VERA'S P.O.V
Vera ran until her legs gave out and she fell to the ground, out of breath. She was surrounded by trees. There was nowhere to go. The closest city was still too far away for her to get there just by walking.
"Hi, sweetie" Wanda's voice startled her.
Her green eyes widened at the sight of the young woman standing in front of her. She was quite surprised at how fast she had been found.
Wanda observed Vera for a few seconds before trying to get closer. But the kid backed away while taking shallow breaths.
"Okay, I'll stay here" the brunette nodded. "Are you okay?"
Vera looked down, unsure about what to answer. She didn't feel well at all. Her whole body ached and the throbbing pain in her head was a constant reminder of the mind control, and it truly scared her.
"Your Mama is really worried, sweetheart" Wanda told her quietly.
The ten-year-old furrowed her brow, upset. Her Mama wanted to take her to a doctor. But Natasha always told her that she could make her own choices now. And her choice was not to go to the doctor, at least not willingly.
"I don't want to go there" Vera murmured, stating out loud what her choice was. Her voice was a little shaky.
The young woman nodded, slowly reaching out to grab the kid's left hand. "I know you've been through a lot," her thumb caressed Vera's knuckles. "And that it's scary-"
"They cause more pain" the young girl said in just a whisper, her bottom lip trembling.
"Most of them don't" Wanda told her. "But I'm sure your Mama is not going to let anyone hurt you" the brunette stared into the kid's green eyes before adding, "And I won't let anyone hurt you."
For a moment the kid remained quiet. She was tired and cold and missed the warmth of her Mama's embrace. She was aware that Natasha wouldn't put her in danger, but the fear was still too strong.
However, the young girl observed Wanda's face, trying to decipher if her words were real or not. She could tell that woman was serious about it, there was nothing that could tell otherwise.
"You promise?" Vera asked, needing the reassurance that she could trust the young woman.
Wanda's green eyes softened while nodding slightly, "I promise, sweetie."
-/-
NATASHA'S P.O.V
Natasha paced nervously. Her left hand was clutched tightly around her daughter's stuffed koala as an unsettling feeling sunk in. Her kid was out there, probably terrified and even injured or sicker..., And she didn't even know where to start looking.
It had been a while since Wanda had left to search for the young girl. Sam too. And she would have done it as well if it hadn't been for Steve pointing out that if Vera came back by her own, someone needed to be there. Someone the child would trust.
The Black Widow had scowled at that. Her baby was missing. She had to be out there searching for the kid instead of just pacing anxiously, waiting for Vera to return.
Steve was watching her silently from the RV's door, refusing to leave her alone as if he didn't trust what she would do. She would run to find her kid.
"Am I a bad mom?" Natasha turned to Steve, her right hand shaking as she pointed to herself. "Be honest."
The man seemed confused about the sudden question, but quickly shook his head. "No, you're not" he answered.
"She ran away. She's missing." Tears welled up in her eyes as she murmured, "I have to be doing something wrong if she feels the need to escape."
"Nat..." Steve sighed. "I don't think she was running from you. The kid adores you and feels safe with you" he said before pointing to the stuffed koala she was gripping. "She's all the time clinging to you like a baby koala" he chuckled softly.
Natasha gave him a watery smile while staring at the stuffed animal, her fingertips caressing the soft fabric. It was true. Vera was all the time clinging to her and, even if it was a bit demanding sometimes, she loved it. Her child had grown up deprived of kind and gentle touches, so she was determined to make it up for all those years.
Steve squeezed her shoulder softly, pulling her into a hug. She rested her head on his shoulder as her heart clenched painfully in her chest.
What if she had lost her daughter forever? She couldn't bear that thought. She had just found out about that precious child, and it had been wonderful months... But what if...?
"Nat" She pulled away from Steve to turn to Wanda.
Natasha was relieved to see her daughter standing right next to Wanda. The child's head was bowed down as if she didn't dare to look up. It looked as if the kid was waiting to be punished. Just the thought of it made the woman nauseous.
"Sweet girl" she called softly, Vera flinching slightly when she approached her.
She crouched down in front of the kid, hoping that it would look less intimidating than her standing up. But her daughter continued to avoid her gaze.
"Can you look at me?" She asked, waiting patiently for the child to do it. "Please."
Vera was hesitant to look at her, so she gently lifted her daughter's chin. The child seemed to be really unsure about staring at her, hunching forward in shame.
The moment her left hand cupped her daughter's face, the kid flinched, closing her eyes. Natasha stroked the young girl's cheek while wondering if her kid was truly scared of her.
"You're in a safe place, Vera" she reminded her child, whose hands were already forming fists. "Remember you can tell me what's wrong-"
"Scared" the ten-year-old murmured, her green eyes finally meeting her Mama's eyes.
"What got you scared?" Nat asked.
