A/N: Hey readers, sorry for the delay. I thought I had posted for this story already, but was mistaken and to make up for it I'll be posting the next chapter tomorrow. Thank you all for the support!

Chapter Three

Wednesday August 31 15:14

Coulson hadn't been this excited for an assignment since he was a level one agent several years ago. When Hill first came to him about going undercover to watch a teenager, he accepted without pause. Though he never thought of himself as a family man or someone who would have kids yet the idea excited him. Whenever he saw children passing he would briefly wonder what his life would have been like if he hadn't agreed to go to the Academy of Operations. He imagined that he would have worked with the simple 9 to 5 job with a wife and kids to come home to everyday.

The daydream would make him smile, but that wasn't the life he chose or really wanted. Coulson glanced at his partner who was still reading over their files. It had only taken an hour to get all of their paperwork in order. Now all that was left was to go to the SHIELD house, get situated in the house and prepare to take care of a teenager. Coulson could not wait to set up the house and bring the girl there. If he was being honest, he was practically counting down the minutes until he and May could get her.

While Coulson was enthusiastic about this assignment, May was dreading it. She knew all she needed to do was to get through seventeen days, but the more she thought about it, the worse she felt about this entire thing. For a little over two weeks May would have to take care of a troubled foster child who could potentially be a threat to herself and those around her. The very thought of what this girl could do worried May. There was no telling what powers she has, if she does have any.

"What do you think about blue paint," Coulson asked suddenly, pulling May from her thoughts.

She lifted her gaze from the documents to Coulson on her right, "Why?"

"For her room," Coulson replied as if it were obvious, "Do you think we should paint it blue? It says in her file blue is one of her favorite colors next to purple and black. I figured blue would be the best, but we could probably ask her when we meet her."

May asked, "Why are we painting her room?"

"Well I've been to this house before and it's pretty bland in my opinion so I figured we could paint some of the walls to give it our own touch," Coulson explained with a smile.

"We aren't staying long," May pointed out.

Coulson merely shrugged, "Regardless we should give it our own touch. To mark that we were there. What color should our room be? Also don't worry, the master bedroom is huge enough to have a couch in it which is where I will sleep."

"Phil I don't mind taking turns," May replied slightly exasperated.

"Nonsense," Coulson replied still smiling, "You should have the bed. Besides, it's a really nice couch. Though if she were to ever walk in on us she would find it weird that we aren't in the same bed. Oh well, cross that bridge when we get there. Anyway I figure today we go out and buy everything we need to make it seem like we live there which is why we are staying there tonight."

"The only thing we would need are groceries," May stated.

"That is important," Coulson agreed, "But I still think painting it would be fun. However the fumes would get to annoying and we couldn't sleep in the rooms until later. We can ask her if she would want to paint her room. Oh! She'd probably really enjoy the basement. Wait until you see the basement. It's amazing."

May raised an eyebrow in question, "Really?"

"Yes. It has a movie theater, office and workout room, not to mention hidden in the walls are the weapons," Coulson explained to her.

"What happened to it being a bland house," May questioned dryly.

Coulson replied, "It has it's perks."

The tease didn't go unnoticed by Coulson. Sometimes the woman who was his best friend would make an appearance. Whether it be in her smile or in sarcastic remark. Melinda was still in there behind the wall she had built around herself. May returned her attention back to the files on her Coulson. The story was interesting enough with few holes that anyone would notice. Agent Hill walked into the office.

"Do I want to know why Mayson is our last name," May asked Hill without looking up from the document.

A smile spread across Hill's face, "Probably not. Come on, your rides here so you two can get anything you need from your homes and go out to buy whatever you want."

Coulson stood followed by May, "Sounds good. When do we pick up Mary Sue?"

Hill answered, "I spoke with 13. She gets out of the hospital today. You'll pick her up from St Agnes tomorrow afternoon. The paperwork is already done, all you have to do is go there, sign it and bring her to the safehouse."

"Anything else," May questioned. Hill shook her head, "Nothing I can think of at the moment. Agent Morse will be keeping an eye on her while she is at school, so she will make contact with you in a few days."

Coulson nodded, "Alright then. We'll see you later Agent Hill."

Hill returned the nod, "And you Mr and Mrs Mayson."

