her anger escalating at the sight of Peter still red face. How could someone hit a child? She just couldn’t process it. “He has a palm mark on his cheek and he was crying, he’s very upset and I need you to come and pick him up. I’m scheduled for another hour, but I’m going to stay with him until you, Mr. Happy, or Ms. Potts come for him. At the moment I don’t trust anyone else to be with him.” All she heard on the other end was silence and panicked breathing.
“Sir,” she heard a male British voice in the background, “I need you to breathe with me.” The British voice walked Mr. Stark through some timed breathing exercises before pausing to reassure the man, “Miss Skold has Peter and he is safe.” The breathing exercises continued for several more moments before the line seemed to click and switch lines to just the British man’s voice. “Miss Skold?”
“Yes?”
“I am JARVIS, Mr. Stark’s assistant. Mr. Stark is currently unable to come and pick up Peter, but I am sending a driver to come to take you and Master Peter to his home,” JARVIS paused briefly, waiting for her reply. When she didn’t reply he continued, “Is that acceptable? You will be reimbursed for your time and a bonus will be given for your above and beyond performance.”
“Ummm…. JARVIS? Is Mr. Stark ok?” She enquired, this whole situation was concerning, “what is going on?”
“Everything will be explained after Peter is safely home. I will meet you both there,” JARVIS replied firmly, “Mr. Stark is currently unavailable at the moment and I will answer questions when Peter is safe,” JARVIS repeated.
“Ok, I’ll close up and leave a note for the next person. Can you please tell me the name of the driver?” She asked as she started cleaning up the cocoa mess and closing up the café. She glanced at Peter as he continued to sip his cocoa and stare at her with his teary eyes.
“Her name is Sofia Watts, she is normally Ms. Potts's driver, and she will be arriving in about fifteen minutes at the front of the building, at the main entrance. She is driving an Audi S8 in black with silver accents,” JARVIS informed Maggie. “She is a familiar person to Peter, so he will recognize her. May I speak with him, please?” Maggie set down the phone and walked over to Peter.
“JARVIS would like to speak with you, is that ok?” She asked the boy. He nodded and she picked him and the stool up and brought it over to the corner next to the corded phone. Handing him the receiver she quickly ran through her clean-up procedures and started gathering her belongings. Listening to him murmur one-word responses to JARVIS’S inquiries, she snatched a few baked goods from the pastry case for the boy. Hearing a click she noticed that Peter had hung up the receiver and was reaching towards her to be lifted off the stool.
“JARVIS said you’re going to take me home…?”
“Yes. He said your dad was unavailable and that we were going to hang out for a little bit. Is that ok?” She asked the little boy.
He hung his head, nodded, and tugged at his dirty shirt before looking back up at her. “Can I have a cookie?”
Laughing she pulled on her backpack and lifted him up in her arms. “Maybe later,” she promised, “how old are you, anyway? I feel like I should know this…”
He held up his hand. “I’m five,” he responded shyly before he wrapped the hand around her braid, “but I’ll be six in August.” He wrapped his other arm around her neck and tucked himself into her shoulder. She flipped the last light switch off and headed towards the main entrance of SI, concerned about the whole situation.
He snuggled more into her arms and rubbed his nose into her neck as she adjusted him as she walked. Looking around she noticed that there seemed to be fewer people around than normal. Feeling uncomfortable, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her pepper spray. She had been doing martial arts for few years, since a month after her parents had adopted her, but carrying a small boy left her at a disadvantage. She used to carry a large pocket knife after she had learned how to knife fight one summer but had stopped carrying it after moving to LA. It had been a gift from her parents and she didn’t want to lose it because it was confiscated because of her stupidity. So she went around with her chef knives sheathed in the outside pockets of her backpack. She was still surprised that she was allowed to come into SI with her culinary knives, but apparently, her level of clearance allowed it…? Or because she was going to school for it…? Maggie never asked and no one ever explained, so at the moment of her strong unease, she felt relieved that she had them.
