Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Disclaimer : Not my creations.

Summary : Diverges from the end of S1E20, Melinda May did not return. Coulson enlists Skye’s help to find her.

“Hi, how may I help you?” says the woman who opens the door cautiously to Skye. She leaves the chain on the door and does not remove it. Skye can barely get a glimpse of her but she does know that it’s not who they’re looking for. Her heart sinks, she already knew that it had been way too easy to find this location but she has to persist. Maybe they’ll get some sort of lead on where to find her though she knows that Melinda May is likely able to disappear very effectively if she wants to. Coulson definitely did not dispute that thought when Skye had said it out loud at the beginning of this quest.

“Please, can we come in and talk to you? We’re trying to find someone on our team. Her name is Melinda May. We really need to find her. Please, can you help us in any way?” begs Skye desperation laced through her request. Skye glances back at Coulson and his hard closed off expression makes her heart fill with dread. She was used to him being exhausted and perpetually stressed out but not like this. It had only been a week but as the days had gone by without May returning, his demeanour had become colder and the usual spark of life in his eyes had gradually been snuffed out. He barely ate anything and Skye had a feeling that he barely slept either. He couldn’t go on like this but he had been the one who had ordered May to leave. Agent Melinda May had played her part as a good soldier and she had obeyed. But they truly needed her back because otherwise they had all come to the realization that Coulson wouldn’t survive to rebuild SHIELD and fight Hydra without her.

There was only silence. The door did not budge. Skye wasn’t exactly sure what else to do. The house was set in a comfortable estate and she could see that there were security cameras around the home. It even had a white picket fence around the well-tended front yard. There was a bird feeder hung from a tree branch and on the other side of the majestic tree there was a small children’s swing attached to the branches. She had no idea what they were doing here but this is where the coordinates had led her and that was all Coulson had managed to find. She had no idea how he had even come up with this location but it seemed very unlikely that May was here.

“Please, can we at least talk to you?” Skye tried again, clearly distressed when the silence went on for too long.

There was a soft sigh and the security chain was removed. The door opened to reveal a petite woman of Chinese ethnicity with her straight black hair pulled back in a ponytail. She had on a simple sheath dress with an apron over the top of it. She allowed them to enter through the back door into the kitchen and there was a brief flicker of an expression that Skye was unable to identify that pierced her bland expression when she saw Coulson behind her. Skye knew much better than to drop her guard at the sight of the cosy kitchen she entered. It was bright, airy and had an array of appliances. The woman may be tiny but Skye knew it didn’t mean that she wasn’t dangerous.

Skye noted the panel beside the door which showed the security camera views. The woman had taken a good long look at them via her video feed which had exceptional resolution for a home security camera, before allowing them inside. Skye had a feeling that all was not quite as it seemed in this place. Her gaze was drawn to an electronic pad on a stand by the counter where the woman had obviously been cutting up some fruit. She could tell that there were moving images but the pad was angled away and she couldn’t make out any more details.

“Why isn’t she with you?” asked the woman, speaking directly to Coulson.

Coulson frowned and didn’t seem to recognize the woman but she was acting like she knew him. Skye’s innate curiosity immediately made her want to bombard the woman with a multitude of questions since it was evident that here was a mystery to solve but she forces herself to keep quiet for now and stealthily makes her way towards the pad on the counter which seemed to be emanating with soft sounds that Skye couldn’t identify. She keeps her view as she inches along on the other two people standing in the kitchen.

The woman stares directly at Coulson and glared at him. “What did you do?” she asks quietly but with an edge of steel in her words. Her mannerisms bore some semblance to Agent May.

“Do I know you?” frowns Coulson, trying hard to recall the woman standing in front of him. Even as he says the words, he knows that he does somehow recognize her. But he’s struggling to place her in his memories.

“Don’t touch the pad, please,” says the woman to Skye, though she is still facing Coulson directly. Skye gasps in surprise as she had been just about to do exactly that.

The woman folds her arms together and gives another loaded sigh then says, “I don’t know where she is right now. Will you please just leave?”

Neither Skye nor Coulson make any move to exit. The expression on the woman’s face indicates that she expected their response.

“We need to find her,” repeats Skye pleadingly. She tries to convey her concern for Coulson in her glance towards him. ‘He needs her,’ is what she doesn’t dare say out loud.

After a tense pause, the woman suddenly appears to change tack saying, “Would you like a drink? If not, then please sit down or stay standing and I will be back in just a moment,” with a resigned air and she glances quickly at them as she leaves the kitchen.

She comes back after a few minutes and sits herself on the stool by the electronic pad that Skye is now sure is hooked up as a monitoring device. Skye decides to seat herself on a wooden chair at the round table. Coulson remains standing with an intense expression. He is trying to overcome whatever is blocking his memories.

“My name is Selena. Phil Coulson, we do know each other but maybe that was in a different life from the one you have now. I think that you must be Skye, right? It’s nice to meet you in person and put a face to the name. I’m Mel’s sister. Mother adopted me when Mel was in high school,” explains the woman calmly.

Skye’s brain wants to hurl out so many questions. But before she can voice any of them, Coulson beats her to it.

“Where is she, Lena?” asks Coulson firmly.

Selena looks back at him with a raised brow, “So you do remember me then?”

“Lena, please. I need her now,” said Coulson, frustration and despair evident in his voice.

Selena surveys him calmly again and asks, “Why did she leave you?”

The question makes Coulson visibly flinch and shut his eyes tightly. Yet he then takes a deep breath and answers her, softly but clearly, “I was angry and I told her to go. I was in the wrong. I made a terrible mistake.”

“Please. I will do whatever you want me to. I need to tell her that I’m sorry and I will do anything to get her back, Lena,” pleads Coulson.

Skye’s eyes start to fill at the raw pain in his voice and she is so caught up in the moment that she doesn’t even notice another person silently entering the kitchen.

“Good run?” asks Selena casually, turning to her sister. She was aware that Melinda entered the kitchen just in time to hear Phil’s emotional outburst. Skye’s jaw just drops in shock as she sees Melinda standing in the doorway.

“Lena,” says Melinda, giving her sister a meaningful look.

Selena shrugs in response, hits a button on the pad and nods to her sister. Then she picks up the bowl of cut fruit and lightly tugs on Skye’s arm. She leads Skye out of the kitchen and towards a set of stairs that is cleverly hidden from the rest of the house by a cunning design built to look like a feature wall. Skye wouldn’t have realized that there were stairs there until she was actually stepping up. There was much more than met the eye in this house. There was so much that Skye wanted to say but all the clamour inside her paradoxically left her tongue tied for the moment. She just couldn’t actually figure out what she wanted to say first.

Skye follows Selena upstairs and the first thing she notices is the soft sounds that she first heard from the pad in the kitchen. They sound rather like soft voices speaking but she can’t understand what they’re saying. She steps onto the upper landing and then she sees the origin of the sounds. This is an even greater shock and Skye really isn’t sure if she can handle any more surprising revelations today.

Selena steps over the low barrier but Skye simply leans against wall at the top of the stairs staring at the scene before her. There are two babies within the soft walled round enclosure. They are softly cooing and babbling as one crawls and the other one bum shuffles towards Selena who has seated herself on the floor. Selena produces and expertly ties a bib onto both infants. Then she starts to feed them soft pieces of ripe mango from the bowl. The babies are clearly enjoying their snack and Skye is enthralled by the sight.

She slides down the wall into a sitting position to observe the children in awe. The twins have dark hair and a mixture of features from both May and Coulson. The girl is dressed in a white t-shirt and black denim overalls while the boy is dressed in a white t-shirt and blue denim overalls. They are quickly wiped down after their snack and Selena cuddles them both. They peek shyly at Skye but stay close to Selena.

They are totally adorable. Skye cannot believe her eyes and her mind races with questions. She finally finds her voice.

“What are their names?” she asks Selena.

“This is Philippa Lian who we call Pippa and this is Carter James who we call CJ,” says Selena, kissing each head of hair in turn.

“They are 8 months old and just about ready to start walking, I think. Because of course they’re both ahead of the game at their age. We’re going to have to make the barrier higher very soon and make sure that they won’t be able to climb them. As to the how/why they’re here, I think you’d prefer to hear it from Lin, it’s really not my story to tell,” said Selena.

Skye was instantly reminded of the couple they had left downstairs, facing off in the kitchen. Selena read the troubled expression on her face. “Don’t worry, Skye. They’ll be fine,” said Selena.

“What do you mean and how do you know that?” challenged Skye.

Selena rolled her eyes but replied, “Because they always get through fine, no matter what happens to them. And believe me, a lot has happened to them over the years. But they really do love each other and they always manage to get through fine, trust me.”

Chapter Text

“Melinda, I’m so sorry, you didn’t deserve the way I treated you. I was wrong. I can understand why you did it, you were under orders from Fury,” said Coulson when he met Melinda’s dark and inscrutable gaze. There was a pause.

“You told me to go,” she reminded him quietly.

Phil licked his lips and tried to explain “I was so wrong, Lin. I shouldn’t have been so cruel and driven you away. You can’t leave. There’s so much to do to rebuild SHIELD. It’s all gone horribly wrong. The team need you to come back, please.” There was a hint of terror in his voice at the thought that she wouldn’t return to be by his side. There no way that he could deal with the challenges that lay ahead without her.

Melinda’s eyes hooded over at his words. After so many years of having an incredibly close relationship, Phil Coulson immediately recognized what was happening. He desperately wanted to reach out and enfold her in his arms to try to show her why he needed her. But he knew that he had hurt her badly. She might not welcome his touch at all and Coulson knew with absolute certainty that it was a terrible idea to ever suddenly grab hold of Melinda May when she was on her guard.
He panicked at the sight of her closing herself off to him and the words just came tumbling out, “I was scared and hurt and I never should’ve taken it out on you like that. I feel like I’m losing control. There are gaps in my memories and I feel like I’m slowly going insane. Please, Melinda, I need you. You’re the only one that can help me with all of this. I’m begging you,” said Phil as he was suddenly hit by a wave of extreme exhaustion. He dropped to his knees in front of her, his head drooping onto his chest and couldn’t hide his wince of agony as his knees hit the floor.
“I’m so tired but I can barely sleep. I had no idea if you were hurt or even alive. I do know that I’ve caused you pain. I’m so sorry for it all, Lin. I will willingly spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I was just so shocked and everything had happened so fast. Everything changed so much, so quickly,” Phil continued his rant.

“Why do you need me, Phil?” said Melinda, looking down at him, slumped on his knees on the tiled floor. She registered the haggard and beaten expression on his face.
“Because I love you and I always have, Lin. I can’t go on and I’m nothing without you,” he said looking up at her face sincerely and stared into her eyes. He had let it all out now. He felt so broken and completely bereft. If she didn’t come back then nothing else mattered anymore.

Melinda sighed softly and reached out to get him back up to his feet. She had to support some of his weight though he tried somewhat to stand on his own two feet.
“Phil, you need to sleep. We can continue this talk later,” she said hauling him out of the kitchen and into a bedroom across the hallway.
“I can’t sleep,” he protested tiredly, leaning on her small frame. She had supported him many times before and she expertly propelled him towards the bed.
“I’m here,” she told him, efficiently helping him remove his clothes and shoes, leaving him in his boxers.
Phil sat up and resisted being tucked into the bed, grasping her hands tightly in his. Not wanting to let go of her at all. Melinda huffed an annoyed sigh but found that he simply held fast to her. She toed off her shoes and he released one of her hands to allow her to pull off her outer clothes.
Melinda got into the bed, lying on her side and Phil spooned her warmly from behind. He nuzzled into her neck with his arms wrapped around her form and Melinda could feel him gradually relax. His breathing evened out and he whispered “I love you so much.” Eventually he fell asleep but kept his hold on her. It appeared that she would not be getting out of the bed for a while. He must have been exhausted.
Melinda considered her options and let herself relax. She could make sure that he got some sleep. She settled for a nap.

“Hmm, looks like it’s universal nap time,” commented Selena as she stealthily peered into Melinda’s bedroom, Skye following cautiously behind her. She ducked low so that Skye could catch a glimpse of the couple in bed. Skye felt a hot blush take root when she saw the intimately entwined bodies and diverted her gaze. They slowly closed the door and inched away quietly.
The twins were also down for their mid-morning nap upstairs, so Selena and Skye had come down to investigate what was happening with May and Coulson.
“They’re good. So, what do you want to do till they wake up?” asked Selena.
“I think I need to check in with the team,” said Skye, realising that they had not checked in for a few hours by now.
Selena took her into what seemed like a study and gave her an electronic pad, saying “Use that, not your phone. It’s more secure. I’ll be in the kitchen.” Skye appreciated the privacy and took care to choose a blank wall as her background while she made the video call.

Skye was feeling like her head was still spinning from all the questions that she still had unanswered when there was a piercing squeal which had Selena rushing past her in a blur and up the stairs. Skye followed her up to the room where the twins were in and found Selena comforting little Pippa who looked like she had been woken up from her nap by some nightmare. She was sniffling and sobbing pitifully as Selena cuddled her close to soothe her and try to avoid waking up her twin brother who was asleep in the same room but he was already starting to whimper softly.
“Come here, baby girl,” said a soft voice close by, that had Skye almost jumping out of skin in shock. She had never heard May sound so gentle before and she had not noticed May appearing in the room somehow.
Selena handed Pippa over and moved to rub CJ’s back gently, hoping that he wouldn’t wake up in terror too. Skye’s eyes darted between the two women for a while but then quickly settled on watching May. Skye felt a sudden stab of envy pierce her when she saw May holding Pippa close and whisper softly to comfort her as Pippa’s cries softened and she calmed. Then she instantly felt ashamed at being envious of a tiny baby. It was turning out to be a very emotionally draining day.
Just as she was processing this, Skye heard a strangled gasp and found a rather dishevelled looking Coulson staring at them all wide-eyed in shock. Nap time was well and truly over for everyone when CJ then opened his eyes and let out a wail of his own.

Chapter Text

“Skye, get Coulson to the couch please,” instructed Melinda as she glanced around and saw that Selena was busy changing CJ’s diaper. The nursery was big enough for them all to sit down in. It wasn’t quite the way she had wanted Phil to find out about the twins but she had accepted that life was usually messy and just rolled with it. In all honesty she hadn’t really had a plan anyway. She was grateful that he had gotten some sleep.
Melinda sat down in one of a pair of rocking chairs by the window, carefully cradling a drowsy Pippa and dropping occasional kisses on her soft head. Skye was holding onto Coulson and focused on him with worried concern. He still hadn’t said anything and just stared all around him. There were a multitude of emotions flashing across his face and Melinda could easily see that he was processing all the new information that he had just acquired. But she guessed that to Skye, who was probably more used to him chattering at high speed in the most dangerous and crazy situations, Coulson’s silence seemed cold and unusual.
Melinda decided to wait him out and give him the time to work it all out in his head. There was no rush at this time. Phil was usually the more vocal person in their relationship and she trusted that he would be able to find his way to some reasonable conclusions. He could certainly react by getting angry but she wasn’t at all afraid that he would hurt any of them. Having Skye by his side for support was a good choice and she was very glad to see the girl again.
Selena moved quietly to sit down in the other rocking chair after a silent look to check on what Melinda wanted her to do. She cradled CJ who was also drowsy and had refused to be put back down in his cot. It may have something to do with the tense atmosphere in the room as CJ tended to be more sensitive to the moods of those around him even though he was so young. Selena concentrated on her young nephew in her arms but threw a supportive glance at her sister, who gave her a slight smile. There was a significant part of Selena that was breathing a sigh of relief. She was fond of Phil and it had been an arduous ordeal to see her sister continue to try to live stoically without revealing the truth to the man she loved.

“Lin, I….,” started Coulson. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath then opened his again to stare at the sight of Melinda and the twins.
“I have been here before, haven’t I?” was what he said next.
Skye blinked in surprise. For some reason she had been terrified that Coulson would react extremely badly to all of this. He had seemed enraged and desperate, verbally devastating anyone in his path through the week while they searched for Melinda. FitzSimmons had been practically cowering in terror at the mere sight of him in the past few days. All her past experiences with authority figures in all the horrible foster families that she had been sent to had come back to plague her thoughts. Her brain had been screaming at her that this was going to be so bad. Coulson was going to feel so hurt and betrayed. Based on his actions in the past week, Skye was concerned that there would be yelling and she wanted to shrink into herself. But the reality was that when faced with a scene that could only be absolutely bewildering for him, Coulson wasn’t flying off the handle in a volatile rage. He had sunk down onto the sofa Skye had led him to and appeared to be thinking hard.
“Why don’t I remember any of this, Lin? They did something to me didn’t they? I have had some dreams where you and I … well… but I thought they were just that, dreams. I didn’t think that they were real,” said Phil softly and sadly, staring down at the floor.
Skye saw the look that passed between Melinda and Selena at his words. She still wanted to ask so many questions but this wasn’t her time. The focus was all on Coulson. Skye’s breathing eased and she loosened her grip to just a supportive hold on his arm. Subconsciously she had been trying to restrain him just in case, but clearly she didn’t need to do that.

“Nick and Maria explained that they had to take away a portion of your memories from before to keep you safe after the procedure to bring you back,” explained Melinda.
“So out of everything in my life, they took away my memories of being with you?” said Coulson with quiet horror.
“Apparently they couldn’t be very selective of what they erased in your memories. Us being together was a significant part of your life just before …. the attack and so all of it had to go,” said Melinda, she was looking down at the baby girl she cuddled close.
“They only told me after everything was done because they did whatever they did to you about the time I had the twins. They were born prematurely at 35 weeks and I was busy with caring for them in the hospital for 2 weeks before they could come home. The first month with them both was just insane even with Selena and Mom to help me out,” continued Melinda, there was just the faintest catch in her voice.

Phil moved to sit on the floor by her side, in the middle of both rocking chairs. He placed a gentle hand on Melinda’s knee as he watched her and Pippa with a tender, loving expression in his eyes and with frequent loving glances to CJ curled up in Selena’s arms.
“Can you manage to tell me more?” asked Phil gently, knowing that she preferred to have others tell her stories and tried to avoid having her intense emotions out on display for the world to see.
Melinda tried to say something in reply but then stopped with what sounded like strangled sob and gave a slight shake of her head.
“It’s okay,” murmured Phil understandingly. He understood that this was hard for her and he would never intentionally cause her any pain.
“Can I ask Lena to tell me please, Lin? A bit about what happened before as well,” said Phil looking into Melinda’s eyes. She gave a nod.
“Thank you, Lin,” said Phil reverently. He simply held her look and waited.

