The next day as promised, Fury swung by their motel room to drop off food and clothes. Where he had got them from they didn't know, but they were glad to have a fresh outfit, especially Natasha. That tight suit was not comfortable to rest in. He also explained that he was going to Europe for a while to take down more HYDRA thugs soon. They were sad to see him go but knew that it wouldn't be the last that they saw of him.

As he was unloading the various tins of fruit onto their desk, Eleanor subtly hinted at their engagement and the man froze in his tracks, peach slices in hand. When he had frozen for more than thirty seconds the two women became anxious. That wasn't the body language of someone happy to hear this news.

He gently put the tins down and turned to look at them, eyes flitting back and forth between the two of them with a blank look on his face. Again, not a great reaction.

Just as Eleanor opened her mouth to ask him to say something he suddenly brought both of them into a hug, one arm wrapped around each person. They were both shocked at the action so it took a few seconds for them to figure out what was going on, but they both reciprocated and Natasha patted him awkwardly on the back. Eleanor had been subjected to many awkward Fury hugs in the past, but this was a first for Natasha and she was suddenly hyper-aware of her arm placement and wasn't sure where to rest her hands.

But before she could figure out how to not hug him awkwardly, he pulled back and smiled at them both, "I'm happy for you, you'll make each other very happy".

"Thank you", they both softly said at the same time. He nodded and made his way out, leaving the newly engaged couple alone. They didn't know when they would see Fury again, and even though they didn't get to say a proper goodbye, they felt that their interaction was a good enough farewell. A thousand words were written in between the lines.

The rest of the week went by very fast. Usually, it would have dragged on and felt like aeons, but they were so caught up in the excitement of the next part of their life that they didn't start feeling cabin fever of being stuck in one room living off of granola bars and tins of fruit.

They spent the time thinking about when they wanted to get married, and where, knowing that they didn't want to be engaged for too long. Recent events were a poignant reminder that they were constantly on the brink of danger, so they wanted to be married as soon as they could, not knowing if the opportunity would be brutally ripped from them or not.

They also watched a lot of crappy movies on the motel television and played a lot of card games as Fury had been nice enough to bring them a pack along with the supplies, knowing that they would be cooped up in their room longer than he would be.

But of course, a good portion of that time was also spent setting up new identities for Natasha so that they could get back out into regular society, so it would take a few weeks/months for everything to be set up fully, so they made a start on it early.

Natasha had also decided to use some of her old contacts from her KGB era to try and recover some files on The Winter Soldier for Steve, as he knew that the two women had more information than he did. He had made it clear after finding out that it was Bucky that he wanted to search for him, but needed resources for that.

When they had begun the search for him years ago, there was limited information on the guy, but now that HYDRA information was floating around in the open thanks to Natasha, there was a chance that they would be able to wrangle some more information.

And it worked. They had managed to get their hands on the original file HYDRA had on James B. Barnes and The Winter Soldier project. Whoever it was that Natasha contacted had left the file in a post box in another town in Western Indiana, and had given her the code to access it. Eleanor used one of her fake ID's not affiliated with SHIELD, as a spy it's always handy to have a backup, and used it to rent a car out so that they could get the file.

Once the file was retrieved, they sat in the car outside of the post office, and Natasha briefly flicked through the file just to make sure that it had enough information for Steve, she didn't read through it too much as she didn't feel like it would be right to. After it was deemed an appropriate source for the Captain, Eleanor began the hour drive back to the motel.

It was a nice drive but felt like a redundant one. As soon as they stepped foot back into the room and got ready to eat their nightly mass of granola bars, one of their phones rang from across the room. They both looked at each other anxiously, people close to them would know that they were on the run and not to contact their phones unless it was an emergency. So, an emergency was either taking place, or someone else had gotten ahold of their phone numbers.

Eleanor slowly inched her way across the room and saw that it was her phone going off and that it was Maria. "It's Ria!", she shouted over to Nat, who breathed out a sigh of relief that someone hadn't tracked them down.

"Hey, is everything alright? You're on speaker by the way, just Nat here", Eleanor spoke into the phone after answering it, and Nat walked closer, wrapping an arm around Eleanor's waist as she stared at the phone, even though nothing new was happening on the screen.

"Hi, there's a situation back here, you two and Steve are being blamed for the damage back home", Maria's voice sounded through the room. Eleanor was about to interrupt and complain but Maria seemed to know that, "And before you say anything, it's ridiculous, I know. But you're being summoned to Capitol Hill. There's going to be a lot of press and it will be televised as it's a hearing for three Avengers, very public figures. Steve has already expressed that he won't be going, but we need at least one of you to attend, they won't be happy that there's people missing but they'll make do".

Nat frowned and started chewing on her lips anxiously as Eleanor pinched the bridge of her nose, "We're in hiding, Ria, could really do without being broadcasted on TV".

"I know, I'm sorry, I'll do everything I can to make sure you're kept safe afterwards".

Eleanor was thinking that she could go alone, Natasha's the one at risk, so she would deal with the press and Natasha would stay hidden. But before she could open her mouth to say so, Natasha spoke first. "We'll both go".