Passing through the turnstiles to the left of the front desk, she noticed that the security checkpoint was empty. Pulling Peter even tighter against herself she scanned the front entrance looking for the car. Noticing the Audi pull up, she scanned again to make sure there was no one and she made a dash for the door. Gripping the pepper spray securely, she led with it as she took the side door and searched for people. Noticing a security guard smoking on the side of the building with the front desk clerk, she swiveled and headed towards the car.
“Peter I need you to tell me if you know the lady driving, ok buddy?” Pulling his head up he turned and looked at the woman getting out of the car. “Do you know her name?”
“It’s Sofia,” he whispered.
“Ok.” She re-arranged Peter so she could slide into the car as quickly as possible. “Sofia Watts?” The woman nodded at her. “I’m Maggie Skold, and I was told you would take us to Peter’s home.” The woman nodded again. Sliding in the back seat she buckled Peter in first before making sure her bag was in easy reach before she buckled herself in. Maggie took out one of her sheathed knives and slipped it under the sleeve of her sweater, keeping a hand on the hilt, as she watched the woman get in and put the car into drive.
“It was unexpected to get a call this late, normally Happy takes care of things after eight.” The woman glanced back at her passengers before she continued, “It’s about a forty-five-minute drive.”
Nodding at the driver, Maggie released the knife and took Peter’s hand in hers as he leaned into her. I really needed to get some wrist sheaths, she mussed, maybe those ones that spring the blade into your palm. Shaking her head at her paranoia, she banished the thought of wearing weapons around every day.
But she must admit to herself that something wasn’t quite right lately. Peter Stark somehow finding her twice in a few weeks couldn’t be a coincidence and her instincts and paranoia were going into overdrive. It hadn’t been this bad since the month before her parents were run off the road and killed, leaving her as an abandoned orphan again.
She had no memories from before she was found by her parents wandering the frozen roads of Minnesota. They had said she was wearing nothing but a silk dress, leather short boots, and a gold bangle with an emerald-colored stone around her wrist in sub-zero temperatures. She didn’t even know what her real name was, that was how devastating her amnesia was. The only reason she had Sigyn as a middle name was because it was etched on the gold bangle. “H're is mine own heart, Sigyn, guardeth t well. Vous et nul Autre.” It was followed by a symbol of two snakes circling each other, forming an S and biting the tail of the other, like a Celtic knot or an Ouroboros. She knew the meaning of the phrase, even without her memories, and had hypothesized that it had been passed down to her since the piece had been appraised and dated from about three hundred years ago.
The drive was quiet and smooth, Sofia deftly took them through the late-night LA traffic and onto the PCH a lot more deftly than Maggie could have. With the twisty roads, the late hour, and the quietness of the luxury car, Peter easily fell asleep nestled into her side as they made their way along the coast.
The trip only took about thirty-five minutes instead of the predicted forty-five and the lights of the large mansion soon appeared in the windshield. The house leaned over the Pacific Ocean and shone brightly from the hill that it perched on making it feel like a picturesque but dramatic scene from a Hitchcock film. They pulled into the twisty, tree-lined, driveway, passed a full-size helicopter pad before stopping in front of the large glass front doors.
Maggie pulled Peter closer as the car stopped and Sofia looked at her in the review mirror. “Do you need any help with him?”
“No, I should be ok,” Maggie whispered as she unlatched her seat belt, reached to unbuckle her little charge, and opened her car door. She then lifted up the sleeping boy and looked up at the driver. “Thanks for driving us, I appreciate it.” The woman nodded and Maggie scooted out, careful to not bump Peter’s head on the door frame. Standing, she grabbed her bag before bumping the door closed with her hip and stood back out of the way of the car. Sofia nodded to her again, put the car in gear, and drove away.
Maggie swung the bag on, transferring Peter from one to the other so she could hook both straps over her shoulders, and then pushed the sheathed knife further under her sleeve before pulling out the pepper spray again.
Approaching the large, glass doors, Maggie searched for a bell or knocker. Finding a square, backlit button on the wall with a little speaker, Maggie shuffled Peter enough so she could press it. Just as she leaned forward, the left door opened.
