A/N: Ok, guys! before we start this chapter, I just want to say that despite the copious amounts of research I did on child psychology for this, I don't-and never did, have any experience with PTSD or trauma. so, I apologize in advance if anything is inaccurate. the last thing I want to do is offend someone. And with that, I hope you enjoy it!

TW: PTSD, panic attacks, injury, (and maybe swearing, I can't remember)

As soon as they got back to the compound, Bruce had instructed Nat and Steve to take Wanda to the lab, and he would meet them there. Yelena was carried out on a stretcher, which Doctor Cho had waiting for her, and she was immediately taken into surgery. Bruce had said that as long as everything goes well, she would be okay, and Natasha was more relieved than ever.

The whole way to the lab, Nat carried Wanda, who still hadn't let go since the plane ride. She kept her head tucked into the crook of Nat's neck and her eyes shut.

She was scared, and Nat could tell she was using every ounce of her energy to keep her powers at bay.

They were currently waiting for Bruce. Wanda had finally let go, sitting on the edge of the hospital bed curled up into Steve's side while Nat paced back and forth, waiting. Her head was still spinning with today's events.

Bruce finally came in, taking a worried look at the small, traumatised girl. The gauze wrapped around her arm was stained red.

"I want to take a look at the injury on her arm. From what I can tell, the stitches broke. Do you think she would let me?"

Nat's eyes turned back to Wanda, who sat on the edge of the hospital bed, her knees pressed up to her chest and her side pressed into Steve's as close as possible.

"I'm not sure how she'll react, but we can try."

He nodded.

"Wanda," Nat took a seat beside her and Wanda immediately shifted her side against her instead. She made no eye contact, instead, staring straight ahead.

"Your arm looks like it hurts a lot, do you think Bruce could take a look at it?"

Her eyes flashed red, and her head shot up to look at Nat for the first time. Panic was strewn across her face.

"No!"

Her grip tightened around Nat, who immediately regretted even suggesting it.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, milaya. What about me, do you think I could take a look? I'll be gentle, I promise."

She didn't say anything at first, but eventually, Wanda nodded sadly, before holding her arm out towards her mother.

The suturing was definitely broken, if you could even call them sutures in the first place. They looked sloppily stitched and rushed, and Nat didn't want to admit it, but it looked to her like Bruce would definitely have to clean and restitch the area.

Wanda winced in pain as Nat wrapped it back up.

"Thank you, malyshka, you were very brave." She said, placing a kiss on her daughter's hair.

"So?" Nat asked Bruce, who stood far away, observing the wound. His face didn't look too promising either.

"Wanda," Bruce asked her in the nicest tone possible. "I need to restitch your injury. I want to make it better again; can I do that?"

Make it better. Strucker used to say that.

Make it better. Dmitry, too.

She jerked away from Nat's loving touch; her hands, eyes, and head growing an angry red.

"No! Don't touch me!" She yelled defensively, and Nat's eyes widened at the sudden aggressiveness coming from the child. She knew she would never hurt someone unless it was absolutely necessary, but Wanda wasn't usually one to threaten either.

Bruce backed off, his hands raised in the air. He could tell she must've been caught in some type of flashback, unsure of who he was, even if just for a moment.

"Hey, hey, Wanda, it's okay. It's just me. It's just Bruce."

The red faded away, and she looked around frantically, before starting to cry again. Not fear, but guilt.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to, I thought-"

Nat cut her off, tilting her chin towards her.

"It's okay, milaya. It's okay, you're safe here. You know we aren't going to hurt you, right?" Nat asked, her eyes filled with concern. Concern for what the hell happened to her daughter the past two weeks.

Wanda eventually nodded, although it felt unsure.

"So, can Bruce, stitch up your arm? He'll give you something, so you won't feel the pain. Your Dad and I will stay the whole time. We won't leave."

Wanda didn't answer, her grip on Nat tightening even more if that was possible.

"Wanda, please, milaya? I really don't want it to get worse."

"Okay." Wanda agreed pathetically. She really wished it could've at least been Dr. Cho, but she was with Yelena.

Wanda leaned against her side again, her eyes glossy and far away. As soon as she saw the needle, she jerked her arm away, but Nat put a hand on her back, silently rubbing it, and she allowed Bruce to administer the local anesthetic and work away on the bullet wound.

After twenty minutes or so, he stood up, wringing his hands.

"There. That should do it." He placed a cup of water and a singular pill on her bedside table.

