"Morning beautiful," Phil said softly when Darcy's eyes fluttered open. He laid facing her, running one hand gently down her shoulder to her elbow; a warm smile playing on his lips.

"Morning," Darcy said sleepily. She yawned a bit and then turned her face quickly just as Phil tried to give her a kiss. "Don't kiss me. I have bad morning breath," she closed her mouth tightly and shook her head.

"Alright, but I don't mind," he chuckled.

"How long have you been awake?" Darcy asked, looking over at the clock which read 9:03. She stretched her arms above her head and pointed her toes. Last night certainly had made her body ache in ways she hadn't felt in along time.

"About an hour," Phil replied shifting closer to her. He placed his hand on the sheet at the curve of her hip, stroking gently.

"You didn't wake me up?"

"You looked really comfortable," Phil squeezed at her hip and gave her a smile. "Plus, I recall you saying that you hated to be woken up super early. Don't want to get on your bad side. Not again."

She blinked at him a couple of times; then looked down, feeling a bit guilty that she had been so mean to him a few days ago. "Playing the guilt trip card, Coulson?" She tried to make a snarky remark to hide her guilt.

"Not at all." He didn't want to start an argument with her. "You look cute when you sleep. I didn't want to wake you."

Darcy smiled. "You like watching me sleep?" She asked and then grinned wider when he nodded his head yes. She shifted in the cool sheets, rubbing her leg against his. "I need to go to the store today. I want to get some groceries and, like, the biggest box of condoms I can find."

Phil arched his eyebrow; a faint pink spread across his cheeks. He still couldn't believe that they actually slept together, and more importantly, he couldn't believe how bold he was with his words and actions. At least she didn't think he was a pervy old man; even though he sure felt like one.

Darcy giggled. "Okay with you?"

He nodded yes. Of course he was fine with that.

More than fine.

"Good," she grinned at him and then giggled again. Darcy reached to his face and slid her finger down his nose. He smiled and kissed her finger tip when she reached his lips. "I just noticed that you have freckles. God, that's effing adorable."

Phil laughed. "Okay, time to get up, Darcy. As much as I want to lay around in bed with you all day, I have a check in with Fury at 10:30. I hate that we have nothing new to report to him." He sat up and pushed the covers away. "You're still making me waffles, right?" He stood up stretching his arms out in front of him; yawning slightly. Staying in bed with Darcy was at the top of his wish list; a chat with Fury was not.

Darcy grinned as she watched him head to the door. "Yessir! I'll have 'em done by the time you're outta the shower."

"Thata girl," he chuckled as Darcy blew him a kiss.

After the most amazing blueberry waffles Phil had ever ate, he decided that he should try to get some work done while Darcy was out. She had left for Cedar's grocery store about a half hour ago to get some food as well as other things. Things that made him blush just thinking about them. He tapped his pen wildly against the manila folder trying to read the bio on Harold Doss, but his mind kept drifting to Darcy. Both of them could get thrown out of S.H.I.E.L.D for the amount of protocols that they had broken. Twenty years of service down the drain; not to mention that Darcy's career would be over before it actually began. He flipped the page of the dossier and exhaled loudly, Fury may only have one eye, but the bastard seemed to know everything. Fury would probably sense that he and Darcy had been together as soon as they walked back into the headquarters.

The cell phone next to him beeped and he reached over and looked at the screen.

{U like cheese ravioli?}

He smiled.

{Absolutely.} He typed and then pressed the send button. He was really going to miss Darcy's cooking when they finished this assignment. If she wasn't an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, she should really be a chef with her own five star restaurant. Phil would be there everyday. Not just for the food, but to see her lovely face.

He closed his eyes for a moment before he started to read over the file again. As much as he wanted to think about Darcy all day, he knew that he needed to get his mind back on work. Almost a month had gone by and they hadn't had any big leads that would help them solve this case.

They were running out of time. Fury had made that very, very clear to him.

A bit later the front door opened and Darcy walked in carrying a bag of groceries. "Well, guess what?" she said in a huff, setting the bag on the coffee table.

