The breeze coming in off the water is cool, providing a nice contrast to the heat of the setting sun. The weather has been just beautiful enough to make Pepper almost regret leaving tomorrow. But L.A. is calling, in more ways than one. What was supposed to be weekly departmental conference calls have turned into two or three a week. It’s taking a toll on her, but more so on Tony. When Aaron wakes up at night, Tony is almost always the one to get up and stay with him. He says he needs the time to think, and it just agitates him if she gets up to keep him company. He’s taken the whole “husbandly duty” thing to heart, which would be cute if he ever made up for the missed sleep later.

Pepper sighs, and glances over at her brother. This is supposed to be their goodbye time, a couple of hours to just be brother and sister instead of caretaker and patient. Instead they’re both so lost in their own thoughts, they’ve barely spoken for the last two hours.

She nudges Mick with her shoulder as they walk side by side. When he glances at her she says, “So I’ve been thinking about getting a dog.”

Mick looks at her as if her words don’t quite compute, then he starts laughing softly. “You really think you’re ready to take on another responsibility?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.

Pepper snorts. “No. But it might distract Tony from buying more baby stuff for awhile.”

Mick snorts and nods. No further explanation is needed. Until this morning when they’d finished packing, the house had nearly been overflowing with baby clothes, and toys, and books…

"So did you two finally decide to leave some of the department store here for next time, or did Tony give in and arrange for a second jet?"

Pepper groans at how on target Mick is. "I guess part of that depends on you. We do have the nursery set up, and I get the feeling that Tony's decided that summers in Savannah are a great idea."

The idea’s growing on Pepper as well. Though she’s curious what her brother will think of it.

Mick only shrugs. "It’d keep the house from being constantly empty. The way the housing market is these days Ginny, it's not like we'd be able to sell the house for awhile anyway, without me making some extensive renovations." His eyes shift to the rising tide-line, "In the meantime I think that I've got enough tucked away to cover the occasional yard service while we’re away, and the property taxes."

Pepper nods - knowing her brother speaks the truth. They've never talked about his finances all that much, but she knows that the Agency pays it’s field agents well, and it’s doctorate professionals better. Still, she wonders... "You're not going to be stretched trying to pay that and two rents in L.A, are you? Because last I heard, opening up a restaurant is pretty expensive..."

Mick actually snorts. "I don't need a place in the Ritz district, sis. I figure I'll find something small on the outskirts of the city, and if necessary, do my own renovations."

"If you need any tools, just come over to the house. Tony has more than enough, and he’ll be happy to share."

Hell, she has a feeling her husband might also appreciate the chance to leave the boardroom and help swing a hammer occasionally.

Mick nods again. "Just remember if you come back for a visit that I'm having the water and electricity disconnected the day after tomorrow, so you'll need to call and have them reconnected before you get here."

Pepper very much doubts that's going to be an issue... She and Tony have been away from L.A. too long as it is - they're going to spend the next few months playing catch up. Still...

"Do you plan to stop here again before heading to L.A once you get back from Chile?” It's not the subtlest of questions...but then she's tried subtle investigation repeatedly in the last couple of weeks, and she still has no clue what - if anything - has been resolved between her brother and Amelia.

If Mick plans to stop here before coming to L.A. to spend some more time with his ex-partner, Pepper may just drag Tony down for a long weekend visit.

Michael only shrugs. "I'm leaving everything here for the meantime. I'll have to come back for at least a day or so if I want any of it before the trip out to California. But it’ll be a short stop."

There's something in his voice that makes her stop – a lack of any emotion. "Forgive me for prying Mick, but what’s with you tonight? I’d think you’d be in a better mood for a man headed on his ‘dream vacation’ tomorrow."

Mick looks embarrassed, then shrugs and sort of waves her off. "Ah don't mind me today, Gin. I'm in a strange mood I guess. I'm glad to be leaving yes, but I’m also just really tired – I dropped by and spent the evening with Mom last night."

Pepper winces, face alight with understanding. "So that's where you were? Why didn't you say anything? I could have at least come along for backup. I'm much more scandalous than you right now. It might have taken some of the heat off you if Tony and I were along."

