InsaneJournal

“Thanks for the lift.”

“Our pleasure. Have a good flight, Colonel.”

“Captain.”

Rhodey turned away from the two pilots of the Gulfstream C-37b the Air Force used to ferry VIP’s around. The sight of the blue and white aircraft sitting on the runaway at Dubai International, with the clearly labeled “United States Air Force” running down the body of the plane, had gotten a “Well that’s subtle,” comment out of Tony as the limo pulled up next to it. It was the only thing Tony had said during the entire trip, outside of a non-committal ‘Uh huh,’ when Rhodey explained they had use a civilian marked Gulfstream to shuttle Tony to Dubai.

As he stepped into the plush passenger cabin, he quickly scanned over the first set of passenger seats and the couch along one wall, then headed for the back section where he had spent the short hop from Dubai to Al Dhafra staring at Tony across the lacquer conference table while failing miserably to engage him in conversation. A sigh slipped out of Rhodey; he wasn’t surprise to discover Tony had already made his escape. He grabbed the backpack holding Tony’s pills, a couple bottles of water, and few other things they needed for the long trip home, and frowned when he noticed the top zipper was open. Shaking his head, he zipped it shut, slung the backpack over a shoulder, picked up the clothes bags hanging in the closet at the back of the cabin that held his uniform as well as a suit for Tony, and headed for the open door.

Blinking against the bright desert sunlight, he found Tony sitting at the bottom of the stairs, sipping on the bottle of water he had snagged from the backpack as he stared at the wheelchair set up in front of him. Rhodey had no trouble imagining the look on Tony’s face; it was probably a good thing the Airman who unloaded the chair had enough sense to disappear once he had the thing set up.

Rhodey paused a moment to look down at his friend and tried to figure out why Tony had been so quiet ever since breakfast. He would have been willing to write it off as pain, or even nerves-- it had been more than three months since Tony had been in the public eye and they both knew there was going to be one hell of a media firestorm when they got back-- but Rhodey had the feeling something else was the source of Tony’s distracted state.

He did know why this silence was setting off alarms in his head; it reminded him too much of the silence Tony had wrapped himself in following the death of his parents. During that time Tony had turned inward, just as he was doing now, while he did everything that was asked of him. Two months after the funeral, when Stark Industries’s Board of Directors had accepted Obadiah Stane as interim CEO of SI, something in Tony had snapped. Tony had never told him what he had done during those first few months of Stane‘s rise to CEO, but Rhodey knew by the worn down figure that showed up at his mother’s house for Christmas dinner at the end of the year, that it had not been all that healthy and had probably not been legal in some cases.

There was a fundamental change in Tony after that; he became the reckless playboy the public was now almost intimately familiar with. Tony had always enjoyed having a good time, but after his parent’s death, Tony began taking everything in his life to the extreme.

Rhodey was afraid to find out what would happen if Tony snapped like that again. He shuddered inwardly as he remembered the Tony in his dream, sitting on a ledge with a bottle in his hand.

Catching sight of the jeep that was taking them over to the waiting C-17, Rhodey shoved his worries to the back of his mind to deal with later and said, “Gonna have to move.” Tony twisted around, and then winced slightly as if in pain. Rhodey heard a sharp intake of breath as Tony turned away and set the water down before carefully pushing himself to his feet. Without looking back he grabbed the bottle and walked towards the jeep, ignoring the wheelchair even though his movements were slow and awkward. Sighing, Rhodey stepped off the plane and over to the wheelchair. He threw the bags across the arms of the chair and pushed it over to the jeep.

After storing their stuff, Rhodey joined Tony in the back seat and leaned over to say under his breath, “You’re using the wheelchair when we get there, Tony.”

Tony scowled at him. “We’re going to be stuck in that thing for at least fifteen hours,” he grumbled. Rhodey gave him a look and, much to his surprise, Tony backed down. “Fine,” he muttered reluctantly, “I’ll let you push me around a little longer. Once we get home though, I‘m melting that thing down for scrap.” He slid down in his seat and watched the buildings that made up Al Dhafra Air Base pass by.

