"We're going to stay for a week. Figure out this parenting gig." Phil's voice drifted up from the stairs as he made his way up to the bedroom, Melinda smiled at the softness in his tone while she moved around the bedroom, one arm cradling Leia to her, the other gathering things she needed for the baby's bath. She heard his footsteps as he neared and turned to see him leaning against the doorframe, phone held out in his hand as he FaceTime with Daisy. "May wants you to come join us."

"Me? Uh, okay. Why?"

They shared smiles at the confusion in the young girl's voice. Phil's gaze slid from hers to look down at his phone. "Because we're a family and we want you around," Phil told her before returning his eyes to Melinda.

Daisy was quiet for a long moment. Melinda's chest tightened with a sudden thought that Daisy might not want to come. The devastation that came with the death of someone you loved, Melinda knew well. Though it wasn't quite the same as Daisy's experience, after Fury told Melinda about Phil's death, she too closed herself off from everyone for months.

To her relief, she heard Daisy sigh. "I suppose I could. It's not like there's much for me to do around here."

"Good, it's settled. I'll come get you on Sunday. Pack a bag for a week. You can come back with us when we leave."

"Are you sure? Wouldn't you rather spend time together as a family?"

Melinda paused in the doorway, giving him a look that had him tilting the phone towards her so she could see Daisy. "Hey, like Phil said, you're a part of our family. Got it?"

She made sure her tone was strong enough it left no room for argument, but also gentle so Daisy wouldn't miss the genuine truthfulness behind her words.

Daisy looked down at her hands. Her expression softened. "Yeah, I got it."

Melinda smiled at Phil and then stepped out of the room.

In the bathroom, she placed the baby shampoo and a soft towel on the counter beside the sink. Her eyes fell to her daughter. She was awake and gazing up at her with her curious little dark eyes. Melinda smiled and rubbed a finger over the baby's cheek, her touch drawing a soft little coo from Leia.

"Are you ready for this kid?" she asked the baby, feeling more nervous than she probably should be. It was just a bath, she told herself. How hard could bathing a baby be?

On the counter, she unfolded the towel before placing Leia on it. She unsnapped the snaps on the baby's long-sleeved onesie, with white and grey clouds that Phil picked out for her. Leia chewed on her fist, happy to just lie there and let Melinda undress her. She kept one hand on the baby's belly while she reached over and filled the baby tub with warm water.

She kissed Leia's soft cheeks as she waited and whispered how much she loved her until the tub was half full. With a deep breath, she twisted the taps, turning off the water. Knowing Phil wanted to share the experience of Leia's first bath, her previous ones from the following days were warm wet cloths, she called for him.

"Phil, I need you."

Within a few seconds, he stepped into the room. "I gotta go, Daisy. I'll come get you on Sunday."

"Okay, if you're sure?"

He smiled at Daisy. "Absolutely. See you then."

Removing the baby's diaper, Melinda lifted Leia, kissing her on the cheek once more before lowering her into the water. Leia's legs folded up underneath her. She let out a whimper as Melinda laid her back against the elevated back of the baby bath.

"It's not too warm, is it?" she asked Phil, uncertain by her daughter's unease.

He reached in and shook his head. "No, it's fine. He took one of the baby's feet, leaning down to press a kiss against her brow as her whimpers increased. "It's okay, sweetheart."

"Can you hand me the shampoo and the washcloth?"

"Yep."

Though the water only came up to Leia's belly, Melinda kept her hand against her. "She's so little I'm afraid she's going to slip."

Phil frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe we should have gotten one of the smaller ones with the little hammock?"

"Too late now," she muttered. Rubbing the cloth over the baby's chest and belly didn't soothe Leia like she thought it would. Her whimpers stopped only a moment before Leia's face crumpled, her cries filling the room in protest. It broke Melinda's heart even though she knew the baby was fine. "Oh, baby girl, I'm sorry, I know. I'll hurry."

While she reached for the shampoo, Phil took one of the baby's hands. "Hey, Leia, what's wrong, hm? Don't you like the water?" Her cries escalated, making Phil's frown deepen. "I'll take that as a no."

"Just your hair left and then we're all done," Melinda promised. To her surprise, the moment she ran her fingers over the baby's head to wet her hair, Leia calmed. Gently, she lathered the baby's thick, dark hair. Leia sat with a tight grip on Phil's finger, looking up at her while she gently ran her fingers over Leia's head.

Melinda chuckled. "Does that feel good?"

"I bet the other you had a lot of heartburn during her pregnancy."

Melinda looked over at him and raised a brow. "How do you figure?"

