Immediately after Natasha Romanoff woke up that morning, she knew getting Clint Barton ready for the trial would make her want to put a bullet through her own skull.

She turned on her side and seemed surprised when she did not see Clint curled up in a ball next to her. It had been a few days since they left the hospital, and sometime every night, Clint would manage to crawl in bed with her. He saw her as a security blanket; he was safe as long as he was with her. Natasha groaned, thinking he had possibly wandered off to see if he could shoot his bow before the cast went off. If it happened once, it could happen again. "Dammit, Clint..." She mumbled under her breath, pushing the blankets away and getting out of bed. "Even sleeping, I swear to God you can't be left alone." The Avenger left the bedroom and hurried down the stairs, but as soon as her head turned toward the kitchen, she froze.

Clint was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a protein shake as Laura prepared his IV medication. He used both hands to hold the cup up to his mouth as he sucked down the drink through a straw. An empty apple sauce cup sat in front of him; Laura had got him to eat, which Natasha was extremely grateful for. Clint put his drink down after he caught Natasha in his sight. "Hey, Tasha..." Clint's eyes immediately went to his wife after she gently took his bandaged hand. He watched her stick the needle into the tube sticking out of the bandage wrap and inject the medicine into his port.

"You seem better than you were yesterday."

"Laura just gave me my pain medicine...well, about a half hour ago." Clint leaned back against the back of the kitchen chair. "And that was after she found me stuck upside down in a tree outside."

Natasha blinked. "And why the hell were you in a tree?"

Clint shrugged, not making eye contact. "Tryin' not to lose my spy skills."

"Clint, that doesn't make any sense, you idiot." The Black Widow rolled her eyes and smirked.

"I had to tear his pant leg to free him, and then he immediately regretted his stunt after he hit the ground. Anyways, he was complaining about his stomach hurting when we came inside, so I decided to give the medicine to him now, instead of right before the trial. Besides..." Her eyes focused on Clint "...we're gonna try to clean up a bit before getting ready."

Clint shrunk in his chair, dreading it. "Can I just change my shirt?"

"Don't make me fight you, Clinton Francis." Laura's voice narrowed as she glared, putting him in his place. She rolled her eyes as she watched him pick up his glass again and finish off his protein drink.

"Yeah, Clinton." Hearing his full name coming from Natasha made him shoot a glare at her. Natasha chuckled and went to pour herself the rest of the homemade shake Laura had made Clint.

"I hate how the SHIELD nurses can just access our files..." Clint's comment to Natasha earned his ear a flick from Laura. He whined and looked at her in annoyance. "Come on, Hawkeye," Laura played, "let's go upstairs and get this over with." She seemed to be dreading it as much as Clint was.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Natasha asked patiently, watching her pretty much to drag Clint up the stairs. He could walk just fine now, but he dreaded what was about to happen to him. Laura wasn't like Natasha; Natasha would stop scrubbing at old built-up topical antibiotics if it was causing him pain. His wife, however, was a nurse and she would be thorough.

"I've got him. Go ahead and eat some breakfast." Natasha watched as Clint gave her a final look of dread before turning and following the nurse up the stairs.

21 Days

Laura did not know how Natasha handled Clint for so long without losing her sanity. The stubborn agent she married struggled to find an escape as she dragged him into the bathroom. She watched as Clint pinned himself against the back of the door and slid down to the floor. "What is it with you and water?"

"Ask the Hydra death squad who attacked the cruise ship Tasha and I were assigned to two years ago. I was cornered on the top deck without any weapons...so I jumped. A Hydra boat was waiting down below to make sure I was dead. When I came up to get air after the jump, I was pulled back under by an agent in scuba gear. I-I killed him right before I passed out. If Nat hadn't found me, I would've been dead. You can drown in an inch of water...that's why I'm nervous..."

