A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews and I'm glad you all like the name I gave to Bruce and Natasha's little bundle of joy. I'm very busy nowadays so updates will be further and further apart. I apologize for that.

This story is now unbeta'd so I apologize for any errors that are made.

This story would not have been possible without the story Beauty And The Beast by ANimATion ImAgInAtIoN, so I'd like to dedicate this story to her.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.


Chapter 26: Homecoming

Natasha POV

"Ah it's so good to be home.", I said, walking into the living room of the apartment after being in the hospital for two days and getting refitted for my bridesmaids dress.

I had a lot of training to get caught up on now that I was much skinnier, but that could wait, right now I was focused on my baby girl.

"Well I'm just glad to have both my beautiful ladies back at home.", Bruce said as he stood beside me with Anastasia's stroller, gazing lovingly upon our squirming daughter.

"She's so adorable.", I murmured as I reached down to pick her up.

"Our little girl…", Bruce whispered, planting a kiss on Anastasia's forehead as she made little baby noises.

My girl squirmed around some more before she started to cry and I frowned.

"She probably has to be changed again.", I sighed, "or maybe she's hungry."

Bruce shook his head.

"I don't know, just check both and while you're doing that, I'll take Snowy out to do her business.", he said, glancing at our puppy (now much bigger than when we got her in December) who was sitting by the door, a sure sign that she had to go outside.

"Okay, hurry back.", I said, rocking Anastasia gently as Bruce nodded, grabbed Snowy's leash and left.

"My little one, what troubles you so?", I murmured in Russian as I took my daughter back to her nursery, changed her diaper, put some clean pajamas on her and sat down to see if she was hungry.

She didn't feed, but she did stop crying, so I put her in her crib, guessing that she was probably just tired from her eventful day.

She fell asleep and I watched over her.

I laughed to myself as I recalled the words I had spoken to Clint in 2006, six years before the Battle of New York, eight years ago as of last month, and several months after I had joined SHIELD.

Flashback

"Tasha, have you ever thought of settling down someday and starting a family?", Clint asked, looking up from his lunch.

I laughed at his question.

"Me? A mother?"

Just the thought of that made me laugh.

I had been sterilized by the Red Room ages ago so having kids was never an option for me anyway, sometimes I missed having the choice but most of the time I was grateful for the tubal ligation.

"Barton, you're a dumbass."

"Why? For asking you if you ever thought about having a family of your own someday?"

I rolled my eyes at the archer.

"Clint, a family requires love. You know that love is for children, it's not something to believe in."

Clint huffed in agitation.

"Look, I know that love is not something that you believe in… I know how you feel about love, you think it's just bullshit, but have you ever thought of yourself and figure that, I don't know, maybe seven or eight years from now, you could be a mother?"

I shook my head.

"Not a chance. Could you even imagine me, the Black Widow, being a mother? It's impossible for me to become one... I had my tubes tied when I was a teenager, so there. I can't have kids."

"You may want to adopt them…"

"Clint, I HATE kids. I would NOT be a good mother even if I wanted to.", I stated, punctuating my words to emphasize how wrong his thoughts were.

"Whatever you say Tasha…Whatever you say…", he said before taking a huge bite out of his sandwich.

End Flashback

I shook my head at the memory before reaching into the crib to pull the blanket over my baby's back so she was covered up to her shoulders.

A year after that conversation, I got a pelvic exam and found out that I was not sterilized.

After that, I always made sure I lured my marks to bed and snapped their necks before anything else happened.

Clint was so right about me though, and now, eight years later, I was finally eating crow.

I gazed at the product of Bruce's and my own combined DNA and love for one another and I smiled, finally realizing that eating crow could be the best thing in the world.

Bruce came into the nursery and whispered,

"Is she asleep?"

I nodded and embraced my husband.

"She is so amazing.", he said with wonder.

"Yes, I can't believe I carried her for nine months…we were so worried that something would go wrong…looks like everything turned out just as we had always dreamed it would."

"Funny how things happen the way they do…"

I smiled as Bruce rested his hand next to mine on the edge of the crib.

We stood in silence for a long time until I glanced at my watch and saw that it was almost dinnertime.

"Bruce, we have to go to dinner…", I murmured.

Bruce and I put in our communicators and synced it with the baby monitor that Tony had invented.

"Okay…Jarvis, keep us posted on Anastasia's actions and if she wakes up you tell us.", Bruce said to the AI.

When we were on the elevator, I wrapped my arms around Bruce and kissed him slowly.

It had been two very long weeks since we had been told to abstain and it would be another six weeks until I went back on birth control.

I didn't want to wait a month and a half…I would be going insane.

"Natasha...", Bruce began as we broke the kiss, "I want you so badly…but we can't do this until you are completely healed up and back on your birth control."

I sighed and rested my head on his chest.

"I know", I murmured, "The tension will be unbearable."

"For me, it already is, but it's nothing I can't deal with.", Bruce replied.

"You know, just because I'm suffering doesn't mean that you have to…You can take care of it on your own if the Hulk starts protesting.", I stated, unsure of whether or not the Hulk would even notice the sexual tension between us.

