Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, nor do I have anything to do with Marvel.

These will be short chapters of around 1000 words. This makes is easier for me to update.

I will write this to the best of my ability and apologise if it is not always of the same standard. I write this for fun!

The title for this story was given to me by my friend Krista, who also encouraged me to write and share this. Thank you, Widow-Sister!

Clint didn't know how to tell his wife that he was bringing a stranger home. Not just any stranger, either: an ex-agent for the KGB that he was hoping to rehabilitate in their home with their infant son around. He glanced at the woman next to him. Nobody knew that Clint had a family. Director Fury had agreed to keep his family and their home off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files and Clint was grateful for that. Now here he was, sacrificing it all for this woman.

It hadn't been easy arranging to get her to the homestead either. He'd persuaded Fury to get him clearance to land a quinjet at a commercial airport where he would collect his truck and drive to the farm. Another agent would return the quinjet to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base after Clint and Natalia had left in order to keep his secret. As he turned onto the dirt road that led to his house, Clint cleared his throat and spoke, "Just so you're aware, nobody at S.H.I.E.L.D. or anywhere else knows about this place. I like to keep my family out of the line of fire. I'd appreciate it if you'd keep that secret." He stopped the truck and looked her, waiting until she nodded in agreement before he opened the door.

The front door of the house flew open before Natalia had even finished getting out of the car. A dark haired woman ran down the steps towards Clint. Instinctively, Natalia jumped in front of him poised to attack as the other woman stopped abruptly and frowned before looking at the man who gave her a small wave.

"Honey, this is Natalia. Natalia, this is my wife, Laura." Clint gave his wife a look that told her he would explain later. The redhead hesitated then stepped aside, giving Clint the space to embrace his wife.

With little conversation, he showed their houseguest to her room, showed her where the bathroom was and told her to make herself at home before leaving her to her own devices.

In the privacy of the bedroom, Natalia paced for a few minutes, fidgeting. She was sure that she was tired and that she needed to sleep. She wanted to sleep but sleep never came easily to her, especially when her mind was whirring like it was. Why had she jumped in front of him like that? He had told her that his family lived here, yet her instinct was to be defensive. It was the first time she could remember defending someone other than herself. The Russian hadn't missed the look that the agent had given his wife either. She knew they would argue and she wasn't interested in being a part of it, so she settled on the bed and tried to tune out the shriek that came up through the floorboards. "K-G-B?!"

Clint flinched at the way his wife shouted each letter so clearly.

"Are you telling me- are you really, honestly telling me that you went to Russia to do your job and you came back with an agent from the KGB?! And then you BROUGHT HER INTO OUR HOME?!" Laura was almost manic, not considering her sleeping infant son or their guest upstairs. She loved her husband but sometimes he pushed the boundaries in the worst way.

"Laur," Clint started, not really sure where to go from there. "I'm sorry I didn't call first… But you saw her. If she was all bad, she wouldn't have tried to defend me. That's a big step for her. Please, try to trust her."

A week passed before Clint could be sure of his decision. The redhead hadn't said a word the whole time she had been there. She kept to her room and didn't eat. Laura was losing patience, irritated by the dark cloud that seemed to have settled on their home when the unsmiling woman arrived. Clint had spent most nights watching the woman. Laura didn't mind - if her husband was watching, then she felt safe enough to sleep.

This particular morning, she expressed her displeasure by slamming her husband's coffee cup down a little too hard, causing it to splash over the sides. He jumped then froze, his eyes immediately flicking to the stairs. Laura followed his gaze and was surprised to see the redheaded woman standing there. They hadn't heard her come down – Laura wondered how she knew which of the steps would creak and how she had avoided them.

"Good morning," Clint said, "Come sit down."

When the redhead came closer, Laura could see how pale she was. The dark circles under her eyes made it clear that she had not slept since she'd been there. She looked fragile. Even through her frustration, Laura couldn't help but soften towards the woman and poured her a cup of coffee. Big eyes looked up at her. "Thank you," the woman said.

Clint looked up from feeding his son, a little surprised to hear her speak. In a week he hadn't been able to get anything out of her. Maybe, he thought, she just needed time. Director Fury had only given Clint a month to prove that she could be part of the program and that annoyed Clint. One month to undo how many years of brainwashing and torture? At this moment, it occurred to Clint that he didn't know her age. He looked at her and asked, "How old are you?"

Green eyes stared at him from across the table for a minute or more before she spoke, "I don't know. They never told me."

Clint could practically hear his wife's heart breaking over this statement. He watched as Laura sat down next to their guest and put a gentle hand on her arm, "Oh, Natalia…"

"I don't want to be Natalia. She- that isn't who I want to be. That's not who I am."

Laura considered the redhead. "What about Natasha?" she suggested, "Could you be Natasha?"

The other woman looked at Laura, staring at her for several tense moments before a small, yet genuine smile spread across her face. "Natasha," she echoed, "I like that… Thank you."