Kate reached for the doorknob thinking she was in the clear. Her walk of shame wasn't quite as shameful this time around but it was still nice not to be caught. Before she even had an opportunity to turn it, a smug voice called from behind her, "not so fast, Kate Bishop. I believe you just spent the night with my sister. I'm going to need you to sit down and tell me what your exact intentions are with my little Yelena."

So that's her name, Kate smiled to herself before dropping her hand and turning to see the redhead from the bar. "Hi. You must be Yelena's sister. Nice to meet you. I'm Kate Bishop."

"Fortunately and unfortunately for you, I know a lot about you. Maria is a talker and your name came up quite a few times. Mostly how frustrating and annoying you were."

Kate offered a self-deprecating laugh before crossing her arms over her chest and hanging her head, "frustrating and annoying. Two of my better qualities." She looked back up, "you forgot stubborn, sarcastic, clumsy, and loyal. I've been described as a golden retriever before which is funny considering that's the type of dog I have."

"You also ramble. Is that a byproduct of you being nervous?"

Kate shook her head, "no that's just my natural state of being." She ran her hand through her hair before pointing behind her, "well I really should be going. My dog is probably missing me."

"Not so fast," she pointed to a seat, "sit, would you like something to drink?"

"This isn't an option?" The look at Natasha's face was enough to tell her that it was definitely not open for discussion. She sighed and sat down, "no thank you. Yelena left me some water that I finished. So how much do you know about me?"

Natasha walked over and sat down on the stool across the island. "Maria talked but I never got much out of her where you were concerned. So, not all that much. Whatever went on between you and Maria is no longer my concern. My concern is what happens with you and my baby sister."

"We just met a few days ago."

"11 days. You were there on her first day at the hospital."

Kate tried to hide her smile, "she talked about me?"

"Well," Natasha smirked at the girl, "she talked about everything that happened that day. Her interns, the lawyer, her new Russian friend, the surgery she did and yes you."

The disappointment was evident on Kate's face, "that's cool."

"My sister is a very introverted person. She keeps to herself mostly and she appreciates stability. I've known her almost her whole life…"

"What does that mean?"

Natasha shrugged one shoulder, "that's a story for her to tell if she wants to. My point is, I've never seen her really into a girl before. I think she was with someone when she was overseas but we never talked about it. The fact that she brought you to her house is something rare. So I repeat, don't fuck with her. Because then you'll have to answer to me."

"I wasn't planning on hurting your sister," Kate felt cornered though she didn't feel uncomfortable but a sense of relief did come when the Chief walked into the room. "Morning Chief."

"Natalia, are you being nice to our guest?" Wanda came over and kissed her girlfriend on the cheek.

"I'm always nice," she smirked.

"Good morning, Miss Bishop. It's refreshing to see you outside of the hospital."

Natasha gave her a strange look, "is it really?"

"Hey," Kate seemed offended. "That was rude. I am very entertaining outside of the hospital."

"I'm sure you are. I saw that sexy little dance you were doing last night with Yelena," a swat came from her right side, "okay, ouch."

"That wasn't even hard and you know it. Yelena has already told us nothing happened last night. Give the girl a break," Wanda refreshed her own cup of coffee. "Her cheeks are bound to stay that shade of pink if you keep it up."

"Nothing happened," Kate held up her cast, "well this happened, and I drank your Hawaiian Punch but nothing you know…"

"You didn't fuck."

"Natalia," Wanda gave another warning.

"Sorry," she rolled her eyes. "So are you friends now?"

"I wouldn't say your sister is the easiest person to get to know. I know she likes forest stars." She missed the look shared between the girlfriends. "I also know she never watched stranger things before last night. I think she enjoyed it. She loved all of the 80s references. At she went off on a tangent about how no good music was produced after the 2000s."

"You got her to watch that?" Natasha sounded mildly impressed.

"She just seems kind of lonely, like she needs a friend. And you know… she's hella gorgeous."

"To her credit, she got that cast on you which from my experience is not an easy feat," Wanda seemed impressed with her roommate. "Seems the two of you might be good for each other."

"As friends," Natasha added.

"As friends," Kate's lips started to tick up into a smirk. "Though I won't lie… if she asked me to accompany her on a date I would stop everything and join her. No questions asked."

Natasha chuckled, "seems she's smitten with our little Yelena."

"It's only been 11 days as you said. We've hung out once, well twice if you count my ER visit. So I'm not getting my hopes up but she did give me her number strictly for medical professional reasons."

It was Wanda's turn to laugh, "let me see which number." Kate handed over her phone without hesitation. "Yeah. That's her personal cell phone, not her work number."

