As much as I enjoy playing with these characters, most of them aren't mine. I'm just using them and plan to return them none the worse for wear until I get ready to use them again.

Thank you so much for the reviews for chapter 9. I had a lot of fun writing it and I'm glad that you enjoyed reading it.

Shadowbeats22107: Phil takes his 'big brother' role seriously :) I'm glad you liked it.

Sandy-wmd: Yup. Maria's version of 'the speech' was in the works, it just fit better with this part of the story.

Marqueza: Thank you. I've developed this dynamic between these people in my own mind and I'm really glad that you find it workable and believable. Sounds like you had as much fun reading this one as I did writing it.

I really appreciate you all taking the time to give feedback. It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling. Also, thanks to those who 'like' and 'follow'.

Now, on to chapter 10

Risks 10

Nick, Maria, and Phil sat in Nick's office discussing the days plans. Phil updated the other two on the progress of his teams and took notes to pass on to them. Nick checked the time.

"I'm going to have to be heading out shortly," he told them. "Ambassadors Sheeling and Cavares are wanting to meet, but neither group trusts the other so I'm checking the site and double checking all the security arrangements."

"Surely someone else could handle that," Maria commented.

"Probably," Nick replied, "But the council feels that there's a lot riding on this and they want me to handle it personally." Maria rolled her eyes. He nodded in agreement, then added. "Which means that you're in charge here while I'm out."

"I'll try not to let it go to my head."

Phil grinned at her. "Can I have a raise?"

She grinned back. "Just submit a 500 page formal request, in triplicate, notarized, with recommendations from 5 superiors and we'll take your request under advisement at the next annual meeting."

"Figures," he said with a sigh.

Nick shook his head as he rose and circled the desk. "I do need to finish a few things before I leave, so if you two don't mind taking this show on the road," he told them, indicating the door.

Phil crossed to the entrance, Maria trailing behind him somewhat more slowly. She stopped in front of Nick and looked up at him. Placing a hand on his chest, she cleared her throat then caught her lower lip between her teeth. Nick caught her gaze and raised an eyebrow.

Clearly she had something on her mind.

She took a deep breath and opened her mouth, then closed it again.

"I'll just wait outside," Phil commented, turning to leave.

"No, it's okay," Maria protested. She stretched up to give Nick a quick peck on the lips. "I..." She took another deep breath.

"I really hope your meeting goes well," she finally spit out, clearly losing the nerve to complete her original thought. Patting his chest again, she turned to go, not meeting his gaze.

"Thanks," he replied as he watched her walk away, a look of confusion on his face. "I'll see you later."

The young woman glance back at him and smiled slightly. "Yeah. Later," she agreed with a nod.

Following her into the hallway, Phil gave her an odd look. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

She met his gaze steadily. "To the best of my knowledge, Agent Coulson, everything is functioning within normal SHEILD parameters."

He stared back at her. "That's not what I'm talking about and you know it, Maria." He looked around to make sure they were alone in the corridor and pulled her to the side. "I already told Nick that he'd have to answer to me if he ever hurts you."

"You did what?" she asked in a tone of disbelief. "I know you two are friends, but do you really think it's a good idea to make threats like that against your boss, Phil?"

"Just wanted to make sure he knows where I stand on things, Maria. That he knows you've got someone watching out for you."

Smiling at him, she squeezed his hand. "That's sweet, Phil. Unnecessary, but sweet."

"My point, though, is that while I don't want to see you hurt, I'd rather not see him get hurt either. And I really think you could," he told her.

She nodded solemnly. "We're both opening ourselves up to being hurt."

"I know, and I'm really proud of you both, but I sensed some tension or something in there just now and it worries me," he told her. "You're not getting scared and backing off, are you?"

"No," she hastened to reassure him. "Nothing like that. I'm not planning to hurt him, so you don't have to figure out where to bury my body."

"Good," he told her with a smile.

"I just have some things I need to figure out where to go with," she told him.

After searching her gaze for a few moments, he finally nodded. "Okay. And if you need someone to bounce things off of, you generally know where to find me."

"I always know where to find you, Phil," she told him with a raised eyebrow.

Leaning close, he whispered softly, "That's what you think," then turned and headed to his office.

