A/N What? Whole entire days between updates! How absurd! Well, I was once again in a battle against Social Life, but I lost Friday and Saturday night. Had dinner, saw Magic Mike (for those readers over 18 I definitely recommend it if you like half naked sexy men!) and just had a girls' night out. Then Saturday I began working on this chapter, but ending up going out again. I know, right? Unnatural!

I don't own Braveheart.

_~* 90th Reviewer gets a shout-out and will get a sneak-peek at whatever chapter I'm working on when that review comes in! This means they'll get to read a juicy bit before the rest of you lot! *~_

Chapter Twenty-One: Memories

Much to Barton's surprise, Little was more than willing to leave the lab with him. In fact, she was surprised he hadn't shown up earlier when she realized what time it was. She apologized for not keeping track of time herself and excused his explanation that he, too, had lost track of time while at the range. Alright…so that was partly the truth. The couple had to make a quick stop off at Little's room so she could grab some shoes before leaving. It was a strange thing about her that Barton's noticed. Unless it was absolutely, one-hundred percent necessary Little abhorred the idea of wearing shoes. Back at SHIELD it was mandatory, so there was no question, but at the Tower she was no longer restricted by the rules. He waited for her in the cozy sitting area of the floor, lounging casually across one of the loveseats with one leg tossed over the arm and the other falling to the floor. He was just getting comfortable when he heard someone walking up followed by a light snicker.

"Well, if you're so cozy perhaps lunch is out of the question?"

Tilting his head back and to the right he spotted Little standing just a few feet away with a brow raised and a smirk on her lips. He sat upright and grinned at her. "I just knew it would take you forever to pick out what shoes to wear since you have oh, so many pairs. What is it now, two or three hundred?"

Giving into her occasional childish ways, Little stuck her tongue out at the man. "Shush, yo—"

She was interrupted by a loud mew and something pawing at her left ankle.

Looking down she smiled slightly. "Yes, my darling?"

Ember looked up at her with big blue eyes and stood on her hind legs with her fore paws on her mama's leg. She mewed again and kept her pose as she waited fer her answer.

Barton looked at the raven haired woman with a look of curiosity. "What'd she say?"

As gently as possible, Little knelt on the floor beside the kitten. "Clint and I are going out to lunch. You stay here. If you need anything go into the elevator and down to the lab where Bruce is." She stopped here and looked up at the ceiling as though the AI was there. "Jarvis, should Ember need help can I trust you to get her to the lab safely?"

"Of course, Agent Little, I would be more than happy to assist Little Ember."

She smiled. "Great." Turning back to the kitten, she gave her a stern look. "If you go down there you won't bother him, will you?"

Ember sat back and mewed a quick response.

Little picked her up and kissed her on the forehead. "That's my girl. Now, you behave. Don't go bothering anyone, alright? Now, go and play."

"Pardon this, Ma'am, but I will never comprehend just how Miss Potts convinced Mister Stark in allowing a pet. It's very unusual for him."

Little just smiled and watched as the kitten bounced away down the hall to Little's bedroom where the tinkling of toys with bells could be heard. Ah, what a simple life it was to lead as a kitten.

The woman held out a hand with a small smile. "Help?"

Barton grasped her hand and pulled her to her feet, making sure there was very little room between them. It was then he noticed she had left her crutches in her room. "Where are your crutches?"

She smiled. "I'm leaving them behind for now. Anyway, if I need some help I can always just lean on you." There was a sultry little smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth and a devilish gleam in her eye.

His grin matched hers. "Anytime, babe."

Little pushed away a bit and wrinkled her nose at his comment. "Please don't call me that." There was still a smile on her face, so he hadn't entirely upset her.

As his right hand took her left they made their way out of the Tower and began walking the streets of Manhattan. Much of the reconstruction was finished, though there were still many traffic cones and empty lots where buildings once stood. Little looked around with a slight frown. It was sad to think that though they had stopped the invasion they hadn't been able to stop the horrifying amount of destruction. Hell, they had caused much of it themselves. They turned a corner and found themselves outside of a little coffee house that was mostly empty save a few the regular type customers. Without even asking or hinting that this would be the place Little grabbed Barton and pulled him in. Half of her meaning was because she had seen the most delicious looking bread slices on display. It wouldn't be much of a lunch, but delectable breads and scrumptious pastries could not be denied! They took their food outside to enjoy the nice day. It was just over sixty degrees and the sun was shining down as though there was a smile on its face.

