When Evelyn decided to stop driving, she was in Ely, Minnesota,
Ely was a small town, population- 3,000; average temperature- 40 degrees Fahrenheit; closest hospital- 35 miles away. None of that, however, deterred Evelyn. Ely was precisely what she needed, clean air, friendly faces and no one from SHIELD.
The people here were kind and generous. They didn't have an ulterior motive for being friendly, a stark contrast from most of the people she knew SHIELD. And being around them helped Evelyn.
One day, three years since Jackson's death, She thought to herself, "I finally have the courage to open his door." And with that revelation, she had been able to let go of some of the hatred she had for Fury.
Still, she never flew back east to see her Great-Aunt Carolyn, instead, she flew Carolyn out to Minnesota every chance she got. In those 4 years since Jackson's death, she had built a new life for herself as a physician at the only clinic in town. New friends, occasionally a new lover- boring compared to her life at S.H.I.E.L.D. but overall, a peaceful life.
Present Day
It had been a long week at the work but now that she was finally no longer on-call, Evelyn was looking forward to good food and proper sleep. As she pulled into her driveway, she glanced at the clock on the dashboard, the blinking green lights showed 9:47. It was rather later than she had expected to be home but the icy roads called for a slower speed. She parked the car and sat back for a moment, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of calm after a hectic day. Mustering her last bit of strength, she grabbed her bag from the passenger side, slid out from behind the wheel and shut the car door behind her.
Entering the empty, quiet house, she shut the front door and headed straight for the kitchen for a glass of wine. Without even bothering to kick off her heels or turn on the lights, she maneuvered around the dark kitchen, dropping her bag on the kitchen island and reaching up to get a wine glass while she considered what kind of wine she was in the mood for.
"I'll have a glass too, if you don't mind," came a quiet voice from the dark corner of the kitchen.
She gasped and spun around flinging the glass into the dark, hoping it made contact with the intruder.
She heard a soft muffled sound and assumed he caught the glass. She blindly felt around behind her for the light switch, trying to keep the kitchen island between her and the voice in the dark.
As the lights flooded on, her eyes focused on the man calmly sitting at the barstool on the other side of the island. Seemingly not having made a move other than to place the wine glass upright on the granite counter.
"Phil!" Anite exclaimed.
"I'm sorry," he said contritely, "I didn't mean to startle you like that. Just thought it would be a little more dramatic." He shrugged, remorsefully.
"What the hell are you doing here? Sitting in the dark like that!" Evelyn's right hand was on her chest, trying to calm her breathing. Her left hand was braced against the wall.
He got up and walked around the island toward the wine rack. He knew better than to approach her immediately, so he busied himself with selecting a bottle of wine.
"Any preference?" he asked as he turned to her and held up two bottles.
"The Riesling," Evelyn responded decisively.
"I should have guessed," he replied with a smile, sliding the bottle of red wine back onto the rack, "You were always partial to a good white."
As she turned to the cabinet behind her to pull another glass out, he turned to her with a questioning look, "Corkscrew…?"
"The drawer by your left hand," she responded as she took a step toward the island and placed the second wine glass down next to the first.
He pulled the drawer open and found what he was looking for. He opened the bottle and handed it to her. She poured a generous amount of the white wine into the glass and silently extended it out to him. While she was filling up her class, he studied her.
Four years ago, she was the brightest star at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s medical research facility- handpicked by the best because she was going to be the best. Now, she had dead-ended herself by hiding away in this small town. She looked quite the same, but also remarkably different. She wore her hair down and longer than she did four years ago. She dressed differently too, more like a grown woman than a college girl. The dark green dress screamed professional in a way that told him she no longer thought about the cutting-edge research she had been leading several years ago. He supposed they had all grown up quite a bit in the past 4 years.
His eyes swept up and met her intense gaze, she let the silence in the room lay between them like a wall, he knew he would have to be the one to speak first. He leaned against the counter and took a deep breath, she wasn't going to make this easy for him, he thought. As he considered the best way to approach the topic on his mind, she turned and slid into the seat he had abandoned moments before. She took another long sip of wine and set the glass down and watched ad he prepared himself for what was no doubt going to be another overly dramatic sentence.
He adjusted his stance so he was squarely facing her and still leaning against the counter began, "What do you remember about the AVENGERS initiative?"
Thanks for reading, please review!
-M-
