"And you really don't mind?"

"What for? I'm your mother, aren't I?"

That was all it took for Lainey to throw her arms around Natasha's neck and squeeze. Not that the assassin minded. She was glad that Lainey felt comfortable enough to express how she was feeling now that everything was out in the open.

Well, almost everything.

But Natasha didn't need to about that right this minute, did she?

"Mom…...Mommy…...Mama…..." Lainey tried out different variations, deciding that she liked 'Mama' best.

It was music to Natasha's ears. It meant that the Red Room really hadn't taken everything from her. She could be a mother and she was a mother. She was taking back her life one day at a time, and was being granted the best gift she could ask for.

Chapter Thirteen:

"Nat, she'll be fine with me." Tony assured the redhead.

"I know." She sighed. "I just hope she doesn't think that I'm handing her off to you."

She had to go to Vienna for the official signing of the Accords and she didn't want Lainey to miss any school because of it. There was going to be a quick conference at the UN and then she would come home. There was no need for Lainey to come along.

She had explained it to the brunette, and Lainey told her that she really didn't mind, but the Russian was still a little concerned.

"She won't. She's a strong kid, and she knows that you love her and want to do what's best for her." The billionaire sent her a comforting smile. "Besides, after you, I'm the kid's favorite. I am her godfather after all."

"You're all her godfathers." Natasha corrected him, referring to every male on the team. "And after me, Wanda's her favorite."

Tony bristled and shook his head. "But I'm her favorite godfather. I can claim that, can't I?"

"Until she proves you wrong, yes, you can claim it."

"Fantastic." The Italian's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "I have to level with you though. Motherhood looks really good on you Nat."

"Thanks Shellhead, maybe you'll have kids of your own someday."

Tony scoffed at the very thought. "Me? Yeah right. I can't raise a kid. I'd rather just be the fun Uncle that sends them home after each day."

"You might change your mind Tony. You might change your mind."

Meanwhile, Lainey grabbed a black backpack that she had stuffed as many clothes as she could inside of, making sure she had all of her necessities in it, before zipping it. She put her phone on airplane mode and shut off the wifi just so it couldn't be tracked, before throwing it in there too.

There was a reason she had been so calm and understanding when her mother explained what was going on. She was planning to follow her.

It wasn't exactly the right thing to do, but Lainey wanted to do it. It was her first act of rebellion with Natasha as her mother, so she made sure to cover all her tracks. She went through her normal routine that morning, but claimed to be leaving a little earlier than normal so she could study for a test.

She didn't technically lie. She did have a science test that she needed to study for, and if she wasn't about to sneak on a quinjet to Vienna, then she more than likely would've gone to school early.

Just as an extra precaution, before she finished packing her bag, she called the school and informed them that she would be out for a couple of days, because she had a cold. This would prevent them from calling Natasha and giving her the information too soon.

She even refrained from telling Peter about what she was doing, for fear that he would let it slip somehow. Besides keeping the fact that he was Spiderman a secret, Peter really couldn't be trusted to keep his mouth shut on most days.

Lainey made sure that she had absolutely everything she needed before securing the black beanie on her head (she dressed in all black, thinking that she wouldn't be seen), before sneaking up to the rooftop and onto the quinjet that Natasha would be on in a few minutes.

Despite knowing that everything she was doing was wrong, Lainey felt like she had accomplished a great deal. It was obvious that she wasn't going to get away with this, but that wasn't her goal. Her goal was to satisfy her curiosity and make sure that her mother would be okay.

As soon as she grew accustomed to her surroundings, she heard footsteps, prompting her to hide behind some cases of weapons in a corner. These next few hours were going to be crucial. If she got caught anywhere between now and before they crossed the ocean, Natasha might turn around and take her home. The preteen worked way too hard to be sent home now.

"Tell Lainey that if she wants to hang out with her friends after school, she can." Natasha told Tony, getting ready to board the quinjet. She didn't want Lainey cooped up inside just because she wasn't there. She needed to be a kid. "And take care of yourself, you're doing the right thing. We need to fix our mistakes. I'll check in once I land."

"Well, I won't be waiting." Tony smirked. "Don't drop out of the sky on your way there. It's going to be too hard to find a suitable replacement for you."

