Third Person Point of View: 

"Hi guys. So are we ready to get started?" Clint asked with a half smile.

"Yeah, yeah. Bring her over to me and we'll get started, who wants to hold her?" Bruce asked as everyone ignored Bucky except for Natasha who gave him a hug.

"I thought you guys said you couldn't get her to sleep." Bruce said taking the baby out of the carrier that was now on the counter next to the incubator.

"We weren't. She only fell asleep as we started to land and I thought it was a bad idea to wake her so we put her in the carrier. It's been a long day, we don't know what's wrong with her." Natasha said coming over to stand next to Bruce.

"Good idea, but she's going to wake up now, so I'm really sorry guys. Did you guys decide on a name yet?" Bruce asked while gently setting the baby in the incubator and unwrapping her from her blanket.

"No we haven't, we haven't discussed it. We were too worried about getting her here." Clint said before Natasha could say anything, or shoot down the idea.

"Understandable, Natasha how long did she eat for?"

"Maybe ten, fifteen minutes. She fell asleep so I took her off, then she woke herself back up with the coughing." Natasha said hovering over Bruce's shoulder and watching every movement he made with the still sleeping baby. Bruce had now moved her over to the scale he set up. 

"Wow she's so small, she should have probably ate more. This isn't adding up. She's barely five pounds, that's two pounds smaller than Elizabeth when she was born. Do you know how she got all of these cuts and scratches and all of this." He said gesturing to the smoke marks and stains on the small child while walking her over to the sink to give her a bath with the other three trailing behind him. 

"We picked her up in the middle of a firefight with the Red Room while we were destroying the facility. We tried our best to keep her out of it but we weren't always successful." Bucky said jumping in for Natasha, as the baby started crying and coughing again when he put her in the warm water.

Natasha winced and stood directly next to Bruce the entire time but spoke up a little ways through. "Do you happen to know what our plan is going to be to get her to stop coughing? Is she going to be OK?" Natasha asked nervously. 

"Natasha, I know you're worried, and I know you're nervous, but you need to let me work. I won't hurt her, I promise. I'm just doing what you asked me to. I'm just trying to help her, why don't you and Clint go get changed while I finish up my preliminary exam. Then you guys can hold her and both of you will feel more comfortable." Bruce suggested trying to get himself more time to examine the baby without the both of them breathing down his neck and scrutinizing every move.  

"That's a great idea Bruce. I haven't held her yet, so I want her to be comfortable when I do. I want her to be comfortable with her dad." Clint said while going over to grab Natasha by the hand before she could say anything. 

When they were in the elevator Natasha broke the awkward silence between the tow of them. "You know it's not because I don't think you are capable right?"

"What?"

"The reason I didn't let you hold her, the reason why I didn't let you take care of her. It's not because I don't think your capable, it's just that I was scared and I still am, and if she doesn't make it I don't want you to have been attached and get upset."

"Tasha, I know you're scared but our little girl is going to make it, she's like her mother, she's strong, she's a fighter, she's just like you. You couldn't have stopped me from getting attached, because I was from the moment I saw her in your arms. I know that this is meant to be." Clint says walking closer to her in the elevator so that they are as close as they can be without touching. "Can I kiss you?" He asked while leaning down, closer to her face and Natasha closed the rest of the gap between them and their lips touched and a spark was reignited in the both of them. The kiss was short and sweet and didn't have much passion to it, but it was all the both of them needed to be reassured that they still loved each other, that they were meant to be, that they could handle anything as long as they were together.   

The elevator dinged and Clint walked out first, guiding Natasha. Natasha let him pull her into the bedroom and when he closed the door she spoke quietly. "We still have a lot to work out. I'm sorry, I don't what this is."

"Don't worry about what it is, just know that no matter what I love you, I will always love you. Nothing will ever be able to change that." Clint said as he began to change, taking off the outer layer of his mission suit.

"Then why did you drink it? Why did you drink the bottle we were saving?" Natasha asked angrily while turning around to face him.