"Once the freezing wears off, she'll be in pain. This is some pain medicine you can give. It works really good, but it might make her tired and it doesn't last very long, so you'll have to come back in an hour or so once it wears off. The next dose will be less strong."

Steve and Nat nodded, before Bruce got up to leave.

"Good job, Wanda." He smiled. "I'm proud of you, kiddo."

Wanda just stared blankly at him.

He left, and it didn't take long for the anesthetic to wear off. Within fifteen minutes, Wanda's face scrunched in pain.

"Is it starting to hurt?" Nat asked her.

"Yeah." She choked out quietly.

Steve reached over to the bedside table.

"Here, sweet pea. Take this, please." Steve held the cup of water and the small pill in his hands. It was small, easy enough for her to swallow.

Wanda looked up.

"What is it?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Just medicine that will make you less sore."

"Pain medicine?"

"…Yes?" Steve told her. He was cautious on his choice of words, careful not to trigger any flashbacks, but it was hard when he had no idea what she had been through.

Wanda thought back to the brown concoction Yelena had forced her to drink, unaware of what was laced in it.

It was pain medicine. It made her feel loopy and energetic, despite the fact she knew deep down her body was hurting all over. Once it wore off, she knew she had overdone it. Her body felt ten times worse, a sharp pain shooting up her injured arm every time she moved it. That 'protein shake,' filled with pain meds, had made her vulnerable. Unaware of the dangers in her surroundings.

Wanda shook her head aggressively, willing the magic that crept up to her hands away.

"I don't want it."

Leftover tears from before threatened to spill again.

"Sweet pea, you're hurting, I can tell. Don't you want this? It might help."

Steve encouraged her, his eyes flashing towards Nat, who shared the same worried look.

"Milaya," She tried. "Why don't you want to take the medicine? Can't you tell us?"

Wanda paused, unsure of whether she should tell her parents. Their confused and concerned faces told her she probably should.

"Pain medicine. It made me hurt more after because I didn't know I was hurt anymore. It was in a drink, and when I drank it-it made me feel dizzy and…I don't know." She gave up, unsure of how to explain it properly. Nat and Steve got the idea.

They had drugged her. That's why she didn't want the medicine. She didn't want it to be so strong she would be unaware of her surroundings. Nat felt an unnecessary surge of anger, especially at herself. If only she hadn't let Wanda go on that walk, this wouldn't be happening. Her little girl wouldn't be so broken.

"Malyshka, I promise this medicine won't be like that. It might make you sleepy, but it's just to make the pain go away."

She nodded, her shaky taking the medicine from her dad, and reluctantly swallowing it.

"Can you stay with me?"

"Of course," Nat said, shifting the small girl onto her lap. She instinctively wrapped her arms around her neck, refusing to let go. Wanda was so afraid of losing her again.

"They made me fight Yelena after I took the medicine. I hurt her, I think. Pushed her against a wall." Wanda stated sleepily, her eyes half-shut.

She made it sound like a statement; like she was simply telling Nat and Steve about it. But they knew it was a disguised question; she was simply reassuring herself they wouldn't make her do that.

"I know, milaya, I know. You're safe now, you don't ever have to do that again." She continued to whisper reassuring things to her, and eventually, the girl fell asleep, her grip on Nat failing to loosen.

There was a knock at the door, and Doctor Cho appeared, poking her head in.

"How is she doing?"

Steve stood up.

"We just gave her some pain medicine, she's sleeping."

Cho nodded, her lips thin.

"I just came here to tell you Yelena is awake. Everything went well, and she was asking about you, Natasha. I thought I'd let you know."

"Thanks, Helen."

Cho smiled, heading down the hall.

"I think you should go talk to your sister," Steve said, picking up on her tension. "I can take Wanda, she's cleared to go, and she might be more comfortable resting in her bedroom."

Nat hesitated.

"I just… don't want to leave her again." Nat admitted.

Steve smiled sadly, reaching over to place a kiss on her hair.

"I know, but I think you have some things to discuss with Yelena. She's your sister, and you haven't seen her in fifteen years."

Nat sighed tiredly, taking a hand off of Wanda's back to rub her eyes.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"We'll just be upstairs, call me if you need anything."

She nodded standing up, and Wanda began to stir. She lifted her head blinking, before resting it on Nat's shoulder again.

"Daddy is going to take you up to your bedroom so you can rest, okay?"

Wanda rubbed her eye with her uninjured arm.

"Where are you going, Mama?" She asked, her voice cracking from exhaustion.

