Unfortunately for Melinda, Phil didn't get the chance to kiss her again because he had taken Leia to give her her bottle and sometime between him burping the baby and him crawling into bed beside her, Melinda had drifted off.

She woke a few hours later, hearing Leia's soft whimpers. She eased herself from Phil's arms, telling him to stay in bed, that it could be his turn to get her the next time. He mumbled something incoherent and sleepy into her neck, then kissed her just under the ear before he let her move away.

She padded over to the bassinet her mother had gotten for Leia to use before they arrived. Her baby girl's cries became more urgent the longer it took Melinda to reach her.

"Hey, baby girl, I'm here," she murmured as she took her in her arms.

The baby settled at the sound of her voice with one last little soft coo. Melinda brought her up close, breathing her in before kissing her brow once, twice, another lingering, not able to get enough of her.

"Are you hungry, sweetheart?"

Phil's soft snores filled the room as she took Leia from the room and downstairs.

Climbing back into bed later, Melinda slid back until she felt Phil behind her. He shifted, wrapped his arm around her. Her last fleeting thought before sleep claimed her was, she could get used to this. His warmth. The feel of him against her back. This breath against her neck. Even if he snored a little. It was nothing she couldn't get used to falling asleep to.

It was exactly that sound that lulled her back to sleep.

She felt like she had just closed her eyes when she heard her mother's insistent voice calling out to her from the slightly open bedroom door.

"Qiaolian, it's time to wake up. We have things to do."

Melinda blinked and raised herself on her arm. Her eyes drifted blearily from her mother to Leia, who was still sound asleep, and then back. "What time is it?"

"It's time to get up. You too, Phillip."

She wasn't sure if her mother had woken him or if he'd already been awake because his voice sounded bright and alert behind her. "Yes, ma'am."

"We are leaving in one hour," she informed them, then shut the door with a thump.

Melinda let herself fall back onto her pillow with a soft groan.

Phil pulled her back and nuzzled her neck. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know," she grumbled, cranky and tired but resigned to her fate that she would have to get up soon. "It's best not to ask."

"Too bad." She smiled, feeling his lips on her neck. "I'm fine right here."

His lips lingered on her skin just below her ear, making her shiver. She forgot how much she loved waking up feeling content and, dare she think, loved?

She reached back, threading her fingers through his short hair. "Me too."

He raised on his elbow to gaze down at her. "Hey."

She smiled, reached up to brush her thumb across his stubbled cheek offering a, "Hey," in return.

He leaned down and her eyes closed as their lips met. It was a sweet, chaste kiss. He never deepened it, keeping to a light brush of lips. She knew they needed to get up before her mother came pounding on their door, but she couldn't be bothered to care about anything other than this moment with Phil… well, almost anything.

Leia had chosen that moment to wake, and it was probably for the best. Having Phil warm and above her, pressing her deliciously into the mattress would only lead them to trouble. They broke apart, smiling like teenagers at one another.

"I'll get her," he told her.

She nodded and watched him cross the room to the bassinet where their daughter was whimpering softly for their attention. Phil talked to their daughter as he changed her. Melinda sat up, watching the adorable exchange. Leia lifted her arm, reaching up for him, and he bent down, plying her tiny hand with kiss after kiss.

After he changed the baby, he picked her up and went over to her side of the bed and gave Leia to her. "I'll go make her a bottle."

"Thank you," she mumbled against his lips when he followed his words with a kiss.

She sighed as he left. It was too easy falling into this little domestic life. If she were honest with herself, she never thought she'd have it again. Though she imagined her and Phil having something close to it, it was never like this.

She gazed down at Leia. Her daughter looked as content as could be in her arms while she waited for her bottle. Melinda kissed her cheek and smiled down at her as she whispered good morning and told her just how much she loved her.

After peppering her with more kisses, she took her cell from the bedside table. "Should we call Daisy?" The baby hummed, and Melinda took that as good as any yes.

Daisy picked up after a few seconds and when she did, the young girl sounded out of breath. "Hey, how's it going?"

