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Tahiti really is a magical place.
Even with Phil’s illness looming over them, a week passes in relative bliss. They ‘parasail’ - a lot - and just spend their days together. Phil watches her do tai chi on the beach in the mornings before he cooks them breakfast that they’ve taken to eating curled together on one of the chaise loungers on the deck. They go for long strolls on the beach, their hands clasped together, fingers entwined. They lay on the beach and swim in the ocean. They soak up the sun and each other and it is about as perfect as it could be.
Except that with every hour, every day that passes, the sharp fear that resides in Melinda’s heart and mind grows larger. Each day, they get closer to the time that Simmons has estimated. And each night, Melinda holds on just a little tighter, petrified that she’s going to wake up and Phil will be gone.
It’s on the evening of their eighth day in paradise, just after they’ve finished their dinner and are contemplating an evening dip in the ocean - perhaps without swimming suits - that Phil’s cellphone rings. Melinda wants to grab it and hurl it into the ocean, like Phil said he was going to, wants to keep shutting out everything from the outside world, wants to not lose even a second with Phil to the worry and stress of their former jobs, but she knows she can’t do that. She knows that if someone from the team is calling, it has to be important and Phil would never let any of them down.
He answers with a happy “Daisy!” and then stands up and begins moving around the bungalow while he talks. Melinda does up the dishes, keeping her eyes on Phil, looking for any hint of stress or worry. But he’s mostly just listening and nodding his head, a smile stretched across his face. Whatever reason Daisy has to call, it must not be bad.
When he’s finished talking with Daisy, Phil moves over to where she’s still standing at the sink, hugging her from behind as he moves the phone up to her ear.
“Say hi to the kids,” he murmurs in her free ear, his teeth gently closing around her earlobe, making her body jolt.
“Hello, Daisy.”
“May! Hi!” comes Daisy’s excited voice, along with echoes in the background that belong to Elena, Mack, and Jemma. “How are things?”
“Things here are wonderful.” She says and she means it, but there’s a slight edge to her words. “Why are you calling, Daisy?”
“Mel, be nice.” Phil whispers.
Daisy lets out a soft breath. “We just wanted to check on things. Make sure that Coulson was... enjoying retirement.”
Melinda knows what Daisy really meant when she paused. She knows that the team is more than likely just as worried about Phil as she is. At least she is here, with him. Will be with him, until the very end. The rest of their team - their family - doesn’t have that. So, although she didn’t want the intrusion, she also understands it.
“I think he’s enjoying it very much.” She tries to sound reassuring, but perhaps comes off a bit sultry. It’s Phil’s fault though. He’s still nipping at her ear and neck.
“Oo-kay. And on that note, we’re going to let you go.”
“Good idea.” Phil says, lifting his mouth from its spot on her throat. “Bye, kids!”
“Bye.” Daisy says and then, in a softer tone, “We love you.”
“We love you, too.” Phil replies, the words easier now that he’s said them to both Melinda and Daisy, hitting the end button and turning Melinda in his arms, kissing her soundly. She doesn’t question anything else about the phone call after that, nor does she seem to notice later in the evening when he is firing off text messages before joining her in bed.
**
It’s on the morning of their tenth day that Melinda wakes up to an empty spot in the bed beside her. Even before she’s fully conscious, she’s aware that Phil isn’t in his usual place and the fear and adrenaline kick in. She’s out of the bed and moving toward the living room in an instant, her heart pounding and her breath coming in short gasps.
She has spent the majority of her life sleeping alone, but now after nine nights wrapped in Phil Coulson’s arms, she doesn’t know how she’ll ever go back.
She makes it to the living room and spots him, down on one knee in the middle of the floor, with the colors of the sunrise breaking through the windows. Her brain hasn’t quite processed the image and all she knows is fear. He wasn’t in bed, he’s in the living room, on the floor. Is he hurt? Is this it?
