Natasha was rushed into the emergency room where the team started to hook her up to machines, assessing her gunshot wounds. The red-head had already passed out from the pain and lost a lot of blood. Yelena was in the room with Sonya, Cassie and Peter as they were working to evaluate Natasha to see what exactly they needed to do in surgery, "move," Yelena ordered, "you are going too slow. She's losing too much blood."

"What is going on in here," the Chief appeared at the door, "people are complaining about the shouting. I was paged?"

"Wanda…" Yelena finally let her eyes leave her sister. She walked over to her almost sister in law covered in blood that wasn't her own, "they paged you. It's Natasha…" she stepped out of the way so Wanda could get a look. Yelena wasn't sure how the chief was going to respond but she noticed all of the color leaving her face when her eyes landed on the blood.

Wanda immediately jumped into action, "what happened?"

Cassie went through a brief run down of what happened from the time she came outside. Pointing to Sonya, "she just ran an ultrasound. Two bullets still inside. One in her abdomen and our best guess without going is in the other one hit near her kidney as she was turning. We need surgery and blood. Lots of blood. Does anyone know her blood type?"

"I'm a match. Take what you need," Yelena took off her stained white coat.

"Who did this?" Wanda was still digesting all of the information. "Did anyone call the police?" She looked up and saw the tears welling in Yelena's eyes, "Yelena, sweetheart, where is Kate?"

The hurt and anger clouding her usually bright features, "I have to worry about Nat right now. I can't exactly think clearly as I'm watching my biggest support system dying. Take my blood and we will cross the other bridge after she comes out without bullets."

Everyone in the room realized there was no arguing with her over this, "im scrubbing in."

"No offense Chief," Sonya spoke up, "but both you and Dr. Belova are not fit for surgery right now. If you don't feel confident with us performing the surgery I can page Dr. Hill."

"No!" Yelena stood up straighter, "Hill is not allowed to touch my sister." She turned to Wanda, pulling her aside, "do not let Hill operate on her. I do not trust her," she whispered, "we need to talk about her later."

"Natasha and I are both A-. I'll have a nurse start taking my blood."

Wanda turned to the others, "the three of you better save my girlfriend. I can also donate as O-. Natsha can take my blood. Cassie, get your dad in the OR."

Sonya turned towards the interns, "go find your dad," she ordered Cassie, "you go book OR2 immediately. This can't wait." Peter and Cassie left with their orders. "I'll have the nurses come prep her for surgery. This is not my first gunshot wound surgery. Natasha is in very good hands. If something goes wrong, I give both of you permission to kick my ass."

"We trust you, dear," Wanda was trying not to pace, "can I have a moment alone?"

"I'll go let the nurses know about the prep," Sonya started to leave but held back and turned towards Yelena, "you good? I'm here, you know. For anything you need. Do not hesitate."

"Thank you Sonya," Yelena turned with her friend to leave, giving Wanda space to talk to Natasha, "I will be okay. And I trust you in surgery. Besides me, you are the best surgeon here."

"Tragedy strikes and you are still a smart ass."

"Always," she chuckled.

"I thought Kate was coming for lunch today. What happened?"

"Has Cassie ever confided in you? Anything about her personal life?"

Sonya give her a strange look, "weird question but no. Look if you don't want to tell me what's going on that's fine but like I said. I'm down to help in any way that I can." She made sure Yelena was looking at her before winking and heading to the nurses station.

"She knows something," Yelena's gut was telling her that Sonya knew something about Cassie or maybe Hill but she didn't have time to think about that. She waited outside for a few minutes before heading back inside, "everything okay?"

Wanda had been crying, "no," she wiped her tears away. "Do you want some time alone with your sister?"

