Sorry, again, for the delay with this update. This is a bit of a filler chapter but we will be getting back more to the 'kids' soon.

Thank you to anyone still reading this. Your comments are always appreciated.

Enjoy :)

Tony docked the quinjet and sat listening to the jet's engine shutting down as he contemplated what might be waiting for him in the beach house.

"Tony – are you listening to me?"

"Huh?" Tony was brought back to the present to find Steve looking at him expectantly; how long he had been standing there, Tony could not be sure.

"I said, do you think someone should stay here with Nat, or should we try and move her into the house?"

Tony paused for a moment, wondering what the best course of action might be; he wanted to get Natasha comfortable in her own room but he also could not be certain how the rest of the day would go and, he figured, it might be better to leave her aboard the jet so they would have a quick getaway option.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do," Tony finally announced as he made his way towards the exit ramp, "you guys stay here, have Clint sit up front in case he needs to get the jet going. If things start to go south, I'll send Pepper and Happy out to you."

"But –"

"You will do exactly what Pepper tells you to do; no arguments."

"But Tony –"

"Exactly. What. She. Tells. You. Are we clear, Captain?"

Steve sighed but eventually nodded his assent.

"The main thing, right now, has to be to keep Natasha safe from any further harm. I can't guarantee that if we take her inside. Do you understand?" Steve nodded again as Tony patted him on the shoulder. He knew that Steve's protectiveness of his friend would be the best way to get his acquiescence.

Tony left Steve to tell the others of the plan as he made his way into the beach house. When he entered the large living area, he was greeted by Pepper immediately throwing her arms around him. Tony clasped her to him for a brief moment before extracting himself and making his way over to the two men levering themselves up from the sofa.

"Stark."

"Nick." Tony had to bite down hard on the urge to cuss the guy out; he still could not be sure whether Fury was aware of the incident that had brought them back here or not.

"I'll get straight to the point," Fury continued as he resumed his seat, his one good eye watching Tony shrewdly. "I have given much thought to what you said to me at our last meeting, Mr Stark, and I came to the conclusion that you may have had a point."

"So, you're saying I was right, and you were wrong?"

"Don't push it, Stark…As I was saying, I thought about it and decided that, on this occasion, our usual approach might not be the right move. The plan, as I'm sure you are already aware, was to transport the enhanced individuals to a secure underwater facility –"

"Just call it a prison. We all know it's a prison."

"-however, Agent Coulson and I had some reservations about that. The Raft is somewhat under government jurisdiction these days, and if these people fall into the wrong hands it could be disastrous for all of us. So, we have made other arrangements."

"Don't go shy on me now, Nick," Tony quipped, when Fury had lapsed into silence.

"The twins have been taken to an abandoned bunker facility in New Mexico; it's a very old Shield hideout that was basically scrubbed off the map back in the 70's. Agent Coulson has some of his people securing the base for us. I just wanted to make you aware, before you attempt any more rescue missions…"

"That's all incredibly interesting and whatnot but, can we jump back a little bit to something that's kind of been bothering me?"

Coulson and Fury exchanged exasperated looks before Fury gestured for Tony to say his piece.

"You haven't explained to us how Shield knew we would be heading to the Raft. Did you inform them to keep watch?"

If either agent were surprised by the accusatory question, they did not show it; man, I would hate to play poker against these two.

"Mr Stark, I believe you are referring to the deployment of two fighter jets at 12:37 this afternoon. I can assure you that I had no involvement in that altercation – as far as I am aware, your aircraft was spotted by a scouter plane out on a routine run and the jets were deployed as a warning. It's protocol."

"Oh, of course, of course," Tony started to pace slightly, feeling his heartbeat beating a faster rhythm as his anger started to rise once more. "And, tell me – just out of interest – is it protocol these days to shoot a child?"

"Excuse me?" Tony was mildly pleased to see a look of unease creep over Phil Coulson's face, but the former director just looked pissed off.

"You heard me. We got their warning, all right, I had to fish it out of Natasha's stomach. So, excuse me if I don't offer my congratulations to your agents on their ability to follow direct orders."

A tense silence hung uncomfortably in the air until Pepper left the room, slamming the door on her way out. Tony knew she would not have been able to stay any longer without checking on Natasha for herself. Coulson and Fury were both now looking uneasy, but Tony wanted to make sure that they had not misunderstood what he had said.

"They shot Nat, Nick. We almost lost her. Does that mean anything to you? Or is she just another commodity that you can replace when it's broken?"

Fury moved so quickly that Tony did not have chance to react. The man stopped barely an inch from the billionaire, their noses practically touching.

"You've got no right, Stark. You know Romanoff is like family to me."

Tony snorted at Fury's statement, unable to reconcile the man's words with his actions over the past couple of years.

"Man, she really lucked out with that one, didn't she? Tell me, Nick, is it common for your family to be lied to, manipulated, and ignored? Or is that treatment only reserved for the really special ones?"

