Silver Star Pack: You may be right ;) CPS are jerks, at least with my family's experience with them. When I broke my arm, they kept accusing my parents of doing it to me, until the doctor ordered CPS to leave. Thank you so much for the review! :3

Call Me Toni: That's a good idea! You'll just have to read and see what happens :) Thanks for the review! :3

I know nothing about the foster system, so I apologize for any inaccuracies. I'm just going on the information that I was able to find online.

Disclaimer: I do not own MARVEL or any of their affiliates. I am not making any money by writing this. It is for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter Thirty Five

November 14th

Natasha's P. o. V:

I was released last night, but I was not allowed to go back home. Instead, I was forced to go home with Ms. Deacon, until I can be placed into foster care. Clint was forced to go back to his house, despite our protests. Ms. Deacon assured us that someone would be checking up with him soon, to investigate the child abuse accusations, but I can only hope that it won't be too late. Ms. Deacon insisted that I go to school today to get all of my catchup work so that I can work on it over the weekend. I reluctantly agreed, mostly so that I could see Clint.

Clint is already in the locker room when I get there. I carefully scan his face for injuries, but I don't see any, much to my relief. However, he is moving stiffly, as if every movement hurts. I rush over to him, being careful of my still-healing ribs. "What did he do to you?" I fiercely whisper.

"He was so angry that I came back. He threw me around and kicked me. I think some of my ribs are cracked." My blood boils in anger.

"I don't want you to be in the foster system again, but you can't keep living there. He'll kill you!" More people start to stream in, forcing our conversation to come to a halt. Clint and I both get dressed and head out to the gym. Coulson is already waiting for us.

"How are you two doing? I heard about the accident." Clint shrugs, although it is obvious that he is in pain.

"I wasn't in the accident."

"Really? It would seem that something happened," Coulson says, his eyes piercing Clint's. Clint squirms under the attention. "You know that you can talk to me, right? Not as a teacher, but as an equal. If something is going on, I promise, I'll do whatever I can to help you." Tears of gratitude fill my eyes. Clint regards Coulson warily. Our classmates begin to trickle out into the gym and begin their laps. Coulson gives me a different warm-up, and he allows Clint to do it with me. Thankfully, it is easy, and our injuries do not protest. Afterwards, Coulson begins teaching the class how to do yoga. When everyone is occupied, he rejoins Clint and I. "Forgive me if I'm prying, but I heard that you were put into foster care. Is everything okay?" I nod, letting out a shaky breath, but the tears in my eyes betray my true feelings.

"Child Protective Services found out that Clint and I were living alone in my stepmother's house. They were going to force me to go back and live with Mr. Richards, but I couldn't. I couldn't go back to him, not after what he did to me," I trail off. Coulson shoots me a sympathetic look.

"If you want to come down here with Clint during your lunch, we can talk. Only if you want to, though. I'm just trying to help." I nod, hardly daring to hope that someone actually cares.

"Okay." Coulson smiles, and begins teaching me some breathing exercises that will help make labor easier, when the time comes. The rest of the hour flies by, and before I know it, the hour is over. "Do you want to come talk to him during lunch?" I ask Clint as we get dressed. He nods.

"It's worth a shot. He seems like he genuinely cares, and if my stepfather is convicted of child abuse, we'll need adults on our side for the trial."

"If that happens, where will you live?"

"I guess I'll be put back into the foster system." I can hear the defeat in his voice, and I pull him in for a hug. The bell rings, and we are forced to separate and go to our respective classes.

The remaining hours before lunch seem to drag by. I am nervous to meet with Coulson, but I can tell that he genuinely wants to help. Finally, it is time. Clint and I grab our trays of food and head to Coulson's office. He is inside it when we get there. Tentatively, I raise my hand and knock on the door. "Come on in." Clint and I exchange a look before cautiously entering. "Okay, before we start talking, I'd like to ask you to be completely honest with me. Can you do that?" We both nod. "Good. You two may not know this, but I have fostered several kids in the past. Many of them came from troubled backgrounds. I've learned to recognize the look of kids who have had traumatic pasts, and you both have that look. Your files don't have a lot of information, and I'd really appreciate it if you could fill in the gaps." He turns to me. "Can you start with what happened this summer?"

Before I know what is happening, the words flood out of me. Coulson listens in careful silence as I relay what happened that brought me to the situation that I'm in today. When I finish, he turns to Clint. Like me, Clint breaks down and opens up, glad to finally have a caring adult listening to him. When he finishes, Coulson sits in silence for a few minutes. "You have a strong case for child abuse. The fact that he ended up shooting you is enough to put him in jail for a long time, but in order for that to happen, you'll need to testify." Clint stiffens at the thought.

"Where will I live if he's put away? I can't live alone, since I'm underage. They'll put me in the foster system, like they did with Natasha. Neither of us can last another five years while we wait to age out of the system. Nobody wants to adopt teenagers, especially not mated teenagers with a baby on the way," Clint spits out bitterly. Coulson looks thoughtful for a second.

"Now, that's not necessarily true," he muses. Clint and I exchange a look, wondering where this conversation is going. It is almost time for lunch to be over, but neither of us want to leave.

"What do you mean? We've been in the foster system before. We had a hard enough time being adopted when we were younger. Now that we're teenagers, nobody will want to adopt one of us, let alone both of us. They'll try to break our bond, and I won't survive that. I know I won't," I whimper, the thought of Clint and I being forced to separate enough to trigger a panic attack. I struggle to draw in a breath, and Clint gently rubs my back.

"Shh, you're okay. I promise, I won't let us be separated. There's got to be some way to make sure that we stay together." Coulson nods, agreeing with me.

"Yes, there is a way," he says, seeming lost in thought. My heart leaps, but I force the feeling down. I don't dare to hope that Coulson is saying what I think he is saying. However, I can see the glimmer of hope forming in Clint's eyes.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Coulson nods, a smile lighting up his face.

"That's it! I'll foster you two!" The bell rings as I launch myself at Coulson, pulling him into a hug. For the first time in a while, I allow myself to hope for a brighter future.

Yay, things are beginning to look up for our favorite duo! As always, I really appreciate each and every review :3