Wow, it's been awhile! I tried soooo hard to get this done for you guys, you have no idea! First I had no clue what to write for this chapter, then I had exams so there was literally zero time for me to come up with something! I would report that all my exams are over and done with, except that yesterday was supposed to be an exam day but school was cancelled in my area due to wintry weather. No snow, hardly any ice. The cancelled it just cuz. Gotta love North Carolina! So, since I had the day off, I worked hard and finally finished this chapter for you guys! Thanks for being so patient! These chapters are probably gonna be super short, which is good and bad. Bad cuz you won't get as much story, but good cuz they should be posted a lot quicker! Sorry for the long note. I'll let you go now…

Chapter 3-Christmas Specials

**Natasha**

Natasha woke to the sound of Mara's crying like she often did. It was almost 9:00am.

"Right on time." She thought to herself as she carefully propped herself up so she didn't disturb Clint. Natasha leaned over and kissed his forehead before climbing out of bed and silently walking out the door and down the hall. When she reached Mara's room Natasha poked her head inside and saw the two-year-old standing up in her crib. As soon as she saw her mother, Mara stopped crying and a huge grin spread across her face.

"Mama!" She squealed, stretching her arms out in an attempt to reach Natasha.

"Hey baby." She said softly as she walked over and lifted her daughter out of her crib. She carried her out into the kitchen and placed her in her highchair before retrieving a box of Cheerios from one of the cabinets. After pouring some cereal onto the tray of the highchair, Natasha returned to the kitchen and began preparing some scrambled eggs for her and Clint to eat. She had just poured the mixture into a pan when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist from behind. Natasha smiled as Clint pressed his lips to her neck.

"Good morning." He murmured. She smiled and turned to face him, snaking her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss.

"Morning." She breathed when they finally broke away. Clint smiled and glanced over her shoulder at the eggs.

"That smells good." He said as she turned back around and continued her cooking.

"They should be ready in a few minutes." Natasha told him. He moved over to where Mara was eating and began playfully teasing her with the Cheerios while she finished the eggs and flipped them on to plates. After setting the food on the table, Natasha watched as Clint aimed pieces of cereal at their daughter's open mouth, tossing them to her. Mara caught each one, bringing a smile to her father's face.

"Dang you're good!" He laughed as she caught the last Cheerio.

"She's one gifted kid." Natasha agreed. Clint smiled and tickled Mara's stomach.

"Ouch!" He said, pulling his hand back when she grabbed his finger.

"What's wrong? She too strong for ya?" Natasha teased. He rolled his eyes.

"No, I just got a little shock."

"Yea, I'm sure you did." She said with a giggle.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Romanoff? Mr. Barton?" JARVIS politely interrupted. "Mr. Stark has requested that you come to the penthouse floor as soon as possible." Natasha sighed. What could he possibly want at nine-thirty in the morning?

"Tell him we'll be up in the next thirty minutes." She replied.

"Yes M'am." The AI said before disappearing. They swallowed their eggs and cleaned their dishes before heading back to their room. Clint went to take a quick shower while Natasha dressed Mara in a pair of leggings and a long-sleeved T-shirt. Once the two year old was ready she carried her to her and Clint's room and set her down on the bed before getting dressed.

As she slid a fresh shirt over her head, Clint came out of the bathroom wearing worn jeans and a gray T-shirt. He scooped Mara up off the bed and waited for Natasha by the door. She quickly finished dressing and soon they were riding the elevator to the top floor. When the doors opened they saw that everyone was already there, crammed together on the various pieces of furniture and facing the TV.

"Finally!" Tony exclaimed when he saw them come in. "Now we can start."

"Start what?" Natasha asked cautiously.

"Christmas movie marathon!" The billionaire said excitedly. She and Clint exchanged nervous glances while Mara clapped her hands at Tony's enthusiasm.

"Ummm, Tony…" Clint said questioningly as he began putting a disk in the DVD player. "How many movies are we watching?"

"Not sure." Tony replied. "We're just gonna go down the list."

"How long is the list?" Natasha chimed in. He turned around and gave them both an annoyed look.

"Do you two have something better to do today?" They shook their heads. "Then quit complaining and sit down." The billionaire ordered.

"Alright then, what are we watching first?" Natasha asked.