"I'm right here, okay? You're going to be fine..." Laura knelt down in front of him and tried to comfort him, placing her hand on his cheek before kissing him lightly on the mouth. This was the first time Laura heard about the cruise ship mission catastrophe. Clint never liked talking about work because it brought up too many bad memories. Even when they were both full time at SHIELD, she would have to ask Clint's handler, Agent Coulson, to explain the reasons behind some injuries he would come into the infirmary with. It became normal seeing both of them at once.

Seeing Clint's eyes so close to her as she pulled away nearly killed her. "I just can't wait till I can shower by myself again."

She sat back and rolled her eyes.

"Hopefully next week. Just remember...when I start here..." She gently ran her hand through his hair, feeling the residue of days old gel. "...don't think about the deranged nurse from the facility. I'm not her. Keep your eyes open if you need to. Also, if you feel any pain, just take some deep breaths. I really need to make sure none of your wounds get infected."

"Yes, ma'am," Clint rolled his eyes and smirked at her, struggling to forget about her seeing the extensive amount of wounds and stitches on his body. "I'm the worst agent to ever step into SHIELD's Playgr--...hell, any of their medical bases. Why do you put up with me?"

She smiled and ran her hand down the back of his head. "I've put up with you since you were dragged into the Playground's medical bay for the first time.Plus, you were sweet and cute...and you were the only agent to not make inappropriate jokes at the nurses." He was a twenty-two year old mercenary from a group SHIELD had been trying to infiltrate for years. They wanted him physically examined before they locked him up, but after he slipped free and took down most of the agents who brought him in, he gained the respect and applause from most of the injured agents in the wing. They convinced the supervising officers to talk to Fury about offering him a place at SHIELD in exchange for becoming a sophisticated top agent. Clint was recaptured and restrained to an examination table for the mandatory physical. The doctors and technicians laughed about how Clint would remain calm for Laura. He had spat at the doctor who wanted to check his heart rate, but he allowed Laura to draw some blood without any hassle. The archer had spent six weeks in Medical because of an infected wound directly under his ribs; Laura had been his main attending nurse the whole time. Three months after his capture and extensive conditioning, he showed up at Laura's on-base apartment with flowers in his hand.

21 Days

Natasha quickly knocked on Clint and Laura's bedroom door before entering and seeing Clint sitting on the bed. He was wrapped in a grey robe with a damp towel in his lap. The outer magnet of his cochlear implants had been placed back on his damp scalp. He glances in her direction before his eyes went down to the phone in his lap. The Russian assassin smirked as she sat down next to him. "And how was your Silkwood shower?"

Clint seemed to try to pull the robe tighter around him. "Rough. I'm pretty sure she re-opened some of my incisions. She's a nurse...so...it was...extensive..." The Avenger exaggerated. He cringed and shook his head. Clint had fresh bandages over his bullet wound, around his middle, on the back of his neck, and a few small ones on his arms.

"You haven't had a proper bath in months, Barton. The one time I helped you clean up before you left the hospital doesn't really count since it was mostly me making sure you weren't going to get an infection and die. She did us all a favor." Natasha couldn't help but laugh a little, even if her comment did earn her a glare from her best friend.

"I would've preferred a shower..." Clint commented, upset because his independence has basically been stripped away from him. "She used the baby's shampoo and the damn bottle lies when it says 'no tears.' It fucking stung. I hate baths, I hate pools, I hate water in general...ever since the...ever since the mission. I need a drink...but everyone watching me would shoot me if I even took a sip of vodka...probably thinking it would burn the sutures holding my insides together."

The Black Widow paled after hearing him bring up the mission where he nearly drowned. She had spent quite a bit of time pumping water out of his lungs and giving him mouth to mouth before SHIELD medics took over his care. "You'll be back to your old self soon. Just focus on that," Natasha tried to soothe, placing her hand on his back.

Clint turned his head toward her, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and anger. "Is that what you think?" A pause, then he turned his gaze away from her. "I'll never be the same. The doctors said my immune system is shit, my flashbacks now are worse than the ones about being under Loki's control, and...and I just want these bandages off!" His head dipped down as his nails scratched at the purple wrap clinging to the cast around his forearm.

