Summary: As the team try to come to terms with Michelle's death, a new terrifying threat is looming over them. Clint and Grace are forced to confront their darkest fears and enemies, as they prepare for their baby's arrival. Co – Written With snowqueen79. Clint/Grace, Bucky/Sophie and other pairings.

The Cradle Will Fall

Chapter 5

He had tufts of dark blonde hair, her nose but Clint's beautiful grey eyes and his smile. Helen gently placed Connor in her arms, as she and Clint fussed over their baby boy.

"Hello, Connor. We've all been waiting to meet you, we love you and you're so beautiful. Your brothers, and sister love you and so do your grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins." Grace whispered lovingly, Connor cooed and she started breastfeeding him as Clint held them both tightly in his arms.

Tears stung his eyes as he looked at the two people that he loved so much, Grace who had given him a reason to go on after the loss of his children and Connor who had given him and Grace hope. He loved them all so much, he kissed Grace lovingly on the lips and she smiled at him as she looked down at their son. Addison, and Helen helped her breastfeed Connor, while Sophie washed her hands and went with Bucky to get the others.

Connor was strong, turning his little head and rooting eagerly against Grace's breast; she gasped at the familiar sensation, feeling the pull low down in her stomach as he started to suckle, Clint holding his head just right.

Grace felt an unexpected wetness against her cheek then; turning her head she found the tears pouring down Clint's cheek as he watched their son suckle at her breast.

"I love you two so much, Grace." Clint said thickly, Grace smiled at him tearfully and held his hand tightly as they bonded with Connor happily.

Addison and Helen smiled at each other, overjoyed for the couple that had been through so much heartache.

The team celebrated the arrival of Connor Charles Melnychenko Drăgoi Barton, by having a small celebration where everyone was invited. Sophie couldn't help but smile, as she looked at Grace who had showered, gotten into a simple dress and held Connor who was cuddling her with Clint sitting next to them.

She couldn't help but wonder what her children with Bucky would look like, would they have his dark brown hair or her dark blonde hair? Her blue eyes, or Bucky's beautiful grey eyes?

She felt very broody, and Bucky walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her lovingly. He knew that she wanted a baby, but they were going to try after finding Pepper Potts, Jane Foster and any remaining HYDRA or Red Room cells.

For now, he smiled at Sophie as Grace gave her Connor to hold as she, Adrian, and Wanda fussed over him. Natasha smiling from beside Steve, as she cuddled Joseph who was sleeping.

Clint couldn't help but marvel over Connor as he and Grace got him settled for his nap, his diaper was changed, and he was bathed before happily cooing at them. Already, his hair was turning a shade of dark blonde, but his eyes remained a stormy grey.

Grace gently rocked his cot from side to side, as she and Clint took turns reading Winnie the Pooh to him. Jarvis playing Winnie the Pooh music to him, as Connor drifted off to sleep with the sunlight streaming through the blinds.

He loved his family.

Lucky trotted into the room with Starling and Tom, the two cats sitting protectively next to the cot. He smiled and looked at Grace who was watching over their son.

"Grace, I love you and Connor so much," he said honestly, and wrapped his arms around her tightly. Grace held him back tightly, breathing in his woods scent.

"I love you both too, I'm so glad I found you all and that Sophie found Bucky, and Adrian found Wanda. I just want all of us, Peter, Ned, May and everyone to be safe." She said softly, and Clint kissed her softly.

"We'll be safe, don't worry."

Lilia was delighted at the fact that her only cousin and best friend, Larisa was visiting her, and she was excited to see her. It would be nice introducing her to Tony, Howard and the others who she considered family. Howard happily giggled as he played the carpet with his toys, while Thierry and Owen were napping with Ragnar.

She was smiling at Howard, when she heard her phone ring and answered it.

"Hello?" She said politely, and her blood went cold at the chilling laugh that answered her greeting.

"Hello Lilia, enjoying that you've taken my husband and son?" The familiar voice asked coldly, and she swallowed as Bruce arrived with Helen and Addison to check on all the babies.

Pepper.

"What do you want, Pepper?" She asked calmly, trying not to panic or show any fear in her voice.

"Rude," the other woman's voice still sounded delighted. "Aren't you going to ask what I've got planned for you?"

Lilia took a deep calming breath. She wouldn't let this woman, this monster, get the better of her.

"I'm guessing it really doesn't matter what you've got planned," Lilia said with surprising calm. "It only matters what you're after."

"Very good," Pepper said condescendingly. "Maybe you're something more than just his latest piece of ass. Maybe not. You'll find out soon enough what it is that I want. I just want –"

"Give me the phone, sweetheart."

Tony stood above her, his expression steely as he held out his hand. Pepper was still talking, and Lilia gave it to him with no hesitation. He must have programmed Jarvis to alert him to such a circumstance.