"What ever it is, it doesn't look good," Phil said, noticing the sweat gleaning on her forehead. "Why don't you let me drive you next time?"

"Because I like to walk. It's not that far, but it's hot as fuck out there today," Darcy said wiping her hand over her sweaty skin. She plopped down on the cushion next to him and smiled.

"What?" Phil asked.

"You totally did me on here last night," she smirked and raised her eyebrows quickly a couple of times.

Phil looked down and scratched his head trying to hide his scarlet cheeks. She certainly had a way with words.

"But, looks like we won't be doing it again any time soon." She crossed her arms when Phil looked up at her. "They were out of condoms. They only carry one kind too. Isn't that weird? I mean, god, you go to any other store in America and they got ones for 'her pleasure'; 'his pleasure'; 'their pleasure'; ones that glow in the dark ... you name it. Here they have one ... and they're out. I checked everywhere," she said as she got up and grabbed the bag off the table and stomped towards the kitchen.

"You check by the bananas?" Phil said as he watched her disappeared into the other room.

"Why would they be by the bananas?" Darcy called out. There was silence for a moment and then her laughed filled the kitchen. "Hahaha ... Bananas! Yeah seems like a place Ken and Barbie would put them!"

Phil grinned and then went back to work.

"I still cannot believe you haven't seen Game of Thrones," Phil said as he dried a plate and put it into the cupboard.

Darcy stuck her hands into the soapy water and scrubbed at the metal pot. They had finished up dinner and now were on kitchen clean up duty. She had wanted to clean up by herself that way Phil could relax but he insisted that he would help her. She didn't mind though; standing shoulder to shoulder with him was alright with her. "I know, that's why I'm pissed that there's a marathon on tonight and we don't get H-B-Fuckin'-O. Or any T.V. channels for that matter." She pulled the plug in the sink and watched as all the dirty water drained out.

"I can probably fix that." Phil set the pot on the shelf and flipped off the light as they walked out into the living room. He pulled a small device out of his bag, walked to the back of the television, and started to fiddle around with the wiring.

Darcy sat down on the couch and kicked her feet up on the coffee table. "I will kill you, if you tell me we could have been watching T.V. all this time. Are you doing some illegal handy work, Coulson?"

"Do you want to watch Game of Thrones, or not?" Phil asked poking his head out from the back of the T.V.

"Hey, I'm not complaining," she grinned. "I like that Coulson has a bad boy side."

"Cable stealing is considered bad boy?" Phil arched his eyebrow and smirked. He tapped the top of the television and it turned on. The picture was scrambled but when he gave it another tap, it became clear. Darcy grabbed the remote and immediately started flipping the channels.

"Oh glorious television how I have missed you!" Darcy placed her hand to her heart and looked at Coulson. "You're my hero. A true national treasure!"

"I don't know about that." He picked up the file that he had been working on all day and opened it back up. Several pictures of men stared back at him, each one had been missing for years. All five men had been loggers and were last seen in the forest. There had to be another connection though, something else that Phil was missing. Darcy had gone back into the kitchen to make some popcorn and get them something to drink before the show started. Minutes later she returned with a big bowl of hot buttery popcorn and two cans of Coke.

"I heard this show has lots of blood and boobs in it," she said tossing a piece of popcorn up in the air and catching it in her mouth. She waited for a response from Phil but he was deep in thought, staring at the faces of the photos and flipping back and forth pages of the file. "So, um, how did the chat with Nick go?"

He looked up at her and shrugged. "Didn't have much to report to him. He wasn't too pleased, but I assured him that I'd have more to tell him next time." Phil marked something on Ryan Crawley's file, then sighed.

"So they're all loggers. Were loggers, I mean," Darcy pulled the file towards her so she could have a look also. She felt bad that she was slacking off again, the little fantasy of playing house was taking over the real reason why they were here. Sleeping with Phil certainly did not help at all; it made the fantasy seem that more tangible. "Okay ... so ... all of them worked for Jack. We should ask him about them,"

"I plan on it. I just have to figure out how to go about it," Phil said looking over at Darcy. "He's not as easy going as Ken is,"

"I could ask him," Darcy said. "He likes me."

