The kid avengers

Temporarily Seperated

Clint had been ill for the last few days. He'd been struggling with a bad cough, not that it had stopped him running around like a mad man with the others, but it was getting worse, and several coughing fits had resulted in him vomiting.
Concerned, Jane suggested they take him to the doctors to get checked over, she was worried it could be whooping cough, and if that were the case, he'd need some antibiotics and closer monitoring for the complications which could develop, not to mention the fact he could be highly contagious and the last thing they wanted was six ill children.

Pepper gathered the ever weakening child in her arms, wrapped in his blanket and turned to follow Jane to the elevator. Natasha ran up behind them, fully intending to accompany her friend to the doctors, despite her overwhelming fear of them

"Tasha, sweetie, I need to stay here with the others for me, okay?" Pepper explained to her gently, but she felt instantly guilty when Natasha's green eyes grew wide and her lips pouted

"We'll be back soon" Jane reassured her, before the three of them left together, Clint waved sadly over Pepper's shoulder at his best friend.

The others all watched as Natasha didn't move from her spot, watching as the elevator made it's decent down to the basement where the garage was situated

She still hadn't moved 15 minutes later, and it saddened the others just how lost she was without Clint

Tony approached her slowly, placing a comforting arm over her shoulders and telling her "Don't worry Nat, he'll be back soon"
She nodded and went with Tony as he dragged her back to the lounge where The Little Mermaid was playing on the TV, however her eyes never left the elevator

Several hours later Pepper had rang to inform the others that Clint did have whooping cough, and they were waiting on some tests to figure out which antibiotics he would need. The doctors were also concerned about sending him back to a house with five other children in case they too became ill

As bed time approached, no one had had the heart to tell Natasha that Clint would be staying in the shield medical bay overnight, and possibly for the next few days until he was no longer contagious

Phil and Maria herded the other children to bed, leaving Darcy to tackle Natasha; she was now sat on the floor by the elevator, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them.

"Tasha, you want to go to bed?"

"No thank you"

"It's getting late, and you look tired"

"I'd like to wait for Clint first. I can't sleep without him"

Damn, Darcy knew it was a bad idea to offer to put Nat to bed, she should have taken Bruce and let Phil deal with this like they'd first planned

Darcy scooped the little girl up from the floor, noting how tired she actually was when she didn't try and struggle free from her grip.
Sitting back on the sofa, Darcy held Natasha until she fell asleep on her lap, Darcy too fell asleep, and the pair of them slept like that on the sofa until morning

Natasha took up watching the elevator once again as soon as she woke, but Darcy had had some concerns since she'd woken

"Phil, does Natasha feel a little warm to you?"

Phil wondered over to where she sat, cross legged, waiting for her friend to come home and placed his hand on her forehead. She frowned at him, but didn't budge from her spot

He turned back to Darcy and nodded; "We'll keep an eye on her, but if anyone was going to catch the same thing as Clint it'd make sense for it to be her; they go everywhere together"

By mid afternoon Natasha was definitely running a fever, and the coughing fits had started not long after breakfast. She seemed to be developing symptoms far faster than Clint did, and by lunch time when Pepper and Jane returned to the tower to grab a change of clothing, she was really really ill; Darcy was just cleaning her up from a nose bleed when the two women arrived back at the tower.

When Natasha realised Clint wasn't with them her bottom lip quivered as she begged Pepper to take her to see him

"Why didn't you tell us she was so ill?" Pepper asked Phil as she hurriedly dried her hair following the rushed shower she'd had. She knew if Natasha needed to go to the doctors she'd have to be the one to take her, she was going to freak out enough as it was

"Pepper! Pepper!" came Tony's voice from down the hall, before Steve burst through Pepper's door

"Pepper, Natasha really needs to go to the hospital" Steve told her

"What happened?" she asked, getting up from where she was perched on the edge of her bed

"I don't know, she just fell..."

On re entering the room Pepper could see that Natasha had collapsed
'Low blood pressure, nose bleeds, pneumonia, cessation of breathing, kidney failure, seizures...' all the complications the doctor had warned her of when they'd taken Clint in, the doctors warning 'Younger children tend to be at much more risk of severe complications' was ringing in her ear.

"Shit" Pepper cussed, as she approached the unconscious child, Tony was crouched on the floor gripping her hand as he looked up at Pepper; tears in his eyes

"Is this why Clint didn't come home?" Steve asked sadly, the seriousness of the situation seemed to have hit them

"Wake up Tasha!" Bruce demanded from where he and Thor were sat on the sofa. For the first time ever Thor whispered; "I don't think she can Bruce"

Pepper lifted Natasha's limp body into her arms and held her close as she and Darcy left to return to the hospital, leaving the questions to the remaining three adults.

Jane explained that Clint and Natasha were poorly, but because Natasha was younger, and smaller; she was having a harder time fighting the infection. Phil assured them that the doctors would take good care of them, and Maria promised them they could go visit their friends once the doctors allowed them too.

Clint recovered quickly; the worst side affects he suffered were vomiting and dehydration. As soon as Natasha was admitted, he crawled into her hospital bed beside her, refusing to return to his own.

Natasha took a little longer to get back on her feet, giving the doctors and Pepper a few scares along the way; she had seizures and stopped breathing a few times, but after a few days on IV antibiotics she was starting to improve, and the doctors gave their approval for the other children to come visit.

The four of them excitedly climbed to sit on the bed with their friends, and Darcy wondered how all six of them managed to fit. Steve, Thor, Tony and Bruce had made get well cards for them; which was impressive as only half of them had ever showed any interest in arts and crafts before, Tony outright declaring that he didn't have the patience for it, but nevertheless, he and Thor had joined the others in drawing and gluing, determined to make cards as good as the others.

They'd also been shopping for new toys while Clint and Natasha had been hospitalized. Tony showed Natasha proudly the Rapunzel doll he'd chosen for her and Thor declared (loudly) that he had found Clint a new bow and arrow set.
Pepper rolled her eyes at Phil who had allowed them to get a new set for Clint after his last ones had been confiscated following another broken vase.

Soon the mini-assassins were released, no one was happier about this than the staff who had lost them twice after their health improved enough that they were no longer bed bound (although they were still supposed to be on bed rest)
They were certainly no less mischievous when they were ill

Pepper and Darcy took them back to the tower where the four boys had insisted on a welcome home party for Clint and Natasha, including a home made cake (by Steve) and all their favourite foods (Thai curry, nachos, jelly and lots of chocolate)

It was great having all six kids back together again,l they just didn't seem themselves when they'd been separated.
After eating, they all crashed and fell asleep on the sofa while watching the Tangled DVD Bruce had insisted on getting for Natasha. They were all rather squashed as the six had insisted on squeezing on one sofa, but none of them minded.