Apparently, standing up and shooting someone immediately after giving birth is a bad idea for your body. For the four weeks after giving birth to Blair, Darcy was put on bed rest – which was harder on her than going into labor in the middle of a firefight. So she slept, and fed the baby, and slept more, and derped on Tumblr. Surprisingly, Clint was there every time she woke up.
"Don't you have to be at work?" Darcy asked one afternoon on her last week of bedrest.
"Nope. Coulson gave me paternity leave for as long as you're on maternity leave. It was his baby shower gift to us. Oh, that and he's going to start training me as a handler so I'm in the field less." Clint said neutrally, as if he was talking about the grocery list and not his livelihood.
"Um…wow. Okay. Yeah, that was really nice of him." Darcy said as she stretched. Is Clint actually willing to give up being a spy for me?
Blair snuffled, and Darcy started to get out of bed to get her. Clint flapped his hands at her, saying, "Bedrest, woman! In the bed!" Picking up Blair, he brought her over to Darcy and then went to heat up a bottle.
Blair had become a little blonde butterball in the month she'd been on this earth. She was a content baby, and was always watching, trying to see as much of her new world as she could. Darcy liked to tell Blair about her Uncles Steve, Thor, Erik, Tony, Phil, and Bruce and her Aunts Tasha, Jane and Pepper. She told her stories of how Mommy tased Uncle Thor and how Auntie Jane makes rainbow bridges.
Darcy swore that Blair understood everything.
They got the baby fed, and she convinced Clint to let her go hang out in the lab. Darcy wrapped Blair up like a papoose in the sari sling Bruce had given her, with just a glimpse of her golden curls showing. Slowly, Clint helped her down to the lab and helped her get settled on the ratty old couch they kept in there from their New Mexico days.
Erik held Blair, bouncing her and talking about astrophysics. Clint left Darcy and Jane to girl talk, saying he needed to get in a sparring session. Jane squeezed Darcy's knee. "So how are you doing, sweetie?"
Darcy sighed and sunk deeper into the couch. "It's all a little overwhelming, ya know? Like, I though I would have more time to prepare and then bam! She's here." Darcy kept one eye trained on Erik and Blair at the whiteboard. "I can barely take care of myself, Jane," she whispered, almost afraid to vocalize her fears. "What if I screw her up?"
"Bullshit." Jane said succinctly. "You manage to feed, water, and care for all of us in the Tower, and we are all independent adults with full vocabularies. I'm sure you can manage a baby."
Darcy laughed as a tear slid down her cheek. "You're right, Jane. If I can corral you crazies, surely I can handle a baby."
Jane fake punched her on the arm. "That's the spirit, Lewis. Now, do you know where I can find my notes for the Telluran-Rosen portal mockup?"
Darcy officially went back to work on November 1. Her first day back, she made sure to look super-professional, to mark her transition into SERIOUS ADULT. However, it'd been so long since she'd worn heels that she cheated a little, and wore her cleanest pair of Converse instead. (She wasn't that much of an adult.) Surprisingly, SHIELD had a nursery (which made her equal parts assured of her daughter's safety and freaked out about the number of weapons in proximity to her baby), so Darcy was able to drop Blair off in the morning on her way to Coulson's office.
When she got there, a large bouquet of yellow roses (her favorite!) were sitting on the corner of her desk. Stowing her purse in a drawer, she yanked the card out of the vase. Welcome Back! PC
The man who signed the note walked in as she finished reading it. "Thanks Son of Coul! These are beautiful."
"You're welcome Miss Lewis. It's good to have you back." He said with a brief smile.
"Did the temp mess up your files again?" Darcy asked with a knowing look. Coulson just pointed at the mess of forms in her inbox. "Jesus Christ on a cracker." Darcy swore under her breath.
As Coulson went into his office, Darcy called out. "Hey, thanks for doing all that for Clint. I appreciate it."
