A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read, followed, favorited, or reviewed! I hope you enjoy this last chapter!

Sometimes you have to learn to forget about it

Jumping to her feet, she wrapped the chain of the handcuffs around Alexei's neck as Anna and Yelena left their cover at her cue. They were much more helpfully dressed in tack gear and had armed themselves with some of Natasha's arsenal as well as their own weapons. None of that was necessary, however.

"Men, stand down," Anna ordered, and Natasha was delighted by the dismayed expression on McMasters' face. If Alexei shared the sentiment, she couldn't tell.

"Perhaps using her security firm wasn't the wisest part of your plan," Yelena suggested as she strode forward to release Irina and turn the cuffs on McMasters.

He glared at Alexei, almost apoplectic in rage. "We had the product, we were almost without competition, and you threw all that away for your little bitch," he snarled.

Yelena cuffed him on the side of the head with her gun. He dropped, but wasn't unconscious. "That's no way to walk to a lady," she told him firmly.

Natasha smiled at her friend, then looked over at Irina. The woman seemed to be somewhat shocked, but had no trouble standing on her own two feet and watching the scene progress. It was likely that she needed medical attention, however, and Natasha would not turn down a check-up on any lingering effects of the drug Alexei had used.

"Good job, ladies. It was looking a little dicey for a minute. I hope you brought some transportation."

They had – it took some time to arrange for enough, but the former Widows and their captives headed back to the city within the hour. Anna and Yelena took the two men to her building to hold them while Natasha and Irina visited the hospital. Nothing malign could be found, and Natasha wondered if the serum had worked and Irina was now capable of bearing children. She suggested the idea as she drove them back to the SI building, but Irina was understandably unwilling to pursue the topic.

After some discussion with the others, Natasha called Maria Hill to come pick up McMasters and Alexei.

"So, what was this all about?" Irina asked tiredly after that decision had been made.

The other three glanced at each other before Natasha answered. "McMasters found out about the drugs they tested on us and wanted to market them. The… side-effect was not ideal, so he found Alexei, who had access to the Red Room lab and lab techs. The plan, I think, was to test the solution on us and see if we were cured. Some of them… had more adverse effects. And they staged those deaths to look accidental." She paused, frowning. "Which, I suppose, they were."

Irina rubbed her face with a sigh. "I guess I should consider myself lucky."

"I wouldn't," Yelena responded harshly; her ire not directed at Irina, who smiled faintly.

"Well, it's been a great reunion, ladies, but I'm think I'm going to check in with my handler. I will have to submit a report on this," she added, looking apologetic.

"I'm sure that will be fine," Anna answered soothingly. "SHIELD will certainly be willing to collaborate with your bosses."

Natasha exchanged a look with Yelena and they laughed. "Good luck with that," the former said.

Irina snorted. "Well, it's above my paygrade, so they can do whatever they want." Her expression softened as she surveyed the other three women. "Let's keep in touch a little better, ladies, hmm?"

"Sounds like a good plan," Natasha agreed.

"Nat and I have a safe way of communicating; I'll get you and Anna in on that," Yelena offered.

Anna lit up. "That would be wonderful."

"Great. Well, I'm off. Stay safe, my friends," Irina said, hugging each of them briefly before heading back to the elevator. They waved as the doors closed, then turned toward each other.

"I'm glad she survived," Anna murmured softly, expression sorrowful. No doubt remembering the other losses they'd experienced over the years.

"Mmhmm. I'm sorry your husband turned out to be a little insane, Nat," Yelena said earnestly.

Natasha laughed, feeling the tension leaving her, now that this was over. "Me too. But I've got a better man waiting for me at home, so I think I'll be on my way before Maria shows up."

The idea made Anna look even sadder, and Natasha promptly hugged her. "We will have to keep in touch," she insisted, holding tighter.

Natasha waved at Yelena to join them; she rolled her eyes, but complied anyway. "I'm sure we can do that. It's always useful to have resources," Natasha teased, eliciting a laugh from the others

They stepped back and Yelena folded her arms over her chest. "As long as it's clear I'm only talking to you because it might benefit me later."

Anna's laugh was shaky, as the events of the past few days were hitting her, but she smiled. "Well, I hope you'll stop by whenever you're in my part of the world," she entreated.

"You know, if Yelena's tired of jet setting, maybe the two of you could come to some kind of arrangement," Natasha suggested.

The look Yelena with which fixed Natasha made her smile sweetly, while Anna looked hopefully at the other woman. "We can talk about it. Now, get out of here, you sentimental fool. Go see your boyfriend."

"I have other things in my life besides my man," Natasha replied defensively.

Anna put her hand on Natasha's shoulder. "We know you better than that, Natalia. Bring him around some time. I'd like to see what he's like in real life."

Smiling, Natasha gave her another hug, and then took Yelena's hand. "See you both soon," she told them before heading out the door.

The flight home was going to be a long one, and Natasha was very relieved to receive a message from Maria beforehand. SHIELD had arrived to investigate the incident. Yelena and Anna had provided their statements, as well as sending them toward Irina and her people for more details. McMasters and Alexei were in custody for now, and Natasha sent her statement in response.

It made it easier, putting the whole situation into a black-and-white report. It gave her much-needed distance from it; she hated when missions were too close to home for her to handle objectively. And this one certainly fit the bill. She hated the way her hands shook when she finished writing, hated the way it seemed like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. So. Alexei wasn't dead. She wasn't a widow. That was an improvement, if nothing else. What drove them apart was still there, but perhaps there was a solution for it. If she wanted it fixed. Assuming he could deal with being just friends and wasn't going to spend long in jail. For now, though, her life was exactly what she wanted it to be.

By the time they landed, she felt refreshed and ready to be home. Home. She hadn't had one of those for most of her life. It was a great feeling. A taxi dropped her off at their apartment at three in the morning and she smiled up at it. Making her way inside, she considered that the belongings she'd left in Weimar would need to be fetched, and her safe house restocked. If not abandoned; it had been where she'd lived with Alexei, all those years ago. So perhaps she wouldn't mind never seeing it again.

James was asleep, but awoke at her return. He was tired and blinking as she entered their room. "Hello," he murmured, voice rough.

"Hi, milii moi," she responded, dropping her bag on the floor and dropping herself onto the bed next to him.

He put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "Did you get the bad guys?" he asked sleepily as he buried his face in her hair.

"Of course. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to stop that, though, because it turns out I'm still married," she said lightly, pantomiming pushing him away.

He looked up at her sharply, if a little bleary still. "You're what?"

Taking pity on him, she gave him a kiss and nestled against him. "I'll tell you all about it in the morning."

"Mmkay," he responded slowly, searching her face.

She kissed him again, then ran her fingers slowly up and down his side until he settled down and went to sleep again. It would take her some effort to keep from seeing Alexei's scarred face when she closed her eyes, but that would pass. She wouldn't let that man take this moment, this place from her. Revisiting her old life reminded her of how little control she had been allowed to have for so much of her youth. She'd spent her whole life trying to get away from that feeling, and Alexei obviously didn't understand. James did. Yelena did, as did the former Widows and most of her friends and allies. She'd found her place in the world at last.