Sorry for the delay, been babysitting my 8 month old niece all week and haven't had a chance to write anything. Also, my depression has been getting pretty heavy handed, so motivation is a little sparse, but here we are; chapter twenty four. Enjoy!

Jay X

As If I Was Human

Chapter Twenty Four - Comatose

"Bruce kick you out of the med-bay?" Honestly, Natasha wasn't surprised, even as she asked. In her one and only visit to the still unconscious Carter, Clint had never ceased pacing back and forth, watching Natasha closely when she leaned into examine Carter. It had pissed her off, and she only had to endure it once, she could only imagine how many times Bruce had had to put up with it.

"Pfft, he said I'm distracting him," Clint replied sourly, resting against the doorframe as Natasha continued to type away on her laptop. "I wasn't even doing anything," he muttered, arms folded over his chest.

"Were you pacing?"

"…maybe…" Clint sighed heavily.

When they had finally arrived back at S.H.I.E.L.D. Central, Carter had been rushed to the medical bay, numerous doctors examining her while Clint could only watch. Machine after machine had been hooked up to her, but nothing could be done. Carter was in a coma. Bruce assured them all that she would wake up, but there was no way to determine when, so Clint had decided to stay with her at all times. A tight crick in his neck had developed from crashing on the couch next to her bed for two weeks, and his eyes were constantly bloodshot from rubbing them as he watched as Carter remained unmoving.

How can stillness be so terrifying? Clint asked himself, time and time again. No blood, no bruises, no bandages, just closed eyes and slow breathing. The bullet wound had been cleaned, her ankle had been repaired and set, and both injuries had completely healed already. Bruce had been pretty excited about that. Her body's capability to recover was one of the few things he had been unable to assess beforehand. Glad somebody's seeing a bright side.

Now all Clint could do was wander the facility, trying to keep himself occupied until Bruce relented and let him back in to the med bay.

"What're you doing anyway?" Clint asked, bringing his attention back to Natasha.

"Working."

"On what?"

"Work. Go away."

"Come on, tell me," Clint persisted, abandoning his stance in the doorway to approach her desk, determined to see what she was doing. Natasha growled at him, slamming the laptop closed.

"I'm serious, Clint," she warned him, turning on him angrily.

"Right, right," he yielded, stepping back as Natasha's temper began to rise. "Whatever."

"Why don't you go annoy someone else?" Natasha suggested dryly, opening her laptop back up. "Clint!" She then yelled, Clint snatching the laptop from her. He sidestepped her easily when she lunged at him, chuckling.

"I'm only looking," he whined, eyes quickly scanning the information on the screen. Natasha chewed her lip, knowing it was too late now, Clint's expression turning to a frown as he took the information in. Melody Thomas.

"Clint?"

"You've been…" Clint sat down on the edge of Natasha's bed, fingers clenching around the edges of the laptop. "…researching Carter's mom?"

"Clint-"

"Why?"

"You…" Natasha rubbed her forehead tiredly, thinking over her words. "You were really worried about keeping it from her, and I just…Fury said we couldn't tell her unless we were sure; I wanted to be sure."

"Does he know you're doing this?" Clint asked, handing the laptop back to her. She accepted it, closing it over again before placing it back on her desk.

"I haven't said anything," she admitted. "But…I'm pretty sure he figured it out."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't wanna get your hopes up," Natasha shrugged. "If Melody Thomas is dead, fair enough, but if she's alive…where is she? What has she been doing? Does she even know if Carter is all right? There's too many questions, and I…I didn't want you worrying about them if she isn't even alive."

"This is for my benefit?" Clint exclaimed. "What about Carter?"

"I'm doing it for both of you," Natasha replied, trying to keep her tone casual as she refused to meet Clint's eyes. "Carter deserves the truth. I know what it's like…being forced to be something you don't want to…and if there's a way I can help…I don't know, I guess I just want to do what I can."

"Tash…"

A monotonous beep ran through Carter's head, foggy memories swimming to the surface. She slowly peeled her eyes open, head pounding, the hazy outline of Doctor Banner standing over her.

"Hey, sleeping beauty wakes up at last," he quipped, a small smile on his face. He leaned in close, shining a bright torch into her eyes, Carter squinting at the light. "How're you feeling?"

"Uh…fuzzy," she croaked out, spluttering on the words. A heavy cough racked her chest as she tried to sit up. "W-where am I?"

"The med bay at .S.H.I.E.L.D. Central," Bruce replied, helping her into a sitting position, hitting the remote next to the bed, raising the back for her. "Trust you to wake up the second I finally tell Clint to screw off." Carter forced a dry chuckle, shaking her head slightly. "Here," Bruce then said, holding out a glass of water. Carter accepted it gratefully, chugging the liquid down in one go. "And now this one." Another glass, a more cloudy substance filling it. Carter looked at it questioningly. "Yeah, I added a little something. It'll get you back on your feet that bit faster."

"How does it taste?" Carter asked, taking the glass from him.

"You tell me," Bruce answered with a shrug. Carter sighed, reluctantly drinking it down. It didn't taste too bad, just a little bitter. "Now, get a few breaths in while you can, Fury's on his way down."

"Do me favour, Bruce," Carter groaned, flopping back against the raised headboard of the bed. "Unplug this crap from me."

Hooked up to all sorts of machines and monitors wasn't the best way to wake up, and the steady beep of her heart rate was giving Carter a headache already. Not to mention there was a drip connected to the back of her hand, her stomach turning at the thought of the needle that put it there. If she wasn't so exhausted and dazed, Carter probably would have torn it from her hand herself, ripping all the other plugs and clips and cuffs in the process. Bruce simply smiled, and did as she asked.

"Why did you tell Clint to 'screw off'?" She then asked, stretching her arms out gratefully, now that she was released from the machinery.

"He's been driving me nuts," Bruce replied, tossing the wires and plugs carelessly onto a worktop. "Pacing, mumbling, glaring at me whenever I examine you. Just being an ass, really." Carter sighed, feeling her heart kick sadly. "You still mad at him?" Bruce asked, noticing her forlorn expression. "Steve told me," he explained, Carter frowning at him questionably.

"Not really, I guess," she mused, honestly a little unsure. "I mean, sure, he shouldn't have doubted me, but…it's hard to stay angry at him when he cares so much. And besides," she sighed, wiggling her ankle, hardly surprised at it's recovery. "He was kinda right…I messed up a couple of times, and maybe if I had more experience I wouldn't have…gotten my assed kicked."

"Well," Bruce pointed out gently, placing a hand on her ankle to still her movement. "Now you have some experience." Carter nodded, letting a small smile creep across her face. "Steve said you did pretty good anyway."

"Only after he told me to stop thinking so much," Carter added bitterly. "That first fight…I was awful…I got shot."

"Which has healed nicely," Bruce commented, his thumb tracing the slight scar that was fading quickly. "Your ankle too. In fact, it was because of how quickly you recovered we were so worried."

"Worried?" Carter asked, frowning.

"You've been out cold for just under two weeks, Carter," Bruce explained, chuckling lightly at her surprised expression. "Your blood was completely drained of the static electricity, and it seems your brain needs it to function. Without it; total system shutdown. You've been completely unresponsive."

"Whoops," she muttered, biting her lower lip. "Uh…you might wanna tell Clint I'm awake then."

"You want to see him, huh?" Bruce smirked, walking over to his desk and tapping on the keyboard. A few seconds later, Clint's face appeared on the screen.

"Bruce? Is Carter all right? Has something happened?"

"She's awake, lover boy," Bruce replied with a grin. "She wants to see you."