It was cold and people were yelling and trying to take her away from her family. She didn't want to leave them, they were nice and they were hers and she didn't want to go. But the people in black were stronger than she was and quite a bit larger. She couldn't stop them, they were going to steal her away.

With a start, Emmy woke up, blinking around the room. It wasn't her room and she was alone in a bed that wasn't hers with a blanket that didn't smell like home and in a place she didn't recognize. Tears began to stream down her ruddy cheeks as she climbed out of the bed, dragging the soft blanket with her because it may not have been hers but it was soft and she was scared.

Silently, she crept out of the room, following the long, dark hallway until she was just outside the lit room beyond. There were voices coming from that way, they were laughing and happy sounding and she became painfully aware that she was still crying and couldn't stop. She didn't want to be a baby and babies cried but she was still scared, she didn't know why she was alone or where her family was and she just wanted to go home.

Gathering her courage, Emmy slipped into the living room and froze. It was full of people, most of whom she recognized instantly but several that she didn't know. Off to one side a group of children were sitting in front of a television watching a movie with bright colors and talking fish. Emmy didn't want to deal with that, so instead she wandered over to the adults, feeling better when she saw her fathers on the small couch.

"Daddy," said Emmy softly, not quite finished crying, borrowed blanket dragging behind her.

"Ducky, you're up," said Tony with a smile, instantly scooping up his daughter and setting her on his lap. "What's the matter? Did you have a bad dream?"

Emmy nodded and leaned into him, taking in the warmth and security he provided and relaxing instantly.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" asked Tony, ignoring everyone else around him who were giving him strange looks that made him think they thought he was adorable.

Emmy shook her head, content to just sit there and listen to him talk.

"Okay," said Tony. "Well then are you hungry? We are just about to eat dinner."

Emmy nodded.

"Do you want to go with Papa and see if Aunt Laura needs help?"

Emmy didn't protest when Tony handed her over to Steve, blanket and all. She didn't complain when they went into the kitchen. She did, however, insist on being picked back up when Steve set her down to have both hands to help Laura; Emmy just wasn't ready to be left alone, even if she could see her father from the ground.

"So that's the kid?" said Fury when Steve had disappeared into the kitchen with Emmy.

"Yup," said Tony, popping the p at the end of the word. "What of it?"

"Nothing," said Fury mildly. "Just never thought I'd live to see the day where you had a kid."

"Why not? With all the people I've slept with, a kid was bound to turn up sometime. The odds were never in my favor."

"Then I guess I should say that I never thought I'd see the day where you willingly took care of a kid."

"She's mine," snapped Tony.

"Tony," called Steve from the kitchen. "What did I say about that?"

Tony sighed. "Fine. Emmy is my daughter and you can suck my-"

"Anthony Edward Stark-Rogers, the next word out of your mouth had better be something you want your daughter repeating to the press!" warned Steve.

"Dick," snapped Tony, glaring at Fury.

"Tony!"

"What Steve? Come on, I want Emmy to say lots of things to the press. The press is obnoxious and I'd like nothing more than for a 4 year old to put them in their place."

"She's four?" said Fury, his one good eye widening.

"And smarter than you," said Tony smugly.

Fury rolled his eye but before he could respond Laura called them all to the dining room for dinner.

Clint sat at the head of the table with Laura at the opposite end. Nate sat between Natasha and Laura with Callie on Natasha's other side. Thor sat on the other side of Laura with Fury next to him and Steve next to Fury. Lewis sat next to Clint with Emmy on the other side of Clint and Tony next to her. It was a cozy fit but they made it work. Emmy had to borrow a spare booster seat in order to see over the table and she squirmed uncomfortably on it until Tony placed a gentle hand on her shoulder to settle her down.

"Laura, this looks wonderful," said Steve as they began to pass the food around. "Thank you so much for having us on no notice."

"Yes well, turns out our husbands are very similar, always bringing home strays," said Laura with a dry smile.

Emmy took one look at the plate Tony had made her and instantly tried to crawl into his lap.

"What's up, Ducky?" said Tony, scooping himself some mashed potatoes. "Your seat is over there. So is your plate. It's going to make it rather difficult to eat if its out of reach like that."

Emmy tugged on his sleeve and waited until Tony turned his full attention on her. Once she was sure she had it, she pointed to the plate and seat where she was supposed to be sitting.

"I know it's not your normal plate and chair," said Tony. "But your plate and chair are at our home. This is Aunt Laura's home, so you're going to have to be flexible. Can you do that, sweetie?"