"Oh shut up." The redhead rolled her eyes as the hanger door closed.

Lainey hadn't even realized that she fell asleep until her eyes fluttered open.

The quinjet had landed a few minuted earlier and as promised, Natasha took out her phone to call Tony.

Imagine her surprise when she saw about ten text messages saying that Lainey was missing and she had never gone to school.

Now Natasha was no idiot. She had a strong feeling that she knew exactly where Lainey was. But she wasn't going to physically remove her from her hiding spot. If Lainey insisted on giving heart attacks to the people who cared about her, then she was going to have a little fun of her own. So she texted Tony and told him to play along with her little scheme.

"Hello? Tony? Yeah, I know. I got your text. I know she's missing...…." Natasha made her eyes water and her voice waver. She knew that she could trick Lainey into giving herself away by playing off of her empathy. "What if someone has her? What if they hurt her and I can't do anything to save her? She's just a kid!"

Lainey sighed, listening to the Russian panic that way. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She didn't like the way she was making her cry all because she had snuck off to do something she wasn't supposed to. It wasn't fair to her.

"Tony, please find her? She's been through so much and now this?" Natasha allowed a sob to escape her throat, knowing that would make Lainey feel horrible.

"Mama, I'm not missing. I'm right here." The twelve year old crawled out from being the large cases.

Natasha looked at her with a red and blotchy face, before turning her attention back to her phone.

"Thank you Tony. I'll talk to you later."

And it was in that moment, that Lainey knew she was in trouble.

When Natasha turned back towards her, not one tear was evident on her face.

"Explain." The redhead beckoned Lainey to stand in front of her.

As Lainey took a close look at her, she noticed that her eyes were narrow and her nose was flared. Not to mention, that the vein in her neck was throbbing.

"Alayna Anuva Taylor. Explain." Natasha growled, using one of the thousands of made up names she had thought of because Lainey didn't actually have a middle name.

"Well…..." She suddenly found her black converse very interesting.

They were filthy. Tony had offered to buy her new ones on several occasions, but she always refused. This pair of converse had been through a lot with her and she wasn't about to give them up now. Besides, these were comfortable. It was too much work to break another pair of shoes in. Even if they were practically falling apart.

"Alayna?" Natasha cocked an eyebrow.

"Before I say anything!" Lainey put both her hands out in front of her, as if to keep Natasha from advancing. "I just want to let you know that this was really thought out and I knew exactly what I was getting myself into and I don't regret anything."

"I'll keep that in mind. Explain."

"Okay…...When you told me you had to leave, I wanted to go with you, but after you said that you didn't want me to miss any more school, I didn't bother asking you if I could come."

"So you decided to stow away with me, continue." Natasha nodded as if she was mentally taking notes.

"I knew that if I skipped, the school would call you and Tony...…so I called and I told them that I would be out for a few days and I promise that if I knew you and Tony were going to worry, I would have left a note in his lab or something. I know you're mad, but I had to and I'm not sorry."

Lainey realized that she probably shouldn't have said that she wasn't sorry so soon. She had just admitted to lying and skipping school. It wasn't in favor to express how unapologetic she was.

"Are you going to send me back?" She asked timidly.

"It's too late to send you back now." Natasha eyed her with what looked like disappointment. "But we're going to have a long talk later."

Maybe she should've stayed home.

"Did you pack clothes in that bag?" Natasha questioned her daughter, throwing her bag on one of the hotel beds.

After Lainey's confession on the quinjet, the two made their way to a hotel in London and checked in. The walk to the room had been painfully silent. The twelve year old wanted so desperately to say something and have a conversation to kill the agonizingly thick tension, but she feared that it would only make the redhead angrier.

"Yes."

"Did you bring something formal to wear?"

When Lainey nodded, Natasha narrowed her eyes in disbelief, prompting the girl to dig in her bag and pull out a dress.

"Put it on. I'm leaving five minutes, with or without you."

Lainey's eyes widened at her gruff statement, but still made her way to the bathroom and changed with two minutes to spare.

She didn't like the feeling of having to walk on eggshells around Natasha. She was her safe place. Allison used to ignore her from time to time too, only speaking to her when necessary and leaving her to figure things out on her own. It was awful. She actually preferred it when the woman was beating up on her, because that way, she knew exactly how she felt.

