Natasha nodded silently at Fury's words. She should have seen it coming. The girl was in critical condition for far too long without treatment. The information they had taken had been for her death certificate and file, not to get to know the child. It was inevitable that she would die. Thinking anything else of the situation was simply wishful thinking. She gritted her teeth to fight back the tears, nonetheless, because that little girl had meant something to her. She had been hope and love and a little sliver of happiness for those, now seemingly far too few, hours. She had been Natasha's daughter and it hadn't been through bloodline or genetics, it was through experience and general mutual caring. It was the same concept as how Clint and Natasha were family.

Clint was not faring as well as his redheaded partner. He was raging angry.

"We have the best medical attention in the entire world," Clint seethed, "Why the hell couldn't you save her?"

"She was beyond saving," Fury replied calmly. "Her bleeding had shut down almost all of her internal organs. It was too late."

Clint lunged for Fury but Natasha grabbed him. He struggled in her arms but Natasha kept her ground. Her nose bled from where Clint's elbow had made contact. She simply held him in an embrace. He went limp in her arms. They collapsed to the floor in a heap. Natasha stroked his back and willed him to calm down, whispering in his ear. It wasn't until tears began to fall that she knew he would be alright. Fury left them in the room, leaving the door unlocked behind him. They were welcomed to rejoin the rest of SHIELD when they were ready.

It was a couple days before the funeral. The tiny white coffin was carried by Clint himself to a hole that was dug by the assassins themselves. It was a beautiful hill in the middle of a graveyard. Her grave was intricately carved with beautiful designs that they hoped would have made her smile. The two were exhausted both physically and emotionally when they sat beside the grave.

"For better or worse," Clint said quietly, his first words all day. " I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live."

Natasha looked at him and replied seamlessly, "I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live."

Clint nodded silently and took her hand. They sat there for hours in silence, but they could have a million conversations in that quiet. They were partners and as close to a married couple as anyone could get. They sat and absorbed the past days' events. They reflected and knew they would never understand why bad things happened to good people. They would never understand why such a pure and innocent little girl could be taken in such a cruel manner. It was wrong and it was the life that they lived every day. And while that little girl only got seven years of life, she would lend decades of strength to the only pair she had ever called mom and dad.

And on that short note, we conclude our story. Let me know what you think of it.