Natasha had woken up tied to chairs, chained to walls, and on one particularly memorable occasion, in the basket of a drifting hot air balloon with a panicked Turkish couple, two high level Hydra operatives, and one highly confused and drugged Agent Coulson.

But somehow this was so much worse.

There was a dinosaur less than two feet away from her, eating from the tree she was currently sleeping in.

She pushed herself back onto the branch furthest away from the creature. A glance at Steve, and she saw that he was already awake and watching the dinosaur with an easy smile.

The jerk.

She was going to smack him if he had been the one to call it over.

"Get rid of it," Natasha hissed.

"It's okay. It's not going to hurt us, Natasha. They're gentle," Steve said.

Natasha scoffed. She'd seen how 'gentle' dinosaurs were yesterday.

Clint was still asleep, nestled under Steve's arm in the small space between Steve and the tree. He roused when Steve rubbed his shoulder, yawning tiredly before his eyes settled on the dinosaur and his mouth opened in shock. Clint quickly recovered, moving forward eagerly.

"Wow! This is awesome! Nat, get a load of her!" Clint said. He patted his hands on his knees, like he was trying to call a dog over. "C'mon! C'mon, girl!"

Steve pulled a leafy branch off the tree and held it out to the Brachiosaurus, practically crooning at it to take a bite. Clint was sitting on the edge of his seat, vibrating with excitement.

Natasha was certain she was the only sane person in this situation.

The Brachiosaurus watched with curious eyes, head tilting slightly. It let out a loud bellow and reached forward, trying to tug the branch out of Steve's hands.

"Oh no you don't," Steve said, hanging on tight. He pulled on the branch and the dinosaur's head moved closer with it, eventually deciding it would simply eat the food from Steve's hand if he wasn't going to give it up.

As soon as it had settled, both Clint and Steve reached out to touch it, petting its nose while it chewed the leaves. Clint and Steve both had dreamy looks on their face, like they were having the time of their lives. Clint didn't even react when Steve rested his hand on Clint's shoulder to keep Clint from losing his balance as Clint stretched out over the edge to get even closer.

It made Natasha smile a little.

"Tasha, come pet the dinosaur! You're never going to get another chance to do this."

Her smile dropped.

"I'd rather not."

"Aw, come on," Clint wheedled. "It's not going to hurt you."

"No."

"Just think of it as kind of a big cow," Steve tried.

Natasha glared at him, letting him know she still wasn't happy at him for calling over a dinosaur when he'd promised not to do so. Steve rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and dropped the subject.

"If you don't, I'll tell everyone you were too afraid to touch it."

"Then it'll be the last thing you do."

"It would be worth it." Clint turned to her with a smile, aiming for the same wide-eyed innocence he'd used yesterday, and missing the mark. "Nobody else has ever gotten to touch living dinosaurs. Live a little."

"They're movie dinosaurs. They're not real."

"Close enough," Clint said petulantly. He shrugged and returned his focus to the dinosaur, but Natasha could tell by the momentary flash on his face that her words had hurt.

Natasha sighed and reached out to touch the dinosaur. Her hand was inches away from its wrinkled skin when it pulled its head away. When Clint turned toward her with a confused look, she smiled and rolled her eyes.

Clint's face lit up in anticipation.

"No, it'll come back! You gotta go over to that branch and call it over."

Steve looked like he was going to say something, but the words were knocked out of him with an 'oomf' when Clint flopped dramatically back against Steve's chest. Clint gave Natasha a pleading look. "Please, Tasha? Do it for me?"

Natasha moved higher on the branch where Clint had pointed and outstretched her hand toward the Brachiosaurus. A very small part of her agreed with Clint that this was fascinating. It would be a shame to miss out on a chance to touch a dinosaur. Especially since a remark like that on the debriefing report would instantly be flagged, and she would have the pleasure of watching Director Fury trying to get a concise story out of Clint who would deliberately waste time describing each dinosaur in painstaking detail.

"Come on. Come over here!"

The Brachiosaurus faced Natasha. Its head pulled back briefly, nostrils twitching. Then it sneezed and Natasha was covered in a thin layer of snot from the top of her head all the way to her waist.

Scratch that. Clint was an asshole, and every part of her was filled with regret.

Clint was laughing so hard he nearly fell out of the tree. He caught his breath long enough to shout, "Bless you!" at the dinosaur.

"You knew that was going to happen," Natasha accused.

"Consider it payback for Budapest."

"You already got me back for that." Natasha wiped some of the snot off her face and gave him a mischievous look. "You better watch your back, Barton."

"I look forward to it, Romanoff." Clint paused and wrinkled his nose. "You should go wash off. You're starting to smell."

