Sorry about the delay, I've been so busy but here's the chapter! thanks for all of the reviews and favs I think this is a really sweet chapter I hope you guys like it! Enjoy!

The next morning she worked on not only a get well card for Clint but a very special drawling for Steve. If she was going to show her gratitude and show that she truly did not wish to return to the Red Room then she had to start by making amends with Captain America. She felt ashamed of the way she had behaved towards him. He hadn't been so bad. Really, he had been quite kind to her and gone out of his way to be so. And he had been the one to save her. Not by himself of course but he had been the one to open the door and there had been such a powerful anger in his voice when he'd asked where she was. He had really wanted to rescue her. That had meant a lot.

Now to thank him she wanted to make something truly special. If she had had money she would have bought him something but she didn't and so she knew she would have to make it instead. She thought for a long time about what to make. She knew he would like anything patriotic and from what she surmised from his personality he was exceedingly humble so perhaps he would not like a picture of himself. She stared at her snow globe and began a slow job of drawling the Statue of Liberty. She liked what she was drawling. It was turning out rather nice. She played with the green ad the blue, trying to get it the right color. When she couldn't she just used green. She hoped that wouldn't be a problem, she really wanted to make a good gift.

When she was finished she thought she'd make it personal and add some snow like in her globe. She wanted it to look nice and with a black crayon made little snow flakes and little piles of snow. She thought it looked rather pretty. She felt confident that he would at least like it, even if it would never be the nicest thing he'd ever gotten. She came away satisfied and hid it under her bed. She would give it to him when the time was right.

After that she spent some time reading and drew close to finishing her book. She liked it. The girl in the story had changed dramatically, she had found a home. Natasha felt that she could relate. Her new resolve to become friends with these people and enjoy her home had not gone into effect yet. It would start with her giving the drawling to Steve. She had never given a gift before and the promise of it scared her a little.

After she finished the book she set it carefully aside and went to go and visit Clint. He was stuck in the tower. Steve had said it we best he wait a while before getting back into action. Now he was stuck on the couch with nothing to do and a growing sense of cabin fever. Natasha regretted that they could no longer go to the park. She went and found him making a sloppy sandwich and after moving the ingredients to a lower counter she finished making the sandwich for him. He thanked her and ate one handed, avoiding his broken fingers.

She made herself something too and they sat and talked. He apologized for not keeping her safe but she didn't blame him and she told him so. He thanked her and they moved to watch some television.

She spent dinner eyeing Steve carefully, trying to decide when the perfect moment to give him his present was. He caught her eye a few times and smiled at her. She gave a small, thin lipped smile back. Clint was working a fork with his uninjured hand next to her. She helped him a few times although she suspected that he was playing up his coordination problem to be funny.

Bruce and Tony were talking quietly and Thor was reading a newspaper. She looked around and marveled at how normal everything seemed. Everyone had gone back to the way things had been and as she tried to think about how she was going to get Steve his present.

After dinner she went and retrieved the picture and stood in the hallway motioning for Steve to come out and meet her. He left the others to clean up the dishes and went to meet her, looking worried. "What's wrong?"

She looked down at her shoes. "I um. . . I made you something." Her heart was beating fast.

His worried look shifted to a smile. "What is it?"

Feeling her face flush she held out the picture to him, not making eye contact. "Do you like it?

He took the picture and smiled at her. He looked genuinely happy. She studied his face, waiting for a response. "This is really amazing."

The truth was that he received pictures from children all of the time but this one was special. This one was from a little girl he knew. He beamed at her.

She smiled a little herself. "I hope you like it. I-I have never given a gift before." She flushed with embarrassment. "I wanted it to be special."

"It is. I can tell you put a lot of time into this." He hesitated a moment before adding: "And I'm honored that I'm the first person you chose to give something to. That means a lot to me also. I think it makes the gift even more important."

She felt a warmth spread though her. She was glad. She had given her first gift and it felt wonderful. It was a truly beautiful feeling to give. She was immensely pleased with herself and she looked up at him and gave him a big smile, something she did not do all that often.

He knelt down and put his hands on her shoulders and a second later she reached out and hugged him. "I am sorry I did not trust you. I was wrong. You are a good person."

He patted the back of her head. "You're a good kid too, Natasha."

"I like the name Natasha. I think I will make it the new me."

He grinned a little wider. "There's nothing wrong with the way you are."

"I am going to be more trusting of Americans." She said. "And of you."

He ruffled her hair and smiled serenely. "You've done a great job already. I never felt like you really hated me."

Now with the mastery of gift giving under her belt she went to give Clint his get well card. It was an apology on her end for him getting hurt. He thanked her and kissed the top of her head and she felt warmth from the kiss spread down through her body. Everything was going exceedingly well. She sat on the end of his hospital bed. He was being kept on the med floor at night, just in case. Bruce had said he had some internal damage and wanted him to sleep where he could be monitored .

They talked for a while. She new he was restless and having company helped. He always seemed cheerful around her. At one point he had asked her a few questions. He had wanted to know how badly she had been hurt during the kidnapping but she assured him she was fine and she was. There was no real damage. In a way she felt so much better now than she had before. She had assurance that the people in the tower really wanted her there and she herself had decided to stay. She wasn't quite sure what change she was bringing about in herself but she knew there was one. She would be more positive for one thing. She knew that. And she would trust them. They had earned that.

She told Clint about the book she had read and he said he'd tell Cap to think of another. He said he didn't really know that many stories a little girl would like. He hadn't read much as a kid. Some comics occasionally but reading had bored him. He smiled when she talked and she always felt like he liked listening, no matter how trivial her words were.

When she finally said good night she kissed his forehead and told him to get better. He smiled and laughed and said that he would since she told him to. She knew it was a joke but she smiled just the same and held him to it.

After she was done bathing and combing her hair she heard a knock on her bedroom door and went and answered. Steve was there and she was smiling. "Clint said you were looking for something new to read so I went out and bought you some books. That okay?"

She looked up, startled. "You had time?"

"I didn't go far. There's a book store around the corner." He came and sat on the end of her bed and sat a bag down. "I stocked up." He began taking books out. "I picked mostly titles I knew from when I was a kid. I asked the lady there too and she gave me a few others written by the same lady as the 'Garden' book." He handed over titles like A little Princess and Little Lord Fauntleroy and then proceeded to produce copies of Winnie the Pooh and a few other odd titles. "I don't know if you're too old for that one." He tapped Winnie the Pooh. Curiously she picked up a set of books called Madeline and flipped through the first one's pages.

"I like this one. She has red hair like me."

He brightened. "Then from now on I'll look for books about girls with red hair."

She touched her own hair slightly. One of the other girls in the Red Room had said red hair was ugly. She had hit the girl and no one had insulted her again. "Are there a lot of books about red heads?" She asked curiously.

Steve shrugged. "I can think of a few."

She took the books and set them in order of what she wanted to read. They were all in English and he apologized for that, saying he had not been able to find any in Russian. She said it was okay and that she could read English if not well.

They said goodnight after that she she began work on the books, starting with what seemed the easiest first. The girls in the Red Room had heard English spoken from day one but reading it was a recent feat. They had only been learning for a year. In fact they had started language as soon as they were five, working with English and French. She knew that they would start more when they turned seven. She was good with language. She had learned things easily and she was proud of that.

As she settled back in Bed she couldn't help smiling. It had been a very good day.

Thanks for reading!

Next is a Clint and Nat chapter, they're gonna hang.