“Phil.” She chokes out, tears already gathering in the corners of her eyes. “What’s wrong? What’s -“
It’s then that the light catches the object Phil is holding in his hand, causing it to glint and her to blink rapidly, the pieces slowly coming together.
“Melinda May, you are my partner, my best friend, and the love of my life. But there’s one title that you don’t currently hold in my life that I really want you to. You asked if there was anything else on my bucket list and honestly, the only thing left on there is to marry you. I know it may not be for long, but if I’m going to die, I want to die as your husband. So if you still want to waste your time with me, even with everything -“
Melinda cuts off his speech by dropping down and kissing him, fiercely. Tears slip down her cheeks as she kisses him, her heart now beating uncontrollably for a different reason.
When they pull away, it is only for her to murmur the word “yes” as he slips the diamond ring on her finger, kissing it once it is in place.
And the ring is perfect - simple but beautiful, a diamond in the center flanked by two smaller diamonds on each side. “Phil, it’s perfect.”
At that, a smile spreads across his face and he whispers the truth. “It was my grandmother’s.”
Melinda feels like her heart is going to burst. “Your grandmother’s? But how did you...?” She trails off, her eyes still on the gorgeous ring.
He just shrugs and gives her a little self-deprecating smile. “I’ve kinda been carrying it around for a while now.”
Melinda’s mouth falls open at that answer, and he can’t tell her that he’s been carrying the ring around for almost as long as they were waiting to drink that bottle of Haig, can’t think about all the time he wasted being afraid, so he doesn’t. He just smiles up at her, wearing the ring now.
“And it’s about damn time he used it!”
Melinda looks up at the sound of Daisy’s voice, catching sight of the young woman, standing on the porch of the bungalow, holding her phone with a wide grin. Jemma, Elena, and Mack are standing behind her, all smiling widely as well.
“What?” Daisy smirks, taking in the utterly surprised look on the usually unflappable agent’s face. She says nothing about the tears that are still glistening in Melinda’s eyes and on her cheeks. “Mom and Dad are getting married and you thought we wouldn’t be here?”
Phil is grinning widely, completely pleased with himself.
“We’re getting married.” Melinda repeats, looking down at the ring on her finger, not moving from her spot on the floor, in Phil’s arms.
“Today!” Daisy squeals excitedly.
“Today?” Melinda raises her eyebrow at Phil.
“If it’s too soon, we can wait. I just -“ Phil starts and Melinda can already see his wheels spinning, trying to rearrange plans that have been set in motion since the phone call with Daisy two nights ago - or perhaps even before.
“No.” She says firmly. They’re living on borrowed time, she knows that. And she wants to be married to Phil. She didn’t realize how much until the ring was settled on her finger, but now it’s an ache in her bones, a buzz across her skin. She wants to be Phil Coulson’s wife. For better or worse. ‘Til death do them part. Even if it’s only for a day. “No. I don’t want to wait. I want to marry you. Today. I’m just a bit surprised. We don’t even have -“
“Yes, you do!” Daisy cuts her off.
“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“Doesn’t matter. Trust us. We have it covered.”
“Rings?” Melinda spouts off, because it’s the first thing she thinks of.
“Got ‘em.” Daisy grins, reaching into a black duffle that’s at her feet and pulling out a small ring box, tossing it to her.
Melinda opens the box and gasps. There, in the box, are the wedding bands that she and Phil always wore when they were undercover as a married couple.
“I thought we could finally make them official.” Phil explains, his voice still quiet. “But if you don’t like them -“
“I love them.” And she does.
She’s always loved these rings, even when she complained about undercover with every breath. There was something comfortable about settling this band on her finger, something that she hadn’t felt even with her rings from her marriage to Andrew. She had loved him and loved those rings and what they symbolized. But after Bahrain, they had felt different, their weight no longer comforting. She had changed and so had her marriage.
With Phil, he has always seen her, always known her, even the darkest parts. His eyes were always open to her and there was nothing she could keep hidden, even when she wanted to.
