A/N: Here's part two guys! Thanks for the great response on part 1!
Natasha had long since thrown out the tests, and had taken the garbage bags to the garbage chute down the hallway. Since she now knew the cause of her weak stomach, all of the air fresheners, smelly food, or anything that she assumed would set her off had also gone into the garbage. The only things in her refrigerator were a jar of pickles, a can of whipped cream, some sliced cheese, some turkey and salami, a half-gallon of milk, and some eggs. The small freezer contained frozen lasagna, two ice cube trays, a container of chocolate ice-cream, and some microwaveable dinners. She hoped that none of the items would set off a bout of illness, but she couldn't tell unless she smelled or ate the food.
The "gears" in her head were ever turning still, wondering what she should do about being pregnant. Her world was no place to raise a child, what with being an ex-Russian assassin and all of that.
Natasha had killed enough people in her day to know that she didn't want to go through with an abortion. She would not kill her own child if she had any say in it. Yet; something in the back of her mind told her to keep her options open, so she didn't strike out the idea.
She had killed people as a career, so what was one more going to do? Yet; each of those people who had died at her hand had families, they probably had lives. Misguided ones; but they were human beings. Natasha had made more mistakes than all of those of the people whose lives she ended.
"Your ledger is dripping, it'sgushingred. And you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything? This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer. Pathetic!" Loki's voice intruded in her thoughts.
Her ledger was gushing red, just as he had told her. She hadn't seen that coming. She looked down at her still flat abdomen, a sigh escaping her lips. She fell back onto her cheap leather couch and closed her eyes.
Her ledger…all those people…all the mistakes that she's made.
Natasha's eyes shot open and she looked down at her abdomen again. A clean slate. This child was her saving grace. Her chance!
She really could move away, get off S.H.I.E.L.D's radar; she could change her name and her appearance. She could start all over again with her child. Now that she really thought about it, the idea sounded very, very appealing to her.
For the first time since her discovery, Natasha smiled.
Meanwhile, in an Asgardian prison, a certain Frost Giant's cage door was left hanging open, a muzzle and a set of wrist cuffs lying on the floor of the cell.
-Four Months Later-
Natasha sighed as she latched the last hook on her brown trunk. She took the handle and pulled it off of her bed, stacking it on top of the identical one that had already been packed and put on the luggage cart that she would be pulling to the airport that evening.
The small stopwatch on her bed beeped instantaneously, and she went into the bathroom so that she could rinse the dye from her hair. A new life meant a new hair color. No one needed to know who she was in the past. The shower jets massaged her scalp and she watched the brown fluid run down the shower drain. After a good five minutes the water ran clear, and she shut it off. She flipped her hair back and let the remainder of the warm water run down her bare back. Using her hands she squeezed the last of the liquid from her hair and stepped out of the shower cubicle.
Natasha stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, and a completely different person stared back at her. She sported brunette hair and hazel eyes now. Her four month swollen stomach taunted her, reminding her why she did this. She was no longer Agent Natasha Romanoff of S.H.I.E.L.D. She was Nadia Amelin, a woman whose sole purpose was to travel the world, and Cape Town, South Africa was her next stop.
She was also with child and would hopefully find an obstetrician who would help her through the remainder of her pregnancy. She had already found a reasonably priced flat in the West Cape as well.
The only people she could rely on were herself and her future child. Her baby would never know who she was, and she refused to get him or her involved in her past. No good would come of that.
Her hand reached for the hair dryer that she kept on the sink, when she remembered that she had already packed it away. She would have to let her hair air dry today. She had at least left her hairbrush out so that she could put it in her carry-on bag later. As soon as her naturally curly hair had been detangled she moved to her pile of clothing that lay out on the bed. As she pulled on her skinny jeans and her bra, her phone started ringing. She picked it up and looked at the caller ID, a smile coming to her features.
"Hello, Nadia Amelin speaking," she said into the phone.
"Ms. Amelin, it's Doctor Rhodes. A patient cancelled at the last moment, so we have an opening for that uh, surgery, you requested last week," the man on the other end said. Natasha couldn't conceal her grin.
"What time would you like me in? I have a 9:30 p.m. Flight to catch," she replied.
"Right now, actually. How soon can you get here?" Natasha pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at the time on the top of the display screen. It was noon.
"Give me ten minutes," Natasha said, her smile growing wider.
Natasha…or rather, Nadia, passed through airport security without a hitch. She was actually rather surprised that this was the case, because she thought that S.H.I.E.L.D was better than that. Her arm still stung a small amount from the surgery she had undergone not even seven hours before.
"Are you sure you want to do this Miss Amelin?" Dr. Rhodes had asked her.
"As sure as I can be," Natasha had responded. "This chip has been a bugger for years, and it's about time that I start over."
"You know that by doing this, I am technically committing a crime against the U.S., right?" Natasha had given a grin at this.
"I know."
"And you would like the chip after I finish?" Dr. Rhodes asked, putting on his rubber gloves.
"I would."
The chip was stowed now in her apartment, hidden under the carpet. She had hacked the circuitry and it would switch locations in the computers at certain times on certain days each week. She figured that she had a good year or so to get settled before they discovered her farce, and S.H.I.E.L.D would be knocking on her old door with all earnest. Being a former Russian spy had its merits, however; no plan was perfect.
She boarded the plane with her carry on strung over her shoulder and her ticket clutched in her hand. Her seat was located in row 24, seat A. Easy enough to remember. She took her seat by the window as the other passengers boarded the plane. There was no one sitting next to her right away, but she couldn't assume anything until they started moving, but she secretly hoped that she would have the aisle to herself she didn't like sitting next to strangers. Across the aisle from her in a row of three seats sat a small family. A mother held a baby in her arms, while the father sat by the window. A small boy, who looked to be about five or six, sat between the two of them with a large picture book in his lap. It was somewhat touching, until she saw what the book was about. It was a book about pregnancies.
Soon enough the seats had filled and one of the flight attendants had begun "the safety talk". Natasha tuned out, having heard this speech numerous times. She closed her eyes and leaned back so that she could just sleep during the flight.
Natasha awoke a couple of hours later to the soft chatter of the little boy and his mother across the row from her. Natasha blinked the sleep from her eyes to see that the boy was staring at her. Natasha stared out the window to see that it was still dark out. So she hadn't been sleeping as long as she thought.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you mam," the mother said. Natasha turned her head. "My son thinks that you might be uh…pregnant." Natasha tried not to roll her eyes, seeing as it was just a child who was inquiring. "You see, ever since his brother was born, he's been very interested in pregnancies." Natasha didn't respond. The mother gave a sigh and turned to her son. "I told you she wasn't, now apologize to the woman."
"Actually, uh…" Natasha finally spoke up. The mother and son turned to her. "I'm about four months along." The mother turned bright red and the son leaned over her lap.
"Where's the daddy?" he asked. Natasha swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, not sure how to tell the little boy that she didn't know where he was. Suddenly, a large hand had clasped her shoulder.
"That would be me," a familiar voice came from above her. Natasha moved her head and her eyes widened in shock. Standing there in a t-shirt, jeans, and a zip-up hoodie, was Loki.
A/N: And the first cliffhanger of the story hits. Review please!
