Don't You Worry Child

Don't Let Me Be Lonely

Summary: Samantha Montgomery's arrival at the doorstep of her father - whom she has never met before - transforms the lives of three people for forever.

Soundtrack: Don't Let Me Be Lonely by The Band Perry

Samantha Montgomery arrived at the front door to Tony Stark's mansion, still wearing the black knee-length floral lace dress with its exposed zipper that she'd worn for her mother's funeral that very day, her mother's lawyer, a blonde haired, very tan woman in her late 20s named Bridget Stephens, stood at her side. Samantha took in a quick yet deep breath as she prepared herself, prepared to change the life of the man who owned the house, the man who was, biologically, her father and he didn't even know it yet. Eventually, she brought herself to knock three times in quick succession on the door, not having noticed the electronic doorbell on the wall beside her. She brushed away a stray curl of her chocolate brown hair as she waited for someone to answer the large, imposing door that stood in front of her.

A slender, strawberry blonde woman answered the door and, for a second, Samantha was sure that Bridget had driven her to the wrong house, little did she know Bridget thought that she had done just that "Sorry, I think I've got the wrong address; I'm looking for Tony Stark," Bridget announced, a slight hint of hesitation in her voice which Samantha had never known to appear.

"No you've got the right house; I'm Pepper Potts, Tony's girlfriend," the woman announced and Samantha had to maintain the huff she knew would appear 'Great someone who is going to try and replace my mother just what I needed,' the brunette thought to herself sarcastically as she continued to stand in the doorway "Who exactly are you?" Pepper asked, what seemed like a forced smile plastered on her face.

Now it was Samantha's turn to speak "I... My name is Samantha Montgomery my mother is... was Audrey Montgomery. I-Apparently I am Tony's daughter," the teenager managed, tears welling up in her green eyes.

"You'd better come in," Pepper said kindly, a sympathetic smile appearing on her face. Pepper led Samantha and Bridget through the doorway and into the living room.

The brunette had to quickly catch her breath as she saw the panoramic sea views and beige walls. Pepper continued leading them through to the kitchen as she called for Tony and asked whether Samantha or Bridget would like anything to drink, both refused.

Tony Stark appeared from downstairs, a piece of the Mark III still attached to his arm "What is it Pep?" he asked with an adolescent sigh and eye roll.

"Umm... I think I'd best allow our guests to explain,"

Bridget stood up from the seat she'd sat down and began to talk, to say the speech she'd probably been attempting to practice since discovering how seriously ill Audrey was "I'm Bridget Stephens, I was Audrey Montgomery's lawyer before she passed. Apparently I'm supposed to give you this letter," the lawyer stated as she sifted through her briefcase until she found the cream envelope which sealed the fates of both Tony Stark and Samantha Montgomery and also, to an extent, Pepper Potts. She handed the letter to Tony who tore it open and began to read.

Dear Tony,

If you are reading this then I'm most likely dead or in a coma which I'll never come out of. I know it's been a while, about 17 years to be precise, since we last spoke and I know that we really didn't part on the best of terms but there is something I would like you to do for me.

At the moment you're most likely sitting with two women in front of you, the eldest one, the one with the blonde hair, is Bridget Stephens my lawyer and one of my best friends. The other is Samantha Maria Jane Montgomery, our daughter. I know I never told you about her and that was purely my fault, you were all ready to marry me when we were in college and I turned you down. Not because I didn't love you or because I cheated or even because we couldn't work together but just because I got this feeling that you were meant to be with someone else and now, seeing the press articles about you lately - I'm not stalking you or anything I just see things in the news every so often - I know that you and Pepper are meant to be together but that's beside the point I was going to make, you remember how I like to ramble thank god I didn't end up a lawyer hey? Back to Samantha, I gave her the middle name of Maria after your mom just because I suppose that if Maria Stark hadn't existed then she and Howard wouldn't have adopted you and I wouldn't have Samantha would I? She's sixteen; her favourite colour is blue although she wears a lot of black and she loves music, particularly country and rock. She loves old movies, her favourites are directed by Alfred Hitchcock, just don't let her watch Psycho late at night because she never sleeps if she does that. I know this will be difficult for you, I'm not sure how much things have changed but I remember that you always worried that you'd be a bad father because of how your dad wasn't around all that often but could you just do me a favour and look after her? Please, for me?