Rhodey looked at him for a moment, then up at the sky. What happened this morning, Tony? What‘s going through that head of yours?

It wasn’t until the jeep took a wide sweeping turn as they approached the C-17 that Rhodey realized how tense his thoughts had made him in the last few minutes. He had mentally added to his worries the problem of how to run interference between whatever crew was stuck with this mission and a grumpy, stir crazy Tony; but the sight of the orange Edward’s stripe on the C-17’s tail relaxed a few of the muscles that had tightened up on him. He guessed this particular crew would not be surprised by anything Tony might do.

He knew he was right as soon as he caught sight of the C-17’s pilot.

“Mike!” Tony called out with a smile as he dropped into the wheelchair. “Who’d you piss off to get stuck with this duty?”

Captain Mike Dunning returned the smile as he walked over to the jeep “Considering we were the ones who brought all your equipment over when this whole mess started,” he said, “it only made sense that we’d be the ones to take you home.” He reached out and shook Tony’s hand. “It’s good to see you in one piece, Mr. Stark.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Okay. How many times have we been over the whole ‘Mr. Stark’ thing, Mike?”

“As many times as I’ve told you, as long as we’re on the clock, you’re stuck with Mr. Stark.”

“Especially when you’re listed that way as the cargo, Mr. Stark,” another voice added.

Rhodey stepped aside to let Tech. Sergeant Jason Mathews, the loadmaster on Mike’s crew, take command of Tony and the wheelchair.

Tony leaned back and looked up at the tall loadmaster. “I’m listed as cargo? Don‘t think I‘ve ever been called that. Useless baggage maybe, but cargo? That‘s definitely a new one.”

“Well, here‘s your proof.” Jason pulled a folded piece of paper out of his tan flight uniform and handed it to Tony. As Tony read the paper Jason said, “And it’s a pretty good bet that, if I screw up securing you, I’ll be flipping burgers at Mickey D’s faster than you can say Ferrari.”

Tony laughed as he was pushed up the loading ramp.

“He’s looking better than I was led to expect,” Mike said, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched the two men head into the cargo plane. He then turned and asked, “How is he really, Rhodey?”

“Physically, he’s doing well.” Rhodey sighed. “There are a few things he still needs to deal with but…” His voice trailed off as a burst of frustration surged up.

“But he’s being Tony?” Mike offered.

Rhodey nodded.

“So what’s with the…” Mike made a circular motion over his chest.

“Basically it’s an electromagnet.” Rhodey shrugged. “He took some shrapnel during the attack on the convoy from one of his own RPG’s. The magnet’s keeping the fragments from piercing his heart.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah.” Rhodey glanced at Mike. “You might want to consider that classified info, Mike.”

“Understood. I’ll let the others know.”

Mike started for the plane but Rhodey caught his arm and gave him an apologetic look. “Look, just to warn you, it’s liable to be a long trip. He‘s still recovering from his injuries; and it’s a good bet he’s going to be…”

As he was searching for a good way of phrasing ‘a pain in the ass’, Mike chuckled and said, “Yeah, I kind of figured that. If it helps any, I raided my son’s room before we flew over here. There’s a PSP, an iPod, and a beat up laptop loaded with God knows what that he can play with once we’re in the air.”

“You are a lifesaver, Mike.”

Mike rested a hand on Rhodey‘s shoulder and shook his head. “No, actually it’s more I remember what happened the last time he got cooped up in my plane for a long trip. I’d rather not have him trying to upgrade my computers while we’re in flight again.” He slapped Rhodey’s arm and stepped towards the plane. “Relax Colonel, we‘ll get him home in one piece for you.”

“Thanks.”

“We’ll be landing in an hour.”

Rhodey nodded at Mike. “I’ll let Tony know.”

As he walked across the cavernous interior of the cargo plane and around a pallet of equipment strapped down to the skids in the center, Rhodey frowned when he noticed Tony, sitting in one of the chairs bolted to the outer wall, was bent over the PSP with a screwdriver in one hand. I leave you alone for ten minutes… Sitting on the chair next to Tony, Rhodey waited for the man to acknowledge him and resisted the temptation to pull the screwdriver out of Tony‘s hand.

