Yelena stopped her bike right outside the front of the hospital, cutting the engine, waiting for Kate to let go of her and walk through the doors. One good thing about driving a motorcycle is there was no awkward conversation that had to happen between Kate's apartment and here. Unfortunately, the ride was over and words needed to be said. Yelena was feeling so many things she didn't quite know where to begin or what to say so she simply held her hand out and waited for her spare helmet. She could see the gears turning in Kate's brain searching for something, anything to say to put a bandage over the way their time together had ended but it was clear she was coming up short this time. No lie was going to fix this one. "You should," she nodded towards the door trying to put the girl out of her misery. If Kate tried any hard to come up with an excuse or something to say she was bound to hurt herself.

"Yelena," Kate grabbed onto her wrist, "this isn't how I wanted this night to go. I didn't know she had me as her contact. Even still, I want you to know that she's just a friend and will only ever be that. I know that doesn't make up for earlier."

"Yeah," she packed the spare helmet into the cargo hold under the seat. "I get it. You are needed inside. Don't worry about it. We can talk some other time."

"No," Kate shook her head, "you don't get it. I really really wanted to be with you tonight. Like that."

"So it's just about the sex then?"

"Of course not," Kate backed herself into another wall, "I'm just a complete fuck up today. Look, yes I want to sleep with you. A lot. I can't lie about that. You are the sexiest person I've ever met in my life and I'd do anything you asked me to, no questions. That's not all I care about. I care about you. Getting to know you. Getting to know us as a couple. And yes, I want to experience it all. Call me selfish but I want you."

Yelena didn't quite know how to respond to that. Everything Kate had just said, she felt the same way. On the other hand, she knew that the brunette wasn't being forthcoming with her and it was killing her. "I just want your honesty, Kate Bishop."

"I know and we definitely need to talk…"

She was cut off mid sentence when Maria joined them outside. "Dr Belova, good you are here. We need your assistance."

Yelena looked between Maria and Kate and noticed they didn't even look at each other, "with what? I am not on call today."

"Is it about Carol? Is she okay?"

Maria finally turned to look at Kate, "the Chief is waiting for you in her office. The fact that you were listed as Ms. Danver's emergency contact is very telling."

"You don't always have to be such an asshole, Maria."

"It's Dr. Hill and you aren't in any position to be dictating behaviors to me," she turned back to her coworker. "Go inside Bishop."

Kate turned to look at Yelena who just shook her head with eyes begging her not to get her into trouble with her superior. "Fine," she gave Yelena a parting look that said we need to talk before turning and heading into the hospital.

"I thought I told you I didn't want any drama in my ER, Belova."

"I just gave her a ride here after she was notified of her friend. Whatever is going on has nothing to do with me," she felt it was the truth because she honestly didn't know what was going on. "What do you need my help with?"

"Carol Danvers was brought in with multiple gunshot wounds including one which went into her neck. I hear you have experience with this particular injury on the field. She needs surgery now as soon as Bishop gives the all clear but it's not looking good."

"Chances of survival?"

"GSW to the lung, left shoulder, stomach and neck," Maria grimaced, "less than 40%. She lost a lot of blood."

"Who brought her in?"

"Anonymous call to the EMS. The person didn't stick around for emergency services to arrive. Asshole."

"Multiple gunshot wounds and they didn't wait around? Did dispatch have any info on the caller?"

Maria shook her head, "young. Female. That's it. Carol was found near an abandoned warehouse. You'll have to speak with the police for more details though I'm not sure why you care so much."

Yelena looked at her, "I care because this woman could die. We are doctors Hill. Show a little compassion."

"As far as I'm concerned, she's just another body."

What happened between the three of them? If Maria didn't care whether or not Carol survived then why was she even involved in the surgery in the first place, "maybe this surgery isn't a good idea for you." Maria glared at the younger doctor, "I mean clearly there is some sort of history here and you do not seem invested in her survival so maybe it's better for the patient if I do this with the Chief."

"Are you trying to kick me out of my own OR to show me up in front of Chief Maximoff?"

