be_compromised | ATTF: Doctor, Doctor

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all the things friday

ATTF: Doctor, Doctor

Today's ATTF is brought to you by the ever-amazing crazy4orcas!

I hope you’ve all had a great week and have an even better weekend!

This Friday I want to talk about Clint, Natasha, and doctors.

I’m sure you’ve all read fic that in one way or another involves our favorite master assassins and encounters with the medical profession. One fanon cliché that seems pretty widespread is that Clint and Natasha both have an above average aversion for hospitals/doctors. Whether they’re leaving the hospital before advised or avoiding medical care altogether, it seems a predominate idea that our favorites and health care providers just do not mix. Where do you think this idea comes from?
What’s your head canon?

I waffle back and forth with my head canon on this one depending on what backstory I’m leaning toward at the time. With Red Room experimentation as her background, I can totally see Natasha wanting to avoid doctors at all costs. And for Clint, I generally see him as your stereotypical man’s man, wanting to avoid being seen as weak and/or helpless so he tends to keep his injuries to himself. On the other hand, I think they both see their bodies as their most effective weapon and would want to keep them functioning at peak performance; seeing a doctor would just fall under weapons maintenance.

I do have head canon about one of the SHIELD nurses though. Marcella has been with SHIELD for years and doesn’t take guff from doctors, patients, or the organizational bureaucracy. She knows the rules and regulations but she also knows which ones to bend and which ones to break. Marcella knows her field agents by name, medical history and, more importantly, by their quirks. She knows Natasha hates to be cold so she makes sure the room temperature is turned up a little and brings extra blankets (even when Natasha is the one at bedside). If they’ve managed to keep Clint from breaking out early, she brings him a supply of coffee stirrer arrows and rubber band bows to use for target practice. Marcella’s no pushover though; she’s the one they send to make sure Fury takes his Flu shot.

How about other medicinal topics? What kind of medical directives might Clint and Natasha have in place? Medical powers of attorney? Fear of needles? Does Clint actually like hospital food?

And what about their relationships with SHIELD psychologists? The doctor-aversion idea also seems to cover mental health professionals as well.

How about turning this cliché on its head? Give me fic where Natasha goes to the infirmary for even the tiniest things. Or fic where once they actually get Clint into a hospital bed, it’s a fight to get him back out; after all, he has a TV, room service, and Natasha usually keeps him company, right?

Do any fic recs come to mind?

Here are some recs that may not be entirely medical, but do have medical related scenes:
Perspectives by

ittykat, Rating: PG, Warnings: Some violence, some bad language, Summary: Perspective is all about angles and interpretations.
The Blanket by

shenshen77, Rating: G, Warnings: None, Summary: Natasha is hurt and Clint gives her something he once had…
Follow You Down by

sneakronicity, Rating: Mature, Warnings: None, Summary: With Natasha in a coma, Clint is told to stand by but he can't just wait around. In true Hawkeye fashion he does something stupid instead.
Such Lost Creatures by

lar_laughs, Rating: Teen and Up, Warnings: None, Summary: They're dancing around, testing the boundaries of this thing called a relationship. He's got things he needs to work on and she's just trying to keep her head above the water of her new world.

So, pull up a barstool, first round of drinks is on me. STAT!

Things to remember:
1) Always label NSFW (Not Safe For Work) stuff in the title and post under a cut.
2) Fic and artwork needs to have a rating and warnings (or you can say that you’ve chosen not to use warnings).
3) For people with annoying internet connections, say in the title if a comment is graphic/images/gif-heavy and post picspams under a cut.
4) Have a damn good time! (Because if that’s not happening then this post has clearly failed.)

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On the other hand, I think they both see their bodies as their most effective weapon and would want to keep them functioning at peak performance; seeing a doctor would just fall under weapons maintenance.

Yes, this!! Honestly I'm clueless on how they would approach medical professionals but I feel like they would be kinda like the rest of us (or some of us) who just don't like hospitals and MDs at all and won't go unless it seems like something that won't take care of itself. As for ducking out early, I'm actually wondering if SHIELD itself would sometimes try to get them to leave early in order to complete a mission and the MD's not happy with it.

I love any and all angles I've seen because all are plausible including one fic where Natasha was mildly intellectually disturbed that a medical bed was her safe space.

My personal theory on why Clint wouldn't like doctors is tied to headcanon of child abuse. Doctors are dangerous in an abusive situation if you aren't trying to get out.

Edited 2014-11-07 23:06 (UTC)

I can't believe they'd avoid going to medical - they might grumble about it, but you're right, they need their bodies in the best condition possible.
Psychologists, on the other hand... that's harder to tell. For Clint, for whatever reason, I can't imagine that he likes them, but on the other hand, they do help. In Nat's case, though, she's got a history (as far as I can tell) of keeping her cards close to her chest. I can't imagine she'd like the idea of opening up to someone who will write everything down to go into a file...

My personal theory on why Clint wouldn't like doctors is tied to headcanon of child abuse. Doctors are dangerous in an abusive situation if you aren't trying to get out.

You just HAD to point that out, didn't you? Because yes. Fucking yes. Also ouch. ;__;

You both stop it right now with that headcanon.

No, but, that's my happy place. Okay, maybe, like, 'happy' is a bit misleading in that particular instance, but still. I DON'T WANNA STOP. :P

:P But I cannot think about this, I'm already having issues with these two lately! Oh, Clint.

Lately, she says. How do you define that? ;P

Think about it some more with me. C'mon. Imagine that tiny thing, trying to figure out what'd be worse, staying home or getting taken away... Little does he know, he'll have that question answered sooner than he thinks.

