2014-02-15 - A Meeting with Pepper

There wasn't much to the message left on Pepper's phone from Janet. Just a simple message saying that it is important that they meet and a probable time to do so. From the sound upon the message, there was definite urgency in Jan's tone. The scheduling had already been done...the time cleared and reserved.

And...it is precisely on time that Janet shows up. She breezes in to the first office, brushing aside the poor secretary/glorified receptionist as Janet herself opens the first of two double doors into the second secretaries' office. "Yes, yes, I assure you that Ms Potts is expecting me. No, you do not need to announce me...I know my way. Just do be a dear and let me go...:

Pepper Potts had cleared off some time on her schedule when Janet sent the message. It was Janet, and that meant possibly Avenger business. And if they were wanting to talk to her, it meant something about Tony. And given what Pepper had already heard so far about stuff involving Tony.... Yeah, she made time available.

When Janet shows up, the secretary does try to at least get Janet to stop for a moment so she can let Ms. Potts know. "Okay but I need to announ-okay you're going right in..." She goes to the intercom to try to let Pepper have a little forewarning. "Miss Potts? There's a woman here to see y-"

But by that time Janet has already let herself into the office. Pepper calls out, "It's fine Jennifer, she's my 6 o'clock." She looks at Janet. "Hi Janet... you said you wanted to talk to me about something important?"

"Indeed I do, my dear Pepper." The smile that Janet offers Pepper is friendly enough, but there does seem to be an underlying air of concern on the fashion designer's expression. "But...first, we need to wait just a bit longer for Natasha to arrive. I was in such a hurry I am afraid I didn't wait for her to come up with me." Janet pauses, her eyes roaming from the double doors, to the ceiling and around the room. It takes only a moment to realize she's looking for surveillance equipment. "I take it that whatever is said here is in the strictest of confidences, correct?"

Pepper Potts looks at Janet. "Oh. Natasha's coming." She pauses. "Okay then." Yep, this is going to be about THAT... right? Don't say anything yet Pepper though. What if it's NOT about -THAT- and is about something else... then you say something about -THAT- and it's something else! "Yes, of course. Strictest of confidences, Janet."

This is SO going to be about -THAT-. Definitely about -THAT-.

Natasha has her normally emotionless mien on as she breezes past Pepper's secretary-- look, she had been told to be here at this time, so she's here. And since it was meeting with Pepper, she had a sinking suspicion on what it was about.

Janet's presence only serves to confirm that. "Pepper. Janet," the red-headed spy says coolly. Pepper Potts looks at Natasha, then at Janet. "Natasha. Janet..." She looks at Natasha when Janet isn't looking with a confused 'Did you set this up and why' look. "So uh.... what's this important thing you wanted to talk to us about? One second..." She goes to the intercom and says "Jennifer, hold all calls okay? Feel free to go to dinner." Then leans against the desk.

There's a short laugh as Janet hears Pepper send the secretary out. She turns around...studying Pepper intently, since Jan knows she's not going to get anything from Natasha. After about half a minute of intense scrutiny, Jan leans against a chair and shifts her attention to Natasha. "She knows, doesn't she?"

Janet returns to a standing position and beings walking, adopting her 'business' persona. "I arraigned this. I had wanted to address a certain...issue...that arose before it became public knowledge. However, I get this feeling that you may already know what I am talking about, Pepper."

A faint look of frustration crosses Natasha's face. "Of course Pepper knows," she says finally. "I have no idea how to tell Tony, even still-- and if anyone will know, eventually, once I am completely sure of this... issue... she would be the one to know." And besides, she would be the one needing a heads up that Tony is going to have a nuclear meltdown. You know. Reasons.

Pepper Potts looks at Janet and Natasha. "You know... for a second I thought maybe you were also..." she pauses. "Never mind. Yeah I know about... Natasha's... er..." She rubs her head a bit. "Issue." She looks at Janet then Natasha. "So I'm going to figure there hasn't been any new ideas on what you are wanting to do about it..."

"Actually, Pepper, dear...if Natasha told you, then I can venture to guess what she intends to do, at least in regards to the pregnancy." All pretense drops to the wayside as Janet finally utters the P-word. That mind of her is churning...it is apparent to those watching. "I don't know about how we are to tell Tony, but I believe I know what Nat intends to do about the baby." Those blue eyes level on Natasha as Jan jumps to her conclusion. "You wouldn't have told Pepper otherwise."

Pepper Potts looks back and forth between Janet and Natasha. "I know she's thinking of keeping it. - I mean did she decide whether to tell Ton-" She stops when Natasha says that. "Wait so... when did he say he wanted the baby. You told him already?"

Janet shakes her head. "No...she didn't. She mentioned she hadn't already." She finds that chair and leans on it once more. "Honestly, Nat...he should be told before we go to Siberia. Who knows what might happen there." As the words come out of her mouth, Janet stops...and reconsiders. "On second thought, strike that. He would never let you go if he knew. And, as much as I hate to admit it, you need to go to Siberia. But...first thing we get back, you are telling him. Got it?"