"I read that babies born with a lot of hair usually give their mother's a great deal of heartburn."

Phil's comment, while innocent, had her swallowing past the sudden tightness in her throat. What he didn't know was that she had been actively trying not to think about what being pregnant with Leia would have been like. One of the many things she had looked forward to back when she was planning a family was that feeling of having a baby grow inside her. From feeling their first kicks and hiccups to rubbing coconut butter on stretch marks and complaining about how her ankles ached. At this point in her life, she had made peace with that missed opportunity, but feeling the envy she did now, she realized it would be a regret she'd always carry with her.

She tried not to let her disappointment show and instead shook her head with a smirk. "That sounds more like an old wives' tale." Finishing up with Leia's hair, she handed Phil the washcloth. "There we go, all done," she told Leia, swiping a drop of water was about to fall from the baby's brow into her eye. "You want to get the towel?" She nudged Phil, who nodded.

When he was ready, she lifted the baby from the water and handed her to Phil who bundled her up in the towel, holding her against his chest. "Hey, sweetheart. I've got you," she heard him murmuring to their daughter while following her back into their room.

"Did you wash the onesies?" she asked him when she couldn't find them in the many piles of Leia's new washed and folded laundry on the dresser.

"Yeah, they're in the pink bin," he said, bouncing the bundled baby gently in his arms. "I think the warm water tuckered her out. She's got some sleepy eyes."

"Do you want to dress her while I go make her bottle?"

"Sure," he said, moving over to the bed where she laid out the baby's diaper, lotion, and pajamas.

"Be careful, don't take too long with that diaper," she warned him with a smirk.

Melinda went back upstairs to a warm, happy-albeit sleepy baby. She took Leia from Phil while he showered. She made herself comfortable on the bed, cradling Leia while she drank her bottle. A feeling of calm washed over her as she watched her. It'd only been a few days, but Melinda looked forward to her nights with the baby. Just her with her daughter snuggled against her. Watching her little hand open and splay against her chest until she found the neckline of her tank, where she'd grasp it in her tiny hand. She dropped kisses to her brow and took deep breaths, smelling her unique baby scent.

By the time she finished her bottle, Phil was back, dressed in grey sweatpants and a Captain America t-shirt. She fought to keep her smile in check but failed. He was as endearing as he was nerdy, and she wouldn't have him any other way.

"Hey, so there's a farmer's market in town this weekend," he began with a hopeful look over at her. "It's the last one of the season. What do you think? We can go grab some fresh veggies and bread. I can make us pasta to go with them."

She wasn't about to say no to that. "Now you're talking."

After she coaxed a few burps from Leia, Melinda walked around the room with her, making sure she was asleep before lying her down in the bassinet.

Phil came to stand by her, gazing lovingly down at the baby. "She likes to sleep with her arms up. Have you noticed that?"

Melinda smiled. She had noticed it. Whether she was being held or lying down, both or at least one of her arms would be up, her tiny fists clenched beside her ears. "I have. It's adorable." Melinda frowned, looking around the room. While her mother's house was warm, the nights were becoming cooler with the approaching winter, so she'd bought a lightweight blanket to swaddle the baby in. "Did you see the yellow blanket I got her?"

Phil was thoughtful a moment before he said, "I think it's still in the dryer. Hang on." He left the room and came back a few moments later, blanket in hand. "Here we go."

"Thank you." Melinda carefully wrapped up the baby the way Phil had shown her from what he learned from YouTube. Leia didn't stir or fuss. Over the last couple of days, Melinda observed how Leia liked to be held close or wrapped up in a blanket. Her mother told her how as a baby, Melinda too felt more secure swaddled. "Are you okay watching her if I take a shower?"

He took a step towards her and then another. Her heart fluttered in her chest as he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "Yep, I've got her," he told Melinda, his voice soft and warm.

Melinda hummed against his lips as he kissed her once more, only this time when he drew away she reached up and brought him down for another.

"I'll be right back," she murmured moments later, leaving Phil standing there staring longingly after her.

In the bathroom, Melinda turned on the water to hot and while she waited for it to warm, tidied up from Leia's bath. Once she was done she undressed and stepped under the spray. She washed quickly, wanting to not take too long in case Phil needed her. But thinking of Phil led her to thoughts about them.

Melinda touched her lips that were still tingling from their kiss with her fingertips and smiled. Being at her mother's with Phil away from their work obligations had proven to her they could make a relationship work. That it was possible to have everything and still save the world.

While all that was wonderful and exciting, Melinda was more than ready to take their relationship that one step further.