Mick shakes his head. "No. You’ve had enough to deal with the last few weeks. Besides, you know how insistent Mom is about us keeping up our 'special' Mother-Son time…though she did ask to see pictures of the Monkey…"

Yeah, Pepper does remember how her stepmother had insisted on time alone with her son. "You know, I always suspected that your 'special time' together was always her way to see how much I'd managed to corrupt you. Purposely or otherwise."

She grins as Mick sticks his tongue out at her. Then his face grows serious. "In the old days, yes. She also claims it helped prevent sibling rivalry. Though oddly enough, this time she didn’t even grill me that much: she just wanted to talk about her new apartment, and about Dad..."

"Yeah?" Pepper slips her arm through his. "How'd that go?" Her stepmother tended to avoid the subject of her deceased husband. For her to bring it up was a little bit ominous…

Mick shrugs again. "Mom finally decided empty out the old family storage space. She's got a bunch of Dad’s personal effects... She wanted to know if you or I wanted any of it or if she should just toss it all out."

"I assume you went ahead and declined on my behalf." Pepper’s voice is dessert dry.

Mick shrugged. "I told her to just put everything in boxes and I'd come pick it up later tonight. I figured you wouldn’t want much of it." Her brother pulls something out of his back pocket and hands it to her. "Before you reject everything wholesale though, I warn you that some of the pictures are a little… uncanny."

He's handed her two photographs, one recent and the other faded sepia with age. The first is her brother raspberrying Aaron as the little boy squeals in response. The other, Pepper realizes in shock, is an almost identical picture...except for the date on the back...

"I'd never realized how much you resembled Aaron as a baby," she murmurs in astonishment.

Mick snorts. "Actually sis, I'm older. So technically I think that it's the other way around. It’s a heavy burden, but the munchkin will grow into it."

She laughs silently. "Fine. I hadn't realized how much Aaron looks like you used to." Her lips quirk wryly. "I guess that means he takes after Dad too, huh. Maybe I shouldn't be so fast to pass on that memorabilia. Aaron might want to look at it someday."

Mick shrugs. "He wasn't always... He didn't start out the man he turned into. It’s good for us both to remember that." Her brother shrugs again and then he smiles a little. "Either way at least now you now know that Aaron’ll grow up blessed with brains and good looks."

She laughs again. "All I had to do was look in the mirror to know that."

Mick chuckles. "This family certainly isn't hurting for egos, I’ll tell you that much. So...to change the topic completely, do you have any suggestions on what kind of cheesy souvenirs I should ship home for you guys from Chile?"

"There's a loaded question. I like native sculpture - or replicas, rather. And Tony...god, just the cheesiest thing you can find, I suppose. The man's got unlimited money but is fascinated by anything with moving parts."

Mick nods. "I'll see what I can find then." Mick's smile turns softer, "Amelia is all excited to try a real empanada and milcaos, apparently. I'm going to have to scout around for a decent restaurant that sells them before she flies down in another couple of months."

"Mick..." Pepper glances at her brother, then back down at the sand under their bare feet. "I know you want me to butt out, but for the record, I really, really like Amelia."

He raises an eyebrow. "This is starting to sound frighteningly like the beginning of a 'you hurt her and I’ll kill you' speech. I thought that kind of thing would be her brothers’ prerogative...'"

Pepper shakes her head. "No. No threats. I just like her - I think she's good for you and I wanted you to know that. I don’t know where you two stand at present but…"

Mick interrupts. "On opposite sides of a currently unsurpassable line.”

Pepper opens her mouth to protest, but Mick only holds up a hand. “And yes, for the record, right now the main problem is me, I’ll openly admit that.” He shrugs a little. “We have a lot to talk through, and I’ve promised her the opportunity to do that after I’ve had a little time to sort through things in my head.”

Her brother turns to look at the ocean before he continues. “Look, Mel’s going to come down spend the last two weeks of my leave in Chile with me, Ginny. It's something at least."

"I know. And I'm not saying I expect you to come back engaged or anything. Just...don't act rashly, okay? Don’t do something you’ll eventually regret."

Mick reaches over to pat her arm soothingly. "Don't worry, that’s why I’m taking this trip, remember? Sometimes you just need some time to think and regroup. In the meantime, how much trouble can I possibly get into trying local cuisine, laying around on the local beach and doing some surfing? At worst I risk sunburn or food poisoning..."

