Warning: Drowning

Chapter 20

She had her hand out, grabbing hold of the dingy at the same time as Clint. His head broke the surface and he took in a deep breath. He held onto the dingy both of them trending water for a bit.

"You're a good swimmer I'll say little Stark," Clint told her. Scarlett smirked trying to get her breath back.

"Yeah I know I am," Scarlett said. Clint chuckled.

"On the count of three," Clint said and Scarlett nodded.

"One…THREE!" Clint shouted and dived into the water, splashing Scarlett as he did so. She couched as the salt water that Clint had splashed into her face went down her throat. She hadn't been ready for it. She cough violently, letting go of the dingy as she did so. She trended water as she tried to get her breath back. She took in a breath but she started to cough violently again. She tried to find the dingy and looked up seeing it was three meters away from her but she was on the wrong side of it, the strong current pulling at her. She tried to swim towards it but the wave from behind her slid over her head, pulling her down under the water. Her head broke the surface and her heart was beating against her ribs. She tried to look for the beach and could see the group of Avengers and Pepper sat at the beach in the distance.

Keep calm and swim to them, Scarlett told herself but just as she was about to swim the sea water splashed iWn her face as another wave came over her head. The salty sea water traveled down her throat to her stomach making her feel sick. As her head broke the surface again she shouted,

"CLINT!" she ended up couching violently again. She was travelling towards the cliffs, which was something she didn't want to happen. Why didn't she listen to her dad?

Her heartbeat increased and she could feel it beating hard against her rib cage. She tried to take another deep breath but it just made her cough violently again as water splashed in her face. Her head went under and she started to panic. Oh god, she was going to die. Her arms moved around trying to get her head back to the oxygen. As soon as she head broke surface the wave crashed over her again and she was dragged under towards the cliffs not being able to take a breath.

She kicked her legs and broke the salty sea water's surface, trying to take steady breaths as the water around crashed into each other, dragging her towards the cliffs. She saw it… she saw the massive wave coming towards her. It crashed over her head as she tried to get away. It pulled her down and she hit the rocky surface of the cliff, on the left side of her body. Her left arm screamed in pain as the wave dragged her back out into the ocean both slamming her back into the rocks. She could feel the warmness of her blood, stain into the salty water. The water sting her open cuts. She really didn't care if a shark came now.

Her head broke surface again just as the wave pushed her back down and she slammed into the cliffs with her back. She tried to grab hold of something and found a rock sticking out. Her fingers slipped over the silky surface and she was dragged away by the wave. She then slammed back into the cliff and grabbed hold of the same rock. She took a deep breath, couching and spitting up some blood.

"CLI-" She shouted but her voice broke before she could shout his whole name. The wave came over to her and slammed into her. Her fingers slipped once more, her hair covering her face. She was once more dragged under by the wave.

Clint broke the surface as he took a deep breath. He heard Scarlett shout his name but thought she was just doing it so he would stop and she could overtake him, but when he got to the finishing line and turned around he couldn't Scarlett. Even with his prefect eye sight Scarlett was one where to be found. Thor had his back turned from Clint and hadn't noticed as he was looking down in the sea at his feet.

"Thor… where's Scarlett?" Clint asked and Thor turned around.

"I do not know where Lady Stark is, sorry. She was racing you," Thor said, frowning a little.

"Yeah, but she isn't here," Clint said looking around the sea. Suddenly he spotted her over near the cliffs, being dragged under by the waves.

"STEVE!" Cling shouted and turned to the beach. Steve looked up from talking to Bruce and spotted Clint's distress.

"SCARLETT'S DROWNING!" Clint shouted, pointing over to the cliffs. Steve quickly looked over to the cliffs and pulled his top off while running into the ocean.

