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Chapter Text

Natasha considered the clothes that were hanging in front of her. It was the first day of school and she wanted to make a good impression on the fourth grade. She didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard but she wanted to look nice nonetheless.

She was stuck between a black shirt and a dark red shirt with black polka dots when she felt a little body sidle up close to her, “Go for the red one.”

Skye took the red shirt off of the hanger and offered it to her. She raised an eyebrow at the little girl, “Why red?”

Waving the shirt around, Skye prompted her to take it, “Because the red makes you look like you’re happier. You always wear black anyways.”

She sighed but took the shirt, “That’s because no one can see stains on black clothes.”

Skye considered that and nodded, “Yeah, I guess so. Will you help me get ready? I don’t know what to wear.”

Casting a nervous look at the clock, she waved Skye out of her room, “Okay, gimme a second to get dressed.”

She quickly got dressed and tried to tame her wild hair. It was a lost cause, her hair pretty much did whatever it wanted and no matter how hard she tried, it never listened. Staring at herself in the mirror for a second, she smiled at her reflection. Maybe if she looked like she wasn’t nervous, she wouldn’t be. Fake it ‘til you make it and all that other motivational stuff. She didn’t think it would work but she gave it a shot anyways.

Her smile slipped off her face and she let out a big breath before making her way to Skye’s room. She wasn’t surprised to see clothes strewn all over the place, despite everything, Skye wasn’t very neat. They would have to clean this up before they left for school.

Skye looked up as she entered her room and whined, “I don’t know what to wear! Kindergarten is a big deal and I want to look good.”

She could tell that Skye was really nervous. Her thumb absentmindedly kept creeping towards her mouth before she noticed and curled her hands into fists. Skye only sucked her thumb when she was nervous, sad, scared, or about to fall asleep. She had been told that she wasn’t supposed to suck her thumb but Skye was having a hard time breaking the habit.

Skye caught her staring at her thumb and blushed, “I wasn’t going to do it.”

She walked over to her and gave her a hug, “I know, but it’s alright if you did. It’s just us here.”

Skye squeezed her tight and she pressed a kiss to the top of her head before changing the subject, “Okay, let’s see what we’ve got here.”

She grabbed a pair of leggings that were lying haphazardly on Skye’s lamp and picked up a blue plaid shirt from her bed. She handed the clothes to Skye, “Put these on, I’ll start cleaning up.”

It didn’t take too long to fold up all of Skye’s clothes and hang up her shirts and by the time she was done, Skye was already dressed and was attempting to do her hair. Her arms were pretty short and she was having a hard time grabbing all her hair so Nat made her way over to her and tapped her shoulder, “How do you want it?”

Skye let out a sigh of defeat and handed her a hair tie, “Ponytail please.”

Gathering all of Skye’s long hair up, she tied it into a ponytail and made sure it would stay secure all day. Skye liked to run around and she didn’t want her to have to worry about her hair falling out in the middle of recess or something.

Skye grinned at her, “Thank you.”

“No problem. You go grab your shoes, I’m gonna get my bag.”

Making her way back into her room, she pulled her black backpack from where it had stayed hidden all summer under her bed. She unzipped it, peeked inside, and nodded when she saw all of her notebooks and pencils. She tried to remember if she was forgetting anything but decided that it really didn’t matter. It was the first day of school, her teacher wouldn’t really mind if she was missing a couple things.

She walked back into Skye’s room, set her bag on the floor, and walked over to Skye. She knew that Skye couldn’t tie her shoes by herself but the little girl liked to try so she patiently waited until Skye looked up at her and gave her a pleading look.

Crouching down, she tightly tied Skye’s converse sneakers and stood back up. Skye mirrored her and she inspected the little girl; Skye was dressed, her shoes were tied, her teeth were brushed, and her hair was neat. All she needed was her little backpack and they were ready to go to school.

She nodded in approval and pointed to where’s Skye’s bag was sitting beside her bedside table. The little girl ran, grabbed it, and stood back in front of her.

Nat crouched down, “Do you have your notebooks?”

Skye nodded, “Yep.”

“Pencils?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Crayons, glue, and paper?”

Skye grinned, “Yes, yes, and yeah.”

Nat nodded in approval, “I think you’re ready.”

It was easy to see how nervous Skye was, she kept fidgeting and even though Nat could tell Skye was trying not to, her little thumb kept brushing against her lips.

She tried to make Skye feel better and gave her an encouraging look, “It’ll be okay. School is fun, you’ll make a bunch of friends.”

Skye nibbled on the tip of her thumb and cast an anxious look her way but Nat didn’t say anything about it. She reached out and caressed Skye’s cheek, “The kindergarteners and the fourth graders aren’t too far away from each other. I’ll be really close if you need me.”

She watched as Skye let out a big breath and straightened up, “I’ll be alright.”

Her voice shook when she said it but Nat was proud of her anyways, “I know, but I’ll still be there if you need me.”

Skye gave her a grateful smile and grabbed onto her hand, “Let’s go.”

The little girl started tugging her towards the door but she cleared her throat and Skye gave her a sheepish look before turning around, grabbing her backpack, and putting it on her back. Nat did the same and led her towards the top of the staircase.

She could hear the television playing downstairs and knew that Becky would be down there. Skye looked up at her and she tried to give her a reassuring look before tugging on her hand and leading her downstairs.

Becky was sitting on the couch watching some show and because of how the living room was set up, she was facing away from them. She and Skye crept past her and made their way into the kitchen for breakfast. They usually kept all the good food on the top shelves so that she and Skye couldn’t reach it so Nat didn’t even bother looking for that stuff. She immediately went to the cupboard and pulled out some bread before moving to the fridge and grabbing some jelly. She made two grape jelly sandwiches and handed one to Skye and they almost made it out the door before Becky shouted after them, “What are you two doing?”

Nat pushed Skye in front of her and turned around so that she was hiding the little girl behind her, “We have to go to school.”

Becky didn’t even bother standing up, she just craned her head around so that she could see them, “School doesn’t start for another month.”

Nat shook her head and felt Skye grab onto the back of her shirt. She reached back and pulled the little girl close to her before responding, “No, the school called and reminded us that it started this week, remember?”

Becky shrugged and turned back to the tv, “Whatever.”

She quickly ushered Skye out the door and down the driveway towards the street. Luckily, their school was close enough to walk to. Skye grabbed onto her hand and swung it between them on the walk to school. They were both quiet, which was odd because when they were out of the house, Skye was usually a little chatterbox, and Nat understood why when she carefully studied Skye. The little girl was watching all the other kids who were walking to school with their parents. The other kids parents were laughing and holding hands with their children and Skye was watching them carefully. It hurt Nat to see how sad the little girl's eyes were.

Shaking their intertwined hands, she quickly tried to distract Skye, “You know what? I have no idea who my teacher is, do you?”

Skye looked up at her, “No, is that bad?”

Nat shrugged, “It probably isn’t great. Don’t worry though, we’ll figure it out.”

She breathed out a sigh of relief when Skye smiled up at her, “You always figure things out.”

Melinda May glanced around the room, noting with satisfaction that everything was exactly where it was supposed to be. She hoped that all of her new kids were well-behaved, she had been stuck with some demon-children before and that hadn’t been good for her blood pressure or her patience. Checking her watch, she was pleased to find that she still had a little bit of time before students began trickling in and they began the chaos that was the first day of school.

“Looks great.” A strong arm wrapped around her waist.

“Phil, we’re on the job now. We have young students,” May protested, turning to face the bright face of her husband.

“Not for...” Phil glanced at the clock. “Twelve minutes.” Then he kissed her.

“Stop it,” May couldn’t help but smile a little as they pulled apart and Phil pouted, “You’re basically a big kindergartener yourself.”

“I have to be one with the students in order to best teach them.” Phil grinned. May rolled her eyes.

“Come on, let’s see your room,” she gave in, walking down the hall with her husband to his class. Several other teachers were also in the hallway, faces bright with excitement, and they all waved hello. As they approached Phil’s classroom, May noticed two children standing in the hall outside of it.

“Hey there!” Phil called out.

The two girls spun around and May gave them a friendly smile. One girl seemed to be older, maybe a fifth grader, with shoulder length auburn hair. The smaller girl was tiny, with dark hair and large dark eyes.

“Good morning girls,” Phil stepped closer. “Were you so excited for school that you came early?”

The older girl just stared at them, green eyes blank, while the younger girl gave them a tiny smile. May couldn’t help but notice the way the older girl stayed close to the younger one, almost protectively. They must be pretty close.

“Well, I’m Mr. Coulson, and this is Mrs. May!” Coulson crouched down so that he was face level with the smaller girl. “What are your names?” He finished his question with an encouraging smile.

“Skye,” the dark haired girl whispered.

“Wow, that’s a beautiful name.”

Skye practically beamed at that compliment, as if she had chosen the name herself, then the girl hastened to introduce her friend, “This is Nattie!” she gestured at the older girl.

May was once again impressed with her husband’s ability to get through to the littlest ones at the school.

“Natasha.” The redhead gave them an even look. Natasha’s facial expression had barely changed throughout their entire conversation. May didn’t know how or why but this girl was rivaling her in the ability to keep a straight face.

Natasha. May had a Natasha in her class this year, if she remembered correctly.

“Nice to meet you both! Are you friends?”

“Sisters,” Natasha’s eyes flickered slightly, the first sign of emotion May had seen from the girl.

“That’s awesome! I bet Natasha is a great big sister.” Phil gave them an easy smile. Mel thought that he might have been laying it on a little thick but apparently she was wrong because Skye seemed to be warming up to him.

“Yeah. She was helping me find my room.” Skye nodded.

It didn’t seem like their parents were here which was strange, May reflected. Especially since it looked like Skye was pretty young, probably no older than five. Most parents walked their kids to class on the first day and met with their teachers and at the very least, they made sure their kids got to the right room safely.

“What grades are you in? Maybe we can help you find your classes?”

“Skye’s in kindergarten and I’m in fourth grade.” Natasha let Skye take her hand and May watched as the older girl rubbed circles onto the back of the little girl’s hand.

“You might be in our classes. I teach fourth grade and Mr. Coulson teaches kindergarten. Do you know who your teachers are?”

Both girls shook their heads.

“Are your parents here?” May frowned slightly.

Skye uncertainly glanced at Natasha but the older girl didn’t hesitate when she said, “They had work.”

“Are you Natasha Romanoff?” May changed the subject, “Because I have a Natasha Romanoff in my class.”

“That’s me.”

Phil spoke up, “I don’t think I have a Skye... Maybe you’re with Ms. Anderson! Ms. Anderson is very nice.”

“She’s registered as Mary Sue Poots,” Natasha spoke up. “But her name is Skye, not Mary.”

Skye nodded quickly and May’s eyebrows rose slightly at that but her husband was already moving past that comment.

“Oh! In that case, you are in my class! Yes!” Phil was so enthusiastic that even Natasha smiled slightly. “Come on Skye, how about I give you an exclusive tour of our classroom before your classmates arrive and Mrs. May can show Natasha to her classroom?”

Skye’s dark eyes darted to look at Natasha and her thumb started brushing against her lips before the older girl gently pulled it away from Skye’s mouth.

“Natasha and I will just be down the hall,” May smiled at Skye reassuringly.

The little girl shrank back slightly, clinging more tightly to Natasha’s hand.

“I’ll stay with her until it’s time to start class,” Natasha told them. “Excuse us, we’re just going to get a drink of water.”

May and Phil watched as the redhead led the small girl down the hall.

“Well that was interesting,” May commented evenly.

“I love meeting new students.” Phil took her hand. “And with them in our classes, we’re going to be seeing a lot of those two.”

Skye could be brave.

She really could. Natasha said that she was brave and Natasha didn’t lie. She trusts Natasha.

But now, in the big halls of the new school and facing the prospect of soon having to be on her own, Skye didn’t want to let go of Natasha’s hand. She knew that she could be brave but she didn’t think her brain knew that because she wasn’t acting like it right now.

And yet, there they were, in front of the kindergarten room door. There were a lot of other kids now and moms and dads taking pictures. Skye watched as one mom scooped up her daughter and kissed her lovingly on the cheek. They looked happy.

“I’m just down the hall,” Natasha squeezed her hand and Skye turned to look up at the face of the older girl. Natasha was pointing to the classroom that was a few doors down. They had been pleasantly surprised to find that their classrooms weren’t as far apart as they thought they would be.

“What if I get in trouble?” Skye nibbled on her thumb before yanking it away. She was in kindergarten now, she couldn’t suck her thumb! The other kids would say she was a baby and she wanted to make a good first impression. Those were important.

Suddenly every possible reason to be nervous about kindergarten flooded back to Skye as she remembered her experiences with other kids.

People, even kids, weren’t always nice.

“If anything happens, you find me,” Natasha told her again. The firm look in Natasha’s eyes let her know that if anything bad happened, she would deal with it. That made Skye feel a little better.

“Skye! Natasha!”

Skye turned to see Mr. Coulson walk up to them. His blue eyes were bright and happy and she couldn’t help but smile a little. She liked her teacher so far. He seemed nice.

“Skye, I need a special helper,” Mr. Coulson said seriously. “I don’t know how I’m going to get everyone to pay attention to me. They’re all too busy playing and talking!”

Mr. Coulson looked so genuinely worried that Skye instantly wanted to help him.

“Maybe...” she flushed slightly but kept going at Mr. Coulson’s interested look. “Maybe um you could make a loud noise... like... um if you had a bell or something.”

Mr. Coulson looked really excited at her suggestion.

“That’s a great idea Skye!” he nodded. “I have just the bell. Do you think you could ring it for me?”

Skye nodded eagerly, pushing a stray strand of hair out of her face and giving him a tentative smile.

She followed him into the classroom and it was a little scary but she also felt really important when she rang the bell and everyone stopped talking and turned to look at her and Mr. Coulson. She was glad when he started talking and everyone looked at him and not her because she didn’t like it when everyone stared.

Once everyone was paying attention, Mr. Coulson had them all sit on the floor while he read them a story and Skye had never heard it before but she loved it. It was called Chicka Chicka Boom Boom which was a really cool name for a book and it had all the letters in it. Skye knew her letters, but she’d never thought about them climbing a tree . And then she got to show Mr. Coulson that she could write her name.

It wasn’t until later that she realized Natasha had slipped away and gone to her own class.

The first day of school was always Nat’s favorite because all they did was go over the rules and play some games. She didn’t have to pay too much attention to what was going on and everyone was nervous so no one questioned why she didn’t bother interacting with anyone. She wasn’t great at making friends and she would rather just keep to herself.

It had been a long, boring day full of rules and regulations. Her teacher had gone over her expectations for the class in the morning and for the rest of class they had done ‘fun’ activities that were meant to help everyone get to know each other. If she were being honest, she had kind of tuned out what was going on around her and her thoughts had focused on Skye. The little girl hadn’t sought her out today so Natasha was assuming that everything was alright, but she didn’t know for sure and that was killing her. By the end of the day, she had thought up several terrible scenarios in her head and she was anxiously waiting for the dismissal bell to ring so that she could go find Skye. She knew that it was highly unlikely that the little girl had run away or had spent the whole day in tears but she really needed to see that Skye was alright with her own eyes.

She had packed up her bag so that by the time the bell finally rang, she was already out of her seat and heading towards the door. She almost made it out of the room before she heard her name being called. Nat seriously considering ignoring Mrs. May but she dismissed that thought because she didn’t want to get on her teacher’s bad side on the first day.

Stopping and turning around, Nat waited for Mrs. May to walk up to her. If she craned her neck, she could see the door to Skye’s classroom. She didn’t see Skye yet but she didn’t want the little girl to have to wait around on her own so she let out an irritated breath and hopped on her toes until her teacher stood in front of her.

She kept her eyes on Skye’s classroom door and said, “Yes Mrs. May?”

“Were you going to get your sister?”

Well she was trying to. She nodded quickly and took a step towards Skye’s classroom when she saw the door swing open and a bunch of little kids run out.

Before she got too far away, Mrs. May spoke up again, “Would you mind if I walked with you?”

Nat finally looked up and saw that her teacher was studying her intensely. It kind of unnerved her so she made sure that her face was neutral and that she didn’t look like she was affected.

She took a step down the hall, “Okay.”

Her teacher fell into step beside her and she made sure to keep her eyes on the hallway in front of her.

Mrs. May cleared her throat, “I hope you’ll like my class Natasha, you seemed a little distracted today.”

If she was shocked that her teacher had noticed her disinterest in class today, she made sure not to show it. She considered telling Mrs. May that she had been very interested in class today and that she must have been imagining her disinterest but Mrs. May seemed like the kind of person who could tell when someone was lying. Nat decided to stick to the truth, “I was worried about my sister.”

They were almost to Skye’s classroom and she could see that the little girl was talking to Mr. Coulson by his desk. She sped up a little and heard Mrs. May say, “You don’t have to worry about her, Mr. Coulson is a great teacher.”

Yeah, because hearing that magically gave her the ability to stop worrying about Skye. She nodded absentmindedly and quickly walked into Skye’s classroom. The little girl turned to her as soon as she stepped into the room and gave her a bright smile. Even though it seemed like she was in the middle of a conversation with her teacher, Skye ran over to her and threw her little arms around Nat’s waist, “Hi Nattie, I missed you.”

She ran a hand over Skye’s head and hugged her back. She felt a giant weight lift off of her shoulders upon seeing that Skye was safe and smiling, “I missed you too. Were you okay?”

Skye nodded, stepped back, and took her hand, “Do we go home now?”

Leading Skye to the door, she nodded reluctantly, “Yeah.”

She had completely forgotten about Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson until Skye’s teacher called after them, “Bye Skye! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Skye turned around and waved, “Bye Mr. Coulson!”

Nat tugged on the little girl’s hand and led her down the hall towards home.

“Mr. Coulson is so nice.”

Skye sat on Nat’s bed while the other girl french braided her hair.

“I know, you’ve told me around fifty times,” Nat commented lightly. Skye knew her sister didn’t really mind.

“I like school. I can’t wait to go back.”

She really couldn’t wait. Mr. Coulson was really nice and there were so many books and art supplies in the classroom. And there was a playground and Mr. Coulson had even said one of the second grade classes had a class pet and that they might get one too.

Nattie didn’t seem as excited but Skye knew that sometimes Nattie was more careful about what she got excited about. Also, Nat had said she was bad at school, that she had been held back, which Skye didn’t exactly understand but Nat had said it like it was a bad thing. But Skye didn’t really think about it too much. Nattie wasn’t bad at anything so she probably wasn’t bad at school like she had said.

“I’m glad you liked it.” Nat wrapped a hairband around the bottom of Skye’s braid and kissed the top of her head. “What was your favorite thing?”

Skye considered.

“I liked the playground,” she decided. She loved running around and the playground had been so fun. “It had monkey bars but I couldn’t reach. How long do you think it’ll take for me to be able to reach them?” Skye cocked her head and looked questioningly at her sister.

“I don’t know,” Natasha shook her head and smiled. “But you’re already a monkey, you don’t need monkey bars.”

Skye grinned at that and snuggled into Natasha’s lap. Nat wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close. That always made Skye feel safe.

“What was your favorite thing about school?” This time Skye asked Nat.

Natasha was about to respond when the door in the other room slammed and both girls jumped. Skye watched as Natasha’s face became tight, her green eyes hardening and her mouth setting into a firm line.

Skye couldn’t help it, her thumb was in her mouth before she even realized she was moving it.

Chapter Text

Natasha could clearly remember the day that Skye came to live with them. She had only been living in this house for a few months and nobody had bothered to tell her that anything was happening. She had only figured out that something was up when Becky walked into the living room dressed nicely and told her to clean the living room up. She had obeyed without question, it was easier that way, and waited to see what was going on. In her head, she came up with a lot of different explanations for what could be happening but she had no idea how much her world would change when a tiny girl was ushered into the house. Becky cooed over the little girl in a sickly sweet tone of voice and the social worker had made boring small talk before quickly making a hasty exit. They always made a hasty exit.

Becky loved Skye for all of a three days. Natasha stood by and watched as Becky took Skye shopping, bought her toys, and took pictures with the little girl. Nat knew that she was treating Skye like an object, kind of like showing off a brand new toy, and that made her a little sick. Becky was totally enamored with the small girl but Skye barely talked. She didn’t smile. She didn’t want Becky to touch her, she just wanted to be left alone.

And then Skye had wet the bed.

At that point, Skye’s beautiful dark eyes and adorable little features were not enough for Becky anymore.

Natasha had observed from a distance how Becky had treated Skye. She had been satisfied that the little girl was safe under Becky’s favor but when she woke up and found Skye cleaning up her bed after wetting it once again, humiliated and struggling to clean herself up after Becky had shut the door on her, Natasha had reached out.

Silently, she had taken the heavy sheets from Skye down to the laundry room. She came back up and saw that Skye had changed into a shirt and shorts, both were too long for her short limbs, and was curled up on the floor in a corner with a sweatshirt as a blanket. Natasha had looked down at the tiny girl who had fallen asleep on the floor and hesitated. She had learned the hard way not to trust anyone, to only look out for herself, and not to get attached to anything. It was just easier that way and if you trusted only yourself, no one could let you down. But when she looked at Skye, she saw herself; small, lost, and alone in a system that ended up hurting her.

“Hey. Kid.” Natasha whispered. Skye turned over and looked at her, dark eyes confused. “You can sleep in my bed. I’ll sleep on the floor if you don’t want to share.”

Confused, tears drying on her cheeks, but a little less lost, Skye followed Natasha to her room. On the way there, Skye had grabbed onto her hand and since then, they hadn’t let go.

Skye was tightly gripping her hand now as they made their way to school once again. They were late and walking quickly down the street. Skye’s legs were short and Nat had to keep reminding herself to slow down so that she wasn’t dragging the little girl but she really didn’t want Skye to be late on her second day of school. Teacher’s remembered stuff like that and she wanted Skye to have a good year.

“Nattie, you’re walking too fast.” Skye sounded a little out of breath and Nat forced herself to slow down and give the little girl an apologetic look.

She could see the school up ahead and let out a relieved sigh when she saw that kids were still hopping out of their parents cars. If other kids were still getting here then they must not be as late as she thought. They briskly walked into the school and made their way to Skye’s classroom. As they walked down the hallway, Skye pointed towards her teacher, “Look, Mr. Coulson is still waiting outside his door. We aren’t late!”

They slowed to a stop a few feet away from Mr. Coulson. Nat rearranged her backpack on her back and motioned Skye forward, “You’re a mess Skye, c’mere.”

Skye’s hair was all over the place, Nat didn’t think she had a chance to brush it this morning, “Do you have any hair ties?”

Skye rooted around in her bag and pulled out two, “Braids?”

Natasha took the hair ties from her and quickly put Skye’s hair into two braids. She then looked down and saw that one of Skye’s shoes were untied and kneeled down to tie it for her.

Skye tried to yank her foot away, “I wanna tie it!”

Letting out a breath, she scooted back and watched as Skye knelt down, grabbed her shoelaces, wrapped them around each other in an unorganized knot, and finally gave up. Skye gave her a helpless look, “Can you do it?”

She quickly tied Skye’s shoe and stood back up, “You have everything?”

Skye nodded and opened her arms up for a hug. Natasha finally felt herself relax and leaned in to hug the little girl, “I’m right down the hall if you need me, remember?”

She felt Skye nod against her chest and pressed a quick kiss to the top of the little girl’s head before stepping back, “Okay, go have fun.”

Grinning at her, Skye waved before running towards her teacher. Mr. Coulson excitedly started talking to her and upon seeing that Skye was where she was supposed to be, she turned and headed to her own classroom. When she looked up, she paused when she saw Mrs. May staring intensely at her. She didn’t know how long her teacher had been watching her and tried to think back to if she had been there as she and Skye had walked down the hallway but she couldn’t remember. She straightened her back and continued onto her classroom.

She intended to just walk right in and head to her desk but apparently Mrs. May had other ideas. As soon as she got close enough, Mrs. May said, “Hello Natasha, how’re you today?”

“I’m fine.”

Mrs. May nodded like that was the answer that she had been expecting, “And how’s Skye?”

Nat’s head jerked up and she stared Mrs. May in the eye. Why was she asking about Skye? She made sure that her face was neutral when she said, “Skye’s fine.”

Her teacher nodded again, “Good. Why don’t you go put your stuff away? We’ve got a lot of learning to do today.”

Natasha didn’t bother answering, she just made her way inside, dropped her backpack onto her desk, and sat down in her chair. A few seconds later, the bell rang and Mrs. May walked into the classroom and shut the door.

By some small miracle, Natasha figured out and that she and Skye had recess at the same time. Since Skye played on the kindergarten playground and she played on the older kid playground, she hadn’t made the realization until today.

She had been walking around the fenceline, ignoring the screaming kids running around her, when she spotted Skye sitting by herself in the sandbox. She didn’t know if she was allowed on the little kid’s playground, to be honest she didn’t really care, but she made sure the teachers weren’t watching her when she made her way over to the little girl.

Skye didn’t see her coming so when she suddenly plopped down next to her, Nat was rewarded with a bright smile and a tight hug, “Nattie! What’re you doing here?” Skye leaned back a little and gave her a worried look, “Did you leave your class?”

Filtering sand through her fingers, Natasha shook her head, “No, I have recess right now.”

Skye made a happy sound and went back to building her lopsided sandcastle. Natasha looked around and studied all the other little kids. Most were running around in groups and were laughing and having a good time. Natasha felt bad that Skye was sitting over here by herself when she should be making friends and having fun.

Brushing the sand off of her hands, Nat poked Skye’s arm, “Have you made any friends yet?”

Skye leveled her with a look, “Have you made any friends yet?”

Natasha crossed her arms, “Don’t worry about me, I was asking you .”

Skye suddenly seemed extremely interested in her sand castle. She kept packing the damp sand higher and higher, not caring that her castle looked like it was going to topple over at any second, “I’m not good at making friends.”

Natasha knew what she meant. It seemed like every other kid was a natural at making friends. All they had to do was talk about their favorite stupid animal or play on the same baseball team and they were friends for life. It was hard for her to find someone who understood her and she suspected that Skye was having that same problem. It wasn’t fair. Skye should be able to run around and make friends just like any other kid.

Natasha brushed some sand off of Skye’s upper arm and helped her with her sandcastle, “I know, I’m not good at making friends either.”

Skye studied her and after a few moments, Natasha looked up and met her stare. Skye gave her a small smile, “I’m your friend.”

Nat laughed, grabbed Skye’s hand, and held it tight, “We’re better than friends, we’re sisters.”

Skye smiled, “Yeah, I never thought I’d have a sister.”

That was the understatement of the year. Natasha bumped Skye with her shoulder and motioned to the sad pile of sand in front of them. They both concentrated on the sandcastle and enjoyed each other’s company in companionable silence.

Natasha didn’t see her teacher approaching her until Mrs. May was standing right in front of her, “Natasha, you aren’t supposed to be over here.”

She and Skye quickly stood up and Natasha felt Skye grab onto her hand and stand in front of her. The little girl held out a hand, like she was warding off Mrs. May, and spoke urgently, “Don’t yell at her! She didn’t mean to!”

Mrs. May looked surprised for a moment before schooling her features, “I wasn’t going to yell Skye, I was just going to bring Natasha back to the big kid playground.”

Skye turned her head and gave her a confused look and Natasha felt her heart ache a little bit. Nat knew that not all adults yelled but Skye had trouble understanding that. She couldn’t blame her, most foster parents were yellers and it was weird being around grown-ups who weren’t like that. She leaned down and whispered into Skye’s ear, “It’s okay.”

The little girl looked slightly embarrassed and her thumb absentmindedly started brushing against her lower lip. Natasha carefully grabbed it and put Skye’s hand back down by her side. She looked up at her teacher, “I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed over here, I just wanted to see Skye.”

Mrs. May nodded and motioned for Natasha to follow her, “It’s alright, I never told you. This playground is just for the kindergartener’s to play on.”

“Okay.” Natasha took a step towards Mrs. May but stopped when she felt a tug on her shirt. She looked back to see Skye giving her a worried look.

The little girl bit her lip, cast a suspicious look towards Mrs. May, and leaned in to whisper, “Are you sure it’s okay?”

Natasha reassuringly patted her on her hand before prying Skye’s little fingers off of her shirt, “I’m sure.”

Skye reluctantly nodded and gave her a quick hug before sitting back down in the sand.

Natasha said, “I’ll see you after school okay?”

Skye waved, “Okay.”

Melinda walked beside Natasha as they headed back to the older kid’s playground, feeling fairly unsettled. Since first meeting the two girls, May had noticed several abnormalities in their behavior. She had watched as Natasha fixed Skye up to be ready for school and saw how the two girls continually isolated themselves. That was all strange but what really had her on alert was little Skye physically putting up a hand to ward her away, as if she had felt endangered.

Melinda quickly replayed that scene in her mind, wondering if she was overanalyzing or being paranoid. Skye had seen her, moved her tiny frame in front of Natasha, and stretched out a hand. The action was unusual but what really caught Melinda off guard was the look in Skye’s dark eyes.

The five year old had given her a look of pure fear, despite her tough protective stance.

Natasha coughed beside her and Melinda’s attention was quickly brought to the present task of gathering her fourth graders to go back inside.

As she glanced around the playground to assess her class’s location, her eyes caught sight of Skye’s tiny figure sitting alone in the sandbox.

Melinda May, as a rule, never reacted without thinking critically about a situation. However, in that particular moment, she was tempted to run over, pick up Skye, and bring her over to her sister.

Thankfully, she was saved from having to pursue that impulsive thought any longer by Phil, who was making his way over to the little girl. They interacted for a moment and Melinda watched as Phil sat down in the sandbox with Skye. Satisfied that the little girl was in good hands, May turned to finally call in her class, who was understandably thrilled with their extra five minutes of recess.

“Ready to go in?” she asked Natasha lightly.

Natasha shrugged, green eyes not straying from watching her sister.

“You’re quieter than usual.”

Melinda glanced at her husband. His eyes were faithfully on the road, hidden by the ridiculous sunglasses he insisted on wearing. She was pretty sure he liked them because he thought they made him look like a secret agent or something ridiculous like that.

And yet he was easily able to see exactly when something was bothering her.

“Have you noticed anything strange about Skye and Natasha?” There was no point in beating around the bush with Phil.

Phil was quiet, carefully bringing the car to a smooth stop and waiting for the red light to turn green.

“What makes you ask?” he said finally.

May rolled her eyes. “Don’t turn this back on me, Coulson. Answer the question.”

“I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions, it’s only been a few days.” Phil rubbed the side of his face. “Skye is an adorable kid and I can tell she’s smart and energetic but she seems to always be holding herself back. She isolates herself from the other children during any free times and she’s easily distracted and scared. I think she’s a bit behind the other kids, it’s really too early to tell right now, but I would like to talk to her parents...” Phil trailed off. “We haven’t seen them yet have we? The parents, I mean.”

“Not yet.” Melinda shook her head.

“It’s unlike you to be so unsettled,” Phil glanced at her quickly before turning back to the road. “What are you thinking?”

Melinda sighed and leaned back in her seat.

“I don’t know.”

“We’ll keep an eye on them.” Phil pulled the car up to their small house, putting it in park before leaning over to kiss her.

“Hmm.” Melinda pulled away after a moment. “Are you worried about them? Or am I just crazy?” She glanced at him, once again thankful that she could call this man her husband. Melinda wasn’t into sharing thoughts. Or feelings. Or vulnerability. In high school, she had been called the Ice Queen behind her back but then Phillip Coulson had entered her life and somehow wriggled his way into her heart and got her talking. And when she didn’t talk, he still seemed to understand what was going on in her head.

“We both know I’m the crazy one.” Phil told her as they got out of the car.

“You can say that again,” May raised her eyebrows.

“You’re not wrong, Mel. I’ve been noticing a couple strange things here and there with those two. I just don’t want to approach Skye about anything because I think she’ll close off. She’s not like the other kindergarteners. They walk in with their parents, who tell them to listen to me, and they trust me implicitly. Not Skye. I think she likes me but she doesn’t trust me.”

“I don’t think I’ve even gotten a full sentence out of Natasha,” Melinda pushed the door to their home open.

“Sounds like the two of you have some similarities,” Phil grinned as May smacked him. He became serious again after a moment. “You really think something might be up? Like at their home?”

“I think I’ll be keeping a close eye on the two of them,” Melinda’s jaw clenched at the thought of two of their students being in any sort of unhealthy situation.

“Easy tiger.” Phil rubbed her back, blue eyes slightly troubled. “We’ll be looking out for them now.”

Melinda leaned into his touch for a moment before putting herself back into business mode, “Tripp is coming over for dinner after his shift. We should probably have food.”

“Pasta?” Phil suggested, already moving into the kitchen. “I’ll start on the sauce.”

“Okay, I’ll get the pasta and slice some bread.”

They wove around each other in the small space. As the smell of simmering tomatoes and basil began to fill the air, Melinda resolved that she would get through Natasha’s walls and find out what was going on with the two sisters.

If Natasha was anything like Melinda herself was, she was facing a challenging task.

Chapter Text

Even though her job seemed pretty unpredictable, with different lessons each day that were heavily influenced by her students behavior, she always settled into the same routine every single year. Her students would come to school, she would chat with them before the bell rang, they would take attendance, and then the lessons would start. Every single day, each student was pretty predictable. She knew the ones that were able to quickly learn the material, the ones who needed more help, the ones who were likely to be well behaved, and the ones who were more spirited. All she needed was a few days to figure all of this out and somehow, Natasha Romanoff was still a wild card.

As a teacher, she made it her business to know everything about each student. That may seem weird or invasive but it helped her understand each child’s learning process and it explained most of their behavior. You would be surprised how eager students were to share facts about themselves, sometimes it was hard to get them to stop talking about themselves, but she soon found out that Natasha didn’t seem to fit any of her expectations.

The redhead was a good student, she sometimes would zone out in the middle of a lesson and needed help with reading and math, but she wasn’t hard to teach. Melinda had trouble understanding why Natasha had been held back when she obviously had the capacity to learn. Besides knowing that Natasha was a good student, the only other thing she was certain of was that the little girl loved her sister. That was abundantly clear and it was very obvious that Skye loved Natasha just as much.

She had been keeping an eye on the two of them for the past few days, as had Phil, and she just couldn’t figure them out. They would come to school every morning, Natasha would make sure that Skye was ready for class, they would hug, and Natasha would come to class. They never talked about their parents, they didn’t seem to be making any friends, it was difficult to get Natasha to say anything that didn’t pertain to the lessons, and there was just something about them that had Melinda on edge. She wasn’t sure what it was but she was making it her mission to figure it out.

She was waiting outside her door and and greeting her students like she did every morning when she saw Natasha and Skye walk down the hall together, hand in hand like they did every morning except this time, something was different. Usually Natasha was the one who led her sister down the hall but this time it was the other way around. Skye was walking half a step in front of Natasha and was gently tugging her towards her classroom.

Melinda watched as they stopped outside her husband’s door and Skye nervously glanced around before leaning in to say something to Natasha. The redhead shook her head and seemed to be reassuring the younger girl. Skye pointed to her husband, who was waiting outside his classroom like usual, and she watched as Natasha vigorously shook her head and grabbed the hand that Skye was pointing with. The little girl looked sad for a moment and Natasha pulled her in for a hug and Skye stood on her tiptoes to give Natasha a kiss on the cheek.

The two girls said their goodbyes and Natasha started making her way towards her. Melinda made sure to not let her suspicions show and gave her student a small smile, “Good morning Natasha, how’re you today?”

Natasha only paused in front of her to say, “I’m fine,” before walking into the room and towards her desk.

Every single morning she asked Natasha that question and every single morning her student said the same thing and usually she believed her, but today was different. Today she could tell that Natasha was not fine and she was going to find out why.

Mrs. May had been staring at her all day and it was starting to annoy Natasha. Every time she glanced up, her teacher was looking at her. She was already in a bad mood, last night had been terrible, and her teacher’s weird behavior was just grating on her nerves.

Staring at the clock, she tried to make the hands move faster. She just needed to make it to recess so that she could get away from Mrs. May’s unnerving stare and go see Skye. She was worried about her sister. Tugging down her shirt sleeve so that it covered her wrist, she watched the clock and hoped that Skye was alright.

She and Skye had been hungry and since Becky wasn’t going to make them anything, she had decided to make something for them. Skye was sick of sandwiches and Nat didn’t know how to make a lot of things so she had chosen to make soup, there was no way that she could mess that up. After pouring the contents of the can into a pot and turning the stovetop on, she had made Skye sit at the table so that they could start working on her letters. Natasha had seen too many foster kids get overlooked in the system and she didn’t want Skye to be one of them. She wasn’t a great teacher but she was trying to teach Skye how to read...or at least know all the letters.

She had been in the middle of explaining why O’s could make so many different sounds and had completely forgotten about their food. The sizzling sound from the soup flowing over the top of the pot and onto the stovetop was what reminded her and she hopped out of her seat. Running towards the stovetop, she didn’t even think, she just grabbed onto the handle. Forgetting how heavy the pot was, she immediately regretted not using two hands when it tipped forward. The side of the pot made contact with her wrist and she felt a hot, searing pain. Dropping the pot, she held up her wrist as tears filled her eyes. There was an angry red mark on her wrist and it hurt.

Skye had appeared beside her and Nat pushed her back and pointed towards the paper towels sitting on the counter, “Grab me some paper towels, we have to clean this up.”

Skye gave her a worried look, “But your wrist-”

Natasha cut her off, “Skye, please.”

There was soup all over the stovetop, cabinets, and floor and they would be so angry if they saw their kitchen like this. Natasha kept her injured wrist close to her chest and reached forward with her other hand to turn off the stovetop. Skye reappeared with a bunch of paper towels in hand. The little girl handed some to her and they both got to work cleaning up the mess.

Natasha tried to ignore the stinging pain in her wrist as she threw away the dirty paper towels and carefully put the still hot pot into the sink. Skye pulled a chair over to the sink, stood on it, pulled the lever so that cool water was flowing, and motioned her forward. Natasha made sure that the kitchen was clean before climbing onto the chair next to Skye. She couldn’t help the sigh of relief that escaped her when the cool water hit her burned wrist.

Skye was worriedly staring at her and Natasha tried to give her a reassuring look, “It’s okay, just a little burn.”

Skye glanced at the bright red mark on her wrist and made a face, “It looks bad.”

She moved her wrist out from under the steady stream of water and sucked in a breath when her wrist started burning again. Quickly thrusting it back under the water, Natasha tried to ignore her wrist and focus on Skye, “No, it’s alright. Just gimme a second.”

Skye nodded and waited patiently while Natasha worked up the nerve to shut the water off. She knew that when she did, her wrist would start burning again but Skye looked so worried that she told herself to suck it up and quickly shut the water off before she could change her mind.

She was instantly hit with a searing pain in her wrist but ignored it. Blowing on her arm so that it dried, she glanced at Skye, “See? I’m fine.”

The look of relief on Skye’s made the sharp stinging in her wrist a little more bearable.

Just then, the door slammed open and Skye’s eyes widened. They heard the sturdy steps of their foster father coming towards them and she set Skye on the ground and pushed her towards the table, “Go sit down!”

Skye looked back at her but obediently sat down. Natasha tried to push the chair back to the table but only made it halfway before John Garrett was there.

She paused and watched him take in the scene, “What are you two doing?”

Hiding her wrist behind her back, she said, “We were just making some food.”

Garrett raised an eyebrow, “Really?” His eyes zeroed in on the arm she was hiding behind her back and Natasha felt her heartbeat speed up. He pointed at her arm, “What’ve you got there?”

She tried to stay calm, “Nothing, I just-”

He stalked towards her and she made herself stand still. It was worse when she tried to run away. He held out his hand impatiently and she briefly considered not showing him her wrist but immediately disregarded that thought. Holding out her arm and placing her wrist in his hand, she hoped for the best.

His hand squeezed around hers and she tried not to wince. He looked mad , “What the hell is this?”

She could feel the bones in her hand rub against each other as Garrett readjusted his tight grip on her. When she spoke, her voice shook and she hated herself for it, “I burned myself.”

Impossibly, his grip on her hand got tighter and she couldn’t stop the sound of protest that escaped her. She saw Skye start to stand up but she shook her head at her and the little girl sat back down. Garrett inspected her wrist and growled, “Can’t you do anything ?? Do you know what people will think when they see this?!”

He finally let go of her hand and she cradled it to her chest. Her hand ached and her wrist burned but she kept her focus on him, “I didn’t mean-”

He took a step closer to her and angrily interrupted her, “Oh, you didn’t mean to? You didn’t mean to?! But you did, didn’t you?”

Most of the time, apologies helped, “I’m sorry.”

Garrett’s eyes flashed and her apology didn’t seem to work this time. He was so close that she couldn’t have stopped him when he reached out and forcefully pushed her. She stumbled backwards but couldn’t catch her footing and fell to the ground. Her head connected with the floor and she heard Skye call her name but all she could focus on was the sharp pain that flashed through her head.

She groaned and felt small hands on her upper arm. She tried to wave Skye off to keep her out of the line of fire and luckily, Garrett’s focus remained on her, “If anyone asks, you tell them you got that burn baking cookies with your mother.”

Cradling the back of her head with her hand, she nodded. He took a step towards them and Skye’s grip on her arm tightened.

“What’re you going to tell people?”

“I got burned baking cookies with Becky.”

He stomped towards her and yanked her so that she was standing, “With who?!”

She gulped, “With my mom.”

He sneered at her, “Get out of my sight.”

Skye pulled her out of the kitchen and towards her room. Her head ached and her wrist burned so she let Skye gently guide her so that she was sitting on her little bed.

Skye’s hands fluttered around, the little girl obviously wasn’t sure what to do, and finally stood still before she stared at her for a moment and then launched herself into Natasha’s arms. Natasha wrapped her arms around the little girl, making sure that her burnt wrist didn’t make contact with anything, and hugged her tight.

She heard Skye sniffle and ignored the pain in her head so that she could comfort her sister, “It’s okay Skye.”

The little girl pressed her face against Nat’s neck and her voice was muffled when she said, “But your wrist and your head…”

Natasha patted Skye’s back and leaned back so that she could see her face, “They don’t even hurt anymore.”

Skye studied her and shook her head, “You’re lying.”

Sometimes, being so close to Skye had its downsides, “Fine, but it’s not so bad, by tomorrow I’ll be as good as new.”

Skye’s thumb made its way into her mouth as she curled up on Nat’s lap and looked at her with big brown sad eyes, “You promise?”

Hoping that her words would be true, she had nodded, “Yep.”

By that morning, her head had stopped hurting and the burn on her wrist only hurt when it rubbed up against her shirt sleeve. Natasha thought that Skye had moved past the incident but then the little girl had suggested telling Mr. Coulson what happened. Skye thought that he would help but Nat knew that he wouldn’t be able to. She was worried that even though she had told her not to, Skye was going to say something.

Finally , it was time for recess and she hopped out of her seat. She walked outside with the rest of her classmates and was about to make her way over to the little kid’s playground when she heard Mrs. May calling her name. Why wouldn’t her teacher just leave her alone?

Turning around and facing Mrs. May, she said, “Yes?”

Her teacher pointed to her arm, “Do you need to go see the nurse? That looks like it hurts.”

Tugging her long sleeve down so that it not only covered her wrist but her whole hand, she said, “It doesn’t.”

Mrs. May stared at her for a few seconds and she tried not to fidget.

“How’d you get it?”

“I was baking cookies with my mom.”

Mrs. May gave her a small smile, “That sounds like fun, maybe try to be more careful next time okay?”

Nodding absentmindedly, Natasha looked towards the little kid’s playground and saw Skye staring at her, “Can I go see my sister?”

Mrs. May shook her head, “You’re not allowed on the kindergarten playground, remember?”

Of course she remembered, she wasn’t an idiot, “Okay.”

She left her teacher and made her way over to Skye. Once she reached her, Skye sat down on her side of the fence and Nat sat down on her side. The little girl reached her hand through the chain-linked fence and Natasha held onto it, “You didn’t tell Mr. Coulson, right?”

Skye shook her head but looked uncertain, “I think he can help Nattie.”

Skye was just a little kid, she didn’t understand, “Skye, you can’t tell him. If he tells anyone, they’ll take us away and we won’t be together anymore. Do you want that?”

The little girl’s eyes filled with tears and Natasha felt bad for being this intense with her but she needed Skye to understand how serious this was. She couldn’t have Skye telling her teacher what was going on, she finally had someone that she loved and she didn’t know what would happen if Skye was ripped away from her.

Skye shook her head, “No, I want to stay with you forever.”

Natasha gently squeezed Skye’s hand, “I want to stay with you too but you can’t tell anyone okay? Please, promise me.”

Skye nodded, “I promise.”

Skye stared down at her blank paper.

A teardrop dripped onto the flat surface, creating a little dimple of wetness on the empty space.

She was scared. Nat had gotten hurt, John had done it because he was mean. Skye had always known he was mean. Back when Becky liked her, John had left her alone. But now, sometimes she got so scared. Sometimes Nat locked them both in her bedroom. Sometimes, someone got hurt.

Skye tried not to think about Nat being pushed backwards, her head hitting the ground hard, John standing over her... but she couldn’t stop.

Mr. Coulson was so nice. He had given her a special smile when she came in for class. He helped her with her writing. Lots of grownups were mean but Mr. Coulson was nice. At least, Skye was pretty sure he was.

John was a bad person. Mr. Coulson was a good person, at least she hoped.

But she couldn’t tell him why she was scared and sad because they would take her away from Natasha and John had said that if she ever said anything bad about him or the house that he would hurt Nattie. And she’d never seen her again. She would be back to being alone again.

Another tear dropped onto her paper. And then another.

“Skye?”

She jumped, heart pounding in her chest, but it was just Mr. Coulson, looking at her worriedly with his kind blue eyes. Quickly, she wiped her eyes and tried to smile.

“Are you okay?” Mr. Coulson asked. Skye nodded vigorously but really she just wanted to cry.

She wanted Nattie.

“Do you want to talk about anything?” Mr. Coulson was giving her a questioning look and Skye freaked out. He would find out. They would take her away from Nat. John would hurt Nat.

“No!” she said more forcefully than she meant. “I don’t want to talk!”

It sounded so angry and she didn’t mean to sound mad at Mr. Coulson but she couldn’t help it. Something inside of her bubbled over.

“Go away! Leave me alone!” Her voice was getting too loud. She was being bad but she couldn’t stop. She picked up her piece of paper and ripped it in half.

“Skye.” Mr. Coulson’s voice was firmer.

She was in trouble. She was bad. She was going to get punished.

She was scared.

There was a touch on her arm and Skye flinched violently away.

“No!” Skye turned away from him. “Don’t touch me!”

“Skye, I’m not going to hurt you and I won’t touch you. I’m sorry I touched your arm without asking. Can you please just look at me?”

It was the apology and ‘please’ that made her slow down and carefully raise her eyes to meet his.

Mr. Coulson didn’t look angry. He looked worried, like he cared .

“I’m not going to make you talk to me but I can’t have you yelling or destroying things.”

Skye looked at the paper she had ripped up and felt ashamed.

“I’m sorry.” She snuck another look at her teacher. He didn’t look like he was going to hurt her.

Instead, Mr. Coulson completely changed the subject. He didn’t even yell.

“Let’s work on the picture,” Mr. Coulson suggested, grabbing Skye a new piece of paper and some crayons. “Why don’t you draw a picture of your family? F is for Family and we’re learning F today, right?”

Skye took a crayon and began to draw tentatively, still worried that Mr. Coulson would suddenly remember how bad she had been and start yelling or worse. But slowly she relaxed as Mr. Coulson patiently sat beside her, working on a drawing of his own.

“Is that you and Natasha?” Mr. Coulson asked finally, glancing at her drawing.

“Yeah.” Skye nodded, pleased he could tell who it was.

“What about your parents, are you going to draw them?”

Skye glanced at him.

“I don’t have any parents,” she murmured, looking down at the paper.  She was going to give Nat the drawing, maybe it would make her feel better. “I have foster parents. But I don’t want to draw them.” Skye began coloring in Natasha’s hair.

“Okay.” Mr. Coulson’s voice was softer than usual. “Well I think your drawing of you and Nat is beautiful.”

Skye bit her lip, grateful Mr. Coulson hadn’t said anything about her not having real parents.

“Is that you and Mrs. May?” she peered at his drawing.

“It is!” Mr. Coulson looked pleased. Skye tilted her head.

“Mrs. May is your family?”

“She’s my wife,” Mr. Coulson laughed and Skye’s eyes widened.

“She is?” Skye’s mouth fell open. Mr. Coulson just smiled and nodded.

“Come on. Let’s start cleaning up so we can finish up today with story time.”

Chapter Text

“Skye is in foster care.”

They were barely into the car when the words left Phil’s lips. He watched his wife’s face to gauge her reaction, noting the concerned expression that formed in her features.

“She flipped out on me today after recess. She’s been so quiet and sweet and suddenly she was yelling and ripping things. After I got her to calm down, I had her draw a picture of her family and she drew herself and Natasha and said that she didn’t have parents except foster parents and that she didn’t want to draw them.” Phil ran a hand through his hair and waited for Melinda to say something.

“That explains so much,” Melinda said finally. “How the two girls look so different, have different last names, why Natasha was held back, why they don’t socialize...”

The two adults exchanged a look.

It was so obvious.

“Foster care.” Phil murmured. “ Foster care .”

Skye’s sweet face entered his mind, her shy smile and beautiful dark eyes.

The little girl, for whatever reason, had been removed from her birth parents.

Phillip Coulson had one problem as a kindergarten teacher: he sometimes became too attached to students. And Skye had grabbed his heart the moment she had looked up at him with those large eyes.

Skye was a foster kid.

Was she loved? Was she happy? Was anyone tucking her in at night and kissing her forehead? Was anyone telling her she was important and beautiful? Was she safe? Phil didn’t know much about the foster care system but he did know it sometimes let kids slip through the cracks.

“Hey.”

Phil looked up as Melinda grabbed his hand.

“You’re worrying about her.” Melinda gave him a half smile, her dark eyes staring straight into him.

“And you complain that I read your mind.”

“Phil, your face is an open book. Anybody could read it.” May squeezed his hand ever so slightly, but to him the touch meant a lot. God he loved her so much .  

“I’m worried too,” Melinda admitted. “Something wasn’t right with them today. It wasn’t as obvious as throwing a tantrum for Natasha but I could tell.”

“We’ll get through to them.” Phil’s optimism kicked in and he felt more comfortable with that rush of hope.

“Your optimism is ridiculous sometimes,” Melinda murmured but didn’t let go of his hand.

“We get to see Nat and Skye every single day. We have a chance to make such a big difference in their lives,” Phil told her, kissing her cheek. “I love you.”

He said it because he could, because he wanted to, because part of him was worried but when he was with Melinda, he felt like they could accomplish anything.

They were like an awesome secret agent duo. And their next undercover mission was Find-Out-More-About-Skye-And-Natasha.

When they drove home, Phil made sure to put his secret agent sunglasses on.

Sometimes, Natasha would remember when she first moved into John and Becky’s house and thought that they were going to be a good family. They had seemed kind and had told her that they had been considering fostering kids for awhile and that she was their first. They told her that she was their little princess and that they were going to take care of her and be her family. She had been told that enough times to know that what they said probably wasn’t true but even though she hated herself for it, she couldn’t help but hope.

She had been wrong to hope.

The first few days had been great, she was something new for her foster parents to show off and they seemed to really like her. They introduced her to all of John’s coworkers and posted pictures of her on their social media. She didn’t mind that they were treating her like a little doll, at least they were being nice. After the novelty wore off, Becky started to lose interest in her and John would yell at her for the littlest things. That hadn’t been fun but it was bearable. She knew how to take care of herself and she could handle loud foster parents.

As time passed, it seemed like Becky forgot that she was even there and John’s yelling got worse. Now he would scream threats at her and yell really mean things. She could deal with him telling her that she wasn’t wanted, that no one else liked her enough to keep her so he was stuck with her, because they were just words and even though those words hurt, they were far better than the alternative.

It had gotten a little worse after Skye moved in. He started pushing her and would sometimes grab her too hard but it wasn’t too bad. Nat could usually intervene on Skye’s behalf and keep her sister out of harm’s way and that was good enough for her. John usually lost interest in them before things got too physical so she and Skye were just trying to get by day after day.

Recently, things had been getting worse. Garrett would come home from work angry and stressed and he would take it out on her and Skye. That’s why when they heard the front door open, Natasha quickly got up from her bed, firmly shut her door, and made her way back over to Skye. She tried to get Skye to focus back on her letters but they heard John calling their names from downstairs.

It wouldn’t do them any good to ignore him so she grabbed onto Skye’s hand and led her out out the door. Skye’s fingers were wrapped tightly around her hand and she whispered, “I don’t want to go down there.”

Natasha paused and tried to give her sister a reassuring look, “It’ll be alright, besides, I’m kinda hungry. Aren’t you?”

Skye nodded and straightened up before pushing Nat towards the stairs. They both paused at what they saw.

Becky was laughing and John was smiling and those two things seemed so out of place in this house that Natasha wasn’t really sure what was going on.

Skye’s fingers squeezed around hers and Natasha knew her little sister was just as confused as she was. The two adults were sitting at the table, both looking relaxed with drinks in hand.

“Come on girls, let’s celebrate this as a family!” John’s deep voice boomed. Natasha almost choked at the word ‘family’. Since when had John ever treated them like family?

She saw the flash of hope that flickered across Skye’s face and she violently hated John for giving her hope that things would be different when she knew he would only end up hurting them. Natasha had been through that cycle far too many times.

“Say something,” Becky nudged Natasha, picking up Skye and placing her onto her lap. Natasha had to use every ounce of her self control not to grab Skye back. She wanted to scream, watching Becky cradle the little girl in her lap, like she cared . Skye’s dark eyes were blank and she let Becky hug her and kiss her cheek without any reaction. Natasha felt the sudden urge to throw up, watching her baby sister being treated like a doll.   

“What are you gawking at?” John startled her out of her thoughts and she tore her gaze away from Skye to look at the large man.

“What are we celebrating?” Natasha found her voice.

“My promotion!” John raised his glass. “Your dad is the newest captain at the station!”

Now she really could throw up. John Garrett was not her father. They were not her family. Her only family was Skye, nobody else.

“Congratulations.” Natasha could barely muster any fake enthusiasm for him. Luckily, John didn’t seem to notice. Instead he pulled out his wallet and took out a couple bills.

“Here kiddos. Don’t spend it all on candy.” He handed Skye a twenty, before turning and handing one to Natasha. She stared at it for a second before taking it. She didn’t want a single cent of his money... but she could spend it on Skye so she wasn’t going to refuse.

“Thank you,” Skye said obediently, glancing at Natasha, dark eyes confused. Natasha echoed the thank you somewhat more reluctantly.

“Now why don’t we have dinner, what do you say?” John sounded almost jolly.

Becky finally put Skye down so that she could head into the kitchen and Natasha had her arm around the little girl in matter of seconds with Skye pressing up against her. With Skye in her arms, Natasha felt a lot better about the situation. They could actually eat a nice dinner, they had some extra money, and maybe things would be a little better for awhile.

At least, one could hope.

Skye spent the night in Natasha’s bed, curled up against her sister. John and Becky were acting different. It seemed nice but it still kinda made her nervous.