"Yeah, I know. That's why you're not going anywhere near him again." His voice flat, almost commanding. "I don't trust him."

Protective Phil. Yep, totally hot. Even though Darcy was pretty sure she could take care of herself.

"I could say the same about Melissa. I don't trust her with you. She's been trying to get all on you since day one." Darcy was mentally punching Melissa in her head. She was just as protective of Phil as he was of her. Darcy scrunched her face as she thought about something. "Actually, I saw her at the grocery store today. She was in the checkout line as I was coming in. She had a lot of meat in her cart. I didn't really think much about it until now."

"Meat? Maybe she's having a big party?" Phil pushed his glasses up a little farther on the bridge of his nose.

"But it was all meat. A lot of it, like, steaks and roasts and all sorts of stuff like that."

"Melissa ... likes ... meat," Phil said as he wrote the words down on the file.

Darcy laughed. "You don't find that weird? Don't make fun of me!" She playfully punched him in the arm.

"I'm not. I took note of it. It's something to look into, I suppose." His lips twitched in a smile, and he put his arm around Darcy. She snuggled into him and flipped the page of the file. Working close to Phil was one of her new favorite things.

"All the men were in their forties and have blue eyes," Darcy observed. "Is that a clue?"

"Really?" Phil scrunched his brows. How could he have missed something that obvious? The facts were there right in front of him. "It definitely is. It's a big connection between all of them. That and them all being loggers. Good work, Darce."

"Thanks, see sometimes I think you over look the obvious," she said taking sip of Coke. "Not everything is hidden, Agent."

He smiled. He definitely was right when he suggested to Fury that they recruit Darcy Lewis, college student from Culver University in her second year there. Fury was more than apprehensive about bringing a Political Science major into S.H.I.E.L.D, but he trusted Phil, so he went ahead and contacted Darcy. Darcy had no idea that Phil had been watching her for several months prior to her joining S.H.I.E.L.D. "I'll try to get some info tomorrow." He closed the file and set it on the coffee table.

"Because tomorrow you get to be lumberjack Phil and play in the woods. Hope you packed a flannel shirt and a pair of Timberlands. And a ski hat ... you need a hat." Darcy wrapped her hand in his just as Game of Thrones came on. His faint cologne soothed her, she cuddled as closely as she could, resting her head against his chest as they watched the show. He had kissed the top of her head several times and nuzzled his face into her hair. Butterflies fluttered around in Darcy's stomach every time he touched her. Half way into the second episode, Darcy tilted her head up to Phil's and smiled at him. "So ..."

He smiled back at her. "Yeah?" he said softly, running his hand through one of her loose curls.

"Are we going to try to make this work somehow? Us. Like, together ... as a couple?" Darcy's voice cracked a bit.

Silence.

Maybe she was reading into things too much. Maybe he didn't have any intentions about being in a real relationship with her. Maybe he just wanted to have a good time while they were here, but once back in the real world they would just go back to agents. Her stomach churned with the thought. The fact that he still hadn't said anything to her wasn't helping out either. "... did I say something ... wrong?"

"No." Finally he spoke up, but he sounded distant, like he was thinking real hard on the right answer. Maybe he was trying to think on how to let her down easily.

"It's okay. I just thought-"

"No, I do want to make this work. I wouldn't have slept with you if I didn't want to form a relationship with you. I'm just not one of those guys. It's just going to be rather difficult ..." He went silent again, pulling at a loose thread on the couch. "Technically, we aren't supposed to date. It's against protocol for me to date a junior agent. Especially since we work in the same unit. I could get demoted or expelled. You would probably get reprimanded, possibly demoted back to a level one."

"I'm willing to risk it," Darcy said more quickly than she should have. She just wanted to let him know that she was serious about him.

