Thank you all for your patience! It will be well worth the wait with this AWESOME chapter that Ariel96 wrote!

I won't keep you waiting any longer!

"It looks like everything is healing nicely Natasha." The doctor gave her a smile and then turned to Mrs. May and asked, "Has she been doing the deep breathing exercises every day? We don't want any lung complications."

Mrs. May quirked an eyebrow and stated, "Yes, but you can ask her yourself. She's more than capable of answering questions about her own body."

Nat sat up straighter and tried her best not to smile. Mrs. May had joined her for her follow-up exam while Mr. Coulson was with Skye in the next room for her exam. It was bad enough that they were in separate rooms, but the doctor had been treating her like a little baby for the last ten minutes. He came in, tried to pat her head (Mrs. May had smoothly intercepted him), and barely acknowledged she was there, and when he did, he spoke to her in a baby voice. It was taking everything she had to not snap at him because she didn't think Mrs. May would approve.

"Oh, uh right. Have you been doing the breathing exercises we taught you? It's important to do them everyday." The doctor said, glancing back up to Mrs. May.

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I've been doing them."

As he marked something on his clipboard, she looked up at Mrs. May. She had a hand on her hip and a vaguely irritated look on her face, and Nat was pretty sure it was directed at the doctor. When she caught her eye, Mrs. May gave her a small, conspiratorial smile.

It was odd to feel like she was on the same team as an adult, but that's what it felt like. It was her and Mrs. May versus this lame doctor. It was strange, but she liked it. A small part of her (a part that was growing each day) knew that Mrs. May would keep her safe here, which is why she found herself giving her a teeny tiny grin before going back to glaring at the doctor.

Regardless of Mrs. May's reminders, the doctor went back to speaking to her rather than Nat. Despite her indignation, she was glad to have a chance to sit back and have Mrs. May deal with this. Her body was starting to feel better and she and Skye were settling into life with Mr. Coulson and Mrs. May, but sometimes things still felt like too much and she got overwhelmed.

As the minutes ticked by, her feelings of restlessness grew. She needed to know how Skye was doing. Mr. Coulson had been great so far, but Skye had been with him on her own for a long time, and Skye didn't like doctors very much. She hoped that her sister's doctor was at least a girl so she would be less scary.

It felt like an eternity before her doctor turned to her, gave her an over the top smile, and said in a voice most adults used with newborn babies, "Aren't you a lucky little girl? Everything seems fine, I'll see you in another couple of weeks."

This time she didn't try to conceal her frustration at how the doctor was treating her as she narrowed her eyes and sneered.

Mrs. May came over to stand beside her, and although she didn't touch her, Nat could sense the arm she placed on the table directly behind her. The doctor seemed confused for a moment but he gave them another bright smile before leaving the room.

"Easy there," Mrs. May murmured.

"He talked to me like I was a baby."

"I know, it was rude." Mrs. May glanced pointedly at her clenched fist and then raised an eyebrow, "Want to check on Skye?"

At the mention of her sister, Nat brushed off her anger and nodded quickly. Before she could figure out how to jump off of the exam table without hurting her ribs too much, Mrs. May reached out and let her hands hover in front of her until Natasha gave her slight nod. After she was gently lifted off the table and deposited onto the floor, she ran out of her room and barged into Skye's.

Her eyes widened when she saw how visibly upset Skye looked. Her little sister's thumb was in her mouth and she was hunched onto the far corner of her exam table as her doctor examined a bruise on her leg. Mr. Coulson was trying to comfort her but it didn't appear to be working.

When Skye caught sight of her, she hopped off of her exam table, much to the irritation of the doctor, and ran to her. Skye tucked herself into her side, took a deep and shaky breath, and then started to cry.

She wrapped her arms around her sister but before she could say anything, Mrs. May had gotten Skye's attention and was gently asking, "What's wrong my little warrior?"

Skye sniffled and slightly shifted in her arms so that she was facing Mrs. May. Her sister didn't seem to notice that that meant she was a little further away from her than before. "I got scared and Nattie wasn't there," Skye mumbled in a shaky voice.

Mrs. May knelt down next to them and held out a hand, "I'm sorry you felt scared. Do you feel better now?"

When Skye shuffled out of her arms and into Mrs. May's, it felt like the world started to crumble down around her.

Skye leaned in and gave Mrs. May a hug before saying, "Yeah, I think so."

Anger spread through her so quickly that her skin started to itch. She thought that she and Mrs. May were on the same team for a little bit, but that was stupid because it was obvious that she was trying to steal Skye away from her. She should've known better. Skye was small and cute and easy to love, and she should have known that Mrs. May was just pretending to be kind to her so that Skye would like her too and then she could whisk her away.

Without thinking, she reached out, tugged Skye out of Mrs. May's arms, and led her back to the exam table to put some distance between them. When she threw a glare over her shoulder, the stunned look on Mrs. May's face caused her to pause, but then she shook it off and helped Skye back onto the table.

