Blood Loss | Internal Bleeding | Trail of Blood

"Nat, have you heard from Clint?" Mikayla asked through her comm.

"Not recently," Nat replied. "Come to think of it, haven't since that last volley of bullets."

"Hawkeye, come in, Hawkeye!" Mikayla shouted, trying to get her fiancée to respond. She looked around the corner of an air conditioning unit. She was perched on a building a few blocks away from the center of the fighting. Her job was to be a lookout, and also to take out any of the bad guys who crossed her path or posed a threat to the team. This was her first assignment with the team, and she was already feeling like a failure. Clint had spent months training and refining her archery techniques until she was almost as good of a shot as he was and just as quick. Since she was Phil Coulson's niece, she was able to skip the official SHIELD training and was put through the paces by two of the best agents known to the organization: Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff. Coincidentally, they also happened to be her fiancée and one of her best friends. The trio, along with the rest of the Avengers, found themselves in Houston, following up on intel regarding a group of mercenaries who were going to try and blow up the numerous oil refineries located on the gulf. Everyone on the team except for the trio of Clint, Nat, and Mikayla had cleared their assigned area and were supposed to be heading toward the trio to put an end to the insurgency in that part of the city. In Mikayla's mind, it seemed like they were taking way too much time. She finally heard crackling coming from her comm. "Hawkeye, is that you? Come in, Hawkeye!" She paused, straining to hear something, anything other than the crackling in her ear. Whoosh! She let another arrow loose, taking down another bad guy who'd appeared in the alleyway to her right. She'd have to tell him about that shot. It was one she'd worked on for months, looking one way while letting the arrow fly in another direction.

"Guys, I found some blood," Steve's voice interrupted the irritating noise in Mikayla's ear.

"Location?" Nat asked.

"About 3 buildings west of Maid Marian. It looks fresh."

Mikayla glanced to her left, toward the building where Clint had positioned himself. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be seen. "I'll go check it out."

"Negative, Maid Marian, negative. Stay in your position. Thor will –"

"Cap, shut up, I'm going." Mikayla looked over the adjoining buildings and calculated the distance between each. "I was on the track team in high school, specialized in the long jump. This will be a piece of cake." She hooked her bow over her shoulder, picked the best spot, got a running start, and leaped across the void between the two buildings. She landed, immediately performed a tuck and roll maneuver, stood up, and ran across the roof. That little trick earned her a bullet through her right bicep. "Ow," she muttered to herself before doing the same thing leaping over to the next building.

"Maid Marian, report!" Cap demanded.

"Lady Mikayla, are you all right?"

"Fine, Thor, thanks. Just hit the ground a little hard. I'm on my way to the last building." As she leaped, she realized she'd misjudged the distance and it was farther away than she realized. 'This isn't going to end well,' she thought to herself. Thankfully, she turned it into a "Hawkeye would be proud of her" moment as she grabbed a grappling arrow from her quiver and shot it toward the building. It stuck so she was able to cover the space between the two buildings. Unfortunately, she didn't make it to the roof but crashed through a window. 'Now I know what Clint went through when he flew through my window at work the day of the alien attack. Damn, that's gonna leave a mark. I will never call him a drama queen again.'

And there was Cap in her ear again. "Fitzgerald! Where the hell are you?"

She groaned. "Language, Cap." She sat up and looked around. "I'm on the top floor of the building he was stationed at. So far, nothing. Wait, hold on." Dust and dirt were covering the floor, except for one area. Mikayla went to look. "Found more blood. There's a trail." Along with the blood trail that led away from the window, there were definite drag marks in the dust. She didn't see any footprints, though, so Clint must have dragged himself across the floor. "Come on, Clint. Talk to me. Where the hell are you? Not stopping until I find you. We've got a date tonight, remember? We've got tickets to see Rent on Broadway. You're not getting out of it this easy, flyboy." She followed the blood, and it took her down the stairs. She'd made it about halfway down when she met Steve who was climbing up the stairs following the same trail. "So, the trail goes cold outside, then?" She bit her lip, partially out of fear for Clint and partially to keep herself at the moment.

"It does. Did you find anything upstairs?"

She shook her head. "Just the blood trail and drag marks going toward the stairs." Mikayla leaned against the building to catch her breath and compose herself. "Can we each take a direction and see if we can find any more blood?"