Scarlett felt herself getting light headed as she's kept trying to find the surface of the water. She couldn't find it and really need oxygen. She panicking and her heart was pounding against her rid cage. Her body was in pain, as she hit the rocks again. Her head banged into the rocky cliff behind he, making her head pound before being dragged back into the ocean by a big wave…

Just as she was about to give up she felt the rock hit her again…

However this time the rocks kept hold of her and wrapped around her. She felt herself closely slipping away and she knew one more…

"Quickly up her down here," Bruce said as Pepper got up of her towel so Steve could put Scarlett down on it. The girl was cold as ice and her eyes were closed. Her lips were turning a blue purple colour. She wasn't breathing and blood covered her left arm and back.

"She isn't breathing," Bruce stated as he placed his ear over Scarlett's nose and mouth. He sat back up and said her name.

"Scarlett, can you hear me?" he said, looking at Scarlett's pale face. He got no response and looked at Tony. He quickly looked back down at Scarlett.

"I'm going to do CPR," Bruce said. He joined his hands together and started to press on Scarlett's chest, trying to get the girl to breath. After two minutes Scarlett still hadn't waken up. And with them never being on the island there was no hospital staff in. Tony hadn't thought they would need it. Tony was knelt down opposite Bruce as Happy dropped Bruce's medical bag down next him after getting it from the black limo. Steve was stood next to Pepper, not noticing she had wrapped a towel around him and not noticing he was squeezing her hand very hard. But Pepper dealt with the pain, she had had worse. Bruce let out a heavy breath as he continued to push on Scarlett's chest.

Scarlett's eyes shoot open and she started to couch. Tony and Steve's eyes widened in relied and they both let out a breath they both hadn't noticed they were holding. Bruce rolled Scarlett over onto her side into the recovery position, rubbing circles on her back as she coughed up the water.

"You have to couch it all up Scarlett," Tony said and Scarlett continued to cough until the water was all out of her lungs. Bruce rolled her back onto her back on the towel and grabbed his medical bag. He clean up her cuts on her left arm and put bandages on them, wrapping the white bandage around the top of her arm and the bottom of her arm. He asked Scarlett to roll onto her side and she did. He checked her back and clean up the wounds but didn't put any bandages on them because they went that bad. Bruce finished and Tony pulled Scarlett into right hug, trying not to touch Scarlett's wounds on her back. Tony then pulled away and looked angrily at his daughter.

"I told you not to go that far out and what do you do! You don't listen to me and race this dickhead out to the dingy! You could have died! You nearly did!" Tony snapped at Scarlett as Clint looked down at the sand. Scarlett sat up and looked at her dad.

"What?" Scarlett mumbled, as she placed her hand on the back of her head. Tony looked at her daughter and then hugged her.

"Just don't do anything like that again," Tony told her and Scarlett nodded.

"Erm..." Scarlett managed to crock out. Bruce frowned a little.

"Scarlett?" Bruce asked and Scarlett turned to him a couple of seconds later. She blinked at him.

"Scarlett how many finger I'm I holding up?" Bruce asked her holding up four fingers. Scarlett blinked at him and then replied after a bit.

"Erm... three... no two," Scarlett said, shaking her head a little, still looking at Bruce's fingers. "I don't know... it's... it's all... blurry." Bruce lowered his hand and looked at Tony.

"She has a mild concussion..." Bruce said. "It means that there might be a bit a memory loss, disturbance in vision," Bruce said as Scarlett kept blinking and shaking her head a little. "Also a bit of confusion, and problems with understanding what people are saying. Don't worry she'll be alright in a bit. She just need to take it easy." Tony nodded a took a deep breath in relief.

Steve went to sit on the towel he had been sat on before this whole thing had happened. Pepper came and knelt down in front of him.

"You really like her, don't you?" Pepper said. Steve looked up, pulling his head up from his hands.

"What?" Steve asked, not really listening to the women. Pepper smiled lightly.

"You really like her," Pepper repeated and Steve nodded.

"I love her," Steve said and Pepper smiled brighter at him.

"Does her know this?" Pepper asked the soldier and Steve shook his head.

"No…" Steve mumbled and Pepper nodded.

"Well I think you should tell her," Pepper nodded over to Scarlett and then got up, walking over to Tony who had stood up and was rubbing his face. Pepper took the hand in her arms and hugged him.

