Her New Doll (Completed)

Chapter Nineteen: Comfortable Pt. 1 (+18)

It took only a few hours but it takes several weeks to undo the damage the Dimitrescu sisters did. More than once Donna considers calling and giving them a piece of her mind but whenever the urge strikes her she instead seeks out Natalya to give her a tentative, gentle hug.

With her new legs Natalya can get around better than ever. Her new hand takes some adjusting. There is no sensation, only pressure if she pushes against something. The loss of feeling is odd because otherwise it functions just like her original appendage.

Not feeling fear doesn't make Natalya immune to trauma. She can and does relive the horrors she suffered at the Dimitrescu girl's hands. If her dreams aren't haunting her dreams then the broken bones and lacerations are haunting her waking mind.

Donna doesn't trust Miranda. She's been treating the infections herself.

Natalya has grown fond of the mornings and evenings. Every morning after breakfast Donna demands to see her wounds to check on their progress. She never passes up the chance to take her shirt off and watch Donna blush.

Slowly but surely Donna's touches have changed.

At first Donna struggled to even touch Natalya. She was afraid to hurt her. But ultimately doing nothing would do more damage and she overcame the fear. After several days it became routine enough it was easy. Then she began staring for extended periods of time. It was seconds at first, then moments. Now minutes.

For several minutes now Donna has been sitting running her fingers over Natalya's skin. Some parts are numb because the damaged nerves are dead. Others are tender from fresh skin growth. It makes for an interesting sensation to say the least. But, the infection is gone. There's nothing to look at, except the muscles and the scars.

"Donna," Natalya purrs.

Donna's gaze snaps up. Her fingers stop just at the hem of Natalya's open shirt. The soldier's smile is knowing and inviting.

"You don't need an injury as an excuse to touch me. I'm yours."

"I know that."

"I'm all yours. Donna," Natalya can't help but chuckle, "You do realize you're attracted to me, right?"

The silence that follows is difficult to judge. For a moment Natalya is worried she's pushed too far. But Donna seems to sink deeper into the bed. She takes the sides of Natalya's open shirt in her hands like she might close it but instead just tugs indecisively. Her face is flushed and she won't look Natalya in the eye.

"Do you- Are you," Donna cringes at her stumbling speech, "Are you attracted, to me?"

"Yes."

Natalya is careful and slow. She cups Donna's face and smiles, "I think you're beautiful."

Donna moves to take her hand. Slowly she nuzzles into it instead. In a moment of courage she takes Natalya's hand and presses it over her heart. Even through the thick fabric of Donna's dress Natalya can feel the soft, quick beat. When she leans forward slightly Donna scrambles.

"No!"

"Okay. It's okay. I won't do anything you don't like."

Donna is shaking. She points, "Don't, move."

"I won't."

When she returns Donna has several silk ties. She first ties one around Natalya's eyes. This makes sense to Natalya. As comfortable as Donna has become surely this would make her feel more secure. The next tie binds her wrists behind her back. Donna's hands gently lean her back against the headboard again.