Tony is half asleep when he gets the call, but the four words jolt him out of his haze. "Family of Clint Barton?" A young lady asks at the other end.

Tony stands up quickly. "Yes. Why? Is he okay? What hospital is he at?" Tony is already getting ready, the phone is tucked between his shoulder and ear as he pulls on pants. The questions are blurted out of his mouth as he runs to his car.

"He's at shield medical. Mr. Stark, Agents Romanoff and Barton went on a mission that went south, bombs were thrown at them and one landed near a tree that collapsed onto Barton's legs as he dove out of the way. His left leg was crushed in several places and we had no choice but to remove it. His right leg was broken at the femur and ankle. Agent Romanoff told us to call you, are you anywhere near?" The nurse finally ends her explanation.

By now, Tony is already pulling into shield headquarters. "I'm here, I'm coming to the hospital end of the building now." Tony says hurriedly, not wanting to delay any longer.

"Okay I'll meet you in the waiting room." The nurse says finally, ending the call.

Tony sighs as he sits on the hard plastic seat. He's getting too old for this.

…

Tony calls the rest of the team and now they are all sitting, even Natasha. Who is nursing a nasty burn on her side,

"Family of Clint Barton?" The same nurse from before walks in. Gesturing for them to follow her.

"Clint's at the end of the hallway, the anesthetic is wearing off so he's probably awake, if not now then soon." She pauses as she opens a door to a room and reveals the broken teammate to his friends.

Natasha, who hasn't been able to see Clint yet, runs up his side. Clint's eyes are half lidded and he is struggling to wake up properly.

His lips keep twitching as he tries to say something but then fails. "Clint?" Natasha says in his ears.

"…'shaa…" he practically breathes out.

Natasha sighs in relief, she feels a tear drip down her cheek. "Hey…hey. Oh thank god Clint." She starts weeping.

"Wha…?" Clint mumbles, still confused. Natasha purses her lips together. "Clint, you were hurt. Badly." She says quietly to him.

Clint feels the fear with those words. "How..bad?' He grounds out. Eyes becoming more lucid as more time passes.

Natasha sighs wearily. "Clint, you don't have a leg anymore. We were on a mission and one of the bombs blew up a tree next to you, it crushed your legs. The doctors had no choice but to remove it." Clint struggles to sit up before ripping the blanket off of his waist and the whole team gasps at the spot right below Clint's hip that had just a bandaged lump at the end. Clint feels tears leak down his face. "No…" He chokes out.

Clint pats the nub, wincing in pain even at the light touch of his fingers, just to make sure that this is real. "No…" He whispers brokenly again.

Tony jumps in. "Clint. I'm gonna make this better, I'm gonna make a prosthetic that's fit for field duty and you'll be back to yourself in no time. Just give me a little bit." Tony walks towards his lab with ideas strolling through his head, mainly leaving because he could no longer stand the tension that felt as if it was breathing down his neck.

"Clint, it's okay. You heard Tony, you've had it worse." Natasah says, trying to do anything to lift Clint's spirits.

Clint chuckles wetly, but it's fake. "Nothing as permanent as this.'' He gestures weakly to his left leg, or what was left of it. Natasha sighs. "I know, but you know how to overcome this." Clint echoes her sigh.

…

Clint is cleared a couple days later, but under strict orders to stay in the wheelchair until his right leg is healed. Which despite classic behaviour, Clint does. He mopes and silks in the black wheelchair all day, wheeling himself around the tower half-heartedly. Bruce hasn't had to yell at him once, and while that is a good thing, it is also concerning.

"Clint, are you okay? You know I'm here if you want to talk about it." Bruce approaches him one day.

Clint looks at him. "What use am I to this team anymore?" Clint turns to Bruce. "I was useless before on a team of demigods, supersoldiers, and genetically modified fighters, but now I can't even walk. Shouldn't I just leave? Retire? Just spend the rest of my life as a bum with no leg?" By the end of this, Clint had tears dripping down his face. All of the pain he's been masking had crumpled when Clint admitted defeat.

Bruce sighs. "Tony's almost done with his prosthetic leg. It's a prototype for now but it'll do the job to get you started. You can't use it until your right leg heals though." Clint nods solemnly.

…

Time skip: 3 weeks

…

Clint is hoisted out of his chair with a grunt by grabbing Steve's hands. The shaky leg beneath him does nothing to support his weight. He all but collapses onto Steve, only to manage to balance himself through pure stubbornness.

