A mother for a monster's child
Robin follows the soldiers into the compound and wherever General Dreykov had wanted her.
She finds herself in a room filled with mirrors, young women in their late teens lining the walls as they gracefully dance.
“Ah, my pretty songbird,” General Dreykov’s voice croons and it takes everything in Robin to not flinch.
“General Dreykov,” Robin inclines her head as she watches his black shoes step into her vision.
“What do you see here?” General Dreykov sweeps a hand across the room to the girls robotically moving through sets.
“Widow’s, sir,” Robin replies politely, glancing at General Dreykov.
“Ah, not just any Widows. They’re graduating soon,” General Dreykov corrects and Robin turns to look back at the women. “I have a very special mission for you, my pretty songbird.”
“I’m… already on a mission, sir,” Robin dares to tell him as if he didn’t already know that. He lets out a low chuckle.
“I want you to test the fertility of each one before they’re sterilized,” General Dreykov demanded. Robin’s heart leapt into her throat.
“What-- I’m not that kind of doctor…” Robin quickly protests before she feels General Dreykov’s fingers latch onto her hair and pull hard.
“There will be fewer incidents if you do it. Do not think me a fool for not hearing how you have the least amounts of, ah, accidents when it comes to Widows,” General Dreykov grins, reaching up to pat Robin’s cheek. “You’ll be coming once a week to run tests and give me the reports on your little family in Ohio.”
It wasn’t a request. It was an order. Robin had no room to protest.
“Yes sir,” Robin whispers and General Dreykov lets her hair go. Robin straightens up, glancing at the line of girls. “If I may ask a question…” She sees him incline his head. “Why?”
General Dreykov seemed delighted at her question. “I’m not as young as I once was, my pretty songbird. I need an heir.”
“Of course,” Robin’s eyes flicker to the line of girls that were probably only sixteen to seventeen years of age. Much too young.
“I knew you’d get it, my pretty songbird,” General Dreykov’s hand moves to caress the back of Robin’s neck.
“I was led to believe that there was an emergency,” Robin said quietly and flinches when she feels General Dreykov give a warning tug on her hair.
“Ensuring the perfect mother for my child is not?” General Dreykov questioned, a warning in his tone.
Nobody could love a man such as General Dreykov. Robin pitied the girl that was selected to be the mother of his child and pitied his child that would grow to call the man in front of her ‘father’.
“Of course not. I misspoke. Please forgive me,” Robin murmurs and General Dreykov lets out a pleased hum.
Robin was led back to her old office and books were dumped into her arms on how to do what General Dreykov was asking her to do.
Robin pulls back on the mask of the doctor just doing their orders as she flicks through the books. It’s only all too soon that the first Widow is pushed before her.
Robin thinks of her little fake family in Ohio. They were Widows. They could just as easily be in these girls’ places.
“Strip off everything below the belt, cover yourself with a blanket, and lay back,” Robin orders the first Widow, hoping that her voice didn’t waver as she busies herself with readying instruments she would need.
Robin has to take the wedding ring on her finger off before she pulls on latex gloves. She tucks it away in her jeans and pretends she doesn’t miss the way it feels on her hand.
She doesn’t know what she’s doing but she acts like she does. She pretends that she’s the calm and collected doctor that she’s known as. The first Widow on her table doesn’t even flinch and is escorted out just as quickly as she came.
The only Widow that put up any sort of resistance had been hesitant to disrobe, and one of the soldiers at the door has a cattle prod that he attempts to use before Robin grabs it and shoves it back at him.
“Are you attempting to ruin the sample?” Robin demands. It’s complete bullshit but Robin says it with enough authority that the soldier backs away. Robin glances back at the girl hesitant and shifting slightly.
She thinks of Melina or Natasha in her place and her heart hurts. It shouldn’t. She’d been doing this for years now. She’d never had a problem with it before.
“Come on, now. We don’t have all day,” Robin pulls on a fresh pair of gloves and glances at the girl. “It will be over quickly.”
The girl still hesitates.
Robin then does something that she never did before. She steps forward and reaches up to cup one side of the girl’s face. The Widow freezes under her touch, her breathing stilting.
“You can do this,” Robin whispers to her. “Count to one hundred. I will be finished.” Robin then pulls away quickly.
The Widow slowly undresses and takes the blanket.
Robin finishes it quickly, pulling the blanket to cover her when she’s done.
Robin finishes the others quickly and is left to read more. She’s worried if she’ll make it back in time to pick the girls up from school and daycare.
Robin finishes not too soon after the time has come and gone and she hopes that Melina was able to slip away from work to pick them up.
The door to her office opens and Robin glances over at General Dreykov.
“I see you’ve finished,” He hums, glancing over the labeled samples. “Tell me of the Widows I have assigned in your care.”
Robin straightens and starts to recite everything that she had written. Nothing that he didn’t need to know.
He stares at her for far too long for her liking after she finished. “Shirt off.” He orders.
Robin stares at him for a moment before her fingers fumble to undo the buttons on her shirt. Her shirt drops to the ground as she bows her head and lets him stare.
He circles her, letting out a hum as his fingers brush against some of the marks he made last time she displeased him. “I don’t appreciate being lied to, my pretty songbird.”
“I would never dream of lying to you, sir,” Robin replies, trying to keep her voice even.