Coulson turned around to lean against the door frame. "I had been suggesting it for some time before…" he trailed off. "Your pregnancy just helped expedite the process."
"So it wasn't his idea?" Darcy asked with a resigned droop to her shoulders.
"Not originally, but he wasn't adverse to my suggestion."
As Darcy did paperwork, she mulled over Clint's change in career trajectory. Not going to lie, she was a little glad Clint was getting out of the field. But…was he? Though their relationship had progressed some, Darcy didn't think that he was willing to give up espionage hijinks…at least, not for her. And either way, he'd still be in some danger, seeing as how he was an Avenger.
Darcy had always sworn to herself that she would never be one of those girls who gave ultimatums to their significant others. It just seemed to guarantee a breakup, in her limited experience. So she wasn't going to make Clint choose between her and the job. If he wanted both, he could have both.
Darcy snorted at herself. We'll see if you're still telling yourself that the first time he comes home battered from a mission.
Oh well…Clint's future was his own decision, and worrying about it wasn't going to get these forms filed.
At lunch, Darcy snuck down to the nursery and hung out with Blair. She was glad to be back at SHIELD, but Darcy didn't know if she could handle to busy-ness of the cafeteria quite yet. The agent in charge pointed her to a rocker, and Darcy held Blair and ate a granola bar, relaxing into the relative quiet of the as she nursed Blair. Other than Blair, there were two other babies, and four toddlers. By the time Darcy got there, it was nap time, so it was relatively peaceful.
Steve poked his head in about ten minutes after she got there. "Hey, Darcy, Agent Coulson said you might be here. Would you like to get some lunch with me?" he said quietly.
Darcy pointed at her blanket-covered shoulder. "I'm afraid it is lunchtime…just not for me." Darcy said with a soft laugh. She waved her granola bar. "Thanks, Steve, but I'm good for now."
He blushed at the implied nakedness involved in breastfeeding. "Would you like some company?" he asked shyly.
"Yes, please," Darcy said, motioning to the other rocker. He pulled it up next to hers, and they sat there in silence for a minute. "Steve? Can I ask you a hypothetical question?" Darcy eventually asked.
"Shoot."
"If your girlfriend-slash-wife asked you to give up fieldwork for her, would you?"
Steve gave her a long look. "If she asked, yes. I can't say I would be entirely happy, but I would at least try for her."
Darcy sighed, stroking Blair's toes. "That's what I'm afraid of. But Steve?" she said, reaching for his hand. "I hope that whoever you end up with understands that you don't fight for the rush; that you do it because you are a good man who protects what is his, including both her and the safety of this country."
He squeezed her fingers. "Thanks, Darce. I'm assuming that this is about Barton?"
Darcy shifted Blair and buttoned her shirt. As she burped the baby, she said, "Partly. Coulson had actually already started shifting him towards handling before…before any of this, any of us, ever happened. But I think Clint only went along with it because he thinks it'll make me happy."
"Will it?" Steve asked sagely.
"Yes and no." Darcy said, her emotions in turmoil. "On one hand, every time he goes out into the field, I'll be a nervous wreck until he comes home to us. On the other, I feel that Clint has to make that decision for himself. If I force him to a desk, I'm afraid he'll resent me for it."
"Darcy, I think Barton would do anything to make you happy. Or, at least, that's the attitude he should have towards you."
"I don't want that, Steve!" Darcy said heatedly. At his shocked look, she explained. "My father would've done – and did do – anything to make mother happy. He wanted to be a carpenter, but he got recruited to play minor league baseball. My mother wanted to be a trophy wife, so she pushed him to try and go pro, and he did it for her. Six months into his pro career, the stress of it all caused him to blow out his knee, and he was never able to play again. My mom eventually left him because she couldn't be a sports wife, which is ironic considering that it's indirectly her fault that all that happened. He became bitter and for the rest of his life, he blamed everything bad that happened on that singular decision to go pro for my mother. I don't want that to be Clint and I, Steve." She took a shuddery breath.
