Chapter 25
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August 7th 1987
It has been two months since Melinda completely S.H.I.E.L.D Academy and became an actual agent and since Tony graduated MIT. While Tony is able spending his summer at home with his parents, Natasha and Maria Melinda has been going on missions and because of that she has only see her family a couple of times.
With Phil by her side, just like every mission that they have been on, Melinda is currently in Germany and the two of them are returning to a S.H.I.E.L.D safe house after meeting a contact to get intel. The mission went south and even though they lost sight of the contact they got the intel so they consider it have been a partial success.
"Just once I would like something to go to plan." Phil tells Melinda, sounding frustrated, "Why doesn't anything ever go to plan?" Phil asks Melinda curious.
"Things going to plan isn't in our job description." Melinda says as they arrive at the safe house.
"Guess so." Phil say as he pulls out the key to enter and as he turn the key both he and Melinda hear a click, "Did you…?" Phil starts to say but before he can even finish his question Melinda tackles him to the ground just as the safe house explodes, "May? You okay?" Phil asks worried as he feels pains in several places and has to cough because of the smoke.
"Yeah." Melinda says as she pulls a piece of shrapnel out of her side as she knows that it's not in too deep, "Come on, we've got to go." Melinda says standing up.
"Yeah, we so do." Phil says as he stands too and he and Melinda both run, both ignoring the pains that they are feeling in various parts of their respective bodies.
For the next few minutes Melinda and Phil run until they both stop in a small alley to catch their breaths.
"We need a plan." Phil tells Melinda and she gives him a look which says 'obviously', "Well, do you have one?"
"We need to get somewhere safe and we need to treat our injuries because we can't keep leaving blood trails." Melinda tells Phil.
"Good plan, but there are no safe places. The only S.H.I.E.L.D safe house in Berlin just blew up." Phil reminds Melinda and as he does Melinda realises exactly where they can go.
"There's someone where else we can go. A place that is safer than any S.H.I.E.L.D safe house." Melinda explains.
"Really?" Phil asks surprised and Melinda nods, "Okay, lead the way." Phil says as even though he is completely confused he trusts Melinda so he follows her.
It takes about half an hour but then Melinda and Phil arrive at a large, beautiful house, with a fence, but instead of heading to the front gate Melinda leads Phil around the side to what looks like a power box, but is actually a locked box, on the side. To Phil's confusion Melinda puts her right thumb on the padlock on the side and it and after a few seconds the padlock opens.
"Did your finger print just open that?" Phil asks surprised.
"Yes." Melinda answers as she takes off the padlock and opens the box to reveal two keypads, one sticking out further than the other.
"I'm guessing you know the codes." Phil comments, wondering if this means Melinda will finally explain everything about who she is.
"Yep." Melinda explains as she enters her code into the keypad that is sticking out a bit and the keypad swings forward to reveal a hook with a set of keys on it which Melinda takes and then she enters a second code into the other keypad, which causes a greenlight to appear above, and once she sees the light Melinda closes and locks the box, "Okay, let's go."
"What just happened?" Phil asks curious.
"My parents own a lot of houses. Sometimes we can't carry keys so my siblings, parents and I each have two unique codes memorized so that we can get the keys and disable the security at any of their houses." Melinda explains as they head back to the front glass, Melinda knowing, without a doubt, that as soon as walk inside the house Phil is going to realise exactly who her family is.
"Houses? How many houses do your parents own?" Phil asks interested.
"Honestly I have no idea, and I'm not entirely sure that they know." Melinda admits as they walk through the gate to the complete shock of Phil, "We'll be safe here." Melinda assures him.
"Our S.H.I.E.L.D safe house exploded, what makes you think we'll be any safer at your parents' house?" Phil asks Melinda curious as they walk towards the front door.
"That has a very, long and complicated answer that I will explain at length once we are inside." Melinda says as they arrive at the front door and Melinda uses the keys to enter.
As they walk into the house Melinda drops the keys in a bowel by the door and Phil realises that Melinda seems completely comfortable while Phil isn't really sure what to think.
"Through there is the living room." Melinda says pointing to the left, "Wait there. I'll go grab the first aid kit and other things we're going to need to treat our wounds." Melinda says as she knows that that will give Phil a chance to notice the pictures that are in the room and come to a conclusion.