“See?” Daisy breaks her from her reverie. “We’ve got it covered. So come on, let’s go get you ready to get hitched!”
She moves over to loop her arm through Melinda’s and help her up, even as Mack does the same with Phil.
“Let’s head for the Zephyr, sir.”
“I love you.” He mouths as Mack moves him away, Daisy tugging her in the direction of the single bedroom.
**
Elena follows them into the bedroom, carrying the black duffle that Daisy had pulled the rings out of, as well as a large black dress bag.
“So, tradition says you need something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.” Daisy begins as she sets the duffle bag down on the bed.
“Daisy, you don’t have to - this isn’t -“ Melinda isn’t sure how to finish her sentence. This isn’t her first wedding. This isn’t going to last. But god, she wants it to.
“Of course we do!” Daisy just shakes her head. “So, your something old could technically be your rings, but, we thought we should do one better, just in case. It might not be old, old, but… it’s from you and Coulson’s past. So, I thought it would do.”
She pulls out another jewelry box from the duffle bag, this time a larger one and hands it over to Melinda. When she cracks the lid, she finds the silver and diamond bracelet that she had worn when she and Phil went undercover as Heidi and Charles Martin. Although the op had quickly gone south and ended up with her fighting another agent with her face, she and Phil had gotten to dance and he had known that Agent 33 wasn’t her. She smiles as she reaches in and pulls out the bracelet.
“How did you even find this?” She asks as she slips it on.
“Mad skills.” Daisy smirks.
“More like Coulson is a romantic and kept it with the wedding bands in his safe.” Elena laughs.
A wide smile spreads across her face at that fact, which in turn makes Daisy and Elena smile too.
“As far as your something new,” Daisy motions to the dress bag Elena is still holding, “we got you a wedding dress.”
Elena hangs the bag up and unzips it to reveal the gown within. Melinda’s breath catches in her throat at the sight of it.
It is a simple, elegant white gown that is gorgeous. It is a sheath style dress, which Melinda is thankful for, that is strapless with a sweetheart neckline and just a small brush train. It’s perfect for her.
“We didn’t think you’d want something super frilly or poofy.” Daisy says, when Melinda just continues to stare at the dress without saying anything. “And when we saw this one, we thought it would look gorgeous on you. But if you don’t like it –“
Melinda lets out a laugh, thinking just how much Daisy is like Phil, with the rambling and the fear of her being upset. “It’s wonderful, Daisy. Perfect.”
Daisy beams. “Then let’s get you into it!”
It is easy to get into and feels like it was tailor made for her body, fitting perfectly and feeling surprisingly comfortable.
“May, you look incredible.” Daisy says, when they’ve finished fastening the zipper and she turns. She isn’t wearing makeup and her hair is still as it was when she jumped out of bed that morning, but she agrees with Daisy’s assessment. There is something incredible about wearing the dress that she’s going to marry Phil Coulson in. “Coulson’s gonna flip when he sees you.”
“Oh, May! You look gorgeous.” Jemma whispers as she enters the room, carrying a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a small bag in the other.
Melinda smiles at them. Getting ready for her wedding to Andrew hadn’t been like this – no girls gushing over her in her dress, no presenting of traditional gifts. She thought she didn’t need this – and she could’ve easily married Phil without it – but there is something sweet and wonderful about this moment with these women that she loves like daughters.
“Well,” Elena moves over to the duffle and pulls something out. “I believe it is time for the something borrowed.”
She carefully holds out a beautiful lace handkerchief to Melinda. “It was my abuela’s. She said it would bless any bride who carried it, because it held only happy tears. Daisy thought that you would not need anything to dry your eyes, but I believe it will be well used.”
Melinda pulls Elena into a hug, holding on to her tightly. “Thank you.” She whispers into her ear. Elena nods and presses the handkerchief into Melinda’s hands when they pull away.
Jemma’s eyes have a sheen to them as she steps forward, holding out the small bag. “I picked out your something blue.”
