Undisclosed
—Graduation

June 30th, 2003
SHIELD Academy of Operations

6:30am

"Bloody knuckles aren't exactly a traditional look for the ceremony."

Quinn Scott landed another punch on the canvas bag and, as the bag swung, planted her left foot on the floor and swung around with her right, driving her bare heel into the tough material. When she was standing on both feet again, she was breathing heavily, bouncing slightly as she shifted her weight between her feet, her shoulders moving up and down as she gulped in air, as she shook out the building pain and stiffness. She turned to look at Agent Coulson where he stood in the doorway of the gym. He was already dressed in one of his trademark impeccable suits despite the hour of the morning, and had an amused grin on his face.

Quinn hated that amused grin.

For a long while, she was silent, staring at her mentor, her friend. "I've got time to clean up," she said simply, and then she turned back to the bag to begin another salvo. Her voice came out tight, forced. "I need this right now."

She was aware of Coulson crossing the room, but she didn't turn to look at him again. He came to a stop a few feet away, out of range in case a hit went wide or the bag started swinging; several accidents in the past had made him a little bit more careful around the young woman when she was in a state. Quinn could get a little overzealous. For another few seconds he kept up the silence, just watched, and his steady gaze boring into her back fanned the dull anger Quinn had been dealing with since she'd awoken almost two hours ago. She clenched her jaw and hit the bag harder, savouring the pain that lanced through her hands and wrists. She knew her knuckles would in fact be bloody when she removed the tape. She didn't care. The pain felt good.

"Quinn, what's wrong?"

"Why do you think something's wrong?" she asked, her words punctuated with hits to the punching bag and the creaking of the chain holding the bag to the ceiling. "There's nothing wrong."

"You've been up since four-thirty, and you came immediately to the gym. You didn't even get anything to eat."

Quinn's assault on the punching bag stopped long enough for her to sigh, shake out her fists, and start up again. "Fucking SHIELD cameras everywhere. Why are you still keeping an eye on me anyways, Coulson?"

"You weren't in your room and your dorm neighbour didn't know where you were."

"I don't tell her everything, and she was asleep at four-thirty, like most of my class. And your next logical step was to check the cameras?"

"It's how I was trained. It's how you have been trained." Coulson moved into Quinn's peripheral vision and narrowed his eyes, searching her face. Quinn gnashed her teeth together and kept hitting the bag. "What is wrong?" he asked again, more forcibly.

Quinn stopped hitting the punching bag abruptly and reached out to stop it from swinging, the gym suddenly silent except for her heavy breathing. Coulson was using his authoritative father voice, which always managed to get to her, no matter how intent she was on staying silent, on staying angry. She dropped her forehead against the canvas as she tried to calm herself down and gain control of her breathing. The bag smelled bad, but it was familiar and oddly comforting, especially right then.

"Just nervous."

"That's a lie if I've ever heard one."

She looked at Coulson, one eyebrow raised. Her tawny eyes were dark and framed by locks of sweat-drenched hair. "I am nervous," she snapped, stepping away from the bag. "There's going to be a lot of people in that room. A lot of people I admire and a lot of seriously important people, including the Director of SHIELD. I am very nervous." Quinn sighed and ran her fingers back through her hair, pushing the stringy mess away from her face. She debated telling Coulson anything else. He would know there was more than what she was saying, but nerves were a perfectly legitimate reason for her to be in the gym the morning before her graduation ceremony. Especially since Director Fury was going to be there. Being nervous was enough.

He levelled her gaze on her again, almost as if he could hear her internal monologue. "Quinn."

"And I'm scared," she admitted. "Scared. Angry. Relieved." Her eyes settled back on Coulson, who was now regarding her with sympathy she found both aggravating and heartening in her current state. "Since I started here last September, it's like everyone knew you were the only reason I was actually in the program. I've had to fight so hard to prove to everyone, absolutely everyone, that I belonged here."

"The Academy is tough for everyone, Quinn."

