Clint awakes with unwelcome grogginess and a pounding headache. He also recognizes the feeling of drugs and painkillers flowing through his system. His eyes fly open and he flinches back, wincing when it aggravates his chest and shoulder.

There are people around him, they have needles, there are too many people. He has to get out of here. He attempts to sit up and get out of here, only to realize belatedly that his arms and legs are tied down.

His vision sways and his head falls back to his pillow. There is a woman coming up to him and she's holding a needle. He reacts without realizing and he screams. "Phil! Natasha!...HELP!" His hoarse voice manages to carry enough to Phil and Natasha at the other end of the hallway. They jump up from their seats and run to Clint's room.

…

Flashback: 4 hours previous

…

They were on a mission gone wrong. Phil was brought out into the field and it wasn't looking too hot. Right now they were running through the forest dodging the multiple bullets that were shot at him.

Clint was struggling because he was already shot in the chest earlier. The blood staining his clothing and hands, he was practically dragging himself after Phil and Nat, who were encouraging him to hurry his pace.

It happened in slow motion. Phil swears that he actually saw the bullet. It goes right through Clint's back and lodges itself inside of his stomach. Clint falls with a thud. Grunting in pain.

Together, Phil and Nat manage to drag his heavy ass to a cave, where they fend off the couple dozen fighters behind them by shooting if they came too close. Unfortunately, luck was not on their side. One bullet manages to graze Natasha's hip causing her to wince and press her hand heavily to the wound in pain. The bullet keeps going past her and lands in Clint's shoulder.

Clint, who was stumbling to support himself against the cave wall, stumbles backward and stares at his shoulder. The pain hasn't reached his adrenaline-fueled senses yet.

A couple minutes later, all the enemies are dead outside. And Clint had collapsed in the back of the cave, blood pooling around him. His face was a sickly gray, probably from blood loss. The holes in his clothing were bubbling with blood and the wheezinees in his breath didn't sound good. There was too much time between each breath and that was worrying Phil.

Together, Phil and Nat dragged him out of the cave and back to base. That was four miles away, Natasha walking on an injured hip. She was limping heavily at the end of their trek, not giving up because her partner was practically dead in her arms. Clint's breathing sounds as if his throat is closed. Probably getting only a fraction of what he needs.

…

Present

…

The padded cuffs holding Clint down were apparently strong enough for the thrashing delusional agent. He was jerking against, whilst shouting his handler and partner's name. His teary eyes were off set and wide. He was frightened by everyone that came near him, including the people he was shouting for.

"Hold him down, we can't have him injuring himself more." The doctor orders the nurses. They each take hold of a limb and push him against the bed, preventing any movement. Clint screams in fear and frustration.

"We need to sedate him, we can't hold him much longer." One blond nurse shouts over the ruckus. The doctor goes to prep a needle.

Phil and Nat hear the scream and hurry their pace reaching the scene and watch it unfold before their eyes. "Hey hey! What are you doing?" Phil demands the doctor. Natasha is already heading in and shooing away the nurses from her panicking friend. They won't relent.

"Agent Barton is going to tear his stitches." The doctor says petulantly. "We need him to calm down, if not we're going to sedate him." Phil growls at this. "There are many ways to calm someone down Doctor, sedation isn't top on my list. Get out of my way." The doctor moves in fear of the man.

"Clint listen to me, you're not with Jacques, Barney, your father, or literally anyone else that was in your life that hurt you. You're in shield medical, you were shot on the last mission. You were assigned with me and Natasha." At this Nat jumps in.

"Just listen to us and come back." Clint's wide eyes are indecisive and are looking from both of them, still holding that crazed look. "Ph'l" He slurs out when he comes to a decision.

The nurses slowly back away when Phil glares at them. They let go of Clint precariously as if he'll attack them, even in his weakened state.

"M'not with Barney?" Clint questions. Glancing around at his surrounding and placing a hand on his chest. On his wound. He glances confusedly at it. "Wha' even happn'd?" He mumbles with curiosity, he looks like a confused puppy.

"No you're not. Here, let me undo these for you." The cuffs holding Clint's fisted hands in place were tight. Too tight. Phil leans over, pausing when Clint flinches. Phil takes the silence that follows as a "go ahead." Once they were off his wrists and Clint didn't as much move, he moved onto Clint's legs.

Clint stared at him the whole time, tracking his movements. Phil seats himself next to Clint, galring the doctors and nurses away. Eventually the room is empty except for Phil, Natasha, and Clint.

Clint had sobered up to the point where he is fiddling with his IV enough for Natasha to threaten to put the cuffs back on.

"How are you? Is there any pain?" Phil asks. Clint rolls his eyes. "No, dad. I'm good. It was just a couple bullets." Clint chuckles Now it's Phil's turn to roll his eyes. "My arms and chest hurts a little though…" He mutters. Ashamed of admitting to pain.

Phil knows that Clint rounds down the pain. By a lot. For him to even admit anything was a huge step towards their trust level, and really saying something about how bad the pain was. Phil presses the button and calls for a nurse.

"I could see that. You hit a major artery in your arm and almost bled out. The bullets in your torso landed in your spleen and your lung, popping it of course. And to top it all off, you decided to die on the operation table. Four times. They just about gave up on you." Clint winces at the harshness. "Sorry." He looks down at his lap. Speechless out of fear of what happened to himself.

The nurse came in shakily. She knocks lightly on the door, announcing her entrance. They all look at her and Phil gestures to Clint. Giving the go ahead.

Clint sees the large needle and panics. The nurse panics too when she sees Phil head towards her. "Is there a way that you can do this without actually putting the syringe in him? He's not exactly fond of needles." Phil says this calmly. The nurse understands, having treated Clint before.

She inserts the sedatives into a new IV, and attaches it to the inside of Clint's elbow. He flinches because it's still technically a needle, but calms down when the drugs reach his system.

His eyes grow hazy and he relaxes into the pillow. He gives a light sigh. "Th'nks Phil."

Natasha leans back on her chair in satisfaction. Now she knows her friend will be okay. She smiles as she watches his eyes drift shut and his once erratic heartbeat calm down.

Thanks KatieMacAlpine for reviewing. You're the only person that's been following along with this whole series. So thanks for that!

My high school came in second place for the band competition yesterday. There were three teams participating. It's the best we've done all season! Anyways, all we have left is one football game on Thanksgiving and Marching Finals on Halloween! From then on is just concert.