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Several SHIELD agents were in the main briefing room when Maria walked in, all gathered around the large screen to watch news coverage of the latest Avengers mission. From what she could tell, the mission was all but over. The camera panned over the landscape, showing cheering civilians, the team weary, but all smiles, and the wreckage of robots they had taken down.
Abruptly, it zoomed in on the waterline. Natasha was being pulled out of the Hudson.
Something in Natasha’s expression was off. She was good at hiding things and projecting strength and bravery all the time, but Maria knew her better than that. There was a flash of fear in her eyes and if Natasha was genuinely afraid of something, she needed help.
She sent a quick text to Coulson to notify him she would head to the scene for the post-battle debrief and she headed off before she got an answer. She doubted he would deny her request anyway.
When she arrived on scene, there was a flurry of activity still. The paramedics were treating injured civilians and helping people into an ambulance if needed. Clint and Bruce were talking to city maintenance workers about property damage, Tony was arguing with the SHIELD medical team who were attempting to look at a nasty gash on his forearm, and Steve was helping the local police force hold back a group of onlookers who wanted a closer look at the giant mechanical squids laying in pieces on the riverbank.
Natasha was sitting on a large rock, some distance away from all the commotion.
Maria knew better than to sneak up on her girlfriend, especially after a battle, when all her reflexes were heightened with adrenaline. So she walked up slowly and deliberately, making sure her footsteps were louder than usual. “Hey, Nat.”
“Hey,” Natasha said. She didn’t move from her spot.
She was still dripping wet from the water rescue and shaking with cold. It was unconscionable that no one had so much as offered her a blanket. Maria shucked off her own jacket and draped it over Natasha’s shoulders.
Natasha immediately grabbed onto the jacket, wrapping it tightly around herself like it could be taken back at any moment.
Maria raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Just cold.”
“You sure? It’s okay to say ‘I’m not okay’, if you’re not.”
“I almost drowned,” Natasha hissed. “That stupid thing held me underwater and I couldn’t get free. No matter what I did, I was trapped. I thought I was going to die. My life flashed before my eyes. Is that what you want to hear?”
“If it’s the truth. I don’t want you suffering in silence. I want to be able to help.”
Natasha snorted. “You can’t help with this.” She rubbed a hand over her chest. “I still feel like I’m drowning, like there’s an enormous weight on my chest, holding me down.” She shuddered. “I know it’s all in my head, but I still feel that cold, dark water all around me.”
“I don’t think it is. I’ll have the medics check you out.” She walked over to the group and snapped her fingers. “Hey, if Stark wants to be a baby about medical attention, just leave him be.”
“A baby?” Tony said indignantly. “I’m actually being very brave and tough right now and telling these idiots that tis but a flesh wound and I don’t need them to haul me off in an ambulance for such nonsense.”
“Good,” Maria said. “Stark’s fine. Go tend to Agent Romanov. She’s showing signs of dry drowning.”
“Oh, shit, really?” Tony said. “When she stalked off, I thought she was mad at me because I couldn’t shoot the damn tentacles before it pulled her under. She said she was fine.”
Maria shook her head. That was so typical of Natasha. She kept everyone at arm’s length, afraid to show any signs of weakness. But Maria wasn’t going to let Natasha push her away so easily.