This then one more lads!
Unless I decide to do a Natasha one..
I don't know, I like the idea of having a nice even 10! Might do a Natasha and the others in the hospital as a one shot some day, let me know, I dunno!
Reviewers!
Fury-Natalia; Always the plan! Glad you liked it :)
BlackHawk's Child; Damn.. Obviously wasn't mean enough in the last chapter if you gave a nice review.. Have to kill him now or something.. I joke, I joke! I'm glad you liked it :)
Niom Lamboise; Can now spell your pen name without looking, that's a personal victory for me! I think I went into the movie hating her, quite simply because she just wasn't a good comic character so I instantly thought she'd be a bad movie character, I dunno! I do kind of like movie Laura :P Glad you liked it!
Onto the next!
Thanks for sticking with me this long! Y'all rock!
Disclaimer; Yep, still don't own anything of Marvel's.
It's strange, how used one person could get to waking up in a hospital bed.
On the verge of death, he swore that he was a goner. Swore to whatever entity he didn't believe it, ok swore to Thor cause he kind of has to believe in him, that he was done and dusted on this earth and was ready for Valhalla or whatever he always goes on about.
But the darkness was beginning to lift. His senses were beginning to come back to him. He could smell the disinfectant before anything else, which is how he knew full well he was stuck in yet another hospital room.
Years of SHIELD work always meant that every third or fourth mission would end up in a place like this. Most humans would have adrenaline shooting through them right now, their mind panicking as it realised that it was somewhere that meant something bad had happened to them, something bad enough to warrant a hospital room stay without their knowledge.
Not Clint Barton though.
Smelling the chest hitting scent of disinfectant meant safety, meant that the worst of things were over. It meant he wasn't in the ground six feet under, it meant he was somewhere safe, somewhere warm, somewhere he'd be looked after and cared for.
Naturally, taste came with the sense of smell, and he could just taste the horrible dry mouthed taste that comes with an oxygen feed. The kind that makes you crave buckets and buckets of water until you just can't taste anything anymore.
Vanilla and gun powder. That was the one other strong scent attacking him right now.
Vanilla and gun powder..
He had smelled that so many more times than he had disinfectant, and it brought to him a great deal more peace than the disinfectant did.
He didn't get to lose himself in the smells too long. Because the next sense to come back was his hearing. It was crisp, loud, seriously so. He didn't know why, his aids were always set down low. But he remembered something, a crackling sound, malfunctioning, panic when he thought that they'd break before he got to see their faces, break before he got to get out, broke and left him alone in that dark humid place all alone.
"...So we were running down these stairs, he was behind me firing some arrows back, and I was too busy calling in for some rescue to see that Coulson was stopped there.." He knew that voice.. He really did. It was the owner of the scent. It was laughing, the owner enjoying themselves with whatever story they were telling.
"How come you two never have an extraction plan in place?" A chuckling voice asked, masculine, deep.. Patriotic, that was the word swimming around Clint's mind, but he couldn't place it either.
"Because we're not newbies who need hand holding." The female voice laughed her answer back, and he could hear the snickers of some others. "Ok, maybe he is considering he always seems to end up here."
Music.. There was music playing soon enough. Though it seemed out of place, it wasn't like hospital radio music. It was loud, there was background noise. Some kind of live video?
'...Romeo save me, they're trying to tell me how to feel, this love is difficult, but it's real..~'
He knew those lyrics..
"I don't know man!" A laughing voice said, another guy, not as deep as the first. "He has a pretty good voice!"
"Pepper said the same!" Third guy..
"He has a guitar in his room." Girl, laughing, the word kid swam around his head.. Archer.. "He is pretty damn good!"
He may have black out and missed some conversation.. They were talking about an extraction plan a moment ago..
Touch.
That was the next sense.
And holy crap he wished it wasn't.
Because the pain that came flooding through his body was like being hit by a jumbo jet.
