Chapter 69

Upstate New York, USA

Summer 2015

Just as his mother predicted, little Nathaniel Pietro Barton arrived relatively quickly, allowing his siblings' impromptu babysitters to go on their way the next morning as soon as Clint picked them up to go meet and collect their new baby brother. Provided, of course, that they promised to return with the Enhanced boy who had lent the new arrival his middle name and the younger blonde who his parents hoped would agree to be his godmother along with the boy's twin; it was his parents' way of saying thank you to Nina and Pietro for the lengths they went to to save Clint and to Wanda for having Clint's back in Sokovia.

It was a promise made easily enough.

And then, despite the redheaded assassin's obvious temptation to stick around to welcome the new arrival home, the three women were on their way back to the Compound. They all knew the Barton family deserved the time alone with their newest addition regardless of how the Barton parents likely would have insisted the visitors were welcome, insisting that Natasha at the very least was as good as family herself.

But Natasha had been just as insistent that they leave the family to themselves, that they shouldn't intrude. And Nadine could understand that perfectly. Given the line of work the archer had been in? Nadine figured Clint had missed enough precious moments with his family over the years and she suspected that was what Natasha had been thinking as well. So they would meet little Nathaniel in person next time. Natasha had already promised to visit again on her own in the next couple days. Little Nate just had to meet his namesake, after all.

And Nadine was alright with that. She already felt like she had intruded enough despite Barton himself assuring her that he saw her as family just as he considered Nat to be. "You're Nat's sister," he'd pointed out with a shrug. "That makes you family in my book." Nadine hadn't known what to say, a trembling, warm feeling swelling deep in her chest. She wasn't actually sure she'd ever actually felt wanted somewhere the way she had when Clint had said that.

It was only a short hop from the Barton farm to Stark's new Compound, and Nadine was grateful for that. As pleasant as the reprieve at the Barton farm had been yet again, she was eager to get back, to see Nina. To reassure herself that her daughter was still fine. An irrational impulse to be sure, given that she rationally knew there was nowhere safer that her daughter could be. But after everything that had happened? After some of the things Madame B had said? After some of the things she and Natasha had talked about? She couldn't help it.

Especially since things were still tense between her and Nina. They were better than they had been, certainly. The talk they'd had, where Nadine had revealed everything she'd dared to her daughter had done a great deal to clear the air between them even if Nina had all but refused to speak to her for over a week afterward. But then she had started talking to her again and Nadine allowed herself to hope that they could begin repairing their relationship. There was still a great deal they needed to discuss—future plans and living arrangements among other things—but there was no real urgency there. No, things were starting to get back on track.

At least, until Nadine, Natasha and Wanda had left on their mission. Nina hadn't been happy about that. The flicker of fear Nadine had seen in her daughter's eyes when she'd told Nina they would be gone for a few days had cut her to the core. The last time Nadine had left on a mission, Nina had been kidnapped, and consciously or not, a part of Nina had panicked as a result when Nadine had told her she was leaving on a new mission.

"But you said you were done as the Ghost," she'd said, her voice sharp with confusion and a thread that sounded painfully close to betrayal. It was only thanks to her training that Nadine hadn't flinched in response.

"This isn't that," Nadine had reassured her as gently as she could. "This is a mission to…to tie up loose ends. To help leave that part of my life behind." Nina hadn't looked convinced, especially when Nadine hadn't explained further, and had stood stiff and tense as Nadine embraced her before parting. It left Nadine feeling uneasy about the reception she was going to get. For all that Nina was far more compassionate, carefree and forgiving than Nadine was—not surprising since such traits had been all but suppressed or trained out of the blonde assassin early in her life before Nina's presence had let her find some measure of such feelings again—she was very much Nadine's daughter and could be just as stubborn and guarded as Nadine. Especially when she was hurting. And Nina was certainly hurting.

Almost before she knew it, Natasha was settling the Quinjet on its landing pad and the three women were making their way down the boarding ramp.

Only for a gentle touch on her arm to stop Nadine in her tracks just shy of entering the main building in the Compound.

"Mm. Ryker?" Nadine turned to meet Wanda's nervous but intent gaze. There was a healthy amount of respect there as well, and a clear flicker of gratitude. "I—thank you, for bringing me along," she finally managed to say after a moment's hesitation. "You and Romanoff were right. I needed it." Nadine smiled reassuringly at the Sokovian girl, simply nodding her acknowledgement.

It was the only acknowledgement the girl wanted.

But Nadine had a question of her own, one borne out of her own lingering reservations about including Wanda on her and Natasha's mission despite her conviction that the benefits outweighed the drawbacks. For all of them.

