Blackbird and Chameleon: The Intermission

An intermission story between the events of The Affliction of War and Captain America:Winter Solider, when the proper sequel is set to happen.

Part One

Teddy had begged and pleaded with Harry since the beginning of January, when their family of five had arrived in America, for him to be allowed to join the month long S.H.I.E.L.D. training program over the summer holidays. The now ten year old had started the fourth grade in the middle of the year and found that he had not made friends quickly. As he had been home schooled while living with his Grandmother, he found that he was smarter than most of the other kids in his year and the teachers had quickly suggested that he finish off fourth grade and then go straight into sixth when he came back after the summer.

Harry hadn't been convinced that this was a good idea, he just wanted for Teddy to enjoy being his own age, especially in a world where that wasn't always possible. He loved that his Godson was so gifted with his studies, though Steve had managed to convinced him that it would suit Teddy so much better intellectually if he could skip a year. So reluctantly Harry had agreed that the ten year old would be better suited to a higher grade. Harry had been more undecided about the summer training program however; since Clint had mentioned it, Teddy had been desperate to go and hadn't stopped talking about it.

The only positive that Harry could derive from what he knew about the training program was that Steve, along with Clint and Natasha, would be the three main instructors. Strictly speaking it wasn't designed for those as young as Teddy, more aimed at those who wanted to join the Academy of Operations when they turned sixteen. It was one of the more challenging academies to get into along with the academy of Science and Technology, who were also running their own summer training program.

Harry had also been asked to join Steve, Natasha and Clint as one of the instructors on the course but, with Sarah and JJ only just six months old, he had politely declined the position. He had, however, said that he would put in an appearance, just to give the recruits a once over and show them a few of his non-magical tricks. The fact that he had been offered a position as a trainer and that Steve had accepted the position did make it a little easier to think of Teddy attending but Harry still wasn't sure that it was a great idea. He didn't like the idea of the ten year old learning how to fight to the standards that S.H.I.E.L.D. expected; it seem simply barbaric at his age. Harry didn't want for Teddy to follow in his footsteps. He wanted for his Godson to have a normal life, or at least as normal as he could.

The ten year old was desperate though, he really wanted to go, he wanted to be an Avenger and the more Teddy begged and pleaded the more Harry's resolve slipped. He had been thinking about it a lot and at last had came to a final decision late on a Saturday evening when he was sitting on the sofa with Steve, reading. Teddy and the twins were tucked into bed and Harry wasn't far away from following them. It had been a long and active day before the first official day of the summer holidays, they had rather enjoyed taking the children out to the park, watching Teddy climbing trees while the twins enjoyed crawling through the grass.

With a deflated sigh, Harry turned to look up at Steve from where he was snuggled into his side, the two of them on the sofa together, giving him a soft smile. His attraction to the man had never faltered, not even when they had had their differences, which seemed to happen more often than not recently. "He can go," Harry said with a rather pointed look, "but I want to come and supervise him, at least to begin with."

It took a moment for Steve to realise what it was that Harry was talking about before realising what he had meant. "You're going to bring Sarah and JJ into the S.H.I.E.L.D. base willingly?" Steve asked, a little shocked at this sudden change of heart from his fiancé. So far, Harry hadn't been at all keen on any of his children setting foot on any S.H.I.E.L.D. base, wanting to keep them safely away from all of that and give them a relatively normal childhood. Steve could completely understand this of course, sharing the sentiment that he wanted the children to remain out of harm's way. Neither of them wanted to see their children be exploited, not by S.H.I.E.L.D., not by anyone.

"Teddy really wants to do this," Harry said with a frown, still not sure that he was doing the right thing by allowing the ten year old to participate, "he'll be in the capable hands of people that know and care for him; besides, Sarah and JJ are part Avenger after all, I can't keep them from who they are forever, they're going to be curious."

"Yes," Steve agreed, glad that Harry seemed to understand that being part of S.H.I.E.L.D was just as much part of their blood as it was in Steve. "However, they are also magical, they will both be going to be going to Hogwarts when they turn eleven, just like Teddy." Harry had been firm on this, all of his children would be receiving their magical education from the age of eleven until they were seventeen. S.H.I.E.L.D couldn't have them until after that and only then if it was their choice to join.

