Maria stood next to Fury's bed and watched him sleep. The doctor had said the dendrotoxin would wear off soon and had ordered her to stay, claiming he would likely be disorientated and need something to fixate on. Or someone. Usually she was bad at listentng to doctors orders but she understood the truth behind it and knew that Fury would prefer to hear about Shield from her rather than from anyone else.
With a sigh she sat down and regarded the man before her. She had disagreed with him on a regular basis, had thought him reckless and foolish more than once and had challenged his authority almost as often as she had defended it. Still, seeing him so utterly unmoving scared her. Not that she would admit that to anyone.
With another shuddering breath she reached for his hand and turned it so that she could rest her index and middle finger on his pulse point. The steady feeling of blood rushing through his veins was soothing her into a daze and finally she let the exhaustion of the last days catch up to her.
When she woke up the room was utterly quiet and she listened intently with her eyes still closed to any sound that could have woken her.
For a few minutes there was nothing, then, "Getting sentimental Hill?"
Her eyes snapped open almost immediately only to meet with Fury's amused gaze. He raised an eyebrow and Maria immediately pulled her hand away from his wrist.
"Bastard," she growled though by the way Fury looked at her she knew he was aware that her anger was fake and it was a mixture of relief and annoyance that had made her react that way. His voice was far too conversational when he asked the question she had been awaiting since the moment the doctor had told her he would make it, "How bad is it?"