John had been happy all night and they had all eaten dinner together. Skye had even been allowed second helpings and dessert. It was one of the first nights she had gone to bed full. And John had given them money. Twenty dollars was a lot. Skye had given it to Natasha as soon as possible, trusting she would know better what to do with it.

Everything last night seemed good but Skye didn’t trust it. She wanted to but only one person had ever stayed with her no matter what she did, not caring if she cried, or wet the bed, or got sick, and that person was Natasha. So Skye would trust her before anything else. And Natasha had told her to be careful and not to get too excited.

Waking up, tummy feeling satisfactorily full instead of empty, Skye smiled slightly and snuggled up against Natasha’s still sleeping form. But before she could nod off back to sleep, a strange smell caught her attention.

Bacon .

Someone was cooking breakfast downstairs.  

“Nattie.” Skye poked the sleeping redhead.

Skye watched as her sister let out a groan and slowly opened her eyes, “What?”

Sitting up, Skye uncertainly pointed towards the door, “I think they’re making breakfast.”

She watched Nattie quickly sit up and look around, “What?”

“I smell bacon, don’t you?” Maybe she was just imagining the smell, she really liked bacon.

Her sister groggily rubbed her eyes and sniffed, “Yeah, I smell it.”

Skye glanced from the door to her sister and back again, “Should we...go eat?”

Natasha’s face scrunched up like it did when she was thinking really hard and Skye waited for her to say something, “I guess so.”

They both stretched and climbed out of the bed. After helping her sister make the bed, Skye followed her out the door and down the stairs. She could hear Becky and John talking and grabbed onto the back of Nattie’s shirt because John wasn’t supposed to be here, he was supposed to be at work.

They stopped in the doorway that led to the kitchen and waited for their foster parents to notice them. Skye’s eyes widened when she saw the stack of bacon and plate full of scrambled eggs sitting on the table. It looked yummy.

Becky was pouring John a glass of orange juice as he shoved a piece of bacon into his mouth and she was the first one to notice them, “Good morning girls, come get some breakfast.”

Skye looked up so see what Natasha was going to do but her sister just surveyed the scene in front of them for a few seconds before taking a seat at the table on the opposite end from where John was sitting. Skye tried to subtly scoot her chair closer to her sister’s before sitting down.

Becky breezed over and put two plates full of food in front of them and then came back to give them each a glass of orange juice. Even though Skye was sort of suspicious of her foster parents’ new behavior, that wasn’t going to stop her from eating as much bacon as she could.

Biting down on a piece of bacon, she made sure she chewed and swallowed before whispering to Natasha, “What are they doing?”

Her sister shrugged and pushed her scrambled eggs around on her plate.

John cleared his throat and Skye immediately focused on him. He liked it when she payed attention to him, he got mad when she didn’t. “What’re you two whispering about?”

John didn’t look mad and he didn’t sound mad but sometimes he pretended so Skye was grateful when Natasha spoke up, “We were just… talking about how cool it is that you’re here this morning.”

They hadn’t been talking about that but Natasha knew how to handle things like this and Skye trusted her so she wasn’t going to say anything.

Their foster dad crammed a forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth and spoke around the food, “They’re letting me come in late today. Your mother and I are going to take you to school.”

Skye didn’t want them to take her to school. Becky and John ruined everything and she didn’t want them to ruin school for her. She liked school. She liked Mr. Coulson and that they learned a new letter every day in class, she liked that her sister was right down the hall from her, and she really liked being away from Becky and John.

When she glanced at her sister, Natasha’s face was blank. Her face was usually like that when she was upset, “Okay.”

Becky clapped her hands together and Skye jumped at the sudden noise, “Well, finish eating so that we can get ready to go! I’ll help you pick out your outfits!”

Skye remembered that Natasha had told her not to get excited about John and Becky’s behavior but she couldn’t help but hope that maybe things would start to be different.

Natasha hated today and it was barely eight o’clock.

She and Skye had woken up to breakfast and while most people would love that, she didn’t trust John or Becky. Whenever they were nice like this, it would only last for a couple of days until something went wrong and all of Nat’s dreams of having a nice, normal family would be crushed yet again.

She had stayed silent throughout breakfast and while Becky had dressed her and Skye up. Natasha hadn’t wanted to upset Becky so she had begrudgingly put on the light blue dress that she had given her. Becky had even put a stupid bow in her hair. Natasha hated bows.

Being treated like Becky’s personal doll wasn’t what made her angry though, what made her blood boil was how John and Becky’s behavior was affecting Skye. Natasha had told her little sister not to trust how their foster parents were acting and she knew that Skye had listened to her but she could still see the raw hope in the little girl’s eyes. She hated them for that.

Skye had let Becky put her into one of the skirts that she had bought the little girl when she had first moved in and a nice shirt. Natasha had instinctively moved to braid Skye’s hair but Becky had brushed her aside and put Skye’s hair into pigtails instead. If Becky really cared about Skye, she would know that Skye much preferred braids to pigtails.

Natasha had snuck a change of clothes for her and Skye into her backpack while Becky helped Skye tie her shoes and then they had been out the door and in the car on the way to school. Becky and John had talked the whole way to school about Garrett’s new promotion while she and Skye had stayed silent.

As soon as they got out of the car, Becky had grabbed onto her hand and then Skye’s hand and then proceeded to walk between them so that Natasha couldn’t walk by her sister.

John glanced around, “Where are we heading?”

If they would have actually brought them to school every day like real parents, then they would know where their classrooms were, “This way.”

Natasha tugged on Becky’s hand, maybe a little harder than necessary, and led her foster parent’s towards their classrooms. She could see that Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson were standing outside their doors like they always did and for some reason, Natasha didn’t want her foster parents to meet her teacher.

Suddenly Skye spoke up, “Our rooms are right there, we can make it. Bye!”

Natasha had no idea what Skye was doing. It was extremely unusual for Skye to speak up around Becky and John and it was especially unusual for her to dismiss them like that.

Nat hoped that John and Becky wouldn’t be offended or anything and watched as John patted to top of Skye’s head, “Don’t be dumb kid, we’re going to meet your teachers.”

Becky swatted at John’s arm, “You’re messing up her pigtails Garrett.”

Becky let go of Natasha’s hand to fix Skye’s hair and Nat took a step to the side so that Becky wouldn’t be able to hold her hand again.

They came to a stop in front of Natasha’s classroom and Mrs. May gave them a small smile, “Good morning Natasha and Skye. I’m sorry, I don’t-”

John cut her teacher off and Natasha watched as Mrs. May raised an eyebrow, “I’m John Garrett and this is my wife Rebecca. We’re their parents.”

Becky finally let go of Skye to shake Mrs. May’s hand and her little sister scampered over to her side. Natasha quickly leaned down and whispered to Skye, “You’re not dumb.”

Skye nodded and Nat saw her little thumb make its way towards her mouth. Before it could reach its target, Natasha gently grabbed Skye’s hand and held onto it.

She looked back to her foster parents and her teacher and it seemed like they had gotten introductions out of the way. Mrs. May was intensely studying Becky and John and it made Natasha feel a little uncomfortable. Her teacher seemed to know when people were lying, maybe she would be able to tell that John and Becky were lying about being nice.

Mrs. May glanced at her before smiling at her foster parents, “Well, it’s nice to finally meet you. I was wondering when I would see you guys.”

Her teacher sounded accusatory but John didn’t seem to notice, “I work a lot so I don’t always get to walk the kids to school.”

Yeah, because John seemed like the kind of guy who would enjoy walking she and Skye to school. Natasha barely managed to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

Garrett put his arms around Becky’s shoulders and pulled her close to his side, “Actually, I just got promoted to Captain.”

Mrs. May nodded, “Wow, that seems impressive. Are you a-”

John cut her off again, “I’m a police officer.”

Becky affectionately patted John’s chest, “Yep, we’re so proud.”

Garrett pressed a kiss to the side of Becky’s head and Skye squeezed Natasha’s hand.

Her teacher raised an eyebrow, “That sounds very exciting, congratulations Mr. Garrett.”

John smiled, “Thanks. How’s my kid doing in your class? She behaving?”

Natasha knew that she wasn’t a great student but she hoped that Mrs. May didn’t say anything bad about her. That would make John mad.

Mrs. May smiled at her, “Natasha is a wonderful student. I’m lucky to have her in my class.”

That was surprising to hear. Skye grinned up at her but Natasha didn’t say anything. She wasn’t really sure what to say.

John reached over and pinched her cheek and Natasha’s grip on Skye’s hand tightened so that she wouldn’t reach up and push his hand away, “Good. Well, we better drop off the little one. See you tonight Natasha.”

Becky tried to usher Skye away from her but Natasha wouldn’t let go of the little girl’s hand, “But…”

Her foster mom shot a flustered smile at Mrs. May before prying Natasha’s hand off of Skye’s, “Say goodbye you two.”

Skye looked lost but quickly rushed forward and gave her a hug. Natasha leaned down so that she could whisper, “Meet me out here when they leave okay? I have clothes that we can change into.”

Skye nodded and reluctantly stepped away from her before following their foster parents down the hall. Skye kept looking back at her and Natasha kept an eye on her until Mrs. May cleared her throat, “Your parents seem nice Natasha.”

She kept her eyes on Skye when she answered, “Yeah.”

Natasha walked into her classroom but hovered by the door. When she craned her neck, she could see that John and Becky were talking to Mr. Coulson. Skye’s teacher seemed very excited to meet their foster parents and was enthusiastically waving his hands around as he talked to them. Skye looked really tense and Nat hated that she was with Becky and John by herself.

Finally , her foster parents said goodbye and Natasha could visibly see Skye relax the further Becky and John got away from her. Mr. Coulson motioned for Skye to walk into his classroom but Skye shook her head and made her way back towards her. Natasha walked out the door, not really caring that Mrs. May was asking where she was going, and met Skye halfway.

When they were close enough, Skye immediately wrapped her arms around Nat’s shoulders in a tight hug, “That was weird.”

Natasha nodded, “Yeah, I know.”

Her little sister stepped back and clenched the fabric of her skirt in her fist, “Can I change?”

Natasha nodded and led Skye to the restroom, “Yeah.”

Skye grinned, “You look real pretty in your dress Nattie.”

Skye knew how much she hated dresses and it made Natasha smile a little because the little girl felt relaxed enough to tease her.

Shaking her head, she opened the bathroom door for Skye and ushered her inside. Skye was already wiggling out of her skirt before Nat locked the door.

Natasha threw a pair of jeans Skye’s way and quickly took her dress off so that she could put on her own pair of jeans and a plain black shirt. She pulled the ridiculous bow out of her hair, grabbed all the clothes, and shoved them into her backpack. Skye stood in front of her and pointed to her pigtails and Nat took them out without having to be asked.

She let out a breath of relief. Out of that dumb dress and with John and Becky gone, she finally felt like herself.

Natasha looked over to Skye, who was running her fingers through her hair, “Better?”

The little girl nodded and unlocked the bathroom door. They made their way out into the hallway. They would have to remember to change back into their other clothes before they went back home.

This time, she was able to properly say goodbye to Skye.

She wrapped Skye up in a tight hug and gave her a small smile when her little sister stretched onto her tiptoes so that she could kiss her cheek.

“Bye Nattie, I’ll see you later.”

Nat gently pushed her towards her class, “Bye, go have fun.”

Skye waved at her and skipped down the hallway towards her classroom. Natasha turned and walked towards Mrs. May. Her teacher was watching her and even though Natasha knew that her teacher was inspecting her new outfit, she didn’t say anything.

At least she didn’t say anything until Mrs. May’s eyes surveyed her bowless hair and raised an eyebrow. Natasha didn’t know why, but she felt the need to explain herself, “I hate bows.”

Mrs. May just nodded and held up her hands in a placating manner, “Me too.”

Chapter Text

Foster care, foster parents, police captain, bows and no bows… Melinda May was not sure what had just happened.

She glanced at Natasha, sitting at her desk, dutifully working on the morning journal entry. The redhead’s face was blank and she showed no outward sign of the unease that had clearly been present this morning with her foster parents. However, Melinda had been observing Natasha for awhile now and had learned some of her subtle signs of tension, like the way one hand rubbed over the other or how she fussed with her hair.  

At recess, Natasha made a beeline towards the fence that separated the big and little kids’ playgrounds. Skye showed up a couple minutes later and although May tried to keep watch over all of her students, her eyes were drawn to the pair.

For the rest of the school day, she gave Natasha space. Whatever was going on, Natasha was never going to talk to her if she pushed and Melinda wanted her student to be able to open up to her at some point.

At the end of the day, she watched Natasha and Skye disappear into the bathroom and reappear in the clothes they had arrived in that morning before heading back home, walking hand in hand as usual, however, Natasha had not put the bow back in her hair.

That fact made May strangely proud for some reason.

“That was interesting.”

Melinda glanced over to find Phil walking up to her. She let him take one of her hands.

“Those were the foster parents,” May murmured.

“Maybe this is a better conversation for at home,” Phil said evenly and Melinda could see the worry in his blue eyes.

“You’re right, we can’t talk about this here,” May shook her head. They were still in the school and she took student confidentiality very seriously, as did Phil.

Quickly, they packed up their classrooms, making sure everything was in its place and ready for the next day, before getting into their car and driving home in relative silence.

It wasn’t until they were back home that Phil mentioned the situation again.

“So those were the foster parents,” Phil ran a hand through his hair.

“The Garrett’s.” May murmured the name as she unlocked the house.

“If the father is police captain, I’m sure Tripp will know him,” Phil pointed out. “He’s going to be here in...” Phil glanced at his watch. “Thirty minutes.”

“That means we need to cook,” May raised her eyebrows. “Since you ate all the leftovers as a midnight snack.”

“Takeout?” Phil suggested sheepishly.

Melinda May rolled her eyes and handed her husband the phone and the menu to their favorite takeout place.

Luckily, their Thai food arrived before Tripp did. They barely had time to open all the takeout containers before there was a knock on the door. They had known Tripp long enough for him to just walk into their house but he always knocked on their door before barging in. That was his way of being polite.

Melinda watched in amusement as Tripp walked into their house, nodded at them in acknowledgement, and collapsed into a chair at the table. Tripp let out a long groan before shaking his head a little bit and turning to them, “Hey guys.”

She couldn’t help but grin a little, “Rough day?”

Tripp gratefully took the bottle of beer that Phil offered him and nodded at her, “You don’t even know how rough of a day it’s been.”

She and Phil sat down at the table with Tripp and she passed him a plate and pushed a takeout container towards him, “What happened?”

Tripp started dumping some noodles onto his plate and Mel had to slap his hands so that he didn’t eat all of them without sharing. He gave her a sheepish look and passed the container to her before saying, “My new captain is a hardass and he’s making me do a ton of boring paperwork. I have like ten papercuts right now.”

He held up his hands as if to show them his papercuts and had the most pitiful look on his face. She glanced at her husband and he bursted out laughing, “You have papercuts?”

Tripp’s pitiful look turned indignant, “Hey, they hurt okay?”

She nodded and patted his arm, “You’re worse than our students.”

Tripp shoved a dumpling into his mouth and spoke around it, “You’re comparing me to a little kid, you know that right? I’m an adult.”

Melinda twirled some noodles around her fork, “Then act like one.”

Tripp rolled his eyes, “I can really feel the love, thanks guys.”

Phil laughed again, “Aw come on, you know we’re just giving you a hard time. Maybe this captain is still getting the hang of things. You said he was new right?”

Shrugging, Tripp shrugged, “He’s not new, new. John was just promoted and I can tell you that the guy is a hardass no matter what position he holds.” Tripp shook his head and mumbled, “I can’t believe he’s actually the boss of me now.”

Melinda perked up when she heard of Tripp’s new captain’s name. Things started clicking together, “His name is John?”

Tripp nodded and shoved another dumpling into his mouth. Mel gave Phil a look, “As in, John Garrett?”

Swallowing his mouthful of food, Tripp nodded again and said, “Yeah, how’d you know?”

“We met him when he brought his girls to school today.” Melinda sipped from her cup, however her eyes remained on Tripp.

“He has kids?” Tripp’s dark eyes widened. “I didn’t know that. Wow. That’s a surprise.”

“He’s never mentioned them?” Melinda leaned forward slightly.

“I don’t think so. Man, it would be interesting to see Garrett as a dad,” Tripp commented lightly, however his expression suddenly made Melinda nervous. She exchanged a look with Phil, noticing the faint look of concern there.

“Maybe you could tell us more about what he’s like as you get to know him?” Phil suggested.

Tripp raised an eyebrow at that and put down his fork. “Alright, what are you two up to? I know you’re up to something.”

“Nothing!” Phil protested, seemingly oblivious to how poor his lying skills were. Tripp just turned to look at Melinda.

“We’re just a little worried,” Melinda conceded. “But we really shouldn’t talk about it.”

“Alright. I trust you. Whatever you are getting into, I know there’s someone who might need help at the bottom of it. I’ll tell you what I learned about Garrett.” Tripp picked up his fork again. “But you better not ask me to do anything that would land me on his bad side. I don’t want to do more paperwork than is absolutely necessary.”

John and Becky’s happy behavior barely last a week. Natasha was actually surprised that it lasted that long. Honestly, she didn’t know how to act around them when they acted like that, she was always waiting for them to do something bad. At least when they were in a bad mood, she knew what the expect. She didn’t like it, but most of the time she knew how to handle their bad moods.

Becky was back to ignoring them which Natasha was kind of relieved for. She didn’t know if she would have been able to wear another dress to school and she was pretty glad that Becky had gone back to pretending she didn’t exist.

Her foster mother was watching television in the living room and she was helping Skye learn her letters, “See? ‘I’ can make a lot of different sounds, so it’s a tricky letter. It’s also a vowel. Do you remember the other vowels?”

Skye rubbed her forehead with her little fist and shut her eyes. That was the face she made when she was thinking really hard about something so Nat stayed quiet so that she didn’t interrupt her thought process.

Her little sister made a triumphant sound and opened her eyes back up, “A, E, O, and U.”

“And…”

Skye stared blankly at her for a second before she caught on, “And sometimes Y!”

Natasha gave Skye a small smile, “Good job Skye.”

Her sister went back to writing different words that started with the letter ‘I’ and mumbled, “I like ‘I’. It’s easy to write.”

Nat nodded but didn’t say anything, just listened to the sound of Skye’s pencil gliding over her paper. Everything else just faded away and she contentedly sat at the table for a few silent minutes before Skye spoke up again, “”Why aren’t you doing homework?”

Shrugging, Natasha grabbed Skye’s pencil from her hand and started writing some harder words on the paper, “Teaching you is more fun.”

Skye pushed her arm, “You should do your homework.”

She shrugged again, “It’s not that important.”

Her little sister crossed her arms and got that stubborn look on her face, “You always make me do my homework. You should have to do yours too.”

Skye’s jaw was set and she didn’t look like she was going to budge so Nat hauled her backpack onto the table and pulled out her list of vocabulary words. After combing through her bag for a pencil, she dramatically opened up a notebook and started writing her words down, “Happy?”

Smiling, Skye nodded and went back to her work, “Yep.”

Rolling her eyes, Natasha stared at her vocabulary words for a few moments before sighing and getting to work. The words were pretty big but at least she would be slightly prepared for her spelling test.

They sat in companionable silence, each working on their own respective work with Skye occasionally asking Natasha questions, when the door banged open.

Skye jumped in her chair at the loud sound and quickly began gathering up her homework. She tried not to look scared because she was trying to be brave but she didn’t like doors slamming. It made her nervous.

“Come on, Skye.” Natasha grabbed her papers and Skye’s hand. “Let’s work upstairs.”

They started up the stairs when Skye felt someone grab the back of her shirt.

“There are damn dirty dishes all over the kitchen!”

John pulled her and even though Natasha had a tight grip on her hand, Skye still fell down the stairs and banged her head slightly against the banister, pain and fear washing over her in suffocating waves. John was still holding onto her shirt and all Skye could do was try to wiggle away, not even able to hear what he was saying over the panic pounding in her ears and the slight throbbing of her head.

“Let go of her!”

Skye saw a flash of red hair and suddenly John’s grip was gone from her shirt. She scrambled away but saw that John now had a handful of Natasha’s hair and was shaking her and yelling.

“We didn’t make those dishes dirty!” Skye shouted at John. “Let her go!

She was scared but Natasha was in danger and she had to help. Maybe if John knew it wasn’t their fault, he would let Nat go.

He flung Nat aside and she fell to the ground. Skye watched in horror as her sister’s body crumpled to the floor and she didn’t know if Nattie was okay. All she wanted to do was run over and check on her sister but she couldn’t because John suddenly turned towards her, a look of anger burning in his eyes.

“Are you blaming my wife?” His voice was soft but Skye knew it wasn’t in a nice way like other soft voices. This was a dangerous soft.

John didn’t care that the dishes weren’t their fault. They didn’t make those dishes dirty but he was mad anyways. Maybe she had done something else wrong?

John stepped forward and Skye stood frozen, dark eyes wide.

“Answer me, girl, are you blaming my wife?”

“N-no....” Skye stammered, her legs working again as she backed up slowly.

“Good.” John grabbed her arm and dragged her to the kitchen, holding her arm so tight it hurt and she tried to reduce the pain by stumbling along beside him. Still holding onto her, he grabbed a chair, put it in front of the sink and roughly deposited her onto it. “Do the dishes.” He turned the sink on and hot water sprayed onto her face and shirt. The tears were sliding down her face now and Skye, trembling, picked up a plate.  

“You too.” John started towards Natasha who had dazedly gotten back onto her feet.

Suddenly his phone started ringing. John glared at them and stalked out of the room but not before roughly shoving Natasha toward the sink.

“Hey, hey.” Natasha’s arms were suddenly around her and Skye started sobbing. “Come on, come on.” Natasha was practically dragging them up the stairs.

“The dishes,” Skye sobbed. They had to clean them so that John would stop being so mad at them.

“You’re not doing those dishes. Come on, almost there.”

Finally, they were safe in Natasha’s room and Nat was locking the door. Then, she picked Skye up and Skye clung to her, not even trying to stifle her tears.

“Hey, I’ve got you.” Nat carried her to the bed, stroking her hair. Skye buried her face in her shirt, taking in the comforting smell of her sister. “We’re okay.”

Natasha had prided herself on being a calm person. She didn’t let things get to her. She built her walls tall and thick.

And then Skye had come along and sent her walls crumbling to the ground.

She hadn’t meant to love Skye, it was easier when she only cared about herself, but Skye had wriggled her way into Nat’s heart and Natasha loved her more than anything else in this world. And right now, her sister was in trouble and the panic rushing through her was enough to get her to shake off the pain her body was currently in and try to get to her sister. Dazedly, she tried to stand up but her arms and legs weren’t listening to her. She shook her head, ignoring the flash of pain that exploded behind her eyes, and forced her limbs to do what she told them.

When she finally made it off the ground, head spinning, she saw her baby sister, little Skye, standing on a chair, shirt and face wet with water and tears, washing dishes as their foster father stood nearby watching, arms crossed across his broad chest.

In that moment, Natasha felt absolute pure anger. As she watched John step towards her, she felt her muscles tense involuntarily and her fists clenched.

And then the phone had rung and she was able to rush to her sister, to get them away, homework lying scattered and forgotten at the bottom of the stairs.

Now here she was, curled up with Skye in bed, stroking her soft hair and trying to kiss away her tears.

Skye mumbled something into Natasha’s shoulder but she couldn’t tell what she had said.

“What?” Natasha gently repositioned herself so that she could hear the little girl.

“Why was he so mad?” Skye sniffed. “He was being so nice earlier.”

Oh Skye . Natasha tucked a strand of Skye’s silky hair behind her ear, examining the darkening bruise forming on the right side of her forehead. She must have hit her head when John dragged her down the stairs. With a great amount of difficulty, Natasha pushed her anger aside to address her sister’s question.

“I don’t know,” she said finally. “But I promise, you’re safe with me. I’m not gonna let him hurt you.”
“What if he hurts you?” Skye’s dark eyes filled with tears again.

“I’ll be okay, I promise.” Natasha brushed the thought aside. “ We will be okay.” Because that was what mattered. That there was a we for them. They had each other and Natasha was not going to let herself or Skye ever be alone again.

She remembered one night after her first few weeks with Skye, after forming an initial friendship in the middle of the night over soiled sheets.

“Natasha?”

Natasha rolled over in her bed to see that Skye was standing in her doorway, looking tiny in her ratty oversized shirt.

“What?” Natasha tried to soften the annoyance at being woken up.

“I had a nightmare.”

Natasha sat up slightly, yawning. “What was it about?” Somewhere, she had heard that talking about nightmares helped but she didn’t know where. Maybe at school or one of her various past foster homes.

“Nobody wanted me and I was all alone.”

Natasha froze. That wasn’t a nightmare, that was the reality of being a foster kid. Natasha knew that feeling far too well.

“Well that’s a silly dream,” Natasha gave Skye a half smile, motioning at the girl to come sit on her bed.

“What do you mean?” Skye slowly climbed up onto the bed.

“Because you’re not alone. I’m here. And I want you to be here with me.”

“Really?” a small sliver of hope shone in Skye’s dark eyes.

“Of course. Why do you think I let you wake me up in the middle of the night,” Natasha smiled, poking Skye gently in the side, making her laugh. “Trust me, if anyone else tried to do that, it wouldn’t be pretty.”

“But I can, ‘cause I’m special,” Skye smiled, relaxing beside the older girl.

“That’s right. Only you can do that ‘cause you’re special.” Natasha hesitated then leaned over and kissed Skye’s cheek before hugging her.

Natasha wasn’t a physical person but there was something about Skye that made her act in ways she never had before. She cared about Skye. She saw herself reflecting in Skye’s large dark eyes. Nobody had been there for Natasha. But now she had the chance to be there for someone else. She had never been needed before.

“Alright, kiddo, let’s go to sleep.”

Skye obediently closed her eyes. It wasn’t until Natasha knew she was peacefully asleep that Natasha closed her own eyes and went to sleep.

Skye’s tight grip on her shoulder yanked her from her memory and her little sister said, “I don’t know if we’ll be okay.”

Natasha felt her heart crack. Skye always believed what she said, no matter how silly or unbelievable her words were, Skye always believed her, but now she didn’t. Maybe it was Natasha’s own uncertainty about their situation that had Skye doubting her, Natasha didn’t even believe her own words so how could Skye? Deciding that it was better to not say anything, Natasha just pressed a kiss to the top of Skye’s head so that she knew that they were in this together.

She shifted and carefully set Skye down on the bed before gingerly pushing on her shoulder so that she was lying down. Pulling off her and Skye’s shoes, Natasha lied down next to her sister and pulled the sheets up so that they were completely under them. She didn’t say anything as Skye’s thumb made its way into her mouth, just pulled her sister closer and stroked her back in what she hoped was a comforting manner.

She kept Skye close when they heard shouting from downstairs, as John banged on her door, and as they finally heard Becky and John’s door close for the night. It wasn’t until much later that Skye’s breathing finally evened out and her sister fell asleep but Natasha’s mind wouldn’t stop spinning long enough for her to sleep.

Skye was right. For the first time ever, Natasha thought that maybe she wouldn’t be able to protect Skye. The dark bruise on her sister’s forehead was enough evidence of that. John had never been so relentlessly aggressive before and Natasha suspected that maybe his promotion wasn’t as amazing as he had made it out to be.

A thought flashed through her mind and she tried to distract herself from it by curling Skye’s hair around her finger but no matter how hard she tried, the same thought kept swirling around her brain.

Maybe they weren’t going to be okay.

Chapter Text

“But your homework! You’re not going to get credit for it!” Skye let out an indignant breath and stubbornly stomped her foot. Skye had been upset about Natasha not being able to turn in her homework since she realized it this morning. Now they were on their way to school and her little sister still wouldn’t stop talking about it.

Natasha sighed, “It’s not a big deal Skye.”

Her sister just stomped her foot again and kept walking beside her. Natasha was impressed that the little girl hadn’t tripped yet.

After The Dish Incident, which was what they were calling Friday night, they had crept downstairs to pick up their homework only to find it torn to shreds and dumped into the garbage. Luckily, Skye had just been practicing her letters so it didn’t really matter that her papers were gone. On the other hand, John had ruined her sheet of vocabulary words and that was the only copy she had. She had no way of retrieving the words, John had done a good job of tearing the paper into itty bitty pieces, and so she had no way of finishing her homework, something that Skye was very worried about.

Natasha was more worried about the bruise on her sister’s forehead.

Luckily, when Natasha had banged her head, she had only hurt the side of it so if there was a bruise, no one would see it. The whole right of poor Skye’s forehead was an ugly, yellowish blue color. Even though the bruise looked terrible now, it had been even worse Saturday and Sunday. It had been a dark black and purple bruise and it had taken a lot of ice for the tenderness to start to fade. This morning, all Becky had said to them was to keep their mouths shut about the bruise and Natasha really needed Skye to remember the story they had come up with.

She tugged on Skye’s hand so that her sister would give her her full attention and said, “Tell me what you’re going to say if anyone asks about your forehead.” Natasha knew that someone would ask, probably Mr. Coulson, and Nat needed Skye to be ready for that.

Skye kicked a rock in front of her and sighed, “I fell when I was playing soccer with you.”

Natasha nodded, “And?”

“And the doctor said that everything was okay and I don’t have a con..concufin.”

“A concussion.” Natasha had had to sneak onto Becky’s computer to look that up. People were less likely to be suspicious if you told them you went to see a doctor and used medical language.

Skye nodded, “A concussion.” Her sister repeated the word a few more times until she remembered it.

They approached their school and Natasha didn’t even acknowledge the lady that held the front door open for them, “Tell your teacher that John said that he doesn’t want you to run around during recess today but make sure you call John your dad.”

Skye’s nose scrunched up and she raised an eyebrow, “Why?”

“Because that’s what a good dad would probably say.”

Her sister thought about that for a second before nodding. Natasha stared at the ugly bruise on Skye’s forehead and winced, “Be careful not to hit your head on anything okay? I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Skye pulled her down their hallway and she saw both of their teachers greeting their students by their doors, “I’ll be super careful.”

Content that Skye was telling the truth and was taking her warning seriously, Natasha let her sister pull her down the hallway. Rather than walk past Mrs. May and towards Skye’s classroom like they usually did, Skye stopped in front of Mrs. May.

Natasha tugged on the little girl’s hand in an attempt to get her to keep moving but her sister didn’t budge.

Mrs. May focused on them and Natasha watched as Skye put a hand on her hip and lifted her chin. Oh boy, she knew that stance.

Natasha saw Mrs. May’s eyes pause on the bruise on Skye’s forehead but her teacher gave them both a small smile and said, “Good morning girls.”

Skye nodded absentmindedly and forcefully said, “Nattie did her homework but she can’t show you. You should give her credit for it though because she did do it, I promise.”

Of course Skye wouldn’t let this go. Natasha should have known better.

Mrs. May glanced at her before focusing back on Skye, “Why can’t she show it to me?”

Her sister looked momentarily perplexed for a moment before spluttering, “B-because it accidently got… thrown away. Right?”

Skye turned to her with an unsure look on her face and Natasha nodded with as much confidence as she could muster, “Our dad thought it was trash by mistake.” Calling John Garrett her dad made Nat feel a little nauseous but she ignored that feeling and focused on not letting Skye get caught in a lie.

Mrs. May was silent as she studied them. Her teacher seemed to make up her mind before leaning down a little and nodding at Skye, “You promise that she did it?”

Skye nodded seriously, “I promise.”

Mrs. May tilted her head, “Okay, I’ll give Natasha credit.”

Skye looked surprised and Natasha understood why. She didn’t actually think that this would have worked but apparently she should have given her sister more credit.

Skye shook the shock off her face and looked proud instead, “Okay, thanks.”

Her little sister tugged on her hand and started to pull her away from Mrs. May before her teacher’s voice stopped them, “Is your forehead alright Skye?”

Not even pausing, Skye looked over her shoulder and gave Mrs. May a tiny smile, “It’s alright.”

Natasha let her little sister tug her towards her kindergarten classroom but before they got to Mr. Coulson, Nat stopped walking. Skye looked back at her and raised an eyebrow and Natasha pointed back towards where she was sure Mrs. May was still watching them, “Why’d you do that?”

Skye crossed her arms in front of her chest, “Because you did do your homework and you should get credit for it. It’s John’s fault that you can’t and it’s not right.”

Shaking her head, Natasha pulled Skye in for a hug. Her little sister still believed that if someone did something good, they deserved to get credit for it, and if someone did something bad, they shouldn’t get away with it. Natasha wished that she could still see things that way, in black and white, but she knew better. She knew that sometimes bad guys got away with doing bad things and no one noticed. Sometimes people did good things and other people got credit for it. The world didn’t work the way Skye thought it did and no matter how many times Nat tried to tell her sister that, Skye adamantly refused to believe it.

Skye still tried to look for the good in the world and Natasha had stopped trying to do that a long, long time ago.

Skye stepped out of the hug and gave her a grin, “It worked didn’t it?”

Making sure to avoid touching the bruise on her forehead, Natasha brushed Skye’s hair back. She hadn’t wanted to risk hurting Skye by pulling her hair back into a braid today so her little sister’s long hair kept falling into her face. Ignoring the anger that flared through her every time she looked at Skye’s bruise, she gave Skye a small smile, “Yeah, it worked.”

Skye’s grin turned into a proud smirk, “I’m just that good.”

Natasha tugged her sister towards her classroom, “Yeah, yeah.”

She heard Skye laugh and her smile grew a little bigger.

When they approached Mr. Coulson, he was excitedly talking to a little boy in Skye’s class so he didn’t notice them. Natasha knew that he was going to ask about the bruise at some point today and she would rather be there with Skye when he did, so rather than say goodbye and leave like she normally did, she stood by her sister and waited for Mr. Coulson to acknowledge them.

She noticed when Skye started fidgeting from side to side and could tell that she was nervous. Her little sister’s thumb started to work its way towards her mouth and Natasha gently but firmly reached over and guided Skye’s hand back down to her side. Her sister leaned into her side in response.

Finally, Mr. Coulson turned to them and his smile slipped away from his face when he saw Skye, “Are you okay Skye? What happened to your forehead?”

As Mr. Coulson reached a hand towards Skye and took a step towards her sister, Natasha moved to protectively stand in front of her. She gave Mr. Coulson a look that clearly said that if he didn’t back off she was going to do something he wouldn’t like. Skye squeezed her hand reassuringly and moved so that she was standing next to Natasha rather than behind her.

Mr. Coulson looked shocked and Nat didn’t miss how he glanced behind them to where Mrs. May was standing by her classroom. Natasha eyed him for another second before Skye squeezed her hand again and Nat forced her posture to relax slightly.

Skye gave Mr. Coulson a small grin, “I’m okay, I just fell when I was playing soccer with Nattie.”

Mr. Coulson looked like he wanted to take another step towards them but his eyes flickered to Natasha and he stayed where he was, “It looks like it hurts a lot Skye. Maybe you should have the nurse take a look at it.”

Skye’s thumb was starting to sneak back towards her mouth again and Natasha could tell that her little sister didn’t like lying to Mr. Coulson and was nervous. She decided to jump in, “The doctor said that she was okay.”

Mr. Coulson raised an eyebrow, “You went to see a doctor?”

Natasha put a hand on her hip, “Of course we did. Skye hit her head pretty hard and J...our parents were worried.”

She caught herself before she called John by his name and she hoped that her lie was convincing enough. There was no way that John or Becky would worry enough about them to take them to a hospital but Natasha guessed that most parents would and she didn’t want Mr. Coulson to suspect them of anything.

Mr. Coulson was quiet for a few moments so Skye spoke up, “The doctor said I don’t have a c...con...concus…”

Skye gave her a helpless look and Nat helped her out, “A concussion.”

Skye nodded, “But my dad said to tell you that I’m not allowed to run around at recess today just in case.”

They both held their breath as Mr. Coulson considered their lie. Skye’s teacher looked between the two of them before finally nodding, “Okay, you’re very lucky Skye. Head injuries can be very serious.”

Natasha thought back to all the time she’s hit her head because of John or Becky and hoped that her brain was going to be okay.

Skye nodded seriously, “I know.”

Mr. Coulson just straightened up, “I’ll bring out some coloring books so that you can color during recess. That way you won’t be bored.”

Her sister smiled and let go of Natasha’s hand before turning around and standing on her tip toes so that she could press a kiss to Nat’s cheek as a goodbye. Skye walked towards her classroom and Nat called after her, “Be careful with your head okay?”

Skye slightly turned back and nodded before continuing on into her classroom. Nat watched after her until she noticed that Mr. Coulson was studying her. His serious look looked out of place on his normally carefree face and she nodded at him before quickly heading back towards her own classroom.

Phil couldn’t help but stare at the tender-looking bruise on Skye’s forehead as his student focused all of her attention on the superhero coloring book he had brought out for her to color in during recess.

The bruise on Skye’s forehead looked like it hurt a lot and Phil had a hard time believing that Skye had gotten it while playing soccer. If she had fallen and hit her head on a rock or on the pavement, there would most likely be little cuts on her forehead but there weren’t any. It was a good thing Skye had gotten her head looked at by a doctor because he knew how tricky head injuries could be. At least, he hoped Skye had gotten her head looked at by a real doctor. He wasn’t sure if he fully believed Skye’s story yet.

Suddenly, Skye looked up at him and tilted her head, “Do you want to color too?”

Glancing at the haphazardly colored Supergirl picture in Skye’s coloring book and at the blue crayon Skye was offering him, he gave her a smile and nodded graciously, “I would love to.”

He took the blue crayon from Skye and scooted closer to her so that they could both color on the same page. Trying to seem nonchalant, he continued to color when he asked, “Your bruise must hurt a lot, huh?”

Skye continued to focus on the coloring book but he could feel her sidelong stare boring into the side of his face. She shrugged and looked back to the book, “It’s not so bad.”

Phil snagged a red crayon from the box and started to color in Supergirl’s cape, “Which hospital did your parents take you to?”

He knew Skye probably didn’t know the name of the two hospitals in their town but he was trying to figure out if Skye was telling the truth about her bruise.

Skye froze and her crayon stayed pressed on the paper for a moment before she started coloring again, “The one closest to my house.”

Phil nodded seriously and tried to make it seem like he was wholeheartedly focusing on their picture so that Skye didn’t think that he was interrogating her. Which he kind of was.

“What’d your doctor-”

Skye cut his question off by standing up, “I’m going to go see my sister. You can have the drawing.”

Before he could say anything, Skye was walking towards the fence that separated the kindergartener's playground from the older kids’ playground.

Sighing, he set his crayon down and straightened up. Skye didn’t trust him and he had pushed her too far.

“Skye!” he quickly called out. The small girl stopped and looked at him slightly suspiciously. “Can you autograph the drawing? That way I can always remember who gave it to me.”

Skye studied him for a few more nerve wracking seconds before a small smile broke out on her face and she came back to him to carefully write her name on the paper.

“Are you going to hang it up?” she asked excitedly.

“I think it will look perfect on my fridge at home,” Phil smiled and Skye beamed back at him. “Alright, let’s go find your sister.”

This time Skye let him come with her. Phil could have fainted from relief. He didn’t know what was going on with Skye, but he did know that he was going to have to be more careful about how far he pushed her in the future. He couldn’t afford to be shut out.

Usually, Skye would linger behind and talk to Mr. Coulson once the final bell rang and they were dismissed but today, she quickly walked out of her classroom. Mr. Coulson had asked her a lot of questions during recess today and she didn’t think that he fully believed her story about falling while playing soccer. That made her nervous.

But it also made her sad that she had to lie to Mr. Coulson. He was her favorite teacher ever. He was so nice and he always made her feel special. Like today, how he said he would put her drawing up on his fridge at home! Nobody had ever put Skye’s drawings up on a fridge before. But Becky had told her to lie and Skye didn’t want to get in trouble, but she still felt miserable. What if Mr. Coulson found out someday that she had lied to him and then decided he didn’t like her anymore? That made Skye scared. She wanted to be best friends with Mr. Coulson forever.

However, as soon as she saw Natasha walking towards her, she felt herself start to relax. Everything was okay when she was with Nattie. The nervous knot that had been in her stomach ever since recess started to loosen. She would worry about lying to Mr. Coulson later.

A fourth grader accidently bumped into her sister’s side and Skye watched as Natasha glared at the kid until he spluttered out an apology and quickly walked down the hallway. She couldn’t help but grin a little. Natasha seemed super tough and mean but Skye knew that she wasn’t. At least, Nattie wasn’t tough or mean to her and that was all that really mattered.

Her sister met her halfway between their classrooms and Skye reached forward and gave her a quick hug. Natasha squeezed her before saying, “How was your day?”

Skye shrugged, “It was okay.”

She knew that they were going to have to head home now and she didn’t want to. Being home wasn’t fun and Becky was just going to ignore them. She and Natasha were going to have to make their own dinner and Skye was afraid of what mood John was going to be in when he got home.

Skye didn’t want to go back to her house.

Natasha was studying her and usually Skye felt uneasy when someone stared at her but this was her sister so she didn’t mind.

Nattie tilted her head, “What’s wrong?”

Moving to the side so that some kids could get past her, she wrung her hands in front of her, “Nothing.”

Her sister raised an eyebrow and Skye sighed. She didn’t even know why she tried to keep secrets, “I don’t want to go home yet.”

It felt dumb to say that. You were supposed to love your home. Normal kids liked their homes but Skye knew that she wasn’t normal, no matter how hard she tried to be. She didn’t like her home and she didn’t like her foster parents, the only good thing that came from living with this foster family was meeting Natasha.

Her sister must have understood how she was feeling, Natasha always seemed to understand how she was feeling, because she just nodded and led Skye in the opposite direction from their house.

Skye followed after her, “Where are we going?”

“To have some fun.”

“Do you think Becky will be mad at us for getting home late?”

Natasha glanced over at her, “Becky won’t even notice.”

That was probably true. She kept up with Natasha as her sister led out of the building and towards the playground. Rather than the little kids playground that Skye was used to, Natasha brought her over to the big kid playground. They trekked through the sand and stopped in front of the big play structure. Skye stared up at it in awe. This playground was way bigger than hers and it looked like it was a lot of fun.

Natasha motioned towards the climbing wall, “Let’s have fun.”

Skye looked up at the climbing wall but stopped herself from rushing towards it, “Really?”

Her sister nodded, “Really. We can’t stay too long and you have to be careful with your head but let’s have some fun.”

That was all Skye needed to hear before she launched herself at the climbing wall and started scrambling up it, “Try to catch me!”

She heard Natasha laugh and follow after her so she tried to climb faster. Before she knew it, she was jumping onto the platform and running towards a tunnel and climbing through it. She looked back long enough to see her sister get to the top of the climbing wall and laughed as she made it through the tunnel and slid down a pole.

They played tag for a little while. Natasha only had to remind her to be careful with her head twice and Skye was having more fun than she had in a long, long time. She didn’t even think about her home and about how sometimes she really thought that Becky forgot that she and Natasha lived with her. She didn’t think about how her forehead ached dully every time she jumped from the monkey bars and she definitely didn’t think about how she was afraid of what John was going to be like when he got home tonight. All she thought about was how much fun she was having with her sister right now.

She was so busy laughing and having a good time with Natasha that she didn’t even notice that Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May were standing side by side, watching them.

“I’m worried.” Phil let the words spill out of his mouth the moment he was alone with his wife. He quickly grabbed Mel’s hand for support, glancing at her gratefully as she squeezed it.

“How so?” she asked evenly, but he could tell she was troubled as well.

They were standing next to their car in the parking lot, watching Natasha and Skye laugh and play on the playground.

“Skye’s bruise, Mel, it looked horrible. I don’t even know how she got a bruise on that part of her face, let alone without any sort of cut. And I asked her about it and I pushed too far and she shut me out. Luckily, I was able to distract her and sort of bandage the situation a bit, but...” Phil sighed. “I’m just worried.”

They stood silently for a moment, watching as Skye swung across the monkey bars and Natasha tried to grab her feet, both laughing and smiling.

“I wonder how hard it is to become foster parents.” Phil let the thought come out before he had even processed it.

Melinda looked at him sharply.

“Phil.”

“I’m not saying for Nat and Skye, they have a family, it might be working, but somebody else out there might need us...” Phil knew he was rambling but couldn’t stop. “Like there might be other kids like them, that need a safe home and we have that, we’re trained to help kids and we have a house and jobs and...”

“ Phil. ” Melinda grabbed both his hands, staring him intently, dark eyes piercing him.

“I’m sorry...”

“Do you think we’re ready for that?” Melinda cut him off.

“What?” Now he was staring at her.

“Do you think we’d be ready to take a child in with us?” Melinda repeated. “To not just be teachers but be parents?”

“I don’t know,” Phil said quietly. “I just know there are children out there that need a place and we have one. But if you don’t think we’re ready or don’t want to, then I’m okay with that.” He was silent, staring at Melinda. One hand rose almost without his bidding to touch her cheek. She was his everything. He would never even consider a scenario without her full approval. They were a team in every way and always would be.

Melinda caught his hand and lowered it away from her face, expression unreadable.

“Let’s go see what the approval process is like.”

Chapter Text

“What are you staring at, girl?”

Skye quickly looked back at her homework and pretended to concentrate really hard on it.

Natasha was standing at the sink, doing dishes, John leaning heavily against the counter, watching them both do their chores. It had become somewhat of an evening ritual. When John got home from work, he made them clean the house. Well, Natasha did most of the work. When John tried to make Skye work before she finished her homework, Natasha fought like a wild animal. Her sister would do what John wanted if he left Skye alone, so Skye was left sitting alone at the table, watching as her older sister was forced to clean up a kitchen they hadn’t eaten any food from that entire day.

Skye glanced longingly at Natasha and tried to ignore the rumbling of her tummy. They had barely been able to get any food that day. John had started locking up some of the cabinets and Becky forgot that they needed to eat so she had been pretty hungry lately.

Suddenly, she noticed that there was a partially full bag of pretzels on the couch where Becky usually watched TV. The older woman must have wandered to her room or the bathroom but either way, the pretzels were just sitting there, unguarded.

Her stomach growled even louder.

Skye bit her lip and glanced at John. The large man was still watching Natasha do dishes and the pretzel bag was just sitting there, practically begging her to take them.

If she could just grab the pretzels and hide them in her backpack, she could share them with Natasha later. Skye knew her sister was hungry too.

Skye made her decision and darted forward, grabbing the bag before she could think twice about it.

It made a crinkly noise.

Skye froze, heart pounding. She looked up to find John turning to look at her.

It happened so fast.

John was dragging her into the kitchen before she could blink. His fingers were like iron bars wrapped around her arm and it hurt too badly to try to pull away so she let him drag her across the room with the hope that it would hurt less.

She was wrong.

He was screaming and she heard bad bad words and everything was so loud and she just wanted it all to stop . Then she was suddenly on the ground and he was towering over her. John looks so tall and scary that she couldn’t help but shrink back. He took a step forward and all Skye could think about was if he took half a step closer, he would probably squish her, and suddenly her sister was there in front of her.

Natasha was standing protectively over her and was screaming too. It was too loud and her arms hurt really bad. She wished that she had never seen that stupid bag of pretzels in the first place.

Skye’s focus sharpened when she saw John grab Natasha and throw her down, he raised a fist threateningly and Skye scrambled up.

“I’m telling!” she shouted. “I’m telling and you’re going to get in trouble!”

Skye knew Becky told her not to tell. John told her not to tell. Natasha told her not to tell because they would get in trouble and be separated forever but Skye was just so scared and the words just kind of came out without her permission. She just wanted everyone to stop.

John turned away from Natasha and stared at her with hollow eyes. Skye clenched her hands into fists and tried to stand her ground even though her knees were shaking so bad that she was afraid she was going to fall down.

And then John started laughing.

“Who do you think would believe you, mutt?” he gasped, face getting red.

Skye didn’t know what that word meant but the way he said it made her think that it wasn’t very nice. And then John was up really close, his face in hers, his breath on her cheek and she had to force herself to not flinch away.

“Listen to me.” He had her arm again, squeezing so tight she wanted to cry. “If you ever try to get me in trouble, I will kill Natasha,” he whispered, voice low and dangerous. “Do you want your precious brat of a friend to be gone forever?”

Skye shook her head vigorously, dark eyes wide with fear. John looked really scary with his clenched jaw and a vein in his forehead throbbing and Skye truly believed that he would kill Natasha. She tried not to cry.

“Good.” John smiled. “Now about trying to steal my food, bad girls steal and bad girls have to be punished...”

He reached for her and this time Skye couldn’t stop herself from flinching away. Pure anger flashed through John’s eyes and he tried to reach for her again but Natasha stopped him, “I’m going to call 911 if you don’t get away from her now .”

John spun around to face Natasha, who was holding a phone in her hand.

“We have something we want to tell you,” Phil said as he grinned and clapped Tripp on the back.

The young man cautiously glanced at Coulson and May before stepping into the house.

“Just so ya’ll know, I’m on call tonight so I gotta keep the radio on,” he warned them. He was in his uniform and Melinda thought proudly that he looked very handsome and official in it.

“Oh that’s fine,” Melinda waved her hand.

“Are you pregnant?” Tripp raised his eyebrows.

“What?! No!” Melinda’s eyes widened and then narrowed, “Are you saying I look pregnant?”

“Noooo!” Tripp held up his hands. “Not at all! I just thought... with Phil saying you both had something to tell me and both of you waiting for me at the door...”

“We’ve started the process of being foster parents,” Phil cut him off much to Tripp’s relief.

It was silent for a moment.

“Congratulations!” Tripp’s face split into a wide grin. “So there is going to be a little one!”

He hugged them both.

Mel smiled, appreciative that he didn’t question their decision. They sat down at the table and Phil brought out the food and some plates before sitting down with them.

“So when are you going to be getting a kid?” Tripp picked up his fork and started shoveling food onto his plate.

“We’re still going through the process so it’s going to take some time,” Melinda explained, exchanging a look with Phil who gave her a smile. It was all so new that they were still getting used to the idea themselves. In a little while, there might be a kid running around their home and while that thought was weird to think about, it also made her giddy with excitement.

Tripp was just taking a bite of his pasta when his radio crackled and started spewing information.

“Aw man.” Tripp groaned and set his fork back down. “Every time. Let me check what’s going on.” Quickly, he got up from the table and pulled out his phone, walking into the other room. Fairly soon he came back with a troubled look on his face.

“We got a 911 call from Chief Garrett’s house.”

There was a knock on the door. They had been waiting for it so it didn’t surprise Skye at all.

“Do exactly as I say or you will regret it,” Garrett whispered into Skye’s ear. She nodded and let him pick her up and set her on his hip. She fought with all her strength to keep her tears away and her revulsion from showing on her face. All she could think about was John smashing the phone, grabbing Natasha and throwing her down into the basement, screaming threats and locking the door.

Now Garrett said that if she was good, he would leave Natasha alone. Luckily, learning not to cry was a skill that Skye had learned in a previous home. Lately, she had been letting herself relax in this home but now she knew it was time to go back to those survival skills.

Garrett’s arm held her tightly against him as they walked to the door.

“Hello?” Garrett’s voice was different, kinder, as he opened the door and she tried not to make a face at his sweet tone.

Two police officers stood in front of them and for a second, Skye just stared at their shiny badges and neat blue suits.

“Chief, we’re so sorry to disturb you but there was a 911 call placed here,” the first officer, a stocky man with bright blue eyes, said.

“I’m so sorry about that fellas. Skye here, my foster daughter, was playing with the phone and dialed it by mistake. We had a long talk about it. What do you say, Skye?”

Skye looked up at them emotionlessly, “I’m sorry.”

The first officer nodded and looked satisfied. The second officer was looking at her intently. He had dark skin and dark eyes and a nice face.

“This is your kid?” he asked, glancing at Garrett.

“Foster daughter. Skye’s four.”

Skye was five but she didn’t say anything, just kept her gaze locked on the ground, wishing she could wiggle out of Garrett’s arms and run away with Natasha and never ever come back.

“Hi kiddo,” the officer smiled and Skye met his eyes for a moment. He seemed nice. “Should we take a look around? You know, follow protocol?” The kind officer suggested. Skye thought about the broken phone on the ground and the kicked over chairs and pretzels scattered all over and tried not to panic. If John got in trouble, he would blame her and he would hurt Natasha.

“No, no of course not,” the first officer looked flustered. “I’m so sorry Chief, we’ve bothered you long enough.”

“But...” the second officer looked like he was about to protest but the other officer cut him off.

“Tripp, it’s the Chief’s house. Come on.”

The man did not look pleased but followed his partner’s lead. They quickly exchanged farewells and walked back towards their car. The nice officer looked back at her for a long moment before getting into the police car.

“Thanks for doing your job, boys!” Garrett called after them before closing the door and dropping Skye to the ground. She scrambled away from him but he grabbed her arm.

“No more trouble from you tonight, mutt.”

She tried to fight him but her arms were really sore and she was tired so it didn’t take much for him to push her into a closet. When she regained her footing, she reached for the doorknob only to hear the jingling of keys and the lock click into place.

Skye pushed frantically against the door but it held firm no matter how hard she pulled on the handle so she curled up in the darkness and let the tears she had been holding back fall.

Natasha groaned and peeled her eyes open. Her head was pounding and her right side ached. She must have hit her head pretty hard after being pushed down the stairs. The last thing she remembered was calling 911, Garrett yanking the phone from her hands and crushing it, him pushing her down the stairs, Skye screaming...

Skye .

Natasha sat up quickly, ignoring the dizziness that suddenly washed over her. With an energy she didn’t know she had, she climbed up the basement stairs and tugged at the door.

Locked.

Natasha took a deep breath, trying not to panic. She had to get to Skye.

“Hey! Let me out!” Natasha banged on the door. It was a risky approach because she would rather not get into another fight with John but all that mattered right now was Skye. “Hey!”

The door suddenly swung open and Natasha peered up at the apathetic face of Becky.

“Shut up,” Becky told her before walking away but she left the door open and that was all that really mattered. Natasha darted past her, frantically scanning the kitchen and actively ignoring the pounding in her head. Fortunately, it was empty of John. Unfortunately there was no sign of Skye. Quickly, Natasha ran up the stairs, checking Skye’s bedroom, desperate fear starting to set in as she stared at the empty bed.

Where was John and where was Skye?

She prayed that wherever they were, they weren’t together.

Suddenly, running back through the hall, she heard a muted sound.

“Skye?” Natasha whispered, tracing her steps, yanking on the closet door. It was locked. This door was never usually locked.

“Nattie?”

Natasha thought her heart would break as she heard Skye’s trembling voice.

“It’s okay, you’re going to be okay, I’ll get you out in a second,” Natasha promised her. She raced back down the stairs to the hook where Becky and John kept the keys. Quietly, she climbed up onto the counter and snagged all the keys she could find.

Her hands were shaking so badly she could barely get the keys into the lock but finally she found the right one and yanked the door open. Her little sister rushed into her arms before she even got the door fully open, “Skye, Skye, shhh.”

Skye clung to her as she quietly returned the keys and locked them both into her room. She led her little sister to her bed, sat down, and pulled Skye onto her lap.

“Hey, hey,” Natasha kissed Skye’s forehead, looking her over carefully. There were heavy bruises on the tiny girl’s arms when she pulled her little sister’s shirt off.

“I’m sorry,” Skye sobbed. “I didn’t mean to...”

