August 2014, Manhattan

When she wasn't helping Pepper, Natasha had her own office in Avengers Tower, where she mostly worked analysis. It wasn't as hands-on as SHIELD, but she actually enjoyed doing her own background work (unlike Clint, so she tended to do his as well).

Darcy was still working through the data taken from HYDRA, and sent through anything and everything she thought might be important.

One office wall was covered with a huge world map, covered in various pins showing each known and suspected HYDRA base.

Every few days, Tony would appear and bitch about how JARVIS could do that, but each time Natasha held firm, telling him that sometimes the physical act of sticking a pin in was very satisfying.

Each time, he rolled his eyes and left.

Even that was part of her routine now, and even that she found enjoyable.

The Red Room file sat on her server, yet to be opened and slowly gaining new files as Darcy found them. She hated to admit it, but she was scared of it.

There were girls still suffering the way she had, none of whom would think they needed rescuing, and all of whom would almost certainly not thank her for it.

She had absolutely no idea where to start.

"Ms Romanov," JARVIS said, breaking though her thoughts. "Kate is looking for you."

Natasha glared at the file a few moments more. "Show her in, JARVIS."

A second later, there was a soft tap on the open door. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

Natasha gave her a smile. "Believe me, Kate; it's a welcome interruption. Come on in; don't hover in the doorway."

Kate did so, her eyes travelling over the map. "What are the coloured pins for?"

"Red pins are HYDRA bases," Natasha answered. "Green are ones we know were solely SHIELD. Yellow we're not sure about, so we should probably check. Black are ones we've cleared out."

Her phone buzzed with coordinates from Peggy. She checked the area on the map and swapped out a yellow pin for a black one.

"Was it a HYDRA base?" Kate asked.

"No idea," Natasha said. "We'll get a full debrief when they get back. I assume your dad told you he was out today."

Kate nodded. "Yeah, he always tells me. He seems to go out more than anyone else."

"Well, he's the only one of us who is actually a pilot," Natasha admitted, perching on her desk. "It is something we need to fix. I can co-pilot, so can Peggy, but neither of us are actually pilots. What's up?"

Kate seemed to hesitate. "Well, I was … um … that conversation we had back in May … it kind of feels like things have changed."

Natasha nodded. "It does, doesn't it?"

Kate relaxed a little at that, clearly reassured by Natasha's agreement. "So where does that leave us?"

"My biggest concern," Natasha said softly, was that I would be another adult who let you down. I figured you'd never really missed having a father because you always had your dad. A mother is completely different, and … I wasn't sure I could be one."

"You've been more of a mother to me than Joanna ever was," Kate admitted. "You've hugged me more than she ever did. I feel safer with you than I ever did with her. After what happened with HYDRA, I … I really needed my mom, you know? And I had no idea what that felt like because I never had a mom, not really, you're right, and then you were there, and you just …"

Natasha reached out and tugged her closer, pressing a kiss to her hairline. "That was all instinct, Katie. When I called you my daughter the other day … it just came out."

"I'm changing my name when I turn eighteen," Kate said softly, pulling away from her. "I don't want to be a Bishop anymore."

Natasha nodded. "That makes sense. I know Clint wouldn't ever ask you to do that, but he'll be very happy about it."

"I know," Kate said, fidgeting a little. "I want to change my middle name as well."

Well, that made sense too, considering that Kate's middle name was that of her birth mother, but it didn't explain why Kate was nervous.

"Oh?"

"Is it … Is it okay if I use yours?" Kate asked quietly.

Natasha sucked in a breath, unprepared for that question.

"It's okay if not," Kate said hurriedly. "I can think of something …"

"Kate," Natasha interrupted. "That was not 'I'm not okay with that'; it was 'I wasn't expecting that'. I would be honoured if you wanted to use my name."

Kate's face broke into a smile. "Yeah?"

Natasha nodded. "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about something. When your dad spoke to me about adopting you, he asked me if I would sign the papers as well. What do you think?"

"What do you think?" Kate countered, hardly veiling the hope in her eyes.

Natasha couldn't help smiling. "I think we could go round and round in circles like that."

Kate laughed a little sheepishly. "Fair."

Natasha squeezed her hand. "If it's alright with you, I will very happily sign those papers, because I love you."

Kate's breath hitched, and Natasha suddenly had a teenage girl in her arms again, not quite crying, but trembling all the same.

Natasha stroked her hair back, pressing another kiss to her forehead. "Is that okay?"

Kate nodded hastily. "Yes please."

Natasha told Clint straight away that she was happy to sign the papers, but she didn't mention the rest of the discussion, because she knew Kate wanted to surprise him when she changed her name.

Two days later, while they cleaned up at her dinner, Kate appeared at her side while she was loading the dishwasher. "Is it okay if I have a sleepover at Darcy's tonight?"

