the aftermath
The night was a blur for both James and Natasha, James hadn’t remembered anything since the injection and Natasha hadn’t remembered anything after the first hour when she promptly passed out.
James was the first to wake up, his headache was more like a migraine and his body felt like it was made of bricks. He turned his neck, which was a little stiff, and jumped to sit up the second he realized who was next to him and what he last remembered.
“Fuck, oh jesus christ,” Bucky quickly felt for a pulse on Natasha and was relaxed when he saw that and her chest rising and falling. “Natasha, Natasha wake up, fuck your bleeding.” Bucky quickly jumped up and slid his underwear and pants on. He continued to call Natasha’s name as he put on his shirt.
“Fuck Nat I need you to wake up.”
Natasha groaned and turned her head away from
Bucky.
“Natasha, please, Nat wake up.”
Natasha’s eyes fluttered open about halfway.
“Where- who-” Natasha mumbled, she tried to brush the hair out of her face but her hands were still cuffed from the night before. This caused her to panic more, she was used to only one hand being cuffed, not all four limbs.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay, you are at Hydra, Madam B made you be an offering and then injected me with something, I don’t remember anything after that.” Bucky explained as he found the keys and undid the handcuffs on Natasha’s limbs.
Natasha groaned again, her legs were twitching uncontrollably and her wrists and ankles felt like they were on fire from the struggle to get away.
James grabbed the clothes Madam B had left stacked in the corner near Natasha’s backpack, she had brought it over at some point when they were both passed out.
“Do you- do you need help- I can-”
Natasha tried to sit up herself but couldn’t even do that, “yes.”
Bucky helped her sit up before holding out a bra for her to put on. He helped her thread her arms through it and clasped it in the back. He then helped her get her shirt on. He helped her move so that her legs were dangling off the bed and handed her wipes to clean the blood from her thighs. After he helped her get dress the rest of the way, he even helped her stick the pad to her underwear.
“How has this not effected you as much?”
“they’ve been experimenting on me, trying to make me some super soldier, i guess it’s been working.”
“That’s sick.”
James nodded as he finished lacing up her shoes.
“Thank you, I don’t know what I would have done without you here.”
James put on his shoes before turning to Natasha, “you probably would have been in a lot less pain without me here.”
“No, that’s not true at all.”
Bucky shrugged it off, trying to forget more than anything.
Natasha then tried to stand up, she managed one step before she fell into Bucky. He quickly stood her back on two feet.
He helped her get her backpack on and grabbed his as well. He then got them out of the house without being seen by anyone else. They started on a painful walk to school. Bucky kept a grip on Natasha’s backpack, lifting it up so she didn’t have to carry the extra weight.
By the time Natasha had got to school the pain that radiates between her legs was unbearable. Thank god they finally ran into Maria and Steve.
Steve took in the tired and sad eyes of Bucky while Maria took in the pain across Natasha’s. The second Natasha saw Maria her walls came crashing down, she stumbled away from Bucky into Maria’s ready arms. Thank god for Maria’s arms too because the weight of the backpack fully on her caused her knees to buckle anyways.
Natasha didn’t cry, no she had cried to much in the past week, she just clung to Maria and inhaled deeply.
“Natasha what is going on? You’re scaring me.”
Natasha just burrowed deeper into Maria’s arms.
“I just need you to hold me.”
Maria nodded and held her tighter, “I can do that.”
This was definitely the worst time for Tony to walk by but when had things every gone Natasha’s way?
“OMG! Natasha and Maria are in looooveee.”
Bucky walked up to Tony and Pepper and quickly shut Tony up with a handful of threats.
Pepper ignore Bucky and approached Natasha as she saw a trail or red blood slowly coming from her shorts.
“Nat,” She whispered, “I think you’re bleeding through your pants.”
Natasha pulled away from Maria in confusion.
“How do you-” It took her a second to remember that normal teenage girls got their periods and didn’t have blood flowing out of their bodies for other reasons.
“It’s okay, me and Maria will cover you.”
Natasha nodded along with it and the group of girls made their way to the bathroom.
Inside one of the stalls Natasha wiped up the remaining blood before realizing she didn’t have another pad to use.
“Do either of you have another- I- that was my last one.”
The truth was it was a really crappy pad that didn’t absorbed anything so she never really ‘bled’ through it.
“Crap not on me.”
“I have a tampon?”
Natasha sighed, “No I’ve never used a tampon.”
This technically wasn’t a lie.
“Wait I have one in my bag,” Pepper piped up, before handing it under the stall.
Natasha thanked her and exited the stall, washing her hands thoroughly. She then went to pick up her backpack but Maria had already grabbed it for her.
“Thank you, I can carry it though.”
“Don’t worry, I want to carry it.”
Natasha just went along with it. They made it to Natasha’s locker after what felt like an eternity of walking and Maria insisted on putting all her stuff away and getting out her books, she also made sure to walk Natasha all the way to her seat before leaving for her own classroom.
