Still Day 92

May was on the phone in Coulson's office. Everyone else was kinda pacing around watching the TV screens and trying not to watch May. I was not trying to not watch. I don't know who she was talking to, but it didn't look like it was going too good. She was all yelling and shaking her head one minute then rolling her eyes and blowing out puffy breaths the next. May never talks with her hands but she was waving them like mad…well at least the one not holding the phone. She slammed the desk about ten times or maybe just five but it was more than a couple. Whoever it was she was pretty mad at them. I really hoped it wasn't some deep cover dentist she crossed paths with back when cuz she wasn't making things all warm and fuzzy with him…or her. And, I did not want some super angry dentist poking around in my mouth or jabbing at my throbbing tooth. Although, the medicine Jemma gave me did help it a little bit.

When I looked at Coulson he just smiled at me a little and that did not make me feel any better. He looked at May for a minute then shook his head and turned to watch the TV screens…well, really they were computer screens but right now they were just playing TV broadcasts about poor missing little me. Hale had to be desperate to put up such a stupid farce. I kinda wished they'd just let her get me and then I'd show her what I could really do. The more I thought about it the madder it made me and when her goofy face showed up on the screen I got so mad that things started to shake and everybody looked at me…even May with the phone still on her ear. I took a big breath and told them I was sorry then did some breathing like May taught me to calm down. It was a long time ago, but it still worked. I turned so the TV was behind me and just watched May pacing back and forth and still yelling and puffing and eye rolling. Then she slammed the phone down so hard I was pretty sure it broke in half…but it didn't.

Everybody stopped and looked at her for a second then went back to what they were doing. She wasn't looking back at us and she didn't come right out just kinda paced for a while and breathed real deep like if she just had a big fight or a long work out or something. Coulson said we had to give her a few minutes but it would be okay and then he smiled funny at me again and I got an even real badder feeling about the whole thing.

A couple minutes later she came out and just gave Coulson one of those quick nods. He did the same thing. So I guess whatever she was trying to do was a go. Then she looked right at me and said, "Wheels up in fifteen." That meant I had to hustle and we were going somewhere but who the hell knew where cuz Hale's goons were everywhere. But it wasn't time to ask questions. May wasn't in that kinda mood. Her face was all red and she was still breathing like she needed to calm down…so I just did what I was told.

Best thing about the Quinjet is it gets you where you're going pretty fast and since me and Coulson were ready in only ten minutes, May had us in the air in eleven. Coulson just sat and held my hand and smiled at me. He put his finger over his lips just once and I figured it meant it wasn't a good time to do any talking. May was all stiff and definitely ticked off about something so it was better to just leave it alone. It was hard cuz I had about ten thousand questions I needed to ask but I just nodded my head and tried to be quiet. I don't know how Coulson knows when it's okay to start talking. Maybe he just guesses and takes his chances or maybe he just can make her be calm enough to talk after a while. I just had to wait and I really hate waiting.

After a little bit he told me not to worry about it cuz it would be okay. I asked him if May was still mad at me about the dopey toothache relief. He just shook his head and said they already said what they needed about it and he was pretty sure I was sitting on May's opinion. I felt my cheeks get hot and I just looked at the floor and wriggled a little in my seat. May sure leaves a lasting impression but when it's over it's over. Coulson told me again not to worry, May was just a little anxious about who we were going to see. He said it wasn't something she did unless it was really important. I told him my tooth didn't hurt anymore and maybe we should just turn around. He just looked at me and picked his eyebrows up a little.

So I told him it didn't hurt as much and that I could probably just take care of it myself. I poked out one finger and said I could just put it on my tooth and quake it right out. I started to pop it in my mouth but he grabbed my hand and held it, in fact he held both of them and shook his head. He said that wasn't a good idea cuz what if it was too much and all my teeth fell out. He pulled his lips in over his own teeth and said in a silly voice that I'd look pretty silly all gummy and no one would take me seriously. I couldn't help giggling until May let out a loud huffy noise and I got quiet again. I told him it would just be a little quake, more like a shiver even, but then he said I might crack my jaw or my skull and we weren't taking that chance. I was gonna argue but he held up that one 'that's enough' finger and I just blew out a breath and sunk down in my harness. That made him smile and just laugh a little until he pulled me as close as he could and hugged me with one arm.