Yours, forever and sincerely,

Audrey

Tony looked up from the piece of paper, hot, salty tears stinging his eyes as he allowed himself to focus on Samantha. She had his hair and square jawline but her mother's blue, narrow eyes and full lips, she truly was beautiful. He ran his hand through his hair, the weight of the position Audrey had placed him in landing on his shoulders, and said "Pepper can you set up one of the guest rooms?" Pepper rushed off to do as requested and Tony turned to Bridget, asking the next question that came to mind "Do I need to sign anything to say that I'm taking Samantha into my care?"

"California law requires that Audrey sign documentation regarding it and I've got a copy of her will which also places Samantha into your care but yes there are a couple of legal independent adoption papers you'll have to sign I'll draw them up when I get back to the office," Bridget replied carefully, her tone back to that of a lawyer, a calm look in her eyes.

Tony turned to Samantha and gently asked her "Do you have any things with you?"

"We came straight from the funeral, so I've only got what I'm wearing and whatever's in my handbag," she explained, sadness the only thing in her eyes and voice as she said it.

"I'll see if we've got anything that'll fit you for tonight and tomorrow we can go about packing up your mother's place and getting your stuff,"

She was behind the wheel of the car, her first driving lesson in over two months and she was nervous. Fair play to her for being nervous seeing as she was new to the practise and already she hadn't had the chance to go out and drive in and age. She looked to her mother in the passenger seat next to her and the older woman nodded, her blonde hair scraped up into a bun for the first time in what felt like an age to the young brunette who sat next to her. She pulled out of the driveway they shared with about ten other people and began to drive along the main road, a slight smile appearing on the corners of her mouth as she got slightly more comfortable. She was about to turn at the traffic lights, it was a green light, she could turn but out of nowhere a huge, bulky truck drove into the side of the car, as a monument to the grey life the two women in the car would lead for the next couple of months.

Samantha woke with a start, a strangled scream escaping her mouth as she did, her ever recurring nightmare having returned to her once more during the night. She watched, burning hot saline tasting tears leaking from her eyes, as Tony rushed into the room, panic emblazoned across his face "What's wrong?" he asked as kindly as he knew how.

"Nightmare," she said with a sigh of resignation as she violently swatted away her tears.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"It-it was a car accident I was in with mom a couple of months ago. She was teaching me to drive, we hadn't done the whole driving lesson in a while because her work had gotten so busy that she was having to work weekends and late at night. Anyway she was teaching me to drive and there was this-this set of traffic lights and I turned on the green light and this truck just came out of nowhere. I was lucky I suppose, I got out relatively unscathed, you know just a cut that needed a couple of stitches but mom, my god she had so many injuries, they said she had internal bleeding, a broken leg, her-her head had this-this big massive cut. The doctors-they said they could fix it and they did-or I thought they did but a couple of weeks after the surgery one-one of the incision sites got... it got infected and... and th-they said there... there was nothing they could do because... because the infection was too far gone," she explained, the tears continuing to stream down her cheeks "I killed my mom didn't I?" she exclaimed suddenly,

"No-no you didn't, who did the cops blame?"

"The police report said that investigations were inconclusive and with mom in hospital we couldn't afford a second investigation. I had to sell the car, my record player and all of my records to afford all of the bills," she said, her voice wasn't so much filled with regret but guilt.

Tony moved closer to the bed "I can get you new ones,"

"You don't have to,"

"No but I want to. I want you to feel as comfortable as possible here so if you want to rearrange the furniture or repaint the room whatever you want I'll help you do it," he told her honestly and she couldn't help but hug him.