Chapter Text
Melina checks her list thoroughly for the seventh time today.
After several calls with Natasha reassuring her that she was more than capable of fostering the younger widows, she contacts one of Yelena’s associates who had been in charge of the half orphanage, half rehabilitation center that housed the girls at various stages of development and tells her that she was willing to take in a few that needed a bit of extra attention that they simply would not receive in the facility.
When asked about age preferences, she was informed that most of the babies they had in the Red Room nursery had been returned to their parents or closest family member, and she was more relieved than anything since she didn’t think she could ever be ready for something like an infant for an extended period of time just yet.
“We have a handful of toddlers here,” The associate—Kira—tells her helpfully. “Most, if not all of them, are emotionally detached because, you know, we did not really specialize in making sure they grow up happy.”
“I expected that much,” Melina hums. “I can handle the younger ones, we have room and facilities for them. Also older girls, whoever needs the help.”
“We are managing fine with the teenagers, the older girls. They are quick to adjust and get re-homed with great success,” Kira says. “The ones from six to ten, though, they are few and we get families wanting to adopt them, but after meeting them and showing them their profiles, they just…don’t come back.”
The first thing the center does when they receive a young widow who had received the antidote was to track the parents or the next of kin, and given their youth and current digital records, a good number of them manage to get returned to their families. The ones that were left behind in the facility were the ones who were either picked up from the streets, or whose connections have been destroyed or could not be traced, though it was unfortunately common to be able to track their parents down and have them deny ever having a daughter.
“Poor girls,” Melina murmurs, and Kira lets out a soft sigh on the other line. “I wish I can hold more than five, but—,”
“Two or three in your care is already so much help,” Kira tells her honestly. “I will make sure to call when I have girls coming your way. Thank you again for offering to foster—it would be so beneficial for them to learn how to live in a home setting too before they get adopted.”
“Of course,” Melina says softly before ending the call.
Over the next few weeks, Melina does what she knows how to do best. She goes back to her previous research from years ago on child care, calls Natasha for extra guidance on how to deal with emotionally detached children. She takes classes, observes mothers with their children at the park, visits online forums with other foster parents and reads their discussions on how they raise the children that come and go in their care.
By the time Kira calls her and tells her that she might have a few potential placements, she feels ready enough to take them in.
She tidies up the rooms upstairs, making sure that the corners were all covered in bumpers, the blankets were tucked neatly into the bed and a welcome stuffie leaning against the pillow. She dusts off the convertible crib that she got for her grandchildren and reassembles it into a toddler bed in the other room, and out of sentimentality, she pulls out a small blanket from the bottom drawer and arranges it to make it look like the stuffed bear on the bed was holding it in its paws.
She remembers wrapping the same blanket over little Yelena’s shoulders when she couldn’t sleep at night. She’s seen her granddaughters burrow under it after an afternoon of playing in the snow, has seen Natasha use it to swaddle James when his usual one was still being cleaned in the wash.
She wishes it brings the next child the same comfort and warmth it had provided her little ones as well.
Three days later, she opens the door and finds Kira on her front porch with three quiet girls hiding behind her.
“Miss Vostokoff—,”
“Melina,” Melina quickly corrects, greeting her with a small smile. “Hi Kira.”
“Thank you again. This is Sofia, Aiko, and Clara,” Kira says, pointing at each of the girls behind her, going from oldest to youngest. “They’re eight, seven, and three, respectively—they all speak English, though they’ll go back to Russian from time to time.”
“Hello,” Melina smiles warmly, going down to their level. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
“Sofia and Aiko have prospective families already, so they’ll be staying with you while we work on final interviews and draw up the paperwork,” Kira says, watching as Melina stands up to her full height and she leans forward so the girls wouldn’t be able to hear. “Those two got the antidote, so be a bit more gentle with them. But they won’t be here for long, I promise.”
“They can stay here for as long as they need,” Melina reassures. “And Clara?”
“Contacted the parents, didn’t pick her up when they were supposed to,” Kira gives her a tight lipped smile. “She hasn’t spoken a single word since she came in with her batch a month ago, so we’re hoping a change in environment would help.”