Melinda’s brow furrows for a moment as she pulls the item out of the bag, but realization soon washes over her as she takes in the blue tie with little rocket ships embroidered all over it.
“I know that Fitz would be so happy for you and he would want to be here and be part of your day if he could.” Jemma explains, her voice slightly hoarse. “So, I thought, if you wanted, you could use his tie as your wedding bouquet ribbon.”
Melinda looks from the tie to the bouquet to Jemma, searching her face for any hint of reluctance. Jemma nods, as tears slip down her cheeks. “Please. I want you to.”
“I would be honored.” Melinda says, holding the tie towards Jemma. “Will you wrap it for me?”
“Of course.” Jemma takes the tie with only slightly shaking fingers and carefully, lovingly wraps it around the base of the bouquet of gardenias. She tucks in the end and smiles at her handiwork when it is finished. “There. Perfect.”
Melinda takes the flowers from Jemma, her thumb rubbing softly over the tie, as her mind goes back to those terrible moments when she had watched Fitz’s life slip away. Would that be what it was like when she lost Phil? She doesn’t want to think about it. Fitz is out there, in space, and Jemma will find him. She’s going to marry Phil. The rest she will think about later.
“Oh! I nearly forgot!” Jemma exclaims, breaking her out of her melancholy thoughts as she rushes to the duffle bag and pulls out a silver coin. “The end of the rhyme says ‘and a sliver sixpence in her shoe’. I don’t know if you’re planning on wearing shoes but,” she places it in Melinda’s hand “for luck.”
Melinda thinks for a moment about wearing shoes, but they have been spending their days barefoot and she thinks she wants to stay that way. She has a feeling Phil will be delighted by that choice. Instead of her shoe, she carefully tucks the silver sixpence behind Fitz’s tie, a gesture that makes Jemma smile, even as tears fall down her cheeks.
“There.”
“May?” Daisy’s voice is hesitant and when Melinda looks at her, her expression is almost frightened. “I, uh, I was thinking that you two are going to need someone to stand up for you, and I hope you know that you mean a lot to me and –“
“Daisy.” Melinda moves to take Daisy’s hand in hers, already understanding what she can’t manage to say, “there is no one that Phil would want next to him more today than you. And there’s no one I’d rather have standing next to him. It’s okay.”
“Yeah?” Daisy asks and there are tears gathered in her eyes. She loves Melinda just as much as Phil, but she feels a pull to be Phil’s ‘best man’ today.
“Yes. Jemma and Elena can stand up for me; if they’re willing.”
“Of course!” Jemma exclaims as Elena says, “I would love to.”
“See? Go. Make sure he’s ready and get him in place so we can get married already.”
“I will.” Daisy promises with a wide smile. “But there’s one more thing you need to have before you can get married.”
Melinda frowns, trying to think what it could possibly be. Daisy moves over to the bedroom door and pulls it open looking out and nodding.
“Mom!” The call comes from the hallway just before Melinda’s arms are full of a white dress clad Robin.
“Robin!” She exclaims, wrapping her arms around the little girl and hugging her tightly.
“You can’t get married without a flower girl.” Daisy smiles at the scene.
Melinda sees Polly standing in the doorway, wearing a sundress and smiling. “Thank you.” She whispers, still holding tightly to the little girl that was her daughter in another life.
“She wouldn’t have missed this.” Polly says, holding up a crayon drawing of figures on the beach. It is clearly a depiction of her wedding and Melinda smiles at the image of Robin as the flower girl drawn in crayon.
Robin pulls back and looks up at her. The serious, sad, and fearful expressions that had dominated Robin’s face for so long are gone. Instead, her face is glowing with happiness. “It’s going to be okay.” She says. “You won’t get lost.”
Melinda feels peace settle around her, even as Daisy laughs at the notion of Melinda getting lost on her way to the wedding that is going to be taking place just outside the house.