Selena sighed softly but obliged in taking up the tale. Coulson deserved the truth and she knew that Melinda was trying hard to keep it together after a very hard week away from him. They had both suffered enough already. She really wished that life wasn’t so unfair to them both.
“Nick and Maria both went to tell Lin that you died and then Mom got a call from Maria to say that Lin had been admitted to a hospital. That was how we all found out about the twins. Turns out that Lin had hyperemesis gravidarum and had been severely dehydrated due to not being able to keep anything down for a month right before the Battle of New York. As usual she had just somehow ignored being so sick and I think you were busy with the Avengers. Even she didn’t know that she was about 2 months pregnant then.
Lin only found out what they’d done to bring you back when the twins were about 4 months old. They gave her the option of being on your team to monitor you but told her that it would be detrimental to your well-being to tell you about Pippa and CJ. Obviously, you know that Lin went with you and came back here whenever she could. That’s the gist of it. The rest you can talk to each other about. You and Skye can both stay for as long as you want. I’m sure you’d like to get to know your son and daughter,” said Selena, angling CJ towards Phil.
Phil’s heart melted at the sight of his beautiful baby boy. He wanted to hold him and his sister now but realised that they both didn’t know him and that would only serve to frighten and bewilder them. He had never thought that he’d have children of his own with Melinda May, who had always been the love of his life. He loved Skye as a daughter and was amazed at the way his heart filled at the thought of loving the twins too.
“Thank you,” whispered Phil to Selena with a nod.

Chapter Text

Selena watched curiously as Maria Hill entered the house with unusual caution through the kitchen door. She wondered why Maria’s current stance was on high alert for danger and battle ready, creeping into the house with her back against the wall. Maria’s eyes quickly swept the area and landed on Selena, calmly drinking her tea and reading a book at the counter.
“Sit rep, Lena. Why on earth do I smell coffee?” asked Maria, bewildered.
“Ah, I see why you’re doing this. The suit and tie came back. He also brought the hacker along,” explained Selena sipping her tea. Maria had caught the strong scent of coffee which was quite uncommon in this dwelling. They all just drank tea.
“It’s French press and should be up to standard if you want some?” offered Selena, indicating the coffee. Maria raised an eyebrow at her but fixed herself a mug of the coffee.

“Coulson’s here?” questioned Maria.
“Yep,” answered Selena.
“So he’s found out about the twins then?” prodded Maria.
“Yep,” answered Selena shortly, sipping her tea and turning back to her book nonchalantly.
“Selena XianLing May, you’d better start updating me on what’s going here or I’m going to call your mother,” threatened Maria sharply.
Selena made a face but kept her eyes on the book she was holding.
“You know that’s not an actual threat to me right? I know Mama can really be very scary to most people but not me,” smirked Selena.
“You say that now and yet your mother has no idea that when she’s not around, your room is an absolute tip and that you still haven’t told her the real reason that she had to get the garage door fixed, little Miss May,” shot back Maria.
Selena glared at her and Maria just laughed. She pulled up a chair and made herself comfortable.

“Skye knocked on the door yesterday and Phil was with her. They were looking for Lin and they refused to leave even though I asked them nicely. I don’t actually know how they found us yet but I think that Phil’s memory wipe isn’t holding that well and he does have an idea of some bits. He did live here for a while after all. He looked pretty bad and just about crashed from exhaustion after they saw Lin. I take it you didn’t tell him where to find her then?” said Selena. Maria gave a slight shake of her head and sighed.
"Let’s hope that even if he regains this part of his memory, he doesn’t go crazy,” said Maria darkly.
“I really don’t understand why you guys messed around with things that you don’t understand,” said Selena frowning.
Maria looked down contemplatively into her mug of coffee. “There’s not always an easy answer to everything,” she said after a while.
“He didn’t deserve that. Not all the lies. Neither of them did. It took them so bloody long to get it together. Even Mama thought so but no one could ever make them see it until they actually did for themselves,” mused Selena sadly.
“Lena, he was dead. Now he’s alive. They’ll have more time together. Great for the twins, right? Isn’t this a better alternative?” argued Maria.
“Ria, SHIELD brought him back to life with some kind of dodgy alien tech. Then you made her an offer that you knew she couldn’t refuse. But you made her spy on him while continuously lying to him and there must be something else that you’re hiding because why the hell else would you make her do something like that?
When it all went south, Phil freaking shot her and treated her as an enemy when he found out about the spying part, Maria. She had her heart broken all over again and he was so cruel to her that she left him. He made her leave him. I never thought that would ever happen.
We both know damn well that the only reason she didn’t follow him to the grave that day was the twins. It’s a good thing she collapsed when you told her and you had to get her to medical because otherwise, I’m pretty sure they’d be gone too. Now they both have even more terrible memories and crap to work through,” ranted Selena fiercely.
“There were reasons for everything that was done,” said Maria calmly.
“I notice that you didn’t say that they were good reasons, Commander Hill,” sighed Selena.

Neither woman looked at each other. They both cared very much for the couple that they were discussing. Selena was forever grateful that Melinda accepted her unconditionally into the family when Lian May had adopted her and saved her from a life of terror and exploitation by the triads in Hong Kong. She had become fond of Phil and got to know him well because he had often come home with Melinda during breaks when they were at the Academy and was just with Melinda a lot in general.
Maria had known both Melinda and Coulson as a solid partnership since she first started working at SHIELD and had been friends with them for nearly as long. They had provided sound guidance and practical support when she was starting out as an agent. Maria knew that she owed her life several times over to them on SHIELD missions.
“Nothing we can do to change the past. You know that as well as I do even if you refused to join us at SHIELD,” said Maria.
Selena rolled her eyes and snorted, saying, “No thanks. I got all the super spy training that I needed at home with Mama in the CIA and you guys in SHIELD. I got away from the triads and I definitely didn’t want to live my life in violence and subterfuge though you all seem to enjoy it so much. Writing is great, it’s flexible and it turns out that I can write about a whole bunch of things I know about that no one believes is true anyway. There’s no lack of material around and I haven’t even gone near Phil’s Lazarus act at all.”
“I take it that Coulson is great at being a dad?” asked Maria, already sure of the answer.
“You know he is. We all knew he would be. I remember the look on his mother’s face when she was anticipating having grandchildren. They were definitely ‘not together’ then. Ugh.
Why did he ever think that SHIELD was more important than this? They are clearly meant to be together. I mean I’m biased but they do make the most adorable babies ever. Pretty much everyone who’s met the twins agree that they are absolutely gorgeous,” ponders Selena.
“Does your mother know that he’s here now?” asks Maria.
“I haven’t actually told her but probably. You know how she keeps tabs. I assume she’ll come by soon,” admits Selena.
“What about the others that visit here?” says Maria.
“Ria, he just got here yesterday. I have not put out an information bulletin despite what you may think of me. Skye might have done so if she weren’t so shocked herself. Skye does somehow look amazingly like she could’ve been their daughter if they’d actually been less dopey and gotten together when they should have,” said Selena.
“When do you think they should have gotten together?” queries Maria, curious.
“From what I’ve heard over the years, probably about five minutes if not seconds after they first met,” quips Selena.
“A lot of people thought that they did get together soon after they met, you know,” said Maria.
“They are both mostly really smart people but not when it comes to each other. I’m guessing you know how bad it got at times,” groaned Selena.
“Oh yeah. Through every mission and beyond. All those looks and the tension,” recalled Maria with a slight shudder.

“Are you here to get them back to work?” asked Selena.
Maria looked at her and started to say something but stopped as Selena held up a hand.
“They need some time off. The twins need them and they need each other. Skye needs a bit of a breather too. Go make the Avengers do some work for a change. Or you’ll have to fight me to get to them and I promise you that I can hold my own, Ria. Back off for now or you can leave. Your choice,” states Selena.
Maria simply looks at her and after a while, gives a slight nod. This will be a just social visit.
“They’re upstairs,” Selena tells her, acknowledging the nod.

Chapter Text

Pippa crawled over to Skye who was sitting cross legged on the grass and reached out to touch her knee. Skye stared at her with an uncertain smile and wasn’t entirely sure what to do so she simply waited. She hadn’t been around babies much in her life. She let the baby crawl closer and grip onto her. Pippa seemed to think that it was a good idea to hold onto Skye and try to pull herself up into a standing position. Pippa was concentrating with a very determined look on her face as she kept switching hand holds on Skye who held onto her tiny hand firmly to help her up when she figured out Pippa’s aim.
Skye marvelled at her appearance up close. Pippa looked so much like a little version of May though she had her own unique features too. Pippa quickly got herself into a standing position with a hand held by Skye, another hand holding onto Skye’s shoulder and a wobbly stance as she leaned against Skye’s side. But she laughed as soon as she was upright and babbled happily. Skye smiled brightly at the bubbly girl. It was a little hard to imagine May ever being as cheery as this bright little one.
After steadying herself a little, Pippa slowly let go of Skye’s shoulder and launched herself carefully from Skye’s side, still holding onto her hand. She only managed about a step and a half before she quickly flopped down on her bottom as she was still quite unsteady on her feet. Skye held her breath thinking that Pippa might start crying. But though she went down with a surprised look on her face, the little girl simply huffed a little and pulled her hand away so that she could crawl back closer to Skye and try the whole manoeuvre again. Pippa simply kept trying repeatedly to get herself to stand and take some steps by holding onto Skye. Skye for her part was quite content to watch her and lend a hand as needed.

Then she felt another soft, small hand on her back and held herself still to prevent her instinctive reaction to being startled. She was already holding Pippa’s two hands so the other hand on her back must belong to CJ. Skye hadn’t heard or noticed the little boy making his way over to her as she was so focused on Pippa who was also chattering away breezily. She felt CJ place both his hands on her back and grip onto her shirt. Apparently, the little boy had the same idea as his sister but was using her back to hold on to. CJ hadn’t been as keen to make eye contact and approach Skye so far. He had seemed the more reserved twin.
Pippa had happily agreed to be handed over for short periods to be held by Skye and had taken quite easily to being held and cuddled by a thoroughly enchanted Coulson. However, CJ who distinctively looked like his father, was more inclined to simply watch the two strangers to his home with wide eyes and refused to go to either without some form of intense encouragement and cajoling by either his mother or aunt. Skye had simply backed off, able to understand a small child’s instinct to be wary of strange adults. She felt heartbroken for Coulson who clearly longed to hug his son close in his arms as much as he could but who was being very careful not to alarm the child while he gained his trust.
CJ would now accept a short hug from Phil when Melinda was sitting right beside him and then clamber back over to his mother’s arms. It was some progress and he was getting more comfortable with them after they had been around for a couple of days. However, CJ hadn’t yet made any attempt to approach her so Skye was quite surprised to be used as a human support structure at this point and was careful not to make any sudden movements.
CJ carefully pulled himself up and held on with both hands to her shoulder, leaning slightly onto her on the opposite side of his twin. Skye wondered how this was all going to turn out, she couldn’t see anyone else in her line of vision. Surely there were more adults around watching the kids and there was no way she’d be left to deal with the twins by herself, Skye was starting to feel a rising panic. She winced as CJ tugged on a lock of her hair of while gripping her shoulder.

Skye felt hugely relieved to hear the sound of clapping a few moments later and turned her head slightly to the sound.
“Well done all of you,” said Coulson with a smile, clapping his hands at their antics.
Pippa let go of Skye to clap her hands too, crowing in delight and of course went down again on her padded bottom, unfazed. CJ looked around wide eyed, clutching at Skye’s shoulder but calmed instantly when he saw his mother crouching down next to them.
“Great job, Carter,” said Melinda softly to her tiny son, smiling.
“You’re doing great too, Skye,” acknowledged Melinda, with a gentle look and a touch on the arm for Skye.
Skye shifted to look over at CJ, who looked straight back at her, more confidant with his mother by his side. Pippa had decided to take off and crawl towards her number one fan, her father.
Skye was engulfed by a wave of pure joy when CJ smiled sweetly at her and touched her cheek.
“You are going to be quite a heartbreaker,” murmured Skye fondly. Melinda laughed and Skye was grinning widely at the sight.

“Well, we should have enough photos and videos from just this session in the garden,” remarked Maria, who had apparently been taking pictures and short videos on Phil’s phone as requested. She had decided to just enjoy the day after her talk to Selena. Phil and Melinda looked wonderful with their family. Even Skye looked very much like she belonged here and was the older sister to the twins.
“I’m sure they could do with loads more. Mama would definitely want some of these for her wall too. I got some great shots that we can print out,” said Selena, who was holding a rather professional looking camera.
Skye felt a slight blush as she realized that she too had been captured in the family photographs taken. She didn’t belong in them. Skye really wished she did but she knew that she wasn’t a part of this gorgeous family. Her look turned wistful, eyes darting around and feasting on the loving family scene that she could never have.
“I should stay out of the way and let you guys have some more photos by yourselves as a family,” mumbled Skye, embarrassed at her presence in the photographs because she didn’t actually have a place here. She looked down at the grass to blink back tears. She was lucky to be able to be here at all. She had nothing to cry about.
Skye didn’t notice the sudden silence that accompanied her words. She was too busy forcing herself to breath and not cry. She did feel a soft little cheek press onto a cheek and small arms wrap round her neck. CJ hugged her and she instinctively hugged him back though she was caught by surprise. CJ was suddenly snuggling into her arms.
“You are part of our family, Skye,” said Coulson, with a hand on her back. He had come over with Pippa, who then decided to join her twin in hugging Skye. Skye looked at him with wide eyes then looked at Melinda, who was smiling tenderly at her being hugged by the twins and gave her a nod when their eyes met, placing a hand on her arm.
Skye was so overwhelmed that she definitely wanted to cry again but for different reasons than why she was blinking back tears several seconds ago. They considered her family. Just like that, she had a family. That was totally amazing.

Selena smirked when she caught Maria wiping away a tear from her eye at the emotional scene before them. “You’re a total sap, Commander,” she whispered to Maria to avoid disturbing the rest.
Maria simply raised an eyebrow back at her and kept snapping more photos. Selena grinned and then made an effort to capture some tangible photographs of the precious moments of the family scene before them.

Chapter Text

Melinda looked up from settling her son to see Phil staring in fascination at the framed photographs on the middle wall of the nursery. Even from just looking at his back, she could tell the instant that Phil caught sight of the composite pictures. There was so much that they needed to talk about but so far everything had been mainly focused on Phil and to a certain extent Skye, getting to know the twins. At eight months of age, Pippa and CJ had learned to be wary of strangers which was also partly due to their upbringing and thus had to be gently coaxed and encouraged to accept the unfamiliar adults. Phil was desperate to spend all his time doing as much as possible with the twins to make up for the time he missed with them. With everything going on in the past two days, Phil and Melinda had not been able to sit down and have the conversation that they needed to.

Phil clearly adored being a father and she had never doubted that he would absolutely love Pippa and CJ. But they had not even started to talk through the recent events that had damaged the relationship between them. Through decades of experience together they simply fell seamlessly into working as a unit to be parents to their precious twins but there was so much left unsaid. They both knew that there would be difficult decisions to make.
Melinda knew that she would always do what was needed to protect Phil Coulson because she couldn’t really remember a time when she had not loved him since he had been in her life. She had agreed with Fury’s plan because there had been no other choice for her and Fury had taken advantage of knowing how she felt. She had lived with the lies she had to tell Phil since he came to ask her to be on his new team and stoically hiding away all the pain of denying their memories together that had been erased. All of the continual deception had left Melinda feeling cold and emotionally bereft but she had done it to be near Phil and make sure that he was safe.
Melinda had not anticipated his recent violent reaction to her actions. She hadn’t really thought about Fury’s endgame and had simply taken it one day at a time. Planning and strategy had never been her forte. Melinda was a Specialist and she lived with knowing enough to get things done. She was constantly stretched to the limit with trying to keep her emotions in check on various levels and struggling with being away from her young children while being on the Bus. She made the effort to have daily video chats with them and Selena had been extremely accommodating with her timing. She had even managed to snatch the odd day away to come home and be with them but it had been extremely challenging and there was no way she could sustain it all for a long time. Then again, Melinda admitted ruefully to herself that she had no idea if Phil even wanted her back by his side now.
They had always been very close since their meeting at SHIELD academy and then Bahrain had happened. But Phil had stayed close to her even when she had forced Andrew away and driven him to finally leave her. Phil’s endless persistence had gradually paid off and their relationship had progressed beyond what it had been before. Then Loki had murdered Phil Coulson on the helicarrier.
Melinda still couldn’t remember much of what had happened when they told her about Phil’s death. She can recall seeing both Maria and Nick walking towards her while the reports were still coming in from the events of the Battle of New York. Nick Fury had been the one to actually tell her that Phil had died but Melinda had known something was wrong even before they showed up. They had no idea that Melinda had spent the last few hours throwing up already as she had been doing stealthily for a few weeks now. As soon as Melinda saw Maria’s face, she had fainted for the first time in her entire life.
Maria tells her that she was so limp they hadn’t been sure that she was still even breathing. Fury had picked her up immediately while Maria had called urgently for a medical team to come for Melinda. They had quickly been reassured that Melinda was alive but extremely dehydrated and the severe shock had overwhelmed her.
Fury had insisted that Melinda be taken to a SHIELD medical facility and to be assessed and managed. He let Maria stay and went on to do what needed to be done with the fallout from the epic battle. Maria contacted Melinda’s family. Then as Maria waited anxiously for more news regarding Melinda, Clint and Natasha silently appeared and sat down nearby. They were both still bruised from the fight but came as soon as they could for Melinda. They each owed Melinda and Phil a tremendous debt. They all felt guilt at Phil’s death. Phil was gone. Melinda was still here and they could protect her. They would stay until they were sure that she would be well. None of them expected any of it to be easy.
Melinda does remember a few scattered moments from those terrible days just after Phil died. She was in a hospital bed at one point. She somehow remembers Natasha’s voice cursing in Russian and then for some reason Clint picking her up and carrying her. She knows that Maria was there too. It’s all a jumble of sounds and images.
The next thing Melinda remembers clearly is waking up to the sight of Laura Barton reading in a chair beside her bed. It takes her a few moments to orient herself and she thinks that it’s a good thing she is not in a hostile situation because her reflexes are so slow. Melinda realizes that she is in a room at the Barton farm house. Laura smiles gently and waits patiently until Melinda looks directly at her. She then offers Melinda a glass of water silently. Laura has met Melinda before and knows that she tends to use her words sparsely.
“You’re going to be okay,” said Laura softly looking into her eyes. Melinda looked back at her despairingly and held onto those words desperately for many days to come.