Natasha immediately pressed her palms against his ears as she held his head still. "Listen to me! We're gonna get through this, okay? As soon as we get home from the trial, we're going to work on getting your independence back. Hell, maybe Bruce will let you remove your IV port and you'll have more freedom. You'll have to still deal with the stitches, but you'll have more movement than you do now! Hell, Clint. I-I don't know how to fix this. I know I've been acting like I know how to help you these last few weeks, but this...this is complicated."

Tears weld up in the assassin's eyes as he was forced to keep his eyes on Natasha. "I'm starving, Tasha. I'm sick of the soft foods...and one of the pills makes me sick to my stomach. I just...I just need everything to go back to normal. Steve's innocent. I'm not going to the damn trial."

"If you don't go to the trial, they'll lock Steve up at the Raft. If you tell them to let him go, they'll let him go."

"Can I just do it over the phone?"

"Barton, no idiot would ask that question."

"Well, this idiot did..."

Both women wanted to scream as they tried to make Clint get dressed for the trial. He was irritable and pulled away when either of them tried to rewrap a surgical spot or pull his arm through the sleeve of a shirt. He complained about wanting to wear a hoodie and some sweatpants, but they managed to make him change into a grey button-down dress shirt, a black tie, black boots, and some dark, straight leg jeans. Laura worked to fix his casted arm in the plain black sling SHIELD's hospital wanted him to wear, while Natasha took ten seconds to spike the front of his hair with some gel.

"Honey, please keep the sling on..." Laura begged, adjusting the strap for the final time before letting him go.

"I don't need this thing on...I just need a nap..."

"Clint, you slept fourteen hours yesterday," Natasha stated bluntly, wiping her hands off on a hand towel from the bathroom.

"I was going for a record." Clint was already beginning to mess with the sling his arm was secured in. "The doctors are crazy for thinking I'm well enough to go to the trial. Hell, they're just crazy. Every doctor is crazy; I hate doctors...and they hate me. Every time someone drags me into one of SHIELD's infirmaries, they don't waste any time locking those restraints on me. Even when they just want me up on a table, they slip cuffs on me."

"Clint was the first prisoner SHIELD turned into an agent." Laura looked sickened by what she was about to say. "Somedays, they wouldn't feed him or let him have any water while he was training. Fury allowed the harshest agents he could find train him...and if he was tired or uncooperative, that's when he was punished. But after a few months, he was just another obedient field operative. Long story short: they don't trust him." His wife had tears in his eyes.

"He's never told me that, but that does explain why I found him hiding behind the main kitchen's counter once at the tower. It was about two in the morning, I had just arrived home from a lone mission, and I found him on the floor clutching an orange. His eyes seemed glazed over."

"He's done that a few times here. He'll get confused and I'll find him clinging to a water bottle, bread, or fruit. In the past year, it's thankfully only happened twice."

Clint seemed fed up with their continuous conversation about his past, feeling like a child not understanding what his caregivers are talking about. He hated it. Coulson and Natasha did that to him a couple of times in the past. It was worse when Fury got involved. "I'd hate to break it up, but can we go now?"

21 Days

Hawkeye was dead to the world once they arrived at the courthouse. Natasha drove the four-door black Ford truck while Laura sat in the passenger seat. Clint was lying down in the back seat with his mobile arm draped over his eyes. It was roughly an hour's drive from the farmhouse to the city, which gave Laura and Natasha a long time to talk about Clint, Steve, the Avengers, and the kids.

Once Natasha pulled into a parking place, Laura unbuckled herself and turned around before reaching out and gently shaking Clint's shoulder. "Clint? Clint, honey, wake up."

"Is he still asleep?" Natasha asked, turning around.

"Just...thinkin' with my eyes closed..." Clint's response made Natasha roll her eyes.

"You were asleep, bird brain."

