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Foster care, foster parents, police captain, bows and no bows… Melinda May was not sure what had just happened.

She glanced at Natasha, sitting at her desk, dutifully working on the morning journal entry. The redhead's face was blank and she showed no outward sign of the unease that had clearly been present this morning with her foster parents. However, Melinda had been observing Natasha for awhile now and had learned some of her subtle signs of tension, like the way one hand rubbed over the other or how she fussed with her hair.

At recess, Natasha made a beeline towards the fence that separated the big and little kids' playgrounds. Skye showed up a couple minutes later and although May tried to keep watch over all of her students, her eyes were drawn to the pair.

For the rest of the school day, she gave Natasha space. Whatever was going on, Natasha was never going to talk to her if she pushed and Melinda wanted her student to be able to open up to her at some point.

At the end of the day, she watched Natasha and Skye disappear into the bathroom and reappear in the clothes they had arrived in that morning before heading back home, walking hand in hand as usual, however, Natasha had not put the bow back in her hair.

That fact made May strangely proud for some reason.

"That was interesting."

Melinda glanced over to find Phil walking up to her. She let him take one of her hands.

"Those were the foster parents," May murmured.

"Maybe this is a better conversation for at home," Phil said evenly and Melinda could see the worry in his blue eyes.

"You're right, we can't talk about this here," May shook her head. They were still in the school and she took student confidentiality very seriously, as did Phil.

Quickly, they packed up their classrooms, making sure everything was in its place and ready for the next day, before getting into their car and driving home in relative silence.

It wasn't until they were back home that Phil mentioned the situation again.

"So those were the foster parents," Phil ran a hand through his hair.

"The Garrett's." May murmured the name as she unlocked the house.

"If the father is police captain, I'm sure Tripp will know him," Phil pointed out. "He's going to be here in..." Phil glanced at his watch. "Thirty minutes."

"That means we need to cook," May raised her eyebrows. "Since you ate all the leftovers as a midnight snack."

"Takeout?" Phil suggested sheepishly.

Melinda May rolled her eyes and handed her husband the phone and the menu to their favorite takeout place.

Luckily, their Thai food arrived before Tripp did. They barely had time to open all the takeout containers before there was a knock on the door. They had known Tripp long enough for him to just walk into their house but he always knocked on their door before barging in. That was his way of being polite.

Melinda watched in amusement as Tripp walked into their house, nodded at them in acknowledgement, and collapsed into a chair at the table. Tripp let out a long groan before shaking his head a little bit and turning to them, "Hey guys."

She couldn't help but grin a little, "Rough day?"

Tripp gratefully took the bottle of beer that Phil offered him and nodded at her, "You don't even know how rough of a day it's been."

She and Phil sat down at the table with Tripp and she passed him a plate and pushed a takeout container towards him, "What happened?"

Tripp started dumping some noodles onto his plate and Mel had to slap his hands so that he didn't eat all of them without sharing. He gave her a sheepish look and passed the container to her before saying, "My new captain is a hardass and he's making me do a ton of boring paperwork. I have like ten papercuts right now."

He held up his hands as if to show them his papercuts and had the most pitiful look on his face. She glanced at her husband and he bursted out laughing, "You have papercuts?"

Tripp's pitiful look turned indignant, "Hey, they hurt okay?"

She nodded and patted his arm, "You're worse than our students."

Tripp shoved a dumpling into his mouth and spoke around it, "You're comparing me to a little kid, you know that right? I'm an adult."

Melinda twirled some noodles around her fork, "Then act like one."

Tripp rolled his eyes, "I can really feel the love, thanks guys."

Phil laughed again, "Aw come on, you know we're just giving you a hard time. Maybe this captain is still getting the hang of things. You said he was new right?"

Shrugging, Tripp shrugged, "He's not new, new. John was just promoted and I can tell you that the guy is a hardass no matter what position he holds." Tripp shook his head and mumbled, "I can't believe he's actually the boss of me now."

Melinda perked up when she heard of Tripp's new captain's name. Things started clicking together, "His name is John?"

