Surveillance

Chapter 28

You shot up in the bed, a yell leaving you and startling Scout as she jumped off of it. You placed a hand over your quick beating heart as you looked around, trying to figure out where you were as you came back to reality.

Natasha rushed over to you, trying to calm you with soft shushes and softer words. "Hey, you're okay. It was just a dream. You're safe."

Scout jumped back on the bed, licking your face as comfort as you pushed her back, petting her gently. Your heart slowed and your breath calmed as you came to terms with Natasha's words. It was just a dream.

"I dreamt of it," you whispered.

"Yeah," she replied. "That'll happen..."

"I was running through the woods so fast I couldn't see what was around me. I felt the pain from being shot and the rage and fear. I couldn't even see him, I just saw blood everywhere. So much blood," you sighed.

Natasha gave a sad look, pulling her arms around you into a hug. Her voice was soft as she told you, "I'm sorry about what happened. I know it's hard. A first kill is always hard, no matter how bad the person is. But everything is going to be okay. I'm not leaving."

You nodded, burying your face in the crook of her neck. Your arms came around her. When you pulled away again, you really looked at her then. You furrowed your brows, your hands reaching up to feel her hair.

"You cut it," you said. She nodded, reaching up to touch it as well. "Yeah, it was about time."

Her hair was just about to her shoulders know. It had more waves, almost curly at the end. The color was deeper now, less ginger and more red. "I haven't changed it in, like, a year. I'm not used to that," she said, almost awkwardly.

You would miss her longer hair, but you gave her a smile, "I like it." She smiled back at you before she looked at your arm to examine it.

She began to unravel the bandages so she could see the wound. You watched her as she did it, as her green eyes closely examined you. When the bandages were off, her brows lifted in surprise.

"It healed overnight," she said. She gently stroked the spot as she looked at it. "You're all better."

You nodded absently, "Great."

"Come on, let's get breakfast before Thor eats it all," she said as she dragged you out of the bed with Scout in tow.

~

You spent the rest of the day absently. Everyone noticed the way you did thing half-mindedly, how you walked with a certain look in your eye that made them feel their own type of empathy for you. It was not pity they looked at you with, but it did not feel any better.

You were sat outside on a patio with Bucky and Wanda at some point, just reading a book. It was later outside, the sky was deciding between afternoon and night. The air was filled with noise that came from the creatures further away from the compound but perfectly present. It was loud to your ears but calm enough not to drive you crazy.

But even those sounds were loud enough to keep you from hearing the conversation between Natasha and your father inside of the compound. "Natasha, she needs to go home. We can't do this anymore, she's getting hurt."

Natasha's voice was as calm as she could without pissing off your father. "We can't risk that right now. What she needs is to stay here. Believe it or not, this is the safest place for her."

"The safest place?" he argued back.

"Yes."

"She just came back from being kidnapped and tortured for six months, Natasha. She's just been attacked by the same people who tortured her and she attacked someone else. And before that, she goes to a conference and has an panic attack because now she has PTSD," he told her.