After the Avengers (Clintasha) [Complete]

Chapter 5

5

Natasha POV

Who's Ellie Moss? At this point in time, the only thing that I can really ask myself is who Ellie is and what is her connection to Clint.

I'm barely even wondering who Katie is. She's obviously a trained killer and by the sounds of it, Clint's daughter. Clint never told me he had a daughter and to be perfectly honest, I'm mad at him for it.

When we got in the car to drive back to SHIELD, he wouldn't talk to anyone - not even me. He put his head in his hands and just kept shaking his head. I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about in that thick skull of his.

There is the possibility that he didn't know about his daughter and for some reason, I'm really hoping that's what was going on. If it is, than this is a problem that we could handle together and I would have the reassurance that he wasn't keeping something from me.

If he did know about her, than I don't know what I would do. I don't think I'd ever be able to trust him again. It would break my heart. It would also mean he abandoned Katie and whoever Ellie is. He told me he had changed since he joined SHIELD, but what would stop him from abandoning me?

This whole thing was ill timed and mad me ill. Right now, I had too many things to deal with. My big secret, the stacks of paperwork that Maria had deleted, my new friendships and family, and now I had to deal with Katie.

I walk through the halls of SHIELD trying to find my husband. I hadn't seen any of the guys or Pepper (seeing as she had to stay here for a debriefing) in a while either. I was half assuming that if I saw any of them; they'd now where Clint was.

I sauntered past the gym when I ran into Steve, literally. I first saw Maria, who stormed down the hall, probably towards her office. I went to ask her if she'd seen Clint but she just kept walking. I turn around just in time to see Captain America barrelling down the hall calling after her. He knocked me off my feet, but having super reflexes, he caught me.

"I am so sorry, Natasha," he says .

"It's ok, Steve," I say with a shaky laugh. "I'm fine."

"I didn't mean to do that, I swear," he says.

"It's fine," I tell him. One of the annoying things about Steve is he would be apologize about whatever he did wrong for the next year or so. You really had to put your foot down to stop him before he went out and bought you flowers and made dinner (which never ended well). "What was that about?"

"I-uh," he looks over my shoulder to see if Maria is still there, but she was long gone. "I have a crush on Agent Hill."

"Oh, I know. It's pretty obvious."

"Yeah, well I was trying to confess to it to her," he runs a hand through his hair like he always does when he's nervous. "Guess I'm not too good with words, huh?"

"Guess not," I'd never known Steve to be the nervous type, but I guess it's different when it comes to girls, Clint used to be the same way. "Oh by the way, have you seen Clint?"

"Clint?" he asks. "I actually have, it was almost an hour though. He was, uh, he was on the fifth floor by one of the interrogation rooms with Katie in it."

This didn't surprise me at all. I guess I should've checked there first. "Thanks, Steve. I better go talk to him"

I make a move to run down the hall, but Steve grabs my wrist. "Wait!" he says. "Do you know about what's going on?"

"I have no idea," I say, shaking my head. "Clint never told me he had a daughter, let alone who Ellie is."

"You'll let us know if you figure something out, right?" he asks .

"I'll see what I can do, Steve," I tell him truthfully. "I just don't know how much Clint will want to keep a secret."

"Of course," he runs his hand through his hair again. "Well, I better go find Hill and explain to her that I'm nothing like Tony."

I bite back a laugh and just shake my head. "Good luck with that."

We part ways when I remember something important. "Oh and Steve," I call. He turns around and looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "She like you, a lot, keep that in mind when you talk to her."

I have never seen Captain America smile so much. His worry seems to just fade away. "Thanks Natasha," he calls.

I take the elevator down to the fifth floor. I've been on this floor to many times and I'd prefer to avoid it at all costs necessary.

I've been the one sitting in the chair being threatened by Coulson. That was when Clint had brought me to SHIELD for the first time, they wanted to know everything - it actually kind of scary. I've also been in that chair when I was accused of killing an agent.

I've also been the one questioning the accused. Clint said I got super scary and he hated whenever I did that. But I always go the answers I needed.

I found Clint in standing in front of a one way glass looking into an interrogation room with his supposed daughter in. His shoulders were slumped and his face was tired. I hate seeing him like this, looking like someone had beat him. After New York, Clint went into a phase where he looked like this all the time. It hurt me just as much as it hurt him. Since I helped him get over it, he hasn't looked like that; till now of course.

I sigh and take a step forward. It's time to get some answers.