Hey, sorry about the delay again i had class all day and then it was Good Friday last night and church ran late! Sorry! So anyway, I'm super glad everyone is still enjoying this, I think this one is a pretty good chapter, I re read it today and I really like it so i hope you guys do too! Please enjoy and happy Easter to anyone who celebrates it!

The next morning she found herself alone with Clint. He made her a sloppy breakfast that he seemed overly proud of. He admitted that he had never done much cooking before. She understood and didn't hold it against him. She found any food in the tower was better than what she got in the Red Room.

"Where are the others?" She asked a little shyly. When there was a group she could count on not being the center of attention.

Clint grinned. "Cap and Tony are across town and Thor is visiting a scientist buddy of his. Bruce is out too but I don't remember where."

She nodded. "So it is just you and me?"

"Yep. That's not going to be a problem is it?"

She shook her head. There was something disarming about him. He looked strong and walked like a man who knew he could hold his own. Yet there was something reachable about him. Bruce seemed like he kept a lot inside and she couldn't get a good reading on the others. A part of her wondered if she could manipulate him. He was eager to make her like him. She could tell that.

After breakfast Clint took her into the living room and the two of them sat down to entertain themselves. Clint read the newspaper and she drew, eventually taking the funny pages from him and looking at them.

When that was finished and he was still squinting at an article over how his favorite sports team had lost she turned and began trying to braid her hair. She was good at it. She made a single long plait down her back and then held on, having nothing to tie it with. He looked up and handed her the rubber band from the newspaper.

"Thank you." She said.

He set the paper aside. "So what do you want to do today?"

She looked out the window. "I don't know."

He frowned. "Wanna go play outside?"

She shrugged. "There's a park down the street. We can go there." She shrugged again but getting out and exercising sounded good. He smiled. "Go get your coat." She ran and did so, stopping to look at her hair in the mirror and admire her handy work.

He was waiting by the elevator. "Ready?" She nodded.

They set off down the sidewalk and she looked around with wide eyes. She had never seen such a city before. They were walled in by buildings. It was an almost claustrophobic. She was stunned by it. All around her was sound and bustle. She looked from side to side and up and down and tried to take in every detail but was overwhelmed. There was just too much to take in.

Clint grinned at her a little. "Lot of concrete, isn't it?" She nodded. "When I first moved to the city I couldn't believe it. It was so different from Iowa."

"You are not from here?"

"I'm from another state. Iowa. Land of corn and beans."

She gave him a small smile, finding his joke funny. "They do farming there?"

He nodded. "Yeah a lot."

"Did you like it there?"

He thought back. He'd grown up in Iowa. "I don't know. I've had more fun other places."

She nodded. "I understand." She thought she did anyway. He was being mysterious.

He lead her to the park and she took a seat on a swing, looking strangely formal and out of place among the other children. She wore her clothes a little more old fashionedly and her posture was proper and straight. He watched her swing and grinned at the way her braid lifted off of her back and then came back down. She was watching a group of three other girls were playing with dolls.

Clint wondered if she wanted to join them but didn't know. The mind of a six year old girl was as foreign to him as it had been when he was six years old.

Eventually Natasha slowed her swinging and gently kicked the ground with her feet, looking out across the park at a man playing with his dog.

One of the girls started towards her. She hugged the swing set post until Natasha looked over at her. "Do you wanna play with us?" The girl asked.

Natasha looked at her curiously and nodded.

"I'm Kacey. Do you have a doll?"

Natasha looked her over. "No, I did not bring it."

Kacey's eyes widened at her accent. "Are you from somewhere?"

"Soviet Union."

"Where's that?"

They walked over to the other girls who were sitting on the merry-go-round. "It is in Europe and in Asia." Natasha answered precisely.

The girl looked as though that went over her head but Natasah didn't press it, she was beginning to feel self conscious.

"Next time you can bring your doll." Kacey said, handing her an extra Barbie.

Natasha looked at the doll. "This is a strange toy. I have never seen a doll like this."

The girls looked at each other curiously and one of them smirked a little.
"What is her name?"

"Barbie." One of them said.

Natasha nodded. "What are we playing?"

