I updated! I've planned where I'm gonna go with this story but it's gonna take a while unfortunately.

Also anything in italics is a thought from Nat :P

Please rate and review!

Thanks a lot

Parker

Light pierced Natasha's eyelids and she was forced to slowly open her eyes. The first thing she was greeted too was the strong smell of disinfectant and the blurred plain white roof tiles above her. Blinking to adjust to her surroundings Natasha became accustomed to the repetitive beeping which kept her in reality. Turning her head left and right Natasha noticed 3 figures surrounding her bed, all seemed to be asleep which Natasha was thankful for, she'd hate to be fussed over.

God how did this happen?

Uncomfortable in the position she was in Nat decided to move around, despite the pain she managed to pull herself into a sitting position, the scrunching sound of the sheets moving woke up Tony.

As his eyes blinked open he saw the small figure of Natasha grimacing in pain as she sat upright on her bed, relief filled his mind and a smirk painted on his face.

'Hey there Red'

Oh this should be great, he looks terrible.

Shocked at the sound, Natasha looked over to see Tony Stark smirking at her. He looked awful, the frown lines on his forehead had multiplied and the bags under his eyes looked darker than the night sky.

'You look awful Tony'

'Ha honestly Red you should see yourself, you gave us quiet a scare. Didn't think you were gonna wake up for a moment'

'How long was I out? Honestly i don't even remember what happened.'

The smirk disappeared of his face, obviously this meant it was bad. Natasha tried to force herself to remember but everything was fuzzy.

'Basically you were shot and stabbed, then some nurse tried to kill you by injecting you with poison. You've been here for nearly a week.' The pain and upset of what had happened was written all over his face.

I'm sorry

'Shit'

'Yeah shit. You had us worried sick Nat! You didn't even tell us it was your birthday!'

Wait when was it my birthday?

Letting out a sigh Natasha lay back onto the pillows, she twisted he forehead in annoyance trying to remember the details about what had happened. God she felt terrible for what she must have put her friends through. Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of nausea hit as she quickly turned to her side and reached for the cardboard bowl which was placed neatly on the side, the quick movement made her sides ache in frustration. Tony grimaced at the sight of Natasha throwing up, he felt guilt creeping over him for raising his voice about a sensitive subject.

'Hey, Nat I'm sorry, get yourself better and we will talk. Don't think your off the hook though! You will have the biggest birthday bash ever! Anyway Im gonna go find a doctor.'

Biggest birthday bash ever? Sounds like a Stark party alright

The sound of the door shutting managed to wake Steve and Clint up, at the sight of Natasha being awake their faces lit up like a flashlight.

'Oh Nat' Steve's voice was so soft and tender.

I'm so sorry Steve

'Glad you've decided to join us Nat, almost missed having you nag me ever day' Clint said with a smirk.

God he is a sarcastic bastard

Before she could think of a witty comeback Tony and a tall, dark haired doctor walked in.

'Ahhh Miss Romanoff your awake! Now you've had it pretty rough since you've been here but hopefully you'll be fine in a few days, this is as long as you rest and let your friends be your waiters!'

My friends.

'Thank you' She smiled, grateful for him being short and quick. She couldn't deal with everyone mothering over her like she was a child again.

As the doctor left the room, Tony followed and Natasha could just about see them talking about god knows what. Tony stood, hand against the back of his head, while the Doctor opposite him seemed to be showing him a video of some sort. The concern was etched deeply over Starks pale facial features. Natasha watched intensively trying to decipher what was going on, she didn't even realise Steve was sat awake in his chair just staring at her.

'Oh Jesus, I've missed seeing that look' he said with a laugh.

'What look?'

'The 'I have no clue what's going on but I need to know' look, it's written all over you face Nat. Honestly just don't worry about Tony he's just trying to figure out what happened here'

'What happened though? I remember bits but it's I'm getting shown small screenshots in a millionth of a second.'

Steve looked at Natasha dead in the eye.

'I'm really sorry Nat. Get some sleep and we'll talk later.'

Before she could even protest her eyes were dragging shut and she was asleep in minutes.

Steve watched as Natasha feel asleep in almost an instant, she looked so peaceful but in reality he knew that she was scanning her brain for any factors that she could remember. He knew she knew a lot more than she was letting on but guessed she'd tell them in her own time. He looked over at Clint who seemed to also be curiously going over what or who could have done this and if they were going to come back.

Tony seemed to be finished with his conversation with the Doctor and slowly slipped his way in the hospital room. He held a black iPad which was currently open and was showing a black and white security tape. Tony sat down on the chair with a heavy plop and began watching the tapes again and again.

'So what's the bad news?' Clint asked restlessly.

'Bad news, well whoever this bitch is is definitely the same lady from Russia. Ermm what else, oh yeah, we have these security tapes and a sound recording but it's all practically in a old Russian code which was used years ago by spy's so yeah. Not much to go on I must admit. We just need to make sure she's okay and then we can deal with all the shit that's comes with this'

After that the 3 men sat in silence, thinking about anything but the fact that their best friend nearly died.

"You will loose the only people you love in the world"

The words swirled through her mind as she went over ever option and every scenario she could think off to try and take down Anna. If she left whilst in hospital her strength and ability would be considerably lower, she'd have no chance. If she didn't go Anna would kill everyone she loved, it's not a big list but it's still enough to frighten her. The last thought she had was about telling them, she could tell her friends, risk their lives but still it would mean the problem would be over. Such an easy solution but it was such a difficult task for someone like Natasha Romanoff to ask for help. She knew that if she asked for help she would need to explain her past and her past was the thing that frightened Natasha the most.

The red on her ledger has never left and the past will always haunt her mind forever.