A/N: This one was harder for me. I'm at a strange place in the story, and I'm thinking about ending this one in another chapter or so to deal with the aftermath of Bahrain, before starting a new one with Maria's beginnings as a SHIELD agent. Is there anything in particular anyone wants covered?

A/N2: Sorry for the delay. I got home and got horribly sick. Worst fever I've had in years! I'm also working on a side Cap/Hill oneshot, so I don't get burnt out on this story! I included a little May/Hill friendship moment in this chapter for the person who wished I had covered May taking Hill shopping in a previous chapter.

A/N3: The song for this chapter is 'Wake Me Up' by Avicii

Ch. 5: She Left the Web, She Left the Loom

Color and light swirled together in a jumbled mess when she cracked open her eyes. Maria blinked hard and tried to make sense of the tightness in her face. The steady beeping of the monitors was incessant and she tried to calm her breathing and slow her heart rate. The last time she had opened her eyes, she was in a medical transport headed back to the United States. The pain had been excruciating, but she heard them say she was stable, and so she gave herself back to the welcoming blackness of her mind. This hospital was different, and judging by appearances, she assumed she was back in Virginia.

Her head felt fuzzy and she tried to swallow despite the swelling surrounding her throat. Her eyes were still swollen, but she could open the right one almost all the way. She shifted experimentally, and winced as the movement against her sheets rubbed the raw wounds on her back. Ok, so not a good idea. She heard the muffled sounds of footsteps in the hall, and shifted her head so she could see the door. It opened slowly, and Melinda May stepped into the room. Phil Coulson was behind her, and both winced when they saw her.

"Damn Hill, I hope the other guy looks worse," Melinda said with an edge.

Phil lightly punched her arm with a frown. He clearly unapproved of his partner's bedside manner.

"Well, I left him with a pole through his midsection, so I think I won," Maria answered hoarsely.

Melinda grinned, and Phil just shook his head.

"How long have I been here?" she rasped, turning her head stiffly as Phil moved closer to her bed.

"You arrived last night, and before you ask, the doctor mentioned keeping you here for observation for at least a few more days to make sure nothing gets infected," he answered.

When she didn't argue, Phil knew she was still hurting.

"Can you get ahold of my CO or his CO or something," she asked after a moment.

Phil frowned slightly.

"I have information they'll want, and I haven't been conscious long enough for a debrief yet."

"I didn't think you were able to retrieve anything," May commented with a thoughtful look.

Maria narrowed her eyes as best she could.

"And you know my mission details, why?"

"It was a joint operation between the organization we work for and the Marines."

Maria hummed noncommittally.

"Get me a map then," she ordered. "We didn't get any written documentation, but they didn't have the sense to take down anything on the walls when they kicked my ass."

Coulson laughed, and May just looked smug.

"On that note, you want in on a secret organization?" Phil asked with a grin.

"Phil you can't ask her like that," Melinda said disapprovingly.

"Officially, we've been sent to recruit you to the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division or SHIELD."

"Thank god for the acronym," Maria muttered before Melinda continued.

"We're a UN-chartered organization with the primary focus of covert intelligence gathering as well as enforcement."

"What would my role be?" Maria asked.

"You'd start off at the Academy and graduate as an Agent. With your military background, it wouldn't take more than six months. You'd begin as a field agent, and depending on your success rate and stats could stay a field agent, go the logistics route, or work your way up on the leadership side."

"I'll let you in on a secret," Phil said. "You'd probably be shuttled to the leadership side pretty quickly, but field work will help you in command situations."

She was silent, and a thoughtful look crossed her bruised face.

"I'm in," she said after a moment.

"Welcome to SHIELD, Almost Agent Hill," Phil said, his eyes twinkling.

He handed her the papers and a pen.

Ten Days Later

Phil Coulson walked up to the front door when the sound of music stopped him in his tracks. He quietly unlocked the door, and shuffled the grocery bags in his hands. He drew in a deep breath, and just listened. It was beautiful. The violin's melody rose and fell, sixteenth notes giving way to a prolonged, mournful melody. As quietly as he could, he put the groceries in the kitchen and stopped in the doorway to the living room.

Maria's eyes were closed as she drew the bow, letting it fly across the instrument. The bruises on her face had faded, but the darkness ringing her still swollen cheekbone stood out. Her face tensed, as if she was pained, and he could see her grip tighten on the violin. Suddenly, her eyes flew open, and she paused as if surprised to see him standing there.

"You're early," she muttered before carefully putting the instrument back in the case.

"You play beautifully, MK," he responded, his expression muddled confusion.

"I auditioned for Juilliard," she added offhandedly, and his eyes widened.

"Why aren't you there?" he asked.

"Do you really see me as a concert violinist?" she droned with a role of her eyes.

He had to smirk at that. She ran a hand over the case one last time, before standing with a sigh. His eyes followed her as she slipped upstairs, and he pushed down the slight feeling of disappointment that clouded the room when she left.

"Shit Coulson, you look like someone smashed your Captain America shrine."

His turned startled, as she bounded down the stairs. He didn't dare mention that he thought she was trying to get away from him. He knew he had been hovering ever since he brought her home from the hospital. She caught his eye, and grinned, her eyes sparkling.

"It's a vintage collection," he said stiffly.

But dear god, he'd give it away if he could get her to smile like that again.

"Right. Tell me you remembered the ice cream."

He shook his head as she strode into the kitchen. There was some rustling and a few clinking of dishes before she emerged with a bowl of green ice cream covered in chocolate sauce. She set the bowl on the coffee table and sunk down beside him. He briefly registered the stiffness of her movements with a frown.

"Do you need help changing the bandage?" he asked.