I wanted to cry but I just pouted instead. Coulson said he was gonna miss me and I jumped back. Were they gonna stash me somewhere? Is that where we were going? That didn't work out too good the last time in that cabin in the forest. I just shook my head but he must have figured where I was going with it because he said no, no, no. They weren't leaving me anywhere. He meant he was going to miss this version of me, little me. I scrunched up my face and just looked at him. He said that didn't mean he didn't miss the real me, but that he would miss this time we had to just be a dad and a kid. He said he really liked it then he leaned really close and whispered that May did too. I just let a spitty noise over my lip. I told him I didn't think she'd miss all the trouble I caused or got into all the time. He hugged me tighter and said he'd even miss the little mischief maker I was. I told him I would not miss what happens to trouble makers. He kissed my head and hugged me again.

That's when I felt the plane start to go down and saw May reach up and flip those switches she always does when it's time to land. Coulson tightened my harness and had me sit up straight. A minute later we were on the ground and before I could unbuckle the damn million hooks on that harness, May had the engines quiet and the ramp released. She stormed right past us and just said 'let's move' without even looking. But I looked at Coulson and he smiled again.

I don't know where I thought we would end up but it sure wasn't in the middle of a forest in the middle of nowhere. I almost pulled Coulson right back in the plane but he squeezed my hand a little and tugged me out of the cloaked jet. The ramp closed before I could zoom back inside and lock myself inside. I just stopped and watched May walking off through the grass in the field where she put the plane. Coulson told me to trust him…hell, I always trust him…then he let go of my hand and ran to catch up to May.

It took him a couple tries to get her to stop but it looked like he was yelling. I really hate when Coulson yells so I was glad I couldn't really hear what he was saying. May was looking at the ground and shaking her head and then he pointed at me and yelled some more before it looked like he got quiet. May looked at me for a second then turned around and took a couple steps then when back to Coulson and they were just talking. She let out a big breath and shook her head. Then Coulson put his hands on her shoulders and tried to look at her even though she was still looking down. She looked right up at the sky and smiled at him then she started walking right at me.

And there was no place to run.

Even if I could outrun her

So I just froze

And waited

She stopped right in front of me but I just looked at the dirt between us. I didn't want to see her angry eyes looking back at me. It got real quiet. I couldn't even hear the birds or other noises and I really wished Coulson would hurry up and be here so someone would talk. Then someone did…me…I couldn't help it…it just happened. I kinda whisper mumbled I was sorry and I didn't even know what I was sorry for but just in case I figured I needed to say it. I kinda peeked to see where Coulson was, but he was still in the same spot.

So was May.

So I said sorry again, but a little louder.

And damn! I was crying. Not sobby and whiny, just all tears leaking all over my face.

Then May was kneeling….KNEELING!...right in front of me.

She kinda put her finger under my chin and picked up my head. She wiped my tears with her thumb and said no, she was sorry. She was acting really bad and making me think she was all mad at me so she was real sorry. She hugged me real tight and told me not to cry. Then she told me she was gonna fix everything and we'd be back home by bed time. Coulson came back and we all started walking together.

I was in the middle.

They held my hands…

Just like a real family

We didn't walk too far til we came to the top of a pretty big hill. There was a house at the bottom. Not a big house or a little house but it was a kinda nice house, not like one of those creepy places where villains hide out or the kind they use in those scary movies that give you nightmares for weeks. There was a barn a little way off but I didn't see any animals.

May took a big breath and we started down through the pretty high grass. When we got to the house May and Coulson looked at each other like maybe they changed their minds but then May went up the steps on the porch and banged…not knocked…really banged on the door. Me and Coulson waited in the yard and held his hand real tight cause who knew what would happen.