"I am not talking about the program itself. It's gruelling, yeah, and some days I wish I was anywhere else, but the work doesn't make me want to kill someone, Coulson. The ridicule and doubt and the muttered words behind my back about my incompetence make me want to kill someone. Make me want to scream." She moved closer to Coulson, did her best to keep her voice down. "I love this work, and I want this job, and I shouldn't have had to put up with that shit from people who are going to be my fellow agents after today." She turned away and took a couple steps back towards the punching bag, her bare feet slapping against the mats, and then turned back to Coulson. "I'm scared that this is all some sort of ridiculous joke, that I'm not actually passing, that I'm not going to become an agent—"

Coulson closed the distance between them and took Quinn by the shoulders, the sympathetic look turning to a fatherly smile and effectively cutting off the pending hysterical reaction. "You haven't failed Quinn. You've succeed and you've done better than anyone expected you to. Far better." His smile turned into a proud grin. "Except for me, of course. I always knew you'd blow everyone else out of the water."

That managed to bring a smile to Quinn's face, but it only lasted long enough for Coulson to withdraw his hold on her. "I just… can't believe—"

"Quinn, you've earned your place here, and everyone knows it. You're graduating today. You made it through the program, and you finished in the ninetieth percentile. You have nothing to be scared about. You did it. You made it."

She sucked in a deep breath that shook slightly. She wasn't crying, not by a long shot, but she could feel the tears somewhere inside, waiting to push through her exhaustion and the weight of all the thoughts and feelings she'd been carrying around. Quinn bit the inside of her cheek.

"Did you know Peggy Carter was going to be here today?" she asked, voice quiet. Changing the subject would help. Should help.

Coulson cleared his throat and nodded. "I did."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because she's only going to be here if she's lucid when she wakes. Her condition is worsening, and her family doesn't want to strain her." Coulson gave her another smile, this one meant to be encouraging. "I thought you'd be excited to hear she might be coming."

Quinn pressed her lips together as she clenched her jaw. She had met Peggy Carter, a hero of hers, a couple of times since entering the Academy: a brief meeting when Agent Carter had come to speak to the potential new agents, and then again, a couple of months before graduation, when Quinn had been invited to tea with the legendary woman. She'd been invited after Peggy had found out about her lineage, and the conversation had stayed mostly around Colonel Phillips, Project Rebirth, and Captain America, though they had spoken briefly about Quinn's career and aspirations with SHIELD and Peggy had given her words of encouragement and support.

"I am," Quinn said, "But…"

Agent Coulson sighed. "Quinn, you've earned this, and it's normal to be nervous, but you're letting that, and your pent up anger control you. Your emotions are running away with you. I'm assuming it's because you didn't get much sleep, because it's been a long time since you lacked control like this." His eyes narrowed—the look of a stern guardian chastising his ward. A look Quinn met by thrusting her jaw forward and staring up at Coulson. "After today, you'll be a full-fledged field agent and you won't have to worry about stuff like this anymore. And hey, once this is all over, we'll go get a drink."

Quinn tried and failed to keep the smile off her face. She was still angry, nervous, everything, but Coulson always had had a way of helping her calm down. "I'm only nineteen, Boss. I can't drink."

"Right. Damn it. Well, we'll share a drink afterwards anyways. A covert drink."

Quinn gave him a small grin. "I can look forward to that."

"Good. Now go get cleaned up so you can change and get something to eat before the ceremony starts."

"I will. After—"

"Quinn."

The nineteen year old rolled her eyes, and then let the grin take over her face in full. "Yes Boss."

8:00am

After being herded from the gym, Quinn returned to her dorm to shower and change. She cleaned the blood off her knuckles and the tops of her feet, but she didn't bother to hide the torn skin. She did her hair and makeup, and dressed herself in her best suit—skirt, shirt, and blazer. With the addition of high heels, Quinn felt a little better, a little bit more in control, though she felt almost… empty. Drained. Emotional outbursts did that to her, though she knew the feeling wouldn't last long. Before coming to the Academy of Operations, Quinn had never considered herself a skirt and heels kind of woman, but she'd since found she quite liked the added height of the more professional attire; at only five-foot-four, extra height was usually a very good thing.

Before she let her room, she grabbed Colonel's Phillip's journal about Project Rebirth—the same journal she'd had with her when Coulson had first brought her for testing. Quinn left her room feeling much less hysterical.

Although she was famished.

So Quinn headed to the mess hall, which had undergone a metamorphosis overnight and barely looked like the room she was used to dining in. All the metal tables had been covered with white cloths and a small vase of flowers had been placed in the centre of each one. There was a long table set to either side of the room, both weighed down by neatly stacked plates, and covered platters bearing the food and drink SHIELD would be offering to those attending the ceremony; currently there were also plates of pastries, and coffee and tea available to anyone milling about before the ceremony. It looked like a much friendlier place than normal.