"Please don't ignore me?" She pleaded softly when Natasha glanced at her and made her way to the door. "You can hit me if it'll make you feel better, but please don't ignore me Mama?"

The former KGB agent sighed and turned around.

She didn't think she had been ignoring the young girl. It had never been her intention. All she wanted was for Lainey to have some time to really think about the dangers of what she had done.

But leaving a person alone with their own thoughts was never a good idea.

"I don't have anything you can use, but I'm sure the hotel has a hanger or something...…." The child looked around, breaking Natasha's heart.

"Alayna…..." Her voice just above a whisper. "Stop it honey."

The preteen had said it so casually, that it really concerned her.

"Why? What for? I thought I did something wrong."

Natasha sat down on a bed and beckoned Lainey over, only bothering to speak when the brunette was where she wanted her. "You did do something wrong, but let me make myself abundantly clear when I say that I would never hurt you."

"But it isn't like you'd be punching me, or smashing a bottle over my head or anything!" Lainey argued, really not grasping why she was so wrong.

Weren't parents supposed to hit their children to correct them? She knew her mother had gone too far in trying to discipline her, but what other way was there?

"Dammit baby, don't you see? It's all the same! Abuse is abuse!" Natasha reached for her hands and rubbed her thumbs along the back of them. "It doesn't matter if it's with a bat, or a bottle, or someone's hands. It's still wrong. No one should hit you ever."

"Not even you?" Lainey tilted her head.

"Especially not me. I'm here to love you and keep you safe. So please, don't ever suggest something like that to me again."

"Okay, can we go now?"

Natasha allowed some of her tears to fall, before pulling her into her arms, squeezing her tightly. She wondered what other kinds of things Lainey thought was okay because of her upbringing. Maybe once they got back to New York, she would take her to see a psychologist. It could only help them both understand what was lying deep in Lainey's mind.

"Yeah, we can go now." She ran a hand over her face, standing on her own two feet.

"Where are we going?" Lainey asked as they made their way out of the room and down the stairs and out of the hotel.

She knew that there was a UN conference in Vienna, but she hadn't the slightest idea why they were in London.

"The founder of S.H.I.E.L.D., Margaret Carter passed away. She was a close friend of Steve's from the forties."

"Are we going to her funeral?" Lainey asked as she childishly latched onto Natasha's hand and hopped over the cracks in the sidewalks, the conversation of abuse long forgotten.

"Just to see Steve."

"So he knows he's not alone?"

"Exactly." Natasha tugged on the girl's arm to keep her from getting hit by a car while they crossed the street. "Watch where you're going honey."

"You'll catch me." The curly-headed kid replied confidently, hopping over a puddle. "I'll be okay. Why don't people wear bright colors to funerals?"

The question had been raised due to the fact that the people surrounding the church were decked out in all black, hugging and crying with each other.

"They're mourning together."

"Well I know that, but why don't they celebrate her life too?" She had never lost anyone, so she never truly grasped the reason why people were always only sad at funerals.

"They will in time. Right now, they're sad because she won't be here anymore."

"Oh." Lainey nodded, taking everything in as they entered the building.

It was beautiful, the ceilings were high, the pews were wooden, just like the floors, and there were flowers all around. It looked as if they had arrived just after the service concluded. There was no one inside except for Steve, and he was standing in front of the alter, staring at a picture of Agent Carter.

She was so pretty. Even in her picture she looked strong, demanding respect from everyone around her. It was as if the picture radiated her authority.

"When I came out of the ice, I thought everyone I had known was gone. Then I found out that she was alive. I was just lucky to have her." Steve didn't bother turning around to face the two.

"She had you back too."

There was a pregnant pause between them as they both tried to figure out how to address the elephant in the room.

"Who signed?" Steve asked gently, tired of beating around the bush.

"Tony, Rhodey, Vision."

'Clint?"

"Says he's retired."

Lainey wanted to meet this, "Clint". She had never really asked Natasha if she could, but now that she knew that he was retired, she just might. After all, he is Natasha's best friend. She had heard a lot of stories about him and she wanted to know exactly what he was like in real life.

