In this chapter; Evie is 14, Elijah & Henry are 10, Alexis is five, Cecelia is four and Isaac & Clara are four months old
The team, along with Pepper were all called into Fury's office. They weren't impressed; it was their first day off in months, not to mention they were looking after the kids while Clint and Natasha were away on a critical mission. The elder children were at school but Cecelia, Isaac, Clara and Poppy were all currently causing havoc in Hill's office.
They saw Coulson as they made their way up, he expertly avoided their gazes and ignored their greetings, rushing off and busying himself elsewhere
"Jeez, what's up with him? He's acting like someone died!"
They strolled into Fury's office and waited impatiently for Fury to appear. Just as Tony was close to giving up and leaving he finally arrived and quietly closed the door.
"Sorry for your wait, and thanks for coming all the way down here" he started. His politeness, or rather; lack or rudeness instantly put them on edge
"What's wrong?" Tony asked, jumping immediately to conclusions. The fact Pepper was called down should have made him think something wasn't right, but over the years she'd been called in on several occasions to discuss budget matters, uniform designs and basic techniques to get Tony and the others to comply with Fury...
"Agents Romanoff and Barton have been listed as MIA" Fury announced
There was complete silence in the room as the words sunk in
"Since when?" Tony finally asked
"Barton reported Romanoff missing 48 hours ago when she failed to make contact and her tracking device went offline. Barton disappeared 32 hours later when he refused to evacuate the area"
"Natasha's been missing for two days and you're just telling us now?" the disbelief in Steve's voice was obvious to everyone
"You weren't on this mission Rogers; we had a team in place"
"Well the team obviously wasn't good enough!" Tony said angrily, "What's the plan Fury?"
"There is no plan Stark; I have to inform you that the council want to classified them as KIA"
"KIA?" Thor queried
"Killed in action" Steve solemnly explained
"What?! They can't do that! On what grounds?"
"Trust me Stark, if it were any other agents I'd have agreed with them. I'm stalling the council and have sent out another team to try and locate them but it isn't looking good... I've called you in here because it is my duty to inform you that in the case of their deaths Romanoff and Barton asked that you raise their kids. They've named Tony and Pepper as the primary guardians, but asked that all the team, as well as Darcy, have an input in raising them. I'm trying to contact her now"
"Wait, you said they were MIA, why are you already talking about them as if they're dead?"
"Banner, Natasha was already injured when she went off the grid, and we were forced to evacuate the area due to a nuclear threat. It won't be long until the council upgrade their status; at this point they're MIA presumed dead and I need to ensure someone is going to take responsibility for those kids" he said soberly, watching as all five faces fell as the reality of the situation set in. "I need to know if you're willing to take guardianship, or I have to start making other arrangements..."
"Wait a minute, presumed dead, you don't know anything yet!"
"Stark-"
"No! Don't even dare Fury! Not until you know for certain don't you dare give up on them!"
"I just need to know what-"
"Of course we'll take guardianship, it's not even a question" Pepper answered, silent tears running down her face. The thought of what was she'd say to the kids made her feel sick, they asked every night when their parents would be home, what was she supposed to say tonight?
"Give me their location?"
"Tony-"
"Fury, please don't make me hack your server again"
He finally gave in, he even let the team take a quinjet; hoping beyond hope he was wrong and the two assassins would be coming back. Several hours later Tony, Thor, Bruce and Steve returned alone. The entire area was a mess; civil war had broken out between the government and insurgents forces. They'd searched and searched but eventually had been forced to leave when the quinjet had been damaged and they'd been left with no other choice.
They didn't tell the kids yet, none of them could face it and they still hoped that somehow their friends would make it back.
Fury was still stalling the council but they were pushing for a status report of KIA, and weren't backing down anytime soon.
Evie and the boys were fast becoming aware something was wrong and when Cecelia had mentioned to them that they'd gone to SHIELD they'd jumped to fairly accurate assumptions. The adults had tried to reassure them but doubt had played on their minds. They put on brave faces for their younger siblings who on the whole were more easily pacified by the simple excuses offered by their aunts and uncles, but the worry was starting to get to them, and Alexis and Cecelia were starting to pick up on it. They were becoming restless at night and starting to lose their concentration at school.
"We have to tell them something" Steve reasoned after putting Cecelia to bed for the fifth time that night
"What do we say? We don't have any definites yet" Pepper asked, rocking Clara to sleep
Isaac suddenly woke and began crying again; no one had been able to settle the twins properly since their parents had been away. Bruce picked him up and tried to settle him before his cries roused the other children
Evie appeared at the doorway; "What's really going on?" she asked wistfully
Darcy got up from her seat and pulled Evie into her arms, the young girl broke down into tears and clung tightly to her godmother. Darcy looked to the others helplessly
Steve's phone suddenly started ringing; it was Hill. Excusing himself from the room to take the call, he burst back in moments later
"They're back!" he told them all, amazement apparent in his voice
Neither of them were in good shape, but they were back and they were alive.
As it turned out the teams rescue mission missed them by just a few minutes. The two of them had been in hiding after being followed by insurgent agents, their com units had malfunctions and their movements had been slow due to their injuries. They were in hiding for two days before securing transport, once they'd gotten free of enemy territory they'd finally managed to make contact with SHIELD and get some much needed medical attention. The kids practically moved into the medical bay of SHIELD for the next few days until their parents were able to come home.
"I knew you'd guys would make it back" Tony told them when they finally got back to the tower, it had been a difficult week and Clint & Natasha had insisted on being released from the infirmary much earlier than advised
"Oh yeah?" Natasha asked
"Yeah, I knew you'd never really leave me in charge of raising your kids"