You may want a box of tissue when you read this chapter.

Title: Ordinary Morning
Author: Cindy Ryan
Pairings: Clint/Natasha
notes and summary: See part one

Clint Barton was used to sitting in one spot for long periods of time. It was what he did for a living. Wait for a kill. He'd lost count of how many nights he'd spent in cramped quarters watching his mark. This wait was agonizing. Natasha had been in surgery for three hours. Three hours with the best military doctors and best top of the line medical equipment. It shouldn't be taking three hours unless they'd run into complications.

Clint tried to shake off the dark thoughts but they weighed on him like the doubts. They should've waited for backup. They could've tracked Juarez wherever he went. The catacombs had been too much of a hornets nest but Hawkeye had thought they could handle it. They'd done so many times before. Barton pushed away from the waiting room wall and sat down. They'd done missions before where one or the other had been injured. Toughing it out was part of the job. However this time was different. Clint had known it was different and he'd trusted his partner and ignored his instincts. Sometimes they were both too stubborn for their own good. Clint hoped he didn't lose her because of it.

The door slid open and Hawkeye looked up. There was no one in medical scrubs to give him news. The new arrival was Steve Rogers. The man looked a far cry from his superhero alterego Captain America wearing only a black t-shirt and jeans. He placed a paper coffee cup in front of Hawkeye before sitting silently down across from Barton.

Clint stared at the cup for several seconds before his right hand closed around it. "Thanks."

"Figured you could use it."Rogers replied.

"When did you get here?"Hawkeye asked as he absently took a sip of the dark liquid.

"Half hour or so."Steve stated. "Stark's on his way. He and Banner were at some conference in Paris."

"How'd you get here before him?"Clint asked mainly to keep his mind off of the surgery.

"Fury was having me test pilot one of the new planes. Came as soon as I heard."Steve commented. "How is she?"

"Been in surgery for three hours and..."Clint glanced at the clock on the wall. "Twenty-two minutes. They haven't told me anything."

"I'm sure that's a good thing."Rogers said as he leaned forward. "What happened?"

Barton sighed as he set the coffee cup aside and stood. "We were in Monaco on an op for S.H.I.E.L.D. Tracking an ex-drug runner named Juarez. He'd been funding terrorist groups in Iran and Syria for fun. We arrested him and were enjoying some down time before we headed back. Just as we were about to get on a dinner cruise men loyal to Juarez's brother opened fire. Natasha and I ducked onto a sailboat one of the bullets hit the engine. It went up throwing us both into the water."

Clint paused as the memories returned along with the fear. The fear of not finding her. Of not knowing if she was okay. Diving into the black water hoping against hope he wasn't going to bump into Natasha's lifeless body.

"You thought the mission was done."Steve began reassuredly."There was no reason for you not to enjoy some free time."

Barton shook his head as he ran a weary hand along the back of his neck. "I let my guard down should've realized it was too easy. Once we regrouped after the explosion Natasha said she was fine."

"Natasha's one of the strongest women I've ever met."Rogers stated quietly. "I would've believed her too."

Returning to the table Clint leaned against the back of the chair resting his forearms against the top."Juarez's brother, Carlos, was holed up in some of the catacombs below the city. We tracked him down to a cavern about fifty feet in. I knew it was going to be sketchy but we had night-vision even without knowing the layout well thought we could handle it. Confronted Juarez there was a firefight which cut the odds in half made it manageable. I had just gotten to where I could take down Juarez when one of his men jumped Nat. She got free but it cost her."

"What have the docs told you?"Steve inquired.

"Three broken ribs which caused her right lung to collapse."Barton replied solemnly."She wasn't breathing on her own when we got here."

"She's the Black Widow. It'll take more than this to knock her out for the count."Rogers said just as the door opened.

Clint turned to find Sargent Lyle Jamison head of the medical team that was doing Natasha's surgery. He was in his late forties with a bald head and brown eyes. He wore dark turquoise scrubs and a white mask hung around his neck. Hawkeye couldn't tell anything from the older man's expression. He started to move forward and saw Steve do the same.

Jamison held up a hand. "Please sit. It's an honor to meet you, Captain, just wish it was under different circumstances."

Rogers nodded as he sat down Clint remained standing.

"How is she?"Barton demanded unable to keep the emotion out of his voice.

"Natasha made it through the surgery but I wish I had better news for you."Jamison reported grimly."We repaired the lung but once we were inside we noticed one of the ribs had nicked her heart."

At that Clint did sit down his legs suddenly rubbery. "Give me the bottom line, Doc."

"We repaired the damage to both her heart and lung. The ribs will have to repair on their own. There was a blood transfusion during surgery since she lost a great deal."Jamison continued. "We induced a medicated coma to help her body heal. I know you want odds Mr Barton but I don't like giving those. She's young and physically fit which works greatly in her favor. The next twenty-four hours will tell us a lot. If she holds her own through that time we'll evaluate her condition then."

"Thank you, Doctor."Steve acknowledged as the surgeon stood.

"Can I see her?"Hawkeye asked his voice clipped and strained.