When she came into the room, she found Phil in bed engrossed in one of the many baby books he picked up in the shop, What to Expect The First Year. But the utter adorableness of it was the glasses he wore, and their baby lying on his chest, that surprised her.

"I haven't seen you wear those in a while," she commented on her way over to the dresser where she had put her lotion.

Phil sighed, his hand resting over Leia, rubbing her back in a gentle caress. "I'm getting old, I'm afraid. I seem to need them more often these days."

"Did she wake up?"

"She fussed a little, so I picked her up." His eyes fell to their daughter, and she watched as he leaned down to place a kiss on her head. "I'm pretty sure she's good and asleep now if you want to try laying her down again."

She hated to do it, as he looked like he could hold her there all night, but she had plans for him. Taking Leia from him, she cuddled her baby close and kissed her cheek, then gently lowered her into her bassinet once again. She waited a moment to make sure Leia didn't stir before turning away.

"I think she'll stay asleep," she murmured making her way over to Phil's side of the bed.

"Okay, good." He looked up, his eyes widening as she took the book from his hand and placed it on the bedside table. She didn't answer him with words but lifted the duvet then slid over his lap, straddling him. "Uh, what are you doing?"

Sexy as his glasses were, she reached up and took them off, setting them over on the bedside table on top of his book. "You won't be needing those," she told him with a smirk. His hands found her hips, squeezing them gently. His eyes were dark and searching hers for what she didn't know. Her thumbs brushed over his cheeks. "Can you see me?"

He grinned. "I can see you just fine." His voice was a low, sexy murmur that made heat burn low in her belly when he said, "God, you're so beautiful, Mel."

Her breath caught in her chest at the depth of emotion in his eyes. She knew they'd always had that certain chemistry between them. She found his nerdiness only made him more attractive to her. She wasn't a vain person but was aware she had a natural beauty men found attractive. But hearing it from Phil made heat blossom in her cheeks and her eyes fall between them.

"You know the last time I made you blush was back on our first mission as husband and wife."

She remembered. He'd caught her off guard when she'd been trying to get eyes on their target. She'd been leaning against him pretending to whisper something in his ear when suddenly he blurted out, "God, you smell good."

Her proximity coupled with her developing feelings for him had her blushing scarlet like some kind of inexperienced teenager.

She snorted a laugh, and with that, shifted her hips just so and slowly moved over him. Phil's head fell back, a deep long groan slipping from him as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his jaw, his neck then made her way slowly back to brush her lips over his. Had it only been less than a week since they took the steps forward that led them to this moment? Somehow it felt like they've always had this instead of a handful of days. He'd always been locked in her heart, but this, them together, was new and exciting and yet familiar. It was like experiencing a memory, but only remembering how it felt in that moment, not the details. Slowly, she drew away from their kiss and he opened his eyes as she dropped her forehead on his.

"Grab the monitor. We'll go in the other room," she told him, feeling her belly flutter with nerves as she slid off his lap, but found them dissipating as he dumbly nodded up at her loss for words. She rolled her eyes and tugged at his hand. "Out of this bed or I'll start without you."

She got as far as the hallway before she found herself pressed up against the wall with Phil's lips on hers. She hummed a hum of a surprise but reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck, letting him walk them into the guest room.

In the room, she spun them so that the back of Phil's knees hit the mattresses. Resuming their previous positions, Melinda continued kissing him while he pulled her up on his lap. Her shirt went first, followed by his. Her heart pounded in her chest and she shivered as his fingertips trailed down her spine.

"Do we need…"

"No," she said, knowing they were both clean and at his and her age, the odds of any surprises were slim to none without some kind of medical intervention, as Simmons had so delicately put it when she had been theorizing Leia's conception. "Unless you want to?"

Phil knew this too, as he was also in the room, so it wasn't much of a surprise when he shook his head and replied with a husky. "I'm fine without."

Soon the rest of their clothes followed, and he lay back on the bed as she straddled him, she leaned forward but didn't kiss him as he wanted, which looked like it put him out for a moment, but as she reached down between them and began to slowly sink on him, his pout fell away, and all her thoughts of teasing him dizzied and she became lost in the feel of finally being with him.

"God, Melinda…" he groaned and leaned up to steal the kiss she'd denied him before dropping his head back down and biting his lip. Her deep, breathy, Phil… next to his ear had him turning his head and leaning up so he could nip and suck at that spot behind her ear and God she loved him so much.

"Mel…"

She sat up and his hands gripped at the flesh of her hips in time with every rise and fall of her hips. But then she slowed, paused, and he looked up finding her looking down at him with this need in her eyes before she reached for him and breathed, "Come up here."

