S.O.S.
Disclaimer:
As always, I own nothing. I simply changed Annie Walker to Annie Coulson.
Rating:
T
Genre:
Romance/Hurt/Comfort
Pairing(s):
Coulsye (Skye/Coulson)
[background] Augnie (Auggie/Annie) … maybe
Lyrics Used:
Pierce Brosnan & Meryl Streep "S.O.S."
Author's Note:
Okay, so, this idea came to me while I was making lunch, this afternoon. Not really sure how putting pizza rolls in the oven brings out this story, but, nevertheless...here it is. It won't stop bouncing around my head so, hopefully, writing it will get it out!
How Can I Even Try to Go On
So, when you're near me, darling | Can't you hear me | SOS | The love you gave me | Nothing else can save me | SOS | When you're gone | How can I even try to go on | When you're gone | Though, I try, how can I even try to go on
You seem so far away | Though, you are standing near | You made me feel alive | But, something died, I fear | I really tried to make it out | I wish I understood | What happened to our love, it used to be so good
The rest of the team had dispersed. To where, Phil neither knew nor had it within him to care. He'd been left alone with the hyperbaric chamber that ensconced his beloved hacktivist. Staring down at the still form of the woman that had unknowingly stolen his heart, the senior agent couldn't get Ian Quinn's smug words out of his head. "You know, Agent Coulson, it's dangerous to keep sending her in like that...all alone...When she means so much to you..." Loathe as he was to admit, he couldn't escape the feeling that Quinn had been right. She never should have gone in there, alone. He should have been there, to protect her. However, his inner monologue was soon cut short by the sound of a voice that-while familiar-was one of the last things he expected to hear in that moment.
"Phil, I need to talk to you." The voice demanded. "Now."
Before Phil could address his daughter's handler, Agent Ward cut him off. "I'm so sorry, sir." The specialist interjected, apologetically. "I tried to stop him." He added, grabbing the intruder's arm, roughly, halting the man's movements.
"Back! Off!" The intruder growled, the feral rage in his unseeing eyes chilling the specialist to the core as he instinctively released his grip on the man's arm.
"It's quite all right, Agent Ward." The guest on their plane immediately picked up on the audible exhaustion in his friend's father's voice. "He's welcome to stay..." Phil added, turning his attention back to Skye.
"Very well..." Agent Ward replied, very carefully side-stepping the stranger on The Bus as he made his swift and silent exit, leaving the two men alone.
"There's a hyperbaric chamber about two feet directly in front of you..." Phil warned, in the same tired monotone, warning the blind man of the obstacle before he ran into it.
"Thanks for the head's up." August 'Auggie' Anderson replied, lightly-hoping to ease the palpable tension in the air-stopping when his laser cane alerted him of the chamber Phil had mentioned.
"You wanted to speak with me." Phil pointed out, repeating the other man's greeting from before. "Speak." He ordered, shortly.
The tone in Phil's voice definitely had Auggie on edge. He had never heard the man sound so beaten down, before. "I, uh...I tried calling, but, you didn't answer..." He began, hesitantly, trying to better assess the senior agent's mental state before dropping the bomb he'd come bearing.
"I've been rather busy, today..." Phil replied, in the same dead voice. "An operation went sideways..." He elaborated, without giving away any classified intel. "Skye was shot, twice, in the chest..." He added before turning to face the CIA handler. For once, Auggie was thankful for his lack of sight. The mental picture of the look in Phil's eyes that Auggie drew from the tone in his voice was haunting enough. He was secretly grateful for being spared the actual sight. "So, if you very much don't mind, I'd greatly appreciate it if you just said whatever it was you came to say..."
The news of the botched op hit Auggie like a freight train. God, I'm a dick...Why do I always have to be the one to pile more shit on to people's problems?! He wondered, silently, to himself. "Phil, I am...so unbelievably sorry..." The CIA operative began, apologetically. "I know that this is the single worst possible moment for me to be telling you this..." He conceded, gently. "But...The reason I needed to speak with you so urgently is because..." Sighing heavily, Auggie dove in. "It's about Annie..."
Phil snapped his head toward Auggie so fast, he nearly gave himself whiplash at the mention of his daughter's name. "What?" He hissed, quietly. "What about Annie?!"
"Well..." Auggie began, swallowing anxiously. "Much like Skye...Annie, too, has been shot." He elaborated, voice trembling ever-so-slightly. "Phil, I swear to God, I'm so sorry...I swear-" The CIA operative's apology was soon cut off by the sound of a fist colliding with steel before he heard Phil's voice screaming out.