Melinda's brow furrowed, instantly on alert. "What's wrong?"

Daisy scoffed. "Nothings wrong, everything's fine. I was just working out."

Melinda hummed. After everything that happened with Lincoln, they'd been keeping a close eye on Daisy. She'd become detached, withdrawing from the group, blaming herself for what happened. She had half a mind to have Phil go get Daisy and bring her there with them. "I was just checking in to see how things were there."

"Okay, a little on the boring side to be honest. How's Coulson and the baby?"

"Good. Downstairs, making Leia a bottle."

"Awe," Daisy began, "he's a good daddy."

She smiled with her eyes on Leia. "He is."

"You'll be a good mom, you know," Daisy said then cleared her throat before adding, "in case you needed to hear that."

Unexpectedly, Melinda's eyes filled with tears, recognizing those maternal feelings rising in her not only for Leia but also for Daisy too. "Thanks. It... means a lot to me that you think so."

As if the young girl sensed her emotional slip, she said, "Well, I better go. I gotta get the rest of my workout in before my SO comes back from vacation and kicks my ass for not training."

Melinda smirked. "Yeah, you better."

"Bye, May. Give that baby a big kiss for me."

"I will. Bye."

Melinda disconnected the call just as Phil came back into the room. He took a seat on the bed beside her and held out the bottle. "Your mother made breakfast. It smells incredible."

Now that, Melinda thought, was worth getting up for.

"YoYa," Phil said, reading the sign of the baby boutique they now stood in front of. Smiling, he looked over at her. "It's trendy."

Melinda rolled her eyes. This was what they drove another two hours for? "What are we doing here?" She asked her mother who had just gotten out of the car ahead of theirs.

Her mother gave her a blank stare. "My granddaughter came into this world with one tiny bag of possessions and you ask why we're here?"

"She's got a point," Phil said, nonplussed.

Melinda scoffed. "We could have shopped for her in town."

"Yes, but I have made an appointment in the city for later."

"An appointment? For what?"

"You'll see," was all she said.

Melinda glared at her mother's form until it disappeared into the shop. "I'm going to kill her."

Phil's lips pulled up as he stepped in front of her. He took her by the arms, rubbing them up and down in an attempt to soothe her. "No, you're not."

She looked up at him through narrowed eyes. She just dragged them to New York to go shopping? For an appointment that probably had nothing to do with them. How was he not angry? "This isn't frustrating you?"

"How can it? I'm not at work. I'm out with my girls, about to spoil my daughter by buying half of this store. Yeah, we had to take another trip, but I got to hold your hand the entire way."

For a heartbeat, all she could do was stare up at him. "You're as bad as she is," she grumbled, feeling her resentment softening after his little speech.

"Maybe. Come on, try not to think about what your mother is up to and come shopping with me. You know a part of you has been looking forward to this."

Before she could respond Phil leaned forward and kissed her. She hummed a hum of surprise but felt herself melting into the kiss. Damn him. Moments later, he pulled away with a knowing smirk. If he thought he could get away with kissing her to get her to go along with him, well, he better think again. She was just about to tell him as much when Leia stretched, and Melinda adjusted her from cradling in her arms to lie against her chest.

Once Leia was settled Phil took her hand and led them inside.

The store was a lot bigger than it looked. Large floor to ceiling windows provided the shop with an abundance of natural light. Phil tugged her with him over to the clothes that were all arranged in a rainbow line from the front to the back of the wall.

"Awe, Mel, look. Unicorns."

Oh good God, no. She glared at him. "Do you know me at all? Put that away."

He chuckled and replaced the outfit on the rack, then resumed browsing through. "Wanna help me out and tell me what's acceptable?"

"Nothing too bright and no unicorns," knowing Phil like she did she added, "and no bows."

He looked at her, amused, then a few seconds later pulled another outfit from the rack. "How about elephants and butterflies? They're pale pink. Not too bright." She raised an eyebrow, her eyes gazing over it. At least it didn't have ridiculous-looking cartoon characters. "Come on, admit it, it's cute."

