Note: Big spoilers for season 2 finale of 'Agents of SHIELD'. Major spoilers. If you haven't seen it, DON'T READ THIS! A lot of dialogue taken from the episode.

"Times of Stress"

Phil backed up as one hand shot up and grabbed onto the bedding. What the hell was going on? Was Skye's father okay?

He… was certainly different. Phil heard Fitz curse, and willed his scientists to run from whatever Cal had become.

"You were looking for a monster," Cal said, standing straighter. His eyes landed on the adrenaline injector, and he picked it up. "This is what I was missing."

The thing about soulmarks is that people used to think they were the first words your soulmate said to you. Eventually, they realised that that wasn't the case; they were significant words your soulmate would say to you in times of stress, or when you would most need them. As a SHIELD agent, Phil had spent all of his working life expecting to meet his soulmate on a mission.

This kind of confusion led to the wrong people marrying, in hopes that they were getting it right. Attraction didn't automatically equate to soulmateship, though; and apparently, long-time hatred didn't not equate to soulmateship.

"Cal," Phil said, his voice wavering. "Cal, l-listen to me."

The man – who'd pulled some kind of Mr. Hyde – was still advancing on them. Phil herded FitzSimmons outside as Cal flipped the hospital bed, and closed the doors between them.

"Cal!" he tried again. "I can take you to Daisy, but you need to calm down!"

Cal chuckled, his grin manic. "This is me calm, Phil."

"Ah, Fitz?" Phil said, glancing over his shoulder. "I'm open to suggestions."

"Icers are a good start?" Fitz said.

"Agreed," Simmons added, handing them out.

"Gotta admit, I'm not hopeful these will do anything but piss him off," Phil admitted.

"There are more lethal sol—"

"No!" Cal was still banging on the door, and Phil backed off a few steps, swallowing. "Not yet. He's Skye's father, or he was."

"Sir," Simmons began.

"And he said my words! I'm… I'm hoping there's still a sliver of the man who—"

He couldn't finish his sentence, because Cal actually managed to break through the glass door. It hurt Phil to shoot him, but since the Icers didn't do a damn thing it was time for plan… whatever they were up to.

Turned out that Plan Whatever They Were Up To involved pinning Cal to a wall with a car. And a battering ram. And trying not to visibly wince at the threats piling up.

"What we both want is to protect your daughter," Phil said, concentrating on Cal, and not on the car which was possibly being nudged back. "You're a family man."

"Who is sick of you sticking your nose in our business!" Cal snapped, shoving against the vehicle with more force.

"It was your devotion to them that made you willing to do those terrible things all those years ago, wasn't it?"

"Shut up!"

"Nightmarish acts of violence that you didn't want to commit, did you?" Cal was shaking his head, still pushing. "Your wife made you do it."

"You don't know her! You don't know anything. Say one more word and I'll—"

"I'm not saying your wife is a monster, Cal," Phil said, stepping closer. "I think you already know she's a monster." Skye's father looked at him with such despair that Phil legitimately wanted to hug him. "What I'm saying… is you're not. I know you've thought so for a long time. But deep down you're a good man." Cal snorted and looked away, giving the car another token shove. "I believe that. I do." He reached out gingerly, and touched Cal's chest. "You got a big heart full of love."

"Stop!" Cal hissed, but he didn't break Phil's arm, so that was a plus.

"You wear it on your sleeve. Skye got that from—"

"Stop talking!" Phil bit his lip and stayed silent. "You…"

"Said your words?" Phil finished. Cal's eyes widened, and he nodded slowly. "You said mine before." He raised his left sleeve and showed off the two sentences written on separate lines below his wrist. "Your writing?"

"Yeah," Cal said. There were tears in his eyes; hopefully good tears. "Phil…"

"You're a good man," Phil repeated. "I know that. When we first met you helped me save Trip. I know." He held up his hands. "Not exactly the best way, but you helped. I know that everything you've done was to help Skye."

"I wanted to put my family back together," Cal mumbled. "Jiaying had a good heart. She did. But Whitehall ripped it out of her."

"He's dead now," Phil said. "I don't regret shooting him. He would've killed you, and then where would we be?" Cal glared at him half-heartedly. "Will you do anything to protect Skye, even if that includes protecting her from her mother? She's… she's not my daughter, but she's as close to family as I've got, and I will save her, no matter the cost."

"I guess you were destined to be her family," Cal said. "Our… family?"