"Are you asking me because your dad's busy or because you think he'll say no?" Natasha asked.

Kate gave her a sheepish grin. "Yes."

Natasha chuckled. "I'm okay with it, but check with him first please."

"Dad?" Kate asked. "Can I have a sleepover at Darcy's tonight?"

Clint hesitated.

Natasha could understand his hesitancy - Darcy was lovely, but she could also be a bit of a wild-card. "She won't be leaving the Tower, Clint. JARVIS can still keep an eye on her."

Clint sighed. "Okay. Please don't let her talk you into doing anything stupid."

Kate kissed his cheek. "Thanks Dad." She stopped off to do the same with Natasha. "Thanks Mom."

Natasha froze halfway to the kitchen cabinet, hardly noticing Kate grab her bag and disappear out the door.

"Nat," Clint said, his voice sounding a bit strange. "Did she just call you Mom?"

"Oh, good, you heard it too," Natasha said faintly.

"Are you okay?" Clint asked.

Her hands were shaking. Natasha put the plates down on the counter, half-surprised to feel tears burning behind her eyes. "Give me a second."

Clint stepped into her space behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "It's okay," he murmured, pressing a kiss to the side of her neck. "Take all the time you need."

Natasha closed her eyes, her hands resting on his, grounding herself while she replayed Kate's words over in her head. "You remember that conversation we had about how if I'd never been in the Red Room I'd never have met you. And that you didn't make what happened okay, but you made it better."

"Yeah, I remember."

"Kate …" Natasha's voice cracked a little, and she had to clear her throat. "She makes it okay. She makes it worth it."

"Tell her that," Clint said. "She will have said that automatically, and she'll freak out about it when she realises it. Tell her."

Natasha nodded, turning in his arms. "I will."

"Can I ask an inappropriate question?" Clint asked.

Natasha smirked. "Since when do you ask permission?"

"You're having a moment," Clint said. "I figured I'd be polite. Is it weird that I find it attractive when you mother her?"

Natasha shrugged. "There's probably some biological reason behind it. I find you in Dad mode ridiculously hot; I'm just going with it."

Clint raise an eyebrow. "Why am I only just finding out about this?"

"Clearly you don't pay attention," Natasha said. "Next you'll be telling me you think I come and watch you shoot just for the hell of it."

The other eyebrow went up at that. "Seriously?"

Natasha chuckled. "World's greatest marksman and he can't tell when a woman's turned on."

"Oh, that I can tell," Clint said. "I just didn't know it was the archery that was doing it for you. Should I show off more?"

"No, it doesn't have the same effect if you're trying to show off," Natasha said, leaning up to kiss him. "You know," she added, "there is an upside to Kate hanging out with Darcy."

Clint groaned. "You know that Darcy's going to give her booze."

"Yeah, well, if she's going to get drunk, I'd rather she do it in the Tower with JARVIS than out in the city somewhere," Natasha said.

Clint grimaced. "You make a good point."

"And what I was going to say," Natasha said, placing a lingering kiss at the base of his neck, "is that we have the apartment all to ourselves. Except for Lucky," she added when he nosed between them.

"Lucky, bed," Clint said sharply, and he did as he was told, padding over to the cushion next to the window and curling up. Clint shook his head, his hands slipping under her shirt. "So what is it about the archery that does it for you?"

Natasha shivered, his breath ghosting across her collarbone. "Hard to say. There's that thing you do when … when you …"

Clint smirked against her skin. "Don't mind me."

"Bastard," Natasha said affectionately.

Clint nipped at her neck. "You love it."

Sighing softly, Natasha threaded her fingers into his hair, letting her head fall back to give him more room to work. "You don't always look. Before you shoot. But you always hit the target. It's hot as hell."

That made Clint look up. "I thought you said the showing off was …"

"It works best when you're not thinking about it," Natasha said. "It … Mmm, right there … I can't explain it." She tugged a little on his hair. "I know Kate's not here, but should we move this somewhere else before we traumatise our other child?"

Clint lifted his head again. "Did you really just refer to the dog as our child?"

Natasha smirked, wriggling out of his arms to back slowly towards their bedroom, gradually undoing the buttons of her shirt. "Do you want to focus on that or come and join me?"

He caught up with her in a few strides, backing her into the bedroom door.

Eyes dark, Clint was just about to kiss her, when …

"ASSEMBLE! ASSEMBLE! ASSEMBLE!"

"Why?!" Clint groaned.

Natasha giggled, the mood broken. "Sorry."

Clint sighed. "JARVIS, what the hell is going on?"

"Agent Carter has called an emergency assemble order," JARVIS answered. "Agent Ward has called for extraction and requested medical assistance."