"Phil. Phil! /Agent Coulson/." Natasha raised her voice urgently until my gaze finally snapped towards hers.
"Romanoff... Nat-"
"Phil. Tony's got Clint. He's scared. He wants to see you... He /needs/ you." I nod shakily as I stand frozen in front of the doors towards the emergency room in the nearest hospital to the scene. I never even noticed which one it was.
"Phil!" Clint shouts as he runs towards me through the swinging doors of the waiting area and past Tony and Nat. I finally break... collapsing onto my knees clutching at Clint desperately in my arms.
"What happen'd? Uncle Tony took me outta school before recess. Where's James?" Clint whimpered as I kept hugging him while my breathing hitched at the mention of my partner.
After another moment to steady myself I stood up.
"C'mere." I motioned Clint to the nearby chairs and lifted him into my lap. I took another moment to just capture how he looked. His sandy hair was spiked just like James did it for him this morning, mere hours ago, if not a little matted on one side from Clint leaning on his hand while he works. His naturally tanned skin was pale with bad weather and harsh lighting. We'd decided to send him off to school in early September with a few well-placed agents to keep an eye out for Barney and Jacques. He'd decided to wear his red faded t-shirt today with his black jeans because they were "Wade's fav'rites an' Wade s'gonna wear purple", Clint's favourite colour; Wade being Clint's new best friend. Wade Wilson had some learning disabilities and a few disfigurations from birth that actually looked like old scars but the two boys were inseparable and their teacher had told us of their shared learning experiences. It was amazing to see Clint fit in so well. And Tony helped us find Mid-Town Elementary School, even the Richards' sent Franklin and Valeria there (although that was one of Tony's reasons against it) as well as Peter Parker, Luke Cage and Ororo Munroe who shared Clint's background.
I glanced up to see Nat and Tony arguing in harsh whispers while Tony was still holding Clint's Avengers' backpack. Clint's curiously worried blue eyes shot straight through me as I cleared my throat to remove the ball rising in it.
"Clint. James was fighting... All the Avengers were fighting very hard against some of Dr Doom's robots... We couldn't find the leader and- and we were almost finished and James went down. He got hurt pretty bad. He's in surgery now to take the bullets out..." Phil coughed again to rid the roughness from his throat as flashes of James' bloody body slammed through his mind.
"He's... James' s'gonna be okay. Right? Robots're stupid an' dumb an' James'll beat'em all up." Clint states assuredly. I almost chuckled at his will power.
"We've got the best Doctors in there with him. He's... We'll be okay, ace." I nod shakily once more, clutching at Clint to bring him closer to my chest.
"-wasn't the Doom bots and you know it!"
"-doesn't matter-"
"-like hell-"
"-right now-"
"-it does matter!"
"-we can figure-"
"-we need to-"
"-later-"
"-now!"
I blink my eyes open steadily to see Nat and Tony still arguing it out in the chairs opposite me. The pale blue and white walls in the cubed room make my eyes sting and my head tighten.
"What is it? Any news?... How long-" I mumble.
"It's nothing right now. He's still in there, you were out for an hour. The Doctors say the surgery for the bullets could take from 7-10 hours with their lodgements and his healing factor disrupting the process. Clint's still asleep. Tony's going to look at and file our reports for you. Everyone else is either getting food, talking with Fury or annoying hospital staff." Natasha informed me swiftly. With her side eye towards Tony and his abrupt leaving, I knew that whatever that argument was about is important and certainly going to give me either a migraine or a heart attack later.
Clint snores softly in his sleep, his hair is a complete mess now, James won't be pleased... I shake my head slightly to keep from thinking if James will ever fix Clint's hair again. Or complain about Max's diet. Or give me that fond exasperated look. Or teach Clint to drive. Or... Take me on a first date. We /still/ haven't got around to it yet. The pain lances straight through me with that thought and the tears become too much and my heart slams and Clint mumbles with a nightmare approaching and... And... And-
"/Phil. /" Natasha grabs my forearm. Reminding me to breathe. I gasp a shuddering breathe and pinch at my nose while Clint stumbles awake.
