I am trying to stick close to the movie, however some things are going to change. It will be mostly from Claire's point of view. When it does switch I will label it. Claire is my character, the rest belong to Marvel.
…
I sulked in my room reviewing files until about 7PM. I hadn't eaten since that morning and my stomach was protesting against it. I should have taken Director Fury's offer on his burger. Turning the computer off, I slowly made my way down to the cafeteria. The smell of food assaulted my nose and made my stomach rumble again. I quickly grabbed a basket of chicken strips and a salad and walked to a table in the corner, trying to make myself as unnoticeable as possible. As I speared a piece of lettuce onto my fork, I noticed Steve walk in with Dr. Banner. Ducking my head down, I prayed they didn't see me. I was not in the mood for company, although I'm sure they were good company.
"Miss Barton," I heard Dr. Banner's soft voice say. Placing a small smile on my lips, I looked up at him. Dr. Banner's eyes looked tired, his face looked worn. I guess if I had a giant green person inside of me I would be tired to though. Deep inside of me, I didn't think that the Hulk was a monster, just misunderstood.
"Dr. Banner, Steve," I nodded to them, taking a bite quickly. Steve's grey dinner tray had a mountain of food on it. At least two burgers, a salad, french fries, and a plate of spaghetti. Dr. Banner's tray had a much more reasonable amount of food on it, a large grilled chicken salad and a bread roll.
"How are you feeling?" Dr. Banner asked, eyeing my own tray of food. I picked at my salad again, trying to avoid their eyes.
"Fine, I guess."
"I know this must be hard on you," Dr. Banner spoke between bites of his food. His voice held a fatherly tone. "Agent Barton is one of the best out there. He's going to be okay. But when he gets back, he'll be upset if he sees that you haven't taken care of yourself."
"You need to eat, then rest, Miss Claire," Steve spoke up, wiping his mouth off.
"I am eating." Shoving a piece of lettuce into my mouth was my response. With half a salad and the entire basket of chicken strips left, I pushed back from the table. "Here."
"Miss Barton," Dr. Banner started to say as I set the untouched chicken strips onto Steve's tray.
"I'm tired, I'm going to go lay down." I heard Steve call after me, but I chose to ignore him as I walked from the cafeteria. I did not need them getting onto me about my health. A guilty feeling took over and I knew that I should not have taken my frustration out on them. With a sigh, I made a note to apologize to them tomorrow. As soon as I got to my room, I locked the door and turned music on softly. Maybe a shower would do me good, I thought to myself as I walked to the bathroom and turned the hot water on full blast.
The shower was steaming hot when I stepped in. It burned my skin, but I didn't care. After washing myself, I stood in the shower and let the water run over my body. The water turned cold far too soon for my liking, but I got out anyway and dried myself off. It was past 10PM now. I must have been in the shower for at least an hour, maybe more. I didn't care. Laying down on my bed, I stared at the ceiling until I feel asleep.
My dream turned into a nightmare during the night. It wasn't a typical monsters and bad guy nightmare. It was more abstracted. There was splashes of colors, emotions, voices yelling too fast for me to understand. The voices were in English and another language I could not understand. My vision was black and red, then green, then blue. Anger. Frustration. Pain. It blended together until it found an escape through my own lips.
Steve POV:
After Claire left the dinner table, I quickly finished eating and walked with Dr. Banner back to his room. Claire's file was open on my desk again, drawing me in. There was something special about that blue eyed girl that I couldn't place. To clear my head, I took a quick shower then picked up the young adult fiction novel that I was reading to attempt to connect with the present time. It was almost midnight, four chapters into the book, when the noises started. The noises were so soft that I was sure a normal human couldn't have heard them. There were whimpers and grunts. Bedsprings creaking like someone was rolling over. The thrashing started next, followed by whimpers that grew louder and louder. The screaming started soon after that. It was ear piercing, yelling, crying, screaming, all mixed into one. Quickly, I ran to the hallway, looking around. Several other agents started to fill the hallway. It was all coming from Claire's room.
I put my head near Claire's door, listening for her. She was still screaming. Without thinking, I used my shoulder to ram the door open. Before I could do anything else, Natasha's form slipped around me and rushed into the room, to Claire's bed. Natasha gathered Claire up into her arms, rocking her gently, soothing her with soft voices. It was the type of interaction that a parent might use to comfort a small child. Claire's skin was paler than normal, almost the color of milk. It was shiny with sweat and her fists were balled. Her entire body was tense, her head thrown back. She was trashing too hard for Natasha to hold onto. I moved to the bed as Dr. Banner filled the doorway. I held my arms out to take Claire from Natasha, but she shook her head.
"What's happening," He said, going into official doctor mode.
