Newfound Family

He's Still in Your Heart

Eventually, after reading for half an hour or so, Wanda fell asleep once again out of pure exhaustion. Nat sat at the end of the bed, watching the poor child sleep. Anyone who didn't know Wanda would think it was peaceful, but if she was anything like Nat, her mind was probably plagued with awful thoughts and dreams.

Natasha got up and stretched. Her feet were asleep from sitting on the end of the hospital bed for so long. She brushed a few hairs out of Wanda's eyes and headed over to the window. It was June, and the sky was beautiful.

There was a small knock on the glass door, interrupting Nat's thoughts. It was Clint and Tony.

Nat glared at them as Tony opened up the door with a creak. She gestured her head over to the sleeping Wanda in the hospital bed.

"Sorry," Tony whispered. "I have a few things to discuss with you. How's the baby witch?"

Nat smiled weakly.

She's getting better, opening up a little more. What do you need?"

Tony and Clint quietly made their way over to the window with Nat. It was far enough away from the bed that they could whisper without waking up the sleeping child a couple of meters away.

Clint handed Natasha a stack of papers. "These are government legal forms to be Wanda's guardian. They're yours to sign if you want to."

Natasha took the forms and uncapped the pen, immediately starting to read the papers.

Tony interrupted her thoughts.

"Are you sure about this, Widow? I don't think the Avengers compound is a place for a kid."

Nat sighed and put down the papers.

"She's not just any kid, Tony. She's special. She's got powers. She's been through things nobody would understand except me."

Nat paused, looking a few feet over to Wanda. She hadn't even stirred in her sleep since Clint and Tony arrived.

"She reminds me so much of me when I was a kid. I would've given anything to have escaped the red room and just had a normal childhood. Gone to school, made friends. I never got any of those things because my childhood was taken away from me. And if it wasn't for us, hers would be too."

Tony smiled weakly.

"I knew there would be no talking you out of this. When you've got your mind set on something, there's no turning you around. Is she warming up to you, at least?"

Nat nodded.

"She's very shy, and everything scares her, especially too many people in the room at once. Dr. Cho had to limit the room to just me, her, and her assistant, and it still made Wanda nervous. I think it will take a while for her to get used to everyone at the compound. You know Steve, Banner, even you guys. You can be pretty overwhelming sometimes."

Clint chuckled, and his smile turned to a pondering one for a moment.

"Hey, I've got a really good idea. I'm going to visit Laura and the kids tomorrow; I'll probably be there for a week. Why don't you and Wanda come with us?"

Nat shook her head.

"Clint, I don't think that's such a good idea. Laura just had a baby, and don't you want to spend time with your family? Plus, I know she doesn't mean it, but Wanda still could get scared and hurt someone. She'd never forgive herself if she hurt someone. You should've seen her try to apologize to me for reading my mind. It was heartbreaking."

Nat lowered her eyes to her hands on her lap.

"Nat, it will be good for her. It's remote, away from any triggers, and she can get used to being around only a few people at a time instead of a group of big men."