Melina breathes out a sad sigh.
“Girls, this is Miss Melina. You will be staying with her until we can find new homes for you,” Kira says, stepping behind the girls and gently pushing them forward. “Be good, alright?”
Kira gives Melina a final smile before walking away, leaving her by the door with three little girls unsure of what to expect.
Melina squats down to their level again, trying her best to sound warm and inviting. “Would you like to go up and see your rooms?”
She’s met with three indifferent stares, hesitant and guarded.
She swallows thickly and tries again.
“We can decide who can share with each other, but if you all would like your own rooms, that can be arranged as well,” Melina offers in the same calm tone. “I just want you three to be comfortable while you are staying with us.”
“Thank you,” Sofia, the eldest of the bunch, murmurs quietly and Melina catches the still thick accent in her voice. She not-so-gracefully nudges the girl beside her who lets out a squeak of surprise.
“T-thank you, Miss,” Aiko bumbles, her voice just as soft. Clara shifts in her spot, her eyes downcast and little fingers playing with the hem of her sweater. “You are Widow too?”
“I used to be,” Melina tells them with a tight smile. “Though if we are talking about specifics, I used to go by Iron Maiden—,”
The two girls gasp at the revelation, and Melina frowns at how they grasp at each other’s hands tightly.
“I am not at ruthless as your lessons make me out to be,” Melina reassures, smiling a bit to ease their worries. She remembers the power that surged through her veins when she first discovered that she can control free will with a few taps on her tablet, but she reminds herself everyday that she is not that person anymore. “I promise. Now, it is a bit cold out here and it is much warmer inside. Shall we?”
She lets the three of them through the door and leads them towards the stairs, staying behind so she can watch the youngest one and catch her in case of a misstep.
“Over here,” Melina says, bringing them towards the first door on the left. The room had two single beds on opposite sides of the wall, and they easily spot the white and gray sock monkeys propped up against the pillows.
“Would you two like to share this room?” Melina asks when she sees the two older girls look around with restrained wonder. “Go ahead, those little friends are yours now.”
Sofia and Aiko hesitantly move towards the beds and grab the sock monkeys, and when they turn around to face each other, they share a small smile as they hug the toys close to their chests.
“I’ll come back here in a while, you two can settle down and unpack,” Melina says, referring to the identical knapsacks they had on their backs. She bends down to take Clara’s hand, and the little girl flinches slightly at the surprise contact but doesn’t pull away. “I’ll just show Clara where she will be staying.”
They move slowly towards the next door, right across the master’s bedroom. Melina leads her to the toddler bed and kneels down beside it to meet her eyes, reaching for the stuffed bear and waves its little paw at her. “Look, Clara. It’s a bear. Misha. This is for you.”
Clara seemed hesitant to grab it for herself, but when Melina moves it closer to her, she grabs it tentatively, feeling its fur before holding it against her chest, burying her nose into its soft head. Introduce more textures, look into sensory play.
“I’m glad you like it,” Melina smiles softly. “You will be staying here, but if you need anything, my room is just a few steps away.”
Clara doesn’t move to acknowledge her, but as soon as Melina reaches for her backpack, she shrugs away before she could get a hold of it.
“I just want you to be comfortable,” Melina says despite feeling slightly startled herself. “May I?”
Clara keeps her eyes trained on her bear, not responding directly but loosens her grip to allow the straps of her backpack to slip from her arms. Melina looks into it as finds the standard pajamas that they receive at the center, a pair of socks, two undergarments, and a dress that looked a bit too large with the tag still attached.
Melina frowns, and she wonders if the two girls in the other room had this little belongings to their name as well.
She checks to make sure that Clara was occupied with her bear before bringing her phone out and calling Alexei who was at the store gathering extra supplies and food as an excuse to get him out of the house, wanting to make sure that the girls aren’t intimidated by him when they arrived.
“Alexei,” Melina starts, and Alexei knows her too well, knows what she’s about to say just by how she says his name.
“What do you need me to get?”