"Okay." Phil says as he heads to the living room. Looking around Phil realises that Melinda's parents but be very rich as there are more than a few piece of antique and expensive furniture. As he walks in the living area Phil notices pictures on the mantel so not being able to help his curiosity Phil walks over and has a look, and he is shocked by what he sees. In the centre of the mantel there is a picture of Peggy Carter and Howard Stark with arms around one another, there is a picture of Peggy and Howard holding a baby and then with a toddler and a teenage girl. As he reaches a picture of Peggy, Howard, the boy, and the girl who doesn't seem to have aged, with a little Asian girl Phil comes to a realisation,
"Oh my god." Phil says shocked and as he keeps looking at the photos he eventually sees a picture of Melinda as she looked when they first met.
"Considering everything Mom and Dad should really know better than leaving pictures like those out, but they're sentimental." Melinda says as she walks back into the room carrying a first aid kit, a bowel full of water and several towels.
"This is Peggy Carter and Howard Stark." Phil says picking up one of the photos.
"Yeah, it is." Melinda confirms as she puts everything down on the coffee table.
"They're your parents." Phil says shocked.
"Yes." Melinda confirms.
"So for two years you've been lying to me?" Phil asks, betrayal and hurt clear in his voice.
"I never outright lied to you. I just never told you everything because I was always taught that that was the best way to protect me and everyone around me." Melinda explains, "But, I'd like to explain everything, at length, if you're willing to listen."
"I am." Phil says as he puts the photo back down and walks over to Melinda.
"Thank you." Melinda says, being grateful that Phil is giving her this chance, "Well to start you need to know that ninety percent of the things you've heard about Howard Stark aren't true." Melinda reveals, "He may be a genius and, I'm not even sure how rich, but he is warm and loving. He has always been there for me, my siblings and Mom, and country to the media opinion since they have gotten together Dad hasn't been anything but completely faithful to my Mom." Melinda explains.
"So, Director Carter and Director Stark are together?" Phil asks, wanting to understand and Melinda nods, "Why doesn't anyone know?" he asks curious.
"They tried to be publically together when they first got together in 1949, but then when some enemies of theirs found out they tried to kill them because of their connection." Melinda explains, only knowing that because Natasha told her, "So, as far as most people knew they broke up, but they didn't. When they got married in 1955, there was only two witnesses." Melinda explains, "Where are you hurt?" she asks.
"Just the arm, I think I've dislocated my shoulder and there's the cut on my face, but it's not so bad. I think you need patching up more than me." Phil comments.
"Yeah." Melinda says as she takes off her jacket, and checks to make sure that something is in the pocket before she lies it on the table, "Stand up. I'll fix your shoulder and then you can stich me up." Melinda explains and Phil stands up, "Count off three." Melinda says once she moves into position.
"Okay." Phil responds.
"One, two, three." Melinda says before she pops Coulson's shoulder back into place, causing him to scream.
"Thanks, that feels much better." Phil says gratefully.
"You're welcome." Melinda responds.
"So, how about I stich up your side why you tell your story." Phil suggest.
"Sure." Melinda says before she moves over to the couch and lays down, lifting up her shirt just enough for Phil to be able to get a clear view of her wound, "Where was I?" Melinda asks as Phil pulls the coffee table over and sits on it so that he can get a good view of Melinda's side.
"Director Carter and Director Stark got married in 1955." Phil answers as he cleans Melinda's wound.
"Right." Melinda says as she puts her arm behind her head to give Phil better access, "After that, even if only a few people knew, both Mom and Dad considered their real names to be Margret Elizabeth Carter-Stark and Howard Anthony Walter Carter-Stark respectively." Melinda explains, "In 1970 when my brother was born they gave him the public name of Anthony Edward Stark, but his real name, his true name, is Anthony Steve Carter-Stark." Melinda explain.
"Tony Stark is your brother." Phil says shocked as he finally makes the connection.
"Tony Carter-Stark." Melinda corrects, "But yes." Melinda confirms, "In 1973 Mom went on a mission that brought a thirteen-year-old Russian girl, who had been trained since she was a child to be a weapon and had been given a serum to slow her aging to such a slow pace that it takes her two years and four months to age a year, in." Melinda explains, winching as Phil stiches her.
"Sorry."
"It's okay." Melinda assures him, "After months of being in S.H.I.E.L.D's custody Mom and Dad took her into her home and once they adopted her she became Natasha Alianovna Carter-Stark with the public allies of Natasha Alianovna Romanoff, though to family she's Tasha." Melinda explains.
"They're the siblings you're really close to, right? Tony and Natasha?" Phil asks curious.