"Darcy, we are not our parents. If we were, most of us would probably be supervillains, not superheroes."
Darcy gave that a shaky laugh. "Thanks, Steve." She put Blair in the nearest empty crib, and then linked arms with him. "And now back to work!"
Darcy was pulling overtime, trying to reorganize Coulson's office after the disaster of a temp, so she texted Clint. Are you at SHIELD?
C: Ya what's up
D: Shitty temp, so I'm working OT. Pick up Blair?
C: Sure thing. When will you be home?
D: Dunno. Late.
C: K
Around 8 o'clock, Darcy took a break, eating leftover Thai food from the break room fridge. She'd made significant progress, but still had at least an hour's worth of work left. She gave herself a half hour to eat, then went back to Coulson's office. Just as she was going to start sorting forms again, her tablet dinged, signifying a new email. Curious, she opened.
Inside was a series of photos that almost made Darcy's heart stop. Somehow, someone had photographed her and Steve together. There were quite a few: some from the Stark gala eons ago, where they had danced together; a few of Steve carrying her groceries; one of Steve carrying her up to her suite the day Blair was born; and even some of their lunch break in the nursery today.
The message with the photos was simple: Either you cooperate, or you and the Captain's beautiful baby will suffer. Be at the coffee shop across the street in 15 minutes.
Someone had gotten the wrong impression, but Darcy wasn't about to put her baby in danger because of that. Frantically, she grabbed her bag and sprinted out of SHIELD.
She made it to the coffee shop with a few minutes to spare. She ordered a mug of tea, and sat at a back booth, trying to calm her heart. She took a tentative sip of her tea.
A man in sunglasses slid in the booth across from her. "Miss Lewis?" he asked.
"Depends on who's asking." Darcy snarked.
The man remained impassive. "I represent an interested third party. They have a proposal for you." He said, sliding a folder across the table.
Darcy opened it and read through the sheet of paper inside. In exchange for her daughter's guaranteed safety, Darcy had to given certain, currently unnamed, parties access to the members of the Avengers Initiative.
Darcy immediately thought about Senator Brackenthorn and his attempts to use them as part of his political campaign. When Darcy first started as their liaison, he had intently pursued them, but here recently he had backed off. Darcy had thought he had finally gotten the hint, but maybe he had just regrouped and come at the problem (namely, her) from a different angle.
But Darcy didn't have any proof that he was behind this "offer," so she simply closed the folder and steepled her fingers over it. "Let your…employer know that I will consider his offer. As a token of good faith, I expect my daughter to remain unharmed until he makes his move to contact the Avengers. If this happens, I will allow access."
The man nodded and took the folder back from her. "I will pass on your message."
He left, and Darcy slumped back in her chair. After a few moments calming her heart rate, she dug out her phone. Punching in a number, she waited patiently for the other end to answer.
"Logan? I need to get off the grid."
Clint woke up the next morning to an empty bed and a baby crying. Stumbling to the nursery, he picked up Blair, and then went into the kitchen to make her a bottle. As he fed her, the haze of sleep cleared and he started to notice that Darcy's stuff wasn't in its normal place. There were no heels discarded by the front door, her jacket wasn't slung over the back of the couch, her purse wasn't tossed on the counter. Glancing into the bedroom, he saw that the clothes she had worn yesterday weren't thrown across the floor. Carrying Blair, he peeked into the bathroom. "Darce?"
It was empty too. Maybe she had fallen asleep at her desk at SHIELD? It had happened once before, so Clint grabbed his phone off the nightstand and called her.
Oddly enough, her phone went straight to voicemail. Clint left her a brief message, and then he and Blair wandered into the main kitchen, looking for his teammates.
He asked everyone, and no one had seen her. Packing up a diaper bag, he went to SHIELD. Skipping the nursery, he went straight to Coulson's office.
