CHAPTER 3

MAY IMMEDIATELY SHOT him a glare once the words left his mouth. Annie, amused and slightly surprised, had both of her eyebrows raised.

"Phil, you don't have to." May objected.

"I'd have Ward take charge of the team while I'm gone. There's no need to assign another pilot to the team to take your place since everyone will be working on ground for the time being."

A sigh escaped her lips. "That was not what I meant," pointed out May.

"Then what? It's as if I haven't done this before as if you haven't done this before with me."

"I don't need any help, Phil," she stressed, "and before was different."

Annie raised both of her hands in mock surrender. The sudden action caused the debating pair's attention to be fixed on her.

"I guess it's really good for me to leave now and let both of you," she pointed to Coulson, then to May, "sort this out by yourselves peacefully. Bye."

Then the doctor walked out of the door without another word.

"It's doctor's orders, Melinda," Coulson started instantly as right after Annie had left the room. "You need someone to help you around while you recover."

She closed her left hand, forming a fist. May was starting to be annoyed.

"I can handle myself." Her tone sharp.

"That's what you think while you're still lying on this hospital bed, but it's going to be different when you're already moving around, doing what you usually, just like what Annie said. And there could be complications if you're not careful enough." Coulson explained. "It's not I'm going to be with you 24/7." He added.

Coulson resisted the urge to smile when she saw the change in her face.

She was giving in.

May adjusted herself on the bed, in an effort to make herself more comfortable.

"I'm going back to sleep," said May in a matter-of-factly tone.

"So, we got ourselves a deal, then?"

May tried to fight back the urge that was threatening to appear on her lips but failed.

"I didn't say anything." May pointed out, seeing Coulson's lips curve into a smile.

He left minutes after she had drifted back to sleep. His place was as he left it and just as he always had it – clean and organized – despite of also having memorabilia and collectibles of sorts on the shelves and on the walls.

After taking a quick shower, he had a fleeting urge to scour the fridge for anything for dinner but dismissed it. Coulson went straight to bed. He was too tired to have any dreams that night.

Morning came quickly. May's eyes fluttered open, as they were greeted by the sunlight streaming through the curtains.

She easily noticed that she was alone. Coulson's absence from his spot by her bedside made her feel quite thankful that the he didn't bother to stay the night, that he'd slept in the comfort of his own bed for the night, rather than the small couch that the room had.

May momentarily closed her eyes again and relished he early morning silence.

If only she could do T'ai chi.

It was already pass seven when Annie waltzed into the room carrying a brown paper bag and a meal tray with her.

"Good morning," the doctor greeted.

May offered her a small smile in return.

Annie took the seat occupied by Coulson last night and placed the meal tray on May's lap. May simply watched her as she pulled out a lidded paper cup from the brown paper bag, along with a smaller paper bag and placed it on the meal tray.

May peered inside the paper bag in front of her.

Inside was a bagel.

"I assumed that you still have your coffee the same way that I do, with less sugar, of course." Annie pointed at the cup with her thumb. May took the cup in her left hand and made a small sip.

"I had to basically smuggle those in. You can say nothing about medical services in a S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital, but just like everywhere else, the food here is not that favorable."

"True," said May, before taking a bite of the bagel, and as if with authority, considering the she had have a number of meals in the hospital, as a patient and as a visitor.

"Did you already eat anything for breakfast?"

Annie nodded. "I had the same before I got in. And as if you're the type to share." The doctor's eyes darted at May's bagel, which was more than three-quarters done. "I had a hunch you'll be in the mood for some egg bagel this morning. I guess I was right. Huh."

May only hummed in approval.

"So have you and Phil agreed on the arrangement that he'd be around to help you with things while you get better?"

"Yeah, we settled on it last night." May finished what remains of her coffee.

"Well that's good." Annie fished out a tissue from her pocket and gave it to May and May wiped off any evidence of the bagel she just ate off her lips.

"When I contacted you months back to tell you that we should get some coffee some time, I didn't actually make it clear that it'd be off-duty, didn't I?"

The two ladies chuckled.

From the years of knowing each other, Annie became part of May's selected few that she could consider as her friends. Despite working in two rather different sectors of the same organization, the bond that formed between the two when the two met years before, before Bahrain, somehow lasted.

May wasn't the type to talk. On the other hand, Annie is quite a talker. The two are set apart by a multitude of differences, yes, but they understood. That's why they work.

Annie glanced at her wristwatch. "I'd love to stay around, but my shift will be starting soon."

"Thanks, Annie."

The doctor rolled her eyes and huffed.

"You and Phil need to stop thanking me." Annie took the meal tray from May's lap as she rose from her seat.

"This is our little secret, okay?" said Annie with a wink before leaving.

Coulson walked in the room just as Annie had left, looking refreshed and well-rested. May noted his current wardrobe, a navy blue collared shirt paired with jeans. It's the most casual outfit she had seen him in months. May thought, for a man who dressed himself in suits almost every day, his present get-up suits him really well.

"Did you happen to pass by Annie? She just left."

"Yeah." Coulson reclaimed his seat from last night. "Did they bring you any breakfast already?"

"Not yet, but Annie brought me a cup of coffee and a bagel a while ago."

Coulson looked at her in confusion. "Is that even allowed?"

May shrugged, saying, "It's not." She looked up at the wall clock. "You're early. Too early. Visiting hours haven't even started yet. You should've just stayed at home and rested. Watch TV."

"Well, it's better to watch through a small TV with only a few decent channels with someone else than watch anything through a pretty nice TV by yourself."

"What if May's allergic to tulips? What if she's allergic to all flowers? I shouldn't have thought about bringing flowers in the first place, Fitz!" A frantic Jemma Simmons entered the hospital threshold with Skye and Fitz. Ward was unable to join the three as he was one of the few called upon for an emergency meeting early in the morning.

"Don't fuzz about it, Jemma. You did her physical examination once, and you said that you didn't read anything on her file about having any allergies." Fitz examined the bouquet of white tulips he was holding. "Besides, the flowers look nice."

"Fitz is right, Simmons. Don't worry about May getting allergies if she's not even allergic to anything," agreed Skye. The three stopped in front of the elevator and waited for the passengers to get out before entering. "The tulips look good and I'm sure May would appreciate it."

Simmons leaned against the metal wall once the doors were closed. Fitz pressed '4' and they were in motion.

Fitz handed the bouquet to Simmons as they were in front of the door of Room 406.

"Ready?" Skye asked the scientist as she placed the hand on the door knob.

Simmons made a nervous gulp and nodded.

A/N – Finally, an update! Thankfully, I covered all the areas I wanted to cover with this chapter, even if it came out shorter than I expected. ^_^; Anyway, what do you think of Annie thus far? Anyway, May's coming home by next chapter, but not until BTN-4 puts on a little bit of a show. Stay posted!