I'm so glad people have liked this story so far! I hope I keep meeting your expectations! This is a pretty long chapter so enjoy!

Around dinner Bruce ordered take out from an Italian restaurant and they ate in the kitchen. Natasha sat as far from Steve as she could, all the while trying to understand how he could be alive and what he was plotting. She was occasionally distracted by Clint who was working hard to keep the mood light. She liked him. He prattled and a lot of what he said wasn't important or deep but she liked him.

She listened quietly and part of her wanted to drift off. Often that was the case but she never dared to. She had learned every day of her life that a slip of her attention could lead to death.

After dinner Bruce asked her if there was anything she wanted and when she couldn't think of anything he smiled and said that it was alright. She tried to figure him out but there was something off about him. It wasn't exactly bad but it wasn't good either. She didn't know what to think. It was just strange.

As she sat in the living room, watching night fall over the city she tried to think about the others and what she would do the next day. No one had said anything about any plans so far. She wondered if anything was expected of her.

After a while Bruce suggested that she go and get ready for bed. She nodded and seized the chance to take a bath. She seldom got the chance to enjoy herself in a bath. This time however she was able to sit and soak and it felt good. The water was clean and warm and her stomach was full. She was happy about that. She sat in the tub, soaking. There was a bottle that when she poured it in the water made it soapy and bubbly. After checking that no one was there to see her she ducked her head under the water and smiled. It felt good to be self indulgent. After a while her toes wrinkled and her fingers pruned and it made her smile more.

That night as she lay in bed she felt strange. The bed was big and comfortable and warm too but she had never known such luxury before and it didn't feel right. It didn't feel like it was for her. She tossed and turned and could not for the life of her force herself to be comfortable. In the end she fell into an uneasy sleep.

In her dreams she was home again, surrounded by stony faced matrons and hardened soldiers. All of whom where angry with her. They said she was a traitor and in trouble for eating a meal with Captain America. She was in trouble for enjoying so many frivolous things while her sisters in the red room worked and gave themselves for their cause.

She tossed and turned as her sisters turned their backs on her and she was condemned. She awoke with a start and a frantically beating heart. She felt sick and afraid. Afraid that when she returned home there would be no welcome for her and even more she was afraid that she would learn to like having her own bathroom and bedroom. The food had been good and the clothes were pretty and nice. She didn't want to enjoy those things, it could only lead to trouble.

She lay back and stared out the window at the moon. The Red Room wasn't the worst place. All of the little girls had heard stories of gulags and the criminals who were sent there. Part of the threat keeping her in place was that her parents might be imprisoned or worse yet killed if she didn't behave. The other part was that she had been told she was serving in great honor. The Black Widow training program was only for the select few who could be trusted. Being chosen meant she was special.

Eventually she opened her eyes to the first rays of morning light and sighed. She had slept poorly through the rest of the night. She rolled out of bed, dressed and brushed her hair. Looking at a brightly light digital clock reading 5:30. She was usually up at 5:00. she had slept in. she worried instantly that she was going to be in trouble but no one was there angrily waking her up. She hesitated before making her bed and then sitting down. She would wait for someone to come.

But she sat for almost an hour before anyone checked in on her. Bruce knocked on the door and stuck his head in. "Oh you're up. Are you hungry?"

She nodded, eyes wide and watchful. She followed him into the kitchen and sat patiently. "Where are the others?" She asked.

"Well Steve's out for a run and morning coffee. He's been getting it at a shop in the mornings and Clint and Thor are still asleep. It's just you and me."

She looked up at him as he cooked up eggs. She thought he was probably a very intelligent person. When he was done cooking he split the eggs between them, got her some orange juice and himself some coffee and sat down.

"How did you sleep?"

She was silent, she did not want to look like she was sifting for pity.

"It can be difficult sleeping in a new place. Especially if under confusing circumstances like these. I hope tonight will be better."

"Am I going home?" She asked quietly.