“Listen, this is not your fault.” Natasha cupped her sister’s cheek, staring into her large beautiful chocolate eyes. “Don’t even think that. John is a horrible mean person and nothing he does is your fault. Do you understand?” It was important that Skye listened to her. Nat used to think that when things like this happened, it was her fault, but she learned that it wasn’t. She didn’t make people do bad things, they did them because they were bad people and when they did do bad things, it wasn’t her fault. She didn’t want Skye blaming herself.

Skye nodded slowly but Natasha was worried about the blank look in her eyes.

“Tell me what you’re thinking?” Natasha rubbed Skye’s back but stopped when her sister flinched when she rubbed over a tender spot on her waist. Natasha wanted to lock John away forever for what he did to Skye.

“You’re hurt.” One of Skye’s small hands reached to touch Natasha, who was suddenly reminded of the various aches and pains all over. The worst was her head. It felt like a giant was stomping on her brain and she thought back to what Mr. Coulson said about head injuries being very serious. She hoped her brain was alright.

“I’ll be okay, I promise. Thank you for looking out for me but the only thing that can hurt me is if you’re hurt.” Natasha pulled Skye closer, the small girl leaning into her. She dropped her voice to a serious tone. “When John is being mean, you have to run and hide, Skye. I’m being serious.”

“He was hurting you,” Skye protested, squirming out of Natasha’s arms to turn and look at her, brown eyes indignant.

“I know you want to protect me kiddo, but I’m your big sister and it’s the big sister’s job to keep her little sister safe.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” Skye’s lip quivered.

“As long as you’re okay, he can’t hurt me, not really,” Natasha repeated firmly, pulling Skye back close to herself.

Skye was worried about Natasha. Usually when Nattie hit her head it would be better by morning but this time it wasn’t. Her sister tried to hide it but Skye could tell that her head was bothering her so she made sure to talk quietly on the way to school so that she didn’t make it worse.

She had made sure to wear long sleeves so that the ugly purple bruises on her arms were covered but her body was sore and she wished that she didn’t have to walk to school today.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Skye whispered.

Natasha put a hand to her forehead and didn’t say anything. Skye knew what her answer would have been anyways. Natasha would have said she was fine even though Skye knew that she wasn’t.

Holding back tears of frustration, Skye led her sister into their school.

She hated this.

She hated how mean John was and how he got away with yelling and hurting them. She hated how icy Becky was towards them. She hated that there was nothing they could do about it and she especially hated the power John held over them. She just wanted to be away from all the bad things. She wanted to be happy with Natasha. Right now, she didn’t even care if she got a mom and dad or not, all she really wanted was to run away with her sister. She didn’t know where they would go or what they would do but anything would be better than where they were right now, right?

Tugging Natasha down the hallway towards their classrooms, Skye felt her sister pull on her hand and turned around in alarm. Natasha was holding a hand to her head and didn’t look too good.

One glance down the hallway told her that both Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May were staring at them and Skye felt her heart pound. They couldn’t know that anything was wrong. If they found out, John would hurt Natasha.

She frantically glanced around and quickly led Natasha towards the bathroom. At least in there they would have some privacy.

Making sure the bathroom door was firmly shut, Skye turned around to see Natasha slide down the wall and collapse onto the floor.

She rushed over to her sister, “Nattie!” Then she remembered that she was supposed to be whispering so she lowered her voice, “Are you okay?”

Skye really knew that something was wrong when Natasha shook her head instead of insisting that she was alright. Natasha was always alright and even when Skye knew that she wasn’t, Natasha always said she was alright.

Even though her eyes were filling up with tears, she forced herself not to cry and crouched down by her sister, “What do I do?”

Natasha was silent for a moment before muttering, “Splash some water onto the ground.”

Skye’s forehead crinkled in confusion, “What?”

Natasha pointed to the sink and even though Skye had no idea what was going on, she obediently turned the sink on and splashed some water onto the ground. When she was done with that, she helplessly turned back to her sister, “Now what?”

Natasha scooted over and sprawled out on the floor before saying, “My head really hurts and I think something’s wrong. Remember when Mr. Coulson said that head injuries were serious?”

Skye had forgotten about that but now that she was thinking about it, she started to feel really worried. Mr. Coulson said that head injuries were serious and what if something was seriously wrong with Natasha?

“I remember Nattie.”

“I think the nurse should look at my head because I don’t feel right. Just go tell someone that I slipped and hit my head. That way they’ll think I got hurt here and not at home. Don’t tell them anything else, okay Skye?”

She nodded and couldn’t keep her tears back any longer. Natasha didn’t look very good and it scared Skye to see her like this. Natasha was always the one who took care of her and even though she was more than willing to take care of her sister, Skye was really frightened.

Natasha gave her a tiny smile, “I’ll be okay, I promise. Now go.”

With one last worried glance at Natasha, she yanked open the bathroom door before rushing out and running towards Mr. Coulson. He was talking to a boy in her class and even though she knew it was rude, she interrupted them and tugged on his hand.

He gave her a worried look, “Are you alright Skye?”

She was crying pretty hard now and she tried to calm down but she kept seeing her big sister lying on the bathroom floor and she couldn’t stop, “No. I mean yes, I mean… I’m a-alright b-but Nattie isn’t.”

Chapter Text

Skye didn’t wait for Mr. Coulson to respond, she just pulled on his hand until he followed her back to the bathroom.

“What happened?”

They were almost to the bathroom and Skye hoped that Natasha hadn’t gotten any worse, “Sh-she slipped and hi-it her head and she d-doesn’t look very good.” Skye was having trouble catching her breath and she hoped that Mr. Coulson was able to understand her.

Kids were starting to stare and gather around but she hardly noticed. Mr. Coulson pulled open the bathroom door and Skye followed him in. Thankfully, Natasha didn’t look like she felt any worse than when Skye had left her but she still looked pretty bad.

Mr. Coulson rushed over to where Natasha was sprawled out on the floor and his hands fluttered over her. He didn’t look like he knew what he was supposed to do for a moment but then he took a deep breath and focused on Natasha, “Skye said that you hit your head.”

Natasha grumbled, “Mhmm.”

Hearing the bathroom door open, Skye looked over her shoulder only to focus back on Natasha when she saw that it was only Mrs. May.

“Can you stand up?”

Skye felt a hand on her shoulder and knew that Mrs. May was just trying to comfort her, she was good like that, but she couldn’t help but flinch away. She tried to cover it up by moving over to Natasha and helping her onto her feet.

Nattie leaned heavily onto her and Skye didn’t really mind, she just forced herself to stand tall and be strong so that she could take care of Natasha for a change.

Mrs. May stepped towards them, “How’re you feeling Natasha?”

Skye felt her irritation spike, “She’s feeling like she just hit her head! Shouldn’t she go to the nurse?” Realizing that she had just shouted in her sister’s ear, she gave Nattie an apologetic look and glared at her teacher. She didn’t care that she liked Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May and that they were nice, she just wanted them to help her and all they were doing was asking dumb questions.

Mrs. May raised an eyebrow in astonishment but Mr. Coulson didn’t look phased by her outburst, “Of course, let’s get you to the nurse.”

He took a step towards them and looked like he was going to take Skye’s place but she shook her head, “I can do it.”

Mr. Coulson stared at her for a second before nodding and moving out of her way so that he could hold open the door. Skye led her sister out and heard Mr. Coulson say, “Will you watch my class until I get back?”

Mrs May tried to be quiet but Skye could still hear her, “She’s my student Phil, I-”

Mr. Coulson cut her off, “Please Mel? Someone needs to watch the rest of our kids.”

Skye didn’t stick around to hear the rest of their conversation, she just led Natasha down the hallway and tried to ignore how quiet her sister was being. Natasha never really talked that much, not like she did, but this silence was different than the good kind of silence. This silence was making Skye nervous.

Deciding that she couldn’t handle the quiet anymore, she started to mutter, “It’s okay, you’ll be alright Nattie,” over and over again until they reached the nurse’s office. Mr. Coulson held the door open for them and ushered them inside. Skye led Nattie onto a cot and the nurse made her way over to them.

“What’ve we got here?”

Skye was busy making sure that Natasha was comfortable so Mr. Coulson answered for her, “Natasha slipped and hit her head in the bathroom.”

The nurse ambled over to the cot and leaned over Natasha. Skye tightened her grip on Nattie’s waist in response.

“Where’d you hit your head, sugar?”

Natasha lifted a hand up and pointed to the left side of her head. The nurse put on some gloves and slowly ran a hand over Nattie’s head. Even though Skye could tell that the nurse was being gentle, she still felt anger rush through her when she brushed a hand over Natasha’s head and her sister flinched.

Skye glared at the nurse, “Be careful!”

The nurse spared her a glance before focusing back on Natasha’s head, “You’ve got a pretty big egg on your head, sugar. You must’ve hit it pretty hard. I’ll get you some ice.”

The nurse walked away and Skye stared after her until she felt her sister gently pat her knee, “I’m okay.”

Skye shook her head and leaned into Natasha’s side, “No you aren’t.”

Nattie stared at her for a moment before letting out a breath, “I will be okay.”

She just leaned further into her sister’s side in response.

The nurse came back and placed a bag of ice on Natasha’s head before instructing her sister to lie down on the cot for a little while. The nurse ushered Skye off the cot and Skye was about to argue until Mr. Coulson put a hand on her shoulder. This time, Skye didn’t flinch away. Instead, she bit her tongue and let Mr. Coulson speak, “Is she alright?”

The nurse glanced at Natasha before shutting the lights off and pushing them out of the room. Skye kept her eyes on her resting sister while the nurse answered, “Hopefully the ice will help with the swelling. I’ll let her rest for a little while before determining if she should go to the hospital for further testing.”

Skye’s eyes widened. Natasha couldn’t go to the hospital! They would see the giant bruise on her side and would figure out that John was being really mean to them and then he would hurt Natasha. Skye couldn’t let that happen.

“She can’t go to the hospital!”

The nurse and Mr. Coulson both turned to her and her teacher crouched down in front of her, “Your sister will be alright Skye.”

He didn’t understand. Stomping her foot, she shook her head, “No! No, no, no!”

The nurse gave her a sharp look, “Hey, do I need to call your parents young lady? You show Mr. Coulson some respect.”

Something in the nurse’s tone made her instinctively shrink back. Mr. Coulson glared at the nurse, “Hey, I’ll handle this. You go take care of Natasha.”

The nurse huffed and walked back into the room and Skye stared at her shoes.

Her right shoelace was untied.

For some reason, seeing her untied shoelace was what made her start to sob.

Natasha was the one who tied her shoes for her. Nattie let her try to tie her shoes even though she knew that Skye had no idea how to do it and then Nattie would tie her shoes for her anyways. Right now, Natasha couldn’t tie her shoe for her because she was lying down in a dark room with ice on her head because John had pushed her down the basement stairs.

Everything was wrong.

Everything was so wrong and nothing felt like it was ever going to be right again and she just wanted her sister to be okay.

She wasn’t aware that Mr. Coulson was trying to get her attention until there was a gentle touch on her shoulder. Trying to stop her tears, she looked up and into his kind face.

He kneeled in front of her, “It’ll be alright Skye.”

She hiccuped and shook her head, “She can’t go to the hospital.”

Mr. Coulson studied her, “If there’s something wrong then she needs to. You don’t want her to get worse, do you?”

Skye didn’t want Natasha to get worse but Mr. Coulson didn’t understand why Nattie couldn’t go to the hospital. And Skye couldn’t tell him why, even though she really wanted to, because if she did, John would hurt Natasha and they would be separated forever.

Mr. Coulson looked at her sympathetically, “Why don’t we wait here until the nurse decides what to do, okay?”

Skye stared at him for a second before nodding.

She was so surprised when Mr. Coulson reached forward and gently wiped the tears from her face that she didn’t protest. She just stood there, stunned, while he ran his thumb over her cheeks and collected her tears.

Sniffling, she felt herself finally start to calm down a little and he gave her a small smile before moving over and sitting with his back against the wall. He patted the space beside him and she sat down next to him.

Skye stared at the people walking by them and after a little while, she couldn’t help but blush as her stomach growled loudly.

Mr. Coulson chuckled, “Hungry?”

She nodded sheepishly.

“When we get back to class, we can have snack time a little early today. Did you bring a snack?”

For some reason, Skye felt embarrassed as she shook her head.

Mr. Coulson tilted his head and looked at her, “Did you bring lunch?”

Suddenly, the uneven grooves in the wall opposite her seemed really interesting. She ignored Mr. Coulson until he gently prodded her, “Skye?”

She let out a breath and shook her head again.

“Did you bring lunch money?”

Tearing her gaze away from the wall, she looked up at her teacher, “I forgot.”

Mr. Coulson studied her for a moment before standing up, “Wait here.”

She watched him walk away and tried not to feel alone as she pressed herself closer to the wall. While Mr. Coulson was gone, she tried to find patterns in the wall and was surprised when her teacher sat back down beside her a couple minutes later with some food in his hand.

He set a granola bar and a Hershey’s kiss on the ground before handing her an apple, “Here.”

She stared at the apple for a moment and her tummy growled at the sight of food. She was so hungry and she couldn’t hold back any longer, she grabbed the apple from his hand and bit into it.

She ate the apple so fast, she barely tasted it and as she reached for the Hershey’s kiss that was sitting in front of her, she remembered that Natasha was hungry too.

Carefully, she peeled the wrapper from the chocolate and made sure to only bite into half of it so that her sister could have the other half. The chocolate tasted really good and she forced herself to actually savor it before she swallowed.

Mr. Coulson raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything as she wrapped the chocolate back up and stuffed it and the granola bar into her pocket for Natasha.

Natasha woke up to a cool hand on her arm.

At first she was disoriented by the dark room until she remembered that she was in the nurse's office. She didn’t even remember falling asleep, all she remembered was the insistent pounding in her head that made it hard to focus on anything else.

The nurse reached forward and took the ice pack off of her head and Natasha let out a relieved breath. Her head still ached but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it was this morning. She felt much, much better.

“How’re you feeling, sugar?”

The nurse was staring at her intently but Nat glanced around the dark room, “Where’s my sister?”

The nurse huffed and moved over to the wall so that she could turn the lights back on, “She’s waiting outside. Lemme take a look at you.”

Sitting up, she tried to sit still as the nurse shone a bright light in her eyes, tested her hearing, and made her do a ridiculous balance test. The tests were annoying but Natasha didn’t argue against them. She had never been this worried about her head before and she needed to make sure she was alright so that Skye wouldn’t worry about her.

The nurse sat back at her desk and Natasha gave her an expectant look, “You don’t have a concussion which is good. Let me call your parents and let them know what’s going on and they’ll determine if they want to take you to the hospital or not.”

Ice splashed through her veins. She had never considered that the nurse would call John and Becky. Nat didn’t know how they would react and she really didn’t want to find out.

Bouncing on her toes, Natasha ignored the dull pain in her head and watched as the nurse pressed a few buttons and brought the phone to her ear.

Natasha held her breath and it felt like an eternity had passed before the nurse hung up the phone and gave her a dismayed look, “No answer.” The nurse pushed a piece of paper towards her and pointed to a string of numbers on it, “This is the correct phone number, right?”

She peered over and let out a sigh of relief when she saw her home phone number written on the paper rather than Becky or John’s cell phone number. Natasha knew for a fact that their phone’s battery had died a couple of months ago and neither John nor Becky had bothered replacing the battery. There was no way that the nurse was going to be able to reach her foster parents.

“Yeah, that’s the right number.”

The nurse dialed it again but nothing happened, “I’ll write you a note to give to your parents alright?”

She nodded and waited until the nurse offered her a small piece of paper, which she immediately stuffed into her pocket. She didn’t care that it was getting wrinkled, she wasn’t going to show it to anyone anyways, “Can I go?”

She was already making her way towards the door, she really wanted to see Skye, and barely paused when the nurse said, “Take it easy today and if you start to feel nauseous, tell your teacher immediately.”

Nodding halfheartedly, she quickened her pace. Her head throbbed with each step she took but this was a familiar sort of pain. It was dull enough that she knew she was going to be alright and that made the pain easier to handle.

As soon as she stepped out the door, a little body crashed against her and she had to take a step back so that she didn’t fall over.

Mr. Coulson said, “Be careful Skye,” but Natasha didn’t pay him any attention, she just hugged her sister close to her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

Skye was pressed close to her and didn’t seem to be letting go, which Natasha didn’t mind. Her little sister looked up at her with her big brown eyes and Nat could tell that she had been crying. Before Skye could ask, she gave her a comforting grin, “I told you I was okay.”

Her sister just whimpered and pushed her face against Nat’s chest, “I was scared.”

Her heart clenched. Nat knew that they both looked after each other and had each others backs but as the big sister, she felt a responsibility for Skye. She wanted to keep her happy and safe and so far, she hadn’t really been able to do either of those things.

Pulling Skye closer to her, she made sure to avoid her bruises, “I’m sorry.”

Skye shook her head, “It’s not your fault.”

Her little sister took a step back and studied her, “The nurse said you were alright?”

“Yep.”

Skye let out a breath and Natasha could visibly see her relax, “Good.”

Natasha had completely forgotten that Mr. Coulson was there until he cleared his throat, “How’re you feeling Natasha? Do you need to go home? I can call your parents.”

Skye’s thumb made its way into her mouth and Nat couldn’t find it in herself to stop her. She felt Skye’s other hand grab her own and shook her head at Mr. Coulson, “No, I’m alright.”

Mr. Coulson looked her over before slowly nodding, “Okay. Ready to go back to class?”

She nodded and they both followed him back to their hallway. Mr. Coulson walked slightly in front of them, he kept looking back at them and Natasha tried to ignore him.

Skye let go of her hand and reached into her pocket, “Look what I got!”

Her little sister handed her a granola bar and half a Hershey’s kiss. Natasha glanced at Mr. Coulson before leaning in and whispering, “Where’d you get that?”

Skye shrugged and spoke around her thumb, “Mr. Coulson gave it to me. He gave me an apple too but I ate that already.”

Skye sounded a little guilty and Nat felt mad that her little sister felt bad for eating something when she was hungry. It wasn’t like it was her fault, it was John and Becky’s.

Natasha gratefully took the granola bar, unwrapped it, and broke it in half. She gave Skye the bigger half and wouldn’t take it back when Skye protested, “But I already ate!”

Shoving the granola bar into Skye’s hand, Natasha shook her head, “I’m not even that hungry.”

Skye gave her a skeptical look but Natasha raised an eyebrow and didn’t budge until Skye started nibbling on the bar. Natasha wolfed down her half of the granola bar and this time, Skye stubbornly refused to eat the other half of the Hershey’s kiss so Natasha did. It tasted amazing.

She could still taste the chocolate in her mouth when they stopped in front of her classroom door. Natasha could hear Mrs. May voice and it sounded like she was teaching math. Natasha hated math. She didn’t even feel bad that she had missed part of her class.

Mr. Coulson gave her a smile and said, “Alright, let Mrs. May know that you’re alright. Take it easy today, especially during recess and if you start to feel worse, tell Mrs. May.” He paused and leaned down a little bit so that he didn’t seem so tall, “I’m glad you’re alright. I was worried about you.”

Natasha didn’t really know what to say to that. Mr. Coulson seemed nice and Skye really liked him but she barely talked to him and when she did, she was never very polite. She didn’t know why he would be worried about her.

Nat gave Mr. Coulson an uncertain look and focused on Skye so that she didn’t have to figure out what to say to him. Her little sister’s thumb was still firmly in her mouth and Natasha knew that sucking her thumb made Skye feel better but it was time for her to go to class so she reached forward and gently pulled Skye’s thumb out of her mouth. Skye gave her a sheepish look and stepped forward for a hug.

Natasha squeezed her, not as tight as she normally would have due to the bruises all over Skye’s body, and Skye hugged her back before standing on her tiptoes and kissing her on the cheek, “Be careful okay? I love you.”

Natasha cracked a grin, “That’s what I always tell you.”

Skye stepped back and smiled, “Yeah well you’re the one who needs to be careful today, not me.”

Unfortunately, that seemed to be true.

Tapping Skye’s nose gently, she said, “I’ll be careful if you will.”

Skye nodded and took a step towards Mr. Coulson, “Okay, I’ll see you at recess.”

Natasha nodded and watched as Skye waved at her and started to follow Mr. Coulson towards their classroom. She was about to open the door the her class when Skye made a distressed noise and she turned around to see Skye running back to her, “Wait! My shoe’s untied!”

Crouching down, she reached forward to tie Skye’s shoe and didn’t even bat an eye when Skye crouched down beside her and said, “I wanna try.”

Breathing out a light laugh, she watched Skye tangle her shoelaces together for a moment before giving up and letting her tie her shoes for her. Once she was done, they both stood up and Skye gave her a real smile. Natasha could tell that even though Skye was still worried about her, she felt better than before.

Her sister waved at her again before running back to Mr. Coulson, who had been staring at them. Once Skye caught up to him, he gave her one last look before turning around and leading Skye to his classroom.

Natasha breathed in deeply, put her hand on the doorknob, and listened to Mrs. May’s voice float through the door.

Nat knew that her teacher was going to ask her about her head and what happened. Mrs. May seemed to know when she was lying and she didn’t know if she would believe her story. And she really needed Mrs. May to believe her because if she didn’t and she told someone, John would hurt Skye and there was no way that she was going to let that happen.

After straightening her spine and making sure her face was blank, she nodded her head slightly, ignoring the ache that that caused, and turned the doorknob.

Chapter Text

Skye had been distracted the whole morning after they had gotten back from the nurse’s office. Even though she knew that her sister was alright, she was still worried about her and was scared that someone would find out that Nattie had been faking it when she said that she slipped and fell in the bathroom.

She knew that she wasn’t being a very good student but Mr. Coulson was being really nice and didn’t seem to mind, so she only felt a little guilty. Mr. Coulson had given everyone a vowel worksheet to practice on and they were supposed to be working by themselves until recess but Skye was just staring at her paper. She didn’t notice Mr. Coulson until he pulled a chair up next to her, sat down, and cleared his throat.

Not even bothering to pretend to be focusing on her schoolwork, Skye turned to face him. He gave her a smile, “How’re you doing Skye?”

She wasn’t doing very well and it made her sad that she couldn’t tell Mr. Coulson what was wrong so she just shrugged in response.

Her teacher just nodded at her and gave her a sympathetic look, “Are you thinking about your sister?”

Twirling her pencil around her fingers she said, “Yeah.”

“Do you want me to call your parents? If you’re still worried about Natasha’s head, I can tell them that they might want to take her to the hospital to make sure she’s alright.”

Mr. Coulson couldn’t call John and Becky, that would just make everything worse, “No! I mean, no thank you.”

Studying her for a moment, Mr. Coulson pointed to her untouched worksheet, “You need some help with this?”

Skye shrugged again and Mr. Coulson scooted his chair a little closer so that he could help her with her worksheet. Even though she tried to focus on what her teacher was saying, she just couldn’t. All she could think about was what had happened last night and how scared she had been when Natasha was lying crumpled on the bathroom floor this morning.

Even though there had been a lot of bad things that had happened last night, she couldn’t help but focus on one thing in particular. John had always called her names, he especially liked to call her dumb, but last night he had called her something he never had before. He had called her a mutt and she had no idea what it meant. She could tell that it probably wasn’t a nice thing, John was hardly ever nice, but she wanted to know what that word meant. It was really bugging her.

She glanced at Mr. Coulson, who was still trying to explain her vowel worksheet even though it was obvious she wasn’t paying attention, and wondered if he knew what it meant.

She spoke up when he was in the middle of a sentence, “Mr. Coulson?”

He didn’t seem upset that she had interrupted him, “Yeah?”

Gathering up her courage, she said, “What does ‘mutt’ mean?”

Her teacher was silent for a few long moments while he studied her and then he said, “I’m pretty sure that people use that word to describe a dog that’s a mixed breed. Why?”

Skye didn’t know what that meant, “What does mixed breed mean?”

“That means that it’s not a purebred.”

Skye felt her eyes fill up with tears when she realized what Mr. Coulson was talking about. Not only did John compare her to a dog , he was making fun of the way she looked and her race. She knew that her skin wasn’t as pale as Nattie’s and her eyes didn’t look like Becky or John’s, that she looked more like Mrs. May than her foster parents, but she didn’t think that was a bad thing until now.

Mr. Coulson was studying her and he tilted his head, “Where did you hear that word Skye?”

Staying silent, she worked hard to make sure that the tears in her eyes didn’t fall.

“Skye? Did someone call you that?”

Skye ignored him and stared at her hair. She wished that her hair was blonde instead of dark brown. Maybe if her eyes were blue instead of brown, John wouldn’t have called her that name. She hated her hair and her eyes and her skin.

Mr. Coulson leaned closer to her and lowered his voice, “If someone at school called you that, it’s important that you tell me who it was so that they can be punished. It’s unacceptable for someone to call you that name.”

Finally, Skye cleared her throat and lied through her teeth, “No one called me that, I just heard it and didn’t know what it meant.”

She didn’t know if Mr. Coulson believed her but right now, she didn’t really care.

Mr. Coulson studied her for a moment before he finally let out a breath and nodded, “Okay. It’s time for recess, are you ready to go?”

She nodded and watched as Mr. Coulson stood up and called for the rest of the class’s attention. He ushered them towards the door and since she was the line leader, she was at the very front. Mr. Coulson opened the door and she followed him to the playground. As she walked behind him, she thought about what he said.

Mr. Coulson said that it wasn’t okay for someone to call her that mean word. That meant he didn’t think that she was a mutt, right?

Mr. Coulson was nice and Skye didn’t think that he would ever call her a mean name.

She liked Mr. Coulson.

Even though she had only been in his class for a few weeks, she knew that he was good, not bad like John. He always smiled at her and helped her with her schoolwork. He was super nice and always made her feel special, like she was important, not dumb like John said she was. Skye didn’t have a lot of friends, actually, she didn’t really have any friends, but she wondered if maybe Mr. Coulson would want to be her friend.

Quickening her pace so that she was walking side by side with Mr. Coulson, she hopefully looked up at him, “Mr. Coulson? Do you have a lot of friends?”

If he had a lot of friends, he probably wouldn’t really want to be her friend because he had a lot of his own.

Mr. Coulson smiled down at her, “I have a few.” He paused and considered her, “Actually, I think you might have met one of them. My friend, Tripp, is a police officer and he went to your house last night. Did you see him?”

Skye remembered John calling the nice police officer that had said hi to her last night Tripp. She was relieved that Mr. Coulson’s friend wasn’t the mean one.

“Yeah, I saw him. He seemed nice.”

Mr. Coulson’s smile widened a little, “He’s very nice. Mrs. May and I have been friends with him for a long time. I think you would really like him.”

Skye could tell that Mr. Coulson really liked Tripp and she felt a little jealous. Mr. Coulson already had a good friend, now he wouldn’t want to be her friend.

She didn’t respond so Mr. Coulson spoke up again, “Why did Tripp have to go to your house?”

Skye scrunched her nose up, “What?”

“Tripp said that someone at your house called 911, that’s why he had to go see if everything was okay. Was everything okay?”

They made it to the playground and the rest of her class fanned out and started running around the playground but she stayed by Mr. Coulson’s side. She remembered what John had told the police officers last night and repeated it so that Mr. Coulson wouldn’t be suspicious, “I accidently pressed the buttons when I was playing with the phone. I didn’t mean to.”

Squinting her eyes, she looked over to where Natasha was usually waiting for her by the fence but she couldn’t see her sister. She scanned the big kid playground and finally saw her sister’s bright red hair but Nattie was sitting by Mrs. May rather than making her way over to her like she usually did.

Deciding to change the subject so that Mr. Coulson would stop asking questions, she pointed to her sister, “Why is Natasha sitting by Mrs. May?”

Mr. Coulson looked over to where she was pointing and said, “Mrs. May probably doesn’t want your sister to get hurt more than she already is so she’s making her sit down during recess.”

But… if Natasha was way over there, Skye wouldn’t be able to talk to her until school was over and that was too far away.

She needed to see her sister.

Looking up at her teacher, she quietly said, “Um, can I… can I go see if she’s really okay?”

Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May didn’t like it when Skye or Natasha left their respective playgrounds but her teacher must have seen how desperate she was because his face softened and he nodded slightly, “Okay, but only for a few moments.”

Skye eagerly nodded and was about to run towards her sister but Mr. Coulson held out a hand to stop her. He looked over to one of the other kindergarten teachers and asked her to watch his class before looking back at her and motioning her forward. Skye didn’t question why he was going with her, that was probably a rule or something, she just cared that she was going to be able to talk to Natasha.

They quietly made their way towards her sister and Skye watched as all the other kids ran around and had fun with their friends. Sometimes she wished she was normal like her classmates.

Natasha saw her coming and stood up. Her sister took a few steps toward her but Mrs. May said something to her and Skye could see the annoyance on Natasha’s face but her sister stopped walking and stayed where she was.

Skye picked up her pace and a few moments later, she was jogging towards her sister and throwing her arms around her. Nattie easily caught her and wrapped her in a tight hug. Skye took a moment to be comforted by being so close to her sister before taking a step back and studying Natasha, “Are you still okay?”

Her sister nodded and Skye noted how much better Natasha looked. Her eyes were more alert and her skin wasn’t as pale as it had been this morning.

Thinking about Natasha’s pale skin made her think of her own and that made her think about what John had called her.

Nattie must have noticed that she was feeling bad because her sister stepped close to her and lowered her voice, “What’s wrong?”

Skye considered telling Natasha that she was fine but her sister would have known that she was lying and Skye didn’t like lying to her sister, “Do you remember what John called me last night?”

Natasha looked confused for a moment before shaking her head, “What’d he say?”

Taking a deep breath, Skye glanced around and saw that Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May were standing close and talking to each other, before whispering, “He called me a… a mutt.”

It felt wrong to say that word and she hated it.

Natasha didn’t say anything for a moment so Skye tried to explain, “It means-”

Cutting her off by putting a hand on her shoulder, Natasha gave her a gentle look but Skye could see the anger in her eyes. Skye knew her sister well enough to know that that anger wasn’t directed towards her, “I know what that means Skye and you’re not it. You’re not .”

Skye really wanted to believe her sister, “But he’s right isn’t he? I don’t look like you or him or Becky. I’m-”

Her sister interrupted her again, “You don’t look like us but that doesn’t give him the right to call you that name. You’re beautiful and kind and perfect the way you are.”

Natasha was being really intense and Skye could tell that her sister really wanted her to believe what she was saying but Skye wasn’t sure.

Natasha leaned down so that they were face to face, “Skye, you’re perfect the way you are. Say it.”

Skye looked into her sister’s eyes and decided that Natasha might be right but if she was perfect the way she was, why did John hate her so much? Even though she was doubting Nattie, she did what she said, “I’m perfect the way I am.”

“Good. John is mean and a bully and you shouldn’t listen to what he says. Have I ever lied to you before?”

Skye immediately shook her head. Natasha always told her the truth, even if she didn’t like it.

Natasha gave her a tiny grin, “That’s right, I don’t lie to you and I’m telling the truth. You’re perfect the way you are.”

Skye was about to respond but Mr. Coulson said, “Okay Skye, it’s time to go back to our playground.”

Standing on her tiptoes, she pressed a kiss to Natasha’s cheek and waved goodbye before following her teacher back towards the kindergarten playground.

Skye wasn’t sure if her sister was right about her being perfect the way she was but Mr. Coulson never made her feel bad for being who she was. On the way back, she looked up at her teacher and wondered if he would want to be her friend even though he already had some of his own. Telling herself that the worst that could happen would be that he would say no, and that would not only be terrible but embarrassing , she decided to just ask him, “Mr. Coulson? Will you be my friend?”

Her teacher quickly looked down at her and he smiled widely, “I’d love to be your friend.”

She grinned back at him and felt happiness rush through her. She didn’t have any friends other than Natasha but Nattie was her sister so that didn’t really count. Mr. Coulson was her first friend and she was so happy that she forgot about what John had called her and Nattie’s head injury for a few moments.

Mr. Coulson lightly laughed and Skye didn’t even think about it, she just reached forward and held onto his hand with her own.

Melinda watched as Natasha leaned back in her chair, eyes closing briefly. They were supposed to be working on their journals, however Natasha had barely written a sentence. The girl was obviously in pain and Melinda felt a wave of frustration wash over her. Natasha should be at home resting. She would send her right back to the nurse, but knew the only reason Natasha wasn’t at home was probably because the nurse had been unable to contact her parents.

Melinda May wasn’t dumb. She knew something was going on with Natasha and Skye. Maybe it was just the fact that they were foster kids, or maybe it was something at home, she didn’t know. The fact that there had been a 911 call placed the night before only made May more suspicious, although Tripp had sent them a brief text telling them everything appeared to be alright and that he would talk to them more later.

Foster kids .

She thought about the papers sitting on their table at home, awaiting signatures. Her heart began to beat a little faster as she pictured the bed up in their guest room, imagining a little one sleeping in it.

Later . She forced herself to push the thought away, instead focusing on her class. A couple students were starting to fidget and most had put their pencils down.

“Alright class, put your journals away and then we’ll have free time in the library,” Melinda announced, smiling slightly at the wave of excitement that passed through her students. She loved their enthusiasm for books.

As they walked quietly through the hall, Melinda noticed that Natasha was lagging behind. She was about to call to her when she noticed that they were passing Phil’s classroom and Natasha was trying to peer inside.

Even while probably in pain, Natasha was looking out for her little sister.

It was an incredible loyalty that Melinda had been observing over the past couple of weeks and still never failed to be amazed at. The two girls’ dedication to each other was unlike anything Melinda had ever seen before. They were obviously not biologically related, and she knew that Skye at least was a foster kid, Natasha possibly was as well although she had never said anything about it before. She certainly didn’t look like Rebecca and John Garrett.

Yet, she had never seen a stronger sisterly bond in all her years of teaching.

Soon they were in the library, her fourth graders happily scattering to pick out books and sit down and read.

Except Natasha.

The redhead had made a beeline towards one of the old beaten up couches and practically burrowed into it.

“How are you feeling?” Melinda carefully sat down beside her, not missing the way Natasha moved slightly away.

“Fine.” Natasha’s face was set in a blank expression and Melinda almost wanted to throw a book at the window. She had been staring at that same face for weeks . The only person who seemed to get emotion from Natasha was Skye.

“It’s okay to admit you’re not okay,” Melinda leaned back into the couch. Natasha was silent, green eyes only glancing briefly at her. “Maybe you’re worried that it will scare Skye?”

She was probably overstepping and her heart sank as she saw Natasha stiffen.

“She shouldn’t have to worry about me.”

Melinda turned to look at Natasha, eyes widening slightly with surprise. Natasha was refusing to look at her and her arms were crossed over her chest but she had engaged .

Melinda May had gotten a full sentence with emotion from Natasha Romanoff.

She took a deep breath, treading carefully, “I think she’s going to worry no matter what. Skye loves you a lot. And I can tell you love her a lot too.”

“I do,” Natasha’s voice was slightly defensive but it didn’t bother Melinda at all.

“I never had any siblings but I always wished I had a sister,” she said conversationally. “It was mostly just me and my mom.”

Natasha wasn’t looking at her but May could tell she was listening because when she stopped, Natasha spoke up.

“Sisters can tell each other anything,” Natasha glanced at May. “They always know what’s going on with each other.”

“That sounds like a very beautiful relationship,” May smiled, not missing the way Natasha had relaxed slightly, no longer holding her form rigid. “Have you and Skye always been sisters?”

Natasha frowned slightly, body tensing again, and for a moment Melinda was worried she was going to be shut out again.

Maybe it was the fact that she wasn’t feeling well, or that the couch was pretty cozy and the library was nice and quiet, but Natasha answered her question.

“She came to my foster home this summer.” Natasha’s green eyes slid back to look at her and Melinda kept her face in a neutral expression despite her surprise. “But we’re forever sisters,” the redhead added quickly, her voice containing a defensive edge.

“I can tell,” Melinda smiled.

She wanted to ask about a million more questions but she knew she was going to have to take it slow. The conversation she had just had with Natasha seemed small but for her it was a monumental accomplishment. Different children trusted differently and May knew that she was still earning Natasha’s.

Melinda’s eyes fell on a book lying on a table.

“I have an idea.” She quickly grabbed the book.

Natasha sighed and reached to take the book, obviously not actually wanting to read.

“Nope,” Melinda pulled the book. “Your head is hurting, so I’m going to read it aloud.”

Natasha’s eyes flickered with surprise before hardening.

“I’m not a baby,” she frowned.

“I’m not saying you are,” Melinda raised an eyebrow. “We read stories together in class and my mom read to me until I was thirteen.”

Natasha’s eyes narrowed slightly but then she relaxed back into the couch and closed her eyes, looking too tired to argue.

“Fine.”

Melinda smiled and turned to the book.

“Matilda, by Roald Dahl....”

“Bye Skye! I’ll see you tomorrow!” Phil waved at the little girl who was beginning to walk away with her sister. To his surprise, Skye turned around and ran back to him.

“Thanks for being my friend,” she whispered before giving him a hug and racing back to Natasha.

Phil watched the two of them make their way down the hall and disappear out the door, trying to get ahold of his emotions.

Skye was quickly making her way into his heart.

It wasn’t that she was she most well behaved kid, or even the smartest. In fact, Skye was one of his most difficult children. She barely socialized, was easily distracted, and sometimes had violent outbursts. But he was falling hard for her and her beautiful dark eyes and little shy smile. He saw the way she watched her sister, the way she tried really hard on her homework even though she was a little behind. He saw how she stood up firmly for what she thought was right. They were working on her issues, he was gaining her trust, and he was seeing little improvements here and there in class.

Quickly, his smile disappeared as he thought about Skye’s question about the word mutt.

Phil Coulson was not an angry man but thinking about that made his blood boil. He had seen the way Skye’s eyes had filled with tears when he had explained what the word meant. Someone had called her that name and it was so incredibly inappropriate that Phil almost wanted to question every single child on the playground and make sure it hadn’t come from their school.

“Tripp’s going to go grocery shopping with us, we’re going to meet him there.”

Phil turned to find May beside him.

“Right. We should go.”

They made it all the way to the car before Phil’s thoughts burst out of his lips.

“Something isn’t right.” He turned to his wife, blue eyes shining with worry.

Chapter Text

Melinda May examined a tomato carefully, turning the round fruit around in her hand.

“Does it really matter if I’m going to cut it up for pasta sauce?” Tripp complained, practically slumped over the grocery cart and whining like a little kid.

“If you want to learn how to cook, you need to learn it right,” Phil backed his wife up.

“I know how to cook. And since when does Melinda like cooking?” Tripp murmured under his breath and was quickly rewarded with a whack to the side of the head with a bag of marshmallows.

“If you begin with quality ingredients, you have a slightly better chance of not making something that tastes like crap,” May quirked an eyebrow and tossed the fruit at Tripp, who barely caught it in time.

“Alright. You can stop putting up the act,” Tripp grabbed a bag for the tomato.

“What act?” Phil cocked his head.

“I know you’re both dying to ask me what happened last night with the 911 call at Garrett’s house.” Tripp set the bag into the grocery cart and started examining the selection of fresh basil.

Melinda exchanged a look with Phil.

Quickly deciding it wasn’t worth it to even attempt denying that claim, she cleared her throat, “Please tell us, Tripp.”

“I got there, to his house, and he came to the door holding the little one...”

“Holding who?” Phil dropped the carrot he was examining.

“Skye, the four-year-old...”

“Skye’s five,” Phil corrected him.

“Oh.” Tripp paused. “Well Chief said she was four.”

Melinda and Phil exchanged a puzzled look. How did someone forget how old their kid was?

“Apparently Skye had been playing with the phone and accidentally dialed 911,” Tripp shrugged, however his expression was one of concern.

“You don’t fully believe it,” Phil examined Tripp’s face.

“I don’t know.” Tripp shook is head. “Something seemed wrong, I can’t put my finger on it.”

“Where was Natasha?” Melinda spoke up. “She’s got red hair, green eyes...”

Tripp shook his head. “I didn’t see any sign of another kid. I was with Stockwell and I suggested that we follow procedure and take a look around but it was Chief’s house so he said that we should just go. He’s my supervising officer.” Tripp rubbed the back of his neck. “I just... looking into the kiddo’s eyes, they just looked...empty, I guess. I can’t shake the feeling something was wrong.”

They were silent for a moment. Melinda knew more about Natasha than Skye but whenever she saw the little girl at school or around her sister, Skye always seemed lively. Not empty.

“Today was a rough day at school for the girls,” Phil finally commented. “But I think we made progress with them. Maybe we’ll be able to get them to talk more about themselves.”

“Maybe.” May wasn’t convinced. She could tell Natasha was hiding plenty of secrets that she wasn’t going to be telling anytime soon.

Phil gave Tripp an imploring look, “Could you-”

Their friend cut him off by raising a hand, “Yeah, yeah, I’ll keep an eye out for anything strange.”

Melinda reached past him, grabbed some fresh basil, and handed it to him, “Thank you Tripp.”

She hoped he understood how grateful she was. A thought occurred to her, “Hey, you have tomorrow off, right?”

Tripp nodded, “Yeah.”

“Would you come in and talk to mine and Phil’s classes? Maybe talk to them about, you know, stranger danger, when to call 911, what to do when they’re being hurt…”

Her friend studied her for a few seconds before relenting, “Yeah, of course.”

Phil watched his wife pace around the room with her phone to her ear. He could tell by her clenched fists and strained voice that she was annoyed.

“I understand that you’re legally obligated to keep files confidential but she’s a student of mine and I’m concerned-”

It seemed like the person on the other end of the line had cut her off and Phil knew from personal experience that that was not something you wanted to do to Melinda May.

He watched her ground her teeth and wait for the person to stop talking before saying, “Why can’t you just tell me-”

The person cut Mel off again and he saw her eyes flash before she spoke softly, “No, no thank you for your time. You were so helpful.”

His wife hung up and flung her phone onto the couch before collapsing next to him. She put her elbows on her knees, leaned forward a little, and rested her head on her hands, “They won’t tell me anything about Natasha or Skye’s past. They wouldn’t tell me about any complaints made, or hospital visits, or literally anything that would be helpful.”

It had all started with a harmless Google search.

They had just wanted to see what the internet had to say about John and Rebecca Garrett. All they had found was articles on John’s achievements as a cop and their wedding announcement. When that had gotten them nowhere, they had tried to step it up a notch but all of their calls had fallen through.

Phil reached forward and put a comforting hand on May’s back, “I think we should report this.”

His wife sighed and turned to him, “I know… I just don’t want to make things worse for them. But you’re right, we need to report this.”

He thought of all the bumps and bruises he’d seen from the girls since school had started and knew the right thing to do would be to report his suspicions. An investigation would be launched and if there was anything wrong going on in the Garrett household, the girls would be taken away from there. If their suspicions were wrong, then everything would be fine and he would back off but he didn’t think they were wrong about this.

Regardless, they had a legal obligation as mandatory reporters.

Phil just wanted Skye and Natasha to be safe and happy and loved and if it didn’t seem like they were getting those things from the Garrett’s, then they shouldn’t be living with them.

Picking up May’s phone from where it was wedged between the cushions, he handed it to her, “You call the principal and let her know what’s going on and I’ll call Child Protective Services.”

Natasha knew that something was wrong when Skye tugged on her hand and stopped walking towards her classroom.

Glancing around the hallway, Nat couldn’t see anything out of place, “What’s wrong?”

Skye pointed to the guy talking to Mr. Coulson, “Do you see that man?”

Nodding, Nat moved so that she was standing in front of her sister, “Yeah, I see him.”

Leaning in close, Skye whispered, “He’s the cop who came to our house when you called 911.”

Whipping around, Natasha studied the cop. He didn’t look like a cop. He wasn’t even wearing a uniform. They guy was smiling at Mr. Coulson and they were both chatting animatedly, “Are you sure Skye?”

Her little sister nodded, “I’m sure. I remember his face. He’s Mr. Coulson’s friend.”

What was a cop doing here?

She put a hand on Skye’s arm, “Don’t say anything to him alright? Everything will be fine.”

Natasha tried to believe her own words but it was hard. Everything seemed to be falling apart. John was getting meaner and Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson didn’t seem to be believing any of their stories. All she wanted was to stay with Skye and they were trying to ruin everything.

Skye’s thumb made its way into her mouth and Nat didn’t bother to say anything about it. She knew it made Skye feel better. Her sister glanced behind her to where Mr. Coulson and the cop were talking and spoke around her thumb, “What if they ask me questions?”

Putting a gentle hand on her sister’s chin, she made Skye look at her, “If they ask you questions, tell them what we’ve been telling everyone else: We love living with Becky and John, everything is great at home, you got hurt playing soccer with me, and I fell in the bathroom yesterday.”

Skye nodded uncertainly and Nat leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead, “Everything will be fine.”

Maybe if she said it enough times, it would be true.

Taking a deep breath, she held onto the hand that wasn’t currently in Skye’s mouth and led her down the hallway and towards Mr. Coulson. When they were standing in front of her teacher and his friend, they both turned to them and Mr. Coulson smiled, “Good morning girls.”

She just stared at him but Skye grinned around her thumb and said, “Hi.”

Reaching over, Nat pulled Skye’s thumb out of her mouth and her little sister blushed a little.

Ignoring the two grown-ups in front of her, she pulled Skye into a hug. Her little sister squeezed her tight and stood on her tiptoes to place a kiss on her cheek. Nat flicked one of Skye’s braids over her shoulder, “Be careful okay? I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Natasha gently pushed Skye past Mr. Coulson and his cop friend and into the classroom so that she wouldn’t have to speak to them alone. Glancing at the adults one last time, she quickly turned away from them and made her way to Mrs. May.

For some reason, it felt weird to see her teacher today. Yesterday she had actually talked to her, and Nat didn’t talk to anyone who wasn’t Skye. It felt weird that Mrs. May now knew about some of her thoughts and Natasha didn’t know what to make of that

Mrs. May had read to her yesterday. Part of Natasha hated it. It made her think that Mrs. May thought of her as a baby when she wasn’t, while another part of her had kind of liked it. Mrs. May read to her class a lot but this time, she was reading to her and only her. No one had ever sat down and read her a story just because they wanted her to enjoy it.

Natasha didn’t know how to feel about Mrs. May so she decided to not feel anything at all until she figured it out.

As she got closer to Mrs. May, her teacher smiled at her, “Hi Natasha, how’re you today?”

“I’m fine.” She shouldered past her teacher and when she saw the twinge of disappointment and sadness in Mrs. May’s eyes, she convinced herself that she was just imagining it.

Usually, Skye liked being in school. She liked being away from Becky and John, she liked that Mr. Coulson was her teacher, and she liked that she could pretend that she was a normal kid for seven hours each day.

She didn’t like school today.

Today, she was nervous and it felt like there were butterflies in her tummy as she watched Mr. Coulson and his friend, Tripp, talk right outside the door.

She stared at them until the bell rang and Mr. Coulson ushered the last kid into his classroom. Everyone took their seat and Mr. Coulson smiled at them, “Hello class!”

They all chorused, “Hello Mr. Coulson!” back to him and his smile grew bigger.

“Today I have a special surprise for you. My friend here, Officer Triplett, is a police officer and he’s here to talk to you about safety.”

The class started murmuring excitedly to each other and Skye watched as Officer Triplett waved to the class. Mr. Coulson waited for them to quiet down before continuing, “We’re going to be visiting Mrs. May’s fourth grade class so that he can speak to them too so could you all please line up in front of the door?”

They were going to Mrs. May’s class? Natasha was in there. Maybe today wasn’t going to be as bad as she thought it would be.

Impatiently, she waited for her class to file into a neat line and once they did, they all made their way down the hallway and when Mr. Coulson opened Mrs. May’s door, they went inside. All of the fourth graders were already sitting on a rug and Skye zeroed in on her sister.

Natasha was sitting cross legged on the rug, a little isolated from the rest of her classmates, and Skye waved at her. Her big sister waved back at her and when Mr. Coulson told them to go join Mrs. May’s students on the rug, Skye scurried over to her sister and sat down beside her.

The butterflies in her tummy settled down a little with Natasha by her side.

She didn’t have a chance to say anything to her sister because once everyone was sitting down, Officer Triplett was standing in front of them and talking, “Hello everyone, I’m Officer Triplett and-”

He stopped talking when a kid from her class, Derek, raised his hand, “You’re a police officer?”

Tripp nodded and Derek continued, “Are you a good police officer?”

“I think I’m a pretty great police officer.”

Derek looked like he was about to ask another question but Mr. Coulson spoke up, “Why don’t we let Officer Triplett speak and then if you have any questions, you can ask him after, okay Derek?”

Her classmate nodded glumly and Officer Triplett continued talking, “I’m here to talk to you about safety. Now I’m sure everyone here knows what number they’re supposed to call if they’re scared or in trouble. Can anyone tell me what that number is?”

Everyone raised their hands except for her and Nattie. Skye knew that you were supposed to call 911 but she didn’t want to get called on and have to speak in front of everyone. She suspected Nattie didn’t raise her hand because she just didn’t really care about what Officer Triplett was saying.

Officer Triplett called on a fourth grade girl wearing a pretty blue dress, “You’re supposed to call 911.”

He nodded, “Very good. If you ever feel scared or if someone is threatening you or you’re lost, you can call 911 and we’ll help you out.”

Tripp paused and looked around awkwardly, like he wasn’t really sure what else to say, and Mrs. May cleared her throat, “You were going to talk about stranger danger.”

Officer Triplett gave her a grateful look, “Right.” He launched into a big speech about not talking to strangers and how they should never get into a car with someone they don’t know. He told them that if anyone ever approached them and they didn’t know them that they shouldn’t talk to them and should walk away. Skye knew all of this already.

The longer he talked, the more she leaned against her sister, until Natasha was supporting all her weight and was running a hand up and down her arm.

Officer Triplett was talking on and on and Skye kind of felt bad for tuning him out but she did it anyways. She only focused on what he was saying when he started talking about people hurting other people.

“It’s never okay for someone to hurt you. Never . If someone ever hurts you or is hurting you, it’s very important that you call the police so that we can help you.”

A girl from Skye’s class raised her hand, Officer Triplett pointed at her, and she straightened up before saying, “Why would somebody hurt us?”

Officer Tripp answered her, “That’s a good question. It’s hard to say why someone would want to hurt you but it’s important to know what if someone does harm you, it’s never your fault.”

He stared right at her when he said this and Skye grabbed onto Natasha’s knee. Why was he looking at her like that?

He kept talking, “If you call the police when someone is hurting you, we’ll be able to stop them and make sure you’re safe. And sometimes, the person hurting you is someone you know, it isn’t always a stranger. It could be a friend, a classmate, a family member, even your parents. Whoever it is, we can help.”

A girl in her class raised her hand and didn’t wait to be called on, “My mommy and daddy would never hurt me!”

A couple kids chimed in with their agreement and Skye looked over to her sister. Nattie’s eyes were hard and Skye was about to ask her if Officer Triplett would really be able to help but her sister sharply shook her head once so Skye stayed quiet.

“Then you are very lucky. Some people aren’t as lucky.”

Officer Triplett stopped talking and Mr. Coulson stepped forward, “Does anyone have any questions?”

A bunch of hands shot up and Skye let them fade to the background as she whispered to her sister, “Do you think he could help?”

Natasha didn’t even consider her question, she just immediately shook her head, “No.”

“Why not?”

Jerking her head towards Officer Triplett, she said, “Because he’s a cop.”

Skye’s nose scrunched up in confusion, “That’s a good thing!”

“No it isn’t. He’s a cop so he probably works with John. They’re probably friends or something. He can’t help us.”

She hadn’t thought of that before. The small glimmer of hope that had flared up inside of her was immediately stamped out. She tried to tell herself that maybe Nattie was wrong because Officer Triplett seemed really nice, “But he’s Mr. Coulson’s friend. He could be a good guy.”

Her sister reached over and held her hand, “No grown-ups are good guys. When have they ever helped us?”

Natasha was right. Skye couldn’t remember the last adult who had actually helped her or kept her safe. The only person who hadn’t let her down was Natasha… and maybe Mr. Coulson? He was her friend now and Skye wasn’t an expert on friendship but she knew that friends were supposed to help friends out when they were in trouble. She refused to believe that Mr. Coulson was a bad guy.

Her lower lip started to wobble and she told herself that she wasn’t going to cry, “Can anyone help us?”

Letting go of her hand, Natasha gently cupped her cheek, “I don’t know Skye, but if there is someone, I’ll find them.”

Focusing on how warm her sister’s hand was on her cheek, she pushed her tears away and nodded. Natasha would be able to fix them. Her sister could fix anything.

They were pulled out of their conversation when Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May both clapped their hands together and announced that it was time for recess. Rather than the excitement that that announcement usually brought, everyone groaned. A bunch of people still had questions for Officer Triplett and they didn’t want him to leave yet.

Mr. Coulson waited patiently for everyone to quiet down before saying, “Since you all still have so many questions, why don’t we ask Officer Triplett to hang around until we get back from recess? Then you can all ask him your questions.”

All of the students chorused out, “Please?”

Officer Triplett looked uncertain for a moment before letting out a sigh and nodding his head, “Alright, I’ll stay.”

Everyone cheered and it took a few moments for Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May to usher everyone towards the door. Natasha tugged on her hand, “I have to go to the bathroom. I’ll meet you at the fence, okay?”

Skye nodded and watched as Natasha walked up to Mrs. May and asked her if it was alright to use the bathroom before disappearing out the door.

She was kind of sad that she wasn’t line leader again today because now she couldn’t walk next to Mr. Coulson but she told herself that she would be line leader again soon and pushed her sadness away as she followed her class towards the kindergarten playground. Officer Triplett walked with them, something the fourth graders were upset over, and once they reached the playground, even the fact that there was a police officer there wasn’t enough to distract her class from their fun. Everyone ran off and Skye stared after some of them, noting that everyone already had a group of friends and she didn’t.

Walking over to the sandbox, she sat down in the cool sand and waited for Natasha to come over.

She thought that it was Mr. Coulson who sat down beside her but was surprised when she looked over and saw Officer Triplett instead. He gave her a bright smile, “Hi.”

Did this count as stranger danger?

She didn’t know Officer Triplett that well, she had only seen him twice and they had never even really spoken before. But, he was Mr. Coulson’s friend and Mr. Coulson said that he thought she would like him.

She decided to maybe try to talk to him but if anything felt weird, she would run away and go to Mr. Coulson. Uncertainly, she waved at him, “Hi Officer Triplett.”

He waved her off, “You can just call me Tripp if you want to, Officer Triplett sounds a little too formal for me.”

Skye stared at him, unsure what to say, until he fidgeted in the sand and cleared his throat, “Phil, I mean, Mr. Coulson told me that you’re his friend and I just wanted to say hi and see if maybe you wanted to be my friend too.”

Skye’s eyes widened and she straightened up a little, “Really?”

Now she would have two friends. It wasn’t the same as everyone else in her class because they were friends with other kids while she was friends with grown-ups but she didn’t care.

Tripp nodded seriously, “Really. Mr. Coulson says that you’re a great friend and I could use some more great friends.”

Nodding enthusiastically, she leaned a little towards him, “I’ll be your friend! Mr. Coulson’s right, I’m very good at it!”

