Foundling

Sharon panted as she ran.

Her body was a blur as her paws carried her away as fast as she was able. Behind her, she could hear the ones chasing her gaining ground, prompting another burst of speed as she made it to the woods. Her blond fur caught on branches but she didn’t feel it, nor felt the thorns biting into her as she tried to lose her pursuers. A snarl was the only warning she got before teeth ripped open her back leg. Yelping, she lost her footing and tumbled down a small bank. The river moved swiftly behind her as she whirled around to face her attacker.

“Well well well, little Carter all alone. And in my territory, even. Not wise for a pretty little thing like you to be out all alone. Wonder if you still think you’re too good for, hmm?”

Sharon kept quiet, just lifting her lip to show her teeth.

“Guess you do, you little bitch. No matter, I’ll take you either way. Then leave your body for the buzzards,” Rumlow growled before lunging forward.

Sharon cried out as he savaged her shoulder, pulling her forward to latch onto her front paw. Bad choice. Twisting, she tore his ear to ribbons and slashed his eye before he managed to get out of the way. She used the moment to move back and gain distance, not noticing how close she was to the waters edge until she fell in. The current was too strong for her to fight, especially injured. She heard Rumlow roar in anger as she was carried off, then she hit the deepest part. Struggling to stay afloat, she wasn’t sure how far she had been taken. She was beginning to think she could reach a calm shore when her head bashed against a hidden rock, knocking her out completely. She never saw the shadowy figures running along the bank, nor the one that jumped in a small way ahead of her.

She came to a few moments later, only to panic when she felt herself being pulled by the scruff of her neck. Snarling, she thrashed in panic, managing to escape and dunking herself underwater. Her neck was grabbed again and she was pulled onto a shallow bank, coughing and spluttering to get the water out of her lungs. Body rolling, she managed to free herself again and forced herself onto her feet, albeit very shakily. Panting, she bared her teeth in a snarl as she looked up at the wolves before her. Over a dozen stood before her, with a large white male standing close to her. Judging by the water dripping off him he had been the one to fish her out. He was also the first to step forward, his blue eyes calm as he lowered his head to show her he meant no harm.

“Hi there. We don’t want to hurt you. Pepper saw you in the river, and I just wanted to get you out. You’re hurt, pretty severely by the looks of it. My pack would like to offer you a place to get some treatment, maybe call someone?” he asked, keeping his voice even and calm.

She slowly relaxed, somehow reassured by this wolf. Not fully though, one could never be too careful.

“Who are you? Where am I?” she asked, stepping slightly to the side as she forced herself out of the water but still keeping a safe distance from them.

“My name is Steve, Steve Rogers if you want the full name. Currently we are at the border of Virginia, close to DC. I’m afraid I can’t give you the exact location of my packs den.”

She felt her whole body sag as her blood ran cold. “You… you… you’re Captain America! From… from the Avengers! And SHIELD!”

“Wait, you know about SHIELD? Who are you?” a stern voice barked at her, a deep russet female stepping forward with a warning growl.

“Glad to see you haven’t changed, Romanov. Can’t even give your old roommate a hello,” Sharon muttered, head lowering in exhaustion as she sat, angling her injured back leg to the side.

Natasha felt her eyes widen as she finally placed her. “Sharon?! What happened? What the hell brought you here like this?” she demanded, rushing forward to look her friend over. Apparently retiring after mating Barton had loosened her up quite a bit.

“Long story short? Traced Rumlow, he’s dirty. Hydra’s still here and we’ve been taking it out where we can. Got caught or maybe someone in SHIELD is feeding him information. Been running for a few weeks now, he found me and here we are,” she explained, voice starting to slur as her adrenaline wore out.

Natasha began to ask more questions, but her mouth snapped shut when she saw Sharon beginning to shake. For her part, Sharon slumped to the ground, finally unable to keep herself upright. Snarling at an approaching Steve, Natasha flattened herself and carefully maneuvered Sharon onto her back before standing again.

“She’s with me, and we are taking her back. Let’s go,” she ordered, concern growing when Sharon went fully limp, her head flopping onto her shoulder as she blacked out.

