A/N: This chapter is a Pepper and Natasha chapter once again. I love them together and believe they would have a pretty close friendship.

S-B

Even without Natasha Pepper found that all the Avengers eventually fell back into a sorta normal routine. While everyone was pretty shocked about the new mission nobody could really stop her. Natasha hadn't talked to anyone before she left so nobody knew what she was thinking about it all. All they could do was hope it all turned out alright.

It had been four weeks since Natasha left, and Pepper found herself spending all her spear time at the Avengers headquarters. The others seemed to have gone back into their old workflow. Training most of the day before trying to spend their evenings together in the common rooms. Steve and Bucky were both working with Avengers newest addition, and Peter really seemed to get better every day. Sadly, what Pepper also had noticed as a result of their training was that Wanda seemed to be a lot more distance.

Wanda was the one that appeared to be most affected by Natasha's spontaneous mission, not counting Clint. The first day after Natasha, left the girl had been walking back and forth in the hallways most of the night before Steve caught her.

Pepper knew that the young girl had spent a lot of time with Natasha after they both came home, but with her mentor gone, she seemed to step back from the rest of the group. Pepper didn't really blame her though. None of them knew what had happened back where they were held prisoner, but they knew it was nothing good. Thankfully it seemed like Laura had been able to connect a bit with the younger girl while she was in New York. The Barton's only stayed three more days after Natasha left, but in those days, Laura seemed to be able to calm the girl.

Pepper was sitting in one of the smaller common rooms reading a book while Steve and Sam were watching a baseball game on the TV. She could be home doing the exact same thing, but she just really wanted the company. Besides, Tony was working on some important stuff himself and preferred to use the Avengers workshop because "it has more fun toys here" so spending the evenings at the HQ meant they at least could drive home together. Right now, he was somewhere in London to get some new…. Things… but Pepper didn't mind being with the Avengers without Tony. They were her friends too after all.

Pepper turned around when she heard the door open. Rhodey and Bucky both walked in balancing two trays in their hands. "Want some tea, Pepper?" Bucky asked politely giving her a mug. Pepper nodded giving the man a warm smile as he poured her some water.

"You haven't seen Wanda, have you?" Bucky said with a low calm voice before settling down in the couch besides Steve. The two men both stopped talking and turned around looking at Pepper to see hear what she had to say. Pepper let out a small slight before shaking her head.

"I met her in the elevator. She seemed tired but didn't say much. I tried to get her to come to the living room with me, but she didn't want to. She just told me she was going to sit on the roof for a while. It seems like that's where she spends most of her time?" Pepper said thoughtful sipping her tea slowly.

"Oh, okay," Bucky said slowly nodding before turning his head towards the TV. None of them said anything, but they were all thinking the same. Natasha better come home for both them and Wanda's sake.

Natasha walked into the foyer at 2 am in the morning. It had been a little over a month since she left for her mission and she was really happy she was back. The mission had been harder than expected. No one expected it to be so physical as it got in the end. Not even Fury expected it to go as it did. She had definitely felt the side effects on being out for 6 months. She was both out of shape and really unprepared.

As she walked toward the lift, she felt how tired her body really was. Her head felt like it was going to fall off any second. When she was out in the field she never really felt tired, but whenever she got back her head and body always shut down the second it entered home.

Natasha pressed the button to her floor carelessly in the elevator while jawing widely. "Friday. Please unlock the door to my room, and please dim the lights."

"Of course, Natasha. Anything else?"

Natasha yawned again as she dragged herself into her room. For once she really wished her room wasn't this big, slowly moving across the room. She should probably take a proper look at her injuries but all she really wanted was to go to bed.

"Yeah, please lock my door and don't let anyone enter in the next 12 hours or so." A low moan escaped her mouth as she slowly tried to take off her leather jacket that she had thrown on before the building she had been in had exploded. The blood from the wound seemed to have hardened and was ripping the cut on her shoulder open when she tried to get it off.

"Room locked"

"Thank you, Friday. Are any of the Avengers awake?" Natasha threw her now destroys jacket carelessly away somewhere behind her before flopping down on her bed not even bother taking off her suit.

