Pepper was behind him; he sulked a moment that JARVIS hadn't informed him that she was in residence, though, actually, JARVIS had stopped informing him when Pepper was in residence sometime during their second year of working together, so forget it.
He would rather that he'd known about her before he heard her soft voice, but now that she was here, he was...glad. A little comforted that she was here. Things were going to be okay.
Well, he knew that part anyways. It wasn't as though he'd suffered any major injuries; nothing worse than that first time out in the armor, less a concussion or two. He assumed. JARVIS hadn't told him to stay awake in that very dry tone, which he assumed meant his brain was safe. Didn't mean he didn't ache.
Not lifting his head, he said hoarsely, "I'd say that it's not as bad as it looks...but I'd probably be lying." Turning a little, he managed to glance over his shoulder at Pepper as he added honestly, "It - everything - aches, but I'll live."