It started with a thump in his head, then to a sharp pain his shoulder, and he could feel it was set in a sling and held close to his chest. His ribs next, man that was a bitch! They were on fire man! His leg though..
He knew it was in a cast of some sort, because it was completely immobile even though he could feel it.
Crushed..
That word swam around his mind over and over again.
Damn, it was going to be a bitch to heal..
The annoying itch on his face told him there was an oxygen mask in place, and good lord he wanted to rip it off already. Others were just little pinches and tugs around different parts of his body, stitches and bruises he guessed.
One other feeling was present, and it wasn't a painful one. It was a pretty damn nice one actually. There was someone holding his hand. And he was squeezing it pretty damn hard without even realising it.
The room had fallen silent, bar some soft music playing from a speaker somewhere. So he knew it wasn't just his hearing giving out on him, it was everyone falling silent.
It was only when the laughing and happy voices quietened down that he heard the beep of the heart monitor, and it was going mental.
"Clint? You gonna wake up for me?" The voice was soft, and that's how he finally placed it.
Natasha..
Sight. That was the only one eluding the archer right now. But he wanted to see her face, wanted to know she was ok. He needed to know she was here and it wasn't just his imagination messing with him or some drug induced dream.
"Come on, Hawk." She was whispering now, he could feel her breath on his face so she was close. A hand was running through his hair aswell, and he could hear the heart monitor begin to calm down. "Enough beauty sleep for now. Come back to us for a while."
He tried will his eyes open, tried his best to. It took a few moments but, soon enough, they pulled together for a fraction before opening themselves up.
Sight.
He had it back.
Though for a moment, all he could see was white. The window in the room he was currently in let the blinding winter sun shine in. And his eyes really didn't appreciate it after, he assumed, so long closed. She wouldn't tease him about beauty sleep if it was a short time.
No one spoke, no one pushed him, the only sound in the room was a little bit of Bon Jovi playing somewhere and the heart monitor beeping away to show he was, in fact, alive.
He waited patiently, and his eyes didn't let him down. They never did.
He was sitting up at a slight angle in the bed, no doubt so his left shoulder could rest in a comfortable position. A thin blanket was covering him from the waist down, but he tell from the outline of it that there was, infact, a pretty thick cast around his leg. He was just staring at it for the longest time, just to shake the cobwebs from his mind.
"I owe you twenty bucks, Steve." He looked up at the voice, following it's direction until he locked eyes with a smiling Tony Stark, Pepper sitting comfortably on his lap. They were sitting by the door of the room. "It was less than a month."
It was a large room, he realised. And Tony was in a fairly comfy looking arm chair. Definitely not a normal hospital room. Stark's private hospital, in the tower. Definitely.
"Well I always have faith in my team-mates." Following the new voice, he saw Steve sitting on the opposite side of the room, by the open window that was sending the harsh light in. He gave Clint a wink, and he hoped he managed to smile a little at the captain.
Sam was in the chair by his side, the music coming from beside him, so he guessed he was the one who set it up for the place.
"Hey, I think I was closest with 20 days!" He'd know that voice without even looking, though he did anyway just so he could get his mind straight and know where everyone was.
Sure enough, Kate was by the foot of the bed on Tony's side of the room, sitting back in a chair with her feet resting up and crossed on the bed. He must look like crap, because he never saw that sorry look on her face before.
"Dunno, it was only 15. Steve did say 11." Final voice, the one that definitely did give him a smile. He looked to his side to see Natasha watching him closely, a warm smile on her face. Her thumb was stroking the back of his hand, but he had to pull it away.
He could hear just fine, which meant he could talk to them alright.
But his throat was sore, and talking would require way too much effort. He figured she wouldn't let him take the mask off either, not if his suspicions about a collapsed lung were true.
'Tell them Steve wins.' He signed to her, a little smile on his face. His signs were slow, sloppy. Whatever drugs were being pumped through the IV were really hitting him. His other hand signed along too,the one with the injured shoulder, so that meant it wasn't too badly damaged.