"Fine, but stick to that theme."

After an hour, the shopkeeper held things at the counter for them. Between what they picked out and what her mother insisted on (a year worth of sizes) they couldn't carry it all.

They'd finally finished with the clothes and were filling a large shopping bag of essentials -pacifiers, burp cloths, fingernail clippers, baby shampoo, lotion, diaper rash cream- everything and anything they might need. Melinda was looking through swaddling blankets when she came across a rack of Moby wraps. She recognized them as one that her other self had the baby in. A sudden lump formed in her throat.

"Oh, those look interesting," Phil said, taking a package from a hook.

She nodded, dropped a kiss to Leia's head, remembering how delicately her other self had held up her daughter. "She had this. It's what she wore that night."

Phil nodded. "You should get one. Look, you can wrap her in it and do your Tai Chi, when you're making tea, walking around the Playground…"

She took it from him, replaced the polka dot monstrosity on the rack and grabbed the solid black one behind it. "I think I will."

They continued to browse, having most of what they needed as far as clothes and essentials. She followed her mother and Phil into the far back of the store where they had the furniture displayed.

She'd been mildly interested in looking, but Leia began to fuss so she took the baby into the mother's room to change and feed her.

Back out in the store, Phil was intently reading the back of a large box. Glancing around him, she saw a display of baby bouncers.

"What do you think?" he asked her. "I was thinking of having it shipped to the Playground. I'm sure Daisy would put it together for us. She is in big sister mode."

"Who'd have thought we'd have not one but two?"

"Anyone with half a brain," came her mother's voice from beside them. Her eyes narrowed at them both. "Stop acting married and come look at these cribs."

Phil ran his hand along the rail of a dark oak sleigh crib. "Oh, I like this one."

Melinda had to admit she liked the thicker wood. It felt so much more sturdy than the flimsier thin railed ones. The only problem she had with it was that it was bulky and would take up a lot of room. Which brought up another subject she wanted to bring up with Phil. Where she would spend her time off now that they had both agreed, that's what she would do? She opened her mouth, but then closed it. He tilted his head, his way of silently asking her what she was thinking.

With a deep breath, she ventured, "Where are we going to put it?"

He pursed his lips together, then shrugged. "Your room or mine. Wherever we decide to stay with her. Do you like it?"

She bit her lip. If they got it and took it to the base, it would fit better in his room. His was much bigger than hers. It'd make more sense to put it there, eventually, but before they decided on that there was something they still needed to talk about. "I like the black one better," she began.

"We can do black. Can't we, sweetheart?" He held out his hands and she let him take Leia. He bounced her gently from side to side, looking down at her while she sucked on her new pacifier and clutched his shirt tightly with one tiny hand.

"We should grab a smaller one to have with us this week. Something portable to have downstairs."

"Agreed," he said, his eyes still holding their daughter's. "Whatever you want, we'll get."

Taking a deep breath, she ran her hand over the rail of the bed. She might as well get it over with. "Phil, we should probably talk about me taking time off."

Phil looked up at her. "So we're having this conversation now?" She raised a brow at him, and he nodded. "Yeah, all right. Let's talk about that."

She swallowed. "I want to get a house or an apartment," she told him. During the drive, they talked about how long she'd spend with Leia. Initially, she thought three months would be enough but then the more they talked the longer it became until they mutually agreed on six months then they would reevaluate her return once it was up. "It can be somewhere close by. You can stay at the base if you want to. I'm not saying you have to live with us-"

"What if I wanted to?" he interrupted.

Her heartbeat picked up a faster pace. She stared into his eyes, looking for any sign of doubt or reluctance but finding none. "If you wanted to, you could," she told him, absolutely hating how hopeful she sounded.

"We'd need to do more shopping," he pointed out.

She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him her most committed nod. If he was all in, so was she. "We would. And I want to ask Daisy to come with us." His smile gentled even more if that were possible She had a feeling he wouldn't mind. "With Lincoln's death and everything, I think it might be good for her."