Natasha rubs her temples. She really doesn't want to discuss these things, but... she may not have much choice. "I have not told him. I keep intending to, but..." she shrugs. "Things interfere. As for how it is I suspect he wants it? He keeps mentioning that having a child is a dream of his that will never be." She wrinkles her nose. "Every time he says this, or goes on about how much fun he has with Asia and Tanya, or... mmph. It is difficult. If he were to find out he had this so close and lost it? You know Tony. And how he handles things."

She looks at Janet. "This is my thought as well. I do not have the capacity to fight with him right now, and he /will/ fight me on going. But the mission is more important than any of this." If only they knew what the Russians were hiding, that Natasha had to keep hidden, dammit. "I will tell him when we return-- though I am still not sure how to do so. He is already... overly protective, just because I have lost the serum's effects." She gives Janet a bland look. "He is putting me /in armor/, Janet. If he knew I am carrying his child? He would... ah, put me in a bubble, I think."

Pepper Potts looks back and forth. "So... wait.... AFTER this Siberia mission though... you're going to tell him, right?"

Janet offers a nod. "I think that's the best. I don't know what's exactly going on in Russia, but if SHIELD and the Avengers are both going, then it is big. Really big."

Janet levels her eyes towards Natasha. "However, hon, if you *don't* tell Tony right afterwards, then Pepper and I will. Even if we have to corner him in his lab. Understood?"

Natasha's expression goes cold. "I will tell him in my own time," she replies icily. "I /will/ tell him after the mission, but I will not be threatened or coerced into doing so until I feel it is a good time. If that means I wait a few days, so be it. There has been much going on. /You/ do not have to deal with a meltdown if he has one, Janet. Pepper does. I will have to." She may not be as adept at Tony herding as Pepper is, but she does know the man well enough to understand that he can be rather fragile.

Pepper Potts pauses. "It would be best if it came from Natasha, Janet. Trust me on that. I'm really worried about the drinking though. Do either of you know when he started up with it again? He's been trying to hide it from me."

Janet holds up her hands in mock defeat. "Alright, alright. Natasha tells Tony. " She sighs softly..."Look, I apologize if I came on too strong. I'm just concerned. For both of you." And with that, she softens, a gentle smile breaking through the concerned expression Jan has been sporting. "You're right about you and Pepper having to handle the meltdown more than me. However, it doesn't have to be. If you want someone to be there, just let me know. You know you always have my support, in whatever capacity you wish."

"I think after his last big blow up with Sawyer," Natasha answers Pepper with a slight tilt of the head. "He has been reasonable about it, though-- I have not seen him drunk, not like he used to be... and I have been with him most nights." She does not seem to be bragging, nor ashamed of that fact. "He is limiting how much he drinks... honestly, I think I have been drinking more than he has." Probably not the brightest idea while pregnant.

Janet gets a nod in response from Nat. "I understand. You are concerned. You have reason to be. If... when... this comes out, I will be diminished in my capacities with both the Avengers and SHIELD for a time. Tony will... be Tony." That covers all manner of sins, doesn't it? "And I am not sure how things will be afterwards. This is new territory for us all."

Pepper Potts rubs the bridge of her nose. "He's an alcoholic, Natasha.... they don't just 'drink in moderation.' It's going to get out of control if it's not handled right, and- wait what?" She looks at Natasha. "Er... you know you probably... shouldn't be drinking either, right? Pregnant?"

Janet eyes Natasha....doing a passable impression of Natasha's own icy stare when she mentions she has been drinking. However, she doesn't say anything. "Okay, well...glad we got this out in the open. I was positively besides myself with worry over what may happen." A deep breath is taken, then let out slowly. "Well...I really need to get back to the studio and prep it for vacation mode." She rushes over, giving both Pepper and Natasha hugs, completely without asking. "Remember now, just call if you need me!" She immediately heads for the door, leaving the two that know Tony best behind to discuss amongst themselves.

Natasha gives Pepper a bland stare. Like she knows anything about being pregnant. "He /is/ drinking in moderation for now. If he starts spiraling down again, I will handle it." Probably not nicely, either. "Are you not? I suppose that may be wise, then, to stop. Perhaps he will not notice." She nods a goodbye to Janet, but glances back to Pepper. "He really does seem to have it under control, Pepper. The drinking."

Pepper Potts doesn't really feel comfortable about the idea of an alcoholic being trusted to 'drink in moderation.' Especially if they tend to be in stressful situations. Not that Tony is ever in stressful situations like... life and death battles where the fate of the planet is at stake. OR finding out that you're going to be a father. Right?