"There you have it! Patient has last say! Sorry, kid." Tony cheered, and Clint looked to him in slight shock.
He didn't know how to sign..
Natasha knew to sign, she always had to interpret for him when he lost his hearing for whatever reason.
Tony just gave the archer a grin and took his arm from around Pepper, signing to him perfectly. 'Steve's idea.'
He raised an eyebrow and turned his head to look at the captain, who just shrugged with a little smile. They really had to all sit next to eachother.. This constant looking around was hurting his head..
"I figured it was a little mean to have you left out of things just because your hearing messed up." He shrugged, and if he wasn't so doped up and could process that, Clint probably would have cried. "So, we all took a class. Natasha's class, so it was definitely drilled into us."
It doesn't seem like a major gesture. To most people, it was probably just something silly. But to him, it was perfect. It meant that the days he forgets his aids on the way to the tower wouldn't have to be a struggle anymore. It meant that, if they malfunctioned, he wouldn't have to sit there like a fish out of water at dinner trying to read everyone's lips at the same time.
This little gesture was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for him. The only thing he could do to show his appreciation for it was to sign a simple 'Thank you.'
They spoke a little more about things while he was trying to wake up, and they didn't push him or anything. He would look to one of them every now and then and nod or shake his head to questions like do you need pain relief or food or stuff like that.
A half hour later, and he was finally feeling a little more alive, a little more alert.
"You'll hop his bones every two minutes and he won't heal properly, Widow.."
"Oh, like you wouldn't, rich boy? I know you secretly love him more than I do!"
"Water..?" He croaked out to Natasha, stopping her and Tony in a little argument over who's room he'd be staying in when he was out, it was a joke argument of course. He just liked winding her up about the whole couply love thing. He didn't mean for it to sound so demanding or rude, but it took him easily five minutes to get the word from his mind to his mouth so it was the best he could do!
She turned back to him and nodded with a surprised smile, grabbing the jug of water from the bedside table and pouring him a cup. Guess none of them were expecting him to talk for a while. He struggled to pull the oxygen mask off, but Steve was by his side in an instant to help him with it.
"No shame in asking for help, Clint.." He said with a little smile, holding the mask in one hand while moving the straw in the cup Natasha was holding to the archers lips.
"Says the guy who wouldn't even let me bring him dinner while he was in a hospital bed." Sam commented dryly, and he could hear some of them laugh a little. He was just focusing on taking little sips of the water though.
"Well, he's a super soldier." Kate said with an amused smile when Clint had enough water, Steve now repositioning his oxygen mask for him. "Barton's just a baby. He needs the minding."
"Funny.." Clint said with a slight shake of his head, gripping Natasha's hand a little harder when the movement sent a sharp pain, well, everywhere. She squeezed it right back, just her way of letting him know it was ok.
"I'm not too sure.." Pepper said from her position by the door, and he was so tired now that he had to roll his head along the pillow to look at her. "Surviving so long under that much rubble? Something tells me he's stronger than the lot of you."
He gave a little smile at her words, not believing them, but grateful for them none the less.
"Nah, he's the brains of the operation." Natasha said with an amused smile, and he nodded in agreement. His eyes were falling closed again.
"Don't know about that, sweetheart." Tony said with a laugh, of course he was right. Clint was the mixture of the group. Bit of everyone all in one. Tony was the brains. "And I think I'm pretty strong for lasting in this chair for 15 days!"
His eyes opened at that, and he looked to the billionaire with a confused face.
15 days..
But he was out of it for 15 days..
He looked to Natasha who just shrugged with a sad smile.
She knew he hated when people stayed by his side in hospital. Their time could be taken up so much better. So many more important things could be done rather than stare at his unconscious body.
"Told them plenty of times to go." She said softly, running a hand through his hair again to keep him calm.
"She's not lying." Kate added in, he could feel her shift her feet off the bed. He was too focused on Natasha's eyes right now though.
