Thank you HeroInTraining for betaing this!

Prompt: Regrets

From: avengers-tables .livejournal under 50-word prompt (yes, I do intent to use all 50 words)

Pairings: Clint/Darcy

"So how does it feel to be a grandfather?" asked Darcy as she watched Phil Coulson cradle Molly with the care of an experienced father.

Phil smiled. "I wish it had happened later, but I'm not particularly upset."

A smiled blossomed over Darcy's face as she leaned back against the pillows on her hospital bed again. For several minutes, she simply watched her father hold her daughter with all the care of a man holding a nuclear war head and all the confidence of one who's done it before. "Clint'll make a good dad."

"He will," confirmed Phil as Molly cooed in his arms.

Darcy sat up a little more again, shifting so she could see both her father and daughter's face. "Do you think we should tell them?"

Phil cocked an eyebrow at her, but made no other surprised motions. This was his daughter, he'd spent almost 25 years dealing with her chaotic mind and random segues. "With the number of secrets we keep, both as a family and professionals, I'm afraid your going to have to be more specific on all of the above."

"I mean, should we tell them that you're my dad," supplied Darcy with a roll of her eyes. "What else would I be talking about?"

"Any number of things, knowing you," supplied Phil with a sigh. "Why do you want to tell them?"

Darcy shrugged and started ticking points off on her fingers. "I want to call you Dad sometimes? Molly is going to have to know who her grandfather is eventually because, no, I am not going to bar her from knowing her grandfather. Clint and I are getting married eventually, so he probably ought to know before then just to avoid anything too awkward. Um," for a moment she paused, eyes dropping to the sheet covering her lower body, "I might want you to, uh, walk me down the aisle when that happens?"

Both of his eyes shot up to her and, for the first time she could remember, he looked a little overwhelmed. "You want me to give you away? You, the epitome of female independence?"

"No, that's Natasha," corrected Darcy with a smirk. "What I am is a daughter wanting her father to stand next to her while she does what is possibly the scariest thing she can think of doing."

The teasing smirk at the corner of his lips calmed Darcy a little. "Even scarier than getting attacked by Loki?"

"So much scarier," confirmed Darcy. "At least Loki was something I knew how to handle."

Phil nodded and stood, handing Molly back to Darcy before kissing her one the forehead. "Alright, I'll think about it."

"Fine," huffed Darcy with a faint smile. "Just remember, eventually I'm going to have to tell Clint so he stops acting like you're trying to steal me from him."

A full smile, a touch sad, spread over Phil's face as he turned to leave. "I believe the thieving happened in reverse."

"Yep," agreed Darcy with a yawn as she lay Molly back in the plastic bin the nurses had brought in. "Night, Phil."

Phil's smile fell a little at her words but he didn't let the faint hurt leak into his voice. He couldn't expect her to call him 'Dad' so long as he refused to allow the others to know. "Goodnight, Darcy."

Slipping quietly into the hospital hallway, Phil made his way out of the building in silence.

Almost two weeks later, the Avengers were dispatched to an undisclosed location. The only people who knew where they were sent were Phil and Fury. Darcy was on maternity leave, so she wasn't allowed to work tactical or research like she usually would. This meant she was more than a little restless. Add to that an infant who didn't sleep through the night and her rest quota was near minimum on a good night. Ah, the joys of motherhood. It was this reason exactly that she came wondering into Phil's office almost a week after the Avengers had been deployed (and coincidentally the same day they were returning back as he had just learned).

His eyes barely left the computer screen in front of him when she dragged herself into the room and collapsed on the sofa with Molly in the carrier beside the couch. "Still having trouble sleeping?"

"She doesn't sleep through the night is the problem," groaned Darcy as she shut her eyes. Beside her, Molly cooed quietly, eyes taking in everything around her. "I don't mind so much when I have help, but doing this alone is a bitch."

Phil nodded, taking in his daughter's exhausted form. "Close your eyes for a few minutes. I'll keep an eye on Molly."