"I agree. She needs family right now. Making sure she knows she's a part of ours might help her heal."

"So we're doing this?"

"We are." He took a step towards her, closing the distance between them. "Lucky for us we have some time off. We can look for something together."

Her lips threatened to tug up. Yet a cautionary voice in the back of her mind questioned how quickly things were moving. It was only a week ago they ventured out for a meal together. And while neither one of them called it a date, there had been endless amounts of flirting and joking that they'd finally managed to leave the kids at home. Now here they were, talking about moving in together.

"You don't think we're moving too fast?"

He laughed at that. "Twenty years dancing around our feelings and now we have a baby, seems to me like we've been moving too slow."

Her heart thudded in her chest. It was one thing to hope he wanted the same things as her; It was another thing to have him confirm it. Especially now as his gaze was locked on to hers with those loving blue eyes of his. He reached up, tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. His eyes fell from her eyes to her lips. She rose on her tiptoes, meeting him halfway.

She felt his hand cradle the back of her head as his lips met hers.

She could get used to this.

Melinda didn't even want to think about what the delivery fee for all they bought cost her mother. Phil tried to pay, insisting on at least splitting the bill, but her mother wouldn't hear of it. His responsibility, she had told him, would be to get their purchases from her home back to their base.

He found that agreeable enough.

Twenty minutes later, and one packed SUV later, they left the boutique. But instead of getting back on the highway, they took a detour, stopping outside of a large brownstone building. Melinda gazed out the window. This must have been the appointment her mother had mentioned. Whatever it was she hoped it wouldn't take long but one look at Phil as he turned to her, his eyes wide and knowing told her, she shouldn't hold her breath.

"What?"

"Bleecker Street," he said.

Melinda opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but just then the driver opened her door, distracting her. She took a sleeping Leia from her car seat while Phil clambered out his door. When she got out his look of awe coupled with the old building clicked.

Melinda walked over to her mother's large sedan. "What is this?"

"I won't be joining you back at home for a few days, but the driver will take you back when you've finished here," Lian told them. Melinda felt Phil's hand, warm, low on her back. Her mother gave a tilt of her chin in the building's direction. "He's promised to give you answers. I pulled many strings on this one. Do not embarrass me."

And just like that, her mother rolled up her window and drove away, leaving them to stare after her.

"Why do I get the feeling she was only referring to me?"

Melinda's stomach was twisted in too many knots to laugh, much less smile. He took her hand, and she followed him up the steps, standing beside him as he rang the doorbell.

They waited for what seemed like forever. Phil bounced on the balls of his feet, trying to appear casual enough while looking around them, making sure no one was watching. She didn't think anyone was, but his nerves put her on guard.

She was almost dumbstruck by the eagerness of the man who finally opened the door. He gestured for them to come in, and Phil waited for her to enter before following. "Director Coulson, Agent May, little Leia. Please come in." He led them through an impressively large foyer. There was a massive column of stairs in front of them with rooms off to the side. The man stopped in front of the stairs and turned towards them. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but Doctor Strange is out this afternoon."

His eyes went between them, but Melinda could tell his words were more for Phil than her.

Phil nodded, doing well to hide his disappointment. "Some super-secret mission?"

"Hot stone yoga."

His face fell. "Ah."

Melinda rolled her eyes.

"My name is Wong. Would either of you like a drink? Some tea?"

"No, thank you," Melinda said before Phil could answer. She wasn't there to meet any superheroes or have tea time while making friends. He had answers for them and that's all she wanted. "We'd just like to know why we're here."

The man nodded. "Your mother indicated you had questions about Leia's parents."

"We do. Can you tell us if they're okay?" Phil asked.

There was a pause, and Melinda could tell by the downcast look on the man's face what his answer would be before he even said it. "I'm afraid not."

She held Leia tighter, and, though she wasn't sure she wanted to know, asked, "What happened?"

"Please understand," Wong began looking between them. "We rarely give out these sorts of... answers."