"No," Yelena wasn't backing down, "I'm kicking you out for the betterment of this patient."

Maria scoffed, "whatever. If you only knew, Belova…" she walked away from the conversation without another word.

"Whatever," she made her way inside the hospital not prepared for surgery but when she was needed she understood her sense of responsibility. She found Sonya, "where's Danvers?"

"They called you in on this?"

Yelena shrugged, "apparently this hospital can't run with me having a day off."

"Oh someone is pissed. Were you in the middle of sex or something?" She noticed the unamused look on her friend's face, "oh you were totally called in the middle of sex. That fucking sucks."

"I wasn't called. Kate was called. I just happened to be there," she was not amused. "Do not act stupid. I know you know Kate is her emergency contact. And no," she cut Sonya off, "I do not know any of the answers to your line of questions. I am as in the dark as you are."

"I guess fucking the subject doesn't get you the inside information."

"Not that it's any of your business but we haven't had sex yet," Yelena saw her intern coming down the hallway.

"Here you go, Dr. Belova. This is the file for Danvers. The Chief said to give it to you since you and Dr. Hill are going into surgery."

"Thanks Peter," she grabbed the chart and started flipping through the notes. "Fuck," it didn't look good.

"Where is Hill?"

"Oh she's not participating. I kicked her out of my OR." She turned to Sonya, "want to scrub in?"

"Are you kidding? Always," she took the file and began reading it. "We might need the Chief."

"I was thinking the same thing. Peter, can you go see if Chief Maixmoff is done with Miss Bishop? We need her assistance."

"Anything I can do, Doctor."

Yelena stopped him, "you can scrub in too. This is going to be an all hands on deck situation."

Peter's smile grew wide, "thank you, ma'am."

"Ma'am," she rolled her eyes, "get out of here before I change my mind."

"Yes ma'am," he shook his head, "Dr. Belova."

"So…" Yelena grabbed the file and started walking towards the room Carol was being held in with Sonya. "Do you know anything about what's going on between Kate and some of these doctors?"

"I can not stress to you how much I wish I did but whatever went down started before my internship. Never met any of these mother fuckers before last year," she thought for a minute. "I bet you Jen would know. Especially if there were any legal complications."

"I could talk to Jen…"

"Or," Sonya stopped them just outside of the patient's door, "you could ask your girlfriend for an explanation. It's your right to know. It's not like you aren't involved in this now." She shrugged, "seems to me if she cares about you then a simple explanation shouldn't be a big deal."

"I know. I know. You are right."

Sonya smirked, "a favorite sentence of mine."

Yelena saw Wanda coming down the hallway towards them, "Kate wants to go ahead with the surgery even though the chances of survival are minimal. Where's Hill?"

"Sonya is scrubbing in and I assume you as well," Yelena scratched behind her ear. This was a habit she had picked up as a small child whenever she was anxious, "Hill didn't seem to care if the patient lives or dies so I sort of kicked her out of the OR. I'm sorry chief but I think Danvers needs only good positive vibes in that OR and whatever happened between Hill and Kate seems to involve the patient and she wasn't happy."

"You made the right call, Yelena. Of course I will scrub in. This will be an all hands on deck. I explained everything to Kate already and she's in there until we take Ms. Danvers to prep her. Twenty minutes, tops. OR 4," she turned and walked back down the hall.

"I'll meet you up there," Sonya gave her a look, nodding towards the door before heading after the Chief.

"Fuck," she flipped through the chart one last time. This was not going to be an easy surgery and if Carol survived, her life would be very different. She looked in the window and saw her girlfriend sitting next to the bed, holding Carol's hand. She pushed the tingle of jealousy away and prepared herself to be professional before knocking on the door and going in. "Hey…We will be taking her in about 15 minutes. Are you okay?"

Kate looked up at her girlfriend. It was clear that she had been crying, "Wanda said it didn't look good. The one in her neck… the blood loss."