"Did kick us out for, what, three hours?" Sam's voice hit his ears this time, so he rolled his head to look at the pair on that side of the room.
Rogers nodded a little bit, his arms folded across his chest. "To shower and eat. Though she didn't budge so it was pretty hypocritical!"
"Either did Kate." Natasha defended with a smile when Clint looked to her, she so knew she was in trouble with him for staying so long.
"Don't rat me out! I thought we had an alliance!" Kate said with a pout, she was standing and stretching herself out.
He glanced around at them all once more and whimpered a little, bringing his good hand up from Natasha's grip to run his forehead gently. His head was really starting to hurt.
"Why..?" He asked weakly, his hand falling back onto the bed. His eyes wouldn't open back up this time. The pull of sleep was too much.
"It's what we do." Tony said softly.
"You'd do the same.." Kate this time, and he couldn't argue with that!
"Because we're a team." Steve came next, and he nodded a little.
"Can't leave someone behind." Sam said casually.
"Even if it is in the safety of a hospital." Pepper added to Sam's comment.
But it was Natasha's reason that made the most sense. It was her words that made everything ok in his mind.
"Because we all, kind of, love you Clint."
He smiled just the slightest at that, they were all pretty damn good reasons and he couldn't find an argument for any of them.
Pietro's death hit him hard. He never thought he'd recover from it, never thought he'd get over seeing a kid, with a whole life infront of him, take such a hit for him when they barely knew eachother. He never thought in a million years that the nightmares of that moment would leave him.
While reeling from that, the divorce was just a kick in the nuts. He tried so hard to be a husband, be a father, but it's difficult to when you're also trying to save the world day in and day out. That change was just too much for him to take, too much for him to handle alone.
To compensate, he turned to drink. He turned into his father. He went to the bottle each night to chase away the demons and to make the pain go away. He chose to go numb rather than face things head on.
Now, he realised what he should have done.
The people in the room, the people in his life that mattered to him more than anything. He should have turned to them for help rather than hide everything from them. Should've opened up instead of hiding away alone. He had a team that learned a whole new skill just so he wouldn't feel left out, who dropped everything to come get him out of some rubble, who waited 15 days by his bedside until he woke.
He was one lucky son of a bitch to have people that kind in his life.
"He's fine Laura, finally woke up." Natasha was on the beside him, he knew that much. He didn't know why, or for how long, but he could feel her there. "Groggy, yeah. More out of it than I've ever seen him. But docs think that with enough time and recovery he'll be the same old idiot in no time."
Mean..
They let him sleep. He didn't know for how long, but he was coming back to the waking world now and he felt his head was a million times clearer.
There weren't many other sounds in the room, just the beep of the monitor that he was quickly getting tired of and the sound of someone turning the pages of a magazine.
He peeked his eyes open just a bit, noticing how dark the room actually was. Just the little corner lamp held the light in the room. While he was asleep, the mask was taken from him. Thank god for that! It was replaced with a nose feed instead. Still annoying, but it made speaking alot easier.
Kate was still in her chair at the foot of the bed, legs back on the bed where they had been previously. Moving his head a little caught Natasha's attention, so she glanced at him with a smile.
She was sitting up against the headboard of the bed, one hand holding the phone to her ear and the other gently holding his hand.
"He just woke up again actually. Drug eyes on him would have you laughing your head off."
He smiled a little at that, knowing that for the next while he was going to be subject to alot of teasing!
He found it crazy how Natasha and Laura remained good friends after the divorce. It hit him so hard that he couldn't even look at the woman he once called his wife for the longest time, but Natasha always kept in contact with her.
Maybe she knew, like she always knows, that in the future Clint would want to get in contact with Laura again, try stay friends. Because it was Natasha's idea about a month ago to call Laura and sort out the hard feelings there.
Black Widow was too smart for him to handle..