Alexei thinks he hears her smile on the other line.
“Clothes. They need more clothes and socks and underwear,” Melina lists down. “Maybe room shoes, we can get regular shoes next time—three girls, Alexei. Eight, seven, and three.”
“Three?”
“Yes, three. She is so tiny,” Melina murmurs, looking over at Clara who was sitting on the side of the toddler bed, bouncing the teddy bear on her lap and playing quietly. “Looks like little Rosie when we first saw her.”
“Very tiny indeed,” Alexei huffs out a laugh. “I bought lots of food. We fix that immediately.”
“Not just treats?” Melina raises an eyebrow.
“Lots of treats, but also everything on your list. I know how to follow instructions,” Alexei grins. “What color clothes? I will tell them ages for size?”
“Yes, ages for size,” Melina confirms. She remembers the sterile looking night gowns they make them wear back at the Red Room. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts. “Pajamas, sweaters, pants. Shirts and dresses with sleeves. All with color, no whites.”
“Got it,” Alexei softens his tone. “How are the girls?”
“Quiet, as expected,” Melina murmurs. “I wish they will feel comfortable with us soon.”
“Our grandchildren did. Little Sarah hated me at the start—,”
“Because you were giving her scary eyes—,”
“But in the afternoon we got very close, she thinks Deda is funniest man in the world,” Alexei carries on. “Relax, Melina. You are doing a good thing for them.”
Melina looks up and sees Clara standing in front of her, bear securely in her arms.
She quickly bids Alexei goodbye before ending the call, holding her hand out and she’s secretly pleased when the little girl slowly slips her hand into hers after a few moments of hesitation.
“Are you hungry, Clara?” Melina asks gently, and she watches the youngest of the bunch circle her little hand over two of her fingers. “Come on, let’s look for something to eat.”
Clara perks up slightly at the mention of food, and they make their way out of the room towards the next one. Melina knocks first before turning the knob, and she finds them seated across each other on their beds, staring out as if waiting for further instruction.
This…this simply will not do.
“How about we go over a few rules,” Melina starts, sitting down next to Aiko on the bed and allows Clara to clamber up on her other side. “While you are under this roof, you are free to speak as you please as long as you are respectful. You can roam and play anywhere in the house except for my room, and you may eat anything at anytime as long as you don’t spoil your appetite for meals.”
“What about punishments?” Sofia asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Do you plan on being naughty?” Melina raises an eyebrow, and the two girls vigorously shake their heads. “Then it is not something you should be worrying about.”
“But…what if we accidentally do something wrong?”
“Then we will talk about it and learn from our mistakes,” Melina tells her honestly. “I do not hit to punish, nor do I withhold food or basic necessities. It is…it is unfortunate, what they have taught us, but it is not the correct way to teach and discipline children. Is that understood?”
Sofia and Aiko nod their heads.
“When you need anything or have trouble with something, or even just have a question, you can come to me or Alexei and we will do our best to help you.”
“Who is Alexei, Miss?” Aiko asks softly from her side, and Melina wraps an arm around her shoulder, letting go immediately when the girl tenses up under her palm. Too soon for physical contact. Try again in a few days.
“Alexei is my partner,” Melina settles on that. “He will be here soon with more clothes and food for us later on. He is rather large and might look a little scary at first, but he is harmless. He is just like big grizzly bear but with no claws or teeth.”
The girls let out a few soft giggles at that, and it eases something within Melina.
“No cuffs?” Sofia asks after a few moments, and Melina tries not to snap her head up to fast in fear of startling her.
“Not at all,” Melina reassures. “Did they use them at the center?”
Sofia shakes her head. “But some girls do because they said they can’t sleep without them anymore.”
“Do…do you still need them, Sofia?”
“I don’t want them,” Sofia murmurs. “But I can’t sleep through whole night without cuffs.”
“We’ll see what we can do later, alright? Thank you for telling me,” Melina says before looking down at Aiko and Clara. “What about you?”
“No, thank you,” Aiko murmurs. Melina turns her head slightly and finds Clara focused on drawing little circles on the head of her teddy bear. “We can…what we can play later?”