Thanks to the nature of SHIELD though, there wouldn't be many parents or relatives at the graduation ceremony, not unless they also worked for SHIELD or were special cases. But there would be plenty of agents filling the halls in a couple hours. Currently, the mess hall was only populated by staff and a couple other people sipping coffee and nibbling the assorted pastries. Quinn stood in the doorway for a few minutes, observing those in the room; it was her training and it was automatic. She spotted two fellow graduates, three people sitting together who looked like a family, and a few older agents sitting alone.

After a moment, Quinn headed up to the cafeteria window and gave what she hoped was a friendly smile to the lone lady brewing the coffee and tea. "Can I have a coffee please?"

"Sure, dear. Are you one of the ones graduating today?" the last asked as she filled a mug.

Quinn nodded, her eyes dropping to the floor, though she wasn't sure why. "Yeah, I am."

The woman, whose nametag labeled her Mary, handed Quinn a pristine white mug filled with dark and steaming liquid and gave her a very kind and very warm smile. "Congratulations then. This place is not easy. I've seen many bright ones come and go."

Quinn accepted the mug and forced herself to return the smile, though her insides started twisting again and she felt more like yelling than being polite. She raised the mug a bit in thanks and then headed through the cafeteria corral to the register at the end, breathing deep the smell of coffee. The man there waved off her attempt to pay, and Quinn offered her a small smile as well, though it was likely the food was free today anyways. After adding cream and sugar to her coffee from the provided supplies at another, smaller table, and snagging a lemon danish, she parked herself at one of the tables near a window.

It didn't take long for Quinn to forget about her coffee and pastry. She lost herself in her thoughts as she watched the leaves rustling in the wind. Her great-grandfather's journal was clutched in her hands, fingers idly running over the familiar marks of the cover. Not for the first time, Quinn wondered what Colonel Phillips would think of his great-granddaughter joining SHIELD, taking part in the legacy he'd help start. Quinn opened the journal and pulled out the photograph, significantly more worn then when she'd shown it to Coulson the year before.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?"

The young almost-agent gave a start, the legs of her chair squealing slightly against the floor as she turned to see who had approached her. When she did, Quinn's eyes widened, and her lips parted slightly before she curved them into a smile. "Of course not, Agent Carter."

Quinn placed the journal and photograph on the table and then got to her feet. She pulled out the chair the eighty-four year old woman was standing in front of so she could sit, with a little assistance from her nurse, Melissa. Melissa sat down between Quinn and Agent Carter, and Quinn settled back into her own chair. As she always did, Peggy Carter was impeccably dressed and made-up, and though she had Melissa with her most of the time, Peggy moved with the assurance of a much younger woman.

"How are you?" Quinn asked, still slightly flabbergasted by the sudden appearance of her role model.

"I'm quite well," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. She had the air of someone who was sick of answering that question. "Today, anyway, and thankfully most days still. My disease has not got the best of me yet. And call me Peggy, please. I asked you to do so after we had tea."

Quinn felt her cheeks redden a little as she continued to smile, and she nodded. "Sorry. Peggy. I'm glad you could come today. Agent Coulson said you might make an appearance."

"I will be doing a little more than making an appearance, my dear. Since I am in good spirits today, I'll be handing out the founders' awards and presenting some of the new agents with their badges." She smiled. "I just hope no one expects me to give a speech."

"I think Director Fury is speaking this year," Quinn said around a smile. Her voice cracked a little bit over the Director's name.

Peggy tilted her head to the side as she regarded the young woman, a small and friendly smile on her face. "Agent Coulson mentioned you were feeling a little anxious about the ceremony today?"

Quinn closed her eyes for a second as she rolled her eyes. "Of course he did…" Quinn sighed and ran one hand back through her hair, reminding herself too late that she'd already styled it. "I'm sorry. You don't need to concern yourself with my issues. You have other things to worry about today than the hysterical reactions of a nervous almost-agent. I'll be fine once this day is over."

"Quinn, you have nothing to be nervous about. I've seen your record. You're exemplary, and you've made huge progress during your time here."

Quinn blushed again, and let herself this time. It was quite the compliment and she knew it. "Ah, thank you Agent—Peggy. Thank you very much, Peggy, but it's a little bit more than just nerves. I mean, I am nervous, since you're here and Director Fury is going to be here."

