Better Days

WANDA POV:

I stayed wrapped in Nat's arms, not wanting to let go and let the memories overcome me. I was stuck in a half hallucination, half-truth scenario. I kept feeling like I was back in the cement room, like when I was being held down, but I also knew who I was here with and knew that neither Clint, Laura, or Nat would try to hurt me. 

I tried to calm down but it felt nearly impossible as I held onto Nat. I could see both Clint and Laura looking at me worriedly over Nat's shoulder. I felt bad and a little bit embarrassed about crying like this in front of them but I also was a little preoccupied with trying not to completely lose it that I couldn't care that much. 

I buried my face in between her collarbone and neck while I tried to take deep breaths. I felt like something was crushing my chest as I breathed. I knew that Nat wouldn't let anything happen to me while I was holding her though so I was perfectly content to just stay there for right now.

I felt her stand up and grab my legs to lift me off of the floor so I helped her by shifting slightly while I wrapped my legs around her torso. I was pretty big so I didn't know how she was holding me but I didn't care as I held on, feeling her move to the bed. I felt her sit down on the edge, shifting me in her lap so that my upper body was resting against her chest while my legs hung off of the side of hers. I was still facing her though so I could hold onto her while I continued to calm down.

Half an hour passed before I was calm enough to move away from Nat. I started by just moving my upper body away from hers, looking around the room. Clint was still in the room but Laura was gone. I had no idea when or why she left but I didn't care, the fewer people to see my dramatics the better.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, still trying not to break down again.

"Sweetie, you don't have to apologize," Nat told me. 

"Yes I do," I told her. "I had a meltdown at the farm. Clint and Laura didn't ask for this."

"Kiddo," I heard Clint say from behind me. I turned to face him. "You definitely don't have to apologize to anyone for having emotions. You are definitely allowed to cry, have meltdowns, get angry, whatever, given what you've gone through, as long as you're respectful, which you were. I don't want you to apologize for having feelings, okay?" I nodded. 

"I can go," I told him before turning back to Nat. "You can stay and I'll just go back to the compound until you are done. You don't cause problems but I do and I don't want Clint or Laura to be mad at me because I can't handle myself and-"

"Woah, slow down baby," Nat cut me off. I was out of breath from talking so fast so I took a few seconds to catch my breath while Nat talked.

"No one wants you to leave Wanda," Clint told me. "Trust me, if Laura and I didn't want you here, you wouldn't be here, but we absolutely love having you here with us. To be completely honest, I'm glad I was here when you had a meltdown." I blushed as I slightly turned away. "I'm serious Wanda, I want to help you through all of that stuff, even if it means being the bad guy when you just want to be left alone, okay?" I nodded, not really knowing what to say to that. I knew what the unspoken truth was too. Without Clint here, there is a good chance I would have a pair of scissors in my stomach.

"We're not going anywhere just yet, okay baby?" Nat continued. Another nod, I was exhausted from my recent crying sesh but I didn't want to sleep, I was too scared of the nightmares. I had been dealing with them fine but I didn't want one right now, it would be too much.

I laid my head back down on Nat's shoulder as I tried to keep my eyes open.

"How about you get some rest baby?" Nat told me, I really didn't want to but I could feel my eyes shutting against my will.

I crawled off of her lap and lay on the bed instead. She kissed my head before wrapping me in the blankets. Clint said goodbye before leaving the room but Nat stayed with me, rubbing my back. I was out within seconds.

CLINT POV:

I left to go join Laura as soon as Nat had gotten Wanda in bed to take a nap. I knew that Nat would stay until Wanda fell asleep. 

When I got downstairs, no one was in the house. I checked all of the rooms but none of the kids or Laura were to be seen. I went to check outside and heard them immediately.

I walked around the corner of the house and saw Laura surrounded by 3 crying kids. She was holding Nate who was most likely crying because his two siblings were crying and he was still little but I had an idea why the other two were crying.

She was crouched near both of them as she tried to reassure them. 

I quickly rushed over and took Lila. 

"Daddy," she cried into my shoulder while I held her and rubbed her back.

"Shh, Lila, it's okay," I told her while I pulled Cooper into a side hug. "You're okay buddy," I told him. He turned to cry into my side while he grabbed onto my shirt. 

"Is Wanda okay?" I heard Lila sob while she held onto me.

"Wanda's okay sweetie, I promise," I told her. "She's sleeping right now but you can go see her later, okay?" 