"Wanda?"

"TBD." Natasha smiled. "I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords. There's plenty of room on the jet. After all, this little one managed to sneak on without me knowing."

Lainey frowned at being outed, but she supposed that's what she got for doing the wrong thing.

"Oh?" Steve raised an eyebrow and looked down at her.

She hated it when he did that. It made her want to admit to every rotten thing she's ever done.

"It's all handled, but you can lecture her later." Natasha joked before becoming very serious. "Just because it's the path of least resistance, doesn't mean it's the wrong path. Staying together is more important than how we stay together."

As much as she hated to admit it. She really wanted this makeshift family to stay together and have each other's backs. Families were hard to come by, she learned that the hard way, but she was given this one. She didn't want to give it up so soon.

"I'm sorry Nat, I can't sign."

"I know."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"We didn't want you to be alone." Lainey piped up before her mother could answer. "Nobody should be alone."

Everyone had made a conscious effort to make sure that she knew that she wasn't alone. Now she wanted to return the favor in anyway she could.

When Steve smiled at Lainey and looked at Natasha, she nodded and shrugged her shoulders. "Listen to the kid, she knows what she's talking about."

Steve teared up and pulled the both of them in for a hug that they all truly needed. They basked in the comfort for a moment before pulling away and looking at each other longingly.

"Stay safe, okay?" Natasha spoke gently.

She knew all about the soldier's tendency to run head first into danger without any regard for himself.

"You too." Steve turned to Lainey."And you, no more running off, understand? I don't want to have to come and find you. And listen to your mother."

"Yessir." Lainey cheekily saluted before she was pulled into another hug.

She didn't ever want to let go. She wanted him and all the Avengers to hold onto her forever if it meant that nothing would ever change.

But change was a part of life.

It was inevitable.

The UN was a large building. Lainey had seen the one in New York, and that one was gorgeous, but this one outdid itself.

It was large high-rise building with glass windows all round so if anyone wanted a lovely view of the Viennese streets below, all they had to do was look.

There were so many reporters and people from different countries around, Lainey didn't know what to do with herself. She knew she wasn't supposed to be there and it made her feel nervous and out of place. Everyone seemed to know exactly what to do and where to sit.

"At a special United Nations conference 117 countries have come together to ratify the Sokovia Accords." A news anchor spoke.

A UN staffer made his way over to both her and Natasha, holding a pen and a page that probably needed signing. "Excuse me, Ms. Romanoff?"

"Yes?" She softened her features as not to intimidate him.

"These need your signature." He held the pen and paper out to her, clearly grateful when she complied before he walked off. "Thank you."

"I suppose neither of us is used to the spotlight." A man wearing a traditional black suit addressed Natasha, with an accent Lainey could exactly pinpoint. She knew it was African, but an African accent from where? She didn't know.

Lainey had no idea who he was and quite frankly, he was a little intimidating, so she moved behind her mother and peeked out at him.

All the man did was smile fondly and wink at her.

"Oh, well, it's not always flattering."

"You seem to be doing alright so far. Considering your last trip to Capitol Hill…...I wouldn't think you would be particularly comfortable in this company."

"Well, I'm not." Natasha admitted.

"That alone makes me glad you are here Ms. Romanoff."

"Why?" Natasha cocked her head to the side for a moment. "You don't approve of all this?"

"The Accords, yes. The politics, not really. Two people in a room can get more done than a hundred."

Well, whoever he was, he was intelligent.

"Unless you need to move a piano." Another man with the same accent made his way over.

He was stout and very friendly looking. He must've been the man's father, but Lainey didn't want to assume anything.

"Father."

So she was right!

"Son. Ms. Romanoff."

"King T'Chaka. Please, allow me to apologize for what happened in Nigeria." Natasha bowed her head respectfully.

So that's who they were! The King and Prince of Wakanda! Lainey had heard of them, but she had never actually seen them. It was cool to be this close, but she still wanted to stay behind Natasha, just in case.

"Thank you. Thank you for agreeing to all this. I'm sad to hear that Captain Rogers will not be joining us today, but who's this?" The King looked at Lainey with a kind smile that made her want to trust him.