Vera took a shaky breath before answering, "Doctor."
Natasha nodded slightly. She understood perfectly where the fear came from. The kid had reasons to be scared.
"That's okay" she told the child when Vera looked down again. "These doctors won't hurt you. I know them. They've taken care of me before" she explained, wanting to ease the kid's nerves.
Vera looked over at Wanda before staring back at her Mama, nodding slightly. Natasha didn't know what Wanda had told the child to convince her to come back. But whatever the young woman had said, seemed to be working for the kid.
"Next time don't run, please" she caressed her daughter's face. "You scared me, baby."
The young girl trembled a little while whispering, "I'm sorry."
Nat's heart broke at how terrified the kid looked while talking. So, she just pulled her daughter into her arms, the kid pressing her face against the crook of her Mama's neck.
-/-
VERA'S P.O.V
Vera kept her face hidden in her Mama's shoulder. The rest of her head was covered by the hood of Yelena's hoodie, just so no one could see her features as they walked inside the building. Even Natasha was wearing a hoodie and sunglasses, trying to cover her face as much as possible.
After a door closed, everything went quiet, and the young girl felt her Mama relaxing the tight hold around her body. But even when they were sitting down on a chair, Natasha kept holding her close.
"You're doing good, baby?" The woman asked, gently peeling her away.
The kid's cheeks were flushed, her green eyes glassy. The fever was back, and the hoodie wasn't helping to bring down her temperature at all. But Vera nodded slightly anyway. Good widows didn't complain.
As soon as the door was opened, the kid turned her head to hide her face again in her Mama's shoulder. Her right fist gripping tightly to the woman's hoodie as her left arm was wrapped around Cheese, keeping it in between them.
"I wasn't expecting to see you so soon, Romanoff. Not with Ross on your tail" a man spoke. "He took your disappearing act really personally."
Natasha chuckled. "That's good to know."
"So, who's the kid? Did you add kidnapping to the list?" The man asked, only getting Vera to press her face more firmly against the soft fabric of Tasha's hoodie.
"I did not kidnap anyone" Natasha answered, defensively. "She's my kid."
"Since when you have a kid?" The man sounded confused, almost intrigued. "Did you know any of this?"
"No, I didn't, sir." That time it was a woman who answered.
Her Mama breathed deeply, running a hand over her back soothingly before explaining quietly everything that had happened over the past few months.
When Tasha's hand came to rest over her head, Vera shifted slightly so she could stare at the woman.
"Can I remove your hood, sweet girl?" Her Mama asked, but she shook her head, unsure. "Okay."
Neither her Mama nor the other people insisted on her meeting them, just letting her remain with her face hidden from everybody. It wasn't until Natasha got up from the chair to leave the room, that she dared to lift her face from the woman's shoulder, the front pieces of her red hair framing her face.
Her green eyes met the tall man gaze, frowning slightly at the sight of an eye-patch covering his left eye. He looked intimidating, so she shifted her gaze to the dark-haired woman that stood behind him.
There was a smirk on the woman's face while observing her, "She's definitely your twin, Romanoff."
-/-
NATASHA'S P.O.V
Natasha pressed her daughter's sleeping form against her chest. Her fingers ran through the child's red locks as she continued humming her baby sister's favorite song, but that had managed to lull the kid to sleep. The stress from the last hours finally left both of their bodies. At least now she knew that it was only a virus and that it shouldn't be something to worry about, unless the kid would stop eating or the fever would get too high.
Vera had been more or less compliant on everything the doctor would ask. That young woman didn't know anything about the kid's background, but she had understood perfectly that the child was terrified, taking her time to explain everything that was going to happen. Natasha was really thankful for that, since it had eased the child's nerves a little bit.
However, the young girl had freaked out as soon as she had seen the needle for the blood test, getting herself under the stretcher, far away from everyone's reach.
The Black Widow had felt her heart breaking when the fearful child had pleaded in between sobs, "I don't want to do what he asks." Natasha had no idea how Dreykov subjugated the widows, but it certainly had been similar for the kid to react that way.
It had taken a long time to get the child out of the small corner under the stretcher she had pressed herself into. Small hands had gripped tightly to her Mama's sweatshirt, still pleading and crying when Natasha had been forced to hold the kid's arms tightly so she wouldn't hit the nurse's hands away. No words had been able to soothe the young girl.
The kid jolted awake at the sound of the door opening, big green eyes observing the whole place.
"Shh, you're okay" Natasha whispered softly, her eyes meeting Maria's as if warning her not to approach them yet. "You're safe" she continued running her fingers through the kid's red hair until Vera's eyes closed again.
Maria approached them soundlessly, handing her a folder, "In case you want to take a look at the results."
Natasha nodded while taking it. She would take a look at the results probably when they were back home.