Steve looked on, forcing himself to stay quiet as Natasha headed back to the house, mulling over what had happened. He had barely thought before jumping in when Pepper saw her in the water. He even had to admit he liked her fighting him as he pulled her out of the water both times. Showed she had spirit. Didn’t hurt that she was one of the most gorgeous wolves he had ever seen, blond fur that probably looked like gold in the light when it was dry. Her eyes when she had look up at him... Shaking his head, he forced his thoughts to more important things. Like Rumlow. He had disappeared after the attack on New York, but was thought to have died in the fight. Now to know that Hydra was still around filled him with fury. They had taken enough from him, and now this little female. Giving his head another shake, he cleared his head fully as they arrived at the house. Jane came out to greet them, her eyes widening upon seeing their guest.

“Oh no, ok hurry up and bring her inside while I get the medical kit. Bruce, gonna need you for this. Thor, go put a sheet on the couch. The pups are all asleep upstairs, so I want her patched before we move her to the guest room,” Jane ordered, not even waiting before going to get her bag.

Natasha waited patiently by the couch once she went inside, letting Clint move Sharon before shifting to her human self. Staying in a crouch, she smoothed a bit of the fur around her face. Jane arrived a moment later, shooing her away as she took her spot by the couch. Finding a small vial of smelling salts, she waved it under Sharon’s nose while keeping herself a slight distance. A smart move, as Sharon startled awake soon after and snapped her jaws at her out of instinct. A moment later she realized where she was, her ears falling back in mild shame and mistrust.

“Hello, my name is Jane. I’m sure you’ve heard of Thor, my mate. Bruce and I tend to our packs injuries, but I need you to change back so I can fully assess how severe they are,” Jane said gently.

Sharon let out a small whine. Changing was going to hurt like a BITCH. Ah well, no point putting it off. Laying down with a small huff, she felt herself shifting back. She felt her injuries reform in her human form, and she couldn’t hold back the scream as she curled up in a small ball. Someone draped a blanket over her, and she pulled it tight around her as she whimpered. Black crept into the edge of her vision, and she was never more grateful to be slipping into unconscious.

Natasha moved forward when Sharon went limp, only for Clint to hold her back. “Hey, it’s fine. We’ve certainly passed out from shift injuries, that’s all this is.”

Natasha growled at him slightly but kept still. She knew she was being overprotective but she couldn’t help herself. Sharon had been her roommate when she was training at SHIELD, and one of the only one’s other than Clint to not hold her past against her. They had developed a deep friendship that turned to being their own small pack until she had gone undercover almost a year before New York happened. Now to see her again and injured just made her instincts go crazy.

Jane moved quickly, mumbling to herself as she looked her over. “Deep bite on the back right leg, looks like it may have severed her muscle. Left shoulder has been mangled, I can make out at least one torn tendon. May have gotten some ligaments too so we’ll need to set it in a brace while her magic heals her. Left wrist is broken. Nasty bump on her head but not too bad. You think we need to keep her up for the night, Bruce? She’s in an adrenalin crash now so not sure if it’ll be better or worse. Maybe some broken ribs. Good lord what happened to her?”

“Rumlow. Apparently she was undercover and got found out. SHIELD may have a mole, or more than we thought anyway. Nat, you obviously know her. Who is she?” Steve asked.

“Her name is Sharon Carter. She was my roommate when I first started at SHIELD and one of the best spies they have. She was one of the best people there and I trust her with my life. When things go south, after Clint she’s the first one I would call. I’ve actually had to call on her a few times when Clint and I had gotten into a rough spot, and she has never let me down. One of the most genuine people too, doesn’t care much about people’s past or holding it against them. I haven’t seen her for over a year though, not since we retired. She went on an undercover op and well, here we are,” Natasha mumbled, eyes never leaving the couch as Bruce and Jane worked on her.

“She’s Peggy Carter’s niece, Cap. Only one in the family to follow in her footsteps. Tony knows her, if he’d bother to get his butt down here,” Clint told him, raising his voice slightly at the end.

A small thump signaled he had been heard, a grumbling Tony carefully coming downstairs. His grumbling stopped when he saw who was on the couch.

“What the hell is Sharon doing here?! Pep, what happened? Why is she hurt?” he demanded, racing the last few steps.

“Rumlow, she was undercover and got found out. I saw her in the river and Steve got her out then we brought her here,” Pepper explained, moving to embrace her mate while giving out calming pheromones.

“Did you get the bastard?” Tony snapped, eyes hard even as he kept his hold on Pepper gentle.