"Just to talk to Yelena. She just woke up from surgery. I'll only be a little while, okay?" She placed a kiss on her forehead, handing her to Steve, but Wanda began to freak out.

"No, wait! Please! I want to stay with you, don't leave me!" She cried in desperation; her arms stretched out towards Nat.

She took her back, surprised at the girl's reaction.

Wanda looked at her, and Nat could try she was trying so hard to hold back tears, but her lip was quivering, and she could tell she was about to cry.

"I want to stay with you, can I please? I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't be sorry, sweetheart. You can come with me, it's okay, you're okay." Nat comforted the girl. What was she even thinking? Of course, she wanted to stay with her. She hadn't seen her in two weeks, and during that time, she didn't think she'd ever see her again.

The three of them sat in the hospital room for a moment while Wanda calmed down and fell back asleep. When she was sure she was asleep, she stood up.

"I'll take her with me, she'll just sleep the whole time anyway. And then if she wakes up, she won't be scared, she'll be with me."

Steve nodded.

"I'll go update Clint, just call me if you need anything, okay?"

She nodded, heading down the hall towards Yelena's room.

To her surprise, Nick Fury was waiting outside the door.

"Fury," She said, her voice low as to not wake up Wanda. "What are you doing here?"

He walked forward from leaning against the wall.

"I just came to make sure everything went okay. We've got seven people in holding at S.H.I.E.L.D. right now that have connections to… I don't even know what to call it. Red Room 2.0?"

Nat shrugged, careful not to show weakness at those words.

"Clint Barton told me Dmitry Vasilyevich was killed."

Nat nodded.

"I shot him." She lied. "I can't even begin to think why you would even think bringing him back here would be a good idea, whether you needed him for information or not."

He shook his head.

"Well, you're damn lucky we've got enough info from the other bastards. I've got a few agents in Novi Grad right now, too."

Nat nodded.

"Let us know if you need any more help, too. I have no problem kicking more asses."

Fury scoffed, gestured to the sleeping girl in Nat's arms.

"Looks like you've got enough to handle right now. This is Wanda Maximoff?" His face was straight, but Nat saw his eyes soften. She nodded.

"Poor kid. She didn't deserve any of this."

Nat nodded, and he picked up on her tension.

He decided to change the subject, not even mentioning Yelena, instead eyeing her engagement ring.

"Seems like you're building yourself quite the family."

She rolled her eyes, giving him a small smile.

"Well, congrats, and I'm expecting an invite to the wedding."

"Will do."

He went to leave but he paused.

"Yelena Belova can be trusted 100%?" He whispered as the door to her room was open.

"Why would you even ask that?" She defended. "She saved Wanda's life."

He backed off, raising his hands, but Nat could tell he felt guilty.

"You know I have to ask, Nat, just to be sure."

"Well, you don't have to. She's my sister."

"While I waited for you, I watched her for a moment. She reminds me a lot of you when you first came here. A good kid. A little rough around the edges, but good, nonetheless."

Nat smiled, and he gave a final nod, and left down the hallway.

She entered the hospital room, praying Yelena didn't hear Fury's ignorance at the beginning of their conversation.

But Nat could pick up on Yelena's guilt in the room, who truly believed Fury meant every word he said. Luckily, Nat knew the man.

"You shouldn't have done that, why did you take the blame?"

"Don't worry about it," Nat said, reaching over to squeeze her sister's hand. "Fury acts tougher than he actually is. He has from day one. There's no way he's actually pissed. He'd probably be more pissed if we actually did bring Vasilyevich here alive."

Yelena raised her eyebrows, confused. If she had disobeyed one of Dmitry's orders when she worked for him, she probably would've been severely punished. Or worse.

"But those were your orders…" She replied weakly.

Nat shrugged, careful not to wake the sleeping girl in her arms.

"And we're human. It's hard not to let our emotions get in the way when people have hurt us so much," Nat told her. "You wanted him dead, I wanted him dead, Steve and Clint did, too. Believe me, you did us a favour."

Yelena nodded weakly. She still felt guilty, but she chalked it up to just being used to following orders so strictly. Nat noticed her thinking hard, her eyes wandering.

"Everything okay, Lena?" Nat asked her, concern filling her eyes.

Yelena wasn't shocked, as Nat had always been sort of motherly towards her, but she definitely wasn't expecting her to ask that. It took her a moment to actually put her thoughts into words.

"I just…"

Nat stared at her intently, patiently waiting for her to continue.

