Thank you for being patient and waiting for the resolution of the cliffhanger. I wasn't home for the last few days so I couldn't write, however I could read and get a lot of inspiration ;) Also a special thanks to everyone for their support on the previous chapters. I hope you enjoy this one :D

Clint just couldn't get the image out of his head. Kate laying motionless, her labored breathing and the blood. So much blood. The red pool under her limp body that just kept growing in every direction, becoming larger by the second, like it was alive. Her eyes were glossy and Clint could see the pain in them, but there was another motion and it wasn't fear, it was determination. He thought that her pained gasping and grunting was the worst thing he will ever hear. But he was so wrong. 'It's ok', she said through grinned, bloody teeth... nothing was ok. But the worst part is that he himself hurt her. Clint swore to god he will make sure that man rots in a box for the rest of his life. But there was no time to think about revenge, not now, not yet.

And now, here he was. Sitting in a hospital waiting room, covered in Kate's blood. He was vaguely aware of doctors coming and going and of Natasha sitting beside him. The far-away voices of nurses trying (and failing) to convince Nat to get her injuries checked over to make sure there is nothing serious. She didn't even try to talk to Clint, they knew one another too well and he already knew what she was gonna say to him: It wasn't your fault... You couldn't have known...

Instead choosing to say: "She is a fighter Clint, she will make it", Nat comforted him.

Clint stayed still and silent for a moment, absolutely certain she knew it wasn't making him feel any better. He knew Kate would never give up on them, she is too stubborn for that. But he really appreciated Tasha's attempt to put a smile on his face.

"I know Tasha, I know", Clint responded with a weak (and fake) smile. He hated hospitals. He just hated being admitted into hospitals and he hated being in waiting rooms, not knowing what to expect. He hates knowing that Kate, his partner and the girl he swore to protect, is in that surgery room being cut open. It all happened because of his mistake. He never misses his shots and the only time he does in three decades he impales his partner.

A couple hours ago a nurse came an explained the situation in detail and her words were still going through Natasha's head. "She is in surgery and it might take a while. The arrow misses anything too important but it scratched an artery and she lost a lot of blood. We are doing out best to stop the bleeding and repair the damage, but she is bleeding enthernaly."

The hours seemed to blur together. Time passed in a new and special way. It was the worst and most terrible hours of their lifes. It seemed like an eternity, yet it wasn't boring or tedious. Adrenalin was still running throuhg their veins and time was running faster but still slow enough to keep them impatient and alone with your thoughts.

Clint's hearth almost stopped when he saw a doctor walk towards them. He didn't know if he was about to hear good news but he knew for certain he can't wait any more, he just can't take it.

"Family of Kate Bishop?", the young doctor asked probably already knowing the answer.

"Yea that's us", responded Clint as all the blood drained from his face.

"Miss Bishop's condition is stable for now. However she is still sedated and she lost a lot of blood. We have her on pain killers and she probably won't wake up for another few days.", continued the doctor.

"So she will be ok?", asked Nat in a worried tone desperatly wanting to know the answer.

"Well, we will see when she wakes up and monitor her recovery, but for now she is out of mortal danger"

Natasha just nodded and muttered a thanks to the doctor for his promise to let them see her soon. Clint meanwhile sank back to the chair with a heavy sigh. He was begging every god that might exist in this twisted universe to let her be alright. And now that he knew she at least isn't bleeding to death he could relax a little, but only a tiny bit. Because that doctor didn't seem so sure when or even if she will wake up. But he's an archer, he will be patient and wait.

After a few minutes a nurse let them into her hospital room and Clint stopped dead on the doorstep. He saw Kate laying in the bed and he couldn't help but notice how damn small she looked. She was deadly pale and her dark hair was messy (her hair is always messy but like this). Different IV bags poked her exposed pale skin. Her eyes were closed and her body was motionless, but she didn't look peaceful like she was sleeping. He has seen his partners injured before, I mean Natasha was famous for getting hurt in battle but it was never like this.