"We're playing high school." Haley said. "All of our dolls are in high school and mine is going to take Ken to the prom."

"What is the prom?" Natasha asked curiously.

"It's a dance, stupid." One of the other girls said.

Natasha frowned. "Don't call me stupid."

From across the park Clint watched Natasha play with the other girls. So far it looked okay but he knew Natasha had been a kid in the 50s and he was worried. She might not play the same way they did and she did not know everything they knew. He watched quietly as one of the girls said something Natasha didn't like and she responded. Another of the girls laughed and Natasha looked angry. She set the doll down after a quick snap at the girl who had angered her she walked away. Her face was red and she looked upset. She returned to the swings and swung hard before slowing to a defeated pace.

Clint got to his feet and came to sit on the swing next to her. "Everything okay?"

Natasha shot a look towards the girls again who were shooting her looks. "yes."

"You wanna go get something to eat?"

She shot yet another look towards the girls. "Yes." She got to her feet and in a moment of weakness took his hand.

He looked towards the girls and frowned, wondering what they had said to upset her so much. He squeezed her hand.

They bought food from a hot dog vendor. Natasha thought the sausage was a little on the poor side but didn't comment, it was still better than anything else she had ever eaten and Clint was trying to cheer her up. He bought her ice cream which she liked a lot and she felt a little better.

"They made fun of me." She said as they walked.

Startled by her breaking the silence he looked down. "Kids are mean."

"They said I was stupid and made fun of me."

He brushed a hand over her head and she looked up. "You're not stupid. You're really smart. They just called you that cause they couldn't come up with anything better."

She didn't mention that they had made fun of her for not having a doll. She had never even seen a doll like theirs before. She had only ever seen baby dolls. She had just been curious about dolls that looked like grown ups. She hung her head and wished that she had a doll. She had never had one.

Clint squeezed her hand and gave her the rest of his ice cream which she ate quietly, thanking him.

They walked for a while more, Clint letting her get to know the neighborhood. She was curious about most everything but it was hard to tell by her behavior. She tended to play everything down. He could see the adult Natasha's tendencies forming in her. Yet this girl was not yet so withdrawn or guarded and she hadn't quite mastered herself the way Natasha would in the future.

When they returned to the tower they both sat in the living room, Clint playing with a new trick arrow he was working on and Natasha sat staring out the window. She was still feeling down, despite everything he had done. She wished she had a doll and the thought upset her because she had never really wished for anything like that before. Well, she had never let herself wish for something like that.

She sat and stared out the window and across the room Clint worried about her. She had cheered up after they'd eaten but that hadn't lasted very long. He wished there was something he could do for her.

Bruce returned in the evening looking tired. He mentioned to Clint that he had been out trying to track down Doctor Strange and had eventually worked up enough information to know that the man would be back in town the following week.

"Well that's good news, isn't it?" Clint asked.

"Yeah." Bruce looked exhausted. "But do you know how many sorcerers I had to go through to get that information?"

Clint laughed. "Figures."

"How were things on your end?"

"Okay. . . we went to the park and some girls there weren't that nice to her. I think she's still kinda bummed about it."

Bruce's forehead wrinkled in sympathy. "Kids are harsh."

"yeah. . . she just seems down and I feel like there's not enough for her to do here."

"We could get her some toys. A doll or a stuffed animal?"

"Yeah, I'll go out after dinner. Get it before bed time."

Bruce smiled in approval. "That will be nice."

Clint rubbed his hands together, feeling the pressure of the task. "Okay. What do kids like? What do girls like?"

Bruce raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "I really don't know."

They turned to look in the living room where Natasha was sitting against the window, looking through a discarded newspaper.

"I would start with a doll or a stuffed animal." Feeling a little personal, Bruce stared at the wall. "Stuffed animals can mean an awful lot to kids."

Clint looked at him curiously but didn't question it. He figured Bruce knew what he was talking about and if he didn't feel like sharing he sure as hell wasn't going to push it. He instead turned to the kitchen land line. "Anything you want to eat tonight?"

"Get Chinese, we haven't had that in a while."

Clint nodded and grabbed a phone book.