"Yes, so am I." Natasha pulled Lainey out from behind her and threw an arm over her shoulders. To which Lainey wrapped her arms around her waist. "This is my daughter, Alayna. She's a little shy. Say, hello to them honey."

Lainey looked up at Natasha before looking back at the two men, burying her face in her mother's blazer. Sure, it was infantile, but the amount of bashfulness Lainey had been feeling right then and there was outrageous.

"They won't hurt you honey." Natasha remained patient. "Say hello."

Lainey slowly moved her head to look at them and found that they were still smiling. "Hello."

"Hello Ms. Alayna." The prince took her hand and kissed it, making her blush. "I am T'Challa, it is an honor to meet you. You must visit Wakanda one day, my sister would love to meet you."

Lainey actually couldn't fight the smile that broke out on her face.

"I am King T'Chaka child. As my son said, it is very nice to meet you. I hope you will not be too bored listening to an old man speak." The King pressed another kiss to the back of Lainey's hand, making her bury her face in its previous hiding spot.

"Thank you." Natasha mouthed to the both of them. They did more than they knew.

"If everyone could please be seated. This assembly is now in session."

"That is the future calling. Such a pleasure." King T'Chaka smiled, before Natasha and Lainey found their seats.

Lainey watched as everyone took a seat in order to listen to what was going to be said. She wanted to comment on what she saw, but she didn't want to screw up and say the wrong thing.

'When stolen Wakandan vibranium was used to make a terrible weapon, we in Wakanda were forced to question our legacy. Those men and women killed in Nigeria, were part of a goodwill mission from a country too long in the shadows. We will not, however, let misfortune drive us back. We will fight to improve the world we wish to join. I am grateful to the Avengers for supporting this initiative." King T'Chaka addressed everyone with a smile. "Wakanda is proud to extend its hand in peace."

Lainey wasn't really listening to what he was saying. She was watching T'Challa as he looked out the window.

He seemed tense, like he had seen something outside that was suspicious.

Lainey tugged on Natasha's arm to get her to look, but the woman was already well aware of the situation. She pulled Lainey close to her so quickly, the girl fell to floor beneath her.

"Everybody get down!" T'Challa screamed with the utmost amount of urgency in his voice, leaping towards his father.

It all happened so quickly, but to Lainey, the seconds ticked by so slowly.

Everyone screamed and ducked for cover in any way that they could. Natasha pulled a reporter down before throwing herself over her daughter, cradling her head to keep her calm before an explosion shook the entire building to its core.

When the shaking stopped, Lainey opened her eyes (she didn't even remember closing them) to see a cloud of smoke and a load of debris everywhere. Her ears were ringing from the explosion, but there nothing wrong with her eyesight. When she looked around the room, she saw that T'Challa didn't reach his father in time.

The elder man was lying in the midst of the rubble and broken glass, completely still. His broken and distraught son gathered him up in his arms and cried over him, living his own personal nightmare.

His father was gone.

"Sweetheart, are you alright?" Lainey heard her mother ask her once the ringing stopped.

Lainey could only nod, her eyes still glued to the two monarchs of Wakanda. She felt helpless. There was nothing she could do to help them, and there was nothing she could do to comfort him.

"Don't look honey." Natasha held her chin and forced her gaze to leave T'Challa and focus on her. "Are you hurt?"

She was sincerely hoping that this wasn't going to scar Lainey for life. The poor girl had been through enough. She knew that physically speaking, she was fine, but her lack of response was what was concerning her.

"No." Lainey coughed. "You have ashes on your face Mama, did you get hurt?"

"No." Natasha sighed in relief. "But we need to get out of here. The building isn't safe." She stood up and pulled Lainey with her.

They could hear all the police and fire sirens down below. The very sound of them, made the situation that much more real for Lainey. Just last week she was going to school like a normal kid.

Today, she was rushing out of the UN after it had been bombed.

Life was scary.

Natasha only allowed Lainey to slow down and sit once they were far enough away from the UN and everything around it.

She pushed the girl to sit on a bench, finally able to give the girl a complete once over. She was covered in ash and she looked tired, but she'd be fine.

"I told you I wasn't hurt." Lainey sent her a pointed look and glanced down at her shoes.