"GODDAMN IT!" Phil screamed at the top of his lungs, not even caring that what was left of his team was watching the exchange, worriedly. "Just how much shit is one man supposed to fucking TAKE?!" He screamed, punching the nearest wall, not even caring about the burning pain in his fist. Heaving several heavy breaths, Phil willed his heart rate to steady as he turned back to Auggie. "How?!" He demanded, his voice audibly more level. "How did this happen?!"
"Annie called me, a few hours ago." Auggie explained, starting at the beginning of the story. "She told me that Simon had shown up at her house, unannounced, and asked her to run away with him..." He added, before being interrupted by a question from the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
"Simon?!" Phil questioned, sharply. "Simon who? How does he know Annie? Was he the one to shoot her?"
"No!" Auggie interjected, quickly, effectively silencing the senior agent's barrage of questions. "First of all, his name was Simon Fisher. He was an FSB agent Annie was assigned to get close to while she worked for Lena Smith. Half way through the op, though, she decided to cut bait and sent Annie back to the DPD and told her to drop the Simon Fisher operation." Auggie explained, hoping to answer all of Phil's questions. "But, Annie felt as though she had gone too far to turn back so she continued the op on her own, under the table. I mean, hell, she'd already gotten the man to fall in love with her...He even went so far as to kill his own handler to protect her..." Auggie elaborated, proudly. "But, after he showed up-when she went to tell him that she couldn't go away with him-it looks like somebody else broke into her house and interrupted them." He added, continuing his original story. "Whoever it was, shot and killed Simon and placed two bullets in Annie's chest, as well."
As he listened to the CIA agent's story, Phil was briefly stunned to learn that his daughter had a man in her life the hadn't known about. He and Annie'd always shared a rather close relationship-despite the nature of their careers. But, he chalked the secrecy up to the fact that her relationship with this Simon had only existed as an op. Just another part of the job. He could understand that. Besides, he had far bigger fish to fry, at the moment. "Is she..." Phil began, shakily, unable to complete the thought.
Fortunately for Phil, Auggie knew what the older man was asking. "She's still in surgery." Auggie replied, gently. "The doctor said it'll be a few hours before we know any more..." He added, regretfully.
Nodding, silently, Phil was grateful that at least his daughter was still alive. Unfortunately, that was where any shred of good news he had, at the moment, disappeared. His daughter-along with the woman he loved-were both fighting for their lives. This left Phil with the single greatest moral dilemma he'd ever faced, in his life. How was he supposed to choose between being there for Skye or being there for his daughter. "I can't leave her..." He whispered, shakily, more to himself than anyone else.
Carefully stepping over, next to the father of the woman that had unknowingly stolen his heart, Auggie gently rested a hand on the other man's shoulder. "Nobody's asking you to." He replied, gently. Auggie Anderson may have been blind, but, he wasn't stupid. From everything Annie'd told him about the connection shared by the senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and the young hacktivist, he could tell the man was in love with her. "I'll stay with Annie..." He swore, firmly. "I just thought you'd want to be kept in the loop."
Looking over at the CIA agent at his side, Phil was grateful that Annie had someone like him in her life. "Thank you, Auggie." He replied, sincerely. After a brief silence stretched between the two spies, Phil decided focusing on specifics was the only way he'd be able to hold on to whatever little bit of sanity he had left. "Are there any suspects?" He asked.
Knowing what the senior agent was doing, Auggie didn't have it in him to try to put a stop to it. "Not yet..." He conceded, regretfully. "But, I can assure you, Langley's working on the investigation, around the clock." He added, hoping to ease even just a small fraction of the older man's worries. "They'll find whoever did this." The last bit was more for Auggie's benefit. He wasn't any happier with the situation than Phil was.
"Keep me updated." Phil ordered, curtly.
Nodding, Auggie replied, gently. "Of course." Having said all that he'd come to say, the CIA operative knew Phil would want a moment alone with his wounded hacktivist. Reactivating his lasercane, Auggie turned to take his swift and silent leave.
Author's Note:
So, I ended this chapter here because I really just wanted to lay out a foundation for the story. The next chapter will pick up and build on the investigation behind Annie's shooting. I may also wait to post that chapter after "Tahiti" airs on March 4th so that I can better incorporate the events surrounding Skye's treatment.
~Skye Coulson