By the time she finished, she had shed a tear and everyone was looking at the sheet where it had fallen; it was ice.

Everyone stared at the frozen teardrop on the bed until it melted, leaving behind a small wet spot in its wake.

"Fascinating," said Jemma before she went into her scientific mode. "I suppose we should run some tests to see what is going on in your system, but I don't have anything that we would need here with me. And I don't think you would be willing to come back with me to my lab either since everyone is trying to track you down."

Natasha tried to weigh her options, she couldn't leave just yet. "I can't leave, I still haven't found what I'm looking for. But take Bobbi with you, I'll be damned if something happens to her because of me. She saved my life and this is how I repay her?"

"Natasha, I think it would be better for you to go too," Darcy said. "Maybe we can try and sneak in or something, just run a few tests and get out of there before anyone finds out."

Skye let out a short scoff. "This is SHIELD we are talking about. They would find out and we would be in big trouble. Besides, I set up the security system and I don't mean to brag but its damn good. I even put in a failsafe incase, well, incase Ward and his scary henchmen people ever got to me. That being said, I can't override it without all of SHIELD being alerted."

"Just take Bobbi," Natasha began, "they don't even know she was with me, do they?"

Skye shook her head no and then a new voice chimed in.

"The hell you are! I'm not going anywhere."

"Barbie!" Darcy squealed and received a glare from the hurt blonde.

"Stop calling me that. And I'll be fine you guys. If Natasha has lasted this long with her...cold... or whatever, I'll be fine for a while. Besides, I'm already invested in this mission...even though I still don't know what it's all about."

Skye and Jemma looked confused before Jemma tried talking some sense into her. "Bobbi, we have no idea what Natasha's blood did to you or if you will experience any of the effects she has been feeling. I would feel immensely better if you came back with us. Besides, we can just tell everyone we got an SOS from you while you were on 'vacation'."

"Bobbi I'm so sorry," Natasha butted in, "I didn't even think..."

Bobbi smiled a weak smile at her. "It's okay, really. I'm assuming you were the only match so there really was no choice. Besides, I'm alive, aren't I?"

"You have no idea how lucky you are Agent Morse," Jemma said in all seriousness. "That was a major surgery, and I performed in in a less than sterile environment with little equipment and with no idea of what I was walking into."

"Jemma you rock," Darcy said in amazement. "I don't know of anyone who would or even could have done this.

"Don't make this a habit you guys, please?" Jemma half pleaded with a proud smile on her blushing face.

"So," Bobbi began, "what's the damage doc?"

"Well, you must have had a small tear when you got hit last week. Whatever you did last night caused it to tear more and I had to find it and then attempt to stitch it up. That was more blood than I was expecting though, but I think I got it all. I brought some meds that will keep infection away as well as a few painkillers, you have a pretty nasty incision" As she was talking, she gently started to remove the bandaging from the blonde's tone stomach to check for any infection. "I didn't count the stitches but I would say around 15 or so. Do NOT move from this bed unless you absolutely have to for the next...few...days." Jemma's lecture trailed off as she removed the last layer of gauze. She bent down to look at the incision more closely with confusion across her face.

"Jemma?" Skye asked, immediately thinking something was wrong.

"What?" Darcy asked as Natasha's stomach dropped.

"Nothing," Jemma said as she sat back up. "Nothing is wrong, its...perfect actually. Natasha, I think some of your healing abilities has something to do with this."

Everyone crowded around the blonde to see what the young scientist was talking about. What they saw was a large incision that was barely red and looked like it had been healing for a few days instead of hours.

"Guys, I can't sit up to see what you are all gazing at so can someone please tell me what is going on?" Bobbi wanted to know and couldn't sit up herself to see.

"Your incision," Jemma began. "It seems as if Ms. Romanoff's antibodies have helped your wound heal. Though it's still pretty bad in my books, it looks amazing at the moment. Give it a day or two and you can start moving around. I don't know how long her blood in your system will continue to heal you but you are off to an amazing start. I just hope this whole cold thing doesn't affect it."

The relief felt in the room couldn't be explained. The tense and scared emotions from earlier were gone.

Bobbi was extremely glad she was healing. She hated to be down and hated having to be taken care of. "Not that I'm complaining or anything but could someone find me a shirt?"

