"My family is my strength and my weakness." – Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

As Clint drove to the FBI, his mind was filled with memories again. The abuse, the sleepless nights and constantly living in fear. The two boys and their mother, Edith, never knew what time Harold Barton would come home drunk. When he did, Edith and Barney would quickly get Clint upstairs to keep him away from his father. Clint, being the youngest, was Harold Barton's favourite punch bag. His father often called him "weak", "vulnerable" and "pathetic", which naturally lowered the young Clint's confidence. The only person who could really calm Clint down was his brother, Barney. Barney became very protective of Clint, and hated it whenever his younger brother was beaten. Clint shook his head to get rid of the images. He could remember it all too well. He got to the FBI, showed his S.H.I.E.L.D. ID and drove in. He walked into the main foyer of the Headquarters, down some corridors and stopped. He was starting to get scared.

"Clint?" He turned and saw Barney standing behind him.

"Hey, Barney." he said, smiling. The older Barton pulled him into a hug.

"What's wrong?" he whispered in Clint's ear.

"Tasha's been kidnapped." Clint said, his fear coming out in his voice.

"Who took her?" Clint hesitated. Barney pulled out of the hug and looked at him. "Clint. Who took her?"

"Dad." Clint whispered. "And..."

"And...?"

"I think...I've got a feeling that...that Trick Shot and Swordsman are involved as well."

"What makes you say that?" asked Barney.

"Well...well, they would know that I would come to you for help, right? If it was just Dad, it would be three against one and he wouldn't like that. Wouldn't be able to break us so easily. But if Buck and Jacques are there as well, it's equal, see?"

"I see." said Barney. "But, Clint, he's dead. Dad's dead. He died in a car crash, remember?"

"I know, but he called me and said that he had Tasha. He also intimidated me and you know how I feel about that..." Clint stopped. He started to cry.

"Hey, don't worry, Clint. Alright?" said Barney, hugging him again. "She'll be fine."

"She won't..."

"Don't talk like that, Clint! She'll be fine."

"If you say so." said Clint, nodding.

"Good boy." said Barney affectionately, smirking. He ruffled his brother's hair, like when they were kids. Clint looked up at him and smiled. "Now, let's go and get her."

Natasha grunted as she was punched in the face. Hard. There were lots of fresh bruises on her arms and face and her nose was bleeding an unusual large amount of blood. These guys really knew how to pack a punch. She had identified each of her captors. The archer, Trick Shot; the Frenchman, Swordsman and the alcoholic, Harold. She knew that they had something to do with Clint, but that was all she knew.

"You're not going to get anything out of me, you know." she said, casually.

"Oh, we know." replied Harold. "And I don't like that casual tone. You're going to break sooner or later."

"No, I'm not." she said, but there was a small feeling of fear building up. She knew what Clint would say.

"Tasha, you need to stay calm. Don't give in."

"I'm not giving in!" she exclaimed firmly.

"You will." said Harold. "Eventually."

"Clint."

"I'm fine, Barney."

"Clint..."

"I said, I'm fine!" Barney raised his eyebrows. "You seriously need to get better at lying, little brother." he said. "You're crap at it."

"Just like when I was a kid."

"Yep."

They chuckled then there was a long pause of silence as they drove along.

"Clint."

"What?"

"I understand you're worried about your best friend, but you need to calm down!"

"Barney..."

"You know they've taken her to get to you." Barney continued. "They'll be expecting you to react like this. They'll hurt her to hurt you."

"Yes, I'm perfectly aware of what they'll do to her!"

"Good." said Barney. "Then tell me what they'll do." Clint looked at him in surprise.

"What?" he asked.

"Tell me what they'll do to her." repeated Barney. "Go on. Tell me." Clint thought for a moment.

"They'll find her weaknesses." he said. "One of them is being controlled, and the other is...rape." He paused. "They'll beat the crap out of her and try to get her to break down."

"Well, if they do rape her then she'll certainly break down." said Barney.

"Yeah." agreed Clint. "That's what I'm worried about." He shook his head. "Tasha's good at coping in situations like this, but I know that she won't be able to cope with those guys." He looked up at his brother. "You know what they're like, Barney. They're all abusive, and if Dad gets drunk..." He tailed off. Both of them knew what would happen then. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"Iowa." said Barney. "They'll have taken her somewhere that we both know."