"But she was holding scissors and crying daddy, was she going to hurt herself? You always tell us not to play with scissors." This girl was too smart.

Laura stepped in. "That's right, I never want either of you playing with scissors okay?" Both of the kids nodded. "Now, Wanda is okay, you know how I told you that she would probably be a little sad when she got here?"

Lila nodded, starting to calm down a little bit. "Well, she was getting a little bit sad and so we all had to be there for her, she's okay though and she's not hurt."

"Well, I want to be there for her then," Lila sniffed. "If Wanda's sad, we should all be there."

"That's very nice of you Lila but that was all grown-up stuff. You can go see her later though if she feels up to it, okay?" Lila nodded but didn't get to say anything as she was cut off by Cooper.

"That's bullshit!" Cooper yelled from his spot attached to my side.

"Hey!" I snapped as I gently swatted him on his backside with the hand not holding Lila. "Watch your language."

"But it's true and you know it," he told me, still crying. "Wanda was going to hurt herself with the scissors and you all had to be there to stop her, I'm not an idiot," he told us. He was still crying, tears streaming down his face. 

I looked at Laura knowing that we needed to have a longer conversation with him. He was older than Lila, we couldn't just tell him these half-truths and expect that to be enough.

Of course his declaration made Lila's tears start back up again which then made Nate start wailing again, getting us back to square one. 

"Hey buddy, we'll go talk in a little bit, okay?" I told him while I tried to get Lila to calm down.

"I'm sorry for cursing but I don't want to get in trouble for something I know is right," he argued, the tears never stopping.

"You're not in trouble honey," Laura stepped in. "Your dad and I just want to talk to you about what's going on okay?" He nodded, shoving himself back into my side.

Both of us stayed outside with all three kids crying when the door opened and Nat joined us. I was afraid she would find us. It's not that I didn't want her to know what was going on, I just knew that the second she saw all of the tears, she was going to feel horrible. She had felt horrible when Lila cried because of Wanda's shouting, this was a whole new level. She would probably be adamant about leaving now.

She did a relatively good job of masking her guilt as she came over to us but Laura and I could still see it.

"I'm so sorry," she mouthed to both Laura and me. We both quickly mouthed back that it was okay but I knew that that wouldn't be enough to convince her.

"Auntie Nat, is Wanda okay?" Lila sobbed, noticing the new person on the premises.

"Yeah honey, Wanda's okay, she's just sleeping," Nat told her, rubbing her back while she cried. To my surprise, Cooper detached himself from my side before moving over to Nat, hugging her instead. 

He wasn't that tall at 9 years old so he hugged Nat, only coming up to about her chest. He rested his head against her chest though as he cried. Nat hugged him, shushing him as she looked at both Laura and me surprised. 

"Did Wanda hurt herself?" Cooper asked Nat. I couldn't get mad at him for asking questions but all of his questions were making Lila more concerned as she cried harder. 

Nat looked completely surprised at the question. She grabbed Cooper by the shoulders and gently pushed him back to look at her. "Wanda is okay Coop, I promise. She's asleep but I guarantee she'll want to see you later and you can talk to her then, okay?" Cooper nodded, tears still falling. "She's okay though and she's not hurt," she reassured him. She then pulled him back into a hug as she let him cry. 

After another few minutes, Laura and Nat switched, Laura picking up Cooper so he could finish crying while Nat took Nate. 

"I'll take him inside to calm down," Nat told us. We both nodded as we sat on the porch swing with the kids. Cooper had mostly calmed down by now and was sitting with Laura, Lila was the harder one to get to stop. 

It took another 10ish minutes for Lila to calm down but she did, leaning against me as she wiped her eyes. She was still 6 so I wasn't surprised that she took this so hard.

"Are you okay baby?" Laura asked as she moved some hair out of Lila's face. Lila nodded as she smiled at Laura. She looked tired and was still a little sniffly but she was okay.

"How about you go find Nat and Nate inside?" Laura told Lila. "We'll all be in in a few minutes."

"Okay," Lila said as she climbed off of my lap and walked into the house.

We waited until the door closed before turning to Cooper.

"Buddy, we know that you are older than your sister and so you are going to figure out more things than she is so I'm sorry for not giving you the full truth," I started.

"We didn't want to scare you hun and what's going on can be kind of scary," Laura continued. 