May rolled her eyes while Coulson bit back a smile. There was a lot of good natured history with that name, but no one would talk about it. It was something everyone knew not to bring up unless they wanted to deal with an angry Melinda May. Without another word May and Coulson left the building to go grab whatever they needed from their homes. After that, Coulson would drag May out to shop for some items.

Wednesday August 31 15:35

Sharon came back two times. The first time she came back was to tell her about Miles and the others. Miles had been checked out already and that she didn't know where he was sent to. Though Mary was upset about not being able to say goodbye to him, she was happy to know that he was well enough to leave the hospital. Harold would have to stay in the hospital longer while most of the others were already out.

Mary was one of the last ones to leave. She was just happy she could. When Sharon came back the third time that day to tell her she could leave the hospital, the teen wanted to cry in relief. She hated hospitals. Although Mary had only been to the hospital a total of four times she really hated each experience. The doctors were everywhere, she wasn't allowed to do anything but stay in her room or in bed. All the rules and regulations were enough to drive anyone insane.

Mary had changed into the clothes the social worker, Mike, had brought for her. A plan red shirt along with her faded blue jeans and old tennis shoes. It wasn't much, but she prefered anything over the hospital gown she was forced to wear for the past two days. Mary stood by Mike as he signed her out.

"And done," Mike said setting the pen down, "Ready to go?"

Mary nodded mutely.

Mike was a nice enough guy. Even Mary had to admit that she liked him and she hated every other social worker she had come in contact with. In her opinion the social workers she knew were fake and didn't really care what happened to the kids left in their care. That wasn't to say all social workers were like that. Only the ones she had met. Mary walked out of the hospital behind Mike.

He had already given her the run down that she was going back to St Agnes. Mary saw that coming though. It wasn't a surprise. Soon, someday soon, Mary was going to run away from St Agnes and the foster system. Once she could drive, she would leave this all behind. She would start over. The ride to St Agnes was silent. Mike thought about turned on the radio, but he decided against the idea. Soon enough Mike pulled up to the orphanage.

The orphanage was incredibly old looking on the outside, the white paint had turned to a beige color over the years. The front steps had angel statues on either side while there was a cross on the door. In Mary's opinion the front of the orphanage looked like a church while the rest of the building that extended on both sides reminded her of school buildings.

There were a few kids outside playing, but most of them were ten years old. No one she cared to know. Mary climbed out of the car. Mike followed her to the orphanage so that he could check her in. Mary didn't need to greet the nuns in the main office though. They always expected her back. Sometimes they didn't notice she was gone because of her short stays in other places.

"Bye Mike," Mary told Mike as she walked away.

Mike waved to her, "See you around Mary Sue."

The teen rolled her eyes at the name. Though she didn't mind the name Mary, she hated when people said Mary Sue. She hated it even more when people said her "full name" Mary Sue Poots. Mary she could deal with, Sue was pushing it and Poots had been her limit. Mary found herself on the third floor where ages thirteen and up stayed. The right side of the building belonged to the girls while the left side belonged to the boys.

The first floor belonged to the nuns, where the kitchen was and the school rooms for the little kids. The second floor was for infants through age twelve stayed. The third floor was where the teenagers ran freely. Once someone turned eighteen they had until the end of their senior year to leave. Unless they were already out of school, then they had to go. Mary walked into the room she shared with three other girls and sighed.

Four more years and she could leave without a problem. Trying to leave sooner might cause issues, but she was okay with that. The quicker she got out of this place the better off she would be. Her stuff was already on the top bunk with a note from Sister Francis who favored her. The note read in the woman's curly handwriting, I made sure to get your stuff from the firefighters. Luckily none of it was burned, including the bear.

Mary smiled at that. While at the hospital, she feared the one item that she had kept all her life would have been lost. To know it survived made her feel better. Without wasting time, she opened the floorboard under the bunk bed and slipped the little teddy bear under. No one would touch it there. Once that was done Mary left the room to head outside and avoid running into anyone. Most of the kids and teens here were not her favorite people. In fact majority of them were at the top of the list of people she hated.

Mary nearly made it to the backdoor when the nasal voice of Jane filled the air, "Well if it isn't Mary Sue. Back again so soon?"

