Chapter 14

Phil awoke to the sound of groaning, and couldn't help the smile or the chuckle that escaped his throat. Melinda was laying face first into the pillow, her arms up under it and Phil's hand came up to her back to rub slow circles.

"Morning," he whispered sleepily.

As she turned her head to face him, he brushed the hair out of her face "What the hell happened last night?" she managed to say, her voice husky.

"You came banging on my door at 3 am," he explained "Something about Bobbi coming back,"

Melinda groaned again "I'm so sorry," she said and rolled onto her side to see him properly. He just smiled and leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"Don't worry about it," he replied.

"You're annoyingly fine about this," she grumbled at him and rubbed her eyes, earning a chuckle in return.

"It's really no big deal," he said "You had passed out within a matter of minutes anyway, so it's not like you kept me up or anything,"

Melinda seemed to take his answer before she asked "Was Skye home?" when Phil smiled, Melinda groaned gain and buried her face into the pillow "She's never gonna let this go," he heard her say, her voice muffled from the pillow.

"Nope," he replied, before he heard a knock at his bedroom door "Yeah," he said and a second later, Skye came in holding two mugs in her hands; one with coffee, one with tea.

"Hey," she smirked "I heard a lot of groaning, figured you guys were awake,"

As she passed the mugs over to them, they both sat up. Melinda brushed a hand through her hair and grabbed it "Thanks, Skye," she said.

"Yeah, well, I'm such a great kid and all," she replied, and Phil started coughing as he inhaled the coffee, making Skye laugh softly.

"Oh, God, what did I do?" she asked as she looked between the two Coulsons.

Skye sat down on the end of the bed, her legs crossed as she faced them "Do you remember anything from last night?" she asked.

"Uh, I think there were shots?" Melinda replied "And from the god awful taste in my mouth, I think they were straight vodka,"

Skye snorted "Smart,"

"I think there was a pool competition and a bar fight?" Skye and Phil raised their eyebrows as she recalled the events from last night.

"You got into a bar fight?" Phil asked, his eyebrows raising into his hairline.

Melinda shrugged "There was one, but whether I was involved or not, I can't remember,"

"You probably were," Skye snorted at her "Well, when you're ready, Phillis, Mel, I have breakfast ready for you downstairs," and with that, she stood and walked out.

"Phillis?" she asked him, only to receive a soft huff of laughter out of him and a kiss to the temple "Phil? What happened?"

Phil smiled at her before saying "You called me Phillis last night, and then got upset when I stopped calling you Mel,"

Melinda groaned again and took another sip of her tea before starting to climb out of bed. As she walked to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror, she grunted at her reflection. Phil came up behind her and chuckled softly as he put his hands on her hips. She was wearing a t shirt and her underwear, which meant Phil had got her out of her jeans and leather before putting her in bed.

Her eyeliner had smudged under her eyes, but she was able to wipe in away with her fingers, and she ran a hand through her hair again, which surprisingly wasn't knotted "God, I'm a disaster,"

"You're beautiful," he replied, running his hands up and down her sides. He chuckled as she grunted in reply and bent down to gargle water in her mouth, trying to get the taste of vodka and tea out of her mouth "You okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said "Just a headache,"

"Okay," he said and snaked his arms around her waist and kissing her neck "Let's go downstairs to get something to eat,"

Melinda nodded and spun around in his arms, placing a kiss to his cheek, not wanting to kiss him before she had a chance to brush her teeth "Thank you," she said.

"Anytime,"

Phil had found her one of his large Columbia sweatshirts for her to wear that went mid-thigh and she told him not to worry about the pants. They made their way down the stairs where Skye was cooking pancakes for them all.

"You're so lucky it's a Saturday today," Skye smirked "Otherwise, you'd be sporting sunglasses and a headache to work,"

Melinda hummed her reply and Phil sat down next to her at the counter "I'm surprised you were awake before we were,"

Skye shrugged as she flipped the pancake in the pan "I was up at 5,"

"You were up at 5?" Melinda asked her "Doing what?"

"Breathing exercises," she explained "I didn't want to do Tai Chi, because practicing the wrong technique is worse than not doing it at all, right?"

"Right," Melinda nodded "Wow, I'm impressed,"

"Well you said to practice everyday, so..." Skye shrugged again, turning to pour her father another coffee and Melinda another.