Natasha glared at him, not altogether surprised when Clint stuck his tongue out at her. She made sure to wipe her hands off on him when she passed him and started climbing down the tree.

The water running from a drainage pipe had slowed to a small stream, but she was able to rinse off most of the snot. She expected Clint and Steve to be down by the time she finished, so it was a surprise when she saw they were still in the tree. She watched them for several minutes, only really able to see Steve's face.

It was enough to tell her something was off.

Steve was upset. His brow was furrowed, lips tight, and even from the ground, she could see that his jaw was clenched. He started to say something and was clearly interrupted. Steve rubbed a hand over his face, his shoulders slumping, and Natasha knew in that moment that his resolve was crumbling. Clint's stubbornness was likely wearing him down.

Steve said something and they both climbed down the tree, pretending like nothing had happened. Natasha trailed a few steps behind as they walked toward the visitor's center. Steve had come a long way in hiding his thoughts since she'd first met him, however there was no mistaking that his smile was a little forced and Steve couldn't help glancing at Clint out of the corner of his eye.

Clint was much more discreet. He seemed unconcerned, talking excitedly about the dinosaurs they were going to see. He questioned Steve what it was like to hold the baby velociraptor, and tried to convince Natasha that Jurassic Park was one of the best movies ever despite her poor introduction to it. When they stumbled across the egg shells in a nest, he engaged Steve in a fierce argument as to what species could be responsible for them.

If Natasha didn't know him as well as she did, it would have been easy to take his enthusiasm at face value and not realize he was using it as a distraction.

She caught Clint's eye and he dropped back to match her speed. "You said we run with dinosaurs in the valley, climb the fence, and make it to the visitor's center where we escape the Velociraptors. Then we're done, right?"

"Yep."

"Are you leaving anything out?"

"I don't think so." Clint scrunched up his face in thought. "There's some pretty delicious looking food we can eat before the Velociraptors."

Natasha studied him. Nothing obvious showed on his face, but her stomach sank. "You're not telling the full truth."

"You're right," Clint said. He hung his head and took a deep breath. "Technically, only I eat delicious food. You eat a bunch of veggies."

He patted her shoulder and ran ahead to catch up with Steve who had just reached the top of the first hill in the clearing.

"We're getting close," Steve said. "Just need to make it over that rise, and we're a mile away."

"Easy for you to say," Clint muttered, lagging behind. "This body was not built for stamina."

"Or the heat," Natasha added. She wiped a hand over her forehead, wrinkling her nose at the slick layer of sweat.

Clint nodded. "Not to mention, I'm starving."

"This will perk you up," Steve said, gesturing for them to move closer.

"What are they?" Natasha asked suspiciously.

"Gallimimus. They're herbivores, too. And they're always running," Clint said. He watched for a moment, then turned and tugged on Natasha's arm as he started to run toward a large fallen log. "Which means we need to run, too, 'cause they're coming our way."

Steve caught up to Clint and Natasha within seconds. He grabbed each of their hands, urging them forward as the herd of Gallimimus reached them. The Gallimimus towered above them, chirping as they swiftly flocked around them, leaping over the log ahead of them in a single bound. Steve helped Clint and Natasha over the log and covered them as they tucked themselves close.

As the last Gallimimus passed them, Steve, Natasha, and Clint crawled under a gap in the log and stared out over the other side. Steve felt Natasha stiffen next to him when the T-Rex emerged suddenly from the trees and attacked the Gallimimus.

The T-Rex grabbed one of the Gallimimus in its jaws and shook it roughly, holding the Gallimimus's head down with one of its feet and tearing away a chunk of flesh.

"Wow." Clint's voice was awestruck and he stood up slightly to get a better view.

Steve looked a little nauseous, but couldn't disagree that there was something entrancing about watching the T-Rex eat.

Natasha looked between the two of them with a long-suffering stare and yanked Clint away from the log. "Let's go. I want to get out of here."

"But, Tasha-"

"She's right, Clint. We've got to move."

They darted away into the tree cover, quickly putting distance between them and the T-Rex. But the further away they got, the less safe Natasha felt. There was a sudden tension in the air. Steve had slowed down, each step carefully measured, like he was trying to stall and didn't know how to. Clint had determinedly taken the lead. guiding them up the hill toward the visitor's center. He pushed them forward even when he was wheezing and his legs shook.

Steve made him stop to catch his breath before they reached the top of the hill, the thick wire fence looming ominously behind them.

All they had to do was make it through the visitor's center.

