Long time no see

Chapter one

Laughing can be heard from inside the Barton family farmhouse. Clint and his wife Laura played a card game with two of their three kids, Lila and Nathaniel. But the game was interrupted by a knock at the front door.

"I'll get it," Clint said, getting up from the couch beside his wife.

Clint walked over to the door and was shocked by what he saw. Two bruised and bloodied bodies barely keeping each other upright. Both figures were dressed in black, the man with a katana and an assortment of blades, while the blond woman had two pistols holstered on her thighs.

"Hey, Dad," the man said as he collapsed.

" Warren!" Clint exclaimed as he caught both figures. He quickly dragged them inside and laid them on the floor before shouting to his wife, "Laura! Get the med kit and send the kids up stairs, now!"

A second later, his daughter, Lila, ran into the room and stopped when she saw the two lying there bleeding, "Daddy, what is going on?" She asked with a slight tremble in her voice.

"Lila, go and take Nathaniel upstairs and send Cooper down here now!"

Lila quickly ran out of the room without another word. A moment later, Laura and Cooper came rushing into the living room. Laura handed Clint the med kit, which he opened, pulling out the needed things. Clint looked at Cooper, "Bud, I need you to hold him up while I take his suit off, okay?"

Cooper nodded and held Warren as Clint took off the top of his suit, revealing multiple deep gashes on his chest, a bullet wound in his right shoulder, and a stab wound in the left side of his rib cage. "Laura, I need you to go heat this rod," he handed her a metal rod about 8 inches long and half an inch thick. She took the rod and ran off to the kitchen.

Clint lightly applied pressure to Warren's ribs to check for any broken ones and found a few. " Looks like at least five broken ribs, one stab wound that has stopped bleeding. There are four deep cuts on the chest, one massive one from the right shoulder to the left hip, and a bullet wound to the right shoulder."

"What should I do, Dad?" Cooper asked, trying to appear calm.

 "Start assessing her wounds, and I'll instruct you further," Cooper nodded and went over to the woman and removed her jacket to examine her wounds.

Clint took the rubbing alcohol and started cleaning the cuts. Once the cuts were clean, he took the thread and needle and began stitching the stab wound.

"Dad," Clint looked up from his task to Cooper as Cooper continued talking, "She seems to be shot in the side, right under the rib cage, but it appears to have gone right through. She also has cuts, nasty bruises, and a deep gash on her left thigh."

"Clean the cuts with the alcohol and bandage them up. Your mother and I will take care of the rest."

He nodded in response and immediately started to clean her cuts. Clint put on a pair of latex gloves, pulled out a couple of pliers from the med kit, and slowly removed the bullet from Warren's shoulder. As he fished the shell out, Laura came in carrying the now hot metal rod and passed it off to Clint. He took the rod by its leather handle. "I need you to take over for Cooper," he informed her as he prepared to cauterize warrens bullet wound.

Clint brought his attention back to his barely conscious son. He inserted the tip of the rod into the bullet wound, which caused a searing sound, but that was drowned out by the cry of pain that escaped his oldest son's lips.

Warren groaned as the rod was removed from his wound," That sucked."

Clint chuckled," Well, that wasn't too much fun for me, either."

"Yelena?" Warren asked in a hurt and worried tone.

"Your mother is taking care of her right now."

Warren closed his eyes in response and nodded slightly as he slipped back unconscious. Clint bandaged Warren's shoulder, wrapped his ribs, and put a sealant patch over the cuts on his chest and the giant gash on his back as Laura took care of Yelena.

Once finished, Cooper and Clint carried the two unconscious beings up the stairs to Warren's old attic bedroom and placed the paid-in beds built into the attic walls. Once settled in, Cooper and Clint left the room and returned to the living room, where Laura was cleaning up.

"You should head to bed, honey; you still have school in a couple of hours," Laura said as she picked up the bloodied suits they removed from the two adults.

"Yes, ma'am." And with that, Cooper went up to his room.

Laura lays the two suits on the coffee table in front of the couch and sits next to her husband on the couch. Clint wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and she laid her head on his chest while she held his hand. "What have they gotten themselves into?" she asked with a hint of worry.

With a sigh, Clint responded, "Nothing good, I can tell you that much, but whatever it is, it sure looks like it wasn't a regular fight. They both look like they were fighting a war."

"What do you think Warren's doing running around with Nat's sister?" she queried.
"Getting themselves into trouble, obviously," he scoffed.

Laura smiled at his remark, "Just like you and Nat, huh?"

With a sad smile, he nodded, "Yeah, just like me and Nat."

Laura stood up and pulled Clint up with her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his lips before giving him a small smile, "Let's go to bed."

Clint nods, "Yes, Ma'am."