"So what I'm hearing is I might have a chance."

Natasha shrugged, "she's not an easy person to be friends with."

It was Kate's turn to shrug, "seems worth it to me."

Wanda only nodded and smiled at her girlfriend, "well Kate, I have to be making my way to the hospital and Natalia here has had enough interrogation time. Can I walk you out?"

"I'm sure I'll be seeing you around."

"Lovely to meet you, sister of Yelena," Kate averted her gaze as the two women shared an intimate goodbye.

"Have fun on your day off," Wanda kissed Natasha before heading back towards Kate.

"Be safe, babe," she called after them as the door was closing.

"I apologize for all of that."

The two of them waited for the elevator, "Yelena said her sister might interrogate me but I did think I had escaped when nobody was waiting for me. She snuck up on me."

"My Natalia is very protective of her little sister. She is also the least tactful and most straightforward person I've ever met so you'll have to excuse her for that."

"I can't blame her. I don't have any siblings but if I did I'd probably be the same way."

"Whatever instructions Yelena gave you with that air cast, do try to follow them, dear. I'd hate for you to end up back at my hospital," Wanda advised when they got to the ground floor.

Kate laughed, "I'm sure I'd end up back there with or without the cast."

"That may be true. I didn't hear all of Natalia's threat but be gentle with Yelena's heart. If she gets hurt, you will have two sisters after you."

"Noted. Later Chief," she waved as she headed off in the opposite direction of the hospital.

Yelena had been busy since she had gotten to the hospital. On call was no joke and she found that every little thing that was going on in the emergency room somehow ended up under her care. It was nearing 9pm and she had yet to sit down or eat anything. She snuck down to the cafeteria after advising her interns to be on their best behavior then quietly made her way to Jen's office. She knocked on the door surprised when there was an answer, "you are still here?"

"Busy day," Jen looked up from her computer. "Are those extra fries I see?"

"I was hoping you were here," she sat down across from the lawyer and slid her over the extra food. "It's only one of three on-call days and I'm ready for it to be over."

"I think it might just be extra long today because Maria isn't here. Once you feel more confident leading the ER, the nurses, techs and other doctors will fall in line. It took Maria awhile to figure it all out and look at her now. Runs a tight ship."

Yelena shrugged, hiding her distaste for the other doctor, "I suppose so. I think we can manage without Hill for a day or two." She knocked on the wood desk, "nothing has gone wrong yet."

"So," Jen took a bite of her fries, "how's it been the past week?"

"Nothing like the army."

"That seems obvious but how so?"

Yelena chuckled, "probably not how you think. In the army, we were a family. Here it is everybody for themselves. It is like waiting in line to get thrown under the bus."

"That's an interesting analogy," she tried to sneak a bit of Yelena's grilled cheese.

Yelena rolled her eyes and handed her half of the sandwich, "you pay next time."

"So…"

"I do not think I like that smile," Yelena felt like she was going to be backed into a corner.

"Talk around the hospital is that you were at the club last night."

"How would you possibly…" she rolled her eyes. "Cassie is dead."

"Nothing is private around here," Jen laughed. "All that I heard was you were at the club with your sister having a good time. Oh and that your sister is hot."

"Yes," the eye roll was so dramatic Jen knew there was more to it than that. "Natasha has always been the hot one. Me. I'm the mean one. The asshole. The bitchy one. The incessantly gay one. Take your pick."

"You aren't bitchy to me."

Yelena grunted, "I guess I like you. You'd know if I didn't."

"Not a theory I want to test out," she noticed that the blonde's phone kept going off. "Is that your work phone? Because as the hospital lawyer I'd have to advise you to answer that."

"No. It's my personal one. Seems I've picked up a fungus," she couldn't help the smile that grew on her face. "I'm sure you know who she is. Brunette, accident prone, previously associated with Hill."

"Really? You and Kate Bishop?" Jen's jaw dropped as she folded her arms over her chest, "and just how did that happen?"

"Do not count your bridges before the chickens hatch." She saw Jen giving her a strange look, "I'm

Russian. Your American phrases are stupid but you get it. There is no me and Kate Bishop."

"Then why is your phone blowing up?"

"She was one of the patients on my first day here. I cast her arm. Apparently that's a big deal or whatever. Last night, Natasha and I went out of the club which you already know and Kate happened to be there with Cassie. Neither of them know that I knew they were together. Cassie left and I went to talk to Kate for medical purposes."