“Why, anything you would like,” Melina tells her. Find way to make game with English grammar. “I have a few games stored here for when my grandchildren visit. I can teach you how to play while we have a quick snack.”
They make their way downstairs, Melina actively trying to her best not to liken the three girls behind her as little ducklings as they follow behind her in an orderly line, and when they reach the living room, she sets them down on the couch first and pulls out a container of legos, setting it on the coffee table in front of them before heading towards the kitchen.
She grabs and slices a variety of fruit, placing them on a large plate for everyone to share and when she reaches the living room again, she’s met the three expectant faces, already kneeling in front of the coffee table.
“This is lego,” Melina tells them. “You can build so many things with these little bricks.”
“Will you tell us what to make?”
Melina tries not the let the heartbreak show on her face. This is harder than she thought.
“You can make anything you can imagine,” Melina tries to sound encouraging, but when the girls don’t even attempt to open the container, she immediately changes tactics. “Would you like for all of us to build a house? I can work on the exterior. Sofia, would you like to work on the living room or the kitchen?”
“Kitchen?” Sofia says after a bit of thought, searching her eyes to know if she had answered correctly.
“Wonderful. Aiko, the living room, and Clara—,” Melina looks down and muffles her laughter, seeing the littlest one double fisting apple slices, the juice dripping down her arm as she munches. “She seems to be busy with her snacks.”
Melina catches the girls glance longingly at the plate, and without a second thought, she gently pushes it forward. “Go ahead. We all share.”
When Melina grabs a grape, they take it as a go signal and gingerly grabs their choice of fruit, munching quietly. Aiko goes ahead to grab another one, making sure that Melina was looking her way, quietly seeking for approval.
“Get as much as you want, darling. If it runs out, I’ll put out some more,” Melina says, and Aiko rewards her with a small gasp and a shy but genuine smile before grabbing three pieces of grapes and a few blueberries in her hands.
With the legos set aside for now, they enjoy steadily finishing the plate of fruit until Alexei eventually arrives home. The girls are stunned in their spots at the sight of him standing by the door, and Melina tries her best to ease their minds by walking up towards him and showing a bit of affection, kissing his cheek before whispering near the shell of his ear. “Don’t get too excited. Gentle.”
Alexei lets out a grunt of affirmation and he wraps his free arm around her waist to pull her close, pressing a kiss to her hairline. “Clothes are in back of car. You will get?”
“Bring them in, you offer to them,” Melina murmurs back, and Alexei nods, setting the grocery bags in the kitchen before going back outside. When he returns, he places the shopping bags just a few feet away from where the girls were, the coffee table acting as a barrier in between them.
“I am Alexei, the love of Melina’s life,” Alexei starts, earning an eye roll from Melina, and Aiko bites back a grin. “She told me to get you more things—I hope these fit you. I know they are stylish because these are the clothes they dress the mannequins in.”
“Go ahead,” Melina encourages, and that was all it takes for the girls to shyly walk around the coffee table to look into the different bags, their smiles getting wider with every colorful sweater or shirt they pull out, and when Sofia pulls out two identical sleep dresses in different colors, she hands the pink one to Aiko and keeps the yellow one for herself.
“There should be a small one too,” Alexei says, grabbing one of the bags and rummaging around until he finds the blue one in a significantly smaller size. “Here, malysh.”
“Clara, that’s for you,” Melina kneels behind the youngest one, urging her to take it from Alexei’s hands, and without any warning, the little girl turns around and hides her face into her chest, fisting the front of her shirt. “Oh! Oh, it’s alright, darling.”
“Thank you, sir,” Sofia murmurs softly, meeting his eyes for a brief moment. “We like these ones.”
“Ah, no—this is all for you. Choose what fits and keep, you need more than just sleep dress, yes?” Alexei raises his eyebrows, and he’s met with two timid nods. “Go. It is October, get warm things too. Anything you need.”
