Second Chances

Twelve

"Rhodey breath." Carol placed her hands on the colonel's shoulder in an attempt of comfort.

"How can I breath when Tony has been missing for three months!" Rhodey yelled, and Carol's jaw set as she glanced over to Natasha.

"Jim," Natasha said slowly, and Rhodey shook his head.

"Don't call me Jim." He muttered placing his head in his hands. "Not right now.

"It's Tony. He's strong and way too fucking stubborn to die." Hill stated, and Rhodey looked over to her.

"We lost him in Afghanistan. He's most likely dead." He hissed, and Hill rolled her eyes.

"I know that Rhoades, but it's Tony. He'll figure it out." She said, and Rhodey sighed.

"Guys I can't lose him," Rhodey said into his hands, and Natasha felt a hand curl on her hip.

Natasha looked back at Hill with a sigh, and she leaned into her girlfriend's arm. The group stayed silent, and Rhodey kept his eyes locked on the screen in front of him. Some peopled shifted uncomfortably with the heavy silence.

Tony always knew how to light up the room, and now that he was missing it was darker than ever.

"Has anyone tried to contact Steve?" Pepper spoke up, and everyone looked back at her.

"Tony told me about how they were trying again, and the night that they were supposed to go out Tony went missing." She said, and they all looked around trying to answer Pepper's question. 

"I'll call." Happy said, and he walked out of the room. 

It was silence again, and Rhodey put his head in his hands. 

"Fucking Tony," Rhodey mumbled.

"It's all my fault. I should have told him to come with me instead of the fun-vee. I should have forced him into my car." Rhodey shook his head, and Natasha sighed.

"I was there too, ya know. It's my fault just as much as it is yours." She said, and Hill groaned.

"No, it's not. The bomb would have hit the car either way. You guys did everything you could." She lectured, and Natasha wrapped her arms around her slim body.

Minutes passed, and they were back in the silence.

"Hey, I'm home." Rae walked into the room, and her soft smile turned into a pained one once her eyes fell on Rhodey.

"I brought take out for everyone," Rae muttered, noticed the cold, untouched food surrounding Rhodey.

"Thanks." Maria smiled, walking over to Rae, and she took one of the bags so she could help give out the food. 

"Hey, James." She whispered squatting down next to him, and she took his face in her hands.

"Have you eaten today?" She asked, and Rhodey looked down at the ground.

Rae sighed, before sitting up on her heels, and she placed a soft kiss on his forehead. She then started to dig through the paper bag of Chinese Food, and she handed Rhodey a small white box.

"Hun, you have to eat." She said, keeping her tone soft.

"Okay." Rhodey nodded, his voice trailing off at the end of the word.

"Okay." He said again, and he took the box and slowly opened it.

"Thanks for the food, Rae," Carol said, once the silence fell over everyone again.

Several others murmured their thanks to Rae, and she just smiled before turning back to Rhodey. She gently ran her fingers over the back of his neck, as he pushed his food around in his box. Happy walked back into the room, and Pepper handed him his box. The room was too quiet, letting all the worries and doubts about Tony's survival to fill the air.