"I'd like that," Phil murmured.

With a strong push, Cal shoved the vehicle and battering ram away. Phil nearly jumped out of his skin, and then cleared his throat.

"You gonna keep your head now?" he asked.

"I'd better," Cal said. "It'd be awkward if you had to lock up your soulmate."

"True."

"Soulmate." He grinned. "Best. Day. Ever."

Phil turned away from the window. Andrew raised his eyebrows.

"You ready to talk about it?"

"About what?" Phil asked, challenging him to say it.

"Your arm."

He only had one fist to clench in agitation now. Phil stared down at his partial limb. The amputation may have saved his life, but Mack had cut right through the middle of Phil's soulmark. All it said now was 'This is what I was missing'. Cal didn't know; he'd been mourning his wife and preparing to be… imprisoned, or so he thought.

"Not yet," Phil said, in answer to Andrew's question. "I'm looking into some options. I'd rather hear your evaluation of my team. Did you manage to get a read on Bobbi?"

Andrew half-smiled. "I get pretty straight answers with morphine in the mix." Which was saying a hell of a lot. "You convinced Mack not to quit."

"Yeah, well, he kind of owed me after cutting off my hand without asking," Phil replied flippantly. If he didn't use humour, he'd crack. Andrew knew that, and didn't comment.

"He respects you," the doctor said. "But he still holds a deep distrust of all the alien artefacts you've encountered…"

Skye approached the vet surgery, smiling when she saw her father greeting a golden labrador. Or retriever. Not like she'd ever had a pet, so…

"Can I help you?" he asked, straightening up as the dog and its human headed inside.

"Just passing by," Skye said. "Nice place."

"Oh, thanks!" He brightened. "Well, we're just getting up and running. It's gonna be a magical place one we get totally moved in." Funny. Coulson used to call Tahiti a 'magical place'. Okay, he was brainwashed to do it, but it was still interesting that Cal used the same phrase. "You know, we already have adoption days every Saturday. Tell your friends. Free spaying and neutering, too. Just ask for Dr. Winslow." He shook his head, still grinning. "I'm sorry. And you are…?"

"Daisy."

Something seemed to flick across his face. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.

"That's a lovely name," he said. "Remember, a house is not a home without a pet." He glanced past her, and she gave Coulson a small wave. He nodded back. "You know him? Guy with the sling?"

"Yeah. He… can't drive at the moment, so I'm his chauffeur. He doesn't trust many people with his car."

"I can see why," Cal said. His smile became a wicked smirk. "Is he your brother?"

"What?" Skye's eyes bugged out. "Oh my God, Da…" She cleared her throat. "He's, uh, not my brother."

"You nearly said 'Dad'."

"Yeah. He's… he's my dad."

"Lucky girl," he said. Oh God, he was actually checking Coulson out. "He's cute. Next time you're passing by, make sure you bring him."

Then he winked at her, and disappeared back into the vet surgery. In a daze, Skye drifted back to the car, trying to work out what to say. Coulson seemed completely oblivious to what had been happening.

"Thanks for doing that for him," Skye said, resting against the car. "I know aspects of the TAHITI program don't sit well with you."

"This does," Coulson said.

"He has a lot to give," she continued. "And now a way to give it."

"And what about you?" he asked. "Are you ready to refocus your e—?"

"He's your soulmate," she said, interrupting him. "And you've just let him go like that. I know… you think it's what's best for him—"

"It is," he said, even though he wasn't looking at her. "He deserves a second chance, Skye. I gave him that. He doesn't have to live with everything he did."

"But he won't remember you," she said.

"Will he want to remember?"

"How is he supposed to know?"

"Look, Skye," he said, and he walked around to the passenger side of the car. They both slid in, and she looked at him, refusing to drive until they'd discussed this. "He's your father, and he came through for us. He's my soulmate, just as big a connection, only in a different way."

"A non-platonic way," she said.

He coughed, cheeks turning pink. "Well, I guess we'll never know about that… aspect."

"DC—"

"Skye, you're our resident expert on people with powers," he said. She scowled at him. "You're the only one on the list right now, but we're taking it slow."

"Sir—"

"I can't talk about this, Skye!" He sighed. "I waited a long time to find my soulmate, and the circumstances when I found him were less than ideal. And maybe… maybe we had to be soulmates so that we could stop Jiaying from killing all of SHIELD. Maybe that's what our soulmateship was for. Or maybe…" He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe one day we'll meet again, and we'll get a second chance."