"Please," she tried not to sound desperate, "I just need a few moments then the nurses can start their prep." She slid into the seat that was next to the head of the hospital bed. She felt Wanda kiss the top of her head before the quiet sound of the door shutting came from the other side of the room. "Jesus Nat. What the hell happened? I have to say this is one of the worst Christmas presents you ever given me and yes I am counting that stupid mutant goldfish that lived for five years." She grabbed her sister's hand, kissing her knuckles gently before running her cheek over her kiss marks, "you can not leave me. You are a royal pain in my ass everyday but I need you, Natasha. You fought for me to be in your life… I expect the same from you now. I need you to get better because I need you to stop me from doing something I'll regret. You need to help me get Kate back. Those assholes got her and as much as I want to leave right now to find her, I can't leave you. So hurry up and get better so we can go kill them together." There was a quiet knock at the door, "come in." The nurses were here, "looks like it's time. I love you," she whispered and kissed Natasha on her cheek before heading into the hallway so the nurses could do their thing. Wanda immediately took Yelena into her arms and the blonde crumbled into the embrace, "American Christmas is shit."

"I know," she held her tighter. "Let us go get some vodka."

"We are both on call for another day."

Wanda shook her head, pulling back to look at Yelena, "I made arrangements. We are off the clock."

"I've already had too much time off."

Wanda gave her a little smile, "well it's a good thing that I'm the Chief of Surgery. Now let's go give our blood then head up to my office to wait."

"This is some good vodka," Yelena had finished her third glass, replacing her empty tumbler on Wanda's desk. One glass for every hour Natasha remained in surgery. Her boss wouldn't let her drink more than that. They took two bags of blood from both of the women and Wanda made Yelena eat something from the cafeteria before she allowed her any vodka. "One more. Double shot?"

"I don't know, sweetheart."

"I am not drunk," Yelena pushed her empty glass closer to the chief. "If that is what you are worried about, don't. I am Russian. We drink. It's what we do."

Against her better judgment, she poured Yelena the double she requested. "Drink it slow," she had almost got the sentence out of her mouth when Yelena threw it back in one gulp. "Or just shoot it back." She watched her slam the glass back down, "you good?"

"Not at all," Yelena sighed.

"Tell me again what happened and why we didn't immediately call the police?"

"You know why," Yelena was tired of talking it through though the vodka helped. "The van pulled up. I was too far away. Two men jumped out, grabbed Kate and fired three shots. Two into Natasha and the third was meant for me. Fucker missed. I know it was those guys who killed Carol. They had Kate before and I couldn't protect her just like I could save Emily."

"That is a very different situation. Kate wasn't looking for trouble today or for a few months now. Plus, I don't know her like you do but I feel like Kate is very capable of taking care of herself in this situation."

"We don't even know what the situation is, Wanda. I need to talk to Cassie." She saw the raised eyebrow, "she's well… I don't want to incriminate her but her interests align with Kate. Maybe she knows where they might have taken her." As she was talking the door opened, "ahh look who dragged the cat inside the room."

"How is the surgery going, Dr. Lang?" She swatted Yelena on her arm, regretting the last double shot she gave the younger woman.

"Surgery is done. Ms. Romanoff is in recovery before she's moved to room 1213. She will be moved in about 30 minutes or so, probably less. She's already been out of surgery for quite some time."

"The bullets, Lang. Get to the bullets."

"Yelena," Wanda swatted her again. "Sorry about her. Long day, very little sleep. Lots of emotions. Blood donation."

"And vodka?" Cassie pointed to the bottle that was still very visible on the desk. "All of the bullet fragments have been removed. The one that pierced her stomach only did so superficially. We were able to stitch that up no problem. The one that hit her kidney however did a significant amount of damage but the doctor was able to save the kidney. Full function won't be able to be determined until she wakes and we see the output."

"Good work to you and the team," Wanda was satisfied with what she heard, "let them know we will be down shortly and tell Sonya thank you." She looked over and saw Yelena quickly wipe a tear from her eye, "our girl is going to be fine."

"Is she though? She was assaulted in the middle of the street."

"Natalia is a strong one. I bet she will be more concerned about Kate when she comes to than she is about her own injuries."

Yelena nodded, "yeah she's going to want to fuck those guys up. I think she likes Kate even if she does bully her sometimes."

"She shows her love by sarcasm."

"I always thought she was best described as a charming asshole."

Wanda laughed, "that's my Natalia. Let's go wait in the room. I still need to call your parents."

"Please tell them she's okay so they don't insist that they need to come all the way out here."