They were flapping at the bottom. Now she had no choice but to get new ones, but she wondered if her powers could fix them.

Probably not.

"We'll get you some new ones soon." The redhead's eyes travelled to the shoes and she stifled a smile.

She was relieved that the worst that happened to the kid was just a pair of worn out sneakers. It could've been a lot worse. The shoes were replaceable, Lainey however, was not.

"All I have to do is tape them, they're not done yet!" Lainey insisted. The kid really didn't want to give up these shoes.

"I think they've been done for a while now honey." Natasha brushed a curl away from Lainey's face. "It's time to get rid of them. I'll get you any pair of shoes you want."

Lainey needed a lot more than a pair of shoes. Those converse were the only shoes she owned. Natasha definitely planned on going on a shopping spree when this was over.

Though she didn't know how long that would be.

The UN was just bombed. That wasn't going to just blow over any time soon. Especially not when the King of Wakanda had been killed.

Speaking of the King, through all the commotion, his son had weaved his way through the police and first responders, sitting on a bench near Natasha and Lainey.

He looked absolutely exhausted, with grief written all over his face. His posture was slouched and his eyes were glazed over. But in his daze, Lainey noticed that he was fiddling with a ring that was too big for his finger.

"I'm very sorry." Natasha gave her condolences. She knew it wouldn't help much, but she had to say something.

"In my culture." T'Challa began. "Death is not the end. It's a sort of…...stepping off point. Your reach out with both hands and Bast and Sekhmet, they lead you into the green veldt where you can run forever."

"That sounds peaceful." Natasha once again tried to comfort him.

"My father thought so." The Prince, soon to be king, took a deep breath before rising to his feet. "I am not my father."

"T'Challa, task force will decide who brings in Barnes." The Russian informed him, sensing what was running through his mind. She knew from personal experience that revenge wasn't going to help him feel better about his father's death. It wouldn't even relieve the pain. It would just leave a bigger whole in his heart that would never be filled.

"Don't bother Ms. Romanoff." His face hardening with anger. "I'll kill him myself.

Natasha watched as he walked away, deciding not to go after him. He was a grown man, he could make his own decisions. Hopefully he would come to see that revenge isn't what it's cracked up to be.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her phone.

It was Steve.

He must've seen what had happened on the news and was checking in to see if she and Lainey were alright.

"Hello?" She answered, looking behind her to make sure that Lainey hadn't wandered off.

"Are you guys alright?" His baritone voice reverberated through her ear.

"Yeah, we're fine. We got lucky."

There was a moment of silence on both ends of the line. They both knew where this was headed and they didn't quite know how to move forward with it.

"Alayna." She grabbed the preteen's attention as she stood up. "Don't move, you understand me?" Her tone of voice clearly left no room for anything but a positive response.

"Yes Mama."

"Good. I'll be right back." The older woman made sure that Lainey really wasn't going to move before moving out of earshot. She hadn't meant to be so stern, but she didn't need the kid to go missing at a time like this. Everything was crumbling to pieces and if she could prevent one tragedy, it would help her sleep easier at night.

Lainey watched her go, a little put out by the way she was just spoken to. Had she done something wrong? Maybe Natasha was still upset at her for sneaking onto the quinjet. Maybe she should apologize to her and explain why she did what she did. It might not work, but it was better than doing nothing.

A soft object rubbed up against her leg, completely interrupting her train of thought. When Lainey looked down to see what had invaded her personal space, she found a black kitten.

It was beautiful. It had the darkest fur she had ever seen on an animal and the most vibrant green eyes. It seemed to be a little malnourished, but healthy enough to be seeking help from a human being.

"Hi." Lainey slid off of the bench and onto the floor to pet it. "Where's your Mama? Are you alone? You look like you're alone." She looked around for a larger cat, but didn't find one.

The kitten looked up at her expectantly, purring when she scratched behind its ears, and Lainey couldn't help but want to take it home with her.

What was stopping her? All she had to do was hide it long enough to get back to the Compound. Nobody would ever know!

"I guess you don't have a Mama…...That's okay. I didn't have a good one before…...so it's kind of like I didn't have one at all, but then she came along." The twelve year old pointed at Natasha, who was still on the phone. "And she adopted me…...She's the best mother in the whole wide world and I'm very lucky that she took me in."