Steve had not been overly keen on the idea of sending their children away to boarding school for the majority of the year and only seeing them over Christmas and the summer holidays. It seemed a strange concept to be separate from their children for such long stretches of time while they were still so young and it just didn't sit right with him. When he had voiced his concerns however, Harry had shrugged his shoulders saying that it built up confidence and independence. It wasn't even a question to Harry, his children would be going, it was their birthright to do so.

The main reservations that Steve had, however, were all about safety. Harry had made the mistake of recounting stories of things that had happened to him while he had been a student at the school and now it was all Steve could think about. He hadn't wanted for his children to be flying broomsticks and being at risk of being attacked by trolls. The thought of werewolves and dragons had been enough to make him sure that neither Sarah nor JJ were going to survive a single year of being at Hogwarts; he was damn near terrified for Teddy, who would be going the September after he turned eleven. It was part of the reason that Steve had stood firmly on Teddy's side when he had wanted to join the training program.

"Just promise me that if S.H.I.E.L.D. take an active interest in Teddy or the twins that they will still be free to make their own choices. I don't want Nick Fury to think that he has any rights over our children," Harry said firmly. He would always support his children whatever they decided as long as the choice they made was of their own free will. Though he knew he wouldn't be able to fault them for wanting to be be heroes, it was part of who they were because it was who their parents were.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Steve agreed, leaning down to place a chaste kiss to his fiancé's lips. Their wedding was only just over a month away, everything was in place for the 31st of August when they would finally exchange their vows. Steve couldn't wait for the day that they became husbands, knowing that it was the right thing to do. Harry on the other hand wasn't so sure about it but he wanted to keep his family together so he pretended to share Steve's enthusiasm for their impending nuptials.

"I'm going to bed," Harry announced, throwing down the book he had been reading onto the coffee table as he stifled a yawn. "You coming up, Cap?" he asked, looking to the super soldier with a smile.

"In a minute," Steve said, returning the smile, pulling Harry into a sweet kiss before releasing him, marvelling at just how perfect his soon to be husband was. They had three beautiful children and a wonderful life together, they had so many things that Steve had never thought that he would ever have after he had been thawed from the ice.

"Don't be too long," Harry said as he pulled himself up from the sofa and headed out of the room, so tired that even conquering the stairs seemed like too much. Keeping a firm hold on the banister he managed to reach the landing but before heading to bed he went to check on the children.

First, Harry poked his head into Teddy's room. The ten year old was sprawled across his bed, the covers half covering him and half on the floor. He couldn't help but smile at his Godson, who was cuddling his green Hulk teddybear. It had been a joke gift from Tony but one that Teddy had loved. It was the perfect replacement for the one he had lost after the kidnap and now he refused to sleep without it.

Satisfied that his eldest was safe and sleeping peacefully, Harry closed the door and moved across the hall to the twins shared room. Their home had enough bedrooms for Sarah and JJ to have one each, however, after two sleepless nights for the whole Potter-Roger's family it was discovered that one twin couldn't sleep or even be soothed without the other.

Both of his six month old children were fast asleep but somehow, and Harry couldn't be sure how, JJ had managed to make his way into Sarah's crib. Neither of them were growing at an abnormal rate, which had been Harry's main concern when his pregnancy had been so short; though, despite being the right measurements for children of six months, their development was at least two months ahead of where it should have been.

JJ had started crawling the week before, Sarah copying her brother only a few days later. They often babbled to one another, making little sense to anyone else but sounding very much as if they were plotting and planning something mischievous. It was quickly becoming Harry's favourite sound to hear. Harry was still rather perplexed as to how his rather talented twins were managing to move cots when they were yet to show any sign of magic in front of anyone.

Every night recently Harry had found them sharing a crib despite putting them in their own cots. The two of them preferred to be close to one another and were always searching out the other if they were moved too far apart from one another. He remembered fondly how, when they had been born, Draco had had to struggle to remove them from his stomach as they had been holding on to each other.

Tip-toeing into the room, not wanting to wake his young children, Harry very carefully lifted JJ out of of Sarah's crib, being cautious not to wake him up as he placed his youngest son back into his own cot; making sure that both of the twins were placed with their feet at the foot of their beds, he tucked their blankets tightly around them both.

Sarah had stirred, complaining rather sleepily when her brother had been moved back into his own crib, however, she quickly settled back down when she realised that he was still there and it was only their mother in the room with them. Harry was just glad that the two of them were sleeping through the night; waking up in the middle of the night and then again at the crack of dawn for feeds and nappy changing had been exhausting.