"They ran a DNA test" Maria said, getting Nat to stare at her with her eyebrows raised.
She had not given her consent to do such a thing, especially since now her kid's name would be in SHIELD's database. She didn't like the fact that anyone could have access to that information.
"There wasn't a doubt of the kid being yours... It's just that you said she's enhanced, and they wanted to be sure" the woman explained, before adding, "Don't worry, no one would have access to that information."
-/-
"Where were you?" A thick Russian accent welcomed them as soon as they stepped inside the RV.
The blonde was standing in the small kitchen area. Her honey-green eyes narrowing while observing both mother and daughter as well as Wanda, who was standing behind them.
Natasha furrowed her brow. "What?"
"You left" Yelena accused her, anger lingering in her voice as she spoke. "You could've at least left a note."
"Wha- I didn't even know you were coming back" she told her, setting Vera down and gently pushing her closer to Wanda.
"Why wouldn't I?" The young woman pouted. "I'm not you."
"Yelena..." Nat sighed as the younger sister walked past her to leave, so she grabbed her wrist, stopping her.
However, Yelena just stared at her big sister angrily while getting rid of the grip before finally walking outside.
Natasha sighed, unsure about what to do. It had been so many years without seeing each other that Nat didn't know how to approach those situations with her baby sister. There were still so many things she didn't know about Yelena. So, she wasn't sure if she should give Yelena some time and space to cool off or if she should go get her.
"Mama?" Vera was confused about her aunt's outburst. But Natasha wasn't, her sister still carried too much pain and anger.
"It's okay" she whispered softly, her hand brushing the child's red hair. "I'm going to talk to her. You stay here with Wanda" she told her, waiting until the kid nodded to go outside.
Her baby sister was sitting on the ground, not too far from the RV. Her head rested on her hands as her blonde hair covered most of her face.
"No. Don't." Yelena grumbled as soon as her older sister sat in front of her.
"Don't what?" Natasha asked.
"I don't want to talk" the blonde shook her head, speaking quietly.
"Okay" she nodded.
They both sat there in silence. Yelena would take a deep breath from time to time, probably trying to keep herself from breaking down.
All Natasha wanted to do was to wrap her arms around the young woman and promise her that she wasn't leaving, that everything was going to be alright. It broke her heart to see her baby sister like that.
"I waited for you." It came out in such a low whisper that Natasha almost missed it. "I believed you were coming back for me." Yelena finally looked at her, pouting.
"I'm sorry" she whispered, but she knew it wasn't enough.
Nat had thought of her baby sister every single day after joining SHIELD. She had always wanted to believe her sister was out there living a good life away from the Red Room. But deep down she knew she had been lying to herself each day because even with the years passing by, she was still a coward to admit that she was scared to know the truth.
"I was a coward" she blurted out, looking down. "When SHIELD went to the main base, I refused to go with them." She took a shaky breath before admitting, "I was scared of what I was going to find there... The thought of you not being there terrified me."
"I wasn't there" the blonde murmured.
"I know" the older sister nodded. "You weren't in the group of girls that returned with SHIELD and it broke me." Fresh tears welled up in her green eyes. "I couldn't stand the thought of you being gone, so I lied to myself each day. I would tell myself that you got out and that you were living a great life... I believed you were better off without me." She looked at her baby sister. "I'm sorry. I should've searched for you, my little sister."
Yelena stared at Natasha for a few seconds before throwing herself into her big sister's arms, face pressed on the older woman's shoulder as tears started to stream down her cheeks. Both sisters held onto the other as tightly as they could.
After a few seconds of silence Yelena finally spoke, "I forgive you, Tasha." She pulled away from her sister. "But next time leave a note, please." The blonde asked, getting Nat to nod. "Where were you?"
Natasha wiped her tears before answering, "Vera is sick. I panicked."
"Is she okay?" Yelena asked, concerned.
She nodded. "She's going to feel even better now that you're here" she told her sister, who couldn't avoid a smile.
It only took them a few more seconds to get up and go back inside the RV. Natasha expected to find an anxious child as soon as they walked back inside. But, instead, the young girl was sitting on the small couch facing Wanda, playing a hand-clapping game while giggling about whatever the young woman had been telling her.
"You won again?!" Wanda exclaimed, the kid giggling at that. "You're too good at this game." The young woman smiled.
Natasha smiled. It warmed her heart to see her kid laugh. That small girl's sunny personality was starting to shine out and she loved every single bit of it.
Hi!!
It's been longer than expected. College life is way more demanding and exhausting than what I thought it would be. I hope to have more free time and inspiration as soon as I'm done with finals. So be patient, updates will be slow.
If you have any requests, feel free to send it and I'll try to get it into the story. I have a little idea for one of the next chapters.
Thanks so much for reading, let me know what you think,
Ayrin