2012-10-16 The Way We Are

It's freezing atop Stark Tower, an icy night wind whips stray raindrops and a few rogue snowflakes in spirals around the helipad. Bethany was already cold before she got out here, cold from the inside. When Rhodey didn't come back in time, she didn't think anything of it and fell asleep in his big chair while she read the specs on her suit. She wants nothing more than to be able to keep up.

PATTON's broken, garbled ranting pouring out of her phone woke her, it took painful minutes to get him loaded into the home system so he could recompile himself and regain his composure. Then she got a staticky report about a bomb at the dinner Rhodey had attended. She doesn't remember much after that. Sal's voice, PATTON's voice, calling through the LexCorp to ensure that they collected all of Rhodey's pieces before shipping them back.

Now she's standing by the helipad, wrapped in a fur coat that Elora made her wear, shivering down to her shoes and waiting to hear the beat of helicopter blades over the rush of the wind.

At this hour, the WHUP-WHUP-WHUP of the chopper's main rotor can be heard before the craft is actually visible. It's making good time, though. Moments later, it pops into sight and makes a neat (if hurried) landing on the helipad. As soon as it touches down, a mismatched group of medics, scientists, and mechanics hustle a gurney out of the cargo area. It's Rhodey, of course. He's a mess, even after several hours of emergency treatment by the finest minds at LexCorp. He's been stabilized, but it's clear that no one had any idea how to put him back together. The portable generator strapped to the underside of his stretcher is a poor substitute for his arc reactor, but it's keeping him alive via two leads plugged directly into his chest. The frayed edges of his severed arm have been snipped, mostly to keep him from accidentally cutting himself or someone else. His prosthetic eye is still dark, either malfunctioning or underpowered. There are dents, scratches, and gaps in the rest of his cybernetic construction that have been temporarily patched over with a high-tech epoxy. His face and torso are mostly covered by bandages that are spotted with blood, especially around his nose and low on his abdomen. "Ma'am," one of the medics is a few steps ahead of the crew and greets Bethany while the gurney is still being set up. "We did what we could, but he was very insistent about being transported here as soon as possible. He's awake, but..." the man trails off and shrugs minutely. "I really can't tell how bad it is. Will you need help moving him inside?"

"No, no, we're fine." Bethany gestures for the Stark staff to get out on the helipad. "Thank you, thank Mr. Luthor, for all the help. We'll take it from here."

Bethany leans over the gurney and kisses Rhodey on the forehead, strokes his cheek under his dark eye. "Welcome home. Let's get you inside, baby," she murmurs. She feels better just having him back with people she trusts to work on him.

"Take him in," she says to the technicians as she steps away to let them do their work. "I want him more stable than this before the hour's up, get that damn battery off of him."

Rhodey's good eye is open, but he doesn't seem completely coherent until after that first familiar touch from Bethany. Abruptly, it focuses and he reaches up toward her hand. The movement is jerky and disjointed, as if some of his mental signals aren't making it all the way down his arm. He's very tense for the first few seconds, but he relaxes when his vision clears and he's able to focus on Beth's face. "Home," he agrees, audibly relieved. "I... I'm sorry." Then he's in motion again, but he clings to Bethany like a drowning man clutches at a life preserver, even when it inconveniences the SI staff. Just before the roof access door closes behind them, the medic comes trotting up with a box in his hands that's about the same size and shape as a loaf of bread. He offers it to Bethany, but doesn't look at it. "Um. He dropped this, I think. Have a good evening, miss." It's safe to assume that he, the rest of his team, and the helicopter will make a hasty exit as soon as they're able. Bethany doesn't have to guess at what it is. She passes it off to a tech so that she has both hands free for Rhodey. "I'm right here, Jim," she reassures Rhodey as the elevator starts taking them down to the labs. "PATTON came and got me. You're going to be fine." She leans over him so he can focus on her. "Don't be sorry, we'll fix it. Good as new. That's what we do, right?" She gives him a smile. He's been through worse, she tells herself. It's going to be fine.

