Ch. 10

I woke up that next morning with that hollow, wrung-out feeling that always follows a night of crying. I really didn't know how I was going to face everyone after last night. I grabbed my towel to go take a shower. When I opened the door to my room, Coulson was there, looking like he had been waiting for a while.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

I nodded and went to sit on my bed. I didn't think my legs could support me.

He took a deep breath. "I spent most of last night talking with Melinda. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I was selfish. I wanted to have it all. My career. Melinda. I didn't want to choose. I was her S.O. I knew if it got out, that would be it. So, I was the one who pushed to keep it quiet, to keep it a secret. I wanted to have my cake and eat it, too."

He looked down, studying his hands. "You know, all real love is based on sacrifice. The parent that gets up at three in the morning to comfort a crying child, moving across the country for your spouse's career, taking care of an aging grandparent . . . those are all real, tangible manifestations of love. And I wasn't willing to do that for Melinda. I wasn't willing to give up S.H.I.E.L.D. for her. I didn't show her that she was worth doing the right thing. I should have just left with her. Walked away from S.H.I.E.L.D. We could have gotten married. We could have raised you." At that his voice broke and he looked up at me, his lip trembling.

"I'm not blind, you know. I know you're frustrated with Ward, but he's a better man than me. He's showing how much he values you by not taking the easy way out, not taking the selfish route. Be patient with him. He's worth it and you're worth it. It's not that he doesn't care about you. He cares enough for you to not hide in the shadows with you."

Coulson took a deep breath and tugged on his suit jacket. "Speaking of Ward, now that you are a full-fledged level one S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, we have a mission for the both of you. I put in the orders last night, before all the chaos, so if you'd like, I can change them."

"No, I'd like to . . . I'd like to get started on my first official assignment."

"That's my girl," he said with a small smile.

"About that, do I call you Dad now?"

"Anything's better than AC," he said dryly.

"So, Dad . . . can I take Lola out for a spin?" I said, slyly with a grin on my face.

"I knew this would come up. Yes, but first you need a pilot's license," he said, straight faced.

"A pilot's license? How I am going to get a pilot's license?" I asked.

"Have your mother teach you," he said with a cocked eyebrow before he turned and left my room.

00000

After getting dressed and ready for the day, I peeked my head into the lab and gave Leo and Jemma the news about May and Coulson. I was so done with secrets.

They were both surprised, but supportive.

"Does that mean that you get to drive Lola?" Leo asked, his eyes wide.

"Not quite yet," I said with a smirk.

"Still, it must be nice, knowing the answer to who your parents are," Jemma said with that kind smile of hers.

"I don't know if I'd use the word nice, but I am glad that everything's finally out in the open," I said.

"And you're going on your first official mission, with Ward," Jemma said, waggling her eyebrows for exaggerated effect.

"We've been on tons of missions before," I said. "This will be just the same."

"Of course, of course," Leo said, sarcastically.

"Uggh. You guys," I said, shaking my head as I left the lab.

00000

We had run this type of mission before. Ward would wear his specialized glasses that allowed me to see what he saw and I would guide him through the compound he was trying to infiltrate. I would be sitting in the far part of the parking lot, using my laptop as I sat in the passenger seat, window rolled down to let in a breeze.

The mission began flawlessly. Ward entered the building, found the main control room, evaded all of the guards and downloaded the information we needed about Centipede and their contacts onto a thumbdrive.

Ward was making his way back to the car when I heard the unmistakable click of a gun cocking and felt cool metal against my right temple.

"Get your hands off that keyboard and put them in the air," a gunman in black fatigues growled.

I put my hands in the air and looked up. I saw five more Centipede supersoldiers aiming at me through the windshield.

Well, crap.