A big secret comes out.
Risks Chapter 3
With her head resting on his shoulder, Maria ran her hand across his chest, feeling his heartbeat slowing back to normal again. He hugged her close, hearing her sigh of contentment.
"You okay?" Nick asked.
She nodded, not looking up. "I'm fine. It's just been a while since..."
He grunted. "Our choice of career does make a personal life rather difficult."
Again, she nodded, her finger tracing one of the scars on his chest.
"Do the scars bother you?" he asked.
She finally raised up to look at him. "Why would they bother me? The way I see it, they show that you went through something, but you came through it. You survived." She held his gaze. "What about you? I have my own scars. Do they bother you?"
He remembered the raised lines on her back that his hands had recently caressed.
"I hate them."
As she started to pull away, he reached for her chin and held it until she met his gaze again.
"I hate that someone did that to you. I've read your personnel files and I know what you've been through. But I admire the strength and courage that brought you through and the person that you've become after. They are a part of who you are and I find you beautiful. Okay?"
He watched her watching him, looking deeply for the truth. Finally, she came to a decision.
"Okay."
With a smile and a quick kiss, she sat up and swung her feet off the side of the bed.
He raised up on one elbow and watched her slip a t-shirt over her head and start towards the door.
"Where are you going in MY shirt?" he asked.
Maria grinned at him. "Kitchen. I'm starved."
He gave her an incredulous look. "How can you be hungry? We just ate?"
"I have a fast metabolism. Besides," she said, pointing to the clock, "that was several hours ago and I've burned up a lot of energy since then."
With a smile on his face, he quickly pulled his pants on and followed her back into the other room where he found her digging in the freezer. She turned, triumphantly holding up a carton of ice cream.
"I thought this was still in there."
Fury reached in the drawer and pulled out a couple of spoons.
She raised an eyebrow. "You think I'm planning on sharing?"
"You don't want me collapsing in your floor, do you? I burned up a lot of energy, too, Agent Hill."
Pretending to think for a moment, she finally nodded. "I suppose you do need to keep your strength up."
They sat down at the table and dug into the carton.
"So, now what?" he asked.
She sighed and propped her chin on her hand, elbow on the table. "I don't know. I want to be with you, to see where we can go with this, but it's going to be complicated."
He nodded for her to continue.
"Not that I'm embarrassed by this, but I would prefer to keep it quiet for now. We're probably breaking dozens of regulations and policies."
"Probably," he agreed, "though I've been known to bend regulations and policies when it suits my purposes."
"We could both lose our jobs."
"Yes, we could. Are you willing to risk that?" he asked.
She nodded. "You?"
"Then we'll find a way to make it work. We're professional spies. We should be able to sneak around,"
"Yes, but our co-workers are professional spies, too," she reminded him.
"Then we'll just have to be better. Consider it a training exercise."
"I can do that," she agreed.
They sat in comfortable silence, working their way through the carton of frozen treat. Finally, Fury cleared his throat.
"You said it's been a while since you've been with anyone," he began cautiously.
She looked up at him, putting her spoon down.
"Are you wanting names and dates?"
He read the danger in her tone and hastened to clarify.
"No. I don't have the right to ask anything like that and I don't really want to know."
"No, you don't," she told him, relaxing a bit. "But, as I said, it's been a long time and it wasn't anyone you know."
"Okay."
She continued to watch him.
"Was there someone in particular you were wondering about?" she finally asked.
He studied the pattern on the tabletop for a few more moments, then looked up at her and shrugged.
"It's just that you and Agent Coulson seem very close. I just wasn't sure how close you had been."
She got up and closed the ice cream carton, returning it to the freezer. When she closed the door, she turned around and leaned against the appliance, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She stood there silently, trying to figure out how to explain their relationship.
"You said that you had read my files, so you know that he and I worked together on some pretty...difficult cases."
He nodded, encouraging her to continue.
"He saved my life on more than one occasion."
"As you did his," Fury interjected.
She waved her hand dismissively.
"There was a point where we talked about taking the relationship to a physical level. We worked together well in the field, why not in the bedroom as well?"
She smiled slightly at the memory. "We got so far as to getting naked, but then we just couldn't..."
"He couldn't?" Fury asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No," she hastened to correct him, "WE couldn't. It just felt...wrong...I started to giggle, then he started to laugh...I think we ended up watching old movies with the sound off making up our own dialog."
She hugged herself and leaned her head back. "I started calling him 'the big brother I never wanted'. God, I miss him."
