A/N: This is my first Avengers fan fic. A little nervous about it. But I have about a million ideas for different Avenger stories happening in my head right now. I guess I owe my friends a thank you for letting me talk them out and what not. Well I hope that you enjoy your reading time!

A/N2: I don't own anything besides the plot and my characters...

Chapter One

Tony,

If you are reading this, that means my time is ending or that I'm dead. It was never my intention to take this road, but life throws you the curveballs that no one ever sees coming.

That summer we spent together was incredible, but I lied to you. I didn't leave because my sister was hurt. I left because I was pregnant. There were times that I wanted to tell you this, but every time I tried to get a hold of you it seemed that you weren't interested in talking to your summer fling. After four years of trying I stopped trying. It wasn't because I didn't want you to know your child, but I was trying to save the heartache; mine and hers.

Yes, hers.

You have a daughter. Her name is Emma Winters. She is a beautiful girl and so smart. She has been at the top of her classes throughout her whole life. I believe that she gets that from you. I was never as smart as either of you.

Emma graduated college early and she works in New York City. Ever since she was a little girl she knew that she wanted to go into medicine and that is what she did. I am so proud of her for becoming a trauma nurse in the emergency room.

We all saw what happened in New York with the aliens and I know that you are Iron Man, but I think that you should think about meeting your daughter. The advice I can give you is that you should probably take your friends with you otherwise you might not even get her to talk to you.

She does know that you are her father, but only recently did she learn about it. Her birth certificate has no name in the box for her father. I didn't want to take the chance that someone at the hospital would leak the information to the press.

All of the things I have done was to keep her safe and happy. She had a happy childhood and I do believe that she has been dating the same man for over a year now. I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for keeping the two of you apart.

Good luck Tony. You will need it.

With Love,

Mary Winters

Tony Stark read the letter over and over again. He was having a hard time believing that he had a grown daughter in New York. He remembered Mary Winters and he even looked her up, but she had died two months ago so there was no chance of seeing her or even talking to her about it.

Pulling up a picture of Emma Winters, he had to admit she was a beautiful woman. She had his father's eyes. Actually if he was completely honest, he would come out and say it. Emma Winters was all Stark. From the smarts to the dark beauty she possessed.

"Have you decided to go and see her yet?"

Turning around, Tony looked over and saw his girlfriend Pepper Potts walking towards him in a summer dress and heels. What he failed to see was that Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff were right behind her. They looked at the display that had pictures of the same woman, but at different parts of her life. The last one she was dressed up in a beautiful gown at a function for all major hospitals in New York City. The reason he knew was because the Avengers had been invited to it this year and for the past three years Tony had been invited, but he never did go. This year would be different, he was going to go and he was going to meet his daughter.

"The hospitals of New York are throwing the charity event. I plan to see her there."

"Don't you think it should be in more of a private setting?" Pepper asked as she came and sat next to him on the couch. Natasha and Steve picking seats in the living area, but not as close as Pepper had.

"If she is anything like Mary," Tony started as he raised the glass or bourbon and took a long swallow before looking at the picture of the woman again. "If she is anything like Mary she won't talk to me in a private setting. So I figured a few of the Avengers could make an appearance at this charity and I will get to see her."

"If she shows up."

Tony looked at Natasha before taking another drink. "According to the one running the charity, she always shows up. Not sure how long she'll stay, but she should be there for a bit. That is when I will get to know her. I'll buy her a drink. Women like that kind of thing, right?"

"She isn't some floozy," Steve Rogers said as he looked at Tony. "She's a dame and not just any dame. She's a beautiful dame."

"That," Tony said pointing to the picture that they were all able to see. "Is my daughter."

"You have a daughter?" Natasha questioned him.

"Found out last week." Tony said.

"And he's been drunk ever since." Pepper told the two Avengers.

Emma pushed the door to her apartment open and got through the door with her arms full of groceries. Another day another life still living. That was what she was paid to do. Ever since she was a teenager and had gotten into a bad accident, she knew what she wanted to become when she was older. The nurses in the ER had been amazing and although she had been terrified of what would happen, they were able to calm her down. That was the moment she realized how important the job of a nurse could be. An ER, no matter where it was would always be hectic and would need nurses that could think on their feet and that was exactly something she could do.

It felt years ago that she had started working as a trauma nurse in the emergency room in one of the busiest hospitals that New York City had. But Emma loved every exhausting minute of it. Closing the front door with her foot, she smiled in surprise as her boyfriend of three years got off the couch where he had been sleeping to take one of the heavier bags from her arms.

Before she could say anything, he leaned down and kissed her gently upon the lips. And then she kissed him before walking into the kitchen. "I wasn't expecting you until Thursday."

"Yeah," he said walking behind her and placing the paper bag on the counter before jumping up and sitting next to the bag as she took out the things she bought and put them away. "We actually finished a few days early but we couldn't get out since there was no plane waiting for us."

"How long are you back for?" Emma asked him.

"A week."

"Is that an actual week or a few days and then they call you in again because they think you've been off long enough?"

"An actual week," he said with a laugh. "But I gotta ask you something."

"Okay," she said as she put the boxes of cereal away. "Because there is something I need to talk to you about as well."

"Do we really have to go to that gala?" he asked. "I was hoping this year you could skip it and we could spend the whole weekend in bed."