She calmed a little when her sister snuggled into her side. Wrapping a protective arm around Skye's waist, she leaned over and said, "It's all better 'cause we're together again, right?"

"Yeah," Skye said in a wobbly but bright voice.

Throwing another mean look at Mrs. May, she stared directly at her and said, "Nobody's ever going to force us apart."

She looked down when Skye gave her a slightly confused look, "I know, you promised, remember?"

She nodded and hoped that Mrs. May got the hint, because she and Skye were going to be together forever.

"I did something to upset Natasha."

"What was it?"

She gave Phil a look and shrugged, "I have no clue."

"How do you know that you've done something to upset her then?" He asked as he put away their dishes from lunch.

A melodic laugh came from the living room and they both peered over to see the girls sitting on the couch together. Natasha was reading Skye a story, and although they had yet to witness it, she knew that the older girl would tell the story in silly voices just to make Skye happy.

She had no idea what had caused the icy rift to form between Natasha and her, and subsequently Phil too, but she would be lying if she said that it didn't hurt. They had all been getting along so well, Natasha had even smiled a handful of times in the last few days, and now it was like they were back to square one. Natasha was hovering around Skye at all times, even more so than usual, and wouldn't let the little girl out of her sight. It was like the tiny bit of trust they had earned in Nat's eyes had vanished out of nowhere.

She sighed heavily and put away the last of their trash from their meal, "Can't you see a shift in her?"

"I was hoping that was just my imagination. We were doing so well for awhile there," Phil said wistfully.

The two girls finished with their book, slid onto the ground, and started to assemble the puzzle they had all been working on for the last two days. Mel sighed again. It was one thing to know what she had done to upset someone so that she could fix it, but right now, she was in the dark.

"I don't know what to do," She admitted.

Standing behind her, Phil wrapped his arms around her waist and placed a kiss on her shoulder, "Why don't we just... ask her what's going on?"

Mel rolled her eyes but then stopped herself. If Natasha was anything like her, which she was finding to be the case more and more each day, then a direct approach might actually work.

Squaring her shoulders, she nodded and said, "Let's do this."

As she walked out of the kitchen, she heard Phil call after her, "Wait, right now?"

She waved at him to follow her and when she entered the living room, she gave the girls a smile, "How's it coming along?"

Skye held up a puzzle piece to her, "We can't find where this one goes."

"I'm sure we can find its place," She responded. As she went to take the offered puzzle piece, a small hand grabbed it before she could.

Natasha held the piece between her fingers and said to Skye, "We can figure it out on our own."

Skye looked between her and Natasha and seemed to shrink back, obviously unsure of what was going on between them. Melinda wished she could tell Skye that she was wondering the same thing.

Phil sat down on the couch and she joined him, hoping to appear more casual so that their talk wouldn't make the girls feel on edge. "Actually, could you find where that piece goes a little later? We were hoping to talk to you."

Her goal of making the girls feel comfortable quickly vanished at the look of pure panic that crossed both of their faces. Natasha concealed it almost immediately but Skye scooted a good two feel away from them and leaned into her sister's side.

She shared a heartbroken look with Phil before he soothingly said, "Nobody's in any trouble. We just wanted to check in with you both to see how you're doing. You know, we want to see how you're feeling and if you have any questions for us."

Skye and Natasha looked at each other and Natasha shrugged.

Seeing that they weren't getting anywhere, Melinda slid onto the floor, crossed her legs, and put her chin on her hand, "Think of this as a family meeting. I know we spend a lot of time together already, but this can be a time where we all check in." The girls shared another look but said nothing. Throwing a desperate look over her shoulder at Phil, who shrugged, she turned back around and said, "For example, I wanted to take this time to tell you two how much we appreciate you both. I look forward to spending time with you each day. Natasha, you're so helpful during bedtime, and Skye, you draw the best pictures."

Skye inched a little closer to her and seemed like she was warming up to the idea. Natasha, on the other hand, remained guarded.

It was a conscious effort to keep pushing through the awkward atmosphere, "Phil, would you like to check in?"

Thankfully, her husband joined them on the ground and cleared his throat, "I'd love to. I think this week has gone great, but I have a question for you Miss Skye?"

"What is it?" The little girl asked, somewhat skeptically.

"I noticed that you colored through every picture in your superhero coloring book. Would you like to get another coloring book at the store with me tomorrow?"

"Yes!" Skye said, smiling tentatively. Melinda saw Natasha tug on Skye's shirt before Skye turned back to them and uncertainly asked, "But only if Nattie comes too?"

"Of course, we can all go together," Phil said. "Now, do you have any questions for me?"

Skye's face scrunched up adorably as she thought and Melinda noted that even though Natasha was trying her best not to appear interested in the conversation, she was following along with what everyone was saying.

"I thought of a question." Skye said seriously. Mel steeled herself for whatever they were going to be asked, "You know how Lulu's mommy does her hair for school?"

