Stark's Winged Daughter (S.P.N.D. Book 3)

Chapter 1: My Dad's Not On His Cycle

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Dad cries in agony as he holds his head over the toilet. "I'm not gonna make it."

Pepper and I share looks of annoyance as she leans in the doorway to the bathroom.

My father coughs. "I'm serious. Give me a little space."

"Get up," Pepper tells him, the Iron Man helmet tucked in her arms.

"I can't go through with it, I'm telling you."

"We don't have time for this."

"We have to go," I say.

Slowly my dad leans back, staggering to his feet as he shuts the toilet lid. "Oh, God, you do not want to see that. Where am I? Do I look weird?"

"You look like you look every day," she says to him. "You look like you have a hangover."

Well, he is dying, so that doesn't help.

Dad walks toward where I sit in the main area of the plane. "Mist me with a Sheen thrower, will you? I, literally, just almost died in there. Give me some toast, give me some crackers. Ginger ale, anything. Give me Advil."

He sits beside me as Pepper says, "I don't have Advil. I've got Motrin."

"Motrin? I'm telling you, there is something seriously wrong-"

"Yes, there is something seriously wrong with you."

"With giving a grown man Motrin."

"It's a brand name!"

"I'm not on my cycle, Pepper!"

"for my mother's sake, dad," I say, "it's just ibuprofen."

An alarm sounds throughout the plane, letting us know that it's time to go.

"Abort mission!" dad yells, standing up. "There it is. Abort! Tell him to stop saying we're dropping."

"We're not-" Pepper begins, but gets cut off.

"I am not doing this mission!"

"We're not aborting the mission!" I yell, Pepper shooting me a grateful glance.

She grabs his shoulder. "Do you have any idea the level of coordination it took for the DOD to approve this?"

"Send them flowers."

"We are over the drop zone."

Dad turns around. "What?"

"Yes."

"Let's do this."

Dad walks to the exit, preparing to drop. He and Pepper stand across from each other, holding each other at an arm's length away as I wait only a few steps away.

"I know I can be selfish sometimes," he begins, and I resist the urge to nod. "And I know I don't say it enough. But how's my hair?"

"You said that before."

"I know, but this time I mean it. Is it piece-y enough? Do I need more product?"

"Yeah, you look good."

"You like the wind-blown look?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, give me a smooch for good luck. I might not make it back. This is heavy stuff."

Pepper gives a kiss to the Iron Man helmet she was holding before tossing it out of the plane.

"Dad, if you don't go I will push you off this plane," I say with a sarcastic smile.