I really love the idea of them maintaining their bodies like the weapons they are. Definitely not a mainstream idea, but I really like it. That may end up factoring in some future fics.

Whether they end up in the medical wing voluntarily or otherwise, I see them using the buddy system. Ya know, just to be on the safe side, they attend each other's physicals, blood tests, emergency surgeries… Wouldn't want an unscrupulous (i.e., Hydra) doctor sabotaging SHIELD's greatest assets.

:bats eyelashes:

I do like all of this. And yes, they watch each other's back, especially with her trust issues and his fondness for the good drugs.

I feel like Nat would do the reverse whammy on a shrink.

But there's just SO MUCH THAT KILLS ME ABOUT THAT IMAGE. About that thought of Clint associating doctors with abuse and what he thinks about it and oh god help.

Yes! And then it would be about 5 minutes after she walked out that the shrink would be like, "Ummm, what just happened?"

I could see child!Clint being threated by abusive parent(s) on what *worse* things they'll do to him if he doesn't say that he fell off the swing. They might even lie to him that foster parents/orphanage will treat him worse, and he's really a bad boy anyway, the social worker will know he's a bad boy.

And poor child!Clint, not having any other experience would believe this, and not want to expose his parents.

Or perhaps Clint and Barney had a terrible time in foster care, and while the circus was not great, it was better than their previous experiences, so Clint might have avoided doctors in order to keep from getting sent back into the system.

i'm with you on the "oh, Clint!" here ...

I think both Clint and Natasha would be perfectly happy with physiotherapists and massage appointments for keeping those bods in fighting shape. (And, let's face it, who doesn't enjoy a hot stone massage, when you can put your mind in park and just be for a bit?)

But doctors with needles? And the same instruments they last saw in the hands of that Colombian "doctor" who was keeping Clint awake for "interrogation" when Natasha blew open the door and a hole in the doctor's head?

"Thanks, I'll do it myself."

"But Agent Barton. That wound needs a suture."

"I can see that. I said I'd do it myself."

"At least let me give you an analgesic then. This one is the latest ..."

"I'm fine. Now bugger off or I'll use this knife in ways you won't like."

"Suit yourself, Agent Barton. I am not responsible... Fine. I'm leaving. He's all yours, Agent Romanoff."

"I thought he'd never leave."

"You look like a mess, Clint."

"What else is new? Did you bring the needle and the Scotch?"

"Two bottles. A ten-year-old Glenfiddich for outside, and an eighteen-year-old Ardbeg for inside."

"Now that's medicine I can relate to!"

Edited 2014-11-08 04:47 (UTC)

I personally believed that Clint wouldn't like being confined to a bed and may have some mistrust of medical professionals due to his upbringing but as for Natasha...it seems obvious to me why Natasha would hate doctors after being experimented on in the Red Room. It would just be an instinctive dislike of doctors and scientists alike. And also, neither one would like to be confined or out of control/under someone else's control.

To be fair, most psychologists put the bare minimum of detail in their notes because if they ever get subpoenaed that becomes a mess with HIPAA.

But I'm not sure how I think either of them would do in therapy. I go back and forth on whether I think Natasha would do well. I sort of like the idea that she may have had a really good bond with a therapist who initially helped her recover/break free other training but idk. Someday I might want to write that.

Someday I'm going to write a fic about SHIELD having really amazing therapists.

I think Natasha could go either way. Like, I think it would be hard for SHIELD medical personnel to gain her trust initially, but I also think she might develop an appreciation for having a team that IS good and that does take care of her when she's injured. I think being allowed to heal and not being punished or threatened for getting hurt on a mission might be a novelty to her.

So, one of the stories I would LOVE to read is a post-movie fic about Clint and a therapy dog.

Backstory: My mom is a therapist. We had a dog when I was a kid who had TERRIBLE separation anxiety. An Australian Shepard mix. After he ruined all the rugs, my mom decided to try and take him to the office with her. Shep was an AMAZING therapy dog. For one thing, he was a herder, so once he learned the patients, he would go and get them from the waiting room and bring them to the office for his treat.
He was also completely chill, and would just sit next to a patient, or sleep on the floor. Unless someone cried, then he'd go and lick their fingers.
And some people, reluctant to talk for whatever reason, would open up to the dog rather than my mom.

I guess I imagine Clint having a chance to interact with a dog like Shep, and the therapist noticing. So she gets him a retired military dog (http://www.save-a-vet.org/d7/adopt) and they proceed to heal each other.

(The dog hates thunderstorms, so Clint stays up all night, sitting in the bathtub with him. Clint has trouble getting up, and the dog pesters him cause it needs a walk, making him go outside. Just, a mutually beneficial relationship.)

YOU'RE EVIL. (Keep doing that.) XD

And now take the next step and imagine how he feels when he DOES end up in foster care after his parents died, considering the horror stories they told him about it in order to keep him from telling doctors the truth...

(Never mind me, that is ~exactly the kinda mindset I gotta be in to get back into the-marvel-bang-that-wasn't, y'all are ~helping. XDDD)

And the same instruments they last saw in the hands of that Colombian "doctor" who was keeping Clint awake for "interrogation" when Natasha blew open the door and a hole in the doctor's head?

Also a great reason to be somewhat iffy about medical care, yes. I mean. Not great. Sad. I totally meant sad. /scribbles notes

I love how this post went to both child abuse and torture, yes yes, this is definitely the bar my heart belongs to now.

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ATTF: Doctor, Doctor

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