Almost Dusk {A Black Widow Story}

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

(Natasha's Perspective)

Barton and I sat nervously in one of the conference rooms at SHIELD headquarters. I kept bouncing my leg in jittery anticipation.

After the disaster that was the mission in Bucharest. Who knows what was going down here.

We had managed to break the window of the room in the hospital ward and launch ourselves through it using the force of the blast to push us away from the destruction.

We came away from it relatively unscathed in the grand scheme of things, but it took a bit of recovery time.

SHIELD had arrived in Bucharest not shortly after the explosion and had us carted off to recovery before so much as the concussions we wore had time to wear off.

It was only once the aircraft was flying us out of there did we realise our mistake.

Eva was still down there.

We fought and urged and begged and threatened everyone to let us go back for her, but they said that no one else was found at the wreckage sight, no children that is.

Those men who had trapped us into a corner had died sacrificing themselves to end us, fortunately for us that plan backfired and we managed to escape a terrible fate.

But if Eva wasn't found, did that mean she had gotten away before the blast or was she crushed under the mountain of cement that rained down like a blizzard?

The odds didn't look good what with our failed attempts to contact her. The radio she had been using wasn't picking up and we had no other way of knowing what happened to her.

Hoping that this meeting was to announce her sighting, we sat anxiously waiting.

But whether they found her or not, she was on SHIELD's radar now. Sooner or later, if she was alive, they would find her.

The tension was unbearable. I couldn't even look Barton in the eye.

When we had all but given up, Director Fury entered through the door and stood before us.

We leapt to our feet as well.

"Romanoff, Barton" He began, "The stolen fugitive you have been harbouring has been located. We –"

"Is she hurt?" I interrupt.

"She is fine" He tells me, "We detect only minor injuries. But that's not all, -"

"What do you mean?" I cut him off again, resulting in an irritated look from him.

"It means" He forges ahead, "That we found something else on our recovery mission."

With that, the doors open and Eva comes through. With Rose in tow behind her.

I gasp as I lay eyes on the both of them.

They each bare a couple scars and bruises, but nothing life threatening.

I let out the breath I had been holding as Clint runs ahead and crash tackles Rose into a bear hug.

I move quickly and pull Eva into a strong hug.

"Oh thank God." I breathe as we hug.

Then I let her go and move to Rose.

Clint has already lifted Eva up in another of his giant hugs as I take Rose's face in my hands.

"Rose" I whisper, my vision blurring.

"Hi Nat" She murmurs back and I hug her securely to my body.

The room is full of relieved laughter and teary eyes as we all come together.