A/N Welcome back for another instalment; I hope your week was somewhat better than mine. This chapter is kinda an apology for chapter 47 so be prepared for some Romanogers happiness.

DarylDixon'sLover: Thank you very much.

Invader Johnny: I think this mission did teach her that she's not perfect and that mistakes can happen everytime. Someting everyone has to learn sometime.

Maria.Z.A: Thank you a lot. Yeah, Clint's hell-bent to get along with her; after all he'd brought her in because he saw something good in her now it's up to Natasha to make something out of it. He probably thought that talking about his own past would cause her to talk about hers and her promblems as well.


Title: Abandoned (#038)

Characters: Natasha, Steve, Laura, feat. Clint and Sarah

Word count: ~2366


It was the middle of the night when a ringing phone woke Laura. Drowsy, she reached for the annoying thing on her bedside table and accepted the call without looking at the caller's ID. "Barton."

"How did you stand Clint going to fight Ultron with us when you were pregnant with Nate?"

"Natasha?" Laura asked, sat up and leant against the headboard. She was glad for Clint taking his hearing aids out during the night; she would hate waking him up. But his years as an agent let him sleep lightly so her stirring was enough to rouse him. "Is everything okay?" Laura asked Natasha, held the phone between shoulder and ear and signed Clint that he should sleep on.

"The boys still aren't back from their mission. I know it's the middle of the night but I needed… Just tell me how you could stand it, I just might go insane here."

Laura sighed. "I didn't. I was at least as worried as you are. That's part of the deal, Natasha. The men are doing stupid stuff and we have to wait it out. But Steve's not fighting a robot that wants to erase humanity. It's an easy mission, isn't it?"

"Supposedly. But it's always easy until it gets complicated." It was quiet on Natasha's end for a moment. "I should have come with them."

"Natasha?" Clint asked quietly and after Laura's nod he put in his hearing aids just for the case he needed them.

"It would have been too dangerous, you know that," Laura admonished softly. "First trimester is always a challenge, especially with a history as yours."

"I know. It's just… I don't know how to be a mum, Laura. Let alone a single mum. If Steve dies in the field, what am I supposed to do. I can't do this by myself."

Someone who didn't know Natasha very well wouldn't have heard the fear and desperation in her voice but Laura was no such person; she had spent enough time with Natasha to see right through her mask. "Do you want me to come over? I can stay with you until Steve returns from his mission. Maybe you shouldn't be alone right now."

"I'm not alone, I have Akela with me." Natasha sounded almost offended in the dog's stead.

Laura supressed a smile. "I don't want to belittle his ability to calm you. Still. We could turn this into a girl's night. No alcohol for you, but I could bring along some ice cream."

"It's late, Laura; I don't want you to drive up all the way. I really shouldn't have called and woken you, I'm sorry. Let's talk tomorrow again, alright?" And then the line disconnected.

Laura stared at the phone in her hands before putting it back on the bedside table and slipping out of bed.

"Is everything alright with Nat?" Clint asked, his now attentive eyes trained on her.

"She's worried about Steve," Laura explained while pulling pants and a loose shirt out of her closet. "And upset. I'm not okay with letting her be alone in that house in her state."

"Do you want me to drive you up? Cooper's old enough to play babysitter for a few hours."

"I don't want to have him to deal with Nathaniel alone yet," Laura disagreed and kissed Clint softly after pulling her hair up in a ponytail. "It's not that far and I'll text you when I'm there."

Clint pulled her in an embrace. "I love you for things like that, you know that, right? Tell Nat not to worry and that she's welcome to stay here next time Rogers has to save the world."

"You know, you need to accept that Nat isn't the girl anymore you brought here," Laura reminded him with a smile. "And she could have done worse than Steve; he's a decent guy."

"Yeah, well, just because he's Captain America doesn't mean he's perfect." Clint scrunched up his nose. "Maybe he should stay at home now that his wife is pregnant and be there for her."