"Pepper," Tony said with his usual casual, snarky tone. His face just didn't match. "What's up?"

Lilia couldn't make out what she was saying but she watched the colour seep up from his collar, watched his knuckles turn white as he held onto her phone.

"Uh-huh," Tony kept his tone irritatingly sarcastic. "You sound very menacing. You been watching Superman movies? You kind of remind me of Lex Luthor. Sounds like you're using the Gene Hackman version. I think the Jesse Eisenberg version might work better for you though."

Now Pepper was yelling, and Tony winced, winking at Lilia as if trying to comfort her. She knew he was taking in every word. She could feel his growing anger.

"Okay, I see. Well, it's been fun, but I've got to get back to the fam, Pepper. Parenting to do, diapers to change. Keep in touch okay?"

Tony hung up and Lilia watched as his hand squeezed in. She was waiting for the phone to collapse under the pressure. But after a moment, he calmly handed it back to her, his hazel eyes searching her own as she bounced Howard on her knee.

"You okay, sweetheart?" He asked gently.

She nodded. She was shaken but she wasn't going to make an issue of it.

Tony's emotions were a wild riot inside, she could feel it. Nothing sent Tony off into a rage quite like his ex-wife who had already put the lot of them through so much. The bitch knew that Tony's worst fear was the destruction of his friends and their happiness. She knew. She knew he'd literally drown in guilt if he ever perceived that to be the situation. He wouldn't be able to live with it.

But Tony wasn't a fool. He knew the games Pepper played. And Lillia knew he'd do anything he could to thwart her. Tony had more than just the Avengers to defend now. He had her and Howard. And every day saw father and son grow closer and closer. It made Lilia's heart clench in her chest to watch them.

"What does she want now?" Lilia asked nervously.

"Right now? To shake us up," Tony admitted. "Don't let her. We're not going to let her hurt our family. We have too much at stake now."

Lilia nodded, hugging Howard gently. Tony's eyes darted after her movements.

"Hey, you're trembling," he said gently. Easing down on the floor next to her, Tony wrapped his arms around both of them. "Pepper is not getting anywhere near either one of you. Promise."

Lilia glanced back over her shoulder and Tony's mouth claimed hers in a gentle kiss.

"I've just been nervous ever since we found out they escaped," Lilia admitted. "We all went through so much and now with more little ones…"

Tony understood what she meant, Joseph and Connor were in danger, along with Howard, Ragnar, Owen and the other kids that were living with them.

"I'm not going to let any of them or Pepper hurt our family, Lilia. I swear, no one is going to hurt us," Tony vowed and Lilia held onto him tightly, she believed him.

Grace marvelled over how strong Connor was, he was happily cooing at her as she and Clint walked him around the compound so, he could meet everyone.

He was having a check - up with Helen and Bruce, after Addison had checked her over and said she was perfectly fine. She recommended that Grace have sex in six weeks time. She smiled, and looked at Clint who was making animal noises at Connor.

She smiled at the sight of her two boys bonding, she already loved Connor and slid her hand into Clint's. He smiled at her and she smiled back as they watched Helen and Bruce check over Connor.

"He's healthy and well, growing up big and strong," Helen said reassuringly, Clint and Grace were relived as Clint tickled Connor and Grace kissed his soft little head.

Her baby boy was perfect.

Tony and Lilia had gone out for dinner with Lilia's paternal cousin, Larisa who Tony thought was funny, but smart and had a great sense of humour.

"You better look after my cousin, Tony. I love her like she's my little sister, look after her." Larisa said warningly, but with a warm smile on her face.

Tony smiled at her reassuringly and nodded at her warning. He wouldn't hurt Lilia, he loved her too much. He loved her and Howard so much, he really did.

"I promise you, I will. I love Lilia very much, she means a lot to me, Howard and the rest of our team." Tony said seriously, Larisa smiled as she, and Lilia said goodbye to each other.

Neither of them would know, that it would be the last time that they would see each other.

Lilia had been planning on visiting Larissa for a coffee and some shopping, she didn't use any of Tony's cards or money. She knew he wouldn't mind, but she didn't want to appear like she was a gold digger whore, like Pepper had implied. She'd just gotten Howard washed and Tony was getting his bottle of formula ready, when Jarvis spoke concerned.

"Miss Lilia, Detective Rollins and Lieutenant Benson are here. They would like to speak with you," the AI said gently, Lilia nodded to let them in and looked at them worriedly.

"Officers, how can I help you?" She asked politely, trying but failing to keep the worry out of her voice.

The two officers exchanged a grim glance, and her heart pounded in her chest wildly. Something had happened, she just knew something had happened. Was Larissa alright?

"Lilia, why don't we sit down?" Olivia said gently, Lilia held Howard tightly but sat down as she bit her lip nervously.