Allowing herself a small laugh, Maria headed to her office to take care of her own morning duties before heading to the command center.

An hour or so later, she received a message from Nick that he was about to leave for her meeting and forwarded a few last minute notes to her. She quickly replied that all was well and then returned her attention to the hum of activity going on around her.

Several minutes later, alarms suddenly began to sound. She crossed to the officer at the security monitor. "What's going on, Phelps?" she asked.

"Not sure, ma'am," he responded, his fingers dancing across his interface as he sought the source of the clanging alarms.

"Transport bay," he finally announced. "Shots fired."

Nick.

Her breath caught in her chest as she fought down the urge to drag the man out of his chair and pull more details out of the computer. She hoped she sounded calm and controlled as she ordered a complete lockdown of the base and dispatched a security team to the area.

Pulling out her phone, she fired off a quick message to Nick.

No response.

Another text, this one to Phil.

On my way he responded.

"We have men down," came the word from the security team.

"Are the medics on the scene?"

"Not yet," came the reply.

"What's taking so long?" she snapped.

Phil's voice cut in. "They've just arrived. I'll keep you apprised."

Her phone buzzed to indicate at message and she quickly pulled it out.

GSW to chest. Unconscious. Transporting to med

Over the radio, he reported. "We have 1 deceased on scene. 4 being transported to medical with gun shot wounds. Minor injuries are being treated here. Scene is secured. No one else in or out."

"Any idea what happened?" she asked him. "I'm going to have to contact the council and I need to know what to tell them."

"As near as we can tell from the witness reports, the shots came from above. I'd like to have Agent Barton check things out up there."

"Do it," she ordered. "Anyone or anything you need, you have my full authority. I don't think I need to tell you that this is a top priority."

"Yes, ma'am," he responded. "I'm on it."

The next several hours were a flurry of activity as Phil and his team investigated the incident while Maria worked damage control and soothing the ruffled feathers of the council members and ambassadors involved. She managed to convince them that the security specialist she dispatched to the meeting sight was fully competent to handle the arrangements.

Updates arrived from the medical staff. Two agents had received minor injuries requiring only minor patching. Two others, including Director Fury, had undergone surgery. All were now resting comfortably.

Finally, Phil showed up at the command center entrance. "Agent Hill? May I speak to you?"

Signaling to another officer to take her place, she crossed to his side.

"Director Fury is beginning to regain consciousness. Would you care to accompany me to his room? I'd like to see if he can give us any further information about what happened."

"Of course," she told him. "What do we have?"

"Barton managed to figure out the trajectory of the shots and found where the sniper waited. He found a single shell casing lodged in a crack in one of the vent ducts. Fortunately, it's from one of the new toys from R&D and there are only a few people checked out on it."

"How many?" she asked.

"A dozen," he told her. "Fury and one of the other victims, you, me, and Romanoff can be eliminated as suspects. We're working on locations of the others at the time of the shooting. I think we should have our shooter within the hour."

"Good work, Agent Coulson. I just might be able to swing that raise for you," she told him with a strained smile.

They stepped into the elevator and the doors closed, cutting them off from the outside. He turned to study her.

"How are you holding up?"

"Fine," she answered, a little too quickly.

He continued to stare, so she repeated. "I'm fine, Coulson. I just..." She let the sentence trail off.

"You just what?" he prompted.

"I haven't told him how I feel about him."

"How do you feel about him, Maria?"

She looked over at him. "I think I'm in love with him," she finally whispered.

A huge smile lit up his face. "So why haven't you told him?"

Maria studied the wall of the elevator, not meeting his eyes.

"Afraid?" he asked.

Finally looking at him, she nodded. "What if he doesn't feel the same?"

He reached over and took her hand. "You need to tell him."

"But what if I don't get the chance? What if he doesn't make it?"

Pulling her into a hug, he reassured her. "He's a tough man, Maria. He's going to pull through." He lifted her chin so he could look her in the eyes. "He's got a very good reason to pull through."

"I hope so," she answered.

"Besides, I happen to know his doctor is a bit of a miracle worker," he told her.

