Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers. Nor do I own Phil Coulson. I do, however, own Alex and this plot. Happy reading!
CHAPTER ONE - LITTLE SISTER
MARCH 24, 1980 - DAYTON, OHIO
"Mommy, mommy!"
A little boy sprints happily into his mother's awaiting arms as he rushes inside his home. She smiles lovingly at him, fixing the buttons on his shirt and smooths his unruly hair before placing a kiss on his forehead. His eyes close as he relaxes at her touch, comforted by her actions. He quickly remembers his reason for abandoning his adventures outside when his mother stands, her enlarged stomach now in his line of vision.
"Mommy, when will Alex be here? Do you think she'd come tomorrow for my birthday?" He asks, hopping ecstatically on his heels. He is excited to become a big brother, and can't wait to see his baby sister. His excitement grew larger as he imagines all the things he would do with her, and all the games they could play together instead of him playing alone- like he did now. He looks hopeful up at his mother, eagerly waiting her answer.
"I don't know if it will be on you birthday, baby, but she will be here any day now." She pats his back affectionately and leads him to his room, promising a bedtime story if he gets in his pajamas while she does the same.
Closing his bedroom door, she starts to walk toward her own room when she feels pressure on her pelvis and a sharp pain erupts from her lower back. She stops walking and leans against the wall on her left, and focuses on her breathing until the discomfort passes. Looking at the clock on her right, she notices that it's only been four minutes since the last contraction she felt and panic shoots through her. She walks briskly into her room, forgetting about what she was doing before and heads straight for her cell phone on her dresser.
She makes two short phone calls before she calls the hospital: the first, a voice-mail left for her husband, telling him what's happening, and the second, her brother-in-law Morris, asking him to pick up her son so he wouldn't be alone- which he agrees to do immediately. She gathers anything she thinks she needs and quickly goes to her son's room, ignoring his baffled expression as she goes through his closet, picking out enough clothes to last him for a few days.
He remains in his bed, stunned by his mother's hurried actions. Once his bag was ready, his mother smiles calmly at him and sits beside him on his bed, pulling him close to her side.
"Baby, don't be scared, okay?" She begins while she gently rubs his back. "It looks like Alex will be here for your birthday after all. You're going to stay with your Uncle Morris and Aunt Elaine, but you can come visit her tomorrow, alright?" She explains as she leads him out his room and to the front door, right as a car pulls into the driveway.
He looks up at her and a smile grows on his face at the news. His birthday wish has come true, he'll see his sister for his birthday! He nods to show her he understands and she leads him to his uncle's car, telling him she loves him before kissing his forehead.
She stands and waves as the car drives away. Once she can't see it anymore, she calls for a taxi to take her to the hospital.
After eight and a half hours of labor, she holds her baby girl in her arms, smiling tiredly down at her. She hugs her close, and runs her fingers over the soft tufts of dark, chocolate-brown hair on top of the newborn's head.
"I'll miss you so much Alex," she whispers. "But it's for the best, I promise." She takes a deep breath and rubs her watering eyes with one hand. Looking down at her sleeping daughter, she kisses her forehead and smiles lovingly.
"It's a shame you can't meet your brother," Her voice cracks at the mention of the exuberant five-year-old. She takes another deep breath before continuing, "He would've loved you to pieces."
MARCH 25, 1999 - LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Alex groans as her alarm clock goes off, the shrill beeps ensuring that she wouldn't be going back to sleep. She reaches out and blindly searches for the 'snooze' button, sighing in relief when the noise stops. She sits up and stretches before lazily getting out of bed and slowly making her way downstairs. She rubs her eyes and stretches once more when she reaches the bottom step.
She turns right and walks down a short hallway, the faint aroma of fresh coffee enticing her towards the kitchen. She follows the smell and noisily steps into the dining room, stopping instantly when she's greeted by a man sitting at the table, sipping on a drink- coffee, Alex guesses.
He looks up when her footsteps stop, and almost drops his drink as he clumsily jumps up to introduce himself. He smiles kindly at her, and stiffly extends his hand towards her once he stands properly.
"Good morning, I'm Agent Coulson. Please don't panic, I'm just here to ask a few questions." His voice is firm, and Alex can already tell this meeting wouldn't be good.
She timidly shakes his hand, unsure why he would want to talk to her. She's a normal university student, who is visiting home for her birthday; she didn't see what would attract attention to herself. Sitting nervously in the chair, she hastily runs her fingers through her hair, becoming aware the she was still in her sleepwear while Coulson was in a clean-pressed suit.
She gives a weak greeting back to him as he sits back down in his chair, which is across from her. He opens a file folder sitting to the left of his now cold coffee and reads the papers inside, while Alex tries to indiscreetly see anything written on the paper.
She flinches back as he smoothly moves the folder around so it faces her. She quickly skims over the file, and her jaw drops as she realizes it was about her. She looks up at the agent across from her, and silently waits for an explanation.
"Alexandria Walters, born March 25, 1980. Birth parents unknown, found outside the home of Morris and Elaine Walters, who happily accepted the baby. Showed interest in behavior since a young age, skipped two grades, graduated high school at 16 and it's now top of her class in both psychology and sociology." He smiles at her again and she stares at him, completely baffled.
She takes a deep breath and nods to confirm he's correct, though she doesn't think he needs her confirmation. She closes her eyes as she figures out he intentions. She hears the rumors floating around her university campus, people whisper about the secret government agents that whisk you away and you're never heard from again. She dismissed them as stories to scare people, but as she sits and stares at Coulson, she now knows all the rumors are true.
"I'm leaving aren't I? To join some government group that does what exactly, track down spies? Hunt aliens?...Or is it some kind of big group of intelligent people?" She hopes that she's completely wrong, and he wouldn't take her. Her hope fades as he shrugs, grinning peacefully at her.
"It's more like a combination of all three, and it's called S.H.E.I.L.D."
AN: Just in case there's confusion, this is eleven years before the "Avengers Initiative" begins.
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