He did, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, wanting to be as close to him as she could be. He got the idea, and they both shifted a little so she could wrap her legs around his waist, and his hands ran from her knees and up and around. He cupped her ass, making her softly laugh before kissing again.

When he had her all pressed against him, fitted snugly together, while their lips brushed together softly. It wasn't a position she'd done often as it was more intimate, one for savoring, for feeling like she didn't know where he ended and she began.

Again, she began to rock, and his hands clutched her, helping her movements on him because why should she do all the work? She moaned into his kiss, and he chased it with one of his own. They kissed until they were breathless, and only then did he draw back to give a bit of room so they could gaze into one another's eyes. Her heart knocked hard in her chest. She loved him so much. She couldn't believe how long it took them to get there.

He rolled her onto her back. Together they found their rhythm with him deep inside her, and her breasts pressed up against his chest, bellies slick with sweat until they're both right at the edge, gasping into the other's mouth with his hands in her hair from the intensity and then coming and trembling and groaning their release.

He moved to roll off of her but not wanting to lose her connection to him just yet; she tightened her legs around him, keeping him against her. Phil chuckled and placed a kiss to her brow. They traded deep lazy kisses for a few more moments before he rolled her with him to his side.

"That was…" Phil began, catching his breath, "wow."

She smiled, knowingly. "Yeah."

"We should have done that years ago."

Laughter bubbled up from her chest at the enthusiasm in his tone. He was such a dork. "Mm-hmm," she hummed leaning forward to kiss the top of his nose, "but just think, now we can spend our time making up for the lost time."

"I'm one hundred percent down with that."

She rolled her eyes. "I thought you might be."

His eyes softened and held hers as he murmured, "Just so you know, I'm completely in love with you, Melinda May."

For the second time that night, her breath caught in her chest, and if her eyes filled with tears, well, it'd been an emotional week. Reaching up, she cupped his cheek, her thumb brushing over the slight stubble. All these years together, she couldn't imagine her life without him. As if sensing her thoughts, he leaned into her touch and placed his hand over hers and tenderly kissed her palm.

"I know. I love you, too, Phil Coulson."

The next morning Melinda was the first to wake. They left the drapes open the night before so the light filled the room with the gray Virginia sky and for a while; she laid there with Phil. Listened to his deep, even breathing with the feel of his arm around her middle.

Her fingertips trailed over his arm as her thoughts drifted over their night together. In the moment's heat, their mutual decision not to use protection was what it was, but they would need to be more careful. Sure, she was pushing her late forties, but what if Simmons was wrong? What if Leia wasn't planned? What if she and Phil assumed as they did? That they were relatively safe from getting accidentally pregnant because of their age? If they weren't careful, they would have two babies on their hands. As much as she'd love to experience pregnancy, she wasn't sure she'd like to have two babies in diapers at once. Especially not while navigating her new relationship with Phil, moving into a new place, and deciding where work would fit into everything.

When they returned to the base, she'd talk to Jemma about another implant, maybe even an IUD depending on what she and Phil did.

Turning her head, she studied the softly snoring man beside her. Pressing her lips together, she smothered the smile that pulled at her lips. He was dead asleep, and with as many times as they were up and down with Leia, she doubted he'd be up soon. She wasn't sure what time it was, but it had to be early still. She'd let him sleep a little while longer and then she'd wake him with soft kisses and the smell of strong coffee.

Pulling herself gently from his arms, Melinda grabbed her bathrobe from the hook on the back of the door, stopping to check on the baby who was just as sound asleep as her father then made her way from the room and into the bathroom.

She took her time to check her reflection and brush her teeth. She needed a shower. Her hair was sleep mussed and a little worse for wear after her and Phil's night and early morning together.

She needed tea and was about to slip passed the bedroom, but Leia's soft coos drew her back in the room.

She smiled widely at the sight of her awake baby. "Hey, baby girl," she greeted, picking her up and cuddling her daughter close while dropping kisses to her soft hair.

To her surprise, Phil stirred, blinking over in their direction. She took a seat on the side of the bed while he stretched.

"Did you get up without me?" he said through a yawn.

Her heart melted with the pout on his lips. Running a hand through his sleep-mussed hair, she chuckled and told him, "Well, you were dead to the world."

He smiled, something proud and smug. "Sorry. Must have been worn out."

She rolled her eyes, but her heart wasn't in it. "I hope you're not too worn out to make me breakfast before you go dragging me and your daughter into town."

He chuckled and sat up. "Not that worn out." He leaned towards her, a gleam in her eyes was only for her and she met him halfway in a sweet kiss.