Widow Sisters and Friends (Restoring Our Broken Hearts)

As the World Caves In: Part 2

Summary: It's a wonderful, beautiful day for Yelena. She is on a jog with Fanny, heading to the compound to meet up with Natasha, to hopefully aggravate Kate and Peter, and to let Fanny play with Lucky. Everything is truly perfect in her world.

That is, until tragedy strikes, and Yelena is left with that perfect world caving in.

   "Detka, sweet girl, you have to calm down. Tell me where you are," Natasha spoke carefully, quickly heading out of the gym where she had been sparring with Kate and teaching her a few moves.

Kate was immediately at attention and bounding after her, trying to figure out what was going on. Kate quickly sidled up to her, looking at her carefully and watching the side of her face to try to decipher the situation.

Yelena was in a panic. Natasha could hear it in her quickened breaths, the shaking of her voice, and in the gut-wrenching sobs erupting from her every few seconds.

"I'm on the road to the compound. Natashka, it was so, so fast, it hit her so hard, and there was so much fur and blood and she's bleeding right now and it was all my fault—"

"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's okay, I'm coming, Yelena. Just hang on. Try to be calm. You need to be calm for her or she'll freak out and the bleeding will speed up," Natasha told her carefully, not sugarcoating the words despite the slight pang inside of her at her own statement. She knew Yelena needed to hear the truth and that she needed to know precisely what to do. Yelena let out a deep, shuddering breath, and there was some silence as Natasha swiftly grabbed her bag and keys, starting to get ready to leave as she strode through the compound quickly.

"Okay," Yelena replied shortly, and Natasha nodded despite knowing that Yelena could not see her reaction, hauling her bag onto her shoulder.

"Natashka," Yelena spoke up finally, and Natasha paused for just a moment as she got into the elevator, Kate quickly darting inside with her and still gazing at her worriedly. Kate had seemed to pick up on the fact that something was terribly awry.

"Yeah?"

"Please hurry. I need you," Yelena heartbrokenly pleaded, her voice cracking and Natasha felt her heart shattering with it.

"I'm coming, little one. I love you," Natasha told her, and Yelena reciprocated before hanging up. Natasha let out a deep breath, selecting the ground floor where her car was parked.

There were a few moments of silence before Kate cleared her throat at last, looking between the elevator doors and Natasha's face.

"What's going on, Natasha?" Kate finally risked questioning, her voice somewhat small and nervous as she dared to ask. Natasha let out a deep sigh, rubbing her face with a hand as she impatiently awaited the elevator to descend. Natasha looked over at the brunette, noting the sweet concern and empathy in those pretty gunmetal blues.

"She wasn't super clear, but from what I understand, her and Fanny were on their way here, and Fanny got hit by a car. And I guess in a minute, me and Yelena are going to take Fanny to the animal hospital," Natasha explained, feeling her stomach turning at the mere thought of the dog, her baby sister, and the whole situation. Fanny meant so much to Yelena, and Natasha knew Fanny was literally one of the most important things in Yelena's entire world. It hurt Natasha terribly to think that the poor dog was in pain and possibly going to die.

It hurt Natasha even more to think about Yelena and how much she would hurt if the dog actually died.

Kate immediately gasped as soon as Natasha told her the news, and she was deathly quiet for a moment, her eyes growing glassy as she swallowed hard. Natasha let out a small breath, knowing that Kate was far too empathetic for her own good and that the poor kid would just have to go through more pain than necessary if she came with her.