“These pictures. How did you get them?” asked Phil softly as Melinda walked to stand beside him and she was wrenched back from her memories to the present moment. Phil pointed to the photograph that he was staring at. The photograph was of a pregnant Melinda in side profile sitting on the porch of the house and staring into the distance. There was a faint slightly transparent image of Phil edited in to appear as if he was standing just behind her shoulder and gazing down at her lovingly.
“Selena took a lot of photographs over the years. She created a series of composite photographs as a gift project for the twins. She superimposed images of you onto some of our photographs so that Pippa and CJ would have some sense of you being present as they grew up,” explained Melinda.
Selena had carefully crafted the photographs. Phil’s image looking through a window or standing and gazing at Melinda herself, or Melinda and the twins in various settings. A particularly poignant image was of Melinda holding the twins with her in bed with the moonlight streaming in, looking at the babies and a tear running down her cheek. Phil standing next to her with a hand just behind her shoulder.
“I can’t believe I missed all of this. I never even knew that you were pregnant,” breathed Phil.
“It wasn’t exactly pleasant,” snorted Melinda.
“Melinda, you looked wonderful pregnant. You’re always beautiful. I would have given anything to be here for you all,” said Phil sadly.
“Well, you’re here now,” said Melinda, sliding her hand slowly into his. He didn’t pull away and his warm hand enclosed hers.
Phil closed his eyes and savoured the feeling of her hand in his. He knew that Melinda had forgiven him for everything that he’d put her through. He really didn’t deserve her but somehow, they were here. Phil gently pulled Melinda closer to him.

Chapter Text

Slowly Phil reached out and placed his arms around Melinda, turning her towards him. There was just enough light in the room from the soft glow of the night light for them to be able to see each other. Phil still had so much to say but at this moment, the only thing that mattered was to let Melinda know how he felt for her.
“I love you, Melinda QiaoLian May. You’re the most amazing person in my life and I’m sorry that I’ve hurt you again and I can’t remember some parts of what we had together. But no matter what, I love you and our children so much, always,” said Phil looking directly into her eyes.
Melinda was silent though she gave a small sigh of acknowledgement. She believed him but she had been through too much in the past few years. She knew that she would never deny Phil his right to be a father to their twins but she wasn’t sure if she could survive having her heart broken time and again. Things in the world were dangerous and unstable. Phil was now the director of SHIELD. There was so much work to be done. It had taken a tremendous effort for her to keep up the appearance of just being a member of his team for these past months.
Phil stared into her dark eyes and he had an idea of the direction of her thoughts and he could read her emotions in them. Her eyes had always been so expressive to him. He knew that words didn’t come as easily for her as for him. He had to convince her and chase away her doubts.
He moved slowly to draw her even closer and meet her lips with his own. Melinda closed her eyes just before they kissed. She didn’t resist him, she never could. She wanted to kiss him just as desperately. It had just never been the right time as usual. It still probably wasn’t but they couldn’t stop themselves now. It had been so very long since the last time they had shared a kiss. Since before he had died.
Phil felt like he was finally truly where he belonged as he felt her melt into the kiss, her arms holding onto him tightly. The kiss was sweet, slow and languorous allowing them to relish the feel of being in each other’s arms again. His body definitely knew her even if his memories had been erased. The glorious sensation of kissing his wife was definitely not something he had completely forgotten and they fit together perfectly.
A part of Phil’s mind suddenly realised something important. He remembered that he was kissing his wife. His wife. They were married. He was sure of it. As he continued to kiss her, some vague memories started filtering through whatever veil they had been trapped under.
The photographs on the wall. He’d seen it. He had only briefly looked at most. There were quite a number of prints framed up. But his mind now registered seeing some that were likely captured at their wedding. Melinda, exquisite in an intricately patterned lace red cheongsam and him in a tuxedo for the occasion. No stiff or formal poses. Glimpses of the people that they cared about and trusted, celebrating with them.
The kiss eventually ended and he rested his forehead against hers.
“We are still married, aren’t we, Lin?” he said breathlessly.
He saw a hint of surprise manifest and then the shimmer of tears in her eyes at his words. She didn’t deny it. They were still married.
Phil refrained from asking why she hadn’t told him. He knew well that she was used to keeping secrets and she’d probably been told that it was for his protection. He could be angry about it all but he had already found that his anger had led him to lose control which had caused to lose her. He wondered how she had managed to keep up the façade for so long. With the way he had treated her when HYDRA had emerged, it was no wonder that she had left.
Phil repressed a shudder at the recent memory of losing Melinda May, not wanting to startle the woman herself who was still locked in his embrace. He couldn’t let go of her just yet. He had never experienced truly losing track of her for that many days before. He had lost her in a way after the events in Bahrain but he had known where she was physically. Every time he had lost contact with her on missions it had physically hurt him until they found her again.
The week after Melinda had walked out of the Providence base had been pure hell for him. The fact that it was all his fault had made the torture so much worse. His brilliant team had all done their very best to find her and Phil had very nearly resorted to his last hope of reaching out to Barton or Romanoff for information. But in reality, he had been too ashamed to admit to them about what he had done to make her leave even if he was willing to disregard Fury’s edict that the Avengers were not to know that he was alive. He surmised that Maria Hill would not have told him anything and that assumption had been confirmed by Hill’s attitude to him while she was here. Melinda May was the next person that Maria was most loyal to, after Nick Fury.
They stayed in each other’s arms and listened to the soft sounds of the twins breathing evenly in their cots. Eventually, Melinda let out a soft sigh.
“You have to go back out there,” she said softly. They both knew that this was true. But Melinda wasn’t sure what she herself needed to do. Coming home to the twins had been wonderful. She had missed them so much and they her. They needed her and she wasn’t entirely sure that Phil did need her anymore. His words and actions had been devastating after all they had been through together. The week at home had given her a different perspective.
After Phil’s death, Melinda awoke to the fact that she had to keep on living even through the days when she hadn’t wanted to. Laura Barton was a soothing presence while she drifted in and out of consciousness in the first few hazy days after the Battle of New York. Laura had simply sat with her, supplying her with tea and finding foods that she could tolerate. When she needed it, Laura would hold Melinda’s hand while she cried or leave her in peace when she preferred. Natasha had volunteered to be the one to tell Melinda about her pregnancy as Maria was unable to get there when Laura finally reported that Melinda was feeling better. Laura had been incredibly understanding of Melinda’s fragile state and agreed that the news would be better coming from Natasha who had a close bond with her former SO and teammate. All of this flashed through Melinda’s mind as she held onto her husband.
“And you?” asked Phil softly, still holding her close.
“I don’t know yet,” Melinda admitted sadly. She could feel Phil tense up briefly at her words and then he took a deep breath.
“Okay, we’ll work it out together,” he said calmly. They would find a way to make this all work. He was never ever going to lose her again.

Chapter Text

“Agent Triplett, what can I do for you today? Your cryptic message did not specify exactly why you requested this call,” said Selena reverting to her professional persona as an independent contractor for hire, Lenny Xi, for the video call in her secure home office. She had received an encrypted message from Agent Triplett, who she had worked with before when she had been hired by SHIELD.

“Miss Xi, a pleasure as always. I assume that this is a secure channel and this call is conducted in the strictest confidence,” said Trip cautiously.

Selena raised an eyebrow at him, “Why would you ever think otherwise, Agent Triplett? Of course, this is a completely secure line. I didn’t think that SHIELD agents did social calls anyway. Always dedicated to the mission.”

“C’mon Lenny. We’re not all that bad. Can’t I just say hello? How are you doing anyway? It’s been a while,” smiled Trip turning on the charm.

“Agent Triplett, you and I both know that HYDRA has just about crushed SHIELD and there’s no way this is just a call to say hello. But to answer your question, I’m fine thank you. I’m not going to ask how you are currently though, probably safer that way,” responded Selena gravely.

“I’m doing okay all things considered. I have a different team now. Turns out my former SO, John Garrett, you remember the man? Is a HYDRA agent,” said Trip with a grimace.

Selena kept her expression neutral. Inwardly she seethed with fury at the mention of Garrett’s name. Garrett was directly responsible for a lot of grief for the people that she cared about. She had heard stories about him from Melinda’s academy days and it was really not surprising to her that he and Jasper Sitwell were HYDRA agents. Selena hadn’t trusted them at all when she had been on a mission with those two. She had never quite understood how those men had been able to climb the ranks at SHIELD and it was another reason why she refused to join SHIELD.

“I’m sorry to hear that about your SO. That must be truly horrible for you apart from everything else that’s been going on,” said Selena allowing herself to express a hint of sympathy.

“Just gotta keep moving forward, girl. Bygones now,” shrugged Trip. He paused for a short moment.

“And of course, you’re right, Lenny. I’m calling to ask you for a favour. SHIELD’s down but not out, there are still good people out there and I’m cashing in on the favours that I’m owed. Now I seem to remember doing you a good turn in the past and I’m banking on that now,” said Trip.

“I’m listening, go on,” responded Selena. She recalled the event in Frankfurt where Trip had been able to catch her as she was falling off a very high ledge in an intense fight. They had both been injured but between the two of them, had managed to survive the attack. Come to think of it, that scumbag, John Garrett had been involved in the mission too. She was grateful to Trip but fundamentally, SHIELD had ignored the signs of its’ internal failings which had been going on for some time. HYDRA’s emergence shouldn’t have been this much of a surprise to them. Selena was always careful about fulfilling requests or favours and it had stood her in good stead. No reason to change her stance now.

“I need to find intel on which SHIELD facilities are still safe at this point and if you can possibly direct me to any resources that are available for us to access and start rebuilding SHIELD including any loyal agents who are still out there,” said Trip.

“SHIELD is now technically an outlawed agency which I was never officially a part of, thankfully. I’m just a hired contractor on a case-by-case basis. All their assets would be frozen by the government by now. Why do you think that there are secret facilities hidden away somewhere that haven’t been seized? And what makes you think that I would be able to find that kind of intel anyway?” said Selena, drily.

“Let’s not play games, Lenny. We both know you have a bigger stake in SHIELD than just as an occasional hired contractor. Can you and will you get me that information please? SHIELD does important work and we have to keep going to fight against HYDRA and keep people safe. There’s not a lot of people I can trust these days, so I’m asking you,” said Trip in a serious tone.

Selena let her eyes drift away slightly from the screen in front of her but was careful to not let anything else slip through in her expression. She considered his request intently but wasn’t at all alarmed at Trip’s insinuation that she had closer links to SHIELD than was obvious. She knew about Trip’s background because she had carefully researched her team members when working with them. Selena still smarted at the thought that she clearly hadn’t been thorough enough in her assessment in the case of John Garrett but then he had successfully fooled a lot of people for a long time.

It seemed like Phil was doing something completely different with his team this time. From what she had heard from her sister, they seemed to function more like a sort of family type structure. Considering how things had turned out with SHIELD recently, creating something different wasn’t a bad thing at all. Apart from the unfortunate mishap of having the traitor Grant Ward on the team.

Selena figured that Trip would find out who she really was in relation to his current team, sooner or later. But she had always found that it was wiser to keep her secrets for as long as possible. Besides, Selena felt that all of this information would be better coming from Phil Coulson if at all. She would let Coulson know that his team were starting to act out on their own initiative and he should probably get back to them soon.

“Anyway, why should I trust you, Agent Triplett? HYDRA’s cover was deep. I may not have any specific agency affiliations but the reason that agencies do work with me is that I can absolutely be trusted with their deepest secrets. Right now, SHIELD doesn’t even legally exist anymore,” stated Selena sternly, she sat up straight in her large comfortable office chair.

“So you’re refusing to help with this then?” questioned Trip.

“Trip, you’re a nice guy and my gut feeling says that you’re probably not HYDRA but you know as well as I do how easy it is to get it wrong. I’m sorry but I cannot help you with this. I cannot verify anything on SHIELD at this point. And my main concern is also containing the threat to the world that is HYDRA. If we ever get into another life or death situation again, yeah I still owe you one and I might be able to return that favour,” said Selena.

“SHIELD still exists, Lenny. We’re still fighting the good fight but we’ve had to go underground and regroup. But I can see your point. Extreme caution has always been your thing. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely collect on that favour someday,” responded Trip. He looked disappointed but not all that surprised at her answer. It was a long shot. Trip was just trying to help work out their next move while waiting for Coulson to return.

“Be safe, Agent Triplett. Take care of yourself,” said Selena.
“Thank you, Miss Xi. You too,” replied Trip politely as they ended the call.

Selena took a deep breath and sank back into her chair. She really hoped that Melinda and Phil were starting to have the conversations that they needed to. She knew that Skye was itching to get back to her team too. Selena couldn’t run interference for them from the outside world any longer. They were running out of time and HYDRA was gaining ground quickly. Selena didn’t blame the team for making an effort to start rebuilding. There were still dedicated agents around and hopefully SHIELD would rebuild itself better than the old one.

Chapter Text

“It was just the way he said it, Jem. Like it was simply an established fact of life. I still feel sick when I think of what we did to May. I really wish that I could apologize to her. It all just happened so fast and then she was gone,” sighed Fitz, nervously running a hand through his hair.

“Fitz, Skye says that she’s fine, they found her. They’re with her and everyone is safe. Coulson and May just need some time to work things out. I’m sure they’ll be back soon,” said Jemma, trying hard to reassure him even though she felt just as unsure of what was happening right now. Their world had just been turned upside down.

“And Ward! How could he? I still can’t believe he’s bloody HYDRA. He murdered Agent Koenig and then took off with Skye. How could we not have known? We’ve lived with him for weeks on the BUS, we trusted him,” ranted Fitz pacing up and down with nervous energy.

“He fooled us all, Fitz. No one knew about him or Garrett and the other HYDRA agents that were in SHIELD. A lot of people were betrayed. At least we’re both safe and together now.” said Jemma sadly.

“What are we doing now, Jemma? We’re just sitting here and eating food and not doing anything! We’re still SHIELD, we should be doing more to fight HYDRA,” said Fitz in frustration.

“We’re just having a short break to recharge and regroup. That’s a good thing. We’ll be back out there soon. I’m grateful that we’re getting a break, Fitz. Trip’s grandmother has been very kind to host us in her home and make us all that food. I’ve never seen so much food on a table,” said Jemma with a small smile, trying to encourage Fitz to look on the bright side.

They were both worried and unsettled. Trip had moved them to his grandmother’s flat after they had talked to Coulson and all agreed that it would be good to move out from the motel they had been staying in. Trip’s grandmother graciously welcomed them with open arms but there was not a lot of space in the flat and no lab for them to work in. They both felt a sense of loss when they were away from a lab for any length of time. They really missed the other half of their team especially Skye. Fitz was still wary around Trip though he had grudgingly acknowledged that he seemed like a decent guy. After his recent experience with Ward, he was not ready to trust anyone else so easily.

“Fitz, just try to unwind a bit and rest. We just spoke to Skye and we’ve spoken to Coulson too. We know they’re okay and May is fine. We’re okay, Fitz. And we’ve got each other,” said Jemma softly.

“I don’t get it. Where are they? How did they find May? What on earth are they doing now? I thought Coulson would be all over rebuilding SHIELD. Instead, we’ve just had to leave a SHIELD base to those army morons and now we’re hiding out like criminals,” said Fitz in frustration.

Jemma sighed but tried to be patient. She felt as stressed and worried as Fitz did but she knew that flying off the handle wasn’t getting them anywhere. It had only been a couple of days since Coulson and Skye had left to check on a lead on May’s location. Skye had contacted them within the time limit set, to reassure them that all was well. They had finally found May though Skye had seemed quite bewildered when they spoke for some reason rather than simply relieved and happy.

Jemma, Fitz and Trip had all been elated at the news that they had found May. They all missed her too and she was an integral part of their team. It had quickly become evident to them all that Coulson regretted his actions towards May and causing her to leave. His main priority had been to find her and he had been completely obsessed in doing so. Melinda May had impressive skills and had just vanished completely after walking out of the remote Providence base.

Trip had muttered something about Garrett being an asshole but right on the money about Coulson and May, who had been partners for a long time. Jemma did wonder how close they really were. The younger members of the team had discussed it numerous times among themselves in the past as May and Coulson had always spent a lot of their time together on the BUS. Being partners could mean anything but Coulson had looked like a man that had lost his whole world when the realisation had started to dawn on them all that May wasn’t coming back.

“Coulson and Skye have said that they’ll explain it all soon, Fitz. We just to need to be patient for a bit longer. I don’t like it any better than you do. But we agree that we trust them and that we want to stay with SHIELD,” said Jemma with a sigh, wondering not for the first time, if that was the right decision.

“I … It’s Skye,” said Fitz, answering the call on the pad.
“Hi guys, is Trip with you?” greeted Skye.
“Hi, Skye. He’s taken his grandmother for a doctor’s appointment,” answered Jemma.
“Is she okay?” asked Skye with concern.

“I think it’s just a check-up. She seems quite healthy to me. Skye, when are, oh sir,” stammered Jemma, seeing Coulson enter on the screen.

“Hi Jemma, Fitz. I know it’s been a very trying time for you all and trust me, I’m very grateful that you’ve been so patient. Thank you. We’re sending you some coordinates and we’ll meet you all there tomorrow. We’ll explain then why we’ve been away for so long,” said Coulson.

Jemma and Fitz both noted that he looked like he was back to his usual self. He was calm and collected. The man had been on the point of exhaustion and completely distraught when they had last seen him leave.

“Sir, will Agent May be meeting us too?” asked Fitz anxiously. He really needed to apologize to her.

“Yes, Fitz, I will be coming too,” came the voice of Agent May over the line. She came up beside Coulson as Skye moved out of the view of the camera.

Jemma and Fitz both started talking at high speed and gushed at how happy they were to see her. They kept going at full flow for a few minutes until Coulson cleared his throat loudly with a raised brow to get them to stop chattering.

May gave them a small smile. “We’ll see you tomorrow. Be safe,” she told them and left. Coulson smiled too and followed her away. He simply had not left her side if he could help it.

Skye laughed at the slack jawed expressions she saw on the screen. “Guys, you’re catching flies that way. See ya,” she smirked at them and ended the call.

