Widow Sisters and Friends (Restoring Our Broken Hearts)

As the World Caves In: Part 4

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.

   "Guys, I think I found the person that did it," Peter spoke up suddenly in the silence of the waiting room. It had long past time for the office to close, but all four of them were still sitting there and waiting on any news about Fanny.

Yelena was sitting between Natasha and Peter, leaning hard against Natasha as she chewed the straw of the slushie that Peter had went out and got for her, and Kate was on the other side of Natasha, still looking as if she felt like she was the scum of the Earth. Natasha had tried to offer some nonverbal reassurance to the girl, but she knew Kate was still feeling like the whole thing was her fault.

Kate, however, immediately brightened just a little with interest as she looked over at Peter. Peter held out the phone for Natasha to see, and Natasha nodded slowly with Yelena and Kate crowding in on either side of her to look at the phone.

"Okay... Peter, you think you could send me that information for later?" Natasha asked, forced calmness in her voice but a definitive danger in the undertones. Peter nodded, taking the phone back and typing on it.

Natasha quickly noticed that Yelena was looking somewhat oddly over at Kate, and Kate was just looking down at her phone sadly, that same quiet, heartbroken look on her face as she had since she found out that it was her TikTok that had distracted Yelena.

To Natasha's utter surprise, Yelena reached around the back of Natasha's neck and flicked Kate in the back of the head. Natasha almost laughed at the look on Kate's face as she glanced at Natasha for a short moment in questioning. Natasha just shrugged her shoulders, and Yelena leaned over a little, raising an eyebrow as she looked at the brunette. Yelena did not have nearly the energy as she had usually, but Natasha found it positively adorable that the blonde was at least trying to cheer up Kate.

"Kate Bishop, I never got a chance to tell you earlier today," Yelena trailed off, and Kate looked at her with some mix of curiosity and trepidation about what Yelena might say next.

"I'm proud of you," Yelena expressed and Peter and Kate both looked at Yelena as if she had lost her mind. This was a completely out of character thing for Yelena to say. Fanny must have affected her worse than they thought.

"Oh! Uh, thank you.... Um... Why?" Kate finally asked, ridiculously pleased with the praise but equally confused about why she was receiving it. Yelena just smirked halfheartedly, and Natasha immediately knew that the blonde had less than genuine intentions with the remark.

"Your TikTok you sent me... You finally did something cool in your whole twenty-two years of life, Katie," Yelena spoke up, and Kate let out a deep breath, unable to help the smallest of smiles in spite of herself.

"I'm twenty-three. And don't call me Katie," Kate grumbled, and Yelena just smirked a little before resting her head back against Natasha's shoulder. Yelena did not have much energy to conjure up her usual aggravation and goofiness, but Natasha admired her greatly for at least trying.

There was a comfortable silence that settled over the group. Despite their intense worry about the dog, there was a glimmer of hope that they all were attempting to focus on. They would think about bad things if there was a reason to have to consider the less positive side of life.

They were all quiet for a little while, the four of them just sitting in comfortable silence.

"Thank you, guys," Yelena whispered quietly, just loud enough for Peter and Kate to hear, and they looked at her with some confusion. Natasha perfectly understood what she meant by it. She knew how hard it was to show weakness in front of people, and she knew Yelena was grateful not only for their lack of judgement but also for their choice to stay with her.

Natasha just kissed the top of her head affectionately.

"You're welcome," she answered for them softly, and they just nodded, still not entirely sure what they were being thanked for but getting a better idea of it.

"Miss Belova? Miss Romanoff?" someone spoke up, and to their surprise, it was the veterinarian himself. He looked tired, but that kind smile was still on his face. Yelena's eyes widened a little as she moved her head away from Natasha's shoulder.

"Is it done?" Yelena asked worriedly, forcing a strength into her voice.

"We're going to need you to come to the back to discuss it," he told the both of them, and Natasha let out a breath before getting to her feet alongside Yelena.

Natasha looked back at the other two, wordlessly cuing them to remain there in the waiting room. They just very hesitantly nodded, wanting to go with the sisters but understanding that there could be bad news and Natasha would rather handle that with Yelena in private.

Natasha and Yelena then began the trek to the back room once again. Yelena's weight was leaning into Natasha's side heavily, and Natasha felt her stomach twisting inside her. The hallway felt even scarier and longer than before, and Natasha was dreading what the man would say when they got through the door.

She felt the need to just hug Yelena close and shield her from it all, but she knew that it could not be done no matter how much she wanted to.

They finally reached the door, and the doctor headed inside first. Natasha took a breath, going in before Yelena as if she were going to take the brunt of the pain.

However, Natasha's eyes widened and her jaw slackened as soon as she entered, and she froze in place. Yelena was quickly at her side, and she followed Natasha's gaze.

To their utter and complete surprise, there was Fanny standing there in the floor, a cone around her neck and her back leg in a cast. As soon as she spotted Yelena, she was pulling against the woman holding onto her and her tail was wagging sluggishly yet as quickly as she could make it go, her ears laying back happily.

"Fanny!" Yelena cried out before hurrying over to the dog and collapsing on her knees. The woman released the dog, and Fanny limped over to Yelena tiredly, barely able to stay upright with all of the medicine that was no doubt pumped into her. However, she made it to Yelena, and sat down clumsily as Yelena lunged forward and wrapped her arms around the dog's neck tightly. Yelena buried her face in Fanny's fur, her shoulders shaking as she cried from relief for the first time that day.

Natasha strode over to the both of them, kneeling down and hugging them both tightly. Fanny licked Natasha's cheek, sniffing at her face, and Natasha laughed in spite of herself, scratching Fanny's head affectionately from where it was barely poking out with the cone.

Yelena pulled back from her hug to kiss Fanny's nose. The dog happily licked her face as well, and Yelena could not help her tearful giggles. Natasha held them both nearer to her, Yelena's cheek squished against hers and her forehead pressing into the side of Fanny's face.

"There was no internal damage, fortunately, and she should make a full recovery. I've got detailed instructions right here on how to change her bandages on her hip and some other care tips. I also have our number here in case you have questions," he assured them, and Natasha looked up at him somewhat tearfully in spite of herself as Yelena held onto Fanny and her, alternating between talking in quiet Russian to Fanny and pressing her face to Natasha's neck.

"And don't worry about paying anything. It's on us," he assured them, and Natasha swallowed as she nuzzled her baby sister momentarily.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," Natasha told him genuinely, and he just shrugged with a smile.

"Of course. Anything for the heroes of the world," he told them, and Natasha hesitantly stood up from beside Yelena, shaking his hand and nodding to him. She then looked back down at Yelena, and Yelena looked up at her with pure joy and relief, the leash in her hands now.

"You ready to go tell them the news?" Natasha offered, and Yelena nodded before very carefully reaching down and picking up the dog in her arms, holding her carefully and safely despite the dog's large size. Fanny just tried to turn her head back to lick Yelena, and Natasha grinned widely, letting Yelena out first.

And as she wrapped an arm around Yelena's neck as they headed out to the waiting room, she was so, so relieved.

Their family was complete again.