"Nat-", Eleanor tried to interject but didn't succeed.

"No, I know what you're thinking, and you're not dealing with those vultures alone, we'll do it together", with the look of determination on her face Eleanor knew better than to try and argue back.

"Okay, we'll both go".

"Right, do you have a way to get here? We can send someone to collect you".

"No, we have a rental and I'm pretty sure I saw one of their branches in D.C. a few times so we can drop it off there. When's the hearing?", Eleanor responded as she also started anxiously chewing her lips.

"Tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm, arrival at 1". Both women looked at each other as their eyes widened slightly, that was not a lot of time considering that it was over an eight-hour drive home.

"Okay, see you tomorrow", Nat answered as Eleanor had instead begun to bite her nails.

"See you".

An eight-and-a-half-hour drive meant that they had to leave at 4:30 am at the latest, but they would need to take breaks and sneak back into their apartment to get suitable clothing, so really they should be leaving at 2:45 am. It was already 7 pm, and they needed to eat. This was a nightmare.

"It'll be okay, I mean it's going to suck waking up that early but we'll get through it", Nat gave a small yet genuine smile and she moved herself to stand in front of Eleanor with her hands on her waist to keep her from spiralling.

"I'm worried about you being on TV. I really should do it alone", she admitted.

"Wherever you go I go, baby", Nat quoted Eleanor's own words as she gave her an Eskimo kiss, knowing that she wouldn't be able to form a rebuttal. She scoffed and shook her head knowing that Natasha had trapped her.

"Fine, but let's quickly eat and go to bed, we have to leave just before three", Eleanor moved away and launched Natasha's pyjamas at her face, laughing at her shocked expression afterwards.

---

They woke up at 2 am, in preparation to leave forty-five minutes later. It was hell. Eleanor felt like a zombie as she moved around the motel room helping Natasha gather their items and clean up some of the mess that they had made.

Natasha was going to take the first driving shift as she can mentally wake up a lot faster than Eleanor can, so thought it was safest to go first so that they didn't end up flying into the wrong side of the highway.

They were going to take a break every two hours, and that would be when they swapped over so that each of them would get an equal break from driving. Eleanor made sure to stock the car with lots of snacks from the petrol station across the road, and also went over to the rental place to sign an agreement saying that she would give the car back to the branch at home.

As she ran those couple of errands, Natasha was packing the car and making sure that no traces of them were left behind in the motel room.

After getting settled into the car, Natasha started driving at exactly 2:45 am. The start of the drive wasn't nice due to it being so early. Both women had a bit of a nauseous feeling in the pit of their stomachs from the abrupt start, but they had to go or things would end up much worse for them.

The first stop was in Springfield, Ohio. It was the two-hour mark and Eleanor obviously wanted to stop at the town called Springfield. Natasha had seemed a bit tense as they drove through Ohio, it was where she had spent a few years as a child during her time in the Red Room, so some roads were a trip down memory lane.

Eleanor couldn't do anything about it other than try and cheer her up and stop her thoughts from taking over as they drove through the state.

As soon as Eleanor had gotten them both out of Ohio and into their brief stint through the most Northernly part of West Virginia, Natasha immediately perked up again. Well, as much as she could do considering the fact that they were on an impromptu, unwanted, early morning road trip to a televised hearing whilst they were supposed to be laying low.

---

The drive felt like it took forever due to the nerves and high tensions racing through the car, but they soon arrived back at their apartment and got into some more appropriate attire. They both opted for shirts and blazers. Relatively comfortable and also professional. Though Natasha wore a skirt and Eleanor went for slacks.

As Eleanor was straightening her hair it was the first time that she had properly looked in a mirror since her fight with The Winter Soldier, and she felt extremely self-conscious. The stitches were out but the scar that was left was clearly going to be one to stay, and it ran across her entire face. Once her hair was done she let out a shaky breath and leaned on the sink as she stared at her own reflection. She hated it. Natasha suddenly called out her name and told her it was time to go, so she plastered a smile on her face and waltzed out of the bathroom.

As they pulled up into the parking area for the hearing, they immediately spotted Maria waiting for them by the entrance. She promptly gave them both a quick hug before guiding them in and explaining what was going to be happening.

Eleanor felt like she could throw up, she could deal with a hearing and presenting facts and opinions to defend them all, but the press was a whole different issue. Especially with all of the cameras with her newfound insecurity.

As they sat outside, Eleanor's leg kept bouncing up and down due to nervous energy, so Natasha rested her hand on her knee to stop her from drilling a hole in the floor with her foot. That and the contact always helped calm her down. Natasha was also extremely nervous, it's a hearing, after all, those sometimes end in prosecutions and arrests. And there was no way that she was going to let herself and or Eleanor end up in a cell.

After a painstakingly long hour, they were called in to take a seat in front of everyone. Before that though, they had to each place their hand on a bible and swear to tell the truth. Natasha went first, "Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?".

"I do", she then took her seat, leaving Eleanor to be asked the same question as she too placed her hand on top of the bible.

"I do". Natasha sent her a small nod as she made her way around and sat beside her. Looking around slightly she was unnerved by the number of people, this was going to be awful.