She didn’t know if she was good at being a friend to be honest. She wasn’t really sure what she was supposed to do but she wasn’t going to tell Tripp that and have him regret asking her to be his friend.

Tripp smiled and started packing sand in front of him, “Well then I’m very happy that we’re friends now.” He studied her for a few seconds, “Haven’t I seen you before?”

Skye froze. If Tripp didn’t remember coming to her house, she wasn’t going to remind him, “I don’t think so.”

He tilted his head, “No, I’m pretty sure I have.” He was quiet for a few more moments and Skye thought that he was probably trying to remember. He snapped his fingers together, “I know! I went to your house a few nights ago when you accidently called 911.”

Suddenly, the sand in front of her was very interesting. She stared at it and mumbled, “I’m sorry.”

Tripp continued building his sand castle and brushed her apology off, “It’s no problem kiddo. Everyone makes mistakes. Kids accidentally call the police all the time.”

Skye stayed quiet. She might have felt a little better if she had accidently called 911 but she hadn’t. Natasha had called them and she had done it on purpose.

It was quiet for a few more moments and then Skye heard Natasha calling her name. When she looked over, she could see her sister making her way towards the fence and Skye stood up.

Tripp looked up at her from where he stayed seated in the sandbox, “Who’s that?”

Grinning a little, she pointed towards her sister, “Natasha. She’s my big sister.”

He looked over and studied Nattie, “Do you think she would want to be my friend too?”

Skye considered it for a moment before shaking her head.

Tripp looked puzzled, “Why not?”

Shrugging, she took a step towards Nattie, “Because she doesn’t like grown-ups.”

He nodded glumly, “I bet she already has a lot of friends anyways.”

Skye shook her head again and Tripp said, “Why not?”

“She doesn’t like other kids either.”

Tripp raised his eyebrows and asked, “Who does she like?”

Smiling proudly, Skye pointed to herself, “She likes me.”

With that, she left Tripp behind and ran towards her sister.

Chapter Text

“What the hell!”

Natasha looked up from the dishes she was washing when John entered the house, shouting. It was Friday night and she was not looking forward to an entire weekend of being home. The last thing she needed was for John to be in a worse mood than usual.

Almost as if in slow motion, she watched John stride into the room, still in uniform, face as red as a tomato, eyes impossibly dark, not even human. Before she knew it, she was on the floor, shoulder connecting painfully with a counter.  Natasha had seen John angry, but this was something else.

Natasha was scared, and she hated being scared.

“Where’s your sister?” John snarled, his face so close to hers that she could feel his breath on her cheek.

Last she knew, Skye had been in her room doing homework but there was no way in hell that Natasha was going to say a word to John. Natasha had told her to keep the door locked.

Stay upstairs, Skye. Please.

“Please don’t hurt her.”

Natasha closed her eyes briefly, heart sinking at the sound of Skye’s trembling voice.

“I got a fucking call from fucking CPS and I find out that there’s been a report filed against me .”

John grabbed Natasha’s arm in one hand and Skye’s in the other. He roughly shoved them onto the couch and Skye immediately clung to Natasha. Somehow, her little sister’s touch only made Natasha feel more helpless. She couldn’t protect herself, let alone a little girl. Nothing they did mattered, nothing was good enough. Even the police wouldn’t help them.

She was completely and utterly useless to protect Skye.

Someone had noticed things weren’t okay, had filed a report, but it was only going to hurt them.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Natasha whispered to Skye, eyes trained on John who was looming over them.

She held Skye close, clamped her hands over her ears as John shouted, horrible words spilling out of his mouth. He didn’t stop screaming at them, Nat didn’t even think he stopped to breathe properly. His face kept getting redder and she could see a vein in his forehead throbbing. It felt like the screaming would never end.

And then John pulled his gun out of his police holster.

“Get up.”

What if they died? Would anybody care? Trembling slightly, Natasha slowly got up, picking up Skye, whose eyes were shut tightly as if she could shut out the world.

Suddenly her teacher’s face flashed through her head.

Mrs. May would care.

But Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson were probably the ones who filed the report, the reason why they were maybe going to die. She knew they didn’t mean for this to happen but that was just the way things went for Natasha. It was like she was cursed - nothing ever worked out for her. And now she was going to bring Skye down too.

“Put her down,” John motioned at Skye with his gun.

Natasha carefully set Skye on the ground and tried to reign in the anger boiling up in her chest.

She hated John. She hated the power he had over them. She hated that he hurt them. She hated the way his eyes narrowed and his thin lips twisted into a malicious smile. She hated that nobody could help them. She hated that she couldn’t do anything to stop him. That was what she hated the most, that she had no control over what happened to her and Skye.

“Listen to me. Both of you are worthless. I’m doing you a favor by allowing you both to live here together when nobody else wanted you. All I ask for is a little respect.” John’s eyes were dark and when his gaze rested on Natasha, she wished with every fiber in her body that he would disappear forever. “I don’t fucking know what you’re trying to do, all investigations in this town go through me . So I’d advise you keep your ugly little mouths shut. Understand?” John casually waved his gun at them.

Later, when he separated them, pushing Skye into the closet and locking Natasha in the basement, promising they both wouldn’t be coming out all weekend, Natasha numbly wondered if there really were any good people in the world at all.

“What the hell do you mean?” Melinda May’s dark eyes narrowed, her grip on the phone tightening. She could see Phil watching her worriedly across the room but could barely spare him a thought at the moment.

All she could hear was that the abuse report they had filed had been screened both by CPS and the police.

“Did you not read the part where the perpetrator might be the chief of the police force?” Melinda ground her teeth.

“I don’t care if it’s procedure... don’t you realize that you could have put those children in danger?! No, I will not calm down!” Melinda’s grip on the phone was so tight that she could almost hear it cracking.

“Mel, let me take it,” Phil whispered, already carefully moving to take the phone. Wordlessly she let him take it.

“Yes we understand. Alright. Thank you.” Phil tossed the phone onto the couch and silently sat down beside Melinda who was cradling her head in her hands.

“They said they’re going to look into it,” Phil said quietly.

“It’s not going to go anywhere,” Melinda’s voice was hard. “Not with Garrett as the chief of police.”

“I know.”  Phil ran a hand through his hair, blue eyes dull. “What if we made everything worse?”

May raised her head, dark eyes troubled, but took her husband’s hand.

“Whatever happens is not your fault, Phil. Not yours or mine. This system is put in place to help children. We did what we could and what we were legally obligated to do and we can’t control what happens while the situation is out of our hands,” May sighed.

They sat in silence for a moment.

“I hate this,” May finally growled, hands clenching into fists, knuckles white. “John Garrett has a lot of power as Chief of Police. If he is hurting them... How are we going to get him?”

“We’re going to need more evidence. And probably Tripp’s help,” Phil set his jaw determinedly, eyes hardening with resolve.

His gaze softened as he gently picked up the paperwork that had been lying forgotten on the coffee table.

“We’re almost approved to be foster parents. I think we should start taking the final steps. What do you think?”

“Absolutely.” May’s face brightened slightly. “Maybe we could talk to the social worker about the situation.”

“We’re not letting this go,” Phil agreed. “Let’s just not file another report until we know how to do this best.”

“Agreed.” May took her husband’s hand once again. They were in this together and if Skye and Natasha were being hurt, they would find a way to help them, with or without the police.

When Becky opened up the closet on Monday morning, Skye had to squint her eyes for a few moments so that she could get used to the brightness.

Becky pointed towards the staircase and Skye didn’t have to be told what to do, she ran up the stairs and towards her room. She wanted to get as far away from that closet as she could.

Becky must have let Natasha out of the basement first because her big sister was standing in the middle of her room, waiting for her. When Skye spotted her, she sprinted towards her sister, crashed into her, and gave her a tight hug.

She hadn’t seen Natasha in two days and all she had been able to think about was the terrible things John could be doing to her in that time.

Nattie gently pushed her back and looked her over, “Are you alright? Did you get hurt?”

Skye shook her head, “I’m okay, are you?”

Natasha nodded and tugged her out of her room and into the bathroom, “Get ready for school. Let’s get out of here.”

They both quickly brushed their teeth, got dressed, and grabbed their backpacks before quietly making their way down the stairs. Before they could reach the front door, Becky intercepted them. She shoved a juice box, an apple, and a cookie into each of their hands, “Eat your food and keep your mouths shut. Fix what you did.”

Skye didn’t know what she needed to fix. She had no idea why John had been so mad on Friday. After the first few minutes of yelling, she had tried to shut him out. She didn’t want to listen to what he said anymore. He was a bad guy.

Becky gave them a stern look before walking away and Skye let her sister usher her out the door and into the sunlight.

It was really quiet on the way to school. They both ate their breakfast and walked in silence. Natasha’s jaw was clenched and Skye was waiting for her to say something.

When they were halfway to school, Skye watched as Natasha relaxed a little and stopped walking. Her sister ran a hand over her, as if double checking that she wasn’t lying about being hurt. Once Natasha finished her inspection, she pulled Skye into a hug and Skye eagerly wrapped her arms around Natasha’s waist.

Skye finally felt safe when Nattie pressed a kiss to the top of her head and whispered, “I was so worried about you.”

Her eyes started to fill up with tears and she didn’t bother to try to stop them from falling, “I was worried about you too.”

They hugged each other for a long time, right there in the middle of the sidewalk, until Skye stopped crying and pulled away, “Why was he so mad?”

Natasha’s eyes hardened and Skye could tell that she was angry but Skye knew well enough that her sister wasn’t mad at her, she was mad at someone else, “He was mad because someone filed a report against him.”

They started walking again and Skye looked up at her sister, “A report?”

“Yeah, someone knows that we’re in trouble and told the police.”

That was supposed to be a good thing but Skye knew that it wasn’t. The only people who could help them were the police and John worked for them. He was a chief and that meant that he was super powerful. If someone had told the police that they were in trouble, all they really did was let John know that they knew he wasn’t a good foster parent.

Now Skye finally understood why John had been so angry on Friday.

A new thought popped into her brain, “Who filed the report?”

Natasha gave her a look and Skye could tell that her sister didn’t want to tell her.

She pulled on Natasha’s hand, “Tell me!”

Her sister sighed, “The only people I can think of is… Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson.”

Skye knew that Nattie was studying her reaction but she didn’t care. It was Mr. Coulson’s fault that John had locked her in a closet for two days? It was his fault that John had been angry and mean and had pointed a gun at her?

She was so mad at him. He was supposed to be her friend! Skye didn’t know much about friendship but she knew that friends didn’t let friends get locked in a closet for two days.

Tears welled up in her eyes for a second time but she pushed them back.

Natasha said her name and Skye looked up at her. “They were probably just trying to help,” Skye could tell by the look on Natasha’s face that she was just saying that to make her feel better. Natasha was mad at her teacher too.

Skye felt angry and sad all at the same time, “They made everything worse.” She stared at her shoes and whispered, “I thought Mr. Coulson was my friend.”

Natasha was silent but Skye didn’t mind. She knew that Natasha understood and that she was there for her.

When they got closer to the school, Natasha spoke up, “I don’t think we should talk to them anymore. Unless they ask us a question about school or homework or something, we shouldn’t tell them anything.”

Skye nodded along and Natasha kept talking, “If they don’t know anything, they won’t be able to file another report.”

Skye never wanted to see John that angry again. John had always been mean and scary but on Friday, she had actually thought that he was going to kill her. She would do anything to never have to feel that way again.

They walked into the school and made their way towards their hallway. When she spotted Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May standing outside their classrooms like they did every morning, she felt a new wave of anger flash through her and stopped walking.

Natasha stopped with her and gave her a curious look. Skye looked over to Mr. Coulson and watched him talk to a girl in her class. He had a small smile on his face and looked happy.

Mr. Coulson wasn’t the one who was locked in the dark for two days. He wasn’t the one who had cried himself to sleep each night, while his sister was locked far away in a basement. He wasn’t the one who had been screamed at and threatened. No, he was just the one who made all of that happen to her.

She clenched her fists, “I’m mad at him.”

Natasha reached forward and brushed her hair out of her eyes, “I know.”

Skye’s lower lip wobbled but she forced herself not to cry. Even then, she couldn’t stop her voice from cracking when she said, “I’m mad at John too. I’m mad at everything! I hate it! I hate everything!”

She let her sister pull her into another hug and tried to calm down a little, “I want to live somewhere else. I want to be with you and be safe.”

Natasha was quiet for so long that Skye thought she wasn’t going to answer her, but then she heard Natasha whisper and her voice cracked too, “Me too.”

Skye squeezed her sister tight, took a deep breath, and straightened up. She knew that Natasha felt the same way and if Natasha could stay calm, she could too.

Skye thought that Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May might have been able to help her and Natasha but apparently she had been wrong. They would just have to find some other way to get away from John and Becky.

Her sister leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek before asking, “Ready?”

Skye nodded. She could do this. She just had to make Mr. Coulson believe that she was fine. That way he wouldn’t file one of those dumb reports ever again.

Natasha led her down the hallway and towards her teacher, “Remember, don’t tell him anything. Just talk about school.”

Nodding again, she told herself to be brave and walked up to Mr. Coulson. She watched as he noticed them and looked them over before relief washed over his face, “Girls! How’re you today?”

Skye glanced up at her sister. Natasha was glaring daggers at Mr. Coulson.

They didn’t answer him and the silence between them turned awkward.

Mr. Coulson glanced between them and started to look worried, “Skye?”

Ignoring him, she turned to Natasha, stood on her tiptoes, and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Nattie gave her a tiny smile and Skye took a deep breath before turning back to Mr. Coulson.

He looked nervous now and Skye told herself that she shouldn’t feel bad for him, even if he did look like he could probably use a hug. Taking a step forward, she tilted her head so she could clearly look at him and said, “I don’t think I want to be your friend anymore,” before walking into the classroom.

“Good morning, Natasha,” May greeted the girl walking into her room.

Natasha barely spared her a glance and May could see that her green eyes were hard as steel.

Shit.

May knew immediately that something was very wrong. She let Natasha push past her, silently examining her for any signs of physical abuse but seeing none. They could be hidden, Melinda wasn’t sure.

“Did you have a good weekend?” Melinda moved towards Natasha. The girl silently nodded and pulled out a book and started reading, blatantly ignoring her.

Melinda wasn’t even mad. Her mind was racing to put together the pieces and all she could think of was that Natasha was either being told to stay away from her, or she was angry at her for some reason.

Perhaps the latter, Melinda decided, looking at the dark expression on Natasha’s face.

Maybe... maybe Natasha somehow knew it was them that filed the report?

Melinda wanted to hug the girl close, to tell her they were fighting for her and Skye, that they never meant for their actions to be harmful.

But instead she took a step back and allowed Natasha to have some space. She didn’t know how this was going to be resolved but she did know that it wasn’t going to happen easily.

Skye had gotten through the entire morning and was still mad at Mr. Coulson.

They were learning the newest letter and there even was a song but Skye couldn’t seem to open her mouth to sing or lift her hands to clap. She didn’t know what was going on but she wasn’t okay inside. She desperately tried not to think about the closet but whenever someone closed a door, all she could think about was John slamming the door in her face and then darkness darkness darkness forever and being alone and scared for so so long. She hadn’t known if she would ever get let out.

Skye looked dully at Mr. Coulson, who was explaining their art project. He was the one who made all that happen. She let her anger rise again, allowing it to squelch the sadness and fear.

They all sat down to work on their art project and Mr. Coulson started walking towards her. He always helped her with her craft.

“Skye, do you need help?” Mr. Coulson’s voice was so nice and part of Skye wanted to cry at the kindness there but then she remembered that she was angry.

“No!” Skye snatched her paper out of his reach. “Go away.”

“Skye, I know you’re upset...”

She couldn’t look at his face.

“Don’t talk to me!” she waved her hands at him, uncontrollable fury bubbling up inside her. “Go away and leave me alone! You’re the worst friend ever and I hate you!” With that, Skye began ripping up the art project, throwing the scraps of paper on the ground, chest heaving.

“Skye.”

She was expecting him to yell, for his voice to become loud and ugly like John’s, but it was soft and gentle. That surprised her enough to look up at him and what she saw surprised her even more.

Mr. Coulson looked like he was about to cry . His face was so sad. She had hurt him with her mean words.

Skye didn’t know what to do, so she started sobbing.

She cried so hard she barely knew what was going on around her. She barely noticed when Mr. Coulson got a helper to come watch the room for him. And then he was gently asking her if it was okay if they talked and she just nodded because she didn’t want to stand in the middle of the class and sob but she also couldn’t get herself to stop crying. And then he asked her carefully if it was okay if he touched her shoulder and she nodded again so he gently guided her out of the classroom and into the hall. They sat down on the ground, leaning against the wall.

“Skye, let’s just take some deep breaths in and out, okay?”

She focused on his voice and then on her breathing and soon began to feel a little calmer as she took a deep breath in and then out, and then did it again.

“Is it okay if I say some things to you about what you said to me earlier?” Mr. Coulson asked, his blue eyes looking at her intently. Skye nodded slowly, tears still running down her face. Now he was going to yell at her for all the bad things she did.

“First of all, I wanted to say that I’m sorry.”

Skye’s head snapped up and she stared at him. He was apologizing ? He was a grown-up! Grown-ups didn’t apologize to kids.

“Skye, I am so so sorry for whatever I did that hurt you and made me a bad friend. I would never hurt you on purpose. Can you tell me what I did?”

Skye looked at his face and realized that Mr. Coulson was telling the truth. He never would hurt her. He hadn’t even yelled at her for ripping up her art project or saying horrible things to him. He would never lock her in a closet or pull her down the stairs or forget to feed her. He wasn’t bad like John was and she didn’t know why she was so mad at him when the person she should have been yelling and screaming at was John. Mr. Coulson was trying to help and it wasn’t his fault that John was too big and scary and powerful to be stopped, it wasn’t his fault that they couldn’t be helped, it was John and Becky’s.

But even though maybe Mr. Coulson knew something wasn’t right, she couldn’t tell him anything because if John found out, he might kill her or Natasha.

So she shook her head. “I can’t tell you.” She wanted to be as honest as she could because she had already made Mr. Coulson sad and she didn’t want to lie to him too.

“Why can’t you tell me?” he asked, blue eyes worried. Skye just shook her head.

“I’m sorry for what I said,” she apologized. “I didn’t mean it.”

“It’s alright Skye,” Mr. Coulson gave her a small smile. “And I’m sorry for whatever made you upset.”

“It’s not your fault.” Tentatively, she patted his arm and looked up at his face. “Did I make you sad? You looked sad.”

“I was sad,” Mr. Coulson admitted and Skye’s heart plummeted. She had made her teacher sad. Tears welled up in her eyes. Mr. Coulson was really nice. He never did anything with her without asking her first, and he always listened and never yelled... Skye knew Natasha was wrong about all grown-ups being bad - Mr. Coulson was good. And she had yelled at him because he had tried to help.

Mr. Coulson shook his head. “Don’t worry about me Skye, I’m okay. I forgive you for saying those things and I know you didn’t mean them. Sometimes it’s really hard to control our anger.”

“Okay,” Skye let a breath out and studied his face, feeling satisfied when she found no sign of anger there. He really wasn’t mad at her.

“Again, I’m sorry for whatever I did. Can you forgive me?”

Skye nodded vigorously. It wasn’t his fault anyways, it was all John. Mr. Coulson would never hurt her on purpose. It had been an accident.

“Can we be friends again?” Mr. Coulson looked hopeful and Skye felt a rush of warmth wash over her. He wanted to be friends with her, he cared about her.

“Yeah.” She gave him a small smile.

“Oh good,” Mr. Coulson sighed with relief and Skye couldn’t help but be happy that he cared so much.

“Will you help me with my craft?” Skye got up. Mr. Coulson got up as well.

“I would love to.”

They were about to go back into the classroom when Mr. Coulson stopped.

“Skye, I think maybe there’s something bad going on at your home. You don’t have to tell me about it and I’m not going to make you because maybe you’re scared, but I just wanted you to know that I’m always here if you want to talk about it and I’m never going to give up on you. Even if you scream at me or rip up everything in the classroom, I will still care about you. You are a beautiful, smart, very honest and kind girl. You deserve to be safe, okay? You never deserve to be hurt.”

Skye blinked away tears and grabbed Mr. Coulson’s hand.

“Let’s go do our craft now,” she said brightly, pretending like she hadn’t heard what Mr. Coulson had said because she couldn’t tell him anything because she or Natasha might get hurt and nobody could help them because John was too powerful and had a gun and was a police officer.

But she did hear what Mr. Coulson had said and she wished she could tell him everything.

She pushed that thought away as she led Mr. Coulson back to her spot at the table. For now, she was just happy she had her friend back.

Chapter Text

Even though John had made it seem like he wasn’t worried about the report that had been filed against him, Natasha could tell that he was. John was still mean and yelled at them and Becky still ignored them, but he had stopped pushing them around and grabbing them. All of their bumps and bruises had healed so that they could wear t-shirts and shorts without worrying about anyone seeing their marks. Every morning, Becky shoved some food into their hands so that they would have something to eat at school. Skye had first thought that they were just being nice but Natasha knew that they were just pretending so that no one would file another report.

For the next week or so, from anyone who didn’t know them, Skye and Natasha looked like they were happy, well-cared for children.

Natasha was still upset with Mrs. May but Skye seemed to have forgiven Mr. Coulson. Nat didn’t have to remind her sister not to say anything to him, she knew what would happen if she did.

Even though she could tell that Mrs. May was sad and confused about why she was ignoring her, Natasha continued to keep her distance from her teacher. She had convinced herself that she could get through the rest of the year without speaking to Mrs. May until her teacher approached her at the end of the day with a little pink slip in her hand, “Natasha?”

Shrugging her backpack onto her shoulders, she looked up at her teacher and waited for her to continue talking. When Mrs. May realized she wasn’t going to answer, she let out a little sigh and handed her the pink slip, “Could you give this to your parents? I’ve been trying to call them for the past few days but I can’t get ahold of them.”

The pink slip was stapled together and she couldn’t just rip it open in front of Mrs. May. Squinting her eyes, she tried to see what the paper said and failed, “What’s it for?”

Mrs. May’s eyes widened fractionally and cleared her throat, “I’m having parent-teacher conferences this week and was hoping your parents could come in tomorrow after school.”

The only reason that Mrs. May would want to talk to her parents was because she had done something wrong. That would make John angry.

Her teacher must have sensed how uncomfortable she was feeling because she held up a hand and said, “You haven’t done anything wrong, I just want to make sure your parents are aware of how you’re progressing. I do this with all of my students. Mr. Coulson’s also doing his conferences this week and we thought that we could do yours and Skye’s together tomorrow so that your parents wouldn’t have to come in twice.”

Unzipping her backpack, she shoved the slip into it and shifted it so that it was resting comfortably on her shoulders again. She nodded slightly and went to move around her teacher but Mrs. May stepped to the side and blocked her, “If tomorrow’s not a good time for them, they can call and reschedule.”

Nodding again, she maneuvered around her teacher and this time, she was successful. She didn’t bother looking back or waving goodbye, she just made her way down the hallway, towards Skye.

Her little sister was waiting outside Mr. Coulson’s door, staring at a pink slip. As Natasha got closer, Skye worriedly looked up at her and waved her slip of paper around, “Mr. Coulson wants to talk to John and Becky.”

Gently, she reached forward and grabbed her sister’s hand and reassured her, “I know, Mrs. May wants to talk to them too.”

Skye kept her pink piece of paper in her hand and Natasha led her out of their hallway and towards home. Her little sister was unusually quiet on the way home and Natasha knew why. They hadn’t directly spoken to John or Becky in a long time and she wasn’t looking forward to having to talk to them about their parent-teacher conferences.

Really, they would only have to talk to Becky. John would be working and wouldn’t be able to make it to the meeting so they would just have to give Becky the pink slips. Becky never usually yelled at them but she refused to acknowledge that they existed most of the time and that could sometimes be worse than yelling.

Skye was reluctant to walk into their house but Natasha carefully tugged on her hand and her sister sighed before following after her.

Becky was sitting on the couch watching tv, just like she had been when they left for school. Natasha wondered if she had moved at all today.

She pulled her pink slip out of her bag and grabbed Skye’s from her hand and slowly walked towards Becky. Stretching her arm out, she carefully set the pink slips onto the couch cushion next to where her foster mother was sitting. Becky didn’t even glance at her.

“Our teachers want to have a parent-teacher conference with you tomorrow.”

Becky didn’t move at all. Natasha knew that she had spoken loud enough for her to hear her so she knew that Becky was just ignoring her.

Deciding to give it one more try, “Mrs. May said that-”

Becky waved an impatient hand towards her but her eyes remained glued to the screen, “Hey, I can’t hear my show.”

Shrugging, she turned back to Skye, who was silently watching, and ushered her up the stairs and towards her room. Skye glanced back to where Becky was sitting, “Did she hear you?”

Pulling open her bedroom door, she nudged her sister inside, “She heard me, she just doesn’t care.”

Tiptoeing down the staircase, Skye spotted two juice boxes and two apples sitting by the door. Becky was sitting at the dining room table, staring at the laptop sitting in front of her, and didn’t glance their way.

Skye whispered, “Do you think she remembered about the meetings today?”

Natasha shrugged and Skye let out a forceful breath, “Should we remind her?”

Her sister raised an eyebrow, “Do you wanna go talk to her?”

Defensively, Skye crossed her arms in front of her chest and shook her head, “No.”

Natasha just picked up their food and handed her her juice box and apple, “I don’t want to either.”

Taking a bite out of her apple, she followed her sister out of the house and into the sunshine. Mr. Coulson had told her that he was looking forward to talking to her foster parents but Skye didn’t think that Becky was going to show up. She didn’t want to let Mr. Coulson down.

Kicking a rock in front of her so that it skidded down the street, she glanced over to her sister, “Are you still mad at Mrs. May?”

Her sister made a grumbling sound and Skye knew that that was her way of answering the question without actually answering the question.

Skye caught up to her rock and kicked it again, “I know that you are.”

Natasha looked at her, “How do you know that?”

“Because I know you .”

Natasha sighed and drank the last of her juice box before responding, “It’s her fault that John waved a gun at you and locked you into a closet.”

Sighing, Skye kicked her rock again but this time it bounced off the sidewalk and into the road, “They didn’t mean to make that happen.”

Skye looked up into her sister’s face and saw that Natasha had that tough glint in her eyes, “I don’t care. Even if they didn’t mean to, they still did it.”

Shaking her head, Skye didn’t respond. Mr. Coulson would never purposefully hurt her. He had told her that she deserved to be safe and she knew that when he and Mrs. May filed that report, they were only trying to help. She thought that Natasha knew that too but her sister was super stubborn and wouldn’t budge.

They both walked up the steps to their school and made their way to their hallway. Skye thought back to the parent-teacher conference they were supposed to have this afternoon and felt butterflies start to flutter around in her tummy. She squeezed her sister’s hand, “What if Becky doesn’t show up?”

“We’ll worry about that later.”

Skye could tell that her sister didn’t think Becky was going to show up either.

“What’re we going to tell Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May?”

Natasha led her down their hallway and stopped a few feet away from Mr. Coulson so that they could talk and he wouldn’t hear them, “We’ll tell them that we think Becky’s gonna show up and then leave really quickly after school so that they can’t ask us any questions.”

Skye could do that. She could do that. Now that she and Natasha had a somewhat concrete plan, she could tell herself to stop worrying about Becky and focus on that.

Letting out a deep breath, she nodded at her sister and pasted a smile onto her face, “Okay, let’s go to class.”

Natasha gave her a look that said she could tell that Skye was faking but she didn’t say anything about it.

Skye glanced over to her teacher. Mr. Coulson was talking excitedly to a boy in her class. She didn’t want to lie to him.

“If Mr. Coulson asks, will you tell him about Becky for me?”

Her sister squeezed her hand, “Yeah, I’ll tell him.”

They walked up to Mr. Coulson and he smiled at them, “Good morning girls! Skye, did you give your parents the note?”

Skye didn’t notice that her thumb was making its way towards her mouth until Natasha let go of her other hand to grab it and guide it back to her side.

Mr. Coulson was looking intently at her and she felt relief wash over her when Natasha spoke up, “She did.”

Her teacher’s smile remained on his face as he glanced between them, “Well I didn’t get a call to reschedule so I’m assuming that they’ll be here for our conference today after school, is that right?”

She couldn’t stop herself from fidgeting from side to side as Natasha spoke up for her again, “Yep.”

Mr. Coulson looked like he was going to ask another question but Natasha stopped him by pulling her into a hug, “Be careful okay? I love you.”

Standing on her tiptoes, she pressed a kiss to her sister’s cheek, “I love you too.”

Natasha squeezed her hand one more time before letting go and giving her a tiny smile. She turned around, gave Mr. Coulson as genuine of a smile as she could muster, and hurried into her classroom.

Natasha stared at the clock on the wall, willing it to move faster.

She knew that Becky wouldn’t remember to show up to the conference today. Becky just didn’t care about stuff like that. Natasha didn’t want to deal with all the questions her absent foster mother would raise and she didn’t want Skye to have to deal with that either.

She already had her backpack ready to go and was sitting on the edge of her seat so that when the bell did ring, like it did a few minutes later, she was ready to bolt to the door.

Nat made it two steps from the door when she heard Mrs. May call after her. She pretended that she didn’t hear and tried to continue down the hallway when she heard Mrs. May yelling after her, “Wait! Natasha, wait!”

Ducking her head, she made it three more steps before she felt a hand on her arm.

Whipping around, she wrenched her arm out of Mrs. May grip, took two steps back, and glared at her teacher. She didn’t like being touched.

Mrs. May seemed to realize her mistake and held her hands in front of her in a placating manner, “Sorry. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to grab you. Did you forget about the meeting with your parents this afternoon? I’m very excited to tell them about your progress so far.”

Glancing behind her, she saw that Skye was in a similar position. She was standing in the hallway and Mr. Coulson was talking to her.

Their plan had epically failed.

Relaxing a little, she unclenched her fists and plastered a confused look on her face, “Oh, I forgot.”

Mrs. May stared at her for a few seconds and Natasha forced herself not to fidget, “That’s alright, I just didn’t want you running off.”

That was literally exactly what she wanted to do.

Looking back towards Skye again, she saw that her sister was being ushered back into her classroom by Mr. Coulson. Their eyes met and she could tell that Skye didn’t want to be alone with her teacher. For some reason, her little sister had grown attached to him and didn’t like lying to him.

Sighing, she nodded, “Can we go wait with Skye?”

“Sure, just let me go grab my notes.”

Natasha didn’t wait for her teacher, she just made her way down the hallway and walked into Mr. Coulson’s classroom.

Skye was awkwardly sitting across from Mr. Coulson and her little sister gave her a relieved smile, “Nattie!”

Dropping her backpack onto a desk, she walked up to her sister and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Skye leaned into her side and Natasha looked up as Mr. Coulson cleared his throat, “Hi Natasha, what brings you here?”

Just then, they heard the door open and all three of them turned and watched Mrs. May walk into the room. Her teacher gave her a dry look and pulled a chair up so that she was sitting by Mr. Coulson.

They sat in silence and waited for Becky to show up for five minutes before Mr. Coulson cleared his throat and said, “Why don’t you girls start working on your homework? If your parents don’t show up soon, we’ll try to get ahold of them.”

Natasha led Skye over to where she had dropped her backpack and sat down on the floor. She watched as Skye pulled her spelling workbook out of her bag and didn’t bother to open her backpack up. She knew Skye would be needing help.

Sure enough, after staring at her homework for a few moments, Skye helplessly looked up at her. She didn’t have to ask, Nat just scooted closer to her sister and looked at her paper, “What’re you learning?”

Skye pointed to the words on her paper, “We have five new spelling words. I have to write a sentence for each of them.”

Nodding, she read the first word, ‘where’, and looked at her sister, “What do you need help with?”

Twirling her pencil between her fingers, Skye shrugged, “Coming up with sentences.”

Pointing to the first word, she said, “Okay, think of a sentence that you’d use the word ‘where’ in.”

Skye put a hand to her forehead and scrunched up her nose. Nat knew that that was the face she made when she was thinking really hard so she stayed quiet so she didn’t distract her.

Suddenly, her little sister’s eyes flew open and she grinned, “I know!”

Motioning towards her worksheet, she said, “Write it down.”

Skye nodded and obediently wrote her sentence down and leaned back so Nat could read it, “School is where I have fun.”

Her little sister smiled, “Yeah, I like it here.”

Nat nodded, “Good job, but check your S’s. They’re backwards.”

Skye’s eyes widened and she went in and fixed her letters.

They made it through two more words before Mr. Coulson tried to call Becky. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t answer.

She and Skye watched Mr. Coulson call, hang up, and try again.

Skye leaned in and whispered, “She’s not gonna show up.”

“I know.”

Motioning towards where their teachers were sitting, Skye said, “They don’t know that! They think she’s coming. Shouldn’t we tell them?”

Nat shook her head, “No, we’ll just wait it out, tell them Becky must have had an emergency or something, and pretend everything’s fine. Now finish your homework.”

Skye huffed but stared at her spelling words. Nat could tell she wasn’t focusing on it.

Getting Skye to finish her homework was like pulling teeth but finally , they finished. Skye was putting her workbook away when Mr. Coulson spoke up, “Do you always help Skye with her homework Natasha?”

When Nat looked towards Mr. Coulson, she saw that he and Mrs. May were watching them. Skye stood up and smiled, “Yeah, Nattie’s the best teacher ever . She helps me with my letters.”

Mr. Coulson raised an eyebrow and Skye realized what she said, “You’re a really good teacher too Mr. Coulson.”

Mr. Coulson didn’t look upset, he just grinned and leaned conspiratorially towards Skye, “Is that why you always get A’s on your homework?”

Skye nodded proudly, “Yep.”

Mr. Coulson pointed towards the bookshelf, “Why don’t you two go read while we wait? We’ll give your parent’s a little more time to show up.”

They would be waiting for a long time.

She let Skye lead her to the bookshelf and they both sad down on the floor. Getting comfortable on the ground, she watched as Skye perused the bookshelf and grabbed a book. Her little sister crawled over to her, leaned against her side, handed her the book, and stared at her with her big, brown eyes, “Will you read to me?”

Natasha stared at the book, The Cat in the Hat, and was about to start reading from it when Mrs. May’s voice stopped her, “I can read to you, if you want.”

Skye studied Mrs. May and tilted her head, “Can you make different voices for the characters? Because Natasha does that.”

Mrs. May looked unsure but Mr. Coulson appeared and smiled at them, “I’m great at doing voices.”

Skye appeared to think that over before nodding slightly, grabbing the book from Nat’s hands, and handing it to Mrs. May, “Okay.”

Mrs. May looked at her, as if asking for permission, so Nat shrugged and let Skye snuggle closer.

Their teachers sat down across from them and Mrs. May opened the book and started reading from it. Mrs. May narrated while Mr. Coulson came up with silly voices for each character that had Skye giggling. By the time they were finished with the story, it had been half an hour and everyone knew that Becky wasn’t going to show up.

Mr. Coulson put the storybook back onto the shelf and Mrs. May sat back and stared at them, “We’re going to try your parents one more time, okay?”

She shrugged and Mr. Coulson stood up and started tapping on his phone. Skye pulled another book off the shelf and laid down with her head on Nat’s lap. Skye opened the book but Nat could tell she wasn’t actually reading it, she was flipping through the pages too quickly.

Mrs. May said, “There must have been an emergency or something.”

Natasha shrugged again and ran her fingers through her little sister’s hair, “Yeah.”

Mr. Coulson sighed loudly and Skye set her book down and turned her head so she could look at him, “What’s wrong?”

“Your parents aren’t answering.”

What a surprise.

Nat stood up and pulled Skye up with her, “Can we go home now?”

Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson gave each other a look and Mrs. May spoke up, “How do you usually get home from school?”

She and Skye walked towards their backpacks and Nat picked hers up while Skye said, “We walk.”

Natasha gently pushed Skye towards the door, she wanted to get out of there, but Mr. Coulson stopped them from leaving, “Would it be alright if we walked with you?”

Turning around, she raised an eyebrow at Skye’s teacher. Why couldn’t they just leave them alone?

“We would just feel better knowing that you girls got home safely.”

Skye looked up at her and Natasha tried to figure out what to say. It would probably be worse if she said no, that would lead to more questions and she was just so tired of having to lie all the time.

She shrugged and Skye grinned a little before saying, “Yeah, you can walk us home.”

Mr. Coulson smiled at them, “Great, lead the way.”

They walked out of the classroom and Skye grabbed onto her hand. It was quiet as they made their way out of the school and down the street. Natasha didn’t mind silence and she didn’t think that Mrs. May did either, but Skye and Mr. Coulson kept fidgeting around until Mr. Coulson started talking, “So, do you guys live far away?”

Skye shook her head and pointed in the general direction of their house, “No, we live over there.”

It got quiet again.

Skye swung their hands between them and they walked a little ways before Mr. Coulson cleared his throat, “Skye, why don’t you show Natasha the song we learned today.”

Nat watched as her little sister stared blankly at Mr. Coulson for a moment before her eyes widened and she smiled brightly, “Okay!”

Skye pulled her hand away from Natasha’s and started singing, “The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout.” Skye pinched her fingers together and mimicked a spider climbing before continuing, “Down came the rain and washed the spider out.” Now she wriggled her fingers to make them look like rain, “Out came the sun and dried up all the rain, and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.” Skye’s little fingers kept pretending to be a spider climbing up a spout even after she stopped singing.

Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May clapped lightly and Skye smiled at her, “Did you like it? A lot of the other kids already knew it but I memorized it today all by myself.”

Skye looked so proud of herself that Natasha couldn’t help but smile, “I loved it.”

Her little sister grabbed onto her hand again and her smile widened, “Really?”

“Really.”

They all turned onto their street and Mr. Coulson said, “I’m sure when you show your parent’s, they will like it too.”

Skye’s smile dropped from her face and all of her happiness seemingly vanished. Natasha threw a dirty look at Mr. Coulson before turning to Skye, “Will you sing it again for me?”

Skye peeked up at her and Natasha squeezed her hand encouragingly until her little sister gave her a tiny smile. Skye wasn’t as into the song as she had been before but at least she was smiling again.

As Skye sang, Nat studied their teachers. They were holding hands and she remembered Skye telling her that they were married. She wondered if they were happy together. Did they have kids? They had never mentioned having a kid so Natasha didn’t think so. Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May seemed like the kind of parents who would hang up pictures of their children and would talk about them a lot. Natasha wondered what it would be like to have parents like that.

Skye finished her song and Nat gave her another smile. They were getting close to their house and Skye quieted down. Her grip on Nat’s hand got tighter the closer they got.

She pretended not to see Becky’s car in their driveway, signaling that their foster mother was home, but she knew that Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May saw it. They didn’t say anything about it though.

When they were close enough to step onto their lawn, she and Skye both stopped. Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May both looked surprised for a moment so Skye pointed towards their house, “This is our home.”

Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May both studied their house. It was pretty on the outside, with dark blue paint and a lighter blue trim. From here, you could see the windows to Skye’s room and if you squinted, you could see the light from the television through the curtains where Becky was probably watching tv.

Mr. Coulson was still studying the house when Mrs. May turned to them, “Your house looks very nice.”

Natasha nodded at her teacher and went to take a step towards their house when Mr. Coulson stopped them, “Wait, here.”

He handed them both a little card with some numbers on it. Natasha studied it and then held it up, “What’s this?”

Mr. Coulson glanced behind them, “That’s my phone number and Mrs. May’s phone number. If you need us, please don’t be afraid to call, alright?”

Skye put her card in her pocket but Natasha glared at Mr. Coulson, “We won’t need you.”

Mr. Coulson gave her a disbelieving look and looked like he was about to say something but Mrs. May put a hand on his arm and stopped him, “Just in case.”

Skye plucked the card out of her hand and Nat felt her slip it into her backpack.

Natasha gave Mr. Coulson one last glare before tugging Skye towards their house. She heard Mrs. May call after them, “Bye girls! We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Skye looked back and waved but she didn’t, even if it did make her feel good to know that someone was looking forward to seeing her tomorrow

Chapter Text

“We’re going to be sending someone over soon to look over your house and the bedroom. Other than that, the paperwork is pretty much all in order.” The slightly tired looking middle aged woman smiled.

“Thank you so much,” Phil beamed, grabbing Melinda’s hand.

“Do you have any questions?” the social worker, Anna, asked them.

Phil and Melinda exchanged a glance.

“Yes,” Melinda spoke up. “Two of our students are foster children and we suspect that there might be abuse in the home...”

Anna looked even more tired all of a sudden, her smile dropping.

“Did you call CPS?” she asked.

“Of course,” Melinda felt an edge creep into her voice. “They said they would look into it but as far as we’ve heard, it hasn’t gone anywhere.”

“If you reported it, then I assure you, someone is aware of the situation and doing something about it.”

“But the father is the Chief of Police! Don’t you think that isn’t going to go anywhere?” Melinda’s voice rose slightly.

“What are the children’s names?” Anna sighed resignedly.

“Skye... Mary Sue Poots and Natasha Romanoff.”

Anna turned to her computer and clicked through some files.

“They’re not actually on my caseload but there are no reports from that household.”

“Listen, we see these children every day. Something is not right in their home.”

“Have either admitted to there being abuse?”

“No, but...” May’s eyes flashed and Phil grabbed her hand.

“Easy, tiger,” he murmured.

“I’m sorry, but your students are lucky to have a home. Especially with Natasha’s record...”

Coulson squeezed Melinda’s hand. Although his wife looked calm and composed, he could practically feel the anger rolling off of her.

“It looks like Natasha has a history of being disruptive in households. She’s a troubled child. I wouldn’t jump to any conclusions about abuse in her current home.”

“Natasha is a very well behaved young lady,” Phil had to speak up, starting to become angry as well. “Both of the girls are.”

Anna nodded but they could tell she was just humoring them.

“We need to go,” Melinda said sharply, standing up, with Phil right behind. “Thanks for talking with us.”

“Of course.”

They shook hands briefly and then Melinda was stalking out of the building.

“Mel!” Phil practically had to jog after the dark haired woman. “Can I have the keys?”

Melinda gave him a slight glare before sighing and handing them over.

They drove in silence for a couple minutes.

“I cannot believe that woman,” Melinda broke the silence, her voice seething. “No child should have to be lucky simply to have a home! And Natasha isn’t the least bit harmful... I want to know what that damn file says about her!”

“I know.” Phil’s eyes remained steady on the road.

“They’re kids. They’re children.”

They lapsed back into silence.

“The guest room is big enough for two beds, right?” Phil said suddenly.

Melinda gave him a careful look.

“What are you thinking?” she asked slowly, raising her eyebrows.

Phil shrugged.

“I was just wondering if you think the room is big enough,” Phil shrugged, avoiding her gaze.

“I think it is,” Melinda said slowly.

“Maybe we should put another bed in there. Just in case. You know, if there’s a sleepover or something...” Phil looked at her with his hopeful puppy look.

“Okay,” Melinda agreed. “I guess that could be a good idea.”

Only then did she realize that they were already enroute to the local furniture store.

“What are we doing, Phil?” she asked quietly.

“Getting a bed...” Phil looked at her innocently.

“No. You know what I mean.”

Phil blinked and looked away, “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Phil, you’re a horrible liar. We both know we’re thinking about fostering Natasha and Skye.”

There. She finally said it.

They had been tiptoeing around the issue for awhile now. It was time they actually talked about it.

“What’s wrong with thinking about it?” Phil glanced at her. “We both love them.”

“We’re their teachers, not their parents.”

“They don’t have parents,” Phil pulled into a parking lot, turning off the car before turning to look at Melinda.

“Are we ready for this though?” she asked quietly.

Phil just grabbed her hand. They both already knew the answer to that question.

“The real question is how we get them out of that house,” Melinda’s jaw clenched. “I don’t care that we don’t know for sure what’s going on or if it’s abuse, something clearly isn’t right.”

“I’m worried about them,” Phil said quietly. “I worry about them all the time.”

“Me too.”

“Listen, John Garrett is an asshole, but we need solid evidence in order for me to present a case against him to the Police Board,” Tripp sighed. “I want to do everything I can for those kiddos, I really do. But if it isn’t done right then Chief isn’t going anywhere. And if what you’re suspecting is true, we could be endangering the kids unless we solidly nail him.”

“But you’d present to the Board if we found something?” Melinda leaned against the counter. They were back in their home and Tripp had come over to help put the new bed together. More like he had insisted on coming over, an action Melinda was pretty sure was influenced by the presence of free food at their house.

“Of course,” Tripp nodded firmly.

“You could lose your job,” Phil commented quietly.

“I know, man,” Tripp flashed him a small smile.

“Thank you.” Phil clapped Tripp on the back, making eye contact for a long moment. “That means a lot to us, I hope you know that.”

“I know.” Tripp nodded then smiled. “But you better hope I don’t lose my job though cause you know I’ll be moving in with ya’ll if that happens.”

Melinda rolled her eyes at him.

“As long as you don’t eat us out of house.”

“No promises there.”

“Everybody clap your hands!”

Skye bounced up and down slightly as she clapped her hands to the music, swaying her body to the beat. She was so happy to be back at school after the weekend. She wasn’t best friends with her classmates, not like she was friends with Mr. Coulson, but she enjoyed being around them and she loved all the fun things they did in class.

“Alright, put your hands up and spin around!”

Skye giggled with her classmates as they spun around, raising their hands up.

“Great job!”

Mr. Coulson clapped and smiled at them all.

“Alright, it’s inside free time,” he told them.

Suddenly a helper teacher came into the room and talked to Mr. Coulson quietly.

“Ms. Peters is going to watch you all for a moment because I’m being called to the office,” Mr. Coulson announced, heading towards the door.

“You’ll be back?” Skye grabbed his hand. “Are you in trouble?”

“I’ll be right back. And I don’t think I’m in trouble,” Mr. Coulson smiled at her. “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” Skye let him go, feeling a little better when he gave her a special smile.

“Look what I brought from home!” one little girl ran to her cubby and brought out a little tub of playdough. Skye peered at it, wondering what was special about the yellowish green playdough. “It’s glow in the dark.”

Soon they were gathering around it and trying to cup their hands around it and see if they could see it glow. Skye considered wandering away to play with something else but she’d never seen glow in the dark playdough. In fact, she’d never seen anything really glow in the dark.

“I wanna see,” she voiced her opinion.

“Let’s try a dark place, then it’ll glow ‘cause it can’t have any light or you can’t see it,” the first girl, Ella, said wisely.

Quickly, they decided on one of the toy closets. It was a bit small but Ella managed to get in and they closed the door.

“I can see it glow!” she called out. Soon they were taking turns getting in and then it was Skye’s turn. She clutched the glow in the dark playdough excitedly and walked into the closet.

But as soon as they closed the closet door, Skye knew it was a big big mistake. Suddenly all she could think of was the closet at home and being stuck in there forever and forever...

She was frozen in the darkness, her body unable to move or call for help, not hearing anything but the spinning of her own thoughts and a distant hum.

Phil walked back into the classroom feeling slightly annoyed about being unnecessarily pulled out of his classroom. There was some sort of misunderstanding between another teacher and the principal but he didn’t know why it couldn’t have waited until after class.

Entering the kindergarten room, he immediately noticed that there were several of his kids gathered around the toy closet. Ms. Peters was playing with a student on the other side of the room and hadn’t seemed to notice.

Phil quickly strode over to where the kids were gathered around the closed door.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“I got glow in the dark playdough!” Ella informed him. “We’re taking turns seeing it in the dark. Skye’s in there now.”

“But she’s taking forever,” Griffin complained. “I want my turn.”

Phil wasted no time opening the door.

Skye was curled up on the ground, playdough lying forgotten at her side.

“Skye.” Phil tried not to panic as he quickly knelt beside the girl. She wasn’t responding to him, her eyes closed tightly, thin arms wrapped around herself. For a moment, his heart stopped and then he saw that the girl’s chest was rising and falling steadily. “Skye, I’m going to touch your shoulder, okay?” He gently touched her shoulder and then began rubbing her back. “You’re okay. Skye, can you look up at me? You’re safe, Skye.”

Skye slowly raised her head and looked at him with large confused brown eyes.

“Mr. Coulson?” she whispered and Phil could feel his heart breaking.

“Skye, you’re okay. You’re with me at school. Everything is okay.”

The small girl uncurled slightly and Phil finally relaxed enough to glance back and check on the rest of his class. He was grateful to see that Ms. Peters had diverted the rest of the class to the other side of the classroom and had engaged them in an activity. He turned his undivided attention back to the girl in front of him.

“Come on, it’s okay now,” Phil gently pulled Skye out of the closet. She stared at him for a moment and then suddenly threw herself at him, wrapping her thin arms around his neck. Her small form shook slightly and he realized she was crying.

“Hey, hey, I’ve got you,” he murmured.

“I g..got scared,” Skye hiccuped, finally drawing away slightly, wiping her eyes.

“It’s okay. Did you get scared because you were in the closet?” Phil rubbed her back. Skye nodded, bottom lip trembling.

“Are you okay now?” Phil let her lean heavily against him.

“Yeah,” Skye nodded slowly, still sniffing, one hand still on Phil’s shoulder. She seemed unwilling to break the contact quite yet.

“Do you want to talk about why you were scared?” Phil asked carefully.

“No.” Skye suddenly was hugging him again, burying herself in his chest.

“Okay. But if you ever do, I’m always here, okay?”

She nodded into his sweater.

“Do you feel ready to go with the rest of the class to the library?” Phil wanted to stay with Skye forever, but he also knew he had to take care of the rest of his class now that the crisis was over.

Skye nodded but when he moved to stand up, she grabbed his hand and clung to it almost desperately.

In that moment, Phil wanted nothing more than to pick her up, take her home with him, and protect her from everything.

But he couldn’t and it broke his heart.

Natasha knew that something was wrong as soon as Skye stepped out of the classroom. Her little sister’s face was drawn, there was a faraway look in her eyes, and she was clutching at Mr. Coulson’s hand.

She worriedly took a step forward and Skye finally focused on her, let out a pitiful sound, and nearly knocked Nat over as she rushed forward and gave her a tight hug. Natasha squeezed her back and gave Mr. Coulson an angry look, “What’d you do to her?”

Turning them to the side so that she was between Skye and Mr. Coulson, she glared at him. It felt like Skye was trying to burrow into her side and Natasha stopped glaring at Mr. Coulson for a second so that she could press a kiss to the top of Skye’s head.

“I’m not sure what happened, I found her in the closet and-”

Natasha went from hugging Skye to protectively holding her against her, “Why’d you put her in the closet? She’s not bad!”

Mr. Coulson gaped at her and she felt Skye pull on her sleeve and quietly say, “He didn’t put me in there.”

Natasha tried to push Skye away a little so that she could see her face but Skye clung tighter to her and pressed her face against her chest. Giving up, Nat settled on staring at the top of Skye’s head, “What happened?”

“I wanted to see the playdough glow in the dark so I went to see it in the closet but it was dark and I got scared and it was just like at home and…”

Natasha wasn’t really sure what Skye was talking about but Skye’s breathing started to quicken so she shushed her and rubbed small circles on her back because she knew that helped Skye calm down. Her little sister let go of her sleeve and stuck her thumb in her mouth and Nat didn’t stop her.

When Skye calmed down enough, Nat turned back to Mr. Coulson and was a little surprised to see that Mrs. May was standing next to him. They were both watching them and Natasha cleared her throat and pried Skye off of her. Her little sister made a noise of protest and tucked herself into Nat’s side.

Mrs. May looked between her and Skye and raised an eyebrow, “What’s going on?”

“N-”

Mr. Coulson interrupted her, “Don’t say nothing.”

Raising her chin a little, she looked Mr. Coulson in the eye and defiantly said, “Nothing.”

Mr. Coulson sighed softly, “We just want to help, Natasha. We want to help both of you.”

For a second, Natasha let herself imagine what that would be like, to have adults in her life that would be able to help her and Skye and she instantly felt guilty for wanting that. She loved Skye so much but she was so tired of having to take care of the both of them. She wondered how the kids in her class’ lives were. They had parents that loved them and looked after them and did all the things that grown-ups were supposed to do and they always looked so happy and carefree in class. She wanted that for Skye and a selfish part of her wanted that for herself too.

Skye’s fingers digging into her hip brought her out of her thoughts and she shook her head, “You can’t help.”

Mr. Coulson reached towards her but she took a step back and pulled Skye with her. He looked sad and upset, “Natasha…”

Nat suddenly felt so angry at him and she didn’t know why, but she wanted him to feel bad, “You can’t help! You can’t even make Skye feel safe in your own classroom!”

A flash of hurt flickered through Mr. Coulson’s face and Natasha felt guilty for what she had said but she wasn’t going to take it back. It was true.

Skye had been silent up until then but she suddenly spoke up, “Don’t be mean to Mr. Coulson, he’s my friend.”

Ignoring the jealousy she felt at Skye’s words, she schooled her features and looked down at her sister, “I’m sorry Skye, but it’s true, isn’t it?”

She watched as Skye looked up at Mr. Coulson before quickly looking away. She stuck her thumb back in her mouth and mumbled around it, “Mr. Coulson’s safe.”

Skye was just a little kid. She didn’t know who was safe and who wasn’t. Natasha knew better than her, she knew that you couldn’t trust adults because even if they seemed kind, they never turned out to be. The only person she trusted was Skye and it hurt a little bit that Skye was starting to trust someone else. Natasha had taken care of Skye for months, they had taken care of each other, and they had been fine together. They didn’t need anyone else.

Putting a hand under Skye’s chin, she made sure her sister was focused on her before saying, “ I’m safe. I keep you safe and you keep me safe.”

Skye nodded at her, “I know.”

She stared intensely at her sister, “We take care of each other.”

“You shouldn’t have to.” Mrs. May’s words had both of them jerking their heads to look up at her. Her teacher continued, “You’re both children, you shouldn’t have to look after yourselves, someone should be doing that for you.”

Natasha opened her mouth to protest, to say that she didn’t need anyone to look after her, she could do it just fine on her own, but Mrs. May never gave her the chance. Her teacher gave her a sad look and gently said, “I know you can look after yourselves, but you shouldn’t have to.”

Chapter Text

“You’re sad.”

Natasha looked up from her homework to find that Skye was staring at her with her large dark eyes.

“Do your homework Skye,” Natasha looked back down, biting her lip.

Everything was just becoming too much. Natasha wanted nothing more than to protect Skye and she was trying so hard but John was getting meaner and meaner and food was getting scarcer and their bruises couldn’t even heal before they got new ones.

The only good thing about their life was school and now Natasha was worried that her teachers were going to take Skye away from her. But she was more afraid that Skye would actually be better off without her.

Natasha didn’t like to admit that she needed anything, but she needed Skye.

“Hey.” A little hand patted her arm. “Don’t be sad, Nattie.” Skye got up and pushed her way onto Natasha’s lap. Natasha just wrapped her arms around the smaller girl and held her close, letting her eyes close for a moment, kissing Skye’s dark hair.

“I love you,” Skye twisted to look up at Natasha. “You’re the best sister ever.”

“I love you too,” Natasha kissed her forehead. “I’d be so lost without you.”

“You’d never be lost, you’re too smart to get lost!” Skye shook her head.

“I’m not perfect, kiddo.” Natasha sighed.

“I think you are!” Skye chirped. “Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May like you a lot too.”

Natasha didn’t want to think about Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May because she didn’t know how she felt about them so she changed the topic.