It took a couple minutes and May banged a couple times before a lady opened the door real slow and didn't say anything. She just looked at May then at me and Coulson then she moved and May turned and tilted her head for us to come with her when she went in the house. Coulson warned me to keep quiet.

I really hoped this lady was not a dentist because she looked pretty pissed and awful mean. Those are two things a dentist shouldn't ever be…ever. I held Coulson's hand real tight and stayed behind him even after the lady closed the door, real slow.

She didn't say anything just looked at us. She just stared at May and May stared back. Coulson made a sound like he was gonna say something but May just looked at him with only her eyes and I actually heard his mouth snap shut. I saw May's hands curl up into real tight fists and I was sure there was gonna be a fight but it was stupid to bring us all the way hear just to fight…and why bring me. Or maybe she had to beat this dentist up in order to get help.

The lady didn't talk to May she just turned and called Coulson, Phillip. Nobody calls him that and she said it like it tasted bad. She asked him if it was true and he just nodded. He said it was a very long story but they didn't have a lot of time. Then she asked May if this was the best she could do but didn't give her a chance to answer. May just grit her teeth and took a big breath. I didn't see her move around Coulson but there she was staring at me and I was pretty sure I was gonna pee…but I didn't.

She asked me if I could speak and for a minute I didn't think I could. I cleared my throat and told her Coulson told me to be quiet but my voice came out all squeaky. She let out a snorty sound and looked at May and said, 'this is what the child calls her father'.

Then my tooth almost flew out by itself cuz may said, 'enough, Mother, I told you, it's complicated'. Mother! May called this lady MOTHER! This was May's mother? Damn, I had a grandmother and she was even scarier than May.

May's mother said something about having a granddaughter for ten years and she never bothered to tell her. Then I said, nine and May said more like almost thirty and May's mother said I was just as disrespectful as my mother and it figured. And Coulson said I was only ten temporarily and I said nine again and May's mother said in a real snippy voice that everyone is ten temporarily. So I just said nine again.

May's mother just glared at me then she walked to the stove and turned on the kettle and told all of us to sit down. I waited to see what May would do even though Coulson walked toward the table. He didn't sit, just looked at May for a minute and then pulled out a chair for her. She just looked at it for a bit and I thought maybe she'd throw it across the room. I think he thought the same thing but she plunked down on it so I sat next to her.

Everybody got tea…which isn't fun on a toothache but May's mother put a couple drops of something in mine and it really made the pain get smaller. They all talked and I just listened to the whole story about the creepy doctor that switched babies and why May didn't tell her mother she was pregnant in the first place and the whole thing about the DNA stuff and the Fitzwork and multiverse and Skye and the other Lian that saved my ass and how I got zapped into being NINE not ten. That brought them all to how Hale was after us and the toothache problem and how I tried to solve it. May's mother said she would have paddled my butt for such stupidity. May didn't say anything so I didn't either. She, May's mother, gave a real angry look and I just looked into my teacup. She asked me if I thought it was wise to do such a thing and I just shook my head.

Then she said the dentist would see me at four o'clock. I forgot about time zones. It was almost two thirty and May's mother said we needed to get going if we wanted to make it. That's when they hit me with the whammy. I had to go with her all by myself. Coulson and May couldn't risk being seen with me. May told me to call her mother Nainai and do exactly what she said. I didn't want to go anywhere with this Lian. Damn she was worse than Skye's Christmas Granny-Grinch. They talked to me for a long time while Lian just watched and told me it would only be a few hours and I'd be back and that Lian would not let anything happen to me. Lian said it was enough and they were not talking to a child and I should know this was what needed to be done. Yay, great! Finally someone says I'm really an adult…and it has to be this freaky frightening grandmother with a broken smile.

She said it was time to go and walked out to the car in the driveway. May and Coulson walked me there and opened the back door. All the windows were black so nobody could see in the back seat. Lian said we were wasting time but I needed to hug my parents just in case something went wrong cuz let's face it something always goes wrong. Coulson made sure my seatbelt was snug and snuck one last kiss.