"Wanda is struggling a lot with what happened. I know we told you that something happened but we didn't tell you what. Well, some bad men took her and hurt her a lot. We all rescued her but she's still having a bit of a hard time with what happened to her. Remember when I was gone for a long time right before I came back?" He nodded. "Well, I was with Wanda helping her recover after what had happened to her."

"I stayed here with you and your siblings but I helped from an outsider's point of view. I made sure that both your father and Nat were getting the support that they needed while taking care of Wanda. And that's why Wanda came here, she needed a bit more support from all of us. Does that make sense Coop?" Laura asked.

"Yeah," he started hesitantly. "But why was she trying to hurt herself? Isn't she happy now that she's here with us?"

I looked at Laura before answering. "She loves being here and she loves all of us but she's still struggling, especially at that moment. We're both sorry that you had to see that. Wanda would never hurt you though okay so you don't have to be afraid of her."

"I'm not," he responded quickly and I knew he was being sincere. "I'm just worried about her."

"I know, we all are bud, but she'll be okay. She went through a rough patch, just like you and Lila do sometimes, but she'll get through them. Can you do me a favor though and talk to mama and me if you want to talk about what you saw? Don't mention it to Wanda, okay?" I told him, knowing that Wanda probably wouldn't react super well to that.

"I can do that," he smiled at both of us. "Can we see her?"

"Soon honey," Laura replied. "She's napping right now but we can see her in a little bit. Let's go find Auntie Nat, Lila, and Nate though, okay?"

"Okay," he said. We both hugged him before following him into the house. There we found Nat sitting with Nate on her lap while she played dolls with Lila. She looked up when we walked in and I could see the guilt painted all over her face. 

Laura took Nate as Lila turned to all of us. 

"Daddy, look at my dolly!" she said excitedly as she held up her doll in my face. Nat had braided its hair and so Lila was really excited.

"Wow sweetie, that's awesome!" I exclaimed, moving so I could sit on the couch next to Nat. I knocked my knee into Nat's and she threw me a smile but I could tell it was forced. Laura noticed it too. We would talk to her in a bit.

"How about we watch a movie?" Laura suggested. Both kids jumped up as they cheered, excited to watch a movie with all of us.

"Let me go put Nate down for a nap and then we'll eat popcorn while we watch," Laura said, disappearing up the stairs with Nate. 

I moved into the kitchen to go make popcorn while Nat stayed with the kids, finding a movie to watch. Although she was smiling and laughing with the kids, I could tell that her mind was somewhere else and I knew that we needed to talk sooner rather than later before the guilt ate her alive.

Laura came back down quickly before sitting on the couch to watch the movie. She and Nat had a quick, quiet conversation but Nat got up, moving into the kitchen to see if I needed help with the popcorn, effectively stopping the conversation.

"Do you need any help in here?" she asked quietly.

"No, I think we're good, how are you doing?" I asked.

"Great," she said as she shot me a fake smile before returning back to the living room, this time sitting on one of the side chairs, away from Laura and the kids. Lila saw her and got off of the couch to go crawl on Nat's lap. Nat gently picked her up, turning Lila so she could sit on her lap while watching the TV. 

I smiled as I went to go sit next to Laura and Cooper. They had chosen some movie that I had surprisingly never seen. As the movie started, I leaned over to Laura and whispered in her ear. "We need to talk to Nat about what just happened." She shot a glance at Nat before looking back at me.

"We definitely do, we can do it after the movie, did you see her face when we got in the house? She looked just like when she was in trouble as a teen."

"The guilt," I said as I nodded. "It's going to tear her apart if we don't talk to her about it soon. She definitely needs a release, she hasn't gotten one since Wanda was kidnapped. This has got to be hard on her too. I know she's not sleeping nearly enough, she's constantly worried about Wanda, and she's barely eating. Her entire focus is on Wanda, not on herself."

"Yeah, we'll talk to her about that. I'm worried she'll end up in the hospital soon. She's gonna get an ulcer if she's not careful. I've noticed the bags under her eyes and the limitations she's put on food."

I sighed. "She'll get there, we'll talk to her about it and hopefully that'll be enough to kickstart her back into healthy habits."

Laura nodded, turning back to the movie.

I glanced at Nat throughout the movie and she looked like a zombie. She looked very deep in thought as she sat there, looking at the screen but I could tell that she was paying absolutely no attention to the movie. She would snap out of it occasionally when Lila would laugh at the movie and look back at Nat but then it was back to the blank stare.

