Give Life Meaning...

Crash Course

     Steve looked up as Bruce shuffled back into the room. Something was off with him, and the doctor kept glancing between him and Natasha. "What is it?" Steve felt his breath catch at the idea that there might be something seriously wrong with the kids. He looked down at the two who lay still on the hospital bed between Natasha and himself. The little girl was tiny. What if Hydra had done more permanent damage because they didn't get to them soon enough? He had to shake those thoughts. After all, they hadn't even known the kids existed, yet the fear that they had come really close to leaving them behind. 

    Bruce seemed to battle himself with indecision before deciding to answer Steve. "They have traces of Super Soldier serum in their blood," Steve jolted with alarm. Were they experimenting on children?

     "What?" Steve's head snapped to the side to catch Natasha's look of horror. Her heart pounding at the idea that these two little ones had to endure anything like that nearly made her sick on the spot, and Steve felt the same. Natasha reached across the children and sought Steve's hand in all this. Trying to comfort and seek comfort at the mere thought of the torture the two had gone through. 

     "Yes, they have the serum but weren't injected with it. They were born with it," Bruce waited for the weight of that to settle on them, hoping something might click in their minds. He hadn't agreed with Tony's decision to withhold the information but found sound reasoning until they did the DNA test that it wouldn't do anyone any good to upset them in that way. That was the only reason Clint wasn't telling Natasha everything. This was going to be life-changing for them both if he was right. Unfortunately, Steve's brain screeched to a halt, going the opposite direction in wondering how they were creating super baby soldiers. 

     "Super soldiers are procreating?" Natasha interjected, her gaze turning shrewd at the new threat they might face. The two they found were in horrid condition, and the thought that they were trying to create more nearly broke her inside.

     "Sort of," Bruce hedged uncomfortably. It wasn't his brightest idea to try and get them to connect the dots because they hadn't, but the two in front of him connected enough to know he knew something was going on. 

     "Bruce, what aren't you telling us?" Natasha cut in, clearly done with his avoidance. She looked down at the two that had barely twitched in their sleep. Reaching down and pulling the blanket up and tucking them in. 

     "He can't tell you," Clint said, leaning against the doorway with his arms folded. When Natasha and Steve turned to him, ready to protest, he merely held up a hand. "You two were with the kids during the debriefing, and for now, until we get more answers, what you're doing is enough." 

     "How are you feeling, Clint?" Steve asked, looking the man over for any last effects of being shot on the battlefield but found nothing physically wrong. 

    "Like brand new. The portable regeneration thing does wonders when you're missing a chunk of yourself," he twisted to show that he didn't feel any more pain in that area. "I wanted to check on the baby Avengers." 

     "Are you going to adopt these two?" Natasha asked, feeling a wave of sadness rush over her before shaking it off and looking back at him. She saw him shake his head. 

     "I already called Laura, and she was quite adamant that we did not need two more," his lips twitched before a pensive look crossed his face. Steve wanted to blame his most recent injury for his behavior, but something about it sent him on edge. Why was he acting like there was something dreadfully wrong? "I might have some clothes, though, that'll fit the two. I always kept the clothes in case we had any more, and while it has come in use for my boys, we haven't had another girl since Lila. It might make them feel better not to be in a gown, but they'll need to be bathed first." The blank looks he received from both Steve and Natasha nearly made him laugh. 

     "You have kids. You can do it," Natasha told him. It made sense to her. He was the only one out of the Avengers to have a kid. Steve nodded in agreement; this was the longest he'd been around kids in ninety years. He didn't know the first thing about making sure kids were bathed. 

     "No, they like the two of you. You two will be doing this, but if it makes you feel better, I'll help," Clint told them, seeing their hesitant faces turn slightly reticent. "For now, let me go out and get them what they need, and then when they wake, I'll show you how to give them a bath."

     It was three hours before they would get their first chance to bathe the kids. Steve had hovered while Bruce took out the IVs, and then he led the four reluctant people to the bathroom that held a tub. "Okay. So tip one, you don't want it too hot, and especially because they're little, you'll want to be extra careful," Clint looked over to make sure he hadn't spooked the two other adults. Steve seemed to be committing the information to memory, and Natasha looked almost ready to bolt. "Come here... Feel, this should be fine. They might squirm and whimper because of their cuts and bruises, but they'll settle when they realize it feels good... And I got bubbles for their bath." 

     "Doesn't soap make bubbles anyways?" Steve questioned, looking at Natasha and realizing he was missing something. 

     "Well, yes, but this is geared towards kids. So you pour it when the faucet is running, making different colored bubbles. I also got some bath toys," Clint told them but realized he was overwhelming the two with it all. "For now, though, I think it's best we get them washed up and drain the water. We can refill the water and introduce the fun things if they're still okay. I doubt they've ever associated water with anything good." He moved to the side and watched the two awkwardly place the toddlers on their feet or try, and the little girl wouldn't put her feet down. 

