Melinda made her way to Coulson's office. She was anxious to see him and get answers. She was also nervous as hell and if she were honest with herself she was also scared. She had said those 3 words. The ones she promised not to. The ones she held inside and mulled over and over about what they really meant to her. It had been a moment of weakness. Of vulnerability. Of need. On the phone she needed to reassure him. To let him know she would be there for him. He had asked after all. But to let those words of endearment out. To let him hear her say it. Oh she knew he loved her too. They were best friends, comrades, co-workers, partners. All of those. But were they more than that? Was there something more there on both sides? Was it palpable to others. Phil had said Skye thought so. Was she really that transparent around him that others picked up on what neither of them could admit. What neither of them wanted to admit. Cause that line crossed would change everything. She knew that. Perhaps that was the most feared thing. That once it was said, out there, the inevitable dynamic would change and that scared the hell out of Melinda May. Cause this...this whatever the hell they had, this was comfortable. This was safe. This was normal. Melinda stood in front of the office. She shook off those personal thoughts and without bothering to knock she flew the door open and walked in. Phil looked up from his desk.

"By all means, come on in."

Melinda walked over till she stood in front of his desk. She crossed her arms and frowned at him.

"Who the hell is Rosalind Price and why was she holding my team captive?"

Phil blinked, taking in her appearance. She looked like hell. Her clothes were wrinkled and dirty, her hair unkempt and she looked exhausted. She probably hadn't sleep for a few days. She looked beautiful. He smiled at her.

"Welcome home Melinda. Really glad you're back."

"Stop avoiding the question Director. Who is she and what is the ATCU, and what the hell do they want."

"Oh that's easy. They want powered people. They want to show the President all the money he has thrown at them isn't being wasted and they want to show the public they are in control. Rosalind is in charge.'

"Rosalind? Really Phil?"

"You know I think I had this same conversation with Skye."

"Daisy. It's Daisy now Phil. And stop trying to deflect. How did she get here and get access to the base?, what are you going to do about them now?, and speaking of Daisy, don't think we won't get back to talking about why you did not inform me that Daisy was falling apart. But first things first. Explain."

Phil explained who Rosalind Price was and told her about the ATCU. He explained how they came across them, how they ended up working together and how they took advantage of them working together.

"So you're telling me that you trusted them? That you gave them access to the Playground? How did they get Daisy's arm inhibitors?

Coulson rubbed his neck and sighed. "No Melinda, we did not trust them. They used us. They had intel and they used Mack to get inside. With everything going on we missed it. They followed Mack and Skye. It was after an op to find a just turned inhuman. Lash beat us to him again and Skye... um...Daisy and Mack accompanied them to their base for mutual teamwork. Daisy wanted to see their facility since they were wanting to keep inhumans there and somehow Mack was slipped a transeaver and they got here. You saw their agents - after the initial break in we were overpowered. Joey is still in his special quarters cause he can't control his power so he was of no use, and they used Laney against Skye. When they broke in first thing they did was knock out Laney and put her in the pod. Somehow they knew about the inhibitors, and Skye put them on cause of the threat to Laney. Obviously you saw none of us tried to escape for the same reason."

"Phil. The whole thing sounds sloppy."

"Yeah. It was. Never should have happened. Everyone is dead tired. Skye is working through stuff. Fitz is preoccupied trying to get Simmons back. Mack is trying to protect Sk...Daisy from herself and everyone else. Bobbi is still rehabbing. Hunter is obsessed with finding Ward before Bobbi is well enough to try. Laney is a kid. Daisy is trying to help and watch out for her. Our guard was down. My guard was down. I was hoping to work with them. We could have used the extra manpower. The inhuman, Lash, is dangerous, and we need to stop him. I guess I thought our goals meshed."

"Phil they want to take Daisy."

"Yeah. That's why I have a hanger full of prisoners. Melinda we have to move. We are compromised. Shield doesn't have the resources right now to house all the prisoners and they are working for the government. Legit. Under the President's authority. We are the bad guys according to them. According to them, they have a right to take all inhumans and imprison them. They keep saying for their good and the publics' good." Phil paused to let that sink in.

