A.N: Just a short one to conclude this part of the story. I didn't intend to carry this on today but it just grabbed at me and I had to blast it down while I could. Might be a few days before I can come back to this again - please bear with me.

Thank you for staying with this - means a lot to me. If you're reading this I'd love to hear from you - feedback and suggestions always welcomed! Special thanks to ShadowBeats22107, sandy-wmd, Emilyjay and sv4me who keep me going with their reviews and comments. Much appreciated! Hope you enjoy where this is going...

Natasha woke once again in the presence of her partner. From the bed, she watched him working at her desk, fingers flying over the keyboard as he worked on his laptop and wondered what he was working on.

"How long was I out?" she asked, pushing herself into a sitting position and ignoring the lingering ache at her elbow where her blood had been drawn.

"Little over two hours," he replied, closing the laptop and turning to face her. "Feeling okay?"

"Much better, you?" He knew what she was talking about and to his credit he didn't pretend otherwise. She waited patiently for his answer. "I didn't know how to tell you what they were testing for without admitting what happened..."

"I understand that," he replied, quietly. His downcast eyes told the story of how difficult he found the subject that was now front and centre between them but the set of his shoulders showed her that he wasn't backing away from the conversation, no matter how uncomfortable he found it. "Jesus Nat, to think of you facing all of that alone, it just tears me up inside."

His frank admission shocked her. She had known that he had suffered along with her at the cabin, that he had felt her pain as keenly as if it were his own, just as she had when he had suffered at Loki's hand, but she hadn't expected him to talk about it so openly. "I didn't face it alone," she told him, "you were there with me every step of the way, even though you didn't know it all."

Finally his eyes returned to hers, so earnest. "You know that we would have dealt with it though don't you?" he asked, "no matter what the tests came back with we would have found a way to deal with it."

"I know," she replied, amazed by the sincerity in his voice. "I'm just sorry that I didn't see it earlier than I did." She moved to the edge of the bed and glanced at the pile of paperwork that he had stacked neatly beside the computer. "What are you working on?" she asked.

Clint gestured dismissively toward the laptop. "Just catching up on some overdue field reports, you know how Hill loves to bust my ass for not getting them in on time..." he smiled at her. "She'll know I meant the apology I gave her when she sees I've caught up on all of this." He stood up and stretched out his arms, shoulders popping after sitting in one position for too long. His expression turned more serious as he looked back at her. "I do have something for you to look at though, no hurry, just whenever you think you're ready."

Interest sharpened by the way he touched one of the files that he had arranged on the desk, she scooted forward and rose to her feet. Clint's hand remained firmly on top of the file, preventing her from seeing anything more than the familiar SHIELD logo on the cardboard surface."What is it?"

"It's a reason for you to get yourself back to full strength and back into the field," he explained, "but you need to be sure you're ready before you open it and read what's inside."

"A mission?" she asked, searching his facial expression for confirmation that she was right. Clint nodded, eyes searching hers and apparently finding whatever he was looking for. He released his grip on the file, sliding it across the desk toward her and leaving her to make up her own mind.

She didn't know how she knew what was in the file, but she did. Natasha's fingers shook slightly, just the smallest tremor as she touched the cover of the file. She wasn't sure that she wanted to open it. She knew that she had to. "Is it what I think it is?" she asked, keeping her eyes fixed on the file before her.

"It's a reason for you to get through what's coming and a way for us to put an end to any questions about whether you're fit to continue doing this job." He didn't move toward her, didn't push her to open the file or try to hold it back from her. He merely waited to see what she would do, letting her take stock of what he was offering her and make sense of its significance.

She looked up at him, fighting down the emotion that suddenly seemed to want to overwhelm her once again. How did this man always seem to give her just the incentive she needed to keep going, how did he always make it seem like the world wasn't falling down around her?

"You found them," she exclaimed, it wasn't a question. She had her answer in the grim light in his eyes.

"I did," he replied. "As soon as you're fit enough we'll hunt them down together, or say the word and I'll carry this burden for you Nat. I can get the job done and be back here within a week, your choice."

"It's no choice at all," she replied, opening the file. Letting the colder side of her nature surface, she allowed herself to open the file and study the maps, photographs and data that Clint had collected for her without emotion. The faces of the men who had tormented her, taunted her, beaten her, stared up at her from the page, instilling nothing but cold rage in her. Rage she was familiar with, the Black Widow was a daughter of fire and flame, rage burned in her like desire and she'd never been good at separating the two. Her desire for revenge merged now with her anger, focussing her mind and her body on the fight that was to come. "When do we start?"