Hey ya'll, sorry it took me so long to update. I had written this chapter and a few more when my computer crashed and I lost all of the chapters. I couldn't even look at the document for a little while because I would get so frustrated, not to mention I got a job, which is awesome, but time consuming, but now I'm back, and I hope you enjoy the chapter! Also, to answer SiriuslyAddictedtoReading's review about what Hugh was thinking when Maggie and Clint kissed in the last chapter, it was after the paramedics had already taken him in their car so he didn't see.

I debated with myself about how I was going to end this chapter, if I really wanted to do this or not, but since you've all been so patient with me about how long it took to post this chapter, I decided I'd give it to you.

Also, to my Bruce Banner fans, I've started a new Bruce story called "Baby It's You". It's not a Minnie story, it features a different OC. I feel like it was time for me to start a different generation of Bruce Banner stories, I don't know if it'll go anywhere aside from the one story, but I like it for what it is. It features General Ross too, so if you like those kinds of stories, this is a good one to check out.

So, anyways, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. If I did, I'd be sitting in a room decked out in Marvel paraphernalia with copies of issue number ones in a filing drawer next to me. Sadly I am not in that room. I'm in my living room with a plush X Wing sitting on the couch next to me.

Clint woke up the next morning to someone knocking on his door. He sighed and shifted to get up an answer it, only to have Maggie wrap her arms around his middle and bury her face in his shirt. "Leave it." she said and he looked down and her, then nodded. She had slept with him after the incident at Angelo's- which had left Minnie furious, Angelo's was her favorite Italian place. They hadn't slept together in a sexual sense, but Maggie had chosen to sleep with him because he made her feel safe. He laid back down and wrapped his arm around her, stroking her hair as she fell back to sleep against him. His phone started to ring a few moments later and he hit the ignore button. "Is it the end of the world?"

"I don't care." he replied and she sighed against him. He looked at his phone, writing a text to Minnie saying he'd call her later and then put the phone down so he could wrap both of his arms around Maggie and let her sleep against him. When they both woke up again about an hour later he sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

"What time is it?" Maggie asked and he looked at his cell phone.

"Nine thirty." he replied and she sighed before laying back on the bed.

"I wish we never had to leave this room." she told him and he looked down at her.

"Why's that?" he asked.

"Because the minute we leave is the minute it all becomes real." she sighed. He smiled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pressed his lips to her forehead.

"It's real enough for everyone else." he told her. "Minnie's been trying to call me all morning to tell me your brother's awake-"

"And Mr. Stark is on his way down to ask a few questions." Jarvis interrupted the two.

"How far away is he?" Clint asked.

"Right outside sir." Jarvis said before the door opened.

"Tony-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, quick question, what's a Sooty?" he looked at Maggie who frowned.

"What?"

"Your dad, he called your mom and said something about staying with Sooty?"

"Sooty? Jesus." she muttered as she frowned, deep in thought.

"Who is it Maggs?" Clint asked.

"His name is Silas Callahan," she explained. "We used to call him Uncle Sooty when we were kids."

"Dare I ask why?" Tony asked and she slowly met his eyes.

"He built fires." she told him and he nodded.

"Where's he live?"

"I don't know." she shook her head.

"Would Chris know?" Cline asked and she shrugged.

"I don't know." she said softly. "But I can try to find out."

Maggie stood outside of Chris' room as Tony put an earpiece into her ear. "Testing testing." he spoke into a small microphone, the sound of his voice echoing in her ear making her wince. "That's working."

"Yeah." she nodded. "So just talk to him."

"Try to find out where Sooty is."

"Right." she nodded and looked at Clint who stepped over to her.

"We'll be right outside." He kissed her gently and she nodded before she turned and went into the room. Chris was lying in the bed, staring at the ceiling. His arm was in a sling and bandaged, Maggie suspected it was stitched up pretty well from them digging the bullet out of his elbow, and she could see under the hospital gown there was thick bandaging where Clint had shot him with the arrow. He looked at her as she walked in, and the returned his gaze to the ceiling.

"Why didn't you kill me?" he asked and she looked down.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I would have."

"I know."

"Why did you stop the cop?"

"Because I'm not you." she replied.

"I'm not your brother you know."

"I don't care what they say, we're family Chris." she said as she approached the bed.

"Not according to them you're not." he said and she nodded.

"Well according to me and the people here, we are, and because we are, they gave me the chance to try to talk some sense into you before they sent in someone to ask you questions," her eyes filled with fear, which he noticed. "I didn't want them to get to you first..." she shook her head.

"You're doing good kid." Tony said in her ear. "Mention Sooty."

"Chris, they know about Uncle Sooty." she said and he looked at her sharply. "I don't know how, but they keep asking questions about him. Do you know where he is?"