Little smiled happily as she bit into a slice of moist zucchini bread. Looking up she watched as a small flock of birds flew above the buildings and noisy streets. How she longed to join them… "Do you ever wish you could fly, Clint?" She turned a smile on him that was so soft and gentle as though she already knew his answer.

Before answering Barton took a sip of his coffee—black with a small shot of creamer—and nodded. "Doesn't everyone?"

She smiled and played with her napkin. "It really is the freest of sensations. I mean, to be able to soar without needed planes, jet packs, wires, or a parachute is amazing. I can't wait until I until I do it again."

"How much longer will that be, anyway?"

Her shoulders rose and fell and a brief shrug. "Another month or so. Bruce says I'm doing well as far as being able to walk around and what kind of force I can exert. He's positive I'll be metal free before Thanksgiving at the latest."

A small hint of jealousy tried to poke its way into Barton's thoughts, but he was able to dismiss it with logic when remembering that Banner was her on-site physician of sorts. Instead, he gave her a happy smile. "That's great."

They sat in a comfortable silence and enjoyed their coffee and tasty treats while watching the city pass them by. A woman happened by. She was one of those common women with her hair in a quickly done ponytail who wore jeans and old ragged sneakers. She was smiling, though, and talking ecstatically to a little girl who was holding her hand. The child couldn't have been any older than five or six. They both had the same honey blonde shade of hair and if one were to look they would see that they both had the same nose and smile. The woman and child were making their way to a special shop to buy something for Grandma.

Barton watched Little's face as this woman and her daughter walked by. There was a sort of painfully wistful look that flashed through her eyes before she turned her attention back to a third slice of the dark bread. He reached over and took her hand. "Are you alright?"

Her eyes stayed downcast. "I know how old I am and I know a lot about my past…but I don't remember being any younger than seven years old. I mean, I have clips and images, but nothing that I can honestly say happened before then." She took a drink of the now cooling coffee.

He watched her and felt a wave of sympathy. She had been so happy as she longed to be part of the birds again, but now she was downtrodden. He gave her fingers a squeeze. "Hey, you'll remember it all eventually, or at least most of it. You've remembered the fight with your sister and my middle name. It's not much, but it's definitely a start."

She smiled sadly. "It's different, though. When I think about it there is something from every single year in my life that I don't remember. I don't remember Thanksgiving any earlier than thirteen because that was the first year we had to celebrate without my grandmother. I don't remember what my prom dress looked like my junior year, but I know I went. I still have no idea what you mean by a yellow and black hat that Kileigh supposedly had as a kid. It's hard to determine what's forgotten because of my fall and what's forgotten because of time because I can't even remember what I had already forgotten about…does that make any sense?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Look, it'll come back eventually. In the mean time, just try and think about what you do remember instead of worrying about what you've forgotten, alright?" A smile spread over his face. "You say you can't remember anything before your seventh birthday, well, what did you get that year?"

Little laughed as she played with a crumb. "Harley. Kileigh and I had wanted a puppy for so long. I remember waking up that morning because this little Golden Retriever puppy was licking my face. At first I pushed him off of bed, but then I realized what was going on and screamed with delight. Kileigh woke up thinking someone was in the house, but then she saw him. I remember laughing at her because when she went to play with him he bit her finger. Right off Harley loved me more, but I guess it was because he knew that someday we would actually understand each other." This brought on another laugh. "Oh! I remember the first time I ever realized I could understand him! He came into the room and was whining and yipping because he needed to go out. In my head I was hearing this guy saying 'Sister Kaleigh, I really need to go out! Please hurry!'"

"Sister Kaleigh?"

She nodded and smiled. "Yeah, that's all he ever called me. No matter how old I was he always called me Sister Kaleigh, but he never called Kileigh 'Sister.' When I told her that she got mighty jealous."

Barton laughed as he snatched up the last slice of bread before she could devour it as she had with the other four they had purchased. A man has to eat, right? "What ever happened to Harley?"

With a sigh, Little leaned back. "We were best friends until Kileigh and I left. I didn't get to see him that often—once or twice a year maybe—and it tried us both. The last time I saw him for a while was at my dad's funeral, then nothing for a couple years while I was on probation and trying to get back into everyone's good graces. He was getting old, too. I vaguely remember a short visit I paid to my mother a year or two after I joined the force," she always made sure to refer to SHIELD as 'the force' because one never knows who may be listening, "and he was getting pretty frail. The last time I talked to my mom was a year later when she called me to tell me he had died." She frowned. "Two days later I was sent out and that was one of the few times things didn't go the way they were supposed to. I slipped up because I heard a dog barking. In my head he sounded just like Harley."