Steve nodded. "Already on it. We're headed north." Mikayla nodded in acknowledgment and followed him. They were both scouring the ground for any tell-tale signs Clint had passed this way.

Mikayla looked over at a building they were walking by and she noticed something. "Hey, Cap?" He turned around and went back to her. She pointed to a fresh bloody handprint on the wall and pointed to it. "That's his."

"This isn't the best area of town, how can –"

"I think I know my fiancee's handprint. If you notice, the palm print looks different than it should."

"Signifying?"

She held up her left hand. "The fingerless glove. Protects the palm when you're shooting." She leaned down, covered her hand in the dirt, then pressed it against the wall. "See, because of the glove, there's a void." She looked up at Steve. "If he's lost that much blood in that short of time…"

"We need to find him, and fast. Team, rendezvous at the corner of 5th and Galveston. We've got a fresh track." Shortly, the team met in front of the building. Cap pointed out the handprint. "This is what we've got to go on, so be vigilant. Each time we find something, there's more blood."

"Speaking of," Tony spouted off, "have you noticed there's another blood trail following you?" The team looked behind them and saw fresh blood. Tony's eyes followed the trail which led directly to Mikayla. "Uh, Maid Marian, would you like to explain?"

She looked down. "Oh," she shrugged her shoulders, "just a flesh wound."

Cap kicked into overprotective big brother mode. "Just a flesh wound? Mikayla, you were shot!"

Nat took a cloth out of a pocket of her suit (exactly how many pockets she had, she'd never tell) and wrapped it around Mikayla's arm. "It's a through and through. She'll be fine." Nat looked her in the eye. "You'll be fine, right?"

"Well, duh, who do you think trained me? Plus, the middle name's Coulson, remember? I'll be fine, now, let's find Clint. We're wasting time." She figured she'd have time later to hurt. The group fanned out again to cover more ground.

Mikayla's wheels were spinning in her brain. 'Think, Fitzgerald. Why are we only finding handprints? Why not a trail like we were?' She came up with a couple of scenarios and knew she had to talk them out. She grabbed Cap's arm, causing him to stop and turn around. "Steve?"

"Are you okay?"

"No, I'm fine. I just need to talk my thoughts out. I've been wondering why we've lost the blood trail except for the handprints. The only reasons coming to mind are 1, someone's carrying him and he's leaving the handprints for us to track and since his captors are holding him up, they're absorbing the blood or 2, he's not on the ground anymore, which only makes sense if we run out of handprints. Neither option sounds pleasant. Steve, I hate to say it and will deny it if you mention it to anyone, but I'm scared. Those handprints have too much blood, and that can't be good. I mean, if he's leaving that much blood behind, he's got to be bleeding internally, too." She looked at him with watery eyes. "We've got to find him. I don't know how long he's got left." To help get that thought out of her mind, she stared at the wall and tried to put herself in Clint's frame of mind. "OK, I'm Clint, I'm injured. I know if I leave a traditional trail, the bad guys will find it, so I leave handprints which, at first glance, seem to blend in with the graffiti. Oh, geesh, I'm an idiot!"

"No, you're not. What makes you think that?"

"I know where he's at. He's Hawkeye, where does he do his best work? Up high. Look at the top floor." Steve looked up. "See the window? It's missing, doesn't look like it was done recently, so he was probably looking for one he wouldn't have to fly through since he was already injured. He got up there the same way I'm going to." She pulled out another grappling arrow, shot it, and once it affixed itself to the building, she activated a button on the bow and the wire automatically pulled her up the building. Once she got to the window, she was able to crawl in and she released a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Got him! Repeat, the bird has been located!" She dropped the bow and ran over to him. "Clint, Clint, I'm here. Talk to me! Where are you hurt?" She looked down and saw a gaping wound on his left side.

"Mikayla?" He weakly murmured.

"I'm here, I'm right here. Stay with me." She then treated him the same way he'd done so many times before when she was going through her personal battles. She cradled him in her arms and held him against her, using her body to put pressure on the wound. When Steve made it up the stairs, that was the scene he happened upon. "Stay with me, Clint. You've got this. The team's here. Let us take care of you. You've taken care of me so many times, stay here so I can take care of you."

"Here, give him to me, Mikayla. We've got a ride waiting downstairs." She reluctantly handed Clint over to Steve, who carried him down to the waiting ambulance and it drove away, leaving Mikayla on the sidewalk to wait for her teammates to pick her up. "Damn, Rogers, you could've at least waited until I climbed in. He must be bad off."