“Are you done with your homework?”

“Yep,” Skye nodded, holding up her worksheet for Natasha to see.

“You want a bath or shower before bed?” she asked.

“I don’t wanna go to bed yet,” Skye pouted. “I wanna read a book.”

They didn’t have any books in the house before but Natasha had discovered that she could check books out from the school library and so she had picked out several books she thought Skye would like. Skye thought they were the best thing ever and Natasha had to admit, she loved their reading time together. It was nice to have a distraction.

“After you get ready for bed,” Natasha nudged Skye. “You know that.”

“I know,” Skye grinned. “I was just checking if you would remember.”

“I made those rules, I’m not gonna forget them,” Natasha laughed, tickling her. “Come on.”

They got up and Natasha quickly cleaned up the homework they had been working on from her bed. They no longer went downstairs unless absolutely necessary. A lot of times John would make them go down to the kitchen to clean, but if they could hide in their bedrooms before John got back, it was slightly less likely that he would go after them.

Suddenly there was the sound of a door slamming.

Natasha’s heart dropped and she quickly ran to the door to close and lock it.

They heard John yelling downstairs and something shattered.

“Come here,” Natasha whispered and Skye wasted no time throwing herself into her sister’s arms. They moved to a corner of the room, behind the bed and far from the door.

“I don’t wanna be here,” Skye’s lip quivered. “I wanna live somewhere else.”

“I know.” Natasha kissed her forehead and pulled her closer.

There was a crash right outside the door and Skye whimpered, burying her face in Natasha’s shoulder. Natasha held her tightly, trying to stifle her own fear.

“Open the door.” John’s voice was rough and his words were slightly slurred.

“Skye, go under the bed,” Natasha whispered. Skye only clung to her tighter, body trembling.

John was banging on the door, yelling.

“Go!” Natasha moved to push Skye under the bed but was a second too late.

There was a deafening crack and the door crashed inward onto the floor.

Skye screamed and even Natasha froze as the door came crashing down, splinters dancing across the floor, and John’s form entered the room.

Skye felt Natasha try to push her under the bed but someone grabbed her ankle and yanked her back out, slamming her head roughly against the wooden bed frame.

“Leave her alone!”

Skye tried to get to Nattie, but John grabbed her arm in one hand and Natasha’s in the other. He was yelling things as he dragged them down the stairs, horrible, awful things like bad words and mutt and worthless, and Skye thought her arm might be pulled off in his iron grip.

And then John was holding her down on the ground, screaming in her face, and Skye just shut her eyes and tried to shut it all out, tried to breathe around her sobs, tried to ignore the pain...

There was a hollow thudding noise and suddenly everything went quiet and John slumped over on top of her.

Skye pried open her eyes to see that Natasha was holding a metal pan in her hands, face pale and eyes wide and staring at John’s still form.

“Nattie,” Skye sobbed, trying to wiggle out from under John’s heavy weight on top of her.

Natasha started and instantly was back in motion.

“Skye, oh god, Skye...” Natasha shoved John away and wrapped Skye in her arms.

“Did you kill him?” Skye whispered, clinging to her older sister.

“I don’t know.” Natasha’s eyes were dark and panicked. “Come on, we’ve gotta get away from here, if he wakes up...”

“Too late.”

They spun around to find that John was staggering onto his feet, eyes black with fury, one hand touching the back of his head gingerly.

Skye and Natasha froze.

“You fucking hit me,” John stared at Natasha with disbelief while taking a step forward.

Skye’s view was blocked as Natasha stepped in front of her protectively. She wasn’t gonna let her little sister take the fall for this.

“You know what? I’ve fucking had it. Go pack.”

Natasha stared at him and Skye kept her head buried in Natasha’s shirt. John was stepping towards them but he was shaking his head and smirking.

“I’m calling the social worker. You’re out of here. I don’t need you as my problem anymore. Go!” John shoved Natasha towards the stairs. Natasha felt a rush of panic, felt her world slowly spin beneath her feet as she fell against the stairs, propelled by John’s push.

Skye tried to follow but John grabbed her.

“Not you, you’re staying.”

No. No. No. This was all wrong. This couldn’t be happening.

“No, you can’t do that!” Natasha pushed herself back up onto her feet, trying to lunge for Skye.

He just lashed a foot out and she crashed to the ground as it connected with her side.

Natasha tasted blood welling up in her mouth and spat onto the ground, slowly pulling herself back up, only propelled by the sound of Skye’s crying.

“You can’t separate us. Please.”

She hated saying that word to him but if it could fix this...

“Yes, I can. You’re a worthless foster brat and I’m Chief of Police.” John smiled slowly, pulling out a gun. “Go.”

Scared that he would hurt Skye, Natasha began climbing the stairs. John came up behind her, dragging Skye along. When they got to the top of the stairs, John opened the closet door.

“Nattie!” Skye cried out, trying to get free of John’s grip. “Nattie!”

“Skye!” Natasha tried to run forward but John just raised his gun and she froze.

Helplessly, she watched as her baby sister was pushed into the closet, the door closing with a slam.

“Go pack or I will kill her.” John waved his gun.

Natasha never cried. But shoving her stuff into her backpack while John called the social worker, Natasha couldn’t help the tears that ran down her face.

The incessant shrill of her cell phone jerked Melinda out of sleep and she groaned, rolled over, and lightly kicked Phil’s shin, “Get the phone.”

Her husband grunted and hid his head partially under his pillow, “It’s yours, you get it.”

Sighing loudly, she pushed Phil’s arm and ignored his sound of protest while she blindly reached over and grabbed her cell phone from her bedside table. She picked it up, squinted at the bright screen, and waited for her eyes to adjust. An unfamiliar number was displayed on her phone but she answered it anyways, “Hello?”

The line was silent for a few moments and she considered hanging up but a small, trembling voice stopped her, “Mrs. May?”

She immediately sat up, “Natasha? What’s wrong?”

As soon as she said Natasha’s name, Phil jerked awake. He sat up next to her and gave her a questioning look. She waved him off and focused on her phone conversation.

She heard Natasha take a deep breath and her voice wobbled when she hesitantly said, “Um…”

Her frustration with Natasha’s inability to trust her was pushed aside by her fear. Natasha was calling her in the middle of the night, something bad must have happened, “You can trust me Natasha, please, tell me what’s wrong.”

She heard Natasha’s breath catch and then a flood of words escaped her. She had never heard the little girl talk so much in all the time she had known her, “I-I don’t know what happened! He was so mad and we tried to hide but he broke down the door and then, I don’t know! He was hurting her! I didn’t… I didn’t mean to…”

Natasha was talking so quickly and nothing was making sense but Melinda understood enough to realize that something terrible had happened in Natasha’s home and that she needed help, “Slow down, slow down. Are you okay?”

“You need to go get Skye! Get her out of there!”

Phil must have heard Natasha mention Skye because he wrapped a hand around her arm to get her attention and when she looked up at him, he was staring at her from worried eyes. She gave him a helpless look and focused back on Natasha, “Where is she? She isn’t with you?”

Natasha made a frustrated sound, “No! You need to get Skye! Please! She isn’t… she’s not safe there and I’m not with her and… and… she’s just a little kid… and...”

Melinda could feel her heart breaking. Natasha was a little kid too. She made sure that her voice was gentle but firm and tried to calm her student down, “Natasha, take a deep breath okay? Where are you and where is Skye?”

Surprisingly, Natasha listened to her. Melinda heard her take a deep breath and when Natasha answered, she sounded fractionally calmer, “Skye’s in that house, you need to go get her.”

Melinda looked over to Phil and mouthed for him to call Tripp. He nodded and she saw him grab his phone from the bedside table. She turned her focus back to Natasha, “Where are you?”

“You have to help Skye first!”

Normally, Natasha and Skye’s dedication to each other was something that Melinda admired but right now, it was frustrating, “We’ll help Skye, I promise, but we need to help you too. Now, where are you?”

There was a long pause and Melinda seriously thought that Natasha might have hung up on her but then she finally answered, “I got put in a group home. I took a phone from an older girl but I’ll give it back, I promise.”

The fact that this was the first time that Natasha actually sounded like a child rather than an adult made Melinda’s heart break even more, “I know you will, you’re a good girl. Do you remember where this group home is or what it’s called?”

“I think it’s called Olive Crest? I wasn’t paying attention, I should have been paying more attention…”

Melinda knew the group home she was referring to. The social worker had given her a list of group homes with the hopes that she and Phil would foster a kid from one of them. She shushed the little girl, “No, you did great okay? Phil and I will come and get you as soon as we can.”

Natasha protested, “No! You have to go get Skye!”

Melinda glanced at Phil and saw that he was talking on the phone to Tripp, “We’re already working on that.”

Sounding unsure, Natasha said, “You are?”

“Yes, do you remember Officer Triplett? He’s already helping us.”

“No! He’s a cop! Cops are bad.”

Rubbing her forehead, she tried to get Natasha to understand, “Tripp’s good, he wants to help you and Skye. You can trust him.”

She could hear Natasha’s breathing pick up, “No!”

Phil was pacing in front of her and she knew he was talking to Tripp but she let his voice fade into the background. She didn’t know how to get Natasha to understand that she was trying to help her. She realized that the fact that the little girl had called her was a miracle in itself and she had an idea, “You trust me, don’t you?”

“...I think so.”

That was good enough for Melinda, “You can trust me, I promise. You can trust that I won’t do anything to hurt you or Skye. I just want to help.”

It was quiet for a long time and Melinda held her breath until Natasha whispered, “Okay.”

She felt a giant weight lift off of her shoulders but didn’t allow herself to celebrate this small victory. She let out a relieved breath and nodded, “Okay, okay. We’ll come get you as soon as we can, alright? And we’ll help Skye, we’ll get her out of there.”

“She’s all alone Mrs. May. She’s all alone with them and I’m not there.”

The desperation and heartache in Natasha’s voice was enough to shatter Melinda’s heart completely, “I know, we’ll get her out of there.”

“I wasn’t supposed to tell. He said he would kill her if I told.”

Melinda’s heart stopped and then went into overdrive. She didn’t have a chance to process that, let alone formulate a response, before Natasha whispered, “He has a gun.”

Pushing her worry and fear aside, she said the only thing she could, “Skye will be alright. She’s going to be fine.”

“You don’t know that.” It was clear that Natasha didn’t fully believe her.

She reached up to push some hair out of her face and realized that her hand was shaking. Closing her hand into a tight fist, she said, “I know that we’re going to get Skye back.”

“You promise?”

She shouldn’t promise Natasha this, John Garrett was the Chief of Police, he held a lot of sway and there was no way that she could guarantee that they would be able to get Skye back, but she did it anyways, “I promise.”

“Okay, I think… I think someone’s awake. I have to go.”

Quickly, Melinda said, “Hang in there Natasha. We’re coming to get you.”

She heard a beeping noise and hoped that Natasha had heard her.

She stared at her phone for a few seconds before Phil got her attention, “Mel, I’m going crazy here. What’s happening?”

It had been thirteen hours since she had been taken away from Skye and three and a half hours since she had called Mrs. May. The sun was starting to rise and the clock that was hanging on the wall said that it was six thirty in the morning.

It had taken a long time for everyone to fall asleep and it had taken even longer for Natasha to get her hands on the cell phone that she had seen one of the older teens texting on and now she wasn’t so sure of her decision to call Mrs. May. The cold hard truth was that she hadn’t had anyone else to call.

Mrs. May had told her that she could trust her. Natasha wanted to believe her but she wasn’t sure. She guessed that she’d just have to wait and find out.

The problem was that she couldn’t wait. Every second that she was sitting here was another second that Skye was in that house, all alone with John Garrett. Her skin crawled just thinking about it and she had to force herself to stay still and not to do anything stupid. Being stupid wouldn’t help Skye.

She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees. She could hear people walking around, probably the house parents and some early risers eating in the kitchen, but she stayed where she was.

Skye screaming her name and reaching desperately for her played through her mind over and over again and it was so painful but she couldn’t make it stop, she didn’t want to. She was safe here in a group home while Skye was all by herself in a house with John Garrett and Natasha hated herself for that.

Her lip was throbbing and felt bigger than it normally was and her head ached, whether that was from her hitting it somewhere or from trying to hold back her tears, she wasn’t sure. She was pretty sure her ribs were bruised or broken from where John had kicked her and it hurt every time she breathed or moved.

She shouldn’t have hit John, she knew that, but she didn’t know what else she could have done. He was on top of Skye and Nat wasn’t strong enough to push him off and he wasn’t listening and she hadn’t really thought about what she was doing, she had just grabbed the nearest thing and smashed it against John’s head. She could still hear the sound he had made as he slumped over and crashed against the ground, she didn’t think she’d ever be able to get that sound out of her head.

She hoped that Skye was alright. For all she knew, her little sister was still stuck in that dark closet, all by herself. Natasha felt tears well up in her eyes and the familiar burn that came with not allowing them to fall. Even though she knew that she had a lot of important organs in her chest, Mrs. May had taught her that, her chest felt empty. It felt like there was a giant hole where her heart was supposed to be and she just wanted Skye back.

“I can’t do this.”

May’s face was one of exhaustion. They had been up all night, dealing with the legalities of gaining guardianship of Natasha and being on and off the phone with Tripp, who was doing everything he could to get the police involved.

The cops had processed Phil’s call and Tripp’s reports but Garrett called the responding officers and told him Natasha’s story was a prank.

In the standoff between the word of a foster kid and the chief of police, Tripp was struggling to find anyone to take action and push for an investigation. His status on the totem pole didn’t allow him any authority. He needed an ally desperately just to get approval to have Natasha brought to the station so that they could hear her side of the story. The only other way was if May and Phil were granted custody of Natasha and brought her themselves and forced someone to listen to them.

They were sitting under the harsh fluorescent lights of the agency which they had to fight tooth and nail to get open early for them over the emergency.

The worst part was now they were just waiting as the social worker talked to her superior about the situation.

“I know.” Phil took her hand. “I know.”

Everything was wrong and they couldn’t do anything to make it right. It seemed like they were trying to wade up a fast moving river to get to Natasha and Skye, legalities and police bias tearing at their ankles, trying to knock them down as they painfully and much too slowly inched forward.

All Phil could think about was Natasha alone in the group home and Skye with Garrett, who had a gun, who had threatened two small children, who now had Skye isolated in his home...

He resisted the sudden urge to throw up as horror curled in his stomach, the overwhelming feeling of the night.

“You can take her.”

Phil and May jerked up as the social worker spoke.

“I’ll just need your signatures here....”

They were already scribbling their names down on the document, listening to the social worker talk, getting in the car, praying they were not too late.

“She’s this way, we haven’t gotten her to say a word.”

May barely spared the woman a glance, focusing on following her through the house.

A door opened and May’s heart broke.

Sitting on a bed, curled in a ball with her knees tucked under her chin, face hidden by limp strands of red hair, May had never seen Natasha look smaller.

“Natasha,” the group home lady said. “Someone’s here for you.”

May resisted the urge to rush forward and take the girl into her arms, knowing that the last thing Natasha needed was unexpected physical contact.

Natasha didn’t even lift her head.

May stepped forward.

“Natasha,” she said gently.

At her voice, Natasha looked up and May was taken aback by the young girl’s swollen lip and bruised cheek. Pushing away the fury that she could barely control, May slowly approached the girl.

“Where’s Skye?” Natasha’s voice was unsteady, her green eyes trained on May’s face.

“Garrett isn’t letting us get to her yet.”

Natasha recoiled as though she had been bitten.

“You promised we would get her!” The girl’s eyes flashed with anger. “You promised! She’s not safe!”

“Natasha...” May held up her hands, recognizing the desperation and fear washing across her student’s face but slightly worried by the intensity she saw there. “We’re doing everything we can. But we need your help. And in order for you to help, I need you to calm down a little.”

Natasha’s jaw clenched but after a moment she nodded and listened as May explained their plan.

Chapter Text

The fact that Natasha only had one bag with her made it easy for her to leave as fast as she could. She was pulling her bag behind her and winced when that movement tugged at her sore ribs and a flash of blinding pain washed through her.

She tried not to let it show and continued to pull her bag behind her but Mr. Coulson noticed and said, “I can carry that for you Natasha.”

She shook her head, “I’m okay.”

Mrs. May studied her and grabbed onto the back of her bag so that she couldn’t keep walking. She let out an irritated breath and turned to her teacher, “C’mon, we have to go get Skye.”

Her teacher looked closely at her and Nat noticed how her gaze lingered on her split lip. Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson had already yelled at the group home parents for not reporting her injuries and for not giving her some first aid but the truth was that her social worker already knew about her split lip, she just didn’t think it was anything to be worried about because John had told her not to, and the group parents had tried to help her clean up her lip but she hadn’t let them touch her.

She hardened her gaze and put a hand on her hip but Mrs. May didn’t seem fazed by her tough act. Instead, she leaned down, put a hand under Natasha’s chin, and gently tilted her head so that she could get a better look at her lip, “How bad does it hurt?”

Natasha took a step back so that Mrs. May had to let go of her chin, “It doesn’t.”

Mrs. May took a step closer to her, “You don’t have to lie, we just want to help, and we need to know what hurts so that we can help.”

Natasha looked away from them and stared at nothing. They were wasting time, they needed to go get Skye.

Mrs. May was quiet for a moment before letting out a breath and gently saying, “The quicker you tell us what hurts, the quicker we can start helping Skye.”

It was kind of sneaky how Mrs. May was using her impatience with helping Skye to get her to speak up, and if Nat wasn’t so irritated, she probably would have been a little impressed. Sighing angrily, she turned back to Mrs. May and glared, “My lip doesn’t hurt, it’s just sore.”

Her teacher nodded, “Okay, anything else?”

Natasha considered saying that nothing else was wrong, that her split lip was the worst of it, but for some reason, she wanted someone to know what was hurting. Some part of her wanted to be taken care of and even though she refused to acknowledge that part of her because she didn’t need anyone to take care of her, she spoke up anyways, “I hurt my head.”

“Where?”

She pointed to the side of her head, “Here, but I’ve had worse. It not that bad.”

Natasha thought that she was being tough by saying that but the look that Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson shared with each other made her think that maybe that had been the wrong thing to say.

Mr. Coulson stepped forward and started to reach for her head but stopped and looked at her, “Is it okay if I have a look?”

Natasha looked at his hands, they were stretched towards her and looked gentle. He was asking for her permission to touch her and even though Skye trusted him, Natasha wasn’t sure how she felt about Mr. Coulson yet.

She looked away from Mr. Coulson’s hand and towards Mrs. May before pointing at her teacher, “She can.”

Mr. Coulson didn’t look angry, he just graciously took a step back so that Mrs. May could take his place. Natasha gritted her teeth as Mrs. May gently prodded her head until she finally found the sore spot. Her teacher must have noticed how she tensed up because she quickly lessened the pressure she was putting on her head and examined the area carefully.

It only took a few moments before Mrs. May was done with her examination and was stepping back, “There’s definitely a bump there.”

Her teacher had a worried look on her face and Mr. Coulson rested a hand on Mrs. May arm and asked, “Is there anything else?”

The constant ache in her ribs came to mind but rather than saying anything, she gave the two adults an impatient look and said, “We’re wasting time.”

Mrs. May said, “We aren’t wasting time, this is important. Now, is there anything else?”

Lifting her chin, she leveled her teacher with a tough glare but that didn’t seem to faze Mrs. May. They stared each other down until the concerned look in her teacher’s eyes finally got through to her and Natasha relented, “Yeah, there’s something else.”

“Tell us please.”

Natasha determinedly stared at the ground and pointed to her ribs. The ache intensified every time she breathed but she was doing a good job of ignoring it.

“Is it okay if I look?” Mrs. May’s voice was soft and soothing but Natasha wasn’t sure if she wanted her to see.

“Do I have to show you?”

Even though Natasha was making it a point to stare at the ground, she finally looked up when Mrs. May kneeled down in front of her, “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, it’s your decision, but I think that it would really be helpful if I could see how bad it is.”

The fact that this was all up to her, that she could make a decision and Mrs. May would respect it, was what had her agreeing to slowly tug up her shirt until her ribs were exposed.

She hadn’t actually looked at her ribs until now, there had just been too much going on for her to give the pain in her chest too much attention, but when she heard Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May both suck in sharp breaths, she glanced down at herself.

There were dark, angry-looking red and purple bruises decorating her skin. They were kind of intriguing to look at and when she went to poke one, Mrs. May stopped her by grabbing onto her hand and saying, “Okay, new plan.”

Natasha quickly looked up at her teacher, “What? I thought we already had a plan?”

Mrs. May shook her head, grabbed onto Natasha’s bag before the little girl could protest, and started to gently lead Nat towards their car, “We did but now we have a new one. Let’s go to the hospital.”

Skye didn’t think she could ever stop crying.

Everything was more wrong than it had ever been before. Her body hurt in so many different places and she had been in the closet for she didn’t even know how long, falling asleep at one point. But none of those things mattered as much as Natasha being gone.

Skye thought about Natasha being hurt or in a really mean house and she started crying even harder.

“Shut the fuck up!”

The closet door suddenly swung open and Skye whimpered as John grabbed her arm and dragged her out. Skye’s heart seized in her chest as she tried to thrash her away out of his grip.

“Shut up!”

Skye cried out as John threw her to the ground and searing pain jolted up her right arm.

John’s eyes were dark and wild as he staggered back and forth across the room. Skye cradled her arm and curled into a ball, trying to hide her tears that she couldn’t stop.

“John, what the hell have you done?!”

Skye had never been more happy to see Becky. She didn’t want to be alone with John. Ever.

“I got rid of the other brat,” John slurred. “You were passed out on the couch.”

“Shit, John, she’s going to tell everyone!”

“She already did. Nobody believes her.” John leant against the wall. “I’m Chief of Police, sweetie.”

“You’re out of control.”

John bristled and slapped Becky hard across the cheek, so hard that the woman staggered a couple steps.

Skye tried to curl even tighter in on herself, pressed as far back in the corner as she could. As John and Becky began to scream, she kept her eyes closed tight and tried to think about other things. Happy things.

But every happy memory had Nattie in it.

And Nattie was gone.

John and Becky had left the room as John’s phone began to ring, leaving a trail of broken glass and bad words hovering in the air.

Skye shifted slightly and felt something poke into her thigh from her pocket. With her good arm, she carefully eased out a piece of paper. On it were numbers.

Her eyes widened with recognition.

This was the piece of paper Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May had given her and Natasha. This was their phone number.

Skye gently stroked the piece of paper, carefully feeling its edges. She knew the only phone in the house was smashed and there was no way she would get John’s cell phone, but that didn’t matter.

Because this card was proof that someone cared about her and Natasha.

It was barely anything, but Skye held it to her chest and cried because it was all she had.

“You wanna keep that hand?” Natasha glared threateningly at the nurse who had been reaching towards her. The nurse took a hasty step back and glanced over to where Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson were standing behind her.

On principle, Natasha didn’t like the nurse standing in front of her. She didn’t like how he kept trying to reach for her, she didn’t like how he kept talking to her in a tone of voice that Natasha usually heard adults use when they were talking to dumb little kids, and since she was on a roll here, she didn’t like the tiny smiley faces on his light blue scrubs. She really didn’t like how tall he was and how big his arm muscles were, Nat thought that she might be able to put up a fight if he did something bad but she didn’t think she would last too long since he looked so strong.

Mrs. May cleared her throat and Nat looked over to her when she said, “Natasha, he’s trying to help.”

She casted a mistrustful look back towards the nurse and then glanced back over to her teacher, “I don’t like him.”

The nurse cleared his throat, “I’ll just go grab the doctor.”

Mr. Coulson smiled and thanked the nurse before she heard the door open and assumed that the nurse left the tiny room that they were all crammed into.

Mrs. May gave her a questioning look and said, “What’s wrong? You said you’d let them help.”

Her teacher didn’t sound accusatory, just curious and slightly concerned, but Natasha tensed up anyways, “Nothing.”

Tilting her head, Mrs. May took a step towards her and Natasha let her, “This is the best way to help you and Skye. What can we do to help make this easier?”

Mr. Coulson nodded behind Mrs. May and Natasha turned to look at her shoes. For some reason, staring at her dirty shoelaces reminded her of Skye and her little sister’s inability to tie her own shoes. Once she allowed herself to think about Skye, it was like she couldn’t stop. She wondered if Skye was alright, if she was hurt or scared or if she was able to sleep. She knew that neither John nor Becky would make Skye dinner, they wouldn’t help her get ready for bed or make sure she brushed her teeth. They wouldn’t read her her favorite story and give all the characters silly voices just to make Skye laugh.

Natasha didn’t know why she was being so selfish, all she had to do was let some doctors check over her while Skye was all by herself in a house full of monsters.

Taking a deep breath, she looked back up and her teacher and said, “I want a girl doctor, I don’t like boy doctors.”

Her teacher nodded seriously at her after exchanging a look with Mr. Coulson, “I can make that happen.”

Mrs. May slipped out of the room and left her alone with Mr. Coulson.

She studied him for a few moments and he didn’t say anything, just let her stare at him.

He had a kind face and Natasha knew that the slight wrinkles around his eyes meant that he laughed and smiled a lot. Nat could see why Skye liked him so much, he looked like the polar opposite of John.

“Do you think Skye’s alright?”

Mr. Coulson thought about her question for a second and Nat appreciated that he was taking his time to think of an answer and not just telling her a lie or what she wanted to hear, “I hope she’s alright Natasha, I really do.”

She nodded at him and played nervously with her fingers, “Do you really think we can get her?”

This time, Mr. Coulson didn’t have to think about his answer, he immediately said, “We won’t stop until we get her away from them, I promise.”

Natasha bit her lip, nodding slowly.

“She’s probably so scared.”

The words left her mouth before she could stop them. She didn’t want to talk to Mr. Coulson about this because it hurt to think about, let alone say, and she might cry, but it was too late and the words were already out.

To her surprise, Mr. Coulson didn’t rush to comfort her, instead his face grew solemn, his blue eyes full of concern. He really cared, Natasha realized.

“I’m worried too, Natasha. All we can do is get to her as soon as possible.”

Natasha gave him a small nod and when May came back with a female doctor who started examining her, Natasha didn’t put up a fight.

Tripp’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he nearly knocked over his coffee trying to get it out as quickly as possible.

“Coulson,” he said quickly, “What’s your status?”

“The hospital is filing a report of suspected abuse. God, Tripp, that man is ruthless.” Phil’s voice was laced with barely controlled fury.

“Is the kiddo okay?” Tripp’s stomach clenched with worry. It was extremely uncharacteristic for Phil to be so angry.

“She’s sporting a couple broken ribs, one of them was pressing into her left lung, luckily it didn’t puncture. She’s going to be okay. But we need to get Skye out of that house as soon as possible.” Phil’s voice was tight. “When I think about her trapped there... oh god Tripp... The only thing that’s keeping me back is the fact that if I break the law and get her, they’ll take them away from us and they’ll go back into the system. But she can’t be in that home, Tripp.” There was an edge of desperation in the older man’s voice.

“As soon as we get the report, we’ll be there,” Tripp promised quickly. “We’re going to get her.”

As if on cue, Officer Peters entered the room, face grave, and made a motion for Tripp to get off the phone.

“I’ve got to go, Phil, I’ll keep you updated.” He quickly pocketed the cell and turned to his superior officer.

“We’ve got a report from the hospital of suspected abuse and Garrett has stopped answering his phone and is not following my request that he come in. We’re going to have to bring him in and remove the kid from the house.” Officer Peters nodded at Tripp who quickly stood up.

“I’ll go with you,” he offered quickly, already grabbing his jacket.

The office was eerily quiet, nobody really wanting to talk about the accusations against their chief. Tripp knew that until they had facts, nobody would be able to fully realize the implications of the actions of their chief.

“The social worker is going to meet us there to pick up the girl,” Officer Peters informed Tripp.

“We should probably have back up,” Tripp cleared his throat, staring steadily at his superior officer who slowly nodded.

“We don’t know what the situation is, but that’s probably a good idea.”

They hadn’t listened to him before and now they were facing the consequences of that. Honestly, Tripp didn’t care about anything but getting that little girl out of the house and into Phil and May’s arms.

“Let’s head out.”

The evening sky was dark with rainclouds, water pouring down onto the deserted streets.

Soon they were pulling up to the neat little blue house. The lights were on and a car was in the garage.

Someone was home.

Tripp tapped his hip to make sure all his gear was there, took a deep breath, and stepped out of the car and into the pouring rain.

Officer Peters led the way to the door, firmly knocking.

The silence was heavy for a couple minutes, raindrops dripping onto them, soaking into their hair and clothes. And then the door cracked open.

“Boys, what’s going on?” Chief Garrett peered out, face slightly flushed.

“We’ve been trying to call, you need to come into the station.”

“My phone died. What’s the problem?” Something in Garrett’s expression changed slightly and Tripp found himself tensing.

“We have a filed abuse suspicion from the hospital where your previous foster daughter is. That makes two within the one last month. You need to come in and answer some questions.”

“You can’t arrest me, I’m your boss,” Garrett’s face hardened.

“It’s not an arrest, we need you to come in so we can figure out what is going on...” Officer Peters hastened to say.

“But first, the social worker has to take the little one,” Tripp added.

“You can’t take my daughter away from me!” Garrett’s voice rose.

“I’m sorry, sir, but she can’t be in your house right now.” Tripp took a step forward. “Where is Skye?”

A car pulled up behind them, lights glimmering through the rain. Hopefully it was the social worker.

Something flickered in Garrett’s eyes.

“Asleep,” he answered quickly.

They both knew he was lying.

“I think it’s best you tell us the truth and cooperate,” Officer Peters said in a low voice.

Garrett’s expression quickly changed to one of anger.

“Fuck you,” he growled. “I’m firing both of you the second I get into the office!” He started to close the door but Tripp grabbed it.

“Nuh uh. I’m not leaving here without the girl.” Tripp yanked the door open and pushed his way in.

Glass was all over the floor, and some splatters of blood. On the couch, a woman was lying unconscious, one eye blackened.

“Holy shit... call an ambulance!” Tripp rushed forward to check on the woman and was relieved to find she was merely unconscious and the blood was flowing from a long but relatively shallow cut on her arm.

“What the hell?!” Officer Peters turned to face Garrett. “You’re under arrest.”

“I’d like to see you fucking try to arrest me.”

Tripp heard the unmistakable click of a gun and turned to see Garrett pulling out a firearm.

“Get down!” he yelled, tackling the chief of police as the gun discharged.

The room was filled with shouts as back up arrived, and at some point in the chaos, Tripp found that someone was helping him restrain Garrett, handcuffs clicking into position. Somewhere in the distance, sirens wailed, mixing with the low voice of an officer reading Garrett his Miranda rights.

“We can’t find the girl,” another officer reported, footsteps clunking down the stairs, his words causing Tripp’s chest to clench with fear.

“Where is Skye?” Tripp shouted, grabbing Garrett’s shirt as another officer hauled the chief to his feet. “Where is she?!”

“I don’t know!” Garrett spat.

“Answer me!” Tripp punched him, hard, sending the larger man staggering back against another officer.

“Whoa! Tripp, stand down!” Hands grabbed Tripp’s arms, holding him back.

“I don’t know where she is,” Garrett growled, spitting blood onto the ground. “I thought she was in her room.”

“Take him back to the station,” Officer Peters ordered, giving Tripp a worried look. “Search the house again.”

Tripp moved around the EMT’s working on the unconscious woman to go up the stairs. One of the bedrooms had the door kicked in, children’s books scattered haphazardly across the floor.

After thoroughly searching the house and yard, it became clear that the little girl was not there.

Chapter Text

Skye cradled her arm close to her shaking body, listening to the rain pelt against the plastic above her.

Technically, the plastic tube raised above the ground was part of the big kid playground, which Skye wasn’t supposed to play on during school, but it wasn’t school time so she thought maybe it was okay.

After Garrett and Becky had started screaming at each other, Skye had heard something crash, and when she peeked down the stairs, she saw that Becky was lying on the ground unmoving. And then Skye had gotten really scared because if John had hurt Becky, he was going to kill her.

So Skye had done the only thing she could think of - she ran. When Garrett turned his back, she had snuck to the back door, somehow gotten it open, and ran out into the rain. At first she had just been running, then she had realized that her feet were taking her to school.

Now she was curled up in a plastic tube in a playset, shivering, wondering what she should do next.

She didn’t know how long she had been in the plastic tube but her hair wasn’t as wet anymore and she thought she had maybe fallen asleep at one point, but it was hard when every time she moved, her arm and body hurt.

Maybe she shouldn’t have left.

But she couldn’t go back.

What if Garrett found Natasha and hurt her because she had run away?

Tears welled up at the thought of Natasha. She wanted her sister so so badly. She was scared she would never see her again.

Lights flashed in the corner of her eye and Skye’s heart started beating wildly in her chest.

John had come to find her.

“Skye!”

She froze.

That wasn’t John’s voice.

It was a different voice and she hesitated for a moment, deciding what to do.

The voice called out again and Skye had never heard her name said with so much worry.

That made up her mind. She scrambled out of the tube, climbed down the stairs of the playset, ignoring how the movement made everything hurt, and ran towards the light.

Mr. Coulson had found her.

Phil’s hand clenched tightly around the heavy flashlight, as if he could force it to reveal that which he most wanted to find.

Skye.

His already churning world had been plunged into more chaos when Tripp had called to say that Garrett was under arrest but Skye was nowhere to be found.

Phil could still see the way that May’s face had drained of color and his own sudden feeling that he might faint at the news. They hadn’t woken up Natasha - there was no way they could tell the girl that her sister was missing. Not yet. Not until they had more information.

An Amber alert had already been sent, and the police were starting a search.

Don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic. Phil tried to stay calm as he stepped out of the car and into the school parking lot.

He couldn’t stop the swirling images of the tiny girl hurt, lying somewhere by the road... or worse.

What if Garrett had....

He had to turn those thoughts off or he would go crazy. The man insisted that he hadn’t done anything to Skye and that she must have run away.

Making sure that Natasha was safely asleep with May, Phil had made a beeline to the only place he could think of that Skye might go to if she had run away.

He desperately wanted to think that school had been some sort of safe haven for Skye and maybe if that was the case, and if she had run away, and if nothing had happened to her, she would be there.  

That was a lot of ifs but he desperately clung to them because otherwise he knew he would fall apart.

“Skye?” Phil called out, sweeping the flashlight across the playground, not even noticing the raindrops pelting down on him. “Skye!”

And then he saw a movement.

“Skye!”

He dropped to his knees as Skye barrelled into him.

“Mr. Coulson!”

“Oh my god, sweetie, you’re okay, you’re okay,” he gasped, a tidal wave of relief flooding over him. “Oh my god.” He was checking her over quickly for any serious injuries, blood boiling at the sight of a bruise peeking out from under a sleeve and the sight of dried blood around a cut at her hairline. How could he have let this happen? How could anybody do this to a child? “Skye, you’re safe now, you’re safe,” he repeated over and over again as Skye buried her face in his shoulder.

The little girl was sobbing and he felt wetness on his own cheeks and realized he was crying also.

“J-J-John sent Natasha away!” Skye cried, voice slightly muffled by the way she was pressing her face into his sweater. One of her arms was wrapped around him as he knelt on the ground, her hand clutching the fabric of his sweatshirt like a lifeline. Her other arm was cradled to her chest as she physically trembled in his arms. “I don’t know w-w-where Nat is!” Skye wailed. “He said he would kill her if I was bad and I ran away and...”

“Shhhh, Skye, we found Natasha. We found her, she’s safe at the hospital with Mrs. May. Garrett isn’t going to hurt either of you again and you weren’t bad, sweetie. None of this was your fault, okay? Now I need you to come to the car with me so we can get you warm and to the hospital to be checked out. Is something wrong with your arm?” His initial overwhelming relief was mixing with the urgent need to get Skye to a doctor.

“You found her?” Skye looked up at him, her dark eyes widening, “You found Natasha? She’s okay?”

He nearly started crying again at the pure look of hope that shone from among the bruises and tears stains that streaked across her face.

“We did. She’s safe. You’re both safe now...”

Phil wasn’t able to say anymore or get Skye to tell him where she was hurt because the tiny girl burst into uncontrollable tears. So he picked her up, praying he wasn’t aggravating any injuries, and carried her to his car. She was tiny, so so light in his arms and he knew that he wanted to keep her safe forever, no matter what it took or what she needed.

Once they were sheltered from the rain, he turned on the heat full blast, Skye still clinging to his shirt crying, tiny frame shaking uncontrollably. He paused to kiss the top of her head, murmured soft promises to her, then pulled out his phone and called the police.

“Is she here yet?” Natasha tried to get a better look at the hallway through the partially open door but she couldn’t see Skye.

Mrs. May gave her a look, “Not yet but when she gets here, you’re going to have to be patient alright? The doctors want to look at her first and then you can see her.”

Natasha scoffed internally but said, “Okay.”

It was obvious that her teacher didn’t believe her, “I’m serious. With your ribs, you’re not allowed to get out of that hospital bed.”

Tasha glared at her teacher and didn’t say anything. There was absolutely nothing that was going to stop her from seeing Skye, not her stupid ribs or her teacher, but Mrs. May didn’t need to know that.

She anxiously waited for Skye to show up. No one had told her if her sister was hurt or scared or upset, they had just told her that they had found her and were bringing her into the hospital. Natasha had no idea what condition Skye was going to be in and she couldn’t help but imagine the worst. Her little sister had been alone with Garrett for a long time, Natasha wasn’t going to try and convince herself that Skye was fine.

Finally , there was a commotion in the hallway and Natasha straightened up. She saw a flash of tangled, dark brown hair and, before Mrs. May could stop her, she ungracefully slid out of her bed. She cried out in pain when her feet hit the ground and her ribs were jostled but she took a deep breath and ignored it.

She heard Mrs. May shout after her but she scrambled out of her hospital room and through the door, “Skye!”

There were three official-looking people surrounding the gurney that Skye was currently lying on and they were all fussing over her. Mr. Coulson was quickly walking behind them, looking worried and concerned, but Nat ignored them. Her sister heard her voice and jerked upright. Natasha desperately looked over her, searching for injuries, and noticed that Skye was crying hysterically.

She made eye contact with Skye and her sister started crying even harder, “Nattie?”

Skye’s broken voice had her rushing towards her. The medical-people were heading down the hallway towards an examination room and Nat couldn’t find a way to get to her sister. She felt her anger and irritation spike and when they stopped in a room and continued to cluster around Skye. Natasha aggressively tried to push one of the nurses to the side, “Move!”

Skye was crying so hard that Natasha was afraid her sister was going to make herself sick and she was making these pitiful whimpering sounds that broke Tasha’s heart. No one was listening to her and Tasha couldn’t take it anymore. She screamed, “Stop!”

It kind of surprised her when everyone in the room paused, except for Skye who was still crying, but she didn’t let it show. She pushed at the nurse again, ignoring the pain in her ribs, and this time, she got out of the way. The bed was too far off the ground for her to easily climb up on, especially with the constant pain in her ribs, but before she could work up with nerve to pull herself up, she felt a pair of hands gently lift her onto Skye’s gurney. She didn’t bother looking back to see who it was, she assumed it was either Mrs. May or Mr. Coulson, she just focused on her sister.

Skye shrugged off the blanket she was wrapped up in and pushed away the hands of one of the nurses so that she could hastily scramble into Natasha’s open arms.

“Her arm..”

“She shouldn’t be moving…”

“Who’s that?”

Natasha ignored the voices around her and when Skye was safely in her arms, she couldn’t help it, she started crying. She didn’t even feel embarrassed about it like she usually did, she just let the tears fall down her face and reveled in the fact that her sister was here , in her arms and pressed tightly against her aching ribs, rather than with John and Becky. She and Skye were back together and everything wasn’t alright yet but it was good enough for Natasha.

They held each other tight, Natasha wasn’t really sure where else Skye was hurt beside her arm, but Skye didn’t protest, so she didn’t say anything about how Skye was kind of hurting her ribs.

After a moment, she leaned back a little and looked her sister over, “Are you alright?”

Skye nodded, and even though Natasha knew she was probably lying, she didn’t say anything about it, “Are you?”

Nat nodded and pulled Skye in close again, “I missed you.”

She felt Skye grab onto her shirt and clench it tightly between her uninjured hand, “I missed you too.”

A giant weight lifted off of Nat’s shoulders now that Skye was safely in her arms and she sniffled and hastily wiped the tears out of her eyes.

It was silent for another long moment before they both started talking over one another.

“I thought that-”

“I thought he was gonna hurt you so I told-”

“I was never going to see you again.”

“But I couldn’t leave you there.”

“I was scared.”

“I was scared.”

They stopped talking when they both said that. Natasha looked into Skye’s worried eyes and was hit with how things could have turned out much worse. Skye could have had much more serious injuries or worse. She could have never seen her little sister again.

Tears welled up in her eyes once again and this time, Skye reached up and wiped them away with her good hand, “It’s okay Nattie.”

Tasha leaned in and pressed gentle kisses to Skye’s face, ignoring the pain in her split lip and making sure to avoid all the little cuts and bruises decorating her sister’s skin, and whispered, “I won’t let anyone separate us ever again.”

Skye snuggled close to her, let out a deep breath, stuck her thumb into her mouth, and mumbled around it, “Promise?”

Natasha nodded determinedly, “I promise.”

Skye finally felt safe, wrapped up in her big sister’s arms. She believed Natasha when she said that she wouldn’t let anyone separate them again because Natasha could do anything and she always kept her promises.

She breathed in her sister’s comforting scent and felt her heartbeat calm down a little so that it wasn’t pounding against her ribs anymore. She sucked on her thumb and since Natasha didn’t stop her, she assumed that it was alright. Now that she was calming down, she started to remember how much pain her body was in. Wincing a little when Natasha accident brushed against her bad arm, she looked up at her sister, “I got to ride in an ambulance.”

Nattie breathed out a forced laugh when Skye accidently butchered the pronunciation of ‘ambulance’. Skye smiled around her thumb and Tasha reached forward to brush some hair out of Skye’s eyes, “An ambulance?”

She nodded and Nattie said, “Was it fun?”

She thought about it and finally shook her head, “I would have been more fun if you were there.”

Nattie looked guilty and before Skye could worry about if she had said the wrong thing, the adults that had been quietly observing them started talking again. One of them said, “We need to look at that arm. She needs X-rays. Are you her guardians?”

Skye looked over and realized that Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson were in the room and that the nurse was talking to them. Mr. Coulson looked at Mrs. May who said, “Not yet.”

Skye wondered what that meant.

“Are you family?”

This time, Mr. Coulson spoke up, “Not exactly.”

“Then I’m going to have to ask you to wait outside, I’m sorry.”

Skye’s heart started to crash against her ribs again and her breathing picked up when she realized that they were talking about Natasha too. Her sister held her tighter and said, “She’s my sister, I’m not leaving her.”

One of the nurses, the one that Skye had seen Nattie push aside, tried to guide Natasha off of the bed but her sister wouldn’t let go of her.

Skye felt herself starting to panic a little and she was having trouble listening to the voices around her. It felt too much like when John had pulled them apart and had ripped them away from each other.

She didn’t realize that she had started crying again and when the nurse tried to pull Nattie away from her again, she screamed.

Everyone stopped and Skye tucked herself against her sister’s side. She didn’t want to be separated again.

Natasha gently ran her hands over Skye’s hair and pressed a reassuring kiss to the top of her head. She was still panicking but she felt her breathing start to steady out again.

She heard Mr. Coulson mumble, “It would just be easier if you let them stay together.”

Not bothering to look up, she guessed that the nurses agreed because the next thing she knew, she heard the door shut and one of the nurses, one with a gentle voice, was saying, “Can you sit back a little so that we can look you over, sweet pea?”

Skye looked up at her sister because she wasn’t sure what to do, and when Nattie nodded at her, she scooted back so that she was resting against the top of the bed. Natasha didn’t let go of her hand and sat by her side on the bed. She felt hands flutter against her and winced whenever the nurse brushed up against a bruise but she focused on her sister instead of the unfamiliar hands that were traveling all over her body.

She winced a little when her cuts got disinfected but Natasha gave her an encouraging little smile and Skye told herself that she could be tough.

In an attempt to ignore the commotion around her, she asked, “Where’d you go after you got taken away?”

Nattie scooted closer, “I was put into a group home but then Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson came and got me.”

Skye’s eyes widened, “They did?”

Natasha nodded, “Yeah. They’ve been really… helpful.”

She wondered what all of this meant, “So are you gonna live with them now?”

Skye watched as her sister’s facial expression shifted to confusion. It was clear that Nattie hadn’t thought about this before, “I don’t know, I think they’re my legal guardians right now.”

She really wanted to suck her thumb right now but Nattie was holding onto her hand tightly so she couldn’t. Instead, she bit her lip and tilted her head, “Will they be my guardians too?”

For some reason, Skye really, really wanted Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson to be her guardians. They were nice.

“I don’t know, maybe. If they won’t let us stay together, I’ll figure something out, I promise.”

Skye didn’t doubt her sister, she knew that Nattie would keep them together, “I know.”

An adult’s voice interrupted them and when Skye looked up, she realized that it was the kind nurse from before, “Sweet pea? Your arm’s broken and we need to go get an X-ray so we can see what we’re dealing with, okay?”

Skye looked at her arm, noting the angry looking bruises that decorated it, before glancing up at her sister, who nodded at her. She nodded back at the nurse and the lady smiled at her, “Okay, good. We’re going to move the bed now and take you into another room.”

She felt the bed start to move and uncertainly said, “Can Nattie stay with me?”

The nurse looked between them, focused on their intertwined hands, and nodded, “Yes, but you’ll both need to wear some protection.”

Skye wasn’t sure what that meant until they entered a different room and someone draped a heavy vest thingy over her and Natasha. The nice nurse stepped back and someone else stepped forward and started to explain what they were going to do.

Rather than focus on the scary looking equipment in the room or the voice talking to her, Skye shut her eyes and concentrated on how Nattie was rubbing soothing circles onto her thigh. Before she knew it, the X-rays were completed and they were being taken back into a different room with a bed already in it. They stopped and put Skye’s bed right next to the other one, and the nice nurse turned to them, “You need to lie back down Natasha, it’s not good for your ribs to be moving around like this.”

Natasha gave the empty bed in the room a disdainful look, glared at the nurse, and scooted back so that she was lying down next to Skye.

The nurse sighed, “The X-rays should be ready soon and the doctor will come by. I’ll send in your social worker, Skye, and your guardians, Natasha.”

Skye ignored her and turned her head slightly so that she could look at her sister, “Are your ribs okay?”

Nattie shrugged, “Some of them are broken but I’m fine.”

The past events were catching up to her and Skye couldn’t really remember the last time she had slept. Her eyes felt heavy and without her permission, they started to close. She stuck her thumb in her mouth and mumbled, “Liar,” to her sister, before tucking her face against Nattie’s chest and falling asleep.

“I’m sorry but we can’t release any information on Skye to you.”

“Of course you can’t.” Melinda’s jaw clenched slightly and Phil’s grip on her hand tightened. They were both exhausted but Melinda knew that Phil was on the verge of falling apart. He had found Skye on the playground, held her, comforted her, saved her, only to be torn away from the little girl at the hospital. She could feel his distress because it was also her own.

“Can we at least see our foster daughter?” Melinda exhaustedly tried to reign in some of her anger and frustration. Policy was policy, and even though they knew they weren’t a threat, it was there to keep children safe. The doctor was only doing his job.

The doctor hesitated and Melinda’s eyes flashed. They both knew that Natasha and Skye were in the same room and if they went to see Natasha, they would also see Skye. However, regardless, Natasha was now their foster daughter.

“She is legally our child, you cannot keep us from seeing her,” she reminded the doctor.

“Actually, she is a ward of the state...”

“Mr. and Mrs. Coulson.”

Phil and Melinda turned to see a tired looking woman walking quickly towards them.

“Hi, I’m Dana, Skye’s social worker. I spoke to Natasha’s social worker and she informed me of the situation and your desire to take in Skye as well as Natasha.”

The doctor looked relieved at the interruption but May only wanted to know what the social worker’s verdict would be and if this whole nightmare would finally be over.

“Since you’ve already been approved as foster parents, I just need you sign this paperwork and you can take Skye.” Dana pulled out a folder of papers and a pen.

Melinda’s blood boiled at the speed which the social worker was shoving the paperwork at them, as if she wanted to get rid of a problem, but because this was what they wanted, she kept her mouth shut and took the offered pen.

They quickly signed on all the lines, and it wasn’t until the social worker disappeared suspiciously quickly, did the weight of what had happened crashed down on Melinda.

They were now the legal guardians of two children.

Two independent human beings, two little persons with needs, desires, hopes, and fears.

Two individuals with broken bones and broken pasts.

Two beautiful people who deserved to be loved and cared for.

Maybe she and Phil were in way over their heads. They had never even been parents before, let alone parents of children with trauma. But they had never had a worthier cause to tackle a challenge.

“Skye’s arm was broken in two places but we were able to set it without any complications. There’s a lot of swelling so the arm is in a soft splint for the time being. We’re going to have to wait for the swelling to go down before we get her arm in a more permanent cast. One of the breaks was clean, the other had some fracturing, so we’re going to have to keep a close eye on that and how it heals. Luckily, it isn’t severe enough for surgery. Other than the arm, she’s sustaining some minor lacerations, and some heavy bruises. We think...”

Phil’s head swam with words like swelling and surgery and lacerations and heavy bruises . He grasped at Melinda’s hand, his lifeline, as he tried not to throw up. Images of Skye came to his mind, her large brown eyes and the way her bottom lip stuck out slightly when she concentrated, her strong dedication to honesty and kindness... and she was tiny, so so tiny..

“Can we see her now? Both of them?”

Melinda’s words dragged him out of his thoughts.

“They might be asleep, but you are welcome to stay in their room.”

They followed the doctor through the white halls to a dimly lit colorful room. In the hospital bed, Skye and Natasha were sound asleep, Natasha’s arm protectively resting over Skye.

As they sat down in the chairs near the bed, Skye stirred slightly and her large eyes blinked open slowly.

“Mr. Coulson?” she whispered, moving as if she was going to sit up.

“Shhh,” Phil quickly moved to kneel by the side of the bed. “You need to rest.”

“You’re here,” Skye whispered, sleepy eyes examining him. “Am I going to go home with you and Nattie?”

“Yes, you are. But first you need to get better,” Phil said quietly, gently reaching and brushing a strand of hair out of Skye’s face. The little girl leaned into the contact slightly.

“Are you feeling okay? Does your arm or body hurt?” Phil checked, suddenly worried she woke up because she was in pain. However Skye shook her head. “Try to go to sleep, okay sweetheart?”  Phil leaned back slightly but was surprised when Skye suddenly grabbed his hand with her good hand.

“Can you stay?” she whispered.

“I’ll stay as long as you want me to,” Phil promised, kissing her forehead.

Skye seemed satisfied with his answer and cuddled up once more against Natasha, slowly drifting back off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Melinda May could count the number of times in her life that she had honestly had no idea what she was doing on one hand. She always had a plan, she always knew what was going on around her, and she always knew what she was doing. But right now, staring at the two little girls who were curled around each other in the bright, sterile, hospital bed, Melinda May felt lost.

She had no idea what she was doing and it scared the hell out of her.

Skye had fallen back asleep ages ago but Phil was just now letting go of her tiny hand and coming to sit down next to her. He didn’t say anything, just held her hand, but that was what she needed right now.

They both studied Skye and Natasha.

Both of them were knocked out, the stress of the last few days and the pain relievers that the doctors had given them were allowing them to sleep peacefully, and it was one of the few times that Natasha actually looked her age. The redhead’s face was relaxed and without the perpetual frown or glare that was always present. She was lying with one arm thrown around Skye, who was tucked impossibly close to her sister’s side. They had a whole bed to share but the two of them were only using one tiny section of it, practically lying on top of each other.

Melinda watched as Skye shifted a little and adjusted her head so that it rested more comfortably on Natasha’s shoulder before moving her good hand up so that she could stick her thumb into her mouth.

They were both so small and fragile-looking and… hers.

Now those two little girls were hers and Phil’s and she had no idea what she was doing.

Phil squeezed her hand, “It’ll be alright.”

She didn’t bother looking over at him, “We don’t know what we’re doing Phil, we have no plan or anything.”

Her husband let out a long breath and from that sound alone she could tell how exhausted he was, “We’ll wing it.”

“Skye and Natasha deserve something better than, ‘we’ll wing it’.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him turn to her, “Skye and Natasha deserve happiness and safety and love and everything positive in the world.”

Melinda nodded. That was her point here.

“Don’t you want to be the one to give that to them?” He asked.

It was silent and Melinda kept her eyes trained on the two sleeping girls in front of her.

Phil rubbed his eyes, “I want to give that to them. I know you do too.”

She finally turned to him, “What if we can’t?”

He raised a hand and cupped her cheek, “We can, I know we can. We’ll just have to take it slow and learn as we go, but we can make them happy and we can give them love and I know we can keep them safe.”

Somehow, her husband always knew what to say.

She let Phil pull her into his side and they leaned against each other. She stared at Skye and Natasha for a few more moments, pushed her doubts aside, and straightened up a little, “Okay.”

Melinda May may not know what she was doing, and yeah, the thought of taking care of two girl’s scared her more than anything else in her life, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her.

“I’m sorry Mrs. May, but we need to take their statements.”

Natasha looked up from the book she was reading to Skye in the hospital bed, pausing at the sound of the strange voice at the door. The doctors said they could go soon, and Mr. Coulson said they were just working on some paperwork and then they could leave.

“Can’t you at least give them a little more time to recover from what happened?” Mrs. May’s voice was hushed but Natasha could hear the dangerous edge in her voice.

“It’d be best to interview them as soon as possible, it’s protocol.”

A moment later the door opened and a few police officers strode into the room. Natasha had to stop herself from panicking at the sight of their blue uniforms. For a moment, all she had seen was John.

Skye had the same reaction, shrinking back against Natasha, her good hand searching for a grip on her shirt.

“Hello girls, I’m so sorry about what happened...”

If you were sorry, you would have stopped John , Natasha thought bitterly, putting an arm protectively around Skye.

“We just need to ask you two a few questions...”

Natasha instantly tensed.

“Where’s Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May?” Skye asked nervously, scanning the room for their teachers.

“They’re just staying right outside while we talk to you.” The older police officer said, sitting down on a chair. “Now we need to talk to you one at a time, so Natasha, if you could leave…”

Natasha’s heart thudded in her chest and she grabbed onto Skye.

She didn’t like this one bit.

“Come on, it’s okay. We just need to ask you each a couple questions...”

The police officer reached a hand out towards Skye.

Skye screamed at the top of her lungs, grabbing onto Natasha even more tightly.

Natasha’s ribs hurt like crazy at Skye’s embrace but she couldn’t care less as she pulled Skye closer and got ready to put herself between the police officer and Skye.

“What is going on?!”

Mrs. May was suddenly between them and the police officer.

Natasha had never seen her teacher so mad. The woman radiated anger and the police officers seemed to shrink back in spite of themselves. But when she glanced back at them, her face softened.

“Are you girls okay?”

“Ma’am, we just had a misunderstanding. We’re going to have to ask you to leave the room... We need to talk to the girls alone and one at a time.”

