Authors Note: Hello, so this is set pretty current in the Marvel universe (about 5 months after the New York battle). The things in italics are set in the past.

Natasha and Clint conceived a child, but decided to put her into foster care believing it would be better for her. Nine years later, they have the chance of taking their child back, but will they? Clintasha.

Thank you in advance for reading :)

UPDATE: This first chapter has been edited and changed slightly to improve the flow and better direct the storyline!

Thank you so much to my amazing and incredible beta: TheMistyMountainsCold.

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Natasha Romanoff gazed down at the sleeping infant in her arms. She bent her head down and brushed her lips over the baby's soft forehead. "Goodbye," Natasha said softly, and, holding her head high, handed the little girl to Clint Barton. Exchanging a quick glance with Natasha, he tucked the pink blanket around the baby a little tighter. Didn't want her to get cold, after all.

They averted their eyes as an agent took the infant from Clint's arms and left the room.

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Laughing, Kristina runs down the road as fast as her nine year-old legs can carry her. Her dark blonde hair swishes around in the wind. Though she slips as she turns a corner-her old trainers did not have the best grip-it does not slow her down, and she slows by a bridge only to tie her hair up into a neat-ish ponytail. She spared a glance behind her, grinning to herself, before walking into her current foster home.

Once upstairs, she empties her bag onto her bed. Kristina slips into a casual outfit, tosses her school uniform in the laundry pile, and places her homework and school books onto her desk. It is a daily routine of hers. She shoves her homework, a box and her purse in her bag, and, sliding on a hoodie, walks back downstairs to a woman folding laundry in the living room. The woman looks up at her, her face lighting up.

"So, Kristy, how was school?" her foster mother asks. This one is named Ruby.

"It was fine. Can I go down to the library?" Kristina asks with a smile. Hopefully the request didn't seem too strange for a Friday. "I have a lot of homework."

Ruby smiles. "You really are dedicated. Do you need a lift?"

Kristina shakes her head. "No thank you, I'm meeting some friends at the end of the road."

"I best not keep you waiting then," Ruby says. "Be back by six for dinner, okay?"

"Thank you!" Kristina replies with a smile before leaving the house and making her way down the sidewalk. She sets out on a jog, hoping Ruby didn't see that she wasn't going towards the library, but she comes to a halt when a man steps in front of her. Immediately, her heart begins to race.

"Kristina Smith?" the man questions.

Hesitantly, Kristina looks up at the man. Despite all attempts to hide her fear, her eyes widen when she sees him, and notices he wore a long black coat. "I'm not allowed to talk to strangers," she blurts, and takes a small step back. Maybe if she bolted right then...

"We have become aware of what you've been trying to do," he informs her, "that you've been attempting to track your parents."

Kristina's palms begin to sweat. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"There was a private investigator you hired," he explained. "This investigator led us right to about here."

"Us?" Kristina stammers, not bothering to even conceal her fear. "Who are you?!" Her eyes dart over his, or at least the one not concealed by the eyepatch, and she takes off running before he can finish introducing himself as "Director Fury."

Her heart pounding,

Ruby sees Kristina running in, "Kristy, is everything okay?" she asks worried.

"This guy is going to take me," she says, stumbling over her words. "H-he knew my name a-and my real mom and dad-"

Instantly, Ruby takes Kristina's hand and sighs. "My God, Kristy, I'm so glad you're safe. Now," she slid her mobile out of her jeans' pocket, "I'm going to call the police."

There was a knock on the door, and Ruby gestures Kristina upstairs and sets down the phone. Kristina instantly complies, but keeps her ear by the crack under the bedroom door. For a few moments she listens to their muffled voices before moving her attention to outside.

She glances through the curtain, her heart stopping when she sees three people in suits standing by two black cars.

"They're here for me," she whispers, but before she even considers running, Ruby opens the door. Her face is pale, and she holds open her arms. Kristina collapses into them; though she had not known Ruby for very long, she had been the best foster mother she'd had in a while. Ruby backs away from the embrace first, sniffling a little.

"Come downstairs," Ruby begins, and gives a small smile, "I'd like to introduce you to Nick Fury. He... he knows a few things you may be interested in."

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Natasha looks at the girl through a one-way glass mirror, her expression completely hidden and guarded per usual. The silence is broken by Tony Stark, also per usual.

"Somebody needs to explain to me. Why, exactly, were we all called here? As far as I know, Reindeer Games hasn't made an appearance lately." He glanced around at the other Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. members. "I mean, there is no threat, right?"

Opening the door to the room, Coulson speaks up. "We need to put a stop to Hydra, we all need to pull together and end things. Their leader has been killed, but it won't take long for the head to regrow. I understand that the world is not currently at stake. However, this is serious and we need to contain it to ensure that we have a world to protect."

He is greeted by a few shocked faces before Coulson remembers he's dead. "I'm alive," he adds. "I know, it's a miracle."

Tony has a hard time speaking. "He's alive. Of course he's alive. Why wouldn't he be?"

Steve clears his throat. "I will sign those cards now, if you want," he offers.

Coulson smiles. "Thank you," he says genuinely to Steve before turning to the rest of the team. "This is a freewill mission; you can say no and leave now, or stay and we'll go over the plan."

"Two questions" Banner says, stepping forward. "Do any of these plans involve the... the other guy? And why is there a child in the interrogation room?"

"Our plans don't involve the Hulk," Coulson replies before glancing at the one way mirror. "The girl is a different matter."

Clint walks over to one of the controls on the wall and flips the switch to darken the one-way mirror. The visual of the girl is replaced by black. Natasha glares at him, but Clint doesn't flinch; he's used to Natasha's glares.

Coulson clears his throat, "Last chance to leave" he says. Everyone shifts awkwardly for a moment, and Coulson continues. "Great. Let's get started."

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They hadn't talked to her for nearly an hour. Kristina had pushed the table over and thrown the chairs at the mirror, but all it did was make a loud noise that reverberated around the tiny room. Eventually she crouched in the corner, her bag still on her back. She glares at the floor, her arms crossed and a pout on her lips. Taken from another nice family, again. Maybe the next one would have a pet.

Unbeknownst to her, Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff were watching her an arms length away.

Kristina's eyes snap up instantly when the door opens. Coulson walks in with a friendly smile on his face and a tray of food and drink in one of his hands. He glances at the table before walking over to her and holding out the tray. "You must be hungry" he starts.

Kristina takes the tray and puts it down next to her gently, making no move to actually eat the food or thank him.

"I'm Agent Phil Coulson," he introduces himself, and kneels down to her level.

"Obviously you know my name" she retorts, holding her arms around herself more tightly. Coulson notices her tensing up and his smile wavers.

"Do you know you are here?"

Kristina raises an eyebrow. "Because life sucks and I'm being moved again" she huffs. It's the kind of language Ruby would chastise her for using, but Coulson doesn't even flinch.

"You are here because of your interest and persistence in finding your parents," Coulson tells her. "You have put yourself into a very dangerous position: going places alone, sneaking out in the middle of the night, starting fights at school, attempting to hack into your personal records-"

"They are my records, I should be allowed to read them!" Kristina shoots back.

Coulson sighs. "I need you to understand how dangerous this is."

Kristina groans in frustration. "Why should I listen to you?" she yells. "I don't know you. You basically kidnapped me and locked me in a room! Leave me alone!"

Coulson manages to keep his voice level and tries to ignore the growing headache. "Kristina, what will it take for you to stop looking for your parents?" he finally asks.

"For me to find them" she replies instantly. "There's no need to look for something when you already have it."

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