"Why haven't we yet heard from Captain Rogers?", one of the committee members began the hearing.

"I don't know what there is left for him to say. I think the wreck in the middle of the Potomac made his point very eloquently", Natasha responded. Eleanor subtly glanced at her side profile before turning her attention back to the men in front of her. The constant clicking of camera shutters was incredibly distracting so she was trying her best to stay on task.

"Well, he could explain how this country is expected to maintain its national security now that he and both of you have laid waste to our intelligence apparatus".

Eleanor was about to answer, saying that the most important parts can easily be rebuilt cleanly, without HYDRA, and that the country can survive without helicarriers as every other country has, but Natasha answered first, "HYDRA was selling you lies, not intelligence".

"Many of which you two seemed to have personal hands in telling". This made Natasha straighten her posture slightly in defence, it was not their fault that the people working directly with Pierce and previous leaders had not figured out that there was a deep leak in SHIELD.

Another man from the committee board leant forward, "Agent Romanoff, you should know that there are some on this committee who feel given your record, both for this country and against it, that you belong in a penitentiary. Not mouthing off on Capitol Hill".

Now it was Eleanor's time to talk, "The service records against this country have been proved to be null time and time again after having served this country for years and saving the world in the Battle of New York. HYDRA is your enemy. Not her".

"Agent Hughes", he turned to her, "You've been quiet throughout this, let me ask you a question". Both women tilted their heads slightly, not quite understanding where this was going.

"Your first contact with SHIELD outside of communicating with your family members is documented to have been when you were eight years old, and then more continuous contact from the age of fourteen. Is that correct?".

Right. It's going in that direction. "That is correct, yes", she blankly responded.

"That is nineteen years of knowing Agents of SHIELD, and yet you were seemingly unaware of what was happening behind closed doors. It is proven that young people tend to be easily swayed to different agendas, how is it that you were not approached?".

The anger seeping from Natasha was quite clear now, but Eleanor took a second to articulate an answer and responded calmly, "If you are accusing me of working for HYDRA I can assure you that your assumptions are false. Out of those nineteen years, for ten of them, I was a child, and for eleven of them, I was still residing in the United Kingdom. HYDRA is a parasite that infiltrated in the shadows, planting the smallest of seeds to reap chaos. There have been many Agents of SHIELD who have worked there for thirty-plus years, and who died in the service of SHIELD, not HYDRA. How long I have known the people who worked in both organisations is irrelevant".

The man leaned forward to give a likely stupid response, but Natasha started speaking again, not wanting to give him the further opportunity to accuse the two of them of being the enemy, "You're not going to put us in a prison. You're not going to put any of us in a prison. You know why?".

The committee member looked around briefly in exasperation, "Do enlighten us".

"Because you need us. Yes, the world is a vulnerable place, and yes, we helped make it that way. But we're also the ones best qualified to defend it. So, if you want to arrest us, arrest us. You'll know where to find us".

The committee members all looked speechless, Natasha had pushed them into a corner that they couldn't get out of. After looking around and deeming that they weren't going to say anymore, Natasha stood and muttered a small "Come on", to Eleanor as she took her hand and guided them through the wave of press all shoving cameras in their faces.

Eleanor kept a blank expression, showing that they were not going to roll over and be pushed around, but she could almost feel the smirk that Natasha was showing as questions were shouted at them.

---

After the hearing, they went into their apartment again to get into some more comfortable clothing and pack some suitcases. They weren't going to live there again for another few months until things had settled down, but they needed some supplies and clothes.

They also planned to give the file to Steve the following day, Eleanor had messaged him asking if they could meet, and he informed them that he would be at the cemetery the next day at 9 am.

So, they were going to stay the night in their place and leave the following day. To where? They didn't know.

That night was spent in comfort, they loved being back at home, and after they had discussed how ridiculous that hearing was and got settled for dinner, Natasha decided to finally contact Clint. He would know that they were on the run and so wouldn't contact them until they did, just in case he accidentally pinged signals to their phones.

He was placed on speakerphone and immediately bombarded them with questions on what had exactly happened over the last few days as he half-shouted "No one is telling me anything!". So, they sat there for a while and explained.

He said that he had seen the hearing and found it hilarious how the two of them shut the committee members down in under five minutes, and how he thought it was funny that they firmly believed that Eleanor was working for HYDRA. She found his laughing rude but couldn't help but agree.

After some general talk, it got awkwardly quiet and Clint's tone of voice softened, "Where do you plan on going?".

Natasha and Eleanor looked at each other and shrugged, "We don't know", Natasha responded.

They could hear the loud sigh of Clint coming from the other end, "Come stay with us, it was off SHIELD's radar, it has no connections to you, you can stay here for as long as you need. We're all out of jobs anyway".

"Clint no, the kids... it's too risky", Eleanor jumped in. If anything happened to those kids because of them then she would never forgive herself.

"If you are careful, and I mean really careful on the way here, then it should be okay. But you'd better watch your backs at all times, alright?".

They weren't too happy with the verdict, but they had nowhere else to go, and Clint was right, if they were careful it would be fine.

---