"Medical purposes?" She did not sound convinced

"The girl had removed her own cast only 10 days after I put it on. She told me she has one of those little saws at home. Who has one of those? I bet her on a game of darts. I won, I recast her. She won, she got my phone number."

"So she beat you at darts. Gotta say I'm a little disappointed."

Yelena shook her head, "nyet. I won."

Jen smirked and pointed to her phone, "then what is that about?"

"So after the game, we danced and I apparently lost all rational brain functioning and took her back to my apartment. Do not make that face. Nothing happened. I set her up with an air cast and new instructions. Then we just had a couple of drinks and watched Netflix. I gave her my number for medical questions. I think she may not have understood that."

Yelena bit her bottom lip contemplating whether or not she should continue, "you can trust me. I don't gossip with everyone else in the hospital."

"Kate spent the night. I didn't realize we fell asleep until I woke up and she was spooning me."

"You definitely seem like the little spoon," she smiled.

"I will stab you if I have to. So I freaked out, left without waking her up and then I left her at the mercy of my sister and Wanda. I messaged her a warning but I haven't read any of her messages since I left."

"I guess if you are going to stab me this is a good place to do it."

"Oh," Yelena's floodgates were opened now that she felt comfortable sharing with Jen, "my sister said I was emotionally constipated. She's one to talk."

"A familial trait?"

"We aren't blood related," Yelena was about to elaborate when her other phone went off. "Gotta go. Thanks for the reprieve, Jen. Truly."

"Anytime."

It took Yelena less than three minutes to make it back to the emergency room where she was pointed in the direction of the right room. She saw Cassie, Peter and a few nurses already inside. Grabbing the chart, she began reading, "what do we have here? Peter you first."

"Male approximately mid thirties. Found unconscious in Central Park. Multiple lacerations and heavy bruising on his arms and legs. Jogger called an ambulance."

"Is there an ID?"

"No," Cassie added. "No wallet on the body."

Yelena walked over to the patient, he was resting on his back and stopped, "did the two of you just fail to mention the arrow coming out the front of his neck?"

"No Doctor," Peter was putting gel on the ultrasound machine to get a better idea of where the arrow had landed. "I just thought it would be obvious."

"Do not assume anything, Dr. Parker. Pushing the appropriate medication?"

"Yes, Doctor," Cassie handed over her paperwork. "I will prep, disinfect and stitch up the large wounds."

"Dr. Belova," Peter drew her attention back to the ultrasound machine. "Look. The arrow just barely missed his carotid artery but it seems to have landed in his larynx."

"Dr. Belova?"

"What is it?" She turned to one of the nurses who had been changing him into a hospital gown.

The nurse handed her a small slip of paper, "this was stuffed into his pocket."

Yelena opened the note and read, "next time you rape someone we won't be so generous." She turned to the nurse, "call the police. We need surveillance on this one. He will need surgery to have that removed. We need to get him in there now. If this arrow moves and punctures an artery, he is as good as dead."

Underneath her breath Cassie mumbled, "if he's a rapist then it's for the best."

"We are under Hippocratic Oath, Dr. Lang. If you are not going to be able to keep a professional nature then I'm going to have to remove you from this patient. Is there going to be an issue?"

"No," Cassie set her face even though Yelena could tell there was most definitely an issue. "I'll be professional."

"Nurse, what OR is open?" The nurse checked the board and replied. "Prep him for surgery. OR 3 in 30 minutes. Both of you will be scrubbing in. Page the other Dr. Lang," she ordered as she left the room, running into Sonya.

"Surgery? This late at night?"

"Arrow to the neck," Yelena handed her over the file. She slipped the note into an evidence page for the police when they arrived. "Are arrows a common weapon around here?"

"I've seen a few come through," Sonya shrugged, reading the note through the protective baggie. "There is a big archery scene around here."

Yelena's brain halted for a moment. There was most definitely not a connection between this arrow and her fungus. Her personal phone had been going off at regular intervals most of the night. She pushed the thought out of her mind, "so are you scrubbing in with us or am I baby sitting alone in the operating room?"

"Well I was supposed to go home," she checked her phone for the time. The screen flashed just after 10 pm. "But I think I have some time."

Yelena nodded, "30 minutes. OR 3. I'm going to go speak with the police. Meet us up there."

"Whatever you say, Boss," she fake saluted before heading into the room to yell at Peter and Cassie.

"Pain in my ass," Yelena rolled her eyes and met the police outside the emergency room door when she saw the flashing lights pull up. "Officers. I'm Dr. Belova," she shook hands with the officers before going over the facts of what they knew so far, handing over the note to the police. "I was told that arrows are a common weapon in the city which is a bit concerning."