She looked at her over his glasses. "No." He had debated telling her but he had a feeling that she already knew. She was smart. She would see through a lie.

"Then I am a prisoner."

"Not necessarily. We don't want to think of you like that and we'd rather you not think of yourself like that either."

"You know people will come looking for me."

He paused. "Natalia, I think I ought to explain some things to you. You are not only miles away from your home but quite a few other things have changed as well. What year do you think it is?"

She frowned, not understanding. "It is 1951." She wondered if the Americans had a different calendar.

"Well the thing is. . . it's not. It's 2015. and you're supposed to be an adult." She looked shocked and he thought it was best to get everything out while he could. "You live here as an adult. We work together."

She sat still and he thought he saw her lip tremble. Then she mastered herself with all of the self control a girl her age should lack. "I work with Captain America as an adult?"

"Yes. You like him."

"What about my sisters?"

"I honestly don't know much about them. I know that you left Russia many years ago. I know that you have been in America for a while. I know that you have saved my life before and I've saved your life."

Her whole body was trembling now and her breathing was harsher. " Why?"

"We do good things Natasha. We help people. I think for you that's very important."

"Why did I come to America?"

He sat quietly. "I don't know, you never told me that. But I know that you're a good person and I'm lucky to count you as a friend. I want you to be happy here."

Her lip was trembling now. "So why am I like this? If I am supposed to be an adult then why and I not? I am six."

He looked at her sadly. "We deal with magic. . ." Personally he was always looking for the real explanation but he wasn't going to convolute things any more for her. "And some how something magic turned you into a child."

She made a small noise that sounded like a muffled sob. "I don't understand. Why would I betray my country? I h-have doubts and sometimes I. . ." She broke off and then resumed on another track. "But I am loyal. I am doing good. I don't. . . I wouldn't. . ."

"I don't know your reasons Natasha. I know you want to do good and help people because when you do you feel better. But that's all I know." He reached out a hand and touched her's. She shook more violently as she tried to regain control of herself. "I'm not hungry." She set her fork aside and left the table. If this was not the red room there was no reason for her to do as these people said. She hurried to her room and quickly sat down on the bed. She was horribly upset.

She didn't know how this could have happened. She didn't understand her own thinking but he had to be right. It was the only way she could be in Russia one morning and then America the next and the only way they could all know her. And even more it would explain a few odd things she's noticed around the place. Even more it explained why the others seemed stressed around her. She rubbed her eyes with her hands and sniffed. She was scared. She now knew she grew up to be a traitor. She hated it, something must have happened to cause her to do it. She knew she just wouldn't betray her people like that. She just wouldn't.

A soft knock on her door alerted her to Bruce. He stood in the doorway looking sad. "I know this must be a shock and incredibly difficult to understand. If there's anything any of us can do to help please let us know. We only want to help."

Quite suddenly he had a strong reminder of himself as a child when he first moved in with his cousin's family. His mother had just died and he had just testified against his father in court. He twitched at the thought. They had tried so hard to be comforting and kind and he had almost refused to let them. He could feel the Hulk stir at the mere thought. He came and sat next to her.

"It's not so bad here. The others are nice people. I hope you'll think of me as a nice person too."

She wiped her eyes and looked at him from an angle. She believed him. He was a nice person. He had told the truth, clearly against his own wishes. She respected that as much as her six year old mind would allow her to grasp the concept. She let her face crumple in misery. "I don't understand."

"I know. I'm sorry I can't be of more help. Would you like to go for a walk?" He thought getting her outside would help her.

She nodded and he helped her into a coat Clint had bought. They took the elevator and all the while Natasha clutched at the front of her dress. She gripped the fabric and twisted it as she tried to stay calm. She was so confused she wanted to cry.