Kate glanced at them when she heard that he was awake, sending him a little smile and signing to him quickly. 'Looking like shit, old man.'
He laughed a little and nodded, replying quietly to her. "Feeling like shit, kitty Kate.."
"Yeah, no, you're right. I don't think he'd be able to talk to them right now." Natasha sighed softly, sending Clint a sad smile. "I know they want to, but just tell them to give him a few days then he can."
The kids..
Damn, they must've gotten some fright if they were told where he was..
"You too Laura, take care." She hung up the phone with that sentence, leaning down then to give Clint's forehead a soft kiss. "She sends her love."
"Kids ok?" He asked quietly, worried now that they were told and they thought he was dead. He wouldn't be able for that.
"Relax Hawk." Natasha said with a little smile, stroking his cheek gently. It felt weird though, like he couldn't really feel her hand on his skin at all, he realised that it was actually a beard that had grown. 15 days, and his usually grows quick. "We just told them that you were on a mission and wouldn't be home for a while. Cooper was fine with it, and you know the other two, too young to understand."
"Auntie Kate and Uncle Tony brought them up some presents though while you were in surgery! So they were fine!" Kate grinned, and Clint looked to her with a scared face. "What?"
"Gifts from you two usually means weapons.." He said quietly. If that happened, he was going to be killed by Laura next time he saw her.
"Relax." Natasha laughed, ruffling his hair a little. "I sent them up to tell Laura what happened. I picked the toys out aswell."
"Thank god.." He sighed in relief, sinking into the pillows a little.
"I see nothing wrong with bringing Nate a bow.." Kate said with a pout, and he had to laugh.
Yeah, Laura was not happy with the nearly 2 year old being sent home with a bow and arrow set.. Not toy plastic kiddy ones either.. Proper small versions of his trick arrows..
He moved his head a little so it rest gently against Natasha's arm, though she couldn't wrap it around him with his opposite shoulder in such pain, he just wanted some sort of contact.
"Oh!" He heard Kate exclaim, and that giddyness was never a good sign. He had his eyes closed the past few minutes but he just knew she was jumping up and down like she always does. "I got the whiskey!"
He chuckled a little, and he could just feel the confused vibes coming from his partner beside him.
"Don't think I need that stuff anymore.." He whispered with a little smile, feeling a soft kiss being placed ontop of his head then. He had all the help he needed now, he realised he had it all along but just never noticed. He didn't need alcohol anymore, didn't want alcohol anymore.
"But, if aunty Nat is willing to tell the Budapest story.." He started with a yawn, feeling his hand being taken in the soft one of his partner. That meant she was fine with it. He nuzzled her a little bit, trying to burn all of this into his memory, the sound of the heart monitor, soft beep of the machine, the soft country music still playing from the speaker.
He made sure to remember the softly spoken voices of the two main women in his life, tried remember how happy he felt. Made sure beyond everything that he remembered how relaxed he felt with the smell of vanilla and gun powder coming from beside him.
Kate took him from the dark all those months ago, just after the divorce, gave him something to do, something to keep his mind off everything. She gave him someone to teach archery to, someone to tell stories to. She let him be a mentor for the first time in his life on his own terms. She helped him relax, settle into life without his wife and kids. She gave him normality.
Natasha did what she always did; supported him. She gave him missions, gave him a reason for being. She made sure he was up each day with a text or a call, made sure that he had reasons to get out of the bed be it training with her or Steve or just for some coffee to catch up. She was there when he was having nightmares, stayed up with him when he couldn't face the darkness. She gave him everything he needed to recover.
He made sure to remember that he owed these two women so much. Because, in so many ways, they dropped everything in their lives to fix him back to the Hawkeye he once was.
He was drifting asleep again, a soft smile on his face as Natasha began the familiar story. "Once upon a time, a little hawk and a widow weren't so much in love with eachother.."
That was a long long time ago.. Because he couldn't remember a time he wasn't in love with Natasha Romanoff.