Tony knew, deep down, that his anger was not all solely on Natasha's behalf; in the few years he had known Nick Fury he had had experienced all of those things from the ex-director, he was pretty sure they all had. Still, even after everything that had happened, and even after the fall of Shield, Fury still expected them all to dance to his tune, and to come running as soon as he snapped his fingers. Well, Tony was never someone to march to the beat of anyone else's drum, and he was damned if he was going to let these people use his friends any longer. He knew it would be hard for Natasha, and possibly Clint, to cut ties with the people they viewed as their saviours and their family, but he was going to do everything in his power to make them see that this did not need to be their lives going forward. They deserved better.

Tony could see understanding dawning in Fury's eye as he scrutinised the man before him. The older man finally stepped back, sighing, and shaking his head. Tony could see a mixture of disappointment and begrudging respect in his face. Fury finally resumed his place on the sofa and gestured for Tony to also take a seat. Tony was tempted to remain standing, purely out of principle, but he decided it just was not worth the effort. Tony was not expecting Fury to open up to him in any way, so he was surprised with the man's ensuing monologue.

"Mr Stark, I can see why our way of life might be difficult for someone of your background to understand. Your past life, although maybe not always easy in some respects, was a walk in the park compared to some of our other recruits. I'm not going to go into details, I'm sure they can tell you if they want you to know, but Romanoff and Barton are from a completely different walk of life from you, from me, from pretty much anyone else they will ever come into contact with.

"Their histories made them, for a long while, difficult to trust and, in turn, it made them unable to trust others. It took a long time with both of them, Natasha especially, to get them onside and to align them with our goals and methods within Shield.

"I know you will find this hard to believe, Mr Stark, but over those years of training them, getting to know them, and sharing experiences with them that you would never be able to wrap your head around, they did become my family. Not just mine, but Agent Coulson's too. I have more pride and affection for those two than I imagine I would if I had children of my own.

"Now, whilst our interactions may not fit in with your idea of 'family', Mr Stark, I can assure you that I would willingly lay down my life for those two – hell, I would lay down my life for any of you in a heartbeat. Now, you can choose to believe me, or you can continue imagining that I am your enemy, but when the time comes, Tony, I promise you that you will see that I am a man of my word. Yes, I am loyal to Shield but my family does now, and always has, come first. If I believe Shield to be a threat to that family then I will be the first in line to take them down; I've done it before, in case you have forgotten, and I will do it again.

"So, if it's okay with you, I would like to go and check on Natasha for myself."

Tony was slightly stunned, and a little cowed, by Fury's admission so he could only nod dumbly at the man to go ahead. Coulson stood to follow Fury from the room, but he paused by Tony's chair before he left.

"For the record, Tony, I admire what you're fighting for. In an ideal world, those kids might get to be just that – kids. But in this world, they're warriors – whether they were born to that or raised into it, that's what they've all become. All we can do is help them to win as many battles as we can."

Coulson started to walk away again until Tony called him back.

"Why did you let them believe you were dead? They're two of the best liars in the business; you know they could have kept your secret."

Coulson sighed dejectedly and Tony could see shame in the hunched set of his shoulders.

"There were so many times I wanted to reach out to them. At first, I was just following orders to keep off their radar, but then it just became too difficult to tell them. I figured they would have moved on, without me, and I…well, I guess I didn't want to have to witness that. On the flip side, I also didn't want to deal with their potential grief or any guilt they wanted to, justifiably, lay at my feet. It was selfish of me, I know that now, but at the time I thought it was better for all of us if they remained ignorant of the truth."

Tony let him go after that, lost in his own thoughts until Pepper returned carrying Natasha like a baby in her arms, the boys following behind her. Tony did not enquire as to where Nick and Phil had gone – he figured they were off to check on the enhanced twins they had squirrelled away somewhere.

"I was thinking we should just order in some pizza for tea," Pepper suggested. Tony nodded wordlessly as he stood and took Natasha out of her arms. The girl was light as a feather and fast asleep. As Tony carried her upstairs to her room he thought back to what Phil had said about them getting to just be kids in an ideal world and, not for the first time, he wondered if it would really be so bad if the Avengers remained in their childlike forms. Shield would have to find some other recruits for world-saving escapades - it certainly seems like Phil has a few likely candidates on his new team – and these guys could have a well-earned break from the constant chaos and uncertainty that was their daily lives.

Tony gently tucked Natasha into her bed, brushing her red curls off her forehead. She looked like a little porcelain doll lying there; so tiny and innocent. Anyone looking at her would not be able to imagine the scars littering her tiny body, or the horrors that she had witnessed and been a part of. Natasha shifted under the covers, a tiny frown adorning her forehead. She muttered something in Russian, her tone frightened and confused. Tony sat on the edge of her bed, his hand resting on her back rubbing soothing circles over the t-shirt someone, probably Pepper, had changed her into.

Tony was not sure what the future held for any of them, he was not even sure how many more curveballs were going to be thrown their way, but he was damned sure that he was going to spend every last breath in his body fighting to protect these kids, one way or the other.