The movie ended about an hour later and the kids cheered for another. 

"How about you two watch another one while we all go check on Nate and Wanda?" Laura suggested.

"But we want you to watch them too," Lila whined.

"I know sweetie and we'll be back soon, I promise. The grown-ups have to talk really quick and then we'll be back, okay?"

Lila seemed to take that as an okay deal as she crawled off of Nat. Natasha was looking at us in a confused manner but she did get up and follow us upstairs once the kids were situated with a new movie.

We led the way down the hall into our room, passing both a sleeping Nate and a sleeping Wanda.

"What's going on? Do you need us to leave?" Nat asked as soon as we had closed the door. "I'm really sorry about the whole Wanda meltdown thing, we can definitely leave though, I don't want the kids being afraid of her or me and-"

"Hold on Tasha," Laura said, gently holding up a hand.

"We don't want either of you to go anywhere," I answered. "We're just worried."

Nat looked confused as we continued. "You aren't taking care of yourself," Laura started. 

"What?" Nat went to defend herself but Laura cut her off. 

"Let me finish. You aren't sleeping nearly enough, you're barely eating, and you aren't doing anything to make yourself happy."

"Wanda makes me happy," Nat said, her tone deadly.

"We aren't saying she isn't Nat," I stepped in. "We're just saying that all of this has to be stressful for you too."

"I'm fine, Wanda's the one who needs the support, not me," Natasha continued, seeming angry at us.

"We know that Wanda needs support but you do too Tasha," Laura told her gently. 

Nat rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for us to continue. When we didn't, she spoke. "I'm sorry for Wanda scaring the kids, I know she needs help and I think I rushed it a bit with the conversation, I should've waited for Sam to do it but I got impatient. I'm obviously not doing a very good job at this whole parenting thing as she almost shoved a pair of scissors into her intestine but I'm doing fine, thanks for caring," she told us, sounding sarcastic.

"Nat, you're doing great," Laura tried but Nat cut her off.

"No I'm not!" she shouted back. "My kid got kidnapped Laura, kidnapped! Generally speaking, parents aren't supposed to allow kids to get taken but I did. I'm a horrible mother and I think she might be better off with you guys." I could hear the slight shift in her voice as Nat suggested that.

"No she wouldn't Nat and you know it," Laura told her, still gentle but with a firm edge to it. "You did not let her get kidnapped. She left and things happened but you know what? You found her and took care of her until she got better."

"She's not better Laura!" Nat shouted again. "She can't walk, she can't sleep, she wants to die, she's still in pain, and she's constantly having flashbacks of what happened!" I could tell Nat was getting flustered so I tried something.

"Calm down Nat," I told her calmly. "Shouting isn't helping." She huffed as she turned away from us slightly.

"You are doing wonderful Nat, I promise, but you need to take care of yourself. I get that Wanda is your world but you need to be alive if you're going to help her."

"I'm not going to die Laura," Nat scoffed as she rolled her eyes. 

"You will if you keep going down this path," she returned. "If you don't eat and you don't sleep, you will."

"This is ridiculous," Nat huffed under her breath. She went to leave so I stood in front of the door.

"We weren't finished," I told her.

"You can't keep me in here, I'm not a teenager anymore," she bit back.

"I'm aware, but we can still talk to you. You're right, we can't physically stop you but we're just trying to help."

"Fine," she snapped as she turned around and stormed to the other corner.

"You're acting like a teenager," I told her.

"Oh really?" she questioned as she rolled her eyes again. Laura put a hand on my arm to calm me down.

"Nat, we need you to eat and sleep. We can take care of Wanda while you sleep, whatever you need, you need sleep though. And you need to eat, more than you are right now."

"I eat," she snapped.

"We know, but you need to eat more." Laura walked closer to her, trying to get her to look into her eyes. She gently grabbed her chin and Nat snapped her head back, away from her grasp.

"Hey, look at me!" Laura hissed. Nat ignored her. "You're not too old," she told her as she grabbed onto Nat's wrist and I knew what she was referring to.

Nat blushed but looked back at her, ripping her wrist out of her grasp as she yelled, "What are you gonna do Laura? Spank me? I'm way too old for that and you wouldn't be able to hold me down even if you tried."

"Watch it," I snarled. "We aren't planning on punishing you but Laura will gladly put you over her knee if that's what you want. You're acting like a brat right now Nat, you need to take some deep breaths and listen to what we're saying."