Yelena was on the move when the tears started flowing again. It didn't matter who this woman was to Kate, she didn't want her girlfriend to be in this amount of emotional pain. "We will do everything we can," she pulled Kate up and wrapped her in a bear hug. "Your friend has three very capable doctors that will be working on her."

Kate pulled back slightly, "Maria?"

Yelena shook her head, "she is not one of them. I will not lie to you or drown the situation in honey. It is not looking good for Ms. Danvers. I feel like it's important to know this ahead of time. Wanda said she told you the specifics." Kate nodded. "We will try our hardest to save her."

"I know…" Kate was still crying. "Carol, Maria and I have a very long and complicated history. There's not enough time to get into it right now. I want to tell you. I swear I do."

"It is not the time." She kissed Kate on the forehead, "I should go get ready for surgery. Peter will be in to grab her in a few minutes. He will probably be the one to come out with updates as we progress. If you need someone to sit with, Natasha will come."

"I'll be okay," Kate reassured her. "Thank you."

"Do not thank me yet, Kate Bishop," she kissed her again on her cheek before exiting the patient's room.

Yelena quickly went up into the locker room to change into her scrubs. She truly didn't know how this surgery was meant to work for Carol. She had seen many terrible and irreparable gunshot wounds in the field. She didn't get a good look at her patient in the room but based on what she read in the chart, it didn't look good. No matter her history with Kate, this was her patient now and she had to do whatever necessary to save this woman's life. "You've got this, Belova." She stood in the mirror after getting into her scrubs. She quickly fixed her hair into a low braid and put her golden retriever scrub cap on.

When she got to the OR, she saw Sonya, Wanda and Peter all scrubbing in, "treat it like you are out in the field. You've done this before."

Sonya pushed the sliding door with her elbow, "are you actually joining us or just going to stand outside and talk to yourself."

"Oh fuck all the way off," she pushed past her making sure not to touch her hands, starting to cleanse her own hands and arms. Sonya laughed and headed into the OR. "So what's our game plan?"

Wanda didn't have an answer, "I've successfully completed more surgeries than I can count but bullets to the neck isn't my specialty, Yelena. I was hoping your field experience could lead us through this one."

"Not sure when I became the bullets to the neck woman," Yelena shook her hands dry in the basin before walking to the doors and slipping into her surgical gown, "but okay." She walked over to the patient and completed a visual examination of the wounds that were prepped and ready to be cared for. "We are going to need a lot of blood," she looked to Peter knowing he would be the one to retrieve the blood bags.

"Bags of O neg are already on reserve," he assured her.

"Perfect," she decided she would take the neck wound, Sonya could work on her stomach and Wanda could work on her lung and shoulder. "Well I'm not saying this patient is more important than our other patients but I'm also not not saying it. Let's try not to kill her."

Yelena couldn't see it but knew Sonya was smirking behind her mask, "inspirational speech, Belova."

Kate had been sitting and pacing, pacing and sitting in that empty room for over three hours at this point. Peter had come out once to talk about the surgery and to update her on the blood transfusions. It was going to be a few more hours at least. Kate still wasn't sure what had even transpired until she got a text from Cassie asking her to meet her outside of the hospital. She spotted her immediately sitting on the bench she claimed as hers and Yelena's. The girl had been crying, "what the hell happened?"

"Don't be mad."

"Don't be mad? Carol is dying. From what Wanda said, there was an anonymous phone call made to 911 and the caller didn't even wait around until they arrived. I'm assuming you were the caller."

"I don't know what happened. We were following this guy to an abandoned warehouse. Carol said it was usually a hot bed of trafficking activity. She wasn't wrong. Recon only. We were going to go back with you. Apparently someone must have seen us and followed us when we decided to leave. Before I knew what was happening, Carol jumped in front of me all of a sudden and then i registered the sound of the silencer. I guess he thought he got both of us because I went down under Carol and he left. And just for the record, I didn't leave her. I called 911 and I waited by her side, trying to do something until I heard the sirens then I waited down the alley because I couldn't risk it being an EMT I knew from work."