Mrs. May didn’t move, “You think they’re going to want to talk to you? When you’re wearing the same uniform that the person who hurt them, who was supposed to protect them, wears? You’re scaring them.”

“We didn’t mean to scare them.”

Mrs. May put a hand on her hip and stared the officers down. Natasha would not have wanted to be on the receiving end of that look.

The officers relented, “How would you have us handle this situation then?”

“For starters, they’re children , let them stay together. And call in Officer Triplett, they’ve met him before and trust him.”

Natasha wouldn’t say that she trusted Officer Triplett, she barely even knew him, but Skye seemed to like him and she knew that Officer Triplett was friends with Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson. And if Officer Triplett would let she and Skye stay together, she would much rather he be here than these people.

The officers considered Mrs. May before the older one nodded slightly, “Alright, we’ll call him in.” He looked over to her and Skye, “Sorry if we scared you girls.”

Skye was still clutching at her shirt but as the officers started to leave the room, her grip loosened a little. Nat made sure that all of the policemen left before she took her eyes off of them and comforted her sister, “It’s okay, they’re gone now.”

Skye didn’t say anything, just let go of her shirt long enough to throw her arms around Nat’s waist in a tight hug. The pressure on her ribs was too much and Natasha cried out in pain and Skye immediately let go. It took her a moment to catch her breath and for the screaming pain in her ribs to ease up but when it did, she was horrified to see that Skye was crying.

At first, Nat thought that she had accidently hurt Skye’s arm or had brushed up against one of the many bruises or scrapes that decorated her little sister’s skin, but then she realized that Skye was staring at her chest.

She reached for Skye but her little sister didn’t move towards her like she usually did, she stayed where she was. Natasha frowned and moved closer so that she could carefully pull Skye close, so that she knew that she could be close without accidentally hurting her, “It’s not your fault Skye, my ribs are just sorer than usual.”

Skye whimpered, grabbed onto her hand, and started crying harder. She tried to comfort her, she did all the things she usually did to help calm her sister down, but nothing was working. She kept pressing kisses to Skye’s forehead and continued to murmur soothing words until Mrs. May stepped into view and quietly said, “I think everything might be catching up to her.”

It made sense but Natasha didn’t tell Mrs. May that, she just rocked her sister back and forth until her cries turned into soft whimpers and Nat could hear the sounds Skye made when she was sucking her thumb.

Natasha wasn’t really sure what to say and sometimes it was better to not say anything at all, so she held Skye close until the door opened up again and Officer Triplett poked his head into the room and gave them a friendly smile.

He walked past Mrs. May, rested a hand on her shoulder for a moment, and mumbled something too quietly for Nat to pick up on. Mrs. May looked back to them and Nat wondered what she saw. They probably looked pretty pitiful, sitting there with all their bumps and bruises, clinging tightly to each other.

“Mr. Coulson and I will be right outside if you need us, okay?”

Natasha nodded and Mrs. May gave her one last look before disappearing out the door.

“I’m so sorry you got scared earlier,” Officer Tripp slowly eased into a chair. He wasn’t wearing his uniform, instead he just wore jeans and hoodie like a regular person. “Is it okay if I really quickly talk to you about what we’re going to be talking about and how it’s going to go?”

Skye didn’t let go of Natasha’s shirt but she relaxed slightly. She nodded slowly and she could feel Natasha hesitantly doing the same.  

“First off, I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m Tripp.”

Skye wanted him to know she remembered him. He had been the only nice person on that horrible night that Nat had called 911 and they were friends.

“I remember you Officer Tripp,” she spoke up, taking her thumb out of her mouth momentarily.

“Awesome,” Officer Tripp’s face spread into a huge friendly smile and Skye felt pleased. “And you can just call me Tripp. Just you two though.”

That made Skye feel kinda special. She glanced up at Natasha but her sister did not look impressed. That was okay though. Skye knew Nattie didn’t like Tripp like she did.

“Alright, so I’m going to ask you two some questions about what happened in your home with the Garretts. This is so that we can know what happened and put Mr. Garrett into jail for a long time. I’m going to have this little thing going and it’ll record what you say.” Tripp showed them a small silver box. “We need to have it recorded so that we don’t have to ask you again and so that we can have other people hear what you said without making you go to court. Finally, I want you to know that you can say the truth here without being afraid of someone getting you in trouble. You are never going back to that home and Mr. Garrett cannot hurt you. Does that sound okay? How are you feeling?”

Skye felt a little confused about all the stuff Tripp had said, but overall she thought it sounded okay. She did want John to go to jail. And she liked that if they recorded it then they wouldn’t have to talk about it again.

“Let’s get this over with,” Natasha spoke up. She didn’t sound happy, but she also didn’t sound really angry.

“Alright. You okay with that, Skye?” Tripp looked at her and Skye nodded shyly. “Okay. I’m turning this on.” Tripp fiddled with the silver box then set it on the bedside table. “This is Antoine Triplett, talking with Natasha Romanoff and Mary Sue Poots, who goes by the name Skye, about what took place in their home with John and Rebecca Garrett. The date is....”

As Tripp talked, Skye looked up at her older sister. Natasha caught her gaze and kissed her on the top of her head.

They could do this. Natasha was with her and everything was going to be okay.

“Nattie.”

Natasha stirred, blinking slowly to find Skye’s face up close to her own.  

“Nattie, we’re here.”

She must have fallen asleep at some point in the car on the way to Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May’s house. The hospital had kept them all the way into the afternoon but finally they had decided they could leave. Natasha was glad. She did not like the hospital at all. After they had talked to Tripp, she had felt all drained out on the inside and she must have fallen asleep pretty quickly.

“Don’t you want to see?” Skye whispered. “Mr. Coulson said that we have our own room we get to share and that the walls are blue.”

Natasha didn’t want to get out of the car and she didn’t want to see the house. She didn’t want to be hurt again. Natasha was tired of being on guard and being disappointed and scared.

It wasn’t that she explicitly didn’t trust Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson; it was just that she didn’t trust anybody.

That was a lesson she had learned the hard way.

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay,” Skye grabbed her hand.

Natasha smiled slightly, recognizing the words Skye was telling her as words she often told Skye. Her smile faded as her gaze rested on Skye’s broken arm and the bruises that littered her sister’s tiny body.

“Girls,” Mrs. May called.

Natasha pushed her hesitation away and carefully got out of the car, being careful not to jostle her ribs, before helping Skye out.

Natasha grabbed her battered suitcase as well as Skye’s backpack. She had seen the large dark bruises on her sister’s back. There was no way she was going to let Skye carry it.

“Want me to help?” Mr. Coulson offered but Natasha shook her head firmly. She carried their stuff. Nobody else.

Mrs. May opened the door for them. Natasha hesitated slightly, Skye nervously grabbing her free hand.

Taking a deep breath, Natasha followed her teacher into the house, holding Skye’s hand tightly.

The house was… nice. Actually, it was really nice.

All of the furniture was clean but obviously well-loved. There were pictures hanging up on the walls and placed around the living room, some of them were pictures of Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson and some of them were pictures of people that Natasha didn’t know. She spotted a picture of Officer Triplett that was sitting proudly on the side table next to the couch in the living room. There was a closed laptop and papers cluttered along the coffee table. From what Nat could see so far, Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May’s house was clean, loved, and felt cozy.

Her teacher motioned for her to drop her bags, which Nat did after considering it for a moment.

Mr. Coulson had a nervous smile on his face when he said, “This is the living room and over here’s the kitchen.”

Skye’s grip on her hand was loosening the further they got into the house and once they made it into the kitchen, her little sister gasped, let go of her hand completely, and pointed to the fridge, “Look Nattie! They hung up my picture!”

Sitting in the middle of the refrigerator, hanging by an old, scratched up Captain America magnet, was a messily colored in picture of Supergirl with Skye’s name written haphazardly along the bottom in green crayon.

Mr. Coulson smiled, “I said I would, didn’t I?”

Skye looked up at her and then towards him, “Yeah but no one actually hangs up the pictures.”

Mr. Coulson’s smile slowly faded away.

While the grown-ups were occupied, Natasha left Skye’s side and wandered into the kitchen. She tugged on one of the cabinets and stumbled back a little when it opened easily. She hadn’t been expecting them to open so easily.

When she turned back around, everyone was staring at her. She pointed to the partially opened cabinet and gave Skye a tiny grin because these cabinets weren’t locked. Her sister smiled back at her. Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson just gave each other confused looks but didn’t say anything about it.

Mr. Coulson pointed to the next room over, “Our dining room is in there.”

Skye grabbed onto her hand again and they both followed their teachers into the dining room. The hardwood table was big enough to fit six people and Natasha could see that it had little scratches all over it. She kind of liked that it had marks that showed that it was used often and loved by their teachers.

Skye pointed to the table, “Where are we going to sit?”

Mrs. May shrugged, “You can sit wherever you want.”

Her little sister gave her a confused look and then asked, “Where do you guys usually sit?”

“We sit wherever we feel like, there’s no assigned seating in this house. We just always make sure there’s enough room for Tripp because he likes to come into our house and steal our food,” Mr. Coulson’s grin was now back in place.

Skye crossed her arms, which looked difficult with her new blue cast getting in the way, and looked at the ground, “Stealing is bad.”

Mr. Coulson laughed, “Well, I guess stealing was the wrong word to use. We like Tripp a lot so we don’t mind that we feed him almost every night.”

Skye looked at her again but she just shrugged so Skye dropped the subject. They looked around the house and Natasha was surprised by how comforting it was to be in here.

She felt a tug on her hand and carefully leaned down so Skye could whisper in her ear, “It’s not so bad here.”

Nat wanted to agree but couldn't just yet. Everything always started out as being nice, usually you had to wait a little while before things started going bad.

Mrs. May cleared her throat, “There’s a bathroom over there and another one upstairs. Do you want to go see your room?”

Skye nodded and then looked back to her to see if that was okay. Natasha shrugged so Skye turned back to Mrs. May and gave her a small smile, “I wanna see.”

Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson led them upstairs, pointing out the bathroom and their bedroom along the way. Natasha tried to look at the pictures hanging on the wall but apparently Skye was very excited to see their new room because her little sister wasn’t letting her lag behind. Natasha let Skye pull her along and everyone stopped outside a door.

Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson both looked a little nervous but Mr. Coulson pushed the door open anyways.

For all of her excitement, Skye was hesitant to walk into the room. She watched as the little girl peered through the doorway and she sighed a little before stepping into the room and tugging Skye behind her.

The walls of their room were blue and there was nothing decorating them. There were two big windows along the wall and a window seat with flower-print cushions. Nat spotted a closet but the doors were closed so she couldn’t see how big it was. All of the furniture was white, the two dressers, the two bedside tables, and the medium-sized antique-looking desk that sat in the corner of the room next to a bookshelf stuffed with books. The two beds, decorated with plain blue sheets, were placed on opposite sides of the room. Natasha wondered if she was strong enough to push them closer together.

She and Skye silently studied the room. It was bare but it was pretty. Her little sister smiled up at her and she gave her a tiny grin back, not wanting to dim her enthusiasm.

From behind them, Mr. Coulson nervously said, “We didn’t have much time to get everything together so maybe once you’re all healed up, we can go to the store and you two can pick out whatever you want to decorate.”

Skye looked up at him, “ We can decorate it?”

“Yeah, it’s your guys’ room. It should look how you want it to look.”

Slowly, Skye moved further into the room and Natasha followed after her. They circled the room, Skye especially liked the fully-stocked bookshelf, and both carefully sat down on one of the beds.

Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson studied them for a moment before Mrs. May murmured something to Mr. Coulson and called to them, “Girls? We can move the beds closer together, if you want.”

She and Skye looked at each other before both turning to their teachers and nodding. Natasha didn’t want to be so far away from Skye, even if they were in the same room.

Their teachers stayed over by the doorway and let them get used to their surroundings. Natasha glanced out the window and saw that they were facing a pretty backyard.

She felt a tug on her shirt and looked down at Skye, “I like it here.”

Nat pulled Skye in for a hug, pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and quietly said, “Don’t get too comfy, okay?”

She felt Skye reluctantly nod against her.

Chapter Text

May startled awake at the sound of a scream.

She sat up quickly in bed, taking a moment to get her bearings. The clock dimly blinked at her, telling her it was only 3:48 am.

“Was that one of the girls?” Phil sat up beside her. She could barely see his face in the darkness but she could clearly imagine his brow furrowing with worry.

“I’ll go check on them,” Melinda grabbed a sweatshirt and threw it on over her tank-top.

“I’ll stay here. Call me if you need me,” Phil got up and turned on the bathroom light, dimly flooding the bedroom with light. They both knew that the fact that Phil was a man would probably make his presence unhelpful in this situation.

Melinda hurried to the girls’ room, turning on the hall light as she went, trying to mentally prepare herself. A feeling of worry swept over her suddenly as she quietly made her way down the carpeted hall. She didn’t know what she was doing. They were in way over their heads.

The thoughts quickly disappeared as the sound of soft crying became apparent.

Slowly, May eased the door to the girls’ room open.

Skye was clinging to Natasha, frantically sobbing, as the older girl tried to calm her down.

“What’s wrong?” Melinda asked quietly as she slowly walked closer. Natasha jerked at the sound of her voice, blue eyes wide. Skye didn’t even seem to register her presence.

“She had a nightmare,” Natasha said protectively, pulling Skye closer. “She can’t help it!”

Suddenly, May realized that Natasha thought they were going to get in trouble for waking her up.

“I just wanted to make sure you two were alright,” Melinda told Natasha, staying respectfully at the door.

At that, Natasha turned away and ignored her, focusing back on her little sister.

Skye kept sobbing, one hand clinging to Natasha’s oversized pj shirt. Natasha leaned over the smaller girl and whispered soft murmurs, kissing Skye’s head and cheeks. Nothing seemed to be working.

“She’s going to make herself sick,” Natasha finally said, looking up at Melinda, voice tinged with worry.

Carefully, May entered the room.

“Nightmares are really scary,” was the only thing Melinda said as she slowly sat down on the bed beside Skye.

Natasha was looking at her suspiciously but didn’t tell her to go away, which was a large victory. The girl was probably just too tired to put up a fight.

May was going to try to prove to Natasha that she could be trusted to help them both.

Melinda hadn’t been sure that Skye was aware she was there but as she began talking, Skye turned slightly to look at her, large brown eyes filled with tears, tiny chest heaving with hysterical sobs.

“Hey sweetie, it’s okay,” Melinda said quietly. “Can you try to do something for me? I want you to take deep breaths in and out with me. Ready, we’re going to take a big breath in... now let it out... Let’s try again.”

Skye let out a shuddering breath, choking on her sobs.

“You’re okay. Let’s breathe in again... now out. That’s great. Now in again...”

Slowly yet surely, Skye’s wracking sobs slowed as she copied Melinda’s breathing.

“I... I had a d-dream that J-John was here...” Skye hiccuped. “H-he was going to h-hurt us...”

“John is never going to get to you two again,” Melinda wanted to rub Skye’s back, but she knew there were dark bruises there. “You’re safe now. But I’m sorry you had such a scary dream. Sometimes Phil and I get nightmares too.”

“You?” Skye looked up, dark eyes wide. “I thought grown-ups didn’t get nightmares.”

“Nope, we still do.” Melinda smiled slightly, brushing a limp strand of hair out of Skye’s face. This was the most interaction she had ever had with Skye. She could practically feel Natasha’s scrutinizing gaze drilling into her. “But that’s okay because even though nightmares are really scary, they can’t hurt us when we know they aren’t real.”

“What are your nightmares about?” Skye asked innocently, sniffing and wiping the tears off her face.

Again, Melinda was very aware of Natasha’s stare.

Quick images of a small girl’s face flashed through her mind.

“My nightmares are about losing people I love,” Melinda said quietly. It was silent for a moment.

“I’m sorry,” Skye said, reaching out to pat Melinda’s hand, face sorrowful and understanding. For a second, May actually felt like she might cry, but she quickly pushed the feeling aside, moving the conversation on.

“Thank you, love. You know what Phil and I like to do when we have nightmares?”

“What?” Skye asked quickly.

“We make mint tea. Do you girls want some?”

“Yeah!” Skye said eagerly then paused. “What’s tea?”

Melinda laughed, and out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw Natasha smile slightly.

“Come with me, I’ll make you some.” She watched as Skye looked over to Natasha and waited for the other girl to nod before sliding out of bed. It took Natasha a second to stand up, Melinda could tell that her ribs were bothering her even if she wouldn’t admit it, and reminded herself to check and see when the girls should take their next round of medication.

She led the girls downstairs and into the kitchen and motioned for them to take a seat in the dining room while she made the tea.

After pouring the tea into three cups, she carefully walked into the dining room, placed two cups in front of the girls, and sat across from them.

She smiled slightly as she watched both of the girls study the cups in front of them, Natasha even sniffed at the tea.

“Be careful, it’s hot.” At that, both girls leaned back a little.

Melinda blew on her tea before bringing the cup to her lips and sipping from it. Both girls followed her lead.

She could tell that Skye and Natasha didn’t like the tea. They did a good job of disguising it though.

Skye waited for Natasha to take a sip first and the older girl’s nose scrunched up after she swallowed her first sip. The look of disgust was quickly replaced by the blank look that Natasha frequently wore.

Skye took a sip next and the little girl had a harder time of hiding her displeasure at the drink. Her lips puckered up and she drew her eyebrows together. She looked at the tea like she was personally offended that it didn’t taste good.

Even though it was pretty obvious that the two girls didn’t like the tea, she was surprised to see that both of them went to take another sip of the drink. Before their lips could reach their cups, Melinda stopped them, “It’s okay if you don’t like it.”

Skye shook her head, “But you made it for us.”

Standing up, she slowly walked around the table and took the cups from the girls, “I’ll get you something that you like to drink instead. I don’t mind.”

Skye looked uncertainly at Natasha. Melinda gave her a small smile, hoping that the little girl understood that she really wasn’t upset that they didn’t like it, “It’s alright Skye.”

She brought the cups back into the kitchen, set them in the sink, and poured the girls each a glass of milk instead. This time, when she set the glasses in front of the girls, they both looked much more content.

It was quiet and as everyone sipped at their drinks, she could see Skye’s eyelids start to droop. She could tell that Natasha was tired too but the older girl was doing a better job of disguising it. She was satisfied that Skye had calmed down and that her nightmare was behind her but both girls had been through a lot recently and with their injuries, Melinda thought that she really should be getting them back to bed.

“Ready to go back to bed?”

Skye’s eyelids were still drooping and she nodded sleepily. Natasha stood up and led her little sister back upstairs and Melinda followed after them, leaving the dishes to clean in the morning.

She watched as Skye unceremoniously flopped onto her bed and, even though she and Phil had moved the two beds in the room so that that were up against the same wall and close to each other, Natasha climbed into bed after her.

Melinda hovered by the door for a second before deciding to walk over to the girls. She saw Natasha tense up a little bit so she didn’t get too close, she just leaned over so that she could see both girls, “Goodnight girls, sweet dreams.”

Skye mumbled something incoherent as a response and Natasha made eye contact with her for a second before rolling over and curling around Skye.

The first thing that Skye thought of when she woke up was that her body hurt really badly. She was sore and her arm was aching.

The second thing she thought of was how warm Nattie was next to her. Even though it hurt her legs, she kicked the blankets off of her.

When she finally opened her eyes, she realized that the room was very bright and that the sun was streaming through the curtains. The room was way brighter than it should have been and she knew that meant that they were late for school.

Hastily, she sat up and nudged her sister, “Nattie! Wake up!”

Her sister groaned and moved away from her.

She poked Nattie on her cheek, “Wake up! We’re late for school!”

Nattie’s eyes flew open and Skye watched as she struggled to sit up. She hoped her sister’s ribs were okay.

After hopping out of bed, Skye rooted around in her unpacked bag and pulled out some jeans and a shirt and saw Natasha doing the same. She quickly got dressed and grumbled when the cast on her arm made it impossible for her to button her jeans by herself. She hadn’t brought any hair ties with her and neither had Nattie so she ran her fingers through her hair and hoped that it didn’t look too bad.

She followed Natasha out of the room and as they were both heading towards the bathroom, she heard voices from downstairs.

She hoped that Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson wouldn’t be mad at them for waking up late.

After they brushed their teeth, they both stopped at the top of the staircase.

Skye had no idea what to expect.

When she looked up at her sister, she saw that Nattie had her brave face on. She could be brave too.

Straightening up, she grabbed onto Nattie’s hand and tugged her down the stairs, ignoring the soreness in her muscles.

Her bravery didn’t last too long. When they reached the bottom of the stairs and headed towards Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson’s voices, they both stopped when they saw their teachers sitting around the dining room table, talking lightly with each other and eating breakfast.

Skye stepped back so that Nattie was in front of her. She wished that she could be as brave as her sister was.

Their teachers noticed them and Mr. Coulson smiled, “Good morning girls.”

Skye saw Nattie straighten up before saying, “We don’t have our backpacks.”

Mr. Coulson looked confused, “What?”

She heard Nattie sigh, “We don’t have any of our stuff for school.”

Skye leaned forward and whispered, “Or hair ties.”

Natasha glanced down at her before saying, “Or hair ties.”

Before Mr. Coulson could reply, Nattie kept talking, “And Skye’s arm is hurting her and she shouldn’t do a lot during class.”

Skye briefly wondered how Nattie knew that her arm was bugging her. It was like her sister knew everything .

Mrs. May shared a look with Mr. Coulson before saying, “No one’s going to school today but we’ll get your guys’ school stuff before you go back. And hair ties.”

Skye’s surprise had her momentarily forgetting to be nervous, “Why?”

“Because you’re both still recovering and we don’t want to put any extra strain on you, so you guys are going to be taking a small break from school.”

It just occurred to her that Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson should be at school too, “What about you guys?”

Mr. Coulson smiled at her, “We have some vacation days saved up so we took some time off of school so that we could look after you guys.”

Nattie crossed her arms in front of her, “We can look after ourselves.”

Mrs. May gave her a sad look, “We know Natasha.”

Mr. Coulson cleared his throat, “Are you hungry? We weren’t sure what you liked so we made a little bit of everything.”

Skye waited for her sister to make the first move and waited patiently for Natasha to decide what to do. After a couple of moments, Nattie slowly moved towards the table and sat in the chair that was the furthest away from their teachers. Skye followed after her, grabbed a chair, scooted it as close to Natasha as she could, and sat down.

Once she was situated, she looked at the table and her mouth fell open.

There was a lot of food.

Skye saw scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, toast, a bowl full of fruit, and several boxes of cereal sitting on the table. There were so many options and Skye’s mouth watered.

She wanted so badly to just reach out and grab the thing closest to her, it happened to be bacon which was her favorite , but that would be rude and bad, and bad girls had to be punished, so she stayed still. Natasha did too.

When it became obvious that they weren’t going to do anything but stare at the food in front of them, Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson both grabbed a plate and started stacking it with a bunch of food. They set the plates in front of them and Skye felt her mouth water even more.  

Biting her lip, she clasped her hands tightly together so that she wouldn’t reach for the food before she was allowed.

“You can eat if you’re hungry, girls.” Mr. Coulson’s voice sounded strained and weird when he said that but Skye was so busy focusing on her plate that she didn’t bother to look up and check if he was okay.

Quickly, she reached for her plate with both hands before realizing that one arm was completely useless in her cast. Setting her hurt arm on the table, she grabbed a handful of scrambled eggs and shoved them into her mouth.

As she hurriedly chewed, she looked over and saw that Nattie’s cheeks were stuffed full and her sister was still trying to take another bite of her pancake.

She giggled and grabbed the pancake out of Nattie’s hand and took a bite out of it before reaching for a piece of bacon from her plate and handing it to Natasha as a replacement for her pancake.

“Slow down you two, if you eat too fast, you’ll get a bellyache.”

Skye tried to listen to Mr. Coulson, she really did, but she just couldn’t . She wanted to eat everything before it got taken away and it all tasted so good that she just couldn’t stop.

After swallowing her first bite, she grabbed a piece of toast and ate some of it. The jam on top of the toast was a different color than anything she had ever tasted and she was surprised to find that she liked it even better than grape jam. She took another bite and then shoved it into her sister’s hands, “Try this!”

She licked some of the sticky jam off of her fingers before eagerly picking up a piece of bacon and stuffing half of it in her mouth.

It had only been a couple minutes since they had started eating and Skye’s tummy was starting to feel full but she couldn’t get herself to stop eating.

As she was reaching for a strawberry, her plate suddenly got pulled away.

Apparently Natasha’s plate had gotten pulled away too because she heard her sister angrily say, “Hey!”

Skye felt her lower lip start to wobble, looked up, and saw that it was Mrs. May who had taken their plates away from them. She gave them an apologetic look and held up her hands, “I’m not taking your food away forever, I just wanted you to take a moment and see how your tummies feel. Are you full or still hungry?”

Tearing her eyes away from her half-finished plate, she glanced down at her belly and noticed how full and uncomfortable it felt. She shook her head and gently placed a hand on her tummy, hoping that would help the uncomfortable feeling go away.

She looked up at her sister, to see if she was feeling as bad as she was, and could tell by the  look in Nattie’s eyes that her tummy hurt too.

Trying to ignore her bellyache, she pitifully said, “I’m full.”

She waited for her sister to say something but when she didn’t, she spoke up for her, “Nattie is too.”

Mrs. May gave her a smile, “Okay, when you guys are hungry again, let us know.”

Skye thought that Mrs. May had a nice smile. She hadn’t really had a chance to see it before and honestly, she really didn’t know that much about Mrs. May, but she had been really nice last night and Skye thought that she liked her.

She nodded because it didn’t look like Nattie was going to say anything.

Mrs. May gave her another smile, “Why don’t you two go put on some comfy clothes for the day? I’ll get your medicine.”

Nattie stood up, grabbed her hand, and led her back upstairs so that they could put their pajamas back on. When they were far enough away not to be heard, Skye leaned in and whispered, “This is kinda weird.”

Nattie nodded, “I know.”

Skye glanced back to where Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson were watching them walk away before turning back around and grinning, “A good kind of weird though.”

Her sister squeezed her hand, “We’ll see.”

Melinda wasn’t an expert on providing childcare, other than teaching of course, but she didn’t think it was supposed to be this easy. Well, the physical side of providing for Skye and Natasha was easy. All day, they hadn’t asked for anything, not for help, not for snacks, and not even for help turning on the difficult tv that she still had trouble turning on… they just figured it out and did it themselves. It was a little disconcerting. The two girls complied to their every request silently and quickly.

Melinda wasn’t delusional enough to believe that their perfect behavior was due to anything good. In fact, as she watched the two girls, her blood was beginning to boil with anger.

It was clear that Skye and Natasha were acting out of fear. She had never seen them act so skittish, even at school. Something, or rather a certain someone , had taught them that home was not safe. And Melinda wanted to punch that someone in the face. Hard. Repeatedly.

“Hey girls, do you want lunch?” May leaned against the couch, sitting on the arm. Skye was busy putting together a puzzle, while Natasha sat close and watched, occasionally offering a suggestion.

At May’s question, Skye glanced at Natasha, as if looking for guidance.

The older girl shrugged noncommittally but Mel caught how Natasha shifted so that she was closer to Skye.

Clenching her jaw, she decided to change tactics. She tried not to let her anger show, the girls didn’t need anymore of that, and attempted to give them a small smile, “I could really use some help getting lunch together…”

She knew that Natasha probably wouldn’t be affected by her plea for help but Phil had told her how much Skye liked to help others and where Skye went, Natasha followed.

Sure enough, Skye looked up at her, studied her with an intensity most five year olds lacked, and stood up, “I can help.”

She gave the little girl a smile that grew when Natasha sighed and stood up too, grumbling something under her breath.

Ushering the girls into the kitchen, she pulled up two chairs that they could stand on and pulled out all the things they would need to make sandwiches. Unsure what the girls preferred, she pulled out all of the lunch meats and condiments they had, which wasn’t a lot. They needed to go grocery shopping soon.

Setting the food down in front of the girls, she reached for the cabinet above them and pulled out the bread. When she turned to offer it to the girls, she caught them staring intensely at the cabinet door. She had caught the same look yesterday when Natasha had first seen the kitchen and went and pulled open the cabinets.

She wasn’t exactly sure what the look meant but she had a sinking suspicion. Trying to play it off, she gave the girls a smile, “Do you like our cabinets?”

Natasha averted her gaze and Skye looked from her to the cabinets and back again before taking a deep breath and saying, “You don’t need a key to open them.”

Melinda felt like she had just been sucker punched in the stomach.

She wanted to go punch John Garrett in the face but there were two little girls staring at her and carefully watching her reaction. This was important. While Natasha and Skye weren’t exactly opening up to her, she could use this as an opportunity to show them that they can .

Facing the girls, she made sure that they knew that they were getting her full attention, before leaning down a little so that she was closer to their height and earnestly saying, “No, you don’t need a key to open our cabinets. You can open them whenever you want and you can eat what’s inside them whenever you want too.”

Skye and Natasha shared a disbelieving look and didn’t say anything.

“I mean it, you can eat anything in here whenever you’re hungry. I know we don’t have that much right now but when we go grocery shopping, you can pick out your favorite foods so that it’s here for you.”

The girls didn’t look like they believed her. She resolved that she would prove it to them that they would never go hungry in this house.

Deciding to lower the intensity of the conversation, she glanced around to make sure that Phil was still out of earshot before stretching up and fishing around on the top shelf of a cabinet, “For example, Phil’s favorite food is Oreos and he always has some in here.” She left out the part where he tried to hide them from her.

She finally grabbed onto the junk food and offered some to the girls, “Want some?”

Skye stared longingly at the bright blue package, “But they’re Mr. Coulson’s. Won’t he get mad if we take some?”

Skye started her question out strong but by the end, she was looking around nervously and her thumb was making its way towards her mouth.

Shaking her head, she pushed the cookies closer to the girls, “He won’t get mad, we share our food here.”

Both girls continued to stare at the cookies without reaching for one. Even though she hated the processed, too-sweet taste of the cookies, she grabbed one and took a bite from it before pushing the package even closer to the girls and focusing on making lunch.

While she started making her sandwich, she was aware of the girls watching her. She kept her focus on preparing lunch and after a few long minutes, she saw Natasha slowly grab a cookie and hand it to Skye. From the corner of her eye, she could see that the girls were studying her but she kept her focus on the sandwiches in front of her. Skye slowly brought the cookie to her mouth and took a small bite from it, all the while both girls were studying her closely.

When she didn’t react, Skye quickly shoved the rest of the cookie into her mouth. And when Natasha grabbed a cookie of her own and took a bite out of it, Mel had to turn away a little so that they didn’t see her triumphant grin.

Phil collapsed onto the couch and scooted over so that his wife could sit next to him, “I would say that went pretty well.”

He watched as Melinda twisted around to glance at the girls, who were coloring at the dining room table, where they had just cleared the dinner plates, before facing him and raising an eyebrow, “Of course dinner went well, they’ll eat anything.”

He nudged her arm and sighed dramatically, “Don’t downplay this victory, Mel.”

She rolled her eyes at him and he cracked a grin.

Things had been a little rough today. The girls had been perfect, probably a little too perfect, but seeing them outside of school had given him and Melinda a chance to see just how scared and skittish they were of everything. He could tell that Melinda was just as angry at John and Rebecca Garrett as he was but he thought that they had done a pretty good job of hiding their anger in front of the girls.

He thought back to how Skye and Natasha had been able to entertain themselves all day. It was alarming to see just how capable they were of taking care of each other.

Wrapping an arm around Mel’s shoulders, he let out a deep breath, “Kids aren’t usually this self-sufficient.”

His wife didn’t say anything but he knew she was listening.

“We need to show them that it’s okay to act like kids but I’m not sure how.” He scrubbed a hand over his face and rubbed his temples. He had a new respect for parents. He had only been one for a day and he was already afraid he was screwing everything up.

Melinda looked up at him, “I don’t even think they know how to act like normal kids. Especially Natasha. She’s like a thirty-five year old mom trapped in a nine-year old's body.”

They both stared unseeingly at the television in front of them and tried to figure out where to go from here. It had only been about ten minutes but when he glanced back to check on the girls, his stomach dropped when he realized that they were no longer sitting at the table.

“Where’re Skye and Natasha?”

Melinda whipped around and he threw his hands up, “How did we already lose them?”

He was already rushing towards the stairs as Mel said, “You cover their room, I’ll check the bathroom down here.”

His heart was beating so fast that he thought it was going to explode and when he frantically rushed into the girls’ room and saw that they weren’t in there, he started to feel nauseous.

One day as a parent and he had already lost Skye and Natasha. That had to be some kind of record.

He was about to rush back downstairs to see if Mel had found them when he saw that the bathroom door was halfway open. Without thinking, he pushed the door open and rushed inside.

He was greeted with a startled scream from Skye and an angry glare from Natasha. The redhead was gently running a wet washcloth over Skye’s face and she quickly dropped the cloth so that she could put her hands on her hips and step in front of Skye.

Leaning over, he set his hands on his knees, tried to catch his breath, and attempted to push his panic away. He had honestly thought that he might have lost the girls and those few moments had been the most terrifying of his life.

Once he caught his breath, he turned and yelled out the door, “They’re up here May!”

It only took a second before he could hear his wife’s light footsteps jogging towards him and then her hand was on his arm and he finally felt his heartbeat calm down a little.

He imagined that the look of stark relief on Melinda’s face was also reflected on his own. Mel took in the scene, “What’re you guys doing up here?”

Skye looked unsure of herself and Natasha took one hand off of her hip so that she could hold Skye’s hand before fixing them with a glare and saying, “We didn’t know how to turn your bath on and it’s bath time.”

It was silent for a beat and Melinda acted before he could, “Oh. Let me show you.” She walked over to the bath and showed Natasha how to twist the handles to get the water running.

His wife made his way back to his side and then they were locked in an uncomfortable stare off between them and the girls. He wasn’t sure if they needed help or what to do.

He was happy to see that Melinda was just as stumped as he was, “Do you… need help?”

Natasha gave them a look that clearly said that she thought that they were crazy just for asking.

He gently pulled on Melinda’s arm and took a step towards the bathroom door, “Make sure you don’t get your cast wet, alright Skye?”

He watched as Skye leaned around her sister and gave him a shy nod.

Smiling at her, he tried to diffuse some of the awkward energy in the room, “We can read you a story after your bath. How’s that sound?”

He was a little caught off guard when Skye scrunched up her nose and shook her head, “No.”

Sharing a confused look with May, he focused back on the little girl, “No?”

Skye looked more unsure of herself than ever and she quickly stuck her thumb in her mouth. When she spoke again, it was slightly muffled and hesitant, “Bath, pajamas, brush teeth and hair, and then story. It’s the rules.”

“What rules?”

Natasha stood up straighter, “My rules.”

He already knew that Natasha had stepped up where taking care of Skye was concerned but he was still realizing just how much of the caregiver role the nine-year-old had taken on. Most children fought their parents each night when it came to bedtime but Natasha had stepped up and made sure that Skye not only went to bed at a decent time, but that she was clean as well. He couldn’t even imagine the type of weight that rested on Natasha’s shoulders.

His voice softened as he regarded Natasha and Skye, “Can I read you a story after you get everything else done?”

Skye looked like she wanted to say yes but before she did, she looked at Natasha for approval. When the redhead nodded, Skye turned back to him, gave him a tiny smile, and nodded.

He smiled back at her, “Okay, we’ll be right out here. Don’t be afraid to ask if you need any help.”

When it became clear that the girls weren’t going to respond, they both stepped out of the bathroom and Melinda firmly shut the door. They took a couple steps down the hall so that they could talk without being overheard.

Melinda gave him a look that translated to her asking him if he could believe what just happened.

He shook his head, “It’s supposed to be our job to tell them that it’s bath time and to remind them to brush their teeth. I used to whine and make a giant fuss every single night when my parents said it was time to go to bed.”

“I know.”

Letting out a frustrated breath, he said, “I just want them to be able to be kids, you know? I want them to be able to enjoy their childhood.”

“I know, me too.”

He put a hand over hers, where it rested on his arm, “We can do this.”

Melinda squeezed his arm, “Hell yeah we can.”

Chapter Text

“Think they’re still going to want to read to us?” Skye wondered as Natasha helped her dry her hair. They were still in the bathroom, the air still slightly steamy from the warm shower water. It had taken longer than usual because keeping her cast dry had been really hard.

“I don’t know,” Natasha shrugged, handing Skye the pajamas that Mrs. May had given them. Skye’s were blue and silky and she took a moment to rub them against her face.

“They’re so nice,” Skye commented, letting Natasha examine the bruises on her back before helping her into her pajamas.

“Sure.” Natasha’s voice was flat. “But remember how nice Becky was to you when you first came? How she bought you all those things?”

Skye frowned. Becky had done some similar things, like getting her lots of toys and clothes... She thought about that for a moment because she knew that what Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson were doing felt different, but she had to figure out how to explain it.

“But Becky never asked me what I wanted,” Skye realized triumphantly. “Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson always ask me what I want and let me choose.”  

To her frustration, Natasha just shrugged.

“Why don’t you like it here?” Skye grabbed Natasha’s hand.

Natasha glanced at her, green eyes worried.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” she said.

Skye did not want that either. She looked down at her arm in its heavy cast, then to Natasha’s scabbed over lip. Then she started thinking about that horrible night that Natasha had been taken away and the closet and...

“Skye... Skye.”

Skye slowly became aware of where she was and realized that Natasha was running her hand through her hair.

“You okay?” Natasha’s face was creased with worry. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Skye just hugged her big sister, being careful with her ribs.

“I want us to be safe,” she mumbled, fighting back tears. What she couldn’t say was that she wanted Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson’s house to be their safe place. She so desperately wanted them to be okay. “I don’t want to be scared.” Skye looked up at Natasha.

“Me too.” Natasha kissed the top of her head.

Skye couldn’t help but smile when she saw Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May sitting outside their room, waiting.

“What story are we going to read?” she asked excitedly.

“I was thinking,” Mrs. May began, holding up a book that was not a picture book, “that we could read Matilda. I started reading it to Natasha one time but we never got to finish. Maybe we could read a chapter every night.”

“Is that a chapter book?” Skye’s mouth fell open. “It’s so long, it’s gonna take us like a year to finish that!” She glanced at Natasha, who, to her surprise, looked slightly pleased.

Mr. Coulson laughed.

“It’ll go a lot faster than a year. But it might take us a couple weeks. Does that sound okay to you? Then after that, we can pick out a different long book.”

Skye tried to hide her excitement. It sounded like Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May wanted to keep them for a long time.

“It’s okay with me,” Natasha shrugged but Skye could tell she liked the idea.

“Me too!” Skye chimed in.

“Great!” Mrs. May gave them a big smile. “Let’s get started.”

When they walked into the room, Skye suddenly felt her gaze being drawn to the back wall and the open closet door. She hadn’t noticed it before, maybe because last night when they came into their room Skye had been utterly exhausted and this morning she been too worried about being late to think about anything else.

The inside of the closet looked so dark. Maybe it was the fact that she had just been thinking about that horrible night at the Garrett’s, but Skye’s heart started racing.

“Skye, honey, are you okay?”

Skye glanced at Mrs. May, nodding quickly.

It was dumb to be scared of a closet .

But when she had to cross the room to get to the bed, she couldn’t help but edge past slowly, putting as much distance between her and the closet as she could.

Her breath caught in her chest as she kept looking at the pit of the closet. Where was Nattie? She needed her.

“Skye?”

She couldn’t help it, she flinched at Mr. Coulson’s voice.

“Hey, hey, I got you.” Suddenly Natasha was carrying her to the bed, kissing her cheek and stroking her hair. “What’s wrong?”

The tears that Skye had tried so hard to keep in leaked out. “The closet,” she choked out, burying her face in Natasha’s shoulder. Natasha hugged her tighter and soon Skye felt better.

“Is something wrong with the closet?” Mr. Coulson asked, his face creased with confusion.

Skye leaned against Natasha, nodding at her slightly.

“Skye’s scared of closets. John used to lock her in the one in his house.” Natasha’s voice was flat.

Skye saw something in Mr. Coulson’s face shift but then it was back to normal.

“I’m sorry that happened to you. You never deserved that, Skye. It wasn’t right that he did that.”

Skye looked at Mr. Coulson’s face, finding his bright blue eyes with her brown ones. She could tell that he really meant what he said. “How many times did that happen?”

Natasha stiffened and Skye could tell she didn’t like being asked that question. But Skye knew that Mr. Coulson was okay, and he already knew that John had hurt them.

Skye bit her lip. “I don’t know. Maybe... five times?” She looked at Natasha for confirmation.

“Probably more.” Natasha’s voice was hard and cold.

“That was very wrong of the Garrett’s. You never ever deserved that and it wasn’t your fault. What they did was wrong.” Mr. Coulson said again. His blue eyes were so intense that Skye had to look down.

It had sort of been her fault, she wouldn’t have gotten put in that closet if she wasn’t bad...

“Well, I’ve got an idea,” Mrs. May spoke up. “What if we took the door off the closet and replaced it with a colorful curtain? That way you don’t ever have to worry about getting stuck in it. We could pick a really pretty curtain.”

Skye’s eyes widened and she looked at Natasha, who seemed as surprised as she was.

“You... you would do that?”

“Sure. I can grab the screwdriver and we can take the door off right now.”

Skye sat in stunned silence and watched as Mrs. May disappeared out the door and into the hallway.

“I’m going to get all of your clothes and things tomorrow. Is there anything specific that you want me to grab?” Mr. Coulson’s voice caught her attention and she looked over to where he was standing a respectful distance away.

Skye thought of her room back at the Garrett’s and tried to remember if there was anything important that she wanted to have but she couldn’t think of anything. She had Nattie so she was happy.

Natasha, on the other hand, was quick to reply, “Our school stuff.”

Skye suddenly pictured their precious library books scattered across the floor and the splintered door lying on top of some of them.

“Don’t forget our library books,” she spoke up quickly. It was really bad not to take library books back and Skye liked the nice librarian at their school. She didn’t want her to be sad or upset about missing books.

Mr. Coulson nodded and looked like he was waiting for them to say more. When they didn’t, his forehead scrunched up and he tentatively asked, “Any of your favorite toys?”

Becky had bought her a lot of toys when she had first moved in with them but Skye hadn’t liked any of them and they had all been pushed under her bed. It’s not like the toys hadn’t looked fun, it was just that it had felt weird to play with them, like she was okay with Becky treating her like her own personal doll, so she had ignored them. It was much more fun to play with Nattie anyways. Her sister always came up with the best games and read her the best stories.

They both shook their heads and Mr. Coulson looked a little sad.

Mrs. May breezed back into the room with a screwdriver in hand and a determined look on her face and Skye was kind of happy that the conversation was over. She didn’t like it when Mr. Coulson looked sad.

“Do you girls want to learn how to take a door off the wall?” Mrs. May looked very happy with the screwdriver in her hand while Mr. Coulson looked a little scared. “Here, I’ll work on the top hinge and show you how to do it, then you and Nat can work on the middle and bottom one.”

Skye watched as Mrs. May carefully twisted the screwdriver in one screw, then another.  Soon the hinge came off and Mrs. May offered it to her.

Skye took the piece of metal in her hand and examined it. The metal was cold and heavy.

“This keeps a door closed?” She wondered. It wasn’t that big or impressive looking.

“That’s it, love.”

Skye bit her lip and rubbed her fingers over the metal.

“Can I keep it?” The question slipped out of her mouth before she could stop it. Immediately she flushed. What a dumb thing to say. Part of her wanted to throw the door hinge out of the window as hard as she could. But another part of her felt kinda powerful holding the piece of metal.

“Of course,” Mr. Coulson nodded at her thoughtfully, making Skye feel like maybe she wasn’t that dumb after all.

Mrs. May cleared her throat, “Do you want to take out the last two?”

Nodding eagerly, Skye took the screwdriver from Mrs. May and held it carefully in her hand. She felt Nattie stand close behind her and let her sister guide her cast-free hand up to the middle hinge and tried to twist one of the screws out. It was kind of hard to do it with one of her hands in a cast but her sister helped her out and when all the screws were out and lying neatly on the floor next to the rest of the hinges, Mrs. May slowly lowered the door to the ground.

“I’ll move that into the garage tomorrow.”

Leaning into her sister’s side, she acknowledged Mr. Coulson and peered into the doorless closet. It was a little dark in there and still empty because they hadn’t unpacked any of their clothes yet, but it wasn’t scary anymore. Without a door, there was no way that she would ever get stuck in there.

Feeling brave, she took three big steps so that she was standing just inside the closet and looked around. She gave the small closet a tough look so that it knew she wasn’t afraid of it before running back to Natasha’s side. She felt her sister run a comforting hand down her back and took a deep breath before she looked up at Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson and gave them a shy smile, “Thank you.”

She softly tapped Natasha’s hand and she heard her sister sigh before gruffly saying, “Yeah, thank you.”

Mr. Coulson’s gave her his special smile and she even thought that she saw Mrs. May smile widely for a second before she nodded graciously, “Of course. We can find a pretty curtain tomorrow along with some other stuff to decorate this room a little and make it feel like yours.”

A warm, happy feeling traveled through her when she heard Mrs. May say that this room was hers.

“How do you think it’s going?” Melinda sighed beside Phil and he turned slightly in the bed to draw her closer.

“We’re moving slowly for sure,” he said lightly.

“Slower than slow,” Melinda grimaced, letting him pull her closer.

“We’re snails,” Phil smiled into her hair. “A snail family with you as snail mom, me as snail dad, our beautiful snail children, slowly inching our way forward...”

“You’re impossible.” But Melinda couldn’t help but smile. It was silent for a moment. “I think that Skye would be more comfortable with us but Natasha is making her be cautious. Which makes total sense, since Natasha has been the only one taking care of Skye for the past couple months. But it’s making it really hard to reach either of them.”

“Natasha is definitely more closed off,” Phil agreed. “But the moment we brought them into our home, it seemed like both of them were even more scared of us than before. They don’t see home as a safe place...”

“Mmm,” Melinda put her head on his shoulder, wondering if he could feel her sadness through the touch.

He could. “Hey, they’re here now and we have lots of time to give them the love they deserve. This snail family is in no rush.”

Chapter Text

Phil waited a little impatiently as Tripp tried to unlock the front door to the Garrett’s house. John was still in custody and Rebecca was under investigation for child abuse and neglect so the house was locked up and empty. Tripp had said that it was alright if he went back to the Garrett’s house to grab Skye’s and Natasha’s things as long as he was there to supervise.

Finally, Tripp pushed open the door and turned to him, “No one’s cleaned up in here…”

Phil waved him off. A messy house wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen before.

He realized why Tripp had made a point to warn him of the state of the house as soon as he stepped through the door. The place was a mess. Items were scattered all over the floor, the pillows from the couch were strewn about, one of the legs to the coffee table in the living room was broken, and that was just the living room. From where he was standing, he could see empty bottles of beer littering the ground of the hallway and the kitchen and one of the dining room chairs was lying haphazardly on the ground.

Sucking in a breath, he slowly walked around the house, as if in a daze. He couldn’t believe that this was where Natasha and Skye had lived. You wouldn’t be able to tell that children lived here just by looking around. There were no pictures of them on the walls, no children’s drawings hanging proudly on the fridge, no toys laying around, no little shoes or jackets by the front door. It was like they were never here.

Tripp cleared his throat, “The girls’ rooms are upstairs.”

Phil shook his head to clear it and nodded, “Right.”

The daze he had seemed to be in started to disappear and turn to anger as he walked up the staircase and spotted a closet with the door thrown open. He peered into it and saw mainly storage boxes and some cleaning supplies that he doubted had ever been used, but the giant look on the door told him that this was probably the closet that Skye had been talking about last night.

It was dark and small and Phil felt a hot flash of anger spread through him. What kind of a person would intentionally harm a child? For the life of him, Phil couldn’t understand why the Garrett’s treated Natasha and Skye the way they did and he didn’t think he ever would.

Grinding his teeth, he made sure that none of the girls’ things were in there before firmly shutting the closet door.

Tripp gave him a questioning look but he shook his head and moved down the hallway towards the girls’ rooms.

He wasn’t expecting to see the sight before him. The door to the first room had been kicked in and broken down. Slivers of wood were still attached to the door hinges but the rest of the door was lying on the floor. There were books and papers trapped under the door and lying around the room. The bed was sitting diagonally on the other side of the room rather than straight and looked like it had been grabbed and dragged a few feet to the side. On the side of the bed, he saw homework papers and books sitting in a messy pile.

It looked like a war zone, not a child’s bedroom.

Blinking rapidly, Phil tried not to imagine Natasha and Skye in here, trying to do their homework and hiding from the monsters that lived just down the hall from them. He tried not to think about how scared they must have been when the door to the room had crashed in and he really tried not to think about what had happened after.

Even though he tried his best, he still saw Natasha’s bruised torso and Skye’s broken arm and the scrapes and bruises that were decorating both of their little bodies.

He hadn’t been able to help them. He should have done something sooner, said something sooner. He shouldn’t have worried about doing things by the books because while he was filling out paperwork, Skye and Natasha were living in a place like this, terrified.

A hand on his shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked over to Tripp.

“They’re safe now, you did everything you could.”

Taking a step away so that Tripp’s hand fell away from his shoulder, Phil shook his head, “It wasn’t enough. I should’ve-”

Tripp cut him off, “Should’ve done what? There was nothing more that you could do. You got them out of here and the Garrett’s are going to be punished for what they did.”

His friend stepped towards him, put his hand back onto his shoulder, and squeezed it comfortingly.

Letting out a breath, Phil nodded. He wasn’t sure if he believed Tripp when he said that there was nothing else he could have done. He still thinks that there must have been something that he could’ve done to help sooner, but he wasn’t going to say that.

Tripp gave him a small grin and squeezed his shoulder again, “Now, let’s grab the girl's stuff and get the hell out of here. This place creeps me out and Natasha and Skye are waiting for you back at home.”

The thought of Skye and Natasha waiting for him is what ultimately got him moving. He wanted to go back to his house and make sure that they really were alright and so, with Tripp’s help, they packed up all the girl’s stuff and got the hell out of there.

Natasha woke up with Skye’s hard cast in her face and with her blankets twisted around her legs. It was still kind of dark outside and she had no idea why she was up this early but after a few minutes of trying to go back to sleep, she gave up.

Sighing, she slowly and quietly tried to untangle herself from her sheets and from Skye without waking her little sister and without jostling her ribs too much. It took a few moments, but she finally slid out of bed with only minor pain from her ribs.

After pulling the sheets up and around Skye so that she was warm, she quietly snuck out of the room. She didn’t hear any movement from downstairs and guessed that Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May were still asleep.

Since she didn’t think anyone else was awake, she couldn’t help but jump in surprise when a soft voice spoke from behind her, “Good morning.”

Spinning around quickly, she instinctively took a step back towards hers and Skye’s new room before realizing that it was just Mr. Coulson. He was carrying an overstuffed duffel bag on one shoulder and was carrying two medium sized plastic storage bins in his arms.

Natasha caught her breath, tried to slow her heart rate back down, and plastered an unaffected look on her face. If Mr. Coulson had noticed that he had scared her, he didn’t show it, and she was grateful for that.

Giving her a wide smile, Mr. Coulson set the bins and bag down by the wall outside of her room and turned to her, “I went and got your guys’ stuff. Is Skye awake yet?”

Sparing a glance back to her half-opened door, she shook her head.

Mr. Coulson nodded, “Okay, well when she is, we can help you put everything away. I think I got all of your things but if not, just let me know and I can go back.”

Natasha shrugged. She didn’t really have a lot of things that she cared enough about to go back for. As long as she had clothes to wear and Skye, she was fine.

Mr. Coulson made a noise in his throat and she focused on him and saw that he was unzipping one of the smaller sections on the duffel bag. He fished around for a moment before making a triumphant sound and pulling out a little plastic baggie and showing it to her proudly, “I made sure to grab hair ties.”

Natasha was surprised that he had actually remembered. They had only mentioned it yesterday morning and very quickly. She knew that Skye would be happy to have something to help get her hair out of her face and so she nodded at Mr. Coulson and said, “Thank you.”

Mr. Coulson’s smile was so big that you would have thought that she had given him the biggest compliment in the world.

“Are you hungry? I can make breakfast.”

Nat wasn’t really sure if she wanted to leave Skye up here all alone. Mr. Coulson seemed to sense that because he said, “Skye will be fine. I think her medicine makes her a little sleepier than yours makes you. We’ll make sure to save her some breakfast, okay?”

Gazing back at her partially open door, Natasha debated with herself. So far, living with Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson had been pretty nice. They had good food and let them watch movies and they had even taken off the closet door in their room to make Skye less scared. But she and Skye had been with each other the whole time and Nat wasn’t sure what would happen when they were separated.

“We can make Skye waffles for breakfast. Does she like waffles?”

She could tell that Mr. Coulson was trying to make her decision easier for her by making this about Skye. Thinking back, she never remembered Skye talking about waffles and they definitely never had them at the Garrett’s house.

She shrugged, “I dunno.”

“Do you like waffles?”

Natasha tried to remember if she’d ever eaten waffles before and a fuzzy memory flicks through her brain. She might have had waffles once with her first foster family but she isn’t sure.

She shrugged again and Mr. Coulson gasped dramatically, “Everyone loves waffles. I’m sure you and Skye will love them too.”

The way Mr. Coulson made it seem like everyone eats waffles made her want to make some for Skye. If this was a normal experience for people, she wanted Skye to experience it too.

Tilting her head slightly in agreement, Mr. Coulson’s big smile got impossibly bigger and he motioned for her to follow him down to the kitchen.

Natasha was a mystery to Phil.

At least he knew that Skye liked him. She had asked him to be her friend and held his hand and even smiled at him sometimes. He had no idea how Natasha felt about him.

When the redhead had agreed to making breakfast with him, he had been surprised. He knew that Natasha was probably only making waffles for Skye because she had never had them before, and even though that made him a little sad, he was happy to be spending some alone time with her.

It was quiet as they mixed all the ingredients. Natasha kept looking at him and studying him in such an intense way that he could feel his skin burning under her gaze. In this way, Natasha was like Melinda. They were both comfortable with silence. He was not comfortable with silence. He liked to fill empty spaces with words, it made him feel better and less lost when he was talking.

While Natasha was slowly mixing all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl, he pulled out the waffle maker, which has only been used once, and tried to make it look like he knew how to work it.

By the time it was successfully heating up, he couldn’t take the silence anymore. When he turned to Natasha, he could see that she had noticed that she now had his full attention because, even though she didn’t look up at him, she straightened up and shifted slightly away from him. That little defensive action had him thinking about the Garrett’s house. The kicked in door and the locked up cupboards and before he could stop himself, he blurted out, “I’m sorry Natasha.”

The little girl finally looked up at him but didn’t say anything. Natasha just raised an eyebrow and gave him a flat, unreadable look. The way the action reminded him so much of Melinda caught him a little off guard.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he tried to come up with the right words this time before speaking again. “When I was at the Garrett’s house today,” he watched Natasha stiffen and hated himself for it, “I realized that I should have done something sooner. To help you and Skye, I mean.”

His heart was beating rapidly and his palms were clammy and he realized he was so nervous because he wanted Natasha to know how sorry he was, how much he wanted to help them and make them feel safe, how much he wanted to do right by them now that he had the opportunity to help them.