They walked out into the early morning light and set off around the block. Natasha was quiet most of the time but Bruce had had the right idea. Being outside calmed her down. She was able to look around at her surroundings and plan an escape. Or that had been her original plan. Suddenly it had occurred to her that there was no point to running away because there was nothing to run to. If she had been able to defect from the red room then in all likelihood there was no Red Room left. This not only troubled her but also gave her a strange sense of freedom. She walked quietly and looked up at the buildings around her. She had only ever seen pictures of New York skyscrapers. She thought about pictures of their things she had seen. She had seen pictures of Central Park. She wondered if she would be able to see it now. It had always looked lovely.

When they returned to the tower Clint was up and she watched him quietly as he stumbled around the kitchen. He smiled at her and through her unhappiness and confusion she smiled back. His simple ways made her smile.

A few minutes later Steve returned and after a moment of silence he came and sat down across from her at the table. She eyed him warily. Bruce had said she trusted him as an adult. She was now looking for reasons why. He cleared his throat and her attention was renewed.

"I got you something while I was out." He said. He brought up a gift bag with butterflies on it. She thought it was rather pretty but it wasn't enough to win her over. "Go on, open it."

She looked into the bag and retrieved a large box of crayons and a pad of paper. She looked at them in surprise.

He smiled hopefully. "It looked like you enjoyed drawling yesterday so I thought you might like to have some crayons."

From across the room Bruce smiled into his third cup of coffee. He approved of Steve's peace offering.

"Do you like them? It was the biggest box of crayons they had."

She nodded. "Thank you but you did not have to."

"I know but I wanted to."

She gave him a small smile, still unsure of how to feel towards him. "They're very nice."

"Maybe you could draw me a picture?"

She nodded, considering it. It was only polite since he had bought her such nice things. He smiled and she set the drawling pad and crayons neatly aside. When she had finally finished what was left of her breakfast she picked up the gifts and moved to the living room. Her intent was to draw what she saw out the window but she spent a lot of time just watching the cars down below, fascinated by the way the cars moved in the streets and the way the people hurried back and forth.

Bruce turned on a kids show and she listened to that but nothing the characters said seemed terribly important and some how they lacked the charm Clint had when he was doing something unnecessary.

She pressed her nose to the glass without even realizing it.

In the kitchen Bruce told the others that Natasha knew about their predicament. "She handled it better than could have been expected but she was pretty upset. At least now I think she's willing to forgo any attempt at running away."

"Well I guess that's a good thing." Clint said.

"For now. But I'm worried that she's too afraid of us." By 'us' He meant Steve. Steve was the only one she had shown open hostility towards.

Steve nodded. "I know, I'll work on it."

"I think you made a good start with the gift. I don't think she wanted to show it but she really liked it. And Clint, you did a good job picking clothes she'd like."

Clint shrugged, he'd been thinking of what he knew the adult Natasha liked. He hadn't been sure.

Thor, who was standing against the counter crossed his arms. "With regards to returning her to normal, do we have a place to start?"

Steve shifted. "I was hoping you could look into that. You said it was your people's magic that caused the change so I was hoping you might know someone who would know what to do."

"I shall send out a message." Thor nodded seriously.

"Steve, I was thinking that maybe Doctor Strange should be contacted. He might know what to do in this situation." Bruce said. "I tried calling him last night but he's out and I couldn't get an answer about when he'll be back. I'll keep trying though."

"I think that's a good idea." Steve said. "Good thinking."

Bruce nodded and glanced down the hall towards the living room. "Well anyway, as long as things are stuck the way they are I think we should work out who's going to be watching her. At least one person should be with her during the day. We can't leave a six year old alone."

Clint nodded. "Yeah, best not to."

They sat for a moment before Steve asked how Bruce thought she would react to Tony.

"I don't know if she'll like him. . . he's got a strong personality to say the least." Bruce said delicately.

Clint laughed. "That's one way to put it."

Steve frowned, not seeing the humor. "I hope he'll tone it down a little."

Bruce nodded. "Well, I'll talk to him before he meets her."