The realization dawned on his face as he took a breath and walked over to her. "Because I am a stupid, stupid man and I thought that I had lost you. I thought that I had lost everything, Bruce didn't know if you were ever going to wake up so I was terrified and I ran. I wasn't thinking and I just grabbed it. I'm sorry Natasha."

"But Clint we were saving that. It was ours, we said we were going to drink it on our first anniversary. I thought it meant that you didn't want us to be together any more. I thought it meant that you didn't love me any more. I thought you blamed me for what happened to Elizabeth." Natasha choked out as the tears started to fall, she was finally starting to let go of all of the emotions that she had bottled up for the past three and a half months since she went on the run.

"Tasha honey. I could never do that. I've been lost without you, I have never loved you more than I do right now. Tasha I don't want to lose you, I can't lose you. Tasha we are so much more than just a bottle, we are love and friendship and partners and a million other things that make the world great, but we are not a bottle." He whispered to her while wiping away the tears.

"Then why didn't you come after me?" She asked angrily 

"You're really going to ask me that? You're the one who left me! I thought that it was for good!" He raised his voice while asking.

Natasha sighed and shook her head while turning away from Clint. "I've never once doubted that I loved you, I mean you are the only reason I'm still alive today, and I'm not just talking about the first time in Budapest. I want us to be together more than anything, I want to be with you forever, but you saying that makes me reconsider. You should damn well know by now if I would have left you it would have happened a long time ago" She scoffed while changing her clothes as Clint stared at her with a passion.

"Really Tasha? Really? That's how you're going to play this? Alright then just tell me what you've been aching to tell me since you left, go on say it. I already believe it so it isn't a surprise to me." Clint nearly screamed because his anger and self hatred had reached a boiling point. 

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Natasha screamed turning around in her sports bra to face Clint. 

"Go on! Blame me for what happened with Elizabeth! Blame me for what happened to you! I already blame myself enough as it is and I'm sure Barnes and Bruce blame me for it too!" Clint yelled as the tears started to well up in the corners of his eyes. 

"Clint what are you talking about? I never blamed you for this. I never blamed you for anything." Natasha asked softly as he turned away. 

"Wow, you've gotten better at lying since you left. I almost believed you." Clint sighed after a short pause. 

"Clint! I'm not lying. I never once even thought about blaming you for what happened with Elizabeth. The only thing I ever blamed you for was getting me pregnant, and making me so happy because I was finally going to be able to have a child with the man that I love." Natasha choked out still trying to hold back the emotions. 

"Then who's fault was it if you don't blame me, and I don't blame you. Who killed our beautiful baby girl?" He cried out finally looking for answers.

"Technically it was me. My serum, reactivated and killed her. But it was the Red Room's fault that it happened. Yelena, to be more specific, at first she forgot to give me my serum blockers then she overdosed me on them and almost killed me. That's why we had to remove the disk, that was why the Russian government was after me, that's why I went after the Red Room today. Or is it yesterday at this point? Everything that has happened in the past year is because of the Red Room and one of the only reasons I'm still alive right now is you." Natasha stated, while trying to hold back her emotions and sitting on the bed. 

"Natasha honey, this wasn't your fault I know it wasn't. You did everything you could to protect her. You didn't do this, this wasn't you, it was the Red Room." He begged, trying to get her to understand, realizing that he had made a mistake. 

"But it was my body. I don't want to talk anymore, I'm going to start looking into our options. Maybe you should go check on the kid that's downstairs."

"No Natasha I won't. I give you space a lot and I let you work through things on your own when you need it, but right now you don't. Right now we need to talk about and work through what is going on because this is not us, and we aren't OK, and you aren't OK." He rebutted so that Natasha would know that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Well you were happy to have me leave less than two minutes ago Clint, so which one is it? Do you want me or do you not? All you have been doing is sending me these weird mixed signals since before Elizabeth was born!"

