The Devil's Keeper - Blackhill

Chapter 8 - By Any Other Name

[March 12th, 2007 – Helicarrier, location classified]

Maria stumbled out of the Quinjet, her legs a little shaky. She was sleep-deprived and emotionally exhausted from the events of the past few days, though she wasn't physically hurting, aside from a headache that had been dragging on since the incident the day before. Sharon started yelling in her direction the moment she saw her, but Maria pretty much ignored it as she headed straight for her quarters. But, not one to give in easily, Sharon followed her there and kept yelling as Maria headed for the bathroom and to the shower. She was relentless in listing everything that Maria had done wrong.

After letting her carry on for the better part of an hour since the moment Maria had landed – during which Sharon had barely paused to take a breath – Maria decided to finally stop her.

"I fucked up. But I'm alive."

"For now, yeah. But Fury might kill you. He almost killed me, that's for sure."

"Well, you did unleash the Black Widow on the off-chance it would save my life so..." Maria countered.

"It wasn't an off chance. I knew she would."

Maria got dressed as Sharon kept pacing the room. They kept the bathroom door opened so they would be able to hear each other, even while Maria showered and changed. Maria didn't mind and Sharon didn't peek. Even if one of them did, it never meant anything more than checking each other for injuries.

"I'll go and see her. Then, if Fury decides to throw me out without a parachute, at least I'll have said goodbye."

"You do that." Sharon told her. "Go see her. Because that woman Maria, when it comes to you, she's the furthest thing from a demon I've ever seen. She's as ready to protect you as you are to protect her."

"I know." The answer slipped from Maria's lips before she could stop herself. "Sometimes I think-" she admitted, "-that maybe it wasn't all fake. Maybe it wasn't all lies."

"This is a dangerous path to take, Maria."

"I know." she repeated. "I know it is."

- - -

The lab had been silent since Bobbi, Clint and Phil had left, and Fitz-Simmons had resumed other projects whilst awaiting new orders regarding the Black Widow. May visited her for a while, but wasn't overly talkative; neither of them were. They mostly stayed silent, but it was nice to have someone there, just in case she had something to say, even if she never actually did. Sharon hadn't shown her face since the jump, and Natalia thought Carter might have been in a whole lot of trouble for what she did.

"Was Agent Carter fired?"

"No." May told her. "She wasn't rewarded either, though."

That was the only verbal exchange they'd had in the entire day.

It was already well into the afternoon when the lab doors opened and Maria stepped in with Sharon beside her. Natalia got up and walked to the glass as Maria approached it from the other side. They looked at each other for a long moment, and as their eyes met, both of them felt an almost electric sensation. There was so much to say, but there were people around them. Besides, even if they were alone, they probably wouldn't have found the words.

"Thank you, for saving my life."

Maria knew Natasha could have gone anywhere else in time or space instead, and let her die, coming back with a gun and shooting each of those present at the time between the eyes. Instead, she was quick and precise, efficiently saving her life without using the jump to her personal advantage.