Why Doctor Poole Gave Agent Barton an Extra Check-Up

Chapter 2

Clint inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to maintain a calm expression as the doctor turned away to dispose of the needle he had just used to inject the painkillers. He really wanted to blame the woozy feeling seeping through him on the large tear in his chest but he was finding it harder and harder to do that. Closing his eyes briefly he inhaled deeply and looked toward the doorway, expecting to find Natasha looking at him with a knowing/smug/amused expression. The archer blinked in surprise as he found her missing. Looking around the room he realised that she was completely gone. When had she snuck away?

"So… would I be right in guessing a laser was involved?" the doctor reappeared in front of Clint, leaning over and giving the wound another inspection. Clint nodded mutely as he turned his attention back to the medic.

"Eh, yeah…" he managed to reply. Doctor Poole nodded, stepping back slightly.

"Well the good news is that the heat kind of sealed the edges and means you won't have lost that much blood. Bad news…" the doctor gently placed his fingers either side of the gash and carefully pushed the two sides together. If Clint gave a small shudder he would blame it on… surprise. "It's going to be stretched a bit tight," Doctor Poole took a step back again. "I will try my best to make sure it doesn't scar."

Clint scoffed quietly, shrugging a shoulder.

"Not like I haven't got a few of those already," he commented, glancing over at the doctor. The other man's lips curled into a smile as his eyes roamed back down to the wound.

"Even so…" he replied before giving a small shake of the head and turning back to collect his supplies. Clint blinked rapidly but quickly gave a shake of his own head. "So…" Doctor Poole exhaled as he turned back towards Clint with a more neutral expression than that he had worn before. "Am I allowed to ask what happened?"

The archer rolled his eyes

"Stark tried to pull a manoeuvre he thought we'd already tried but it was actually Cap he tried it with," despite himself Clint's lips curled into a smirk. "Cap had his shield."

"Ah…" the doctor nodded, his own lips curling up slightly. "Must be interesting running around with those guys."

Clint scoffed although his smirk pulled into a more genuine smile.

"Interesting is one word for it," he agreed although his smile faded slightly as he looked down at the needle in the doctors hands. Despite himself a tired sigh escaped his lips. "So… how long am I gonna be out for this time?"

Doctor Poole paused in preparing the needle and tilted his head, offering the agent in front of him nothing short of a pout.

"Oh come on! You've only known me ten minutes… don't turn me into the bad guy yet," the doctor let out a sigh of his own as he looked again at Clint's chest, the archer in turn bowing his head sheepishly. "Look the honest answer is that I don't know. I can pretty much guarantee no exercise at all for at least a week. And you're going to have to avoid stretching your chest for at least a couple," he paused to let that particular point settle in. No stretching of the chest, which meant no stretching of his arms, which meant no bow… "I'm sorry – I know you're just back in the field," Cayden glanced up as Clint sighed heavily and the doctor had to suppress a sigh of his own. He really was the bad guy now. "I know it's hard but…" he paused again as Clint scoffed. Finishing the stitch he was working on the doctor leant back slightly, waiting until the archer looked at him, albeit still scowling. With a faint smirk Cayden pulled the hem away from his shoulder, showing a small scar that Clint instantly recognised as a bullet wound. "I earned myself an extra two months signed off going back into the gym too early after this," he replaced his neckline and raised the hemline at his waist, showing this time what appeared to be the faint scar of a stab wound. "An extra six months for this one," his lips curled wryly. "Although that was partly psych. Apparently my inability to follow Doctor's orders showed a deep rooted desire for self-harm."

Clint rolled his eyes – he may have heard that one before himself. Once or twice. He looked at the doctor before him thoughtfully as the other man in turn returned his attention to stitching up Clint's chest.

"Unusual wounds for a doctor," Clint commented. Cayden's eyebrow arched.

"Medicine's my back up profession," he glanced up as he pulled the needle back out of Clint's skin. "I used to be in the Navy."

Both of Clint's brows rose as Cayden looked back down to reposition the needle.

"Navy?"

"SEAL Team five," the doctor confirmed. Clint blinked.

"You were a Navy SEAL?" he shook his head slightly as Cayden nodded. "How on earth did you end up a doctor for SHIELD then?"

"I eh… I blew out my knee," came the overly casual reply. Clint flinched slightly – he had obviously hit a nerve – but Cayden carried on quickly. "I knew I'd never get back in the field so I figured I may as well do something useful," he chuckled quietly, as much to himself as for Clint's benefit, his voice growing quieter. "Mom and Dad always did want me to become a doctor."

Clint worried his bottom lip as silence fell. Normally he would have been perfectly happy with the silence but this time he found it… unsettling.

"Must be… well…" Clint frowned slightly, wishing suddenly he had stayed quiet. "Different."

Another chuckle escaped the doctor but this time it sounded less forced.

"It certainly is," Cayden nodded, glancing up again briefly with a faint smile. "I can't complain too much though – at least I had something useful to fall back on. There were two of the other guys who were injured when I was who never got to go back either. I mean a lot of guys find the transition hard even when they choose to leave but at least they can have something lined up you know? One of the guys was married, second child on the way and the other was engaged. The engagement was eventually broken off and last I spoke with Nate the marriage was really on the rocks," he pulled a face although he never took his eyes off the needle in his hand. "Must be tough. You spend months, years, worrying if he'll come home alive and then when you get him home – he doesn't want to be there. Well… not that he doesn't want to be there…"

"No… I get what you mean," Clint nodded. "Christ being signed off on medical leave is bad enough even when you know it's only temporary. I know I drive everyone up the wall," a faint frown pulled on the archer's brow. "That would be my worst nightmare… I'm sorry, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want."

