Maxim took aim and let out a held breath as he fired the arrow. It struck the target smack in the middle with precision. Clint grinned and clapped softly. Maxim turned his head and smiled widely at his father.

"You're too good at that for your age." Clint chuckled. Maxim's smile grew. Max was only four and already he had his father's talent for archery. He was definitely proud of himself too, but not near as proud as his daddy was.

"Teaching him some more tricks?" Natasha asked as she came into the training room. Clint grinned and winked.

"You know it. Our son is going to be the next Hawkeye Nat." Clint bragged. Natasha chuckled and shook her head.

"Especially if his daddy has anything to say on the matter." She teased. Clint rolled his eyes and kissed her on the lips.

"Hey it's all his decision. I've never pressured him either way." Clint defended. Natasha rolled her eyes back at Clint in return.

"You're doing a great job baby." Natasha encouraged as Maxim notched another arrow and got ready to fire. Clint wrapped Natasha into a loving hug and kissed her on the top of her fire red hair.

"Are you feeling better today?" Clint asked her. Natasha shrugged.

"I'm still a little queasy." She admitted. Clint frowned and felt her forehead and neck for a fever.

"You aren't running a fever. Are you just nauseas?" Clint asked. Natasha nodded but shrugged it off.

"I'm sure it's nothing Clint, don't worry about me too much. You know I hate that." She told him sternly. Clint smiled sheepishly and glanced at Maxim. Natasha noticed his glance and shook her head at Clint. "Don't even Clint, you know it is not possible. Maxim was a miracle." Nat reminded him. Clint shook his head in return.

"Nat, miracles still happen. I'm just saying you've been feeling like this for a couple days now. It's just like it was before. Please, let's just go get it looked at just in case." Clint suggested. Natasha sighed but nodded her head, if nothing else it would make Clint leave her alone for a while. It wasn't that she didn't want more kids, because she desperately did. She just didn't want to get her hopes up. It had been basically impossible that she would be able to even have Maxim, let alone more children. It was natural and honestly practical for her to be pessimistic.

She felt ridiculous sitting on the exam table two days later as the nurse drew her blood and asked her all about her symptoms. She was certain she wasn't pregnant and Clint looked so hopeful from his seat in the corner that she felt her heart breaking into a million pieces. Maxim was out with his Uncle Tony and Aunt Pepper at the park today, and this whole mess made Natasha wish he was closer than ever. Her heart was at war with itself today, she didn't want to get her hopes up but at the same time she wanted so badly to be pregnant. Even though she and Clint hadn't been actively trying to have children since they had given up a year and a half ago. They had been trying for a whole year before they had quit. It was tearing up their marriage before they had decided to stop. Now they were much better, but it was still a rough topic for both of them. The nurse finished taking her blood and left to go deliver it to the lab.

"You know I'm still going to love you no matter what happens." Clint reminded her. Natasha nodded and closed her eyes before leaning back against the wall.

Budapest several years before

"Nat watch your six!" Clint yelled into the com. Natasha spun around quickly and intercepted what would be fatal blow to the head with her fist. She felt the impact crack a finger bone, but she kept fighting her offender anyways. An arrow shot through his chest and he fell to the ground. Natasha briefly acknowledged Clint's shot and moved on in the mission. Her finger throbbed but she kept going. She was a trained assassin, broken bones didn't slow her down. She weaved in and out of rooms and pushed her way toward the objective at the center of the building. She took comfort in knowing Clint was covering her from above. She could hear him creeping across the rafters. She knew no one else could hear him, he was too good for untrained ears to pick up on the noise. She heard an arrow fly and turned just in time to watch the henchman hit the ground a few feet from her. How had she not heard him coming? The pain must be distracting her more than she realized. She thanked Clint silently and turned back to the mission at hand. The mission came to a sudden end when Clint stuck and arrow through the target's chest as soon as Natasha opened the door to his office. Clint landed on his feet next to Natasha with a thud. He smirked and slung his bow over his right shoulder before he bent down and pulled the arrow out of the target's chest. He wiped the blood off on the man's shirt and stuck it back in his quiver.

"Show off." Nat murmured and turned off the electricity to her suit. Clint smirked again.

"Come on, let's go meet Fury at the rendezvous point." He decided and started walking off. Natasha rolled her eyes and followed him anyways. She briefly checked over her finger as she did. It was definitely broken. She frowned and shook her head. This was going to be fun to deal with, considering the plans that were laid out for tonight. Once on board the S.H.I.E.L.D transport Clint reached out to hold Natasha's hand and she pulled away from him. He frowned and glanced over at her. "Are you really mad at me for getting the final kill?" He asked defensively. Nat rolled her eyes.

"God no, Clint my finger is busted up." Natasha told him annoyed. Clint's defensive stance crumbled and he picked up her hand to investigate. Her ring finger was bent, swollen, and purple.

"Dear Lord Nat!" He gasped.

"Can we not do wedding rings tonight?" Nat begged. Clint chuckled and nodded.

"I have a better idea. First we need to get this x-rayed." He insisted and kissed it gently, making sure that no one was watching.

Present day

Natasha smiled at the memory and opened her eyes again. Clint was looking at her with a confused look on his face. She shot him an encouraging look and he smiled back at her.

"I'm still going to love you too Clint. No matter what." Natasha promised and grabbed the arrow necklace between her fingers and held onto it for dear life.