Clint saw it happen, he called it in himself, but that still didn't mean he believed it. There they were fighting the aliens side by side, like always. She had just leaned over to tell him that the fighting reminded her of Budapest when it happened. She happened to glance over at him to see if the comment made him laugh when a laser or some kind of blaster hit her in the left side. The laughter in her eyes left the second it impacted her. A small gasp escaped the Black Widow's lips as she crumpled down to the ground, her eyes wide with fear. Clint immediately turned to his com link as he fired several arrows into the surrounding aliens.

"Natasha is down! I need a way out now!" Clint yelled into his link. He finished off a few more of the aliens in order to give him the cover he needed to get Natasha to safety. He knelt down next to her and started to look over the impact wound. All around the entry point blood was soaking her cat suit. Natasha gasped for air and lifted her head up weakly to look down at the injury. Even that small movement caused pain to radiate throughout her body. She gasped at how much it hurt and laid back down. Clint's face reappeared in her line of sight he looked worried but she could tell he was trying his best not to show it.

"It's bad isn't it?" Natasha struggled with her words. Clint shook his head.

"No, you will be fine. I promise." He tried his best to assure her, but he knew she could see right through him. The injury was bad, probably one of the worst he'd seen happen to her. That was saying something, considering how often the two assassins of the Avengers found themselves hurt. "Nat I need to move you to shelter until I can find us a safe way back to the heli-carrier. I'm going to pick you up but it's going to hurt." Clint warned her. She nodded and bit her lip to bite back any cries of pain that threatened to escape as he hoisted her up in his arms bridal style.

"How bad is she Hawk?" Steve Rogers asked through the com-link.

"I'm…ow, fine." The Black Widow answered for herself.

"You sure don't sound fine." Tony remarked from his own com.

"It broke a few ribs on its way in and I'm not sure if it did any lung damage yet." Clint answered.

"Fury has been alerted and he's working on getting a transport safely into the city." Steve replied. Clint nodded.

"Roger." He barked into his com and stepped over a piece of rubble as he came into the building. He bent down and as gently as possible laid his fallen partner on to the ground. Natasha winced at the movement. Clint smiled sympathetically at her and ripped the sleeve off her suit, he then proceeded to wrap up the wound in it. When he tightened the fabric over the entry wound Natasha cried out in pain and started gasping for air. Clint sighed and ran his hand through her hair comfortingly.

"Easy Tash. We're going to get you out of here, because you are not dying on me." He said firmly. She smiled and nodded weakly.

"I'll try." She promised. Clint smiled and kept running his hand through her hair to keep her calmed down. It seemed to be helping at least with keeping her breathing even. The fighting outside had picked up outside and the two assassins com-links were full of the Avengers barking orders back and forth to each other. The Hawk and the Widow sat in silence for the longest time waiting for Steve to tell them Fury had a way out. Clint knew it was taking way too long. They had to get Nat out of here fast or she wasn't going to make it like he told her she would. Nat couldn't leave now, he simply wouldn't allow it. They'd only been married in Budapest a year now, there was so much more in store for them. What happened to growing old together? Finally Steve's voice came over the com.

"I've got a way to close the portal. Should I?" Steve asked over the com.

"No, I've got a nuke about to blow and I know just where to put it." Tony ordered.

"It's almost over Nat." Clint told Natasha anxiously. She nodded slowly and took in a deep and labored breath.

"That's great." She breathed. Clint paled as her breathing started to become extremely rapid and shallow. He gripped her hand tightly in his.

"Hey. No, you can't go on me yet. Hang on just a little longer Nat. I promise they're coming soon." Clint begged her. She nodded weakly.

"I'm trying." She coughed as the pain in her chest increased. It was becoming so hard for her to breathe, and she could feel the lack of oxygen starting to make her dizzy.

"Tony please hurry." Clint begged over his com. Suddenly, a loud boom was heard outside. Clint let go of Natasha's hand to run to the window. Outside one of the large skeletal creatures had just crashed. Clint glanced up toward where the portal had been in the sky and was overjoyed to find it gone. He grinned and ran back over to Natasha, but when he got over to her she wasn't conscious anymore. "Nat!" He screamed, praying to God it would wake her. Still, she didn't open her eyes. "Come on Tash, don't leave me hanging." He pleaded. He reached his hand down and checked her pulse. It was faint, but thankfully still there. "I need a transport stat. Nat's lost consciousness." Clint spoke desperately into the com.

"In route now Hawk." Fury's voice reported. Clint breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to Natasha.

Hours later Clint found himself pacing outside a medic room on the S.H.I.E.L.D heli-carrier. Nat was undergoing major surgery right behind those closed doors and it was driving him insane with worry. The blast had fractured several ribs causing a lung puncture, as well as doing some splenic damage. The rest of the Avengers team sat in chairs against the wall. Each looked as nervous as the next. Clint kept fidgeting with the small nearly unnoticeable spider charm on the gold chain around his neck. When he and Natasha had gotten married in Budapest secretly they had opted for something less conspicuous than rings. He wore a small spider charm on his chain and she wore an arrow necklace. No one knew about the wedding besides Fury and Coulson and they tried their hardest to keep it that way. Pepper sat snuggled into Tony's side and Clint felt a flicker of jealously, he wished that he and Nat could be that open sometimes. Finally after what felt like hours of waiting and pacing the doors to Nat's room opened and a doctor decked in navy blue S.H.I.E.L.D scrubs stepped out.

"Is she okay?" Clint asked. The doctor smiled and nodded.

"Miss Romanoff should recover well. She's still coming out of anesthesia, so she won't be conscious just yet. You can go see her though." He offered. Clint smiled and nodded before pushing open the door and stepping into her room. There she was, clad in a hospital gown fast asleep. An oxygen nasal cannula was set up to help her breath and several IV's went into her right arm. She looked almost peaceful sleeping like that. Her hair was a mess though, and her skin was still horribly pale, but still she was alive. Clint couldn't describe the joy and relief he was feeling to find that his beautiful wife would be okay in the end. He grabbed her hand and kissed it gently.

"I love you so much don't you ever go down on me again." Clint whispered.

"I won't." Natasha croaked out. Clint's head shot up from looking at her hand to looking up at her face. A huge smile broke out when he saw that she was awake, even if she was groggy.

Hey guys! Thought I'd try a little Clintasha one-shot. Just because I just saw AOU and I was so heartbroken about how everything turned out with the two of them, so I had to write a one-shot and slowly rebuild my shattered dreams. Review!