I watched as her chest moved up and down as she tried to prevent blowing up on us. 

"We know you're going through a lot of stuff right now. Wanda's recovery is hard on all of us but I can only imagine how hard it is on you. You're doing really well Nat but you need to take care of yourself," I told her gently.

"I'm leaving," she told me. "I'm packing Wanda's stuff and we're leaving, this is ridiculous, I'm taking care of myself," she hissed as she moved away from Laura, moving to the door that I was still in front of. 

"Nat, stop," I told her as I held my hands up. "Calm down, you're angry, I get that, but the kids don't want you to go, we don't want you to go."

"Natasha, you need to sit down and talk to us," Laura told her, her parental voice coming through. 

"I don't need to do a goddamned thing Laura!" she shouted as she whipped around to face Laura. 

"Hey!" I told her as I grabbed her wrist, turning her to face me as I fought the urge to smack her across her backside. If she was a teenager, she would have been over my knee by now but she wasn't anymore and I had to respect that. "You're lucky you're not a teenager. One more disrespectful comment to either me or Laura and you're getting popped, got it?"

"Whatever," she grumbled and I let her go. I knew that she was exhausted. She needed good sleep, not sleep interrupted by nightmares. Even if she's not the one having the nightmares, she still wakes up each time Wanda has them and is then awake until Wanda decides to go to sleep. 

"C'mere Nat," Laura told her, taking a gentle approach as she sat on the bed. Nat walked over to Laura, sitting next to her. "We know that you're going through a lot, we know that Wanda is going through a lot, I'm so thankful that I've never had to go through anything like this, you really are doing wonderful, I don't want you beating yourself up, okay?" Nat nodded.

"Sorry guys," Nat said as she ran a hand over her face. "I know I'm being difficult. I'm sorry, I'll try to go get some sleep. I just feel like I'm failing Wanda," she told us as she put her head in her hands.

"Nat, you're not failing her, I promise," Laura told her. "You wanna know something?" Laura asked Nat.

"What?" Nat asked, still seeming miserable.

"I felt the exact same way when you came to live with us."

"No you didn't," Nat scoffed. "You were amazing, I'm failing."

"I really did Tasha, I was scared I wasn't doing enough to help you."

"You were amazing Laura," Nat told her softly and I could tell she was being sincere. "I really didn't say thank you enough but you're the only reason I'm still here. You're the only reason I got a chance to be a mom to Wanda. I love you guys," she told us. Laura hugged her and I watched them, feeling my heart swell.

"I have to go check on Wanda but I really do apologize for my actions. You guys can feel free to kick me out anytime," Nat laughed.

"Love you kiddo," I said as I pulled her into a quick side hug, letting her leave to go check on her girl.

I heard Laura sigh and I turned to her. "We did good," I told her.

"Yeah, let's just hope she actually gets some sleep," Laura replied and I knew she was right. No matter how Nat acted at the end of the conversation, there was still a good chance that nothing would change and that she would keep hurting herself to help Wanda.

We both left the room, seeing Nat slowly leave Wanda's room, closing the door behind her gently. "Still asleep?" I asked.

"Yup, hopefully she stays that way for a little bit," she replied, walking down the stairs with us.

Lila ran over to us, grabbing onto Laura's legs when we got downstairs. "You guys were gone forever!" she dramatized.

Laura laughed as she picked Lila up. "But we're back, just like we said," she told her and Lila laughed, squirming to be put down. Laura set her down and watched as she ran back to the couch, sitting next to Cooper. 

We all went down to sit on the couch with the kids, waiting for the movie to be over.

Towards the end of the movie, Nat's phone rang. She answered it and I watched as her facial expression changed. She stood up and moved to another room. I shot a glance at Laura and saw that she noticed the weird action too. I waited a few minutes for Nat to come back but when she didn't, I got up to go check on her.

She was in the hallway next to our stairs, still holding the phone up to her ear. "Okay," I heard her say as I came into view. She looked over at me and held up a finger, letting me know she needed one more minute.

"Yeah, I'll be ready, okay, thanks," I heard her finish as she hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" I asked her. She huffed before looking at me.

"Fury, he needs me to go on a mission. I asked if I absolutely needed to go, given the certain circumstances and he told me that he does, he barely gave me any information though. I'm going with Steve and he will give me more info soon. Steve is on his way to get me. He'll be here in about half an hour."