She touched the spot on his chest where she knew the reminder of Loki's attack was, smiling as she felt his strong, steady heartbeat.

"That she is," she agreed.

"So," he queried, "are you going to tell him?" When she didn't answer, he continued. "Because if you don't, I will."

She glared at him.

"And it might not be in private," he added.

"You would, wouldn't you?" she asked sternly.

"Damn straight, I would."

He hugged her once more, then stepped away as the elevator slid to a stop and the doors slid open. Side by side, they walked down the corridor to the medical ward. Dr Carlyle glanced up from the electronic chart she was reviewing, giving them a tired smile.

"Figured the two of you would be showing up pretty soon. Any word on the person responsible for our busy afternoon?"

Phil's phone buzzed and he pulled it out, glancing at the small screen. He sent a quick reply, then looked up at them. "My team is pulling in a couple of people for questioning. We should have our answers pretty soon."

"What's the status on your patients?" Hill asked.

The other woman looked back to her data pad. "Dak Erickson is in the morgue. Shot through the head. Probably never felt a thing. Waleed Patel had a graze on the scalp and a shot pass through the left bicep. Jaime Ramirez took a bullet in the leg. It wasn't deep and didn't hit anything vital. They'll both be staying overnight so we can watch for infection, but I doubt they'll be out for long. Nan Henderson was shot in the back. The bullet is near the spinal column."

"You haven't removed it yet?" Maria asked.

"I'm waiting for her to stabilize a little more. She's in pretty bad shape. We're giving her transfusions to try to get her pressure up before we operate."

"And Director Fury?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady and casual.

"Should make a full recovery," the doctor assured them. "The bullet came very close to a major artery, so it took some finesse to get it out without causing any further damage, but we managed. He's going to be sore for a little while, but no permanent damage done."

"Is he awake yet?" Phil asked.

She glanced at her watch. "Should be. Let's go check." She led them to a door, entered a security code, and pushed the door open.

Maria caught her breath at the sight of the man in the bed. A large white bandage on his left shoulder and chest contrasted with his dark skin. His chest rose and fell evenly. As they watched, Nick opened his eye to gaze at them.

"How are you doing, sir?" Phil asked, moving to his side.

"Been better," the other man replied. "But I've been worse, too. What happened?"

Phil proceeded to fill him in on the details of what had occurred and the ensuing investigation, then asked some questions about his own memories of the attack. When he had finished, Coulson turned to Dr. Carlyle.

"I wonder if you'd be willing to give me a little more information on the nature of the injuries?"

"Certainly," she agreed, heading towards the door. "Anything I can do to help."

"I have a couple of things I need to discuss with Director Fury," Maria commented.

"Okay," the doctor agreed. "Just try not to tire or stress him too much," she warned.

"Understood."

Phil held the door for the doctor, giving Maria a smile and a nod as he followed her out.

Nick watched Maria as she slowly crossed the room and took his hand in hers, threading her fingers through his.

"You scared me, Nick," she told him softly.

"I know," he replied. "I'm sorry."

She looked down at their intertwined fingers, gathering her courage. "It's just that..."

She took a deep breath. Nick did as well, bracing himself for whatever she was about to tell him.

Her eyes came up, meeting his gaze. "I love you," she finally blurted out. "I tried to tell you before, but I just couldn't say it, but then when I thought that I might lose you..."

The sentence trailed off as she waited for his response.

He stared a moment.

Then, he grinned.

Then smiled.

Then, he threw back his head and laughed out loud.

Stunned, Maria stared for a moment, then jerked her hand from his grasp.

"Glad you find that so amusing," she spit out, turning on her heel and heading towards the door.

"Maria!" he called out. "Wait!"

She kept walking. He called out again, then groaned in pain. Unable to stop herself, she turned to find him swaying on his feet by the side of the bed. Quickly crossing back to him, she eased her shoulder under his good arm and wrapped her arms around him to steady him.

As she eased him back onto the bed, she asked, "Just what the hell do you think you're doing? I seriously doubt you're supposed to be up and around yet." She grabbed a tissue from the bedside table and wiped the perspiration from his face.

He sat still for a few minutes, eye closed while he regained his equilibrium. Finally, he reached up, gently wrapping his fingers around her wrist as he opened his eye to look at her.