Natasha didn’t say anything, just continued to study him, and he felt his heart rate speed up a little more as he waited for a response. He had to literally bite his tongue so that he didn’t continue to babble.

He watched as Natasha focused back on the mixing bowl and pretended to give it her full attention, “Skye… likes it here.”

Phil wasn’t really sure where that had come from but he would definitely take it. He couldn’t tell if Natasha not acknowledging his apology was because she agreed with what he had said or not but honestly, he was happy to have gotten this much out of the redhead. She didn’t seem to talk too much.

The one thing he was certain about Natasha was that she loved Skye and would do anything for her. It seemed like she had an easier time expressing herself when she wasn’t actually talking about herself, but was talking about Skye. He hoped that when she said that Skye liked it here, that meant that she also liked it here, but he just couldn’t be sure.

Giving her a tentative smile, he earnestly said, “Good! I’m happy about that.”

Natasha nodded a little but her face was still empty of any emotion. He watched as the little girl took a deep breath, set the spoon she was mixing with down, and turned back to him. Natasha seemed to come to a decision and he watched as she made herself harder, stiffening her muscles and squinting her eyes a little, before saying, “Skye likes it here… and she likes you.”

Natasha’s voice was steely but he could hear a slight tremble in it. He knew she had more to say and he knew how difficult this might be for her so he stayed silent and gave her a chance to collect her thoughts.

“A lot of bad things have happened to Skye… and she deserves to be happy and safe. That’s all she wants.” The hard look Natasha was giving him was unnerving and he could clearly hear the challenge and the threat in what she was saying.

“She thinks you guys are different.” She whispered this part and Phil couldn’t tell if she was saying it to herself or to him, but then her voice got stronger and she stared him down, “ I don’t know if you’re any different.” He could hear the unspoken ‘ you’d better be different, ’ that Natasha didn’t bother to say.

It made him sad how uncertain and frightened Natasha and Skye were of everything and everyone besides themselves and even though his heart was still beating incredibly fast and his palms were sweaty and the fact that this little girl was able to pull such a reaction out of him confused him a little bit, he made a promise to himself that he would prove to Natasha that he and Melinda were different from the past adults in her life.

He knew that just saying that Natasha could trust him definitely wouldn’t be enough to actually win her trust and he also could tell that she wasn’t expecting him to say anything, she was just telling him this because she needed him to hear it. So, he grabbed a carton of blueberries and set them by Natasha, “I bet Skye would love blueberry waffles. They’re delicious.”

Natasha studied him for a moment longer before nodding and reaching for the fruit and he could tell that the conversation was over.

He made sure not to crowd Natasha as he showed her how to pour the waffle mix into the maker and by the time he heard little feet running their way, they had made a small stack of regular waffles and a small stack of blueberry waffles.

He heard Skye run down the staircase and he heard a slower pair of footsteps trailing along behind her and figured that his wife was finally out of her shower and ready for the day. For some reason, he thought that Skye was running towards the kitchen because she was excited to see them and to eat breakfast, but when he finally spotted her, he knew that it was the opposite.

Skye looked upset and on the verge of tears and when she spotted Natasha, she let out a loud breath and ran even faster towards her. Skye made sure to slow down a little so that she didn’t hurt Natasha’s ribs but the tiny girl still managed to launch herself into her sister’s arms. He heard her mumble something but couldn’t make it out.

Melinda appeared by his side and whispered, “She didn’t know where Natasha was.”

He watched Natasha run a hand over Skye’s head and press a kiss to her forehead and Skye visibly relaxed. The young girl stepped out of Natasha’s arms, glanced quickly over to him, and then carefully studied her sister. Phil realized that she was making sure that Natasha wasn’t hurt and it felt like a punch to the gut because the blatant display of distrust hurt . He knew that Skye liked him and thought of him as a friend but he also knew that the trust barriers that had been constructed throughout her short life would take a long, long time to break back down.

Skye gave Natasha one more hug and he heard Natasha comfortingly say, “I wanted to surprise you. I’m making waffles.”

“What’s that?” Skye sniffled one last time and ran her uncasted hand over her face before looking up at him and giving him a tiny, tiny smile.

He felt Melinda squeeze his hand and he sucked in a breath before smiling brightly, “Oh Skye, you’re going to love them. They’re delicious!”

Skye’s morning had started off kinda bad but now it was pretty good.

When she had woken up and hadn’t been able to find Natasha, she had panicked. After thoroughly checking their room for her sister, she had rushed out of the door and had ran right into Mrs. May.

Skye looked up at her and saw that her hair was still wet and her cheeks were pink from her shower. Mrs. May had taken one look at her and pointed towards the staircase, “They’re making breakfast downstairs.”

She didn’t wait for Mrs. May and she didn’t even think about how running in the house might get her in trouble, she just quickly made her way into the kitchen. When she spotted Nattie standing by the counter, she felt a giant wave of relief rush through her. She thought that she had trusted Mr. Coulson but seeing him alone with her sister made her nervous and wary and she couldn’t help but look Nattie over and see if she was hurt.

Of course Natasha wasn’t hurt. When she was done with her inspection, she had realized that her worries were kind of dumb. Mr. Coulson wouldn’t hurt them, he was nice.

Once she had calmed down, Mrs. May had taken over helping with breakfast and she had given her and Nattie some plates to bring to the table. She stayed close to her sister’s side and even scooted their chairs as close together as they could possibly go because she didn’t want to be further apart than they absolutely needed to be.

All of Skye’s worries melted away when she tried her first bite of the waffles though. They were amazing and she had quickly eaten two of them before Mrs. May had taken her plate away again to that she could realize that she was full.

Nattie had looked happy that she had liked the waffles and that made Skye happy too.

Now they were heading to the store to get food and stuff for their room. Skye was excited because she was going to be able to help pick out things to decorate their room, she had never been able to do that before, but she was also kind of afraid. She didn’t really like going to places she had never been before.

While Mrs. May was looking for a parking space, Mr. Coulson turned around in the front seat and gave them a smile, “Okay girls, we’re here.”

Skye sat up a little straighter to see out the window and saw the big, store looming over them. The Target sign was huge and Skye liked the red bullseye on the front of the store.

“When we’re in there, please stay close to us. And no running around, especially with your ribs Natasha.”

Skye glanced over to her sister and wasn’t surprised to see the annoyed look on her face. Nattie didn’t like being told what to do but Skye agreed with Mr. Coulson. She didn’t want Nattie to hurt her ribs either and there was no way she was going to let Natasha, Mr. Coulson, or Mrs. May out of her sight because she didn’t want to get lost.

Mrs. May parked the car and Skye waited patiently for Nattie to help unbuckle her, it was really hard to do it herself with her cast, and then carefully hopped out of the car. Natasha followed after her and slipped out of the car a little more gracefully and Skye immediately grabbed onto her hand. Her thumb slipped into her mouth but a gentle tap from Natasha reminded her to take it out.

“Alright, let’s do this,” Mr. Coulson smiled at them. He looked funny with sunglasses and a t-shirt on. They followed closely behind him and Mrs. May as they headed into the giant store.

The inside seemed even bigger than the outside. Skye couldn’t help but gape at the huge expanse of shelves and white floor. There was so much stuff .

“Alright, here’s what I’m thinking- we should start with clothes and then move to bedding and stuff for the room, then finish up with some toys.”

Skye smiled slightly, tugging on Natasha’s hand.

“ Toys ,” she mouthed. Natasha gave her a small smile but Skye could tell she was just humoring her. Natasha was obviously not enthusiastic about something.

“Alright, are you girls okay going over to the clothes section?” Mrs. May seemed to sense Natasha’s hesitation.

Natasha nodded.

When they got to all the clothes, Skye waited obediently by Mrs. May as she started looking through clothes.

“What kind of clothes do you like, Skye?”

Skye was silent.

“Do you have a favorite color?” Mrs. May tried again.

Skye avoided her gaze. Suddenly she spotted a bright blue shirt that had clouds on it and looked at it longingly.

Mrs. May followed her gaze and picked up the shirt.

“Do you want this one, Skye?” she asked.

Skye quickly shook her head, clinging to Natasha’s hand and looking down at the floor.

She remembered when Becky had taken her shopping.

“What do you think, Mary-Sue? How about this one?” Becky laughed and held up a pink shirt with a heart on it. “This will look so cute on you. Oh, and this one!” Becky picked out a little sparkly dress.

“I like this...” Skye hesitantly touched a blue hoodie.

“Ugh, Mary-Sue, are you stupid? Blue is a boys color, darling, and that sweatshirt is gross looking. Now put down that ugly thing and try this skirt on. I’m the one picking out clothes here.”

“Skye, love?” Mrs. May was looking at her expectantly. “I saw you looking at this shirt, do you want it?”

Skye stubbornly shook her head, staring intently at her shoes.

“You can pick out which clothes you want, Skye,” Mrs. May said, crouching down beside her. “I want you to have clothes you love. It doesn’t matter what you want, whether it’s blue or bright pink or polkadotted orange, or from the boys section- you can have whatever clothes you want.”

“Anything?” Skye looked up. Mrs. May’s eyes were serious as she nodded.

“Anything.”

Skye took a cautious step forward and picked up the shirt she had been looking at.

“I want this one then,” she said, trying to sound confident. Really she was scared that Mrs. May would yell at her or say something mean, but Mrs. May just gave her a big smile and helped find the right size.  

“Can I get this?”

Melinda looked up from the coloring book she had been looking at to find Phil holding up a Captain America action figure, making puppy eyes at her.

“Don’t we have enough Captain America stuff?” Melinda raised an eyebrow at him.

“No. Please please please?”

Skye giggled and even Natasha smiled slightly.

“I don’t know. What do you think girls?” Melinda turned to them. They were looking a little tired, probably from all the shopping, and Melinda could tell that Natasha’s ribs were bothering her by the way she held herself. Luckily they were just about finished.

“I think Mr. Coulson should get it,” Skye smiled shyly. “Here, Mr. Coulson, we can count it as one of my toys.”

Initially both girls had refused to take any toys, obviously uncomfortable with the amount of things that had been bought for them that day. However after discussing with Natasha and Skye, they had compromised on each girl being able to pick out three toys. Melinda had every intention of getting they some more things later, but for today, three would do.

Skye offering Phil one of her three allotted toy choices made her heart want to burst. The tiny girl had an incredible amount of goodness in her, despite all the crap the world had thrown at her. Honestly, it was beyond Melinda’s comprehension.

“That’s so kind of you Skye,” Melinda was quick to affirm her. “Thank you for being willing to give Phil one of your toys. But I think we will let him get it on his own so you can still have your three toys, does that sound okay?”

Skye smiled shyly at the praise and nodded. She glanced at the shelf.

“You could get this one, Mr. Coulson, so you could get more,” she suggested, picking up a set which included all the figures of the Avengers.

“Brilliant,” Phil smiled, picking it up. He looked at May triumphantly but she just rolled her eyes at him.

Quickly eyeing her full shopping cart, she made sure they had gotten everything they needed. The plastic cart was full of room decorations, miscellaneous clothes items, some food and snacks that Melinda had had to basically coerce the girls into telling her that they liked, and their toys. Phil dropped his boxed action figures onto the top of the cart and she gave him a look before turning to the girls to see if they were ready to leave.

Skye and Natasha were holding hands, standing side by side and staring at the shopping cart. Taking a step back, Skye rubbed her thumb over her lips and pointed to the cart with her casted hand, “That’s a lot of stuff.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Phil reach for another superhero thing and she quickly grabbed his hand, gave him a stern look, and turned back to the girls, “Yes it is. Are you ready to go?”

Skye nodded timidly and Natasha sighed, so she assumed that they were ready to go. She tugged Phil towards the cash registers before he found some other toy that he wanted.

Chapter Text

Natasha watched Skye as she laid on the floor and played with her toy, a set of gears that she could interlock and turn. She watched as Skye’s dark eyes narrowed with concentration, brow furrowing.

Mr. Coulson was sitting on the couch, working on his laptop, while Mrs. May sat at the dining table, papers spread out in front of her.

Everything was quiet and Natasha wished that she could relax, but she couldn’t.

All she could think about was what if for some reason Mr. Coulson got upset about something and he hurt them, or if Mrs. May got tired of being nice to them and started ignoring them, or being mean. What would they do then? What if they were given back to the social workers?

Everyone had their breaking point and Natasha knew that Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May were probably no different.

The question was how to keep Skye safe when it came to it.

Natasha let her gaze drift to the fading bruises that mottled her sister’s arms and the cast that enclosed one thin wrist.

Even before living with the Garrett’s, Natasha had known that grown ups were bad.

Could Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May really be different?

Skye looked up at her and smiled, “Look what I built, Nattie!” She turned a handle and all the gears began turning.

“That’s awesome!” Natasha gave her a genuine smile.

“I’m going try to build a car, see, there are these wheel parts...”

Satisfied that her sister was happy, Natasha leaned back against the couch, returning to her observation of Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May.

Mr. Coulson glanced up at her, apparently feeling her gaze. He gave her a small smile, which Natasha did not return.

“Do you want to play with anything, Natasha?” he asked. Natasha shook her head. She would watch and make sure that everything was okay.

Mr. Coulson looked a little sad but Natasha ignored him and turned her gaze back to Skye.

Dinner was quiet and May could tell that Skye and Natasha were tired from the shopping expedition.

When she was about to start washing the dishes with Phil, her phone rang.

It was a reporter.

“I’m sorry, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Melinda abruptly ended the phone call.

The story of John Garrett’s true nature being exposed had somehow gotten out, as news usually did. However, with the identity of Natasha and Skye being confidential, Melinda had no idea how they had connected her with the situation. It was possible they had seen her leaving the police station with Tripp. In any case, someone had clearly connected the dots.

“Phil,” she quietly beckoned him into the other room, quickly explaining the situation.

“I don’t understand, how did they find us?” Phil’s normally calm face was disturbed. “The last thing we need is more reminders of what happened.”

“I don’t know. I’ll text Tripp.” Melinda pressed her lips together unhappily.

“Hopefully they won’t call again.”

Melinda nodded, unconvinced, and they headed back to the kitchen.

To their surprise, Natasha was standing on a chair in front of the sink, washing dishes.

“Natasha?” Melinda stepped forward carefully but froze as Natasha spun around, startled. Melinda instinctively reached forward since the movement disrupted the nine-year-old’s balance on the chair, but Natasha caught herself. Unfortunately, the quick movement ended up hurting Natasha and the little girl put one hand over her ribs and let out a small cry of pain.

“Leave her alone!”

Melinda stepped back as Skye charged in front of her sister protectively.

“Skye!” Natasha had jumped off the chair, trying to reach her sister, but it was too much for her injured body and she fell to her knees, clutching her side.

Skye quickly turned her attention to her injured sister, kneeling beside her, tiny hands flitting around uncertainly as she began to cry.

Phil took a step forward and Skye turned towards him, dark eyes wild and unfocused, and screamed at the top of her lungs.

Wow.

Melinda did not know that such a small, little person could make that loud of a sound and she had been teaching in elementary school for years.

Behind Skye, Natasha was clutching her ribs, while trying to hold Skye, face taut with pain. Melinda needed to know how badly the jump had hurt her. Natasha could have punctured her lung with that broken rib.

Meanwhile, Skye had not stopped screaming.

The situation was spiraling out of control and Melinda did the only thing she could think of to de-escalate the situation.

She pushed Phil out of the room.

His blue eyes were wide with confusion and hurt. “Hold on,” Melinda promised him.

Turning, she went back into the room and quickly sat down to put herself on the same level as the girls instead of towering over them.

Skye had stopped screaming but was still crying hysterically.

“Skye,” Melinda’s voice was calm but firm as she tried to get the younger girl’s attention. “I know you’re really upset and scared but can I come closer and make sure Natasha’s okay?”

Skye shook her head, her tiny body physically shaking.

“It’s okay, Skye.”

To her surprise, it was Natasha who spoke up. She could see that the girl’s face was pale but she seemed to be in less pain than before.

At her words, Skye moved away from in front of Natasha a little.

May scooted closer, taking that as an invitation.

“Natasha, I’m worried about that jump jostling your ribs. Can you tell me how your breathing feels? I want to make sure you didn’t hurt your lung.” May was quickly examining the girl as much as she could without actually touching her.

“I’m okay,” Natasha’s voice was small, her attention on her sister, who she was trying to pull into her arms. “Skye, I’m okay. Come here. You aren’t going to hurt me.”

Gradually, Skye let Natasha pull her closer, her sobs slowing.

“I... I thought we were back...” Skye hiccuped, thumb creeping into her mouth.

“I know,” Natasha murmured in her ear, kissing her forehead. “But it’s okay, we aren’t ever going there again, and I’ll keep you safe.”

Melinda felt like she was intruding on a private moment but she also didn’t want to leave the two girls without talking about what had just happened.

“Natasha, Skye, I am so sorry you got scared.”

Their eyes, green and dark brown, slowly connected with hers and she knew they were fully listening.

“I am sorry I startled you at the sink, Natasha, and I’m sorry that you thought I was hurting your sister, Skye. I’m sorry that you were scared. This house is a safe place for you both. Nobody will hurt you here.”

Skye sniffed, leaning against Natasha, but her dark eyes were intently fixed on Melinda’s face.

“Can you maybe help me understand what made you so scared?”

Melinda quickly remembered Skye charging into the room, her dark wild eyes, and that unearthly scream that that had filled the room. Obviously something had been triggered.

“It’s not your fault, Mrs. May.”

Melinda could barely believe her ears as she slowly turned to Natasha.

“Skye, I lost my balance on the chair, nobody hurt me.” Natasha kissed her sister’s cheek before turning back to Melinda with expressionless green eyes. “I think she was reminded about something that would happen at John’s house.”

“John would come in and be mean to Nattie when she was doing dishes,” Skye whispered.

Suddenly it made sense. A familiar setting coupled with unfortunate timing had brought Skye right back to that house with Garrett.

“I’m sorry he did that. You never deserved that.” Melinda could easily figure out what Skye meant when she said that Garrett would “be mean” to Natasha.

It was quiet for a moment as Natasha held Skye. Melinda could feel the younger girl’s examining gaze, waiting. However, Melinda May was very comfortable with silence.

“Do you think Mr. Coulson is upset?” Skye finally asked, bottom lip quivering slightly. “It was mean that I yelled at him.”

“You weren’t being mean,” Melinda shook her head firmly. “Mr. Coulson understands you got scared. He isn’t going to be upset at all, but if you want, you can talk to him.”

Skye’s eyes lit up slightly and she nodded vigorously but didn’t let go of Natasha’s hand.

“Come on Nattie, let’s talk to Mr. Coulson!”

Natasha slowly got to her feet and Melinda could see the flash of pain shoot across her face before she quickly hid it.

“Natasha.” Melinda couldn’t help but stopping the girl. Natasha slowly turned to look at her and Melinda found the girl’s blank stare fixed on her. “You don’t have to do dishes. We want you to rest and focus on getting better right now.”

Natasha’s green eyes blinked slowly but she didn’t say anything.

Melinda examined Natasha’s face, which did not hold any hints to what she was thinking. Perhaps she was trying to pay them back for the things they had bought them today? Or she didn’t want to be indebted to them? Or she thought she would be punished if she didn’t help?

“I’m good at doing dishes,” Natasha finally said and turned around and left Melinda standing alone in the middle of the kitchen.

Skye pulled Natasha through the house, searching for Mr. Coulson, and Nat tried not to wince every time her little sister accidentally tugged on her hand a little too hard. She was about to suggest stopping their search, Mr. Coulson hadn’t been in any of the rooms they’d searched through, when Skye pointed out the window, “He’s outside!”

Skye and Natasha carefully opened the door to the back porch and slipped outside. They hadn’t really had a chance to investigate the backyard. They could see the pretty garden and spacious lawn from the window seat in their room but Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May had urged them to rest so they had spent most of their time playing inside rather than outside.

Even though it was dark outside, the porch was lit up. There were twinkly lights wrapped around the walls and handrails and tiny lights stuck in the ground that lit up the path from the porch to the garden. Mr. Coulson was sitting on a lawn-chair, staring up at the night sky.

She and Skye stood uncertainly near the door but Mr. Coulson must’ve heard them because he turned towards them, gave them a small smile, and motioned for them to come and sit on the chair beside him.

Skye led the way and they both situated themselves on the same chair, side by side. It was quiet for a few moments and Natasha could tell that Mr. Coulson and Skye were trying to figure out what to say. She was happy to sit in silence and let them figure it out.

Skye’s thumb crept towards her mouth but she reached out and placed her sister’s hand on her lap instead. Skye looked up at her before taking a deep breath and turning her attention back to Mr. Coulson, “I’m sorry.”

Mr. Coulson had been quietly observing the stars but he quickly focused on Skye, “Please don’t be sorry Skye. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

Skye turned to give her a slightly confused look but she just shrugged. Mrs. May had told them that Mr. Coulson wasn’t going to be mad but she hadn’t quite believed her, neither had Skye, but as long as he wasn’t acting like he was angry or yelling at them, Natasha was content to hang back and rest and let Skye do all the talking. She was tired.

Skye rested her head against her shoulder and said, “But, I was mean…”

“No ‘but’s’,” Mr. Coulson said, giving them a serious look, “You weren’t mean, you were scared, and you just reacted. I’m sorry you were scared.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow at his apology and Skye gave her a disbelieving look. No adults had ever apologized to them as much as Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May had. It was weird.

Mr. Coulson shifted a little in his seat so that he was fully facing them and said, “I know that maybe when you’re scared, me being around might make you even more scared, and I understand that and will do whatever it takes to make you feel safe again… I just want you to know that I would never, ever hurt you two and that you’re safe around me.”

Skye poked her thigh and tilted her head towards Mr. Coulson with a slight smile on her face but Natasha kept her eyes on Mr. Coulson and closely studied his face. He seemed like he was telling the truth, he was looking at them earnestly and his face was so open and kind, but Natasha was smart. She didn’t just believe everything that everyone said, she had to make her mind up for herself. But, she had to admit that Mr. Coulson was trying , which was a lot more than almost every other adult in her life had done, so she gave him a slight nod before wrapping an arm around the Skye and looking up to the stars.

She pretended she didn’t see the wide smile that Mr. Coulson gave her.

Chapter Text

Something was off (more off than normal, and that was saying something) and Melinda knew what it was, but she didn’t know why .

Over the last two days, Natasha and Skye had ever so slightly begun to relax a bit. They were both still hyper-aware of what was going on around them and seemed to be constantly on alert, but she could now enter a room and the girls would only glance over at her rather than stop what they’re doing and analyze her, and she counted that as a win. The problem was, Natasha wouldn’t stop cleaning , and she knew that most people would be overjoyed to have a neat kid, but Melinda knew that something wasn’t right about it.

She had had to constantly remind the little girl that she didn’t need to wash the dishes, clean the floor, or wipe down the bathroom. Natasha compulsively picked up after Skye and reorganized all their new toys immediately after they were finished playing with them, which would be considered a good thing if Melinda didn’t know that something else was going on with the little girl.

At this moment, Skye had already finished her lunch and had wandered into the living room with Phil to color in her coloring book, and it didn’t escape her attention that Skye made sure she sat somewhere that she would be able to see her sister. Natasha had just finished her macaroni and cheese and was gently placing her dishes into the sink.

Melinda let out a sigh when she saw the girl reach for the soap and sponge, “Natasha.”

The redhead pulled her hand back quickly and turned to look at her, “Yeah?”

Mel took a step towards the little girl but kept a respectful distance between them so Natasha didn’t feel crowded, “We already told you that you don’t have to do the dishes, remember?”

Melinda was constantly impressed with Natasha’s poker face, but after being around the girl for awhile, she saw the brief look of panic that appeared on the little girl’s face before she schooled her features again.

Natasha nodded stiffly before reaching for the sponge again, “I know, but I’m good at doing dishes.”

Her frustration spiked a little bit but she shoved it away. Melinda didn’t know why Natasha insisted on cleaning but she told herself the way that she was currently handling the situation wasn’t working so she had to change her tactics. She regarded the little girl for a moment before straightening up and bracing herself. She was about to do something she didn’t enjoy, but she found that it wasn’t so daunting when she considered that it would probably help Natasha.

It was time for a conversation.

Stepping forward, she gently pulled the soap and sponge out of Natasha’s hands and considered her, “What’s going on Natasha?”

Melinda watched as Natasha seemingly turned to stone before her. The little girl placed her hands by her sides, stared over her shoulder, and said nothing. It was obvious that Natasha had just shut down and closed herself off, and Melinda didn’t want to push her too far, but they needed to have this conversation.

She took a step back and quietly said, “Please don’t do that. You can talk to me, tell me things, and I won’t be upset or angry. I just want to understand.”

It took a few long moments, but Natasha finally loosened up a little and gave her a disdainful look that Melinda could clearly interpret to mean that the little girl was just as interested in having a conversation as she was. That look made her lips twitch up into a small smile and she motioned for Natasha to follow her so that they could both sit at the table.

Thankfully, Natasha followed after her and they both sat down across from each other. It was silent for a moment before Melinda reminded herself that she was going to have to speak first, so she attempted to gather her thoughts.

She noticed that she was fiddling nervously with her fingers and curled her hands into fists to stop herself before she realized how that might look to Natasha, so she then forced herself to lay her hands flat on the table. She let out a big breath before saying, “I just want to understand why you keep cleaning. You don’t have to, you know that right?”

Natasha nodded but didn’t say anything else.

Melinda told herself to keep trying, she needed to understand what was going on with Natasha. It felt like they were reaching a milestone here.

“But you want to clean anyways?”

The little girl nodded again but Melinda noticed that her gaze flickered over to Skye for a moment before focusing back on her.

She was trying to piece everything together but Melinda couldn't figure the situation out.

“If you want to clean, we can figure out one or two chores that are suitable for you after you’re fully healed. For the next couple of weeks, you should only focus on getting better.”

Melinda raised an eyebrow in shock when Natasha glared at her and smacked a hand on the table before growling, “I’m good at cleaning, I can do it.”

Puzzled, Melinda sat back and studied the girl for a long moment, unsure of what to say next. Natasha looked back over to Skye before focusing back on her and saying, “ Please , I can do it.”

Natasha was pleading with her and Melinda was confused and her thoughts were all jumbled until everything clicked into place and she understood what was going on. Her heart cracked a little bit.

She leaned forward and quietly said, “You don’t have to clean to stay here Natasha.”

The little girl leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms and Melinda could tell that she had hit the nail on the head. It hurt to think that Natasha thought she was only worthy of being here if she was cleaning.

She considered saying something else but, considering how alike she and Natasha were, she decided to sit quietly and let the little girl work through her thoughts. If Natasha had anything to say to her, it definitely wouldn’t happen if she pushed her into it.

It was quiet for a long time, only the sound of Skye and Phil quietly talking broke the silence, and Melinda was beginning to accept that she was going to have to try this conversation again later because it didn’t seem like Natasha was going to say anything, when the little girl finally spoke up.

Natasha mumbled, “Skye’s happy, and cute, and smiles all the time. She’s easy to like and… and keep around,” Natasha glared impressively at the table and curled into herself, “I’m not.”

“Natasha-”

The little girl cut her off, “It’s okay,” It really, really wasn’t and Melinda wanted to tell her that but for the first time since meeting Natasha, she wasn’t able to get a word in. “I’m not those things but I can clean. I’m good at that and when I do it, it gives people a reason to keep me around.”

By nature Melinda wasn’t a touchy person, but all she wanted to do in that moment was reach out and gently squeeze Natasha’s hand or give her a hug, but she knew without a doubt that the little girl would hate that, so she refrained. Instead, she softened her voice and said, “We want you here and we want you to just be yourself, not a little house-cleaning service, alright? We want you to be yourself and do things that make you happy because when you’re happy, we’re happy. We like having you and Skye here with us and you don’t need to… to try to earn your place here.”

Natasha was still glaring impressively at the table but now, Melinda realized it was because the little girl was trying not to cry. For a moment, Melinda started to panic because she wasn’t sure how to handle the tearful little girl but then she realized that even though she wasn’t one hundred percent certain on how to deal with Natasha’s tears, she would figure it out because Natasha deserved someone who would do that for her, and she wanted to be that person. But before she could come up with a game plan, Natasha cleared her throat and pushed her tears away. Melinda saw herself in the way the little girl repressed her emotions and she winced before realizing that they would have to take things one step at a time and that she could only deal with one problem at the moment.

Natasha cleared her throat again and fiddled with her fingers, “I’ll… try to remember that.”

“Thank you and don’t worry, we’ll remind you every day how much you’re wanted here,” Melinda said confidently.

Natasha finally stopped glaring at the table and quickly looked up at her, the disbelief evident on her face. Melinda sighed internally and reminded herself that this was going to be a slow process. She mentally patted herself on the back for having such a long conversation with the little girl, the longest one they’ve ever had, she realized, and for seemingly getting through to Natasha.

She stood up and gave Natasha a small smile, “Now, please leave the dishes to me and go play with Skye.”

Natasha nodded, stood up, inquisitively stared at her for a long moment, and finally made her way into the living room.

Melinda let out a huge sigh and nodded to herself. That went pretty well.

“Natasha and Skye?”

Skye couldn’t help jumping at the sudden interruption of her play with Natasha, spinning around to look at the doorway, her heart pounding. She could sense Natasha tensing similarly, the older girl moving closer to her ever so slightly as they turned.

It was just Mr. Coulson, leaning against the doorframe, face pleasantly relaxed.

Skye relaxed and offered the man a small smile, willing her heart to slow its pace. She still was a little worried that Mr. Coulson would be upset after she had screamed at him earlier that week, even though he said he wasn’t and hadn’t done anything to indicate that he was.

But adults were good at lying.

“I just wanted to let you know that we are going to have company for dinner tonight,” Mr. Coulson explained quickly. “Do you remember Tripp?”

“The police officer?” Nattie’s voice was short and Skye could tell she was not pleased by the announcement. Nervously, Skye reached for one of the gears she had been playing with, spinning it around her finger.

“That’s him,” Mr. Coulson nodded. “He’s excited to see you both again.”

Skye glanced at Natasha, whose expression was blank, and knew that her sister did not share the sentiment.

Skye wasn’t sure how she felt either. Tripp had seemed pretty nice but he also reminded her of that horrible night that Nattie had called the police and also the time at the hospital. And those weren’t things that Skye like to think about.

Living with Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May was like being in a fairytale, the kind that foster kids only dreamt about. She got to be with Nattie, there was plenty of food, they had their own room with a bed, and, so far, it was safe . It was starting to seem like Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May really did care about them, just like they always said.

But inviting a police officer over...

A horrible thought suddenly struck Skye, lodging in her chest and sinking her heart down to her toes.

What if they were bringing over the police officer to take them away? What if Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May didn’t want them anymore? The last time she had seen Officer Tripp, she had gotten a new home. And this time, she didn’t want a new home.

Skye’s heart began to pound as she stared at the scattered toys in front of her. Had she even said thank you for them? Had she thanked Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May for breakfast and lunch and having a bed and going to the mall and keeping them both?

She couldn’t remember.

She should have thanked them, not screamed at them, not shied away when they got a little too close, not sucked her thumb and let them do the dishes instead of her.

Skye was nothing but trouble; everybody had said that for as long as she could remember and she believed them. Each family she used to stay with had gotten rid of her without a second thought. One foster mother, when Skye had begged not to send her back, had sneered in her face and told her she wasn’t even worth the money they got for her.

Mr. Coulson was saying something but Skye couldn’t quite make out the words, instead she found Natasha’s hand and clung to it like a lifeline.

“...sound okay?” Mr. Coulson was suddenly looking at her and she nodded dully, not even sure what he had said. Something in Mr. Coulson’s expression shifted slightly and it took a moment for Skye to realize that he was worried.

“Are you alright, Skye?”

Natasha wrapped a protective arm around her and Skye buried into her sister’s chest, careful not to apply too much pressure to her bad ribs.

“She’s fine,” Skye heard Natasha say.

Faintly, she could hear Mr. Coulson saying something back, then Natasha responding, and then it was quiet.

“They aren’t going to send us away,” Natasha’s hand touched her back, rubbing soothing circles. Somehow her sister always seemed to know what was bothering her. Skye sat back to look up into Natasha’s eyes and saw the faint worry there.

“You don’t know that.” She hid her face again.

“Mrs. May...” Natasha’s voice was halting, almost like she was unsure of what she was saying. “She said they liked having us. She told me that today.”

Skye peaked at Natasha’s face again, examining it.

“When you guys talked?”

She had been coloring with Mr. Coulson at the time but also keeping an eye on her older sister. Just in case.

“Yeah.” Natasha was quiet, looking slightly pensive.

“What did you talk about?” Skye sat up a little bit.

“She said I don’t need to clean,” Natasha shrugged slightly, as though she was confused. Skye bit her lip. She hadn’t been helping clean at all; Natasha wouldn’t let her with her cast, but she had thought she would be expected to start working around the house once her arm was better.

“But why are they having a cop over?” Skye crossed her arms as well as she could with the cast on her arm.

The question was left hanging in the air as Mrs. May appeared in the doorway and informed them that Tripp was there.

Dutifully they followed her out, Skye keeping her grip on Natasha’s hand as they stood in the hall.

Tripp was not in his uniform; instead he wore jeans and a t-shirt and looked like a normal person, which made Skye feel a little better.

“Hello girls!” His smile was bright but Skye could only muster a small one to return. “How are you feeling?”

“Better, thanks,” Natasha answered for the both of them, and Skye caught the glance that Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May sent each other.

Skye tried to act normal and happy at dinner but could barely even eat her food. Miserably she pushed around the chicken and rice on her plate, trying to keep her tears at bay. It was like the fear of being sent away had become a lump and lodged itself in her throat.

She knew that everyone at the table was aware of her being upset but it wasn’t mentioned until Tripp’s phone buzzed and he excused himself to take a call.

“Skye, love, are you alright?” Mr. Coulson put down his fork and looked at her with kind brown eyes.

“Please, don’t send us away!” Skye couldn’t hold it back any longer and promptly burst into tears. She knew it was dangerous to tell adults what you wanted because then they could use it to hurt you but Skye didn’t think she could be hurt any worse than being sent away.

“What?” Mr. Coulson’s brow furrowed, his confusion clear, and even Mrs. May looked genuinely shocked.

“Skye, it’s okay...” Natasha was reaching to hug her close but Skye had to say what she had been planning out all dinner. She had to get it out so that they knew.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t say thank you and I screamed and didn’t help with dishes, but please don’t send us back.” She could feel her own body shaking against Natasha. “I can do better, I promise! I can be really good.”

Her panic clawed at her insides even as she said the words.

“Skye.”

The way Mr. Coulson said her name, so carefully and gently, made her cry even harder. She was faintly aware that he was kneeling beside her.

“Can I take your hand?” he asked, and through her tears, Skye nodded and offered him her shaking good hand. He took it; his grip was firm but comforting.

“We are not sending you back.” Mr. Coulson’s eyes were very serious as he looked at her, and Skye felt a surge of hope flare up in her chest before she quickly smothered it. That type of feeling was dangerous. “Were you thinking that because Tripp came over?”

Skye nodded, tightening her grip on Mr. Coulson’s hand. “Last time...” She didn’t finish that sentence.

“I’m so sorry that we scared you, Skye. Tripp is not taking you away; he’s just visiting as our friend. You are staying right here with us, if that’s what you both want.” Mr. Coulson gave her a small smile. “We love you and Natasha, Skye.” They were silent for a moment, Skye still unable to stop her tears, but she wasn’t sure exactly why she was crying anymore.

“Can I give you a hug?”

It was Mrs. May who asked the question, which struck Skye as unexpected but also extra special. She glanced at Natasha, who nodded almost imperceptibly, then all but threw herself into the woman’s arms.

Mrs. May was like Natasha. Her hugs made Skye feel safe.

Fear slowly draining from her, Skye clung to Mrs. May tightly before letting go and turning to Mr. Coulson, who was watching with a slight smile.

“Do you want a hug too?” she asked shly.

“I thought you’d never ask.” His face broke open into a huge smile and Skye let him enfold her in his embrace. “I love you, kiddo,” he said softly as he released her.

Chapter Text

When Phil opened the door to the his and Mel’s bedroom, he nearly stepped on the folded piece of paper positioned in the doorway. Luckily, the bright colors caught his eye right before it was crushed beneath his bunny slipper.

A smile slowly spread across his face as he picked up the paper and admired the drawing of a house on the front.

Their house, he mused. Opening the card, his smile grew as he read the words painstakingly printed in crayon.

“THANK YOU FOR TAKING CARE OF US.”

The writing was clearly Skye’s; a couple of the letters were backwards and others were scribbled out. Phil could almost see Natasha helping spell out the words while Skye leaned over the paper, her bottom lip stuck out in her characteristic look of concentration.

Beneath the words was a small drawing of four figures, two smaller and two bigger. It was a picture of them - all of them. And they were surrounded by little hearts.

He almost started crying right there.

A small movement caught his attention and he suddenly realized that Skye was peeking out from her bedroom across the hall, watching him.

“Mel, come here!” Pretending he didn’t see the little girl, Phil turned back to the room and beckoned Melinda. She was doing tai chi, balanced on one leg, but she cracked one eye open to look at him. “We got a present,” He beamed, holding up the paper. “From Skye.”

Mel’s expression shifted, a small smile lighting up her face as she moved toward him in the doorway.

“Skye is watching us,” he whispered into her ear as she took the card from him. She nodded slightly, her gaze focused on the drawing before her.

Phil couldn’t help but watch his wife’s face as she read the card, delighting in the way her eyes brightened and her smile deepened.

Something about her expression reminded him of how she had reacted when he asked her to marry him.

To anyone else, it might seem that Melinda May was simply smiling. But Phil could see the way  her dark eyes had softened and the gentleness with which she held the paper.

They were both falling in love with their new little family.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Phil asked her, wrapping an arm around her waist.

“It is,” May agreed adamantly. “It’s perfect.”

From the corner of his eye, Phil saw Skye beam and retreat back into her room, the door closing softly behind her.

A sudden idea struck him and he grabbed Mel’s hand, tugging her down the hall toward the stairs. “Come with me.”

She obliged, smiling lightly as he pulled her after him. “Where are we going?”

He could barely hold in his excitement but managed to stay silent until they reached the kitchen table.

“We should write back!” He finally gasped.

Melinda’s eyes sparkled, the lithe woman already turning to pull out the drawer where they kept the printer paper. “Skye and Natasha don’t really believe our verbal assurances that we want them - a physical reminder might be just what they need.”

Phil hadn’t even thought of that but the realization literally caused his heart to pound with excitement.

He knew in that moment that he would do everything and anything he could to prove to Natasha and Skye that they were safe and loved.

Rummaging through the drawers with Mel, Phil grabbed all the art supplies he could find and they got to work.

“They got it and they liked it!”

Natasha groaned softly, opening her eyes to the sight of Skye bouncing around the room.

After the whole meltdown at dinner the night before, Skye had enlisted her help to make a secret card for Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May.

“Mr. Coulson said it was beautiful and Mrs. May said it was perfect, ” Skye said excitedly, sticking her face up really really close to Natasha’s. “She said perfect!”

“That’s because it was perfect,” Natasha smiled, reaching up to smooth Skye’s crazy bedhead.

“Do you think they will put it on the fridge?” Skye’s large dark eyes were so hopeful that it almost physically hurt her to look into them.

“I think they’ll put it somewhere special,” Natasha murmured, still trying to get rid of the tangles in Skye’s hair. However, the smaller girl danced away before she could finish.

Seeing her sister so happy made Natasha happy too. But some dark hidden part of her was getting more and more scared the brighter Skye’s smile got. Because... even after everything Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson had done for them and everything they said, Natasha couldn’t believe that things would really be different.

She really wanted to believe it. She wanted to be happy and hopeful and excited like Skye but she just couldn’t . It was like that part of her was broken and she didn’t think it could be fixed.

So instead, Natasha just held onto the soft warmth that hugged her chest when she thought about the words Mrs. May had said to her yesterday.

“We want you here and we want you to just be yourself...”

The crazy thing about what Mrs. May had said was that Natasha thought she might have actually meant it. She knew when adults were lying to her and it didn’t seem like Mrs. May was. Her dark eyes had never left Natasha’s face and her expression had been really serious. Nice, but serious. And nobody had ever told Natasha not to do stuff for them before. Usually they were screaming at her to do more.

Even if Mrs. May was telling the truth, that didn’t mean that it would be the truth forever, Natasha reminded herself. Things could change.

But for once, Natasha didn’t want them to change.

Rolling over to lay on her back, she stared at the ceiling, memorizing it.

In her head, she could see all the other bedroom ceilings she had had at all her other homes. Natasha always memorized them. Some of them she wished she could forget.

She didn’t want to have another ceiling.

That thought almost made her curl in on herself.

She was letting herself think about what she wanted. But wanting things was dangerous - it would hurt so much more when everything went wrong.

“Nattie?” A small hand found hers.

Skye.

Natasha clung to her little sister’s hand, turning over on her side to look at Skye’s worried face. Skye had laid down beside her, so close their foreheads were almost touching.

“Are you okay?” Skye’s brow was furrowed.

“Yeah.” Natasha nodded slightly.

Skye stared at her, narrowing her eyes and looking adorably suspicious. “What’s wrong?”

Natasha felt a rush of warmth at her sister’s earnest care.

“We want you here and we want you to just be yourself...” Mrs. May’s words echoed in her mind and Natasha didn’t push them away this time. Suddenly, she felt much lighter.

“I didn’t get a good-morning hug, that’s what’s wrong,” Natasha pouted exaggeratedly.

Skye’s expression smoothed into a smile.

“Good morning!” Her little sister sang as she squeezed her tightly. It hurt Natasha’s ribs but she didn’t care at all.

Kissing the top of Skye’s head, Natasha got up, sliding out of bed to go brush her teeth and get ready for the day.

When she opened the door, a piece of paper was waiting expectantly for her.

Glancing back at Skye who was busy picking out clothes, Natasha slowly picked up the paper.

On the front there was a drawing of her, Skye, Mr. Coulson, and Mrs. May all reading Matilda together. The edges of Natasha’s mouth twitched into a smile she couldn’t hold back.

Turning the paper over, she read the small note.

“Natasha and Skye, we are so happy you are here with us. You are such amazing, smart, kind girls and you have so much to offer the world! Thank you for making our home a better place.”

Natasha read the note again, ignoring that her eyes were suddenly super itchy and her throat started to feel kind of tight.

For a bit, she just carefully held the card, not quite ready to let it go.

Then Natasha slowly put the paper back down. She knew Skye would be super excited to find it and show it to her; she would just pretend she hadn’t found it first.

But when Skye calmed down and finally put the card down, Natasha would make sure to put it in a safe place.

Chapter Text

“It looks like everything is healing nicely Natasha.” The doctor gave her a smile and then turned to Mrs. May and asked, “Has she been doing the deep breathing exercises every day? We don’t want any lung complications.”

Mrs. May quirked an eyebrow and stated, “Yes, but you can ask her yourself. She’s more than capable of answering questions about her own body.”

Nat sat up straighter and tried her best not to smile. Mrs. May had joined her for her follow-up exam while Mr. Coulson was with Skye in the next room for her exam. It was bad enough that they were in separate rooms, but the doctor had been treating her like a little baby for the last ten minutes. He came in, tried to pat her head (Mrs. May had smoothly intercepted him), and barely acknowledged she was there, and when he did, he spoke to her in a baby voice. It was taking everything she had to not snap at him because she didn’t think Mrs. May would approve.

“Oh, uh right. Have you been doing the breathing exercises we taught you? It’s important to do them everyday.” The doctor said, glancing back up to Mrs. May.

She rolled her eyes, “Yeah, I’ve been doing them.”

As he marked something on his clipboard, she looked up at Mrs. May. She had a hand on her hip and a vaguely irritated look on her face, and Nat was pretty sure it was directed at the doctor. When she caught her eye, Mrs. May gave her a small, conspiratorial smile.

It was odd to feel like she was on the same team as an adult, but that’s what it felt like. It was her and Mrs. May versus this lame doctor. It was strange, but she liked it. A small part of her (a part that was growing each day) knew that Mrs. May would keep her safe here, which is why she found herself giving her a teeny tiny grin before going back to glaring at the doctor.

Regardless of Mrs. May’s reminders, the doctor went back to speaking to her rather than Nat. Despite her indignation, she was glad to have a chance to sit back and have Mrs. May deal with this. Her body was starting to feel better and she and Skye were settling into life with Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May, but sometimes things still felt like too much and she got overwhelmed.

As the minutes ticked by, her feelings of restlessness grew. She needed to know how Skye was doing. Mr. Coulson had been great so far, but Skye had been with him on her own for a long time, and Skye didn't like doctors very much. She hoped that her sister's doctor was at least a girl so she would be less scary.

It felt like an eternity before her doctor turned to her, gave her an over the top smile, and said in a voice most adults used with newborn babies, “Aren't you a lucky little girl? Everything seems fine, I'll see you in another couple of weeks.”

This time she didn't try to conceal her frustration at how the doctor was treating her as she narrowed her eyes and sneered.

Mrs. May came over to stand beside her, and although she didn't touch her, Nat could sense the arm she placed on the table directly behind her. The doctor seemed confused for a moment but he gave them another bright smile before leaving the room.

“Easy there,” Mrs. May murmured.

“He talked to me like I was a baby.”

“I know, it was rude.” Mrs. May glanced pointedly at her clenched fist and then raised an eyebrow, “Want to check on Skye?”

At the mention of her sister, Nat brushed off her anger and nodded quickly. Before she could figure out how to jump off of the exam table without hurting her ribs too much, Mrs. May reached out and let her hands hover in front of her until Natasha gave her slight nod. After she was gently lifted off the table and deposited onto the floor, she ran out of her room and barged into Skye's.

Her eyes widened when she saw how visibly upset Skye looked. Her little sister's thumb was in her mouth and she was hunched onto the far corner of her exam table as her doctor examined a bruise on her leg. Mr. Coulson was trying to comfort her but it didn't appear to be working.

When Skye caught sight of her, she hopped off of her exam table, much to the irritation of the doctor, and ran to her. Skye tucked herself into her side, took a deep and shaky breath, and then started to cry.

She wrapped her arms around her sister but before she could say anything, Mrs. May had gotten Skye's attention and was gently asking, “What's wrong my little warrior?”

Skye sniffled and slightly shifted in her arms so that she was facing Mrs. May. Her sister didn't seem to notice that that meant she was a little further away from her than before. “I got scared and Nattie wasn't there,” Skye mumbled in a shaky voice.

Mrs. May knelt down next to them and held out a hand, “I'm sorry you felt scared. Do you feel better now?”

When Skye shuffled out of her arms and into Mrs. May's, it felt like the world started to crumble down around her.

Skye leaned in and gave Mrs. May a hug before saying, “Yeah, I think so.”

Anger spread through her so quickly that her skin started to itch. She thought that she and Mrs. May were on the same team for a little bit, but that was stupid because it was obvious that she was trying to steal Skye away from her. She should've known better. Skye was small and cute and easy to love, and she should have known that Mrs. May was just pretending to be kind to her so that Skye would like her too and then she could whisk her away.

Without thinking, she reached out, tugged Skye out of Mrs. May’s arms, and led her back to the exam table to put some distance between them. When she threw a glare over her shoulder, the stunned look on Mrs. May’s face caused her to pause, but then she shook it off and helped Skye back onto the table.

She calmed a little when her sister snuggled into her side. Wrapping a protective arm around Skye’s waist, she leaned over and said, “It’s all better ‘cause we’re together again, right?”

“Yeah,” Skye said in a wobbly but bright voice.

Throwing another mean look at Mrs. May, she stared directly at her and said, “Nobody’s ever going to force us apart.”

She looked down when Skye gave her a slightly confused look, “I know, you promised, remember?”

She nodded and hoped that Mrs. May got the hint, because she and Skye were going to be together forever.

“I did something to upset Natasha.”

“What was it?”

She gave Phil a look and shrugged, “I have no clue.”

“How do you know that you’ve done something to upset her then?” He asked as he put away their dishes from lunch.

A melodic laugh came from the living room and they both peered over to see the girls sitting on the couch together. Natasha was reading Skye a story, and although they had yet to witness it, she knew that the older girl would tell the story in silly voices just to make Skye happy.

She had no idea what had caused the icy rift to form between Natasha and her, and subsequently Phil too, but she would be lying if she said that it didn’t hurt. They had all been getting along so well, Natasha had even smiled a handful of times in the last few days, and now it was like they were back to square one. Natasha was hovering around Skye at all times, even more so than usual, and wouldn’t let the little girl out of her sight. It was like the tiny bit of trust they had earned in Nat’s eyes had vanished out of nowhere.

She sighed heavily and put away the last of their trash from their meal, “Can’t you see a shift in her?”

“I was hoping that was just my imagination. We were doing so well for awhile there,” Phil said wistfully.

The two girls finished with their book, slid onto the ground, and started to assemble the puzzle they had all been working on for the last two days. Mel sighed again. It was one thing to know what she had done to upset someone so that she could fix it, but right now, she was in the dark.

“I don’t know what to do,” She admitted.

Standing behind her, Phil wrapped his arms around her waist and placed a kiss on her shoulder, “Why don’t we just... ask her what’s going on?”

Mel rolled her eyes but then stopped herself. If Natasha was anything like her, which she was finding to be the case more and more each day, then a direct approach might actually work.

Squaring her shoulders, she nodded and said, “Let’s do this.”

As she walked out of the kitchen, she heard Phil call after her, “Wait, right now?”

She waved at him to follow her and when she entered the living room, she gave the girls a smile, “How’s it coming along?”

Skye held up a puzzle piece to her, “We can’t find where this one goes.”

“I’m sure we can find its place,” She responded. As she went to take the offered puzzle piece, a small hand grabbed it before she could.

Natasha held the piece between her fingers and said to Skye, “We can figure it out on our own.”

Skye looked between her and Natasha and seemed to shrink back, obviously unsure of what was going on between them. Melinda wished she could tell Skye that she was wondering the same thing.

Phil sat down on the couch and she joined him, hoping to appear more casual so that their talk wouldn’t make the girls feel on edge. “Actually, could you find where that piece goes a little later? We were hoping to talk to you.”

Her goal of making the girls feel comfortable quickly vanished at the look of pure panic that crossed both of their faces. Natasha concealed it almost immediately but Skye scooted a good two feel away from them and leaned into her sister’s side.

She shared a heartbroken look with Phil before he soothingly said, “Nobody’s in any trouble. We just wanted to check in with you both to see how you’re doing. You know, we want to see how you’re feeling and if you have any questions for us.”

Skye and Natasha looked at each other and Natasha shrugged.

Seeing that they weren’t getting anywhere, Melinda slid onto the floor, crossed her legs, and put her chin on her hand, “Think of this as a family meeting. I know we spend a lot of time together already, but this can be a time where we all check in.” The girls shared another look but said nothing. Throwing a desperate look over her shoulder at Phil, who shrugged, she turned back around and said, “For example, I wanted to take this time to tell you two how much we appreciate you both. I look forward to spending time with you each day. Natasha, you’re so helpful during bedtime, and Skye, you draw the best pictures.”

Skye inched a little closer to her and seemed like she was warming up to the idea. Natasha, on the other hand, remained guarded.

It was a conscious effort to keep pushing through the awkward atmosphere, “Phil, would you like to check in?”

Thankfully, her husband joined them on the ground and cleared his throat, “I’d love to. I think this week has gone great, but I have a question for you Miss Skye?”

“What is it?” The little girl asked, somewhat skeptically.

“I noticed that you colored through every picture in your superhero coloring book. Would you like to get another coloring book at the store with me tomorrow?”

“Yes!” Skye said, smiling tentatively. Melinda saw Natasha tug on Skye’s shirt before Skye turned back to them and uncertainly asked, “But only if Nattie comes too?”

“Of course, we can all go together,” Phil said. “Now, do you have any questions for me?”

Skye’s face scrunched up adorably as she thought and Melinda noted that even though Natasha was trying her best not to appear interested in the conversation, she was following along with what everyone was saying.

“I thought of a question.” Skye said seriously. Mel steeled herself for whatever they were going to be asked, “You know how Lulu’s mommy does her hair for school?”

Lulu must have been a child in Phil’s class because she wasn’t able to put a face to the name. Phil nodded and said, “Yeah?”

“Could you maybe do my hair like that for when we go back to school too?” Skye asked, before quickly backtracking and shrinking back into her sister’s side, “If you wanted to, but it’s okay if not.”

Before Skye could retreat too far back, Melinda said, “Sure, we can do your hair any way you’d like. How does Lulu’s hair look?”

Phil gave her a blank look that clearly said that he didn’t pay much attention to the hair styles of five year olds, so she she looked to Skye to explain.

Seeming to gain back some of her confidence, Skye ran her fingers through her hair and said, “She always has two braids but they start at the top of her head and look like mermaid hair.”

If she was guessing correctly, then Lulu wore french braids in her hair, which luckily, she was able to do, “No problem, you’ll have mermaid hair too when you go back to school.”

Skye smiled brightly but her happiness dimmed a bit when she looked at Natasha, who was glowering quietly.

“Natasha?” She asked carefully, “Do you have any questions for us?”

The tiny redhead stared and then minutely shook her head.

Phil put a comforting hand on her back and Melinda took a calming breath before asking, “You seem to be upset. Would you tell us what’s bothering you please?”

Even though she gave it her best, Melinda was still able to see the anger and fear in Natasha’s eyes. She was surprised when Natasha managed to calmly state, “Nothing’s bothering me.”

The emotions on her face were well concealed, but Mel knew where to look, so she was expecting Natasha to yell or scream at any moment. Which was why she was so shocked at how calm she sounded.

“Are you sure?” She asked, because she knew something was bothering her, and she was trying her damndest to actually start talking about feelings now.

This time, things went a bit more according to how she thought it would.

Natasha’s fists clenched and she abruptly stood up, “I already said that nothing’s bothering me.”

“We’re just worried about you Natasha. You can tell us if there’s something wrong,” Phil said earnestly.

She nodded and added, “We can’t fix it if we don’t know what’s going on.”

Melinda had never seen the look on Natasha’s face before. It was a mixture of anger, fear, and the most heart-wrenching sorrow she had ever seen. It was the most emotion Natasha had ever displayed and it seemed that the little girl didn’t know what to do with all of those feelings, because she quickly yelled, “Nothing’s wrong!” before running up the stairs and out of sight.

She blinked once as she tried to process what had just happened before she noticed how lost Skye looked sitting by herself, staring at the staircase her sister had just used to escape.

“Skye,” She said quietly, hoping to gain the attention of the girl without startling her. When Skye turned to her, she patted the space between her and Phil as an invitation, but the little girl stayed where she was. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she wobbly asked, “Nattie isn’t in trouble, is she? She didn’t mean to yell! She just feels a lot of things sometimes!”

By now, Skye was crying, looking terribly lost and alone all by herself across from them. Phil slowly scooted closer to her and she did too, and when Skye didn’t stop them, they placed themselves on each side of her.

“Natasha isn’t in trouble,” Phil said soothingly.

Skye sniffled and rubbed at her eyes, “You promise?”

“We promise,” Mel said. “Everybody gets upset and angry. We just want you and your sister to know that it’s okay to be upset or mad and we want you to feel comfortable telling us when you feel that way.”

It appeared that now that Skye knew that Natasha wasn’t in trouble, she was starting to realize that she was alone with them. Even though they had made great strides in the time they had been together, Skye still wasn’t completely comfortable on her own, which Mel understood but was still saddened by.