"She's having a night terror," Natasha said to us, then turned to Claire. "Claire, honey, I'm right here."
"Steve, get a cool washcloth from the bathroom, Natasha, try to wake her up," Dr. Banner ordered. He ran from the room, assuming to get a medical kit. Claire awoke with a gasp, shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm. Her breathing was labored and uneven as she burrowed into Natasha's arms. A pang of jealousy hit my heart and I had to push it away.
Claire POV:
The emotions and nightmare broke away as I heard Tasha's voice.
"It's just a dream, Claire," Her voice was soft. "Just a dream. You're here, with me. I won't let anything hurt you. I promise, Claire." I felt like I couldn't breath, my head hurt and my body felt like it was on fire.
"It was so real," I breathed out as Steve placed the washcloth over my forehead. I peaked my eyes open, looking up at them. My fear filled eyes widened as I saw him. I knew my nightmares were bad, Clint would tell me so. But I didn't think that I would wake up other people. "I woke you too?"
"It's alright," he smiled down at me. Rubbing my back he continued, "I was already up."
"Claire," Dr. Banner sighed as he stepped closer. "Do you mind if I get a reading of your vitals?"
I shook my head and moved out of Natasha's lap and back onto my bed. Steve had arranged my pillows so that I was half laying down. He was looking at me like I might break any second now. Tasha's hand found mine and she squeezed gently. Dr. Banner started to fiddle with a blood pressure cuff and a stethoscope as I spoke. "I'm sorry I woke you guys up. I didn't think that I would have a nightmare again. It's been months."
"You're okay," Natasha soothed as she stroked my hair. She was used to them. When I lived with Clint and Tasha would come over, she or him would help calm me down. "Clint will be here soon to do this, okay?"
"Everything looks okay, Claire," Dr. Banner commented. "Just try to get some rest, okay?"
I nodded, then looked to Natasha as she spoke.
"I'll let you get some sleep. I'm right down the hall, okay?" She stood to leave, kissing my forehead gently.
"Sleep well, Claire. I'm here if you need anything," Steve mentioned as he stood up too. My cheeks flushed as I realized that he didn't have a shirt on, just old fashion plaid pajama pants. I nodded, trying not to stare at his chest. I then flushed deeply, realizing that I was in just a tank top and spandex shorts. After everyone had left the room, I closed my eyes and took deep breathes, trying to get to sleep.
The next morning when I woke up, I was sore. The nightmare must have taken a lot out of me. Dressing quickly in black pants and a black shirt, I walked to breakfast. The other agents looked at me and I briefly wondered if I had woken them up too. I grabbed a bagel with peanut butter and a coffee and went to sit down.
"How are you feeling?" Steve asked. I looked up startled, I hadn't even heard him come up. He was wearing a white shirt and khaki's, very 1940s.
"Better," I said, taking a sip of coffee. "I'm sorry, about last night. All the stress must have triggered a nightmare. I don't usually get them, I didn't mean to wake you, or Dr. Banner, up."
"It's okay," Steve replied. "Really. I'm glad to see you eating more. You need your energy." I gave him a soft smile and ate the last piece of bagel. "Director Fury wanted me in the control room, I'll see you around."
"Sure thing," I replied, finishing my coffee, walking towards Dr. Banner's lab to speak with him.
"Agent Romanoff, Miss Barton, you are needed to the control room," the PA system announced. I stood up and threw my trash away with Steve and jogged to keep up with Steve.
"We've got a location on Loki, Stuttgart, Germany. We need you to go get him, suit up," Fury announced as soon as I got into the room. "Claire, it is time."
I nodded and ran with Natasha and Steve back to our rooms to get ready to leave. I pulled on my dark blue and black jumpsuit, slipping my boots on and strapping them into place. From a drawer in my desk, black fingerless gloves accompanied my outfit. When I met up with Natasha and Steve again, it was on a jet. Natasha was wearing her infamous black jumpsuit, equipped with all of her 'toys', as she called them. Steve looked very handsome in his patriotic Captain America uniform, though he was giving me a strange look.
"Can you do this, Claire," Natasha asked me, going to sit up in the pilot's seat.
"Yes," I said, looking down at my own suit. It had been a long time since I had worn it. I prayed to myself that I still knew what I was doing.
"Claire, is this safe for you?" Steve asked, looking at me. There was concern in his voice.
"No, but nothing is anymore," I replied. "I can do this, Captain."
The flight wasn't as long as I expected it to be, but it still had me pacing around the jet. I was constantly taking my gloves off, then putting them back on. I had french braided my hair once, undone it and then redid it. Steve kept shooting glances my way, so I sat down and took to fiddling with my fingers.