Heartbeat (Natasha x Wanda + One)

Twelve

There's a steady beeping and a pain in my chest.

Cracking my eyes open, I groan as a white light blinds me, "don't go into the light," I mutter as I close them again.

"Megan?" A soft voice asks beside me. All I can do is groan and the voice yells, "Nat! She's waking up!"

"Too loud," I finally manage as I crack my eyes open just enough to see Wanda and Natasha standing by my bed, a concerned look on their faces. "Who died?" I try and joke. From the look they give me, I know it was the wrong joke. "Wait.. who died? Ash?" I ask as a new wave of panic sets in.

"Megan," Wanda says slowly, her voice cracking.

"You almost died," Natasha answers. "You're lucky Allie found you when she did! She found you unconscious and in cardiac arrest." She crosses her arms, "what were you thinking?" She asks almost angrily. "Why would you go off on your own like that without telling anyone?"

"I- I'm sorry," I tell her slowly and in confusion. "I wasn't planning on having a heart attack, I just had to take a call.. from the.. cps office," I trail off as the conversation with the social worker comes flooding back. "They're going to try and take Allie," I tell them as I look around the room. "Where's Allie? Where is she?" I struggle to sit up, the monitor I'm attached to beeping rapidly.

Wanda puts her hands on my face as Natasha runs from the room, "Megan look at me!" Wanda demands. "Allie is ok, she's with Ash. They are in the next room." Her eyes flick to the monitor and back to me, "take a breath and try to calm down. You can't have another heart attack. The doctors said you wouldn't survive it, and you can't leave those kids."

"Mama?" Allie's voice cuts through the panicked haze in my head and then she's in my arms, clinging to me.

"Allie?" I mutter into her hair as I crush her in a hug. The familiar smell of her shampoo mixed with hospital antiseptic washes over me and I can feel my heart slowing to a normal pace. "I'm so sorry," I tell her. "I'm so sorry."

She sniffles and pulls back to look at me, her cheeks tear stained, "you have to get the surgery now."

"What?" I ask. "Allie no, I can't."

"What surgery?" Natasha asks.

"It's nothing," I answer.

Allie pulls away completely and sits on the edge of the bed, "something that could save your life isn't nothing!"

"It could also kill me," I remind her. "That's why we agreed to wait until you were eighteen."

"Or until you had a second heart attack!" She reminds me. "And news flash, you did!"

"Baby, I can't," I tell her again. "There's too much going on right now to risk it. If I died then you'd be alone. You'd.. you'd go into the system until you were eighteen and your inheritance doesn't go into effect until you're twenty-one." I take a deep breath and shake my head, "no. I'm not doing it and that's final."

Allie stands up and looks down at me, "I'm gonna go talk to your doctor about scheduling your surgery."

"Allie!" I yell as she walks out of the room. She doesn't look back and when the door swings closed behind her I groan, "she's going to kill me."

"We might kill you," Natasha says slowly. "What's the surgery?"

"And why won't you get it if it could save you?" Wanda finishes.

Rubbing my head I explain, "because it's experimental. My brother, before he died, came up with a procedure to fix my heart. To replace the bad valve, fix the arrhythmia, all of it. And it wouldn't require open heart surgery or for them to stop my heart, only slow it down to one beat per minute. I was supposed to get the surgery and Tony was supposed to supervise the doctors since he invented the procedure and technology, but then he died and I got Allie and suddenly it wasn't just my life that I was risking. It was hers too. If I die, she has no one to go to. We are all that's left of our family and I won't risk her going into the system. Which is why," I finish as I try and sit up again. "I have to get everything ready for the social worker."

I almost don't notice the subtle look between Wanda and Natasha. It seemed like they were having a silent conversation, speaking only with their eyes. Natasha gives Wanda a slight nod and they both look at me, "we have an offer," Wanda starts.

"I don't think nows the right time for a threesome," I try and joke.

Natasha shakes her head but I catch the faintest smile on her lips, "not that kind of offer."

"Nat and I are emergency foster parents," Wanda tells me. "We finished our training last week and we were going to surprise everyone because, well.."

"We were going to petition to get Ash from their foster father," Natasha finishes. "But now,"

"Now," I finish slowly. "You want Allie."

"If anything happened to you," Wanda tells me gently. "Like during this surgery that Allie is going to force you to get, we would be able to take her. She can live with us, if she wants to."

"I accept," Allie says from the doorway as she walks in. "Mama, I found Doc Sullivan and she said that she can get you into surgery in the morning. And don't argue," she adds as I do start to argue. "I'll call the lawyer and get the custody forms. I'm sure there's a notary around here somewhere." She gives me a tired smile, "you rest and I'll take care of everything."

She's gone again before I can put together an answer.

That doesn't stop Natasha from giving a low whistle, "I'd hate to be on her bad side."

"She's a lot like her dad," I admit. "He never used to take no for an answer when it came to my illness either."

"She's a lot like you too," Wanda tells me.

"Yeah," I whisper as I lay back and pray that I don't die tomorrow.