Happy in the knowledge that all three of his children were sleeping peacefully, he placed a soft kiss to the head of both JJ and Sarah before leaving the room, closing the door over but not shutting it all the way. He took a moment before heading to his and Steve's bedroom, appreciating just how lucky he was to have such a beautiful family.

-x

On the first of August the alarm clock had both Steve and Harry reluctantly awake at five in the morning. They had a S.H.I.E.L.D. car coming to pick them up in a couple of hours and they had a lot to do with three youngsters to wake up, feed and dress.

"You take JJ, I'll grab Sarah," Harry said as he swung his legs out of bed, thinking that it would be easier to divide and conquer. Steve was already up and on the floor doing his morning routine of push ups; he liked to start the day like this and Harry liked to watch him do so. "Once the twins are dressed, you tackle Teddy while I make breakfast."

Nimbly getting to his feet, having finishing his morning exercise routine, Steve grabbed Harry's hips and pulled the smaller man into him, nibbling at the crook of his neck and feeling Harry melt into him. Tilting his head, the wizard took his fiancé's lips in a fiercely passionate kiss, moaning into it as Steve took charge, one of his hands delving into the front of Harry's pyjama bottoms. The super soldier smiled at what he found there, his lover was hard for him, it was just a shame that they didn't have time to play.

"Sounds like a plan," Steve said with a small chuckle, "though maybe a cold shower, for both of us," he added, pulling Harry into him further so that the smaller man could feel that the need was a mutual one. Harry couldn't help himself, groaning with the need for a release, but he knew that they only had two hours before they had to leave if they were going to get there on time.

"Tonight," Harry said, turning in his lover's arms so that he could look up at the larger man with lust filled emerald eyes, his hand going to caress Steve through his loose fitting trousers that he wore to bed. The super soldier groaned as Harry pulled away and went to start getting the children up and dressed.

Later in the morning, at ten past seven, the Potter-Roger's family were still trying to leave the house. The S.H.I.E.L.D. car had arrived for them right when it was meant to but only Teddy had been ready for it, the ten year old bouncing up and down with excitement on the curb next to the blacked out car that was a little larger than a standard SUV to accommodate the family of five plus the driver.

They would have been ready on time, however, Harry had had to redress Sarah-Lily after she had mashed banana into her pretty summer dress. This had then made JJ rather jealous that his sister was getting attention so he had filled his nappy, the stench which accompanied it enough to make Steve's eyes water a little as he had changed his son. Of course JJ had needed a full outfit change too when the super soldier had realised that the contents had exploded up his back.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that had come to escort them to the training centre next door to the Triskelion was waiting patiently in the driver's seat of the SUV, having been told by Fury that there might be a small waiting time. The window had been wound down in the heat and Teddy was talking a mile a minute at the agent who remained silent, occasionally nodding his head in agreement to what the ten year old was saying.

Finally Harry and Steve came out of the house, each of them with one of the twins strapped securely into a car seat on one arm. Steve, who had Sarah, hastily locked up the house, overly aware of how late they were. Harry meanwhile made his way to the car to clip JJ into the back seat.

"Can we go now?" Teddy asked as Steve passed Sarah to Harry so that she too could be secured into the back of the SUV, Teddy having clambered in to sit in between his two younger siblings.

"Almost," Harry returned with a smile, rather enjoying his Godson's enthusiasm for what they were going to be doing today. "Steve, have you got the changing bags?" he asked in a panic, not wanting to leave without them. Each of the twins had a bag each filled with spare clothes, nappies, wipes, bottles, charmed to stay fresh and weaning food, just in case. He didn't like to leave the house unprepared.

"Yes, both of them," Steve said reassuringly, "I've already put them in the trunk," he said, placing a soft kiss to his fiancé's cheek, feeling the tension in him as Harry leaned against him with a tired sigh. They were only a little over two hours into their busy day and it seemed that he was exhausted already.

Leaving the house for any stretch of time always had to be a well coordinated mission in itself, everything having to be planned and executed with perfection. Harry checked to make sure that Teddy had put his seatbelt on. Then, subtly casting a slight extension charm on the back seat so that he could slid in as well, not wanting to sit in the front seat with Steve, far too protective of his three children not to sit in the back with them.

-x

"I wasn't sure that we would see you here, Blackbird," Fury greeted as the Potter-Roger's family extracted themselves from the official S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicle that had stopped outside of the Triskelion. Clint and Natasha were stood just behind of them, both of them dressed down, ready for their day of training the potential new recruits and seeing what they had to offer.

