Hey guys. Just a heads up: a LOT is going to happen in this chapter ;) You're going to love me... until you won't. Anyways, I'd like to thank VioletK for getting back to me so quickly.

Don't forget to review!

The noise of the heart monitor was driving her crazy, she thought irritably, getting up to turn the incessant thing off. Or she tried to. The irritation was quickly replaced by panic, as her body wouldn't obey her unspoken command. Natasha didn't even seem to be able to open her eyes. She was stuck, wanting to get up or at least thrash and scream for help, but powerless to do either.

Or was she? There seemed to be something wrapped around her hand. She might not be able to move her whole body, but certainly the infamous Black Widow could manage that. Focusing hard, she shakily press down with two of her fingers. The thing around her hand jerked, then squeezed back. "Nat?" an incredulous voice cut through the foggy haze. Clint! Filled with renewed vigor, she managed to squeeze what she assumed was his hand again.

"Tash, come on. Please wake up. Please," he choked out. She must be in a terrible state if he was that worried. Fighting desperately against the drugs, she tried to wake up. The more she struggled, the stronger the urge to sleep became. She would have succumbed again had Clint not been repeating variations of his words, his desperate tone fueling her need. The pace of the monitor picked up, and with a last burst of energy she managed to unglue her eyelids. The fluorescent lights hurt, but Clint's face soon swam into view.

He looked terrible. Dark purple bags around his eyes, unshaven, and still covered in dust and gravel. But he seemed ecstatic to see her, and she would smile back if she wasn't afraid that small action would send her back into the coma. She managed to clear her throat a bit though, and thankfully he understood.

"Right. Just hold on." He was back soon with a cup of water, which he attempted to tip into her mouth. She ended up with a faceful of water, and blinked at him reproachfully before flicking her eyes to the remote control hanging above her head. He tipped the bed upward and she managed a few sips of the cold water. "Barton," she croaked.

"Yeah?"

"What happened?"

"We were in Brazil. Do you remember?" he asked gently. After a few moments, Natasha nodded.

"Mission."

"Right. You went into the fortress, and I ran out of most of my ammunition covering you. I tried to blow up a couple of the guards with an explosive arrow, and then you came out-" Clint swallowed hard. "I'm such an idiot."

"Not your fault," she ground out, but he only offered her a tight-lipped smile. Crap, it was going to take her weeksto talk him out of this one. "Where are we?" she prompted, trying to take his mind off the misplaced guilt.

"On base. We flew you back after they looked you over in Rio de Janeiro. You've been out for three days," he said before she could ask, another hard swallow following his words.

"Get me out of here," she said. He laughed incredulously at that.

"Not a chance, sweetheart. You can barely speak, let alone walk."

"Carry me," she mumbled. He raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Tempting as that sounds, you've got an entire pharmacy's worth of drugs in your system, and the doctors should probably run some more tests before you leave." She glared at him.

"Idiot."

"Yeah, yeah. How's this? I'm going to call the medical personnel in now-" Natasha tried to shake her head wildly, but only managed a pathetic wobble. Thankfully he caught the gist of it. "Hear me out. I'll go get cleaned up, then grab some food from the mess and some clothes. You can change and eat, and after they confirm there's nothing wrong, I'll bust you out. Ok?"

"Ok," she mumbled. He chuckled.

"Anything you want in particular?"

"A book. Juice. And something fried so I can give the doctor an aneurysm."

"Gotcha." He moved to get up, then paused and sat back down. "Listen Nat, I-" he broke off and shook his head. "Never mind."

"What?" she said, mystified.

"It can wait. I- I'm just really, really glad you're ok." He gave a pained smile, then hightailed it out of there, leaving Natasha more perplexed than ever.

Clint was good on his word, returning an hour later laden with clothes, food, and a selection of novels. He contented himself with watching her eat while she demonstrated her ability to move her arms and fingers, probably trying to get him to discharge her without actually begging. The doctor came in just as she was finishing up, and Natasha made a show of shoving the rest of her fries in her mouth. She looked so ridiculous, cheeks puffed out as she glared at the man, that Clint couldn't help snorting with laughter.

Three hours and two medical exams later, when Natasha had regained feeling in her legs, they left the ward despite the protests of several nurses and doctors. They walked down the halls in silence, but as soon as the door to their apartment shut she turned and stretched leisurely.

"Thank god. Those people were driving me crazy, running every kind of test under the sun like I was some sort of invalid!" she ranted, obviously trying to lighten the mood. Normally, Clint would sympathize, but right now all he could think about was her lying there, still and pale in that hospital bed.

Offering a feeble, tight-lipped smile, he said, "Well, I think you had us all a bit worried. Even Coulson came down to visit you, and he never checks on us when we get laid up anymore."

"Please, I'm not that easy to kill," she replied nonchalantly, heading towards the bathroom. Her attitude instantly replaced all the concern and guilt running through him with red-hot anger. Crossing the room in three strides, he turned her around roughly. Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Barton, what the hell is going on?"

"We need to talk about what you did," Clint replied, his voice deadly calm.

"What? You mean the part where I went and completed the mission?" Natasha said, sarcasm dripping from her every word. "Oh wait, that's our job."

"There are things more important than the job, Nat. I don't think anyone would have minded if we had just aborted."

"I think you're forgetting that if I hadn't gotten in there when I had, we would both be dead right now. There was no other way-"

"Exactly. We BOTH die!" Clint's voice cracked. "God dammit Tash, that doesn't bother me nearly as much as the alternative."

Natasha blinked in disbelief. "Are you saying that you would rather have died? Don't be stupid."

"You don't fucking understand!" Clint roared, punching the wall behind her head. "If you had died- if I had let you fucking die… I wouldn't know how to live with myself."

"Clint," she said softly. "You're not thinking straight. Be logical- the options were to complete the mission and blow the fortress or be killed by enemy fire. I chose to do what I did."

"I know, and that scares the crap out of me. What if one day you do it again, and you aren't so lucky? You have to stop."

Her eyes flashed. "Listen, Barton. I am not weak. I do not need protecting-"

"I know you don't. But I need to protect you anyway. Don't you understand? I need you."

She rolled her eyes. "Please, don't be melodramatic. I'm replaceable and you know it."

"Not to me you aren't." It was shocking that she would even think that. She opened her mouth to continue, but Clint shook his head wildly. He couldn't take it anymore. Every emotion and thought known to man seemed to be racing around in his brain. Why did she have to choose this moment to be so freaking dense. He needed to make her understand. He needed-

Before he knew what he was doing, he had backed her against the wall and slammed his lips down on hers. Kissing her furiously, he tried to convey everything that he had tried- and failed- to tell her in words.

It took an embarrassingly long time for the ramifications of what he was doing to percolate his addled brain. As soon as he truly realized what was happening, Clint wrenched his head back, looking down at her with a panicked expression. She stared back with something unreadable in her eyes, mouth set in a firm line.

It turns out that he had had really no fucking clue what awkward silence meant until this moment.

Hehehe... another cliffhanger. Let me know what you think about their whole situation- it'll motivate me to update sooner!