"We've got Wanda," I told her, knowing that that was her first concern.

"Clint, last time I had a mission, she didn't sleep, for almost a week. She only slept when Pepper forced her to. She was too afraid that she would get nightmares while I was gone."

"We'll make sure she sleeps and eats," I responded. "Laura can sleep with her if need be."

"I hate to leave her right now," Nat replied. "She just got kidnapped and I'm leaving her? This isn't right, I can't go."

"Nat," I told her, knowing she was talking herself into a panic. "If you don't want to go, tell Fury no. If you decide to go though, Laura and I have Wanda, I promise. Nothing will happen to her. We will make sure she eats and sleeps, she'll be okay."

"But what if she's not?" she questioned.

"Then we tell you and you come back. Fury isn't going to fire you, you're a valuable part of this team, I promise. Is he sure no one else can go though? I'll go," I offered, hoping Nat didn't have to go.

"He's sure. I asked him and he told me that it had to be me. I don't know why though. I'm really hoping it's not a honeypot." I felt my anger flare and my jaw clench when she mentioned that. I hated that Fury made her go on those missions. I had raised holy hell when I first figured out that those were the missions she was being sent on but all that did was get me put on probation. Nothing changed. She was the only girl and that was her training. As much as I hated it, Nat never said no so Fury kept sending her on them. 

I didn't know what to say to that so I just waited for her to continue. "Alright," she sighed. "I should go say bye to Wanda and pack my stuff."

"Did he give you a timeline?" I asked.

She looked at me and shook her head. "I have no idea, I will let you know as soon as I get more information though."

"What the hell did Fury tell you then?" I asked, getting mad that he knew that Nat had a kid who is going through a traumatic time but didn't care as he sent her on a mission. And not only that, but he didn't give her a lick of information.

"He called me and told me that he needed me to go on a mission with Steve. He told me that he couldn't give me much information but that Steve would be here in 30 minutes to pick me up and that he would give me the details. I then asked if anyone else could go and he told me that it had to be me. That no one else could do it and that he needed me to go on it."

I sighed, sometimes, I hated Fury. "Okay, well you let me know if you need anything or if you want me to do anything about it."

"I'll be fine Clint, just please make sure Wanda sleeps," she told me.

"I will, I promise."

"Okay," she sighed. "Let's go tell Wanda." Wanda was still asleep but we didn't have time to wait for her to wake up before Nat had to go.

We both walked into the bedroom and I watched as Nat sat on the bed, rubbing Wanda's back softly. I stayed in case Wanda freaked out when Nat told her she was leaving.

I watched as Wanda started to stir. She flipped over to look at Nat better once she had fully woken up. "Mama?" she questioned, looking at Nat.

"Hey baby, how'd you sleep?" Nat asked softly and I wondered how she was going to approach this.

"Good, what time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes as she sat up.

"It's about 4 pm, sorry we woke you up," Nat told her and I was waiting for the ball to drop.

"It's okay," she said as she went to get out of bed.

"Hey, so I'm going to tell you something and I need you to stay calm, okay?" Wanda looked at her and stopped what she was doing when she heard Nat.

"Okay?"

"Fury called. He needs me to go on a mission." I watched as Wanda's face fell. 

"Okay, I can just go with," she tried, her voice quiet.

"No sweetie, not this one, you're going to stay with Laura and Clint. I don't know how long I'll be gone or what I'm leaving for but it's only Steve and I going so I don't think it'll be too long or too dangerous, okay?" she asked and I watched as Wanda's lower lip quivered. She reminded me of little Lila as she tried not to cry. 

"But I wanna go with you," Wanda pouted. I knew that this had to be hard for her given her current circumstance. 

"I know honey," Nat said as she caressed Wanda's cheek. "You're going to have so much fun with Clint and Laura though. You can play with the kids and hang out with them and I'll be back before you know it, promise," she said. As much as I hated to say it, she couldn't promise that. Our line of work was extremely dangerous and we had no idea if or when she would get back. 

"Please," Wanda said as the tears started.

"Oh baby," Nat sighed and I knew that this hurt her as much, if not more, than it hurt Wanda. "C'mere," she said as she pulled Wanda into a hug. This was enough to make Wanda's dam break and I heard as her sobs became audible.

"Can you grab some clothes and put them in my duffel bag?" Nat asked me while she hugged Wanda. Wanda was gripping onto Nat as she sobbed and I knew it was going to be a nightmare to get her off of Nat. 