"It's ok," Pepper whispered to her boyfriend as Bruce sat back onto the sand, taking a deep breath. Steve got up and walked over to Scarlett who was wrapped in her own towel, still sat on Pepper's towel. He sat down next to Scarlett and she straight away, turned around and rested her head on Steve's chest, tears rolling down her eyes.

"Steve?" Scarlett mumbled and Steve kissed her hair. "I'm... I'm sorry."

"It's ok now, your safe," Steve told her. Steve wrapped his arms around her, being careful of Scarlett's left arm which was badly injured. Scarlett cried into the tower that was wrapped around Steve as Steve rocked her, mumbled that she was safe.

Clint went to sit on the towel next to Natasha and started to make sand castles with her.

"Your shit at this," Clint said as he took of the bucket off the ground and the sand all fell down, his sand castle collapsing. Natasha smirked as her sand castle stayed up nicely.

"Your just cheating," Clint said and hit Natasha's sand castle with his hand knocking it down. Natasha glared at Clint but he just smirked until she broke into a little smile.

Tony had bribed Bruce into playing beach ball with Steve, Thor and Clint. Scarlett sat on the beach chair in the middle of Natasha and Pepper. She had her dark blue and light blue sarong wrapped around her like a dress to cover up her body. Natasha was wearing a black bikini that made her look 'very sexy' Clint said. Pepper was wearing a deep blue strap bikini that Tony loved.

"We ready," Tony said, who had pulled of his top and was just walking around in his trunks throwing the beach ball into the air and catching it.

"The teams are uneven Tony," Steve complained for the fourth time.

"Find, Nat come on," Tony said gesturing for Natasha to come over to join Tony and Thor's team. Natasha looked at Pepper and Scarlett.

"Only if you two join," Nat said standing up. Pepper sighed and got up, followed by Scarlett. Bruce frowned a little as Scarlett joined his, Steve's and Clint's team. Pepper joined Natasha's, Tony's and Thor's team. Natasha narrowed her eyes at Clint who smirked at her.

"I'll be fine," Scarlett said to Bruce.

"Just take it easy," Bruce said and then turned to look at the opposite team behind the net. Tony threw the ball up in the air and hit it over the net. Clint ran forward and hit it back over to them. Scarlett stayed in the back of the court, just waiting and making wired noises at Tony to make him loss concentration, which he did and the ball Steve had just hit, hit Tony in the face, knocking him to the floor.

"Score!" Clint shouted and laughed at Tony who sat up glaring at him and Scarlett. Thor grabbed the ball as Tony stood up.

"Last point wins seen as it's a draw so far!" Tony shouted, taking the ball from Thor.

He threw the ball up and hit it hard. It went over Steve, Clint's and Bruce's head towards Scarlett. She saw it and jumped up, hitting it with the palm of her right hand back over the net. She landed on the floor and shook her right hand, it stinging from hitting the ball so hard.

"Oww," she mumbled and then looked up to see Natasha run forward, pushing Tony out the way and hitting it back to Scarlett. Natasha smirked as the ball came flying to Scarlett about to hit her in the face. She made a fist with both hands and hit the ball up into the air before slamming her still stinging right palm against the ball again. It went back to the other team and Pepper hit it up into the air with her fists and then Tony hit it back over to them. Bruce ran forward and hit the ball back to them. Thor slammed his fist down and it went over to the other team. The ball nearly than on the sand but Clint dived forward and hit it up with fists. Scarlett ran forward and hit the ball back over to the other team and both Tony, Thor and Natasha ran forward. They all dived and ended up on the floor in a pile the ball landing on the sand inches away from their stretched out hands.

"YAY! WE WIN!" Scarlett and Clint both cheered. Clint ran over to her and pulled her into a hug, being careful of her bandaged arm. He pulled away and looked at her.

"I'm sorry," Clint told her and she nodded.

"It's ok." She said.

Here is the next chapter. I hoped you liked it. Sorry for the wait by the way, my laptop was being funny and stop working but don't worry it's all fixed now. Anyway please review and tell e what you thought.