“She better not! The wedding is literally right outside her front door! Meet you on the beach in ten.” Daisy says, moving to hug Melinda once more before grabbing Melinda’s ring from the box and leaving the bedroom.
**
“Are you ready?” Jemma asks her a few minutes later, after she has brushed her hair and allowed the girls to add a little make up to her face. She is holding onto her bouquet, hardly able to believe that she is about to marry Phil.
“I am.”
Elena peeks out the door and then looks back with a grin. “Good. Because they are too.”
“Alright, Robin, that’s your cue!” Jemma tells her softly.
Robin turns and smiles at Melinda again, repeating her words before walking out the front door and onto the beach, dropping gardenia petals as she goes. “You won’t get lost.”
Jemma and Elena follow behind her, walking side by side towards the area where Mack, Phil, and Daisy stand.
Then it’s Melinda’s turn. With a deep breath, she steps out of the house and down onto the sand, her eyes on Phil and Phil alone. He’s wearing khakis and a white button-down shirt, his feet bare. He looks happy and relaxed and his eyes sparkle as they lock with hers.
She feels the urge to break out into a run towards him but refrains and instead just walks a little faster. “Hi.” She whispers when she reaches him, a smile she cannot stop spreading across her face.
“You look incredible.” He whispers back. Then, with a boyish grin, he lifts up his hand and shows off his sleeve. “Look. Cufflinks.”
She laughs at that, a soft, gentle laugh. The one that he loves.
“Dearly beloved,” Mack begins, his voice deep and strong, “we are gathered here today to join Melinda May and Phillip Coulson in holy matrimony.”
“Finally.” Daisy calls from behind Phil.
“Marriage is a bold step into an unknown future. It is risking who we are for the sake of who we can be. In marriage, two lives are intimately shared. Each of us here knows that a marriage is not created by a law or a ceremony; instead, it occurs in the hearts of the two people entering into the marriage. It grows out of loving, caring, trusting, and sharing ourselves with our partner. This ceremony isn’t magic. It won’t create a relationship that doesn’t already exist and hasn’t already been celebrated in all the commitments Melinda and Phil have made to each other, both large and small, in the many days since they first met and recognized their connection to one another.”
She smiles at that, thinking about how in so many ways, Phil has been her husband for a very long time. He has been her partner, the person she trusts the most, the one who holds her heart. Mack is right. This ceremony won’t suddenly change anything about their relationship. It will only declare what she already knows in her heart. That she is Phillip Coulson’s wife.
“So, in witnessing this ceremony today, we are observing only an outward sign of an inward union that already exists between Melinda and Phil. This ceremony is a symbol of how far they have come together and a symbol of the promise that they will make to each other to continue to live their lives together and to love each other solely and above all others. Phil, Melinda, please take each other’s hands and look at one another.”
Melinda turns and hands her bouquet to Jemma before placing her hands in Phil’s. He squeezes them and she sees the soft glow of his prosthetic, activating at her touch.
“Phil, do you come here freely and without reservation to give yourself to Melinda in marriage?”
“Damn straight.” Phil says, offering her a wink.
“And Melinda, do you come here freely and without reservation to give yourself to Phil in marriage?”
“Damn straight.” She responds back, feeling a joyful tear slip down the side of her cheek.
“Then I believe it is time for the vows. Since this was such short notice, if you don’t have anything prepared we can use the traditional vows.” Mack offers.
“I have something I want to say.” Phil says, before Melinda can offer anything. He gently squeezes her hands and then begins to speak. “Melinda, I know that when it comes to you, I am not always the best with words. I find it hard to tell you how I feel, because for so long, I felt like I had to keep it all inside. But I need you to know that you mean everything to me. You are everything, Melinda May. I know that you could live without me.” She shakes her head and wants to protest, but Phil continues, “You are the strongest person I know and I know that you could live without me. But I can’t live without you. I don’t even want to try. I’m so thankful that you’re marrying me today. Because now I don’t have to live without you. I love you.”