She held the door open for Yelena to exit first, "you must think I'm some sort of magician if you think I can talk Alexei and Melina out of anything."

Yelena had left Wanda in the hallway near where Natasha's room was slated to be. When she rounded the corner, she saw something that she was immediately unhappy with, "oh fuck no."

"Yelena," Sonya tried to stop her but the blonde pushed past her.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here like this."

"I'm a doctor. Why wouldn't I be here?"

Maria was standing way to close to a still unconscious Natasha for Yelena's liking, "you have no business here, doctor. Please leave."

"I came in to do rounds on my patient and I saw her name on the board."

"It's Christmas Day. Why would you be doing rounds on your patients? Aren't you off today?"

Maria crossed her arms over her chest, "you are asking an awful lot of questions about things that are not your concern, Dr. Belova."

"How did you know Kate was going to be here today? Were you listening in on a private conversation?"

"What does any of this have to do with Kate?"

Yelena scoffed, "do not play dumb with me."

"You are drunk. It's a bad look for the hospital."

If Sonya hadn't had a hand on her forearm, she would've already punched the other woman, "get out," she was seething by that point when Wanda had finally walked into the room.

"Dr. Hill, what are you doing here? It's your day off. Shouldn't you be celebrating Christmas?"

Maria rolled her eyes, "like I told your pit bull here… I came to do rounds on my patients and I saw Natasha's name on the board. I just wanted to see if she was okay."

Sonya also sounded like she was getting pissed, "surgery on two gunshot wounds and a possibly malfunctioning kidney. Does that seem okay to you?"

"You told Kate at Carol's funeral that she would be next. Finally cashed in on your threat. Bold to do it in front of the hospital."

Maria turned, glaring at the blonde, "you have no idea what you're talking about. What I've been through. I suggest you go to the cafeteria and sober up."

Whatever better judgement she had flew out the window when she broke her hand free from Sonya, punching Maria in the nose, "fuck you, Hill." She turned, leaving Natasha's room without another word.

Blood was pouring out of her nose, "fuck," she walked over to the sink area, grabbing a few paper towels to try to stop the bleeding, "well that's fucking broken. Are you going to do something about this, chief?"

"Do something about what?" Wanda had to hold her smirk in. While she wasn't quite sure what Maria had to do with all of this, Yelena's reasoning was valid so she couldn't fault her for wanting to punch the other woman. "I didn't see anything."

"I guess I need to go speak with Jen."

Sonya was the one who laughed this time, "you mean Ms. Walters who spends all of her lunch breaks with Yelena? One of her best friends. Go on and see how that works out for you."

"Are you fucking serious right now? Listen, I know what I said to Kate and I realize how bad this looks but none of you know the whole story but you seriously can't let this go unpunished Chief. As her superior I am asking for you to do something here."

"As as your superior, I'm asking you to be a decent human being and if you know anything that can help us right now, please share it," Wanda had moved over next to her girlfriend. "In the interim, I think it's best for you to leave, go enjoy your day off."

Sonya smirked, "maybe stop by the ER and have Dr. Parker fix up your broken nose." She winked at the bloodied woman as she made her way out of the patient's room. "Sorry about that. I don't know how or why she was here but as soon as I saw Yelena coming down the hall I tried to stop her from coming in."

"It's okay, you couldn't have known."

"We all heard Hill at Carol's funeral. It's not crazy that Yelena would think she had something to do with this. We've all seen the way Hill acts when Kate comes into the ER. She definitely knows something."

"You've been spending a lot of time with Yelena. You sound just like her. I don't want to incriminate her until we have insurmountable proof that she's involved."

Sonya nodded, "we should talk to Cassie."

Wanda rolled her eyes, "so all of my doctors are in on this and nobody bothered to tell me?"

"I'm going to go find Yelena. Here's Natasha's chart. Everything post surgery is looking good right now."

Wanda took the chart, "thank you for all you did today."

Outside Yelena was sitting on a bench deep into her third cigarette. "I don't think doctors should be chain smoking like that."

"Oh fuck off," she rolled her eyes, taking a deep inhale and holding it in her lungs.