"No, everyone seems to be asleep."

Even Wanda? Natasha thought. That was good. She hoped the girl had a somewhat good night sleep.

"Which also reminds me. Pepper was here and she told me she wants you to text her when you get back home. Do you want me to send her a message now?"

Natasha was only half listening to the AI but nodded slowly as if Friday could actually see her. "Yeah sure, but don't wake her up if she is sleeping."

Pepper was sitting in her car staring out into the black night. She didn't know why but for some reason she had a feeling something was wrong. The time was just past 2 am in the morning. She had left the Avengers facility almost an hour ago but had ended up just sitting in her car just 10 minutes away from the building. Usually, she didn't stay as long as she had today. She preferred to leave pretty early in the evening so she could get a full 6 and a half hours of sleep every night.

The woman jumped in her seat when her phone lit up. Weird, it didn't make a sound or vibrated. How? Pepper lifted up her phone and looked on the screen. A text message lit up the screen.

"Natasha came back 15 minutes ago. Currently awake still – F"

Natasha was back?! Also, did Friday just text her? And signed it as "F"? Okay, that's just weird Pepper thought. Not that she was to complain, she was happy the AI had done as she had asked and warned her when Natasha was back. Pepper didn't even hesitate as she turned her car around driving down the road in full speed.

Pepper didn't even bother to park the car in the garage as she pulled up in front of the Avengers headquarters. The building was completely dark as she entered, but she didn't care. All she cared about was seeing Natasha. She knew Natasha couldn't, but she really wished Natasha had contacted her during the mission. She had been beyond worried thought the mission. It had seemed like a very dangerous mission, especially since it was so spontaneous as it was. She had also been extremely mad at Tony for even sending her on it in the first place. She could not believe he or Fury thought it was okay to send her on a mission just days after she came home from literally being kidnapped and held hostile for 6 months.

Pepper was walking on autopilot as she paced down the hall. She knew exactly where Natasha's room was.

"Natasha locked the door not wanting any visitors before tomorrow, Ms. Potts"

Friday's well-known voice spoke out even before Pepper tried the handle on the door. The strawberry-blond let out a sigh before saying. "Is Natasha awake? Because if she is can you please ask her to let me in?" Pepper stood outside patiently waiting for a reply. Considering the AI hadn't answered her yet she was assuming Natasha was awake. She was really hoping she let her in.

Pepper heard a click and the door slightly opened indicating that Pepper was welcome. Pepper didn't even get to step into the room before she exclaimed. "Oh my god, NATASHA?!"

Pepper dropped her bag in shock and covered her mouth as her eyes fell on Natasha's body. The woman was lying in the big bed with her eyes closed but a small smile had formed in the corner of her mouth. The smaller woman had a big cut over her eye and her left shoulder was covered in dark red blood. Her suit was ripped in multiple places and covered in dirt.

Pepper turned around closing and locking the door behind her before racing over to Natasha. Slowly, but firmly Pepper dragged Natasha up in a sitting position to get a closer look on her.

"Friday turn on the lights right now!" Pepper watched as Natasha squinted when the light turned on and Pepper looked at her with two very worried eyes.

"Pepper, what are you doing here?" Natasha asked calmly as Pepper started to examine the cut above her right eye. The other woman just shook her head before answering.

"I got your text and just wanted to check up on you. But Natasha you are hurt! What are you doing here, you should be at the hospital or something!" Pepper looked at the other woman with a concerned look as she was holding around the other woman's shoulder to get a closer at the wound. Natasha looked completely beaten up and somehow worse than after the boys had rescued her and Wanda.

"I'm fine. It's not like it is life-threatening. I'll look at it in the morning." Natasha said with what Pepper considered as a too calm voice. This woman was insane.

"This is not fine. Nat. Please" Pepper moved Natasha's hair from her face and looked at her again letting go of her shoulder.

"Pepper, it's okay. I'm just tired." Pepper watched the other woman as she tried to go back to bed, but the small grimace she made when her shoulder hit the pillow didn't go unnoticed.

