"Why did you miss your appointment with Meyer?" Fury asked. He had been in Maria's apartment for less than thirty seconds before he started asking questions.
Natasha had opened the door and deliberately placed herself between the two.
"She wasn't feeling well," Natasha answered. Her body language had gone from being relaxed and maybe a little nervous with Maria to being the on guard soldier and spy.
"But well enough to go to a check-up?"
"Yes, that's why Doctors exist. So that one can visit an MD when they're not feeling well," Natasha answered sarcastically. Fury was glaring at her with his hands on his hips and she simply countered him with her arms folded and her trademark smirk in place. "You put me in charge of protecting her. I made the call. Deal with it."
"Deal with it?" Fury asked. "She is my Deputy Director. I need her back as soon as possible."
"Don't be naïve. It's not as if she's had two days off with a cold," Natasha answered. "You can't force a recovery from this kind of trauma. More specifically you can force a fast recovery."
Maria stood behind her, silent and still, watching and waiting. Since coming home, this was the first time she had been even relatively involved in a conversation with anyone other than Natasha. If she was ever going to be in this position, she was glad that it was Natasha who was on her side. And she wanted to damn Fury for interrupting. She almost let out a heavy sigh when she heard Natasha's reasoning for missing the appointment, but refrained, glad that her breakdown wasn't being flashed around.
"I know that."
"Then accept the call I made. The appointment has been rescheduled. What is your problem?"
"She needs to be debriefed. If she is going to recover fully from this, she needs to see psych. Did you really think I wouldn't notice that she wasn't there?"
"It wasn't about whether or not you noticed: she wasn't feeling well. But seeing as how we are on that topic, why don't we discuss that surveillance van you've had parked across the street for a week? Did you think I wouldn't notice?" Natasha asked. She could tell, even without looking, that Maria's brow had furrowed in confusion: the assassin had never mentioned that she had noticed a surveillance van watching them. "You really don't trust me enough to work this protection detail alone?"
'What kind of equipment do they have?' Maria thought. 'Audio? Video? Have they seen or heard everything that has been going on?'
"They are your back up," Fury started, knowing he had been caught out.
"Back up I didn't even know I had," snapped Natasha. "If something goes down, and I need to play something a specific way, I cannot have them barging in unannounced and screwing it up. Just because I have a badge with "Agent of SHIELD" on it, does not necessarily mean that every member of this organisation will automatically trust me to stay on SHIELD's side if shit goes sideways."
Fury sighed and Natasha glared and Maria shifted from side to side uncomfortably.
The brunette couldn't help but start to second guess herself and her decisions. Natasha was able to flip a situation ten different ways from Sunday in an instant, and she couldn't stop herself from wondering if she was 'playing' a role again, if she was being who she thought she had to be around Maria, not who she wanted to be.
"All they are doing is sitting in that van watching the exterior of this building," he said, as if it made the entire situation better.
"I don't care. If you trust me to do my job," Natasha said, "you will pull them off my assignment. Now."
'I'm just another assignment to her,' Maria thought.
"Fine, they're gone." Fury pulled his phone out, crunched a few letters and tucked it back into his jacket. Natasha moved to the window and watched the van break into light traffic and head off up the street out of view. "I want her in that appointment."
"I am standing right here, you know?" she muttered. Her arms were protectively crossed over her chest and Natasha felt a slight pang of guilt. "If you're going to talk about me, at least do it to my face."
Fury seemed to have the same reaction as Natasha, blinking in dazed recognition at the brunette looking at him with tired eyes.
"I want you in that appointment. No rescheduling," he ordered. Out of pure habit, Maria's spine straightened because first and foremost she was a soldier.
"Yes, sir," she mumbled quietly.
He turned around and walked out, slamming the door loud enough to make Maria flinch. Heavy silence made itself known over the two women as they stared after him.
"Maria, I'm sorry," Natasha started.
"I need a shower," was the reply, and the brunette turned for the stairs leaving Natasha alone to be angry at herself.