"Yes." Melinda confirms, "In 1976 I was at the Carter-Stark house, because they were friends with my biological parents as my Mom was CIA, and it was Peggy and Howard who told me that my biological parents were killed in an explosion." Melinda explains a sadness in her voice, so hearing that Phil stops what he is doing and squeezes Melinda's hand causing Melinda to give him a smile and once she does Phil let's go and continues to patch Melinda up, "Mom and Dad promised my biological parents that they would look after me if anything happened to them so they took me in, and later adopted me too. My true name, what I consider my real name to be is, Melinda Qiaolian May Carter-Stark." Melinda reveals.
"I'll remember that." Phil responds as he puts a dressing over the wound, "Done."
"Thanks." Melinda says as she sits up, it looking slightly difficult for her to do so, "Now let's look at that cut." Melinda says as she grabs dips one of the unused cloths in the water and cleans the cut that I above Phil's eye, "In April 1980 while on a mission Mom found a baby girl who had been abandoned in the snow and after discussing the matter with Tony, Tasha and I Mom and Dad took her in. She was given the public name of Maria Ana Hill but her real name is Maria Ana Carter-Stark." Melinda explains as she rips dressings to put them on the cut that is above Phil's eye.
"What about Maria Stark? The woman who Director Stark is apparently married too, how does she fit in?" Phil asks curious as Melinda puts the pieces of the dressing over his eye.
"She knows the truth and pretends to be with Dad to protect our family." Melinda explains, "She's never been with Dad." Melinda tells Phil, "There, done." She tells him.
"So let me make sure I have this right. You are the daughter of Peggy Carter and Howard Stark who are actually together and are actually Peggy and Howard Carter-Stark and you're Tony Carter-Stark's big sister and the younger sister of a former Russian agent who ages slower than normal." Phil says, wanting to make sure that he's right.
"Yes." Melinda says.
"How many people know the truth?" Phil asks curious.
"Not many." Melinda answers, "Fury, Tony's roommate, our family, and a few other people, but that's it." Melinda explains, as she finishes putting the dressing on the cut, "And now that neither of us are bleeding we need to figure out a plan." She tells Phil.
"I'd say we need to contact S.H.I.E.L.D. After everything you just said your parents will be worried." Phil points out.
"I'd say that is an understatement." Melinda comments, "I need you to know that I didn't get into S.H.I.E.L.D because of who my family is, I earned my place." She tells Phil, needing him to know that as she doesn't think she could handle it if he believed that.
"I never even considered that. I've seen what you can do and I know that you've earned your place." Phil explains, giving her a comforting smile, "But it does explain something."
"What?" Melinda asks curious.
"Why you worked harder than everyone else at the Academy. You wanted to prove that you deserved to be there." Phil realises.
"Maybe a part of me did." Melinda admits, "We've got to contact Mom and Dad, let them know what's happened before they hear about it another way." She explains.
"Is there even a secure way to do that?" Phil asks curious and for a few seconds Melinda looks thoughtful.
"Yes, follow me." Melinda says and she gets up and heads out of the room, Phil following behind.
A couple of minutes later, partly because Melinda got lost, Phil and Melinda walk into what looks like a communications room.
"Okay, this is a communications room. There is a communications room in a house, and I not even surprised anymore." Phil admits.
"Good call on that." Melinda responds, looking amused, as she heads over to what seems to be a radio, but is actually a more secure more complicated version of one.
"That seems complicated." Phil comments as Melinda sits down.
"It is, but I know how to work it." Melinda says as she presses a few buttons, and then raises the microphone to her month, "Hello, can anyone here me? It's Mel. Please come in." Melinda requests and then she pauses.
"Miss Melinda." A voice answers after a minutes.
"Jarvis." Melinda says with a smile, "I am so happy to hear your voice. I need to talk to Mom and Dad, or even Tasha if they're not home." Melinda explains.
"They're both home. I'll go get them. Please hold." Jarvis requests.
"Who's Jarvis?" Phil asks curious as he pulls a chair over and sits next to Melinda.
"He's Dad's butler, but he's more than that. He's like another member of the family. He's basically a brother to both my parents." Melinda explains.
"Ah, okay." Phil responds and they both drift into silence.
"Mel?" Peggy's voice says about a minute later.
"Yeah, hey Mom." Melinda responds, "There's been a situation."
''What kind of situation?" Howard asks concerned.