I grabbed some of Nat's clothes as I threw them into her bag, making sure to hold up each item of clothing for Nat to confirm before I packed it. 

Soon after, her bag was packed but Wanda was still crying as she held onto Nat. We stayed that way for a while until I heard the jet outside.

"Nat," I warned as I looked out of the window to see the Quinjet landing on our lawn. Laura didn't know what was going on so I heard her yell from downstairs that someone was here.

"Coming babe," I called as I looked at Nat. I really didn't want to tear Wanda away from her but I was going to have to.

"Wanda," I said gently as I rubbed her back. "You have to let Nat go, we're going to have so much fun and she'll be back so soon, I promise," I told her. She didn't want to listen to any of it though as she gripped onto Nat tighter.

"Please don't leave mama, I need you," Wanda told her and I watched as Nat looked torn. She needed to go on the mission, she hadn't gone on one for months and she didn't want to let them down but I could also see her longing to just call Fury and tell him she couldn't go. 

"I know baby, I'll be back soon but I have to go now. You can call me and I will let you know when I find out how long it'll take me, okay?" Nat said as she tried gently pushing Wanda off of her.

"No mama!" she cried. I was surprised, I hadn't heard Wanda call her mama in a while but now it was practically every other word.

Laura must have heard the commotion because she appeared upstairs. 

"Steve is here," she said, looking confused.

"I know, Nat got called into a mission," I told her. "But someone doesn't want to let her go," I continued, pointing at Wanda.

Laura looked at Nat sympathetically as she moved closer, knowing we were going to have to help.

"C'mon baby, we'll have fun," Laura told her, trying to get Wanda to calm down.

"No, I don't want Nat to go," she cried as she held on tighter.

Steve showed up in the bedroom and I figured Laura had let him in. "Is everything okay in here?" he asked. I could tell Wanda was getting overwhelmed. 

"You have to go Nat, she'll only get more anxious until you go," I told her. "She'll be okay, we'll make sure she sleeps and eats, we've got her, I promise," I told Nat.

Nat nodded but I could see the unshed tears in her eyes. I moved forward, knowing I would have to take a hands-on approach. I hoped her separation anxiety wasn't forming again. I didn't think it was, this just seemed like she was crazy overwhelmed and a lot had happened so it was obvious she would want her mom. 

"C'mon honey," I mumbled as I grabbed Wanda and gently pulled her away from Natasha. "You're okay kiddo," I told her as I pulled her into my arms instead.

"I love you baby," Nat told her as she blew her a kiss, grabbed her bag, and left. I felt bad as Wanda cried but I knew that she would be okay. 

She tried to follow Nat out of the house but we held onto her, waiting to hear the jet take off before I let her go. She took off running but I let her, knowing she wouldn't get far.

"Nat will let me know when she finds out how long she'll be gone," I told Laura.

"Where is she going?" Laura asked.

"I have no idea. Fury didn't give her any information other than the fact that he needed her and Steve to do it and that Steve was coming to get her in 30 minutes."

"Okay, keep me posted," she asked me. 

"I will," I told her. "Let's go get Wanda," I told her, knowing Wanda was going to need more support. 

"What's wrong with Wanda mommy?" Lila asked from downstairs. She wasn't crying, just looked concerned. 

"Nothing baby, Nat just left for a little bit so she's a little sad right now but she'll be okay in a little bit. Do you know where she went?"

"Outside. I told her not to go without you guys but she didn't listen. She was crying."

"I know babes," Laura told Lila. "We're going to go get here but why don't you stay inside. Can you watch your brother?" Laura asked, pointing to Nate in his bouncer. He must've woken up when I was with Nat and Wanda. 

Cooper and Lila both nodded, agreeing to watch their brother while we went to go get their pseudo older sister. 

We opened the door and Wanda was crouched on the grass, crying as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Wanda," Laura started calmly as she moved closer to her, gently touching her shoulder. "Nat will be back soon, I promise. What can we do for you?"

"I want Tasha," she cried as she turned to Laura. "Make her come back Laura, please. She may not listen to me but she will to you, please Laura, I want my mama back," she cried. 

Laura pulled her into a hug as she sat on the lawn with Wanda. I sat down as well, waiting for Wanda to calm down or for Laura to ask me to step in.