Clint must sense my pain as he immediately wraps around my neck and says, "Lil' bird hugs make everythin' bett'r. James says so." And that makes everything seem okay again even if it's just for a minute. I chuckle softly. And Clint holds me tighter and Natasha releases my arm.
All of the team have gathered together to wait for the final hours in the waiting area. After eight and a half hours the Doctors begin to emerge from the room.
"Agent Coulson." A salt and peppered haired man steps forward from the crowd, he's about my age with less wrinkles and more tan.
"That's me." I step closer with Clint on my hip. I don't know if he should be with me for this but he deserves the truth.
"Sergeant Barnes is stabilised. We were able to remove all the bullet fragments from his left shoulder, his torso and his right thigh. Six in total. The shrapnel was making it hard for his serum to kick in which was good for us until it started to move the shrapnel closer to vital organs and arteries in an attempt to remove them. They were cop killer bullets; we sent them off to Mr Stark's labs for inspection. We were able to stop any bleeds and stitch up the few gaps. He will need rest and will be able to wake within the hour as soon as the anaesthesia wears off."
"/ Thank you. /" I smile in relief as I shake the Doctor's hand and wait for the nurse to lead me to James' room.
"James' okay?" Clint asks, smiling hopefully.
"He's fine buddy. He's going to be fine." I answer as I hug him again while the team cheer from behind.
Then it hits me.
"Nat." I say as Natasha nods towards Tony and Steve who no longer are overjoyed but cautious in their stance. Even Bruce has decided to leave to discuss things with the surgeons.
"Thor. Would you mind getting Clint something to eat? I'll meet you guys in James' room as soon as I'm done." I kiss Clint's head and he walks off with Thor's hand in his out the swinging doors.
"Of course Son of Coul. Come along young Clint." Thor bellows as they follow Bruce through the doors.
I wait for silence before I begin.
"What did you find?"
"Agent Coulson, the bullets taken from Bucky did not match the bullets from the surrounding areas or the Doom Bots themselves. We are still searching for striation matches with JARVIS' help and we have yet to identify the liquid from the shooter's perch." Steve steps forward and informs me.
"Someone was sent to kill or injure Sergeant Barnes" Natasha concluded.
"That someone is an idiot with a tricky shot." Tony snarled.
"They will be caught and they will be stopped. Whatever it takes... There's more at stake here than ever before." I warn them gravely, fighting the acid rising from my stomach in the wrenching thought that there's another person after my family. I was right. I might just have both a migraine and a heart-attack.
"Absolutely, Sir."
"Yessir."
"Consider it done."
"Phil..." James rasps as I finally enter his hospital room on the cleared floor of rooms.
"/James/..." I gasp, overwhelmed, as I rush over, kissing him on the lips, feeling his breathe, his life. "Please... Pinkie promise me you'll try very, very hard not to get shot again... Please." I plead only half joking. He chuckles anyway, clutching at my pinkie in a vain attempt to try.
"Hey, bud c'mere." James waves Clint on to move from the visitors chair to the bed. James wraps an arm around his waist as I sigh in relief.
"Actually, I just got a call before I came in. Somehow, they chose today to pass on and sign our adoption forms for Clint. We are legally your guardians, ace. Or should I call you Clint Barnes-Coulson?" I grin at their shocked faces.
"What?!"
"Yay!"
"Well, there's always a silver lining, right? Although that's no reason to tempt fate again, honey." My smile softens as I place a kiss onto James' cheek and Clint's head. James finally calms enough to laugh giddily and smack a wet kiss to my lips before tickling Clint into admitting James is his favourite; only to say he crossed his fingers, and to then continue.
As the rest of the team pile in to check on Bucky, all the worries are pushed to the back of my mind to leave room for these memories but they're still there, waiting to be removed.
Or grow.