Melinda smiled softly at her "You're doing well, better than Maria ever did, that's for sure,"

Skye smiled back at her and turned back to the pan on the stove "Thanks," she said quietly.

Phil looked at Melinda and smiled, which she returned as he kissed her cheek. Melinda saw an empty glass on the end of the counter and smirked as she grabbed it.

"Skye," she said, and just as she was turning her head, she pushed the glass across the counter, hard and fast, making it fly off the edge. Like an automatic reaction, Skye dropped the spatula in her hand and reached out, catching the glass before it hit the ground and put it back on the counter.

"How the..." she started to ask, her eyes slightly widened.

Melinda smirked at her "Wax-on, wax-off, little grasshopper," she said with a small smirk and a terrible French accent. Phil looked confused at the statement and the accent, but Skye just gave her a soft laugh and nodded "I told you you were doing well,"

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Melinda asked as the cab driver helped Maria with her bags. They were standing on the street outside of her apartment building and Maria was on her way to the airport.

Maria turned to her and nodded "I'm sure,"

"You know, I can drive you to the airport, it's no big deal," Melinda said, folding her arms across her chest.

Maria smiled at her softly "I know," she said "I'm good," she assured her. Melinda nodded and looked down, suddenly finding her feet extremely interesting "Hey," Maria said as she took a step forward, placing her hands on Melinda's biceps, giving them a reassuring squeeze, making her look up "I'll be fine, I always have been,"

"I know you have been, but going back there..." Melinda trailed off and shook her head "I just don't want to see you get hurt again,"

Maria sighed softly and pulled her into a hug "I know, and I know you'd come as soon as I call to kick their asses," she said, earning a soft chuckle in her shoulder as Melinda wrapped her arms around her "But I'll be fine, I promise," She felt Melinda nod against her shoulder, but they didn't pull away, they just stood there "I'll be sure to record it as I beat them down," she added and she heard Melinda outright laugh at that and pull away to wipe a stray tear that had fallen.

"Just..." Melinda started, looking at her "...be careful, okay?"

"Always," Maria replied.

"Ma'am, are you ready to go?" the driver asked her as he closed the trunk of the car.

Maria glanced back at him with a smile "Yeah," she said before turning back to Melinda "I gotta go, but have fun tonight, looking at more lights that you already do," she said and Melinda gave her a small smile in return as she pulled Maria into another hug, kissing her cheek.

"Don't have too much fun," Melinda said "But if I have to bail you out of jail, it better be worth it,"

Maria chuckled at her and pulled back, pecking her cheek softly as Melinda had done "I'll see you in a few days," she said and stepped back towards the cab, giving her a last smile before getting in. Watching as the cab drove away from the curb, Melinda took a deep breath before she walked back to her car before she received a text. Looking down at her phone, she gave a soft snort as she read the message from Maria.

'I can hear you worrying from here. Trust me, I'll be fine x'

Melinda sent her a quick text back before she pulled away from the curb and headed to her own apartment and getting ready for the night ahead.

'Whatever you do, don't get caught. I actually like working with you sometimes and a murder charge wouldn't look good on your resume x'

"Captain," Melinda greeted with a smirk as Phil opened the door. He smiled at her and pulled on the belt loop of her jeans, pulling her into him as he crashed his lips against hers, meeting her in a sensual kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he pushed her back against the door frame, his hands grasping at her hips firmly.

"Ugh, seriously?" they broke apart at the sound of Skye's irritated voice. Phil lifted his head but kept her pinned against the wall as Melinda turned to face Skye, who had just come down the stairs. Jemma had flown home to London for Christmas the day before, which meant Skye couldn't see her until two days before the New Year.

"Hey Skye," she greeted and managed to slide out of Phil's grasp as she walked further into the apartment. Phil sighed and closed the apartment door, before turning to look at the two girls in the living room.

"Are we ready to go?" Phil asked as he clasped his hands together.

Skye raised an eyebrow and looked between the two adults "I don't know, are we?"

"Yep," Melinda nodded, trying to hide her smirk.

"Then I guess we are," Skye said and grabbed her purse and phone as she walked out in front of them. As Melinda started to walk out the front door, Phil pulled her back and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in.

"What's gotten into you tonight?" she asked as she grabbed onto his jacket.