Not to mention she seemed to be developing a bit of a soft spot for Wanda.

"And you can live with what you did? With what you helped us to do?" Wanda's gaze grew veiled at Nadine's question. But after a moment she began to speak, her voice soft and haunted at first.

"I—I saw, in your head, the things that happened in that place. Where you grew up. I saw her, and the things she did. The—the orders she gave. And then…when she appeared in that alley? When she heard your voice? It brought her memories of you to the front of her mind. I saw…I saw the things she did in that place and I felt the—" Wanda faltered, her face crumpling with revulsion and dismay. But she managed to regain her composure, though her voice grew clipped as anger threaded her tone. "She was proud of the things she did there. She—she enjoyed what she did, and she took satisfaction, pleasure even, in tormenting you." She made a dissatisfied sound then, as though unhappy with how she was explaining herself. Nadine, though, understood completely.

Part of her wanted to stop the girl then, having already heard enough to set her stomach churning and her own memories of the woman and the place she oversaw pressing ruthlessly against her thoughts. It was hard enough keeping them at bay despite the closure of killing her thanks to simply having been in Madame B's presence again after so many years, having to dredge up thoughts about that horrible time of her life.

But she didn't speak, letting Wanda get her thoughts in order when she paused despite the perfect opportunity. Whatever she had learned and seen in Madame B's head was undoubtedly toxic, so she easily imagined the girl would need to get this out, to share it, to get it off her chest. Who better to listen and understand than someone who had been there? Someone who knew intimately who Madame B had been.

Besides, she was beginning to grow rather fond of the girl, if she was being honest. It felt like the least she could do, given what Wanda had done for her and Natasha. And Nina. Wanda had more than proven herself capable and worthy of a measure of trust in Paris. So Nadine listened, no matter how painful it was to hear, no matter the memories and feelings it brought back. Wanda's gaze dropped to her tightly clasped hands, her rings noticeably digging into the flesh of her fingers.

"It was a game to her. Tearing you, the others, apart and putting them back together. Discarding the ones who didn't fit her vision. She genuinely believed it made those of you who survived stronger. And she—she regretted being unable to get through to you and…and when that didn't work, get rid of you. She also…

"…she wondered if Nina would've survived her program."

It felt like the very blood in Nadine's veins froze with a mix of terror and fury. She'd wondered given the gleam that had appeared in the training mistress' eye whenever she spoke about Nina, but Madame B had never said a word to confirm Nadine's suspicions. To hear that those suspicions had been right?

But she didn't allow her reaction to show, maintaining her relaxed posture and enforcing her features against betraying her feelings. Wanda still picked up on it though, no doubt sensing Nadine's reaction thanks to her powers. The Sokovian girl winced, her gaze sliding anxiously away from Nadine to focus beyond her to the door of the Compound, not quite seeing it as she continued, reluctant but unable to stop speaking now that she'd let herself start.

"She was…angry, still angry that she hadn't been authorized to take Nina for her program. She argued that it would be an incentive for you if they had her but her bosses rejected that idea. They needed you and your cooperation more, and they argued that putting Nina in the program would turn you against them." She hazarded a grave glance to Nadine then, looking vaguely ill before her eyes slid away again, this time to focus somewhere deep in her own thoughts, on her memories of what she'd seen in Madame B's head. "But her bosses said if you had challenged them? They would've authorised it without a second thought." She met Nadine's eye then, and there was no remorse. No guilt. Wanda's reaction to Nadine's comment on hunting down anyone who might know of her secrets and Nina's suddenly made sense. Seeing inside Madame B's head had woken Wanda's instincts to protect those she cared about, and she cared about Nina.

"So do I regret helping you rid the world of that woman?" Her chin lifted fractionally. "No. I don't."

There was nothing more to say after that. Wanda had said what she'd needed to. But Nadine wasn't entirely sure if hearing any of it had helped ease the doubts shadowing her conviction that Wanda had benefitted by coming along. Especially considering how morally grey what she'd done for them had been.

Yet all thought on that topic fled as she turned to corner to see Nina waiting in the Avengers' common area. Wanda, having reached the bright, open room first, was already embracing her brother, silently assuring him that she was fine. Unsurprisingly, Natasha had disappeared further into the base already, likely for some much needed time alone.

But as much as Nadine was ready for some true solitude of her own, there was something she needed more.

And she was standing right in front of her.

It was a moment of truth. The moment Nadine couldn't help but feel would tell her if there was hope that the damage she'd caused to her relationship with her daughter could be repaired. If there was hope that Nina was ready to begin truly fixing things between them. She held her breath, not even realizing she was doing so as she and Nina looked across the short distance that lay between them.