"Natasha no, calm down." Clint paused and took a breath trying to collect his thoughts so that he could get his message across to her so that she would understand. "Natasha, you are the only woman I have ever loved besides my mother. I have never felt this strongly about a person, about being with them for the rest of my life, than I have about you. The reason I was sending you weird messages before Elizabeth was born was because I was trying to show you how much I love you and I didn't know how. I was trying to protect you, I was so happy, I love you so much and I loved Elizabeth so much that there was only so much I could do. Natasha I wouldn't be able to function without you if I ever lost you. You aren't only my wife, you are my partner, my best friend, you're my everything."

"Go check on the kid." Natasha said forcefully.

"No. I'm not leaving you." He said while walking closer to the now standing Natasha. 

"Go check on the damn kid!" Natasha baited, making the sexual tension rise to an almost all time high in the room. 

"I'm not leaving you again." He said in an irresistible tone, pulling her chin and forcing her to look into his eyes. 

"Good because I'm not making the same mistake twice." Natasha seduced, finally closing the last remaining bit of space was left between them as Clint rested his free hand on her hips as he began to caress her face.          

Natasha puts her face as close to Clint's as she can with out kissing him. She puts her hands around his neck and rests them there, building the tension between them. She whispers "I love you more than anything." and finally climbs onto his hips and begins to kiss him. As the passion intensified between them Clint loses his tanktop as he pushes her against the wall, breaking only momentarily to get the shirt over his head.   

The rest of the Avengers had arrived in Fury's office standing shock still and most of them were clueless as to why they were there, Tony didn't tell them why they were leaving, he only told them that they were being summoned. Fury walked into the office and sat down.

Clint gasps for air between sparks of passion and whispers in her ear. "Let's move to the bed." Moving his lips down her neck and collarbone while carrying her over as her mission suit top drags on the floor. Natasha gently pulls his hair, begging him to give her more of him. Clint consents and flops her on the bed, her hips between his knees, while struggling to undo his belt. Natasha sits up and helps, leaving a trail of kisses along his abdomen. Clint removes the rest of Natasha's mission suit revealing her skin tight booty shorts, while Natasha tugs off his pants.

Natasha pulls Clint down by the hands that have migrated back to his neck and they resume their latest round of passion filled love. Natasha gains the upper hand and rolls Clint underneath her and whispers seductively. "You should go check on our kid. I need to shower." 

"I could join you. You're bloody and I'm sweaty. We could both use it." He mumbled with one hand playing with her hair and the other wrapped around her hips as she continued to plant kisses along his chest.

"No Clint. You need to check on our baby girl." She sighed, rolling off of him and getting into the shower. 

Clint sighed and got out of bed, grumbling to himself about Natasha leaving him in the middle of a moment of passion until it dawned on him that Natasha had said our baby again and he rushed down to where Bruce and Bucky were with a smile on his face. 

Tony began to speak after Fury retained his silence. "Director you said you had an update about the search for Natasha?"

"We are discontinuing the search for Natasha, it's a lost cause. She isn't going to be found."

"Respectfully sir I feel like that is a mistake, Natasha is an absolute necessity to this team and without her Clint will not stay. We need to continue to search for her." Rhodey said speaking up before Tony could and get himself into trouble.

"Rhodes we have heard nothing from her in months she isn't going to come back and we found this." Fury said handing a printout of a photo that Maria had sent him. "We found this this morning in one of Natasha's hiding places with S.H.I.E.L.D, it's her letter in case she ever dies on a mission, almost every agent has one. We then went to the old Red Room facility and we found it in ruins, there was a lot of dead bodies. We have to assume that Natasha was one of them, we are trying to get a hold of Clint to tell him, but we have been unsuccessful. If you guys could try and get a hold of him that would be helpful. I'm sorry you guys, trust me I know how much Natasha means to everyone." Fury said stoically, not allowing any emotion to show through.

"No no. You're wrong. Natasha is fine, she was just talking to us the other day. She was on the phone with Bruce! Natasha wouldn't do anything that stupid! She would have called for back up from us. You're wrong Fury! You're wrong!" Tony screamed.