She turned to him with an appraising stare, the spoon halfway in her mouth. She initially bristled, but something in his expression made her stop and consider his request. God knows she couldn't do it herself.

"That would be nice," she said after a moment.

"I'll go get fresh gauze and tape," he responded.

She took another bite of ice cream, and carefully pulled her shirt off. She stretched out on the couch, and ignored his slight intake of breath when he came back into the room. She decided to diffuse the situation.

"Hurry up. My ice cream's melting."

Her words had the intended effect, and he rolled his eyes.

"Yes Your Highness," he replied as he carefully peeled up the edges of the tape.

She clutched the pillow to her chest, and inhaled slowly. The heat of his hands contrasted with the coolness of her skin as the air hit her back for the first time in weeks. She winced slightly, and his hands stilled.

"M'fine," she muttered.

He worked efficiently, and soon the fresh bandage was taped in place. She sat up, holding her shirt to her chest, and he diverted his eyes. She pulled it back on, and resumed eating her ice cream. She watched the man beside her out of the corner of her eye. He was deep in thought, the corners of his mouth turned downward. Ever so slightly, she pulled her legs up under her before leaning against his shoulder. He turned to her, surprised by the physical contact. She just ignored him, her eyes fixed on the tv and her mint chocolate ice cream, and he slowly started to relax.

The next morning, Melinda May showed up and told her to get dressed, because she was taking her to get a haircut. Maria looked slightly stunned before disappearing upstairs. Coulson just looked lost. A few minutes later, the brunette returned and with a wave they were off.

"A haircut?" Maria asked again once they were in the car.

"You look like shit."

"Well, fuck."

"And you need to get out of the house."

Maria couldn't argue with that, and the two found themselves in front of a small studio outside of DC. Melinda led the way in, and before she knew it, Maria found herself seated and getting her hair shampooed. She closed her eyes when the woman ran her hands across her scalp, and hummed in appreciation. Damn that felt good. The hairdresser asked for instructions, and Maria told her she didn't care as long as she could still get it into a ponytail. The chopping began, and finished relatively quickly. Looking into the mirror, she had to admit that May was right. The girl didn't change too much, just updated her layers, and took a few inches off, but it made her feel better. Different. Like she was starting over.

"Lunch?" May asked with a nod of approval at her new haircut.

"I could eat," Maria answered.

"You can always eat," May replied with a wry grin.

They soon found themselves in a small hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant with a plate of egg rolls and Pad Thai in front of them each.

"Where did you meet Phil?" Maria asked after she downed an egg roll.

"Academy," May answered between bites of noodle. "I got in trouble for talking back to an older asshole recruit and Phil stepped in."

"And?" Maria asked with a half grin.

"I punched them both. The instructor said I needed to work on anger management."

Maria raised her glass in approval, and turned her attention back to her food. May studied her with a knowing glance.

"We tried dating once, you know," she added. She hid her smirk at the younger women's feigned lack of interest.

"Oh?"

"We got all the way to the bedroom, and then we both busted out laughing. It would have never worked between us."

"Why do I feel like I'm being interrogated in a roundabout manner?" Maria asked when she raised her head.

May just raised an eyebrow.

"Phil's been great. I mean, he took me in, got me a job, and I'm really comfortable around him. I just... I don't know if I'm ready for anything any time soon."

"Just be careful with him," May said after a slight hesitation. "He's quite attached to you."

Maria just nodded.

shieldshieldshieldshieldshieldshieldshieldshieldshieldshieldshieldshieldshield

Three months had passed since she had joined SHIELD. She'd been at the Academy for almost two months, and was set to graduate faster than any other agent in SHIELD history. She didn't mind. Being at the top, especially being a woman at the top of her class, didn't bode well for friendship prospects- not that she cared. She wasn't here to make friends. She took her studies seriously, and fully committed herself to any task or project. She had seen them watching. The tall man with the eye patch whom she knew by word of mouth was Director Fury, and a few other suits. Their eyes followed her, and so she pushed herself harder.

She hadn't heard from Coulson or May in almost six weeks, and she was a little disconcerted. From what they had told her, this should have been a relatively simple mission. They had made plans for her twenty first birthday, baring any future catastrophe, and Halloween was only a week away. So when she saw Phil standing off to the side after one of her sparring sessions, her stomach dropped. She kept her expression schooled, and ignored him.

"Hill," he called with authority. "Can I have a word?"

She grabbed her towel and drained her water bottle before following him towards the small, secure conference room.

"What can I do for you, Agent?" she asked as he shut the door.

"It's Melinda," he said, his voice cracking.

Her eyes widened and she clenched the bottle tighter in her hand.

"Is she-?"

She couldn't bear to finish the question.

He shook his head.

"Sorry, I should have started with that. Physically, we're both in one piece. It's just- This one was bad, MK."

He slid into a chair looking completely defeated. Maria swallowed, and sat down beside him. She carefully took his hand in her own, and waited for him to continue.

"We were evaluating a potential asset, and Melinda went ahead to set the stage for peaceful negotiations and check out a possible meeting location. I remained behind with a small group of SHIELD agents at the base in Bahrain to finish up some research. We were infiltrated, outnumbered, and held hostage. They didn't know about May, and when she returned-" he paused and swallowed. "She took them out, unarmed, and saved us all."

Maria waited. The waver in his voice told her there was more to the story. He pulled his hand from hers and stood, staring blankly at the wall.

"They used children, Maria. Raised them with the full belief in the glory of being a suicide bomber. May had no choice but to eliminate them or we all would have died. I would have died."

He spoke the words as if he was still coming to terms with the situation himself. Maria stood, and silently walked up to him before pulling him in her arms.

"We'll get her back," she said softly. "She just needs some time."

He held on to her tightly, his face buried in her shoulder.