Mary released a heavy sigh. She had two options. Either she could walk away and ignore Jane and her posse or argue with them. Mary wasn't in the best mood right now. Walking away would ensure that she wouldn't get in trouble. Mary walked forward, her hand barely touched the doorknob when a hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled back hard. Mary spun around in the blink of an eye to face Martin. Jane's posse consisted of several people. Either fall in line and do as they say or become their prey. That was what Helen had told her years ago. Mary hadn't listened then and she wasn't going to listen now.

"I believe Jane was talking to you," Martin hissed at her.

Mary folded her arms over her just, "Does it look like I care that your girlfriend was talking to me?"

"You should care," Penny growled at her.

Mary rolled her eyes, "Listen gap kids I've had a long day and I'm not in the mood to deal with your issues."

Jane glared at her, "Obviously you need to be reminded of your place Mary Sue. You're just an unwanted girl."

"So are you," Mary snapped back, "Last I checked you aren't adopted and you're older than me. Looks like you're running out of time Janey."

Jane's nostrils flared at that. Before Mary could blink, the air had been forced out of her lungs and she was hunched over holding her stomach. Martin pushed her against the wall. A moment later, Jane was in front of her with angry blue eyes.

"You aren't worth anything Mary Sue," Jane growled, "Just a broken girl with a crappy name. You constantly go to foster homes, but they always bring you back because you aren't good enough. Hell, you aren't good at all. Not good at sports. Not good at school."

"Shut up," Mary half shouted and coughed.

The words stung far more than Mary thought they should. They were just words yet they rang true in the teenagers mind. More often than not, Mary would stay with a family she did like and who seemed to like her as well except she was always told the same thing. Not a good fit. She was too loud. Too closed off. She wasn't this or that. It was always something that kept her from finding a home. By the time she was ten, she had given up on the idea of finding a real family to care for her in this life.

Mary knew she was far from an easy kid, further from an easy teenager. Not to mention she already had enough problems being bounced around and the one place constant in her life was an orphanage. A girls bound to have issues because of that, especially with the past abusive homes.

Jane smirked, "Just a troublesome, pathetic, unwanted brat who will never find a home. The problem child Mary Sue."

Mary couldn't take it. Without thinking, she swung her arm and punched Jane in the face. Jane stumbled back with a cry and grabbed her nose. Penny and Martin stood at her side with shocked expressions. Mary Sue never fought back. She always took it with a few changing expressions before she moved on. Today she didn't. Blood began to spill from Jane's nose and Mary took some satisfaction in that. In the back of her mind, she thanked Robbie for teaching her how to street fight.

"What's going on here," shouted Sister Gertrude.

Mary knew she was going to get in trouble for this, but she didn't care. Jane brought on a few more tears while Penny explained her version of what happened.

"We just wanted to ask Mary Sue how she was doing considering what happened," Penny lied with a frown, "She got angry. When Jane tried to comfort her, she just punched her in the face."

Sister Gertrude made a sympathetic sound, "Why don't you two bring her to the infirmary. Mary Sue, my office now."

Mary followed Sister Gertrude to her office wordlessly a smile still on her face. Maybe because of that punch they would leave her alone. When Mary entered the office she took a seat in her usual chair in front of the nun's desk. Sister Gertrude pulled out a red slip that. The nuns had slips in different colors to show what they had done. Red meant bullying and treating others badly. Mary had gotten every bad slip of the rainbow.

"You will not be eating dinner tonight or eat breakfast tomorrow. You are to remain in your room for the rest of the day," Sister Gertrude informed her, "However because of the medicine Mr Peterson told me about, you will be allowed a slice of bread to take it. Violence will not be tolerated here. Keep acting up and you will never find a family. Do you have anything to say for yourself Mary Sue?"

"Would you actually listen to what I had to say, doubt it," Mary replied taking the red slip from the nun.

Now she had to walk down the hallway and give the slip to Sister Nancy who was in charge of discipline. Sister Nancy and Sister Francis had a soft spot for her. Sister Francis had been the one to find Mary on their door while Sister Nancy believed that Mary was always in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Don't take that tone with me Mary Sue," Sister Gertrude scolded.

Mary walked to the office door, "That's not my name."