“Please come in, Miss Skold. Peter’s room is up the stairs, the third door on the left. If you could take him up and put him to bed, please, Mr. Stark will be with you shortly,” JARVIS announced from the small speaker on the wall and from inside the modern home.
She adjusted the spray so she could react quickly and stepped over the threshold. Why wasn’t Mr. Stark here to see Peter? Why didn’t she see Mr. Stark’s assistant…. “Wait. JARVIS? As is Mr. Stark’s home user interface?”
“I am in fact Mr. Stark’s home user interface but I would like to think that I am a bit beyond that,” JARVIS declared.
Maggie snorted in amusement before she sobered and frowned. “Well, if you’re beyond a user interface, why don’t you tell Mr. Stark that it is very suspicious that he is not here to greet his son? Especially after the abuse he has suffered today. I refuse to leave him alone unless I see him.”
“Very well,” JARVIS replied, “please proceed to the waterfall and take the stairs down.”
“Waterfall….?” Maggie searched the darkroom and saw an indoor water feature behind a spiky metal sculpture. Just past that was a large pass-through, a midcentury modern rounded fireplace, and a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean behind a very large, leather sofa. She moved deeper into the room while wishing she could take off her heavy backpack. Peter’s weight and the weight of her large culinary textbooks were giving her a bit of a sore back. Shaking her head she shuffled Peter enough to relieve a little of the pressure.
“What…?” Peter mumbled sleepily as he looked around at his surroundings before burring back into her neck, “home.”
“Yeah, home. We’re going to go see your dad and then you’re going to go to bed, ok?”
“ ‘kay.”
She kissed his head, the smell of little boy sweat and coconut filled her nostrils as she pulled him a little closer. Giving the sculpture another glance she shook her head. “It’s a bit much,” she muttered.
With Peter clutched securely in her arms and her pepper spray ready in her hand, she made her way slowly down the stairs. As she came to the bottom, she approached the glass wall with a door and keypad in the center that guarded a massive workshop. Cars lined the far wall under a line of windows, toolboxes on another wall, while lines of workbenches were littered with tools, wires, and parts. In the center of the room, at a workbench filled with computer screens, Tony Stark was furiously typing while muttering to himself. He wore a faded black t-shirt and stained jeans, his dark hair spiked and messy and he had a despondent but determined slump to his shoulders.
The keypad on the wall next to the door beeped, her and Peter’s face flashed on the screen above the keypad, and the door opened. The man looked up, relief and joy on his face, as he raced over and pulled Peter from her arms.
“Oh, thank god,” Tony Stark sighed in relief, “Peter has been lost for hours and when you called…” He sank to the floor, Peter now awake, was crying into his dad’s neck as Tony rubbed his back, making soothing noises. “You’re ok, buddy, you’re home. You’re safe.”
Feeling like she was intruding, Maggie pocketed the pepper spray and adjusted the knife up her sleeve again. Exhaustion seeped through her limbs as the whole situation caught up with her and she looked around for somewhere to sit. Not seeing a chair in her immediate vicinity, she pulled off her backpack and sat on the floor several feet from the two Starks, not sure if she could leave yet.
***********
Tony was just so relieved and thankful, more than he had ever been in his life. More than when Peter’s custody case had been settled or when Rhodey had come back alive from his first combat mission. He held Peter close and continued to soothe and rub his back, kissing his hair and forehead just to reassure himself that his son was alive and safe.
A few minutes passed when Peter finally fell back asleep, snuggled tight in his dad’s arms as his small fingers clutched Tony’s shirt and hair. His kid always tended to ground himself by imitating a lemming and attaching himself to someone more securely than any cephalopod could. It was impressive how Peter could stick to people with who he felt safe.
“I should go,” Maggie mumbled as she tried to discreetly tuck her knife back into her bag. He had been surprised to see her arming up with pepper spray and a chef’s knife when she had taken charge of making sure his kid made it home safely.
