Anna steps off the plane into an empty hangar. May'd warned her about a few things on the flight to wherever they were: how the identical twin of the dead body they found at the last base would question Anna's presence, how Phil looked like he wasn't sleeping and had a tendency to wall himself away when he thought he could get away with it, and how May'd heard orchestral music coming from Phil's quarters a few times. She'd started to warn Anna about something else, but shook her head and focused on landing the jet instead.
Anna waits near the small private plane while Melinda finishes her shut down procedures. Already, she can tell this base is set up differently than the last; this one feels smaller, and she doesn't want to wandering where she shouldn't. She hears the click of footsteps behind her, and she doesn't have to turn around to know it's Phil's dress shoes making contact with the cement floor of the hangar.
When she does turn, he greets her with a small smile, and she can't help but notice how tired he looks. Once he's close enough, the fingers of her left hand come up to trace the new lines above his right eye. "Stop scarring your face," she tells him. "It's a nice face."
He leans into the touch ever-so-slightly, but only for a moment. "What are you doing here?" he asks as he pulls away.
The words stick in her throat. She's practiced different ways of telling him, but none of them seem right. None of this seems right.
"Tell him or I will," May threatens from behind her.
Phil shoots a cross look over Anna's shoulder before turning back to her, concern evident on his face. "Anna?"
"I'm late," she tells him softly. Somehow, the two words seem to fill the expanse of the hangar. "More than a little late, actually."
His mouth hangs open in that adorable expression he gets in the few times he's surprised about something. "You're—"
"I don't know for sure," Anna says. "I was too scared to get confirmation. Melinda figured that out and dragged me to wherever we are so Jemma could run a test."
"I'll go see if she's up," Melinda announces before leaving them alone.
They stand in silence for a minute, shuffling slightly on their feet and avoiding eye contact, when Phil hesitantly asks, "The night in the hotel room?"
"Did we have sex some other time and I just forgot about it?"
"No," he answers with a small chuckle. "That was a while ago," he comments.
She knows exactly long ago it was. She's been counting the weeks in her head once every hour. "I've been a little stressed since then," she says with a small shrug. "That can wreak havoc on regularly scheduled programs. And, I was scared," she admits. "I didn't know where we stood, and I didn't know if what they used to bring you back would have some effect, and if Melinda hadn't called me out, I might've been a prime candidate for that I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant show."
"Haven't seen that one before," he replies. Anna knows he's trying to turn it into a joke, but the humor doesn't reach his eyes. "Is this something you want?"
She hears the mess of emotions he's trying to contain eek out in his question. It causes her own anxiety to spike, and her heart rate drums in her ears. "Let's save this conversation for if there's a positive test result."
Anna begins to walk past him, following Melinda's exit, but he grabs her gently by the arm and shakes his head. "We've avoided enough conversations lately. We're having this one." He licks his lips before continuing. "I'll support you no matter what choice you make about this, if there's even a choice to be made. I completely understand if this isn't something you want, I know there are several reasons for you to feel that way, and they're all completely valid." His thumb begins to swipe back and forth along her arm, and her eyes fall to the cement floor. She tries to fight off the hot tears she can feel pinpricking her eyes, but to no avail. "And if this is something you want, I'll quit."
Anna can't help the harsh snort that comes out of her. "You know the story about the boy who cried wolf, right?"
"I'm serious, Anna."
Anna knows by the look of his face how serious he is, and she isn't surprised at all by the reaction. She shakes her head. "I can survive you dying on me—just barely, by the way. But I wouldn't survive you resenting me."
"I would never—"
"Yes, you would," she cuts in. "You've made it abundantly clear that the last thing you want to do is walk away from your job."
"I would for this," he reassures.
And he would, Anna knows it. Phil would undoubtedly be an amazing father, but the high of having a kid would wear off, and he'd grow restless and feel trapped. And she would feel nothing but guilt about it. "Let's go see if this is even a thing before we start making promises we don't want to."
He nods, his thumb coming up to swipe away the few tears that made it to her cheeks. It's her turn to lean into the contact this time. With a whispered, "C'mere," he pulls her into a hug. She gives into the experience of his strong arms squeezing tightly around her, attempting some barrier of protection from the shit that swirls around them.