He shrugged. "We all have our off days."

She leaned forward in her seat, suddenly becoming interesting in something he hadn't yet said. "So, I do remember you telling me you joined a traveling carnival, what was that like?"

Barton chuckled and shook his head. "Crazy. Alright, so long story short is this, after my parents died in a car accident my brother an—"

Her eyes went wide for a moment. "I didn't know you had a brother!"

He continued, not ignoring her, but just letting it go. "Yeah, Barney. Anyway, we were tossed into an orphanage which just sucked. After a while we manage to break lose and came across the Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders. There was this guy—one of the carnies who did a show—named Jacques, also known as the Swordsman. He and this other guy, Buck, took me under their wings and taught me a thing or two. Jacques taught me how to use blades while Buck taught me to shoot—"

Little grinned. "I can only assume the pupil has surpassed the teacher."

There was a hint of pride in the way he smirked. "Damn straight." After a drink of coffee he continued. "Now, back to the story. I found out that Jacques was embezzling money to pay off a gambling debt, but before I could turn his ass in he beat the shit outta me and left me for dead. Luckily, Barney and Buck stepped in before Jacques ended me. He became my new full-time mentor and taught me everything I know. Well…shit got kinda bad after that and we split ways. Not long after that I found SHIELD, or they found me really since that's how it usually works, and I joined up. That was about ten years ago. From there, you probably know the rest since I know you've read my file."

She grinned. "Like you haven't read mine."

They shared a knowing grin as they each took a drink.

"So, Clint, whatever happened to your brother?"

He sighed. "He joined the army and later became an fed. When I said shit got bad, Buck convinced me to try and rob this bad guys place. Barney was guarding it and I shot him." He looked down into his coffee. "So we've both hurt our siblings pretty badly."

Little gave him a weak smile. "At least it's something we can both understand, right?"

All he could do was smile at her.

The couple finished their rather plain and meager lunch to return to walking around. Little was adamant that she felt no pain, though Barton didn't believe her entirely. He was certain she was just bucking up and trying to muscle through it. It made him grin just a little. He liked to see that she had heart like that. They made their way to Central Park after Little insisted they buy a loaf of bread to feed the fish in the pond or any birds that they might happen upon. They stood at the center of a bridge tossing bits of bread to waterfowl floating lazily on the water below. The two of them continued to share childhood memories, many about what kind of antics they got into.

Little snickered. "I was a pretty good kid, but I did get caught stealing when I was eleven."

"The classic candy from the corner store?"

She smirked. "No, books, actually. I liked to read and I hadn't gotten my allowance yet, but I just couldn't wait! I was worried they would sell out before I could buy a copy. Anywa—"

"Joann? Joann Little?"

The archer and mutant turned to see a slightly rotund woman pushing a stroller heading their way. She had a shocked look on her tan face as a breeze blew her shoulder length brown hair about.

Little grinned nervously. "Uh…No, sorry. I'm not Joann."

The woman narrowed her brows eyes in scrutiny before she noticed that the woman she was talking to had blue eyes instead of green. She gasped and put a hand to her cheek. "Oh, I am sorry. You see, you look just like my friend, Jo—"

"Joann is my sister. I guess she never told you she's a twin?"

Brown Eyes beamed a smile. "So you're Kaleigh! Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Holly, a friend of your sister's. I was just going for a stroll and when I saw you I was shocked. Joann doesn't usually come into the city. That, and your hair is so much shorter than hers I was amazed to think she'd dare cut it. Then I worried because you look hurt and Joann never mentioned anything about getting hurt herself."

Barton stood back, watching the exchange between the women. He could see the obvious discomfort on Little's face that this Holly woman was oblivious to.

"Joann mentioned me?"

Holly beamed that overly friendly smile. "Why, yes! Not long ago she mentioned her sister had gotten into a bad accident. Hmm, I suppose I should've known better since you've got these braces and such, but that's beside the point. Now, I was shocked! I've known Joann for almost five years now after she was the florist for my wedding and she's never mentioned a sister until just recently. Speaking of which, what is it you do? I asked, but she skirted the subject."

Little was a deer in headlights for a moment as those big brown eyes stared at her, prying deeply into her soul. She stammered out an answer finally. "Trainer. Uh…Dog trainer. I also own a dog park just outside the city." Now, please shut up and leave!

"How wonderful! My husband and I got a dog recently and I've been meaning to look for a place to take her. What's it called?"