"Okay," Phil tore his gaze from Wong to her then back, "so anything said in this room is classified. Trust me, we understand more than most. Was it another Thanos?"

"It was something a little closer to home. A supernova."

"A supernova?" she repeated, confused.

Phil must have been just as perplexed because he asked, "But doesn't something like that take millions of years? It's not something that happens overnight."

"No, it isn't. Unless the process is helped along by more powerful forces."

"No one could stop it?" she asked, not bothering to mask her tone of utter disbelief.

"By the time most knew what was going on, it was too late to reverse the effects. You and your wife…" he paused shaking his head then backtracked, "your... other-selves merely were in the right place with the right person which is why you have Leia with you now."

"Can you tell us who this person was?" Phil asked.

"I cannot."

"Okay, so this person... they were the ones who let the other May bring Leia here?"

"They were."

"And when the other me went back?" she asked feeling like the ground was being swept from underneath her.

"I'm sorry. No one survived."

The silence in the room was deafening. Melinda felt like his words had taken all the air from her lungs. They were gone. Just like that.

Phil was the first one to speak. "And there's no way to help or change what happened?"

Wong's voice was thick with sympathy when he answered with a soft, "No."

She looked up just in time to see Phil's jaw clench. Not being able to help, not being able to save them, to be so helpless wasn't something that sat well with him. It didn't surprise her at all when he replied with a slightly angry, "But you have the power to if you wanted."

Wong's eyes narrowed at the accusation. "That's not how it works. We do not break the laws of nature. We do not tamper with time; we defend it."

"And yet, whoever it was, they allowed Leia to be brought here," Phil argued.

"That decision was not in our power and it did not change the fate of their universe or ours."

She reached out and grasped Phil's arm. He looked over at her, and she shook her head.

He sighed. "All right, thank you." Wong led them back to the door, but before he opened it Phil asked, "Oh, just one more question. That fate won't be happening here, will it?"

"I can't-"

"Yeah, you can't say. We got it," Melinda muttered, turning back to the door.

"If it's any comfort," Wong's voice called, making them pause and turn to him. "They had one another. In the end."

"It does. Thank you." Phil said then as an afterthought, added, "Tell Doctor Strange I like what he did with the place."

Wong brightened. "I will. The drapes were my idea. Brightens it up more."

Melinda was quiet on the drive back to her mother's, and even when they arrived she took Leia upstairs while Phil sorted through the purchases they made.

A half-hour later, she put Leia down and made her way downstairs. She sat the baby monitor down beside her on the coffee table in case Leia woke.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, taking a seat next to her.

A deep ache that she'd buried in her chest bubbled to the surface. They lost everything, she wanted to say, but didn't. "There's no point. They're gone."

His eyes were knowing and sad. "You expected another outcome."

She swallowed past the lump in her throat. She had. She expected them to come back. To open a portal or whatever the hell it was, smiling and victorious as they took their daughter back into their waiting arms. She expected to be heartbroken. Funny thing was, she still felt that way. Maybe even more so because they were a family. They deserved to raise Leia.

"I expected them to save themselves and-" her voice broke.

His voice was gentle as he raised his hand to cup her cheek. "The world?"

She looked up into his eyes. He smiled, and it was sad and yet accepting. "Yeah."

"They did," he murmured, "they saved their daughter."

Agent Melinda May didn't cry, but Melinda May, mother and woman who loved Phil Coulson more than anything, let the tears that filled her eyes slip down her cheeks. The dam she'd constructed that kept her emotions at bay broke. He was right. They saved the world. They saved their world. Phil's arms went around her. "Hey, come here."

Wrapping her arms around his middle, she tucked herself into his side. He held her tight, dropping a kiss to her hair, as she thought of the daughter they had sleeping upstairs that was now theirs.

"What are we going to tell her?" she asked into the quiet of the room after her tears had dried.

"The truth," he murmured, "when she's old enough."

They sat together and watched the flames of the fire, letting them draw comfort from holding each other until the sounds of Leia's whimpers took them both upstairs.