"You know me, Director, I can't keep myself away and besides, who wouldn't want to watch a load of hot guys work out?" Harry said with a smile as Teddy rushed out passed him, barrelling into Clint, who caught the ten year old easily, swinging him up and into a crushing bear hug that made Harry smile as he went to fetch the frame of the pushchair from the trunk of the SUV.

"I'm actually rather glad that you're here," the Director said with a smug look on his face, "I have something I'd like you to take a look at," he added and Harry nodded as with one kick to the frame, he erected the frame of the pushchair. Just in time too as Steve came round to join them, carrying Sarah in her car seat.

"Not trying to seduce my future husband into a mission are you?" Steve asked, trying to sound light hearted as he handed over his daughter to Harry who clipped the car seat to the double pushchair, making sure it was secure. It didn't matter how light hearted he tried to sound there was an undeniable hint of fear too because he didn't want Harry involving himself in any S.H.I.E.L.D. related missions.

He had never expected for Harry to change, he knew that the wizard had an unquenchable thirst for adventure and the unrelenting need to prove himself. It was an urge that had been somewhat suppressed during the pregnancy and for a few months after Sarah-Lily and Joseph-James had been born but Steve had noticed just how much Harry had visibly changed when Fury had mentioned needing him. Steve knew that his fiancé craved that adventure and the adrenaline that came with it. They were both heroes and that couldn't just stop because they were parents now, it just made what they needed to do a little harder.

It would have been so much easier if Harry could have been satisfied with just being a mother and raising their three children but Steve knew that that would never happen. Even if it could, Steve wasn't sure that that was even what he really wanted because that wouldn't have been the Harry that he had fallen in love with.

"Only if he's interested," Fury returned, watching as Steve carefully removed JJ, still in his car seat, from the SUV before handing him over to Harry who clipped him into the frame of the pushchair next to his sister. The pushchair had been ridiculously expensive but it had also been the best thing he had bought for his twins, making transporting them from one place to another so much easier.

"Oh, I'm interested," Harry said as Steve went to fetch the changing bags from the trunk of the car. He purposefully waited until he couldn't see his fiancé before he said this, not wanting to see Steve's reaction, knowing that he would see fear in those beautiful pale blue eyes and the pain that his words had caused.

Harry couldn't help but laugh a little as he saw Clint lift Teddy easily up above his shoulders, sitting him there as easily as if he weighed nothing. The ten year old had turned his hair blue to match Clint's, which Harry still hadn't turned back, despite offering to do so. Clint had refused saying that he had lost the wager they had and he would keep the hair for the full year as they had bargained.

Natasha had come round to look at the twins as Clint had played with Teddy, she wasn't the kind of woman that cooed and awed over infants, however she got a far off look in her eyes when she looked at them, a look filled with so much pain that Harry was scared to ask, not wanting to upset her.

"We should go inside," Steve said, knowing that it was almost time for the training to start and he didn't want to know what it was that Harry and Fury were going to talk about. The less he knew the better because then he couldn't worry about his fiancé. "Will you be okay?" Steve asked, directing this to Harry, who nodded as he made doubly sure that both car seats were clipped firmly to the frame of the pushchair.

Harry didn't get a chance to respond to Steve's question before Fury was right beside him, smiling at the super soldier. "I'll make sure that he's alright," the Director said, having no intention of allowing Harry to wander around the Triskelion with his two youngest children alone. He didn't trust everyone that worked there, he could not assure their loyalty to him or that they couldn't be bought.

Both Sarah-Lily and Joseph-James were beyond precious and not just to Steve and Harry. There were a lot of people who thought the same because of the parentage of the two young children. The twins had been born to two extraordinary humans, both of them well known for their superhuman abilities. Sarah and JJ were very unique youngsters and so very vulnerable to those that wanted to take them and use them.

In their blood lay the answer to the super serum that had been lost when Erskine had lost his life shortly after Steve had been turned into the impressive soldier that he still was. However, in the twins the super serum had combined with Harry's magic making them even more powerful and unique than anyone ever thought could be possible. Fury was very much concerned over the safety of their family, so much so that he was taking a rather vested interest in them.

Steve nodded his head at the Director in thanks, before leaning over and placing a soft kiss to Harry's cheek. "I'll see you at lunch," he said and Harry nodded, watching as Steve bent over and placed a kiss to each of the twins foreheads.