“I love you.” She says back as she watches Daisy wipe a tear away from her eye. Then, she squeezes Phil’s hands and begins to speak. “You know that I’m more of an actions over words person. But today, I need to say this. I need to tell you what you mean to me. Sometimes, when I think back on all that we’ve been through, I want to kick both of our asses for wasting so much time.” Everyone laughs. “We’ve been through a lot together, you and I. I’ve had to live in a world without you in it. And it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I know why you’ve made the choices you’ve made, I know that you’ve done everything you could to save the world. But to me, you are the world, Phil. I would choose you over the world every time. And even though it’s been a long and a rough road, I need you to know that I would do it all over again. Everything. To have you as my husband, even for a day, I would suffer all of it a million times. I love you.”
“Time for the rings.” Mack says, and if his eyes are just a little damp with tears, no one says anything. Daisy is openly crying as she hands Phil Melinda’s ring and Elena and Jemma are the same. Melinda uses her borrowed handkerchief to wipe her eyes before turning back to Phil with his ring in her hand.
“Alright, Phil, repeat after me. With this ring,”
“With this ring.”
“I thee wed.”
“I thee wed.” He slides the ring onto her finger and it settles perfectly against her engagement ring.
“And Melinda. With this ring.”
“With this ring.”
“I thee wed.”
“I thee wed.” She slides his ring onto the finger of his prosthetic, keeping her eyes locked with his. She knows he can’t feel it on his hand, but she wants him to feel it in his heart.
“And now, by the powers vested in me as Director of SHIELD, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Phil wastes no time in pulling her in and kissing her as everyone claps and cheers. She wraps her arms around him and holds on tight. When they pull back, he rests his forehead against hers and smiles. “Hi, Mrs. Coulson.”
“Hi.” She laughs, leaning forward to kiss him again.
“Alright, alright,” Daisy’s voice interrupts, “you can do that mushy stuff later. Let us hug you, already!”
When they pull apart this time, they are overwhelmed with hugs and congratulations from their team. It is a perfect moment.
**
“We can’t really stay long, but,” Daisy grins as she pulls out an unopened bottle of Haig from her duffle when they’re all back inside the house later, “we have to at least toast to the happy couple before we go.”
“I’ll go get glasses. And some juice for Robin.” Melinda moves towards the kitchen, smiling at Daisy’s choice of alcohol. For so long that bottle was a symbol, but now she sees it for what it really was – another symbol of their wasted time. She wishes that she would’ve been the one to open it with Phil, but now that they’re here, married, it doesn’t matter so much.
“Do you have it?” Phil asks Daisy as soon as Melinda is gone from the room, his eyes on the duffle, and she nods, pulling out a box, wrapped with silver paper.
“What’s that?” Melinda asks when she comes back into the living room, carrying a tray of glasses.
“Your wedding present.” Phil says, looking nervous as he holds the box out towards her. She wonders if he doesn’t want her to open it in front of the others, but he’s also looking at her expectantly, so she puts the tray down and takes the gift from him. Elena begins to hand out glasses to everyone as she carefully pulls the paper off the box.
Opening the top reveals passports and plane tickets to Ireland, Australia, and Pennsylvania. She blinks up at him. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s our honeymoon.” He explains with a crooked smile. “I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland and I’m hoping you still have that cabin in the outback. And I need to face your mother at some point.”
“At some point.” Melinda repeats, staring at him. “Phil. You - I can’t -“ She can’t pretend that these things are going to happen. She can’t pretend that he isn’t dying. Not if she has any hope of staying sane when he’s gone.
“You asked me to rejoin the fight. Told me not to leave you behind.” He glances over at Jemma and Daisy, standing together looking at them with happiness in their eyes. “And I’ve got a team who always works the problem. Even when I tell them not to.”
“Daisy? Simmons?” Melinda’s voice cracks just the littlest bit, her hope and fear showing through.