"You all keep saying I didn't know what I was doing. I could hear you talking with Director Fury, that working for Dmitry isn't my fault. That I didn't know any better, or whatever, but I hate how forgiving everyone is. Before I got my memories back, I didn't do anything to get Wanda out. I hurt her, even. I still remember forcing her to fight me, and then coming at her with knives. I was no better than Madame B. No better than Dmitry. And you, Steve, Clint, even Wanda, have no problem forgiving me. That's not okay, Nat. After I heal, I'm leaving. You won't have to hear from me ever again, I promise."

Yelena bit her lip, forcing herself not to cry.

Nat's eyes softened even more if that was even possible. It made Yelena feel even more uncomfortable.

"Lena, don't ever compare yourself to Madame B. Or Dmitry. Do you think they would've put their own lives into a severely dangerous situation to rescue a child they don't even know and bring her back to her home? No, they wouldn't. And I know that you hate when we keep saying this, but you before that, you didn't know any better. You were like me. You felt like it was your destiny, like your whole life purpose was to work for Dmitry, nothing else, right?"

Yelena nodded silently.

Of course, because that's what they told us to believe.

Nat continued.

"Yelena, without you, Steve and I wouldn't have our little girl back. She would still be lost, kidnapped. You saved her life, Lena. How could we not forgive you?"

Yelena didn't say anything. Tears were forming in her eyes. She didn't know how she was feeling, but it definitely wasn't something she had felt in a very long time. Validated? Cared for? Loved, even?

"And you aren't leaving. Even after you've healed. I would never just kick you out, Lena, you're always welcome here. You're my sister, and we have fifteen years to catch up on."

Yelena gave a small smile. Nat continued.

"Plus, you're an Aunt now," She smiled, placing a kiss on Wanda's forehead, who stirred in her sleep. "And you're going to be my maid of honour when I get married."

Yelena's eyes widened; glad their conversation got a little lighter. She fought back tears, but this time, they were happy.

"Thank you, Nat."

"No, thank you. I don't think I could ever thank you enough."

Yelena nodded, unsure of what to say. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment. Yelena's eyes wandered the room, landing on the small reflection on Nat's ring finger.

"So, you are getting married to Captain America, da?"

Nat chuckled, leaning back in the chair. She half-hazardly stroked Wanda's hair in rhythmic motions.

"I remember when we were kids you used to say you would never get married," Yelena said. "That men would just tie you down." Her lips turned up in a smile at the particularly recent memory, and so did Nat's.

"I know, I remember, too. But Steve doesn't tie me down. We're a team. We… make each other better. Stronger." Nat's stated, her eyes glowing with pride, and it almost made Yelena laugh. She held it in, mainly because it would cause pain to her new sutures.

"You should see your face right now. You are so in love, it's kind of gross." Yelena cocked an eyebrow, and Nat's heart soared. She teased her just like they were eight and twelve years old again. Despite everything she had gone through the past fifteen years, deep down, she was still the same Yelena, and she couldn't be happier.

Nat tossed a nearby pillow to Yelena, who caught it, laughing. Wanda raised her head sleepily. She looked around, before shyly tucking her head back into the crook of her mother's neck. Nat looked at the time.

"I should go give Wanda more pain medicine. I'll see you in the morning?" She asked Yelena at the door.

"Well, I can't go anywhere." She gestured to her bedridden state.

Nat just rolled her eyes, pausing at the door.

"And Lena?"

"Hm?"

"I'm really glad you're here." She flashed her another smile.

She knew that was Nat's way of showing her love.

Yelena smiled back.

"I love you too, сестра."

…

The next few days were tiresome and stressful, especially for Nat and Steve. Wanda was proving that it was going to take quite a bit longer to recover than Hydra. For the past few days, it was a struggle just to get her to eat something, anything, and sleep. The poor girl refused both, mainly because she was used to eating so little, and had a rough time actually keeping anything down. As for sleeping, with it, came nightmares. The worst ones yet.

She was so reserved now, too, the only people she would speak to were her parents. Peter, who had been taking care of Liho the past few weeks, offered to bring the dog up to Wanda to visit, however, Wanda had paid the dog more attention than her actual cousin. Peter was upset, but he understood the fact that she was still coping and was still in a significant amount of shock.

She had trouble speaking too, Nat had noticed. They had also chalked it up to shock, but her words often came out in unfinished sentences, often switching between Sokovian, Russian, and English.