"Phil and I arrived back at our safe house and as Phil opened the door we heard a click and I tackled Phil to the ground just before it blew up." Melinda explains.
"Are you both okay? Are you hurt?" Peggy asks worried.
"We've both got a few minor injuries, but nothing we haven't dealt with." Melinda explains, "What are our orders?" Melinda asks her parents, "We got the intel but our contact disappeared when we were fired upon." Melinda explains.
"Come home." Peggy tells her daughter, "In the office you'll find a way to create any documents you'll need and then take one of the cars to the family airport, fly to the one here then come straight to the house, not S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Okay, can do." Melinda comments.
"I take it that Agent Coulson now knows the truth." Howard comments and Melinda gives him a look and a nod.
"Yes Sir, I do." Phil answers.
"Okay." Peggy says, as she and Howard exchange a look, "And you are both okay, really?"
"Yes Mom"
"Yes, Director." Melinda and Phil respectively answer.
"Good. Get back here as soon as you can." Peggy instructs.
"Will do." Melinda says before she turns off the equipment that they are using, "Any preferences on a fake name?" Melinda asks Phil curious.
"Not particularly." Phil answers as they both stand up, as he does he notices a picture of Steve in his Captain America outfit, "That's Captain America." Phil says amazed as he points at the picture.
"Yep, though in my family he's just Steve." Melinda reveals.
"You must have heard so many stories. You must know so much about him." Phil says amazed as they walk.
"I know a bit; my parents talk about him a lot." Melinda explains.
"So that means that you already knew everything that I've ever told you." Phil realises.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoying listening to you talk." Melinda explains with a smile, one that Phil returns, as the two of them head to the office.
A little over an hour later Melinda and Phil have created their fake documents and have arrived at the private airfield that Howard owns.
"Does you Dad own private airfields everywhere?" Phil asks curious.
"I'm not exactly sure. Dad has a habit of buying things just because he wants them and then losing track of what he's brought." Melinda explains as they get out the car, "Which plane do you want to take?" Melinda asks curious.
"Whichever you want. You're the one flying us." Phil responds, "How did you learn to fly?" he asks curious as it is something that he is curious about but has never asked.
"Dad taught me." Melinda explains, "Let's take this one." Melinda says walking over to a two seater plane.
"Does it have a big enough range?" Phil asks curious as it doesn't seem like it.
"Dad improved it. It has several fuel tanks and enough range to get us home." Melinda explains as they head inside.
"Good." Phil says, sounding glad, and Melinda sits down in the pilot's seat while Phil sits down next to her, "How long to take off?" he asks curious.
"A couple minutes." Melinda answers and within ten minutes Melinda and Phil are in the air on their way back home.
Eight and a half hours after they left Berlin Melinda and Phil touch down in DC, where it is late evening, and as they walk out of the plane Melinda isn't at all surprised to find Natasha waiting by a car.
"You here to escort us home?" Melinda asks her sister curious.
"Nah, I just figured that you might be tired so you might not want to drive. Plus I'm extra back up." Natasha explains as she looks Phil up and down, clearly sizing him up even though she has caught glimpses of him before.
"Good to know." Melinda comments, "Phil this is my older sister Natasha, Tasha this is Phil Coulson." Melinda introduces.
"It's nice to meet you." Phil says to Natasha, sticking out his hand for her to shake.
"You too." Natasha responds, actually meaning that, "We should get going." Natasha tells her sister and her sisters friend and the three of them head over to the car.
"Yeah, we should." Melinda confirms and as they walk to the car Phil finds himself becoming a little nervous as not only is he meeting his bosses for the first time but he is meeting them as his friend's parents.
"This Is where you grew up?" Phil says surprised when Natasha drives he, Melinda and herself into the yard of the house a while after they left the airport.
"Yeah, it's home." Melinda confirms.
"Good to know." Phil says as Natasha stops the car and the three of them get out. While Natasha heads straight inside Melinda notices Phil pause.
"You okay?" Melinda asks concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just nervous." Phil admits and upon hearing that Melinda walks over to him.
"You have no reason to be nervous." Melinda assures him giving him a comforting smile and instead of heading inside Natasha watches the two of them with an amused look on her face.
"You really think that?"
"I know that." Melinda assures him.
"Are you two going to continue to gaze longingly into one another's eyes or come inside?" Natasha asks curious.
"We're coming." Melinda tells her sister and she and Phil follow Natasha inside.