Jemma then realized her discomfort. She was laying there with everyone looking at her while she was only clad in her sleep shorts and a bra. "Of course! Let me get you bandaged back up." She carefully applied more ointment and then started layering on clean bandages. Darcy found her a button up shirt and Jemma helped her get it on while Skye and Natasha disposed of all the bloody towels. Natasha and Skye then helped move Bobbi to the other bed so they could change the sheets. After all was said and done, Jemma explained the medicine she would be taking and how long to take it. Bobbi tried to get them to leave shortly after but Jemma was having none of it. She had decided that her and Skye would stay the night just in case and that they would leave in the morning.

Sleeping arrangements were difficult that night but they made it work. Natasha and Darcy shared Bobbi's old bed while Bobbi and Jemma took the other one. Skye slept on the ugly couch, and it was surprisingly comfortable. The team talked late into the night and so far, Bobbi was not showing any signs of the coldness that Natasha was suffering with. Jemma had woken up several times during the night and took Bobbis temperature. It was actually a little elevated, but she had expected that due to how serious the wound was. By morning, her temperature had gone down to almost normal levels. After the team had woken up, Jemma helped Bobbi change her bandages and the incision looked even better than the day before. It was killing Jemma that she couldn't run any tests to explore the phenomenon even further.

A few hours after sunrise, Skye and Jemma took their leave with Natasha as their escort. She wanted to make sure they made it to their jet okay and didn't run into any more HYDRA agents. Everyone was on their toes as they trekked through the woods but the mood was light.

"I don't mean to pry," Skye started as they kicked through the snow, "but how is the whole Natasha/Natalia situation?"

"It's over, I'm back to normal I guess you could say." Natasha kept walking without making eye contact. She hated talking about herself and there was no way she would spill any more details that could get her team in anymore trouble.

"That's good," Skye said. "I'm glad we were able to help you after the whole Winter Soldier thing. I still don't quite understand how and why he tortured you like that though."

"Good," was all Natasha said. "It's kind of personal and I really don't want to talk about it."

Skye immediately shut up about the situation. She admired the red head and had always looked up to her, even when she was a kid.

"You know Fury is pissed with you," Skye began again. "He has almost all of SHIELD looking for you and Darcy. He made a personal visit to the BUS to talk with our boss and try to get any more information about when you first came to see us and again when Tony brought you when you were hurt."

Fury hardly ever took personal visits. He preferred to send his errand boys and this concerned Natasha. "What did you guys tell him?"

Jemma hurried closer to them as Skye told Natasha what went down. "Agent May did all the talking and told him what she knew from your first contact and visits, but when it was my turn I thought it was better to play innocent and only tell him what went on when other people were in the room. I didn't say anything about you personally coming to me for any favors and he bought it. Was that the right thing to do? It's been burning me up since."

"Skye, thanks," Natasha said in relief. "It would have gotten my team in more trouble and I don't want to hurt anyone else so yes, that was the right thing to do. But why did you do it? You didn't know if you were helping or harming the situation by withholding that kind of information."

Skye looked down at her boots as they sloshed through the snow, "I don't know. In my gut, it was telling me to keep it to myself."

Jemma smiled proudly at Skye and Natasha was just as proud. The team continued on and pretty soon found themselves at the jet. All three of them boarded to get out of the wind and say their goodbyes.

"Look, could you guys somehow tell The Avengers that I'm okay? Darcy too? I know they must be worried sick and maybe they could let Fury know I'm behaving myself."

"Of course, we will," Jemma said.

"I have a better idea," Skye said butting in and brushing past the two. She got to the pilot's seat and pulled a laptop from beneath the seat.

"Take this, it has an untraceable connection and you could get a message out to them. In fact, maybe you should send a message to Maria Hill. I've found several documents in reference you with her signature on it."

Natasha was puzzled but Skye further explained. "They were documents that stopped a few teams from checking out your previous locations to track you. Documents that could get her fired but I buried them. It looks like she is trying to help you stay off the radar so maybe she could be a kind of mediator."

The two women looked at Natasha to see if she knew why Maria would be helping her, and she sure did.

