I am so sorry for the long wait, I just haven't paticularly been motivated as of late. There is a slight reference to torture, but nothing too bad.And so the end is here! Enjoy the final chapter!

Chapter Six) Natasha

"In Russia?" Clint clarified as the Avengers sat in the meeting room with Fury and Hill, discussing their latest mission, "Against the Red Room?" He shot a furtive glance towards Natasha, who had gone dangerously pale and silent.

"That is correct, Agent Barton," Maria spoke, her tone impartial, however she knew exactly why Clint was so against the destination.

"What's wrong, Katniss?" Tony asked in confusion and heavy curiosity, none of the other Avengers par Bruce having being told anything from the Russian's past, and even all Clint knew barely scratched the surface of the iceberg that was the secrets of the Black Widow training facility.

"None of your business, Stark," Natasha icily told him in place of her friend, her facade well and truly up so as to hide her absolute sheer terror.

"How about we have this conversation in private, agent," Fury commanded more than suggested to the assassin.

Bruce and Clint instantly got up to leave with Thor, none particularly wanting to be the victim of Romanoff's cold glare.

"Tony, move it!" Steve ordered his teammate, practically heaving the inventor up. Stark obeyed his order grudgingly, wanting to know the secrets of the Widow.

"And no hacking the database or it's no missions and everyone's paperwork for a month!" Hill yelled after his retreating back, already aware of the billionaire's antics and respecting her friend's want for privacy.

"Please don't send me on this, Nick," The woman almost begged of him, dropping her mask in front of some of her oldest friends, "I can't go back there, what if I'm captured? I'd rather die than be held prisoner there,"

"I apologise, but there is absolutely no one else here that knows the base to the level that you do,"

"It'll be okay, Natasha. I'm handling the mission and I'll be in a quinjet nearby in case of backup," Maria told her in an effort to quell the worries of the Russian.

"Okay," She reluctantly agreed, her eyes closed and a pause stretching on for almost a minute before she answered.

After the mission

The mission hadn't gone too well. Natasha had managed to find herself face to face with one of her old trainers, and had since been too frozen to attack, which had led to her being given a black eye, split lip, as well as multiple lacerations and bruises. She was eventually able to overcome her past and shoot her at point blank range, and that was how the team had found her, covered in brain matter and huddled onto the floor.

"We're here," Maria called through from the cockpit, where she was sat with Clint, each of them treating it as a private place to address their secret concerns.

"Let's go, Itsy Bitsy Spider," Tony told her, shuffling her down the ramp.

"Fuck off, Stark!" She spat at him, storming away from him and towards Bruce instead.

"Leave her alone, Tony," Steve warned him, knowing there was something more to the situation, but not wanting to intrude, especially not after the day she had had.

"Whatever, Spangly pants," Tony sighed, accepting that it probably wasn't the time, "Sorry, Romanoff!" He called after her. If she heard him, she didn't acknowledge it.

"Look after her, Barton. You know what can happen the nights after these sort of missions," Hill warned him, having experienced the situation far too much. Clint nodded in agreement before heading after Steve and Tony, who had began bickering lightly as to what to watch for movie night.

Later that night

They had finally settled on an episode of a tv series and were about halfway through it when Natasha's eyes began to droop from where she had leant into Clint's chest. A well timed death glare to Tony from the archer prevented the merciless teasing that would likely have taken place otherwise.

Around twenty minutes passed before the blood-chilling screams began to pierce through the room.

"What the hell," Tony muttered, flying around to the duo of assassins, half expecting there to be someone stood there.

"Nat! Wake up!" Clint yelled at his partner, shaking her body, which appeared even smaller than usual.

A small gathering had emerged around the two on the sofa, each of them attempting to rouse the redhead from her nightmare.

"I can't kill her! She's my friend, please!" Tears began to stream down the woman's face as she spoke the dream aloud. A tiny gasp was heard from Steve, shocked at the newfound knowledge of how hard her past blatantly was, and he'd only heard one snippet of it.

"You're not there, Tasha. Wake up!" Clint tried once again. Tony, Bruce, Steve and Thor began to think about solutions to wake her up without making the situation even worse. However they were all at a loss, none of them having ever seen the redhead like this before.

"Is there anything we can do, Clint?" Bruce asked, having grasped the seriousness of the situation.

"Yeah, can you get Fury on the line and get him to give her the next few days off- she'll need it,"

It took a further thirty seconds for the Widow to be rendered back to being awake, albeit incredibly shaken. She instinctively curled up onto Clint's chest, not bothering to wipe the tears still running down her face.

"It's alright, you're back now," He murmured soothingly into her hair.

"Was that the red room?" Tony inquired almost gently, unable to help himself. Glares were shot at him from around the room, but Natasha gave him a tiny nod.

"I'm so sorry Lady Natasha, nobody should be forced to endure what you have most obviously gone through," Thor spoke quieter than usual.

"It's alright, Thor," She spoke in a voice barely more than a whisper.

"Hot chocolate?" Bruce asked in an attempt to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.

"Please," She muttered, and he could have sworn a faint smile almost found its way onto her face.

"I'll go help you," Steve asked, not quite knowing what to do in the situation they all collectively found themselves in.

Mere minutes later, the duo appeared in the room, each carrying a tray of steaming mugs. They delivered them to the other occupants of the room before sitting down on the sofa themselves, and that was where they remained for the rest of the evening, Natasha cuddled up to Clint's chest, who was playing softly with her hair. Thor and Steve each telling stories of the 1930s and 40s as well as of Asgard, Tony trying to make Natasha smile, and Bruce informing her on meditation and other techniques.

That was where they remained: a family.

It's been fun guys, and I hope you enjoyed reading this fic!