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

A Spy's Goodbye/ Epilogue

Last chapter! Here we go!

"Natasha, wait until I say and then pinch his nose shut and breathe into his mouth!" Steve ordered as he began CPR on their lifeless archer. The crash site had attracted a crowd, and now, all the people still there were waiting to see if they could save Hawkeye. The Avengers heard multiple people asking if Hawkeye was alive and what was going on. Natasha struggled not to scream at them to disband. 

"6...7...8...9...now!" Natasha tilted Clint's head back, pinched his nostrils shut, then breathed into his mouth. When she pulled away, Steve continued pumping his friend's chest. Natasha heard the sudden crack of Clint's ribs under the force of Steve's palms.

It was lasting forever; every second that passed was crucial. Natasha did not hear the next time Steve told her to breathe for Clint. It became second nature.

35...36...37...38...39... Natasha!" Another breath, and then a pulse check. 

"Steve, we have a pulse!" She pulled Clint closer to her, resting his head in her lap as she stared down at his still form. "Clint? Clint!" Steve pulled him away from her and scooped him into his arms before she Natasha could react. "Steve, no!" 

"Just because he has a pulse now doesn't mean it's going to last!" Steve responded, taking Clint over to some paramedics from SHIELD Bruce had called after tracking their location from the tower. 

"I'm going with him!" Natasha announced as she rushed after them. The paramedics denied her access, saying she'd be in the way as they fought for his life on the way to the nearest SHIELD medical facility. Once they loaded him onto a stretcher and into the back of the ambulance, they bagged him to keep him breathing. 

"Don't let him die, do you understand!?" Natasha growled at the paramedic denying her access. 

The paramedic hesitated before answering. "Get in. If he knows you're there, then maybe he'll have a chance."

21 Days

It was like Russia all over again. Natasha ran beside the gurney her best friend lie still on. Clint was still struggling to breathe on his own, so the bag remained over his mouth and nose. "Internal bleeding in the abdomen, left kidney is failing. Pulse is 140 and weak, BP's 60 over 30," one of the SHIELD paramedics announced as they wheeled Clint's lifeless form into the lab. They moved the gurney next to the field operating table in the sectioned off, sterile area. 

"On my count:" Jemma Simmons began as she grabbed the edge of the warming blanket by Clint's head, "One, two, three!" On three, the paramedics and two of the assisting surgeons moved the archer onto the table. "Okay, let's get him prepped for surgery. Natasha!" Simmons turned her head toward the agent who would not leave Barton's side. As she looked up, the doctor told her to leave and be with Coulson in his office. 

"I'm not leaving him." Natasha growled, causing Simmons to return a pleading look. 

"Natasha, please...the sooner you leave, the sooner we can begin the operation. Barton's life is on the line...we can't waste any more time!"

The agent looked back down at her partner, who now had a tube protruding from his mouth. She shakily reached out and squeezed his hand before getting on her knees and resting her forearm on the edge of the table. She faced the side of his head. "Listen to me, bird brain. You fight like hell, okay? I can't bury you, Laura can't bury you. The Avengers can't bury you. Just fight it! Please...please!" 

"Natasha..." Natasha turned her head to see Agent May standing by the doors. "We need to go. Barton's in good hands. One of the surgeons working on him is one of the doctors who removed the arc reactor from Stark's chest. In other words, they know what they're doing. Come on."