"Take care of our boy," Harry said in return, giving a pointed look, not only to Steve but to Clint and Natasha too. He had very reluctantly allowed Teddy to do this, Harry was not going to be happy if his Godson got hurt.

"We'll take care of him," Clint assured them with a grin, Teddy still hoisted off the ground and on his back. He was rather looking forward to seeing what the little Chameleon could do, though he had become rather attached to the ten year old and he wasn't going to allow anyone to hurt him, not even by accident. There were going to be a fair few cocky sixteen year olds present, but Clint was sure that they were going to be no match for young Teddy.

"Make sure that you do," Harry said, a little concerned that he had made the wrong call by allowing Teddy to do this. Steve took a moment to give Harry another kiss as Clint dropped Teddy back on his own two feet and ushered him towards the training centre, Natasha following them.

"See you soon," Steve said before he too followed after the others, leaving Harry and the twins with Director Fury. Nick glanced down into the push chair, smiling when he saw that both of the twins were awake, their turquoise eyes wide, taking in the world around them.

"So what did you want me to look at?" Harry asked, turning away from watching his fiancé leave, facing Fury instead who was smirking at him.

"I've been helping Agent Coulson put a rather unique team together," Fury explained as he motioned towards the Triskelion, waiting patiently for Harry, who began to guide the pushchair towards the impressive building. "I was hoping that you could look over their files and give me your opinion."

"And that's all you want?" Harry queried, feeling a little disappointed. "Just my opinion?" When he had heard that Fury had wanted something from him he had thought of all manner of things, the missions that he could be sent on, the excitement and adrenaline, this he had not anticipated.

"To begin with," Fury said with a knowing smile. He had thought that throwing a mission at Harry straight off the bat would have scared him off, especially seeing as he was the primary caregiver to three children, however, it seemed that Nick had underestimated Harry's need for adventure. "I was hoping that once the team's established that you would be an on call member of it."

"How unique are we talking here?" Harry asked curiously, wondering if Fury really had been able to unearth more people just like the rest of the Avenger's. It certainly begged the question of just how many of them were out there.

"They are the best that S.H.I.E.L.D. has to offer," the Director explained. "Perhaps not as unique as what you are used to, however, they are all at the top of their game and they will be dealing with things that are a little out of their league. It's highly possible that they will need your help."

"And you said that Coulson is heading the team?" Harry asked, liking the sound of this. He was more than open to what Fury was suggesting, it even sounded as if there might be some room for an adventure or two.

"He is," Fury confirmed as the two of them reached the Triskelion and Fury held the door open so that Harry could push the twins inside first. There were a fair few people milling around, a few of them casting curious glances in their direction but both Harry and Fury ignored them and kept their pace, heading for the elevator. "I believe he is here if you want to speak to him and discuss any concerns you have once you've seen the files."

"It would be good to see him again," Harry said as the two of them came to stop at the elevators and they waited for one to arrive. He hadn't missed just how close Nick had been to them, how alert he was to all those around them and it put Harry on edge too. He had thought that he would have been safe here at S.H.I.E.L.D. but apparently there was more going on than he was aware of.

-x

Coulson was rather excited to welcome Harry on to his team as the first official member. He wanted to show him the plane first and foremost; Fury, however, had had to remind Phil that it wasn't ready yet and more than that Harry was not a fully fledged team member, he was simply a consultant due to his family commitments.

With Fury taking his leave to deal with other matters that needed his attention, Harry was left in the capable hands of Phil Coulson, who had been instructed not to let Harry out of his sight under any circumstances. It had taken a while to read all of the files, the twins had not been cooperative when it came to mummy working and because of this it was almost time for the trainees to break for lunch.

The two had headed over to the training centre in the building next to the Triskelion; there was an observation room where the two of them settled down with Sarah and JJ, who were both fussing for their next feed. They had both had a bottle while in Fury's office but the two of them were growing and developing fast, both of them rather hungry babies.

With one wall made entirely of glass, Harry could see the new recruits, who were all looking a little worse for wear after their morning. Teddy was included in that too, but he was still grinning from ear to ear, his hair having gone from bright blue, which had matched Clint's, to bubblegum pink making Harry laugh.

Coulson, under Harry's instruction, unclipped Sarah from her car seat and held her, somewhat awkwardly, on his hip, the six month old gurgling happily at the unfamiliar man, a line of drool running down her chin, she had been cutting a new tooth for the past three days and it was only just breaking through. Sarah had always been more trusting than her brother, who didn't like strangers.