"The circus, the orphanage and our childhood home." said Clint.

"Exactly." agreed Barney, nodding. He looked at his brother. "Clint, she'll be fine. Don't worry." Clint didn't answer. "Clint." Barney sighed and pulled over. Then he turned towards the younger Barton. "Clint. Look at me." Clint did so. "Natasha will be fine. Don't worry."

"But..."

"I know, I know. But we don't need to think about that, alright?" Clint nodded and Barney pulled him into a hug. "You know I'd never let anyone hurt you." He whispered.

"I know." replied Clint, quietly. The two of them stayed in the hug quietly before Barney spoke again. "Go to sleep, Clint."

"No." said Clint, fear coming back to him. "I can't." Barney worked it out immediately.

"Nightmares?" he asked. Clint nodded. "Go to sleep, Clint. I'll be here." Clint looked up at him.

"Promise you won't leave me again?" he asked, his voice starting to sound like a child's.

"I promise." Barney assured him. "Why would I leave you?"

"You did the last time we saw each other."

"Yeah, I know." said Barney sadly. "I just want to forget about that."

"Me too." said Clint. He sat back in his seat and they looked at each other. Then he curled up. "Barney?"

"Clint?"

"I forgive you."

"For what?" asked Barney.

"You know what." replied Clint. Barney nodded.

"Thank you." he said eventually.

"You're welcome." said Clint. "I know you've been worrying about that, but it's ok. Really, it is."

"Of course it is." replied Barney. "But seriously, Clint. How can you forgive me for that?"

"You're my big brother. You're the only family I have left."

"Oh, Clint…" Barney reached over and ruffled his hair playfully. "Go to sleep."

"Ok." Clint closed his eyes and eventually fell asleep.

Natasha sat quietly, thinking. Trick Shot, Swordsman and Harold had gone out. She was left alone. Unknown to them, she had gained some more information. Out of the three of them, it seemed that Harold knew Clint best. She remembered Clint telling her once that he had had a seriously screwed-up childhood, with lots of abuse. She could understand that. Due to her captors not being there, Natasha was able to focus on her injuries. There were bleeding cuts and fresh bruises all over her face and arms. Her head throbbed with pain. Her hands and feet had pins and needles. She closed her eyes and breathed. In and out, in and out, in and out, like Clint had told her to do if she ever got this scared. She then concentrated on slipping her wrists out of the rope binding them and ten minutes later she was free. Natasha stood up and looked around. She spotted her bag lying on the floor and ran over to it.

Seriously? she thought. They left my bag here? In the same room as me?

She dug through it until she found her phone. Then she dialled Clint's number. Clint woke up as he heard his phone ringing. He saw the caller ID and put it on speaker.

"Tasha?"

"Clint? Oh God..."

"Hey, hey, Tasha. It's ok, don't worry." Clint said gently. "You ok?"

"No."

"What did they do to you?" She paused. "Tasha. What did they do to you?"

"They beat me." she whispered.

"Did they…you know…?"

"No."

"That's good." She heard Clint sigh in relief.

"Clint, you do know that they are eventually going to…"

"Don't, Tasha. Just don't."

"You know it's true."

"Yes, I do know that, but we shouldn't be thinking about that right now."

"Would you two stop acting like little kids and just concentrate on the situation here?" She heard another male voice ask. She and Clint both stopped.

"Who's that?" asked Natasha, her voice a mix of suspicion and anxiety.

"Barney Barton."

"Clint's brother?"

"Yes."

"Oh, God!" she exclaimed. "Not another one!" She heard them laugh at how quickly her mood had changed.

"Yeah, sorry about that, Nat." said Clint.

"Listen, it's best if only one of you panics." said Barney. "Then I don't have to get stressed out trying to shut you both up. Ok?"

Clint and Natasha both agreed with him.

"Tasha." said Clint. "Stay calm. We're coming to get you."

"I know." she said. She froze. "I have to go. Someone's coming!" She whispered.

"Ok, bye."

"Bye."

Natasha turned the phone off, put it back in her bag and quietly moved to the side of the room. There was no point sitting on the chair again since she had already broken free of her bonds. Instead, she sat against the wall, closed her eyes and concentrated on being calm.

They'll come for me. She thought. Just relax, Tasha.

She looked up as Trick Shot came into the room. He had a look on his face that meant bad news. She held her breath and braced herself.