Kayla was feeding Sarah at the kitchen table when there came a knock at the door. Natasha looked at Kayla wearily and holstered her gun in the back of her pants. She pressed the thin screen on her face, diluting her features to look more similar to Kayla's as she opened the door.
"Ma'am. Pardon the intrusion, I know it's early, but have you seen this woman?" A police officer showed Nat a photo of herself from the Vienna Conference with the long, dark hair blown out to the sides in a business outfit.
Natalie studied it for a moment, placing her hand on her hip as she leaned her other arm against the door, "No, I can't say that I have. Although... I have to say she looks a bit like my sister and me." She mumbled nervously, looking up at the older man before her, "Who is it?"
"Natasha Romanoff. The Black Widow. She was last seen fleeing New York City, but a traffic cam caught her car heading north. She's extremely dangerous. We're taking all the precautions."
"Katie, come look at this!" Natalie called over her shoulder to her sister before turning back to the photo again. Katie groaned as she rose from her seat, sauntering over to the police officer with Sarah in her arm. When she reached Nat, she looked at the photo for a second with squinted eyes. Nat studied her for a moment before asking, "You seen this woman before?"
"She looks like you Halloween 2007." Katie chuckled as her sister elbowed her in the side. Then the super soldier looked up to meet the officer's patient eyes, "Naw. I haven't seen her. I'm sorry sir."
"Keep a close eye out. As I told your sister, she's incredibly dangerous. Let us know if you see anything suspicious okay?" He asked genuinely, looking over both women for a moment before turning and heading back to his police cruiser.
Once the man was out of the doorway, Kayla closed the door and sighed as Natasha glared at her. "Don't look at me like that. I know this is a big mess, we're working on it."
Natasha didn't answer, but instead turned and walked over to Steve's recliner and plopped into it, raising the footrest as she clicked the remote to turn on their new flatscreen television. Natasha lifted her right knee and leaned a little to the left, the loose fabric of her yellow blouse draping over the chair as she studied the current news story about a fire in Buffalo. Next to the chair sat Natasha's dance shoes- and a small bottle of whiskey from the night before. Kayla took a deep breath and shifted Sarah into her other arm, thankful that over the past week her little girl had finally started feeling better. Not good, but better.
"I just don't know where this ends, you know."
Kayla looked up from the baby girl to see Natasha's eyes had drifted to her. Kayla sat on the couch, but her back was stiff as she leaned forward, settling Sarah on her thighs facing up at her. "That's kind of how I've felt since I met Steve." She admitted sadly, "This whole Avengers thing doesn't end, even if the fight does. I feel like even after everything, we're still just trying to survive."
"We didn't sign up for this." Natasha agreed, leaning over the chair to grab the whiskey. After she took a long swig, she released the air from her lungs and stared ahead, "But here we are. The problem isn't us trying to survive Kay. It's just that none of us know how to be regular people. Maybe for an hour or a day, but not forever. What do we do if we aren't fighting?"
Kayla knew at that moment that Nat was right. It was the purpose complex that Steve had suffered from for years with being Captain America, but she felt it in her own soul. She loved being a stay at home mom, but, she'd always been meant for such great things. It was hard to accept that this is where that journey ended. She wasn't upset that it led here, only that it ended here...
Steve's arrival was abrupt and even Zawadi startled at his quick entrance into the home. He closed and locked the door quickly, turning to the women with terrified eyes, "Nat, there's a tracker on your suit. Sam hacked into it. They're on their way. We've got to go."
"What? How do you know?" Kayla asked as both women rose to their feet. Sarah began to cry at her father's worried tone, and he forced a worried smile as he crossed the room quickly to see her, convincing her he was okay as James wandered over and grabbed his father's leg.
Steve looked up from the child to see Kayla waiting impatiently for an explanation, "Bucky called. We've got about an hour. Get the suit, we've got to get out of here."
"And where are you going to go? Lead them back to Clint? You can't tell me they haven't already looked there, we can't give them any more reason to think she'd go now. Even Barnes can't keep Sam and my dad away forever." Kayla argued as Natasha took the stairs to the guest bedroom two at a time, grabbing her never-unpacked duffle and slinging it over her shoulder before sprinting back down the stairs.
"Doesn't matter, we just have to go. I'll ditch the suit and we'll double back to Clint later." Natasha said quickly as she grabbed Steve's hand. Before leaving, she turned to Kayla, dropping her bag to the ground to give her friend a hug. "Take care, Kay. Take care of those kids and take care of yourself and Steve okay? I promise I'll be in touch when I can."
Kayla just shook her head, feeling her legs quiver as the feeling of familiarity washed over her. She didn't want to lose Natasha again. She didn't want another friend to walk away. It had been so nice the past four days having Nat around to help her with the kids and keep her company. It had been nice having someone who actually knew who she was.
"Good luck Nat." Kayla finally bleat, watching Steve grab the duffle bag and escort Natasha out to his pickup. Kayla sat on the couch with Sarah and James walked slowly over to her before tumbling against the couch. "Hey, baby. Watcha doing?"