"Tony, Tony. Let's calm down, Natasha wouldn't, she isn't, she can't be." Pepper said with her hand on Tony's shoulder while looking at Fury for reassurance, but he only gave her a sorrowful look.

"Have you found any evidence or remains that Natasha was actually killed in the line of duty?" Sam asked with his voice shaking and gripping the back of the couch to control his anger.

"Only the letter, the building was burnt to a crisp there was bodies everywhere, we already have a team out there searching through the rubble and debris, it could be days before we find anything, we have to assume the worst."

"Sir, who is leading the search I would like to volunteer that we either join them or replace them. Natasha was our teammate and friend, not to mention a family member, we should be the ones looking for her." Steve asked while going up to the directors desk to challenge him to oppose them.

"The world security council has very specifically asked me to tell you guys to stay out of it. We do not want you guys interfering with our investigation, in Natasha's letter she very specifically says that she wasn't going to be recaptured." Fury gestured to the paper that was still in Rhodey's hands, he was now reading it for the third time and the paper was crinkled around the edges from how hard he was gripping it.

"Sir are we sure that this wasn't a worse case scenario letter that we accidentally recovered? Are we sure that Natasha isn't just on the run again because someone spotted her and she wants to keep us safe?" Rhodey asked begging that this letter wasn't true and that Natasha wasn't actually dead.

"Look, I'm telling you everything that I can at the moment because it's all that I know. Natasha would have wanted you guys to know so I'm telling you. If any of you hear from Clint please send him my way. I'm sorry you guys."

"If Natasha really meant that much to you and if she is really dead you would be more upset. You're just an emotionless old man who doesn't give two shits about us!" Tony barked with a fury and a passion in his eyes that could few others could rival as he stormed out of the office and slammed the door on his way out.

"I'm going to ignore that because he is upset. If you all would find a way to tell Bruce and Barnes with out causing a code green or an assassination spree that would be much appreciated. Now can you all leave?" Fury asked with obvious pain in his eyes and voice. The remaining group members left and began a slow procession to the waiting quinjet where Tony was sitting in the back with his head in his hands and water dripping off of his face.

Pepper quietly sat next to him and rubbed circles into his back as Sam and Rhodey got the plane in the air and Steve sat down across from them. The plane ride was silent and when they landed everyone dispersed. Sam and Rhodey to their respective rooms, Steve went looking for Bucky and Pepper and Tony made their way to the penthouse. When they arrived Pepper was the first to speak.

"Tony, Natasha..."

"Don't Pepper just don't. Don't try and tell me that she's OK, that it will be OK, nothing is OK nor will it ever be OK again. We just lost our teammate, friend, and family member and it's my fault. I could have saved her, but I ran. It's my fault she's dead Pepper, it's my fault I lost my little sister and you lost your best friend." Tony choked out while pushing away Pepper who was trying to comfort him.

"Tony this wasn't your fault nor has it ever been your fault. I'm sorry Tony, but we are going to get through this, we are going to get past this, I mean we don't even know if she's dead yet. She is probably fine, maybe she just got spooked by something she saw. Natasha wouldn't have gone on a suicide mission without calling for back up or saying goodbye you know that as well as I do. Tony it's going to be OK, I'm sure of it." Pepper begged him to stay positive as she held onto the hope that Natasha was still alive.

Tony only shook his head and looked up at her hopelessly so she came closer and he sobbed into her stomach as he was sitting on the bed. Pepper stayed with him the entire time and tried to calm him down but was only marginally successful. When his sobs slowed he looked up at her tearstained face and said, "Pepper if we ever have a child, if we ever have a daughter, we are naming her after Natasha."

Pepper looked at him and gave him a sad smile. "OK Tony. OK." She whispered as he went back to sobbing. Pepper looked up at the ceiling and prayed to whatever God there was or who ever was orchestrating this that Natasha was still alive and that she was coming back soon. She needed to tell her something. 

