Eventually, after reading for half an hour or so, Wanda fell asleep once again out of pure exhaustion. Nat sat at the end of the bed, watching the poor child sleep. Anyone who didn't know Wanda would think it was peaceful, but if she was anything like Nat, her mind was probably plagued with awful thoughts and dreams.
Natasha got up and stretched. Her feet were asleep from sitting on the end of the hospital bed for so long. She brushed a few hairs out of Wanda's eyes and headed over to the window. It was June, and the sky was beautiful.
There was a small knock on the glass door, interrupting Nat's thoughts. It was Clint and Tony.
Nat glared at them as Tony opened up the door with a creak. She gestured her head over to the sleeping Wanda in the hospital bed.
"Sorry," Tony whispered. "I have a few things to discuss with you. How's the baby witch?"
Nat smiled weakly.
She's getting better, opening up a little more. What do you need?"
Tony and Clint quietly made their way over to the window with Nat. It was far enough away from the bed that they could whisper without waking up the sleeping child a couple of meters away.
Clint handed Natasha a stack of papers. "These are government legal forms to be Wanda's guardian. They're yours to sign if you want to."
Natasha took the forms and uncapped the pen, immediately starting to read the papers.
Tony interrupted her thoughts.
"Are you sure about this, Widow? I don't think the Avengers compound is a place for a kid."
Nat sighed and put down the papers.
"She's not just any kid, Tony. She's special. She's got powers. She's been through things nobody would understand except me."
Nat paused, looking a few feet over to Wanda. She hadn't even stirred in her sleep since Clint and Tony arrived.
"She reminds me so much of me when I was a kid. I would've given anything to have escaped the red room and just had a normal childhood. Gone to school, made friends. I never got any of those things because my childhood was taken away from me. And if it wasn't for us, hers would be too."
Tony smiled weakly.
"I knew there would be no talking you out of this. When you've got your mind set on something, there's no turning you around. Is she warming up to you, at least?"
Nat nodded.
"She's very shy, and everything scares her, especially too many people in the room at once. Dr. Cho had to limit the room to just me, her, and her assistant, and it still made Wanda nervous. I think it will take a while for her to get used to everyone at the compound. You know Steve, Banner, even you guys. You can be pretty overwhelming sometimes."
Clint chuckled, and his smile turned to a pondering one for a moment.
"Hey, I've got a really good idea. I'm going to visit Laura and the kids tomorrow; I'll probably be there for a week. Why don't you and Wanda come with us?"
Nat shook her head.
"Clint, I don't think that's such a good idea. Laura just had a baby, and don't you want to spend time with your family? Plus, I know she doesn't mean it, but Wanda still could get scared and hurt someone. She'd never forgive herself if she hurt someone. You should've seen her try to apologize to me for reading my mind. It was heartbreaking."
Nat lowered her eyes to her hands on her lap.
"Nat, it will be good for her. It's remote, away from any triggers, and she can get used to being around only a few people at a time instead of a group of big men."
"Are you sure you're okay with her being around Lila, Cooper, and Nate? I know she would never do it on purpose, but there's still a chance she could-"
Clint interrupted her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"She'll be fine, Nat. It will be good to introduce her to children her own age. We'll take it slow."
Nat thought for a moment before looking up and nodding her head.
"Yeah. Okay, I think you're right. We can work our way up from the farm, and then bring her back to the compound."
Tony stood up. "Good thinking, mama bear. Always do what's best for baby witch," He patted her shoulder. "There will be lots more of that to come."
They turned to leave, but Tony had one more question.
"What about school, clothes, toys?" Don't you need to go shopping?"
"I already have it covered. Pepper picked up some essentials for her a few hours ago. It will be enough to last the week. As for school, it's only June. I'm going to spend the summer teaching her how to control her powers better, and maybe some basic academics."
Tony laughed. "Academics sounds like she's going into a four-year honors program at an ivy league school. Teach her how to read, maybe some 2+2, she'll be fine. What grade is she going into, anyway?"
Nat shrugged.
"I don't know, maybe grade 2 or 3?"
Tony's eyes widened. "That young, huh? Well, that's even less work, I guess. I'll see you two later then."
He turned to Wanda and waved.
"Bye, baby witch!" He whispered.