Fury rose and crossed to her, kissing her gently on the forehead.
"If you want to give me back my shirt and grab a quick shower, I have something I need to show you."
She looked at him curiously, but followed his directions.
A short time later, both had showered and dressed for the day. They met by the door, ready to head out.
He took her hand and lifted it to his lips, bowing slightly.
"Thank you for dinner, Miss Hill. I had a lovely evening."
She curtsied, "Thank you for coming, Mr. Fury. I had a lovely evening as well. I do hope we can do it again soon."
"As do I," he replied, sounding almost sad.
He dropped her hand and stepped back. She could almost see the mask drop over his face as she concentrated on wrapping herself in her own SHIELD Agent Hill persona. When they were both ready, she checked that the corridor was clear of traffic, then headed out, Fury right beside her.
"Where are we headed?"
"Medical wing," he answered.
They walked in silence, nodding to the occasional personnel they passed. When they finally reached the medical area, it was quiet and dim, most of the patients sleeping. Staff moved from bed to bed, making notes and speaking softly to one another and to those having trouble sleeping.
Dr. Angela Carlyle looked up as they approached.
Fury greeted her. "What are you doing here at this hour, doctor?"
"Saving lives, making the world a better place...standard medical stuff..." She smiled and stretched. "I find this is a good time to read through charts, do some research."
"Don't you need to sleep?" Fury asked.
"Not much. Got out of the habit in medical school. Besides, that's an odd question coming from someone who never seems to sleep himself."
"Like you said, saving the lives, making the world a better place...doesn't leave much time for sleep," he shrugged.
She nodded at Agent Hill. "The glamorous life of a SHIELD agent."
"So, what can I do for you two this..." she paused to look at her watch, "early morning?"
"We came to check on your special patient," Fury told her.
Carlyle stood and headed over to a door. "He's improving slowly. He's about where I think he should be, progress-wise, but he's not too happy. Wants to get back to work."
"I'm not surprised," the director responded. "So, is he up for visitors?"
"Probably." The doctor looked from Fury to Hill. "Does she know?"
Maria kept her face blank, not wanting to reveal her confusion.
"Not yet."
"Just a minute," the doctor told them. She stepped over to a supply cabinet and picked up a small plastic bag which she handed to Fury. He looked at it, then at her, waiting for an explanation.
"It's an instant ice pack. You squeeze it, shake it slightly...instant cold."
He still waited.
"Just put it in your pocket."
He slipped it into the pocket of the duster he was wearing, then indicated the door.
"Shall we?"
Dr. Carlyle entered a code into the keypad to open the door and held it for the other two to enter.
Maria stopped in the middle of the floor as Nick proceeded to the side of the bed. He leaned over the man lying there, blocking her view.
"How are you doing, Agent Coulson?" Fury's deep voice asked.
Maria froze, holding her breath waiting for the answer.
"Better, sir, but the doctor insists I'm stuck here for a few more days." The voice was weak, but still recognizable.
"Thought you might like to see another face," Fury told him, stepping back and gesturing to Maria to step closer.
She moved to the end of the bed, then stopped. He was pale, his chest wrapped in miles of white gauze, and wires and tubes seemed to connect him to more machines than she had ever seen outside of Tony Stark's lab, but it was Phil Coulson. He smiled at her.
"Hill. Finally, something nice to look at!"
He jaw clenched, she looked at him, then over to Fury.
"He's alive."
Fury nodded.
She looked back at Phil.
"You could be a little happy about it, Agent Hill," he commented, still smiling.
She blew out a breath. "Of course I'm happy you're alive. You're a very capable agent and would be very difficult to replace."
She turned back to Fury.
"But you..."
She pointed a finger at him, her anger leaving her speechless. Finally, she just turned and strode from the room.
"I'm glad it's you she's pissed at and not me," Coulson told him.
Dr. Carlyle walked in and looked around. "No blood. That's a good sign."
Suddenly, the door opened again and Agent Hill re-entered, walking over to stand in front of Fury. She drew back her fist and punched him in the arm, then exited again.
"Really glad," Coulson murmured.
As Fury watched the door, Dr Carlyle caught his attention. "Pocket," she told him. "Squeeze and shake."
He pulled the pack from his pocket, activated it, and applied it to his arm. As he felt the ice start to do it's work, he wondered if he had just set a personal record for his shortest relationship ever.
Thanks for the reviews. They motivate me to continue. Reviews and these weird ideas that invade my mind. I hope you're enjoying my flight of fancy. Please let me know what you think. (Pretty please?)