"Why did you even go there? She knows how dangerous that place is. We've been watching them for a while."

"It was stupid and I tried to talk her out of it but she came to pick me up and she was agitated. I haven't known her for long but she seemed off, angry and distant at the same time. I offered for us to stay at my place and box but she didn't want to hear it," Cassie looked like she had been through an emotional whirlwind.

"This is all my fault," Kate started pacing. "We had a big fight before she left to come find you. I told her I wasn't coming out tonight and she started blaming Yelena. She left my place very angry. If I had known…"

"This isn't on you."

"We've been after the trafficking ring for years. I should've known that's exactly where she would've gone tonight. But then Yelena came over and we were having a really nice time," she had so much guilt running through her veins. She didn't know how to start her apology tour or who to apologize to first.

"Have you said anything to her yet?"

Kate shook her head, "no but I'm going to have to now." She turned and took a good look at the distraught girl, "you didn't get hurt, did you?"

"Nope," she rolled her eyes, "not a scratch. Though if Carol hadn't jumped, I'd probably be dead. Is she going to be okay?"

"Last time Peter came to update me, he said it was going as expected, whatever that means."

"It means it's a hard surgery and they have little hope. I want to stick around but why would I be here for this? It makes no sense in this universe for me to be here on my day off."

Kate was thankful that Cassie showed up. At least it made her anger less, "Yelena told me to call Natasha if I needed company. I could just say you texted me and I asked you to come sit with me."

"That wouldn't make Yelena suspicious?"

"Maybe but she knows we are friendly-ish," she smiled, "it's believable if I tell her I messaged you to be able to translate the doctor lingo and you showed up."

"I don't know, Kate," it was clear she was worried about what her boss would think. "I think I'm just going to head home. Promise me you'll let me know what happens? I work tomorrow so I'll be able to check in on Carol then."

"I'll text you if I find anything out." She watched Cassie give the hospital one last look before taking off down the road in towards the direction of the subway.

Kate stopped at a vending machine on her way back to Carol's room to get a coke and some chips. Her mind automatically went back to her living room. The feeling of Yelena on top of her was possibly the greatest moment of her life and now she is here, alone in a hospital room, hoping one of her oldest friends doesn't die. The night had gone from her best to worst in a second. There was a knock at the door and she had been waiting for Peter to enter when Yelena and Wanda came through the door. Her stomach immediately dropped, "it's never good on Grey's Anatomy when they don't send the intern with the results. Is Carol? Did she?" She couldn't finish either of those sentences.

Yelena stood off to the side of the room and watched as Wanda wheeled the chair in front of Kate. She watched as the chief recounted everything that happened in the OR to the dangerously low levels of blood and the tear through her carotid artery, the reinflation of her lung and the tear in her intestines. All Kate heard was that presently, Carol is still alive but she's in a medically induced coma and there's no guarantee that she will wake up. If she does wake up, the wound to her neck could've caused significant brain damage and she may lose sight in her left eye. There will most likely be nerve damage to her left shoulder from the through and through gunshot wound there. Carol will need a second surgery to fix that when she can be awake for it. That wound is cleaned and packed. Sonya was able to repair the damage to Carol's intestines without having to take too much out so that was considered successful. "I know this is a lot of information," Wanda's words snapped Kate out of her stupor. "If Carol survives the next 72 hours, it's going to be a long road to recovery for her. I am sorry I do not have a more pleasant outcome."

"I'm an eternal optimist, chief," Kate finally look at her girlfriend who still hadn't said anything. "Can I see her?"

"Ms. Danvers will be in recover for a few hours until she is transported to ICU. She'll need to be under extreme watch and evaluation. They have different rules surrounding visiting hours up there."

Wanda patted the girl's hand, "the icu nurses are kind of cunty. Don't tell them I said that. If they give you any trouble, you are free to drop my name. I wouldn't expect you'll be able to see your friend until tomorrow," she checked her watch and it was nearing three in the morning. "You should probably head home," she turned to look at Yelena, "both of you. I'll stay with Carol until Peter's relief comes in. I believe Sonya is oncall so she will let me know if anything needs mine or your attention."