"Natasha, I get that you are tired, but look at you. If you aren't going to do anything about this, then please let me do it." Pepper pleaded. Natasha only looked at her, but since she didn't stop her Pepper started to move around in the room. She found Natasha's first aid kit and opened it on the bed looking inside it. Most of the bandages seemed to be used. Pepper let out a sigh before walking over to her bag she threw way carelessly earlier. She only got a small emergency kit in her own bag, but between the two she should have most of what she needed.

Natasha was still laying in the bed now with her eyes closed. While Pepper knew she wouldn't admit it, she was sure the injuries were bothering the agent. Pepper felt her heart sink as Natasha let out a loud sigh.

"Natasha please help me take off your suit so I can look at you closer. You can lay down on your side just help me undress you first." Pepper looked at the woman as she slowly unzipped her suit. The other woman was moving slowly, and Pepper wasn't sure if it was a side effect of exhaustion or the injuries. Pepper helped the smaller woman out of her suit until she was just lying in just her underwear. Since Natasha didn't seem to mind being in just her underwear Pepper decided not to address it either.

Pepper now realized it was a lot worse than she originally thought. Most of Natasha's body was covered with blood from cuts and scrapes.

Pepper let the redhead fall back into the bed resting on her right side. Most of the cuts were minor and just needed a cleaning, but Pepper's eyes fell on Natasha's right ankle. It was swollen and blue. Natasha let out a small whimper as Pepper put some pressure around her ankle.

"Natasha…" Pepper's voice drifted off as she looked at the woman in the bed. Her eyes were closed but she seemed relaxed. Pepper grabbed a scarf from her bag and wrapped it carefully around the ankle. Natasha let out yet another sigh as Pepper put on the ice pack.

"It usually doesn't end like… this…I'm just out of shape" Natasha said with a low voice. Pepper nodded slowly before starting to clean out the cuts on the other woman's body.

"Pepper I would have looked at it in the morning. It really isn't that bad" Natasha said as Pepper started to clean the cut over her eye.

"Natasha!" Pepper said with a firm voice.

The two of them continued to be silent as Pepper worked. Pepper was surprised that Natasha was even letting her do it. Maybe it was because she didn't have the energy to protest. Not going to lie, Pepper felt like it was getting worse whatever this was.

"I don't know what more I can do." Pepper said after 10 minutes of silence. The agent's shoulder was now neatly wrapped up in a bandage and the cuts were all cleaned and covered with bandages if needed. The woman just huffed before saying.

"It's fine. It's a lot more than I would have done so."

Pepper looked at her with a serious look. "I really don't see how that was supposed to be comforting."

Natasha let out a small laugh before closing her eyes again. Pepper swore she saw the usually stone-cold woman frowned as if she was in pain.

"Natasha," Pepper said softly kneeling down in front of the other woman.

"Pepper you have already done so much…" Natasha tried as Pepper let her hand slide over her forehead.

"Does it really hurt that much." Natasha only nodded with a small whimper and Pepper could honestly not believe this woman just admitted she was in pain. Pepper had never heard her admit anything that could even hint to any weaknesses or pain.

"Period started yesterday and…" Natasha let out another moan making Pepper's heart ache.

"Do you have anything you usually take or do you need some Aspirin or something?" Pepper said before standing up walking around in the room.

"I have a box of pain-" Natasha let out a loud cry as another wave of cramps hit making her twist in pain.

"Drawer *groan* nightstand" Natasha forced out as she cried out again. Pepper had no idea cramps could be so bad. Sure, she had experienced some bad cramps before, but this was The Black Widow. The deadliest spy in the world. Pepper only nodded before hurrying around on the other side of the bed taking out the box and running into the bathroom to get some water.

Pepper helped the other woman in a sitting position as she drank the water swallowing the pill in one swift motion. Pepper sat down on the bed behind her slowly playing with Natasha's hair as the woman jet again twisted as a wave hit her. Pepper felt the woman tens up struggling to keep herself together.

Slowly Pepper guided the woman to lie down on her lap and just minutes after both of them were sound asleep.