The one officer looked over the note, "we've seen notes like this before, doctor. Unfortunately the information is classified and we can not speak about open investigations."

"Noted," she wasn't the biggest fan of American police. In the military, all of the information was shared among the medics, military police and other emergency services. Yet in civilian life, everyone kept everything to themselves. "I have a surgery to get to. The patient won't be available for questioning for a few hours at least."

"That is fine. We will collect his clothes and question the nurses. Get the EMS log and see if we can track down the ambulance that brought him in while we wait."

Yelena left the police at the nurses station before heading off to the locker room to grab a surgical cap. Thankfully the locker room was empty this time of night so she had a few moments to collect herself before heading to surgery. She laid on one of the benches in front of her locker, slipping her personal phone out of her pants pocket. She quickly scrolled through the messages on her Lock Screen. There were quite a few from her sister but the majority of them had been from Kate. She made notes of the times and there wasn't more than 45 minutes between the cluster of messages. "There's no way that was time enough for her to commit an assault." She put her phone away without reading the messages knowing that she would want to respond and she didn't have the time. Yelena tried to push the girl out of her head, putting her phone into her locker, and grabbing her scrub cap with the little puppies on it. She put it on and tied it around her fishtail braid to keep it in place. Without using her better judgment, she snapped a quick picture and sent it to Kate with the message, "32 messages that I haven't gotten to read. Off to surgery. Please stay out of trouble." She already heard her phone buzzing from inside of her locker as let the door close behind her.

Yelena saw Peter and Cassie in the prep room. They were scrubbing their hands getting ready to go in. They were talking and laughing, meaning they were probably talking about the patient in a way they shouldn't have been. She quietly walked into the room, holding the door open. "Just grab his dick and twist it," she heard Cassie say.

"Oh my god dude. This is an MMA fight dude," Peter responded.

"The old dick twist." When the door shut behind Yelena they turned to see their boss. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Look," Yelena started scrubbing, "I get it. That man is a piece of shit but we all took the oath. We have to try to save his life. Even if he doesn't deserve to be alive. Now can someone tell me what this dick twist is?"

When they walked through the doors in lieu of a hello, Scott shouted, "twist his dick."

"I hope the man is already unconscious," Yelena slipped into her operating gown. "Seriously, what is this meaning?"

"It's from a tiktok, Dr. Belova," Peter was the first one to settle his laughter. Scott and Cassie were having their own separate conversation regarding the video in question.

"You know what," Yelena conceded, "I do not want to know. Sonya, do you know?"

"Unfortunately I have seen this and I agree. This guy deserves the old dick twist but we have to get that arrow out of his larynx. Seems like our archery hero will give it to him if he strikes again."

"Sorry about that greeting," Scott tried to stifle his laughter. "Good evening doctor. The patient is under."

"Is everybody ready to get started? It's a mediocre night to save this poor pathetic use for a human's life..."

The surgery was as successful as it could've been given the obstacle of a fucking arrow. She waited in the patient's recovery room with the police waiting just outside the doors. Sometime during the surgery there had been anonymous texts with pictures sent to the police confirming the attempted rape with reassurance that the victim was okay. "Wait so you know there is a civilian out there attacking criminals and you are okay with this?" Yelena was also okay with it but she didn't want the cops to think she herself was involved. When the police officer responded, "we don't have enough manpower to cover every inch of the city. It's reassuring sometimes that this individual or group of individuals are looking out for the people." Yelena left well enough alone for the time being and resolved herself into waiting for her patient to wake up.

Yelena finally got around to answering her sister's text messages while she waited. She still didn't read anything Kate had sent her. She would only last so long though. When the man finally opened his eyes, it was nearing 7am the next morning, "good morning starshine," Yelena stood up from the chair. "Don't try to talk. It'll be impossible," she checked his vitals on the various machines. "I'm Dr. Belova. You had a tracheal-esophageal puncture and we had to perform a surgery to repair the wound that was left by an arrow in your neck." She saw his eyes widen, "I know what you are thinking. What? This is crazy. An arrow in my throat? There was no saving your larynx. Rest assured we tried our hardest. The damage from the arrow was too extensive. Unfortunately for you that means you'll be speaking from a box the rest of your life." She followed his eyes to just outside of the door, "also the police have been notified. I hope your new jewelry isn't too tight." She lifted up his cuffed hand. "My advice… next time you try to rape someone in the middle of the park maybe check your surroundings. Vigilantes are everywhere."

