Scarlett Johansson | One-Shots (1)

NR - 5th Birthday

Callie:
Today is our daughter, Dallas', birthday, and I have the perfect gift. Nat and I have been talking about getting a dog since we got married and I think getting Dallas a puppy for her birthday would be perfect. Because she's five years old and an only child, a dog is great. It'll keep her company and she can grow up with it. I think that's adorable.

"Keep Dallas busy. Don't let her see me leave the house, she'll want to come," I tell Nat as I get my shoes.

"I think she's plenty busy with her cartoons."

"Then go watch with her or something. I think she has super hearing or something because she somehow always hears the front door," I chuckle.

"Wait, do your Vertigo powers-"

"No, they aren't genetic," I cut her off. "I'll be back with the dog," I smile before rushing out of the room, dragging Nat out with me, and shoving her into the living room to sit with our daughter.

I drive to the shelter with a carry crate in the back for the puppy. While Dallas was in the hands of Clint and his wife for a day, Nat and I drove around to different shelters and eventually came across the perfect puppy. He's an 8 week old red golden retriever puppy named Arlo.

"Hi, I'm here for Arlo," I greet the man at the front of the shelter.

"Perfect. He's in the back waiting."

The man leads me to the back where the new addition to our little family is sitting in his own area. He's curled in a ball on his bed but when he hears the keys unlock his door, his ears perk up. When he sees me, he leaps up with a huge smile.

"Hey, baby, ready to go home?" I coo to him.

I pick him up and hand the man the collar I brought with me so he can slip it on. When everything is settled, I sign a bunch of papers, making the adoption official. Finally, I carefully sit Arlo in the crate on his blankets and make the careful drive home. Before going in, I text Natasha to make sure she keeps Dallas away from the foyer of the house. I get the 'all clear' and sneak my way to our bedroom where there's a small playpen for Arlo to roam around. Because he's a puppy, there are pee pads everywhere, just in case. A little while later, Nat comes into the room.

"Where's Dal?" I ask.

"Sleeping. She passed out during SpongeBob."

"Great. Look! Arlo's just perfect."

"He is. I love him."

"When are we presenting him to her?"

"As soon as possible. We have plans."

"Oh shit, we're having people over tonight?"

"You forgot?" Nat teases. "The whole team is coming in a couple of hours."

"You're kidding," I deadpan.

"Nope," she smirks.

-

We have less than an hour until people get here so Nat and I decide it's time to give Dallas her gift. I scoop up the wiggly puppy and Nat leads us into the family room where we find our daughter playing with some blocks.

"Honey, we have something for you," Nat smiles.

Dallas perks up and stops playing with her blocks to see what we have. Nat stands in front of me so she can't see the puppy.

"Happy birthday, sweetie!" I exclaim, stepping in front of Nat and kneeling down with the dog in my arms.

"PUPPY!" Dallas squeals.

"His name is Arlo, he's our puppy. He's going to live with us," I smile, setting down the dog so they can warm up to each other.

Arlo stumbles up to Dallas, using his little black nose to sniff her knee. He gazes up at her for a moment before exploring her blocks. He nudges one and it scoots on the floor, causing Arlo to flinch. Dallas watches in amazement at her new friend playing with her block. When Arlo's done squaring up to the little wooden block that was apparently attacking him, he goes back to Dallas, getting a feel for her. I guess he likes her because he stumbles into her lap, immediately curling into a little ball in her lap. Dallas knows to be careful, we taught her well. She gently strokes the puppy's fur.

"Hun, Uncle Clint is coming soon," I tell her, causing her to squeal loudly and the puppy to perk up.

-

The first to arrive, of course, is Clint. He and his family, Laura and the kids, greet us at the door before entering our home. One by one, the whole team plus their families are in our house. We keep the puppy in his playpen in the living room so he can be socialized but apart from the chaos. He's a hit to the kids. Morgan, all of Clint's kids, and Dallas like to watch him play with his squeaky toys. That's perfectly fine with us. We can get more time to catch up with the friends we haven't seen in a while.

"You should get Morgan a dog!" I add to the conversation between me, Tony, and Pepper. Nat's mingling with Clint and some of the others.

"Morgan already has so many... things," Pepper laughs.

"I don't know, Pep. I think we should get one," Tony argues.

"What have you started, Cal?" Pepper jests, earning laughter from our little group.

"Sorry. Good luck," I smirk.

"I gotta know," Tony starts with a small smile. "I've never pegged Nat to be the motherly type. How is she as a mom? You know, being an ex-assassin and all."

"You know." I glance over at Nat who's now sitting on the floor with the five kids, Clint, and the dog. I fight back a huge, stupid smile as I say, "She's perfect. When I was pregnant with Dallas, I would catch her doing the little things. Like reading parenting books or baby-proofing the house. In fact, there were a few nights that I woke up in the middle of the night to her sleeping with my stomach like she fell asleep talking to it. That melted my heart," I gush, still staring at Nat and the kids.

"Oh. My. God. That is so cute!" Tony squeals so loud, people turn their heads.

"That's adorable, Cal," Pepper agrees. "You got lucky, I see."

"I really did."

Nat catches me staring and shoots me a smile. I return it without breaking my loving gaze. Finally, it's time for presents. Dallas gets way too excited. Clint's family gives her a toy bow and arrow (nothing harmful of course), Tony's family gives her a bunch of Lego kits, Thor gives her a Slinky (he said he thought it was amusing), Wanda and Vision give her Lincoln Logs, Steve gives her a new coloring book and things to color with, Bruce gives her Snap Circuits (she'll grow into them), and the others give her either a kids board game or some other toy. Dallas is overjoyed and had way too much fun ripping the wrapping paper and throwing it around the room for Arlo to chase and try to eat. After we all eat dessert, which is just ice cream and a shit ton of cake and cupcakes, everyone says their goodbyes to us and Dallas. Finally, time to relax.

"Mommy, look!" Dallas squeals as she plays with the Slinky.

"That's very cool, honey," Nat smiles.

As Dallas shows Nat her toys, I clean up the house a bit before joining them. When I walk in, I find Arlo teething on one of Dallas' blocks so I have to pry it away from him so he doesn't swallow wood.

"Did you have a good birthday?" I ask my adorable daughter.

"Yes!" she giggles.

"I'm so glad." I plop down next to Nat and Arlo stumbles up to me, tripping over my outstretched leg and falling flat on his face. I try so hard not to laugh as Dallas panics.

"He's okay," Nat assures her.

Dallas plays with Arlo and her new toys, even showing the puppy what she got for her birthday until she gets too tired. When that time comes, Nat carries her to her room so I can put the puppy to bed. After everything is settled, I join Nat in the doorway of our sleeping daughter's room.

"We did good," I whisper, putting my hand on her back and resting my head on her shoulder.

Nat drapes her arm over my shoulder and whispers, "Yes, we did."