The toddler giggled loudly and pulled against the thin fabric of Kayla's black yoga pants, and she felt the seams rip a little under the strength of his little fingers. "You are such a handful and I love you so much. You take after me." She breathed at the child, and he beamed up at her, not understanding what she was saying but enjoying the way he made her smile. Zawadi hopped up onto the couch and laid down beside Kayla, nestling his long snout next to her thigh by Sarah's face as he looked around the room without moving.
Kayla watched her son play while Sarah just stared up at her mom, trying and failing to grab the long auburn hair that fell toward her face and landed on the dog beside them. Kayla was thoroughly distracted when she heard the light knocking on the front door. She did a double take, not knowing if the knocking was real, or if she was hearing phantom thuds after so many unexpected visitors that past week.
After a couple of moments, the doorknob twisted, and Kayla stared intently at the door, waiting to see who dared try and break into her home. Steve would have opened it confidently. Besides, he would be gone for quite some time making sure Natasha was safe. The door began to open and Kayla shifted her weight, gently placing Sarah beside Zawadi as she stood, preparing to fight if need be.
Tessa gently cracked the door and whispered loudly, "Hello?"
"Tess, what are you doing here?" Kayla yelped exasperatedly, feeling the tension in her whole body deflate at the sight of her neighbor. "Why are you being so sneaky?"
"I didn't know if the kids were sleeping, I didn't want to wake them. I saw Steve and Natalie leave though. Did she get everything sorted out back home?" Tessa asked earnestly. She'd given Katie her space while her sister was around because she could sense there was a lot going on between the two of them and their family situation. Tessa noticed Sarah cuddled up next to Zawadi and James wandering slowly toward them, his arms out to his side as he made sure to keep his balance on his trek, "I was surprised you didn't go with them."
"We got in a fight. She wants to go back to Sam, and I just can't deal with that." Kayla countered, throwing her hands up defensively as she turned and walked back to the couch, "Sam called crying, asking Natalie to forgive her and she did, because she's a pushover. I told her I wouldn't support her going back to that bitch, but she didn't listen to me. I also didn't want her to have to take another sketchy Uber, so I asked Steven to drive her to the airport." Kayla mumbled, crossing her arms bitterly as she let herself fall back into the couch.
Tessa nodded thoughtfully, scooping up James as he reached up at her. She grunted as she hoisted up the heavy toddler and held him against her collarbone, "I'm sorry Kay. I know how awful family drama is. At least, was it good to catch up before everything went down?" Tessa tried lamely, wanting to make conversation but Kayla was shutting her out.
"Yeah, I guess." Kayla barked with a roll of her eyes. Then she smiled and looked up to Tessa, "Steve's gonna be gone for a few hours taking Natalie to the airport. We could lay back, pop in a movie. Lazy day?"
"Isn't Steve supposed to be at work? It's a Thursday." Tessa blurted but then blushed under Kayla's judgemental stare. "Yes, movie day sounds great. I don't care whether or not your husband plays hooky to fix your family drama."
"Thank you. I appreciate that." Kayla laughed and turned on the television as Tessa parked herself on the other side of Zawadi and Sarah on the couch.
"Good call on ditching the pickup. This is a little more subtle." Natasha told Steve as she sipped her strawberry milkshake through her straw. Had Steve and Natasha stopped at McDonald's for fast food and to steal someone's little Ford Focus? Yes, yes they did.
Steve took another huge bite of his cheeseburger as he drove the black car down the highway away from his new home. He scoffed and took his eyes off the road just a moment to look at Nat, "What is it with you women thinking my truck isn't subtle?"
"It's not subtle. At all. It's huge and fancy and makes people think you have a small dick."
"Maybe I do."
"You don't. Kayla talks about it a lot."
Steve nodded once with his mouth pulled into a tight line as his cheeks turned cherry red, unsurprised by this revelation, but embarrassed nonetheless, "Sounds about right."
Natasha passed Steve her milkshake, offering him a sip. He took it silently and drank out of her straw as she watched him, "It feels like old times, Rogers."
"It does." He said, stealing another look with a coy smile, "I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it. The thrill of the chase. Dodging bullets and traveling the world." He passed the shake back to Nat and grabbed a handful of french fries from the center console between them, "Don't get me wrong. I love being a dad. I love the quiet life, it's nice. It's just... I don't know."
"Boring. Unexciting. Dull." Natasha supplied teasingly, propping her feet up on the dash. Steve shot her a dirty look but she just shrugged, tossing another chicken nugget into her mouth. "I was bored out of my mind living with Tiffany and Kayla. Being a spy is all I've known since I was a child. Being on the run is my life, even when I was an Avenger. I was just running toward trouble instead of away from it."
"What should I do, Nat?" Steve abruptly asked what was on his mind, but it didn't surprise Natasha in the slightest. She could see he was anxious and unsure. This had been his brainchild, his plan to keep his family safe. It seemed like the only option at the time, but he wasn't sure where he fit into this real world. Neither did his wife. Suddenly he looked in the rearview mirror and noticed a pair of cop cars seemed to be following them. They kept pace with the black Focus, not passing or slowing down. Steve and Natasha turned to each other and he told her, "Looks like we've got company."