Melina pockets something from one of the bags before telling them that she was going to get started on dinner, and that they can keep browsing for clothes they’d like to keep while they wait. (She debated on whether or not to turn on the television, but she thinks it might be too soon to start introducing watching for entertainment’s sake.) She tries to tug Clara away from her but when she doesn’t budge, she carefully collects her in her arms as she stands, settling her on her hip.
“You want to help me make dinner?” Melina asks softly, swaying towards the kitchen in hopes that it helps relax the stiff girl in her arms. She looks through the pantry, tutting when she can’t seem to decide on anything she finds there. She ends up looking through the grocery bags and triumphantly pulls out a familiar looking box. “Here we go. We could all make do with something simple tonight.”
Melina begins to singlehandedly pull out everything she needed to prepare the dish, even allowing Clara to pour the contents of the box into the pot.
“Have you ever had mac and cheese before?” Melina asks softly, and Clara shakes her head, briefly bringing her thumb up to her lips but abruptly yanks it away. Melina pretends not to notice. “It is very good, easy to make too. It is bright yellow because of the artificial coloring, I will show you later.”
Clara stay silent in her hold, but she relaxes further as the minutes go by, even getting comfortable enough to lightly rest her head against Melina’s shoulder.
“My daughter used to ask for it everyday when she was little,” Melina reveals as she stirs the pot. “Not much has changed since then, apart from being able to make it herself.”
Melina reluctantly tells the three year old that she needed to put her down so can properly mix the cheese powder into the pasta, but thinks she feels her heart grow a size larger when she stays by her side, clutching her pant leg as she carries on preparing their meal.
Alexei comes in a few minutes later, and Clara stays quiet but quickly hides herself behind Melina’s legs as she puts some chopped vegetables in the steamer. Alexei moves around to put the food from the bags into the fridge and the pantry, and he peeks over Melina’s shoulder right after, grinning at the sight of the mac and cheese in the pot.
“Just like old times,” Alexei chuckles. “We have three now.”
“They are not staying here for long, only until they get placed,” Melina reminds him.
“I was talking about our girls,” Alexei murmurs, then gives the little one behind her a sideways glance. “The newest addition is the one attached to your leg. Just like Yelena when she was small.”
Melina looks down at Clara, and she looks back up at her with wide eyes. She puts a hand on the back of her head and the child seems to preen at the contact, pressing against her palm.
“This is temporary,” Melina reiterates, soft enough so Clara doesn’t hear. “Set the table?”
Alexei shelves the conversation at her deflection, but presses a quick kiss to her temple before doing as she asked.
“Girls, dinner!” Alexei calls out when Melina begins to walk into the dining area with two large serving plates of food, placing it in the middle of the table and sitting in her usual spot and allows Clara to take the one next to her.
She sees Sofia and Aiko scramble up from their spots on the living room floor to get to the dining room as fast as they can without running, and they tentatively take their seats at Melina’s affirmative nod.
“Eat,” Melina urges, serving Clara first before spooning food onto her own plate. “As much as you’d like.”
The conversation revolved mostly between Alexei and Melina, the girls too focused on inhaling their food as fast as possible. Once the plates were all cleared, Alexei stands and busies himself in the kitchen, coming out a few minutes later with generous slices of apple pie, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
He sets a plate in between him and Melina, and one each in front of the girls.
“I thought it would be nice treat, to celebrate,” Alexei’s voice was low, almost unsure. “And to welcome you here with us.”
Melina reaches over to take his hand, squeezing it in gratitude.
“Go, go,” Alexei smiles. “Before ice cream melts.”
The girls pick up their forks after giving him small smiles of acknowledgement, diving into their desserts with enthusiasm. Melina turns her head to look at Clara, finding the girl kneeling on the chair and giving the ice cream on top a tentative lick. Her eyes widen comically at the taste before unceremoniously pressing her face into the dessert, letting out a happy hum of contentment.
The girls stare at Clara, waiting to see what would happen at the blatant display of misconduct, but Melina and Alexei only laugh, the former leaning over with a napkin to wipe her face with as soon as she comes back up.