Darcy yawned quietly. "Sure you can handle her?"

"I helped raise you," pointed out Phil mildly. "I think I can handle it."

"If you're sure," murmured Darcy, already half asleep.

"Positive," assured Phil as he stood and picked up the carrier. "She'll be fine. Sleep. Before you start hallucinating."

Darcy snorted slightly and curled up on the sofa more. "Told you, was those damn pain killers. Not lack of sleep."

He smiled softly and tugged the blanket on the back of the sofa over her body. "You can tell yourself that as much as you like."

"'s true," grumbled Darcy even as she drifted off.

Phil waited a minute before picking up Molly's carrier and setting it on his desk beside where he was working on some papers. Really, it wasn't anything too serious. Most of his work would start when the Avengers returned. Which meant he needed someone to watch Molly while he debriefed them. Meaning Fury, Foster, or Pepper.

He didn't think twice before dialing Pepper's number, making sure to keep his voice low even if he doubted an earthquake would wake up Darcy at this point. It only took two rings for the CEO to snatch up her cellphone. "Virginia Potts."

"Pepper," greeted Phil casually. "It's Phil."

"Phil," gasped Pepper. "Oh god, did something happen to Tony?"

"No," assured Phil quickly. "Mr. Stark is fine. He and the rest of the Avengers will be returning shortly from their current mission. Actually, I was calling to ask a favor."

Pepper paused for a moment, before answering in a suspicious tone. "Why are you whispering?"

"Darcy's asleep on the couch in my office," explained Phil, not even thinking to check himself on the open use of his daughter's name. "She's exhausted at the moment."

"I see," replied Pepper uncertainly. "What's the favor you need?"

Phil leaned back, giving the infant one of his hands to play with. "Could you watch Molly for a short time this afternoon while I debrief everyone when they get in? Darcy is exhausted and I really don't want to interrupt her sleep if I don't have to."

"You care a lot about her," commented Pepper with a hint of worry in her tone. "Phil, you don't have an interest in Darcy, right?"

He actually choked at Pepper's question, mind grinding to a halt momentarily as he tried to actually process her words. It nearly made him gag. "Pepper, no. Certainly not. That's...beyond deviant and disgusting."

Pepper snorted slightly, clearly unhappy with his response. "You make it sound like any interest in her would be illegal."

"Last I checked, incest was illegal," commented Phil, deciding he had to put an end to this idea right now regardless of his personal reservations. He knew Pepper wouldn't tell anyone of course, not even Tony. "Fathers should never have that sort of interest in their own children."

"F-father?" breathed Pepper, who now sounded like she might be choking. Or surprised. "You're her...father?"

"Yes," confirmed Phil with a sigh. "And I'll ask that you keep that bit of information to yourself, please. I only said something because just the thought of someone believing I have that kind of interest in Darcy makes me sick."

Pepper groaned quietly and uttered something along the lines of 'this explains so much' before actually speaking to him again. "So, does that make you...?"

"Molly's grandfather, yes," confirmed Phil again. "Which is why I'm currently watching her. However, I can't bring her to the debriefing. So, could you watch her?"

"Of course," agreed Pepper almost immediately. "But Phil, you have to tell the others. At least Clint. He thinks your trying to steal Darcy away from him."

Phil shook his head. "As I told Darcy, its the other way around."

"He doesn't know that though," pointed out Pepper. "Unless Darcy told him, that is."

"She didn't," corrected Phil immediately. "She's been keeping this secret for a long time. We both have been."

"Why?" He could hear Pepper's confusion. "Why keep it a secret?"

"To keep her safe," replied Phil. "I started working for S.H.I.E.L.D before she was born and have been her whole life. I couldn't risk anyone hurting her. I still can't."

Pepper's scowl echoed through her words. "So you keep it a secret? Even now, when it doesn't matter any more?"

Phil blinked a little, leaning back. "Of course it still matters. I still work for S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Except now, so does she. She's on the tactics team for the Avengers Initiative. Her and Fury will start work on their training center for magic users in a few months-"

"Energy manipulators," interrupted Phil. "Its for energy manipulators."