Tripp nodded and shoved another dumpling into his mouth. Mel gave Phil a look, "As in, John Garrett?"

Swallowing his mouthful of food, Tripp nodded again and said, "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"We met him when he brought his girls to school today." Melinda sipped from her cup, however her eyes remained on Tripp.

"He has kids?" Tripp's dark eyes widened. "I didn't know that. Wow. That's a surprise."

"He's never mentioned them?" Melinda leaned forward slightly.

"I don't think so. Man, it would be interesting to see Garrett as a dad," Tripp commented lightly, however his expression suddenly made Melinda nervous. She exchanged a look with Phil, noticing the faint look of concern there.

"Maybe you could tell us more about what he's like as you get to know him?" Phil suggested.

Tripp raised an eyebrow at that and put down his fork. "Alright, what are you two up to? I know you're up to something."

"Nothing!" Phil protested, seemingly oblivious to how poor his lying skills were. Tripp just turned to look at Melinda.

"We're just a little worried," Melinda conceded. "But we really shouldn't talk about it."

"Alright. I trust you. Whatever you are getting into, I know there's someone who might need help at the bottom of it. I'll tell you what I learn about Garrett." Tripp picked up his fork again. "But you better not ask me to do anything that would land me on his bad side. I don't want to do more paperwork than is absolutely necessary."

John and Becky's happy behavior barely last a week. Natasha was actually surprised that it lasted that long. Honestly, she didn't know how to act around them when they acted like that, she was always waiting for them to do something bad. At least when they were in a bad mood, she knew what the expect. She didn't like it, but most of the time she knew how to handle their bad moods.

Becky was back to ignoring them which Natasha was kind of relieved for. She didn't know if she would have been able to wear another dress to school and she was pretty glad that Becky had gone back to pretending she didn't exist.

Her foster mother was watching television in the living room and she was helping Skye learn her letters, "See? 'I' can make a lot of different sounds, so it's a tricky letter. It's also a vowel. Do you remember the other vowels?"

Skye rubbed her forehead with her little fist and shut her eyes. That was the face she made when she was thinking really hard about something so Nat stayed quiet so that she didn't interrupt her thought process.

Her little sister made a triumphant sound and opened her eyes back up, "A, E, I, O, and U."

"And…"

Skye stared blankly at her for a second before she caught on, "And sometimes Y!"

Natasha gave Skye a small smile, "Good job Skye."

Her sister went back to writing different words that started with the letter 'I' and mumbled, "I like 'I'. It's easy to write."

Nat nodded but didn't say anything, just listened to the sound of Skye's pencil gliding over her paper. Everything else just faded away and she contentedly sat at the table for a few silent minutes before Skye spoke up again, ""Why aren't you doing homework?"

Shrugging, Natasha grabbed Skye's pencil from her hand and started writing some harder words on the paper, "Teaching you is more fun."

Skye pushed her arm, "You should do your homework."

She shrugged again, "It's not that important."

Her little sister crossed her arms and got that stubborn look on her face, "You always make me do my homework. You should have to do yours too."

Skye's jaw was set and she didn't look like she was going to budge so Nat hauled her backpack onto the table and pulled out her list of vocabulary words. After combing through her bag for a pencil, she dramatically opened up a notebook and started writing her words down, "Happy?"

Smiling, Skye nodded and went back to her work, "Yep."

Rolling her eyes, Natasha stared at her vocabulary words for a few moments before sighing and getting to work. The words were pretty big but at least she would be slightly prepared for her spelling test.

They sat in companionable silence, each working on their own respective work with Skye occasionally asking Natasha questions, when the door banged open.

Skye jumped in her chair at the loud sound and quickly began gathering up her homework. She tried not to look scared because she was trying to be brave but she didn't like doors slamming. It made her nervous.

"Come on, Skye." Natasha grabbed her papers and Skye's hand. "Let's work upstairs."

They started up the stairs when Skye felt someone grab the back of her shirt.