Chapter Text

Selena had just finished her morning Tai Chi routine and was seating the twins at the table to give them their breakfast. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen today though she was aware that Coulson had contacted the rest of his team. Selena felt that this morning it would be nice for them to hopefully have some semblance of normal. Her watch vibrated and she glanced at the notification just before Maria knocked softly on the door. So much for routine. Selena made sure that the twins were secured in their seats before going to let Maria in. Maria looked pale and there was a hint that she had possibly been crying though her face was outwardly quite composed. Selena knew that time had run out for Phil Coulson to enjoy the safe interlude with his family and Melinda would probably go back to the field with him. Selena led Maria in silently and sat her down at the table beside the twins who recognized her familiar face and babbled at her brightly. Maria gave them a small smile and the bubbly Pippa reached out to her to be held. Selena quickly unstrapped the baby and placed her into Maria’s arms. Pippa much preferred being on Maria’s lap to being strapped into her chair and was happy to actively wriggle around and chatter. Maria held her close and buried her face in Pippa’s soft hair for a few moments. CJ watched the rest of them with wide eyes and played with his dinosaurs.

Selena placed a cup of coffee and Pippa’s bowl of cereal by Maria while she sat herself next to CJ to feed him his cereal with a mug of tea for herself. Selena had known Maria Hill since she was Melinda’s rookie in training. She didn’t ask why Hill was upset but she knew that baby cuddles were an amazing solace. Cuddling and feeding her adorable goddaughter eased the distress on Maria’s face for a while. Selena expected Skye to sleep in but Melinda was probably up and Phil Coulson had barely left her side awake or asleep since he’d arrived so they would be here soon. CJ cooed happily when he caught sight of his mother as Melinda and Phil walked in with his hand on her hip. Pippa giggled as she was lifted up for her morning kisses from her parents but was content to stay with Maria. Melinda took over feeding CJ while Phil got their tea and coffee.

“I’ve steamed the filled bao buns Mama made when she was here. The twins like having bits of the bao just make sure it’s cooled enough for them,” said Selena, placing a serving on plates for each of the adults.

“Should I go?” asked Selena with her mug in one hand and her own plate in the other.

“Lena, stay,” said Melinda. Selena looked around the table and saw no dissent, nodded and sat down.

“Hand didn’t have a chance when Ward turned on her while they were in the air. He freed Garrett and they’ve left a bloody trail. They ransacked the Fridge, released the individuals in containment there and who knows what else is loose. We don’t know yet how many we’ve lost. But the numbers are high. Everything we worked for with SHIELD has been destroyed and I vetted him myself,” said Maria in a hard, bitter voice. There was a respectful silence as they thought of the lives that had been lost. Victoria Hand had been a good friend to all, maybe more than that to Maria. The mood around the table was solemn.

“Ward played his part well but what he did was not your fault, Maria. He managed to fool us all. Their blood is not on your hands,” said Melinda firmly to her.

“We rebuild, move forward and we’ll make sure that he gets what he deserves. We all made mistakes but what’s done is in the past now. We have good agents and I trust that a good number did make it through. SHIELD will still be working to protect people but we’ll need to do it from the shadows for now,” said Coulson.

“Nick will give you what’s needed. You’re going to be in charge of the rebuilding, Coulson. I’m staying with Stark Industries,” informed Maria.

“Will there be a funeral for Tori?” asked Selena softly.
“I haven’t heard back from her brothers yet,” answered Maria.
“Have you talked to Clint and Tasha? Are they okay?” asked Selena again.
Maria sighed, “I sent them a message when the whole mess with HYDRA emerged. They can take care of themselves, Lena. Tasha is in deep cover. Clint is home now.”

“Alright then. What happens now? Phil and Skye need to go. Your team is waiting for you. Lin, you’re going with them, aren’t you?” said Selena, already planning to move herself and the twins to her mother’s place for a while. There had been too much unfamiliar traffic to this house recently for her liking and her priority was always keeping the twins safe. Melinda slowly nodded at her.

“Okay. Ria, is the offer to work with you part time at SI still open? I’ll take the post as long as Pepper understands that my hours have to be flexible for the twins and most of the time I’ll work remotely. I’ll take them for a visit to Mama today while you all sort out getting SHIELD settled. I’d rather be safe and I’m not sure that this location hasn’t been compromised. You’d better brief me on anything at all that might be a security threat like this Ward person though hopefully he has no idea at all that we exist. Yet Trip seems to know that I have some ties to SHIELD so let’s be overcautious. I’d like to go to Tori’s funeral if possible but I’ll assess the threat risk when we get more details. I also think that you should consider speaking to Tasha and Clint at some point, Phil. They’re good at keeping in the shadows and it sounds like you’ll need all the help that you can get to rebuild,” said Selena.

There was a sharp rap on the door. Everyone froze and Selena quickly tapped her tablet to enlarge the security camera feed.

“Well at least he knocked this time,” said Selena with an eye roll, as she got up to get the door. Melinda cuddled a startled CJ to soothe him from the shock of the loud rap. Nick Fury strode in with a curt nod of greeting to Selena and the twins were wide-eyed. He halted at the sight of them and sighed with a raised brow.

Selena took Pippa from Maria and Melinda stood up with CJ. The children were getting a bit too big to be carried together by one of them. Coulson immediately got up to follow his wife but stopped at the glare on Fury’s face.

“She’ll be back, Coulson. We’ll wait,” said Fury. He was right. May came back by herself after a few moments and sat back down next to Phil, who quickly took her hand. He really couldn’t stand to be apart from her and needed to touch her all the time. Fury didn’t comment though Maria rolled her eyes at the sight.

“Coulson, you’ll do it then?” said Fury, tossing him a cube.
“What is this?” asked Coulson, turning it over for May and himself to inspect.

“Everything you need to rebuild SHIELD,” answered Fury.
“Why are you handing this to me?” asked Phil.
“Because you’re the Director now,” answered Fury.

The couple simultaneously looked up at him, in sync as always.
“What will you do, Sir?” asked May.
“I’m moving on, Agent May. It’s time now. You’ll be helping him to run it all of course,” said Fury, looking at her.

“What if I can’t do that?” questioned May. She felt Phil’s grip on her hand tighten.
“You will. You’ll both find a way to run SHIELD and parent the twins. That may not be such a bad thing. The twins would give your lives some balance. Selena will need to move on too. She just doesn’t know it yet,” said Fury confidently.

“Why not Hill, Sir?” asked Coulson, still staring at the cube in his hand and not letting go of May’s hand in his.

“It’s time to do things differently,” stated Fury.
May glanced over at her former rookie and addressed her, “You refused.”
Hill shrugged. “I agree that it’s time for a change. I’ve worked closely with Nick for too long,” she said simply

“We’ll leave you to it, Director or maybe Directors? Your call,” said Fury, ushering Hill out the door with a nod at the security camera to Selena.

Chapter Text

There was a flurry of warm hugs and cheerful greetings as soon as Selena opened the door to the Barton family. They chatted as the family took off their coats and shoes while trying to balance their bags of gifts and food. Selena was thrilled to get to see all of the people that she considered a part of her extended family. Lian May appeared after a few minutes to chide her daughter for letting their guests linger in the hallway just as the doorbell rang again to admit Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers. Lian had unhesitatingly extended an invitation to Steve as well when Natasha said that she was travelling with him. Natasha and Clint quickly introduced Steve around together.

“I’m so glad you all made it here today despite the heavy snow. We have to get lots of pictures with everyone, okay? Cooper and Lila have grown so much! Cooper, you’re going to be taller than I am soon. Pippa and CJ are toddling about now and Pippa is an absolute chatterbox. Obviously, the Christmas tree is still up as there are still presents under it for you guys. They had a lovely first Christmas. We also made so much food,” Selena sounded a little nervous as the group continued to exchange greetings and hugs around her.

“Thank you all for coming on time to spend the day with us. I think that we need to move into the living room now please, there are others waiting to greet all of you before we have lunch” said Lian, with a smile on her face but a firm tone of command in her voice. She accepted a kiss on the cheek from Natasha and Clint. They all obeyed without a murmur and followed her lead in. Selena deftly made sure to take over carrying the bag of food that the Bartons had brought. Natasha gave Selena a piercing look as she picked up on the ripple of unease in the atmosphere lurking just beneath the surface. Selena met her glance briefly but kept on moving with the group into the room. Maria Hill stood up to greet them happily and then there was a crash and a startled gasp as the bag of gifts that Clint carried tumbled to the floor.

“It’s good to see you again, Clint, Laura. Wow this must be Cooper and Lila,” greeted Phil Coulson carrying CJ in his arms with Melinda holding Pippa beside him. Selena inched closer to her mother as they watched Natasha and Steve also freeze in shock at hearing his voice as they both whirled around to stare at Coulson. Maria gracefully gave into her instinct to stand aside and also move closer to Lian May. She tamped down on her anxiety with regards to the role she played in keeping Phil’s resurrection a secret from the people that she considered her close friends. The last time The Avengers had seen the man, he had been brutally murdered. Clint and Natasha had also shouldered the burden of helping a broken Melinda May deal with the aftermath of his death. It had devastated them all even though it had drawn them closer together to survive and to be quite frank, Maria suspected that her friends had not completely gotten over his death yet. A massive confrontation was on the cards and she was grateful that Nick Fury had decided to decline his invitation to this gathering.

“Uncle Phil, is that really you?” asked Lila Barton uncertainly, feeling the tension in the room and moving to cling onto her father’s leg.
Phil knelt down carefully to her level, while holding CJ and smiled reassuringly at her. “Hey Lila, I know that your Dad told you that I died in the Battle of New York, which is true. But some time after that, Director Fury asked a group of people to create a special treatment to bring me back. It was a dangerous thing to do but it worked for my case,” he told Lila.

The very simplified explanation broke the heavy silence and since no one wanted to alarm the children any further, the exchange of greetings resumed among the group though the thick underlying tension remained in the air. The greetings to both Phil and Melinda from Clint and Natasha were rather strained but their nine-month-old twins were fussed over and made much of by all the new arrivals. Pippa clearly enjoyed all the attention but CJ did not and was now clinging hard to his mother. Lian shook her head slightly as she observed the group interact. It was such a relief to see Laura Barton quickly compose herself to greet the couple warmly and hug Melinda affectionately. Lian concluded from the expression on his face that Steve Rogers was just trying to process everything that had been revealed to him about Phil Coulson. From the way his gaze travelled he was probably more astounded by the revelation that Phil was married to an experienced SHIELD agent and had two young children than of him returning from the dead. After all, technically Captain America had his own coming back to life experience.

Lian knew in her heart that Phil Coulson was a good man but despaired of all the heartache that he had put Melinda through in recent memory. She was sure that she had not been told about everything that had happened to make Melinda leave Phil’s team and call her for a ride. Melinda herself had said little but Lian could read between the lines. Nevertheless, Lian grudgingly admitted to herself that Phil had stayed steadfastly by her side and endured tremendous suffering on his part for Melinda’s sake too over the years. Lian had long ago learned to accept the truth that Melinda and Phil were destined for each other even though being together probably made their lives more complicated. As their mother, Lian simply wanted to spare her daughters any pain in life despite knowing that was an impossible desire.

“Well, that went better than I thought it might,” muttered Maria softly, continuing to keep a watchful eye on everyone in the room even though logically she knew that no one would dare do anything stupid in Lian May’s house or in the presence of the children.
“You know it hasn’t started yet. Not really. We’ve made up the guest rooms. If needed, you can bunk in my room for the night, Ria. Though I’m still not sure why Mama still keeps such a huge place,” informed Selena.

“They must all speak their piece. Maria, you must be the one to facilitate this,” commanded Lian sternly.
“I’m not sure that they’ll accept that,” admitted Maria despondently.
“You need to talk for yourself as well. You are a leader, Maria Hill. Clint and Natasha will be angry and they are both very strong people but you must make them listen because there is much more that needs to be done in the world. There is much at stake here because they are too powerful to hold onto deep grudges which could potentially make them dangerous in the long run. There may come a time when they must work together for the greater good. Do not let them forget that they are still a part of our family. QiaoLian and my grandchildren would not have survived without their support and it is abundantly clear to us all that my son-in-law cannot survive without her,” said Lian grimly.

“They deserve the truth too, you know. Clint and Tasha had a very tough time dealing with Phil’s death though initially they were mostly focused on making sure that Lin was doing okay. You’ll do fine, Ria. Just take it one step at a time and we’re around. They have to contain themselves in this environment, Phil isn’t stupid. Laura is here for Clint. Steve Rogers being here might actually be helpful too and maybe Phil will get to have Captain America save his ass from the wrath of Strike Team Delta,” said Selena drily, fully aware of how volatile her friends could be when they had to deal with complicated emotions. They were much more at ease dealing with nearly impossible missions with high chances of fatalities.

***

“I can’t believe he actually shot her,” growled Clint, striding out into the snow. He had left to avoid the strong urge to punch Phil Coulson to a pulp. After everything he had put Mel through, she had still forgiven him. Cint wasn’t surprised by that but he was still very angry on her behalf. He understood why Mel had done what she did but Phil’s cruel reaction was another matter. He breathed in and out slowly in the cold air, focused on clenching and unclenching his fists.

“Hey, Clint,” said Selena, coming up beside him, all bundled up.
“Should I bring you your jacket?” asked Selena.
Clint shook his head at her. It was a sunny day and he could see Laura and his kids sledding on a small hill not too far away. Steve was with them.

“Your mother let him live?” he questioned. Selena made a face at that and he understood that Mel hadn’t told Lian exactly what had happened with Phil. She probably hadn’t said much at all. But when Phil Coulson he decided to reveal the truth, he really didn’t hold back. That man had a tendency to talk too much for his own good.

“Tasha’s still in there huh? And Clint, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys either,” said Selena softly.
“Fury?” Clint sighed at Selena’s affirmative nod.
“I don’t blame you. Or Mel for that matter and I’m sure that Tasha feels the same. I can see Coulson’s point of view on keeping his coming back to life part a secret too. I’m mostly mad at Hill for that one. She’s been lying to our faces for a while. But after all Mel’s been through from when he died, I just want to throttle him for not listening and just shooting her,” said Clint.

“CJ looks so much like him but Pippa’s smile and personality is all his too. Phil had no idea that he had a son and daughter until about a month ago. He missed out on months of their lives and it sounds like he was tortured back to life against his will. I’ve thought about it a lot and if he hadn’t lost control the way he did, causing Mel to leave then he might not have found out about them yet. Mel’s an excellent soldier and she had no choice but to believe that what she was doing was the best option for him. He is trying hard to make up for it which isn’t easy with the threat of HDYRA around. They’ve decided on being co-directors at SHIELD and have barely been apart since he found out. When they’re more settled at the new base, they’re going to find a house to raise the twins in. He’s completely devoted to her and them. It’s been a long uphill journey for them both but they somehow survived it all and they’re actually together now,” said Selena thoughtfully.
Clint looked at her and he was calmer now. “Yeah,” he replied shortly but Selena knew that he had been listening. She smiled and he smiled at her in return.
“Do you want to go sledding?” asked Selena. She was already dragging one behind her.
“Let me get my jacket and check in with Tash. I’ll catch up with you. I guess the twins are napping now and still too young to enjoy sledding, right?” said Clint.
Selena laughed and told him that he’d have to get through her mother if he wanted to wake the twins to go sledding. Clint quickly gave up on that idea when he heard that.

Chapter Text

“So you’re not going crazy or dying anymore for now?” asked Selena bluntly over the video call.

“Nope, no more compulsive alien urges. That’s all gone. I am planning to stay the hell away from toxic alien tech in the future,” confirmed Phil Coulson happily.

“Yeah, no one believes that, Phil. You’ll definitely do it if you have to,” said Selena with a sigh as Melinda, who was with Phil in their office at the Playground, rolled her eyes at his words.

“I do try to stay away from danger when it’s feasible. I’m not a complete daredevil,” protested Phil in mock outrage.

“Besides, I definitely want to live a long and healthy life to see these two grow up,” he said, catching CJ who was trying to climb up the bookshelf. Melinda was keeping an eye on Pippa who was also moving around the office as they talked to Selena. The twins occasionally babbled words at their aunt on the screen but was mainly having fun causing havoc in their parents’ office. As soon as Phil had confirmed that his compulsion for the alien hypergraphia had been broken, they decided that they needed to start living life as a family with the twins. As directors, they had access to a private suite of rooms at the Playground and they were all living there for now but planned to get a house nearby and live off base soon.

Their whole team had been stunned but delighted to find out about the existence of Pippa and CJ several days ago. They were all completely devoted to caring for them and so there was never a shortage of babysitters. Billy Koenig was amazingly efficient and the twins had a comfortable bedroom set up with age-appropriate beds within a few hours of being informed that they were coming to the base. Melinda suspected that he had their first birthday party all planned out already. It was rather a relief as she was too busy to be able plan the event and it was only three weeks away.

“Mmmhmm, right. Now what do you need me to do for you? You said you needed help to retrieve something?” said Selena, getting down to business.

“Yes, we have to go to investigate an alien city in Puerto Rico but we found information of another site in Malta that might contain another very dangerous and powerful object. HYDRA would be after the same things and so time is a factor. I need you to get there and safely secure the object before HYDRA get it. Please follow the instructions I’ve given you about handling the object. Whatever you do, don’t touch it with your bare skin. Bring it back to us here,” explained Coulson.

“I looked over the information you’ve sent me and there’s an access point where two individual panels need to be deactivated simultaneously so I’ll need a partner. Definitely not Lance Hunter,” specified Selena firmly.

“We need Bobbi with us for her contacts. Can you work with Trip?” said Melinda.

“Yes, I can work with Trip. I’ll talk to him after this to set it up. Have you told him I’m your sister yet because he already knows that I’ve got unofficial links to SHIELD,” said Selena.

“We told the team everything they needed to know. As you’ll probably be coming here frequently, we’ve told them about you. Koenig has made you an access card for the Playground,” replied Melinda, catching her daughter who had jumped off the couch.

“And Lin, I heard that you’re going with the title of Director May rather than both of you being called Director Coulson. Mama must be proud. I suppose Director May-Coulson is a bit much. Also what happens when you introduce yourselves? Do you tell new people straight off that you’re married? Otherwise, there might be some confusion there. You both have your rings right?” grinned Selena. She enjoyed teasing her generally stoic elder sister and took the opportunity whenever she could. Phil had tuned out after Selena accepted the mission and was occupied in trying to keep the twins from pulling out everything from a chest of drawers.