"I'm just supposed to go home and sleep while my friend is actively dying?"

"Nobody is dying on my watch, sweetheart," Wanda had faith in herself and her surgeons.

Kate nodded, "thank you, chief. I guess I'll be back in the morning."

Wanda passed by Yelena on the way to the door and whispered, "talk to her."

Yelena rolled her eyes but gave the older woman a small nod, waiting for her to leave. Kate was gathering up her stuff and she said, "give me fifteen minutes to shower and change and I'll give you a ride home."

"I don't want to be any more of a burden than I already have been tonight. I can get an Uber."

"It's 3 in the morning Kate. I will not let you Uber home at this hour. I promise it is not an issue. I will take you home," she saw Kate's unsure face. "And if you leave without me, I will not be happy."

Kate didn't want to do anything to make her girlfriend any more upset than she currently was, "I'll just wait here then."

Less than 20 minutes later, Yelena found herself back on her bike with Kate holding on as she zipped through the streets back to Kate's loft. She slowed to a stop outside of the pizza shop. Yelena had no intentions of parking and going into Kate's house and she immediately felt disappointment when the brunette slid off the bike. "It's late and I'm tired from the surgery. It was intense." It wasn't technically an excuse though it defined sounded like one.

Kate pulled the helmet off, "please just stay the night. I really don't want to be alone. I'm scared, tired and I know I fucked up but I need you."

Those three words did Yelena in. She would never allow herself to be absent when someone she cared about needed her, "let me park. Of course I'll stay."

Kate hoped back on with full intention of not letting Yelena leave her sights. The blonde sighed, slowly pulling her bike into Kate's parking spot. She cut the engine and hoped off, taking off her helmet but keeping it as they walked across the street to the apartment. They walked in silence, the heaviness of the evening settling over the pair like a weighted blanket. When they walked through the door, Lucky sensed the unease. He greeted the two of them but quickly went back to his spot on the couch, continuing with his slumber. "He must be sleepy, too," Kate mumbled, walking over to grab a couple of waters out of the fridge. She passed one to Yelena after she hung her helmet on one of the hooks by the door.

"Thank you," she grabbed the water but making no moves to drink it.

"Do you need some pajamas?"

Yelena shook her head, "I accidentally left my bag here when we went to the hospital. I brought some with me."

"Cool," Kate was unsure what to do with her hands. She had never felt so uncomfortable in her life. "I'll go upstairs and get changed. Meet me up there?"

"Sure," Yelena nodded, placing her bottle of water on the counter and heading towards the downstairs bathroom where she had left her bag.

"Trade lives with me?" She begged her dog who just huffed and went back to bed. "Thanks a lot," she pouted before walking up the stairs to her room. She changed into a pair of flannel pants and a tank top before sitting on the edge of her bed. Yelena said she was tired so she probably wasn't in the mood for a long drawn out conversation but she felt like she needed to say something, anything to fix things between them.

Yelena walked into the room wearing baseball shorts and an army sweatshirt. Kate thought she looked adorable but she could see the hurt in her eyes. She also looked exhausted. Any prepared speech she had went flying out the window when Yelena sighed, "I do not have the energy to have a conversation tonight."

Kate obviously understood, "can I talk then? You don't have to respond or anything like that. I just owe you an explanation or something and I won't be able to sleep until I give you something. Seriously, you don't have to participate. Just hold me and I'll talk."

Another request Yelena was incapable of denying, "sure Kate Bishop. Let me get in." She pulled down the covers on the side of the bed that she claimed as her own and settled down, opening her side up for her girlfriend. "Come on," she patted her chest once she got into a comfortable position.

Kate didn't waste another second sliding into her settling down half draped over the smaller woman. When Yelena wrapped her arms protectively around her, she sighed and felt safe. She just hoped Yelena wouldn't run when she began to talk. She felt a kiss on the top of her head and then heard a whisper, "I think this is where you start talking, little hawk."