"As much as I love the sound of that," Emma said as she grabbed the apples and put them in the fridge along with more fresh fruit. "This year no one is allowed to miss it. Apparently there will be more celebrities. Some of the Avengers might be going as well. No one can confirm or deny it and it would be an insult if everyone didn't show up."

Her boyfriend stiffened at the mention of the Avengers. The heroes that had saved New York from an alien invasion. "Did they say which Avengers will be there?"

"Why?" Emma asked looking at him with a smile upon her face that reached all the way to her eyes. "Nervous that I'll leave you for someone like Captain America?"

"Ha!" he said catching her between his legs and bringing her closer to him. Unwrapping his legs from around her, he slid off the counter and placed his arms around her. "Like he could ever satisfy you the way I can."

"Cocky much?"

"Confident."

Laughing, Emma wrapped her arms around his neck. "I guess I'm glad that you ran into me again after that one night."

"You mean the one where you snuck out of the hotel room?"

"I didn't know what to do," Emma said leaning her head against his chest. "It was my first one night stand and I didn't want to chance you kicking me out so I left before you could."

"I wouldn't have kicked you out."

"You should have seen my bed head," Emma said with a laugh as she walked out of his arms and went into the bedroom. "So I found out some information from my mom's lawyer today."

"Something happen to the will?" he asked following her into the bedroom. He laid down on the bed as she took off her shoes before taking her scrubs off, leaving her in a white tank top that she wore under her hospital scrubs.

"Nothing like that," she said running her hand through her dark hair. "Mom mentioned that she knew who my father was before she died. She called him Tony. Apparently she told him in confidence who he really was. I thought she was joking about who he was, but now I don't think she was."

"Tony who?"

"Stark. Tony Stark."

Emma watched as her boyfriend of three years didn't look as surprised as she was. It almost looked like he knew the information already, but that just wasn't possible since she had just found out and was barely adjusting to the news. She was the child of Tony Stark of Stark Industries.

"I'm going to take a shower," Emma said with a sigh as she looked at him. "If you feel inclined you can make dinner or order something?"

Nodding his head, he watched as Emma walked into the bathroom and shut the door. That always meant that she did not want his company in the shower. He could understand that right now. How was he supposed to tell her that he knew her father? If he did that then his cover would be blown. That would be his own fault though. When he had first started to pursue her, it was out of curiosity. It was just a rumor that she might be the daughter of Tony Stark, but then it blossomed into something more. He wasn't even supposed to sleep with her that first night, but there was something about Emma Winters that drew him in.

Once he found her again, he knew that there was no way he could let her go. That had been three years ago now. A year ago since the attack on New York. And he had lied to her about where he was during that time and what it was that he did for a living. Emma was an amazing woman and he loved her.

Using his right hand he took out the ring box that was in jacket pocket. Opening that blue box that was known by just about every woman around the world, he looked down at the princess cut diamond on the platinum band with diamonds. He never meant to fall so in love with Emma that he would buy a ring that she could proudly show to her friends and co-workers. The one thing he knew was that he wanted to marry her and spend the rest of his life making her happy. It was the one thing she deserved, more than anything. After watching her go through all the motions as she watched her only family member die. It was hard watching from the side and knowing that there was nothing he could do to ease the pain.

Hearing the water in the shower turn off, he closed the box, but didn't put it back into his pocket. Instead he set it on the bed, on top of the dark blue comforter that covered the King sized bed that hadn't been slept in for a few days. He knew that sometimes she crashed at the hospital when he wasn't in town. Leaving the bedroom, he walked into the living room where he left his cell phone and called the Italian food place that they liked to eat at. After ending his phone call with the delivery food order, he sat down on the couch and just waited.

After getting out of the shower, Emma had wrapped a towel around her hair as she dressed into a pair of black capri sweats and a sports bra with a simple yellow tank top. Once she was dressed she opened the door to the bathroom half expecting to see her boyfriend still on the bed, but he wasn't. She could actually hear him on the phone placing their orders for dinner. It made her smile at how much he was ordering, he tended to order more than they could eat so that there was leftovers so he didn't have to actually cook anything.

Picking up her hairbrush off the vanity, she started brushing the wet mess when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Turning on her heel, Emma saw the light blue box on the bed and looked towards the bedroom door that led to the living room where her boyfriend was probably watching TV or looking for a movie to watch. Moving towards the small box, she sucked in her breath as she held it in her hand. Part of her wanted this to be a ring, but another part figured it wasn't. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and opened the box. When she opened her eyes to see what it was, she dropped her hairbrush, letting it clatter to the hardwood floor.

Looking at the ring that sat cushioned in the box, Emma couldn't hide the shock on her face even if she tried. This was not what she expected right now. Part of her believed that she would never get married, just like her mother.

"Do you like it?"

Spinning around, Emma looked at him with tears in her eyes. Unable to form any words he walked into the bedroom and took the ring from the box and took her hand.

"Emma Winters, I've had the greatest pleasure having you as my girl for these past three years and I want to ask you something very important to me," he said as he dropped to one knee and she couldn't keep the tears from spilling out of her eyes. "Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Nodding her head, she let him place the ring on her left hand. When he stood up, she smiled at him and placed her hands on the sides of his face before kissing him. This was the man that she loved with her whole heart.

"I love you Clint Barton."

A/N: I hope you liked the first chapter! Let me know what you think!