"Why, so your boyfriend can go up there and kill them both? You know that's the only reason he started fucking you. So he could kill dad."

"How many people you wanna bet Dad's done that to." Maggie said and he frowned lightly. "Dad's an assasin, he was ready to kill me, the only reason he's still alive and I'm still alive is because Clint took the bullet dad meant for me. When I went home, mom tried to kill me. So did you, and so did our sisters, and I'm willing to bet Scotty wasn't an accident either." she said and Chris looked down, swallowing. "Dad had you do it huh?" she asked and he looked back up. "He tell you Scott wasn't family because he was making a name for himself without dad's help? Or maybe it was because Scott was the only one of us smart enough to leave when he had the chance. Or was it because he was gay?"

"Never told me." Chris mumbled.

"So you just killed our brother, no questions asked?" she asked as he clenched his jaw. "That's nice, that's real nice."

"Kid, as much as I love hearing all this, try to get him to talk about Sooty, or we may actually have to send the Black Widow in." Tony said in her ear.

"Where's Sooty?"

"Fuck you."

"If you don't tell me, I'm going to leave, and when I do someone will come in here, and they will torture you, and you will tell them." she told him. He didn't move and she sighed before the door opened. Thor walked in and looked at Maggie.

"I was told it's time." he said and then looked at Chris. "Is this your brother?" he asked and Chris went completely pale.

"It was nice talking Chris." she said when she realized what Tony was doing.

"Alaska!" he shrieked. "He's in Alaska, I don't know where, somewhere in the North, but I don't know where!"

"Good job Maggie." Tony said in her ear.

Minnie was surprised when she stepped off the elevator on the top floor of Stark Tower to see most of the team sitting there quietly. She was about to say something when everyone shushed her. She frowned, and then realized why everyone was so quiet; she could hear what sounded like a very heated shouting match down the hall. "Jarvis, will you please let Maggie and Clint know I'd like to see them?" she asked as she rolled her eyes making Tony groan and shoot her a look. "What are they fighting about anyways?" she asked as she took a pretzel from the bag of them Steve was holding out to her.

"About whether or not Maggie's going to Alaska with Clint."

"Of course she's going." Minnie chuckled.

"What?" Bruce looked up and she nodded.

"So out of curiosity, who was winning?" Minnie asked as she sat on the arm of the couch.

"Maggie was making a pretty strong argument- what do you mean she's going?" Bruce asked.

"Kind of self explanatory there sweetie, she's going means just that; she's going." she responded before a very stressed out looking Clint Barton and Maggie Nolan walked into the living room. "Good work in there today Maggie." she told her.

"Thanks." Maggie said.

"Minnie, will you please tell her she's a lot safer here than she ever would be in Alaska?" Clint asked.

"Maggie, you're a lot safer here then you ever would be in Alaska," Minnie repeated.

"Thank you-"

"However, you're not as useful to us here as you would be in Alaska." she continued. Clint looked at her in shock and she stood up.

"Maggie, she hasn't been trained- she has no-"

"I take it you never told him about your family's little rite of passage?" Minnie asked and Maggie shrugged.

"I should probably be more surprised than I am that you know about it, but as Adele puts it, never try to bullshit a bullshitter."

"Smart girl." Minnie nodded. "Every year, until the Nolan children are twelve they are trained in extensive wilderness survival. They're brought out to the woods with their father, they're taught everything he knows, and then when they're thirteen, they're taken for an entire week into the woods, and left there. They're given basic survival gear, a map and a date, time, and location of a meeting where they will be picked up, their work evaluated, and they're brought home." Minnie explained. "What happens if you don't meet at the specific time set by your parents?" all eyes turned to Maggie.

"You're given twenty three more hours. Every day you aren't there, another hour is taken off." she explained. "The longest anyone took was my sister Inez. She was there for two and a half weeks."

"Why didn't you tell anyone about it?" Steve asked.

"Why doesn't Natasha talk about everything she's ever gone through, or Bruce talk about his dark times? Why don't I talk about how sometimes it really blows being blind?" Matt spoke up. "Or why don't you talk about how alone you felt for the longest time?" he nodded to Steve. "Because it sucks. Sure, it helped shape who we are today, but it doesn't make it suck any less."

"Thanks." Maggie said softly and Matt nodded to her. "I don't like remembering that my parents were totally okay with the idea of leaving a thirteen year old in the woods alone for a week in the middle of nowhere. It really sucked."

"Alaska is going to be a lot different than California, you know that." Clint spoke up.

"It was Northern California, there was snow, there was below freezing temperatures, it depended on what they wanted to test us on." she told them. "I know it's going to be different than anything I've ever done because I've never actually killed anyone before." she nodded. "But if they obviously don't have any second thoughts about trying to kill me, why should I?"

"It's not that easy." Clint told her and she shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe, maybe not." she said easily. "Now if you don't mind, I have to go to the hospital."