"I was trying to keep you from leaving."

She sighed and pulled her arm from his grasp. Before she could move away, he slid his arm around her and pulled her close, trapping her between his knees then moving his soft grip to her chin. He leaned forward to kiss her.

"First and foremost, I love you, too, Maria."

"You don't have to say that just because I did," she replied.

"I'm not," he insisted. "I'm saying it because it's true. I love you. I've just been afraid to say it, afraid that I'd chase you off."

"So, why did you laugh?" she asked curiously.

He shrugged, then grimaced. "Relief, I suppose," he confessed. "I knew there's been something on your mind. I was afraid that you were trying to tell me it was over, that you'd finally come to your senses and realized how much better you could do."

She suddenly clapped her hand over his mouth.

"I'm getting really tired of that, Nick."

He raised a questioning eyebrow.

Sounding almost angry, she explained. "You keep making these comments about not being good enough for me, too old and too broken, and that I could do better. Well, for your information, I don't want better."

He smiled behind her hand as she realized what she had said.

"I don't want better because I don't think there is anyone better for me, Nick." Moving her hand from him mouth, she caressed his cheek. "I happen to think that you're one of the best things that ever happened in my life, Nick Fury. I have no plans to give that up."

Smiling, he slipped his arm around her again, pulling her close. Her arm went around his uninjured shoulder as she rested her other hand on his thigh and leaned close, their lips meeting

Outside the room, Phil was taking notes as Dr Carlyle went over her notes from the treatment of the agents injured in the shooting. Suddenly, an alarm started to blare. She glanced up at the flashing light over the door to Nick's room, indicating an alert from his heart monitor.

"Crash cart, room 1!" she yelled, quickly punching in her code and throwing the door open.

Only to find Maria pulling herself out of Nick's embrace, her face flushed. Both were breathing heavily. The doctor stared, he eyes going wide. Phil stepped forward and touched her lightly on the shoulder.

"You might want to cancel the crash cart," he told her.

She turned to the staff members rushing into the room. "Never mind," she told them. "False alarm."

They nodded and turned to leave. Phil pushed the door closed behind them. Maria had turned to study the painting on the wall while Nick stared down at the floor. The doctor gazed towards one, then the other. Finally, she walked over to her patient and took his arm, busying herself by checking his pulse, then using her stethoscope to check his heart rate.

"Seems to be returning to normal. That's a good sign."

Since neither of the two just involved in the passionate embrace would look at her, she turned to Phil, who was grinning broadly.

"Busted!" he exclaimed.

"Shut up, Phil," Maria and Nick said in unison.

"You?" Dr Carlyle said, pointing at Nick. "And you?" She pointed at Maria.

Maria moved back to his side, taking his hand and smiling at him.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "Me."

"And me," Nick added.

The doctor looked at them for a moment, then shrugged. "You're both adults. What you do in private is none of my business. Though as your doctor, I do need to ask if you've discussed certain things."

"Birth control and STDs covered," Maria assured her.

Phil winced. "Ewww. TMI."

"That's what I wanted to know." She looked to Maria. "Just be careful. I do think he's going to make a full recovery, but it's going to take a little time, so go easy on him. I don't want to have to redo those stitches."

Making a couple of notes on his chart, she smiled at them.

"As you were," she told them, turning to leave. "Come on, Coulson."

He watched them for a moment, then sighed. "She said 'as you were' guys." When neither moved, he walked over to them, carefully repositioning Maria in front of Nick and placing his hand on her hip. He looked to the doctor.

"Is that right?"

She studied the scene a moment, then shook her head. "I think her right hand was on his shoulder and her left on his thigh."

"You're right," he nodded, moving her hands into the correct position.

"Phil," Nick growled.

"Yeah?"

"Get the hell out of my room."

"Yes, sir," he agreed. With a smile, he did exactly that.

I just somehow get the feeling that these two people, Maria in particular, would have a difficult time saying those three little words.

Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed it and would appreciate reviews and comments. I have some broad ideas on the next chapter of this, though I'm struggling a bit with my other fic, "Evening Stroll". Hopefully I'll have a chapter of one or the other ready in a few more days.