"There are damn dirty dishes all over the kitchen!"

John pulled her and even though Natasha had a tight grip on her hand, Skye still fell down the stairs and banged her head slightly against the banister, pain and fear washing over her in suffocating waves. John was still holding onto her shirt and all Skye could do was try to wiggle away, not even able to hear what he was saying over the panic pounding in her ears and the slight throbbing of her head.

"Let go of her!"

Skye saw a flash of red hair and suddenly John's grip was gone from her shirt. She scrambled away but saw that John now had a handful of Natasha's hair and was shaking her and yelling.

"We didn't make those dishes dirty!" Skye shouted at John. "Let her go!

She was scared but Natasha was in danger and she had to help. Maybe if John knew it wasn't their fault, he would let Nat go.

He flung Nat aside and she fell to the ground. Skye watched in horror as her sister's body crumpled to the floor and she didn't know if Nattie was okay. All she wanted to do was run over and check on her sister but she couldn't because John suddenly turned towards her, a look of anger burning in his eyes.

"Are you blaming my wife?" His voice was soft but Skye knew it wasn't in a nice way like other soft voices. This was a dangerous soft.

John didn't care that the dishes weren't their fault. They didn't make those dishes dirty but he was mad anyways. Maybe she had done something else wrong?

John stepped forward and Skye stood frozen, dark eyes wide.

"Answer me, girl, are you blaming my wife?"

"N-no..." Skye stammered, her legs working again as she backed up slowly.

"Good." John grabbed her arm and dragged her to the kitchen, holding her arm so tight it hurt and she tried to reduce the pain by stumbling along beside him. Still holding onto her, he grabbed a chair, put it in front of the sink and roughly deposited her onto it. "Do the dishes." He turned the sink on and hot water sprayed onto her face and shirt. The tears were sliding down her face now and Skye, trembling, picked up a plate.

"You too." John started towards Natasha who had dazedly gotten back onto her feet.

Suddenly his phone started ringing. John glared at them and stalked out of the room but not before roughly shoving Natasha toward the sink.

"Hey, hey." Natasha's arms were suddenly around her and Skye started sobbing. "Come on, come on." Natasha was practically dragging them up the stairs.

"The dishes," Skye sobbed. They had to clean them so that John would stop being so mad at them.

"You're not doing those dishes. Come on, almost there."

Finally, they were safe in Natasha's room and Nat was locking the door. Then, she picked Skye up and Skye clung to her, not even trying to stifle her tears.

"Hey, I've got you." Nat carried her to the bed, stroking her hair. Skye buried her face in her shirt, taking in the comforting smell of her sister. "We're okay."

Natasha had prided herself on being a calm person. She didn't let things get to her. She built her walls tall and thick.

And then Skye had come along and sent her walls crumbling to the ground.

She hadn't meant to love Skye, it was easier when she only cared about herself, but Skye had wriggled her way into Nat's heart and Natasha loved her more than anything else in this world. And right now, her sister was in trouble and the panic rushing through her was enough to get her to shake off the pain her body was currently in and try to get to her sister. Dazedly, she tried to stand up but her arms and legs weren't listening to her. She shook her head, ignoring the flash of pain that exploded behind her eyes, and forced her limbs to do what she told them.

When she finally made it off the ground, head spinning, she saw her baby sister, little Skye, standing on a chair, shirt and face wet with water and tears, washing dishes as their foster father stood nearby watching, arms crossed across his broad chest.

In that moment, Natasha felt absolute pure anger. As she watched John step towards her, she felt her muscles tense involuntarily and her fists clenched.

And then the phone had rung and she was able to rush to her sister, to get them away, homework lying scattered and forgotten at the bottom of the stairs.

Now here she was, curled up with Skye in bed, stroking her soft hair and trying to kiss away her tears.

Skye mumbled something into Natasha's shoulder but she couldn't tell what she had said.

"What?" Natasha gently repositioned herself so that she could hear the little girl.

"Why was he so mad?" Skye sniffed. "He was being so nice earlier."