"I saved her life a few years back. It was a mission gone bad and they didn't send any backup for her. I knew the situation would turn south so I tailed her. If I didn't, she would have been dead in that bunker and no one would have ever found her. We've been pretty tight since."

After a few more words, it was time for them to leave. Natasha said her goodbyes and they wished her luck. After they took off, she started her trek back the way she came through the woods.

After about an hour of walking, she felt as if she was being watched. She never did hear anything but she could not shake the feeling. Another hour or so she realized she was coming up on the dead HYDRA agents from the other night. She heard a lot of activity up ahead so she snuck closer and ducked behind some dense shrubs. HYDRA was swarming the place, live ones of course. They were placing their fallen comrades in body bags and talked like they were afraid of something. Not being able to hear very well, she crawled closer, the wet snow melting through her clothes.

"Why would he attack?" she heard one of them say. Another shook his head in disbelief as he looked at all the fallen bodies. "How could one man take down these many agents?"

One man? She thought to herself, and then she saw it. In each of the dead men's hands was a single white feather, a dove feather to be exact.

"The Ghost has struck again! But what did this team ever do to him?" The men were perplexed, her even more. Was the man she met in the bar responsible for this? Why?

As she was trying to put it all together, she heard a group of men coming her way and she had nowhere to hide. She started to brace herself for attack when a stone flew passed her and landed noisily in the woods. The group of men immediately went on alert and went to check out the noise. Not wasting anymore time, she took her chance at escape and darted away. Out of the corner of her eye though, she saw where the stone had come from and who threw it. It was indeed the man from the bar and he flashed her a smile and winked before disappearing out of sight as well.

She made it back to the street with no more problems but a million more questions. She was almost to their room when she spotted another dove feather stuck into the cracks of the sidewalk in front of an alley. Clearly, he wants to talk, so let's talk.

Upon entering the alley, she saw him leaning against the wall about halfway down. "What do you want from me?" She asked the man.

He looked up at her and the expression in his face told her she could trust him, but she had been deceived before so she kept her guard up.

"I don't want anything from you, you are just...so interesting."

"Well that's not creepy at all," she mumbled. "And what's with the dove feathers? Did you leave them back there on those dead agents? Why take the blame?"

Instead of answering, he reached in his pocket, causing Natasha to involuntarily flinch, and produced a feather. He held it out to her for her to take, but that would mean getting closer to potential danger.

He rolled his eyes at her and came forward with his hands up. "You can trust me you know," he said before reaching out and handing her the feather. She took it and then just looked at him like he had sprouted two heads.

"What's with the feathers anyways?" She asked as ghost boy retreated back to his spot against the wall.

"Peace," he said as if it should be obvious. "As long as HYDRA is in this world there is no peace. And besides, it's also my name."

"Your name is Dove? What the hell kind of name is that?" She asked in her usual tone.

"I could ask the same, Black Widow," he shot back.

Natasha was taken aback. "How do you know who I am?"

"I know a lot of things, but relax, I'm on your side." He said annoyed.

"But weren't you HYDRA before? At least that's what those old geezers were saying back at the bar the other night."

"You got me there, but as soon as I learned the truth, I got the hell out of there and vowed to bring them to justice."

Curious, she asked what the truth was.

"That's for me to know and for you to...not know."

"Thanks," she said sarcastically and crossed her arms. "I trust you loads more now."

"You will see," he said as he walked closer. She stood her ground as he got right in her face and looked into her eyes. It took everything she had to not hit him right then and there but she held it together and decided to trust him. Why? Because he had a certain look in his eye. It was so familiar but she couldn't place it. It reminded her of someone she once knew, but she couldn't remember who. He then brushed passed her and walked out of the alley without a backwards glance. She stood there and then let out her breath she didn't know she was holding. She looked down at the feather still clutched in her hand and then shoved it into her pocket. Could today get any weirder?

When she got back to the room, she found Bobbi sleeping and Darcy was taking inventory of the supplies they had and what Skye and Jemma had left for them. She placed her backpack with the laptop in it on the table and then plopped into her bed.

"What's wrong with you?" Darcy asked as she stopped what she was doing and plopped down beside her.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," She said. "Just wait until Bobbi wakes up. Its time she knew everything.

-S