Faith in her Timing

Chapter 13: This is the end. Right?

"Dad....dad!" Rio said softly, then out loud and in despair. She started to bang on the church-floor with her fists, clawing at the tiles with her nails.

"Dexter! Dexter! Stop, stop! Look at me. Hey!" Tony said firmly, as he grabbed her hands in his own and pulled her arms so she'd look at him instead.

"I have to save him." Rio told him, tears running down her cheeks. Tony swallowed hard. "Dexter? It's over. You can't save him anymore. I'm sorry, kid."

For the first time since she left home, Rio cried over what she lost. The thought of having to break this to her mother and sister tore her heart apart as well. Timothy gathered her in his arms and cried too. He came too close to losing her, too many times. Tony stepped back and watched them, a lonely tear on his face. They were so broken, the both of them. Would it ever work out? Or did too much happen? Either way this was going to be difficult.

Once both Timothy and Rio calmed down, Tony helped Rio up and with Timothy he helped her to stumble out of the church. He ordered them a cab and for a while they sat in silence.

"He...he did that to my mom..." Rio suddenly whispered, her face turning red. They all heard Roman insinuate it. But only now did the severity of it come to her.

"Rio, I had a long talk with your father. The drive over here took long, because traffic lights and all that jazz stopped working or malfunctioned. JARVIS said that he suspected demonic possession so I tried to prepare your father for that. H-He..." Tony swallowed hard. This was not easy to say.

"Go on." Rio said stiffly. She wasn't sure if she was ready to hear more bad news.

"He was very sorry. For what he put you and your family through. He's been ex-communicated over what happened with your baby. So he understood that if Roman took hold of his body, his holy status wouldn't protect him from the fact that he set foot in a church. That's why he jumped in front of Timothy. He planned on sacrificing himself for you, to prove how sorry he was and how much he truly loved you. So when Tim tried to do this himself, he jumped in front to prevent that. He really was sorry." Tony couldn't help but to emphasize that last part.

"I'm not ready to forgive him." Rio replied. Timothy took hold of her hand and softly kissed it. "All in due time, my love. You don't have to do it today."

They arrived at Stark tower, where Pepper stood outside to greet them. She hugged Tony tight and shed some tears of relief, to see all of them safe and sound.

"Where's Calvin? Your mother and sister are inside." She carefully asked Rio. When the girl didn't answer, Pepper sighed sadly. "Rio..I'm sorry. For what happened and for believing Roman. I should have known better and trusted you and Tony."

Without speaking, Rio hugged her friend. She had no words at the moment. She was going to have to go in and tear her mother's and sister's world apart. But she wanted to show Pepper that she held no animosity towards her. Too much happened, for them to hold on to the bitter past. Pepper felt the sweet relief she had been searching for since Thanksgiving.

Rio walked into Stark tower and her mother and sister clung to her immediately. "Kara! You're alright!" Her mother cried out and Rio nodded, her tears flowing freely. She got a small taste of what it had been like for her mother, all these years. It was the right decision at the time but she felt remorse for all the pain she caused.

"Where's dad" Lacy asked her, afraid to come close to her. Rio tried to regroup. "Lacy, he's gone. He saved Tim, Tony and me from a monster. He was very brave."

From the outside, Tony saw the young blonde girl break down, together with her mother. They hugged each other and Rio as they took in the horrible news. Again a lonely tear ran down his cheek. He had his fill of pain. Of grief. Of loss. But there was nothing he could do against it.