Widow Sisters and Friends (Restoring Our Broken Hearts)

The Sister Instruction Manual

Summary: Yelena has a horrid nightmare, waking Natasha in the middle of the night, and Natasha quickly comforts her. However, she does not fully understand what had happened in the nightmare because Yelena cried herself back to sleep in Natasha's arms. But the next night when Kate comes over to spend some time with them, Natasha finds out precisely what had happened in Yelena's dream the hard way.

   Natasha straight up in the bed, her heart racing and hurting her chest with how hard it was beating as she heard a scream come from the spot next to her. She quickly spotted Yelena sitting up, shaking all over as she bent down with her head to her knees as she grabbed at the back of her neck. She was speaking rapid, choked Russian that was almost gibberish with how the sobs were wracking through her.

Natasha quickly took action, her hand softly making contact with Yelena's back. Yelena jumped as if she had been shot, and Natasha adjusted her hand to Yelena's side to try to tug her upward and away from where she was cowering against herself.

"Sweet girl.... Angel baby, it's just me," Natasha reassured, doing her best to comfort the blonde. Yelena was still trembling violently, and Natasha could not understand what she was saying. Natasha shushed her gently, trying to pull her into her arms, and Yelena at first fought back against her.

"Rooskaya, listen to me... It's me, you're safe with me," Natasha told her, repeating the words over and over as she patiently tried to keep hold of the blonde. Yelena shook miserably, and at some point, she seemed to more fully register the words, and she allowed herself to lean heavily into Natasha's arms. Natasha ran her hands down Yelena's back, stroking it gently and trying to calm her down.

"I didn't mean to do it. I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to," Yelena repeated herself, almost completely panicking as she hardly made any sense, and Natasha shook her head swiftly, trying to more fully surround Yelena with her body to shield her from the invisible demons tormenting her. Natasha immediately felt as if her heart was being torn in half.

"You didn't do anything," Natasha argued, and Yelena shook her head swiftly, grasping at Natasha so tightly that the redhead knew it would leave bruises behind on her skin. However, she did not say anything as she just allowed Yelena to take hold.

"I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to," Yelena continued, sobbing as half of her words were not entirely coherent English. She rocked a little in Natasha's embrace, and Natasha tightened her hold on her, making sure that her baby sister was tucked safely into her arms as she placed her legs on either side of Yelena's body. Yelena crawled closer in the midst of her haze, her knees sliding underneath one of Natasha's knees that were raised as Natasha made a cage around her body and held her against her torso firmly.

"I know, I know... You're my sweet girl... You didn't do anything," Natasha whispered to her, her hand running through Yelena's hair. Yelena dug her face into Natasha's collarbone, continuing to shake miserably as she cried and wet Natasha's shirt with her pain.

"I didn't mean to."

"I know..."

"I didn't... I didn't mean to do it," Yelena persisted, and even though Natasha had no real idea of what was going on with her and that these words were no doubt as a result of the nightmare Yelena had just experienced, she knew that Yelena needed to somehow calm down. She needed something that would ground her and bring her back to what was real.

So, Natasha took the side of Yelena's head with her hand and pressed it against her chest so that Yelena would have her ear directly to her body and could hear her heart. Yelena stopped for just a moment, the quakes slowing to small shivers as she listened in pure rapture. Her sob turned to something akin to a hiccup as she froze in place.