Emmy looked back at the seat she had been given and the plate that wasn't hers and suddenly the day just seemed a lot longer than her four year old self was prepared to handle. Instead, she just leaned back against Tony and rested her head over his heart, slumping in exhaustion despite her pervious nap. Tony, for his part, didn't try to push her and just let her sit in his lap, one arm around her back to support her, the other used to eat and gesture when he spoke. Periodically, he would offer her a spoonful of mashed potatoes or green beans; sometimes she would eat it, sometimes she would not.

"Dad, can we watch a movie?" asked Callie eagerly.

"Oh I see how it is," said Laura. "Dad gets home and all of a sudden you ask him for everything."

"Only because he's such a softy," said Natasha with a smile.

"Why don't you ask our guests if they would like to watch a movie with you tomorrow?" suggested Clint. "It's been a long day for us with the flight and everything, so I think everyone could use a good nights rest."

"Fine," pouted Callie before turning to the rest of the table. "Would anyone like to watch a movie tomorrow night?"

"We'd love to," said Bruce with a small smile. "Thank you for asking."

"Why don't we let Callie and Lewis do the dishes and Clint can clear the table while the rest of you head off to bed?" said Laura. "Call it an early night and regroup tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am," said Steve. "Are you sure you don't need help?"

"I would love-" began Clint.

"Clint would love to help his children with their chores and get to talk to Lewis and Callie about their adventure to the principal's office the other day," said Laura over him.

"Busted," said Callie under her breath.

Tony smirked while Steve said good night to everyone, absently swaying where he stood with Emmy. Emmy kept her head resting against Tony's chest, one hand fisting his shirt, blinking sleepily around the room until at last the small family headed back to their borrowed bedroom.

"Bath first, then bed," said Steve firmly when it looked like Tony was just going to put Emmy to bed. "No Tony, it's been a long day and she needs a bath. I'll go ask Clint if they have any spare clothes for her while you get her cleaned, got it?"

"Yes sir," grumbled Tony. "Come on, Em, Papa says no sleeping until you're cleaned."

Emmy was too tired to protest and simply allowed Tony to bring her into the warm bathroom to get her cleaned up. She was mostly asleep by the time Steve came back and got her dressed in an old pair of racecar sleep pants and dinosaur shirt and she was totally asleep when Steve set her down on the small bed.

"So I've been meaning to ask," began Tony, sitting cross legged on top of the kind sized bed, watching as Steve approached. "We still haven't gotten that son you were set on."

"Tony," sighed Steve, sitting on the edge of the bed and tugging off his shoes. "We got kidnapped like twelve hours ago, almost froze to death, had to steal a plane and fly out while getting shot at, and are now in hiding in the middle of nowhere. Do you really think now is the best time to discuss this?"

"Why not?" asked Tony. "If we're waiting around for a good time I think we'll be waiting for a while. If you hadn't noticed, we're Avengers, there's never really a good time."

Steve sighed but got under the covers and leaned against the headboard, looking resigned.

"I know things have been a bit crazy with getting Emmy and such," said Tony, sounding very much like he had rehearsed the entire speech. "And I still think I'm going to be a shit parent. No, listen, we've had Emmy for over a month and she just said her first word. That's not normal. And while I do think I'm going to fuck any kid up, I agree that we can't just have one. We represent opposite ends of the only child spectrum but I know we both agree that growing up alone was boring. So maybe you're right, we should get another kid."

"Tony, come here," said Steve with a sigh, opening his arms in invitation until Tony crawled over and settled against him. "I love you. And I love Emmy. And I agree, she should have a sibling but can we really bring another kid into this lifestyle? Emmy needed us, she couldn't stay there, but is it really fair to put another kid in danger? Are we being selfish?"

"Why do you want to be a father?" asked Tony quietly after a moment.

"What?"

"Why do you want to be a father? What's your reasoning behind wanting to adopt a kid, especially an older boy?"

"I know what it's like to have no one so young," said Steve, confused. "We both do. And for older kids, it's more difficult to find them a family. We could give them the life they deserve. Tony, we've had this discussion."

"I know," said Tony with a smile. "I just wanted to be sure you remembered your side of the argument. I'm normally the one who is against children so I wanted to be sure I got your side right."

"Dork," chuckled Steve, kissing his husbands unruly mop of brown hair.

* Up next is some bonding, overprotectiveness, and mischief. Thanks for reading, I love your feedback and hope you are enjoying this story as much as I am loving writing it. - Ari