Meanwhile, back in suburbia, Kayla and Tessa laid on the couch, watching their second movie on cable. Sarah was squawking from her playpen where James pushed against the net, trying to get in with his little sister. After a few minutes, he got bored and wandered back to the couch and sat, bashing one of his sister's rattles against the ground violently.
"This, this is the life." Tessa moaned happily as she leaned deeper into the comfy cushions, "I could do this all day."
"You say that, but as someone who does do this all day, it's not all it's cracked up to be." Kayla laughed as she leaned over the side of the couch to grab her water bottle from the side table.
"This just in from the traffic center, it appears there is a high-speed chase taking place on Interstate 90, so please try to stay off the road as officials are trying to apprehend a stolen car. Surveillance cameras show a redheaded woman who looks similar to the wanted assassin Natasha Romanoff. Cameras did not get any footage of her accomplice, but it appears that she is not the one driving the car..."
It took everything in Kayla not to spit out her water all over the living room carpet as she and Tessa leaned forward toward the television to stare at the emergency news segment.
"Well, this is more exciting than a rom-com." Tessa murmured as ariel footage of a black Ford Focus showed the car careening down the highway at dangerous speeds, followed by eight flashing police cars.
Kayla tilted her head to the side, her eyes wide in disbelief, "Yeah, no kidding."
What the hell are they thinking?
"Can you go any faster?" Natasha screeched as she looked over her shoulder at the cars gaining on them. She had her right hand on the small of her back, ready to pull her gun if she needed to.
"Nope. This is as fast as the car goes Natasha. We can't outrun them, we'll have to outsmart them." Steve growled through clenched teeth, looking up into the rearview mirror to see their situation. He grabbed his glasses and shoved them into Nat's lap, "Take these, I can't see in the damn things."
She tried to hide her smug grin as Steve swerved the car hard to the left, sending them flying through the median and into the opposite direction of traffic. They were now heading back towards home, and only five of the eight police cars seemed brave enough to try their stunt and follow them. Natasha smirked, "Three down, five to go."
"I wouldn't get too excited, we're going to be hitting afternoon traffic. Also, there's a lot of civilians on this road-"
"Steve, just drive the damn car or I will."
Steve and Natasha turned away from the road to look at each other before flashing lights up ahead caught their attention. There was a new barricade of police cars parked up ahead, causing traffic to slow to a standstill. Steve looked in the rearview mirror and realized the five police cars were gaining on them, and the three that they'd left behind were driving up the median toward them, blocking them from pulling the same trick twice.
Steve bit the inside of his lip and accelerated, careening wildly toward the cars that were parked up ahead of him at one hundred and forty miles per hour. The people began honking wildly at the cop cars, needing to get through, and once the police realized the Focus wasn't slowing down and their bluff hadn't worked, they quickly moved and allowed the traffic to continue on.
"Nice move Rogers. I didn't think you had it in you to potentially kill innocent people." Nat gawked jokingly, but Steve inhaled as his brows rose casually.
"I wasn't planning on getting that far anyway."
Steve slammed on the breaks unexpectantly, bringing the car screeching to a stop. The cop cars that were chasing him swerved out of the way as they tried to break, but Steve was too fast, throwing the car into reverse and speeding down the road backward in the wrong direction.
Without being told, Natasha unbuckled and climbed into the backseat as Steve slipped on a pair of large aviator sunglasses to hide his face from the cops now that they were in front of him. "Take it left!" Natasha guided and Steve turned the wheel, narrowly avoiding a semi-truck as the police cars started chasing them backwards down the highway. "Swerve left again."
"Let me know when there's a break in traffic, I'm gonna swing the car around," Steve ordered, looking up in the rearview mirror past her head as he drove. Occasionally he'd steal a glance at the flashing police cruisers barreling towards him, but seeing as there were so many of them going against the flow of traffic, they were having a hard time.
"Now!" Natasha yelled and Steve hit the break and shifted the car from reverse to drive before it even got to the speed limit. He cranked the wheel violently, and the pair were once again racing forward going against the thousands of cars on the New York highway.
"Who the hell is driving that car? They're amazing..." Tessa gawked from Kayla's couch as she pointed at the television, reading Kayla's terrified stare as intrigue instead of pure horror. Kayla clenched the remote in her hand, squeezing it until her fingers turned red. She didn't realize how tightly she had gripped it until a small pop was heard and the television went off. Tessa looked around bitterly, wanting to know how the chase ended. She shoved her hair behind her ear and looked disappointedly to Kayla, "What happened to the tv"
"I, I don't know. That's weird." Kayla lied as she realized the remote was cracked in half in her palm, so she discarded it to the side of the couch. "Let me look at the cable connection."
"No worries, I'll just pull it up on my cell," Tessa assured Kayla, but it didn't make her feel any better. She wasn't sure if she wanted to see the end of this car chase or not.