Nat rolled her eyes and Clint laughed, but he stopped when he noticed Nat's new worried expression.
"Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"
Clint squeezed her shoulder.
"You always do, Nat. You always do."
He left the hospital room with a smile.
"Leave tomorrow, around noon?"
Nat nodded.
"Alright, I'll see you then."
---
Nat didn't expect Wanda to wake up calmly, but she definitely didn't expect her to wake up so startled, especially since she had been sleeping so peacefully when Clint and Tony came by.
Around fifteen or so minutes later, she began to stir slightly, small tendrils of magic circling her body. Nat wanted to wake her up, she was clearly dreaming uneasily, but she didn't want to accidentally get hurt. Not for her sake, but for Wanda's sake. If Wanda hurt Nat again, they would be back to square one.
Eventually, the stirring turned to thrashing and screaming, and Nat had no choice but to wake her from the nightmare.
She hurried over, shaking her slightly.
"Wanda, wake up milaya." She didn't wake up.
Nat shook her harder this time, and instead of whispering, she raised her voice just a bit.
"Wanda! Davay, Milaya. Prosypaysya!" She said in Russian, hoping that the familiarity of a language so similar to hers could wake her out of her trance.
It did, and Wanda woke up with a startling yell. The book and the horse went flying across the room, surrounded by red magic. Natasha was glad it wasn't her.
"Hey! It's okay, Wanda." She cautiously reached her hands out to hug the girl.
Surprisingly, the little girl accepted the embrace, finally realizing where she was.
"It was just a nightmare, sweetie. You're okay."
"I-I'm sorry." Wanda managed to say through her sobs. She was shaking.
"You don't have to apologize, honey. Do you remember where you are?" Nat asked. Also being a victim of a nightmare here or there, she knew that she would sometimes wake up and forget where she was.
"At your house, right? In the hospital?"
Nat squeezed her in a hug.
"That's right, sweetie. And it's your home now too, okay?"
Wanda nodded.
"That's good. I want to stay with you."
Nat smiled against her hair.
"I'm glad. Now, do you want to tell me what you were dreaming about? Sometimes it helps to talk about it, you know."
Wanda paused for a moment.
"Pietro is dead, right?" She said sadly.
Nat sighed against her head, holding her closer.
"Yeah honey, he is. But not in your heart, okay?" she pointed to Wanda's chest.
"He's in there now. All of the memories you have of him. They'll be with you forever."
Wanda nodded, hugging Natasha. Natasha was taken aback but nonetheless hugged the girl back with just as much enthusiasm. The poor kid longed for physical touch, probably because she barely remembered what her life was like before Strucker's lab.
After a few minutes, Wanda's crying subsided. They sat in silence, other than a sniffle here and there from little Wanda.
Nat broke the silence.
"What would you think about going to Clint's home for a while? He's got a little girl your age, you know. And a boy about ten, and a new little baby."
Wanda turned her head to Nat rather quickly.
"Will you come with me? You promised not to leave me."
"Yes, yes of course milaya! Of course, I'm coming!"
Wanda sighed in relief, but her eyes quickly turned to panic again.
"I don't want to. What if I hurt them? Or scared them?"
Nat smiled reassuringly. "You won't, sweetie. We will take it slow, and ill be with you every step of the way. And knowing Lila, that's Clint's daughter, she will be so excited to have an Avenger as her friend."
Wanda smiled, a real one this time. "I'm an Avenger?"
Nat smiled back.
"Sweetie, you helped save everyone from Ultron. You were so brave."
"Is Pietro an Avenger too, then? He helped save the world." Wanda timidly asked.
Nat pulled her off the bed. Dr. Cho had said she was free to go when she was sleeping. Nat had been waiting for her to wake up.
"Of course, Pietro is an Avenger, Wanda. He was just as brave as any of us." Nat sadly smiled. She thought back to finding little Pietro's body sprinkled with bullet wounds.
Wanda grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the memory. She was so glad Wanda never saw the body.
"Can I have something to eat, Natasha?"
Nat was surprised. She tried to hide her confusion. How could she so easily change subjects? Her eyes landed on the little girl down at her side.
That's why. She thought. Because she's only a child.
"Of course, milaya. Let's head to the kitchen."
They left the hospital wing without turning back, Wanda skipping mindlessly in front of her.