Cayden gave a small shrug.

"Like I say, I'm one of the lucky ones," another stitch completed. "In more ways than one."

Clint bowed his head solemnly. He did not need any more details to know that meant that whatever incident had ended the career of three SEALS – it had ended the lives of others.

"Anyway," Cayden continued in a more upbeat tone. "All I'm saying is that I do know how you feel and I know how tempting it is to rush straight back to the gym. But not only am I your attending physician now but it is also ultimately up to me when all agents get signed off and signed back to work," another smirk was cast upward. "And I can be a spiteful bastard when I think someone is ignoring me."

"Ah, right I see," Clint nodded. "Do as I say not as I do right?"

"Exactly."

Clint huffed out a quiet chuckle before a scowl took over his face.

"Wait a minute – you sign everyone back to work? Everyone? So it's your fault I was signed off so long last time?"

"Oh no, no, no," Cayden shook his head fiercely, pausing his hand before continuing with the stitches. "That was your physiotherapist and the other doctors. I could only go by the information I was given."

"Well they were talking shit."

Cayden laughed.

"Well I figured that. Even ignoring doctor's orders your shoulder shouldn't have taken that long to heal. Unfortunately I was on the other side of the country helping out over there or I'd have come and seen for myself. There. All done."

Clint blinked in surprise and looked down at his chest as Cayden stepped away again. Sure enough the stitching was finished.

"Oh," he chuckled quietly. "I barely even noticed that."

Cayden shrugged.

"Yeah well I guessed you weren't too keen on needles when I first took it out so I figured keeping you distracted would work," he smirked and tilted his head slightly. "I picked up the trick working with kids in the ER."

Clint screwed up his face, bowing his head sheepishly although a faint smile pulled on his lips at the same time.

"Yeah well have you ever seen Doc Tenner trying to do stitches?"

Cayden cringed, returning his equipment to the trolley and picking up bandages instead.

"Oh God, that guy was a disaster."

Clint laughed.

"One word for him," he muttered, watching as Cayden wrapped the bandages over the stitches. The doctor looked up with a knowing smirk.

"I'm sure I don't need to tell you to keep this dry for twenty four hours and avoid…"

"Avoid prolonged soaking thereafter," Clint sighed wearily but there was no malice in his expression. "Yeah, heard it once or twice."

"Figured. You'll need to come back in and get the dressings changed and…"

"Oh Bruce can do that," Clint arched an eyebrow as Cayden gave him a dubious look. "You don't trust me to get him to do it?"

Cayden pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"Fine," the doctor gave a small nod. "But I want to speak with him."

"What?" Clint blinked. Cayden smirked.

"I just want to make sure that he's got dressings to change and make sure that if there is any sign of infection I hear about it."

"I'll tell him," Clint nodded. Cayden crossed his arms and returned an even look.

"Either I tell him myself or you come back in here tomorrow," the doctor's eyebrow arched as Clint stubbornly stayed quiet. "I've read your file Barton," an all-out smile broke onto his lips as the silence continued. "I've done my fair share of steak outs and recon and I've done my time as a sniper. I have the patience of a saint."

"It's ok Doc," a soft female voice drifted over from the door, causing both men to startle slightly. "I'll tell Bruce."

"Tasha," Clint scowled slightly. "Where the Hell have you been hiding?"

Natasha just flashed him an innocent smile as she turned towards Cayden.

"I hope he hasn't been too much trouble," she smiled sweetly. "He's not good with needles."

"Tasha!"

Cayden chuckled.

"I've dealt with worse," the doctor smiled. "Very well Agent Romanov. I'll trust you to tell Doctor Banner."

"Oh that's right, trust her…" Clint grumbled although despite himself his lips too curled into a smile. Cayden picked up the file sitting on the sideboard, scribbling some notes before flipping it shut again.

"Come back in a week unless Doctor Banner sees anything to worry about. He can keep an eye on it but I say when the stitches come out – deal?"

"Deal," Clint agreed with a slight roll of the eyes. Natasha smirked and held up a new shirt.

"Figured we shouldn't march you through the base topless to take you home," she commented, not missing the faint twitch of Cayden's eyebrows at the comment.

"Just be careful," the doctor managed a schooled expression. "The slightest stretch could pop those stitches."

Clint's scowl returned as Natasha stepped toward him. Not only could he not use his bow but he was probably going to need help dressing?

"I'm gonna kill Stark," he muttered. Finally his shirt was secured around his body without too much cursing from himself.

"Thank you doctor," Natasha gave Cayden a parting nod and friendly smile.

"No problem Agent Romanov. It was nice to finally meet you. You too Agent Barton," the doctor would deny his smile widened as it turned to the other agent. "I'll see you next week."

"Yeah. Thanks," Clint gave a small nod and followed Natasha out of the door. The female led him down the corridor towards the admin rooms. Clint rolled his eyes slightly as she quickly and efficiently made an appointment for him to see Doctor Poole the following week.

"You know I could have done that myself," the archer mumbled as the two headed for the exit.

"You could have yes. My concern is whether or not you would have," she smiled as Clint screwed up his face. "So… Doctor Poole seems nice."

Clint rolled his eyes.

"Yeah I guess."

"Cute too."

"Don't start Natasha…"