Tony stayed focused on the PSP as he reached up to pull the iPod buds out of his ears. “That’s not yours, Tony,” Rhodey pointed out once Tony had set the iPod aside.

Without looking up from whatever he was doing to the PSP Tony answered, “Hm, if I screw it up, I’ll just buy Mike a new one to give to Cory.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes and sat back in the chair. He chewed the inside of his lower lip a moment as he watched Tony work, then said impulsively, “You need to talk to someone about what happened to you when we get home, you know.”

Tony shrugged nonchalantly. “We both know I won’t.”

Gritting his teeth, Rhodey leaned forward and braced his elbows against his thighs as he scrubbed his face. “Could you at least promise me you’ll make the attempt?” he asked.

Tony‘s gaze remained fixed on the PSP. “Tell you what, if you can find someone I’m willing to listen to, I’ll consider it.”

Blowing out a frustrated breath as he glared at Tony, Rhodey muttered, “Oh, thanks, put the pressure back on me.”

He saw the muscles in Tony‘s jaw bunch up. “Hey, you’re the one who keeps harping on it,” he said.

“Because you haven’t done a damn thing to deal with what happened to you, Tony!”

“What do you want me to do-- curl up in a fetal position and start sucking on my thumb?” They glared at each other then Tony set the PSP aside and took a deep breath.

Slumping against the seat back, Tony closed his eyes, his hand tight around the screwdriver as he drove the tip into the armrest. “Sorry,” he said irritably. “Look, I know you’re just trying to help Rhodey, but when you get down to it, this is my problem, not yours; just let me deal with it in my own way, okay?”

“No, it’s not okay,” Rhodey hissed urgently, “‘’cause I know you…”

Tony‘s eyes snapped open. “Do you?” he asked.

There was something in Tony‘s voice, a harsh demand for honesty that pulled Rhodey up short. “What?” he asked, a shiver of unease running down his spine.

Tony stared at him for a few minutes, studying his face as if he were a flaw in a program Tony couldn‘t quite figure out, then he shook his head and looked away. Rhodey felt the guilt he associated with failing a test he should have aced wash over him as Tony tap the screwdriver against the armrest.

“Nothing, ignore that,” Tony muttered quietly. He dropped the screwdriver next to the PSP. “How long before we land?”

Rhodey pursed his lips. He was missing something important but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out what it was. His mind churning in useless little circles, Rhodey swallowed and answered, “An hour.”

“Should clean up and get changed then.” He looked across the interior of the cargo plane and frowned. “I think I‘m going to need a little help with that.”

Rhodey bit back the remark that leapt to his lips, nodded once, and pushed himself out of the chair.

Once they were on the ground and taxiing off the runway, Rhodey unhooked the wheelchair and rolled it over to Tony. When Tony had a little trouble maneuvering into the wheelchair, Rhodey asked, “Shoulder?”

Tony shook his head. ‘Nah, just stiff. Should have walked around a bit.”

Rhodey pushed the wheelchair as close to the edge of the loading ramp as he could and locked the wheels before taking up a position on Tony’s left. The big plane came to a stop, and Rhodey braced himself as the ramp slowly unfolded.

As he expected, Tony started pushing himself out of the chair before the ramp was completely extended. Tony’s movements were slow and a touch unsteady, and Rhodey rested his hands on Tony’s shoulders as he stood, supporting him until he was stable.

When the ramp was fully extended, Rhodey started to move away to give Tony some room. Before he could get too far, Tony grabbed his hand and leaned his weight against Rhodey’s arm as he took a step forward. Rhodey was a little surprised by that show of weakness, but a quick glance down showed him that Pepper and Happy, Tony’s bodyguard and driver, were the only ones waiting for them on the tarmac. If a member of the press had been there, Rhodey knew, Tony would have acted differently.