"Hey," she heard a gruff voice and felt a large presence. She turned and the big guy was there. He'd finally learned how to control the "monster" inside him. "Need a ride?" She nodded. He picked up and flew her to the quinjet, where Nat was waiting in the pilot's seat. "Tony and Thor went on ahead." Mikayla nodded and after sitting down, leaned against the back of the chair, and sighed, nervous about what she would find awaiting her at the hospital.

By the time the quinjet landed, Bruce had turned back into Dr. Banner. "Uh, want to explain that?" He pointed to her arm.

"Not really. I'll deal with it later. Have to make sure Clint's okay." She spoke in a monotone voice as she exited the plane, not realizing how much of a mess she presented, her suit and hands bathed in blood, both hers and Clint's.

"Doctor came out with an update," Tony said. "Appeared to be a gunshot but it was a through and through."

"Not another one," Mikayla said. "Anyone know the record for getting shot in the abdomen in a year? Cause I think he's pretty close."

Steve shook his head and rolled his eyes. "The records you people keep track of never ceases to amaze me."

Nat and Mikayla exchanged glances and chuckled, happy to have a little levity to diffuse the situation. "Can I see him?" Mikayla asked.

Bruce had gone back to talk to the doctor treating Clint. He returned and came over to Mikayla. "Doctor says he's resting, but you can go back." Bruce took her arm and escorted her to Clint's room.

Mikayla walked in and dashed to Clint's bedside. She picked up his hand and held it. He looked so pale. She stroked the side of his face and he stirred. "Hey," she said softly.

"Hey. We get them?"

"Yep, we took them out."

Clint blinked several times to get his focus back. "All bloody? You OK?"

Mikayla looked down and finally noticed what she looked like. "I'm fine, most of it is yours."

"Most?" He looked, saw her arm, and raised his eyebrows.

"It's a flesh wound. Nat put the tourniquet on it."

"Sharky…"

"Believe me, I'm fine. A bullet flew by and hit me as I was leaping onto a building."

That statement seemed to knock him out of his fog. "Why were you leaping onto a building?"

"Looking for you. I figured I could get there quicker than anyone else. I got a running jump and leaped to the next building, that's when I got shot."

"You're saying you got shot because of me?"

"I guess you could say that." She squeezed his hand. "Let's focus on the fact you got shot in the abdomen…again."

"Missed vital organs…again, so I'll be fine." He pushed the call button. "We're going to get your arm looked at, and no arguing."

She sighed. "Yes, sir." She'd let him win this battle.

When the nurse came in, Clint pointed out Mikayla's arm. The nurse tore her sleeve away and looked at the wound. "I'll go get a suture kit and be right back." She returned a short time later, shot a local anesthetic into Mikayla's arm, and stitched it up. "I also gave you a shot of antibiotics to help with any possible infection." The nurse bandaged up the wound and left.

"Well, now I just look ridiculous and I've ruined a perfectly good uniform. Hold that thought." She went into the bathroom. Clint heard rustling and she came back out having taken off her shirt, which left her in her sports bra and her pants.

"Nice look," Clint smirked.

"Well, at least the sleeves are equal length, non-existent." She walked back over to Clint's bedside. "Hey, guess which shot I pulled off today?"

"Tell me," Clint said, lightly running his fingers up and down her bare arm.

"Your signature move, the look one way and shoot the other."

"Damn, and I missed it!"

"I'll re-enact it for you. I also got to fly through a window. Yay, me"

"Well, you just had a fun-filled first mission, didn't you?" He grabbed her hand and pulled her close. "I'm so damn proud of you, my kick-ass woman." He kissed her.

"Nat, I am not walking into the room because I know what I'm going to find." Steve could be heard complaining as he walked down the hall toward Clint's room. "You cannot pay me enough money to open that door."

Mikayla smirked. "I'll be right back." She kissed Clint back, then strode to the door and opened it. "Steve, if this doesn't stop, we'll just start inviting you and have a threesome." She shut the door and made her way back to Clint's side and held his hand as he stroked her face. "That should shut him up."

Out in the hall, Steve, whose face had turned as red as the red on his shield, looked at Nat. "She opened the door wearing her bra, didn't she?"

Nat laughed. "You focused on that, and not the fact she threatened to invite you to a threesome. Love the priorities, Rogers." She linked arms with him. "Let's go get some lunch. They should be done by then."