As soon as the boy's eyes flashed, his mother spoke gently to him. "Blake, look closely. You should remember their faces from the news. These are your father's friends, Captain America and the Black Widow."

The boy looked closely in their faces and seemed satisfied. He picked up the action figures of each of them and showed them to Steve. Natasha gave the boy a good once over. He was probably 7 or 8, definitely born before the Avengers Initiative. He looked just like Bruce, but Natasha had no doubt in her mind he had never met his father. "By the age of your son, I'm going to assume your Betty Ross. Why did you hide him?"

Betty looked at Blake and spoke softly. "I need to talk to your daddy's friends. Can you take your toys to your room?" Blake nodded and left them alone. "When Bruce and I were together, he was struggling to find an anecdote. He just wanted to be normal again. He had theories about what the gamma rays might do to a child, so we agreed not to have any then I got pregnant with Blake. I left so Bruce wouldn't have to watch his fears become a reality."

"And, he changes when he's angry?" Steve asked.

"He's still manageable. I came here when the symptoms started. Blake is a quiet child. He doesn't get angry often. He really reminds me of his father before the accident. I shouldn't have kept him from Bruce. By the time I realized I needed Bruce's help, he was missing. I'd have gone straight to New York, but no one has seen Bruce since that robot attacked. Is he-"

"We don't believe so," Natasha said, guilt setting in as she spoke. If she hadn't pushed for the hulk, Bruce would be with his son. "He disappeared after the battle. We couldn't find him, but he would be very hard to kill. He's alive."

Betty gave Natasha a relieved smile. "You shouldn't be on your own," Steve said. "We'll take you back to the compound. Maybe Tony can-"

"I can't go back. If my father found out Bruce had a son, he wouldn't care that Blake is his grandson. He's desperate for the secrets in Bruce's DNA. We are better off here," she said.

Natasha wrote down her number and handed it to Betty. "You're not on your own anymore. If you need us, we'll come. We will find Bruce and reunite your family."

The trip back to the hotel was relatively quiet. Steve kept looking over at Natasha trying to gauge her reaction to the morning's developments, but she knew what he was doing. She wasn't going to give him much if she could help it. This was a bad scenario, and she needed to process things.

Once they were back in their room, Natasha finally spoke. "Banner's son needs to be our little secret. We can't risk anyone finding out about Blake's abilities. I'll keep in contact with Betty. You were right about one thing, Rogers, we have to find Banner and get him back to the woman he loves and their child."

"Just stop," he said as she pulled out her laptop to start looking for possible locations. "Don't impersonalize this by going back to our last names, Nat. Bruce may have had something with Betty eight years ago, but it doesn't take away from what he had with you."

"Doesn't it? She's the love of his life and the mother of his child. She should have told him from the beginning. If she had, I can promise you he never would have looked twice at me, but he'll forgive her and they'll raise their son together. I just have to find him."

"Don't cheapen what you had. I hated it, but I could see there was something real between you."

"I'm not the kind of woman who ends up being the love of someone's life. I'm very damaged, Steve. One of the reasons Bruce and I made sense was my infertility. We wouldn't have had what he can have with Betty. I'm actually pretty livid she kept this secret from him. He has a son he never knew, Steve."

"You remember how unsure of himself Bruce was when we first met him?" Steve said. "I think she made the right call."

"Mr. 1940's thinks keeping a child from his father is okay? I didn't see that coming."

"People like Bruce and I don't have any business fathering children. What was done to our DNA is just too uncertain to pass on. Blake is proof. Betty knew he wouldn't be able to handle it, so she made the call. I think it was the right one at the time."

"You think it was right for Betty to keep her pregnancy a secret?" she asked.

"I do. I commend her for making the tough call. Bruce wouldn't have been able to handle the news. Honestly, after seeing the fire in the boy's eyes when he first met us, Bruce was right not to want a child with his DNA running around. They should have been more careful."

Natasha merely nodded. She was feeling antsy. If she were with anyone but Steve, it would be easy to slip away and unwind. She really needed to get her mind off of the little boy who didn't have a father because she'd needed a hulk. Going to the bar might help. Maybe, she just needed a few hours in the arms of a stranger, or a few hours in the arms of a friend. She looked Steve over from behind. She knew that wasn't going to happen. It couldn't. He had already made his intentions clear, and he wanted way more than she could give.

"You're pretty deep in thought, Nat. Do you have some idea on where Banner might be?" he asked.

"No, I was pretty sure he was here. That's why I was so desperate not to go to the house today. Last night's little show-"

"Oh, believe me, I fully remember last night's show," Steve replied.

"I'll never be Peggy, Steve. You need to move on while you still have the option. There are lots of women who would be good fits for Captain America."

"You're right. You're not Peggy. I never felt for her what I feel for you," he said, taking her hands. "You and Bruce didn't make sense, Nat. You belong with me. I know you aren't ready to hear it, but it's true."

"Truth isn't all things to all people," she whispered, pulling her hands from his own. "I'm feeling dangerous, Steve. We should separate for a few days, and meet up for the trip home. If we don't, you're going to get hurt."

"I'll take my chances. If you need danger, come take what you need," he smirked.

"Can't do that, soldier. You deserve romance, and that's not what I need, not what I want. You deserve more for your first time."

Steve laughed. "Is that what you need? To burn off some energy with a stranger? Not happening on my watch, Nat. You're not getting out of my sight," he paused. "I'm old, I'm not dead. People did make love in the forties, Nat. My first time was a long time ago."

"Still can't be you, Steve. You have feelings I can't reciprocate. It was a whole lot easier when I was your teacher then I could kiss you without any guilt."

Steve stepped into her space and pulled her close. "So, teach me. You need a distraction. You want to play with fire, and I don't want to see you get burned. If we can't be together, teach me what I need to know. I think we should start with a repeat of lesson one, myself." He leaned down and kissed her.

Natasha knew it was a bad idea, but if they could just keep things on a semiprofessional level, maybe she could enjoy his kisses then get him out of her way with some local girl so she could escape and find the kind of trouble she was craving. "No romance, just lessons, okay?" she asked, slightly breathless.

"Whatever you need, Nat. I'll be a good student," he said before diving back in to kiss her again. "I won't push. You can set the pace, teach me anything you think I need to know. Let's just get your mind off the kid."

"No sex. That's rule number 1."

Steve groaned. "Making me really start to regret saying no last night, Nat, but you have a deal."

"By the end of the week, you have to make at least an attempt to pick up a girl at the club," she said.

"If that's what you need-"

"It's a start. For now, more kissing, Rogers. Let's see exactly how much game you have."

Steve held a sleeping Natasha in his arms a few hours later. He wasn't sure he'd ever spent so many hours making out with anyone without escalating to more. His brief encounters with show girls had been very rushed, and even his one and only night with Peggy had quickly gone from kissing to making love. Yet, just kissing Natasha had seemed so much more intimate than any of those times in the past.

Steve was going to have to stop himself from just making love to Natasha. He knew she was fragile at the moment, and her resolve wasn't strong. It would be so easy to get her to change her mind, but he couldn't risk it anymore than he could risk letting her get out on her own in the city. He needed to keep her just satisfied enough with what they were doing to keep her from doing something they'd both regret with some stranger.

He'd blown this one completely. Trying to force a conversation with Banner had only caused her pain. Steve thought back to the night before and how easy it would have been to let her talk him into bed. Why hadn't he just taken what was offered and spared her the pain of knowing Banner had a family? Or, better yet, taken her to some tropical island and wooed her into his arms. Now, it was up to him to get her through the pain without losing his mind in her arms.