"Oh come now," Cassie sat down next to her boss. "I just helped save your sister's life. I know you don't hate me. You can stop pretending any time now."

"Want one?" She held out a half pack of smokes.

"I don't think I should," she reached for one anyway. "I usually only do this when I've had some drinks."

"I took care of that part for you," Yelena chuckled.

"How many did you have anyway?"

"Five? That's usually nothing for me. I'm slipping. Mother Russia would be so disappointed in me."

Cassie laughed, "lack of sleep and high emotions also lead to higher levels of intoxication. I wouldn't worry about it."

"Did you see Dr. Hill?"

The smile on Cassie's face bordered evil, "Peter pulled the short straw and had to fix up her nose. That punch was immaculate from what Sonya told me."

"She did something. I know it."

"Kate mentioned Maria a few times but nothing that would've made me think she was responsible for this."

Yelena turned to look at her for any sort of indication she was lying, "tell me what Kate told you."

"After her and Carol decided to start their own missions, Kate was in Central Park one night and saw a man lure a woman into a van. She obviously followed because they only went a few blocks. The intent was clear. When she got to the van she heard sounds of the man trying to force himself on the woman. She ripped the door open, shot the man in the calf with an arrow and pulled Maria out of the van."

"I see."

"Kate forced Maria to go to the hospital for a rape kit so she could press charges but I guess there was no evidence of sexual assault internally when she got to the hospital. The man never came into the hospital. Apparently he ripped the arrow out and drove away while Kate was attending to Hill. She said the van didn't have a license plate but the man sounded familiar if that makes sense."

"And she was sure this wasn't some sort of sting operation to lure Kate and Carol out of hiding?"

Cassie put out her cigarette after her last hit, "hmm never thought of it like that."

"Hill could've been planted knowing they could get eyes on Kate that way." She didn't want to think the worst but she knew that Maria was involved and she didn't trust her for a second. She was sure that Hill had something to do with the abduction today, she just didn't know how or why. What was in this for her? There were so many unanswered questions. She would get them whatever way was necessary. "Do you remember where that warehouse is located from that night with Carol?" She saw Cassie nod, "did Kate ever mention any other locations they had?"

"She mentioned a few. Yelena, these men are dangerous. Please tell me you aren't going in there Rambo style trying to save Kate on your own. She is a tough woman. She can last a while."

"I know what kind of woman Kate is," Yelena snipped back. "I won't let her suffer."

"Yelena…"

"No," she shook her head, "I will not let her think that nobody is coming for her. She's not alone in this." Her eyes narrowed when she saw Maria exiting the hospital, "I'll kill her. Nobody will miss her."

"Yelena," Cassie reached out to hold her back, "remember we are here for your sister then we will come up with a plan to get Kate back. You are not alone doing this. I promise you that."

"Yelena," this was the first time she called her by her name, "I think we need to talk."

"No shit."

"Look I'm not trying to be combative here but I want to tell you my side of everything before you condemn me into this horrible person you've decided that I am. Can we meet tonight?"

"No. I need to be with my sister," she wasn't in the mood for a get together but this might be the only way she could get something out of the woman. "Tomorrow, Kate's apartment. I'm sure you remember the way."

"9pm?" Yelena nodded, "I'll be there. Bring her," she pointed to Cassie, "we need a witness in case you decided to just come and shoot me."

Yelena looked over at Cassie who shrugged, "I'm off tomorrow."

"We will be there. I expect honesty or else I'll kill you."

Maria didn't say anything else, she just walked away.

"I better get back in there before the Chief fires me."

Yelena checked her phone, "I'll be right in. Thank you, Lang. For everything."

Intense pain was the first thing Kate felt when she finally attempted to open her eyes, "Merry fucking Christmas to me." Blinking her eyes, there were sharp pains and she couldn't see well even though there was some light in the room she was in. "At least they gave me a sleeping bag this time." She rolled over to give her eyes time to adjust to the light. "Oh," she finally was able to adjust her eyes and saw another figure in the room with her. The girl was in the corner of the room, huddled with her legs pressed to her chest. She was wearing an old earth tshirt and leggings that looked like they had dried blood on them. "Hi," she said, trying to get the girl's attention. "Are you awake?" She sat up and noticed the girl immediately flinched and hugged her knees tighter to her chest. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Kate."