    Steve wasn't sure if it was because she had injuries on her feet or if she didn't want to be put down, but the little girl wouldn't stand. He shot Natasha a helpless look as she seemed to be having an easier time undressing the boy, throwing the clean gown to the side, and then going for the diaper he was in. He turned his gaze to the little girl that looked back at the water, petrified. "Hey... Hey, it's okay, I promise," he spoke, trying to soothe the suddenly spooked girl. Steve sat her on the bathtub's edge, holding her with one arm and undressing her with the other. "I should be doing the boy... Is this even appropriate?" He looked to Barton, who just gave a gentle smile. 

     "There's nothing wrong with bathing her. Someone's gotta, and you said she was strong, and Bruce confirmed she's a super baby, so it's safer if you do it. We know you don't mean to do anything to her, now... Seeing as you've both got them successfully undressed, get them in the water," Clint had assumed that while the little girl was hesitant to stand, they both would go in the water. He was wrong. As soon as both the boy and girl touched the water, they shrieked. 

     Steve had not been prepared for the sudden flailing limbs that made it hard to keep ahold of their now slippery bodies. "Hey... It's okay, it's okay," he spoke, rubbing circles on her back, watching Natasha do the same to the boy. By the time the kids stopped fighting them, they were both soaked. 

     "I guess it could be worse... We could be soaked with blood and guts," Natasha muttered, looking over at Steve, giggling a bit as his blonde hair lay flat with water dripping down his face. 

     "Yeah, I guess you're right... Could be worse," he repeated before smiling a bit shyly at Natasha. The sound of a throat clearing made him cautiously look over his shoulder. 

     "Now, this is the softest baby washcloth I could find. I didn't want anything coarse because they'll be sore after whatever they've been through," Clint explained, handing them washcloths and finding the baby soap. "This is also very gentle... Not only for their hair but their eyes. You might have to wash their hair a few times to get it unmatted and clean." The kids had shut down on them, turning dull solemn eyes on the adults and allowing them to do whatever was needed. 

     Steve poured the soak on the washcloth and gently stroked the little girl to get the grime off her. His breath was held once in a while when the little girl jerked—glancing back to see how Natasha was doing with the boy and mimicking her long and gentle strokes—being even more careful around open wounds and lessening pressure on the bruises. "How does that feel, Princess? Doesn't that feel better?" 

    "It's okay, Buddy, look! I can see your face! Such a handsome man you are," Natasha cooed, finishing the boy's face and brushing back his hair. Washing the hair was another challenge, but the kids weren't fighting, but they weren't doing anything either. Their little bodies moved in the water, but she made sure to support the boy, and Steve was definitely watching his charge. 

     "We'll do fun another day. They look tired again," Steve said, though he wasn't sure they knew what fun was, and the shock of it could be too much. So they were bathed, and he could see their pale skin, the sunken eyes from lacking nutrition, but they were beautiful. His heart swelled a bit as Clint handed them both child-hooded towels and quickly wrapped her in one. "Look at that, Princess, you're a cat!" He tried to infuse his voice with enthusiasm to get a reaction, but the girl merely burrowed in the towel. 

     "I have a little bear!" Natasha tried the same, but he merely looked at her with solemn blue eyes. They both seemed too old for their two years. It was a crash course in diapers and putting them in onesies. The boy was in a dinosaur onesie and the little girl a pink cat onesie. 

    "I have a few extras in case something happens with their diaper, but there you guys go! Look at that. You survived your first bathing experience with toddlers," he helped clean up the bathroom and got towels to soak up the water that escaped in their earlier flails. "Onesies are a pain to get them out of to change diapers, but they might feel more secure in one than gowns." Steve was especially puzzled as to why Clint talked to the both of them as if this would be a regular occurrence. 

     "What do we do with them now? Do we go back to the med bay? It's so busy I'm worried it'll be disruptive," Steve mused, wondering if maybe Tony had a plan they could do with them. He held his little charge in his arms, lips quirking a bit as her feet slipped off and left it hanging. She didn't quite fit in the clothing she should. He held her against his chest, and Natasha had the little boy. 

     "Well... Until then maybe we could go to the living area? If there's no one there, I have a bedtime story," Natasha smiled, knowing that the kids probably had never had one of those before. During that time, someone could figure out where the kids could sleep. A bed with walls that keeps them in the bed would definitely be ideal. 

     "A bedtime story sounds like a fantastic idea," Steve followed Natasha out, not seeing the grin on Clint's face. That whole display was proof that his best friend could handle parenthood. It was just about getting the results.