"Either way," sighed Pepper. "She's going to be one of the lead instructors. Then, on top of that, she's engaged to an Avenger andgave birth to said Avenger's child. Phil, telling people you're her father isn't going to put her in any more danger at this point."

For several moments, he quietly considered Pepper's words before carefully responding. "What about the fact that I'm one of the top three in S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Irrelevant," assured Pepper. "Look, Phil, how has this worked out so far? Can you honestly say that you have no regrets where this particular secret is involved?"

"Of course I have regrets," admitted Phil with a sigh. "I have a number of regrets, mostly involving key events in Darcy's life. I couldn't be publicly present at her graduation because members of the Avengers and others I work with were there. I missed her sixteenth birthday because of a S.H.I.E.L.D-related emergency. Coming to her high school graduation wasn't possible. I did get to threaten a few boyfriends, but I can't threaten her husband-to-be because he's S.H.I.E.L.D. The list continues."

Pepper hummed. "And you can't walk her down the aisle when she gets married unless you admit to being her father."

"No," sighed Phil as he looked at Molly. "I can't be Molly's grandfather either. Not with the way the Avengers are going to guard her."

"So tell them," encouraged Pepper. "Look Phil, telling them isn't going to cause any trouble. I'll assume Fury knows already and hasn't told a soul. And truthfully, most of the Avengers look at Darcy like a member of their family. Molly too. They would never do anything that would put either of them in danger. Darcy is probably the safest she's ever been in her life at the moment, so don't let your most likely invalid concerns for her safety over-ride your need to be her father. She needs you right now more than ever, so step forward and be there for her."

"I'm always here for her," corrected Phil quietly. "She knows I'm always here for her."

He could hear the noise level increase as Pepper stepped out of one room and into another. "Maybe you're there for her in a way, but you aren't there for her. Just think about it."

"I am," assured Phil with a sigh. "The Avengers should be arriving back shortly. Can you come over here now?"

"Sure," agreed Pepper. "I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Thanks," sighed Phil. "I'll see you when you arrive."

The click on the other end of the line told Phil exactly how Pepper was feeling about him at the moment. And he had to agree: the CEO had every right to be annoyed with him. His eyes strayed to Darcy and where she lay on the couch. An adult with a baby of her own and an up-coming marriage.

For a few minutes, he allowed memories from when Darcy was a baby to play through his mind. In that same amount of time, he made a decision.

It took half an hour to debrief the team once the Quinjet landed in the hanger. Mostly because the entire team just wanted to get home. Even Tony kept his snark to a minimum (which was maybe 80% of his normal snark quota, but it helped speed things along). When every question was finally answered and the events were all accounted for, Phil stood up and gathered his papers together.

"Alright, we're finished for today," he informed them calmly. "I expect your reports in my office in two days by 5. No later." Everyone started standing and chatting a little as Phil gathered his papers and start to exit the room. However, a thought crossed his mind that led him to pause in the door frame. "And Agent Barton? Please collect Darcy from my office before heading to your apartment. I'll keep Molly for the night so you can both get some rest."

"Uh," started Clint, clearly a little torn about this. Several emotions flew across his face, most of which reflected worry or uncertainty. For a second, he seemed at a loss.

However, Tony cut in almost immediately which saved Clint from having to respond. "Careful Barton, I wouldn't do that. Coulson'll turn your kid into a robot ninja before she's one. Then you'll never find her."

Somehow that comment combined with Clint's uncertain look and everyone else's pitying glances in his direction (really, what was wrong with this team?) made something in Phil's mind snap. Well, he hadn't intended to do it this way but... "Actually, Mr. Stark, that will be a while in coming. I didn't start my own daughter's ninja-training until she was three and I intend to maintain that standard for my granddaughter."