They sat there for what seemed like hours, barely exchanging a word or two. Eventually Clint broke the silence. "I just want to see her open her eyes. I miss her annoying sarcastic comments so much", he said while holding back tears as Natasha chuckled a little. She left eventually to change out of her bloody clothes and get some sleep. But Clint isn't going anywhere, not until he sees those gorgeous brown eyes of hers. Not even after day turns to night and morning comes again... he isn't leaving.

He hates how unsure of himself he feels in this moment. It was easier with his own kids, when they were sick or hurt. He knew what to do and how to behave. The gut instinct was still there, the urge to parent Kate like she was one of his own. But she had lost her own dad, she had told him that story with pain in her eyes. Even tho he was the one who gave her hope in that hard moment, Clint didn't want to step into shoes that weren't his to fill. Trying to keep the distance between mentor and family was so hard when he cared for the girl so much already. But he just felt useless, so helpless, there was just nothing he could do accepted make sure he is there for her when (not if, but when) she wakes of. Clint doesn't know if she can hear him, but hopes so with every cell of his body. He is whispering to her softly, by this point it doesn't even matter what he is saying. He told her he needs her, he needs her to open her eyes, he told her he misses her, he misses her annoying sarcastic comments. And above all he apologized to her, he is so so sorry, it was his fault and he is so damn sorry.

"I'm sorry"
In the twilight of pain medication, Clint whispered the words and Kate went searching for the source of the voice. Once Kate felt his hand on her cheek she tried to tap it, but it dissolved like mist through her fingers. That's when Kate finally began to surface into the sterile hospital room, still not opening her eyes. Drugs dull the extremes of all emotions, so instead of a stab of sorrow, she merely felt emptiness. A hollow of dead brush where flowers used to bloom. Unfortunately, there was not enough of the drug left in her veins for her to ignore the pain in the side of her body.

Clint was holding one of her hands in between both of his as he heard Kate groan softly. It was like music to his ears, even tho it was a pained groan shortly followed by a grimace on her face. He just squeezed her hand and brushed some of her dark hair out of her eyes and behind her ear.

"Morning sunshine", Clint said quietly in a soft voice just as she opened her eyes and tried to get used to the sudden brightness of the room. He loved seeing those brown eyes to much. He could never know how much he would miss them. "How are you feeling Katie?"

Honestly Kate felt like a truck ran over her. Or more accurately like she was shot and electrocuted. Everything hurt and her energy level was so low. "I feel like I've been shot", she said with a small chuckle, soon realizing it was a mistake (which her bruised ribs did not take too fondly to). Kate continued in a light hearted tone: "Like seriously what kind of question is that?"

That is when Clint remembered what qualities he really appreciated in this girl. She always somehow found a way to put a smile on his face, even in the darkest situations.

Kate's mind was a bit foggy. She was clearly in a hospital, which means she has been injured. The pain in her lower abdomen was not sharp and terrible as she remembers it being, that's the last thing she could remember, actually. The pain was now dull and blunt and it felt uncomfortable. She could feel the stiches rubbing her skin the wrong way. Her hand instinctively went to touch the source of the pain. Kate was greeted by a thick layer of bandages and a wave of pain that shot through her body.

"Hey hey Katie, slow down", Clint commented on her stupid move to touch the wound.

Kate was confused, she was so damn confused. She really had no idea what happened, I mean she is hurt and it's obvious she had been shot, Kate remembered the far-away voices of doctors talking about that. However nothing else made sense. Why is Clint looking so concerned and why on earth was he apologizing? "Cl'nt what is going on", she asked weakly (a new dose of meds was kicking in and making her sleepy), "what happened?"

"You don't remember, do you?", Clint asked. He was caught off guard and really embarrassed about it, but above all he felt guilty. Taking a deep breath, he explained what happened two days ago and how his arrow landed her in the hospital. He was stuttering and stopping constantly to say that he is sorry. "You were unconscious...and...and...you lost a lot of blood. I thought I lost you Kate... I thought I killed you", he finished while holding back tears, his voice shaky.

Meanwhile Kate made no noise, she didn't take her eyes of her mentor, studying his face and emotions. "Listen to me Clint, you will never ever hurt me", Kate responded in a soft voice, trying to calm him while seeing the pain in his eyes. "What happened was not your fault." There was a moment of silence and it was obvious Clint didn't believe Kate, because in his mind, there is no way she is not angry.

