Natasha slept most of the day, curled up besides Clint and only waking for vital checks and later, more food.
It was reaching visiting hours and Clint had gotten a message to the others and they were coming to see her.
They'd had to separate before. More than once.
But it was still strange to be apart from the boys she called family.
Natasha felt too nervous to eat much of the dinner the nurses gave her, but Clint kept the tray for later.
The redhead couldn't stop over thinking. Couldn't stop thinking that Bobbi would tell someone. That they'd be found out.
That's she'd be taken back to her father.
"Easy, Nat, stop thinking so hard." Clint bumped her shoulder.
They'd been playing a word game on the phone and Natasha had gotten increasingly quiet.
"I'm just worried." She said quietly, sighing and leaning her head against his shoulder.
"I know. But I'm good at reading people, I don't think she'll tell anyone."
"Maybe not. But we could still get found out. If they notice the documents are different...that we're not them..."
"They won't. That's why we used real people. Try not to worry." Clint murmured, kissing her temple.
"Knock knock." A voice sounded at the door and Clint grinned.
"Hey guys." Natasha smiled, sitting up a little straighter.
Clint fussed over her, making sure the oxygen tubes under her nose were still in place, pulling the blanket up to her chest.
"Sorry we didn't bring flowers." Bucky stepped in and grabbed one of the chairs by the bedside.
"That's okay. You can just owe me some." Natasha chuckled.
"But we did manage to swipe this." Tony placed a brand new in packet phone charger in front of her.
"Now if we get separated, two of us have phones. If we make sure if we split, one person with a phone is with each group, sorted." The boy shrugged.
"You got one for the other phone?" Natasha asked.
"Course. Me and Bruce have this down by now, they never noticed."
Steve kept eyeing the tray of food in the corner, trying to be subtle but failing.
"Help yourself." Natasha gestured at the tray. "Apparently I get snacks later on too. I'll grab extra."
Steve worried his lower lip. "You're sick. You need to eat."
"I had food earlier. We both did. I'm not hungry." Having a full meal had actually made her feel a little sick.
Bruce swallowed hard and reached for the tray. "There's jello." The boy marvelled, eyes bright.
It was crazy how such small things had come to mean so much.
"Eat it." Natasha said firmly. "Please."
Steve nodded, passing a spoon to Bruce as the two boys opened the jello and very carefully took a little.
Tony went for the sandwich and ripped it into four evenly sized bits, passing them about.
"Oh my god." Bucky shook his head. "This is freaking amazing."
"Amen to that." Tony grinned.
They split the bag of chips and soon all four were eagerly eating their little bits of food.
"So Nat, how're you feeling?" Bucky asked, after he'd finished inhaling his quarter of the sandwich.
"Pretty good." The redhead shrugged. "I got some pain meds."
"Lucky." Tony whined, pouting over his food.
Tony made it seem like a joke but he'd gotten hurt not long ago.
Him and Bucky had been running, getting chased by some guy who'd seen them shove bread under their jackets.
The guy had fully pushed Tony to the floor, shoved him so hard his arm had cracked with the force.
The man had fled.
Knowing the man wouldn't want to get in trouble with the police himself, the boys knew no one would come after them.
They'd gone home, bread squished but still fine, but with Tony's arm broken.
They'd wrapped it up with an old shirt but the meds in stores were always locked up and they hadn't been able to get any.
The first night had been awful, Tony writhing and trying not to cry at the pain that radiated down his entire body.
The next day, they'd swiped some cold drinks from a vendor and the cold had helped a little but it had gotten warm quickly.
It obviously had never healed properly and Tony had gotten physically sick more than once with the pain.
His shoulder was still stiff and he couldn't move his arm properly at all.
"I got you, Tone." Natasha reached under her pillow and pulled out two white tablets.
"They started letting me take the meds instead of injecting them."
"But..." Tony frowned.
"So I cheeked them then I pretended to be sick in the bathroom. They started injecting the meds again. It's not a lot but..."
"It is." Tony shook his head, accepting the tablets. "It's great, thanks Tash."
"Of course."
"I'll keep them for when I really need them."
But Natasha could tell he was in pain.
"Take one. I'll get more. I promise."
