Unexpected Romance

Chapter 21

Natasha:
I get a call from the medical bay asking for me to come down to discuss something about Valerie and her "condition". I assume by condition, they mean her PTSD from the mission. I have things to do today but I agree to go anyway because, well, it's for Valerie.

"Thank you for coming, Agent Romanoff. I'm Dr. King," the woman greets me, walking me into an office-type room.

"Of course."

"I just wanted to discuss Agent Walker. How is she doing?"

"Uh well, she's... hurting. She had a mental breakdown in my room the other day, throwing and breaking things. I can tell her body still physically hurts. Captain Rogers just started letting her train again and he reported that she's pushing herself but still hurting." My sentence fades as I try to think of everything worth mentioning to the doctor.

"Okay..." Dr. King responds as she's jotting down what I'm telling her. "Anything else?"

"She's not herself. Like she's a whole different person and it's honestly scary. She hasn't said much about what happened to her, we can really only try to guess based on her wounds."

"Well, she definitely went through a traumatic experience. There's a possibility she will never be the same but there's always room for improvement. We just have to stay positive." She gives me a warm smile before continuing. "I want to prescribe medication for her and she should think about attending therapy."

"Okay. Just a question."

"Of course."

"Why not call Valerie? Why call me? Or both of us?"

Dr. King looks at me for a moment, seeming to try to figure out how to respond.

"You see... we did call Agent Walker. She was... reluctant to come."

"What do you mean she was reluctant to come? What did she say?"

"I would rather not repeat what she said to our receptionist."

I nod my head, trying to keep a smile so my annoyance doesn't show through. She describes the meds they want to put her on and tells me to come back in an hour to pick it up. She lets me leave and I immediately track down Valerie, the frustration building inside me.

I figure out she's in the training room working with Steve by calling Wanda since she always seems to know where Val is. I barge into the training room, angrily throwing the doors open. I see Clint at the targets with his bow, Bucky going after a punching bag, and Steve and Valerie sparring. My grand entrance turns everyone's heads towards me. I storm straight to Valerie. She and Steve stop sparring and I grab Val's arm and drag her out of the training room.

"What the hell Natasha?! I was training!" She shouts as quietly as she can as soon as we leave the training room.

"Refusing to go to the doctor? Are you trying to get worse?"

"Oh, I am not having this conversation with you." She shakes her head and starts to turn back toward the gym.

"Oh yes, you are." I grab her arm again, forcing her to turn to face me.

"Did you know I was called to the med bay to talk about you? I actually have things to do today but I made time to see the damn doctor just to find out you were 'reluctant to go'. And apparently, you said some things to them they didn't feel comfortable repeating, but cursing out a doctor, that's a different conversation!" I shout.

"Why do you even care so much? You're acting like my mo- you're acting like you own me!"

"I can't just do nothing when your doctors call me because you didn't feel like going! I'm trying to help you get better and you're not making it much easier. Don't you want to get better?"