A few moments passed without any sign the girl was going to speak until a soft voice said, "I thought you were dead. It's been at least a day since they dumped you in here with me."

"Fuck. I missed Christmas dinner at the hospital," she groaned while standing, getting a feel for the room.

"Christmas?"

"Yeah, yesterday was Christmas. How long you been in here?"

"I don't know," she rested her chin on her knees, "two birthdays I think."

Kate walked over slowly, "can I sit here?" She pointed to the ground next to the girl knowing she was fragile. The girl nodded, "what's your name?"

"Mac. I haven't had a roommate forever. I watched them kill my last roommate. I was hoping you weren't dead. It gets lonely here by myself."

"Can I tell you something, Mac?" She waited for approval, "this isn't my first time being taken by these assholes. I got out once and I'm sure as hell going to do it again. Want to help?"

"If I'm bad…" she started crying.

"Nothing bad will happen to you again, Mac. I promise you."

She shook her head, tears streaming down her face, "no. They came for me already today. I should be safe for a few days unless they come for you. They haven't had you yet."

Kate was almost afraid to ask, "had me?"

"Rape you."

She already knew what the young girl was getting at but for some sick reason, she needed to hear it. Maybe to fuel her anger that was already there but now she was even more determined to get them out. Mac didn't look more than 13 but again she was too afraid to know. Kate immediately started searching for herself. She was still wearing her coat from the walk to the hospital, "idiot didn't even search me," she pulled out a few small knives Yelena had given her for protection. "Thank you, babe."

"You have someone?"

"A very special someone whom I love very much."

"Have you told them?"

She shook her head, "no but as soon as I get out of here I plan to tell her immediately. Life is too short to hold anything in. You have people?"

Mac looked sad again, "ran away from my foster home. Look what a great idea that was."

"Where did they get you?"

"Central Park. I was sleeping I guess and the next thing I know… woke up here. These men come in once every couple of days and take me to a common area where they take turns either beating or raping me. Well the latter didn't happen until last year… they were kind of enough to wait until I started my period. What a joy it's been. We get fed through that slot twice a day. With you here, they have been giving me double but I ate yours because I was starving and I thought you were dead. I'm sorry. You can eat mine next time it comes through."

"Don't worry about it. You need it way more than I do," she didn't want to say it but the girl looked beyond malnourished. "Plus sharing is caring and I didn't bring you a Christmas gift." Kate relaxed only slightly when she finally saw the small smile Mac was wearing. She searched a few more pockets and noticed her wallet was gone. "So they took my wallet but not my knives. Idiots."

"Don't happen to have a cell phone on you do you?"

Kate's face lit up in a smile, "oh my god. The idiots wouldn't have left it." She patted her pockets and sure enough, her phone was in her breast pocket, "fuck," she tried to turn it on, "dead." She stood to remove her coat and rolled up her sleeve, "but my watch still has a little juice. 10%." She switched in on low power. "Should I send a message to Yelena? That's going to eat up a lot of my battery. All Yelena has to do is look on the find my phone app. I may have linked us to each other without telling her. She'll be thanking me if we make it out of here alive."

"Or…" Mac was looking at her like she was crazy as she continued on her rant about whether or not to use her short battery life to text her girlfriend. "You could call the police."

"You don't think we'd be the first to die as soon as they heard sirens?"

"Tell them it's a no siren situation."

"And you think the NYPD would actually care enough to listen to that request? I've also had my fair share of run-ins with them and I have my doubts."

Mac just looked at her, "are you kidding me? Call the police."

Kate shook her head, "I know you think that's the best plan but I'm telling you it's not. I've been here before. Last time I only got out by dumb luck. I've learned in my life that I don't need saving or rescuing. I take care of myself and I can get out of anything. You have to trust me, Mac. We are going to run out of here. This time…" she pulled out a lighter and an unopened pack of cigarettes she was going to delivery to her girlfriend, "we are burning this mother fucker to the ground."