A Shot in the Dark - Yelena Belova

двадцать два (Twenty-Two)

Russian Translations:

любовь  - Love

Моя сестра - My Sister

Моя любовь - My love

я люблю тебя! - I love you! 

я так сильно тебя люблю! - I love you so much!





It happened so fast, and yet as if in slow motion all at the same time.

Something creaked above them - of course, the Red Room was still crumbling and crashing down from above. 

A huge piece of siding and rail was rapidly plunging down towards them - right over where Nat stood.

It happened so fast-

Yelena jumped forward and shoved Nat out of the way, then CRASH! 

She disappeared, there one moment and gone the next - beneath the rubble.

"YELENA - NO!" Sascha threw the heavy rubble aside as though it were nothing. Yelena lay there beneath it all, her body twisted at a strange angle, blood pouring from the side of her head, eyes open. "любовь?  любовь?!" She shook her gently, but nothing happened. 

Nat was kneeling beside them in an instant. "Моя сестра..."

"Моя любовь," Sascha tried again, but it was no use. Sascha had seen her share of death before, and Yelena was dead, lying in her arms. "я люблю тебя! я люблю тебя! я так сильно тебя люблю!" Her sobs ended in a strangled choke.  

"If anything happens to her, I kill you..."

"I know."

"I will deliver full on my promise."

"I know. I never doubted you would for a second."

And her pain quickly flared up into rage. 

Natasha was looking at her, clearly thinking the same thing. "Sascha, I'm so sorry-"

But she barely heard her.  It happened so fast-

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three shots, three perfect shots, and thud! Nat's body dropped and hit the ground. 

Sascha turned back to Yelena, scooping her up and holding her close. 

Through her tears, she began to sing:

"A long, long time ago

I can still remember how that music

Used to make me smile

And I knew if I had my chance

That I could make those people dance

And maybe they'd be happy for a while...

So, bye-bye, Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry

And them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

Singin', "This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die..."

This'll be the day that I die...

-----------------------------------------

When she finally stirred awake, Nat had no idea where she was. All she could see was darkness, and all she could feel was pain. 

This would have been alarming - it was, but she was in so much pain, so much so that it blurred everything around her. 

The bullets had been removed, and her wounds had been dressed, but there was a long recovery ahead. 

"Rest." A shadowy figure with a heavy Russian accent, much like the one Nat herself used to have, spoke from above her. 

Nat blinked as the figure came into focus. "S-Sascha?"

"No." But she looked so much like her - just like her in fact.  "Call me Alex. Just Alex."

Nat gave a groan as she sat up - well, tried to sit up.

"Rest." The woman who looked like Sascha - exactly like Sascha, Alex she'd said to call her - gently pushed on Nat's shoulder.  "You need it."

"Yelena - m-my sister..."

"I'm sorry."

Nat didn't remember much after that.

When she stirred awake again, the next time, the dressings on her wounds had been changed, and she was still in pain, and very stiff.  "You saved my life."

Not only had this Alex saved her life, but she'd also kept her hidden from Ross and the authorities. 

Nat passed the time healing and telling Alex all about the Avengers and the Shostakovs. When she felt strong and well enough again she contacted Mason, arranging for him to bring her a jet. An actual jet this time, she specified. 

"Thank you. For everything," she said, all suited up and ready to head off.  "Time to reunite with my other family.  I'm gonna go bust a few of them out of prison - wanna come?"

(So this sets up Alex, my OC from my Sam story :)

Sorry for the sadness, but, like I said, it will all work out in the end! 

As always, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  :))