The little girl backed away slowly and Melinda decided to give her an out, “Would you do me a big favor and go check on your sister for us?”

Skye was a lot of things, but subtle was not one of them, which was evidenced by the giant sigh of relief she tried poorly to conceal. Without saying anything else, Skye bolted out of the room.

She put her hands over her face and let out a groan, “That went well.”

Comforting hands started kneading out the tension in her shoulders, “Honestly? It went a lot better than I anticipated.”

She gave Phil an incredulous look but he just shrugged, “Think about it, they actually talked with us. I mean, it was only for a little bit, but Skye even managed to ask for something that she wanted. And Natasha expressed anger!”

“Why do you sound so happy about that?”

“Because it’s progress. She might not recognize it, but Natasha feels comfortable enough to express negative emotions with us, and if you think about it, that means we’ve come a long way since when they first got here and were afraid to even speak to us.”

When he said it like that, their conversation with the girls did seem to go a lot better than she had initially thought. “Damn, when did you get so wise?”

He grinned and grabbed a stack of books from a shelf on the side table and held them up proudly, “I ordered a bunch of parenting books on Amazon and have been reading them. You want to borrow some?”

She raised an eyebrow at him as she took in the huge stack of books he was holding up and the proud smile on his face. Rolling her eyes, she held out a hand and said, “Give me one of those.”

Chapter Text

When Skye opened the door to the room she shared with Natasha, she found her sister lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. She was so still that for a second, Skye thought she might be asleep but then she saw Natasha’s hands clench into fists at her sides.

“Nattie?”

Skye stepped into the room slowly, strangely nervous. Her thumb seemed to find her lips without her permission.

Natasha didn’t move an inch and Skye was suddenly really scared.

Her sister never ignored her.

Never.

“Nattie?” She inched forward, blinking rapidly. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Natasha’s green eyes were glued to the ceiling; she didn’t even look at Skye as she asked, “Why aren’t you with Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson?”

That confused Skye. “Mrs. May asked if I could check on you...”

“ Mrs. May ,” Natasha huffed and Skye saw her eyes flash angrily. “Well why don’t you go tell her that I don’t need to be checked on.” Her voice held an edge that Skye had never heard Natasha use with her before.

“I... I don’t want to go tell her that,” Skye faltered slightly, thumb fully in her mouth as tears pressed against the backs of her eyelids.

She didn’t know what to do.

Natasha still wasn’t looking at her and Skye suddenly couldn’t hold in her dismay over her sister’s apparent anger with her.

She burst into tears, “Nattie, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you mad. I’m really sorry.”

Instantly, Natasha’s gaze broke from the ceiling and she was beside her in an instant, pulling her close. Skye clung to her sister desperately, trying to catch her breath around the overwhelming worry that pressed against her lungs.

“It’s not your fault, I’m not upset with you, you didn’t do anything,” Natasha was murmuring in her ear but Skye couldn’t help thinking that maybe her sister was actually lying to her because something was wrong, so wrong , and she could feel it.

“You were mad at me,” Skye mumbled through her tears. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

She didn’t really know what was going on except that Natasha was upset, had been upset for awhile, and it was probably because she had done something wrong. Skye couldn’t lose Nattie - she just couldn’t . She had to make it better and maybe apologizing would help...

“Skye!” Natasha was trying to get her attention. “Skye, look at me. Look at me.”

Sniffling, Skye raised her tear streaked face to meet Natasha’s gaze.

To her surprise, Natasha was crying too.

“I’m not mad at you, I’m not. Nothing is your fault. It’s my fault. It’s my fault. ”

“Why... Why are you crying?” Skye hiccuped, brow furrowing with confusion.

Natasha just shook her head and to Skye’s horror, her sister’s tears only increased to the point that she was almost sobbing.

“Nattie... What’s wrong?” Skye wrung her hands in the air, unable to handle her distress at her sister’s tears. “Nattie...”

But Natasha didn’t stop crying, instead, her older sister physically turned away from her to hide her face in her knees as she curled up in a ball.

Fear stabbed through her chest and she desperately rushed to do everything that Natasha would do to make her feel better when she was sad. She attached herself to her sister’s side, hugged her tightly, and patted her on the back softly. “It’ll be okay,” She offered the words, trying to hide her uncertainty.

Could things really be okay if Nattie was crying so hard?

“I love you,” Skye tried to stroke Natasha’s hair with her good hand. “I love you, Nattie.”

It took a bit, but finally Natasha uncurled slightly and hugged Skye back with all she had.

Phil couldn’t help but think the house was beginning to feel slightly like an emotional warzone.

Melinda was sitting stiffly in an armchair, pretending to read a book, while Natasha and Skye played some distance away. Natasha’s expression was simultaneously stone hard and fragile as glass and Skye seemed to be absorbing her sister’s tension and expressing it in the form of fidgeting. The little girl could barely stay still for a second, her hands fluttering around without purpose as she pushed toy gears together in a disorganized fashion.

That in itself was heartbreaking because Phil had watched Skye play with those toys just a day ago and she barely even seemed like the same child. The Skye from yesterday was calm, concentrated, and happy. This Skye was frazzled, scared, disjointed...

Phil leaned against the counter heavily, trying to decide what his next move should be.

Because obviously he had to do something . Everybody was falling apart at the seams and he couldn’t just pretend like he didn’t see it.

“Natasha and Skye,” he called lightly. The two girls turned toward him immediately, staring at him like deer caught in headlights. “Would either of you like to draw with me? Just if you want, you don’t have to.”

They both relaxed slightly at his request and he was slightly surprised when Skye turned to Natasha to confer. Before today, the smaller girl had been becoming more independent in her actions; it seemed they were taking some steps back.

Not steps back , Phil reminded himself, trying to stay positive. Just... steps in a new direction.

Finally, Natasha and Skye got up and headed toward the kitchen table. Skye was clinging to Natasha’s hand, both girls strangely quiet and stoic as they climbed onto the chairs. Closer up, Phil could see that Natasha’s eyes were red and puffy, a clear sign that she had been crying.

His heart went out to her but he made sure not to change his expression as he grabbed paper and coloring supplies.

Skye immediately reached for a blue marker, drawing it aimlessly across her piece of paper, lines crossing and meeting in a chaotic jumble.

Natasha just tapped her red marker, still capped, against the table lightly.

Taking a deep breath, Phil reached for a colored pencil and got to work. It only took a couple minutes for Skye to become interested in his drawing.

“What are  you drawing?” Skye leaned forward slightly, squinting at his paper.

“I am drawing what makes me happy,” he explained. Across the table, he saw Natasha’s eyes flash with slight interest although the older girl’s expression didn’t change.

“What makes you happy?” Skye looked at his drawing curiously. “Is that me?”

He lifted the sheet up so they could see it better. “Yep, that’s you, Natasha, and Melinda. You all make me happy.”

Natasha shifted slightly in her chair and he could tell that she was glancing at the drawing of herself.

Skye spun her own drawing under her finger.

“What makes you happy?” Phil asked.

Skye bit her lip, dark eyes glued to the twirling sheet. “Nattie makes me happy.” Her lips pursed slightly. “You and Mrs. May make me happy too,” she added, giving him a small smile that almost made his heart melt right out of his chest.

Beside her, Natasha stiffened and the sudden flash of fear that crossed her face caught Phil’s attention.

Oh.

Oh.

He wasn’t even surprised when Natasha suddenly stood up, “Let’s go, Skye. I want to do something else.”

Skye, looking slightly lost, followed Natasha closely. Across the room, Mel raised her eyebrows at him.

Phil waited until Natasha and Skye had disappeared upstairs before moving to sit on the arm of May’s chair.

“Why do you look so happy?” she stared at him as though he were crazy.

“When did Natasha first get upset?” Phil asked her.

She crossed her arms. “Besides the general distrust she has? I guess... sometime around the doctor appointment.”

“Skye hugged you,” he reminded her, remembering himself the way that Mel’s face had softened as the little girl had sought comfort from her. It had been a good moment. Or at least he had thought so. “Skye hugged you and Natasha pulled her away. And that’s when all this started.”

May’s eyes widened with understanding, “Natasha’s afraid we’re taking Skye away from her.”

It took May almost all of her considerable patience to wait for a moment to talk to Natasha alone. The two girls were glued together and it didn’t escape her attention that both of them looked absolutely miserable.

It was becoming more and more clear that Natasha was approaching some sort of breaking point; May was just impressed it had taken this long. Skye had gone through several meltdowns since joining them but Natasha... Natasha seemed to just be holding it all in.

May knew firsthand that while it could seem like a great solution, it was not going to serve the little girl well in the long-term. Desperately, she tried to think of how she herself had learned how to let others in but couldn’t think of anything particularly enlightening. The truth was, at some point she just had to let Phil in because she couldn’t keep going on her own anymore. And Phil had always been there for her, asking her the questions she didn’t want to answer, ready to catch the mess that she was once she admitted it.

Now Melinda wanted to try her best to be that person for Natasha.

Skye had just disappeared into the bathroom and Natasha was still sitting at the dining table after dinner, Phil was in the kitchen... The moment had presented itself.

“Natasha.”

The girl’s head snapped up, green eyes instantly fixed on her. The expression of surprise was quickly replaced by a glare.

“I’ve noticed you’re upset.” Natasha opened her mouth to protest but May knew she had to keep going. “And I think that maybe you feel like we... I am taking Skye away from you?”

Natasha stared down at the table and it was silent for almost an entire minute.

Then, finally, the girl murmured something.

“What?” May leaned forward, trying to catch Natasha’s words.

“I made Skye cry,” Natasha raised her voice very slightly. “I... I made her cry.” Her face, usually so composed, crumpled. “I made her cry.” The girl took a deep shaky breath, as though trying to steady her soul. Her hands curled into fists, one banging suddenly against the table. “I made Skye cry!” Her face was suddenly wild with rage. “I was mean to her!”

It took a moment for May to decipher where the anger was directed but when she figured it out, it felt as though all the air had been stolen from her lungs.

Among everything else, Natasha was mad at herself.

Across the room, Skye ventured out of the bathroom and was smoothly intercepted by Phil. The two sat down on the couch; out of earshot but within eyesight. Thank you Phil.

“I’m supposed to keep Skye safe,” Natasha’s fist landed on the table again, bringing May’s attention back to her. Those green eyes were focused on something Melinda couldn’t see. “I’m supposed to keep her safe. I’m supposed to make it all better. But I...” I can’t. May could hear the silent cry behind the words spoken, could see the internal war raging within the girl as she fought with both the idea of Skye loving other people and Skye possibly needing other people.

May could imagine the weight of the world nestled on those small shoulders as she looked at the way Natasha was hunched over the table. Nobody could handle that crushing pressure of perfectly being everything for someone else, especially not a nine-year-old.

“Natasha,” May kept her voice low and soft. “Nobody is going to take Skye away from you. Not even your mistakes can make Skye not love you. That’s... that’s what family is.” She paused, switching tactics. “Don’t you think Skye might be the most loving person ever?”

Natasha nodded slightly, watching her from behind the strands of red hair that were covering her face.

“Do you think that maybe, in that big heart of hers, Skye has room for you, all of you, and maybe a couple other people... like Mr. Coulson and I?”

The girl’s face darkened, “I want her to only love me.” Her voice was close to a growl but May could hear the pain behind it. “Only me.”

Natasha’s words were harsh, protective, angry... but her eyes were full of something very different.

Fear. Natasha was afraid. Afraid of losing the only person she thought cared about her.

“Natasha... Skye is not the only person who loves you.”

Natasha became very still.

“Mr. Coulson and I, we care about  you too, just like we care about Skye. Even if you get upset and shout at us, we won’t throw you out. We will never hit you, we will never put you in the closet, we will never lock food away and make you go hungry... We will never do that to Skye and we will never do that to you because we love Skye and we love you. ”

Natasha was silently crying, tears sliding down her face. Very slowly, May reached across the table and found her clenched fist. “And maybe...” she said quietly. “Maybe we can help you learn how to love yourself too.” She gently, carefully, uncurled the girl’s hand from its angry position and held it.

A rush of warmth spread through her as Natasha squeezed her hand slightly. “I know you don’t think you’re worth being loved, but you are, Natasha. You are.”

“I made Skye cry.” Natasha suddenly pulled away slightly, her expression saturated with anguish.

May was quiet, sensing that there was more, some way this all connected. She had a feeling that if she waited, it would come out.

She was right.

“J-John would make Skye cry.”

May fought not to visibly react as her veins suddenly burned with pure fury and disgust for the man that had been the girls’ former foster parent. She felt sick at the very thought of Natasha comparing herself to that monster.

“You are nothing like John Garrett, Natasha. Nothing .”

Natasha wouldn’t look at her, just clung to her hand.

“Natasha, look at me.” She couldn’t keep the urgency out her voice and it seemed to work because Natasha finally raised her head and she could see the hollow look on the girl’s face. “Love, you are nothing like John Garrett. Do you hear me?”

She couldn’t breath, couldn’t stand Natasha thinking those things about herself.

“Natasha, do you hear what I’m saying?”

Slowly, the redhead nodded.

“Do I sound like I’m lying about this?”

A soft head shake.

“You are wonderful, kind, thoughtful, sensitive, and so so loving,” Melinda leaned forward. “You’re a determined girl who would do anything for her sister. That’s who you are . I know it, Mr. Coulson knows it, and Skye knows it.”

Tears were trickling down Natasha’s face but the girl didn’t pull her hand away to wipe them away.

“You said that you were mean to Skye - what did Skye do after that?”

Natasha sniffled but didn’t say anything.

“Can I guess?” May pressed forward. “Because I think I know what Skye did. She probably wanted a huge hug from you to make her feel better. Am I right?”

The look on Natasha’s face told her that she was.

“She wanted a hug from you because you make her feel safe.” May knew she was being intense but she just couldn’t have Natasha thinking that she was like Garrett, not even for a second. “You are an amazing sister, Natasha.”

God, if she had five minutes with that man...

May took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. “Natasha, you deserve to be safe and happy too. Your job in life isn’t just to take care of Skye. I know that will always be a part of you, and I’m not going to try to take that away, but I want you to have a chance to be a kid too, to have fun, explore the world... In order to do that, you have to let Mr. Coulson and I help take care of Skye and take care of you. We will never take Skye away from you, we just want to help both of you. Do you... do you think that maybe we could try that?”

Natasha sniffed, looking small and vulnerable in her chair, and Melinda was suddenly struck by just how many very serious things they had talked about. She felt completely overwhelmed. No doubt Natasha would need some time to process what they had talked about - a lot of it would probably need to be repeated in the future.

“Would you like to think about it?” May offered, giving the girl an out.

“Yeah.” Natasha finally pulled her hand away, wrapping her arms around her body. “I... I need to go see if Skye’s okay.”

As she watched the girl walk quickly away, May knew that they would have some variation of this conversation many many more times.

She didn’t mind a bit.

As many times as it takes , May silently promised Natasha. That’s how many times I will tell you that you are loved.

Chapter Text

The distant sound of a chair scraping across the floor downstairs had Melinda bolting up in bed. Since the girls had started living with them, she had become even more of a light sleeper than before, constantly on alert for any sound of distress from them. Normally, Phil would bolt up beside her, but he was already awake and she heard the sound of the shower running, so she assumed he was getting ready for the day. They had started to perfect their morning routines so that they would be ready to face the day by the time the girls had woken up, which was why she was surprised they were awake before she was.

Throwing her blankets off of her, she shoved her feet into her slippers and glanced at the clock, slightly surprised to see that it was still almost two hours before Natasha and Skye normally woke up. The sound of a cabinet banging shut in the kitchen prompted her into action and she quietly jogged out of her room and down the stairs. When she poked her head into the kitchen, she was a little shocked to find just Skye in there, standing on a chair by the counter, trying to figure out how to work the toaster.

Trying to minimize the chances of her startling the little girl, she backed up a few feet and made her footsteps louder so that Skye would hear her coming. When she stepped into the kitchen, Skye was off the chair and facing her.

Melinda gave her a smile and focused on appearing relaxed and calm. It was strange to see Skye without Natasha and she didn’t want the little girl to think she was in any trouble.”Good morning, you’re awake early. Are you hungry?”

Skye scooted further away from the chair and glanced from her, to the toaster, and back again, “I’m sorry! You said we could eat your food?”

“Of course you can. Did you want toast?”

Gulping, Skye pointed to the toaster and stared at her from the corner of her eye, “It… won’t work.”

“I can help,” Mel said, and held up her hands placatingly before taking a slow step towards the toaster. Skye didn’t stop her, the little girl watched her carefully but with intrigue.

Melinda motioned for Skye to hop back onto the chair so she could watch, which Skye haltingly did after a moment’s thought. With Skye standing beside her, May pulled the toaster forward, held up the plug, and motioned towards the outlet, “This is super important, okay Skye? You’re allowed to use anything in this house that you want and you can eat whatever you want, but if you want to use the toaster, please ask me or Mr. Coulson to plug it in for you so that you don’t accidently hurt yourself. Do you understand?”

Skye looked between the plug and the outlet and her forehead wrinkled adorably in confusion, “How could it hurt me?”

“Well you could accidentally electrocute yourself, which means you could get stung and burned really badly, and I don’t want that to happen to you.”

The little girl examined the outlet again, no doubt wondering how it could electrocute her, before nodding minutely, “Okay.”

Melinda gave her a smile, “Good, thank you. Now, once we plug it in, we just put the toast in here, pull down the lever, and wait. Do you want to do it?”

Skye nodded eagerly, took a slice of bread out of the bag, and did as she was instructed. She had a small, satisfied smile on her face, which disappeared as she started to fidget. Melinda had begun to notice the telltale signs of Skye’s curiosity. When she had questions that she was too nervous or afraid to ask, she would start to move around restlessly, or wring her hands in front of her, or she would bite her bottom lip, sometimes so hard that Melinda worried that she would hurt herself. Noticing the signs now, she gently asked, “Do you have a question?”

Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, Skye stared adamantly at the countertop and softly asked, “Can I use the red jam instead of the purple one? Nattie likes it the best.”

“Of course you can,” Melinda responded quickly, before tilting her head to the side and asking, “Are you making this for your sister?”

“Yeah, I wanted to surprise her. She likes it a lot and I wanted to make her happy again,” Skye said quietly, motioning towards the toaster and looking away.

Melinda’s heart clenched painfully at Skye’s demeanor and how confusing all of this must be for the little girl. She couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to adjust to living in a new home with new people, and then having the one person that was always stable in your life acting in ways you weren’t accustomed to. This situation wasn’t Skye’s or Natasha’s fault, but they both seemed to be suffering the most from it, and it made her blood boil.

Taking a steadying breath so as not to appear upset in front of Skye, she gave the little girl another smile and said, “Oh sweetie, that is so thoughtful and kind of you. Natasha is going to love it. The thing is, by the time your sister wakes up, the toast might not be as good anymore,” Skye looked absolutely crestfallen and Melinda hurriedly said, “Why don’t you eat this piece of toast and then when Natasha wakes up, you can make some more for her?”

From the look of concentration on her face, Skye was thinking about her suggestion very hard, but finally, she nodded her head determinedly, “Okay.”

While they finished making Skye’s breakfast, Phil walked into the kitchen, looking clean and ready to take on the day. If he was surprised to find Skye somewhere that Natasha wasn’t, he didn’t mention it. Instead, he poured a cup of coffee for himself and made some tea for her and then they all sat at the table. She gave him a meaningful look and motioned towards Skye because she knew that they needed to have a talk with her to try to explain everything that was going on. Now seemed like as good a time as any, especially since they were able to catch Skye alone. Phil nodded in understanding, cleared his throat, and caught Skye’s attention, “Hey, could we talk to you real fast about something?”

Skye quietly took a bite out of her toast and sat back in her seat, satisfied that Mrs. May hadn’t been mad at her for trying to make breakfast, had shown her how to use the toaster, and thought it was a good idea that she was going to surprise Nattie with breakfast. She had made herself wake up extra early this morning just so that she could work on the surprise because Nattie had been acting weirdly lately and she just wanted her sister to be happy again.

She was deep in her own thoughts when Mr. Coulson caught her attention and asked, “Hey, could we talk to you real fast about something?”

Trying real hard not to shrink back in her chair, Skye still couldn’t stop her heart from beating extra fast because she was nervous about what they wanted to talk about.

She told herself that she shouldn’t be afraid because she had noticed that since living with Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May, they wanted to talk to her and Natasha a lot . Lots more than any other foster parent had wanted to talk to her. They asked her how she was feeling, they constantly checked in on how she and Nattie were doing, and they always explained things to her so that she understood what was going on. She liked it because it made her feel better and calmer, but it was still really weird.

Even though she knew all of this, she nervously wrung her hands in front of her and asked, “Did I do something bad?”

Mr. Coulson was quick to reassure her, “No, you’ve done nothing wrong. We just wanted to talk to you about everything that’s been going on lately. I know Mrs. May talked to Natasha yesterday because she’s been feeling… a little off. We wanted to talk to you to make sure you understood what’s been going on.”

The way her sister had been acting has been confusing for her and she couldn’t understand why Nattie was feeling so sad and angry. She just wanted her sister to be happy again.

“Why isn’t Nattie happy anymore? Did I make her sad?” She asked. Part of her needed to know but another part of her was scared to find out if she had done something to make her sister feel upset.

“Oh Skye no, you’ve done nothing to upset Natasha, please don’t think that,” Mrs. May said softly. Skye watched as Mrs. May reached out to her and she was confused when she felt the desire to run over to her for reassurance. She didn’t know where that feeling had come from, but rather than do that, she reached out to hold Mrs. May’s hand instead. It felt warm and comforting and helped to calm her nerves.

“Natasha’s just trying to adjust to all of us being together now. Just like I know you’re adjusting, and I’m adjusting, and Mrs. May’s adjusting. It’s just a little bit harder for Natasha, which is okay and completely normal,” Mr. Coulson explained.

Skye nodded slowly because it made sense to her that Nattie was a having a hard time getting used to living with their teachers and how new everything was. She was having a hard time too.

“But you know what we can do to help Natasha feel a little better?” Mr. Coulson asked her, and she shook her head. “We can help her feel special and tell her how much we love her. Because when we’re around people who love us, we feel better, don’t we?”

Skye knew that she always felt the best when she was with her sister, because she knew Nattie would always be there for her and love her and keep her safe. Mr. Coulson had to be right, and if telling Nattie that she loved her every minute of the day would help make her feel better, Skye would happily do it.

She nodded and Mr. Coulson smiled at her, “And I want you to know that if you ever feel confused or you need to be reminded how loved you are, you can come talk to me or Mrs. May. We’re here for you and Natasha, okay?”

For some reason her body was acting weird today, because hearing those words made her eyes start to tear up, and before she could stop herself, she was crying. She wasn’t sure why exactly she was crying right now, but she did know that she was not used to hearing grown-ups tell her that they loved her, that they were there for her, and then show her how much they cared about her every single day. It was different and overwhelming and she didn’t know how to handle it, so she continued to cry and started sucking on her thumb in an effort to calm down.

Right about now, Natasha would give her a hug, press a kiss to the top of her head, and wipe the tears off of her cheeks, but her sister was still sleeping upstairs. So she was surprised when a warm but hesitant hand squeezed hers reassuringly. Looking up through her tears, she saw Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson studying her worriedly. It was obvious that they wanted to do something but weren’t sure what.

Deciding that she wanted a hug and if Nattie wasn’t there to give her one, she would have to be brave enough to get one from somewhere else. So, she slid out of her chair and ran over to Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson. She didn’t think Mrs. May was expecting her to practically slam into her because she let out a startled breath, but then strong arms wrapped around her in a gentle hug. She felt warm and calmer, so she was able to take a steadying breath and return the hug. When her cries died down to just small sniffles, she started to become aware of the soft, reassuring murmurs coming from Mr. Coulson and reached out a hand to him. He folded her hand between his two, much larger hands and squeezed it comfortingly.

Then, she realized what she was doing. She breathed in the light perfume that Mrs. May always wore and let Mr. Coulson squeeze her hand one last time before taking a step away from them. She immediately felt the loss but she felt more in control than before, so she slipped her thumb out of her mouth and sat back in her seat. Hastily, she rubbed her fists over her eyes and cleared her throat. Her cheeks heated up and she started to feel embarrassed, so she mumbled, “I’m sorry.”

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for,” Mr. Coulson told her softly.

Despite his words, she kept her eyes on her plate, but she perked up when she heard footsteps above her, signaling that her sister was awake. She hopped out of her seat, eager to surprise her sister, and went to run back towards the kitchen before remembering what Mrs. May had told her, “Can you plug the toaster in for me? I don’t wanna get hurt.”

“Absolutely,” Mrs. May said, getting up from her seat. Skye followed after her eagerly and didn’t mind when Mrs. May reached down and fondly brushed her hair away from her eyes. In fact, she might have even leaned into the touch.

Chapter Text

Natasha wiped her clammy hands against her pants as she peered cautiously at Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson, who were putting the dishes from breakfast away. She stamped down the urge to go over and start doing the dishes herself. Both Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May gave her consistent and gentle reminders all the time that she was not expected to clean, and so even though it made her feel nervous, she had been trying to listen. For some reason, she didn’t want to disappoint them and she could tell that this was important to them, especially Mrs. May.

It was really weird adjusting to their rules, especially because sometimes they didn’t match up to the rules she had created for herself and Skye. Her rules had kept them safe and clean and together for so long, and now she was having to change some of them. Sometimes her brain felt like a jumbled mess as she tried to keep everything straight. Every time this happened though, Mrs. May or Mr. Coulson was there to remind her or softly tell her what was expected of her. She hated to admit it, but it was kind of nice for someone else to be in charge so that she didn’t have to be. 

Nat blinked and focused back onto what was going on around her. Skye was sitting next to her and was unsuccessfully trying to scrub the sticky jam off of her fingers with a napkin. She didn’t seem to be overly concerned with the “family meeting” they were supposed to have soon. Mr. Coulson had asked if they were okay with having a meeting after breakfast this morning, and it seemed like this was something they liked to do every few days. Even though their last two family meetings had been fine and they had just checked in with everyone, Natasha couldn’t help but feel worried. 

Mr. Coulson liked to talk about feelings during the meetings a lot, and Natasha hated it. 

She glanced back over to Skye, who now had her fingers crammed into her mouth and was sucking the jam off of them. The napkin must not have been working very well for her. She reached over, guided Skye’s hand out of her mouth, and gently rubbed her napkin over Skye’s hand. This time, the jam came off with little resistance.

Skye gave her a bright smile, “Thanks!”

Natasha attempted to give her a smile back but it must have been a little shaky because Skye leaned into her side and nuzzled her head against her shoulder. Natasha pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head and took some big breaths to help calm her nerves. Even though she knew (or was at least 90% sure) that nothing bad was going to happen during their family meeting, she couldn’t help but feel stressed, like there were a hundred bees buzzing just under her skin. She wondered if she would always feel like this.

Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson finished up what they were doing, came back over to the table, and sat down across from them. Mr. Coulson gave them a goofy smile and clapped his hands together, “This family meeting can officially begin!’

Skye jumped a bit at the loud clap, but smiled nonetheless. 

“Okay, so how are you girls feeling?” He asked. Natasha fought to keep a grimace off of her face. Mrs. May caught her eye and seemed to notice but before Tasha could feel nervous, Mrs. May gave her a small, conspiratorial smile. Mr. Coulson seemed to catch on and clarified, “More specifically, how are you feeling physically? Is anything hurting?” 

Natasha took stock of her body. Her ribs continued to ache but now it was more dull. She didn’t feel sharp pain unless she was jostled or jumped down from her bed or a chair too quickly or clumsily. The bruises on both her body and Skye’s were disappearing, most of the small ones were already gone and the larger ones were the yucky greenish-yellow color and told her they would be gone soon. Their scrapes were scabbed over and healing quickly. She knew her sister was frustrated with her cast because it made her clumsy and was a bit itchy, but she only complained of her arm aching every now and then. 

To answer Mr. Coulson’s question, she shook her head, “I’m okay and Skye is too. The big bruise on her back is almost gone.” 

Skye nodded and tugged her shirt collar to the side a bit so that they could see the yellow remains of her bruise. 

“That’s good, I’m glad you’re healing. You’ll let us know if anything starts hurting too bad, right?” He asked.

Skye nodded again and after Natasha hesitated for a second too long, genuinely unsure if she would tell them if she were hurting, Skye poked her on the thigh and urged her to nod too, which she eventually did. Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson shared a look. 

“Good, thank you,” Mrs. May said, resting her chin on her hand. “Now please don’t worry, but we were thinking of something and wanted to get your opinion about it first.” 

Skye gripped her hand tightly and Natasha tried not to let the panic consume her. She squeezed Skye’s hand comfortingly and told herself that just because they wanted to talk with them, doesn’t mean it was something bad. 

She hoped that she was able to comfort Skye better than she was comforting herself, because her heart was starting to race and she could feel her muscles tensing. She imagined that she was looking more and more like a statue each passing second.

Mrs. May noticed this and quickly said, “It isn’t anything bad, it’s actually something fun we thought we could do together. We were hoping to take you girls out to get some frozen yogurt and then have a picnic at a park this afternoon, but didn’t know if you were comfortable with leaving the house just yet.”

Natasha felt the tension in her muscles fade a bit as her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. When she looked to her sister, she was relieved to see that she looked just as confused as she felt. 

“Why?” She asked skeptically. The only time they had left the house in the last couple weeks had been to go to the store on the first few days. She hadn’t really noticed, but now that they might leave, she had begun to consider this house a place where they were relatively safe. She felt herself growing angry with herself for this, and even more angry that she hadn’t noticed that this had been happening in her. 

Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson glanced at each other quickly, before refocusing on them. Mrs. May seemed to be focusing on her and Skye’s reaction, her eyes were catching every movement, and Natasha made her face go expressionless. Mr. Coulson gave them a reassuring smile, “Because we thought it might be something fun that we can do together. We’ve been stuck in the house for a long time now and getting out might be nice. Is there something else you’d like to do?”

Skye leaned more heavily into her side, and Natasha gently squeezed her hand when she felt it try to wander towards her mouth. Skye looked up to her, her expression confused and uncertain, before asking, “Are we coming back?” 

“Yes,” Mrs. May said, her voice strong and certain. “You will absolutely be coming back. We just wanted to do something with you that you might enjoy. If this is too stressful or too soon, then that’s fine. We’ll find something fun to do together at home instead.” 

It was silent for a few moments while she and Skye regarded them before turning to each other. Natasha noted the uncertain but hopeful look on Skye’s face and could tell that she wanted to try this, despite being a bit scared. Tasha wondered if she would ever be as strong and brave as her sister. She really doubted it. However, she knew that despite Skye’s own optimism, if she were to reject this, Skye would back her up and they would both be on the same side here. This knowledge prompted her to consider the offer more seriously. 

Natasha was interested but unsure. Her mind automatically seemed to think that Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson were trying to get her and Skye out of the house so that they could hand them off to someone else. She did feel a little bad for assuming the worst of Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson but she brushed that off quickly. She had to be the one to think of the bad things that might happen so that Skye didn’t have to. 

“Maybe if you can tell us what you’re thinking, we can help you feel better or figure out what you’d like to do,” Mr. Coulson gently encouraged them. 

Natasha raised an eyebrow. Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May always wanted to know what she was thinking or feeling. No one else had ever expressed this much interest in her thoughts, and it freaked her out a bit. But she was feeling a familiar anger simmering in her stomach and she didn’t know why. 

Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson had kept their promises to them every single time. They had not yelled, hit, or locked them away. They reacted with patience and kindness whenever she or Skye got angry or upset or scared. It was unnerving and made Tasha feel unbalanced. She thought that maybe this might be an opportunity to push them a bit and see if that patience or kindness might finally crack.

With this in mind, she straightened up in her seat and made herself stare into Mr. Coulson’s eyes, “What if we go and then want to go home?” 

“Then we’ll come home.”

Huh. That wasn’t the response Natasha had been preparing for. She pushed on, “What if we don’t want to go at all?

“Then we’ll find something fun to do at home. Maybe make some popcorn and watch a movie together.”

Natasha’s eyebrows pulled together, and she grew more and more uncertain. The easy way in which Mr. Coulson was adapting to her scenarios, without any anger or frustration, was unnerving. Skye seemed to catch on and threw out some of her own questions, “What if we don’t like frozen yogurt?” 

Mr. Coulson laughed a bit, “Then we’ll get ice cream instead!” 

Natasha leaned forward, determined to get some sort of reaction this time, “What if we don’t want dumb ice cream either and don’t want to go to a dumb park?” 

Mr. Coulson shrugged nonchalantly, “Then we’ll get some candy instead, or ice pops, or chips. And we don’t have to go to a park either, we’re open to changing plans.” Mr. Coulson looked into her eyes, tilted his head, and gave her an earnest smile, “We just want to spend time with you and have fun. You can ask all of these what-if questions and I’m happy to answer them, but just know that if you or Skye are uncomfortable with any part of our plans, we will accommodate them to ensure your comfort.”

Natasha sat back. Her plan seemed to have backfired because now Mr. Coulson seemed more calm and controlled and she felt more unbalanced. 

Skye poked her thigh and looked up at her, tilting her head in question. She appeared to be sold on the idea, but was searching for a confirmation from her.

The quiet sound of something dragging across the table had her looking up. Mrs. May was pushing a small key towards her and left it sitting on the table right in front of her, “Here, you can carry our house key if you’d like. That way we can’t come back home without you.” 

Natasha picked up the key and gripped it tightly in her hand. Somehow, Mrs. May seemed to know exactly what the real problem was and how to fix it. The feelings of anger and uncertainty seemed to diminish. How strange it was for someone to see her, to actually see her, and to react with kindness and to try to calm her fears rather than add to them. 

She actively ignored the warm feeling blossoming in her chest and slipped the key into her pocket. 

“Okay, ice cream sounds good,” She murmured. 

She didn’t miss the happy smile that Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson shared. 

Chapter Text

Skye took a deep breath as she felt the car come to a stop and shut off. It had been a quick drive to the frozen yogurt shop, she had barely had a chance to settle in, but she already felt a little on edge and her foot kept jiggling as it dangled from her booster seat. 

She had never had frozen yogurt before, only ice cream, but Mr. Coulson had assured her that it tasted mostly the same. Even though she was unsure of this new environment, she was shyly eager to try something new, especially something yummy. Still, she anxiously looked out into the parking lot, taking in the people walking to and from their cars.

Natasha unbuckled her seatbelt for her, her cast made it difficult for her to do that on her own, and Skye gave her a grateful smile. When her sister gave her a small smile back, happiness spread through her. She was happy that Nattie had been okay with them going out and doing something fun, because if Nattie agreed to it then that meant that she thought they would be safe, and that meant that Skye wasn’t worried. Her sister knew everything .

The thought of going out with Natasha, Mrs. May, and Mr. Coulson just to go and do something fun together was foreign but she really liked it. She wanted to do fun things and be happy and experience a normal family. So, despite her nerves, she carefully followed Natasha and hopped out of the car. 

Mrs. May hovered around Natasha, making sure she didn’t hurt her ribs by jumping down and out of the car, and it made Skye smile a bit. For a long, long time, Nattie had taken care of her and she had taken care of Nattie and they would keep doing that forever and ever, but it was nice to have other people take care of her sister too. A tiny part of her thought that this was everything she had ever wanted but she quickly shoved that out of her mind. 

She latched onto Nattie’s hand and tucked herself into her side, feeling nervous about going into a new place. Her sister gave her hand a comforting squeeze.

“Okay, before we head in there let’s have a quick chat,” Mr. Coulson said. 

She glanced at Natasha and they shared a similar look. They were still adjusting to all the talking that Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May wanted to do with them. Skye liked it most of the time but she knew Nattie got a bit tired of it, especially when they wanted to talk about feelings. Nattie hated doing that! 

“I know this is a new place, so if at any point you get too uncomfortable or scared, let us know.” Mr. Coulson paused, waiting for them to acknowledge what he had said like they did when they were at school, so she dutifully nodded. He continued, “We can help you fix it or take a break or leave. We won’t be upset at all, so please let us know.” 

When they nodded again, Mr. Coulson led them into the frozen yogurt shop. The tables, counter, and walls were all pastel blue, pink, and yellow, and it smelled sugary sweet. Skye glanced around and took in the few people sitting at tables and the employees looking bored behind the counter. She didn’t see anything scary in here. 

Looking up at her sister, she saw that Natasha was carefully observing their environment too. After a second she seemed to relax a bit, so Skye took that as a sign that her sister thought it was safe too. 

Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May seemed to be waiting patiently for them to adjust and after a moment, they led them over to where the frozen yogurt was. Mrs. May handed her a bowl and she took it and gave her a small smile, “Thanks.” 

“You’re welcome. Want to look at the flavors?” 

Skye nodded and tugged Nattie along as Mrs. May read out the names of each flavor to them. She quickly set her sights on chocolate, and she knew that Nattie would choose the peanut butter cup flavor. It seemed like Mr. Coulson also liked peanut butter cup because he paused, held his bowl out and pulled a lever, and Skye watched in intrigue as the frozen yogurt swirled neatly into his bowl. 

Natasha held up her bowl for Mr. Coulson to take, “Can I have that too?”

“Absolutely,” Mr. Coulson gave her sister a blinding smile.

“Can I help?” Skye asked, curious about the whole process and eager to help out.

“Sure thing. You want to pull the lever for me?” 

Skye nodded and let go of Nattie’s hand to step up and reach towards the lever. She was just the tiniest bit too short to get a good grip on it. Natasha seemed to instinctively move towards her to give her a boost, but Mrs. May also held her hands open in front of her and asked, “Need some help?” 

Skye looked between Nattie and Mrs. May, feeling like she was stuck. Mrs. May would obviously be able to lift her easier but she didn’t want her sister to feel like she didn’t need her. That might hurt her feelings and she would always need her. It was impossible to choose and she didn’t want to have to be the one to make that choice, especially because Nattie had seemed so upset the other day.

Mrs. May seemed to understand and looked to Natasha, seemingly asking for permission. Her sister stared at her for a moment with an unreadable look on her face, before stepping back and nodding slightly. Skye breathed out a small sigh of relief, happy to have someone else be in charge of this choice for her. The air felt kinda heavy, like this was an important moment between Nattie and Mrs. May, but Skye didn’t know why and after Mrs. May nodded back to her sister, it seemed to vanish. 

Skye braced herself as Mrs. May gently lifted her into her arms and supported her against her hip. Her arms were gentle but strong as they wrapped around her, and they felt so different than when Becky or John had held her. She didn’t feel trapped or stuck like she had in the past, in Mrs. May’s arms she felt safe and comfortable. When she leaned to the side a bit, Mrs. May moved with her and compensated for the change in her weight so that she didn’t fall. Skye knew that she wouldn’t drop her.

Again, she sighed a bit in relief and relaxed. She wrapped her casted arm around Mrs. May’s neck and reached her other out to grab the lever and carefully push it down so that frozen yogurt started to come out. She smiled in excitement and watched as Mr. Coulson shifted Nattie’s bowl around slightly so that they frozen yogurt neatly swirled into it. 

“Okay Skye, is this enough Natasha?” Mr. Coulson asked, tipping the bowl a bit so Nattie could inspect the contents. 

Her sister nodded and grabbed her bowl gratefully. “Thanks,” Nattie said softly as she gently patted her knee gratefully.

“You’re welcome! That was fun. Can I do yours too Mrs. May?” She asked eagerly. 

She leaned back a bit to get a good look at Mrs. May’s face and felt her arms tighten around her to keep her from toppling over. Mrs. May gave her a smile, and it was so happy and special that Skye found herself instinctively smiling back. It felt nice. 

“Of course you can. I think I’m going to get the mango sherbet,” Mrs. May said.

Skye’s nose crinkled up at that. She didn’t know what mango sherbet was but it definitely didn’t sound as yummy as chocolate or peanut butter cup. She glanced at her sister and from the slightly disgusted look on her face, she assumed that Nattie was in agreement with her.

Mr. Coulson laughed loudly, “Look at their faces Mel.” He gave her and Natasha a conspiratorial smile and said, “It sounds gross to me too.” 

It felt nice to joke around and smile and have fun without being afraid of something bad happening. She was actually having fun and that realization caused her to feel light and giddy. She giggled quietly and looked to her sister to see if she was having fun too, and she was delighted to see that her sister was trying to hold back her own smile. So Skye smiled widely, so much that her cheeks hurt a bit, and her heart soared when her sister was unable to hold back her own smile any longer. 

Mrs. May chuckled and gave them a playful look and rolled her eyes, “Very funny you guys.” 

It felt so light and positive and happy that a strange feeling took root in her chest. It kind of felt like she was scared but not exactly. When she thought about it, she realized she was afraid she wouldn’t feel like this again. So Skye made sure to think really hard about this moment to make sure that it stuck in her brain forever. She always wanted to remember this fun and carefree moment that she and Nattie were sharing in a frozen yogurt shop with Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson. Skye squeezed her eyes shut and replayed the moment in her head so that it stayed with her.

She felt a poke on her knee and opened her eyes to see her sister giving her a funny look. Nattie tilted her head and asked, “You okay?” 

“Yeah,” She nodded, giving her sister a tiny smile, “I just want to remember.” 

She wasn’t sure if she was making any sense, but Nattie seemed to understand (she always understood) and nodded thoughtfully. 

“Here, how about I take a picture and we can all remember your guys’ first frozen yogurt!” Mr. Coulson said, holding up his phone. 

It was the perfect idea and Skye nodded excitedly while she waved her sister over so that she was standing by her and Mrs. May’s side. Nattie obliged her and Skye reached down to hold her hand as Mrs. May shifted her on her hip so that she was able to turn and face Mr. Coulson more comfortably.

“Okay, smile!” Mr. Coulson said, holding up his phone and taking what sounded like 100 pictures. Skye smiled and held up her empty bowl, wanting to make sure that future-her knew that they were getting frozen yogurt. 

Mr. Coulson came over and showed them his phone. He swiped through a few of the photos before finding one that wasn’t blurry and where everyone was smiling, even Nattie. Skye nodded to herself and approved of the picture. This would definitely help her remember.

“Okay, let’s get our frozen yogurt and toppings and walk over to the park before it melts,” Mr. Coulson said. 

Natasha helped Skye pull her pajama dress over her head. Their hair was both still wet from their bath and she could see that her sister’s eyes were heavy with sleep as they got ready for bed.

“C’mon, I’ll brush your hair,” She said, urging her sister to sit down in front of her on the bed. Skye settled against her and she began to carefully untangle her hair.

“Today was nice,” Skye said softly. Her words were slightly muffled and Natasha could tell that she was sucking her thumb. 

She actually agreed with her sister, today was nice. She had liked her frozen yogurt and had fun sitting at a picnic table with Skye, Mrs. May, and Mr. Coulson as they ate it and watched the sun set over the trees. It had been peaceful and calm, and it made Nat consider the conversation that she had had with Mrs. May. 

Maybe… maybe Skye could have enough room in her heart for her and for others too. That thought was still kind of scary to her, but not as scary as before. 

When Mrs. May had checked with her before picking up Skye at the frozen yogurt shop, she was surprised to feel respected. Like Mrs. May was looking to her for permission because she knew that she had gotten upset last time she had helped with Skye and she cared about her feelings. It was strange and unfamiliar but good. 

She thought all of this over as she brushed through Skye’s hair. 

“Yeah, it was,” She finally agreed. 

Skye turned around to face her and gave her a bright smile, “I liked having fun with you and them.” 

Reaching out, she gently tugged her sister into her lap and wrapped her arms around her, “I did too.” 

Skye tucked her face against her neck, “It feels weird.”

She was relieved to hear that Skye was feeling similarly to her. There were so many thoughts and feelings in her body that she wasn’t even sure what was going on inside of her. She squeezed her sister a bit tighter, ignoring the slight ache in her ribs, and asked “How does it feel?” 

Skye was quiet for a moment, probably collecting her thoughts, and Natasha waited patiently. A part of her hoped that her sister could help her figure out what was going on inside her too. 

“It feels… It feels good. Like my heart is happy. But when my heart starts to feel happy, it also feels scared too. Like something is gonna be bad soon,” Skye whispered against her. 

Her sister’s words hit her hard and she realized that she felt the same way. She was hopeful that these good times would last, more hopeful than she ever had been in the past, but scared they would end or that the tentative trust she had begun to put in Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson would be broken.

“It’s okay, I feel the same way,” She said softly as she ran her fingers through her sister’s damp hair. 

Skye leaned away from her to look up into her eyes, “You do?” 

“Yeah.”

Skye considered her for a moment, and looked so serious, much more serious that a kid her age should ever look, before she nodded, “Good, then we can feel the same together.”

Nat smiled at her sister and pulled her in for another hug. She wondered if Skye knew that she had said exactly the right thing to help chase away her fear. They were a team, trying new things together. 

A soft knock on the door had them pulling away and turning towards it. This was also something they were adjusting to. Having grown-ups knock on their door and waiting for them to say it’s okay to come in before they entered.

“Come in,” Skye said loudly enough for someone to hear it on the other side of the door.

Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson entered their room, and Nat made note that Mr. Coulson held a plastic bag in his hands. He gave them a smile and held the bag up a bit, “We’ve got something for you guys.” 

Skye gave her a questioning look and Nat shrugged. She was curious to know what was in the bad too.

Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May knelt next to the bed and leaned on their elbows as they pulled a paper envelope out of the bag, leaving the rest of its contents hidden away. Natasha was curious, but not as curious as Skye, who peered over and asked, “What is it?” 

“Well, while you guys were getting ready for bed, Mr. Coulson went to the store and picked up some things that we think you’ll really like,” Mrs. May said as she opened up the envelope. She pulled out a small stack of printed pictures and handed it to Skye. “We thought that you guys might like to have these.” 

Mr. Coulson pulled out a few small picture frames from the bag and set them on the bed next to them, “We can frame a few and put them in the living room or you can keep them in your room, whatever you’d like. We thought this might help the house feel more like your home."

Natasha barely registered their words as she looked at some of the pictures in Skye’s hand. She flipped through them and saw the picture of Skye, Mrs. May, and her at the frozen yogurt shop. A few pictures of she and Skye sitting close together at a picnic table, eating their frozen yogurt. A picture of Skye smiling at her as she wiped some chocolate off her chin with a napkin. And then were was the picture of all of them, sitting together at their picnic table, that Mr. Coulson had asked a lady walking by them at the park to take. Mr. Coulson had a huge, goofy smile on his face, Mrs. May was looking fondly at her and Skye, Skye was grinning happily, but it was the look on her own face that made her pause. 

Her face looked happy. Happier than she ever remembered seeing herself. In that moment, she hadn’t realized that this was how she had looked. She had a small grin on her face, her face was relaxed, and her eyes looked bright. 

Skye started to look through the pictures again with a small smile on her face, pointing out some details to Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson, who both leaned in closer to look with her, but Nat’s eyes unfocused. Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson wanted them to have these pictures so that they could keep track of the times they have fun together. And they wanted them to put these pictures around their house so that their home felt more like her and Skye’s. 

Pressure started to build in her eyes and an unfamiliar feeling took root in her chest as she considered this. Quickly, before anyone could see, she blinked the tears out of her eyes and refocused on her sister and their teachers, who were huddled closely as they reflected on their earlier fun together. She stared hard at them as a realization hit her. 

If Skye has room in her heart for her and others… maybe she does too.

Chapter Text

Melinda hadn’t realized how important it was for the girls to see small, physical gestures of their commitment to them until she had watched Natasha become tearful when they had been looking through their pictures together. She obviously hadn’t let on that she had noticed, she hadn’t wanted the little girl to feel embarrassed, but she had made sure to make a note of it and talk it over with Phil once they had said their goodnights. They had made a plan to buy a couple of disposable cameras to give the two girls so that they could take whatever pictures they’d like so that they could start a family photo album. Natasha and Skye had already picked out a picture to put in the living room. 

Her heart had felt like it was near bursting when Natasha had helped Skye fit the picture of them all sitting together at a picnic table into a simple dark brown picture frame, and she and Phil watched as they quickly jogged out of the room to place it on the center of the bookshelf in the living room, where it could be seen as soon as someone walked in. She hadn’t realized just how quickly Natasha and Skye had taken up residence in her heart and her life until that moment, and when she had turned to Phil, she knew that he felt the same way. 

They loved Skye and Natasha with their whole hearts, in a way that Melinda had never thought she could love before. It was slightly different from how she loved Phil but just as fierce. She knew that they would both walk into a burning building, take on a bear, or lift a car off of her kids with no hesitation. Honestly, it was kind of unsettling. 

So unsettling, that she had decided to stay up a bit later than usual to read downstairs after Phil had decided to go to bed. Usually, reading helped her to escape reality for just a short amount of time, but even after an hour or two, her mind was working quickly. She was trying to figure out their future as a family when she heard light footsteps overhead. Marking the page in her book, she put it aside and listened closely to try to tell if it was just one of the girls going to the bathroom or if they might need her. 

The footsteps paused at the top of the stairs. It was silent for so long that Melinda was just about to go investigate but finally, she heard little feet start to make their way towards her. 

She could tell it was Natasha before the girl poked her head around the corner to look at her, and she wondered if those “maternal instincts” everyone talked about were finally emerging. 

Natasha, who was usually so composed to the point of looking like a little porcelain doll, looked disheveled and kind of frantic. Melinda could see her chest rising and falling quickly, her hair was mussed like she had been tossing and turning, and her eyes were slightly red. It was clear that Natasha had had a bad dream. 

“Hey Nat, are you alright?” She asked softly, hoping to not spook the girl. 

Natasha’s eyes darted across the room, pausing briefly on their new photo, before meeting hers for a second and darting off again. She shifted from foot to foot, unable to stay still, and Melinda wondered if she was even aware that her hands were balled into fists so tightly that she was concerned her nails were going to leave marks in her palms. 

Easing slowly off the couch and grabbing a fluffy blanket, she took measured and purposeful steps towards Natasha. Keeping a good three feet between them, she crouched down a bit and said, “It’s a nice night, do you want to go sit outside with me?” 

Very quickly, Natasha’s eyes flitted back to their new family picture again before finally resting on her. She smiled softly and nodded encouragingly, and a small weight lifted off of her shoulders when the little girl lifted her chin slightly in an affirmation. 

Melinda led her to their back porch and tugged the lounge chairs a bit closer together so that when she and Nat sat down, she could comfortably throw the fluffy blanket over both of their legs. It was a beautiful night, a slight breeze lifted small strands of her hair away from her face, and there were only a few sparse clouds floating by, so the sky was bright and clear. 

She pretended to not notice how tense Natasha was, and decided that she would wait for the little girl to decompress for a few moments before figuring out what had happened. 

When she noticed that Natasha’s hands were no longer clenched tightly into fists and that she wasn’t fidgeting as much as before, she stared up at the stars and quietly said, “Sometimes when I feel trapped, coming outside helps me breathe. Our house is nice and cozy but sometimes the walls feel too close together and I need more space. Especially when I’m scared or upset.” 

Natasha was doing a great job of staring hard at the stars above them, and Melinda wondered if she had retreated so far back into her mind that she hadn’t even heard what she had said. It was pretty obvious that Nat had had a nightmare, Melinda wouldn’t even try to guess what it had been about (both girls had gone through so much and Mel didn’t even know their whole history), but what was surprising was that Natasha hadn’t woken up Skye but had come down to her instead. 

She was trying to figure out the best way to steer the conversation when Natasha quietly murmured, “Yeah, I felt… trapped in our room. It was too small.” 

“Do you know why you were feeling trapped?” She asked, hoping that Natasha didn’t see that question as too invasive.

Natasha tugged the blanket further up her legs and fisted the material tightly between her fingers. Melinda glanced over to her and was surprised to meet Nat’s eyes for a moment, “I had a bad dream.” 

“I’m sorry you had a bad dream, I understand how terrifying they can be,” Melinda said empathetically. Memories of nightmares from her own childhood popped into her head. “...Do you want to talk about it?” She asked hesitantly, knowing that Natasha would most likely decline but wanting her to know that she was here for her regardless.

Nat met her eyes again and shook her head, so Mel nodded and gave her a small smile, “Well if you ever do want to, I’m here for you.”

They both went back to star-gazing and once she was confident that Natasha’s body had relaxed to her usual posture, she asked, “Want some hot chocolate? I know you don’t like tea but I think we could both use a hot drink right now.”

Looking intrigued, Natasha agreed. She was caught off guard when, rather than stay in her chair, Natasha followed closely behind her and watched as she quickly made up their drinks. Noting that Nat had little goosebumps along her arms, she grabbed one of Phil’s hoodies off of the bench near the door and offered it to the girl so that she would be more comfortable when they went back outside. Natasha considered the piece of clothing for a few moments before putting it on, and Mel had a difficult time not laughing at how comically big it was on her. It hung down and almost touched her knees but she didn’t seem to mind. Once their drinks were done, she handed Natasha her mug with a quick warning that it was hot and to be careful, and then they settled themselves back outside in their chairs. 

Melinda was eager to see Nat’s reaction to her drink, as she had suspected that she most likely had not had hot chocolate before, and was not disappointed when she took a small sip and her eyebrows shot up in surprise. The little girl went back in for another sip, this one bigger, and this time Melinda chuckled at the delighted surprise on Nat’s face. 

“It’s pretty good, right?”

Not bothering to respond in favor of taking another gulp, Natasha just nodded. 

Deciding that she wouldn’t push it tonight, Melinda went back to stargazing and thought that it might be best to change the subject so that Natasha didn’t feel pressured. She didn’t want the little girl to regret coming to her when she’s upset in the future. 

“So what do you think about starting up school again in the next week or so?” She asked. This was a topic that she and Phil had been discussing pretty regularly each night. At this point, both girls were medically cleared to start up school again as long as they were careful with their physical activity. She and Phil had more than enough vacation time saved up that they were fine if the girls didn’t go back to school in the next month, but they were concerned that the longer they put off integrating the girls back into their “normal” routine, the harder it was going to be when they finally did. They were both not sure how the girl’s would react, if they were wanting to go back to school or were dreading it, so now was as good a time as any to bring it up. 

“I like school,” Natasha murmured, as she stuck a finger into her mug and scraped off some of the extra chocolate collecting onto the side of her cup before sucking it off of her finger. 

That was nice but didn’t really give Mel much information to go off of. Deciding to press a bit more, she asked, “Well, you and Skye have to go back to school at some point, but me and Phil really wanted to talk with you guys to see if maybe we need to wait a bit longer or if you are ready to start going again sooner. Either way is fine.” 

Natasha stared hard at her cup of hot chocolate. She was getting better at interpreting the small cues that Nat gave off, so she could tell that the girl was starting to become uncertain and upset. 

After a long, silent moment, Natasha said, “Will you still be my teacher?” 

This was something that she and Phil had already checked in on with their bosses, as it had been a question for them too. “Yes, most likely. If having me as your teacher, or Skye having Mr. Coulson as her teacher, makes you guys uncomfortable though, please let us know and we can talk with the administration and have you transferred to a new classroom.”

It was a long, awkward silence as she waited for Natasha to answer her. So long, that she went back to staring up at the sky to give the little girl some privacy to collect her thoughts and decide if she wanted to speak them out loud. 

“I want to stay with you,” Natasha mumbled, doing a great job of avoiding eye contact and staring at her hands.