To make matters even worse, Nat had been so busy with Wanda that she had barely gotten time to see her sister, who was getting better every day. Yelena had been through a lot, and although she was much older than Wanda, Nat had been meaning to help Yelena, too. She had promised she would always be there to talk, and help her cope with her trauma, too. She was her little sister, after all.

It was around a week later, and Wanda was currently muttering a mix of all three languages. Nat observed the girl as she sat cross-legged in the corner of her room with her toys. She couldn't tell exactly what was going on, but it did worry Nat. There was a lot of screaming involved, zoo animals were attacking barbie dolls.

"What are you playing, malyshka?"

Wanda's head snapped up, but before she could answer, Steve appeared in the doorway.

"Hey," Steve said. Nat stood up, catching her fiancé before he continued.

"I'm just going to talk to your dad for a minute, milaya. I'll be right back. Just outside the door."

Wanda nodded, not even looking up from her toys, and Nat closed the door behind her.

"What's up? I was just going to call you for dinner."

"Steve, I'm really worried about her. I know it's barely been a week, but I can't stand to see her like this anymore."

Steve nodded, sighing.

"I was going to talk to you about that. I think we're going to have to talk to Sam."

"Her nightmares are awful, worse than when she first came, she's scared of everything, will barely even talk to Peter, which is basically killing him from the inside, and-" She rambled, her voice cracking with worry, finally letting all her worries out.

Steve put his hands on her shoulders, nodding. He sighed

"Sam's not a child therapist, but I do think he could help, even just a little bit."

She leaned her head against his shoulder, and he wrapped her into a hug. It was so hard to see Wanda like this.

So, after supper, Nat had asked Sam to stay behind with her and Clint to talk about the girl.

Steve had offered to watch her while they talked, planning on occupying her so Nat could explain Wanda's struggles in full detail.

"Wanda," Steve reached for her hand, and she took it. "Why don't we go watch a movie in the living room?" She nodded, and Steve gave Nat a wink.

Nat sat down as soon as they were relatively out of earshot.

"What's up?" Sam asked.

"We were just wondering if you could give us some advice about Wanda." She said.

Sam sighed.

"She's still struggling, huh? I can hear her cry at night sometimes." He frowned.

Nat nodded.

"It's not just the awful nightmares, we expected that. She will barely talk to anyone except Steve and me anymore. It's a struggle just to get her into the dining room at dinner. I wouldn't have even considered her shy before, but now even Peter and Clint haven't heard a word from her."

Clint nodded in agreement, staying silent and letting Nat continue.

"I think it's upsetting Peter, and Steve and I can't figure out why. And she's acting out violent scenes with her toys," Nat said. "Zoo animals are now escaping their pens and attacking her dolls. I know some kids play like that naturally, but she's never been like that before."

Sam nodded, pondering for a moment.

"I'm no expert on children, but I have heard that children with excessive trauma sometimes cope through play. That is probably what that is. How are her nightmares different than before?"

Nat sighed.

"They're about different things. When Wanda first came here from Hydra, her nightmares were usually about Pietro; how he died, and she couldn't save them. Now they consist of the Red Room, Dmitry, and being away from us. She doesn't have issues talking about it. She's always willing to talk after we wake her up, which is good I guess."

"Yes, that's very good. Talking about it always helps with dealing with the trauma. If she were to keep it bottled up it could be dangerous, especially because her magic feeds off her emotions. They become stronger when she's angry or scared, right?"

Nat nodded.

Sam sighed, leaning back in the chair.

Clint piped up for the first time in a while. He had been listening intently before.

"What if we bring her back to the farm for a while? It worked the first time, Nat. And it worked with you, too. She's going through similar things now. It's fewer people, and it's people she's comfortable around. I think it will help with her nervousness. It's a calmer environment, and she can just be a kid again for a while."

Nat thought intently for a moment. She opened her mouth to speak, but Clint cut her off again.

"Yes, I'm sure, Nat. She'll be fine. We'll take it slow, just like the first time. I'll talk to Laura and the kids; they know you three are always welcome. Yelena can come, too. It'll be good for her as well. We're always glad to have you, you know that."

Nat nodded, turning to look at Steve across the room to the living room. Wanda was asleep, leaned up against him, and some horse cartoon was playing. Steve intently watched it, despite Wanda being asleep, and Nat couldn't help but laugh.

Maybe the farm would be good for her. After all, it did work the first time.

Nevertheless, she sighed, leaning back in her chair. She couldn't help but think they were back to square one, except this time, the journey would be much longer.

A/N:

Translation:

сестра- sister

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review!
See you guys next chapter,

Kate xx