The worst secret
It’s only a few days before Christmas break when Natasha slips inside Robin’s office.
Robin writes reports at night and on the weekend. It’s an unspoken rule that when she’s in her office then she’s not to be disturbed unless necessary.
Robin glances up at Natasha, closing the file she was writing in as the child hesitates just barely a few steps inside the room. “Yes, Natasha?”
Natasha fidgets slightly, her fingers fumbling with the hem of her shirt. Natasha didn’t nervously fidget, she knew better than that. She only did it when she was upset.
“Come here,” Robin pushed her chair away from the desk, spinning in it to face the girl as she slowly approached the desk. “What’s wrong?”
Natasha won’t meet her eyes. “I have to tell you something.”
“Okay,” Robin reaches out but the child steps out of the way of her hands. “You can tell me anything, Natasha.”
“You’re gonna be mad at me…” Natasha whispers, her eyes trained on her shoes.
“Did you hurt somebody?” Dread is already forming in Robin’s stomach at the way that Natasha dances around the subject. “Or blow our cover?”
“No!” Natasha shakes her head harshly before sucking in a lungful of air. “No, I didn’t do that.”
“Then I won’t be upset with what you have to tell me,” Robin leans forward in her chair, resting her elbows on her knees. “Look at me, Natasha. What do you need to tell me?”
Natasha’s teary green eyes peer up at Robin. “I don’t wanna get sent back to the Red Room…”
“Whatever you say will have no merit in whether I send you back. Natasha, I’m not sending anybody back right now,” Robin said. “Please. What do you need to tell me?”
Natasha’s eyes flicker away, shame splashed across her face. “I’m hurt…”
“Hurt?” Robin repeats with a frown, her eyes immediately looking Natasha up and down for some sort of injury. “Where?”
Natasha doesn’t move and Robin reaches out to grab her hands to start searching herself.
“I’m sorry!” Natasha sniffles. “I didn’t want to!”
Robin’s trying her best to stay calm but these half-answers are frustrating. Robin knows that something awful happened for Natasha to shut down. “Sweetheart, show me where you’re hurt.”
Natasha hesitates and Robin tries one last time.
“Little one, show mama where you’re hurt,” Robin’s voice softens, and Natasha bursts into tears as her hands move to cup her groin.
Robin’s heart drops into her stomach and for a few moments, she forgets how to breathe. She quickly pulls herself together. “Thank you. You’re being such a good girl for me.”
Natasha sobs and Robin gently shifts forward to touch Natasha’s shoulders. Natasha flinches before pushing forward into Robin’s hold.
“You did such a good job telling me. I have one more very important question, are you listening?” Robin said softly, cupping Natasha’s head to her chest. Natasha lets out a small nod. “Who hurt you there?”
Natasha takes a few moments before she whispers her reply. “The soldier.”
“Your teacher?” Robin asked and Natasha nods her head. “Okay. Thank you. I’ll take care of it. He won’t lay a hand on you again.”
It made sense. Robin could kick herself for missing the signs. Recent frequent bedwetting. Night terrors. The fatigue and withdrawn behavior when Robin picked her up after school. The fear Natasha held when she saw the teacher at Wal-Mart. Wanting to be held by Robin.
Robin shoves all of those thoughts to the back of her head to deal with later. She takes a few deep breaths before pulling away from Natasha slightly. “Look up at me, little one.”
Natasha whines when Robin gently pushed her away but looks up at her.
“I’m not upset with you. Whatever he told you is a lie. You did nothing wrong,” Robin said firmly, her hands moving to cup Natasha’s face. “I need to ask you a few more questions so I can help you, okay?”
“I don’t want any more questions,” Natasha sniffles, wiping at her face with her sleeve.
“I know. But these are to help me make the hurt go away,” Robin said softly. “Okay? Did he hurt you anywhere else?”
Natasha shakes her head.
Robin tries to detach herself from the situation as she asks Natasha what exactly happened. If he put anything inside of her or if he just touched. How often he did it.
“You are being so very brave for me. One last thing and then we can snuggle,” Robin tells Natasha. “I need to peek and take a look to see what is hurting.”
“Do I hav’ta strip?” Natasha asked quietly, ducking her head down in shame.
“Just your bottoms,” Robin stands to ready the examining table tucked in the corner of the room. She can hear Natasha undo the zipper to her pants and then the sound of fabric hitting the floor.
Robin gently lifts Natasha up onto the table when she was ready.
She tries to go quickly but takes extra care and caution. “Okay. I’m all done. You did such a good job.”
