emmylou | natasha romanoff

eleven.

2012
Springfield, Ohio

Natasha hadn't seen Kennedy in days, nearly two weeks to be exact because she had a decision to make.

She knew what she wanted, and she knew that it was Kennedy. However, she couldn't silence the voice in her head that told her that she wasn't worthy. That she should take these moments and go. That by staying with Kennedy, she'd hurt her more in the long run.

So she stayed away. She gave Kennedy space, and she gave herself time to think. It wasn't easy, it truly wasn't easy because she'd become too dependent on Kennedy and now her nights were restless, and she was even more miserable than she had been before.

Kennedy's rehearsal dinner was tonight, and Natasha was only aware of that fact because it was the topic of conversation in the city. She'd gone to the supermarket to buy a couple of things and random people on an aisle were discussing the event as though it were a royal wedding. Perhaps in their eyes it was because Kennedy and Fitzgerald were their royalty.

There was a knock on her front door and Natasha was hesitant to open it, knowing that whoever it was, it wasn't going to be Kennedy.

She looked through the peephole and was surprised when she saw Meredith Allen standing there. She unlocked the door and quickly swung it open, concerned.

"Meredith?" Natasha asks, "Is everything okay?"

"No, it isn't," Meredith tells her, "May I come in?"

"Of course," Natasha says as she steps to the side, allowing the woman inside. Meredith smiles thankfully at her as she enters the house, taking a look around.

"It's very empty in here," Meredith observes, "You need some art on the wall or maybe pictures."

The older woman turns to look at her, "Unless you're leaving soon."

"I don't know," Natasha replies.

Meredith looks over at the couch and points to it, "May I?"

"Of course," she responds, and Meredith smiles gratefully at her as she sits down, "Can I get you anything?"

"All I need is a listening ear," Meredith says, and Natasha nods her head, wondering what it is that Kennedy's mother is going to tell her. Did she know it was her? If she did, Natasha wouldn't be too surprised.

"Did Kennedy tell you what I was diagnosed with?" Meredith questions.

Natasha shakes her head, "She just said you were sick."

"Breast cancer," Meredith says, "Thought I'd beat it, but it's got a little fight in it."

"How long do you have?" Natasha asks and Meredith shrugs.

"It's a toss-up. Best case scenario, five years," she responds with a small smile, "It seems so long, but it's not. I only get five more years to watch my little girls grow up and I find that extremely unfair because my daughters are trying to speed things up because they want me to be there."

"Reagan," Meredith says shaking her head, "She's only fifteen and she's trying to take classes at the local community college so that when she graduates high school, she only has to do one year of college, and I'll get to see her graduate."

"Kennedy. Kennedy is marrying a man that she does not want to because she wants me to be there. Because she wants me to walk her down the aisle and give her away," Meredith shares, "But you already know that."

"I do," Natasha answers.

"I know that it's you, Natasha. I don't know who you were trying to fool but for three years you practically lived under my roof, and I know your mannerisms," Meredith says and even though Natasha had a feeling that she knew, it still surprised her.