A Partner In All Things (November 1995)

With everything that was happening, Tony was very concerned that Isabella would want to cancel the wedding. He knew he hadn’t helped in that regard but he needed her eyes to be open. He couldn’t see her hurt again and that was far more important to him than the wedding. And even her own happiness. He could not bare it if anything happened to her.

It was indeed a surprise to see her in his lab...unsupervised he added. Silently in his head ofcourse...not out loud! If she was going to be his wife there would be no place she could not go after all. He knew that would take some getting used to. It was bad enough that he had Happy monitor all of his messages and get rid of all the ones left by women. Women that were not Isabella,anyway. Tony looked into the digital matrix and noticed immediately what she was doing. “The Mark IIIa?” He saw. She had saved her modified configuration and he looked at the modifications she had made. “A medical suite? And he saw that she had changed how it looked. He turned to look at her. He hadn’t even held the press conference yet.

“So what is this Isabella? You’re thinking we fly around as some kind of superhero husband and wife team?” Tony asked. He wasn’t smiling. Not while she was looking at him anyway. He wasn’t certain if he could take her seriously or not but he had already erred today and he didn’t want to upset her again or make her angry. “You recall SHIELD still wants me to disavow my involvement in what happened,” Tony said. “What would our lives be like if I didn’t? We’d never have a moment of peace,” he said but he was also thinking of how much it all appealed to him too.

Isabella had just meant to save her work while she was messing around. She hadn't intended for Tony to even see this. She had intended to delete the information before leaving the lab. Isabella was still upset and on edge over everything and what Tony said got her hackles up just a little bit. "Of course I wasn't thinking that," she said, although to be honest she kind of was...if only as a dream. "I was just messing around for fun...trying to clear my head," she said as she turned back and deleted the suit design. Tony would know how to recover the file though if he wanted to.

Before Isabella could just leave Tony pulled her over onto his lap and put his arms around her waist. He could tell that Isabella was not like other women. But he knew that back when they were just friends at Philips Academy. He was marrying her because she was a remarkable woman. Strong, confident and she knew how to handle him. He needed her and he would...in the end, deny her nothing if she pressed him.

"I think you should start looking for a wedding dress, don't you?" Tony said. "Something white...to go with the wedding present I got you," Tony said with a small grin on his face. "I know we have alot going on but I want to be married to you. I want to know you're mine babe and I want you to know that I'm yours," Tony said.

Isabella didn't resist Tony when he grabbed her arm and gently pulled her into his lap. She leaned into him when she felt his arms snake around her waist. She needed his comfort right then after everything that had just come to light. Thinking about their wedding made her smile a little. She was about to tell Tony that she already had a few dresses in mind, when he teased her again about the wedding present he had gotten her. They had yet to really decide on any real details for the wedding apart from that it would be only family and very close friends. However, a thought then came to Isabella.

"Do you remember that small chapel at Phillips Academy? What if we were married there? After all Phillips Academy is where we met and fell in love."

"I think that is a wonderful idea," Tony said with hardly a pause and he smiled up at her. "I'll make the call," Tony said in that way he usually did when he would make it all happen the way she wanted. And so far he had not failed in that. "And I like chocolate cake if that matters," Tony said with a grin. "In fact I'm in the mood for something sweet right now," he said as he shifted his hand down to her thigh. he squeezed her right thigh lightly and he had 'that' look in his eye. If she had things to do she'd know she'd need to break away now or she'll find herself in bed with him in about 2 minutes.

"Oh, I forgot, I had Jarvis make you this," Tony said as he pulled a flip phone from his pocket. He showed her how to use it. "It's battery power is crap but I'm working on that. It works like any other phone though. Just plug it in at night and you'll be fine," Tony said. She noticed though that his hand had moved to between her legs though as he watched her look at the phone. "I saved several numbers for you already. You can add more ofcourse," Tony said. "Also, Happy is available to you as well or you can take any of the cars here yourself. The keys for them is in them already. I had the blue Jag waxed just yesturday," Tony said as he snaked his hand under her shirt. "After we get married and you change your name, I'll make up new credit cards. If the Jag does not suit, just go buy what you want," Tony added as she felt a tug and then a loosening on her jeans.

Isabella felt Tony's hands on her body. She was still upset, but his touch was quickly causing that to fade away. She knew she had other things she needed to be doing, but at the moment she didn't care about them. After everything that had just happened she wanted to feel connected to him. She took the flip phone he handed her. She had never owned a cellular phone, not even while working at the CIA. She was excited to have one though. When she opened the phone and looked at the contact list she smiled when she saw Tony's cell number listed first. She felt her body growing warm at Tony's continued touch and she didn't stop him. However, when Tony mentioned her having the Jag she looked over at him and a happy smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"I can have the Jag?"