“We never actually saw him, Tony. This was just what she told us. The first we saw of her was when Pepper saw her in the river,” Steve answered, eyes darting between the couch and Tony.

“Before you go on a self-proclaimed man hunt, I should let you all know that our patient is waking up,” Bruce called before Tony could open his mouth.

Tony and Natasha darted forward to kneel by the couch while the others formed a circle around the couch. Sharon grunted slightly as her eyes fluttered open, gaze unfocused for a moment before she honed in on the two figures before her.

“Tony? Nat?” she mumbled, forcing her eyes to focus.

“Hey little fluff, haven’t seen you in a few months and first thing you do is go river diving without me. Tsk tsk,” Tony teased, hiding the pain he felt at seeing his baby sister hurt.

“Not little fluff,” she grumbled, eyes sliding closed when Natasha started running a hand through her hair.

“Rest, Carter, you’re safe here with us. Tony and I will keep watch,” Natasha soothed, smiling slightly when her friend dozed off again.

“That’s a good sign that she recognized both of you. We probably will need to wake her up every three hours just to be safe but for now we should let her rest. Tony, do you want to take her to the guest room?” Bruce asked.

“No, take her to our room. She will need to be watched over,” Natasha ordered, cutting a glare at Tony when he tried to protest.

“Why your room? She’s my baby sister, or might as well be. She should stay in my room,” Tony argued.

“Tony, we have Morgan in our room. She’s still not sleeping through the night and will keep her from getting the proper rest she needs to heal. I know she’s family, and I’m sure Natasha and Clint will let you check on her as much as you want. But she needs to heal and be around those she feels safe with, and she needs quiet,” Pepper reasoned, rubbing his back in comfort while leaning on his shoulder.

“Nothing will happen to her under our watch, Stark. She’s like a sister to Nat and I too, she will be perfectly safe. Nat almost took Cap out earlier when he got too close,” Clint told him as he scooped Sharon up, an easy feat given how she was so small. She let out a small sigh, nuzzling closer as she settled while Natasha petted her head slightly.

Tony let out a small huff as he eyed Steve, who had been strangely quiet the whole time. The blond just watched them, interest piqued as things began to make more sense. Clearly Sharon had been a part of their smaller pack before the Avengers had formed their own. Maybe if he had known her before New York she would have been part of theirs now. Something about her fascinated him, but he couldn’t figure out what. Tony growled slightly when his alpha placed the look in Steve’s eyes.

“Back off, captain. Alpha or not I can and WILL kick your ass if you try anything.”

“Ass.”

All of the adults turned at the tiny voice, finding a tiny pup grinning on the steps. Liam waved a bit as he carefully stepped the rest of the way down, making a beeline for Jane as she stooped to catch her son when he stumbled.

“We don’t say those kind of words, honey. What are you doing up? You should be asleep,” she scolded lightly as she stood with him on her hip.

“Morgy made a stinky, but she’s sleeping so I didn’t want to wakeded her. But it’s really bad, Mommy!” he whined, his words making Pepper and Tony race upstairs.

“Well, thank you for not waking your cousin. But we don’t say words like before, okay? Those are adult words that are for special circumstances, and even then not always worth it,” Jane told him as she headed back upstairs, rocking him slightly as he rested his head on her shoulder sleepily.

Thor watched them leave with a smile before turning back to the others. “Perhaps we should all get some rest. I assume you both have everything under control? If so we can continue this in the morning,” he suggested while aiming his question at the two assassins.

“We will be fine. I’ll get her settled and then if anyone needs anything one of us will be back down here in a few minutes to make sure nothing else is needed tonight,” Clint responded before heading down the hall to their room, Natasha right on his heels.

Steve watched them a moment before moving to the couch and sitting down. He could still smell her scent on it. The matter of her injuries was a red flag for him. Brock Rumlow had been part of the SHIELD strike force, and had always been helpful when he was still alive. Or so he had thought, anyway. Apparently he hadn’t died in the battle, and was dirty. And working with Hydra. The name alone set him on edge, his teeth sharpening as he growled. He had thought he had wiped them all out but apparently not. His thoughts were interrupted by Tony and Pepper coming back downstairs, baby Morgan resting against her mother’s shoulder.