Clint puts his weight in his new forearm crutches. "Ow." He says stubbornly.

After only a couple hobbled steps, Clint gets annoyed with them. Especially with his off-balanced lower body. Steve stays near his backside, making sure he doesn't fall over. "Tony has a leg ready for you." Bruce jumps in.

"I know, that's where I'm going." Clint says, sounding a little annoyed. But that might be because of the pain.

At the labs, Tony is happy to see Clint. Not even a half hour later, Clint fitted with the leg. Clint's eyes go hazy as the pants are hiked up and pulled off of his lump. The scarring is stark against the skin. Tony quickly covers it up with the cup of the metal thigh, not wanting Clint to get lost in his mind. Tony gestures discreetly with his head for the team to leave, he knows and understands that Clint doesn't want everyone else to see this side of him.

The leg is fitted and Clint manages to take a couple steps before the leg wobbles under the weight and Clint falls into Tony's arms. "Dammit…" Tony hears Clint whisper into his chest. His voice cracks from despair. Tony pities the man.

"It's okay Clint, you'll get it. I know you will and you know that I won't let you fail." Together, they drag Clint to these metal bars across the room when Clint gains a white knuckle grip on them and pulls himself upwards. There is a clink as the metal foot lands on the ground and Clint tries again. Shakily walking himself across a couple feet of bars before the leg gives out again. It's only his arms that hold him up.

His weak legs scramble for a stance on the floor. Tony resisted the urge to help him, knowing that all Clint has left is his pride.

…

Time Skip: 4 months

…

Clint has alway been a quick learner. Which is why only four months into the year long process, Clint is able to walk across rooms without a break. He is proud but annoyed with his progress.

"You're getting better at this." Tony comments to Clint as he walks into the room. Clint was limping laps around the room with a stiff leg. He still has yet to master bending his knee. "Don't forget to bend your leg." Tony says. Clint scowls but obeys, his limp almost disappears fully. Tony knows that even if he had perfect form, the limp wouldn't go away.

…

Time Skip: 6 months

…

It's been a full year since the incident and Clint has healed enough to go on his first mission. It's a light mission, the rest of the team is probably going to be doing all of the work anyways. They're slowly easing Clint back into action.

"Clint you good?" Natasha checks on him in the comm. He responds quickly. "Yes Nat, I'm doing the same as I was five minutes ago when you asked last time."

Tony stifles a laugh when she says this. Natasha scowls at Tony.

It was a quick battle, only about 50 agents had to be taken down. Enough action for Clint to be leaned over, sweaty palms resting on his knees. "You good? How's the leg?" Tony walks up to him. "How'd it hold up?"

Clint looks up to Tony. "I'm doing good." He pauses to take a breath. "The leg's fine. A little...sore though." Clint rubs his thigh absentmindedly. Then knocks his fist against the metal with a smirk.

That's how Tony knows that Clint is going to be okay. Despite the way Clint all but collapses onto the couch at the tower. With a rip, the supporting velcro is off and Clint unscrews his leg, letting his scarred tissue beneath breath. Clint leans back with a sigh, smiling lightly when Tony starts playing Star Wars on the TV next to him.

I got my retainer this week and let me tell you, It's so bad. It keeps falling off my teeth and my tongue can't stop playing with it. The funniest part though is the embarrassment. We had a presentation in English and my brand new lisp was so bad. My friend was suffering in the back with second hand embarrassment.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter. Shoutouts to you guys, Anais Laurent, jamiehernandez8888, PotatoCheeseCat, Robin-Hoody, and Katie MacAlpine.

Anais Laurent: Haha, merci beaucoup pour l'examen. Je ne fais pas vraiment de ficlets de couple parce que je ne serais jamais capable d'atteindre les vrais sentiments d'amour. Mais je vais essayer d'ajouter certains d'entre eux en tant qu'amis proches, ou à certains yeux ils pourraient s'aimer, dans certains des futurs chapitres.

Katie MacAlpine: Thanks for the concern, at my doctors appointment none of them knew what actually happened to me. They're still confused and they just said to treat it as it was a concussion.

PotatoCheeseCat: I'm gonna take a break between this whumptober and the next but I'm not waiting until next October. That's waaay too long. Probably the month of December. So I have time to start some of the chapters, and I'm not rushing it. If not then, then definitely January.