Peggy's brows knit in concern. "Really? What else is bothering you?" Peggy tracked Quinn's glance in the direction of her nurse. The older woman turned to her nurse—a friendly looking woman in her thirties, who Quinn knew to be strong and intelligent—and placed one of her wrinkled hands on top of her nurse's. "Could you get me a cup of tea please, Melissa? And perhaps a muffin?"

"Of course, Peggy."

After Melissa had excused herself, Peggy turned back to Quinn, an expectant look on her wise face and a motherly look in her eye. It was a look that made Quinn feel about three inches tall. She cleared her throat and repeated what she'd told Coulson a couple of hours earlier, albeit with a little less fire. Agent Carter remained quiet and attentive the whole time, and when Quinn had finished speaking, she remained thoughtful for a few seconds, processing all the information Quinn had just divulged. Quinn retrieved her great-grandfather's journal and ran her fingers over the cover again as she waited for a response; the photograph remained on the table.

"Quinn, Phil would not have stuck his neck out for you if he did not believe in you, and even with his neck on the line, the admittance council would not have rescinded their rejection had some of their members not been on your side in the first place." Melissa returned at that moment and set the coffees and pastries she was holding on the table in front of Peggy and herself. Peggy gave her thanks, and then continued speaking. "You finished the training, which many students didn't, and you finished in the top ten percent of your class. And I know you heard all of this from Phil earlier."

Quinn smiled, a small laugh escaping. "I did, but it's nice to hear it again. This is… more than I'd ever hoped for myself and I'm having trouble accepting that I have it."

"I understand those feelings," Peggy replied with a bright, encouraging smile. "But you should enjoy this day, and stop taking your anger out so hard on yourself." The retired agent gestured at Quinn's torn hands where they rested on the journal.

"I'll try to enjoy it more, and, uh…" She looked down at her hands, at the torn and red skin. "I'll try to be nicer to my hands next time."

"Good." Peggy took a sip from her tea, made a face, and took another sip. "Serviceable, but not great. It doesn't matter how long I have been in this country, I will never get used to your mediocre tea." She shook her head a little, and smiled as Quinn chuckled. "Is that the photograph you told me about the last time we spoke?"

"Oh, yes." Quinn handed the photo to Peggy. The older woman had been quite surprised to learn that Colonel Phillips had kept journals, and had asked if it would possible for her to read them when Quinn was ready to let her. "That's the only picture I have of my great-grandfather."

A small smile crossed Peggy's face as she gazed at the photo, a smile Quinn had only seen when they had discussed Captain America during their last meeting. It was sad and happy at the same time, full of memories and regret. For a moment, Quinn wondered if it had been a mistake to tell Peggy about the photo, but when she met Quinn's eyes again, the smile was all fondness.

"I remember when we took this picture. It was for the official Project Rebirth file, and was going to be used in the paper after the war if the program had been a success." Peggy lightly touched the small figure of Steve Rogers in the photograph, but her next words were not about the man who would become Captain America. "Your great-grandfather was a good man. He was tough on everyone and he didn't take any nonsense, and he would have been proud of you."

Quinn's answering smile was large and unconstrained.

9:30am

The auditorium at the Academy was absolutely packed. Quinn couldn't remember ever having seen it so full in the nine months she'd been at the Academy, though it wasn't often the room was used en masse. She took her assigned seat—all the graduates were in alphabetical order by last name—and laced her fingers tightly in her lap. She'd given Colonel Phillips' journal to Coulson so she would have her hands free. Quinn would have given the journal to Peggy, but she too would need her hands free to present the awards, and since Coulson was only a spectator today, and she trusted him, he was the only logical choice. But it meant Quinn would have to make to do with fidgeting with her thumb ring and twisting her fingers around; she hated being nervous and though the pep talks had helped, she was still a little bit on edge.

In true SHIELD fashion, the proceedings started at 9:30am sharp, the auditorium settling into silence as Director Fury took up his position behind the podium, his trademark black attire stark against the light coming through the wall of windows behind him. He began speaking without any preamble, his lone eye scanning the crowd, and his powerful presence holding the assembled crowd rapt. He spoke of the founding of SHIELD, the tradition and honour of service, and the future of the agency. It was all pretty standard as far as SHIELD speeches went, though the power of his voice and presence made it feel like something more. It was impressive, but then, one didn't get to be the director of an intelligence organization without being able to command a room.