"I'll drive you." Minnie said and Maggie smiled lightly at her before following her downstairs.

"Hey." Maggie smiled lightly when she walked into the hospital room.

"Hey," Hugh looked lover at the door. "I was wondering if you'd make it in." he smiled lightly.

"Of course I would." she smiled at him as she stepped into the room. "I brought you- I'm sure you're sick of flowers, but..." she shrugged as she held up a blue orchid. "I figured blue was the most manly color they had." she said and he chuckled.

"So we gonna talk about it?" he asked and she sighed.

"If we have to." she said and he gestured to the chair next to his bed. She set the orchid down on the table and then sat down in the chair.

"Why's your brother tryin' to kill you?"

"Because my family's really fucked up. My dad is Vernon Nolan." she told him and he stared at her blankly. "See, that name usually means something to people who know what the hell happens on the side of things people don't see. My dad is an assassin. He's paid to kill people, and he's been trying to kill me for years."

"Have you gone to the police? We can keep you safe Maggie."

"No, I- I have someone else helping me right now."

"Maggie, trust me I'm a cop, revenge isn't the best way to deal with this."

"No, my dad trying to shoot me in the head a few years ago, that was revenge. My mom trying to starve me to death; that was her form of revenge. What Chris did last night; that was revenge. What I'm doing is not revenge. What I'm doing is what caused the revenge."

"This is starting to sound like a Quentin Tarantino movie here Maggie." Hugh said and she chuckled. "Next you're gonna tell me you're going away for a little while and that you're no good for me." he looked at her as a look of guilt crossed her face. "Oh no, Maggie, you can't be serious! Leave it to the professionals-"

"I am leaving it to the professionals Hugh. I'm a survivalist; they need me to help them."

"How did this all get started?" he asked.

"It started a few years ago when I met a guy at a bar." she said as she stood up. "Take care of yourself Hugh, you're a really great guy, any girl would be so lucky to have you." she sighed.

"Any girl but you?" he asked. She walked over to him and lightly kissed his cheek. He sighed and looked up at her. "You know I have to report this."

"Hugh, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but you won't." she said and he looked at her questioningly before the hospital room door opened and the man Minnie had introduced as Agent Coulson walked in.

"I'll take it from here Maggie."

"Oh, and Hugh?" Maggie turned and looked at the confused New York cop. "Don't put the flower in direct sunlight, and about half a cup of water should be more than enough a week." she told him. He nodded numbly before Coulson shut the door behind her.

"Think he'll be okay?" Minnie asked and Maggie sighed.

"I hope so."

"We'll keep an eye on him." Minnie told her and Maggie nodded, her mind wrapped around what she had told Clint earlier. When it came down to it, would she be able to kill her father, or allow him to be killed? God she hoped so.

"What's been going on with you?" Bruce asked Minnie who looked up at him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I haven't seen you like this since the war." he told her and she looked down at the papers she was working on, then capped her pen and put it down. It was late, Kayla was fed, bathed and put to bed and Minnie had spoken to Amanda on the phone a little while earlier.

"That girl was shot at Bruce, she was almost killed not very far from here." she told him and he nodded.

"I know."

"It hit too close to home."

"She's not an agent Minnie." he told her and she sighed. "She's not."

"I know she isn't, but she's a useful asset."

"You never used to talk like this." he told her. "What's been going on with you?"

"I just want to get this one done, you know?" she asked.

"Why is this one so important?" he asked and she stood up and walked around the desk. She leaned back against it and took his hands.

"Because this is my last big one." she told him. "Maria Hill has agreed to come back, after this one is over, I'm stepping down and she's taking over in my place." she smiled lightly and he smiled.

"Why the sudden change?" he asked. "I mean I know we said it was temporary, but, you seemed to take to the job."

"I miss my old job." she shrugged with a small laugh. "And, well," she moved his hands so they weren't on her waist, but rather her stomach. "I'm pregnant." she told him softly making him stare at her in surprise and shock.

"How long- When did you-" Bruce had a million things to say but was at a loss for words. "Are you sure?" he managed to croak out and she nodded.

"I took a home pregnancy test last week, and when to the doctor a few days ago." she told him. He wrapped one arm around her middle, and put the other behind her head, pulling her into a deep kiss. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, smiling into the kiss before he finally pulled away. She cupped his cheek with one hand, smiling at the feel of his slight five o'clock shadow, and then kissed his chin. "I take it you're okay with this development?" she asked and he sighed.

"I love you so much." he told her and she smiled again before kissing him lightly.

"So how are we going to tell Kayla she's going to be a big sister?" she asked and he continued to grin before pulling her into another kiss.

So, there you go, Maggie is going to Alaska, and the Banners are expanding their family!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I hope it was worth the wait!

Please don't forget to review!