And then the veiled, wary look on her daughter's face melted away and Nina stepped forward into Nadine's embrace. She could breathe again.

"Hello, solnyshko," she murmured into Nina's pale hair. Nina answered by hugging her tighter. After a long, heartening moment, Nina pulled back to look up at Nadine, her features turning guarded again, a question appearing in her eyes even as she opened her mouth to ask it.

"Where—where did you go?" Nadine could feel her emotions beginning to instinctively switch off, though a potent feeling of satisfaction lingered as what had happened in Paris was brought to mind. But the instinct to keep it from Nina was strangely subdued. It was still there, and likely always would be, but it was like a part of her had come to realize with Natasha's comments that her daughter had more than proven that she was strong enough to handle hearing about Nadine's darker side. Not all of it, of course. But some. Just as coming face to face with Madame B again had driven home just how toxic secrets could be.

"Natasha and I had some business with our old supervisor—the woman who was in charge of our training when we were…children." Nina's eyes widened fractionally, though whether it was from what Nadine had said or how she had said it she wasn't certain. It may even have been out of surprise that Nadine had answered her so directly at all. But then Nina's expression dimmed.

"And you took Wanda?" Something in Nadine's breast panged sorrowfully at the almost disappointed way Nina said it. Not to mention the way jealousy flickered in her large eyes as she stole a glance in Wanda's direction. Nadine sighed.

"We needed her talents," she explained gently, "it made things go much…quicker," and far less messily, her thoughts supplied silently. "If we hadn't needed her, we wouldn't have brought her, whether she needed it or not." She didn't make excuses for why she hadn't brought Nina along, which she suspected lay at the heart of Nina's question. They would've sounded hollow and Nina would've seen through it in a heartbeat. So Nadine said nothing on that score. After a moment, Nina nodded slowly, begrudging understanding appearing on her face. But then her gaze sharpened as she looked back up to Nadine.

"Did you kill her?" Part of Nadine flinched internally at how coolly serious the question was. Nina was not afraid of the answer. She wanted to know…even needed to. But another part of Nadine was proud.

How was she supposed to feel about that?

Her face cool and blank, Nadine answered. "Yes."

Nina nodded absently, a glimmer of satisfaction surfacing in her blue-grey eyes.

"Good." And with a faint, almost smile and a quick, squeezing hug, Nina retreated to the Twins' sides. Nadine couldn't help but frown, her heart constricting slightly as she caught sight of her daughter threading her fingers with Pietro's as she drew back from hugging Wanda tightly.

Well, that was new.

She'd noticed both the Twins relied heavily on physical contact for reassurance, especially after Sokovia, and she'd noticed Nina had been included in that impulse more and more as the days and weeks began to pass. But the particular way they were holding hands? She couldn't help but take it as evidence that something had changed between her daughter and the Sokovian boy. Either that, or Nadine was just being overprotective and paranoid. It was part of it, to be sure, but she'd had too much training to simply disregard such a telling bit of behaviour because she didn't like what it might mean.

Even if it didn't mean what she suspected it did, though, it was something that certainly warranted further observation, that was for sure.

But her thoughts were interrupted before she could muse on it further…or before her protective maternal instincts could kick in and she started grilling the Sokovian boy about his intentions; she didn't even know for sure if he had intentions, yet…

"So who were you hunting?" Nadine's expression instantly and instinctively closed off as she turned to look up at Steve where he'd come to stand next to her. Despite that, her eyes still widened in surprise anyway. He chuckled, giving her a look that clearly asked if she thought he wouldn't figure it out. Bewilderingly, she nearly flushed at the amused gleam in his ocean-hued eyes as he took in her reaction.

Well that was unexpected.

"C'mon, Ryker," he said, his tone faintly teasing as he grinned, "I know what Nat gets like when she's hunting. And you two have a lot more in common than I think you realize." Nadine blinked at the observation before letting out a small huff of half-hearted indignation. She nodded, confirming his guess. Satisfied, Steve crossed his arms loosely across his chest as he looked at her, waiting patiently for her to elaborate. Nadine nearly scoffed at the obvious expectation, crossing her own arms and countering his expression with an eyebrow raised in challenge. He nearly laughed, his eyes smiling even as he barely prevented his lips from doing so. A flicker of warmth fluttered deep in her chest at look. Where had this come from? She knew the tentative friendly relationship they'd been working toward had slowly been growing since their post-Sokovia truce, but this ease around her? It was almost like…like he'd genuinely made an effort to move past what she'd done. Like he'd accepted her.

Dare she even think it, but she liked the feeling. A lot.

And she liked seeing him smile. She very nearly smiled back.

