"Can I go in yet?" Nathan asked with a frown, squirming in his seat. Nick Fury and the boy were seated outside the medical wing, waiting for Clint to return from visiting Natasha.
"No." Nick gave the boy a hard look. "How many times are you going to ask me that?"
"Until you say yes." Nathan grinned at the older man, knowing that he was beginning to get on his nerves. Most people were afraid of the one eyed man, but Nathan found that he was fun to tease.
"You are your mother's son." Nick rolled his eyes. "You can go in whenever you father comes out and gets you, understood?"
"Fine," Nathan sulked, slinking down in his seat. Nick couldn't help but feel a touch of compassion for the boy; he knew he was dying to meet his mother and Nick couldn't blame him for that.
"Let's do something to pass the time. It will help to have a distraction."
"What are we gonna do?" Nathan perked up bit, his eyes trained on the older man.
"We could practice your math?" Nick frowned. He was't very good with kids, but he blamed that on the lack of contact with them. He had acted put out when Clint asked him to keep an eye on Nathan, but he had a soft spot for the boy; he was exceptionally bright and was a quick learner. In truth he was the perfect mixture of his parents. He had Natasha's sass and wit, and Clint's sharp mind and intense focus.
"Sure, why not. That sounds so exciting." Nathan rolled his eye.
"What's two plus two?"
"Four."
"Four plus four?"
"Eight."
"Eight plus-"
"Sixteen. I'm not in first grade you know!" Nathan crossed his arms and raised his eye brows.
"Fine, you little turd. A man throws a child out the window. The child traveled ten meters in three seconds. What was his acceleration?" Nick narrowed his eyes. "Answer that you little smart ass."
"Three point three three thee..." Nathan smiled slowly.
"There is no way you know that kind of math!"
"He heard me answer that question last week when I asked him the same thing," Clint smirked from the door way. "Giving the Director a hard time?"
"Yep." Nathan grinned at him.
"That's my boy." Clint chuckled, crossing the room and ruffling his hair.
"Barton, is there a reason you have instructed your son to act like a smart ass? Or does it just come naturally to him?"
"Like father like son, right?" Clint grinned and crossed the room, ruffling the boys hair.
"I am going to reassign you to some little island in the middle of no where. An island without plumbing or technology."
"I'm inactive right now." Clint reminded him with a grin.
"Get your devil spawn and get out of here," Nick muttered.
"Do I get to go in now daddy?" All of Nathan's attitude demenished as he turned his eyes to his father.
"Yeah, you get to go in now. Go wait for me by the doors, ok?"
"Kay." He grinned and darted across the room, leaving the two men alone.
"How is she?" Nick turned his attention to Clint.
"Very good. She isn't having any problems and she still remembers everything up to the point where she went out."
"Good. I don't want to see you around here for a long while once she goes home. You need to become a family."
"We are a family, director." Clint smiled. "Thanks for watching Nathan."
"Whatever. Go on and get out of here."
"Yes sir!"
. . . .
Natasha stood with her back to the door, still looking over the letters that she had spread out the table. A smile was playing at her lips although her face was damp. Her son was better than anything she could have imagined. He was clever, witty, and in tune with his emotions-something that she had always struggled with. It made her happy to see that he was a happy little boy, although he missed her. After reading his letters Natasha found herself missing him, even though they had never met. Just a few letters had connected her to her son in a way that made her long to be a mother.
"Hey, Nat." Clint cleared his throat from somewhere behind her. Natasha took a deep breath as she tried to prepare herself; this was the first time she would ever lay eyes on her son. She turned around and laid eyes on the boy, her heart race increasing. He was tall and lean, much like his father. His hair was blond and cut similar to Clint's, but Natasha could see a bit of curl at the ends. His eyes were identical to Natasha's and he was biting his lip in the exact same spot that she did when she was nervous.
"Hey there." Natasha smiled softly, her heart melting. There was no question that he was her son and she loved him-she wasn't sure how since she didn't know him, but she knew that she loved him.
"Hi,"he said bashfully, standing partially behind his father.
"You must be Nathan." Natasha crouched down so that she was more level with him. "I am-"
"I know who you are." He took a step forward. "You're Natasha. You are my mom."
"Yeah, I am your mom." She managed a shaky smile. "Nathan, I am sorry I wasn't-" Her sentence was cut off as Nathan bound forward and hugged her, his arms wrapping around her neck. Natasha instinctively hugged him back, pulling him close to her chest. She pressed her face to his hair, trying to fight back the tears; she was holding her son.
Nathan was softly crying into her chest, his tears wetting the front of her shirt. Natasha held him and stroked his head, her fingers running through his hair, as she silently comforted him. To Clint it looked as of the pair had never been apart and it brought tears to his eyes to see them united at last.
"I love you." Nathan finally managed, wiping his eyes. "I hope you love me."
"Of course I love you." Natasha smiled as she caught Clint's eye. "Now unless there are any objections, I think I am ready to go home...as a family."
