21 Days [A Hawkeye/ Clint Barton fic] [HEAVY EDITING]

Ruin My Life

Honestly, this is a filler chapter because the next chapter will feature CAPTAIN AMERICA'S TRIAL.

Natasha knew right away that Clint struggled with life outside the hospital. 

It all started the day they arrived home from the hospital. Clint seemed tense when Laura hugged him immediately after he walked through the front door. She slowly let him go, then moved her hands up to either side of his head before kissing him. When they both pulled away, she noticed Clint had tears in his eyes. "I messed up..." He was blaming the whole incident on himself. This wasn't the Agent Barton she married. This Avenger was vulnerable, quiet, and now would rather run away instead of fight.

Laura shook her head, unable to say much. "Clint...it wasn't you. None of this is your fault." A pause. "I think you really need to rest." She looked over at Natasha, her nurse instincts kicking in. "When did he last take his medication?"

"About four hours ago. Well, through the IV she left in the back of his hand...and that was just pain medicine. Apparently keeping the IV in is easier and more humane than constantly stabbing him with a needle. Simmons came in and gave the dose to him while he was still asleep. I have his medicine in my duffle bag. One liquid, some pills, and a solution we're supposed to inject into his line every twelve hours starting now." Natasha watched as Laura steered Clint over to the couch to lie down, keeping one hand gently pressed against the back of his shoulder. 

Once he was seated, he tried to get back up on his feet. The look in Clint's eyes read he had no interest in listening to anyone. 

"Laura..." Natasha nervously called out, ready to talk to her about Clint's struggles in the hospital. Laura turned away from Clint and looked at her red haired friend. Natasha nodded her head toward the kitchen so they could talk. 

"What's wrong, Nat?" When Laura left Clint by himself, he quietly sat back down on the couch before lying down on his side. He was too exhausted and sore to wander around the house like he wanted to. 

The widow pulled out her phone after the two women were seated at the table. "I think you need to see these since SHIELD never allowed you to see Clint at the Medical Center." The first photo was from the other day; Clint was heavily sedated, a thick oxygen mask was strapped over his mouth and nose, and the patient safety straps were holding him down. "Their ways of dealing with him are...odd...almost cruel. This was the day he tried to escape. They thought he was a threat to himself and others in the hospital..." She swiped to the next screen, which was a video from roughly a week ago. 

"Clint, do you know where you are?" Natasha's voice asked as the phone's camera focused on her friend. He was clearly drugged out of his mind, focusing on pulling on his restraints as his eyes fought to stay open. The metal buckle of the restraint clanked against the metal bed rail. "So he just got his cochlear implants switched on today...and he hates them. Guess who fought the doctor and got sedated?"

"G-Go....'way, Nat..." Clint tried to move his head around against his pillow so he could push off the magnetic devices attached to the chips under his skin. 

"Barton, they look and work great. You're fine, and you get to see your hair growing back to the length it was because the accident." The assassin ran her hand through his oily hair, which this drugged up version didn't like. Clint squirmed; he was exhausted and didn't want to be touched. Natasha sighed and walked around his bed so she could get a good look at his left arm. "I don't agree with several of SHIELD's ways of dealing with him. You may want to see this." She gently pushed the sleeve of his gown up over his bruised shoulder to show the puncture marks outlined in yellow and green rings. "These bruises are just from being given sedatives." Natasha turned the camera on herself. "It's four o'clock now. Around eleven tonight, an anesthetist will come in here and put him to sleep. I don't think it's safe for him to get anesthesia every night, but the doctors won't explain anything to me."