"What do I do with her?" Phil asked, feeling a little panicked as he turned to look at Harry who had JJ in his arms as he made up two bottles one handed, something he had become rather proficient in. Harry couldn't help but laugh as he passed one of the bottles over to Phil who took it, looking even more confused.

"She knows what she's doing," Harry said with a grin, "just hold her like this," he said laying JJ down in his arms and handing his son the bottle. "They've already learnt how to hold their own bottles, they're advanced for their ages," he said proudly as he showed Phil exactly what to do. JJ instinctively reaching up to hold his bottle, suckiling greedily on the teet.

He was the first to finish too, Harry smiling proudly at his son as he sat him up, rubbing at the young boy's back until he let out a rather impressive burp. "Ta, ta," JJ said at once, holding out his hand to Harry, flexing his fingers out, "ta, ta," he repeated and Harry just sighed.

Putting the young boy down, Harry reached inside of the nappy bag and brought out a little container of rusks, knowing that this was what JJ wanted. Coulson had mimicked Harry as Sarah had finished her bottle, sitting the little girl up and rubbing gently at her back until she let out a burp that was just as impressive as her brother's, if not more so. Harry was thrilled that he didn't have a dainty, prissy daughter, at least not yet, she was still trying to compete with her brothers.

"Is she okay to go on the floor?" Coulson asked hesitantly as he watched JJ crawl over to the glass wall that looked out over the training area, pulling himself up so that he could get a better view, banging his rusk on the glass.

"Yeah," Harry said, digging out another rusk for his daughter who crawled over and sat back on her legs, moving her hand from her mouth and out towards Harry, repeating the motion several times. The little girl was far less vocal than her brother, she knew all the words that JJ did, but he would usually speak for her, she had no need to use her words. "Ta," Harry encouraged, wanting to hear her say it before he handed over the baby biscuit.

"Ta," Sarah said, smiling up at him, drool coating her chin from where her bottom two front teeth were trying to push through. She was going to have a set of four soon, her top two having already made their appearance. Harry watched proudly as Sarah took her rusk and crawled over to where her brother was standing and she too pulled herself up using the glass. "Dada," she said, turning to look at Harry, pointing through the window to where Steve was sparing with a teenage girl who looked determined.

"Teda," JJ said with a little laugh, "Teda," he said again as Harry came over and knelt behind them to see what they were looking at. He could see Teddy going one on one with an older, rugged looking man whom he recognized from the profiles he had looked over for Fury and Coulson. Grant Ward had an impressive S.H.I.E.L.D. resume to say the least, however there was something about him that Harry didn't quite like.

"Teddy and Daddy," Harry said with a nod, "they're practising," he said, thinking that telling the two six month olds that they were fighting would not be the best idea. He didn't want to scare his children, in truth he didn't even want JJ or Sarah watching this but he was glad that he was here to see Teddy's first day.

"Dada," Sarah said tearfully, not liking that she couldn't go to Steve. She had always been a Daddy's girl, there had been a time when she was a lot younger when she wouldn't go to sleep unless she was in her Daddy's arms but that had been something they had had to stop fairly quickly. They were fine with the twins needing each other for comfort and to sleep but not to solely rely on one parent being there.

"It's okay," Harry said, trying to sound comforting, "we'll see Daddy soon," he said, giving his daughter a kiss to her cheek. Sarah, however, was not convinced by this, her eyes watering, tears threatening to fall down her rosy cheeks. JJ had flumped down on to his nappy covered bottom, pushing his rusk into his mouth, drooling over it, using his two little teeth to scrape some of the soggy biscuit into his mouth.

A rather loud, wet sound coming from JJ's nappy, followed quickly by a rather foul smell had Harry and Coulson's nose wrinkling in disgust. Phil had been more than happy to sit back and watch the young children and not take any part in what they were doing, Harry more than had it handled, he was just not impressed by the stink emitting from the little boy's bottom.

"Joseph-James," Harry said, gagging a little one the smell, "what has your Daddy been feeding you?" he asked his son as he scooped him up and went to fetch a nappy to change him. However, Sarah had become increasingly more distressed at not being able to reach Steve or to get his attention and now that Harry was otherwise occupied she was getting more and more upset. "Sarah, it's okay, love. Give me a moment, sweetheart," Harry said, glancing over his shoulder and almost dying of shock when she wasn't where she had been a moment before.