She made her way out of the room after what seemed like hours, listening as the police went in and read him his Miranda Rights. "What a fucking first day oncall," she grumbled as she pulled out her phone to finally start reading Kate's messages. There were a bunch of new unread messages from her including one from ten minutes prior asking her to meet her outside of the hospital if she wasn't busy. "She might still be there," she ran up to the locker room to get her cigarettes before heading outside of the hospital. She caught herself smiling when she saw the brunette sitting on a bench near the street with a golden retriever laying by her feet. "This puppy is exactly what I needed," she squatted near the dog and gave him an adequate amount of attention. She smiled up at the brunette, "how did you know that I needed to see this good boy right now?"

Kate smiled at the way the other woman was fawning over her rescue, "well Lucky was demanding a run to his favorite place. See he really has a thing for fire trucks. He absolutely loves them. I think he may think he's a Dalmatian but I won't ruin his fantasies. So, we went for an early morning run and ended up over there looking at the trucks when I was once again cornered by your sister. She said that you had been finishing up with a patient and may need Lucky therapy. I just thought if you were free, you might want to see us. And I brought you a coffee. Natasha said and I quote 'she's a serial killer and drinks it black' so here," she ended her ramble, handing Yelena a cup of coffee when she sat on the bench next to her.

Yelena took the coffee and let out a low appreciative moan when the hot beverage coated her tongue. She expertly lit up her cigarette, taking a long inhale as she swallowed that mouthful of coffee, "thank you." She exhaled away from Kate and the dog, "this is exactly what I needed. It been almost 24 hours since I've had a moment of rest."

Kate had to stop herself from drooling, "you smoke too? So you are officially the hottest woman to ever walk the face of the planet."

Yelena chuckled, "I do not know about that. Most people would think doctors who smoke are bad practice." She repeated the drink, inhale combo that she seemed to be a master of. "This is delicious. Thank you, Kate Bishop." Lucky had scooted over so he could rest his head on Yelena's leg. She absentmindedly started rubbing his face with her free hand, "I apologize for not texting you back. I will admit I was a little overwhelmed by all of your messages."

"I have been told I can be a little overbearing," she let out a little laugh. "I've gotten it out of my system I swear. Only normal medical texting from here on out."

"I see you are wearing your cast," Yelena smiled, "two days in a row. Big steps, Kate Bishop."

"Now," Kate felt more rambling coming. "I noticed you didn't say to stop texting you all together so unless you specifically tell me to stop or slow down them I'm afraid I won't be able to actually stop myself."

"Maybe when I'm at work you can limit the amount of messages you send," she nudged the brunette's foot with her own. "I liked hearing from you. There is just no feasible way for me to respond to everything. I've been very busy."

"I can do that," Kate tried to casually sip from her own coffee but ended up spilling a little on her sweatshirt. She heard Yelena chuckled at her little spillage and she felt her cheeks blush, "i'm usually a lot cooler than this."

"The coolest," Yelena wouldn't say the company was unwanted. It made her feel a little something that this girl went out of her way to bring her coffee. "Don't take this the wrong way but you don't seem like the get up at the crack of dawn to run with your pup kind of woman."

"Would you believe that I actually haven't gone to bed yet?"

Yelena looked at the girl, really looked at her. Beautiful blue eyes with a hint of darkness under the lids. She never would've known with the way her eyes were smiling since she sat next to her, "that seems more feasible. That's good to know during my late nights on call. Most nights are boring. Last night was an exception."

"I will gladly be your texting buddy during your lonely nights," Kate nodded as she took another drink successfully, not spilling on herself. "And Lucky is available for emotional support any time day or night."

"I may just take him up on that offer. On-call is a bitch. Three days on, one day off, a regular five day schedule, then finally, I'll have three days off."

"So 8 days. Because you already have one in the bag."

"Optimistic," Yelena laughed and put her cigarette out on the bottom of her shoe. "I like that. Well," she held up the coffee then leaned over to kiss Lucky on his forehead, "I should be getting back in there. I'm going to try to take a nap. I'd suggest you do the same."

"See you around, Dr. Belova," Kate smiled and watched as the woman started walking to the hospital before she thought better of herself and came back. "Needed one more hug from Lucky?"

"8 days… would you want to hang out again? Watch some tv? Or maybe see some sights? I haven't really been to any of the tourist spots yet."

"I would love to take you sightseeing, then we can watch tv with Lucky at my place if you want. I live above a pizza shop. Best pizza in New York," Kate held her breath and watched as Yelena contemplated it.

"It's a date," before she could dwell on her choice of words she spun on her heels and parroted her words back to her, "see you around, Kate Bishop."