Red Daughter

Twelve

It took a few weeks before Natasha was healed enough to move from the lab and during that time she almost drove Bruce crazy. Widows did not do well on bed rest.

Elodie had pushed another hospital bed up against Natasha's and they spent those weeks playing games and talking, opening up more and more. Natasha noticed that the Elodie smiled and laughed more easily now and shared more. She also noticed that Elodie and Wanda seemed to be spending a lot of time together.

Natasha decided to bring it up one day while they were playing cards, "so you and Wanda," she started and Elodie glanced quickly from her cards to Natasha and back, "I'm glad you guys have become friends."

"It's nice to have a friend, never had one before," Elodie told her in a slightly guarded voice.

Natasha watched her carefully, "are you... just friends?"

"Yes," Elodie answers slowly, "but.. I think I.. might like her. As more than that." She confessed as she glanced at Natasha who was smiling softly at her.

"Have you told her?"

"No, but she knows," Elodie groans slightly.

"How would she know if you haven't told her?"

"Because she's always telling me how loud my thoughts are," she reluctantly admits.

Natasha laughed loudly, "and what exactly are you thinking so loudly?" She laughed harder when Elodie's face got bright red and it took her a few minutes to regain her composure. When she finally did she told her, "you know, hearing someone thinking about how they like you, and being told that they like you, are two very different things."

"So, you're ok with me liking Wanda?" She knew that Natasha would be, but she still needed to hear it. The last time a parental figure had learned about her girl crush.. it didn't end well. And the more time that Elodie spent with Natasha, the more she saw her as a parent despite Natasha never pulling the parent card.

Natasha puts her cards down and looked at Elodie, "of course I'm ok with it. Wanda is a good person and she has a good heart. She's good in a fight and she's fiercely loyal and protective of the people she loves. There's nobody else I'd trust with my- with you." Her eyes search Elodie's face as she continues, "you deserve to be happy. To be safe and loved, and I hope that.. that we've.. possibly made you feel that way?"

"Thank you," Elodie said, and she meant it. "And compared to the first part of my life, this past month has been the safest and happiest I can remember." She frowns slightly, "I actually haven't seen Wanda for a few days though. She said she had something to do and then left and she's not even answering my texts." Elodie glances over at the silent phone beside her. Natasha had given it to her the day before Wanda left, but it wasn't doing much good helping them keep in touch.

Natasha got a mischievous look in her eyes, "she's setting up the cabin for us."

"What cabin?" Elodie asks suspiciously.

"Tony's. He's letting us use it until I'm fully healed. We leave in a few days," Natasha says excitedly.

"We?"

"Me, you, Yelena and Wanda of course."

As much as Elodie wanted to be excited about the prospect of leaving the tower, she couldn't help but be worried. "Is it safe?"

"Nobody will bother us there. The only people who even know about the cabin are the Avengers. Tony set it up to be a safe house in case one of us had to disappear for a while." Natasha saw the worry written on Elodie's face and takes the girls hand, pleased when Elodie doesn't pull away. "I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

"I know, I trust you." And oddly enough, Elodie did trust Natasha. She didn't know when it had happened or how, she just knew that Natasha would keep her promises. "So what do I need to bring?"

"Just whatever clothes you want and a bathing suit," Natasha tells her. She pauses briefly before asking, "you can swim right? There's a lake that we will probably spend a lot of time on."

Elodie pulls the hem of her sleeves nervously, "I can swim I just.. don't like to. I don't like the bathing suits. Not enough fabric."

Natasha debates on if she should bring up the scars that Bruce told her about. She'd almost done it several times over the past few weeks but it had never felt like the right time. She takes a calming breath before bitting the figurative bullet, "Bruce told me about your scars." Elodie freezes but doesn't say anything so Natasha continues, "he said they looked.."

"I know how they look," Elodie answers quickly, her hands pulling the sleeves down more.

"Do I need to be worried?" Natasha asks gently.

Elodie meets her eyes and shakes her head, "no. I know what they look like, but I promise that's not what they're from."

"Can I.. see them?" She asks, her eyes dropping to Elodie's sleeve and back up.

Elodie sighs and rolls up both sleeves, holding her arms out to Natasha who takes them softly. Anger boils in Natasha's blood as she looks at the layers scars, each one a record of the torture Elodie went through.

"Dr Orlov got some new tools," Natasha whispers as she looks down at the star shaped scar that looks more like a brand.

Elodie pulls her arms away and pulls the sleeves down, "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Ok," Natasha tells her. "But if you ever do, I'm here." Elodie nods and Natasha says in a lighter tone, "they make swim shorts and long sleeved swim shirts. You could wear those if it would make you more comfortable."

"But those are for boys," Elodie tells her slowly.

Natasha cocks her head slightly, "clothes have no gender El. You can wear what you want."

Elodie looks as if she had never thought of that before, "maybe Yelena could take me?"

"I think she'd like that," Natasha tells her with a smile. "Why don't you ask her after I beat you," she teases as she picks her cards back up.

"You couldn't beat me if you tried Natasha," Elodie scoffs, not realizing that she used Natasha's chosen name for the first time.