"The classics." Tony answered. He face-palmed when she gave him a confused look. "Ya know, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer? Frosty the Snowman? How the Grinch Stole Christmas?" The names sounded familiar…

"Oh, right." She said, pretending to know exactly what he was talking about. He put the first disk into the DVD player and the opening credits of Rudolph began to roll. Natasha sighed. It was going to be a long day…

She had to say that she was pleasantly surprised at how much she was enjoying all these Christmas movies. The ones Tony had called classics had been really good despite how old they were. The newer, animated ones, like The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol had come later and Natasha had loved them. Now they were in the middle of watching Arthur Christmas, marking the marathon's halfway point.

"If anyone is hungry I've got some cookies in the kitchen." Pepper said quietly as the movie began. Everyone responded enthusiastically to the idea of a snack and the pregnant woman heaved herself off the couch and began walking towards the kitchen. "Natasha, could you help me?"

"Sure." She answered, getting up to follow her. Once they were both in the kitchen arranging cookies on plates, Pepper leaned in close and quietly began talking to her.

"I've got some news." She whispered. Natasha glanced over her shoulder before leaning in to listen.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I tried to contact Betty." Pepper replied.

"And?"

"Culver University is on holiday break, so I couldn't get a hold of her." She said with disappointment.

"Maybe it's for the best." Natasha said, still unsure that any of this was even a good idea.

"I was thinking the same thing." Pepper agreed. "But then I got a call from one of her assistants, and she told me that Betty was going to be in Manhattan for the holidays to give a lecture for some science museum opening."

"Seriously?" Natasha exclaimed. Pepper shushed her and nodded.

"Yes! Can you believe it? It must be fate!" The pregnant woman said excitedly. Natasha stood there dumbfounded. What were the odds? "I got all the details from the assistant, so I figured we could just go to the lecture and talk to her there."

"Okay…" She said skeptically. Pepper clapped her hands excitedly before lifting the plate of cookies off the counter and carrying them into the living room. They rejoined the others and finished the movie as it was starting to get dark outside.

"Alright," Tony said, standing up to change the disks. "Who's ready for Christmas Vacation?"

**Clint**

By the time they finished the last of the movies it was a few hours past Mara's bedtime. Clint and Natasha quietly bid their friends goodnight and carried their sleeping daughter downstairs.

"I'll go put her down." Natasha whispered after they stepped out of the elevator. He nodded and kissed the infant goodnight before going down the hall to their room and getting ready for bed. He had just climbed into bed when Natasha slipped inside and closed the door behind her. Without bothering to change her clothes she hopped onto the bed next to Clint and snuggled up against his side.

"Tired?" He asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Who would have thought watching a million Christmas movies could be so exhausting?" She said with a yawn.

"You should get some rest." He told her. Natasha looked up at him with an alluring smile.

"Well," she said softly, tracing circles on his chest. "I'm not that tired…" A knowing look came across his face as she pulled his head down and kissed him. He slid his other arm around her waist as she slowly climbed on top of him. The kiss soon became more passionate as her hands found their way under his shirt.

Just then, cries erupted from down the hall, causing both of them to freeze where they were. Natasha sighed heavily and rolled off of him and onto her back. She sat up, shoved herself off the bed, and headed for the door.

"I've got her." Natasha said as she left the room. Once she was gone Clint couldn't help but grin like an idiot. He was so hopelessly in love with that woman that it was starting to drive him crazy. So, he was going to do something about it. He was going to buy her a ring.

Okay, I'm sorry. It's a super crappy chapter that probably bored you to sleep and definitely doesn't make up for how long I made you wait. However, in the long run, you'll realize that there are some MEGA hints for my upcoming stories in this chapter. I feel like I'm overdoing this story line, but someone gave me the idea to do a story about when all the avengers kids are teens, which gave me yet another awesome idea that I just have to do! I'm not telling what this idea is, but like I said, there will be very subtle hints that you may pick up on if you're paying attention. Anyways, you all were right. Clint is buying a ring (my stories are too predictable). I'm sure this will make you all happy. So, to wrap this up, 1) Sorry the chapter was short, that it sucked, and that it took so long, 2) I pinky swear, the last few chapters will be a million times better, this was all just plot development, 3) Reviews are always appreciated , and 4) A quick preview:

Chapter 4-The Perfect Gift: Clint and Tony shop for Natasha's present; Natasha struggles with what to get Clint. Pepper helps a lot. So, basically Christmas shopping.

Well, that's all for now! I think this chapter was so low on detail because I just wanted to get some necessary details out of the way before I got to all the good stuff, so yea. Sorry bout that. The next chapter will definitely be up sooner now that I've got my creative juices flowing. Thanks for reading!