"The bath made me tired. Laura got Cooper and Lila to go to sleep easier like that when they were toddlers...and she proved it works on adults too..." He paused, his tired brain saying whatever, "I don't wanna go back to the hospital..." The archer yawned, remaining flat on his back with his knee angled toward the sky. He had completely pushed the trial out of his head.

"We're trying to avoid that, okay? You've got a trial to go to," Natasha popped the driver's side door open, then swore under her breath when she noticed the crowd of press reporters lining the steps leading up to the courthouse.

Laura turned her attention to the crowd waiting to get some information out of Tony, Bruce, Thor, Natasha, and Clint about the hostage investigation. Her voice was blunt. "You've gotta be kidding me."

The two women stayed on either side of him as they walked up the courthouse stairs. The six guards assigned to keep the press away from any of the Avengers were struggling.

"Hawkeye! Can you tell us about your time in the lab?!"

"Clint, are you hoping Steve Rogers is locked up for life?!"

"Are the Avengers done for!?"

Laura interlocked her arm through the crook of his left arm, firmly holding on to him like she was afraid he would be taken from her again. She looked up at her husband, feeling the high pulsation of his heart rapidly beating. His face didn't show it, but he was beyond nervous. Natasha stayed slightly in front of them, shoving press away. She broke a few cameras and recorders, but she cared way more about Clint than upset reporters.

Bruce met them inside the courthouse, seeming nervous and concerned. His attention fell immediately on Clint. "How are you doing, Barton?"

"I hate being fed and bathed, but...other than that, everything seems fine. Pain medicine's workin'. Don't worry about me, doc. I'm the worst patient in the universe, but at home...I've been good. I mean, Nat hasn't lost her mind yet, so that's a good sign, right?" He smirked at his best friend, who just shook her head in response.

"And I haven't drowned him or given him a Russian poison...yet." She smirked at her Strike team partner before looking back at the scientist.

"You two need to head in the courtroom; the trial's about to start. Laura can come sit with me." Bruce glanced at Clint and Natasha before looking at Laura reassuringly and lowering his voice. "He'll be fine."

"Doctor Banner, I can't help but think of the things that can happen to him. I don't have clearance to see his file since I haven't been assigned by SHIELD to look out for him, but I do know his insides have to look like patchwork. His abdomen is...so bruised...is that normal? No one who has had their entire insides pulled out and put back together again can feel one-hundred percent. It's only been two weeks since his surgery with the surgeon from the facility. This damn trial should've been pushed back." She ended with a snap, looking furious and exhausted.

"Laura..." Clint quietly began before clearing his throat. "Even if I was put under Banner's watch, they wouldn't be able to keep me in my room, let alone the med bay. You and Nat managed to keep me in bed for a few days."

Laura sighed. "Fine." She stepped toward him and placed her hand on his cheek. "Listen to me, Hawkeye. If you feel dizzy or sore while standing in front of the judge, sit down, okay? If you pass out, you'll have to wake up to me telling you 'I told you so.'" She kissed the corner of his mouth before walking away with Bruce.

"So, Stupid, do you like this much attention? Your wife and Bruce think you need constant supervision." Natasha glanced toward the courtroom doors, knowing they needed to walk in there soon.

Clint stared at his feet for a second before answering her. "You're being the same way, Tasha. Laura let me practice holding a spoon this morning, but these damn bandages were still gettin' in the way. You were right the other night...I-I do need to start letting people help me. I-I scratched her arm and made her bleed a little this morning in the bathroom because I panicked again...but...but it was an accident. S-she has a bandaid covering the marks. She told me not to freak out when she rinsed my hair, but I did! I saw the damn nurse again, Nat. Hell, maybe I should shave my head. I-I was scared of the woman I married. She told me my actions weren't as bad as some of the agents she cared for at SHIELD, but still...I hurt her. It was an accident, I swear! Tasha, I don't want to go back to SHIELD. What if I just want to get a domestic job?"

