Wow, I am just on a roll with this story! I had a lot of free time in school today, and I usually use that time to daydream, so that's exactly what I did! I got some great ideas for this story and how I want it to play out and I just couldn't wait to get to work! I'm trying to get as much done as I can, because I sadly have a research paper that is due next week, and I haven't gotten very far on it, so I'm going to have to take a break from my fanfictions until I get it done. I'm sure anyone who has ever gone to high school will understand my pain… Well, here's chapter three! Thanks for all the great reviews and suggestions! All feedback is appreciated, so don't be shy!

Picking up where we left off with the Q and A game between Pepper and Natasha.

Chapter 3: Catching Up

**Natasha**

"Okay, here's my question: Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" Natasha asked. Pepper shook her head.

"Not yet. I should know by the end of this week though. The doctors said everything is developing well and that we should be able to tell by my next appointment on Thursday." She said, rubbing her stomach. Natasha remembered when she used to do that while she was pregnant with Mara. She closed her eyes, preventing any threatening tears from forming. "I guess it's my turn now." Pepper said, causing Natasha to open her eyes to look at her. She opened her mouth like she was about to say something, but she closed her mouth before she got anything out. Natasha looked at her in confusion.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm just trying to think of a good question." Pepper said, lowering her head so she wouldn't have to look Natasha in the eye. Natasha knew what she wanted to ask her about, but she was too polite to do it.

"You want to know about my daughter." It wasn't a question. Pepper looked at her, apology written all over her face.

"I'm sorry, Natasha. I know you probably don't want to talk about her right now." But she sort of did want to talk about her. Maybe she'd fare better if she just pretended nothing was wrong.

"Actually," she said "ask me anything you want about her. I don't mind." Natasha waited patiently for Pepper to finally get up the courage to actually say something.

"What's her name?" She asked quietly.

"Mara." Natasha replied. Pepper smiled.

"That's a lovely." she said with sincerity. "How old is she?"

"She just turned two about a month ago." These were easy questions, thank goodness.

"Who's her father?" Natasha froze. Now that was not an easy question. She never liked talking about Mara's father because it brought back a lot of memories. Some were good, some were bad (the bad ones were particularly easy to remember). Natasha had done a lot to make sure that her relationship with the man had stayed under wraps, however there had been a short list consisting of three people who had accidentally found out: Fury, Coulson, and Bruce. Now that Fury was out of the picture and Coulson was dead, Bruce was the only one that knew anything, and that was enough for Natasha. The less everyone knew, the better, but she knew all that would change soon… "Natasha?" Pepper said when she didn't answer.

"He's not important right now." She said quickly. Pepper looked at her with wide eyes.

"The father or your child isn't important? I find that hard to believe." Natasha sighed.

"He used to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. That's how we met."

"Wait!" Pepper gasped. "Are you talking about Clint?" This caught her off guard.

"What? No! I haven't talked to him in years." Natasha exclaimed, desperately wanting to change the subject. She didn't want to talk about Clint right now. Pepper gave her a mischievous smile.

"I could have sworn there was something between you two. You were always so close."

"He was my partner," Natasha said simply. "It was thanks to him I even joined S.H.I.E.L.D. We trained together, went on missions together… I trusted him, and that formed a pretty strong bond between us. We were friends."

"I don't believe you." Pepper teased. She rolled her eyes.

"You went way over your one question turn. I get to ask you something now." They continued on like this for almost an hour, and Clint didn't come up again. For that, Natasha was thankful.

**Tony**

Tony entered another command in to his computer. It had been almost thirty minutes since he and Bruce had started sweeping the globe for Steve and Clint, and they hadn't found anything. Not even a country. He was starting to think these two didn't want to be found, which would only make his job more difficult.

"How's it going over there, Bruce?" The scientist looked up from his monitor and shook his head.

"Nothing yet." They were quiet for a few minutes as they continued their search.

"So, what do you think about all this?" Tony asked gesturing towards the door. Bruce shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm honestly not sure what to think."

"I mean, Natasha, out of all the people in the entire world, has a baby!" Tony exclaimed. Bruce nervously glanced at the door.

"Keep your voice down, will you? She's just in the other room." He warned. Tony clamped his mouth shut.

"Right." He whispered, hoping Natasha hadn't heard anything he'd say. The last thing he needed was to have an emotional assassin out to get him. There were a few more minutes of silence until Tony suddenly smiled. "Who do you think knocked her up?" Bruce raised an eyebrow at him, warning him, again, to keep his mouth shut. "Oh, c'mon man. We're both thinking it, I'm just saying it." Tony laughed. Bruce shook his head and didn't answer, but just kept staring at his monitor with an unnatural look on his face. Tony gaped at him. "Are you serious?"

"What?" Bruce looked at him innocently.

"Oh, quit bullshitting me! I've seen that look before. You know something!" How could Bruce not have said anything? "You have to tell me now!"