“Can you make the hurt stop?” Natasha asked quietly.
“It will take some time and some ice,” Robin grabs a blanket to wrap Natasha up in when she’s redressed. “No more jeans or rough fabric for a few days.”
“Up now?” Natasha requested, reaching her arms up.
“Come here, cuddle-bug,” Robin scoops her up under her knees and around her back. Natasha wraps her arms around Robin’s neck. “I’m so proud of you for coming to me. I know it was hard.”
“He said you’d punish me if I told,” Natasha mumbles. “But you have a rule that I gotta come to you when I’m hurt like Yelena and mommy do.”
“That’s right,” Robin agrees, swaying slightly. “I’ve got to tell Melina about this.”
Natasha stiffens. “No!”
“No?” Robin repeats. “Sweetheart, she needs to know.”
“But she’s a Widow,” Natasha mumbles into Robin’s shoulder. “And I’m being weak.”
“Natalia Romanova,” Robin uses the name printed on the birth certificate in the files given to her. Natasha stiffens in her grip at the sound of her birth name. “You are not weak. Do you understand me?”
Natasha slowly nods her head.
The door to her office opens and Robin glances up at Melina pokes her head in.
“There you are,” Melina comments at Natasha. “You know you’re not supposed to come in here.”
Then she takes a moment and eyes the pair of jeans still on the floor before looking at the blanket wrapped around Natasha.
“What’s wrong?” The stern tone fades to concern. Natasha’s fingers on Robin’s shirt grip the fabric tightly.
“Later,” Robin promised Melina. “Call up that babysitter and see if you can’t get her tonight.”
Melina frowns. “Tonight?” She repeats with a furrowed brow. “Did we have plans?”
Robin shakes her head. “No. Something’s come up.”
Melina slowly nods her head. “Okay.” She then turns to head out of the room and leave the pair.
Natasha pressed her face into the crook of Robin’s neck. “I don’t want you to leave tonight.” She whispers.
“I know, sweetheart. We’ll be back. I trust you to look after your sister and yourself if you need to,” Robin knows that Natasha doesn’t trust anybody that she doesn’t know. “But that’s not until tonight. I’ve got you until then.”
They end up downstairs on the couch. Natasha has a bag of ice under the blanket between her legs with her head in Robin’s lap as she watched cartoons. Yelena was absorbed in a coloring book, babbling away to herself as she colored. Robin strokes Natasha’s hair, trying not to spiral into her head. Melina was in the kitchen cooking.
When the babysitter arrives, Robin and Melina leave the kids. Natasha is more reluctant to let them go.
Robin hates to leave her, especially after the day she had but Robin needed to do this.
Robin explains what happened to Melina in the car. They pull up to Rosalia’s house.
Rosalie greets them with a gun in her hand. “So I have to call before I show up but you don’t?” She questioned.
“You owe me one,” Robin replies curtly. Rosalie eyes her before waving them inside.
“What can lil ol’ me do for you?” Rosalie tucks the gun away.
“I need weapons that can’t be traced and you to cover for me to General Dreykov,” Robin replies, feeling Melina and Rosalie eye her in surprise. “Melina and I are going to kill someone.”
Rosalie’s playful grin shifts into something serious. “Who?”
“My middle Widow’s school teacher,” Robin said.
“You’re playing with fire there,” Rosalie warns, moving further into the house. The two others follow after her. “The General put him there for a reason.”
“And then he sexually assaulted a child,” Robin replies and Rosalie paused in the middle of her stride, Melina barely catching herself from running into her. “My child.”
Rosalie takes a moment before she continues her stride, pulling a painting off the wall to reveal a safe behind it. “Guess I’m lucky you didn’t kill me for a kiss.”
“I probably would have if I was a minor,” Robin retorts. “I want you to claim the kill.”
“Why?” Rosalie holds a gun out toward Melina.
“Because you owe me,” Robin reminds her. “I kept our interaction out of my log for the General.”
Rosalie sighs before nodding. “Fine. But I’m tagging along to watch so I know the details.”
Melina grips Robin’s arm but Robin will not allow her distrust of Rosalie to stop her.
Robin was going to kill that man for laying hands on her baby. She had warned him.
“Fine.” Robin said. “Get ready.”
Rosalie passed a knife to Robin before heading upstairs.
Melina looks up at Robin. “Are we really going to kill him?”
“Yes.” Robin replies, her fingers curling around the knife. “We are going to make him regret ever laying hands on our kid.”
Melina nods, her face growing dark. “He messed with the wrong people.”