Lulu must have been a child in Phil's class because she wasn't able to put a face to the name. Phil nodded and said, "Yeah?"

"Could you maybe do my hair like that for when we go back to school too?" Skye asked, before quickly backtracking and shrinking back into her sister's side, "If you wanted to, but it's okay if not."

Before Skye could retreat too far back, Melinda said, "Sure, we can do your hair any way you'd like. How does Lulu's hair look?"

Phil gave her a blank look that clearly said that he didn't pay much attention to the hair styles of five year olds, so she she looked to Skye to explain.

Seeming to gain back some of her confidence, Skye ran her fingers through her hair and said, "She always has two braids but they start at the top of her head and look like mermaid hair."

If she was guessing correctly, then Lulu wore french braids in her hair, which luckily, she was able to do, "No problem, you'll have mermaid hair too when you go back to school."

Skye smiled brightly but her happiness dimmed a bit when she looked at Natasha, who was glowering quietly.

"Natasha?" She asked carefully, "Do you have any questions for us?"

The tiny redhead stared and then minutely shook her head.

Phil put a comforting hand on her back and Melinda took a calming breath before asking, "You seem to be upset. Would you tell us what's bothering you please?"

Even though she gave it her best, Melinda was still able to see the anger and fear in Natasha's eyes. She was surprised when Natasha managed to calmly state, "Nothing's bothering me."

The emotions on her face were well concealed, but Mel knew where to look, so she was expecting Natasha to yell or scream at any moment. Which was why she was so shocked at how calm she sounded.

"Are you sure?" She asked, because she knew something was bothering her, and she was trying her damndest to actually start talking about feelings now.

This time, things went a bit more according to how she thought it would.

Natasha's fists clenched and she abruptly stood up, "I already said that nothing's bothering me."

"We're just worried about you Natasha. You can tell us if there's something wrong," Phil said earnestly.

She nodded and added, "We can't fix it if we don't know what's going on."

Melinda had never seen the look on Natasha's face before. It was a mixture of anger, fear, and the most heart-wrenching sorrow she had ever seen. It was the most emotion Natasha had ever displayed and it seemed that the little girl didn't know what to do with all of those feelings, because she quickly yelled, "Nothing's wrong!" before running up the stairs and out of sight.

She blinked once as she tried to process what had just happened before she noticed how lost Skye looked sitting by herself, staring at the staircase her sister had just used to escape.

"Skye," She said quietly, hoping to gain the attention of the girl without startling her.

When Skye turned to her, she patted the space between her and Phil as an invitation, but the little girl stayed where she was. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she wobbly asked, "Nattie isn't in trouble, is she? She didn't mean to yell! She just feels a lot of things sometimes!"

By now, Skye was crying, looking terribly lost and alone all by herself across from them. Phil slowly scooted closer to her and she did too, and when Skye didn't stop them, they placed themselves on each side of her.

"Natasha isn't in trouble," Phil said soothingly.

Skye sniffled and rubbed at her eyes, "You promise?"

"We promise," Mel said. "Everybody gets upset and angry. We just want you and your sister to know that it's okay to be upset or mad and we want you to feel comfortable telling us when you feel that way."

It appeared that now that Skye knew that Natasha wasn't in trouble, she was starting to realize that she was alone with them. Even though they had made great strides in the time they had been together, Skye still wasn't completely comfortable on her own, which Mel understood but was still saddened by.

The little girl backed away slowly and Melinda decided to give her an out, "Would you do me a big favor and go check on your sister for us?"

Skye was a lot of things, but subtle was not one of them, which was evidenced by the giant sigh of relief she tried poorly to conceal. Without saying anything else, Skye bolted out of the room.

She put her hands over her face and let out a groan, "That went well."

Comforting hands started kneading out the tension in her shoulders, "Honestly? It went a lot better than I anticipated."

She gave Phil an incredulous look but he just shrugged, "Think about it, they actually talked with us. I mean, it was only for a little bit, but Skye even managed to ask for something that she wanted. And Natasha expressed anger!"

"Why do you sound so happy about that?"

"Because it's progress. She might not recognize it, but Natasha feels comfortable enough to express negative emotions with us, and if you think about it, that means we've come a long way since when they first got here and were afraid to even speak to us."

When he said it like that, their conversation with the girls did seem to go a lot better than she had initially thought. "Damn, when did you get so wise?"

He grinned and grabbed a stack of books from a shelf on the side table and held them up proudly, "I ordered a bunch of parenting books on Amazon and have been reading them. You want to borrow some?"

She raised an eyebrow at him as she took in the huge stack of books he was holding up and the proud smile on his face. Rolling her eyes, she held out a hand and said, "Give me one of those."

Much love, my friends! Happy Thanksgiving, if that's something you celebrate!

Huge shoutout to the beautiful Ariel96 for this wonderful chapter! Let's hear what you loved about it for her! (smiley face)

Thank you for your patience! We'll try to have the next chapter out asap for ya'll.

Until then!

~silverlining