"In a few minutes."Jamison replied as he walked to the door. "Give us a chance to get her settled in ICU."

The door closed behind leaving the room in silence.

It was one thing to hear the word coma. It was another to see a normally vibrant woman still as death. Jamison had warned Clint about the respirator and other tubes to aid Natasha's healing. Seeing it, hearing it was a whole other ballgame. As Clint moved farther into the room he saw the start of a scar on Natasha's chest just visible above the neckline of her gown. It was harsh and red against her pale skin.

"Oh God, Nat."Hawkeye whispered fervently as he slid into the visitor's chair.

There were tubes and wires seemingly running everywhere. From one monitor to the another. The steady beep of the heart monitor brought Clint a small amount of comfort. He picked up Natasha's left hand and held it between both of his

"I'm here Nat."Barton began after clearing the lump in his throat. "I'm not going anywhere. Not until I see those gorgeous green eyes."

After several minutes of only the sounds of the medical equipment Hawkeye continued his voice hoarse and strained.

"You should've told me you were hurt, Na. We would've got Juarez another way. I knew something was off...but I was hoping this wouldn't go as bad as it did. I love you Nat...when you get better we'll take a real vacation. You can drag me into however many stores you want. So many places I want to take you. We've been there before but that was business. Barely registered what city we were in."Clint paused squeezing Natasha's hand. "What do you say, huh? Take in a few clubs? All the best restaurants...rock climbing...okay maybe not rock climbing...no museums. Have you been to a baseball game? Bet you haven't. You'd like it. It's different in person than on tv...more exciting."

Hawkeye fell silent and blinked against suddenly blurry vision. It was amazing how certain people became so ingrained in your life that remembering life before them was impossible. No matter what fate tossed their way he and Nat always seemed to cross paths. Whether it was as professional allies, friends, enemies or lovers she was a part of his life. Partner seemed like a weak word to define them. They were different people...better. The demons that defined them were still there would always be. But they had each other to lean on, to fight them off; to fend off the nightmares. To talk...to just listen when it got too much...to understand.

"Tell you what, Nat."Barton began quietly. "I'll let you plan the whole vacation. Whatever you want...you won't get any protests from me. I just need you to get better."

Clint hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep to the screams of alarms jerked him awake. He shot out of the chair disoriented. As he saw Natasha's still form everything came back. Widely Hawkeye looked from one flashing monitor to the next trying to determine what was wrong. Even with his limited medical knowledge the coldness settling over Clint's heart told him that Nat was slipping away.

"No, Nat..."Clint begged as the heart monitor flatlined. "Don't do this."

The door to the ICU slid open and Jamison with a medical team rushed in.

"She's crashing!"Jamison shouted glancing at the screaming monitors."Get the respirator off and bag her!"

Arms grabbed Barton's shoulders pulling him back towards the door. He broke free.

"Come on, Clint."Rogers urged grimly. "Give them a chance to save her."

Hawkeye's gaze never leaving the organized chaos of the ICU he backed out of the room under his own power. Steve quietly followed.

/Stay with me, Nat./Barton begged silently as he stepped in front of the window.

They'd done so much good for the world didn't they deserve a little happiness in return? Or did some karma never balance? Finally Clint couldn't bare to watch any longer and he spun away from the window moving a few feet down the hall. His fists were clenched at his sides. Steve walked with him keeping his distance standing to the right side of the hall. Silence and footfalls behind him caused Hawkeye to turn. Sweat glistened off of Jaminson's bald head as he pulled latex gloves off his hands. The silence was scaring Clint more than anything.
No...Clint thought...please no...
The notion of never having Natasha in his arms again as they watched the sunrise was as unimaginable as not having her fight at her side. It couldn't end yet. She couldn't be gone.
Not his Nat...

"Mr. Barton."Jamison began as Steve stood shoulder to shoulder with Hawkeye.

Clint's heart was beating widely, his palms sweaty. He steeled himself as best he could for the news to come. Juarez would burn in hell if they'd lost Natasha. Hawkeye would personally send him there.

"Your partner,"Jamison continued as he came to a stop. "Has a hell of a will to live. We've stabilized Natasha and she's out of danger for the moment."

Clint closed his eyes at the rush of relief he felt. Steve clamped a hand on Hawkeye's right shoulder.
Fate hadn't won yet. Nat was still with him.

Opening his eyes Clint nodded at Jamison."Thanks Doc."

"She's still in a coma."Jamison explained. "However, we've given her some medication that will hopefully even out her blood pressure which was the cause of this incident. We'll continue to monitor her closely over the next twenty-four hours. Try to get some rest."

Jamison left and Clint moved back to the ICU room. He didn't go in just stayed by the window. Hawkeye wanted to see for himself that Nat was okay

"She'll be okay."Steve stated quietly as he stood next to Clint."She's hung on this long."

"Yeah."Barton agreed softly.

"Jamison's right. You need some rest."Steve urged. "I'll stay with her."

"No, I'm good."Clint replied absently as he stepped into the ICU and retook his seat.