Newfound Family

Motherly Instincts

Nat's heart dropped to her stomach. It took her a moment to register Peter's rambling.

"Peter, slow down. What do you mean?"

"I turned my back for one second, a-and then Lila came running, saying that Liho ran away, and Wanda ran after him. Lila thought she saw the neighbour run after Liho, too. By the time we ran out of the park, we couldn't see her anymore! I've looked everywhere, Miss Romanoff. And we found Liho, too, but Wanda is nowhere to be found. I'm so scared, what if something bad happened? What if someone took her?"

Peter was crying, and Nat could hear Lila crying through the phone, too.

Natasha's mind was moving in a thousand different directions. Her spy instincts told her to calm down and think of answers, but her motherly instincts took over. She started to think the worst.

She brought her hand up to her lips to think for a moment. She could hear Peter rambling, and Steve kept asking her what was wrong.

Something was wrong. Her little girl was missing.

"Just hold on, okay? Everyone's coming right now." Her voice was low, and it was cracking. Fear built up in her chest, which was saying a lot, because Natasha Romanoff didn't get scared easily.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, snapping her back to reality.

"What's wrong, Nat?"

"Wanda went missing! She ran after Liho, and when Peter caught up he found the dog but not her! Someone took her, Steve!"

"Woah, woah. Don't jump to conclusions, Tasha." Clint appeared in the doorway, the commotion drawing him in. Laura, Tony, and Sam joined him.

Steve reached for his coat.

"We'll find her, okay?"

"We'll split up and look," Tony said. "Where was she last seen?"

"Peter said they were at Breyer Park, and Liho ran down the closest street. They found him, but not Wanda." Nat said, handing him his coat.

Nat felt Tony's eyes on the ring on her hand, and they locked eyes for a split-second. Even he knew it wasn't the time to bring it up.

They took the truck so they could drive down all the streets faster. Nat hopped in the front seat, but Clint stopped her.

"You and Steve get in the passenger seats. You shouldn't drive right now. I know you're worried, and you shouldn't have to worry about navigating the busy streets. It is Christmas, after all, Tash."

She nodded, hopping in the back with Steve and Laura. Tony and Pepper also joined them, driving a separate car.

"Drive fast, Clint."

When they got to the park, it was clear that both Lila and Peter were stressed out. Both were still crying and freaking out, and snow prints littered the park grass towards the streets. It was clear that they tried following Wanda's, however, the streets were plowed, so it was no help. As soon as the park field ended, there was no sign of where she went.

Peter's phone rang, and he ignored it. It was probably Aunt May, and he didn't think he was in the mood to tell her what was happening.

Nat approached Peter, who kept his head down. She wasn't in the mood to try and comfort him right now, but he at least needed to know she wasn't mad at him.

It ended up coming out harsher than she intended it to.

"Peter?"

He shot his head around, staring at her with tear-streaked eyes.