"Oh, like you refused to answer the Avenger's call for help?" It was pure humour in Laura's voice with only a hint of annoyance. "Just like you couldn't stop saving the world he can't either. But I'll tell Nat to come over next time. The kids will be happy to play with Akela again."

"Not only the kids," Clint answered with a grin. "Drive safely, promise."

"Promise. See you later."

~#~#~#~#~#~

Nearly two hours later Laura hit the bell on the little house. Immediately, Akela's steps could be heard along with a soft whine. Natasha followed him closely and opened the door while holding Akela's collar. "I should have known you're coming anyway," Natasha said by way of greeting and stepped aside to let Laura enter.

"That's what family's for," Laura explained with a shrug of her shoulders. "And I brought strawberry ice cream."

"Well, can't say no to that, can I." A small smile played her lips and Natasha led the way to the living room where she resumed her seat on the sofa, a light blanket wrapped around her shoulders. After Akela had greeted Laura he light-footedly jumped on the sofa and laid his head on Natasha's lap.

"Thought he wasn't supposed to jump on the sofa," Laura noted with a smile and sat on Natasha's other side, the bucket of ice cream and two spoons ready.

Natasha shrugged. "Steve's not here to complain." Silence spread between the two women, but Laura waited patiently; she knew that Natasha needed to open up in her own time, otherwise there wouldn't be much talking. And Laura suspected that some talking would do the redhead actually some good.

"I never thought to be one those women to get all emotional," Natasha said finally, huffing out an unamused laugh. "I hate pregnancy already."

"Not to scare you off, but it's not exactly supposed to get better anytime soon. Hormones can do mean things." Laura leant back and pulled her legs underneath herself. "But you're invited to stay with us next time Steve has to go on a mission. Akela's of course invited, too."

"I'm just worried for him, you know? I mean, really; I don't know if I could raise our child without him. I know nothing about being a mother, let alone care for a child."

"When I was pregnant with Cooper back then, Clint also continued to go on missions. I remember he once came back, sporting a graze and a black eye and I all but snapped. I almost broke his nose because I was so angry at him."

"Really? He never told me." Judging by Natasha's grin, she already had an idea to use this as blackmail material.

"Yeah, well, it's an episode neither of us is really proud of. What I want to say is that it's naturally to be scared for your loved ones. And Nat: I hope it doesn't come that far but should something happen to Steve, I'm more than sure that you're capable of caring for a child. More importantly, you wouldn't have to do it alone. I know that Clint would be just as ready to help you as I am. As would be the other Avengers."

Natasha snorted. "Yeah, right. Wouldn't trust Tony to take care of a child, to be honest."

"Neither would I," Laura agreed with a laugh. "What I mean is that you wouldn't have to do that alone. We're all family."

"Still, it… it feels stupid to freak out over something like Steve taking longer for a mission than usual. Plus, it's a radio silent one so I can't even call him." Natasha said frustrated and continued to stroke Akela's soft fur. "But, on the other hand, I think I would know if something bad happened to him. God, that sounds mushy."

"It does, but… I kinda know what you mean. It's the same with Clint, really." Laura kept silent for a moment. "Did you already play around with names?"

"Not really. Steve's all into trying out names, spending hours kneeling in front of me and saying them to the child; but we don't even know yet the gender. It's still difficult to accept I'm pregnant after I spent years believing I could never have this. And I'd rather not have him get his hopes up, you know? Just in case…" Natasha cut her word and looked down at Akela, working hard on composing herself again.

Laura wanted to pull her in an embrace but she knew Natasha would only grow distant through it if it wasn't initiated by herself; she'd never been a great cuddle person aside from interacting with the kids – even that she had to learn – and even less so if she was upset. "Do you have any discomforts? Anything that would suggest something's not right?"

"Aside from puking every morning? No." Natasha shook her head. "I think I'm already annoying Bruce with all my questions; it's a wonder he hasn't hulked out in me yet. But as you said, first trimester's always a gamble. And he'd be a great father, I just know that."

"You say that like he's the only great parent between the two of you."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "I'm too tired to have this conversation. Again."

