Disclaimer for entire Fanfic: I don't own any Cannon characters from MCU or X-Men that may appear. I only own my two OCs Jade Nguyen aka Scarlet and Sebastian Blackwell (I know real original, I can't help it. If anyone can come up with a better codename let me know.)

A/N: Italics are character thoughts.

All one-shots internally take place inside S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ unless otherwise stated.

Decided to go with something different today and give a little story about how Melinda was feeling after Bahrain.

Read. Review. Enjoy.

Chapter 5 Melinda May "The Cavalry"

May 15, 2011

Location: Manhattan, New York

Admin Div. Floor - M. May Cubicle

It had been three years, since the mission in Manama, Bahrain that sent former Field Agent Melinda May up against her very first Inhuman. Thus inadvertently ending her career in field work. It had been three years and she could still remember the little girls' face and feel the blood on her hands. The sticky copper smelling crimson red fluid caked all over them. It was her worst mission yet, it was the mission to end all missions. Every Agent was said to have that one mission that one mission that could or would want to make them quit.

Manama, Bahrain and that little Russian Inhuman girl was Mays' choice mission. May doesn't regret her decision to leave field work after Bahrain. It was her call and in her mind she made the right call for her and her alone. It was traumatic of course, something like that ought to be. If she wasn't affected by what happened than the head docs the shrinks at S.H.I.E.L.D., would be worried.

May doesn't enjoy being in a cubicle, spending her days staring at a computer monitor. She knows she could quit. She could leave. She's a qualified pilot not just on S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft, she could fly commercial planes for an airline if she wanted. That didn't seem as appealing nor as fun to her. The maneuvers she'd pulled off at times in a quinjet or a S.H.I.E.L.D. plane were remarkable. Second to none. May doesn't want to quit, she can't. She doesn't. She took a beating sure, both physical and mental, that day that started to call her the Cavalry but she's stronger than that. She's not weak. She's hurting of course who wouldn't be after a trauma like that, but she doesn't give in doesn't give up.

Instead May sits at her little cubicle day in day out, stapling papers and making memorandums to memos she doesn't have clearance for anymore. She demoted herself back down to level 3, with the Admin transfer. She turns down all the offers to join this team on that Op or consult here on this assignment.

May sees those she considers friends in the cafeteria all the time. Phil, Jasper, Maria, Nat, Clint, Jade and a few others and she sits and listens to them recount their missions to her. The not sensitive parts of course. They all try numerous times to get her to join them back in the field, but each time she politely says no, and they all go along with their day. Convinced she'll come back when she's ready. Will she ever be truly ready?

S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't forget about Bahrain, and she never escapes that stupid nickname, but at least the rumors stopped and she was left in peace. Just how she liked it. It won't be for another two years yet, that Melinda May finally gets back into the field at the request of one of her oldest friends. That's far off down the line, and right now all she's thinking about is how much damn paperwork being in Admin really generates.

Question: What snippet or missing scene or slice of life of the Agents do you want to see next? A Recruitment one-shot, a mission fic? Tell me. Or more survival tips?

That's Chapter 5 Everyone. Hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you thought by hitting the review box below and leaving a comment. Mission prompt ideas are most welcome as well. That is all thank you and have a great day/night.

- Agent Renegade is Out. Peace.