"Right. I'm getting there. Honestly, I wish I had a drink. I don't quite know where to start."

"Some says it's best to begin at the beginning," she felt Kate tense, "I'm not hear to judge you. Whatever you want to share is fine or I can just hold you and we can sleep and do this in the morning."

"No," Kate snuggled in further, "I want to share. I've never actually told anyone. Well some people know obviously but this isn't a relivable event. You know? I'm rambling. I'm nervous."

Yelena chuckled, "it's okay. Really. I promise you nothing can be as bad as what I'm making up in my head."

"I'm not so sure about that," Kate took a deep breath in. "So you know my mom went to prison but you don't know the whole story why. My father was killed when I was young . I remember it quite vividly. A big man in a suit came in and shot him. Mom was horrified that something would happen to me so she hid me in a closet. Needless to say, I wasn't happy. I was a very capable 11 year old and could take care of myself or so I thought."

Yelena squeezed her a little tighter and it made Kate's heart feel safe, "continue, little hawk."

"I obviously thought it was my responsibility to avenge my father's death even though I knew none of the circumstances surrounding it. My mother acted like everything was fine. She worked a lot. I found my larping friends. They come into the story later. So I was at home one night while mom was at work and I was just taken from my room. Bag over my head, bound and transported. I didn't know why was going on."

"How old were you then?"

"16 I think? I was in highschool. There's a lot of fuzziness surrounding the event. All I knew was I was being kidnapped and sent somewhere. I had my phone but they didn't know that. Turns out I wasn't alone. There was another girl being held at the same time…" when her voice trailed off Yelena knew who it was. "Carol had been there for three months. She looked awful. I knew I had to do something for the both of us. Carol was waiting for them to kill her at that point. She wanted to die. They raped her a lot and beat her. They never touched me like that though and I couldn't figure out why. About five days in I finally had enough of seeing them torture Carol so I waited until the middle of the night and I texted my mom. Stupid I know. I should've called 911 but I was scared and panicked."

"She got you out?"

"Sort of," Yelena couldn't see the smirk lining Kate's face. "She was coming to get me but I wasn't going to leave without Carol. I also found it strange that she knew where to find me but I assumed she just tracked my location. Took her five days to notice I was gone but whatever. Anyway…"

Yelena's grip had just been constantly getting tighter and tighter.

"It was down to a pattern when they would come for Carol and it was always only one guy. Well I decided fuck this guy. Finally, I was able to put my black belt to use. I waited behind the door, kicked the knife out of his hand and then sliced his Achilles. I didn't feel bad. He deserved it. And I would've done worse given the opportunity Carol helped me gag him so we wouldn't be caught. Then when they came to get me, I was holding onto Carol's hand, refusing to leave without her. I could see mom. I said you let us both walk out of here or we both die and you'll have a lot of explaining to do to the press. That's when I showed them my phone and that I was recording the whole thing."

"You are very smart. So strong, Kate Bishop. I can see why you and Carol have a connection," if there was any jealousy left over the fact that they've been together, nothing was heard in Yelena's voice.

"Mom was so mad at me for so long. She took my phone and refused to give it back. I watched her break it. I was pissed. Mom started working more and I barely saw her for the rest of highschool. Honestly, it was nice. Thankfully I had gotten to visit Carol in the hospital. She's three years older than me but we just bonded. I think people call it trauma bonding but we became best friends. I got a burner phone when my mom wasn't monitoring me so we could text. We just went on with our lives like normal teenagers. For the most part."

"Is this the part of the story where you explain why you always end up at the ER and why Hill hates you so much?"

Kate chuckled, "we are getting there but I think I want to end there," she propped herself up so she could look at Yelena. "If that's okay… it's been a very long night."

"I am so tired," her sentence was backed up with a yawn. "But I can not believe that you are going to leave me on a cliffhanger."

Kate settled back into Yelena after reaching over to shut the lights off. She placed a kiss over Yelena's heart, "I just want to enjoy this while I can."

"I told you," she kissed Kate's head, "I'm not going anywhere, little hawk."