"We do," Rhodey echoes. It's not immediately apparent if he's agreeing, or if he's just repeating what she said. Then, slowly, he dredges up a smile of his own. He squeezes Bethany's hand as well, then smiles wider, as if the brief increase in pressure had some sort of stabilizing effect. "I'm okay. I'm good. Promise. Where's PATTON? Is he okay?" "He's in my phone, in my pocket. Do you want him? He's a little out of sorts but I put him back in the home machine for a recompile when he showed up and it helped." Bethany squeezes Rhodey's hand, then ducks a little to steal a kiss as a tech passes a set of lines over her so they can plug in for diagnostics and support. "We're all fine, I promise. You did great. Sal got me the reports from a friend in Lexcorp security. You saved a lot of people." As much as Bethany wants to be angry with him, she understands. One doesn't take up a role like Rhodey's--or her's--without intending to make the sacrifice that needs to be made.

"Heh. Heh heh. Yeah. Man, I can't believe we did that. No, leave him be. He earned a night off." Rhodey turns his face to the side to stifle a cough. His chest is tender and his internal organs still irritated where they haven't been outright pierced. Despite the cough, and the obvious pain that moving causes him, he gently inserts an arm between himself and one of the techs to give him and Bethany some space. The kiss he offers her in return is surprisingly firm. It also takes up most of the energy he accumulated on the ride home. "Mmmr. Missed you," he rumbles as he slumps back onto his pillows. "You won't miss me long." Bethany cups Rhodey's face in her hands and gives him one more kiss. "These guys need to get to work on you, but I won't be far. As soon as they let me come back, you won't get rid of me. Sal's making faces at me to come get a bite to eat. I'll be right on the other side of the glass, waiting for you."

What Bethany wants to do is crawl up onto the gurney with Rhodey and not let go, but there's a staff doctor giving her the evil eye so she backs up until Sal gets her by the wrist and quickly draws her out of the room.

"Sal, don't rush me," she protests. "Why are you..." She hiccups then, and sniffles.

"That's why." Sal hands her a handkerchief. "I know you. The man doesn't need to see you cry."

"Don't look so smug." Bethany wipes her cheeks and shakes her head.

"All these years and you can't tell my smug look from my mushy face? You're slipping, boss." Sal takes a cup of coffee from Elora and hands it to Beth, then a donut. "You said you'd be right there." He points into the room next to where they're working on Rhodey. "So get in there, eat, and get your crying over, then brush your hair. Man throws himself on a bomb, least his woman can do is tidy herself up."

Bethany does as she's told with only a muttered, "Neanderthal," at Sal. He's got a point. She needs to eat, get some caffeine, and clean up. She'll feel better and so will Rhodey. If she looks like things are fine, then they have to be fine.

"Okay. Don't worry. I'm fine. I'll be fine." Rhodey's assurances follow Bethany all the way to the door. As soon as she leaves the room, every member of the team springs into action. Equipment is wheeled in, spare parts are laid out, and medical supplies are readied. His flesh-and-blood injuries, being mostly mundane, were well-handled between Batman's emergency treatment and the work done by Lex's medics. They're painful. Dangerous, even. But they aren't mortal. They're left alone, at least for now. "Reactor first. In that box. Bring it here." Once the indicated case is dragged up to his bedside, Rhodey whispers an activation code and opens it. As his power core is burnt out rather than physically damaged, it's a fairly quick swap once the team has access to a spare. Getting him back on the life-support he was designed for seems to greatly boost Jim's energy and his spirits. He directs the team as they slice away the epoxy that serves as bandages for his cybernetic systems. The patches they use are only slightly more effective, but they're designed for his body. They fit right and they feel right. Things proceed fairly smoothly from there. His damaged arm is detached at the shoulder and set aside, too mangled to be saved or even scrapped for parts. It'll be discarded. A hushed conversation takes place concerning his prosthetic eye, after which a surgeon and a cybernetic specialist glove up and go in side by side to make repairs. That's when everything goes sideways. "What happened?" The surgeon asks.