"So," he finally prompted, "who were you after?" There was something in his voice that immediately had Nadine sobering. It was wary yet…hopeful. It didn't take a genius to guess just what he was hoping. Her arms tightened around her torso against a sting of guilt that she couldn't give him the answer he wanted.

"It wasn't Barnes," she said softly, suddenly hating how the light in his eyes dimmed ever so slightly. "It was—it was our old training mistress we were after." It was a split-second decision to share who they'd been after. As soon as the words left her lips, though, she was rationalizing that Natasha was likely going to tell him anyway. Not that that was all of it, but she wasn't ready to examine that just yet. She was still getting used to the idea that he didn't seem to hate her.

Steve frowned, his manner shifting minutely as he picked up on the change in her voice.

"Your training mistress? From the, what was it called, the Red Room?" The look Nadine fixed him with was cold and nearly feral.

"Madame B; it's because of her that Natasha and I are what we are…" she hesitated, the shard of disgust and anger she'd held onto since her days in the Red Room flaring. His head tilted faintly in thought even as a trace of anger grew to shadow his features as he realized what she was talking about; so Natasha really had told him more of the Red Room. She met his eye without a trace of warmth or remorse in her own gaze. "She was the one who gave me the order to 'maintain' him," she finally said impassively, her voice low, icy and dangerous. His brow furrowed further, the Captain not understanding at first. But then it clicked. She knew the instant he understood what she meant.

It was moments like that, when Steve's eyes went hard and his expression grim that it became incredibly clear that he was a soldier above all else. He knew that sometimes it was necessary to be brutally ruthless no matter how much one wished otherwise, and that mercy was sometimes a luxury that couldn't be afforded. That he had made calls like that and could live with them.

"And you took care of her?" It was asked softly, his voice suddenly sounding nearly as merciless as hers. She suspected he already knew what her answer was going to be, but she confirmed it anyway.

"I snapped her neck," she said without hesitation. Steve started, his eyebrows rising in surprise. He'd expected her to be oblique about it, alluding to the deed only if she actually said anything at all in confirmation. He hadn't expected her to answer him so bluntly. But neither was there any doubt that he was satisfied by the answer even if there was a trace of reservation in his eyes. She didn't expect anything less. He might be a soldier through and through, prepared to make the hard calls, but the Captain was also noble to the core and unmistakably compassionate. He did not relish in the thought of killing even though he knew it was often a necessary evil in their line of work. Even when it was the only true justice the truly villainous deserved and the only true way to stop many of them.

It left her with a slight pang that maybe she should feel even a sliver of remorse over taking a life so blithely. But she couldn't do it. Not over this death. Besides, it was what she was made to do. She had long ago been taught that to feel remorse was a weakness, and so she had learned to bury it away so deep that she couldn't feel it anymore. Not that she was often entirely successful. Not since him. Not since Nina began to wake parts of her she'd believed the Red Room had destroyed; compassionate parts, selfless ones. But when it came to her work as The Ghost? To the lengths she'd go to to protect her daughter?

She wouldn't lose a minute's sleep over taking a life.

More than that, part of her knew that, were she to open that particular door—remorse, sympathy, regret—she would drown in an ocean of blood, dragged down by the weight of the things she had done.

So she met his regard head on, not flinching away despite suspecting he likely didn't wholly approve of her and Natasha taking justice into their own hands, even knowing as he had to that it had been the right call. Despite his own evident desire for vengeance on his best friend's behalf.

"She knew about Nina?" She nearly started at the question, not expecting it at all. Before she could even think to react, she was nodding slowly, rage once again threatening to overwhelm her. "With this woman gone…" He trailed off, but she knew exactly what he was asking.

"It's not quite over," Nadine murmured, suddenly feeling tired. She wanted it to be. Desperately. He studied her for a moment, taking in the set of her features, reading what he could from her posture and her body language. But then a faint, wan grin tugged at his mouth, conviction lighting in his eyes. Despite her best efforts and all her training, her impassive mask cracked with astonishment when he continued.

"Then you do what you've gotta do."

Nadine could only nod.

They both knew what she needed to do. And they both knew Nadine wouldn't hesitate.

It seemed The Ghost had some more hunting to do.

A/N: Thanks for reading!

Don't forget to Review! It's the best inspiration an intrepid author can get! :)

See you all next time!

Guest Reviews:

Jo: Of course! Did you think I could pass up on the opportunity ;) Thanks for reviewing! See you next time! :D

Jag: May have. May have. Lol! And you're right. There's some hard realizations here for Nadine, but she'll get through them, never fear :D Especially when she realizes how strong Nina is because of them. Did this chapter at least tide you over a bit for Steve/Nadine? Hahaha! Thanks for reviewing!