Melina leads the girls upstairs after dinner, asking the two older girls if they need help with washing up. They shake their heads no but teaches them how the shower head works anyway before bringing Clara towards the bathroom in the master’s bedroom, filling the tub halfway through.
When Melina manages to strip Clara down to nothing and begins to lift her up over the tub, the girl brings her legs up to avoid touching the water, letting out a strained whimper.
“It is a comfortable temperature,” Melina reassures, setting her back on her feet beside her. She splashes at the water gently to prove her point, but it does very little to sway her. “Please? It is good to be clean.”
Melina resorts to splashing a bit of water on Clara to engage her in a game of some sorts but she flinches violently at the surprise contact. When she sees the little girl on the verge of tears, she stops her efforts at once and lets out a small sigh.
“Alright, alright,” Melina murmurs, grabbing a face towel from under the sink and runs it through the bath water, wringing out the excess and cleans her own forearm to demonstrate. “How about like this?”
Clara still looks a bit apprehensive, but eventually allows Melina to wash her body with the towel. She makes quick work of wiping her clean before wrapping her in a larger one and walking with her back towards her room to change her into her new blue sleep dress.
She forgets to remind her to brush her teeth, but she thinks she can let it pass for tonight.
When Melina tucks Clara into the toddler bed, the small blanket over the duvet and bear securely under her arm, her heart grips when she sees her raise her left hand up to the corner of the bedpost, looking up at her expectantly.
“No, baby,” Melina whispers, taking her hand instead and kissing the inside of her wrist. “No more of that.”
Clara looks at her for a short moment before folding her arms back under the covers, hugging the bear impossibly closer and fluttering her eyes shut.
Melina watches over her for a few moments before turning the lights off and making her way to the older girls’ bedroom, knocking first before opening the door.
“Just wanted to check in,” Melina says, watching them get comfortable in their new room. She walks forward and tucks Aiko in, brushing her hair away from her forehead right after. “You alright?”
Aiko gives her a small smile and a nod. “Thank you, miss.”
“Call me Melina,” Melina murmurs. “Good night, Aiko. Rest well.”
She goes over to Sofia’s side, her blanket tucked up under her arms and she holds her wrist out to her. Melina takes her hand and squeezes it gently, pulling a silk scrunchie from her pocket and slips it over her wrist.
“I don’t want you being reliant on the cuffs to sleep,” Melina says softly. “But this should help with the transition.”
Sofia gives her an incredulous look.
“While you are with us, I promise that you won’t be hurt anymore,” Melina tells her earnestly, squeezing her small, warm hand in hers, and she gives her a smile when she feels her squeeze back. “Good night.”
Sofia murmurs it back to her before closing her eyes. Melina stands up to turn off the lamp on the desk until she hears a quiet voice cut through the darkness.
“C-can you keep it on, please?” Sofia asks, and without another word, Melina switches it back on. “Thank you.”
“Of course.”
Melina closes the door as quietly as she can before making her way downstairs, finding Alexei waiting for her on the couch with two glasses of red wine on the table.
“There is new episode of Nailed It,” Alexei tells her, and Melina snorts out a laugh as she settles beside him. “Are they asleep?”
“Mmm,” Melina hums affirmatively, taking a small sip from her glass. “Monitors are all active, too. Can see them on my tablet in case they wake up—,”
“Or sharpen their secret knife collection,” Alexei shrugs, and Melina smacks his chest, giving him an exasperated look. “What? Natasha did exact same thing.”
“They don’t have secret items, barely have any items at all,” Melina shakes her head. “They are all so scared of doing something wrong, like they are waiting to be hit if they breathe the wrong way.”
“That was your reality,” Alexei tells her, his tone uncharacteristically soft. “Now they are free, and you are helping them unlearn all bad things. Always so brilliant.”
Melina tries to fight the smile from appearing on her lips, but the blush gives her away.
“Brilliant and wonderful and so very smart. Smartest person I know,” Alexei leans and nuzzles his nose into her hair. “We take page from Natasha’s notebook and let children lead, or whatever she said. Then we go from there.”
Melina chuckles, taking another sip from her glass.
“We go from there.”