"Clint, like it or not, you're a high profile target. You're part of SHIELD...an intelligence agency that operates above the law. There will be people always trying to kill you...and me. If you wanted a normal life, you would have to change your family's whole identity." Natasha sighed, now reaching up to touch the cochlear device attached to the left side of his head. "How are these doing today, good?"

"Yeah, but I still want them out."

"Clint, if you get them out, you'll regret it. Bruce and some doctors from Wakanda would have to do the surgery since SHIELD put in the implants. Wakanda's already the most highly advanced civilization on Earth. Any normal hospital may accidentally give you brain damage since these implants are more complex than regular ones."

"Then after this is all over, let's go to Wakanda..." He seemed to drag his feet as they approached the courtroom doors. Natasha knew he was nervous, but he would not say he was in front of anyone. She also knew he would never follow through with the ear surgery if they did go to Wakanda. He would panic as soon as a nurse placed a paper bracelet with his printed information on his wrist, then have to be restrained and sedated for the rest of the time there.

Natasha remained professional with her head held high as she walked into the courtroom. Clint trailed close behind her, struggling not to look up at his team, especially Steve. Natasha led him to a desk in the front of the room, then sat next to him. The archer never looked up at the judge or Natasha.

"Captain Steven Rogers, where is your lawyer?" The judge began, interlocking his fingers as he placed them out in front on his desk.

"I don't have one, sir. I was offered one, but I refused it. I plead full responsibility for Barton's long-term injuries and illness."

"How long have you known Agent Clinton Barton?" The judge began after seeing the assassins take their seats. The judge did not acknowledge his guilty plea. He looked down at his paperwork, then across the room at Steve sitting alone at an identical desk as the agents.

Steve stood up respectively and faced the judge. As Natasha watched him, his eyes seemed glassy to her, almost like he had been crying. "Since 2012, sir. He fought next to me during the Battle of New York."

"Have you ever wanted to intentionally hurt Barton, Captain?"

"No, sir. Never." Steve took a look over at his teammate, but Clint's gaze was currently focused on the floor. Natasha seemed to be looking back at Steve. The captain sighed before saying more, "He's done some stupid stuff on missions, but they were nothing to hold a grudge over."

The judge looked down at the documents lying in front of him before sighing and looking up at Steve again. "What was your reason for turning Clint over to the lab?"

"They were holding two of our own. I-I didn't think they would try to kill Barton immediately after I brought him there. They took him back for surgery because he took a bullet to the shoulder, and then they told me they would bring Natasha and Tony out. I told them I wanted to see Clint before they released them to me...but...but the next time I saw Clint...he was trying to escape. I didn't want him to hurt himself. He was sick and stumbling around, and I...I didn't know what to do. If I didn't bring Clint to them, Natasha and Tony would have been killed. T-The doctors at the Dominion were not on the right side of the law, but they...they managed to get the bullet out of Clint. I watched them put him out with anesthesia. At least when I was there, they were actually trying to treat him like any hospital would treat a patient. I-I couldn't have rushed in, broke Natasha and Tony out, and get Clint back to a New York hospital for surgery without the possibility of him dying in transport. Dammit, I didn't know what to do!" Steve's speech was jumbled, but he was trying not to scream in front of the judge.

Clint stood up and his implants picked up Natasha telling him to sit down. He was terrible at following orders, so he was reluctant to listen to her. "Let him go. H-He thought I was strong enough to survive. Steve...believed in me...but Stark...Stark wanted me sent to the Raft. If Stark is free, why can't Steve be free?"

"Agent Barton, Doctor Jemma Simmons provided us with a few recent documents in your medical file. After the operation in the facility, you were given a drug that was meant to shut down your organs. SHIELD surgeons did not believe you were going to survive the treatment to kill the infection inside of you. They also believe you will need either a kidney transplant or liver transplant in the future."

"Cap didn't know Ashlocke would do that to me."

"But he knew what the doctor did to you in the past, is that correct?" The judge turned his head to face Steve again.

Steve dipped his head in shame. "Yes, sir. When we were at the facility for the first time, none of us knew what they were doing to Clint. We were led to believe they were a military hospital Clint ended up at after escaping the people who kidnapped him the night he was on a mission with Natasha."

