Unexpected

Some Friendly Advice

Agent Natasha Romanoff's eyes darted from Hill's face to mine at my call and a small smile broke across her face, "Hey Penny."

"What're you-" Then it hit me, "You? You're going to be my trainer?"

"Yep. Fury assigned me to you as soon as he came back from visiting you in Michigan." She smirked a little at the amazement that must have been plastered all over my face. She was looking very professional in a dark purple pencil skirt with a white blouse, her curly, short red hair and her makeup completely perfect. Her posture completed the professional look I had remembered from her interrogation of me at the hospital.

I furrowed my eyebrows, "But I hadn't agreed yet when he visited."

"He was certain you'd agree." Hill interjected.

Agent Romanoff nodded, "When he told me about you when he assigned me to you, I had no doubt you'd join S.H.I.E.L.D."

Flabbergasted that they had all pretty much expected me to take the offer I asked, "Why?"

"Clint told me about you and I read Cap's report, then when I saw you at the hospital..." she shrugged, "It made sense. Call it intuition."

There was a few seconds of silence between us as I took it all in before Agent Hill spoke up again, "Is everything finished here?"

"Yeah." I said pulling myself from my thoughts and nodding at the women behind the desk who were back at their work, "They said everything will be set up by my starting day."

Maria tapped something into her tablet before letting it hang down by her side as she put one fist on her hip, "Then I think we're all set. We'll call you if any plans change, which I doubt, and you've been given the number to the front desk in case you have any questions right?"

I nodded in agreement, pulling out another card I had been given with the number scrawled across it.

"Excellent. I'll walk you to the door." Maria said, gesturing for me to follow her when Romanoff interrupted.

"I'll take her there." She said casually to Maria, looking over at me, "It'd be no trouble."

Hill looked between the pair of us for a brief second then assented, giving me one last 'goodbye' before leaving the room and click-clacking down the hallway with her black heels. Romanoff and I followed her out of the room and headed in the other direction. I felt awkward being alone with the agent again and stayed silent so as not to make a fool out of myself in front of this dangerous woman who would be in charge of me for who knows how long by letting my nervous babble take over me.

This meant it was up to Agent Romanoff to break the quiet between us, which she did as we stood in the elevator heading down, "You're looking better."

I gestured to myself and to the crutches tucked under my arms, "Well, after how you saw me before, anything would look better. I looked like I had gotten in a fight with a bear with a weed-whacker!"

"True. You were a sorry sight." She smiled then nodded to my cast, "How's your ankle?"

"Fine I guess. I'm getting the cast removed in four days on Tuesday."

"That soon?" she seemed a bit surprised. That emotion seemed strange on the woman who I'd only ever seen with a serious determination or some type of professional expression.

"It might seem like it's been a short time to you, but it feels like I've had this thing on forever to me!"

She gave a sigh, "Yeah, it's been a long few weeks for me too."