"Nothing," he shrugged "Just missed you," he said "Well, that and you look incredibly sexy in that outfit,"

She chuckled and looked down at what she was wearing. She her hair was up in a ponytail, leaving her neck exposed, her top was black, as usual, but it was held together by a zip at the front - which she hadn't quite done up to the top. Her pants were stretchy leather material which clung to her body like a second skin, and her high-heels made her even taller. Her trademark leather jacket keeping her warm.

"Why thank you," she replied and pressed her lips to his quickly before spinning around and walking out the front door after the girls. Phil groaned and watched her backside as he followed - Melinda had just smirked when she caught him.

"You know, I always wondered what was so special about Christmas lights," Melinda said as she lent back into Phil's chest, her head on his shoulder as he stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her "But now I'm starting to get it,"

They were standing up against the railing of the harbor, looking out at all the lights, as Skye had walked up ahead of them. They hadn't been to a restaurant for dinner but they went to a diner down the street from their apartment building. The waitresses and cooks knew both Phil and Skye, but were pleasantly surprised to see Melinda.

Their main waitress, Rose, had winked at Phil when she saw Melinda, obviously rooting for them - and later had whispered in his ear that Melinda was 'a keeper'. He didn't need to be told that, not after everything she'd done for both him and Skye. She'd managed to become part of their little family, and had made him fall for her - hard. The thought had scared the shit out of him, and it scared him even more that she might not be in that deep.

He bent down and kissed the curve of her neck as she continued "We've never done anything like this - my father and I," she explained and Phil suddenly realized that she had never once mentioned her father. He'd had started to believe that he had died "He took me to a park once - but we were there for like ten minutes and then he brought me home and we never went back there,"

"You don't talk about him," Phil said quietly as they continued to look out at the lights.

Melinda sighed "It's not something I like to talk about," she said "He was a nasty son-of-a-bitch," she shook her head, and Phil felt himself hold her tighter on instinct "He was mean and nothing I ever did was good enough,"

"Did he ever..."

"No," Melinda said before he had to ask "It was never physical, it was mental," Phil felt relief at that, but not much, because he knew that emotional pain was just as bad as physical pain "He'd always tell me that I was a waste of space and how his life would be so much better if I had never been born and it just..."

"A child's never meant to hear that from their father," Phil whispered as he kissed her temple.

"No, they're not, and Skye's so lucky to have you," Melinda said and shook her head "Hearing that from someone who's supposed to love you..."

"I love you," Phil said, before it even registered. His eyes widened and he felt her tense in his arms, her head lifting off of his shoulder, but not turning around. His mouth opened a few times as his arms loosened around her waist, but not quite letting go "I mean-I just-I, uh..." he stuttered, trying not to freak her out "I don't, uh, I don't need you to say it back, but I just think you needed to hear it,"

She finally turned around, her eyes slightly widened and her mouth parted, but didn't say anything. For every second she stood there, he was becoming more anxious, and getting more self-conscious "Okay, when I said that I didn't need you to say it back, that was true," he said and rubbed the back of his neck "But I'm gonna need you to say something,"

Her mouth opened, like she was going to say something, but she just stood there for a moment before saying "I'm-I'm sorry," and slid out from between him and the rail, walking away.

"Wait-Mel!" he called after her, but she didn't turn back, she just kept striding away. He slumped back against the railing, mentally kicking himself as he ran a hand over his face.

"Dad?" Skye asked, obviously had seen Melinda walk away "What happened?" her face was full of worry and fear.

"I freaked her out, that's what happened," said Phil and shook his head "I knew I should've kept my mouth shut, I knew..."

Skye turned around and started to walk off in the direction Melinda had. As she kept walking, she rounded the corner to see crowds of people on the bridge. She didn't stop walking as she weaved through the people, scanning every face. She finally stopped when she she saw a familiar figure on a bench by the rail, and Skye stalked over to her "What the actual fuck?" she asked, louder than usual, but not loud enough to cause a scene.

Melinda didn't look up at her as she replied "Skye,"

"Look, I don't know what happened between you and Dad but you can't just walk away," she said to her, Melinda still not looking at her.

"It's complicated, Skye," Melinda replied.