Her grimace might have been misconstrued as a grin. "A Little Place for Paws. Uh…Google it."

"Oh! How clever! Your sister's shop is similarly named. Did you two do that on purpose?"

"Um…No…I ha—"

Holly continued. "You wouldn't happen to have a card, would you? My Delilah, our Puggle, just won't stop barking at night and it keeps waking the baby. Could you help us?"

Little looked as though she was both on the verge to leap over the rail and swim away or punch the woman who refused to shut the hell up and leave her alone.

Barton, seeing this, stepped up. "I'm sorry, but she only works with one client at a time and she's currently working with me. I was just telling her how my Golden Retriever Thor just won't stop marking territory in the house and that it needs to stop."

God bless you, Clint Barton! She smiled. "Yes, one dog at a time. It works better to really get to know the dog. So, how about I finish working with Clint and," she cast him a humorous glance, "Thor than I'll call my sister and get your number so we can work something out."

Holly clapped. "Marvelous! Well, it was so nice to meet you, Kaleigh. I do hope you won't be too long with him and his dog. I really need to figure out what to do about Delilah. Anyway, again, nice meeting you." She continued on her path through the park waving goodbye as she went.

Little collapsed against rail. "I hope my sister isn't actually friends with that woman!" She then cast a huge grin in his direction. "And really? Thor? That's the first thing you thought of?"

Barton laughed and put an arm around her shoulders. "Well, it was either Thor the pissing Retriever or Stark the humping Doberman."

She spun so that the small of her back was against the rail. "What about Tasha the feisty Terrier who has dominance issues."

"Roger, the Yellow Lab with social problems."

She laughed. "No! Rogers would be a sheepdog with social problems. Bruce would be the Lab, albeit a chocolate one instead of yellow, with neurotic tendencies."

The two of them continued to joke about what kind of dog each Avenger would be as they made their way back to the Tower. It was decided that Little was a poodle due to her hair and that had the memory of a goldfish. She took the joke in stride and didn't let it get to her. She got back at Barton by saying he was a German Shepard with jealous tendencies, which, of course, he denied. Little wasn't totally oblivious, though. She knew he was jealous of the time she spent with Banner, but she thought it was all in good fun and that a little jealousy never hurt a relationship.

When they got back to the Tower they spent the rest of the day just lounging around the living room flipping between channels of movies and regular daytime television. Barton got her to admit that leaving her crutches probably wasn't the best idea because she would hiss or grimace if her knee was jostled. She did say, however, that she'd rather know she can go an afternoon without them and suffer a little pain than actually need them all day. They were halfway the television cut of Braveheart when the elevator opened and a bolt of white with a tinge of orange ran through the room and towards Little. Ember jumped onto the couch and curled up on her mama's chest, purring instantly and letting Little know how missed she had been. Jarvis informed her that the kitten had indeed gone down to the lab and, in Banner's words, had behaved herself as though Little was there to watch over her. The woman just smiled and kissed the top of her kitten's head before continuing with the movie.

After a long, strenuous day of doing absolutely nothing in particular and everyone was retiring to bed, the couple and the kitten rode the elevator back up to the Suite Floor (as it had been dubbed by the majority). They stood outside Barton's door for a moment since it was at the beginning of the hall. As they stood there talking the elevator dinged! and the doors slid open to reveal Banner, Rogers, and Romanoff stepping off to head to bed. Though he had never been exposed to high levels of gamma radiation, Barton felt as though he was going to turn into an enormous green rage monster when Little smiled sweetly at the doctor and wished him a good night. As the three Avengers were walking by, Barton made a point to cup Little's neck gently and kiss her deeply.

Romanoff rolled her eyes. "Seriously? That couldn't wait? There's a bedroom right behind you, yah know."

Barton smirked and though he spoke to his friend his eyes never left Little's. "Good point." Reaching behind him, he opened the door and pulled Little inside. After she removed her braces they fell into bed together. Little quickly stamped out any fires burning by picking up Ember and resting with the kitten between them. It hadn't been that long since her discussion with Banner and she wasn't about to test if she truly was as inadequate as she feared just yet. Instead, they fell asleep with a purring kitten sandwiched between them and smiles on their tired faces.

A/N Alright, so a sweet and almost simple chapter. Now, Holly isn't a character that'll be stickin' around, kay? Just in case you were wondering.

_~* 90th Reviewer gets a shout-out and will get a sneak-peek at whatever chapter I'm working on when that review comes in! This means they'll get to read a juicy bit before the rest of you lot! *~_

Like it? Love it? Review it!