Chapter 4

"You see, Tony and I had been testing a solution to help heal wounds that are internal, over a short period of time. We knew that it could only work for certain kinds of wounds, and that we didn't want it to bring people back to life. That would be too much power for anyone."

"Not leaving out the fact that we didn't think our original theory would work." Tony glared at Banner. "Did Pepper know?"

"No. But, JARVIS did. All you had to do was ask." Banner adjusted his glasses. The team was seated (all but Clint, who was standing behind Natasha's chair) at the conference table. The news of Natasha's apparent resurrection had yet to spread across the S.H.I.E.L.D floating fortress. Banner stood in the middle of one side, next to Tony, who was listening with rapt attention.

"Basically, I'd asked Natasha if she would let me use her as a human guinea pig. I knew she got more scars and injuries than many other agents here. I'd tested the variables knowing that there was no way it could hurt her. I started with asking her to test the original solution I made with Tony."

Stark smiled. "The one with external injuries?" Bruce Banner nodded.

Natasha held up a pale hand. "Hold up for a second. So you're saying that one of those crazy chemicals you jabbed into my body was the thing that brought me back to life?"

"Yeah, basically." Banner murmured. "When the test for the external injuries went well, I asked you to test the second remember?"

"How can I not?" She murmured, pursing her pale pink lips. Clint still stood behind her; he ran a hand once through his short cropped hair. "That day I was too sick to spar?" She turned to Clint, who was indeed her favorite sparring partner, "that was because of his crazy experiment."

"Tony healed faster and with less side-effect. We still have yet to test it on people with the same conditions, but opposite sex."

"How did it keep her alive?" Clint's voice cut through the almost casual atmosphere like one of his razor sharp knives that he kept strapped inside of his boots.

"When you checked her vital signs, her body was in a state of hibernation. Basically, it gave off all the symptoms of death; no pulse, breath, etc. But it was actually working on healing the worst of her internal wounds. Your instincts and Tony's weren't wrong. She simply wasn't a 'alive.' Think of it as a sort of coma."

Fury stared at Banner with irritation. "You tested all this without consulting me."

"Heh." Banner flushed slightly. "Well…yeah."

"For the record," Steve spoke up for the first time since the meeting had started. He'd been dazed by Banners' talk of chemicals and solutions. All he knew was that a seemingly dead agent had come back to life. "Agent Romanoff is alive. That's gotta count for a lot."

"Seconded." Natasha held up her dainty hand again. "Now could I get some water, and maybe a chest wrap? My ribs are killing me!"

Clint smiled slightly. The faint whine in her voice was what she used when she thought that a meeting kept on too long.

"Agent Hill?" Fury slanted a look her way. His second in command nodded sharply. As she got up, she cast her friend and former dead employee another astounded look. It's not every day a close friend comes back from the grave.

"I have one more question." Tony called. But the look in his eyes spoke of more than one question. Sighing, Natasha stood, swaying slightly and leaned unconsciously on Clint.

"While you discuss the logistics of 'I.H.C' I'm going to be in my room." She was about to step out the front door with Clint on her heels when Fury shouted after them.

"Agent Romanoff!" She whirled. "Use the other door." He smiled a rarity in his line of work. "We don't want to give anyone a heart attack."

"Too late." Clint muttered under his breath, but steered his fellow assassin toward her room using the door in the back of the conference room.

"Hey Clint." She spoke as Clint hit the code to enter her room.

"Yeah?" He asked, still marveling at the fact she was breathing and shifting.

"How did I die?" He turned to stare at her.

"You remember." He said off handedly. "It's in your eyes, I can tell."

"Alright, so maybe I do know. But still…"

"Nat, I can read you like a book. But: if you ever do something as stupid and reckless as you did the other day, I swear on my life, I will never spar with you again."

"Same to you." She sassed. "If you ever get enslaved by a crazy physcotic alien I will cheerfully beat you death."

"Understood, welcome back to the world of the living Tasha."

"Clint, do you know that you're the one who woke me from that coma thing?"

"No…"

"Well, I kind of heard you say you loved me." Inwardly cursing himself, Clint decided to take the plunge.

"And?" He smirked to hide his doubt. Natasha could see right through him.

"That's what woke me up." She said simply. She then leaned forward, and placed her lips on his. Surprised, Agent Barton began to return the kiss slowly, tentatively.

As they sat in the faint light from the window and lamp beside her bed, they both seemed to glow.

"Oh, and by the way," She pulled away for a second. "I love you too."

When Agent Maria Hill entered Natasha's room, she saw the 2 agents curled against each other, reassuring themselves that they were both still alive. She turned, leaving the rib wrap and water bottle on a side table. As Hill left, she glanced at the pair with a faint chuckle.

"It's about damn time."

And thus, the story ends. Sorry it wasn't the best ending, I'll probably re-edit when I'm feeling better. But, I figured you guys deserved to read some more of this considering how patient you've been and how I haven't REALLY updated in a while. BUT still. I hope you liked this story, and thanks for reading!

Live long and prosper ;)

~Ri