"Sounds like a pretty serious threat if you ask me." It's so annoying that he doesn't burn as easily as she does. "So, should I be getting a bed ready for you when you come to L.A., or are you just going to slum around until you find an apartment?"

Mick shrugs. "I wouldn't object to a couch to crash on for a few weeks. Though I've seen a quite few house foreclosures Southern L.A. that merit looking into..."

Pepper shudders – she knows the area. "Mick..." She shakes her head. "We've got plenty of room at the house while you look, so please take your time." Pepper doesn't tell Mick what she's really thinking...namely that she'd rather have Mick living in the house permanently than living in some sections of L.A.

Tony has been talking for the last week or so about an appropriate 'gift' for her brother's birthday coming up in June. Suddenly Tony's threats to go all out and buy a car or a house for Mick don't sound as over the top as they once did.

"Pepper, I know how to take care of myself." Her brother’s voice is longsuffering. “It’s not like I’m worried about handling my security.”

"I don't want you living in a section of the city that requires you to have bars on your windows," she says flatly. "You can't live somewhere where I won't let Aaron visit."

That, Mick seems to understand. His nods even as he shrugs. "I'm not looking to move into the ghetto, but I’m going to have to make at least a few compromises. As you said yourself, I'll be paying two rents...and there's always start up costs. I'll just have to do the best that I can do..."

A thought dawns that Pepper hadn't considered. "Have you considered catering while you do renovations...? I've got some savings of my own, you know...I'd silent partner with you until you get on your feet and got a restaurant up and running. I guarantee you'd have no problem finding clients who need food for meetings or parties if your rates are reasonable. It’d be no issue to get the catering license..."

"I'm not bumming money off my little sister," Mick says flatly.

Pepper stops in her tracks. "Okay, first of all, I never said anything about giving you money. I said silent partner. I get some of your profits. Second, I'm a damn good business person. So don't get upset with me for pointing out a smart fiscal opportunity." She scowls at him until Mick makes a face, and then pokes him firmly in the chest. "Besides, last I checked we've been here almost nine months now...and I've never once seen much less paid for as much as a single utility bill. It’s my name on the lease too, or is it not?” Mick makes a face, but Pepper isn’t backing down, though she does smile a little wryly, “As my therapist says, there's a difference between being a bum and practicing 'reasonable supportive reciprocation'..."

Mick groans at her terminology. "Oh no you don't, Ginny. I had to go to school for eleven a half years before I got to spout that kind of superfluous, bullshit."

She smiles tightly. "Then stop arguing with me or I'll throw more of it at you."

He mutters something under his breath that earns him a smack to the arm. "Ow! You're mean, Ginny! Has anyone ever told you that?"

"This from the man who said he can look after himself. Anyway," Pepper stresses, "we can work something out." She grins up at him reassuringly. "After you get back from you vacation, of course.”

She tilts her head, "Now are you done over-guarding your threatened masculinity.... because I'm getting hungry. It's probably time to head back and fix dinner."

Mick shakes his head before turning and pointing to the parking lot and two familiar looking figures as they walk down over the boardwalk. “Nah. I figured I'd have Mel and Tony meet us here so I can treat us all to dinner. It’ll spare the work of a last sink full of dishes ..."

"Does Tony know you've already claimed the check?" Pepper starts trotting towards the approaching group, dragging Mick along with her. "Because he's been grumbling about freeloading since you never let us help with the groceries."

Mick snorts. "Then he can pay for dinner tonight. We'll pick a restaurant that's outside my price range."

She smiles, then breaks away to run the last few yards to her baby. Aaron, who's resting in the carrier strapped to Tony's chest, lets out an excited sounding gurgle upon seeing his mother.

"How'd he do?" Pepper asks hr husband as she lifts him from the carrier.

"Good." Tony replies. "He was actually pretty quiet. Per our Father-Son agreement, he only spit up once. On Amelia."

Pepper starts to laugh, and then covers her mouth as she glances at Amelia. "Sorry," she murmurs ruefully as she cups the back of Aaron's head.

Amelia's expression is wry. "This was after Tony spent three minutes playing airplane with him. Don’t worry about it though - I've dealt with worse from my nieces and nephews."

"Airplane" is not Pepper's favorite game, and she makes a half-hearted attempt to glare at Tony, but he just smiles serenely back. "I had my hands on him the entire time, Pepper. He's still too small to toss him around."