“Director May works,” answered Melinda shortly then had to attend to CJ who just slammed his finger in the drawer that he was playing with. Selena grinned as she watched the active twins consume their parents’ attention. It was probably a good thing that they had ready access to a group of trustworthy adults to babysit though maybe with the exception of Hunter. Now that the twins were steadily walking, they got into everything quite quickly and were constantly in motion.

“I’ll see you in a few days then, Directors. Bye Pippa! Bye CJ! Try to stay still for Mama and Daddy sometimes okay? I love you very much,” said Selena with a grin, waving and blowing kisses at them cheerfully.

***

“This is what killed Izzy? Why does HYDRA want it? What on earth is it?” asked Selena looking at the dark grey block of some kind of unknown metallic substance. The mission was completed and they had managed to fend off attacking HYDRA agents with only minor injuries to themselves.

“Yes. For no good. It’s not from earth,” answered Trip.

“Oh. Well, Coulson lied about staying away from weird alien tech then. Should’ve known. How do we get back to your base?” said Selena with a huff.

“With this,” said Trip uncloaking the plane they’d walked to.

“Yeah, it’ll do,” grinned Selena.

“Glad you approve, girl,” laughed Trip.

They secured the block then strapped themselves in.

“So how long have you known Director Coulson?” asked Trip, when the plane reached a safe altitude.

“That’s the question you want to start with?” said Selena sceptically.

Trip laughed then said, “There are many questions and I have to start somewhere. We’ve got over two hours for me to interrogate you about the May-Coulson family.”

“You’re not mad that I never told you that I’m Director May’s sister?” asked Selena.

Trip shrugged saying, “We’re spies, I get that family relationships can be complicated and probably hazardous in our line of work. It was none of my business anyway so why would I be mad? The Directors’ family life is still none of my business but I’m human and I have to admit being completely stunned by finding out that May and Coulson are actually married with an adorable pair of twins. There’s no way I’m passing up the chance to find out more about it all, none of us would.”

Selena was about to reply when she felt her watch vibrate and looked at the message which made her immediately turn on a communication channel on her headset, holding up a hand in apology to Trip.

“Commander, what’s going on?” she said. Trip kept silent and concentrated on the flight controls.

“Actually, we’re probably about an hour out by plane. I’ll get Trip to drop me off then he can get back to the base. Are you sure it was an accident?” said Selena.

“Okay, I’ll talk to Trip. He could maybe stay until we find out if they’ve been compromised or it was really just an accident. I’ll see you in about an hour,” said Selena, then ended the call.

“Do I get to know where we’re headed or are you taking over the controls?” asked Trip.

“Sorry Trip, I’m taking over for now. That was Commander Hill. She needs our help urgently. We might be a while. Can you please let base know that we’ll be delayed and make sure that thing is completely secure? Coulson will understand. I’m going to punch it but you could have a rest if you need to,” said Selena.

“Yes, ma’am,” said Trip easily with a grin and a salute. Selena laughed then sighed slightly as she found that their intended detour did not distract Trip from his mission of finding out more about her family.

Chapter Text

“Agent Agent has twin Baby Agents?” was the shocked exclamation coming from the guest kitchen. Pepper sighed as any thoughts of sharing a calm breakfast with her guests flew out the window. Tony Stark was back early from the mission he had been on.

“Wait a minute, you don’t look like you play the cello for a living and how old are you anyway? Didn’t know the stuffy suit had a thing for younger Asian women. At least now I can stop worrying about him hitting on Pepper,” rambled Tony, who was still wide-eyed with shock as Pepper entered the kitchen area. He sounded wired so he had probably just flown back from a successful mission and was riding high on the endorphins from the win. At least he was out of his Iron Man suit though it didn’t look like he’d had a shower yet.

Selena was feeding the twins their breakfast while they were strapped into high chairs. Selena had been trying her best to ignore Tony’s loud and excited monologue but she did take a few seconds to turn to him and shoot him a death glare. Pepper briefly considered just going to the other kitchen for her own breakfast but decided that she needed to be here for Tony’s sake. He was probably in for a few major surprises this morning. Pepper herself was still digesting the information that she’d been told last night.

“Tony, this is Selena May who is one of our media consultants. She, her niece Pippa and nephew CJ are our guests for the next few days,” introduced Pepper smoothly as she walked in and gave Tony a kiss. The twins were adorable but definitely a handful as she watched Selena attempt to keep herself and them clean while she fed them. They were usually allowed to eat by themselves but Selena didn’t want to risk the carnage that would cause to the stylish kitchen in Stark Tower. The twins were usually kitted out in washable long-sleeved art smocks with a large plastic sheet below them when they ate meals by themselves.

“Jarvis, look through the SHIELD records that we retrieved when HYDRA took over and find out about Mrs Agent. How did I not know about her? I’m sure I would’ve noticed a pregnant lady at his funeral, am I right?” said Tony quickly. He scanned the information Jarvis rapidly sent to his personal tablet and predictably whistled in appreciation at the image of Agent Melinda May of SHIELD.

Pepper got a cup of coffee and walked over to say good morning to her adorable guests. She offered to help Selena and took over feeding Pippa as she kept her ears trained on Tony’s running commentary as he absorbed the information. This wasn’t the ideal way for him to find out about Phil Coulson being alive but it was inevitable that it would happen at some point. She gave Selena a smile as Selena said apologetically, “He just walked in and I had no idea he was coming until he was right here.”

“It’s okay. I just didn’t expect him back so early. He was going to find out somehow. I hope you all slept well?” said Pepper.

“Yes, thank you, Pepper. The room is very comfortable. I’m sorry we had to drop in on you like this but we didn’t really have any other options last night. Laura’s parents just didn’t have room for me and the twins. Maria said that we should come here when we found that our own apartments were compromised by a company that was targeting Stark Industries. I’m afraid that I’ve been told that I can’t bring the twins home just yet,” said Selena with a small sigh. Pepper just smiled reassuringly.

“Want Mama and Dada,” said Pippa suddenly.

“Sorry, sweetheart. Not yet but soon okay, baby? Please eat your breakfast and don’t mess up Miss Pepper’s nice suit,” said Selena to her niece.

“He’s alive? How is that even possible?” spluttered Tony loudly on the other side of the kitchen. Selena and Pepper looked at each other, both trying to anticipate what might come next.

“Agent Agent is alive! He’s now the Director of SHIELD? I thought SHIELD was gone. Why didn’t anyone tell me about all this? Pepper, what’s going on here?” asked Tony, his voice rising in bewilderment at the information he was reading.

“Tony, calm down and don’t yell. You don’t want to upset the twins. It’s a good thing that Agent Coulson is alive. You’ve missed him. Now you can actually see him again sometime,” said Pepper soothingly, going over to place a hand on Tony’s arm.

“But why didn’t you tell me earlier?” whined Tony.

“Because Pepper only found out last night when we came here, Stark,” said Maria Hill, striding briskly into the kitchen, making Tony jump a little. Maria smirked.

“Well why didn’t you tell me then? Clearly, you’ve known about all of this for a long time and you work for me now, Hill,” snapped Tony, waving his arms in the general direction of the twins.

“I work for Pepper who is the CEO of Stark Industries, Tony. You appointed her to the job, remember? SHIELD is now underground and so it’s safer for their agents to be below the radar especially the director and his family,” answered Maria.

Tony frowned but took the time to think through all the information that had just been revealed. He decided to go with the fact that he was feeling pleased and grateful to find out that Phil Coulson was alive and he really wanted to meet the twins’ mother. He did want to find out how Coulson had survived Loki’s murderous attempt. Nick Fury probably had something to do with it all because that man always had something up his sleeve. The twins were cute and he could totally pump their aunt for more information while they were his guests, even Pepper couldn’t object to that.

“Wait, do the assassin twins already know about them? Because if not, then we should totally plan a party. A party for Agent Agent being alive. Yes, we should do that. Pepper, when can we do that? Oooo, we can do fireworks! Let’s plan a party. When can we get everyone to come over? Hmm, does anyone know where Thor is?” said Tony excitedly. He was on a roll.

“Tony, yes we can plan a party but you don’t have to do it all right now. Maybe you should go have a shower and a nap before you start planning okay? When was the last time you slept?” prompted Pepper sweetly. She could tell that he was beyond exhausted and headed for a crash when he tumbled from his high.

“Uh what day’s today? Tuesday? I’m not really sure about when I last slept. I was thinking about how I could improve the range of flight on my suit and ….” Tony kept on talking as Pepper nodded at him and steered him gently out of the kitchen.
“Well, Tony was going to find out sooner or later. Do you know what’s going on at the Playground?” said Maria to Selena.

Selena shook her head worriedly. “I know that something’s going on with Skye and their last mission didn’t go according to plan but I don’t why I can’t take the twins back there yet. Most missions don’t go to plan. I hope that they’re okay. Bobbi said that she’ll call me later with more details,” she told Maria.

“Mel said that Skye’s gone through some sort of transformation and is now a powered individual. Apparently, her powers are quite destructive and Skye can’t control them. Your sister wants the twins safely out of the way until Skye can control that power. Right now, the poor girl is terrified of them herself,” explained Maria.

“How on earth are they planning to help her with controlling them?” asked Selena with concern.

Maria pursed her lips and replied with a sigh, “Mel’s gone to ask Andrew Garner for help. He might be able to help Skye manage her powers. They feel that they can trust him.”

“Andrew? Really? I don’t think he knows about CJ and Pippa yet unless Mama’s told him during one of their weekly phone calls. She really likes talking to him. In that case, I guess the twins and I might be here for a while then. We’re going to have to go shopping to get more stuff for them,” said Selena as she wondered how her former brother-in-law would react to the presence of CJ and Pippa.

Chapter Text

“Hunter, man do you have a death wish?” said Mack shaking his head, his solid form appearing between Hunter who was whirling CJ around in circles and the glass railing that was only a step away. They were currently situated on a high balcony at Stark Tower. Mack smoothly plucked the 1-year-old birthday boy from Hunter’s hands and smacked the blonde man’s head to try to knock some sense into him. Hunter winced from the light blow and then Mack imitated the wince as he caught sight of Director May’s eyes in their direction. Mack deftly bounced CJ in his arms to keep the child happy and rapidly stepped away from Lance Hunter because he was a smart man and knew that he did not want to get involved in what would come Hunter’s way. Mack fervently hoped that Hunter’s instincts would encourage him to scarper away now to save his own skin because May certainly did not look happy about what she had just seen him do with her son.

CJ had become used to being carried in one of Mack’s large arms and babbled comfortably to him. Mack was impressed at the actual words that CJ could say but cringed when he said a certain unsuitable word with a British accent. Usually his twin sister, Pippa was also clasped easily in Mack’s other arm. Insisting that his role in SHIELD was only as a mechanic, Mack mostly stayed on-site at the Playground and willingly spent quite a bit of his time babysitting the Coulson twins. The twins had quickly grown quite fond of him and he adored them. Mack always proved that he was trustworthy with the twins even while he was working on projects with Fitz so the twins now spent a lot of time in a playpen in the work room with the two men. It had been easy to fit a large, irregularly shaped play area with some climbing parts that they kept adding to. It kept the twins safe and entertained.

Mack already looked around the venue and he knew that Pippa was in Natasha’s arms as she chatted to Bruce Banner. Pippa was easily spotted in her red overalls and she relished being hugged, kissed and passed along among the adults though she had frequently broken away to find what she wanted and do her own thing. Pippa was having lots of fun making new friends at her first birthday party and checking out whatever caught her fancy. CJ was much better with meeting new people now but still preferred to be with people that he knew. He was surprisingly comfortable being with Hunter much to May’s annoyance. Mack knew that ultimately Hunter was a good guy who would absolutely give his all to protect both the twins and that he definitely had a soft spot for CJ. But being relaxed in a party atmosphere and having had at least a couple of beers had clearly gone to Lance Hunter’s head if he thought he was ever going to get away with swinging CJ over the balcony railing.

“What did he do now?” asked Bobbi approaching Mack as she smiled at CJ when she saw May stride determinedly over to Hunter with a stern expression. They could both see the moment Hunter realised that May was coming for him and he immediately took off. But they both knew that May would catch up to him without any problems.

“He thought it would be a good idea to swing CJ here over the railing. Who knows what goes on in that man’s head?” sighed Mack, gently setting CJ on the floor and keeping a close eye on him. Bobbi rolled her eyes but wasn’t actually that surprised. CJ toddled off towards his father, who greeted him with glee and swung him up into his arms, with a nod to Mack. Mack nodded in reply and accepted the bottle of beer that Bobbi handed him. They both moved to where Fitz and Jemma were sitting and traded comments about their observation of the party around them.

It felt rather surreal for Mack to be here, attending a party thrown by Tony Stark at Stark Tower with his team from SHIELD and the Avengers. It was an incredible way to celebrate the twins’ first birthday. The decorations were impeccable and there was an over-the-top elaborate working fun fair model with all kinds of lit-up, moving rides which housed a selection of cupcakes and different sized cakes as the centrepiece. The rollercoaster model had Pippa’s name emblazoned in tiny lights on the pillars supporting the tracks while CJ’s name was arrayed on the spokes of the Ferris wheel model. The twins and the majority of the adults present were in awe of the whole fantastic arrangement. Mack wanted another chance at scrutinizing the intricate display. The rest of the food was delicious. It was the fanciest party that Mack had ever attended and it was for twins who were only a year old.

Mack had been as excited as the rest of his team to meet the Avengers who all had their own eccentricities but were not as intimidating as he’d expected. Tony Stark was loud but friendly and welcoming, not at all like his publicly brash and obnoxious persona. Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner were both mild mannered and very polite. Thor had appeared late with a loud crash and given Director Coulson a bone crushing hug. Mack noted with amusement the admiring looks from his female team members including Director May at the blonde and buff god. Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov were quite reserved but they both carried themselves with a distinctly stealthy grace and he knew that they missed nothing. Along with Commander Maria Hill, the pair of assassins seemed to be quite close to the Directors. It would make sense since as Strike Team Delta, they had been a legendary part of old SHIELD. Pepper Potts was a beautifully elegant and very gracious hostess. Mack figured that she was the one who had actually organized this party.

Mack was glad that they had managed to have a small celebration for the twins yesterday at the Playground with some balloons and chocolate cake. This was a great party but it was rather too grand for his tastes. The twins had enjoyed smashing the cake more than eating it. They had taken some great photos of the spectacle which had eventually evolved into a food fight that included both Director Coulson and May. Mack was very proud of the fact that he had managed to get a picture of Director May smiling with her family.

Trip and Skye came out to join the group and gleefully related watching May corner Lance Hunter. Skye had done her best to figure out what they were talking about and had garnered unexpected assistance with lip reading from Clint Barton, who had sidled up next to her. When Hunter eventually managed to get away from the irate Director May, he backed into Natasha Romanov who had somehow picked up that Hunter had been misbehaving. Whatever the Black Widow had whispered into his ear, it had made Hunter bolt away from her like a shot.

Bobbi laughed then sighed and decided that she needed to go find her ex-husband to make sure that he wasn’t going to do anything stupid. He did deserve to enjoy the party too but he seemed to need some help to be kept in line. He hadn’t meant any harm by his antics. Lance had just been unthinkingly impulsive as usual. Bobbi knew that May and Romanov understood that about him otherwise he wouldn’t have survived. They just wanted to be sure that he was more careful when dealing with the twins from now on.

Mack moved over to the fascinating cake display and realised that the miniature stands had working parts. The whole thing was quite interactive and it was a pity that the twins were too young to fully appreciate it all even though it was created for them. Mack murmured appreciatively as he admired all the workmanship that had gone into creating the tiny details.

“Hey, Mack. What do you think? Tony did an amazing job with all of this didn’t he?” smiled Selena, coming over to look at the display with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts in tow. Mack found himself drawn into conversation about the display and enthusiastically discussing upgrades that could be added to it with Tony Stark. Soon others drifted over to chat around the fabulous display and then it was time for the cake cutting.

Mack was glad to see that Hunter was back at the party with Bobbi by his side, acknowledging his friend with a nod. Everyone enjoyed watching and commenting as the twins made a mess of the cake cutting with their parents. There were a lot of people taking pictures and Mack suspected that Tony was also taking a video of the cute scene. Life was pretty good right now. He glanced at his watch, knowing that they had to get to a mission later, at night. For now, Mack took a sip of his drink and cheered as Coulson fed his wife cake then pulled her in for a kiss while the twins smeared cake over each other again.

Chapter Text

“How in the bloody hell is chasing after 18-month-old twins more exhausting than army training?” groaned Lance Hunter, flopping down onto the floor. Selena just snorted and threw him a bottle of cold water.

“You’re joking! We must have some beer in here somewhere?” moaned Hunter looking at the bottle he held in despair.

“They’re only down for an afternoon nap. You can wait till dinner,” said Selena. Hunter groaned dramatically at her reply. He wasn’t sure that he was going to be able to cope with much more without even the solace of some beer. He wondered how the rest of team were doing while he was stuck on babysitting duty and admitted to himself that he missed Bobbi.

Selena just ignored his muttering as she checked multiple electronic devices for any new communication from her sister or any of the team at SHIELD. It had been three days since she and Hunter spirited the twins to a remote highland location, easily posing as a family on holiday. Skye had contacted her out of the blue in desperation and said that she needed to take the twins away somewhere safe. There was a jumbled explanation from Skye about finding her real parents, Grant Ward coming after them for revenge and some kind of power struggle within SHIELD. Hunter was the person entrusted with getting Pippa and CJ away. He had picked Selena up in a vehicle that was loaded by someone who knew what the twins needed. Selena was trying to convince herself that she didn’t need to be worried as her sister and the rest of the team were more than capable of fending for themselves but she was starting to wonder if it was about time to reach out to Maria Hill or Natasha Romanov for some help. Not having any intel at all about what was happening was starting to make her mind consider a lot of terrifying scenarios.

“Hunter, have you heard anything from Bobbi or anyone else yet?” asked Selena after she had carefully checked all her usual lines of communication. She had to admit that she was worried.

“Just that single text from Bobbi I told you about the day before,” sighed Hunter.

“What is going on? Is there any other way that they’d contact us?” asked Selena in frustration.

“Hey, hey. I’m sure your sister and Coulson are fine. The rest of the team too. They’re all smart people. There’s probably just a lot going on where they are. We just need to keep the munchkins safe,” said Hunter, trying to reassure Selena. Yet he didn’t sound very convincing even to himself. Hunter wasn’t sure what else he could say. As a soldier, he was used to following orders and being in on the action. Never in a million years had he ever pictured himself being tasked with babysitting children.