His former handler was sitting at his desk on the phone when Clint came in, but Darcy's desk was oddly empty. Sprawling on the couch, he nestled Blair in the crook of his neck and waited for Coulson to end his conversation.
"Agent Barton, what can I do for you?"
"Have you seen Darcy? I don't think she came home last night."
Coulson gave Clint an odd look, then shook his head. "She was still here filing when I left at 1800 yesterday, but wasn't here when I came in. Do you think something is wrong?"
Clint tilted his head. It could just be a series of coincidences – her phone died, she was napping in a break room somewhere – but his gut was telling him something bad was going on. "I honestly don't know." Blair started to fuss, picking up the tension in Clint's body. He stood and paced Coulson's office, bouncing her and trying to relax.
"Have you tried tracing her cell phone?" Coulson asked, pulling up programs on his computer as Clint shook his head. The two men stared at the screen as a box popped up, telling them that cell number was currently unavailable.
They turned and looked at each other. "Maybe we should inform the team." Coulson said neutrally.
Clint paced the meeting room in the Tower, trying to calm the now-fussy Blair as his teammates trickled in. Once the team and Jane had sat down, Clint stated, without preamble, "Darcy is missing."
Everyone started talking at once, and it was chaos. Blair started screaming, so everyone quieted down as Clint tried to calm her. Once there was relative silence, Coulson started to speak. "Agent Barton and I tried to trace her cell, but –" he stopped as everyone's phones chimed at once.
Apparently, Darcy had sent a mass text. Family emergency. Be back soon.
Clint's shoulders relaxed a bit, but he still didn't feel as if he had the whole picture. "I guess we now know what's going on." He said.
"I don't think so." Steve said quietly. As everyone turned to look at him, his face became serious. "Darcy doesn't have any family living that she still speaks to. So I don't think it was a family emergency."
Clint stared at Cap, dumbfounded. How did he know that when Clint didn't?
Coulson, however, immediately started giving assignments. "Natasha, please try to triangulate Darcy's cell again. Stark, see if you can get into her email, anything that will give us an idea of what made her bolt. Barton, was there anything missing from her suite this morning?"
"Just her purse."
"What the fuck is this?" Tony interjected. Swiping his tablet screen, he put Darcy's email account on the overhead screen. Stark opened up an email, and photos of Steve and Darcy filled the screen.
"That- that's at SHIELD! Yesterday!" Cap said, pointing at the last photo of him and Darcy, sitting in rocking chairs and holding hands.
Clint turned on him, his rage running ice cold through his veins. "Cap, is there something you'd like to tell me? Anything going on between you and Darcy that I should know about?"
"Look, Barton, Darcy and I are just friends. That," he said, pointing at the screen, "is not what it looks like."
"Then what is it?" Clint asked.
Steve sighed. "I can't tell you about the conversation, but Darcy had asked me a question that had..not upset me, but made me a little sad. So she squeezed my hand. Strictly platonic."
"Well, someone didn't get that memo." Tony said, breaking up their conversation. "Look at this." The message attached to the photos flashed across the screen.
As he read the message, Clint unconsciously tightened his grip on Blair until she made a noise in protest. Loosening his grip, he tuned out his team's discussion to focus on the baby in his arms. Darcy had disappeared to protect their daughter, he was sure of it. Interrupting the discussion, he said, "I'm going to do another sweep of the suite."
He could hear the team following him as he walked through the Tower. Natasha took Blair, holding her while he prowled around Darcy's rooms. Her purse was missing, obviously, but he looked for other things as well. A small blanket of Blair's wasn't in the crib. Her toothbrush wasn't in the holder in the bathroom. Her combat boots weren't anywhere to be found.
Rubbing his collarbone, Clint realized he hadn't put his dog tags on. He looked on and in both of the nightstands and in the bathroom, but he couldn't find them. Had Darcy taken them too?
He hoped he had, that way, she would have a piece of him, wherever she was.
AN: SORRY ABOUT ALL THE ANGST. I COULDN'T STOP IT.