The medical marvel, investigations and the new scratches

May stirred at just before 5 am ready to do her morning ritual and be in the gym in ten minutes but she felt the bed beside her and it was stone cold so she knew that Phil had been up a while.

She put on her sports top and bottoms and started to move towards the door, she saw Phil standing at the window of his office staring into the abyss, he was stood still as a statue and could barely be seen breathing. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, this was new in itself as it was only at the beginning of this week that they had declared feelings for each other and May had been the happiest ever since.

She knew that Phil had sleeping problems ever since Loki had stabbed him, coming back from the dead tends to do that to people, but what she didn't know was the dreams or nightmares that had been plaguing him recently.

"Hey Phil, you ok?" she tentatively asked as she could tell that he was not himself, he looked around and she could see that he looked older and sleep depravation was taking its toll on him but she didn't know why.

"I am fine Melinda, just a bit tired. I might try and have a nap later. You go and do your tai chi, I'll be fine." He turned around looked into eyes and for a moment the old Phil looked to be there and he pecked her lips and held her close like she was the only lifeline that he had and for some reason she felt exactly that, but why?

She watched him go into the room and begin putting his suit on, she looked around the office and something felt wrong and even though she knew that Phil was in the other room she felt like she wasn't alone. A rush of wind swished past her hair blowing it to the right and swung round yet there was nothing there, she would swear that something had touched her AFTER Phil had gone into the other room. She decided to do her tai chi but was definitely going to look into this, something was definitely off with him and if something was off with him then something was off with her.

Phil was in the other room about to do a Windsor knot in his tie when something whispered in his ear, "Can you hear me? I know you're there?"

He whipped around but saw nothing, he thought he was going mad but he would have sworn that he had heard something. Pulling down his shirt collar and about to put on his jacket, he saw his face in the mirror and scratches had appeared on his neck, he knew for a fact that it wasn't May. Had they had done nothing apart from kiss? They had agreed to take it slow, or more like he had decided, as he wanted to treat her like the queen she was to him but where had these scratches come from?

May went to see Simmons because she knew she was the one who had done Coulson's last physical, so the information that she needed first would come from her. She strode into the lab and Fitzsimmons stopped what they were doing and looked at her, "Hey May is something wrong? You feeling unwell? Your physical is not for another month."

"I am here to talk about Coulson and what we say had better not leave this room. He has not been himself lately, spacing out, not sleeping and he thinks that I can't see them, but marks have started appearing on him, and no, before you ask, I didn't cause them." She could the smirk on Fitzsimmon's faces and new that it was X-rated material they were thinking but this was serious. " How was his last physical? Did everything come back clear?"

"May, we cannot tell you that. You know its-"

"Look Jemma, I know that it is confidential and I would not normally ask if it was not important. If I really wanted to I could get Skye to hack the system and find out what I want to know, but I have respect for you and asking you, as a colleague and more importantly a friend. Please help me."

Jemma knew that something must be seriously concerning May for one she was willing to get Skye to hack but more importantly that last part of the sentence sounded like a prayer and a plea all rolled up into one, so she too was concerned. "Give me a moment and I will get his file."

Jemma came back about five minutes later with a file thicker than a phone book slammed it on the table and opened it up at the back, "Well as far as I can see, his BMI was normal, heart rate a little elevated but nothing serious, apart from …What the…? That was not there before and should not be there…."

"What? What is it? Please tell me, Jemma."

"There is a shadow and scar but nothing in his records state what its there for and how it took place, this is an unregistered operation. I need to do a physical on him again and be thorough about…"

"No Jemma, you are going to have be discreet about because if Phil suspects anything then he will retreat into his shell or make up some excuse not to have it done. Just make something up but make it believable, cause we all know how bad you are at lying." May smiled at her cause everyone knew that Jemma blushed when she lied and mumbled, so if she tried anything on an experienced Agent like Philip Coulson, he would smell it before she entered the room.

May left the lab and went to see what Phil was doing, she stepped into the office but it was pitch black all the curtains were shut and lights were off, she silently moved through the room like she had done a thousand times before and approached the bedroom.

She saw him laid on the bed in the same suit that he had dressed in that morning but he was tossing and turning, sweat scattered across his brow and he started moaning, "Noooo, please don't I'm begging you, it hurts noooo, just leave it. I'll do anything…"

May heart clenched, she ran over to the bed and placed Phil's head in her lap,

"Phil, honey please listen to my voice, I am hear for you, no one will hurt you, I promise. Baby, listen to me…"

The thrashing began to ease, the mumbling slowed and he began to come round to the land of the living, "May, when did you get here?" He was looking at like her like nothing had happened and that was concerning May, all the more.

She leant down to give him a kiss and found herself on her back staring into the most beautiful eyes that pierced her soul and rocked her world. "What's this for?" she queried, "Not that I am complaining, but you-"

He slanted his head and kissed her like his life depended on it, there was desperation in this kiss it was not a passionate kiss but more a confirmation that what he was feeling was real and not part of the nightmare that she had caught him in.

May took control of the kiss and her tongue slithered into his mouth and slowly turned it into the loving kiss that it should have been.

Finally it came to an end and when she looked into his eyes they were of the Philip Coulson that she knew and loved. She knew he was back but the problem was finding out what was wrong but that could wait, she was going to make sure he actually received some sleep, which she was sure his body craved and needed.

"Let me take of my jacket and we will have a nap, I could do with one and you're going to have one whether you like it or not." She smirked at him and he knew not to argue. She laid down on her back and his head settled on her heart and the steady beating lulling him to sleep into a land where he knew nothing but happiness. May laid on her back staring at the ceiling wondering what the hell is going and praying that Jemma would be able to find the answers that they so desperately needed.