"What's happened? Is Larisa alright?" She asked worriedly, the two officers were silent but then Detective Rollins spoke gently.

"I'm very sorry to have to tell you this, Lilia but your cousin was murdered last night in her hotel room. She was staying at the St. Regis New York Hotel." Rollins said gently, and Lilia felt numb.

Larisa had been murdered. Her cousin, her only remaining family had been murdered.

"That can't be possible, I saw her last night! She was fine!" Lilia cried, denial in her voice. Howard clung to her, and she kissed his forehead lovingly.

Hot tears slid down her cheeks as she remembered Pepper's call. Her blood ran cold.

Who else would want her last living family member dead? Murdered? Who?

"I know this is a terrible time," Rollins said calmly, "but we need to ask you a few questions. Okay?"

Lilia's heart broke in her chest, the soft merriment of her dear cousin's laughter still fresh in her ears. She slowly nodded. She'd try to answer their questions.

"When was the last time you saw your cousin Larisa?" He asked carefully.

"It was… it was late," she whispered. "Tony and I took her to dinner last night at Summer Seasons. We stayed and talked. So long that I worried that… overstayed our welcome, you know?"

Rollins nodded, trying to school his features into a passive mask. His dark eyes alone showed that he felt for her plight.

"Who was with you?" He asked.

"It was just the three of us," Lilia fought to keep her voice close to steady and failing. "Me and Larissa and Tony."

"Tony Stark?" Olivia clarified.

"Yes," she answered.

"About what time did you leave the restaurant?" Rollins continued.

"Maybe around ten thirty, eleven last night?" Lilia held onto Howard who was squirming on her lap, looking up at her with big lost eyes like he knew something was very wrong. "We drove her back to the hotel then. I was… going to call and see if she wanted to go shopping today."

Rollins nodded, making notes on a small notebook. His gaze lifted to meet hers. "How long was Larissa staying in town?"

Lilia's mind scrambled for an answer to that. "I think she only meant to stay a few days. I don't think we talked about it honestly."

"Why was she in town?" Olivia asked.

"To see me," Lilia told them. "To meet Tony and Howard."

"Was anyone with her? Did she travel with anyone? Have anyone staying in the room with her?" Rollins went on.

Lilia shook her head.

"Have you talked to her since you dropped her off at the hotel last night?"

Oh, God. She hadn't. And she'd never be able to talk to her again.

Lilia bit back a sob. "No, I haven't."

"Did either you or Tony walk into the hotel with her?" Olivia asked.

Lilia shook her head, more tears streaming down her face. "We had the driver take us around to the front entrance… and we waved to her as she… walked into the lobby."

"We'll need for you to come down to the station and positively identify the body," Rollins said slowly.

Lilia was trembling then.

"Are you okay?" Olivia's tone was sympathetic.

"I don't know," she whispered. "Jarvis?"

"Yes, Miss Lilia?"

The detectives looked around in wonder at the sound of the AI's voice.

"Can you ask Tony to come up, please? I need him."

"Of course, Miss Lilia."

One question lay heavy on her heart. She knew she'd soon see for herself. She knew she'd soon know the how even though she'd never understand why. She almost couldn't bring herself to ask.

"How did… she die?"

Olivia glanced at Rollins and then he nodded.

"We haven't determined the exact cause of death, Lilia," he explained. "An autopsy will have to be performed. Just from experience however, judging by the state of the body, it appears that she died from some sort of toxin. Something I personally haven't seen before."

Horror gripped Lilia, wrapping an icy hand around her heart.

"Toxin?"

"Like venom," Olivia told her. "The discoloration, the wounds… I'm just speculating. We'll need the medical examiner to determine exactly what it was."

It was getting worse by the minute.

Tony came through the door, Steve and Bucky right behind him. He took one look at her and rushed to her side.

"Lilia? What's wrong?"

The detectives took in the three of them, seeming to come to a mutual agreement about what they could divulge.

Lilia wasn't even thinking about it. She began sobbing into Tony's chest. He barely had time to hand Howard off to Steve before she started to curl in on herself.

Tony held her tightly as she sobbed into his chest brokenly, gasping for breath as she cried for her cousin. The cousin who had been like an older sister to her, and now she was dead. He rocked her gently as he looked at the two detectives who sad, and grim as they began to explain what had happened. He felt his stomach drop at their words and holds Lilia tightly as her sobs quietened and she was now just holding onto him.

"When do you want me to make the identification?" Lilia asked numbly, her face pale and tears silently streaming down her face as she looked at the two detectives.

"As soon as you're ready, Lilia," Olivia said gently, Lilia nodded, and Tony wordlessly went with her. Steve and Bucky taking care of Howard and informing the others what had happened.

Her cousin, her only remaining family was gone, and she would never see Larisa again. She closed her eyes briefly, as more tears silently swam down her face.

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