It had been a simple mistake to him, but a calculated error in the eyes of the assassin. His foot had hit a rock and slipped for just a fraction of a second; not even long enough for him to fall but long enough for his opponent to strike head with such a force that as his body fell back down to the Earth, a shattering crack rang out across the deserted landscape. As he lay there broken, his attacker slipped away into the night, a smile on his face, convinced that his job was finished.
"Oh Clint..."
A voice broke amongst the sound of machines as Natasha reached out to rest her hand on his cheek. She had just been debriefed by Agent Fury on what had happened during his mission and the strain of the news could be seen in her eyes. The medical team on orders from Dr. Banner had put Clint into a medically induced coma until they could assess the full extent of his injuries. The man had done his job well. There was extensive bruising around his neck and spine. Had he been hit harder, one or the other would have snapped. Two ribs had been broken and Bruce had expressed concern of bone fragments embedding themselves into his lungs.
Natasha hated seeing him like this; attached to all these tubes and needles he hardly looked like the man she had married a year before, when he was whole and strong. She had planned for this however. They were both agents and it was bound to happen at some point of time. Yet she hadn't expected him to be unconscious for it she reasoned. That was why it hurt so much. He would be fine in the end; wouldn't he?
As her mind rushed through thoughts of Clint, Dr. Banner entered the room quietly and walked over to Natasha and cleared his throat to catch her attention. "He's in rough shape Natasha. It's nothing that we can't fix, but he'll be here awhile. I can't say how long right now until we start all the surgeries."
She looked at her friend, the doctor, and paused for a moment before responding. "When will you begin?"
"As soon as we can; within the hour most likely. We need to stop any internal bleeding that he has." Bruce began to describe the processes that were going to occur but she was lost. She didn't understand any of the medical jargon any more than she understood what caused Clint to love her so much or what held them to the Earth. She had returned to her thoughts of him when a piece of Bruce's conversation brought her back to reality.
"Before we begin, we'll bring him out of the coma for a few minutes. You may speak to him for moment if you like. But keep it in mind that I'm not sure how coherent he'll be. We have to keep pretty drugged up so that he doesn't feel the pain."
Natasha nodded as Dr. Banner began the process to return Clint to her. He finally finished and he left Natasha holding the hand of her still sleeping husband, waiting for him to open his eyes. After what seemed like an eternity he began to stir ever so slightly and opened his eyes. She held her breath and paused to see if he was truly awake. He squinted as the light hit his eyes and he realized where he was.
"Nat?" He whispered.
"Yes?"
"I love you, you know."
"Goddamn it Clint. I love you too." Tears began to fall down her face for the first time as a nurse entered the room to prepare him for surgery. "Don't die on me here okay? I'll never forgive you if you do!" She attempted to laugh but fear in her voice was evident. Clint smiled and squeezed her hand with all the strength he could muster as he said, "You are worth living for."