"Leave it alone, Tony. It's none of our business." Bruce said steadily.

"Dude, tell me what you know! Was it Clint? It was, wasn't it." Tony pressed on, causing Bruce to sigh angrily.

"Look, all I know is that she was in a relationship with someone and, from what I can guess, it didn't end well. I don't know if this guy is the father. For all we know she could have met someone else. Either way, it's none of our business, so quit asking."

**Bruce**

Tony rolled his eyes and turned back to his monitor, mumbling something about Bruce being "too damn polite." He sighed. Tony was the last person that needed to know about Natasha's personal life.

What Bruce had found out was purely an accident, and Natasha had made him swear not to tell anyone. So he kept his word, and that was that. He did have his suspicions about who he believed the baby's father was, but there was no way to know for sure. They would all know the truth soon enough. Of this Bruce was certain.

Suddenly, Tony's computer began to beep excessively.

"Got Steve. He lives in Brooklyn. How obvious. Hey, Bruce, has Jane called back yet?" Bruce checked his phone. They had called Jane in hopes that Thor happened to be visiting. Since he had gotten the Tesserect back the thunder god had been able to easily travel between worlds and came to Earth frequently.

"No, not yet." Just then, Bruce's computer began to beep the same way Tony's had. He looked at the screen to see Clint's information pop up. "I got Clint." He told Tony, who nodded in acknowledgement.

"Good, where does he live?"

"Manhattan." Bruce said, surprised there old friend hadn't moved to a less populated area.

"Well, that makes our jobs a million times easier! Steve and Clint live less than an hour away, and Thor can fly, if he'd here, that is." Tony exclaimed. "Let's let Natasha know." They walked out in to the living area to find Natasha and Pepper unmoved on the couch talking. When Natasha saw them she stood up anxiously.

**Natasha**

"Did you find them?" she asked.

"Yea." Bruce told her. "We still aren't sure about Thor yet. We're waiting for Jane to call us back." Natasha nodded.

"I was thinking that Bruce could go to see Steve," Tony said, joining the conversation. "And then I could go to get Clint…"

"No." Natasha cut him off. He stared at her, confused. "You and Bruce go to get Steve and wait on Jane's call. I'll get Clint." Without waiting for Tony's reaction, she grabbed her bag and began walking towards the elevator. "Do you have an address?" She asked, clicking the button.

"Okay, Natasha, slow down." Pepper said, speaking for the first time. She walked over to Natasha and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know you want to get to work as soon as possible, but I think you need to get some sleep first." Natasha looked out the window and watched as the sun began to set. "It's going to be dark soon, and Steve and Clint will both probably be asleep by the time you get to them. So, how about I take you downstairs and set you up for the night, and first thing in the morning we'll all go out and see everyone." After a few moments of silence, Natasha nodded. She did need to conserve her energy. When the elevator dinged, Pepper entered the elevator, pulling Natasha with her. Before the doors closed, she called out to Tony.

"Stark," she said. He turned just in time. "Thank you." The doors closed and Pepper pressed the button for the floor below them, making the ride relatively short. Once the doors opened, they both walked out in to another living area, almost like and apartment. Pepper led her down one of the hallways and into a large room with a king-size bed, fireplace, balcony, and a massive TV. Natasha smiled. "Cool." She said to herself quietly.

"You can stay here as long as you like." Pepper told her. "I'll have some clothes bought for you tonight."

"Thanks, Pepper. This means a lot to me." Pepper smiled and left the room, leaving Natasha by herself. She undressed herself until she was wearing only her camisole and jeans, then crawled under the covers of her massive bed. She was so tired, but who could blame her. It had been an eventful day…

Natasha closed her eyes. Pepper was right, she needed her rest. Especially if she was going to talk to Clint tomorrow. Clint. She hadn't seen him since a few months after S.H.I.E.L.D. shut down, and with the way things had ended, getting him to help could be challenging. To be honest, she didn't want his help. She didn't want him to find out about Mara. All Natasha could think about was how angry he'd be. But none of that mattered, because no matter how much she hated the idea of Clint getting involved in this, she needed his skills and determination. She needed her partner back. She needed him.

Okay, so I know I said at the end of the last chapter that I'd bring in Steve and Thor this chapter, but it turns out I lied. Sorry! I guarantee that they will be brought in next chapter! This chapter sort of had to be a development chapter to set up some upcoming events, such as the intro of Steve, Thor, and Clint. Oh, and due to popular demand, Clint will be having his own chapter! Won't that one be fun! So next chapter will be Thor and Steve, the one after will be Clint, and then we'll get in to the good stuff, like team bonding, the reveal of Mara's father, etc. The next chapter may come a little later due to some homework I didn't do, so please check back in the next few days! Until the next installment, BYE! And thanks again for the great reviews and comments!