Steve hopped onto the cement barrier in front of them, standing in front of the large danger sign with a stick in his hand. He tossed the stick at the fence, and the stick bounced harmlessly away. Steve shrugged, carefully approaching with his outstretched hands hovering over the cable. There was a pause, then he grabbed the thick cable and started shaking it with an exaggerated scream.

The way Steve's muscles remained loose, the scream, and the distinct lack of smoke coming from where Steve's hands touched the cable were all dead giveaways that the cable wasn't currently electrified. That wasn't even taking into account the dead warning lights sitting on the top of the fence and the missing hum of electricity.

Natasha crossed her arms, an unimpressed look on her face.

Steve turned and offered her a sheepish smile.

"Are you done?" Natasha asked.

"That was never going to work, but nice try," Clint said, grinning up at Steve.

The T-Rex roared in the distance, and they all turned to stare out into the jungle.

"Let's get going," Steve said.

Natasha took a running start and gracefully pulled herself up onto the cement barrier. Steve leaned down and grabbed Clint's hands, pulling him up since his finger barely cleared the lip of the cement at his current height.

"Race you to the other side, Nat!" Clint said as they started to climb the thirty-foot fence. "I'll let you choose which movies we watch for the next month if you win."

"Come one, guys. Don't-"

"Deal." Clint was the better climber between the two of them, but Natasha was a foot taller than him now. Her competitive streak couldn't say no to the advantage, and needless to say, she was a little bitter after his trick with the Brachiosaurus. He was going to regret saying a month when she made him watch long biopics and foreign language films.

Natasha cleared the top of the fence easily. Steve kept pace with her as they descended the other side, Clint apparently having difficulty getting over the top. When she jumped off, her feet sent up little plumes of dust. She turned around to find Clint still gripping the fence twenty feet above her. The feeling of unease nagging her all morning turned into tangible concern.

"Clint, what are you doing?"

Natasha started to move toward the fence, intent on climbing back up to reach Clint, when Steve's arm grasped her wrist and held her back.

"Natasha, wait-"

The alarms on the fence started ringing loudly, the blue warning light glinting in the sun as it flashed obnoxiously.

Clint should have been clambering down the fence to get out of harm's way, but instead, he tightened his hold.

"Clint, get down from there!" Natasha tried to break out of Steve's hold, and he refused to let her. "Get down now!"

"No! We can't change the story!"

"To hell with the story. Get-"

"If I don't get hurt, the story could change and Bruce could be eat-"

"Stop being stupid-"

"Natasha, calm down." Steve grabbed Natasha's other hand, and turned her away from Clint. His tone was annoyingly calm, but Natasha could hear the cracks where anxiousness slipped through. "We knew this was going to happen. I promise I'll bring him back, okay?"

"Bring him back?" Natasha whispered. Her eyes widened and shot up to Clint, her heart pounding in her chest. "You mean he dies?" she exclaimed.

She broke free for only a second, running toward the fence, before Steve's hand grabbed her around the arm again and pulled her back.

"You didn't tell her!" Steve yelled at Clint.

"I didn't think it would be useful! She would have tried to talk me out of it!"

"That was a horrible idea!" Natasha screamed at Clint. Steve forced her to focus back on him.

"That wire's going to become electrified any minute, and Clint's going to fly off of it," Steve said quietly. "I can bring him back, I promise. But I can't do that if you both get hurt."

"You need to bring him back."

"I will."

Natasha nodded and backed away, jittery hands shielding her eyes from the sun so she could see Clint better. A small voice in her head sternly told her to get her emotions under control, but any semblance of reason slipped through her fingers with each second that ticked by and brought Clint's heart closer to stopping.

The alarms shrilled louder, the cold blue light flashed faster, and Natasha wasn't sure if it was her own heartbeat or Clint's that she was hearing.

Then everything went quiet.

A solid red light beamed from the top of the fence.

Bruce removed his finger from the button, hoping he had made the right decision. His eyes lingered on the red glow for only a second before he turned and bolted for the door, throwing it closed behind him as the lights flickered to life above him.

The Velociraptor burst from between the line of cables next to the fuse box, screeching angrily as it muscled its way through and launched itself at the door. Wire mesh bent under its powerful grip, snapping away from the door frame.

Bruce stumbled, his ankle twisting as he fell against a metal cabinet, and a dismembered arm dislodged from between the pipes next to him and onto the floor. Bruce imagined what would have happened if he hadn't made it out in time, if those vicious jaws were tearing into him instead of the door.

The Velociraptor's ferocious yellow eyes narrowed at Bruce as he escaped, limping his way through the compound. He didn't stop until he was outside, sunlight beaming down on his back as he slammed the metal door closed behind him.

He flew toward the visitor's center, ignoring the spike of pain in his ankle. Muldoon's screams echoed in the air behind him.