The Irony of it All

18

“Is there anything else you can do?”

“No.” Tony exhaled deeply as Bruce confirmed his fears. “Until we can figure out why his body is even shutting down, I can’t do anything. I can’t even say that I’ll do all I can to make him comfortable because he’s too far gone to feel anything.”

    “Should I send for the kids?” They turned to the soft, grief filled voice of Laura Barton. They hadn’t even realized she was standing there outside the lab door. Her eyes had dark circles under them from the lack of sleep, and they were reddened and puffy from the fresh tears slowly making their way down her cheeks. The two men shared a look. They both knew what Laura was saying. ‘Send for the kids...so they can say their goodbyes.’ 

    After a moment, Bruce spoke. “That might be a good idea.” Laura nodded, and wiped a stray tear away. “I’m sorry.” He said. For what? He didn’t know. For not being there. For not stopping this. For not figuring out what was wrong with him. For not curing Clint. For all of them probably. 

    Laura shook her head softly as she turned around to leave. “It’s not your fault.” Then she paused, and turned back to them. “It’s not her fault either you know.”

   

There was a moment of quiet, a breath of uncertainty, neither men wanting to upset the grieving woman any more, but in the end, Tony’s frustration in the situation and sleep deprivation won out. “I know you want to believe that. We all do. But you can’t ignore the facts.”

“And what facts are those, Mr. Stark?” Tony didn’t answer right away, so she continued after a breath of silence. “We have to give her the benefit of the doubt.”

“We don’t have to give her anything!” Tony burst. Laura let him take a few breaths before she continued. 

“So that’s it. She’s fought alongside you for how many years now? And with only the account of the FBI as proof, you condemn her?”

“Why are you defending her? Huh? Your husband is days, maybe hours away from cardiac arrest, and you want to give her the benefit of the doubt? She left him!” Tony slammed the tool he had in his hand against the lab desk in emphasis. Laura flinched, but kept her cool, which came from less of all her years at SHIELD, and more from her years of being a mother. 

“She did.” She stated calmly despite the tears slowly inching down her cheeks. “But if there’s one thing I’ve learned about Natasha after all these years, it’s that nothing is as it seems. Yes, she left Clint, and yes, the FBI fed you a story, and yes, it seems she’s fled the country, but I have a feeling that there’s more to it.” Tony opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off. “And may I remind you that I was a highly trained SHIELD agent, I know how to read into these things.”

    “May I remind you that SHIELD was HYDRA and you people didn’t do a very good job at reading into that. “ He deadpanned back. 

    She smiled. “And you think SHIELD was the only one? HYDRA had its hands in everything.”

    “We cleaned up all their goons.”

    “Are you sure?” With that, she half turned to leave and then stopped. “I know you two aren’t really on speaking terms right now, but I think it's best if you contacted Steve.”

    “You’re right. We aren’t on speaking terms.” 

    “He might be able to help.”

    “He’s a fugitive.”

    “Right now, so is Natasha. And finding Natasha is the best way to figure out what really happened in that alley.” And with that, she left, leaving Tony and Bruce alone in the lab once again.