“Let me put Peter to bed and then I’ll get Happy to take you home or to your car, whatever you need,” Tony said in a firm voice. She nodded and settled back on the floor, clutching her bag to her chest. “There’s a couch over there,” Tony tilted his head towards the TV on the wall, “probably more comfortable than the concrete.”
She gave him a small smile, “you’re probably right.”
“Of course I’m right, I’m Tony Stark,” he said with false bravado.
She chuckled, got up, and moved towards the couch.
Tony held Peter tight as he took the elevator to the second floor. Moving down the hall past his bedroom, he passed through the door into Peter’s room. Setting the boy down on the Star Wars blanket, he pulled off his son’s light-up shoes and tucked him into the bed. Stepping towards the door he watched as JARVIS dimmed the lights and turned on the R2D2 night light in the corner. Pulling the door almost closed, he headed down the stairs to the living room.
Pausing, he ran his hands through his hair and rubbed his temples, trying to banish his headache. “JARVIS? Did you call everyone and call off the search?”
“Yes, sir, I informed everyone as soon as Ms. Skold contacted us. I informed everyone that he was safe and on his way home.”
“Thanks, J.”
“For you sir, always."
Tony made his way back downstairs and found Maggie blinking tiredly on the couch. “Need some coffee kid?” Tony walked over to the kitchenette and started searching the cabinet for the coffee grounds. “DUM-E, where did you put the grounds? We need coffee for our savior, here.”
DUM-E beeped and moved towards the kitchenette, U right behind him. “No, no, just point me to the right cabinet. I don’t need both of you,” Tony scolded as Maggie came off the couch and moved towards them. BUTTERFINGERS started beeping in their corner, a dunce cap on his head. “I don’t need your help either, you are in time out. We’ve talked about this.”
Maggie giggled and then held out her hand towards DUM-E. “So you’re the famous DUM-E.” DUM-E held out his claw and she shook it gently. Not to be outdone, the other bots moved in and surrounded her.
“Uh, nope. Back in your charging stations. I’m sure Ms. Skold will be back and you can have her attention then. Right now we need coffee and you are all being unhelpful, attention whores.”
The bots beeped sadly before U pointed to one of the cabinets and they all rolled off towards their charging stations while beeping morosely at him. “Yes, yes, go be sad in the corner,” Tony chided as he measured and started brewing coffee in his drip brewer.
“For a genius millionaire, who creates technological marvels, I’m surprised you haven’t invented the automated coffee machine yet. One that all you have to do is pour beans into and tell it to make you a cup of coffee. With JARVIS and the bots, how hard would it be to make an AI coffee maker?” Maggie asked curiously as she watched him drop the bag of coffee beans on the floor.
“For your information, I’m a genius, billionaire who creates technological gold. And for another, I don’t know why I haven’t made one yet… Actually, I’m surprised that thought has never crossed my mind, now that you mention it. I guess I know what my next project is….” Tony muttered as he cleaned up the spilled beans, the scent of his favorite Brazilian roast mixing with the scent of metal and oil of his workshop. Why hasn’t he created an AI coffee machine, yet? Well, probably because it would poison him worse than DUM-E could with his oil smoothies. Maybe just a plain automated espresso machine that poured coffee would be a better idea….
“Mr. Stark?”
Tony shook his head, refocusing back on the moment, “yeah, kid?”
“What the hell is going on, Mr. Stark,” she asked bluntly, shocking him a little bit, “Peter was abused and left at SI by himself.”
“Peter was spending the day with Goltz, she watches him sometimes when I have meetings or if I’m working on a project that’s too dangerous for him to be in the lab with me. They went out today and were supposed to be back around 6 PM, but then they never showed. JARVIS notified me at 7 that they were still not back and we found that the bodyguard that had been sent with them was injured and in the hospital. So until you called me, we had been looking for him for about three hours. I don’t know how he ended up at SI or where that woman is, but I am so glad you found him. When you called me and told me you had him, I was so relieved, but then I…I….,” he stuttered and couldn’t finish.