Tony looked between his friends and nodded, taking one of the pills dry.
"Any idea how long they'll keep you?" Steve asked.
"A couple days. I'll save the meds and some of the food. We'll have enough for a week at least. Plus, there's a day room for visitors. Hot drinks, biscuits."
Bucky perked up at that. "Really, we can just take them?"
Natasha smiled. "Knock yourselves out."
Bruce stood, excited. "Then I'm gonna get some tea. You guys want one?"
"I'll come help." Steve hummed. "A hot drink sounds amazing."
"Coffee please!" Tony grinned. "This is brilliant."
A couple minutes later, the two boys returned with four drinks.
"They had hot chocolate!" Steve shook his head. "And they're just giving it away."
Natasha sank back, happy to see her boys smile.
"And..." Bruce grinned, slightly sheepish as he patted his pockets. "Biscuits."
"Awesome!" Tony chuckled.
A knock at the door had them all immediately quiet.
"Just checking in. Can I take your vitals, Natasha?"
The redhead nodded, suppressing a sigh.
"It's nice you have so many visitors. Friends?" The women asked as she clipped the pulse monitor to her finger.
"Yep. From school." Natasha smiled.
"Very nice. How are you feeling? Your breathing a little easier?"
"A little. It still feels...tight." she shrugged.
"That's understandable, I'll up the oxygen a little. It's still low." The nurse hummed. "And the pain?"
"Bearable. Still there though."
The nurse nodded sympathetically. "I'll grab you some meds. Do you feel up to taking them?"
Natasha knew she'd probably be able to use the fake throwing up only another once before they just went straight to putting them in the IV.
"Yup!" Natasha smiled. "My stomach is feeling better."
"That's good to hear, I'll back in a minute with your meds. And sorry boys, but visiting is over. I'll give you another five minutes though." She smiled.
Once she'd gone, the boys sighed and quickly finished up their drinks.
"Do you think it's rude if we take another drink with us?" Bucky asked, looking down at his empty cup.
"I don't think anyone will mind." Clint shrugged. "That's what they're there for."
"Cool. Because hot chocolate is just chocolate milk when it's cold and I haven't had chocolate milk in way too long." Bucky sighed.
They four stood and took it in turns to give hugs to Clint and Natasha.
"We miss you." Steve squeezed her hand.
"Feel better soon, Nat." Bucky kissed her cheek.
"I'll see you all tomorrow, yeah?" Natasha asked quietly.
"Of course." Bruce reassured. "As soon as we can."
"Keep Clint safe, Red." Tony winked as they left the room.
After the nurse came and gave her some meds, she waited ten minutes before pretending to rush to the bathroom.
She made the noises as Clint went and grabbed another nurse.
Just as the nurse knocked, Natasha flushed the toilet and leaned her head against the wall besides it.
"Oh honey." The nurse rubbed her back. "Let's get you back to bed."
She gently led Natasha to the bed and put the oxygen back under her nose.
She handed her a basin and checked her vitals again.
"Your heart rate is a little high, are you in pain?"
"Yeah I...I didn't exactly have time for the meds to work before I threw up."
"I'll go get you some meds for your IV. I think it's better we use that now, hmm?"
Natasha sighed and nodded. "If that's easier. I think they just don't agree with me."
"It happens. I'll grab some anti-nausea medication too. Can I get you something else to eat?"
Natasha feigned pulling a face. "I don't think I could eat right now."
"I'll get you something for later." The nurse smiled.
"Thank you."
After the nurse had left, Natasha slid the pills from under the cushion and handed them to Clint to keep.
"You should be an actress." Clint murmured, arm around her.
"I am pretty good at that." She chuckled.
The nurse came to inject the meds and soon Natasha was floating just a little.
"Sleep, Nat. I've got you."
When the redhead woke next, it was dark out the window and the only sounds were the machines and soft snoring coming from the other rooms.
Natasha closed her eyes and sank back, turning to cuddle into Clint.
She was just falling asleep again when she heard a voice.
A voice she hadn't heard in years and had no wish to hear again.
"Natalia. It's been a while."
Natasha sat bolt upright, eyes wide.
"Aren't you going to say hello to your father?"