Then we left.

Lian didn't talk much, I mean even less than May and I kinda wondered why I talked too much. She just looked at the road and I think at me in the mirror. I tried not to be scared but I could feel the tears and I kept wiping them away as fast as I could but it's hard to hide sniffles. Yeah, she said I was really an adult but there was a part of me that wasn't and it took over when things got to be too much. And this was way too much.

Then she told me I wasn't a child and crying would not help. It only showed weakness. Like, now she talks. It kinda made sense why May was so…sooooo….May. Geez with a mother like this…that had a paddle somewhere and invented that damn Wakatta…poor May. I sniffled more and hoped great grandma was long gone cuz I didn't want to meet her anytime soon. Seemed like these ladies got worse the father you went back. I knew I wasn't weak but Coulson and May didn't tell her anything about me being the maker of quakes. I almost laughed at that…I was a quaker maker! I guess it needed to be a secret from grandma-ma.

But when I was really nine I was weak and little and lonely. And all that stuff was leaking out of the places memories go when you don't think about them any more. It was like someone unlocked the door and they just spilled all over. By the time we stopped and Lian turned off the engine I was totally really crying more cuz of all those memories than because of being scared.

She opened the door and held out her hand. It looked like a regular hand not all bony and crooked like a witch so I unbuckled my seatbelt and slid out. I took her hand and it was warm not cold or like a whimpy fish. She must have known what I was thinking because she shook our hands a little and kinda almost smiled. I think we were in a big parking garage cuz there were a couple other cars and we went to an elevator. She pushed the button and we had to wait. She didn't look at me but said I was very much like my mother and she did not think I was weak. She said it was unfortunate we had not met before and that she would very much like to get to know me. Then she asked me if I would like that. I kinda just shrugged cuz I didn't know what else to do. Lian reminded me that answers needed to be verbal so I said I didn't know how long I'd be like this and I had to be careful about that dopey Hale lady. We waited a little bit more then I told her I was the kind of kid that got in trouble a lot and maybe she wouldn't like me very much.

Hey, she really did smile and said that Melinda got in trouble a lot when she was nine, too. She said nine a little harder so I knew she heard me at the house. The elevator opened and we went up a lot of floors. It's really weird how nobody talks in an elevator. Maybe it's some kinda rule but when the door opened there was nobody in the hall. It was kinda like the place was closed cuz all the doors were closed and it was super quiet. We went all the way to the end of the hall and into the last door but there was nobody there and I thought we must have been too late but then this lady came out of another door. She smiled at us and said to come right in.

They talked in Mandarin probably cuz they thought I didn't understand. HA! Something else May didn't tell her mother and something that stuck from the Fitzwork. They talked pretty fast but I got most of it. Mostly it was about my tooth and thanks for seeing me and all that blah blah. Then they were talking about the last time they worked together and how the doctor didn't know Lian had a granddaughter. Lian said it was new to her too. Then the doctor smiled at me and helped me into that big chair and hooked that little bib thing around my neck. I remembered thinking that dentists used it to chain you to the seat so you couldn't get away. Dumb kid thing, the damn bib was only paper. You could just rip right through it. Just that thought kinda made me feel a little better.

The dentist said it was okay to be scared and to just let her know if she hurt me. Hell, that was new cuz nobody ever cared if they hurt me. She kinda hmmmed a little when I opened my mouth and she looked at it. Then she told Lian it needed to come out so the one under it could come in then she told me it would be one, two, three and I'd be fine. I told her I didn't like needles and she said that was good because she didn't either. She put a black thing over my nose and mouth, kinda like the mask jet pilots use. The stuff that came out was cold and smelled icky but I only smelled it a second cuz everything just went black.

When I woke up I had a mouthful of cotton stuff and I was in the back seat of Lian's car. I don't even remember how I got there but my tooth didn't hurt and I just wanted to sleep.

I didn't even hear the sirens.