"We have to pack everything and move. So I have to hold them here till we can do that."

"Where are we going Phil?"

"That's currently classified. I have a place. From Fury's toolbox. I'll give you the coordinates when everything is packed and you are flying the new bus."

"How soon will that be Phil?"

"By tomorrow morning. We will have everything, tech and weapons, and supplies loaded on the quinjets with some tactical agents and the rest of us will all be on the Zepher. I already gave the order to pack up to everyone except you and Skye."

"So leave them here. The prisoners. What about the woman? Will she be of any use to keep her with us captive?"

"She's good Mel. She played me and she's damn good. I am still not sure what her end game is. She is pretty ruthless. Dangerous. Skye...um I mean Daisy warned me. I should have been more delegent."

"So you like her? This Rosalind."

Phil looked stunned. He stammered. "Liiiiike heeeerrrr? Um like her like her? Gee Mel, don't you think I'm better than that. Personal feelings have no place in this business."

Melinda raised both eyebrows at that.

"No I mean that kind of personal. Oh for Pete's sake Mel. I mean personal relationships cannot compromise missions. Or info. Or this base." He reached up to rub his head. " You know what I mean. And no I am not interested in Rosalind Price that way. We needed to work with her. She got the upper hand and it was the safest way keep Skye from their clutches."

"Safe Phil? Cause from what I saw Daisy was far from safe being near them." She frowned.

"Well they double-crossed me. Us. I really thought we could work together. I thought we both had the same goal."

"So now what? She is a liability to take her with us or to leave her here. We are running out of options."

Phil sighed. "I know. Best case. We leave her and we go on the offensive. Stake them out, get in front of what they are doing. We need to see their operation. We need someone on the inside."

"They saw Natasha, Clint and Maria, Phil. They would be compromised if one of them went in."

Phil turned on his comp. "Koenig, find Natasha. Tell her and Clint and Maria to come to my office."

Melinda asked. "Phil? What do you have in mind?"

"When they get here Mel. I'll explain. How's Skye?"

"Daisy is not good Phillip. But then you know that. Why the hell didn't I?" She glared at him.

"Mel." he started.

"Don't you Mel me, you idiot. What the hell Phil? She is falling to pieces. Why didn't you tell me before now?

"She made me promise not to."

"She made you...what? Why Phil? What would make her do that. Then she called me and damnit Phil she sounded so wounded and so small. Then lost control of her powers. She hasn't done that for awhile."

"Actually she has. For a few weeks now apparently. I swear Melinda, I didn't see how bad she was till she called you. Apparently she has been hiding it well. All of us have only been getting bits and pieces. She is fine for a few days and then everything just ...I don't know Mel. Having Laney to focus on seemed to help. Then Lash came along, and the ATCU and ...it just all went to hell very quickly."

He continued looking at the floor. "When you first left, I know everything was good. She was good, you guys were at a good place. I watched you hug her goodbye. You needed the time away Mel. You have been through hell too. You needed a chance to be happy. To be with Andrew. Visit you mom. And your dad. Go to Vegas and have fun. I know how much you like Vegas Melinda. Everything just piled up. On me. On Skye. On all of us. After Jemma was taken... people just ...I don't know...it got depressing. Then the inhuman outbreak. Lash. The ATCU. I thought about calling you any number of times. But Skye wanted to fix everything. She didn't want you to think she couldn't handle things. She wanted you to be proud of her. I wanted you to be happy. Even if it meant you weren't coming back. Even if that is what you chose." He stopped, took and deep breathe and looked up at her face.

"You should have called Phil."

"I know."

A knock on the door followed by Natasha, Clint and Maria making their way in the room halted any further conversation between the two.

Natasha and Maria moved to flank Melinda while Clint stood a few steps back. Clint looked from Phil to Melinda sensing the tension in both. "So Phillip. What's the plan?"