When Directory Fury finished speaking, he stepped away from the podium and was replaced with a grey-haired ex-field agent who was currently serving as the head of the Academy of Operations—Agent Brennen. He gave another, shorter speech, about the founders of SHIELD, and then introduced Peggy Carter so she could present the three founders' awards: the Howard Stark Award for Exceptional Intelligence, the Colonel Chester Phillips Performance Award, and the Peggy Carter Leadership Award, all of which went to students Quinn had worked with at least once. Everyone applauded politely—no loud cheers or whooping from the new SHIELD agents. The partying would come later.

Agent Brennen returned to the stage and called for those graduating to line up in order. As he read each name, the student crossed the stage and accepted their badge from either Agent Carter or one of the others chosen for the honour, and then accepted their assignment from Director Fury himself. Someone was snapping pictures as the students shook hands with the Director, and there was a flurry of polite clapping after each name.

Everything sort of went by in a blur for Quinn, nervous as distracted as she was, though as Quinn stood in line and watched as almost everyone who had given her a hard time over the past nine months became an Agent, her head cleared. She ran through everything she'd been thinking all day, everything she'd been feeing, and suddenly… well, suddenly those things didn't matter so much. Coulson and Peggy were right—she'd completed the training, and she'd done well. It didn't matter what the others had said to her or behind her back. She'd proven to them, and more importantly to herself, that she did belong at SHIELD, that she had a future with the organization. She may never have dreamed of having such a future, but she had it.

She had it.

Quinn found herself smiling as she stood in line, just a subtle twitch of her lips.

It was a long while before Quinn's name was called, but finally, she was crossing the stage to stand in front of Agent Carter. Her stomach was alive with nerves, but she wasn't dreading the moment anymore. She wasn't scared or angry. She was relieved, and she was happy.

"How are you feeling?" Peggy whispered to Quinn as they exchanged smiles and handshakes.

"Much better, thank you."

Peggy's smile grew as she passed Quinn her badge: a folded leather wallet with her ID card in one side and the actual badge in the other. The metal shone dully in the light, and the eagle and shield insignia brought another grin to Quinn's face. She knew the shield in the logo was based on Captain America's original shield—Peggy had told her as much—and the thought made her feel closer to her great-grandfather and everything he had started with Peggy Carter and Howard Stark. She smiled up at Agent Carter again.

"Congratulations, Agent Scott."

Tears prickled at the corners of Quinn's eyes, but she kept smiling. "Thank you, Agent Carter." Quinn gave Peggy another look, hoping to convey her thanks and everything else in the glance, before she took the couple of steps that would bring her to stand in front of Directory Fury. He was much taller up close, and much more intimidating. She met his intense gaze with what she hoped was a professional look.

He regarded her in silence for a heartbeat or two, his stoic expression unsettling. "You are assigned to Agent Coulson's team and will report to him at the headquarters in New York a week from today." Director Fury tilted his chin down and raised the eyebrow over his good eye. "Congratulations, Agent Scott," he said, extending his hand.

She shook his hand, her bright smile still on her face. "Thank you, Director."

He gave her a slight nod and a twitch of lips that might have been a smile, and then Quinn was descending the steps on the other side, her badge clutched tightly in one hand. Coulson was waiting at the edge of the auditorium, his hands clasped in front of him and a demure smile on his face. His eyes were shining with pride though. When Quinn found his gaze, her smile grew to a breaming expression, and Coulson's lips split into a matching grin.

"Congratulations Agent Scott," he said as she approached. "You are now an agent of SHIELD."

Quinn took his proffered hand and squeezed, but instead of shaking his hand, she pulled him into an embrace. Coulson grunted in surprise as she wrapped her other arm around his shoulders, but the tension was brief. He returned the hug with his free arm as well and Quinn knew he was smiling.

"Thanks, Boss," she said quietly. "Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome," Coulson replied, voice betraying the shock he felt at her gratitude. "I'm proud of you, kid."

A couple tears did get through then, but Quinn was still smiling. She wasn't sure she would stop smiling for quite some time.

A/N: This is part 2 of the Undisclosed series, which is Quinn Scott's story. This one is more about the establishment of Quinn's character and relationship with Coulson, which is an important part of the whole series, and her relationship with Peggy Carter, which becomes important later on.

Part 1: Recruitment (posted)