"It's compli-it's complicated?" Skye asked incredulously "What does that even mean? He loves you, it's not that complicated,"

Melinda scoffed and shook her head "Right,"

Skye's expression faded slightly as she tried to connect the dots "He told you, didn't he?" she asked and sat down on the bench next to her "That's why he was saying he freaked you out - he told you he loves you," Melinda didn't reply, she just looked down "Why?"

"Why what?" she replied.

"Why freak out? Don't you love him too?" Skye asked, leaning forward slightly so she could see her face.

Melinda let out a wry laugh and looked up towards the sky "Of course I do,"

"Then wha-"

"He didn't say it because it's true, Skye," Melinda cut her off finally looking over at her "He said it because it's what he thought I wanted to hear,"

Skye's face softened and she shook her head "No, you're wrong," she said "You're wrong about that,"

Melinda sighed and looked away, back out over the water. Skye looked behind her shoulder and saw Phil standing there before she waved him over. He walked towards them, and Skye stood up, meeting him halfway.

"Did you lie?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest, earning a puzzled expression "Did you only tell her because you thought she wanted to hear it?"

Phil furrowed his eyebrows "What?" he asked and walked past her to sit next to his girlfriend on the bench. He sighed slightly under his breath when he saw her tense up again, her spine stiff and her hands clasped together "I wasn't lying," he said, but she didn't respond "I love you," somehow, he watched her spine get stiffer "I'm not lying, and I didn't say it because of any other reason,"

"Why?" she whispered, it was so quiet that he almost missed it - almost.

Phil slid closer to her and grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers "Because you are the most amazing, beautiful, selfless person I have ever met," he said "I love you because every time you walk into the room I can physically feel my face light up, I love you because you care about people more than you care about yourself and you would stop at nothing to protect them," he said and she finally turned to face him. He laid his forehead against her and he saw her eyes close as a single tear rolled down her cheek "I love you because you made me,"

He felt her hands disentangle from his and cup the sides of his jaw as she pressed her lips to his. He rested his hand on her knee as the other came up to tangle in her hair, deepening the kiss to show her he was telling the truth. He let out a moan as she nibbled on his bottom lip, and she knew she'd get that response every time. As she pulled back to look at him, they were trying to catch their breath.

"I don't need you to say it-"

"I love you too," she cut him off.

"Really?" his face lit up like the lights they currently weren't looking at "You do?"

Melinda chuckled and kissed him softly "Yes,"

"Oh, thank God," he let out a sigh of relief and pulled her in again to place a short soft kiss to her lips, hearing her soft laugh as he did. When she stood up, she held out her hands and helped him up, not stepping back when he stood chest to chest with her - like the day at the ice rink.

"I think I freaked Skye out," Melinda said as she rested her hands on his chest.

"She probably thought you were going to leave," Phil said and wrapped his arms around her back.

Melinda sighed and shook her head, turning her head to look at the teenager, who had a big grin on her face as she looked down at her phone, obviously texting Jemma, making her chuckle "I guess she's fine now,"

Phil smiled and looked back at her "Yeah, I guess she is,"

"What flavor?" asked Phil as they walked into the ice cream shop.

"Cake batter, thanks, Pop," Skye said first and Phil smirked at the obvious choice she made every single year.

"Sure," Phil said and turned to Melinda "Mel?"

"You don't have to-"

"Melinda, choose an ice cream," said Phil, cutting off her protests "It's Christmas Eve,"

Melinda sighed "Okay, uh, I guess I'll have Salted Caramel then,"

"Ah, sweet and salty," Phil remarked "Just like you,"

He was about to lean in to kiss her, but stopped when he heard Skye gagging at him, making him roll his eyes and Melinda chuckle.

"Fine, coming right up," he said and left them to sit down next to the window.

"So, are you staying tonight?" Skye asked Melinda one Phil was out of earshot "Because I'm pretty sure Dad wouldn't mind,"

Melinda froze. It was their first Christmas, but she wasn't really sure if it was their first Christmas together.

"I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, it's just-I think it'd be nice if you were there in the morning," Skye said, looking down and shrugging, playing with her hands.

Melinda reached across the table and grasped her hands "Christmas is about family, Skye-"

"You are family," she said quietly, still not looking at her.

"Skye, I'd love to be there with you in the morning," she said "But it's not up to me," Melinda gave her hands a squeeze "Your dad needs his own time with you too,"

Skye looked disappointed, but nodded as Phil came back with their ice creams, and Melinda pulled her hand away from Skye's "Alrighty," he said "How about we head home and watch a movie?"