Oh Skye. Natasha tucked a strand of Skye's silky hair behind her ear, examining the darkening bruise forming on the right side of her forehead. She must have hit her head when John dragged her down the stairs. With a great amount of difficulty, Natasha pushed her anger aside to address her sister's question.

"I don't know," she said finally. "But I promise, you're safe with me. I'm not gonna let him hurt you."
"What if he hurts you?" Skye's dark eyes filled with tears again.

"I'll be okay, I promise." Natasha brushed the thought aside. "We will be okay." Because that was what mattered. That there was a we for them. They had each other and Natasha was not going to let herself or Skye ever be alone again.

She remembered one night after her first few weeks with Skye, after forming an initial friendship in the middle of the night over soiled sheets.

"Natasha?"

Natasha rolled over in her bed to see that Skye was standing in her doorway, looking tiny in her ratty oversized shirt.

"What?" Natasha tried to soften the annoyance at being woken up.

"I had a nightmare."

Natasha sat up slightly, yawning. "What was it about?" Somewhere, she had heard that talking about nightmares helped but she didn't know where. Maybe at school or one of her various past foster homes.

"Nobody wanted me and I was all alone."

Natasha froze. That wasn't a nightmare, that was the reality of being a foster kid. Natasha knew that feeling far too well.

"Well that's a silly dream," Natasha gave Skye a half smile, motioning at the girl to come sit on her bed.

"What do you mean?" Skye slowly climbed up onto the bed.

"Because you're not alone. I'm here. And I want you to be here with me."

"Really?" a small sliver of hope shone in Skye's dark eyes.

"Of course. Why do you think I let you wake me up in the middle of the night," Natasha smiled, poking Skye gently in the side, making her laugh. "Trust me, if anyone else tried to do that, it wouldn't be pretty."

"But I can, 'cause I'm special," Skye smiled, relaxing beside the older girl.

"That's right. Only you can do that 'cause you're special." Natasha hesitated then leaned over and kissed Skye's cheek before hugging her.

Natasha wasn't a physical person but there was something about Skye that made her act in ways she never had before. She cared about Skye. She saw herself reflecting in Skye's large dark eyes. Nobody had been there for Natasha. But now she had the chance to be there for someone else. She had never been needed before.

"Alright, kiddo, let's go to sleep."

Skye obediently closed her eyes. It wasn't until Natasha knew she was peacefully asleep that Natasha closed her own eyes and went to sleep.

Skye's tight grip on her shoulder yanked her from her memory and her little sister said, "I don't know if we'll be okay."

Natasha felt her heart crack. Skye always believed what she said, no matter how silly or unbelievable her words were, Skye always believed her, but now she didn't. Maybe it was Natasha's own uncertainty about their situation that had Skye doubting her, Natasha didn't even believe her own words so how could Skye? Deciding that it was better to not say anything, Natasha just pressed a kiss to the top of Skye's head so that she knew that they were in this together.

She shifted and carefully set Skye down on the bed before gingerly pushing on her shoulder so that she was lying down. Pulling off her and Skye's shoes, Natasha lied down next to her sister and pulled the sheets up so that they were completely under them. She didn't say anything as Skye's thumb made its way into her mouth, just pulled her sister closer and stroked her back in what she hoped was a comforting manner.

She kept Skye close when they heard shouting from downstairs, as John banged on her door, and as they finally heard Becky and John's door close for the night. It wasn't until much later that Skye's breathing finally evened out and her sister fell asleep but Natasha's mind wouldn't stop spinning long enough for her to sleep.

Skye was right. For the first time ever, Natasha thought that maybe she wouldn't be able to protect Skye. The dark bruise on her sister's forehead was enough evidence of that. John had never been so relentlessly aggressive before and Natasha suspected that maybe his promotion wasn't as amazing as he had made it out to be.

A thought flashed through her mind and she tried to distract herself from it by curling Skye's hair around her finger but no matter how hard she tried, the same thought kept swirling around her brain.

Maybe they weren't going to be okay.

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~silverlining