"Me too," he said quietly, looking up at her. It was the first time that he ever risked his position with S.H.I.E.L.D. Darcy was worth it though, that he was a hundred percent sure of. There was one other little thing that was weighing on his heart and he wanted to make sure that it didn't bother her, because he was still fighting with it himself. "... You don't think I'm too old for you?" The fact that he could have a daughter her age was not a pleasant thought in his head.

"Not at all. I'm an adult, you're an adult. Just because there is a big gap between us doesn't bother me at all. Besides, it's not like anyone is going to know we're even dating to talk about it. Does it bother you a lot?" Darcy asked, squeezing his hand.

"Kind of," he chuckled. "If this was a few years ago then you would have been underaged and -"

"But it's not a few years ago, Phil. It's now. I'm twenty-three, you're forty-three-"

"Forty-five," he corrected.

Darcy shrugged. "Whatever. Your age, it doesn't bother me. I'll be your sexy nurse when you're old and frail. I'll be there to there to push you around in your wheelchair and mush up all your meals and feed them to you," she grinned.

"Christ ..." he chuckled, placing his hands at the sides of his nose, and rubbing it. Were they really going to do this? Try to have some sort of intimate relationship with each other. Yes, that's what it sounded like. He was going to date Darcy Lewis, a twenty-three year old, junior S.H.I.E.L.D agent. He nodded, "Alright, but we are going to have to be very careful about this, Darcy. We must remain professional at work. That means, no touching, no sweet talk-"

"No fucking me on your desk," Darcy said with a sly grin.

Phil's lips twitched in a little smile. "Nothing that will bring any attention to our relationship. At work we'll just be Agent Coulson and Agent Lewis, just as we have been before. Out of work, we'll have to choose the places we go carefully. We can't risk being seen by any other agents."

"Hell, I don't care if we don't go anywhere but your apartment. I just want to be with you," Darcy replied, leaning her head on his shoulder.

That was the truth.

"You really want to do this, Darcy?" Phil asked again, just to make sure.

"I've never been so sure about anything in my life, Phil."

He nodded. "Me too, Darce." He smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around her, kissing her forehead. They were silent for a little while, watching the T.V, not really knowing what was actually going on in the show anymore.

"You know what?" Darcy asked a bit later, after the episode ended.

"What?"

"I started seeing this guy. He's a badass, gorgeous super spy; who has a foot fetish and fucks me like a man on a mission," Darcy giggled, reaching up and placing a little kiss on Phil's cheek.

What had he gotten himself into?

"He sounds perfect. I hope he makes you really happy." He said it jokingly but he really meant it. He didn't want to disappoint Darcy; he just hoped, really hoped, that she would understand when he always couldn't be there for her. Because it would be inevitable that there would be a time when he would have to go away for long periods without any contact with her.

"He has so far. For the most part. At the beginning he was a bit difficult, but I was able to break him down." She flicked off the T.V. and kissed the tip of his nose. "Well, I missed a big chunk of Game of Thrones. Oh well."

"I have the first season on DVD at home. We'll watch them on date nights."

Dating.

He hadn't dated in a long time, and jumping back into it kind of scared him. He wasn't real great at it back then, and probably still sucked at it now. He try his best at it, though.

"Sounds fun!" she giggled. It still hadn't sunk into her that she and Phil were going to attempt at a real relationship. She'd do her best to not fuck anything up; she wanted this to work out. "We better go to bed. It's my last week of fuckin' awesome art camp! You have no idea how excited I am about that," she said, standing up, yawning real big.

"And I have to get up early to scope out the forest." He got to his feet and switched off the living room light. "You still want me in your bed?" he asked. The futon would be fine with him if she wanted them to build up on sleeping together.

"You're kidding right? Of course, I do!" Darcy said as she followed him up the stairs that were dimly lit by the bathroom nightlight. "Truthfully, last night was the most comfortable night I have ever slept in that bed. It was better with your arms wrapped tightly around me. I know sexy times are off the menu, but you'll still hold me, won't you?"

"Always," he replied as they walked into the bedroom, shutting the door softly.