Tony, Thor and Steve arrived not long after that. Tony and Steve had been busy fighting a group of escaped super villains all day. They were pleased to hear that Bruce had managed to track down Doctor Strange, even though it would take a week before they would be able to help.

They sat down and talk turned to the list of escaped super villains. Clint groaned when he learned that not all had been caught.

"And to make matters worse," Steve groaned. "The Punisher was in the neighborhood. I had to stop him from killing a guy. He was convinced that the man was in the mafia. So there I was, trying to stop the Rhino and two other guys on one side of the street and stop Castle from killing a man two weeks before his court hearing. Tony is up fighting a guy with jets on his feet and stolen Stark tech and the next thing I know I'm caught in the crossfire when Castle starts firing at the Rhino. It was a colossal mess."

"Castle's a problem." Bruce said, sighing.

"An asshole." Tony grunted.

Steve elbowed him and gestured at Natasha with his head. "Watch it." He said. Natasha looked up but didn't seem troubled by the language.

Clint licked his lips and leaned across the table. "Hey, Natasha?" She looked up. "I'm gonna go out after dinner and get some shopping done. Anything you want?"

She thought of the doll and shook her head. "No thank you."

He squinted a little, trying to come off as amicable. "You sure? What about a doll or a stuffed animal? You got a favorite animal?"

She looked down at her plate, unsure of what to say. Yes she wanted one but she didn't want to ask. She was afraid to.

"Well we'll see." He said, straightening up and smiling.

She hoped that he would still get the doll, even if she didn't ask. She wanted it a lot but she couldn't ask. She wasn't even supposed to want one. Dolls were for other little girls. She had once been told that going without a doll meant that ten other little girls were able to have one. It was a mark of her sacrifice. She was told to be proud and sometimes she was but other times she was angry. Angry that she couldn't be like regular little girls. Angry that she couldn't do or have the same things that they could.

That evening while they all converged in the living room and Steve watched the evening news Clint got his coat and was almost to the elevator when he heard Natasha's voice behind him. She was standing with her hands behind her back. "What's up?" He asked.

"Could you pick a pretty one?"

He frowned. "A pretty what?"

She ducked her head, feeling every ounce of her teachings strain against her. "P-pick a pretty doll." She looked up and met his eyes. "Please?"

He smiled. "I'll pick the prettiest one there is."

She gave him a small smile and ran back to the living room.

Clint smiled a little wistfully as he watched her go.

That night Natasha went to bed before Clint returned and lay still, wondering if he was really getting her a doll. She wanted to believe he was. She really did and yet the thought scared her because she had never dared to dream that something as pretty or frivolous as a doll could be for her. A part of her felt like she was letting go of a something huge.

A soft knock on her door made her sit up, she waited with bated breath as Clint's figure appeared against the hall light. He was smiling and he held out a bag. "I got it. You tell me is she's pretty enough." He came and sat on the end of her bed, flicking on the bedside lamp.

She took the bag and looked inside. Inside was a cloth doll with red hair. She looked at the doll over, shocked. No one had ever given her anything like it before.

"It's not a one of a kind. . ." Clint said, her lack of response was worrying him. He hadn't known what kind of doll to get but he thought of he got a soft one she could sleep with it and Raggedy Ann was a good choice. She had red hair like Natasha too. "But I thought you might like it. . ."

She touched the yarn covering the doll's head, running her finger through it. Clint felt a pit form in his gut. He had gotten the wrong thing and she didn't like it. He knew it.

She broke into a big smile. "Thank you!" She said it softly but there was deep emotion in her voice.

"You like it?" He felt his heart lift.

Tentatively she reached out and put her arms around his neck. In a show of unpracticed affection she placed a light kiss on his cheek and she smiled and petted her head. She set the doll on her lap and smiled at him. "Thank you."

He squeezed her shoulder. "I'm glad you like it. It's called a Raggedy Ann doll but you can call it whatever you want."

"I will call her Ann. Thank you."

He smiled again and picked up the bag. "Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Once he was gone she rolled onto her side and kissed the doll's head, wrapping her arms around it. Hardly believing that she now owned her very own doll.

Thanks for reading, this chapter made me warm inside to write! Thanks!