Laying off of field assignments and missions has been very hard on Melinda. Laying off of any work at all took a pretty hard turn for Melinda just as much. She's stuck home in her apartment, watching VHS tapes, and had even borrowed Phil's VHS tapes when she was done with her collection, and Phil's collections weren't that much either. She stays in her apartment to wait for Phil to visit her apartment at night after work, and some nights, he couldn't visit Melinda because of overnight missions. It never really bothered Melinda. Who is she to be bothered? She's just really thankful to have him by her side.
On mornings when he'd stay overnight in her place, he would cook her breakfast and make her a cup of her favourite hot tea. She would watch him move around her kitchen as she would lean back in her seat and rest her hand on her growing bump. They would talk about each other's day, the new things Melinda saw in the news, or whatever it was that captured her interest when she was looking out her window. Phil would talk more, as he had the most interesting stories, about his training with Barton, or his missions to gather intel or go undercover.
On the nights when Phil would stay over at Melinda's place, he would sleep beside her in bed, wrapping his arms around Melinda and their unborn baby. Melinda didn't mind. She had always thought that Phil was doing all of these for their baby, which is more than fine with her. She didn't think it was anything else other than his love for his daughter, and she never thought it would affect his relationship with Audrey
That is, if Audrey knows about their situation.
"Phil, can I ask you something?" Melinda asks him one night. They are both on the couch and are watching the news. Melinda's head is rested on Phil's lap, her legs stretched out on the couch and one hand resting on her big and still getting bigger baby bump. Phil is stroking her hair softly and hums to Melinda in response. He looks down to meet Melinda's soft brown eyes.
"What is it?" Phil asks.
"Have you told Audrey about…this?" she asks, making hand gestures. She doesn't really know what to call…that. Phil sighs and puts her hand down.
"No, I haven't." Phil admits. Melinda's eyes widen as she tries to sit up, scrunching her face when she fails. Phil supports her back and pushes her gently for her to be able to sit up. She turns to him with an expression that could be defined as either shocked, or angry, or both.
"Phil, I am about to give birth to your daughter in eight weeks and you're telling me you have never told Audrey about it?" Melinda demands. "And don't give me that bullshit reason of her not needing to know. She has to know, Phil. For you."
Phil exhales loudly. "I'm not about to give that reason, Mel, and before you turn this to me, have you even told your parents about our daughter?" he asks. Melinda huffs.
"You're the one who's turning the question." she mutters. Phil closes his eyes and sighs. It's the hormones, it's the hormones.
"Alright, fine," he starts, opening his eyes to meet Melinda's. "I haven't told Audrey, but I'm planning to. I just don't want to tell her through telephone, I want to tell her in person. So far, it's not me who's having the problem, it's she."
"Why don't you go to Portland and visit her?" Melinda asks, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't want to leave you." Phil tells her.
"I'll be fine, Phil, the baby and I will be fine, just as long as—"
"No, Mel, I don't want to leave you." Phil admits to her softly, looking down at his lap. Melinda's eyes soften as she opens her mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. She looks down on at her hands.
"It was never over, was it?" she asks softly, slowly looking up at Phil who sighs and shakes his head slowly. He looks up to meet her eyes.
"I couldn't risk this in S.H.I.E.L.D.," he whispers. "I couldn't risk ever losing you, especially now."
Melinda stays silent. There is a higher risk of Phil losing Melinda especially inside S.H.I.E.L.D., under Fury's watch, most especially now with a baby coming their way. She sighs. "We don't have to talk about this now." she tells him softly. He gives her a small smile and takes her hand in his.
"I've never stopped, Mel," he tells her. "I've tried so hard, but I don't think I ever will." Melinda looks down at their hands. She knows what he means.
"Please don't ever stop." she whispers, enough for him to hear. Phil smiles softly and pulls himself closer to her as he presses a soft kiss on her forehead. Melinda closes her eyes and leans into his touch. He pulls away, allowing Melinda to turn and lean against Phil's body as Phil wraps an arm around her shoulder. Melinda rests her head against his chest, so that she could hear his heartbeat against his chest. Phil rests his hand on top of Melinda's, which is resting on her baby bump.
"What are we going to do?" Melinda asks softly. Phil sighs.
"I know what I'm going to do," Phil replies. "But after that, I don't know."