What's Left Behind

Family Reunion

Natasha kept her word, and never left Belle's side.

She took the charge of watching over the little girl for Bruce more seriously than any other security job she'd ever had, and did her best to keep Belle's mind occupied so she wouldn't focus and dwell on the incarceration of her father. But because she was so focused on Isabelle's safety, Natasha found herself to be more on edge than normal.

It didn't really become a problem until the following Thursday, when Natasha had Isabelle down on the commons floor, helping her through her history homework, when the elevator doors opened.

Natasha prided herself on knowing everyone who was supposed to be in the Tower, the sound of their feet, the way they coughed or cleared their throats- Natasha knew it. Today, however, the sound of heels on the hard, cold marble floor were unfamiliar, and Natasha silently put a finger to her lips, indicating to Isabelle to be quiet, and she stood and drew her pistol from her belly band holster. She moved silently, having slipped her slide on shoes off at the table where she and Belle had been sitting, the gun held low by her thigh. She rounded the corner and found herself face to face with a quite lovely woman, perhaps in her mid-thirties, who looked quite a bit like an older version of Isabelle, but with bright hazel eyes which were amplified by thick, purple cat-eye framed glasses. She was dressed in a black pencil skirt and blouse with a matching blazer over it, and looked as if she might be on her way to a board meeting or court with her dark wavy hair pulled up into a clip on the back of her head, a few curls falling to frame her face.

"Uh-" Natasha greeted, adjusting the grip on the gun just to call the other woman's attention to it.

"Agent Romanoff, I assume?" The woman greeted with a smile. She seemed to not mind the weapon between them.

"Yes." Natasha confirmed. "Who are you?"

"Oh! Of course!" the woman offered her hand to Natasha in greeting, her smile never faltering. "I'm Jennifer Walter's. Tony called me."

"Aunt Jen?!" Natasha heard Belle exclaim from around the corner, and the sound of her bare feet slapping hard as she sped over and she slammed into Jennifer so hard the two fell over, causing them both to burst into a fit of laughter.

"Aunt Jen?" Natasha ask, arms crossed over her chest and an eyebrow arched high. She replaced her weapon into the holster hidden under her t-shirt.

"Well, not biologically. My mother adopted Bruce when he was ten and I was four, we're actually first cousins, but legally and emotionally, we're siblings. We don't typically tell people about the adoption part, just leave it simple. So in that aspect, I'm his little sister, so Belle's aunt." She explained as Belle pulled the woman back to her feet.

"I missed you!" Belle cried as she snuggled back into the waist of the woman, who still seemed to stumble back under the small child's strength.

"I missed you, too, Bella-Boo!" Jennifer assured her, stroking her hair. Natasha watched as the joy on Isabelle's face fell and turned to fear, and she let go of her aunt and stepped back toward Natasha.

"You're not going to take me away again, are you?" Isabelle peeped, and she grabbed Natasha's hand and held on tightly. Natasha looked from Belle to Jennifer and back, squeezing Belle's hand back in both a comforting and protective fashion.

"Oh..." Jennifer's face also fell, and a look of remorse took her over. "No, sweetie. I'm not here for anything like that. I'm here for work things. Mr. Stark ask me to come join your father's legal team." Jennifer explained.

"Promise?" Isabelle pleaded, her large brown eyes swelling full of tears.

"I do." She agreed with a nod. "I'm just on my way up to speak with him, but the driver that picked me up from the airport suggested I might catch you here, and I wanted a hug."