"Besides, you'll never lose me", Kate said with a huge grin on her face, "Not gonna get rid of me so easy."

"Kid you are going to be the end of me, you know that right?", Clint responded with a small chuckle.

"What?", Kate's voice was sarcastic and mocking hurt, "One simple arrow isn't going to be my demise. That is such a stupid way to die." Kate tried her best not to laugh because of how much her ribs hurt but she was failing miserably.

"You have given me so many gray hairs kid, you know that right?", Clint said while running one or his hands through his hair. His other hand was still wrapped around Kate's.

"I have given you a collection of zero gray hairs. You are just old. It has nothing to do with me", Kate responded.

A slow clapping could be heard from the door. It was Natasha standing at the doorway of the hospital room. "Nice one kid", she chuckled, "that's what I'm talking about. I knew you could come out with better insults."

"Tasha I love you but you can really be a pain in my ass. I would really appreciate you not transferring that quality onto Kate", Clint shot back on Natasha's snarky remark. He smiled to himself while biting his lip, not knowing which one of his partners annoyed him more. "And as for your comment", he continued while pointing at Kate, "I'm gonna let it slide, but only because I almost killed you."

"Hey I told you that one stupid arrow isn't going to be the end of me", said the young archer while trying to sit up in bed. I'm an idiot, she thought as shocks of pain were send through her entire body and the wound felt like it was on fire.

Nat rushed to her side as she heard her grunt in pain, but her partner was already there. "Take it easy kid", he said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder and slowly lowering her back in a laying position.

"Believe me don't want to tear up you stiches", Natasha said it as advice but her face turned into a grimace as she dug through that bad memory.

"Was that the time on mission in Turkey?", Clint asked Natasha in a far-away voice, as if she didn't tear up her stiches only once.

"What happened in Turkey?", asked Kate, being confused about the whole thing. How many times did their mission go wrong so they mix them up? "And how on Earth did you manage to tear up stiches?"

"She forgot that black widows don't fly", smiled Clint as he remembered. "She fell...", Clint looked away as Nat stared daggers at him, "she jumped off a building and her gun shot wound opened up."

"Wait a minute", Kate interrupted the story with a confused look on her face. "What were you doing on a mission fighting a jumping on rooftops if you were injured?"

"Yea Tasha, what were you doing?", Clint asked in a sarcastic tone, as if was waiting for the answer for years.

"It wasn't serious", answered Natasha nonchalantly like it is no big deal, "the bullet barely scratched me and..."

"So you decided not to tell anyone and scare me to death", he finished instead of his partner. He still doesn't understand why was Natasha so proud and stubborn to patch up her own wounds and then keep fighting the next day.

"You people are not normal you know that?", Kate commented jokingly (she was not in the mood to listen to another one of their childish arguments). "You are like batshit crazy", she continued in a tired tone. "You are a pair of assassins so I didn't expect you to be like normal suburban people or something but you are weird even by my standards", she really meant it, she loved her team and would risk her life for them but they were a bit weird. And when an awkward girl with ADHD whose hobby is shooting explosive sticks thinks you are weird you must be doing something wrong. Kate didn't mean to insult anybody and she knew her partners aren't taking offence by the growing smiles on their faces.

"Welcome aboard kid", said Natasha through a small chuckle while putting her hand on Kate's shoulder. She wanted her to feel safe and welcomed to the team, even if it's sometimes dangerous and her partners tend to be a bit strange. Natasha found it incredible how loyal Kate is to Clint, even after he hurt her she took the time to comfort him and even irritate him (Nat was sure Kate figured out it's a good way to make him feel better). Nat congratulated her new teammate: "Now you are a part of the weird."

So can't believe this fanfic is finally over. I've really had a lot of fun and I'm super proud of the story I presented. There was a lot of positive feedback so I really hope you enjoyed it too!

I don't know if I will write anything else if the near future 'cause I don't have any ideas or inspiration. If any of you have any requests or suggestions for fanfictions feel free to leave them in the comments.