“It’s already been three days! Lin doesn’t cope well without seeing Pippa and CJ for even a single day. She must be going crazy. The twins are used to actually seeing one or both their parents most days now even if it’s only via a video feed and it’s getting harder to console them. Pippa and CJ really need them now,” ranted Selena.

“Uh, Selena, on the news,” said Hunter with wide eyes as Senator Ward came on the screen. He increased the volume as they both tuned in to the news report about SHIELD forces attacking international leaders and Senator Ward’s condemnation of them. Selena was furiously digging into more sources online as they watched the news unfold. There was no way those were real SHIELD agents. She was relieved that she couldn’t actually recognize anyone from the clips played on the media but they were both increasingly agitated as Senator Ward’s vitriolic speech continued.

Suddenly, the perimeter alarm sounded. They were situated in a small, remote cottage on a hill and they did not have any nearby neighbours. The people in this village liked their own space. The people that they trusted would surely have known to give them notice before approaching the cottage. Selena and Hunter glanced at each other and Hunter slipped down, staying low out of sight of the main door but guarding the room where the twins were sleeping in.
Selena quickly grabbed an ICER, checked it and strapped the holster on as she moved to the front door. She checked the security video feeds on her tablet and looked at the person knocking on the door. Selena blinked and gave Hunter a puzzled look but conveyed to him that she was going to open the door though she wasn’t exactly sure about this person. Hunter would follow her lead but tightened his grip on the gun.

“Dr Garner? What brings you out here?” asked Selena cautiously, slipping out quickly and closing the door behind her. Hunter cursed quietly when she did that and watched the video feed using his phone. He recognized Dr Andrew Garner but didn’t fully trust him. After all, he barely knew the man and Hunter had never been able to trust anyone easily anyway.

Andrew Garner had both his hands held up as he replied, “Selena, it’s been a while but you can still call me Drew, please. Mel sent me here because Grant Ward is after me to get to her. He tried to kill me. It’s still not safe for you guys to go back but she told me to say that we should probably head to your mother’s soon to avoid being found.”

Selena silently walked over and scanned the man who used to be her brother-in-law for any dangerous items. He seemed to be clean. Hunter tried to curb his instincts to jump and down to protest against trusting the man. He really didn’t have enough information to judge and he would have to rely on Selena to decide.

“What was the colour of the jasper pendant that you gave me when you guys got back from your elopement?” queried Selena.

Andrew blinked and said, “It was a white moonstone pendant.”

“What day of the week and what season was it when you walked out on Mel?” asked Selena.

Andrew closed his eyes, his demeanour indicating his emotional pain at the question and answered softly, “It was a Monday at the beginning of summer.”

Selena sighed, took hold of his arm and tugged him firmly through the door. Hunter was standing inside, waiting and immediately directed his gun at Andrew Garner as they entered. Selena let go of his arm and went to stand by Hunter.

“You can sit down if you like, Drew. But we’ll need you to tell us more and Hunter gets to decide when he feels comfortable enough to put down his gun,” stated Selena.

“I’ll stand for now, thanks. What else do you need to know?” said Andrew warily, keeping his hands raised as he faced them both. This was going to take some time but they had to be sure. There was no way that they were risking the safety of the twins.

Chapter Text

He still couldn’t believe that he had chopped off his boss’ hand with an axe. The fight with the fast-moving Inhuman named Gordon, had been brutal. Coulson had acted instantly on his instinct to avoid anyone else being killed by the terrigen crystal breaking. He had been completely willing to sacrifice his own life for his teammates. Mack had simply reacted with his own instincts and his quick movements had saved the man’s life but still, Mack now had trouble believing that he could have done such a thing. He took a deep breath as he reflected again on his actions and realized that he had no other choice. Fitz had reiterated this fact to him repeatedly and loudly while they were being transported back to the Playground.

Mack told himself again that Pippa and CJ would get to come back and see their father alive. Phil Coulson would get to see his children grow up even though he was missing one hand. Fitz was already hard at work with designing a prosthetic hand for the Director. Fitz said that it was going to be so much better than his original hand. Mack had definitely done the right thing. Director May found him when she got back and thanked him softly before limping away to see her husband in the medical unit.

Mack wasn’t sure that he was clear yet on all the other events that had happened on the Illiad. He had initially been consumed by achieving a single aim and then had immediately taken charge of getting Director Coulson to safety after severing his hand. There was no point letting the man bleed to death after what had been done to save him. The axe had been sharp and precise which had worked in their favour. Fitz had fashioned a torniquet and applied SHIELD’s special fast acting coagulant to instantly stop the bleeding. Mack had run, carrying Coulson directly to their medical team to be treated with Fitz doing his best to provide cover.

They had all made it off that boat. Everyone that Mack cared about was mostly intact. Something terrible had happened to Daisy. He gathered that her biological mother was dead somehow. Jia Ying had used and manipulated her own daughter to achieve her own Inhuman agenda. But Daisy was such an incredibly loving and caring person, Mack knew that she would still grieve for the woman who had given birth to her. It probably didn’t matter what Jia Ying had done. Daisy would be devastated and she was being treated in the medical unit as well. Apparently her father, Cal had saved Daisy’s life. After all the chaos that he had engineered, when it came down to the crunch, Cal had proved that he really loved and wanted the best for his daughter.

Mack walked slowly to the medical unit, feeling the huge weight on his broad shoulders. His body ached and he was beyond exhausted but he had to talk to Director Coulson before he could rest. He wasn’t sure if he needed to apologize but that was what he felt like doing. There were agents running all around the Playground, dealing with the fallout of everything that had happened. There was more work to be done and he knew that he needed some rest before he got back to it all but he had to see Coulson first.

When Mack reached the bustling medical unit, Lincoln pointed him in the right direction and hurried away. There were a lot of wounded people needing his help. Mack headed to the side room that Director Coulson was being kept in for observation. He was surprised to see the empty chair beside Coulson’s bed then his eyes caught sight of the shape tucked closely into the right side of Coulson’s body on the bed.

Mack looked at Coulon’s face and found the Director looking at him with a small and tired smile. His right arm was wrapped around his wife who was sleeping, pressed tightly into his side. She instinctively jerked as Mack approached but Coulson simply stroked her arm and pressed a kiss to the top of her head to reassure her that they were safe.

Coulson looked at the chair and nodded to Mack, saying softly, “Have a seat, Mack.” Saying his name aloud was for Melinda’s benefit. He felt her body relax into his again.

“Sir, I’m sorry I cut off your hand,” said Mack awkwardly. He just needed to say something.

“Mack, I’m alive. There is no need at all for you to apologize. You did the right thing. Trust me and if you don’t Director May will repeat this fact for you as much as you like after she catches up on some much-needed sleep,” he whispered back. He knew that Melinda was awake and listening because she was a very light sleeper. Mack may not be able to tell because she was an expert at faking being asleep. But she wouldn’t leave his side since she had returned and in all honesty they needed each other close right now.

“I’m glad you’re doing okay, sir,” said Mack, still with downcast eyes.

“Mack, my family and I are all very grateful for what you did. There was no other choice, we all know that. We’ll get through this. As my wife tells me, that hand can be replaced but getting me to come back from the dead again would be a whole other level of pain that she cannot deal with again. So thank you for doing what you did for me and sparing them that pain,” said Coulson.

Mack finally looked up and at him. Coulson gave him another tired smile but his eyes only held a sense of gratitude and relief.

“Now I think you really need to go and get some rest, please. Director May would like you to accompany her to collect our children in the morning. Hunter and Dr Garner will be coming back with them. We’ve already contacted Selena but I’ve been firmly told that I’m going to be stuck in here for the foreseeable future,” sighed Coulson.

“Yes, Sir,” said Mack with a smile, getting up from his chair.

Chapter Text

Director Coulson looked up with a smile at the man who entered his office. Dr Andrew Garner looked mildly startled but smiled back at the unexpected sight of little Pippa asleep on Coulson’s chest, anchored securely to her father by a black fabric sling as he sat at his desk catching up on paperwork.

“Both CJ and Pippa have been having some separation anxiety issues since they got back. CJ will not let go of Lin and Pippa needs one of us in close range at all times so this is how we’re going with the flow for now,” confided Coulson.

“Feel free to pour yourself a drink, Andrew. Don’t worry, it’s a decent grade of whiskey,” invited Coulson, gesturing to the decanter of whiskey and glasses displayed on a high shelf in a cupboard.

“Thanks, I will. Can we actually talk while she’s napping on you?” asked Andrew softly, helping himself to a tumbler of whiskey. Coulson refused the offer of one for himself.

“It’s fine. She’s comfortable as long as I don’t suddenly move and startle her. We can just keep our voices down. Thank you for being our messenger to Selena and Hunter. We were having a bit of difficulty with finding someone that we could trust at that point and I heard that Lance gave you a bit of a hard time when you got there but you handled it,” said Coulson.

“Selena did her fair share with that part of it and she was better at it too. She’s very protective of her niece and nephew. I must admit that I had no idea what I was walking into when I got there. I owe you a couple of belated congratulatory wishes, Phil. For your wedding and the birth of your twins. Now I know why Lian was always a bit vague when it came to talking about how Melinda was doing. I thought it was just because everything she did was classified though that was probably the truth as well,” said Andrew, taking a seat on the other side of the desk with his drink.

“Thank you for the well wishes, Drew. I’m very sorry that you had to find out that way but we needed to quickly get you out of Ward’s reach when he decided to focus on you as a target to get back at Melinda. Then there was everything that was happening with Gonzalez’s company and Jia Ying’s Inhuman group. Melinda said that she was sure you had the skills to be able to get to Selena’s hidden location. I’m glad you were able to get there and stay safe with them,” responded Phil while gently rubbing Pippa’s back soothingly with his intact hand.

“How are you doing, Phil? And how are your people who were injured?” asked Andrew with a nod to Coulson’s new prosthetic hand.

“I’m still getting used to the feel of having it on and using it. I do miss my real hand and I’ll admit to having some pain issues. But Fitz is constantly working to upgrade it and there are some really fun perks that come with this gadget. I really can’t complain.

It will take time but I’ve been told that Agent Morse will make a full recovery. As far as I can tell Agent Johnson is starting to bounce back and the rest will be okay too. We are still gathering our information in regards to the disaster with the spill of the terrigen crystals and how to manage that. It would be incredibly nice to be able to take a break but Ward is also still on the loose which means that Hydra is a threat that we need to urgently contain,” sighed Coulson.

“There will always be work that needs to be done. You and I both know that. But you’re their leader now and you need to take the time for yourself to make sure that you can perform your duties effectively,” reminded Andrew.

“Co-director, Andrew. That’s a very important distinction. My co-director does a pretty good job of making sure that I’m taking care of myself. Honestly, Andrew all things considered, I’m actually doing pretty well. I’m grateful to be alive and I have my beautiful family with me. There is really nothing else that I want or need for my well-being. Thank you for checking in on me, though.

We could definitely continue to utilise your professional expertise on the base for a number of our agents who will likely need someone to talk to if you’re agreeable to take up the role? It would be helpful for Skye, nope Daisy. She’s going by Daisy now,” said Coulson, with a slight frown at forgetting Skye’s name change again.

“I do have a job to get back to at the university, you know. But I take your point and I understand from a security perspective why you’re asking me to do this. But I do want to know how you and Melinda feel about me being around more and working regularly with SHIELD?” said Andrew.

“Melinda thinks that it would be a good idea to keep you on a retainer with SHIELD and have you come back to conduct sessions two or three days a week, depending on the demand. We’ve talked about it. Skye, ugh, I mean Daisy could really use your help to work through the recent events and Bobbi will definitely need help dealing with all her trauma. We’re trying to do better as an organisation this time with caring for our people and their overall wellbeing. We’ve both known you for a long time, Andrew and we think that you’ll be able to do a great job in this role. If you don’t have a problem with answering to Melinda and myself as directors, I can safely say that we’d welcome your help here. I can speak for Lin though you can talk to her directly too. We can email you the details of it all but here’s a paper copy,” explained Coulson, passing it over.

Andrew took the file but didn’t immediately start reading. He held his drink in his other hand and looked at Coulson thoughtfully.

“Right. Phil, then here’s the thing. I’m going to need some time to adjust to the current situation with you and your little family. It’s a little tough for me at the moment. I just need to process everything, I think. Melinda and I have been over for years and I really am happy for you guys but I think you know that we were planning to have kids before..,” Andrew’s voice trailed off.

“Before Bahrain,” sighed Phil.

“We were happy together then and it all fell apart. I left and clearly you didn’t and now here we are,” said Andrew sadly.

“I’m really sorry, Andrew. I didn’t think about how all of this would affect you considering your history with Lin. It must be strange and probably a little difficult for you with everything we’ve thrown at you. I can understand if you don’t want to keep working with us,” said Phil.

“Can I have some time to think it over? I’ll let you know my answer in a couple of weeks. I am happy for the both of you. Pippa and CJ are amazing kids. It was just never meant to be for Melinda and I. We did have some good years together,” said Andrew with a nostalgic smile.

“Being with you was really good for Lin. It was everything that she’d wanted and she got to live part of her life away from SHIELD. She’s doing okay now but our lives are completely immersed in SHIELD. It’s not quite the way she’d planned it when she had kids, she wanted to be able to be able bring them up away from the chaos. I never thought I’d have any children because my whole life is with SHIELD. The twins weren’t exactly something we’d planned for but that’s another story,” said Phil.

“Life, huh? It seems like you’re having quite the wild ride. I suppose I’ve only heard about a fraction of it all. I think that I’ll probably take the role for a couple of days a week. But for now, I need to get home and get back to some semblance of normality,” said Andrew.

“Yeah, about that,” said Phil with a wince.

“Do whatever you need to but don’t tell me about it. I get that you’ll have some security measures in place for me until you can neutralize the threat,” said Andrew in resignation with a slight shake of his head.

“Deal. It’s been good to be able to talk to you, Andrew. Just let one of us know when you’re ready to leave,” said Phil, slowly standing up and shaking Andrew’s hand.

“Why do you think that I’m not leaving the base straight after this talk?” asked Andrew, as he turned to leave the room.

“She’s supervising the repairs to the plane,” replied Phil with a smile as he carefully sat back down to continue with his work.

Chapter Text

Melinda kept a close eye on her two children who were running around her father’s back yard with their own set of toy golf clubs. She had protested that they could share a single set of clubs but her father had insisted on a set for each child. William had a simple mini golf course set up for them and they were gleefully entertained. They were also surprisingly competitive when they were actually paying attention. Both were doing their best to hit the ball and aim for the hole when it occurred to them to do so. As the twins were not yet two years of age, their focus on getting a ball into a hole was tenuous at best. They were mostly examining the course and running around checking out whatever caught their fancy. It was a beautiful sunny day and there were plenty of plants, birds, insects and inanimate objects scattered about to occupy them.

William was thoroughly delighted. He could only watch and verbally guide his energetic grandchildren as he had just had a hip replacement a few days ago but it was wonderful to know that they were enjoying their visit. They had been staying with him since his discharge from the hospital a week ago. He sat at the garden table with a pot of tea that he was sharing with his daughter. He was currently quite comfortable considering his recent surgery and he relished having his family with him. He thought that his daughter looked tired and wondered why his son-in-law was not with them this time. It would have been good to have Phil come along to stay though Melinda seemed to cope fine by herself with caring for the pair of rambunctious twins.

Pippa liked darting about, examining parts of plants then chasing after moving insects or birds. She would happily sing or chatter as she moved. CJ would stay still for longer periods while he observed the parts of nature around him. He looked very serious at times. They also played together and CJ was quite vocal when he spoke to his sister though it wasn’t always very clear what he was saying. The two always understood each other perfectly even if others around them didn’t. Melinda was glad that they had each other but mused that they could probably get up to a lot of mischief when they put their mind to it. It might be fun to eventually rope them in to play pranks on Phil and the rest of the team when they were a bit older.

“Is Phil coming soon?” William asked his daughter.

“Maybe next week. It all depends on how the missions are going. In a way it’s all quite new and there’s a lot to do,” replied Melinda.

“But surely he needs to spend time with his family too. That must be a priority for him even though he’s busy with his job,” said William with a hint of disapproval.

“Baba, we talk to him several times a day and do at least one call by video. Mama’s job took her away from home quite a lot when I was young too. At this point the twins are still young and easily distracted. The aim is to get the agency more stable and to take the time to tackle all the harder challenges now so that he can be around when the children are older and will notice his absences more. Also then we can take turns with staying with them,” explained Melinda.

“You know what I thought about your mother’s long absences due to her workload. I want my grandchildren to grow up with both their parents as much as possible when they have them. Who knows what will happen in your line of work,” chided William.

“We are both very careful and good at what we do. We plan to be around for a long time to raise CJ and Pippa. You must know that they are our priority. Phil is dedicated to his job but he loves them very much. You know that we can’t say much but you must believe that what we are doing is very important and worth the sacrifices that we must make,” said Melinda seriously.
William sighed but nodded. “It will be good to see him if he comes,” he tells his daughter.

Just then the doorbell rings. Melinda quickly reaches for the tablet and checks the security feed. She smiles at the sight and goes to the door without enlightening her father on who it is she will be greeting. William is curious but waits patiently. He sits up straighter in his chair when he hears one of the female voices greeting Melinda.

“Hello, Lian,” he greets his ex-wife as she steps out into the garden. She greets him in the same formal tone of voice then heads for the twins.

Maria Hill is prudently several steps behind to allow the couple their private greeting. William has known her for a long time too due to her association with Lian and Melinda. Their greeting is warmer and then there is a flurry of squeals as Pippa runs to greet Maria fondly.

It is a little while before Melinda and Phil emerge from the house some drinks and cookies on a tray. Melinda carries the tray because as expected CJ and Pippa rush over to greet their father enthusiastically. The adults present politely hide their smirks at the fact that the couple are a little flushed, Melinda’s hair is a little mussed and Phil’s tie is crooked.

There are things that need to be dealt with, there always are. But for now, everyone is enjoying the warm sunshine and showering the twins with attention. William May is pleased to have his daughter’s family around and enjoying their time together. He still wishes that Melinda and Phil would quit being spies but he knows that you have to take life as it comes. After all, he himself married a spy.

Chapter Text

“I must admit that I did not expect your parents to end up sharing a bed for the night even though it is rather tight on space here,” mused Phil as he got into the bed. His wife simply gave a slight huff in reply as she slid in beside him. She was definitely not going to speculate on the current state of her parents’ relationship.