Mick finally speaks. "Besides, Gin...Amelia's had to deal with new Agency recruits the last six months. Compared to that kind of crap a little baby spit amounts to nada..." He looks at Tony and Amelia, "So are you two ready to go get food? ‘Cause Ginny here says she's hungry."

"Starving," Pepper agrees. "I told Mick that we'd treat at a restaurant tonight."

Tony nods emphatically at that suggestion. "Fine by me. I'm in the mood for really good seafood and steak. Is there any place around here where the maitre'de won’t scowl at my lack of a tie?"

For some reason Mick finds this hilarious. "Dude, you're ‘Tony Fucking Stark.’ Just buy the damn place if they start getting haughty."

"Don't tempt me," Tony mutters under his breath. Mick laughs even harder.

"There's a good restaurant about quarter mile down the beach...” Amelia supplies. “They have an unbelievable surf and turf buffet that's on every weekday until eleven... What?!” The brunette asks when Mick turns to regard her with a raised eyebrow, “You were busy last night. And I had a half priced coupon.”.

"Sounds good to me. I could definitely go for crab." Pepper draws her attention away from Aaron long enough to give Tony a small kiss of greeting. Tony smiles then shifts so he can wrap a free arm around her waist and she, Aaron and him start down the beach in the direction Amelia's pointed.

"Have a good time?" he asks softly under his breath, enjoying the squish of the sand beneath his sandaled feet..

"Umm...I'm not sure that's the right word, but the sentiment is right," Pepper replies. "It was good to walk and think awhile. To just hang out."

Tony nods. "So are you feeling better about actually leaving tomorrow, or are you still having some doubts?"

She shakes her head, surprised to realize she means it. "You can't cling to the now forever. L.A's home. It’s the right time to go back."

"You just want to be within ass-kicking range," Tony half teases. He's heard enough complaints about people at work who won't leave them alone in recent weeks that he's actually more than half convinced that she's going to be down at the office within a few days of their return to remind everyone who's boss.

Whether or not she's got Aaron balanced on her hip while she does it is something he hasn't really decided on yet. It's entirely possible though.

Pepper shoots him a scolding look. "Yes well, someone needs to set some rules about working and non working hours..." She doesn't say other things that she could...that she probably should. Like the fact that he's not losing weight, but he's not gaining it either the way that she hoped that he would. She's hoping if she can't terrify him into slowing down a little that will change once they get back to the mansion.

"If I agree to stay home and take lots of naps, will you join me?" He pulls her a little closer and smirks lightly.

Her lips quirk upwards... "We could probably come to...an arrangement."

"Really?" he blinks in surprise, which more or less ruins his attempts to be smooth.

She resists the urge to giggle at his slightly dazed expression. "I'm saying that I’m open to some friendly negotiation..."

"Really." He pauses and pulls her to a stop beside him. Then he kisses her again, a little bit more playfully. "Have I ever mentioned how much I love it when you talk business?"

He pulls back before things get out of hand, but Pepper isn't unaware of the underlying hunger. It's not as intimidating as it used to be...though it does leave butterflies in her stomach.

"So it's no longer geeky, hmm?" She smiles at him with less trepidation than has been apparent in her behavior before.

He leans forward to whisper in her ear. "Pepper, it was a lot of things, but it was never 'just geeky.'"

"Get a room!" Mick's holler comes from about thirty yards away. Pepper just rolls her eyes.

"Every time I think I'm going to miss him too much, he does that," she says with a sigh.

"He's just envious." Tony snickers back.

"Yeah, he's really jealous that you sleep in the same bed as his sister." Tony gives her a look as he steers her down the boardwalk in Mick and Amelia’s wake. Pepper abandon’s the thought in favor of a completely different matter. “Tony, can I ask you a question?”

His face grows serious - rather like her tone, and he nods his head slightly, gesturing for her to continue. “Go ahead.”

Pepper's quiet for a few seconds as she tries to decide how to ask the question she's been avoiding for months. But with this as their last night in Savannah, it seems right to ask it now.

"Why come to Savannah all those months ago, Tony? If you didn't know I was here?"