Bruce shook his head.

"No. It won't come to that. I'm not some horny teenager who can't control himself, I am a grown man who just has to do without his incredibly sexy wife because she's on the mend. The Hulk can protest all he wants, but I would never, ever, stoop to that level."

I placed my hand on Bruce's cheek and smiled at him.

"What did I do to deserve you?"

"You loved me when I was feeling green and gave me hope when all seemed lost.", he replied.

"I love you Bruce."

"I love you too."

We got off the elevator and I slipped my hand into Bruce's as we went to dinner and I sighed.

My stomach growled as a delicious smell wafted towards me.

All that hospital food had made me long for a home cooked meal… thank goodness that a bowl of Thor's Asgardian-style chicken noodle soup could do just that.


Bruce POV

"So is Anastasia sleeping through the night?", Jane asked as she fez Liz a spoonful of peas, the blonde baby girl eating them happily before clapping her hands together and saying "mama", one of the words she had learned almost a month ago.

"Yeah, she's a little noisy, but she's sleeping pretty soundly now.", I replied, tapping my communicator.

"Well that's good.", she said, turning to Natasha, "How are you feeling?"

My wife sighed and said,

"About as light as a feather… I weigh one hundred and thirty pounds instead of one hundred and fifty pounds like I did two weeks ago at the height of my pregnancy. I can't wait for my six week checkup."

Jane nodded.

"I know the feeling all too well and I swear that the six weeks will fly by. You'll be too tired at night from taking care of Anastasia all day to even worry about doing anything but sleep soundly.", the astrophysicist stated as she hoisted Ed and Liz into her arms to whisk them off to their nursery.

Thor got up and followed his wife as Steve and Beth cleared the table, Darcy and Loki went to do dishes. I was left to sit with Natasha and I ran my thumb over the back of her hand.

"We can wait. Everyone else who has been in our situation has done it… let's not make ourselves any exception…", Natasha said softly.

"Yeah…", I agreed.

We sat in silence until both of us yelped.

Anastasia's strong wail made us go deaf in our right ears as her cry was magnified through the communicators, which we both pulled out of our ears and threw on the table before racing off to go to our daughter's aid.

"I guess this is what Jane was talking about.", Natasha huffed as we ran down the stairs to our floor.

"You think?", I asked sarcastically as we ran down the hall to our apartment.

We raced into the nursery and I rushed over to the crib.

My heart almost stopped when I peered over the edge.

Anastasia's eyes had turned radioactive green and her skin had taken on a greenish hue.

Natasha paid no mind to the color of her eyes or skin, and if she did, she probably decided to stay quiet and just calm our daughter down for the time being.

I felt my perfect world come crashing down around me as I backed into a wall, my eyes still on Anastasia as she was comforted by Natasha. I slid down the wall, putting my hand over my mouth to keep myself from screaming as my tears flowed down my cheeks.

The Hulk was, like me, stunned into silence at the horrible thing I had done to such an innocent baby and to my own wife.

Because of me, Anastasia would have to live with this deep hatred towards me for giving her a version of my other half, she would grow up and know that she's different, all because of her father.

Because of me, Natasha's life would be ruined and she wouldn't be able to have normal children with me.

It was all my fault.

I watched as Anastasia quieted and the green hue left her skin, Natasha singing to her softly in a mix of English and Russian lullabies.

When she was silent and had fallen back asleep, Natasha put her back into the crib and then walked towards me, sinking down on her knees next to me.

"Bruce…", she said softly, taking my hand, "I don't blame you for anything."

I looked into her emerald eyes and saw a stray tear roll down her cheek before she hurriedly brushed it away.

"This was my fault though…", I began quietly, the tears finally stopping, "Our daughter is now like me…a monster…"

"Bruce, you are not a monster."

"I ruined her life before it even began…", I said, looking at Natasha and knowing she was on the verge of tears.

"Bruce. Stop beating yourself up… It won't help…", she said, finally breaking down into tears.

"Natasha…I'm so sorry I did this to you…", I whispered as I embraced her.

"Don't be sorry, you…you couldn't help it… this-This is just one of those things that happens…", she choked out.

The sight of her crying was tearing me up inside, killing me slowly and painfully.

"Natasha…Please don't cry… I'm sorry…for everything…", I murmured, standing up to go to the lab and give her some space like she usually needed when she was upset..

She grabbed my leg as I stood and she clung to it like it was her lifeline.

"Bruce….Please don't leave me… Stay by my side…"

I sank back down on my knees and cupped her face in my hands, looking into her red rimmed eyes as I brushed her tears away with my thumbs.

"Natasha, I will never ever leave you… I just feel so terrible for putting you and Anastasia through all of this…"

"I'm just glad that she calmed down quickly and didn't destroy anything…".

I lifted my head at that.

"That doesn't sound like something the Hulk can do…I usually have to let the Hulk out once I've taken on a greenish hue and, like a virus, let it run its course."

"You mean…there might be a chance that Anastasia is only like you in some ways? Do you think she's some sort of three way hybrid?", Natasha asked, looking at me and then glancing at the crib.