Phil paused for a moment to take in the after-math of his little announcement. Seeing Tony attempting to surmise a reply with his mouth opening and closing like a startled fish was certainly worth anything else that came from this. Clint's eyes had gone wide and he looked as if a series of revelations had suddenly smacked him in the face. Natasha's own expression was blank, but one of her eyelids was twitching ever so slightly. Steve looked like he was trying to come up with something to say and hitting a brick wall. Repeatedly. Bruce was the only one who didn't look surprised, muttering something about how 'that actually makes sense' as he left the room. Coulson followed him, leaving the others to sort this out on their own.

"How was she?" asked Phil in way of greeting as he paused in front of Pepper where she sat just outside his office, Molly in her arms.

Pepper shrugged and handed the infant to Phil. "She was fine. A bit grumpy, but otherwise fine."

"Good," sighed Phil as he handed the infant his finger to play with. She cooed happily and stuck the digit in her mouth. "Thank you again, Pepper."

"Not a problem," assured Pepper as she stood and gathered her thinks. "How did the debriefing go?"

"The usual," replied Phil with a shrug. "Tony was perhaps a little less sarcastic this time, but perhaps that's the exhaustion."

"Hopefully," muttered Pepper with a shake of her head. "I love that man, but he pushes it sometimes."

Phil hummed and offered Molly a smile. "I told them, just so you know. Tony may or may not still resemble a fish out of water. You may have to retrieve him from the conference room, for which I apologize."

"You told them during a debriefing?" asked Pepper, surprised.

"No," corrected Phil. "I said something after the debriefing."

Pepper groaned. "Did Tony do it?"

"A little," admitted Phil, finally raising his eyes to look at Pepper again. "None the less, they are in conference room one."

"Thank you," sighed Pepper. "I'll go get him home and keep him there for a little bit. That way you should be able to avoid any commentary for a bit, until you work this out within your family."

"I appreciate that," thanked Phil as he opened his office. "Have a good evening, Pepper."

"You too Phil," parted Pepper as she walked away.

Slipping into his office, Phil quietly shut the door and turned towards where Darcy was still asleep on his couch. Her face was a little less tense than it had been earlier and some of the smudging beneath her eyes had dissipated. She was no where near rested but some of the normal pallor was back and she didn't look like a breath would knock her over.

Smiling slightly, Phil set Molly back in her carrier and knelt beside Darcy. "Darcy, sweetheart, its time to wake up." Predictably, she groaned and tried to roll away, muttering something about 'five more minutes'. The memory of he doing that same thing when she was 10 brought a smile to his face. "Come on Darcy, you need to get up. Agent Barton is back and I'm sure you don't want to keep him waiting."

That got a response. Both of her eyes opened, blinking in an attempt to clear the sleep from her head even as she sat up. "Really? When?"

"Half an hour ago," supplied Phil, a smile sliding across his face. "We just finished the debriefing."

Darcy's eyes narrowed suspiciously at him. "What did you do."

Phil cocked an eyebrow at his daughter, leaning forward on the balls of his feet. "What makes you think I did anything."

"You have that smile," explained Darcy with a yawn. "The one that you only get when you've broken someone's brain. So, what did you do."

"I may have...told the Avengers who your father is," admitted Phil as he stood and turned to pick up Molly's carrier and baby supplies.

Darcy groaned. "Damnit, really?"

"Yes," confirmed Phil, smile falling away as a furrow appeared between his eyebrows. "I thought you wanted the others to know."

Sighing, she stood and stretched. "I did and do, but I wanted to be there when you told them. I bet their looks were priceless."

A chuckle came from Phil as he started to herd Darcy out of the office. "I'll make sure you have the video footage by morning. Now, go home and rest. I'll take Molly for the night so both you and Agent Barton can get some sleep."

Darcy's eyebrows furrowed uneasily. "Are you sure you can handle her, Dad?"

"Positive," assured Phil with a smile as he herded his daughter from his office with his granddaughter on his arm. His semi-publicly known family. The family he could now act like a father and grandfather towards. "I raised you, remember?"