Natasha healed quickly.  Thanks to Tony being able to advance medicine in the Compound and the doctors being the best around, Natasha was released from medical four days after arriving.  Her arms were still wrapped and the cut on her cheek still looked nasty, but she was able to go back home with Steve and that made everything better. She was covered from head to toe in nasty bruises and every movement ached, but she pushed through the pain in hopes it would make her body heal faster.  Steve felt awful every time he accidentally pressed on a bruise no matter how often Natasha said it didn't hurt.

"Steve?"  Natasha asked, curled around Steve in their bed.  It was dark and Natasha's arm hurt as she laid on it, but she didn't want to move.

"Yeah?"  Steve replied quietly.  Natasha's hand reached for his in the dark and he gripped it gently.

"Am I a horrible wife?"  she whispered. Steve had to take a moment to process what she'd said, not sure if he'd heard her right the first time.  When she pulled away from him, he figured he'd heard her correctly and his pause wasn't a good answer.

"Natasha, no,"  he said, reaching out to stop her from leaving.  He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back on the bed and hugging her as tight as he dared.  "You're my favourite person in the world and I would rather die than have any other wife. Why would you doubt that?"  he asked softly, brushing a strand of hair off her face and looking at her worriedly.

"I just—I lost our baby, Steve!"  she exclaimed, her voice breaking at the end.  "I lost our baby and now we'll never be able to have a kid because if it wasn't impossible the first time, it definitely is now."

"That doesn't make you a horrible wife,"  Steve told her. She tried to pull away, but Steve just held her tighter.  "I don't need kids to be happy, I just need you." He buried his face in her neck and kissed the skin softly.  She continued to push against his chest, trying to get away, but Steve didn't let her.

"Let me go,"  she said, hitting his chest hard.  Steve opened his arms and let her go.  She sat up and threw her legs off the side of the bed to stand up.

"Where are you going?"  he asked, sitting up and reaching for her hand.  She slipped out of his reach and left the bedroom.  In a panic, Steve threw off his covers and hurried out after her.  She was nowhere in sight despite how slow she walked and how long the house was.  "Natasha?" he called, looking in his office. She wasn't in there so he checked the living room and kitchen.  Both places were empty and he called out for her again.

He checked the entire house twice before calling Tony.  Natasha wasn't anywhere he could see her and he wasn't even going to pretend he wasn't panicking.  He continued to search the house after calling Tony, making sure he hadn't missed any place she could have hidden but didn't find her.  Thirty minutes later and Tony hadn't shown up yet, causing him to panic even more.

Steve was about to call the rest of the team when there was a knock on the door.  He silently walked to the door and looked out the peephole to see who it was. Tony was standing on the doorstep with Natasha.  Steve threw open the door and pulled Natasha into his arms without hesitation. She was freezing, but Steve's body temperature ran higher than most so he wrapped himself around her instead of grabbing a coat.  She clung to him, digging her nails into his bare back as Tony shut the door behind him and reset the house alarm.

"She was at the end of the driveway,"  Tony told Steve quietly. Steve put a hand on her head and kissed her temple.  "You know, it's probably better to talk about things than let them pent up inside."

"What do you mean?"  Steve asked, glancing down at Natasha then back up at Tony.  "We have been talking about everything."

"Talk some more,"  Tony advised. He put a hand on Natasha's cold back and kissed her head gently.  "You'll be okay, but it may take a while." He left without another word, activating his Iron Man suit and shooting into the night sky.  Steve carried Natasha back to their bedroom, keeping her close to his body as she tried to warm back up.

"We talk about things, right?"  Steve asked, looking down at her as they laid in their bed.  "What did Tony mean when he said we needed to talk?"

"It's about Alexei,"  she said, looking up at him nervously.  Steve's mind immediately went to the worst case scenario as he stared at her worried face, but she rushed to reassure him.  "It's nothing bad, not really. I just... there's stuff I need you to know."

"Alright,"  he said softly.  "What is it?"