"My DNA is crossed with the radiation from my accident which turned me into a half human hybrid. When we conceived her, my DNA crossed with your DNA… so maybe she's more human than I will ever be… instead of being half-human, half-Hulk like me, she's two thirds human and one third Hulk.", I hypothesized, glancing over to the crib where our daughter slept.

Natasha dried her tears.

"What?"

"She could be more normal than we thought… but I want to run some tests on her, but none for now…", I said, the scientist in me taking over and bringing hope into a seemingly hopeless situation.

"We'll be okay then…Won't we?", Natasha asked as I helped her off her knees.

"Yes,", I murmured, "I swear on my life that we'll be just fine."

I felt her smile at my words, the same phrase that had brought us together, was now keeping us from falling apart, binding us in a web of promises we would fulfill to one another in the coming decades.

All of that was what was to come, but for now, I just wanted to be as human as I could with Natasha and Anastasia safe and sound.

In a couple more weeks, I'm sure everything will turn out just fine.


A few weeks later…

Natasha POV

"Bruce? Do you have the large diaper bag packed?", I called as I fed Anastasia.

We would be leaving the tower for the airport in less than an hour where we would be flying to Oxford for Steve and Beth's wedding.

"Yeah, I'm just going to run to the lab and see if I got the results back yet. All the bags are packed and in the car and Snowy is in her travel kennel, all ready to go. Everything's downstairs except us.", he said, poking his head in the nursery doorway as I rocked back and forth in the rocking chair.

Bruce had been running various tests on our daughter to determine how high the radiation levels in her body were. At first, I hadn't liked the idea of him running tests our newborn, but the tests had been conducted smoothly and all we had to do was wait for the results.

I nodded as Bruce smiled and ran off to the lab.

"Hurry back!", I called after him.

I tucked Anastasia into her car seat/carrier and smiled as she nodded off.

Ever since her last incident with whatever form of the Hulk that was inside of her, I made sure that I took her with me wherever I went.

If I was working out in the gym, Anastasia would be in her carrier while I was getting back in shape.

Anastasia would never be with Bruce in the lab though…I would never place her in danger like that, and I don't mean that the Hulk would be a threat, I just didn't like Tony's habit of blowing things up.

I picked up the carrier and left the apartment, taking the elevator down to the lobby.

The elevator stopped on floor 38, Phil and Maria's floor.

The doors slid open and the two senior agents boarded the elevator, hand in hand.

"Hey guys.", I greeted.

Maria knelt down and smiled warmly at Anastasia before cooing at her.

I tilted my head to one side and I noticed something different about the way she smiled as she stood up.

Like she was hiding something…

Phil had the same smile on his face.

"Maria? Phil? Are you two keeping a secret?", I asked, quirking an eyebrow at the couple.

They cast a look at each other and Phil nodded in response to my question.
"Yes, we are keeping a secret.", Maria said.

"Well is it top secret? Because I may be on maternity leave from work, but I'm still security level 7, so you don't have to leave me out of the loop…"

"No.", Phil shook his head, "It's got nothing to do with SHIELD."

"So are you going to make me guess?", I chuckled.

"No… We were going to tell everyone after Steve and Beth came back from their honeymoon, but I guess we can tell you now.", Maria said, grasping her husband's hand.

Then I saw it. The look that Jane had before she told us…

"I'm pregnant!", Maria exclaimed.

The elevator doors opened and Maria looked out where everyone else was gathered together, ready to go to the airport.

Maria had just announced her news to everyone.

We all congratulated them and I asked Maria when she was due.

"Actually, I was told yesterday by my personal doctor. We won't know for some time.", she replied, beaming.

I was happy for the two of them. They deserved this and Maria had told me before how many times she and Phil had tried, and failed, to conceive. Their happiness was almost infectious, and I broke out into a wide grin.

"We wanted to wait to tell everyone, that way we wouldn't be upstaging your wedding.", Phil nodded to Steve and Beth who waved their hands.

"You aren't upstaging anyone, we're happy to celebrate this news with you two.", Steve said, clapping Phil on the shoulder.

Bruce pulled me aside and handed me a piece of paper with a straight face.

"Here are the results of the DNA tests."

I glanced down at the paper and felt my happy mood go down the drain.

One third of every cell in her body is composed of radioactive materials, just like Bruce had hypothesized.

"Well, you weren't wrong.", I sighed as I went outside and got into the car, swiftly buckling in Anastasia as I went.

"No I wasn't wrong," , Bruce said softly. "At least she can control her form of the Hulk. She'll only transform in times of severe trauma which was why she almost changed two weeks ago."

I nodded. I would've been scared too if I had woken up in a strange room with my mother and father nowhere to be found. No wonder she changed.

"Will she be okay though?", I asked, intertwining our fingers.

"I don't know yet, we'll just have to wait and see."

I stared out the window as the city rushed by, not really sure how we would face this new challenge of raising Anastasia but knowing that we would do it together.


A/N: thanks for reading! Next chapter will be the last chapter of To Swear On Your Life and then I will write an epilogue which will double as the prologue to the sequel to TSOYL: A Promise Fulfilled

As always, I look forward to reading your reviews!