"Umm," Phil said, his eyes wide in shock, "Harry… do your children have abilities?" he asked, not knowing what else to say or do. He had seen the little girl, crying loudly, suddenly disappear and reappear on the other side of the glass. It was unlike anything he had seen before and he had seen plenty.

"Sarah!" Harry shouted. "Phil, watch JJ," he said in a panic as he spotted his darling little girl in the training room, crawling at speed towards her Daddy, who had had no idea that his daughter was there and in a fair amount of danger as some of the new trainee's had been given various weapons.

It was perhaps fortunate that the weapons were only being used in target practice against the walls and not in one to one fights. It was Ward who noticed the young girl first, stopping what he was doing instantly and heading straight for her, recognising who she was. He had seen one of the new recruits getting a little cocky with some nunchucks and he was going about it all wrong, his technique sloppy. He was showing off to one of the other girls and not paying any attention to what he was doing or anything going on around him, including the small baby crawling towards him in search of her Daddy.

Grant dived in front of the little girl as the teenager accidentally let the nunchucks slip from his hands, the weapon smacking directly into Ward's back as he scooped up the young child into his arms as Natasha blew a whistle, having noticed that something wasn't right with the group. Clint was the first on the scene, taking a hysterically screaming Sarah from Grant as Harry arrived looking panicked. Harry had seen the whole thing and he thought that his heart was going to stop when he saw the nunchucks heading for his little girl, he was rather grateful for Grant's quick thinking.

"What on earth," Steve said, finally joining the group, his eyes going wide as he saw his daughter in Clint's arms and Harry stood in the middle of the gathered group. "Weren't you watching her?" he asked angrily, turning on Harry. "What is she doing in here!?" he demanded, taking the screaming child into his arms, shushing her as he rocked her gently, cradling her close to his chest.

"Lunchtime," Natasha shouted, gathering the rest of the trainees together, forcing them from the room as Harry glared at Steve accusingly, his temper ready to explode at what his fiancé had said. Teddy was ushered from the room with the other trainee's though he was trying desperately to get to the rest of his family, wanting to see what had happened and to make sure that his siblings were alright.

"I was watching her," Harry snarled back, "we were in the observation room with Phil and JJ, she apparated herself in here because she wanted you!" He honestly couldn't believe that Steve was blaming him for this when there had been nothing that he could have done. As soon as he had realised what had happened he had sprung into action to protect her.

"Sorry," Steve said with a sigh, realising that he probably shouldn't have snapped at Harry the way that he had and not wanting a full blown argument with his fiancé in front of the others. Neither of them were prepared for either of the twins having abilities, neither Sarah nor JJ had shown any signs of it before today. Steve turned to Ward and smiled at him. "I want to thank you for what you did, you saved her from a rather serious injury," the super soldier said, holding Sarah close to him.

"No problem," Ward said, looking at the little girl with interest. There had been so many rumours going around S.H.I.E.L.D. about the fact that Captain America having settled down with the newest Avenger, who had somehow given the super soldier children. Because of the nature of the pregnancy no one knew what to believe there were so many stories floating around; however, Grant was now seeing it with his own two eyes, he couldn't not believe it. Captain America didn't have the ability to teleport, that was something that had to have come from Harry.

"Dada," Sarah gurgled from the crook of Steve's neck where she had calmed down considerably, only slightly grizzling now. Harry came forward and pressed himself into Steve's side, one hand coming up to rest against his daughter's back, rubbing soothing circles there, wanting her to know that he was there for her too.

"Where's JJ?" Steve asked after placing a kiss to the top of Sarah's head that was covered in soft dark brown hair. He was fairly happy that Harry had not brought their youngest son into the training room when he had come running after Sarah, however, that did beg the question of where he was.

"Phil has him," Harry said gently, nuzzling into the little girl, relieved that she was alright. He had completely panicked when he had seen Sarah in the training room, he had never been so scared in all of his life, which, considering his life, was saying something.

-x

Teddy hadn't really gelled with the other trainees that were present for the summer training program, he was the youngest of them all by six years and everyone thought that he was only there with them because he was the Godson to Captain America and Blackbird. Teddy hadn't had the opportunity to prove himself to them yet and he wasn't really making the effort to speak to any of them either, though that was more to do with the others and their attitudes than him.