"And if he remembers who you are then?" Skye said, starting up the car.

"…He tried to kill me at least once. We'll call it square."

"I don't see it being platonic," she said, pulling out into the traffic.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because 'Dr. Winslow' thinks you're cute, and that next time I'm passing by, I should bring you along. Then he winked." She snickered when she noticed his shocked expression. "I'm serious. He asked if you were my brother – I should probably feel insulted, but he was indirectly flirting with you – and I told him that you're my father. Just a heads-up."

"Skye…"

"If you married it would totally be true, don't deny it!"

Coulson buried his face in his hands.

Fifteen years later

"Okay, okay," Skye said, rolling her eyes. "It's Saturday, so you can have ice cream. Of course, I would've thought you'd prefer a puppy, but…"

Her kids gasped as they looked up at her. Lenny and Gemma both looked a lot more like their father, who was 'mysteriously absent' (i.e. buying a dog kennel).

"We're getting a puppy?" Gemma squealed. Lenny shushed her.

"Well, you're always asking for a dog," Skye said, shrugging. "I heard they have adoptions on Saturdays. If you'd prefer a cat or a bird or… I don't know, a goldfish…"

"Maybe the base needs a new aquarium," Phil said. Three-year-old Linda was on her 'granddaddy's' hip, sucking her thumb as she looked around shyly.

"Puppy, puppy, puppy!" Gemma insisted. Lenny nodded eagerly, and Skye grinned as she ushered her kids into the vet surgery.

There he was. Still going, although the grey had spread past his temples.

"Good morning!" Cal said cheerfully, bounding over to them with the same old energy.

"Hi," Skye said. "We're here to adopt?"

He looked Phil over with a small smile. "You and your…?"

"This is Grampa!" Lenny said.

"My husband's busy at the, uh, hardware store," Skye said.

"You look like dog people," Cal said. "Am I right?"

"Puppy!" Gemma said.

"Well, let's head on out back, then." He held out a hand, and Gemma latched on. Cal led the children through, followed by Skye, Phil bringing up the rear. The kids ran forward, and Phil handed Linda to her mother so they could look, too. He lingered beside Cal.

"Do you enjoy your job?" he asked.

"I certainly do," Cal replied. "I love fixing things, bringing people together."

"Bringing families together."

"That's right. A family like yours. Got a wife?"

"…No," Phil said. "She, uh, she's not my biological daughter. Just feels like it. Do… do you have a family?"

"Nah," Cal said. "Feels like something's missing. `Til I find it…" He smiled sadly, and Phil's breath caught.

"You got a big heart full of love," he murmured.

"…What?"

"In a job like this, y-you'd have to." Shit, Phil thought, and he looked away. What the hell made him say that? Cal was staring at him, and he turned slowly to face Phil. He reached out and touched Phil's arm.

"This is what I was missing," he said. Phil couldn't tear his gaze away.

"You said my soul words," he said, voice breaking on 'soul'.

"You said mine," Cal replied. He smiled widely. "Can I see yours? Mine involves removing my shirt…"

Phil ducked his head, feeling his cheeks heat up. "Yeah. Hang on a sec…"

He tugged his left sleeve up. Cal's breath hitched when he saw the metal of Phil's high-tech hand and wrist. Just at the edge of it were the words 'This is what I was missing', all that remained after Mack saved his life. Phil flexed his hand, and shivered when Cal touched the mark.

"Did that hurt—?"

"No, no," he said quickly. "Tickles. It… you couldn't hurt me."

"I'd never hurt you," Cal said fiercely. "You're my soulmate."

"Dad?" Skye said. They both looked at her, and her eyes widened. "…Oh."

"My number," Phil said, pulling out a business card and tucking it into the pocket of Cal's lab coat. "Maybe when I've taken the kids home I can…"

"There's an ice cream place at the end of the road," Cal said. "Best gelato in Wisconsin."

Phil smiled. "I'd like that," he said.

I was thinking about this chapter on the way home on the bus, and got stuck into it PDQ. I was going to stop at Phil and Skye leaving Cal behind, but decided that I couldn't do that. Had to have a happy ending.

Please review! Yes, the kids are obscurely named after Fitz (Lenny, short for Leonard, not Leopold), Simmons (Gemma, duh), and May (Linda, from Melinda).