In this chapter; Evie is eight, Elijah & Henry are five, and Alexis is four weeks old
Clint felt like his whole world had stopped, he couldn't breathe and panic rose to levels he wasn't aware existed.
Coulson was on the other end of the phone, informing Clint the mission had gone south. They'd lost tabs on Natasha and were being forced to withdraw. He'd known it was foolish sending in one agent; trying to steal weapon plans from the middle of a war torn country was never a mission to be attempted alone. Clint had told Coulson that, he'd warned Hill and Fury as well, but they'd been short staffed, and Natasha had been sent to Sierra Leone solo.
She'd gone off the grid before the mission had been completed, shortly into the search the safe house had been compromised and the remaining agents had been ordered out of the country.
Tony and Steve disobeyed every order Fury threw at them and went to find her. Little known to everyone, Tony had planted all the Avenger's uniforms with a tracking sensors, and they found her within a matter of hours.
Clint met them at the medical bay, where the doctor informed him she was in critical condition. She had a traumatic head injury; the result of a grenade explosion which had lefter her in a coma.
Her face was badly bruised, but other than that she looked relatively uninjured. She looked just like she was sleeping and it pained Clint that he couldn't just reach out and wake her.
A week later and the kids were anxious to see their mom, she hadn't improved any but Clint finally gave in and took them to visit her, hoping that somehow their presence would get through to her and help her wake.
He watched as Evie climbed onto the bed next to her, telling her about her week at school. Elijah and Henry had both painted her pictures, sitting together in a large chair by her bedside; they took it in turns to hold her hand.
"When is moma gonna wake up daddy?" Henry asked
Three sets of sad eyes peered in his direction
Alexis started crying from her stroller in the corner, and Clint used it as an excuse to leave the room to go get her bottle warmed up
He stalked down the hallway before he found an empty room, slamming the door behind him he sat on the bed and cried. How was he going to explain to his four young children that their mom might never wake up?
He regained his composure and went back to his family, when he re-entered the room he noticed how Evie had gotten her sister from the stroller and lay her next to Natasha. The baby had settled instantly and gone back to sleep.
"What's the matter daddy?" she asked, as Clint snuck back in the room
"Were you crying?" Elijah asked, his own face falling as he noticed his father's sad expression
He found himself unable to speak, instead he scooped his sons into his lap hugged them tightly. Evie scrambled from the bed and joined them. Clint held them tightly; he never wanted to let them go. The hardest lesson he'd ever had to learn was that he couldn't always protect those he cared for most.
The kids all moped round the tower for the next few days, even a visit from Darcy and a trip to the fun fair with Pepper, Thor and Bruce didn't cheer them up. Clint felt guilty at upsetting them, but knew they had good reason to be so down. Natasha was still making no progress and each passing day only worsened her prognosis.
He visited the infirmary every day, sometimes with the kids, sometimes alone.
And then one day, two weeks after the accident; when he was holding her hand and talking absently about past missions to her, but he was interrupted
"You and I remember Budapest very differently" she said hoarsely
His eyes darted to her face, he was sure he'd imagined it. But sure enough Natasha's green eyes met his, and a smile formed on her face mirroring his own
"Tasha! Thank God" he hugged her and kissed her, disbelief still at the forefront of his mind.
The doctors checked her over while Clint rang to ring the tower. Steve answered on the second ring and promised to bring the kids in.
They ran excitedly through SHIELD HQ and up to the infirmary, bringing cards they'd made and flowers they'd bought on the way. The three of them scrambled on the bed and threw themselves into Natasha's arms. Steve followed in with Alexis in his arms. He passed her over to Clint and excused himself from the room, leaving the family to be reunited. Thankful that this time they got a happy ending...