"Let's go inside sweetheart," Laura tried. "You'll be way more comfortable in there, it's almost time for bed too so we can go in, have some dinner, maybe watch a movie."

"I don't want to do that," Wanda sniffed. "I don't want to sleep. Nat helps with the nightmares, I can't sleep without her."

"You have to sleep while she's gone Wanda," I told her. 

"No I don't," she mumbled, sitting back from Laura as she crossed her arms. I decided not to pick this battle right now as I pulled out my phone.

I saw a message from Nat so I opened my phone and read the message. It read: 'I should be back in a little under a week. How's Wanda doing? Fury was right, it needed to be me on this mission, it's HYDRA. The people who took Wanda are back and they're trying to find her again. Steve and I are heading to shut it down. It'll be dangerous but we're up for it, anything to get them to shut down. Fury didn't want too many of us going in case we get kidnapped or something else happens. We should be fine but just know that there is a risk. I'll keep you updated though.'

I looked over at a shaking Wanda and texted her back saying: 'Get those sons of bitches. Wanda's okay, she's calmed down a lot and we'll be okay. We'll make sure she sleeps, you worry about getting the people that hurt her and staying safe, Laura and I've got Wanda. Let me know if you need anything, and I mean anything Nat.'

She responded quickly saying: 'I'm so ready to put these guys in their place. They fucking hurt Wanda, that puts them on my bad side immediately. Thanks Clint, tell Laura thanks for me, I didn't get a chance to tell her. Talk to you guys later.' 

It now made sense why Fury told her that she was the one who needed to go on this mission. It was to get the guys who hurt Wanda, Nat wouldn't pass up that opportunity for anything. "Hey Wanda," I spoke up. "Nat just texted me, the mission will probably take about a week but she thinks she'll complete it sooner. She'll probably be home in a couple of days."

Wanda looked slightly upset but that's because a couple of days probably seems forever away to her. 

"What is she doing?" she asked.

"It's a hostage situation and she said it shouldn't be dangerous at all so she should get in and out shortly," I twisted the truth, I didn't need Wanda worried. Laura looked relieved at first but she met my eye and I saw the relief disappear. She must've seen the unspoken fear on my face. She plastered a smile on her face as Wanda looked at her. 

"Hear that sweetie, she'll be okay!" Laura exclaimed.

"Yeah," Wanda sighed. "I guess that's good, I wanted it to be a day mission though."

"Yeah, but this is pretty good news!" Laura continued and I knew she was dying to know the truth about what was actually happening. 

"Yeah," Wanda replied. At least her tears were mostly gone. She stood up and we both followed her inside. 

"How about you go sit with the kids and watch a movie, we'll be right there," I suggested to Wanda. She nodded as she limped into the living room. I had a feeling her leg was hurting from her recent running session, I made a mental note to get her some painkillers. 

While I grabbed the meds, I handed Laura the phone to read the texts. I saw her getting more worried as she read each text but she kept it together. She knew that this was the type of stuff we had to face as Avengers and as much as she hated it, there was nothing she could do to stop it. 

"Let me know if she texts you again," Laura told her in a hushed voice as she handed my phone back to me. 

"I will," I replied, grabbing a glass of water and the meds. 

I walked into the living room and I saw that Wanda had grabbed Nate and was sitting with him next to Lila who was of course practically on top of Wanda. I brought the meds to her and said, "Here, it's just some ibuprofen, I figured that would help with your leg."

"My leg is fine," she replied but I knew she was lying.

"Humor me," I said, handing her the meds. She sighed but grabbed the meds and took them. I sighed, glad that she listened and didn't argue because I really didn't want to fight with her right now.

"Any requests for dinner?" Laura asked as she peeked her head around the corner. 

"Spaghetti and meatballs!" Lila shouted from the couch. 

"Okay, that sound good to everyone else?" she asked. Cooper and I nodded and Wanda didn't reply. "Wanda?" Laura asked.

"Oh yeah, sorry," she said. 

"Cool, we'll have that then, it'll be ready in about half an hour."

I sat with the kids. Wanda went to hand me Nate and I said, "You can hold him if you want but if you don't, I'll take him." She was always nervous around our kids because she thought that she would hurt them but we trusted her, she just needed to trust herself. 

She nodded and put him back in her lap, continuing to play with him and Lila. She wasn't happy but she also didn't seem too depressed at the moment so we'll take it. 

I sat back and watched her playing with my son and daughter while we waited for dinner and things almost felt normal.