“You didn’t think I was gonna give up on him, did you?” Daisy asks. “We started working on it right after we took off.”
“It?”
“Daisy realized it first.” Jemma explains. “We needed to add Jiaying’s DNA to the Centipede Serum to help heal Coulson. And we did that. But…”
“But Coulson didn’t take the serum.” Daisy shoots him a quick glare, still upset with his choice, even though she knows it was the right thing to do. “I did. The serum is flowing through my veins now… in my blood.”
“I needed to run tests on Daisy, make sure everything was okay with her afterwards. And when I did, that’s when we found it.”
“The serum, it wasn’t absorbed into my system. Instead, it basically mixed in with my blood, turning it into an antibody – or something science-y like that that Jemma could explain way better. Either way, that means that if we give Coulson my blood, it’s like giving him the serum.”
“I’ve run nearly every test I can think of and studied Daisy’s blood heavily since we left. All the results point to the same conclusion – that if Coulson is infused with Daisy’s blood, it should reverse the effects of the necrotic tissue and stop him from dying.”
“And beyond that, because he’s getting the Centipede Serum, Jiaying’s DNA, and my blood… he might not be Captain America, but he could be pretty damn close.”
Melinda looks back at Phil, searching his face for any hints of trepidation or regret. “You didn’t want to take the serum. You were worried about the consequences.”
Phil moves to her, taking her hands in his. “I realized that if it means I get more time with you, it’s worth it. It’s worth anything.”
“Plus, I’ve been monitoring Daisy quite extensively and she’s shown no signs of mental or physical deterioration. And there have been no outward signs of any issue since Coulson’s earlier treatment unless he isn’t telling me.”
“Earlier treatment?” Melinda stares at him.
“Simmons came out to the Zephyr with me earlier. Gave me my first transfusion of Daisy’s blood. Just a small test run, to see if everything would go okay.” He lets go of Melinda’s hand with his right and moves it up to carefully unbutton his shirt a bit, revealing his chest. “Seems to be doing pretty well.” The black veins that had been so stark against Phil’s skin are diminished. They aren’t gone yet but are clearly faded.
“We’re going to take Polly and Robin home, give you two your wedding night, and then we’ll be back tomorrow for Coulson to undergo the full treatment that Jemma’s worked up. Once that’s done – he’s all yours, May.”
Melinda looks over and sees Robin smiling and the words come back to her then. What she’d said to Robin when they were trying to find Phil. “He’s lost. And I’m lost without him.” And what Robin had said to her just before the wedding – what she hadn’t understood then. “You won’t get lost.”
She wouldn’t get lost because she wouldn’t be without Phil. Robin had seen the future – a better future, where Phil lived. She moves into Phil’s arms, holding onto him tightly, almost desperately, her hands gripping his shirt. “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.” Tears fall from her eyes and stain his shirt, but she can’t move, can’t let him go. She cries out all of her fears and all of her relief. He’s her husband and he’s not going to die.
Phil holds her, just as he’s always done, keeping her together while she falls apart. “I’m okay.” He whispers against her hair. “We’re okay. I love you, Melinda.”
“Now that’s something to drink to.” Elena declares, opening the bottle of Haig and smiling at Coulson as she pours the alcohol into the glasses. He gives her a small nod, even as he holds onto Melinda.
“To May and Coulson!” Elena says, once everyone has their drinks, including Melinda who is still wrapped in Phil’s arms, unwilling to move.
“To May and Coulson!” Everyone repeats and as she drinks the Haig, she thinks of all the possibilities that are spread before her now. Phil has made no mention of going back into the field and even though he still could, she somehow feels that he won’t. She also finds that she’s already considering her own official retirement, not just a leave of absence.
They gave their lives to SHIELD, more than once over the years. Today they gave their lives to each other and Jemma and Daisy gave Phil his life back. Now it was time for them to go and live their lives with each other.
Thinking of Ireland and Australia and even seeing her mother in Pennsylvania, Melinda May Coulson can’t wait.