"I don't know," the cyberneticist replies. "We just lost everything. And I mean *everything.* Cut it out. Get that thing out of him, now!" Sparks fly both literally and figuratively as the eye is extracted. A severed relay is mended, which restores Rhodey to his previous condition. He's not happy, though. As soon as his empty socket has been covered over with a metal patch, he starts shouting as loudly and gruffly as he's able. "That's enough! Am I still dying? If I'm not still dying, thank you, but get the hell out. I want to see my girlfriend." "No punching the emergency staff," Sal mutters in Bethany's ear. He got a very firm grip on her when things started going south. "They are just doing their jobs."

"You're only saying that because you want to do it," Bethany hisses back.

"I do not. I might key their cars, but I am an adult." Sal lets Bethany go slowly while the nurses and techs rush around to get things cleaned up and to get Rhodey settled in for the time being. "Let me look at you." Bethany has changed into a CMS hoodie and worn jeans and sneakers, what was in a bag in the Bentley, hair back in a braid so it won't catch on anything. "Okay, go on."

Sal sends her out with a push and Bethany slips back into Rhodey's room as soon as she's allowed. Sal's right, she's terrible. As soon as the pressure is off for the second time, she has to blink from tearing up all over again.

"Hey," she says quietly as she crosses to the bed. "Had to make things a little exciting there, did you?"

By now, Rhodey's bed has been elevated enough that he's halfway between sitting and lying down. He's obviously uncomfortable despite having been given painkillers, but he still looks a lot happier than he did when they wheeled him in. He waves a hand and smiles crookedly as Beth approaches. "You know me. Drama queen. I'm just glad they were smart enough not to shock me with anything." Stable. Injured, in pain, and still bleeding in a couple of spots, but he's stable. Jim reaches out for Bethany. "Hey," he says, his voice muzzy and low. "You okay?"

"I will be." Bethany comes around to Rhodey's good side and drops the rail on the bed enough that she can climb in with him, then pulls it up behind her to shut herself in. She's careful not to jostle him as she moves. She props herself up on her elbow so she can lean over him and kiss his forehead. "There. Almost better. You?"

"Much," Rhodey agrees, curling his arm around Bethany and settling her against his least injured areas. Her presence is soothing. The worry lines across his brow smooth out as he visibly relaxes. He nuzzles his cheek against hers and lets out a small sigh. "I was scared," he admits. "Right before it happened. That I wouldn't see you again. Glad I was wrong." "Me, too." Bethany snuggles close and runs her fingers across the arc reactor in Rhodey's chest. "You'd see me again, though. The wait would suck for me, but you would."

Jim's mouth opens slightly, then closes again as he searches for the right words. He looks Bethany in the eye and reaches out out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. His hand lingers against her face, tracing the outline of her cheekbones and her brow. "You mean to say that you can see me like this and still think of me... like that?" "Like what? The way you are?" Bethany shakes her head. "I don't have any illusions, Rhodey. I don't need protecting from the truth. All I see is someone I love who did something brave and... I look at this..." She touches the metal patch over his eyesocket and tears well up in her eyes. "All I feel is grateful. Grateful that you're everything you are so I still have you right now. I told you once all I saw was you and that's exactly what I see now. You are what you are and who you are. I've never thought anything else, never glossed it over, never diminished it."

He'd suspected. He'd even gone so far as to hope. Rhodey wasn't bold enough to expect this, though. The unqualified acceptance. The gratitude. And more. "I love you, too," he replies, mirroring her motions and reaching out to wipe away her tears with his gentlest touch. "Thank you. I feel more whole right now than I have in a long, long time." "That makes me so happy. You have no idea." Bethany leans in for a kiss. "*Now* I'm fine. Really." She sighs and moves enough that she can lie down with her head on Rhodey's shoulder. "Completely. And I'll try not to cry on you because I'm relieved."

Each smooch seems to breathe a little more life into the battered cyborg. He closes his eyes, soaking up the attached affection with a very satisfied look on his face. "Yeah," he says, sounding pleasantly surprised. "I think I'm fine, too. I really do. Ooh. Watch the holes, I have new holes. No, no, relax. You're fine, I was kidding." A warm laugh bubbles out of Jim as he gives his lady a squeeze. "You jerk." Bethany laughs at him and snuggles closer after his warning made her tense up. "Don't make me worry like that. I'll disassemble you myself, and not in the happy way." She does sound happy, though. She's doing a terrible job of being threatening. "I kept telling myself you'd be fine. It scared me that PATTON was so messed up, though." She digs her phone out of her hoodie pocket. "Do you want to tell him you're okay now?"