Tony would be able to tell that if he said "yes" that he was going to get very lucky. She absolutely loved that car and that showed in her eyes.

Tony smiled as he lightly kissed her neck. "Everything I have is yours Isabella. So yes, you can have the Jag," he said as he put his hand inside of her pants and began to rub her center. "For myself, I would settle just for this," He whispered as he shifted his fingers into her.

A considerable amount of time later Isabella woke in their bed. She had only just drifted off she knew but Tony had been unusually aggressive in their love-making and it had infected hEr to be aggressive right back. He was in the shower she could hear and she felt a little sore, down there. As she laid there her phone went off. It vibrated against her bedside table. When she flipped it open Renee's voice said. "Hey, It's Renee."

Isabella's eyes slowly opened. She wasn't sure how long she had drifted off for. She could hear Tony in the shower and she stretched and sat up. Their clothes were strewn about the room and Isabella couldn't help but smile a little as she thought about what had just transpired between them. She was about to get up and go join Tony in the shower when her phone suddenly went off. She answered it and heard Renee's voice.

"Hey. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. So, what did you find out?"

Renee had easily found out who signed out the car. Obviously Gerald Rickun did not think anyone would look that up. She also knew Nathan Philip. Former special forces. Gerald was former Navy seals. Both men were the real deal and they had a reputation for cleaning up messes that the CIA needed cleaned up. This had gone from an Idle inquiry to a very serious situation at neck break speed.

"Isabella...whats going on? Are you in some kind of trouble? I thought you were with Tony Stark? Are you two still a thing? I mean, You know Gerald...Gerald Rickun. He's one of the two men. The other is Nathan Philip," Renee said. Her voice had a very concerned caste to it.

In the bathroom Tony had begun to sing. Loudly and fairly badly too. Obviously he was very happy right then. "What's that? I hear...singing," Renee said confusedly.

Isabella's eyes widened when she heard that the two men were Gerald Rickun and Nathan Philip. She became extremely concerned and she knew now that this was a very serious situation.

"Yes, I'm still with Tony. That's actually him singing really badly in the shower. I'm not sure what they would be after," she said, lying to Renee. "I'll talk to Tony and we'll deal with it. I want to keep you out of this. Thank you for the information."

She hung up and then got up and put on her robe. She walked into the bathroom and got Tony's attention. "Pavarotti you are not Babe," she teased. She then began to tell him what Renee had told her as he dried himself off.

"I don't want to get Renee involved any further in this."

"So...these agents. their after Frank I take it? Do you know where Frank is now?" Tony asked when she shook her head no Tony thought about the situation a moment. "Your phone has a tracking system in it. Mine does as well so if we get separated, we can find one another. Just hit pound M then OK on your phone and it will bring up the map with my phones homing beacon. I can do the same for yours," He said as he thought about it.

"Since you have no way to contact him I think we should just go about our lives. I'll schedule the press conference for tomorrow morning. You could schedule some fittings or cake tasting...whatever you want. I think its important that we look like we don't know anything," He suggested as he wiped himself off with his towel. He was naked in front of her but he didn't mind at all.

Isabella nodded to what Tony suggested. There wasn't much they could do and there was no sense in worrying about it. They needed to just go about their lives as normal. Isabella liked how confident Tony was standing in front of her naked. It made her want him again, but there was something she needed to ask him.

"At the press conference tomorrow, are you going to announce our engagement? Or are we going to wait and announce our marriage after we get married?"

Tony tugged a little at Isabella's robe but it didn't come undone. He wanted it to though. He loved to see her naked body. "No, I don't want anyone to know anything until after it happens. This is just to put people off thinking that Stark Industries is developing some new weapon. I want to change how people see my company Isabella. I can't do that if they think I'm some kind of Ironman killing machine," Tony said.

Isabella was extremely supportive of what Tony was wanting to do. She would support him no matter what he decided to tell the press. She turned around to head back into the bedroom. She paused though for a moment. "Iron Man...I rather like the sound of that," she said as she let her robe slip off her shoulders. She glanced back over her right shoulder at Tony and flashed him a little smile.

Tony's eyes shifted down to her bare bottom and he smiled at her appreciatively. She had the nicest butt he had ever seen. Isabella had told Tony to go ahead and have Happy drive him to the press conference. She had wanted to be there but Tony didn't want her anywhere nearby incase someone recognized her. While she was dressing Tony said goodbye and it was all she could do to fend him off while she was still in her undergarments doing her makeup.