The judge paused again as his gaze shifted from Steve to Clint. "Agent Barton..." Clint cut him off, becoming furious.

"Hang on a sec. Why is Steve on trial here? Shouldn't it be the guy responsible for trying to kill me!? Hell, let me have ten minutes alone with the doctor and I'll...I'll make sure he never does this to anyone again!"

"Agent Barton, calm down! The doctor is currently being held in a SHIELD holding cell. They are getting all the information they can out of him. Medically speaking, you may need to see him again. Today, we are focusing on Captain Rogers. Can the Avengers be trusted if their own leader can't be trusted?"

"Guess what, judge?" Clint's eyes narrowed on the judge. "I quit the Avengers last week. So did Agent Romanoff. The Avengers can replace us with inhumans or LMDs for all we care. Let Steve go, and let everyone move on with their lives." Life Mode Decoys would be easier. Androids who could be programmed to look and act like Clint and Natasha would join the Avengers. Clint wouldn't be surprised if Tony had already made two.

"Agent Barton, there is one test I would like you to conform to: approach Captain Rogers."

Clint's heart immediately dropped as his mind went back to the day Steve handcuffed him to the Quinjet's wall and turned him over to the mad doctor. When his face flushed, the judge simply stared at him. "You can't do it, can you? You haven't realized it, but you are afraid of Captain Rogers. You associate him with pain...and you're afraid of pain."

Hawkeye glared at the judge. "Do you know how much pain I'm in right now? My stomach is killing me because everything inside it has been stitched and tacked back together. Two weeks after major surgery and I'm still feeling like this. Hell, maybe SHIELD should be on trial. They gave me these damn implants without my consent. Just let Steve go. Cap's a good man and he's one guy you need out there fightin' Hydra, AIM, and a bunch of other guys who threaten the world every day. I don't know why I can't go toward him. Maybe I'm scared, maybe I just don't want to follow your orders. If you lock him up, you're putting millions of people at risk."

"Clint?" It was Steve's voice. Clint shut up and turned to face his old teammate, seeming surprised he was speaking to him. "I'm sorry. If you died on that table a couple weeks ago, I would've never forgave myself. I don't even forgive myself for letting them have you."

"You thought you were saving Nat and Tony. I-I would do anything for Nat in a heartbeat...no offense to Stark." The archer glanced over at Tony, receiving an eye roll from his teammate. He then turned his attention back to the judge and slapped the pam of his bandaged hand down on the table, not caring about the pain that flared up his arm afterward. "He's not guilty. Let him go home. I've got two doctors and a nurse watching me right now and cringing because I'm not supposed to be out of bed. Hell, I'll be in and out of a hospital for the rest of my life, but it ain't Steve's fault. This damn trial was a waste of time!"

"Agent Barton, sit down...please. Based on the statements I heard today, I am releasing Captain Rogers and dropping the charges SHIELD had against him." The judge ordered, noticing the archer begin to stumble around and hold his palm against his stomach like he was trying to keep his intestines from spilling out on the floor.

"Clint!" Barton spun around to see Natasha now standing and looking at him with a panicked expression on her face. He never made it to a chair. He dropped to the tile floor wrapped his arms around his middle in pain.

Steve was the first to jump up and rush to Hawkeye's side. "Hey--"

Clint's first reaction was to remove his hands from his middle and channel enough strength in his sickened body to shove Steve away. "Get the hell away from me!"

Simmons, Bruce, Natasha, and Laura were all by Clint's side immediately after he rejected Steve's assistance.

"Barton, look at me," Simmons ordered as she kneeled in front of him and struggled to steady Clint's squirming form by placing her hands on either side of his head. "Come on, look at me." Fearful eyes met her's.