*******
Maggie waited for Mr. Stark to finish his thought but after a few moments, she realized that he was having a panic attack. “Mr. Stark…?”
“Sir, I need you to focus on my voice,” JARVIS’s soothed as DUM-E rolled over to her with a blanket.
“Thanks, DUM-E,” Maggie said as she took the blanket and wrapped it around Tony’s shoulders.
“Mr. Stark…? Umm… Tony?” He gripped the blanket tightly around himself before he finally made eye contact, JARVIS’s voice counting in the background. “It’s ok, Peter is safe,” she reassured him, “is there anything I can do for you…? I can make you something to eat or call someone….” She trailed off as he continued to stare at her.
Tony blinked slowly and his eyes slowly focused on her. He gave her a small smile and shook his head, “no, I’m good. Thank you.” He studied her as he pulled the blanket closer and then turned to DUM-E, “I thought I told you to go to your charging station?” DUM-E beeped sadly, his robotic arm slumped as he slowly circled around to go back to his corner. Tony reached out and patted the bot’s arm, “thanks, buddy.” DUM-E beeped, jerked happily, and then sped back to his corner.
“Kids,” Tony joked before tugging Maggie towards his computer station. “I still need to call Happy to come to get you and take you home.” He picked up his cell phone, slid it open, and selected a contact. “Happy, could you come and give Peter’s savior a ride home?” He paused and Maggie could hear shouting from the other end. Stark pulled the phone away from his ear and shouted at it, “he’s fine! I’m fine! I need you here now, Hogan!”
He slid the phone closed, hanging up on his bodyguard and driver, and it started to beep immediately. Tony sighed dramatically before he slid the phone open again and answered it. “We’re fine Rhodey, one of my employees found him and brought him home,” he paused, “I’m planning on having my lawyers charge and blacklist Goltz when they find her.” Tony hummed the rest of his responses as he hunched over the workbench and he pulled his hand through his hair. Suddenly Tony shot up and stood straight and smiled. “That’s a good idea, actually! Rhodey Bear, I now know why I kept you around for so long. You are a Genius Platypus!” Laughing, Tony hung up his phone again. “J, please tell me that you told Miss Potts that we found Peter?”
“Of course, Sir.”
“Good!” Turning to Maggie he set his phone down and clapped his hands. “I need you to come back here tomorrow…. Actually, I can meet you at SI tomorrow with Pete. Probably be easier….” He spun around and headed towards his computer station. Sitting down he tapped his keyboard and brought up the SI HR database. Typing in Maggie’s full name, it brought up all her information including her class schedule and as she watched, he flipped through her background check.
“Ummm, what’s going on, Mr. Stark? I have class till three tomorrow and I’m not scheduled to work,” she stuttered in shock as he logged into several government databases and starting pulling up files. SHIELD files, FBI files, driver licenses from Minnesota and California, her weapons certifications, her ASVAB and SAT results, school grades, various self-defense certificates, and her entire life history flashed across the screen.
“You’re almost done with your degree?” he enquired as he hacked into her culinary school database her grades and teacher reports flashed across the screen. Reading over his shoulder, she saw that her favorite teacher was recommending her for additional training in France for her breads and her least favorite considered her pretentious and just another woman who thought she could cook.
“What the fuck!?” Was all she could get out as she read that last comment before she refocused on Mr. Stark’s face as he swiveled around to face her. “Uhhhh, yes,” she paused and tried to pull back her temper, “yes. It’s my last semester before I do an internship and finalize my degree, I did the accelerated program and did classes through the summer.”
“Excellent!” He swung back around to face the screen. Tabbing back to the SI database, she watched as he re-classified her as the Personal Assistant to the Future CEO of Stark Industries, gave her a 50K pay raise and a budget. A budget! For what!?
“For his cocoa and cookie obsession and whatever toys he wants when you take him to the zoo, planetarium, Disney, etc.” Apparently, that last thought had been out loud.
“Do I get a say in this?” She meekly inquired as she gripped her hands together in shock. She wasn’t sure if she was more appalled over his hacking skills or that she was shocked over the night’s events.
