After the Avengers (Clintasha) [Complete]

Chapter 27

27
Clint POV

I woke up in a very large amount of pain.

Everything, especially my head and chest were sore. The busy sounds of the hospital around me seem to be muffled.

I look to my left. Katie sits in the chair beside my bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Hey," I say hoarsely.

Katie lowers her head and raises an eyebrow. "Hey," she says.

Memories swirl around my head. Katie betraying everyone. Punches, kicks, screaming. Pain.

I couldn't believe it.

"That sucked," I comment.

Katie nods.

Nat's not here, nor is the rest of the team. Either they're in briefing or something else is going on.

And Katie isn't in SHIELD custody. Not that I want her to be, but she was seen with the enemy. Something's up.

"What's going on?" I ask.

Katie runs a hand through her dark hair. "I messed up, badly. I'm so sorry, Clint."

"Katie, can you tell me the truth for five minutes?" I ask.

"You knew?" She asks, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.

"No, but I guessed you were lying to me when I saw you with the enemy," I inform her. She nods her head solemnly, looking back at the ceiling. What could possibly be so interesting about that ceiling? "Katie?"

"I don't know where to start." She mumbles. At least it sounds like she mumbled it. My head feels funny. I think back on how my hearing was almost destroyed by sonic arrows. A concussion could cause me to lose it permanently. Great. "With everyone else it was easy," she says, still not meeting my glaze. "I don't know how to tell you this."

"What is it?" I ask.

"Well, for starters my mom wasn't who she said she was," she states bluntly, finally looking at me. Assessing my reaction.

I nod, thoughts swirling in my head. If Ellie was who I thought she was, who was she? Why did she lie to me? I almost laugh. I thought for the longest time she would never lie to me, but recent events reveal that all she ever did was lie to me. Why am I surprised?

I think I just expected more from her.

"If she wasn't who she said she was, who was she?" I ask.

Katie sighs, looking back at the damn ceiling, "Her real name was Eleanor Bishop. She was married, you were her affair. She thought she could love you, but got scared when she got pregnant and left."

Eleanor, how fitting. She lied about her identity. She didn't tell me who she was to keep me from finding out she was married. An affair, she had an affair while she was married. She cheated on her husband with me. She got tired of him and tried to love me. She... There really was no good way to word it that would make me feel better.

"Huh." I say and suddenly I'm looking up at the ceiling too. "Interesting."

"That's your reactions?" Katie demands. When I look over, she has one eye brow raised as if to say really?!

"I'm processing," I inform her. "In case you didn't know, it's kind of a surprise."

"Oh, I know," she snaps. "I found out when I was twelve. I grew up thinking that another man was my father. I thought I lived in a loving home. I grew up hearing my mother was the most amazing, loyal, kindest, realistic person. It was all a lie! I have never been told anything but lies! I do know the feeling because I'm constantly figuring out the truth!"

"Is that why you were so mad when you found out about the baby?" I ask.

She runs a hand over her face before resting her forearms on her knees, looking down and says, "No, well yes. It was part of the reason."

I frown, "You wanna tell me the reason?"

I don't miss the tear that leaks from her eye. "No, not yet."

I sigh, I'll let her have her space. I have a feeling this is something way more personal. It's not something that has to do with Ellie (or Eleanor), but her. This is something she will tell me when she's ready and as her father, I need to respect that. "Is there anything else?"

She wipes her cheek as she leans back in her chair, "Yeah, my real name is Katherine."

I smile. I don't know why, but I've always loved the name Katherine. I remember telling Ellie and Natasha that if I were to have a daughter, her name would be Katherine. I guess someone listened to me.

I reach over and rub her knee affectionately, "That's one of my favourite names in the world."

Katherine laughs slightly as she wipes more tears spill from her eyes. This time, I don't think they're from sadness. "Oh, shit," she says. "I don't know why I'm crying, I never cry."

"It's okay, Katherine," I say, smiling back at her. "Are you going to tell me why you were in that alley?"

And she does. I really am an asshole. I pushed my daughter into a world that I fight to destroy because I got caught up in the moment. I vow right now that as soon as I get out of the hospital, she will come first for a long time.

"Where is everyone?" I ask.

She freezes and looks up again. "Well..."

"Katherine," I warn.

"They think they know where this guy is located. They left about an hour ago to go after him," she murmurs and winces slightly. "They all left...even Natasha."

"What?" I demand, sitting up quickly. Katherine jumps out of her chair to hold me back.

"Yeah, you're not going anywhere any time soon, Clint," she informs me. "Natasha decided to go through with this, they wouldn't let me go. They said I'd done enough."

I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. "You need to go after them, convince her to get out of the field. She's pregnant for God sake."

"How?" She demands. "I don't have any access to weapons, SHIELD doesn't exactly trust me, and I don't even know where they are."

I think for a moment, then, "Do you have a pen?"

She cocks her head to the side, "No, but I can get one."

"Good, because you're going to want to write this down. I'm going to tell you how to get that information."

After Katie wrote down my instruction, I ask, "And what do we say if we get caught?"

"This is a code tango two alpha E Yankee," she repeats. "What does that even mean?"

"Nothing, it just sounds important if you say it right. Now go get her."

Sorry for the wait, again. Let me know what you think