“So Daisy tells me that you’ve been flirting with the head of the ATCU. She calls her the dragon lady,” said Melinda casually as Phil was turning the bedside lamp off on his side.

Phil swung his head round to stare at her with comically wide eyes while his mouth gaped open and closed several times. Melinda waited with slightly downcast eyes dancing with mirth as she enjoyed the sight of her hapless husband struggling to form words. She was absolutely confident that her husband would never be unfaithful to her but it was rather entertaining when he was such an easy target.

“I was using my skills to the best of my abilities to gain a tactical advantage,” he stammered out defensively, flushing. His wife held still beside him for what seemed like a ridiculously long while to Phil then her slim form started to shake. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief when he realised that she was in fact laughing at him. After a few seconds to allow his rapidly beating heart to calm down, Phil turned and pounced on his mischievous, giggling wife. He enjoyed her playful side and he had to admit that she had timed it perfectly.
***
“Go. You both need some time away alone. They will be fine, QiaoLian. Maria will stay here and help us as she needs some time off from dealing with Stark,” said Lian firmly meeting her daughter’s stare in the kitchen. They were preparing breakfast for everyone and Melinda voiced her uncertainty about Phil’s plan for them to go away for four nights. They had already spent so much time away from the twins in their short lives and she was reluctant do so for what felt like a selfish treat.

“They are toddlers and four nights won’t hurt them at all because they’re easily distracted and easy to care for. They’re quite used to talking to you by video feed. I told Phil that he should have made it a week. They’ll be harder to manage when they get older and are more aware about you both being away and what that can mean. As parents in your position, you’ll have to make hard decisions to make sure that their wellbeing is the priority,” said Lian, as she deftly shaped the breakfast dumplings.

Melinda knew that her mother was right but she still felt bad about going though she knew that they did need some time off by themselves. She probably wouldn’t have agreed to going away for a whole week without her children and her husband knew that. When she thought about it properly, they really hadn’t had any time to themselves since before Phil died. She couldn’t suppress the mild shudder that automatically came with the thought of his death. They had been constantly busy since he came back and they always made sure that they had Pippa and CJ with them as much as possible.

“Stop worrying because you know that I’m right. Lena will come to at least eat some bao and dumplings. Natasha and the Bartons might drop by for a visit as well. Philippa and Carter will have a great time. You know your father will make a good effort to spoil them even more while you’re away,” Lian reassured her daughter. She understood why it was hard for Melinda to accept that her children would be fine. When Lian had been young, she frequently felt very guilty when she left her little daughter but had not been as aware of the damage it did to her relationship with her husband. Their marriage had deteriorated by the time Melinda was a teenager though William had been happy to adopt Selena and care for her too. That was all in the past now but she hoped that Melinda and Phil’s marriage would be better than her own and that her cherished grandchildren would always have a stable, loving family.

“Are you sure that you really want to spend your time off babysitting our twins and keeping the peace here?” Phil asked Maria.

“It will be a walk in the park in comparison to how I usually spend my days. I’m not the kind to just sit around and relax by a pool with a cocktail in my hand. Pepper offered to let me use anything that the company had but I didn’t feel like any of it. I love spending time with Pippa and CJ. Lian and William will make sure that I’m fed well. It’ll be a treat,” asserted Maria.

“Thank you, Maria. I can’t remember the last time we got away by ourselves for over a day,” said Phil with a grateful smile.

Maria gave a delicate snort and shook her head at him. She told him, “That’s because you probably haven’t actually done so since before the twins were born for various reasons.”

“You’re right, of course. Maria, I don’t know if I’ve said this before but thank you for everything that you’ve done for us. For being there for Melinda and our children when I wasn’t. I’m so glad she had everyone looking out for her. I never had a sister but you’re as close as I’ll ever get to having one,” said Phil. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and went to whisk his wife away. His plan would never have worked without Maria and Lian’s backing. He also felt guilty about not bringing the twins with them but he had realized that they really needed some time alone together. His memories of their marriage were still not fully restored and might never be. Their work together was seamless and they loved each other but they never had any time to just be together as themselves. They really needed that.

Phil had called Maria for help to ensure that he could take Melinda away for a short holiday without having to worry about their work at SHIELD at all. That was much harder than it sounded with everything that was happening in the world and took some time to plan. Natasha and Selena had been roped in as back up if needed while they were away. Pepper had kindly loaned them a fast private jet to facilitate their travel to Dublin. Phil had considered taking Melinda to Tahiti because he had planned so previously but the ladies helping him had as one vetoed the idea vehemently. It was all still too raw for Melinda and they all listed reasons why anywhere else would be so much better. At some point the couple knew that they would need to talk about what had happened when he died but the time had not yet come. Phil was reminded that he had inadvertently caused a lot of hurt and missed so much. But he remained extremely grateful that Melinda hadn’t been on that helicarrier when he confronted Loki because she had been pregnant with the twins and they were kept safe. He had no regrets about that.

Chapter Text

“Hive’s controlling Selena,” gasped out Daisy as they rushed her into med bay with Lincoln beside her. Joey was also hurt and taken in for medical treatment. Mack heard her words and gulped, though it all made sense now. Selena May had some kind of Inhuman power because somewhere along the line she had gone through terrigenesis, more likely than not while on a SHIELD sanctioned mission. He wasn’t sure if Selena had told anyone at all about her powers. Selena had been adamant that she remain as a free-lance agent and she frequently worked alone even though she was mainly affiliated with SHIELD these days. Selena had been sent undercover to befriend Stephanie Malick and try to get as much information as she could about her father, Gideon Malick who had taken over HYDRA and brought Hive to earth. It was possible that she had been under Hive’s control for a lot longer than anyone had realized. Elena stayed beside Mack as he hurried off to the Director’s office.

Mack barrelled into the office and blurted out Daisy’s exact words, “Hive’s controlling Selena.”
Then he looked up to see the look of utter shock and disbelief on Coulson’s face. Mack was momentarily grateful that May was not in the room for his abrupt revelation about her sister but she would find out sooner or later and he didn’t stop to wonder why May wasn’t there.

“Sir, Daisy and some of the team were hurt but are in med bay now. They encountered Lash somehow but we didn’t lose anyone,” Mack winced as he realized what he’d said. They’d lost Selena who SHIELD considered as one of their own. It was a complete disaster.

“Hive’s a monster and we can’t risk ourselves falling under his control. Lash fought him which stopped him from getting to us when we were there and we managed to get away,” hissed Elena fiercely.

“Director?” prompted Mack as he took in Elena’s words. He felt horrible doing it but they had no time to waste.

“Get a team together. Non-powered people only to go up against Hive and I’ll call for reinforcements because we need more back-up. If he knows everything Selena knows then…,” Coulson dared not even finish the thought as he quickly started sending messages and codes out.

“I’m so sorry, Sir,” said Mack but Elena was already dragging him out the door. They needed to get their team together.

Elena had already activated the emergency alarm to get all personnel down to the main briefing hall at the Playgound. She suddenly turned back and asked Coulson, “Where is Director May?”

“Melinda isn’t feeling well and she was resting but I’m sure that she’s up now and heading to the main hall. Elena, I need you to take care of her and our twins please. That will be your main priority from now on. You do what needs to be done to keep them safe at any cost, okay?” said Coulson and felt some reassurance when he saw Elena’s quick nod then she was gone. Coulson kept on working as fast as he could to communicate with everyone that he needed to.

Elena and Mack explained what was going on to all the agents that gathered and they started planning. Bobbi and Mack took the lead. Elena watched out for Director May and realized that she looked pale and quite unwell. To Elena’s knowledge, May had not sustained any recent major injuries. May kept up a stoic expression when she heard the news about her sister but Elena noticed that she took a seat rather than stay standing which was an extremely unusual move for the director. Elena resolved to find out what was going on with May and stay by her side. Then she remembered that she had seen the three-year-old twins on site today and rushed off to check on them. Elena confirmed for herself that the twins were safe and well with Billy in his office. Billy had a single headphone in one ear to keep up with what was happening in the main area of the base.

Elena got back and positioned herself by May who had moved to the front and was in the thick of planning with Mack and Bobbi. Coulson came down after a while and Elene noticed that he moved to stand next to his wife and subtly place a supportive arm around her. The curious thing was that Director May let him and even leaned slightly into him. It could be that May was now more secure with their position as co-directors in the agency but it had been about two years and Elena had never seen May like this even when she was severely hurt. Elena’s instincts told her that there was something else was going on with May and Coulson. She glanced at the couple and noticed how May wrapped her arms around her middle in a protective manner as they talked about a plan of attack. May wasn’t going to be the one to lead the team in this time, Coulson was.

Everyone was busily working with a myriad of things happening so no one else but Elena noticed when May suddenly went even more pale and Coulson immediately tightened his hold on her in response. Elena decided to act and put a hand on May’s elbow, catching her eye. May slipped a hand over her mouth and Elena thought that she looked like she was about to throw up so Elena quickly grabbed a nearby trashcan and passed it to her. Coulson just patted Melinda on the back and looked gratefully at Elena as May vomited. When she could eventually start to move, Elena led May to the nearest bathroom where she waited patiently as the director threw up several more times. Elena left her for a few seconds to quickly grab a bottle of cold water and a towel for May.

May washed her face and rinsed out her mouth gingerly. Elena passed her the towel then the bottle of water. The bathroom was empty and still in stark contrast to the bustle outside. May finished then gently lowered herself onto the cool tiled floor in the corner, resting her head against the tiles. Elena sat down next to May without touching her and hugged her bent knees.

“We’ll get her back, Director. Selena will be with you when this baby arrives,” said Elena softly to the exhausted woman. May turned slightly and gave her a tiny smile.

“Thank you, Elena,” whispered May.

“We need to make sure that you, your baby, CJ and Pippa are kept safe. Coulson’s assigned me to help you on this. Do you guys have a plan?” asked Elena.

May closed her eyes tiredly. She was definitely not in any shape to do battle and the pounding in her head was insurmountable. Tactically she acknowledged that she would only be a burden and they had to prioritise the well-being of their twins. She needed Elena to help her get the twins to safety. She forced herself to shove down her terror in regards to Selena being under the control of Hive and thought hard. Phil would need Maria and maybe the Avengers to help with this.

“We’ll go to my mother. She can come with us,” she told Elena.

“Won’t Selena already know where to find you?” asked Elena.

“I have no idea how many safe houses my mother has access to. I don’t think anyone does. We should go now and Phil can’t know where we’re going,” said May but she didn’t move from her position.

Elena looked at her then decided to get Director Coulson. They should at least be able to say goodbye because they had no idea what would happen next.

Chapter Text

A month ago
The irony was that Selena’s exposure to the terrigen crystal happened through a social gathering organised by the residents’ association at her apartment building rather than while on a mission for SHIELD. She had been extremely careful with what she chose to eat since the crystals had been dumped into the ocean and scrupulously avoided any form of seafood. She had a nice time at the party, chatted with some of her neighbours and took home a cute box of sample sized snack treats handed out as a door gift.

Selena realized that one of the snacks must have been contaminated somehow when she broke out of the dark grey casing and collapsed on the tiled floor in her kitchen. She cursed herself for dropping her guard knowing for certain that was the only food stuff she hadn’t carefully vetted before consuming. Now she was an Inhuman and she frantically felt all over herself to check for any discernible physical changes. She didn’t feel much different as she crawled over to the bathroom and pulled herself up to look in the mirror. She was coated with grey dust but she looked like herself. There was nothing obvious that marked her. Selena allowed herself a tiny hope that maybe it hadn’t change her that much. At least she was still alive.

At that thought, her eyes widened as she knew that everyone who went to the party would have received a treat box. Anyone who had eaten the snack would either be dead or an Inhuman by now and this kind of news travelled fast. She needed to leave her apartment immediately and find some place safe to figure things out for herself. She brushed off as much dust as she could and changed hastily. She grabbed the bag that she always kept ready and activated her emergency protocols. Selena cleaned up as much of the grey casing as she could tossing some fragments into her compost bin and bagging the larger shards to take with her. Then she spilled pantry ingredients all over the kitchen and quickly caused as much chaos as she could throughout the apartment. She heard large vehicles pulling up and peeped out a window.

That looked like the ATCU team rather than SHIELD even though Selena didn’t want to see either agency at the moment. SHIELD’s tactics would be easier for her to predict. They wouldn’t be far behind though so she had to go now. She ran down the fire escape staircase and instinctively jumped over the rail when she saw a door opening on the landing below her. Selena didn’t stop to question how she made a safe landing from the third floor to the basement level. She just kept running and sped away on her motorcycle, calculating that they would not waste resources on chasing her too hard when there was a whole apartment building to secure. She was tailed by a black SUV for several blocks but she had a reasonable head start and was trained by the best to evade capture. She lost the SUV easily and then circled back cautiously to where she kept a non-descript small sedan parked. She changed vehicles, pulled on the blonde wig she kept in the car and got rid of her leather jacket. Selena drove the car sedately away from the area looking poised and relaxed in her cream suit while her heart pounded painfully in her chest.

After driving for a couple of hours, Selena decided to hide in plain sight and got on a plane for Las Vegas. She threw away the wig in the restroom and put her whole being into channelling a mainland Chinese tourist. She found a large group of Chinese tourists at the airport when she landed and simply joined them. No one bothered to question her presence and she rode the bus with them to their hotel. She continued to move with the group and checked into the same hotel. She noted that there were other groups of tourists staying there as well which suited her perfectly.

When she made it into her room, Selena slumped into a comfortable armchair. Selena wanted to scream or break something to vent her emotions but she was careful. While on the flight, she thought about how she fled the apartment building and she knew that she had gained Inhuman powers. There was no way that she should have been able to keep going the way she had after that jump. She tried to surreptitiously test her powers on the trip but had been too worried about being observed.

Now that she was away from prying eyes, Selena decided that she needed to know for sure. After making sure that her room was secure, she lifted the large overstuffed armchair that she had been sitting in to her eye level. It was easily done. Setting the chair back down lightly, she sighed at the fact that she was now an Inhuman with powers that made her think of the television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Selena thought about telling her sister or her mother but something kept her from doing so because deep down, she always believed that she could only rely on herself.

Selena breathed in and out slowly, knowing that she needed more time to figure out what she was now and she didn’t know how anyone else would react. She trusted her sister but from what she was told, SHIELD were supposed to be cooperating with the ATCU and she was wary of that fact. In all honesty, Selena felt afraid of what would happen if people found out that she had powers. Ruminating on what she knew of Daisy’s experiences when she obtained her powers only made her more determined to keep her own capabilities a secret from everyone. She was lucky that her physical appearance had not been altered at all.

Her emergency protocols were programmed to send out codes to let her sister and mother know that she was safe and in hiding when she fled. She would have to check in with them soon because they would need the confirmation. She decided on survivor’s guilt as a cover story as she had not told anyone that she was going to the party. It had been a spur of the moment impulse to attend when her friend had to cancel their dinner plans at the last minute. They would probably understand her feeling some misplaced guilt for not preventing the disaster at her apartment building and leave her alone for a while but she would have to get back to her usual life soon. For now, a hot shower, some food and sleep were her priorities.

***

After a couple of days in Vegas, Selena was back on her mission to befriend Stephanie Malick and obtain more information about her father and HYDRA for SHIELD. She was renting a serviced apartment while looking for a new place of her own. While walking and focused relentlessly on trying to find the apartment that she was due to view, she suddenly collided hard with someone in her path.

Visions flashed through her mind at lightning speed with the contact from the collision. It probably lasted only a few seconds but they felt so powerful and real to Selena. She was left gasping for breath and driven to drop down onto her knees on the pavement.

“I’m so sorry,” whispered the man that she had run into. He looked like he was homeless but he had kind eyes which were teary with remorse as he kept apologizing to her. Selena looked at him, still partly dazed as her mind worked to process the images that had hurtled into her brain. Tears had started to drip as he faced her on the ground and on his knees.

“There’s nothing anyone can do to stop it. I’m so sorry,” moaned the man wretchedly.

“So it’s happened before with others and it’s always come true?” she asked him tentatively. He nodded at her sadly. Selena’s heart twisted at his words and the look of profound sadness in his eyes. Her eyes took in his appearance and she wondered if he needed help.

“Do you need a place to stay for the night? Do you need anything?” she asked him.

“No. You’re not the one that can. But thank you for being so kind. You’re still so young and so beautiful, you should have your whole life ahead of you,” said the stranger. Selena understood that he meant her no harm and in fact wished that he could save her.

“Actually, I’ve lived a good life. I’ve been pretty lucky. Life happens then death. Not everyone gets to know this much. Here,” said Selena, putting some cash in the man’s hand. She put both her hands on his and squeezed tight. There were no more flashes when she touched him. He stared at her forlornly.

“It’s okay. I’ve lived an amazing life and everyone dies. Now I just know that I will die soon and I can make my peace with that,” said Selena gently, with a bittersweet smile. He looked even more devastated at her words so Selena gave him a quick kiss on his cheek then hurried away, the apartment viewing forgotten. She didn’t know how much time she had left but she had a lot to get done and she wanted to try to do the best she could for the people that she loved.

Chapter Text

Maria hated how small and weak she felt and that she couldn’t get her broken body to get up no matter how hard she tried. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she heard Bridget’s desperate cries and she knew that she had to get to her sister but she just could not move. She could hear her father’s dreadful intoxicated slurs and other cruel sounds. Then little Maria had blacked out from fear, pain and utter exhaustion. When she finally came to her senses again there was a terrible silence. She couldn’t hear any sound at all. Her drunken father must have left the house.

Maria gritted her teeth in determination and made herself crawl over painfully to where she could see a tiny hand sticking out. Bridget was just lying there, her beautiful blonde hair covering her delicate face. Maria started to cry again, whimpering as she reached out to touch her beloved sister’s motionless hand. Even as the tears blurred her vision the form in front of her changed into the shape of a petite young woman with black hair. It was now Selena’s body sprawled out on the ground and Maria Hill woke up from her nightmare with a tear drop on her cheek as the taxi stopped. She paid the driver and got out gracefully, squaring her shoulders as she prepared herself to deliver the news to Selena’s family. Maria noted the faint breeze and approved of the precautions taken by the fast-moving agent she knew to be accompanying Melinda and her family.