"Fag," one of the older boys said, knocking into the back of the ten year old, almost sending him to the floor with the force of it. They were all waiting in line for their packed lunches, Teddy more towards the back, wanting to keep himself to himself. There was a small group of teenagers that just wouldn't leave him alone, two boys and a girl and they were rather content to taunt him.

"You don't belong here," the girl hissed in his ear and again Teddy did nothing, remaining where he was, stood very still. He had his wand concealed in a special holder up his sleeve, something that Harry had gifted to him when he knew that he would be coming into the muggle world and more importantly into S.H.I.E.L.D..

"Little freak," the taller of the two boys said, tugging rather forcefully on a tuft of bubblegum pink hair. This was enough for Teddy, there was only so much that he was going to put up with before he showed them exactly what he was capable of. There was one thing that he just wouldn't abide by and that was being called a freak. His hair going a dark red with his temper, the ten year old turned and glared up at the boy who had pulled his hair.

"Back off," he said with a snarl; there might have been a whole six years between them but Teddy wasn't afraid of them. The teenager that he was confronting now was a whole head taller than he was but he wasn't going to back down from a fight. If these idiots were going to underestimate him then that was their problem.

"Are you going to make me?" the boy asked, a satisfied smirk on his face. He had got exactly what he wanted, having riled Teddy up enough to get a reaction. He knew that he had nothing to worry about, the younger boy was tiny in comparison to him and he had his two friends backing him up as well. He was going to rather enjoy putting Teddy in his place and make it well known that he didn't belong here.

"Push me and you'll find out," Teddy hissed back. Harry had told him to be careful and to avoid using magic if he could but he wasn't going to allow these idiots to push him around. Despite what they were saying he had every right to be there and he was going to prove that to them one way or another. Teddy knew that it was likely that he was going to get into serious trouble with his Godfather for it later but he wasn't going to be seen to be a pushover, he couldn't, not if he was going to be a fully fledged member of S.H.I.E.L.D..

"The little boy wants to play," the taller of the boys said. Teddy was almost wishing that he had bothered to learn their names so he knew who he was about to hurt. The three of them were grinning, more than a little happy that they managed to goad the smaller boy into a fight, thinking they were going win easily.

Teddy had completely tensed up, prepared for an attack. The tallest boy that had pulled his hair, went for him first, swinging for him but as Teddy was so much smaller than him, the ten year old was able to duck out of the way, using the levitation spell that Harry had taught him to force his attacker up, off the ground and on to the ceiling. Harry had been tutoring him in magic outside of school when his homework was done so that he would be in a good position when he started his magical education.

"Anyone else?" Teddy asked, keeping the boy pressed against the ceiling, as Natasha came over to see what was going on. She had thought that the trainees were responsible enough not to need constant supervision over their designated lunch time but apparently she had been wrong to assume this. They were not coming across as mature as she would have hoped for them to be. Logically she knew they were teenagers and had not had the upbringing or the training that she had had, however, if they had any hope of surviving in S.H.I.E.L.D. then they were going to have to grow up fast.

"Teddy, put Ben down," she said with a sigh, looking a little amused at the situation. She knew Teddy rather well at this point and wasn't going to tell him off if he was just protecting himself. He was certainly not the kind of person who would attack first and ask questions later. If Teddy was fighting then he was going to be defending himself, Natasha had no doubt on that.

"He attacked us!" the girl said snidely, thinking that at the very least they could get the ten year old in trouble. The fact that he could do something that wasn't strictly normal didn't surprise any of the onlookers. After what had happened in New York nothing was going to surprise them. The battle of New York was one of the reasons that they were all here, they wanted to fight for their country.

"Teddy," Natasha said, turning to look at the ten year old who was lowering the boy called Ben down to the ground, though not being overly gentle with it.

"Sorry, Auntie Natasha," Teddy said, looking at her with a smile on his face, one that was returned. "I don't think I'm very hungry anymore, can I go and see my Dads?" he asked.

"You're not kicking him out?" this question coming from the boy who Teddy had not levitated on to the ceiling and he sounded outraged. It was all Teddy could do not to laugh at him, and the girl looked about as angry as her friend sounded. Natasha just looked as if she was at the end of her tether dealing with these adolescents.

"You may," Natasha said to Teddy with a nod of her head, "training room in twenty minutes though," she added as Teddy grinned at her broadly, knowing better than to hug her when they were in public, she had a reputation to uphold after all.

Hope that you enjoyed this chapter, please take the time to leave a review and let me know your thoughts.