The kitten seemed to understand exactly what Lainey was saying and crawled onto her lap to cuddle. Its whiskers tickled Lainey's fingertips as she continued to pet and scratch it. The vibration of its purring made Lainey smile as she continued to speak to the animal.

"How about I take you home with me?' She asked, certainly not expecting an answer. "You don't have anywhere to go and I can take care of you. When you can take care of yourself, you can decide whether you want to stay or not. I won't force you."

And to her surprise, the kitten meowed in response.

"I guess that settles it then. But you have to be really quiet. Mama doesn't know about you just yet, okay?" Laney grinned and took off the denim jacket she was wearing, wrapping the feline in it to make it look like it wasn't there, before sitting back up on the bench.

It was perfect timing too, because as soon as she sat down, Natasha had ended the phone call and started to make her way back to her daughter.

"Why did you take your jacket off?" She asked the child.

It was almost sixty degrees in Vienna and this kid had taken off her jacket. Natasha just couldn't wrap her head around that.

"I got hot." Lainey lied, holding her jacket closer to her. "Honestly Mama."

Ever since Natasha had let her know that she didn't mind it when she called her, "Mama", Lainey had freely used the moniker. The redhead would be a liar if she said that hearing it didn't make her want to jump, smile, and burst into tears all at the same time.

But that didn't mean she was going to turn a blind eye to the fact that the kid was clearly lying to her face.

"Oh really?" Natasha crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

It had become her signature "Mom" look. Lainey learned very quickly that whenever she saw that look, she'd better do what she was told or say what she was supposed to say before the situation escalated.

"So you're not hiding anything from me?"

Lainey couldn't bring herself to lie again, but she also didn't want to tell the truth, so she lowered her gaze down to her shoes.

"Alayna Anuva?" Natasha knelt down in front of her and unraveled the jacket, revealing the kitten. "So you weren't hiding anything from me, huh?"

Lainey didn't really know how to respond, so she just shrugged her shoulders, trying not to shiver as a cold breeze blew in their direction. She didn't mean to lie, but she didn't want to leave the kitten to starve and die alone.

The baby animal was completely occupied in Natasha's arms, playing with her bright red hair. It probably thought it was better than yarn. It couldn't care less about what was going on around it.

"So what's her name?" She asked suddenly, having already checked the cat's gender.

"I can keep her?" Lainey lit up like the lights on the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. "Really?"

"Yes, you can keep her." Natasha smiled when her daughter's smile grew wider. "But you have to take care of her. It's going to be a lot of work, can you do it?"

"Yes! You won't even know she's here!" Yeah, right.

"And you have to be completely honest with me from now on. You don't have to be afraid to tell me the truth…...I'd like to know why you snuck onto the quinjet."

"I don't know." Petite shoulders rose and fell while slender hands rubbed an itchy nose. "I just got you...…I didn't want you to go away."

"Honey, you know nothing's going to happen to me, right? I'll always come home to you."

"You don't know that." Lainey shook her head. "What if you get hurt? Or what if someone kidnaps you? Your job isn't safe and you have a lot of enemies."

A pained look crossed Natasha's face as she thought about just how much Lainey worried about her. Her line of work was dangerous and she did have a lot of enemies. Those were legitimate concerns. She realized that she couldn't promise Lainey that she would always come back to her. Not while she was still working in the field.

So she had a decision to make. Either continue to do her job and take the risk, or quit.

"I'm sorry you worry so much honey." She brushed her hand against Lainey's cheek. "I didn't realize."

"It's okay, you're just doing your job.'

"No." Red hair flew while Natasha shook her head. "You're my first priority. Which is why, when all of this is over, I'm going to find another job. One that's closer to home and not as dangerous."

"But you love what you do!" Lainey's jaw dropped.

"I love you so much more." Natasha cupped her chin. "Now, let's go get you some new shoes."

A/N: I'm back! I've had this chapter sitting in here for a while, because I didn't really think it was good enough to post, but I couldn't bring myself to change anything. I hope you enjoyed! So now Lainey has a kitten and the king is dead. Things can't get any worse, can they? We'll find out, won't we? XOXOXOXO