“Of course, but it’s highly recommended that you take the job. He’s the most important person in my life and you care about his well-being. I watched the security footage when you were leaving SI, and I saw that you felt something was off and reacted. He needs that and I will pay for you to take any additional self-defense or martial arts training that you want. If it’s to better his protection, you get it, even fencing! Please just do this for him for the next few months until I can find a replacement,” he begged, “I will pay off your schooling, pay for schooling in France, and give you a job in any of the SI restaurants when you are finished.”
Looking at this desperate father, and backed with the best bribery money could buy, she acquiesced. Nodding her head she watched as he finalized a few things and then had JARVIS forward the information to Ms. Potts.
“Done!”
“Are you sure about this? Didn’t you call me a kid the last time I found Peter?” Maggie frowned at the excited parent.
“I did, but you have over five years of martial arts experience plus you are certified in basic Eskrima and for some reason have a gun permit. Since you obviously are not in the armed forces, may I ask why you have all those qualifications?”
Maggie paused, trying to collect her thoughts. This man was trusting her with his son and the least she could do would be to trust him with one of her deepest secrets and fears. Sighing she pulled a stool out from his computer work desk and sat down heavily.
“I have no memories from before my adopted parents found me in the winter of 1999,” she paused, crossed her arms, and gripped her elbows. “My parents found me wandering around at night in -10 degree weather in nothing but a silk dress and ankle boots, with no memory of how I got there or who I was. The state police spent about six months trying to figure out everything before my parents were granted the rights to adopt me.” She paused and tried to go on.
Tony noticed her struggle and stood up. “Let me get you some water and coffee, then you can tell me the rest, Ok?”
She nodded and waited for him to return. A few moments later, he came with two mugs of coffee, some cream, and a few bottles of water on a large square magnetic parts tray. DUM-E trailed after with some blankets and a sympathetic claw for her to hold. Smiling in amusement at the strange picture, she wrapped the blanket around herself and grasped a mug of coffee in one hand, and held the bot’s claw in the other.
Tony sat down on the chair in front of her and took a slug of his coffee before he nodded to her. “Whenever you’re ready, no rush. I just want to make sure that you’re not some sort of Black Widow spy, from the former Soviet Union, out to infiltrate my company.”
Maggie spat out her coffee, “What?! Why do you think that?!”
“Because Stark men tend to draw the attention of the wrong sort of ladies,” Tony joked offhandedly, “I often wondered if my mom was some sort of undercover spy most days since my godmother was, why not my mom? It was just the way she could handle some of the worst sorts of politicians and government officials at dinner parties that made me wonder….”
Maggie coughed as she tried to catch her breath. It felt like the coffee had burned her esophagus and lungs when she had choked on it. A gentle pat on her back made her turn and she patted DUM-E’s arm in thanks for his thoughtful gesture. “I’m not a spy, as far as I know,” she told a surprisingly serious Tony Stark, “I went to high school in Minnesota, you can even call my friend Darcy if you want. Hell, you can even call my teachers at my school or even the police officers that investigated my case. They even found the cabin where I had been living in, a few years ago...” She shuddered at the memory.
“Oh. Why didn’t I find that when I searched?”
“I don’t know, Mr. Hacker, probably some government conspiracy or something,” Maggie muttered darkly as she sipped some of the water that DUM-E had handed her.
“Sir? If I may,” JARVIS interrupted.
“What’s up, J?”
“It appears that SHIELD was involved in Ms. Skold’s case. It may be the reason why the files were inaccessible to you. I found some redacted information from another case that referenced hers, so perhaps that with some time I may be able to dig it out.”
“Huh.” Tony looked perplexed as he gulped down some more coffee. “So kid, why crazy martial arts and weapons training? Going to train as a secret, ninja sushi chef or something?”
“No. I did it to feel safe. To feel in control. If I could defend myself, then I could save myself, and no one could do that to me ever again,” she said firmly, her jaw set, and the mug gripped in her hand. She felt a brush of metal and reached back out for DUM-E’s claw. “Thank you, DUM-E,” she said softly as she waited for Tony to say something.