---

“But we must be able to do something. There’s no way that I can just sit here and let Lena get herself killed. She’s my little sister. Ria, we couldn’t do anything to help Andrew when he turned into Lash, we must go after Selena,” said Melinda with determination, holding CJ close. Her children would be bereft if they lost their aunt Selena, who was a significant part of their lives. He had appeared and climbed into her lap for a cuddle sometime during Maria’s tale of what Selena was doing. Melinda blinked and breathed slowly in an effort to suppress the sensation of nausea creeping up on her. It was clear that she would not be able to escape from extreme stress in this pregnancy either which always triggered her nausea.

“Mel, Lena’s only told me as much as she feels that I need to know. Most of her instructions were about what she wanted to tell her family. She’s a strong woman who’s made her choices. She’s set on this path and believe me there was no way to dissuade her, I tried to get her to let me help. I really don’t know what she’s doing or where she is. I’m on my way to the Playground and I promise that we’ll do our best. You need to take care of yourself and the kids. Phil and the team will do everything they can. They do care for Selena too. All she wants is to make sure that her family is safe,” explained Maria tiredly. She could not quite meet Melinda or Lian’s eyes.

“QiaoLian, XianLing is an adult and she’s making her own way. Your sister very much wished to visit you and your twins but she couldn’t bear the thought of putting any one of you in danger for even a second. She knows how badly the pregnancy affects you and she didn’t want to risk you getting hurt,” said Lian May firmly.

Melinda turned wrathful eyes on her mother but kept her voice low to avoid startling CJ, who was cuddling into her like a koala. The atmosphere in the living room became even more charged with tension. Pippa slid off her grandmother’s lap to clamber up next to her mother and cling to her too. She had followed her brother in.

“You met up with Ling, when?” asked Melinda, hugging her children to her protectively.

“XianLing asked me to meet in a random place and we didn’t speak for long. Don’t ask me when and where, it doesn’t matter. She wanted to let me know that she’s trying to do the best that she can for us all. This being called Hive is a threat to the world and he must be destroyed at any cost. She thinks that it would target you if given the chance due to the vengeful memories of the human body it has taken over. She gave me a quick hug then she was gone. Maria, you must not blame yourself. Selena has chosen her path. She feels that it is her destiny and she is at peace with it all,” said Lian. There was a calm resignation in her voice when she spoke of her younger daughter. Lian thought of the tiny yet courageous waif-like child that she had rescued from the Hong Kong triads, years ago. Deep down Lian knew that Selena had always felt like everything that she had in her life from being adopted was already a bonus and understood how she was completely willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good.

Melinda closed her eyes tightly and struggled to contain the nausea welling up in her throat again. The first few weeks of this pregnancy had been brutal and it had been hard to keep up with everything going on. Her kidnapping by her ex-husband, who had become the Inhuman Lash was an ordeal that was still fresh in her memory. There hadn’t been much time to check in with her sister recently. But Melinda knew that she should have made the time to talk to Selena and now it was maybe too late. She knew that Maria and Phil would do their best to make sure that Selena was safe but she couldn’t help feeling like she should be out there with them too. CJ and Pippa clung to her and they reminded her that she was needed here. Her children needed her to keep them safe, she’d spent too much time away from them already and Phil had to be out there. Pippa, CJ and the baby she was carrying needed her.

“Mel, don’t. You’re dealing with as much as you can right now and I’ll be helping Phil at SHIELD. I can get in touch with the Avengers if I need to but they’re dealing with the fallout from the Accords and we haven’t lost her yet. Lash freed Daisy from Hive’s control and he’s still out there. He could free Lena too though no one knows what his agenda is. There’s no way you can be out in the field for some months yet and no one blames you. In fact, I’d say keeping you and your children safe is the biggest incentive that the team has to defeat Hive. Along with saving the world again of course,” sighed Maria. She stood up and noted Elena’s presence by the main door.

“I have to go, Phil needs a deputy. Lian, Mel, take care of yourselves and the little ones. I’ll be in touch when I can,” said Maria, giving everyone a quick hug goodbye. She left the apartment knowing that the family would move on to another place in a few hours and she would not know that location. It was simply safer this way. Even Phil had no idea where his family was physically located and had limited contact with them. The fact that Lian May had been CIA with resources unknown to SHIELD was a blessing for her family. Maria knew that Melinda was devastated that she couldn’t do much to help Selena but there was no way that any of them would let her risk her life that way. Maria had heard the absolute terror in Phil’s voice when Andrew Garner had abducted Melinda for several hours just after they had found out about this pregnancy. Coulson had been on the verge of demanding that the Avengers get involved to ensure her safety.

Maria tried to continue working as she sat on the train. She had chosen a route that would be difficult to trace. It was hard to avoid being distracted by her memories of Selena growing up. She had become close friends with Melinda as soon as she joined SHIELD academy and spent most of her term holidays with the May family because she had nowhere else to go. Maria had completely cut ties with her abusive, alcoholic father as soon as she was 18. Selena clearly adored her older sister and was thrilled to be able to hang out with them. It was never surprising that Phil had come to visit every chance he could during the holidays. Maria had quickly grown fond of the pre-teen Selena, who made her think of her own younger sister. Bridget had been blonde with some character traits that were rather similar to Selena. Bridget had totally adored Maria but her elder sister had not been able to save her from that horrible beating that took her life. Maria hurriedly diverted her thoughts from the painful memories. She hadn’t been able to save Bridget but she now had to focus on doing what she could to save Selena.

Chapter Text

“Selena’s made her own decisions based on the intel that she had available. According to what I know, she has her reasons and she didn’t have much time. She wouldn’t actually tell me much because she refused to let me too involved. I don’t think that anyone could have swayed her from her course, she was completely focused and determined to do what she needed to do by herself rather than expose anyone else to danger unnecessarily,” explained Maria to the SHIELD team.

“We’re just going to sit around here and watch this all happen?” sniped Hunter with extreme frustration.

Maria rolled her eyes but didn’t state the obvious. The atmosphere in the room was tense.
Half of them were nervously pacing around. The main reason she was here at SHIELD now was to act as Phil’s deputy while Melinda was unable to due to her pregnancy. Selena may not have known about Melinda’s pregnancy when she put her plan into place but she had been adamant that her family and everyone she cared about be kept away from it all. Selena believed that her flashes of visions would inevitably come to pass and meticulously tried to mitigate the fallout.

Maria knew that Selena had survived under the control of a triad in the streets of Hong Kong as a young child until she was adopted by Lian May. She caught Lian’s attention with her successful pick pocketing skills. By watching and following the elusive little waif, Lian managed to gather a lot of evidence and information against the triad. Lian had approached and enlisted Selena’s help. The little girl had proved to be an invaluable asset to the Agency and Lian had stepped in to ensure that she could have a decent future. Selena had always been fearless and zealous about doing the right thing and getting on with doing what was needed. That was probably why they had formed such a good relationship. They had a lot of similar principles.

Maria Hill stared at the screen stoically as she watched the brainwashed Selena and the group of Inhumans with Hive destroy everything around them on their way back to the area that they had taken over as their base. She was thankful that Melinda did not have to see this video footage. It was clear that Phil was trying hard to maintain his neutral expression due to his role as director but Maria had known him for a long time and she could clearly see his anguish. They both adored Selena May.

Daisy and the rest of the SHIELD team looked devastated as they watched. Maria sighed internally, they needed to make some tough decisions soon and she hoped that they could keep their emotions under control. Selena had become their friend but they had to be at their best to do everything they could do to defeat Hive. They worked closely with May and Maria trusted that Melinda had trained them to be professionals.

“Selena heeded the warning that something like this would happen and she tried to prepare as much as she could. She told me that she’d had some kind of premonition after a collision with a homeless man, whom I assume was Charles Hinton,” Maria told the SHIELD team.

“Why did she go to you? Why not to Coulson or May?” asked Hunter tersely. After their mission taking care of the twins together, Selena and Hunter had become good friends. Hunter treated her like a younger sister and he was always fiercely loyal to his friends. He didn’t know Maria Hill and he was not sure that he trusted her.

Maria was silent but Phil answered for her, “She would never risk the twins or those she cares about in any way at all. Selena did what she felt she had to do. She had an idea of what she was up against because she was there when Hive killed Stephanie Malick. She got away that time.”

“We must help her. I mean we can get Lash! He somehow brought me back. We need to get him to help Selena too. He can do it,” blurted out Daisy frantically.

“Daisy, we can’t exactly just go and ask Lash nicely to help Selena! Plus, we really do need to stop whatever evil catastrophe Hive is planning,” chimed in Fitz.

“May I remind you that our mission is to stop and destroy the being that calls himself Hive, Agent Johnson. Agent Fitz is right. That is our priority. I can assure you that Selena knows and agrees with the end goal,” stated Maria firmly. She hoped fervently that there was some way to save Selena but Maria had enough experience with SHIELD to be realistic about her chances. Maria would not tell them everything that Selena had confided to her, just enough to get the job done.

At least Selena had someone to turn to. Maria was grateful that she could be that person though it did come with a heavy price. Melinda would undoubtedly be furious with her for a long time but Maria did not regret it. She had been forced to make many difficult decisions already and this one was no different. Selena knew what she was doing and above all, her priority was the safety of the twins and her family to whom she was completely devoted. Selena was willing to make any sacrifice to ensure that the world was safe for her niece and nephew including having a memory wipe procedure to lock away a significant portion of her memories. Her rationale was that if she survived, then her extensive trove of photographs would help to restore her memories.

Maria listened as the team discussed and planned their next moves. Phil Coulson and his team were brilliant and she understood that they knew the best way to utilize their strengths. She was an excellent leader and knew when to hang back or when to say what was needed to focus the group. The plans were incredibly risky and they were all trying their best to include ways to save Selena May. They seemed willing to take significant risks including brainstorming ways of approaching Lash to get him to help Selena. If Andrew Garner was still reachable, he would certainly help Selena if he could. Melinda would not have married a man that did not get along with her sister. The sisters were close even though they were over ten years apart in age. It had never mattered to Melinda that Selena was adopted.

Maria marvelled at their ingenuity and idealism as her heart sat heavy in her chest. The plan would probably work out and they would save the world somehow, of that she was certain. They had to do it. But there was no way to guarantee that the plan would be perfectly executed and there were so many things that could go wrong. The challenges would be in dealing with anything that they could not anticipate in advance. Maria was incredibly familiar with coordinating high stakes missions but she did not usually have a personal stake in the outcome.

Only Maria held the memory of the look in Selena’s eyes as she explained her interpretation of the flashes of the future from her accidental encounter with Charles Hinton. Maria listened quietly to the whole tale and paid close attention. She patiently let Selena pour out her story and clarified some points. Then Maria hugged the younger woman as she sobbed furiously and released her pent up emotions.

Maria had been close friends with Melinda May since their early days at the SHIELD Academy and thus met Selena when she was only a teenager. Selena had so much to live for but Maria already knew that reality was harsh and didn’t waste her time on uttering useless platitudes. There was a reason that Selena had come to her. Selena strongly believed in what she had seen and even though Maria desperately didn’t want to, she was practical enough to acknowledge that Selena’s plans were sound. Maria did not like those plans but neither she nor Dr Helen Cho could not come up with an alternative plan that would satisfy Selena. Therefore, Helen had reluctantly agreed to wipe a select portion of Selena’s memories to prevent Hive acquiring anything against her family and most of SHIELD. They reasoned that they had to leave some aspects of the truth in regards to SHIELD to avoid Hive becoming suspicious about her memories as her affiliation to SHIELD was hard to completely hide. Selena had planned carefully, having learned a lot from Phil Coulson and Maria herself which meant that there were multiple contingencies in place. But the frustrating thing was knowing that Selena had resolutely planned with the knowledge that she would not escape with her life. It was a bitter pill for Maria to swallow and she knew that there were a lot of people who would likely never forgive her but Selena needed her support and she gave it wholeheartedly.

Maria wished that there had been time to talk it over with someone like Nick Fury or the pair of assassins in the Avengers team that Selena was close to. But the risk had been too high and there was no time to safely contact them. Selena had not even allowed herself a last visit to her family before undergoing the memory wipe. She entrusted presents and personal letters to Maria to be distributed. It was a secret burden that Maria hated to have to bear and a reason that she deliberately avoided Phil Coulson’s eyes. It was a relief that she did not have to make the effort to avoid May’s scrutiny too. Hopefully the team would succeed in their ambitious quest to save the world and Selena May would continue to do what she did best, survive.

Chapter Text

That massive burst had taken a lot out of him and Lincoln panted in exhaustion on the floor. His next thought was that he had truly gone too far this time. He had been training with his powers for years but there were still times when he lost control of them. He could sense the sparks sizzling along his opponent’s skin. It looked like he’d won this fight but the price might have been far too high. He forced air into his fight battered lungs and crawled painfully over to the unconscious Selena May.

He reached out and felt for a pulse at her neck. Several long moments dragged past before he breathed out shakily in relief as he felt a faint throb under his finger-tips. Lincoln did not know Selena well. He barely saw her, but he knew that she was Director May’s sister and she clearly meant a lot to the SHIELD team. She was an excellent fighter with super strength and the last uncontrolled jolt of electricity he directed at her had been crucial for his own survival at that point. He just couldn’t take another hit. He was uncomfortably aware that he was new to the team and he wasn’t really sure what would happen if he’d accidentally killed Selena May. It probably would not matter to those she loved that she had been fighting under Hive’s control and seemed determined to kill him. He focused on his medical expertise and his movements were painstakingly slow but he tried his best to make Selena more comfortable. Her form felt surprisingly light and fragile which was surprising to him after that fight. He croaked out short replies to the team when needed and they didn’t notice that he was struggling to speak normally. There was way too much going on.

Lincoln grimly ate some energy bars which helped fuel his body but from long experience he knew that his energy levels were severely depleted and he could feel every bruise on his beaten body. He had to do his best to replenish his energy in case he needed to protect them both from the enemy. He theorized that the nearly fatal dose of electricity Selena had received should have broken Hive’s control over her. He fervently hoped so because he wasn’t sure how he would cope if she woke up and tried to kill him again. He couldn’t bring himself to actually tie her up.

The memory of Lance Hunter’s passionate pleas to save Selena May had been impressed on his mind. He had not even really been paying attention initially when Hunter furiously advocated for saving Selena as their main priority. It was a shock to find out that Hunter was so attached to someone other than Bobbi. Mack had to step in to get the Englishman to back off when he had been shouting right into Director Coulson’s face. Mack pointed out reasonably that Hunter’s guilt over not being able to prevent what had happened to Agent Morse could not be a dictating factor in their planning to defeat Hive and walked the blonde agent out.

The SHIELD team members were all determined individuals but not completely cohesive when working as a team. Lincoln knew that Hive’s main advantage was that everyone on his side was working as a single-minded unit and they did not need to spend any time communicating. There were no guesses or crossed wired on Hive’s team. SHIELD were really fighting an uphill battle against the odds. Yet he had been a witness to the fact that they had won the last battle with a similar set of odds. On the surface, the InHumans led by JiaYing should have triumphed in that war but SHIELD had prevailed.

Lincoln forced himself to keep moving around the jet which helped to keep him from stiffening up too much. He monitored what was happening with the team from what he could hear and glanced over at Selena every few minutes to check on her condition. Then what he heard from Daisy’s comms made him grow cold.

Daisy was taking on the Hive by herself and she had left her comm switch on. Everyone could hear her but a lot of the others were probably locked in intense battles of their own. Lincoln shuddered at the exchange and he could feel the anguish in her words. Daisy’s sense of loss and betrayal was heart-rending. Her emotions were always deeply felt and close to the surface. Hive was using Ward’s body and that just compounded the misery for Daisy. Lincoln closed his eyes for a moment and the image of a happier Daisy came to him. The way she looked when she was goofing around, doing something fun on her computer and the loving way she smiled at him just before they kissed.

Lincoln knew what he had to do. He had to save Daisy Johnson. He had messed up too many lives already. He needed to do this and atone for his horrible past. There were so many people dead because of him. He had been very close to some of the other InHumans at Afterlife who had been misguided by JiaYing. He himself had once idolized the InHuman leader who had let her hate and bitterness take over her judgement. Lincoln had known for some time how she continued to stay young and heal but had done nothing to stop her when she preyed on innocent people. He had just turned away and he regretted that every single day.

Daisy was amazing and she deserved to live a wonderful life after surviving everything she had been through. She was a bright and shining star in his life and she made life better for others too. She had even sought to understand Raina despite her villainous actions. The team at SHIELD were her family and he knew they would always support her. They had her back. The directors loved her like a daughter. He felt like he had been given an incredible gift when they got together. But everything else that he had lived for was gone. Daisy had a place in SHIELD and the future. He could be replaced easily and he had not fit in well at SHIELD in spite of Director Coulson’s encouragement. He didn’t blame them for not fully trusting him. The only reason that he was still here was because of Daisy.

Lincoln thought hard about how to defeat the Hive and figured out a plan that just might work. He looked over at Selena and blinked. She was gone. Lincoln looked around warily even though his back was already wedged up against a wall. He couldn’t see any sign of Selena May now. Yet she was not straight out attacking him either. He tuned back into the conversation between Daisy and Hive. He was running out of time as the duo entered the jet and he put his plan into place to force Hive into the flight capsule compartment.

Lincoln’s head was swimming even as he managed to lock Hive in the capsule. He just needed a few seconds to concentrate hard to fuse the controls correctly and get them out into space. Then there was a sudden blur of movement and a figure attacked Hive. That gave Lincoln the opening he needed to achieve his objective. He could hear screams from the comms board and a furious fight happening next to him. He realized that Selena May was the one pummelling Hive for all she was worth. He had not meant for that to happen but it was already too late.

The video feed switched on and he could see the horrified looks from the team. They had quickly worked out what he had done. Then Lincoln heard a sickening crack and Selena gradually stood up when she caught her breath. She stepped into view of the feed to more horrified gasps. Lincoln was seriously regretting his impulsive plan now but there was no way out of this as they hurtled into space. That had been the point, after all. They had passed the point of no return. Selena smiled brightly at Lincoln, grabbed his hand, looked directly into his eyes and mouthed a thank you. Selena was clearly herself again. Then she turned to face the video screen.

“Goodbye,” whispered Selena to the screen, with tears shining in her dark eyes. She put up a hand and gave a single wave, waited for a few moments while throwing a glance to Lincoln at her side. Then Selena shut off the video feed though they could still hear the audio feed from their team below. There were no more words to be said in the capsule. Lincoln had saved Selena from Hive and together they had defeated the monster, saving the world. But there was no way for them to get back home now. Selena understood this. Lincoln had nothing to say but he was immensely grateful for the sensation of Selena’s hand gripping his for as long as she could.