(NOTE: I posted this yesterday but it looks like it didn't go through for some reason, so I'm reposting!)

Day 30

Now Where Did That Come From?

Wound Reveal | Ignoring an Injury | Internal Organ Injury

"Is everyone okay?" Steve's voice came floating over the comm. line, sounding a bit winded himself now that the mission was done.

Bucky took stock of himself. "I'm okay."

"Still in one piece," Tony reported.

"Nat took a hit," Clint said, tension in his tone.

"How bad is it?" Steve asked, worry lacing his tone.

"It's s'not bad," Natasha protested, though her unsteady tone and slurred words weren't terribly comforting.

"She hit her head pretty good," Clint said. "I don't think it's too bad though, probably a mild concussion."

"Okay, let's all regroup back at the Quinjet," Steve said. "Bruce can take a look at her while we get out of here."

"Finally," Tony sighed. It had been an especially long day for all of them, and it was clear everyone was just anxious to get home.

Bucky was able to make it to the Quinjet pretty quickly, the second to make it there after Tony and was closely followed by Steve. Bruce joined them at the bottom of the ramp as they all waited for Clint and Natasha.

"There they are," Tony finally said as he spotted the two of them.

They were moving slowly, Natasha with her arm draped over Clint's shoulders and leaning on him for stability as they staggered toward the Quinjet. There was a pretty good amount of blood staining the left side of Natasha's face, but it looked like it had stopped bleeding already.

"Natasha, how do you feel?" Bruce asked as he hurried up to the pair.

"Just a little dizzy with a killer headache," Natasha mumbled as she took back her arm and stood on her own, as if to prove that she could. She was still swaying slightly on her feet though.

"Okay, let me check you out first before we take off," Bruce said, putting a gentle hand on her back and leading her up the ramp and into the jet.

Steve and Tony were deep in conversation about routes to take back home - Steve trying to make a case to stop off at a nearby SHIELD base for a debrief - as they too headed up into the jet, assumedly to start preparing for takeoff. Bucky was about to move to follow them… but then he noticed that Clint hadn't moved.

"You okay?" Bucky asked, arching an eyebrow. Now that he was really looking at him, Clint looked a little on the pale side and seemed more out of breath than he should have been.

"I'm fine," Clint said, waving a hand dismissively. "Just… need to catch my breath."

Bucky nodded, but drifted closer to Clint, watching him critically. "You sure you're okay?" Bucky pressed after another minute passed and Clint was still struggling to catch his breath.

"It's just… been a long day," Clint sighed.

"Yeah," Bucky agreed, still watching Clint's every move closely. "Why don't we go into the jet so you can sit down."

"Yeah," Clint said, swiping the back of his hand across his forehead, leaving a streak of red in its wake. Did Clint have Natasha's blood on his hands? And had he been sweating like that just a few minutes ago? "Prob'ly a good idea."

"Okay, c'mon," Bucky urged, feeling more and more sure that something was wrong.

Clint went to take a step… and suddenly his knees buckled out from under him. If Bucky hadn't been watching him so carefully, he wouldn't have made it in time, but luckily he was quick enough to get a hand around Clint's midsection in order to catch him before his knees crashed into the ground. In one fluid motion, Bucky was able to scoop Clint up into his arms and then ran up the ramp into the jet.

"Need some help over here!" Bucky yelled.

Everyone turned to him in surprise, confused for a long moment before they seemed to comprehend what they were seeing and burst into action. Natasha was sitting on one of the cots in the med area, and would have jumped to her feet if Bruce hadn't stopped her. Steve and Tony both came running out of the cockpit.

"What happened?" Steve demanded at the same time that Tony yelled, "What did you do?"

"I don't know what happened," Bucky snapped as he laid Clint out on the cot next to Natasha's. "He just collapsed all of a sudden."

"Steve, make sure Natasha stays put," Bruce said as he crossed the space between the cots in order to focus on Clint. "Clint? Can you hear me?"

Clint blinked up at Bruce blearily. "Bruce?"

"Clint, do you know what happened?" Bruce asked quickly as he was already checking Clint over. "Does anything hurt?"

"My side hurts," Clint finally admitted, his words beginning to slur as his breath became even more labored.

Bruce reached down and pulled up Clint's shirt and they all gasped at what they saw. It had been hard to spot since the black shirt had masked the red tint, but now they all stared down at Clint's side that was covered with blood. For a long moment, all anyone could do was stare.

"Clint… did you get shot?" Tony finally demanded.

Clint's gaze wandered down, as if trying to see the wound for himself. "Di'nt think it was tha' bad."

"Getting shot is always bad, Clint," Bruce said as he finally jumped into action. He checked to see that there was no exit wound before he quickly started packing the wound in order to stem the bleeding.

"Clint, why didn't you say anything?" Natasha demanded, her eyes wide and adrenaline clearly helping her focus. She was now sitting on the very edge of the cot, Steve with one hand on her arm to make sure she didn't topple over.

Clint tilted his head up so that he could look in her direction. "You were hurt."

"I'd like to put it on the record that two people are allowed to be hurt at the same time," Tony said. "We don't put a cap on how many people get medical attention."

"I'll get him started on a transfusion and an IV with some fluids," Bruce said. "Tony, can you get us to the nearest SHIELD base? It doesn't look too bad, but I have no idea what kind of internal damage the bullet did, especially since it's still in there."

"On it," Tony said as he disappeared up to the cockpit.

"Sorry," Clint mumbled.

"It's okay, Clint," Bruce assured him with a small, comforting smile as he worked. "You're gonna be okay. It's just nice to get a heads up about these kinds of things so we don't have to panic when you pass out. Okay"

Clint smirked wryly. "Yeah, okay."