"Oh, Christmas. Yeah, I probably should. He saved my life. He threatened *Batman,* if you can believe that. Would you... ?" Rhodey trails off and offers her his arm. There's a slot just below the crease of his elbow that's designed to accept S-Phones in a fashion similar to a car stereo's CD player. "I don't think I can reach it by myself." "I can do it." Bethany turns her phone on and slides it into Rhodey's arm. "There you go. You can hang on to that for a while if you like. Sal will tell me if anything more important than you comes up--which I don't think is possible right now."

"I could never deserve you," Rhodey murmurs. A little abashed, he ducks his head like a schoolboy caught staring at his crush. "But I'm sure as hell going to try. PATTON. PATTON, you in there?" The AI is already booting up. "--be okay, Ms. Cabe. He's a tough little... Dirtbag? They brought you back? You're alive?" "I'm alive," Rhodey concurs. "Mostly thanks to you." "Yeah, well don't go all squashy on me. I did it for Ms. Cabe." PATTON's voice is a touch gruffer than usual. "I didn't want you to die right after you nutted up and said something to her." "Thanks," Jim replies wryly. "I'll try not to get blown up again anytime soon." Bethany giggles and hides her face in Rhodey's shoulder for a moment. "Thank you, PATTON. I appreciate your thoughtfulness." She gives Rhodey a kiss on the cheek. "I agree you should work on not getting blown up, dirtbag. Though I do kind of love the idea of having you helpless and in my clutches for a while."

"I'm oddly comfortable with the idea of being at your mercy," Rhodey admits, grinning widely. "Anyway, I'm a hero. I deserve a hero's welcome. From both of you." "Great," PATTON mutters. "Bet he rides this train for at least a week." "I hope so. How often do I get to play nurse to a guy named War Machine?" Bethany reaches up and pats Rhodey's arm where the phone is plugged in. "And you're totally my hero right now, PATTON. I was so worried about you when you showed up. I'm glad you're okay."

"Thank you, Ms. Cabe. All part of the service." Still, the AI sounds pleased in a harrumphing sort of way. "I think I'll power down for a bit. Three's a crowd." Rhodey nods, even though the AI can't actually see him. "Go ahead. Like I was saying earlier, you earned a day off. And PATTON... thanks. I owe you one." "We've spilled the same blood in the same mud. I'd do it all again if I had to." It's the closest PATTON has ever come to praising someone. He shuts himself down before anyone can call him on it. Once they're alone again, Rhodey turns to give Bethany a little chuckle. "He likes you, you know. And he doesn't like anybody. Not even Tony." "I have a way with old soldiers." Bethany looks up at Rhodey and bats her lashes, then laughs. "I'm glad he likes me. It'd be terrible for us to be stuck with each other if we didn't get along." She runs her fingers along Rhodey's jaw. "I'm flattered, though. Really. It means a lot to me, when I usually don't much care what people think of me."

"I hear you. Some of it's a bit foggy, but I remember enough to know I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him." Rhodey glances down at the slot in his arm as he leans into Beth's touch. "We don't always get along, but we make a good team. And you're a part of it now. Iron Man, War Machine, and... What are we going to call you, anyway?" "Um." Bethany thinks about it, or pretends to think. "Yours," she says at last. "That'll do for now. I don't want to worry about it. I nearly lost you. I can do the math, Rhodey. I've set enough charges. We got lucky. I just want a few minutes to be us. I never do that, I know I'm a hypocrite. I never turn off the job, but I'm starting now. Life is way too short."

"You're right. It is. As of now, I'm officially off-duty. On hiatus. Being with you is the only project I want on my plate." It's... kind of nice. Rhodey looks a little surprised by his own statement, even. He raises his eyebrows slightly, then gives a nod. "Yeah," he says, smiling. "I like the sound of that."