The Jaguar was there and ready to go. It was a 1960s classic and once she sat in it the seat seemed to contour to her bottom as if it was made for her. The engine roared to life and the doors opened for her to roll out and closed after she made it out of the lab.

Isabella was grinning like a kid in a candy store as she got into the driver's seat of the Jaguar. Everything about the car was impeccable and the leather seats were the softest leather she had ever felt. She thankfully new how to drive a manual and she giggled a little as the engine roared to life. She pulled the car out of the lab and the doors closed automatically behind her. She drove down the driveway and then pulled the car out onto the main road. Not many people were around so she punched the gas a little bit. She headed into town and parked the car. There was a boutique wedding dress shop and she decided to go in and look around. Thankfully, no one in the shop seemed to recognize her.

There were a few women in the boutique. The owner and her 2 assistants but other than Isabella, she was their first customer today. Nancy had graying hair up into a bun and she wore black pants and a dark blue blouse. She had blue framed glasses but her eyes were clear and keen. She had sized Isabella up in a glance.

Joan, she'll want to try a few dresses...I'm thinking Franknel and Cushnie," She said. "Two of the very best designers," Nancy said. Joan nodded and stepped away. "Carla, you go with her...And bring a veil," she added and the other woman moved off as well.

"So Isabella," She asked as she had Isabella move up onto the small pedestal in front of the mirrors. "What kind of gown were you thinking? Simple or more extravagant?" She asked. "Lace or Something more elegant?" She asked

Isabella had looked at a few Bridal magazines, but so far hadn't seen "the one." She wanted her dress to be...perfect. Even though this was going to be a very small and private wedding, she didn't want to settle. She wanted Tony to be blown away when he saw her in her gown.

She stepped up onto the pedestal and accepted a Mimosa that Nancy handed her. "I don't want my dress to appear dated in pictures. I want it to be classic and timeless. Not so simple as to be plain, but not overly extravagant either. Picture Grace Kelly's wedding dress as inspiration."

Nancy smiled at that as she looked at Isabella in the mirrors. She came up to her and touched her hips lightly and then her waist. "Your a thin one," She commented as she began to think of what to fit her in. Before she could continue though the lights suddenly went out and the Heat blowers turned off. "Kaaah!" She scoffed. "Joan, if you blew another fuse!" She said angrily as if this had happened before. "Just stay there Isabella, we'll get the power on in a moment," Nancy said as she moved to toward the back.

Isabella was still slightly under weight. However, she and Tony were planning to be married very soon so she wasn’t concerned about growing out of the dress. Suddenly, the lights and heat went out. She wasn’t overly concerned as Nancy moved towards the back. She stayed where she was and took another sip of her Mimosa.

There was some audible movement nearby but in the dark it was difficult to judge. That and she could hear the women moving around and arguing. Their voices were muffled liked their movements and obviously Nancy was outraged. As she sipped her mimosa though she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She threw her drink into the man's face and managed to hit him in the cheek but the other one that had moved behind her, she did not have time to stop him. He touched what he held to her neck and she felt all the muscles in her body suddenly go limp as the electrical current from the stun gun hit her. She felt herself being put on someone's shoulder and then felt the sensation of movement as she was carried away.

It was dark and then it was light. A bright light that seemed to sear her eyes yet she could not close them. She heard the door of a van open but before she was thrown inside one of the men grunted and she felt herself being dropped onto the pavement.

Frank had been watching Isabella. He had seen the two men that had been following her. He had seen them for a while now and knew who they were. His partner had ID'd them and he knew full well they were dangerous. But so was he. He had used a sap on the back of the neck of the first man. His legs folded under him as he dropped and then the other man dropped Isabella. He and Frank exchanged a set of furious blows and Isabella could hear them fighting and moving about. Frank grunted and growled and then so did the other man. Two large men fighting with her near their feet unable to do much of anything but drool. Finally one man was tossed onto the side of the van and then he slunk to the ground. Isabella smelled the coppery scent of blood as she was once again picked up.

She felt the sensation of moving again and then she was nearly tossed into the backseat of another car. She heard the trunk open and then the car was jostled as something heavy was tossed into it. The car door slammed and then opened and slammed again and then the engine was started. The car sped off just as feeling came back to her hands. First her hands and then her feet. Then her legs and arms and then her mouth and body.

Isabella felt herself thrown into the backseat of a car. She did not know what was going on. She hadn’t seen that it was Frank who had been fighting one of the men. She heard the trunk open and felt the car being jostled a little and then slammed closed. She felt the car begin to move and slowly feeling began to come back to her body. She was slowly able to sit up, but couldn’t tell who was driving the car.

“Who are you and what do you want?” she demanded.