As it was, Rhodey could feel Tony forcing himself to stand straighter, and his stride became steadier and more confident as they made their way down the ramp. When they reached the bottom, Tony rolled his eyes at the gurney being pushed his way.

“Are you kidding me with this?” He let go of Rhodey’s hand and made a shooing gesture as he took a sideways step away from Rhodey and the gurney. He shook his head. “Get rid of them,” he muttered as he headed towards Pepper.

Rhodey kept an eye on Tony as he discreetly waved the medical personal away. Except for the sling around one arm, and the still healing cuts on his face, Tony body language now belied the fact he’d just spent the last three months with death hanging over his head. Rhodey knew Tony had to be hurting, but wasn’t about to say anything here.

“Your eyes are red.” Tony said as he came to a stop in front of Pepper. “A few tears for your long-lost boss?”

Rhodey managed not to roll his eyes at that greeting. Oh, good one Tony, he thought as Tony waited for Pepper‘s response. Heaven forbid you should say something nice like, ‘Hi Pepper, nice to see you again’ or ‘I missed you.’

Pepper didn’t miss a beat. There was a small smile of delight on her lips as she answered evenly, “Tears of joy. I hate job hunting.”

The smile faltered slightly when Tony announced, “Yeah, vacation’s over,” and headed for the limo without a backwards glance. Rhodey shrugged and shook his head when Pepper gave him a questioning look. “Sorry Pepper,’ he said. “I‘ve got no clue what he’s thinking.”

She sighed. “Well, looks like some things haven’t changed.” She turned and followed Tony into the limo.

Rhodey waited until Happy expertly maneuvered the Bentley through the clutter of cars and emergency vehicles around the plane, and then waved off the NCO who offered to give him a lift to his office. He needed to think and the short walk to his office would give him a few minutes to do that.

He was still troubled by Tony’s silence, but he was willing to admit he might be blowing things out of proportion. He wondered if taking Tony to Dubai had been a mistake. He absently shook his head. No, he knew by the way Tony’s demeanor had changed when he reached the bottom of the loading ramp that going to Dubai had been the right decision. If they had come straight home, Tony would have pretended nothing was wrong and pushed himself straight into intensive care.

Still, maybe Tony was right; maybe he didn’t know him as well as he thought. Hell, Pepper probably knew Tony better than he did now. Somewhere over the years his friendship with Tony had become more of a professional relationship than anything else.

Rhodey was surprised at how much that realization hurt.

He shook his head. It didn’t matter what he felt, all that mattered was that Tony was home safe and sound, and once he got back into the swing of things, everything would be back to normal.

A wistful smile tugged at Rhodey‘s lips. Well, as normal as life with Tony Stark in it can ever be.

As he stepped into his office, his assistant was just hanging up the phone and gave a start when he glanced up and spotted Rhodey. Sergeant Dean Roberts quickly rose to his feet and gave Rhodey a salute.

Rhodey returned the salute and said, “You look surprised to see me.”

Dean nodded. “Considering Stark just called a press conference, then yes I am surprised, sir.”

Rhodey blinked. “He what?”

Picking up the note he had scribbled on the pad, Dean said, “According to Miss Potts, Mr. Stark is holding a press conference in the lobby at SI headquarters at 1300 hours. She didn‘t say what it was going to be about.” He shrugged. “She sounded a little pissed when she called to give us the heads up.”

“I’m sure she did,” Rhodey muttered. He took a deep breath and ran a hand over his head. Damn it Tony, what are you up to now? He shook his head. Pepper was right, some things never change.

“Right. I better get over there. I’ll be back when…” He waved his hand and turned to grab the door handle.

“Wait, sir!” Rhodey looked back then caught the keys that were tossed his way. He shook his head; he’d forgotten he’d given Dean the keys to his Dodge pickup the last time he‘d left just in case it needed to be moved.

He nodded to Dean. “I‘ll be back as soon as I figure out what’s going on.”

“Yes sir.”

Twenty minutes and one press conference later, Rhodey was struggling against a feeling of disappointment in himself and in Tony as he wondered how bad the snap was going to be this time.