“Well, Liam was right, that was one hell of a bomb. Now, back to business, what the hell happened and when are we taking care of it?” Tony snarked as he dropped into the loveseat with Pepper.

“Language, or so help me if Liam starts repeating it I will muzzle you,” Jane snapped from the stairs, hand on her back as her swollen belly was thrust forward.

“Sorry, Tony is going to watch it. Right, Tony?” Pepper hinted pointedly.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll watch it. Now, back to business. What happened? And I mean in detail not just the short version from before,” Tony growled.

“The short version was the full version, honey. We were running and I saw her in the river, Steve jumped in when she hit the rocks and went under. He got her out, then she told us about Rumlow and Hydra before she passed out. We brought her here and you know the rest. We will have to wait until she heals up a bit more before we can get the full story from her,” Pepper explained patiently. She knew he got defensive when his family was in danger, and with Morgan just turning two months old before this run his protective instincts were at their highest for both his mate and child.

“She will be sleeping quite a bit. Didn’t even make it to the room, Nat has her settled in and is watching over her. Are you wanting to stay in our room too?” Clint asked Tony sarcastically as he stepped into the room.

“Very funny, but it’s tempting.”

“How do you know her? You said she was basically your sister,” Steve asked.

“We grew up together. I remember when she was born, little ball of fluff no bigger than your hand. I was 18 at the time but she had me wrapped around her finger from day one. I even beat out her guardians for her first word, remember that Pep?” Tony asked wistfully.

“I do. I had just started working for you when you come toting in this baby, and she’s crawling around asking for her Ony,” Pepper laughed.

“Her parents died when she was about a month old, car crash. Not fully sure if it was accidental or not, but she went to live with Aunt Peggy and Uncle Daniel. I think Aunt Peg saw her as a second chance at raising kids, since hers resented how much she worked. So she became the baby sister I never knew I wanted. I think I have some videos around here somewhere,” he mused. “She came to Shield when she was 20. Peggy had no issue with her joining as long as she went to college first. Sharon took that as a challenge and graduated high school at 17, then went on to get a triple degree in psychology, physics, and international politics at 20. She’s only about 20 points lower IQ wise from me. Then went on to work at Shield under her mother’s last name so no one would accuse her of favoritism, managed to get to Level 6 clearance in the first two years. We kept in contact regularly until a little over a year ago when she told me she had to go undercover. Fury always told me she was fine and safe but clearly he needs a virus sent into his system to get his attention where it should be.”

Steve couldn’t control the growl that came up his throat. Fury should have been keeping a better eye on her. He managed to keep hundreds of people on point but the one he misses is this woman? His wolf snarled while pacing furiously. He was beginning to get an inkling of what was going on, and by the glare Tony was giving him he noticed too.

“Look Cap, can I talk to you in the kitchen for a sec?” he snapped, already up and moving.

Steve sighed as he followed him. Tony was leaning against the counter, arms crossed over his chest while he debated what to say.

“Did your wolf make a claim on Sharon?” he asked bluntly.

Steve blinked in mild surprise before thinking. It would explain why he was feeling so protective. The fact that she was beautiful, smart, and even injured tried to fight him just added to the appeal. He hadn’t felt anything like this since Peggy, and even that had not been nearly as strong as this. While initially Peggy had intrigued him before turning into infatuation, Sharon was already fascinating him. He had a feeling that it wouldn’t take much to feel more for her, if she was anything like what he had heard so far. Signs his wolf was highly interested.

“I think so. I’m sorry, Tony. We both know I can’t control it, but I know circumstances are not the most ideal at the moment.”

“She’s close with a lot of us, Cap. And we are very protective of her. I know you wouldn’t intentionally hurt her, but you also have a self-sacrificing streak a mile long. I know you’ve only just met her, but when I met Pepper our wolves claimed each other at first sight and here we are. It was rocky in the beginning with my habits, but this is the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. I also know she’s wanted to kill me multiple times before I started to be more careful about when I went out to fight. If her wolf claims you back then you know you’ll have to think of her for every decision you make. Things move fast here so I want you to know this before you try anything. I don’t want either of you hurt, but I will take her side and strike you down in a heartbeat if you hurt her,” Tony warned, voice completely calm as he kept a steady gaze on Steve.

Steve was mildly shocked at how mature Tony was being, but his reply was immediate. “If I did anything to hurt her I’ll let you.”