"I let you off the hook this time, but we will talk about how you can be a good mother despite your past. Trust me on that."

Natasha was spared the answer by the sound of a key being turned. Within a moment she was at the door, greeting a tired Steve with a stormy embrace, the only concession to her uneasiness from minutes before. Steve's face was covered in cuts and he moved as if one of his ribs was broken. Still, he returned the embrace just as passionately before taking her face carefully between his hands and kissing her. One of his hands finally wandered to Natasha's still flat stomach. "Sorry I'm late," he whispered, leaning his forehead against Natasha's. "I didn't mean to, I swear."

"I know. Still, I was worried for you." She leant away far enough to take a good look at him, one hand on his ribcage and prodding carefully. "I'll bandage that until tomorrow. Just let me fix up the guest room for Laura."

Only now did Steve seem to take note of Clint's wife. "Hey," he greeted awkwardly, his ears tinted a faint pink.

"Hey," Laura returned with a smile and watched as Akela now greeted him too.

Steve looked at her while petting the big dog. "Thanks for coming here. I know Nat's more anxious than usual and I'm glad she didn't have to wait all alone."

"Nothing to thank me for," Laura answered with a shrug of her shoulders. "I was just as worried for Clint all the time."

"Still, thank you."

~#~#~#~#~#~

"I know you miss your mum. I miss her too," Steve murmured and swayed the little girl in his arms. Sarah was way past her bet time but refused to go to sleep. Instead, she would pull herself up in her bed and cry until Steve got her only to keep whining in his arms. Even Akela, her biggest fan, seemed annoyed by now for he chose to stay in her bedroom when Steve had taken her downstairs.

Sarah wriggled in his grip to turn towards the front door and reach for it as if that would summon Natasha by some wonder. Steve sighed. "Mummy had to go to work. You don't understand that yet, but Mummy's work is very important." Sarah's crying got a little louder. "Yeah, I don't like it, either."

Steve walked over to the radio and turned it on; music normally had a calming effect on his daughter and he hoped that it would also work this time. His look grazed the clock on the wall; Natasha was late. She would have called if there had been a problem at HQ, right? Or if she decided to sleep there and then drive home in the morning. Although, she'd only done that once or twice; no matter how tired and beaten she was after a mission, she wanted to be home. Home with her family. Steve couldn't really argue with that.

While the music seemed to have calmed Sarah for a while, she now remembered why exactly she was still awake and started to sniffle. "Aw, come on, Sarah," Steve sighed and gently kissed her forehead. "I can't change it, I'm sorry. I would call her if that'll help, but you know I can't do that. If you're grandpa learns I called her, he'll get really angry with your dad. And we wouldn't want that, would we?"

"I think it would be funny," Natasha said and closed the door as quietly as she had opened it. Sarah reacted faster than Steve and immediately reached for her mother. At once a genuine smile spread on Natasha's lips and she let her bag drop to cross the distance and gather her in her arms. "Hey Sweetie. You missed me?"

"Wasn't the only one," Steve answered and pressed Natasha close without crushing Sarah.

Natasha returned his lingering kiss and leaned against him.

"Isn't as funny to wait at home, huh?" Natasha said but the smile vanished quickly again. "I'm sorry, I drove as fast as I could. There were some complications during interrogation."

"Yeah, I can see that," Steve murmured and gently turned her head to get a better look at the cut at her temple.

Natasha shrugged. "Bruce already stitched me together again, but it's nothing bad. I promise. I'll take a quick shower and then join you, alright? That's if you bring Sarah to bed."

"I don't know how you do it." Steve shook his head and took the sleeping form of his daughter carefully from Natasha. "I swear, I do nothing different than you do."

Natasha shrugged with a fond smile. "That's the mummy-effect."

Steve couldn't help but smile at her happy expression; he was glad she'd finally accepted that she indeed had it in her to be a good mum. "See you in five?"


2. A/N Well, what do you think about it? Kina liked to reverse the whole thing in the second part ;)