Huge apologies for the delay in updates for this fic, if you read any of my other works you'll know I've been working on a lot of other fics and this one (along with a few others) fell by the wayside, but here we go! And I hope you agree!

Lindsay took Natasha back to her home; a large five bedroom apartment (not too far from Avengers Tower)

"Won't your husband mind?" Natasha asked quietly, feigning being frightened

"He'd in DC for a few days"

Natasha nodded and took in the family portraits down the hall; "I didn't know you had a son" she said, admiring a large photograph, beautifully framed of Lindsay, Jared and a little boy

Lindsay nodded and smiled, looking longingly at the photo; "He's almost 13 now, he's growing up so fast"

"I know the feeling" Natasha said hoarsely, but quickly changed the subject before Lindsay could press the matter; "Would you mind if I lie down, I feel a little light headed"

The other woman led Natasha down the hallway to one of the spare bedrooms and gave her some sweats and a tee to sleep in before retiring to her own room. When Natasha was sure the other woman was asleep she slipped her Shield issue phone from her pocket and wrote one quick message to Clint;

'It worked. I'm in, and I'm sorry x'

Hiding the phone in her concealed pocket again Natasha went about distributing the mini cameras Clint had slipped her during their fight. Creeping down the hallway she left one outside the main bedroom, one in the lounge, by the entrance and in his office before heading back to bed

XxX

Natasha had nightmares, had as long as she could remember; ever since being a child. Tonight was no different; there was a face, a face she knew so well twisted and contorted into something unrecognisable. Love turned bitter, trust become sour, familiar and comfort destroyed and forced to become a monster. Eyes too blue and threats ringing all too real; "I won't touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you! Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear!"

She woke suddenly, shaking and sweating; gasping for breath as the nightmare faded away. But before she was fully awake, before her conscious mind had fought free her instincts took over; she used her good hand to grab the throat of the figure leaning over her and and throw them to the floor, before kneeling over them and pressing their body into the ground. As she woke she realised where she was, what was going on, and who she'd pinned beneath her. Scrambling away from the shocked woman, Natasha moulded herself back into Poppy Monroe seamlessly

"I'm- I'm sorry" she gasped

Natasha was sat with her back against the wall, holding her head in her hands while she still fought to catch her breath

"You have nightmares?"

She nodded, apologising again

"Who's Clint?"

"What?"

"Clint? It's the name you kept calling out in your sleep"

"Oh erm, Clint is George's middle name. It's what he goes by mostly"

"How come?"

"He's an ex con, dishonorably discharged from the army. Too many people are looking for George Monroe"

Lindsay looked the other woman over; the dark bruises beginning to form round her neck, joining the paling ones still showing across her face. Her arm in a sling from a broken wrist and dark bags beneath her eyes. She truly felt for her, she knew just how she felt

"My life must look pretty easy to you huh?" Lindsay sighed

"Not at all, no one goes to those meetings for fun" Natasha told her, but gave way to a coughing fit as her sore throat protested. Lindsay went to get her a glass of water as Natasha fumbled for the lamp switch, taking a seat on the edge of the bed; Lindsay sat next to her and Natasha made her first bit of real progress in her mission

"I can't leave, if I leave Jared keeps Jack and I can't leave my son" Lindsay admitted, before asking "Do you have kids?"

Natasha let a look of shock take over her features slightly, knowing her intentional slip up earlier would have caught the woman's attention
Natasha nodded, allowing herself to cry as she whispered "I did"

"W-what happened?" Lindsay asked, moving slightly closer to Natasha

"I erm, I had a pretty shitty life right from the start" Natasha began, recounting the story Fury had provided her with for Poppy Monroe

"My parents died when I was seven, after that my uncle took me in but, he- he-"

"He abused you?"

Natasha nodded, still forcing tears down her bruised cheeks

"I ran away and lived on the streets at 11 and met George when I was 14, he was 19 and he became my entire world. He was good and kind at first; he had a house and job; for the first time in years I could eat food I didn't have to steal and had a roof over my head"

"So what happened?"

"I fell pregnant; our son, Charlie, was born just after my 16th birthday, but then George went away with the army for a long time, and when he came back he was different. We had our daughter, Grace, the following year but George began drinking and gambling; he got into fights and was kicked out the Army for inappropriate behaviour and he really went downhill. He was in and out of jail for battery and violent behaviour, and that's when he started taking drugs"

Natasha stopped in her monologue to gauge Lindsay's reaction, and was pleased to see she was hanging on her every word

"After all he'd gone through, everything he'd seen in the Army and in jail, he never hurt me. Not until I was expecting our third child. Something snapped in him he became violent at home... he never hurt the kids, but it got to the point where I couldn't leave the house I was so covered in bruises. When I was seven months pregnant George was really angry at something, and I took the brunt of his rage; he threw me down two flights of stairs and I lost the baby"

Crying again, the speech was paused as Lindsay fumbled for some tissues to pass Natasha

"Charlie was five by this point and George started pushing him around, nothing serious, but I knew I had to get them out of there before it escalated. Charlie and Grace were put into foster care and last year were adopted by a couple in Iowa, I let George follow me as a distraction until their adoption was finalised and their papers sealed; he shouldn't be able to find them now even if he did go looking. That's when I came here, I thought I'd finally lost him but here he is, yet again he found me"

"I can't imagine how hard it was to leave behind your kids"

"I did what was best for them, I kept them safe"

"It was never like that with Jared; a downward spiral. It was just always like this, the false pretence to the outside world; the perfect little family. He never hurts Jack, he loves him, he just has a temper and sometimes I get in the way; mostly he buys his way out of trouble, he's good at that"

Natasha nodded, eager for her to continue, but Lindsay glanced at the clock; it was 3am and she yawned, excusing herself to head back to bed.

"Goodnight, Poppy"

"See you in the morning... And Lindsay, thanks"

The older woman smiled back at Natasha, before leaving and closing the bedroom door behind her.