She feels him stop behind her and reaches out for something. Robin doesn’t dare turn to try and see what it was.
Robin lets out a strangled gasp as something cold was shoved against her abdomen before her muscles contract and lock up. She hits the ground hard, her nerves alight with pain before the cold disappears and Robin is left gasping for air on the ground.
“Would you like to tell me that again?” General Dreykov rounds her until he stands in front of her, revealing the cattle prod that he had lifted from the guard.
“I didn’t lie--” Robin gasps out. It was the truth. Omitting details wasn’t lying. She braced herself when the baton pressed against her again. Instead, the baton swings and smacks Robin across her face.
Robin wasn’t expecting it. General Dreykov’s own rule was no damaging her face. There’s a crack and blood drips onto the floor of her office.
“Does that hurt, my pretty little birdy?” General Dreykov tuts, holding the prod out until someone grabs it from him. “Come on. Up on your knees.”
Robin drags herself to her knees, blood splattering onto her jeans.
“Only a week in and you’re getting soft,” He tuts before lovingly brushing her hair out of her face. “I do this because I care about you, my little songbird.”
Robin closed her eyes and knows that it’s just best to agree with him. “I know, sir.”
“If you weren’t so damaged, you would make a fine mother for my child,” General Dreykov whispers to her, and Robin’s stomach rolls.
“Thank you, sir--” She manages to get out.
Robin jumps when a needle is jammed into her neck and the plunger is pushed down. “No!--”
“Shh,” General Dreykov cups her face. “Worry not. I will see you next week, my pretty songbird.”
Robin is so tired that she droops forward and hates the way that General Dreykov catches her head before hit hits the ground.
Robin wakes up in a car. Her shirt was draped around her shoulders like a blanket and there was dried blood on her jeans and stomach. Her head pounds and the light burns her eyes.
“Just in time,” The man next to her speaks. “We’re arriving to your little family now.”
Robin inhales sharply. She doesn’t want them to get hurt. She doesn’t know whether to be worried or relieved that Melina’s car is missing from the driveway.
Two of the men practically drag her to the front door as she was unable to walk on her own feet from the drugs in her system. They open the door and shove her inside. Robin’s shirt catches on the doorknob as she lurches forward and her bare skin hits the cool wooden ground with a groan.
“Until next time,” The soldier chuckles before the door was slammed shut.
Robin’s so tired. Her nose is stuffed with dried blood and her head hurts and she’s still drugged to the gills.
But her little fake family is safe. They’re safe and that was all that matters.
The wooden floor is cold and feels nice against Robin’s face. Robin’s eyes can’t help but close again.
She doesn’t know how long she lay sprawled on the floor but the front door eventually opens and she’s too tired to see if the men came back.
“Mama!” Yelena’s startled cry disturbs Robin because she wants to take the girl into her arms and hold her and coo that ‘mama’s here’. Yelena isn’t her daughter, Robin takes a moment to remind herself.
“Take your sister upstairs,” Melina’s firm voice said and Robin hears the shuffling of shoes of what she assumes is Natasha.
“Is… is she… dead?” Natasha whispers and Robin manages to let a low whine escape her lips.
“No. Upstairs. Now.” Melina repeats sharply and Robin hears two little sets of feet making their way upstairs.
Robin feels Melina’s hand rest onto her shoulder to pull her onto her side. Robin lets out a sharp cry of pain.
“Deep breaths,” Melina whispers and Robin manages in one lungful before Melina pulls her to sit up. “What happened?”
The only thing on Robin’s mind is blurted out. “They’re just young girls.”
Melina clicks her tongue against her teeth before pulling Robin to her feet. “That never bothered you before.”
It didn’t. Not like the way it bothered her now. Now she was seeing the ramifications up close. She had never spoken more than a few words to those girls, nevertheless lived with them.
“I’m sorry,” Robin whispers and it causes Melina to pause.
“I know,” Melina said quietly before half-carrying Robin to the kitchen and sitting her on a chair to grab a hand towel and wet it down.
Neither speaks anything more as Melina gently grips Robin’s chin to wipe away the blood crusted on her face. Melina slowly cleans her way down Robin’s throat and chest until she wipes away the last of the blood on her stomach.
“Where’s your ring?” Melina asked quietly and Robin takes a moment to realize that Melina was asking about her wedding ring.
Robin pats her pocket and Melina pushes a few fingers into the pocket before pulling the silver band out and grasping Robin’s left hand to push the ring back into place on her ring finger.
She feels Melina staring at her face for a few moments and glances up at her.
“What do you want?” Melina asked, her voice quiet and soft.
“What?” Robin frowns slightly, not understanding the question.
“You don’t want sex when you’re upset. What do you want?” Melina clarifies her question.
Robin wants to be selfish for a few moments and hold her girls. “A new shirt and my children.”
Melina fetches her a new shirt before she brings Yelena and Natasha down.
Just like the day they went grocery shopping, Robin scoops Natasha up onto one hip and reaches out to tug Melina holding Yelena close until they’re squished in a tight circle. She just holds them.
Yelena grabbed a fistful of Robin’s shirt as Natasha rests her head onto Robin’s shoulder and Melina leans forward to press her forehead against Robin’s.
Nobody complains.