"Sounds like a plan," Melinda said, and looked over at Skye who had just nodded and looked down at her ice cream as she ate it. Phil frowned as looked at Melinda quizzically, who just gave him a sad smile and a shrug before they all stood up to start walking back to his apartment.

On their way back, Skye had walked ahead of them again, but her head was hung slightly and she wasn't looking out over the river.

"What's wrong with Skye?" Phil asked as he draped an arm around Melinda's shoulders, her arm around his waist.

She had just sighed and said "Just hang back for a second, okay?" she said and walked ahead, catching up with Skye after she saw him nod "You okay?" she asked.

"Yep," said Skye as they walked side-by-side.

"I call bullshit," Melinda said, making Skye let a out a puff of air through her nose in a slight laugh "I saw you grinning like an idiot at your phone before so I know it's not Jemma,"

"Ever told you I hate profilers?" Skye asked rhetorically, making Melinda smirk.

"Come on, kid, out with it," she replied "Otherwise I won't spend the rest of the night with you," she lied.

Skye looked up and cocked her head to the side "That sounded strangely dirty," she said, earning a swift elbow to the side, shoving her slightly as she laughed "I just...this is a big step for us...having someone to spend Christmas with," she explained "The last time that happened was-"

"Two years ago, I know," said Melinda nodding.

"Three years," she explained "Audrey left before Christmas, it was kind of a downer,"

"Did you like her?" Melinda asked her, genuinely interested.

Skye contemplated it, tilting her head from side to side, before saying "Yeah, I guess, she was nice,"

Melinda smirked "How come I sense a 'but' coming up?"

"Again with the dirty comments, Melinda, seriously," Skye replied mockingly, and Melinda shoved her again trying her best not to smile "But...she was boring, she was just...ordinary, and that would've been okay if she made Dad happy,"

"But she didn't?"

"For a while," Skye nodded "Then she cheated,"

"Ouch," Melinda grimaced "Been there before,"

"Yeah, but I don't think he loved her," she said and glanced sideways at Melinda "At least, not as much as he loves you,"

"I'm not gonna hurt your Dad, if that's what you're worried about," Melinda replied, furrowing her eyebrows slightly.

"No-that's-I know you wouldn't," Skye huffed, trying to get the words out "Up until I met Dad, I was on my own, Christmas didn't exist for me," she explained "But our first Christmas together, I finally started to feel like I belonged in our little family, and I just...I want you to feel that way too,"

Melinda took her hand out of her jacket pocket and wrapped it around her neck "You are an amazing kid, Skye," Melinda said "And I love you as much as I love your dad, just remember that," Melinda said and felt Skye wrap an arm around her back. She'd never felt like the maternal type, and she never saw herself being a role model for anyone. But Skye had managed to work her way into Melinda's heart, and she could feel herself becoming fiercely protective of her.

"I love you too," Skye replied quietly, and Melinda pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Can I come up now? I'm getting bored!" they heard Phil call out from behind them, making them both chuckle.

"Yes, honey," Melinda called over her shoulder, but didn't let go of Skye. As they heard Phil jogging to catch up, the two looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"So, what are you guys talking about?" Phil asked.

"Sex positions," Melinda replied with a straight face. Skye covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing, whilst Phil went wide-eyed.

"Please tell me you're messing with me," Phil said, but one look at his daughter told him she was. He looked over at Melinda with a pathetic glare, who just smirked at him as they kept walking, finally reaching his apartment building.

"And we're not watching 'It's a Wonderful Life'," Skye said as they entered the elevator.

"I second that," Melinda said, turning and watching the doors close.

"Oh, come on, it's a classic!" Phil cried, turning to them both, watching them shake their heads at the movie "You both have no appreciation for the classics," he muttered as he stood back in defeat.

Christmas Eve chapter is done!

Next up: Christmas!

Will Melinda be there in the morning?

What happens?

I dunno.

I originally put Jemma in this chapter, but she had family home in London and it would be strange if she didn't go home to see them for Christmas.

BUT THERE WILL BE A LOT MORE SKIMMONS IN THE NEW YEARS CHAPTER!

Anyway, let me know what you think :)