emmylou | natasha romanoff

one.

2012
Springfield, Ohio

Kennedy Allen was unable to tear her eyes away from the TV screen in the hospital lounge as she watched the clips play over and over, depicting the invasion of New York City by an alien army led by the not-so-fictional god of mischief, Loki.

It had been months since the actual event had occurred, but it wasn't as though there was any news that would overshadow Earth's invasion. Not even the development of a team of heroes known as the Avengers.

"Scary shit, right?"

Kennedy tears her eyes away as her coworker and friend, Ben Ware entered the break room. He made a beeline toward the coffee machine and began making himself a cup.

"They keep playing it over and over," Ben says shaking his head, "Those images are kind of hard to forget."

"Yeah," Kennedy agrees with a sigh. She grabs a remote and switches the TV off before looking over at Ben, offering the surgeon her full attention, "How's your day going so far?"

"I've been in the ER so stitches, ankle sprains, and a girl who thought that we could operate on her sick dog," Ben says, earning a small smile from Kennedy, "What about you?"

"Just checking in on patients," Kennedy responds. 

"The day is young," Ben says as he grabs his coffee and brings it his lips to take a sip, "Hey are you still good for the bar tonight? Marin thinks you're going to back out and I keep insisting that you're not."

Kennedy lets out a chuckle, "Yes, I'll be at the bar tonight."

"Yes!" Ben exclaims doing a little fist pump, "Okay so I'll tell Marin that she doesn't know you as well as I do and gloat."

Kennedy laughs as she shakes her head and makes her way toward the door, "I'll see you tonight. The Underground, right?"

"The only bar in Springfield," Ben says and Kennedy chuckles as she heads out of the break room and into the bustling halls of Oak Crest General Hospital. As she walked the halls, she received smiles and nods of acknowledgment from her coworkers.

Working in a hospital was quite the opposite of what Kennedy had wanted to do as a child. She'd liked coffee, making coffee, and the intimacy of owning a small coffee shop in a small city. She'd wanted to be the barista in every Hallmark movie that knew the customer's order just by looking at their face.

It had been a child's dream, a small-town dream. Growing up in Springfield, Ohio, Kennedy had dreamt small because she didn't know anything beyond the limits of her small town, not that she really wanted to. She liked being tucked in her little corner of the world, safe from everything outside of it.

"Hiya Jackson, how are you feeling today?" Kennedy asks as she enters the young boy's room. He sits up with a giant smile on his face that warms Kennedy's heart instantly.

"Great Dr. Allen! My side doesn't hurt anymore."

"Losing your appendix will do that to you," Kennedy says as she stands next to Jackson's bed, "Where's your dad?"

"He went to get something from the vending machine," Jackson answers, "So I've been meaning to ask, if appendix are pointless, why do we have them?"

"That is a great question," Kennedy states, "And I wish I knew."

"But you're a doctor," Jackson says with a laugh, "Aren't you supposed to know everything?"

"Not everything, but most things," Kennedy tells him, "Like I know that you're going to be just fine, and you'll be able to play in your soccer championship."