Author's Note:

Tilts hat. Hello there, here's a short story from me to you, it's only a few chapters long!

Natasha looked at all of the new Avengers recruits. They came together very differently than the original group and were chosen differently, as well- Steve, Tony and Bruce were all chosen for different reasons. Thor was there because of Loki and along the way he was branded as an Avenger. Clint's mind was controlled, and she was called in to help him. But after all of that was done, they had stayed.

The four individuals in front of them had already worked together- to a certain degree- and were officially the only members of the team who explicitly chose to join instead of being chosen. Although, Tony would comment, Vision was made for the team.

With the original Avengers going their separate ways- Thor and Clint returning home, Bruce… disappearing off of the face of the planet, and Tony taking a step back- it left Steve and Natasha to train the new recruits. Then again, from what she had seen, they didn't need that much training- but they were doing the Avengers differently from how S.H.I.E.L.D had done with them.

The Avengers are a team, and they are in charge of themselves.

"Avengers…" Steve started, his mouth still open. "As you are all aware, I am team captain, and Natasha is co-captain." He stated, nodding his head at Nat. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to come to us."

All four of them nodded, but Natasha silently wished he hadn't just said that- she didn't want anybody coming to her for something stupid.

"You all have your own room here for the duration of your training, and we'll be taking it day by day." He finished before dismissing them.

Rhodey and Vision immediately walked off together as Sam approached Steve. Natasha looked at Wanda as the younger woman approached her. "Is Clint not coming?" Wanda asked.

Natasha knew Wanda didn't know about Clint's family, and she couldn't tell her. "No- he has other matters to attend to, but I'm sure he'll be dropping by on occasion and helping out on some missions."

Wanda nodded. "Okay."

"How about we go and get ourselves something to eat? Before Steve decides to give another motivational speech." Natasha offered, remembering that Wanda had just lost her brother not too long ago and Clint was the person she knew the most. She needed a friend.

Wanda smiled. "Good idea."

They headed off to the kitchen, Wanda looking lost the whole way.

Natasha headed to bed pretty late in the evening- especially seeing as she was meeting Steve at 5:40 in the kitchen the next morning. She slipped into her bed and closed her eyes, letting sleep take over. The last thing she expected was to have a dream- or worse, a nightmare disguised as a memory. At least, in her opinion, that's what it was.

The six-year-old yawned as she rested her head on her dad's shoulder. She held onto him a little tighter as he carried her through the dark and cold Russian night.

Her eyes drooped closed as she drifted off to sleep; she didn't know it would be her last peaceful and safe sleep for years.

The young girl's eyes fluttered open as she was placed on her feet; she leant against her dad for support as she looked around, confused. Her bright green eyes landed on the man standing in front of her.

"Hello, I'm Ivan," he greeted, kneeling down to her level and holding out one hand.

"'Talia," Natalia replied confidently as she shook his hand. "I'm going to be seven in seven days." She told him with a smile as his eyes roamed over her approvingly.

He smiled. "You look like a very confident little girl."

"Thank you," Natalia replied happily before covering her mouth to yawn; her eyes closed for a few moments. She was still very tired. When she opened them again, Ivan was walking away from her.

He collected a metal briefcase and approached them again, looking at her father. Natalia looked up, watching the silent interaction.

"What's that, Daddy?" She asked.

He looked down at her, his hand stroking her loose hair out of her face. "Medicine."

"For Mama and Daniil?"

He nodded sadly and knelt down. "Yes, for Mama and Daniil." He confirmed. "Thalie, you are going to stay with Ivan for a little while- just while your mama and I sort a few things out, okay?"

Natalia's eyes widened as the words sunk in. "No, I want to stay with you- and Mama and Daniil!" She launched forward, wrapping her little arms around his neck and holding onto him with all of her might.

Her father's strong arms enclosed around her protectively as he planted a soft kiss on her forehead before letting her go. "I will be back for you, Thalie, I promise. You won't get sick here like Mama and your little brother- you'll be safe."

Natalia reluctantly let her dad unpeel her from him and watched him stand up and back away slightly. She looked up at Ivan when he offered her his hand and after a few long seconds of looking at her dad sadly, she accepted it. She didn't want to go with this strange man. She wanted to stay with her family; she didn't care if she got sick, too.

"You have a month to pay in full or the swap is permanent." Ivan told her father.

He gave a firm nod before looking down at her. "I love you. Be good."

"I love you! Bye, Daddy," Natalia was lightly tugged to walk with Ivan and her little feet moved quickly to keep up. They came to a stop a few meters away and she turned and watched her dad walking away from her. She was shouting in her head for him to come back, to not leave her, but she remained silent and once he was out of view, she looked up at Ivan and allowed him to lead her into the building.

Natasha flew into a seated position, drops of sweat glistening on her forehead and cooling her back. Her heart rate and breathing were quicker and shallower, which was normal as she was pretty sure she had just had a nightmare. A nightmare of her dad selling her to Ivan. "What did he look like?" She questioned aloud, suddenly unable to remember his appearance- the dream was so vivid, but now her father was a blur.

"Who's Daniil?" Was her second question. She knew the dream couldn't have been true- her parents died in a fire and Ivan rescued and cared for her. Her father didn't trade her for medicine for her mom and Daniil. "Daniil, my little brother."

Shaking her head furiously, she slid out of bed, noticing the wet patch on the sheets from her sweat and tears- it was enough to halt her suddenly for a few minutes before she took a long and boiling hot shower.

Natasha told herself hundreds of times that it was just a dream. There was no way it could be real. Impossible.

Her parents were dead. Gone. No dreams were going to change that.

Natasha walked into the kitchen, half-dazed. She just couldn't get the dream out of her head- no, not dream, nightmare. To think that she had memories of her family was stupid- that's what the weak children believed; they believed they had a family that loved them. She knew differently. She was a baby when Ivan took her- it wasn't possible for her to have memories, especially as a little girl.

"Nat?"

She looked up, slightly startled by Steve's voice in front of her.

"Are you okay? You look like you've barely slept." He commented.

"I'm fine… Just… wasn't able to sleep." She answered, planning on lying; she had woken up three hours after going to sleep and didn't even dare to close her eyes again- she didn't want to see that sort of fantasy.

Steve nodded slightly like he understood, but of course he didn't- how could he? "Did you want to try getting some sleep now?"

"No. I'm fine." Natasha replied, sitting down. "Are you ready to go over plans of how to train the recruits?"

Steve nodded placing a tablet on the table- it seemed Tony's tech lessons were paying off. "We don't need to worry about Rhodey and Sam that much as they both have training with their suits and without. Wanda needs the most, and Vision is completely new, so we need to find out what he can do."

Natasha glanced at the table on the screen. "If you wanted to work with Sam and Wanda today, I'll work with Vision and Rhodey. Do some… teamwork activities and some basic tests for what they can do?" She suggested. "Getting them to work as a team is just as important as building them as individuals."

"Agreed. We'll split up today, then. And when we do work individually with somebody, the other three- if they are here- should be doing something, too."

"Something together." Natasha agreed with him. "But one day at a time, right?"

"Right."

It seemed like timing was on their side as, at that precise moment, Vision walked in. "I wasn't aware that you two were awake."

Thank you for reading!