"MEL." A happy voice says as soon as Melinda walks inside and she finds her being hugged by Maria and as she wasn't expecting it Melinda can't hold in her wince.
"Sorry." Maria tells her sister as she noticed the wince and feels bad.
"It's okay." Melinda tells her sister.
"You said you weren't hurt." Peggy tells her daughter with a frown.
"Technically I said that I had a few minor injuries that have been dealt with." Melinda explains, "Phil this is my sister Maria, my brother Tony, and my parents Peggy and Howard. Everyone this is Phil Coulson, my friend and partner." Melinda introduces.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all, really." Phil says, completely telling the truth.
"Jarvis is just putting dinner on the table so how about we eat and the two of you can fill us in on everything that happened." Howard says.
"Sure." Melinda tells her father and everyone except for her and Phil head to the dining room, "Nothing is classified in this house so don't worry about what you say. Just gloss over the details of us being hurt around Maria. Mom and Dad will probably ask about it later." Melinda explains.
"Noted." Phil responds.
"Good, come on Jarvis is probably the best cook ever." Melinda tells her friend.
"Good to know." Phil says with a smile as the two of them head to the dining room.
Forty minutes later the Carter-Stark's, Phil and Jarvis are still sitting around the dining table even though they have already finished eating as Melinda and Phil are explaining everything that has happened.
"And then we used the radio in the coms room to call her and well you know the rest." Melinda explains to her parents.
"Yeah, we do." Peggy confirms, "It sounds like this whole thing might have been a set up."
"Getting the intel and yet the contact disappears. There has to be a reason for that." Natasha says with a frown.
"Yeah." Peggy confirms, "What intel did you get?"
"This." Melinda says as she pulls the papers out of her pocket hands over to her mother, "It seems to be in code and I didn't exactly get a chance to question the contact before we were fired on."
"Yes, it does." Peggy confirms, with a frown, "I'm not entirely sure which type though." She says as she hands it over to Howard.
"We'll figure it out." Howard says, knowing that.
"I thought so." Melinda confirms, "What do we put in our reports about all this?" Melinda asks her parents curious.
"We'll fill Fury in and come up with a cover." Peggy assures her daughter, "But you're both getting a couple of days' rest to recover after the mission."
"Thank you Director." Phil says gratefully.
"It's Peggy when out of the office." Peggy assures Phil as she is pretty sure that this won't be the last time that they see each out outside of S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Thank you, Peggy." Phil corrects, needing to internally hold in his joy as he says that, "Sir." He adds, looking at Howard.
"Howard." He corrects.
"Howard." Phil says.
"It's getting late; why don't I give you a lift back to base." Melinda says to Phil, knowing that he is staying at the base bunks.
"Yeah, that would be great, thanks." Phil tells Melinda.
"Be back soon." Melinda tells her parents before she and Phil get up and leave.
"I'm going up to my room." Maria tells her parents.
"Lab." Tony says.
"Outside." Natasha adds and the other three Carter-Stark siblings get up and leave.
"Howard what is it?" Peggy asks as she notices him staring at the intel that Melinda gave him.
"I don't think this is just intel." Howard reveals, "I think it's formulas too." He admits.
"Really?" Peggy asks curious.
"Yeah, it seems like it." Howard confirms, looking up at Peggy, "What are you thinking?" he asks curious as he notices the look on Peggy's face.
"I'm thinking that we need to find out whether this was a set up." Peggy comments, "I also think that we may have just met our future son in law." She admits.
"I think so too." Howard confirms.
A while after they left the house, because Melinda had to make sure they weren't followed, Melinda and Phil arrive at the parking lot of the S.H.I.E.L.D HQ.
"So what are you going to do with your days off?" Melinda asks Phil curious.
"I'm not sure." Phil admits, "I want to say thank you."
"What for?" Melinda asks confused.
"For finally trusting me enough to tell me the truth." Phil tells Melinda, "I'll admit it hurts that you waited so long, but I'm glad to know."
"I trusted you five minutes after I met you, and that's why I didn't tell you." Melinda reveals, "You matter to me Phil, and even before I joined S.H.I.E.L.D there were threats against me, people tried to kill me, and tried to kidnap me. Just being around me puts you in danger and I didn't want that for you." Melinda reveals.
"You matter to me too." Phil reveals, "Which is why I don't care about the danger. Like you said to your family we're partners and partners watch another's backs no matter the danger." He says with a smile.
"I, I don't know what to say to that." Melinda admits, looking at Phil with a look of amazement on her face.