The question definitely surprises him - he actually trips over his feet just a little, but then he seems to right himself, reestablishing both his physical and mental balance. He thinks for several long seconds then shrugs a little bit, "Because even though I didn't know you were in the city at the time, I knew with absolute certainty it was a place you had been before.”

The answer obviously confuses her a little, but Tony just shrugs. "It's kind of hard to explain. It was a way to be…close to you, for lack of a better explanation."

"Maybe not as hard as you think," she murmurs. "I read every paper I could get my hands on, looking for any news of you."

He nods. "Whoever did your background cover did okay with it, but still I knew you'd spent at least some of your teenage years somewhere in this city. And compared to constantly bumping into shadows of you in LA -" He shrugs again, "It just felt less empty..." He turned his eyes to the ocean.

She nods, accepting this explanation. Tony glances at her, then asks his own question. "Why ask now?"

"Oh...I just..." Pepper sighs and steps a little closer, slipping an arm through his. "You were so desperate that day, Tony. I don't even know how to tell you how much it scared me."

"I was furious to see you Pepper. But also relieved. It was like I’d been drowning for months only to accidentally break free to the surface..."

He'd looked like it too. Pepper squeezes his arm and lets it go. She supposes that in the long run, it doesn't really matter. With any luck, she'll be able to keep him from ever being in that state again.

"Are you ready to go back to L.A?" She asks him softly, realizing with a start no one has asked him that even once during all the packing and planning of the past week.

Tony shrugs. "About the only difference it's going to make day to day is the fact that being back in LA will mean being within commuting range of the office."

She looks at him out of the corner of her eye. "And within walking distance of your garage...your hot rod...the outdoor hot tub...."

One corner of his mouth quirks up, "I suppose there will be a few additional...perks."

She smiles. "Not to mention better interfaces for Jarvis, a bigger nursery for you to fill up with ridiculously expensive baby paraphernalia, a considerably bigger bed..."

Tony nods. "And once we get back I can also start looking for the appropriate restoration project for Aaron and I once he gets old enough."

Pepper raises an eyebrow at that admission, but Tony only shrugs, "Hey, the right car can take years to find. I'm not saying he's going to be a tech-geek, but what little kid doesn’t like to get covered in grease, and maybe hand Dad a wrench or two..."

Pepper can see the scene he's describing, except it's a young Tony Stark who's delighted to be spending time with his dad, working on an old car and getting covered in grease.

It's exactly those experiences that leave her confident that he's going to be a wonderful father.

"So we go back then." It's not a question. The tone is lighter though, as is the smile and nod Tony gives her in reply. He leans in to kiss her softly. "Yeah, though I prefer to think of it as 'we go forward' instead."

Pepper shifts Aaron in her arms, causing a flow of happy baby noises to spill out his mouth. She grins and bends her head to nuzzle him with the tip of her nose. "Who's a happy baby tonight?"

Tony laughs aloud. "For awhile at least. He's also probably getting hungry."

Pepper nods. "He's not the only one. And it’s nearing the dinner hour. If we want there to be anything left on the buffet line, we better head in."

Tony ushers her ahead as he reaches back with one hand to rummage through the diaper bag hanging off his shoulder. He finds the bottle of breast milk he's looking for with a minimal amount of searching, but the way Pepper's eyes are lit up when he looks at her again makes him suspicious.

"What?" he asks as he hands Aaron's meal over.

"If someone had told me two years ago that I'd live to see Tony Stark become the model of male domesticity..."

He snorts. "Don’t make it sound like a disease, Pep. There’s nothing wrong with me that a few hours in the shop with my blowtorch won't fix."

"Doing what? Making a mobile for Aaron's crib?" The corner of her eyes crinkle with laughter.

Tony snorts, "It'd be a very manly mobile, Pepper."

The look she shoots him back is commingled skepticism and amusement.

"All right, Potts, enough denigrating Ironman in public." The words are stern, but defused to the playful tap he delivers to the tip of her nose.

"I need a burp rag," is Pepper's reply, her eyes still sparkling with mirth as an enthusiastic Aaron starts squirming in her arms.

"Stark! Ginny! Today would be good! Amelia's already taken more than half of the snow crab! I need reinforcements!"

Tony Stark laughs, hands Pepper a clean folded cloth diaper and pushes her gently toward the restaurant.

“Come on it’s getting cold out. The sun’s going down.”