Plus Pepper HAS been pregnant. "Yes...." she says with an exasperated look. "Drinking while pregnant is not a good idea - it can lead to all sorts of complications. Just.... just let me know when you are going to tell him."

Natasha nods. "I will," she says. "It will be after we are back from Siberia. And hopefully not too long after... but we will see. Tony has been very... strange lately." So has she, to be honest-- playing nice and even being somewhat girlfriend-like to Stark. And actively not trying to fight with him. Fun.

Pepper Potts says, “And you're sure he's not a Skrull right?”

"No more than I am," Natasha replies evenly. "I think he needs this. Whatever it is between us right now." Which Natasha, from her tone, isn't even exactly sure how to define. "He is overwhelmed, I think. It is a poor time for a child, but when is ever a good time?" she muses. "And no, Pepper... this is not what I would want, but..." she sighs. "You should hear him. I am worried. It is why I started bedding him again-- I am worried." Pragmatic Natasha starting to sleep with Tony again just to keep him from spiraling into a depression? Anyone who knows her wouldn't be entirely shocked by this.

Pepper Potts walks over. "Why? What's he saying? What did he say?" She thinks. "Actually it's not worth going over what you should have done. What's done is done. But Natasha, I need you to promise me something, and I think in this case you might be in a better position than me to do this. I know you think Tony can drink responsibly. There's going to be more stress on him. You and Tony.... you guys deal with things that would make most people insane in a day from stress. But with Tony, these... personal issues? I think he handles world crises better. He can't drink. And after you tell him, you need to make sure he doesn't turn to that. Even a little."

Natasha sighs, half-leaning, half-sitting against the desk. "I know. Believe me, I know how Tony is when it comes to drinking. But I do not know what to do. He is a willful man, moreso when he is depressed. And he /is/ depressed, Pepper. I can read him well enough to tell. He says he wants to prove to himself he can handle a little bit of the drinking, and I do not think he will handle himself well if he was told to stop." She reaches up a hand to rub a temple. "I am trying to keep him sane. I /am trying/." Frustration laces her tone. "But I feel like I am trying to hold water."

Pepper Potts looks at Natasha firmly. "Natasha. He's not like you. Drinking a little is not going to help with him being depressed. TRUST ME. PLEASE. Alcoholics say that. They say that they can handle it. They can't. And..." She pauses. "Especially after you tell him about the baby." She closes her eyes for a moment, then opens them. "Just... I understand, it's also stressful for you and it's like a thousand things are being dumped on you at the same time, on top of the normal 'craziness' in your life. I'm sorry. Just... I don't want him going through what happened last time with drinking. Especially if the two of you are having a child together. I'm actually calmer about the idea of you and him and the other Avengers fighting a Skrull armada than him falling off the wagon again - especially with a baby involved."

"I know!" Natasha snaps angrily. "I have thought of this myself. I was not joking when I said that of all the things I've dealt with, right now the idea of telling Tony Stark he may, in fact, be a father... yes, it terrifies me. He is not predictable right now... Sawyer coming back, this whole... other thing..."

Nat rubs her temples further. "I need to go in and reconfirm that the reading was a true reading on the pregnancy. I have to do this before I tell him-- it may have just been... I don't know. Something with having all these serums added and removed and, hell, I don't know. My body has been a chemical playground lately. Maybe Pym's reading was wrong. A large part of me hopes that it was."

"But I cannot fight with him on this, Pepper. He and I got into a literal screaming match in Malibu. I have /never/ seen him react like that, even when he was drinking so heavily before. What are you asking me to do, Pepper? Manipulate him? Twist him up again? Make him bend to my whim? I can do so, but realize what you are asking of me-- is that what you want for him?"

Pepper Potts pauses. "Yes. Actually. Yes. I'd just rather that there be manipulation to protect him.... than him be killing himself again." She rubs the bridge of her nose. "I've seen him basically tearing himself apart when he was drinking heavily before. Self destructing. Look, just... at the very least... if you see him getting out of control, tell me. If you can't make him stop before he goes beyond the point of no return on this, I would." She looks at Nat. "Sorry. I hope that Pym's readings -are- wrong."

"As you wish," Natasha nods shortly. "It should be fairly easy to handle him, if I take the gloves off." Her expression is emotionless and chilly.

Pepper Potts looks down, then anywhere but at Natasha. She really hates giving that sort of advice, but between manipulation and hurting Tony's feelings if he found out, vs Tony essentially causing a slow suicide through his addiction... plus how it would affect a baby - it's just the lesser of two crappy evils. "Okay.." She pauses. "I should.. I should be getting back to... I have to call the Director of the N.S.A. for business stuff."

Yeah, something less stressful like that.

Natasha shakes her head, a momentary look of disgust on her face-- though whether it is directed to Pepper, or herself...

"Call him, then. I have an operation to plan," Natasha says, standing up and making her way to the door. "And apparently a boyfriend to turn back into an assignment."