The Ghost [Marvel | Steve Rogers]

Chapter 69

Upstate New York, USA

Summer 2015

Just as his mother predicted, little Nathaniel Pietro Barton arrived relatively quickly, allowing his siblings' impromptu babysitters to go on their way the next morning as soon as Clint picked them up to go meet and collect their new baby brother. Provided, of course, that they promised to return with the Enhanced boy who had lent the new arrival his middle name and the younger blonde who his parents hoped would agree to be his godmother along with the boy's twin; it was his parents' way of saying thank you to Nina and Pietro for the lengths they went to to save Clint and to Wanda for having Clint's back in Sokovia.

It was a promise made easily enough.

And then, despite the redheaded assassin's obvious temptation to stick around to welcome the new arrival home, the three women were on their way back to the Compound. They all knew the Barton family deserved the time alone with their newest addition regardless of how the Barton parents likely would have insisted the visitors were welcome, insisting that Natasha at the very least was as good as family herself.

But Natasha had been just as insistent that they leave the family to themselves, that they shouldn't intrude. And Nadine could understand that perfectly. Given the line of work the archer had been in? Nadine figured Clint had missed enough precious moments with his family over the years and she suspected that was what Natasha had been thinking as well. So they would meet little Nathaniel in person next time. Natasha had already promised to visit again on her own in the next couple days. Little Nate just had to meet his namesake, after all.

And Nadine was alright with that. She already felt like she had intruded enough despite Barton himself assuring her that he saw her as family just as he considered Nat to be. "You're Nat's sister," he'd pointed out with a shrug. "That makes you family in my book." Nadine hadn't known what to say, a trembling, warm feeling swelling deep in her chest. She wasn't actually sure she'd ever actually felt wanted somewhere the way she had when Clint had said that.

It was only a short hop from the Barton farm to Stark's new Compound, and Nadine was grateful for that. As pleasant as the reprieve at the Barton farm had been yet again, she was eager to get back, to see Nina. To reassure herself that her daughter was still fine. An irrational impulse to be sure, given that she rationally knew there was nowhere safer that her daughter could be. But after everything that had happened? After some of the things Madame B had said? After some of the things she and Natasha had talked about? She couldn't help it.

Especially since things were still tense between her and Nina. They were better than they had been, certainly. The talk they'd had, where Nadine had revealed everything she'd dared to her daughter had done a great deal to clear the air between them even if Nina had all but refused to speak to her for over a week afterward. But then she had started talking to her again and Nadine allowed herself to hope that they could begin repairing their relationship. There was still a great deal they needed to discuss—future plans and living arrangements among other things—but there was no real urgency there. No, things were starting to get back on track.

At least, until Nadine, Natasha and Wanda had left on their mission. Nina hadn't been happy about that. The flicker of fear Nadine had seen in her daughter's eyes when she'd told Nina they would be gone for a few days had cut her to the core. The last time Nadine had left on a mission, Nina had been kidnapped, and consciously or not, a part of Nina had panicked as a result when Nadine had told her she was leaving on a new mission.

"But you said you were done as the Ghost," she'd said, her voice sharp with confusion and a thread that sounded painfully close to betrayal. It was only thanks to her training that Nadine hadn't flinched in response.