Sam got back to his room and shut the door very quietly and calmly but once the door was closed he broke down. He punched the wall, threw his pillows all over his room, destroyed his meticulously made bed and then laid on the bare mattress and stared at the ceiling. He didn't entirely believe that Natasha was dead, but he was tired of things happening to his team, he was tired of all of the pain, all of the sadness, he just wanted it all to end. He put some music on quietly in the background as he called Maria and she picked up on the third ring.

"Go for Hill."

"Hi Maria, has your dad called you yet?" He croaked out.

"Yeah Sam. I'm in Russia, I was the one who found the note. We are looking for her now. Are you OK? How's the team?" She asked while walking away from the busy scene to hear Sam better.

"We've been better. Have you found anything?" He sniffled.

"Not yet, but I don't think she's dead. This has happened before and until I see her dead body lying in front of me I won't believe it." 

"So you don't think that she's dead?"

"No, I don't Sam, and if she is it's probably for the best because if she isn't and I find her I'm going to kill her myself for going on a suicide mission without back up and without telling me." Maria chuckled trying to brighten Sam's mood.

Sam sighed, letting a small smile come onto his face at Maria's joke. "Thanks Maria, sorry for calling you at work. I just wanted to know what was happening and I wanted to tell you in case your dad didn't."

"Don't worry about it Sam. Take care of yourself and the rest of the Avengers for me, alright? Hey Sam I've got to go they found something, I'll text you later." Maria rushed and hung up the phone.

After Sam hung up the phone with Maria he laid in his bed hoping that Natasha wasn't dead and that Maria was right. He wanted to tell her thank you for setting him and Maria up, she was one of the best things to ever happen to him. After a while of his brain constantly moving and slipping in and out of flashbacks he eventually fell asleep, it was still quite early on in the day, but he didn't care he just wanted it all to stop for a few minutes.

Rhodey entered his room at the tower and sat down on the couch, taking the note from Natasha out before he did. He read it again and again, even though he already had it memorized, the paper was already worn and crinkled from his sweaty hands gripping it so tight. After a while of reading it to himself and analyzing every word he started reading it out loud so Jarvis could hear. He had been talking nonstop to try and make sure Rhodey didn't start falling into his flashbacks, when he did it took him a long time to recover and the only thing that could help him was his family and Tony, but Tony was having his own issues at the moment.

"If you're reading this it must mean that I have either been captured or killed.

So I'm dead. You guys knew this would happen, you knew it was bound to happen. It's OK we all know the only guarantee in life is death, as Thor would say I died with honor, I died a warriors death. I know most of you are probably really angry with me right now, you're probably mad that I didn't call for back up, that I went in on my own, that I didn't let myself get recaptured, because you would have come, you would have helped, you would have found me. Don't think about that please, none of this was any of your guys' faults. I had to do this on my own and had they taken me back I would have never seen you guys again and if I did I wouldn't have recognized any of you, trust me this was for the best. I'm sorry for doing this you guys, I'm sorry for leaving you like this. It wasn't supposed to happen like this, none of it was. There's a lot more that I have to say to you guys and hopefully I would have said them to you before you read this. Just know this, I love all of you guys very deeply and please make sure that Clint knows that I love him. Don't blame yourselves please, this was my choice, if I succeeded that means I finally wiped all of the red out of my ledger. I'm finally free. Let Clint know that I have something waiting for him at the Budapest house. I love you all. This is where the road ends, this is the end of the line, this is my last good bye.

Signed with love from Natasha Romanoff.

P.S.: If any of you idiots screw up my funeral I will haunt you for the rest of your lives." Rhodey finished with tears streaming down his face, his voice cracking, and nose running.    

"Colonel Rhodes, you know that Natasha would not want you to be this upset. I mean we don't even know that Agent Romanoff is dead." Jarvis said kindly, knowing that Natasha was in the tower, but not saying anything because he understood why Natasha wanted to keep her return a secret. 

"Thanks for trying J, but I can feel it in my heart, she's gone. The gap that she left when she left the team just got bigger. She's gone. We have to move on. I'm going to go to sleep J, don't let anyone bother me please."

"But Colonel..."

"Goodnight Jarvis." Rhodey shouted cutting off Jarvis and turning off his light.