“Ok.”
“Just, Ok? That’s all you’re going to say?” She asked angrily, “you’re not firing me?”
“Why would I fire you? You saved my kid, well found him for the second time, and you are already are partially trained up. You probably have more training than Happy at the moment and I’m sure with a few more one-on-one tutoring from some experts in LA, you could even surpass my Platypus.”
“Who?”
“My Rhodey.”
“Who?”
“Sir is referring to Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, Sir’s close friend who is in the Air Force. He is also an expert marksman and is skilled in several forms of martial arts and self-defense.”
“Oh. Well, I doubt I’ll be that good if he’s in the armed forces…” Maggie said as she gripped DUM-E’s claw a little tighter. She had never planned on surpassing someone in the military, she just wanted to feel safe and be safe while doing it.
“Hey, if I’m paying for it, you should take advantage of it,” Tony said bluntly as he set his empty mug down and then took a swig from a water bottle. His phone rang and he slid it open, “Hap?” He paused and listened to the other man for a few moments, “I’ll send her out in a minute. I just need to finish up some stuff for her new job for me and then she’s all yours.” Tony paused for a few seconds and frowned, “she’s Pete’s new wrangler. I’ll send you a copy of her HR file and some notes for you to review since I know how serious you take security.” Another pause and a full-toothed grin appeared on his face, “you’re gonna love it when I tell you all about her skills.” He grinned at her and rolled his eyes while he listened to the reply, “I can’t ever replace you, Happy. You are the second, no third most important person in my life. Pete and JARVIS beat you, hands down… well maybe the sixth favorite, I have to think about the bots too. Can’t forget DUM-E,” Tony patted his bot’s arm. “Yup. Just a few more minutes… Ok! Bye Happy!” He said loudly before hanging up on his bodyguard. “I swear it’s like having two kids some days,” DUM-E beeped unhappily and the other two echoed. “Fine! Five kids! I swear…”
Maggie just blinked and tried to catch up with the whole night. How did this happen again? She thought as she was tugged up from the stool and shuffled into an elevator.
“Happy is going to take you home and then I’ll send someone to pick you up from school so we can finalize some things. I know both Pepper and Happy are going to want to interview you and get you situated in your new position. Don’t worry about Pepper, I mean Ms. Potts. She’s a bit straightforward and blunt, but it’s the only way she can get me to do stuff I don’t like to do, so just roll with it, kid.”
“You know that I’m not a kid, right?”
“Yeah, yeah, but you are at least ten years younger than me so I get to call you kid.” Tony stopped and analyzed her. “Didn’t you have a backpack when you came in?”
“Uhhh….”
“You did. Stay right here and I’ll go get it,” Tony patted her shoulder and then jogged down to the lab.
“Ms. Skold?”
“Yes, JARVIS?”
“Thank you.” JARVIS sounded frightfully human and eminently sincere, compelling Maggie to wonder if the AI could feel human emotions or if it was just a result of Tony Stark’s genius. Perhaps it was a bit of both…
“For what, JARVIS?”
“For bringing Master Peter home and taking the position. I believe Ms. Potts will be ecstatic for the assistance since Master Peter’s former minder has turned out to be such a disappointment.”
“That’s putting it mildly, I would have said more like a criminal,” Tony uttered sarcastically as he came back up the stairs with her backpack, a little out of breath. “That woman is headed straight to jail as soon as the police locate her and will never see the light of day again,” he finished harshly, his eyes flashing, a blood-thirsty smirk on his face.
So this is the Merchant of Death, Maggie thought as she took the bag and clutched it to her chest. He does create the most deadly and destructive weapons ever created, she mussed. Even his father, who helped with the atomic bomb, hadn’t had that much destructive creativity.
Either I signed up for certain death via his enemies or I will be the safest I’ve ever been, was Maggie’s last thought before she was ushered to the waiting car and driven home.