Disclaimer: See previous.

A/N: *waves* See? I said I would eventually come back to this. Anyway, I'm adding this story/chapter here as many of you are already following this story to get the update though I'm still leaving this story marked as complete as essentially each chapter I may add in the future will be it's own completed story that will tie-in to the previous stories. So think of this story as a series of one-shots but you don't have to search through my stories trying to guess which ones belong in the series, they are all right here for you.

Also, I know this is a short chapter/story but it's going to bridge the first chapter/story to the next chapters/stories. Thanks for bearing with me. :-)

BACKGROUND: See previous.

One Month Later – Deep Thoughts and Talking with Stark

Agent Phil Coulson was going crazy and he didn't mean that figuratively. He meant that quite literally. Especially if he had to look at these four white walls for a minute longer.

It had been a month since he had died at the hand of Loki, or more accurately, the Scepter that Loki wielded, and he had been confined to bedrest in that time while he healed. He was unable to put one hair out of bed let alone work, walk to the bathroom and use the toilet, work, try to catch up on his paperwork (he doesn't even want to think about how far he's fallen behind and he was a just slightly behind before all this started), work, take a shower or work to name a few of his restrictions.

Honestly, Director Fury is lucky he didn't stage an uprising already.

He let out a sigh and glanced at the clock. It was almost time for his psychiatrist to come and talk to him. Now don't get him wrong, Phil didn't have a problem with psychiatrists in general – as long as he wasn't the one being subjected to their mind analysis.

Director Fury told him though there was no getting out of the mandatory psychiatric evaluation. S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fury wanted to make sure he was mentally sound after being clinically dead for eight seconds and having stopped breathing for forty, or so Fury told him. Apparently that can change a man.

There was a tiny part of his mind, however, that whispered traitorously that maybe he needed his mind analyzed. He had a vision – or dreamt – of someone who called themselves "Master of Death." If someone is deluded enough to think they can master death then obviously they need their head examined, no pun intended. After all, death was absolute. It was something that happened whether you were ready for it or not. There was no choice involved.

But then again, he could have sworn he was at that place he had dreamt of with that young man for several minutes even though he acknowledged to himself while he was there that his own sense of time had foresworn him.

"Deep thoughts?" a voice suddenly interrupted him.

Phil whipped his head towards the door to his room. He never heard Tony Stark enter the Infirmary let alone make it all the way to his room. He was getting rusty, which is why Fury needed to clear him for light training at least.

"Careful not to give yourself whiplash, Agent. Pepper would kill me if I injured you more while you were already bedridden," said Stark as he walked further into the room.

Phil didn't say anything as he continued to stare at Stark wondering why he was here so early. The Avengers, except Thor who had already gone back to Asgard taking Loki with him, have taken it upon themselves to sit with him in shifts, though they usually left him alone for the next three hours – about thirty minutes to talk to the psychiatrist and the two hours after the psychiatrist left to get his sponge bath.

God, Phil couldn't wait until he could take a shower. He didn't even care if he had to be supervised to do it, he just wanted to be properly clean again.

Stark sat in the chair besides his bed as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"You're wondering what I'm doing here so early, right?" Stark asked as he pulled out a bag of blueberries and started to eat them, not even offering Phil any.

Phil just continued to stare at him.

Stark tossed a blueberry in the air and caught it in his mouth before he shrugged and said, "We figured you could use a break from not talking to your psychiatrist."

Phil raised an eyebrow.

Stark raised an eyebrow right back.

"Does confidential mean anything to you?" asked Phil, finally speaking.

Stark waved a hand carelessly and said, "For somethings. So…wanna talk?"

"To you?"

"I've been told I'm a good listener."

"Before or after you've taken them to bed?"

Stark actually paused to consider his answer before he actually gave it which caused Phil to let out a groan and lean his head against his pillow.

"Yeah there was some of that happening too during the talking now that I think about it," continued Stark as he ate a blueberry.

Phil sat up and glared at Stark.

Stark let out his own sigh, setting his blueberries down and said, "Look I told them to send someone else. Someone like Banner –"

"I wasn't aware Dr. Banner had a degree in Psychology," said Phil sardonically.

"Bruce would listen," insisted Stark stubbornly.

"He told me he wasn't that kind of doctor," said Phil.

"But he would listen as a friend," said Stark, suddenly standing up to examine the room.

The room fell silent.

After a few minutes the silence was starting to become a bit awkward, at least to Phil, so he started to say, "Look –"

"Did I ever tell you about my time in Afghanistan?" interrupted Stark, still looking around the room and avoiding eye contact with Phil.

"I've read the reports," said Phil after a moment, wondering where Stark was going with this.

"A chest full of shrapnel shell shards, almost dying, from the weapons that I designed at that. It changes a man, even if you don't acknowledged it," said Stark, now staring at a corner in the room.

Phil was silent now wondering where Stark was going with this.

"Almost dying. It's funny – and not in the 'ha ha' kind of way either – but that's not the only time I almost died either. It happened again when I intercepted the missile that your organization decided to launch at Manhattan."

Phil was now wondering why Stark was telling him this. It seemed like it was something personal and they weren't exactly best friends.

Stark finally turned around and looked him in the eye.

"I get it," Stark said simply.

"You get it?" said Phil back, confusedly.

"Yes. The fact that you were dead, though in both of my cases no one officially declared me anything. You were somewhere else from where you thought you were supposed to be and it was kind of peaceful," said Stark. "I get it."

Phil was silent as he thought about it. The place, even though it was dark and drafty, could be considered peaceful. He didn't really enjoy it all that much though as he was too busy questioning the young man.

Here was an opportunity though. Tony Stark has just admitted to him, of all people, that he had a near death experience twice. Did he see the young man as well?

"Did you see a young man in the...peaceful place...as well?" asked Phil after a moment of silent contemplation.

Another beat of silence before Stark answered with just one word.

"Yes."

A/N2: I was going to have Tony share his conversation he had with Harry but it seemed like something that was too personal for Tony to share with Phil at this moment...especially since Tony was out of his element. Maybe if he was in his lab...Anyway, the next chapter/one-shot, whatever you would like to consider it as, is being worked on though I have no idea when it will be posted.