Steve nodded too and changed the subject. "Well anyway, we can't let this distract us from our job as Avengers. I agree that someone should baby sit but the rest of us still need to watch over the city."

There was a general acceptation of agreement. Thor said he would be happy to pick up shifts or to babysit, either one would be fine. Bruce who had so far taken charge thanked him.

They then divided up and Clint and Thor left to do rounds while Bruce and Steve stayed to watch Natasha.

"I'm going to do some blood work on her." Bruce said once the other two had left. He didn't much like the idea of sticking a little girl with a needle but it was for her own good. If there was any chance he could help her or discover a way to turn her back he had to take it.

He found Natasha sitting in the living room, she had dragged a chair up to the window and was sitting with her legs tucked up underneath her. She was drawling a skyscraper across the street. It was a childish picture but with an unusual amount of self-discipline. Bruce told her it was very good and she nodded thoughtfully.

"Natasha, I hate to ask you this but I need to draw some blood."

She gave him an intense look that was so very grown up it shook him and extended her arm.

"Not here, we can go down to my lab. I don't have any equipment here anyway." She stood and followed him to the elevator and down to the labs.

Once he had her seated on a stool he watched her out of the corner of his eye. It was unnerving how calm she was. Any other child should at least have some fear at the idea of a needle stick. And the way she sat quietly looking around was even stranger.

When he came to draw blood she extended her arm expertly and it shook him further. There was no fear or hesitation, only a slight wince when he pierced her arm. He drew out the minimum amount he could get away with and then helped her to get up to the kitchen and eat some fruit. She ate a peach quietly but with enough enthusiasm to prove that she liked it. He wondered if she had ever had one before and cut up a second one for her. She ate it too with delight. "You want me to put on a movie?" He asked.

She shrugged. They moved to the living room and he put on The Little Mermaid, thinking she might like a movie about a red haired little girl. She watched quietly and Bruce picked up his phone to check on Steve. He had said he was going out to pick up groceries for Natasha.

Steve said he was busy looking for things kids enjoyed. Bruce recommended a few things and Steve seized on them. Promising to be back soon.

So far nothing had gone terribly wrong. Natasha seemed to like the movie and sat with wide, excited eyes. Bruce asked JARVIS to keep an eye on her while he ran some tests down in the lab. He didn't think much would go wrong but he kept a video monitor up just to be safe.

Around lunch He returned to find her with only a few minutes left on the tape and stood in the doorway, letting her finish. "You hungry?" He asked as the credits rolled.

She nodded and followed him into the kitchen. She was surprised by how much food they had. She and the other girls were not exactly starved but they were given what they needed and no more. Their keepers said that they did not want the girls to be frivolous or over indulgent. She was surprised to be allowed to eat until she was full. Clint had even said she was free to take food whenever she wanted to.

She ate lunch in relative quiet. Bruce talked to her a bit and she liked listening to him. He was intelligent and spoke softly. She had grown up around gnarled, hardened old soldiers. They were her brothers in combat but they were gruff and battle weary. It was a new experience to be around a man untouched by such things and yet he didn't seem holey spared. There was something under the surface.

She liked how he explained what he was doing with her blood and as she caught snippets of what she was like as an adult. She took it that he had a great respect for her and from the way he spoke the others did too. She felt a surge of pride at that.

A little while later Steve returned with the groceries and a few hair bobbles he'd seen at the check out line. A woman who hadn't recognized him had thought he was buying for his daughter had helped him.

She looked at the hair barrette. It was sparkly and had fake little diamonds on it. She thought it was very pretty but didn't understand why he kept buying her things. She thought maybe he was trying to buy her off. If that was the case then she would keep watch and make sure it didn't happen. Still, she thanked him and smiled slightly. She wasn't a rude girl.

So Natasha is starting to wonder if she can trust Steve and also I'm trying to give Bruce a bigger role, he had a pretty small roll in Learning to Fly and he's a great character. Anyway, Tony arrives next chapter!

Thanks for reading!