"I think it's a side effect of one of the medicines. It can make him feel lightheaded, have a rapid heart rate, and dehydration. He may need some fluids." She rushed to place her hand over his heart, then his back, then moved on to grab his wrist and take his pulse before he could push her away, as well.  The British biologist looked up to all the eyes staring down at her. "Mrs. Barton was right; this trial was too soon. He needs to go to the nearest hospital."

Clint immediately shook his head in response. No.

"Can you walk?" Laura was quick to ask as she dropped down next to him. The courtroom had been cleared out, but press crowded the lobby, begging to know the full story.

Again, Clint shook his head. His stomach was killing him, but he struggled to not let anyone see how much pain he was in.

"Call an ambulance," Natasha instructed. Apparently, the judge was already calling one.

"D-don't call an ambulance!" Clint cried, feeling Natasha pull him close to her. He rested his forehead on her shoulder as she placed her hand on his back. The Black Widow looked up at Steve with glassy eyes. "He'd be safer at the tower. C-can you carry him to the truck?"

"Will he let me?" Steve asked quietly and nervously. He shakily knelt down next to the Strike team, feeling like Clint would lash out at him again. "I-I've done too much, Natasha. He has every right to hate me."

"Just...please!" Natasha begged, ready to hand the archer over to Steve. "Clint? Hey, Clint...Steve's gonna carry you to the truck, okay? We're gonna go to the tower...and then Bruce and Simmons are gonna make you better."

Clint immediately smacked his palm against Natasha's forearm, then gripped it, unwilling to let go. The widow was afraid to make eye contact as Clint struggled to cling to her. She was afraid if she looked at him, she would start to cry.

"Let go of her, Barton." Tony coaxed, letting the tip of his fingers barely graze Hawkeye's shoulder. He glanced over at the others. "Someone pull him off."

"No..." Clint groaned in pain, tightening his grip as Tony, Bruce, and Simmons struggled to pull him away from Natasha. They tried to grab his wrists, then his shoulders, then eventually, Tony had to pull him away by his waist. None of their attempts worked. Hawkeye fought to push everyone away and stay close to his best friend.

"I don't get it; he was doing so much better this morning! H-how could this happen? I thought that damn medicine was supposed to work!?" Laura's angered self snapped to Simmons, knowing she was the was the doctor who sent Clint home with the drugs he needed to take. "I-I should've known something was wrong this morning when he was complaining of stomach pain, but I just thought it was a simple ache from the fall he took this morning after the tree stunt..."

"He should've stayed home in bed..." Simmons responded, remaining calm, even though internally she was screaming for help. "We tried to control his body with the medication after the surgery, but now it's proving it's not working as well as we wanted it to. The best thing we can do is keep him under and on an IV drip until he's well enough to officially leave the hospital. He wasn't well enough to leave when he did, but SHIELD was going to send him to a long term treatment facility that would kill him before they helped him!"

"Come on, Barton. You're not out of the woods yet." Steve sighed as he slid one arm under the crook of Clint's knees and his other arm behind his back. He whimpered as he felt himself being torn away from his security blanket, or Natasha. "N-no...let me go..." He mumbled, his eyes locked on to his partner. Clint struggled to reach for her as he failed to squirm away. Another pain flared through his abdomen, which made him curl up into a fetal position, keeping his chin close to his chest after his teammate picked him up.

Natasha didn't realize it until she felt herself being pulled back, but she was struggling to hold on to him as much as he was struggling to stay with her.

Laura was crying, Natasha was struggling not to break down, Tony, Bruce, and Simmons were frustrated, Thor was confused, Steve was lost, and Clint was terrified.

Steve was right.

Clint's injuries and illness were not the only problems they had to face. There were people still out there who wanted him dead. One being his own brother.

They weren't out of the woods yet.

Honestly, this is probably the last time I will attempt to write a trial into a story.

And Barney Barton will (unfortunately) be coming back!

No flames please, sorry for any mistakes!

Thank you so much to everyone who has voted on, commented on, or read this story!!!! Seriously, thank you guys so much. I've been slacking a little with responding to comments, but I'll get right to it as soon as I post this chapter. :)