All day long, until lunch, Maria babied Natasha, making sure to do as much as possible for her, then at lunch, when Natasha didn’t have food for the third time she slid over half her sandwich and a bag of chips.
Natasha protested but Maria hit her with a pout and a please.
“Hey,” Maria bumped Natasha’s shoulder as they walked to gym, “Carol and all them are still in town, do you want to come to dinner tonight?”
Natasha perked up at the idea, “I’ll ask, five pm?”
Maria nodded, “Also, you better not try and run today, You’ve been limping around all day, just say your cramps are really bad so you can sit out.”
“I’m fine to run Maria.”
Maria glared at her, “I’ll tell May for you then.”
“No! Fine! I’ll tell her myself though.”
Natasha spoke to May, stuttering a few times as she did so but May just smiled and nodded and handed her a water bottle and granola bar before directing the rest of the class to start their laps.
By the time Natasha had gotten home she was hopeful the Madam would let her go to Maria’s house.
“Madam B,” Natasha bowed her head, “I have a request.”
“What could you possibly want?”
“I have been invited to dinner at a peer’s house and was hoping to attend, several other peers that I am seen with will also be attending, this would be best to maintain my cover.”
The Madam have barely been listening, “Make sure you are back for training tomorrow.”
“Yes Madam, of course Madam.”
Natasha all but ran to pack a bag, she hadn’t even asked to spend the night away but she sure as hell was going to take it.
Natasha showed up at Maria’s house promptly at five pm. Maria opened the door immediately after she knocked.
“Come in, I want you to meet everyone!” Maria had grabbed her hand to pull her in the house, however she seemed to have forgotten to let go. Maria showed her around the house. Although Natasha knew the location she had never actually been inside the home.
“Nick! This is Natasha, Natasha this is Nick.”
Nick offered a hand that Natasha shook nervously with her free hand, “Very nice to meet you Natasha.” Maria then quickly pulled her away and into the living room where three people sat.
Well two people and a small child.
“Carol! Maria! This is Natasha.”
Both of them waved, “Hi Natasha, I’m Carol, the first kid Nick ever adopted, this is my wife Maria and our daughter Monica.”
Monica came toddling up to Natasha where she then wrapped her arms around Natasha’s leg, giggling to herself.
Natasha looked terrified at having a child this close to her.
“Sorry can you get it off of me?”
Both Maria’s and Carol laughed before Maria(Hill) pulled Monica away from Natasha.
“Leave her along rugrat.” Maria then pulled Natasha out of the living room, “We can hang out in my room until dinner?”
“Yeah, Oh is it okay if I stay over tonight? I don’t have to be back until Saturday.”
“Yeah- yeah of course, I doubt Fury will mind.” Natasha nodded and out her bag down once Maria let her into her room.
“Fury?”
Maria shrugged, “I call him whatever.”
“Still not Dad? How long has it been since he adopted you?” Natasha began braiding a strand of her hair as she walked around Maria’s room.
“Uhm, It’s been 3- no wait, four and a half ish years.”
Natasha smiled as she saw a picture of thirteen year old Maria with Nick Fury, they each held a half melted ice cream, “look at how cute, aww.”
Maria chuckled from her seat on her bed, “do you ever think you’ll go back to being fostered?”
Natasha finished her braid and started another while she looked at Maria’s shelves, “No, my time has past, no one wants an almost 17 year old, besides the House isn’t all that bad.”
“Natasha, all group homes are bad.”
“No, I’ll just leave once I’m 18.”
Maria sighed as she picked at her nail beds.
“What?” Natasha finally turned to face her.
“It’s just- You know you can talk to me right? You don’t have to pretend everything is perfect all the time.”
Natasha shook her head and sat next to Maria, close but not exactly touching.
“You don’t need to worry about me Maria. I know this week kinda says otherwise but I’m fine, I’m safe.”
“Yeah but are you happy?”
Natasha looked to Maria, “When i’m with you,” She mumbled, “I’m happy with you.”
Natasha put her head on Maria’s shoulder and Maria leaned her head on hers.
“Can you please talk to me?”
Natasha huffed, “Ria, I’m fine, I really am getting tired of all the questioning.”
“Are they hitting you- or- or hurting you?”
Natasha pulled away from her, “Please just stop.”
Maria turned to look at her, “Nat I know what it’s like, I know you feel like you can’t tell anyone but I’m here okay? I understand what you are going through.”
“No you don’t! You don’t! Don’t say you understand when you aren’t me, when you’re not the one who doesn’t have a home! You have a place Maria, you have a life! A future! I don’t! They took it all away. I have nothing!”
“You have me.”
“That’s not what I mean and you know it. You have a place in this world, I don’t, I have no purpose!”
Maria quieted, unsure how to respond. She grabbed Natasha’s hand and thread their fingers together, “Natasha? Are you- are you planning-”
“I’m not planning on killing myself if that’s what you’re trying to ask.”
Maria let out a breath, squeezing Natasha’s hand.
“Maria!” Carol suddenly yelled through Maria’s door, “Food! You guys better not be making out in there! Dad said he wants you to keep your door open when you have Natasha over!”