AN: Thanks again to those reading, following, reviewing and those that are making it a favorite.
AN 2: Introduced officially one of my favorite characters on the show
SO PLEASE REVIEW. THANKS
Chapter 9
"I asked for Agent May in this briefing as well, where is she?" Fury spoke onscreen to Phil Coulson who stood in the Command Centre.
"Agent May will be here momentarily sir," Coulson explained straightening his tie and looking over his shoulder as Melinda May slipped in.
"I am sorry sir," Melinda told Fury. The agent held a bundle in her hand but she spoke nothing about it. "Just a moment more," she asked for the director's patience as she stepped into the bedroom attached to the Senior Agent's office put something on the bed. She surrounded it with pillows then silently moved to step just to Coulson's right hand side a step behind him.
"I know the earthquake in the area stepped up the timetable of your mission," Fury stated through the view screen. "Do you have Romanov and what is the status of the presence of infant shifters?"
"Agent Romanov is currently resting in medical," Coulson told Fury nodding to May to step forward and to stand beside him. "Agent May can you give the best information of Romanov's condition."
"Romanov has sustained a bite injury with some muscular tearing of her left shoulder. She also has some scratches to her arms, hands and face from an encounter with one of the leopards at the facility," Agent May answered impersonally. She moved her hands to clasp them behind her back and let her legs fall apart slightly. "She is currently sedated on pain medication. Her wounds have been cleaned and stitched and she is having antibiotics administered to fight off infection of the bite. As a precaution, I also have started a series of rabies treatments."
"You? Agent May? Why are you treating Romanov and not Agent Simmons?" Fury questioned wanting the most experienced medical professionals on Coulson's team to treat Romanov.
"Agent Romanov came into the lab very combative and uncooperative Director," Coulson spoke out before May could answer. "She initially refused treatment and would only speak to Agent May. Agent May was able to calm Romanov down and administer proper care per her advanced shield field medical training."
"Let me guess, Romanov would not let anyone touch her," Fury surmised. He knew the Black Widow's history from Istanbul and how it left her changed and resistant to medical treatment. "When can she de-brief?"
"She's resting comfortably now sir and I don't expect her to wake for a number of hours," May explained. "I do not have Simmons's medical degree but I anticipate she may not be cleared for field work for at least a few weeks. Her shoulder will need time to heal."
"Understood," Fury spoke with a nod satisfied with what he had been told. "Now the second part of your mission, did you extract shifters from the facility? And where are they currently?"
"Yes sir," Coulson answered Fury while May remained silent. May's face stared expressionless straight ahead but her hands wrapped behind her back had clenched together so tightly that to a normal person it would have been painful.
"Go on, "Fury ordered his face seeking any kind of reaction from May before addressing Coulson further. His usual stoic face relaxed slightly as he asked. "What did you find Phil?"
"We have recovered a female snow leopard shifter. The female shifters DNA matches Agent May and what we expect to be that of Clint Barton. Romanov spoke to us back here on the plane of another male shifter cub. He was on site but we regret not recovered. We had to evacuate an injured Romanov and Agent May's daughter shifter. We were engaged by armed guards at the facility. And Romanov needed immediate medical attention. We made the tactical decision to retreat." Coulson explained in detail to the director.
"We had unknown Intel to suggest the number of shifters," Melinda told Fury standing straight her hands now moved to her sides. "But I determined by my sense of hearing before we left that Hydra had contained all of those in animal form in cages. And they were guarded by a greater number than Fitz, Coulson and I could engage successfully without further risk of greater casualties."
"Ward notified HQ of a helicopter leaving the facility right before we entered the facility. We speculate it was carrying the Doctor and he had already left the facility when we arrived," Coulson continued
"Yes, we detected a single plane had left an airport in area and is headed towards Thailand. Garrett has the plane under surveillance." Fury told Coulson and May. "When they land we will try to confirm he has the boy shifter and the d.n.a. from our people."
"Fitz has been checking video and pictures of drones we released in the area." Coulson told the director. "Hydra has not sent more agents in the area. Video showed a single helicopter hovering at a window after May, Fitz and I evacuated. The pictures clearly show several large cages being loaded on a military sized helicopter."
"Sir, if I may," May asked Fury, "Permission to return to the site after we re-fuel and look for clues for the boy shifter. There has been no more after-shocks and it may be safe to re-enter the site"
"Denied Agent May. I already have a team in route to the area. Barton is leading it," Fury told his agent. "Your team is to go to Macau to refuel. I will meet you there" Agent Fury stood up from his desk and moved closer to the camera. "Melinda, spend time with your baby. You need to bond. Natasha is going to need you. You can see what she can tell us so we can get the boy back. See you in Macau" Fury ended the call but not before giving Melinda a soft smile.
Coulson pulled Melinda to the couch after the call ended. He drew her close and put his arm around her. Melinda's body was tight and hard against him. He knew Melinda May was not one who liked to be told no. This was especially true when there was an innocent helpless child involved. "Melinda It's not your fault we did not get the boy. We did not even know how many children were there. We only knew that both Hydra guards and medical personnel were securing the animals. We would have risked the welfare of Natasha and the baby had we engaged them."
Melinda let him run his fingers through her dark silky hair. It was very similar to how we stroked her when she was in her leopard form. "I wonder if she will have hair like yours Mel," he asked hooking a finger around a particular a strand of Melinda's hair and rubbing it with his thumb. "Will it be silky, black and exotic when she is in her human form," Phil asked referring to the cub sleeping in the next room.
Melinda looked up at him with amusement. "What if is brown like Clint's. And Clint does not have an exotic bone in his body," she answered dryly feeling herself relax. She knew Phil was trying to ease her out of her bad mood.
"Is it so bad to spend time getting to know your daughter or shall I say our daughter?" Coulson asked May. "Melinda, I want to be here for you and the baby. I am not a shifter like you or Clint."
"Phil," Melinda spoke leaning into his chest so she could listen to his heartbeat. She placed an arm on his thigh possessively. "Skye won't care if you are a shifter or not. She will just need you to love her."
"Skye?" Coulson asked tipping Melinda's chin up and looking into her brown eyes. "Is that what you are calling her? Skye?"
"Yes, Phil," Melinda said sitting up and pulling him into the bedroom. They both stood looking down at the small little creature curled in upon itself sleeping on the blankets. "I just want to look at her Phil. She is so perfect." Melinda moved to the other side of the bed and laid upon it. She curled her body around the little cub and propped her head on her elbow. She gently stroked the soft baby fur with her fingers.
"Why Skye?" Phil inquired. "I know there is a reason knowing you." He said moving himself around the bed as well. He sat down and leaned against the headboard realizing suddenly Melinda, Skye and he were now a family.
"Back in Bahrain," Melinda finally spoke to him. "You carried me out of there that dark hell hole. I was sick, injured and felt so violated," she continued frankly. "I remember looking out into the bluest sky. It was splashed with a brilliant sunset with the colors of orange, pink and violet."
"I did not remember that," Phil told her shifting and lowering himself to spoon against her. He once again started to run his fingers through her hair. "I just remember how blessed I felt to have found you. I knew that day I loved you like I had never loved another woman and I wanted you at my side forever."
"I was looking up at the sky at the sunset," Melinda continued. "I remember such beauty after walking out of such evil." She told him, her eyes still fixed only on her baby beside her. "This child "Melinda explained to him as she pushed her hips into his wanting to feel him closer. "She is that "Skye".