"Then don't say anything." Phil says before leaning forward and kissing Melinda. For a few seconds Melinda is surprised, but then she returns the kiss and after a minute they are forced to break apart to catch their breaths.
"Much better than talking." Melinda informs Phil.
"Definitely." He confirms with a smile, "Seeing as how we have a couple days off, would you like to use one of them to go to dinner, with me?" Phil asks curious.
"Yeah, I'd like that very much." Melinda responds.
"Great. I'll pick you up tomorrow night, say seven." He suggests.
"Sounds good." Melinda responds.
"Then I'll see you then." Phil responds, "Goodnight Melinda."
"Goodnight Phil." Melinda responds and Phil climbs out of the car and heads inside. Out of habit Melinda waits and watches until Phil walks inside and once he is Melinda drives off, looking forward to the following evening.
August 8th 1987
After spending most of the day with her siblings, enjoying every second of it, Melinda headed upstairs to have a shower and get ready for her date with Phil.
"No, no, no. Wrong." Melinda says annoyed as she goes through her wardrobe and starts to throw things out.
"Need a hand?" A voice asks and Melinda turns to see Natasha standing in her doorway with an amused look on her face.
"Please, I don't know how to do this." Melinda tells her sister, "I don't date, I don't know how to." She tells her sister.
"I know a couple of people at boarding school, and from what you've said, one or two at The Academy, that would feel very differently." Natasha says as she walks over.
"That wasn't dating. That was just, having fun." Melinda tells her sister, "But this, going on a nice dinner, with someone who's important to me, I don't know anything about." Melinda explains.
"Okay, first of all. You've got to be yourself and relax. That's what's important." Natasha explains to her sister, "Second, think about who you're going with. You and Phil have had dinner and drinks together before, right?"
"Yeah, many times." Melinda confirms, "But this is different."
"It doesn't have to be." Natasha tells her sister, "Phil is your friend, above everything else, he is your friend. Focus on that." Natasha explains.
"I'll try." Melinda responds, "Thanks Tasha."
"Not a problem." Natasha responds, "Now I'm guessing you're having a problem with wardrobe." Natasha comments.
"Just a small one."
"Huh, that's easy." Natasha says walking over to the wardrobe, "Here wear this with your black boots and red leather jacket." Natasha says as she hands Melinda a black dress.
"You think?" Melinda asks.
"I know." Natasha says as she throws the dress onto the bed, "Wear your hair up in a bun, but keep your fringe out and waved."
"Thanks Tasha." Melinda tells her sister before hugging her.
"You're welcome." Natasha responds, "Now, get ready." Natasha says before leaving her sister's room so that she can get ready for her date.
A little while later Melinda is walking down the stairs in the outfit that Natasha suggested she wore completely ready for her date.
"You know S.H.I.E.L.D has a no fraternization policy." Howard says from the bottom of the stairs.
"That's a bit rich coming from the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D who happens to be married to the other director." Melinda tells her father.
"Howard leave Mel alone." Peggy says as he walks out from the living room, "Technically that is true, but it is also the S.H.I.E.L.D policy that is ignore the most." Peggy informs her daughter as she walks over as it was neither hers nor Howard's suggestion to put that protocol in, but it exists anyway.
"Good to know." Melinda responds amused, "I should go wait outside for Phil."
"Okay, I hope you have a great time." Peggy tells her daughter before she hugs her.
"Thanks Mom." Melinda responds as they break apart, "Phil's a good man, Dad." Melinda tells her father as she walks over to him.
"I know, you liking him tells me that." Howard tells his daughter, "You look beautiful sweetheart." Howard says
"Thanks Daddy." Melinda tells him before giving him a hug, only breaking apart when there is a knock on the door. Quickly moving out of her father's arms Melinda heads to the door and opens it to reveal Phil standing on the other side in a nice suit, with a red corvette parked behind him.
"Hey." Melinda greets.
"Hey." Phil responds with a smile, "You look amazing."
"You look pretty great yourself." Melinda says with a smile and before Phil can say anything Howard loudly clears his throat, causing Peggy to swat his shoulder, "Howard, Peggy." Phil greats, a nervousness to his voice.
"You two go have a great time, but remember to keep your eyes open just in case." Peggy says.
"We will." Melinda and Phil say,
"Night Mom, night Dad." Melinda says before she and Phil leave to go on their first official date, both completely looking forward to it and hoping that it will just be the first of many.