Trust Me (Phil Coulson Love Story)

If Its Not One Of Us...

Charlotte smiled softly as the sound of a car door shutting reached her ears. He was home just like he said he would be and the timing was perfect. Dinner had just gotten done and all she had to do was serve it up. She listened for the door opening and her smile got wider as she heard the sound of him coming in the house, depositing the car keys on the key rack and setting his briefcase down on the floor in the front hall.
       “Charlotte” His voice called out as his footsteps made their way towards the kitchen, following the smell of chicken and dumplings no doubt. She held back a giggle and remained silent. He knew she was in the kitchen, when the house smelled so good the kitchen was the only possibility.
       She turned back to her task as he walked the last couple steps into the kitchen. She side stepped and opened a cupboard and grabbed two plates from the middle shelf. The silence in the room was deafening and she shook her head slightly.
       “Phil Coulson, don’t even think about it.” She said in a scolding tone over her shoulder. She giggled as she heard a deep sigh. His arms wrapped themselves around her waist; she set the plates down on the counter and turned in his arms to hug him back.
       “I missed you.” He murmured into her hair as he rested his chin on her head. She laid her head on his chest. They stood there for a minute before breaking apart. Charlotte turned back to the stove with the plates in hand.
       “I wasn’t going to scare you, you know?” Phil said in a poker face tone and she giggled as she looked back to see his face. He had always been a good liar, but Charlotte knew when he was lying. That was the only time he kept his face perfectly still, any other time his face was a waterfall of emotions.
       “Of course you weren’t.” She agreed with him, letting him have this one. She dished out the chicken and dumplings while he washed his hands and sat down at the table.
       When they were finally sitting down and eating she looked at him more fully. He was tanner than when he left, a little burnt but not too bad. That was understandable since his business trip had taken him to New Mexico. She frowned a bit as she also saw how tired he looked. He hadn’t been taking care of himself like he should have been.
       He noticed her examining him and chuckled.
       “I know you missed me but can’t you wait till I’m done eating to play nurse?” his eyebrow raised a fraction as Charlotte’s cheeks went pink at his teasing. She stuck her tongue out at him as she got up and put her plate in the sink to wash later. Phil got up and crossed the kitchen to her. He pulled her close and looked her in the eyes.
       “It was far too warm and I couldn’t sleep without you there to hold.” He said as a form of explanation. “I missed your cooking as well.” He added for good measure. She smiled in acceptance as her cheeks turned a lovely pink. His eyes had her mesmerized as he leaned in closer to her. She forgot how to breathe as her heart pounded out an unsteady rhythm and her knees threatened to stop supporting her. It had always been like this, from the beginning. He got under her skin in such a way that she couldn’t even begin to comprehend. She had actually fainted on more than one occasion because she forgot how to breathe. Phil thought she was sick or something but when they figured it out he seemed very proud of himself. Their lips met and Charlotte knew what was coming next.
       The phone rang. Charlotte groaned and Phil sighed.
       “If it’s not one of us it’s the other.” He muttered, walking back to the table as Charlotte grabbed the phone. It was the hospital she worked at. She sighed as she hit the talk button. She wasn’t on call tonight so it should be important. If it wasn’t she was fully prepared to disconnect the phone for the night.
       “Hello” Charlotte answered, placing the phone to her ear. She frowned as she heard a commotion of noises in the background.
“Char!” one of the nurses that worked under Charlotte squeaked in a frantic tone. Something had happened.
“We have a huge code blue here! We need you here now! It has gotten out of hand! We can’t cope!” She sounded on the verge of hysterics. This was big.
       “Saundra!” Charlotte snapped, catching the nurse’s attention. “Take a deep breath and calm yourself. Remember that you are trained to handle emergencies. We work in the emergency room. It is going to happen.” Charlotte chanced a look over at her husband. He was acting very interested in his almost empty plate, but she knew he was listening closely.
       “I will be there as soon as I can. How many patients are there?” Charlotte asked as she balanced the phone on her shoulder so she could reach back and untie the kitchen apron she had on. She reached to hang it on the hook but fell short and dropped it on the floor as she received an answer.
       “One” Saundra said in a whispered voice. Charlotte closed her eyes and let out a deep breath she didn’t realize she had been holding in. She knew who it was and she wondered if it was too late to pretend that she was not home.
       “Stark?” She asked in a small whining tone. Please say no. Please say no. Please say no. She thought but she knew that wasn’t going to happen. She saw Phil perk up a bit in his seat.
       “Yeah, He came in thirty minutes ago with multiple lacerations and some broken bones, but he is making such a ruckus we can’t do anything about it.” Charlotte gave a little hiss of frustration. That dammed man frequented the hospital so much that he knew where everything was kept better than Charlotte did and she was the head nurse. She knew where everything was off the top of her head.
       “Put him in his room and leave him there. I will be there in ten minutes and will deal with him.”
       Charlotte hung up the phone and placed it in its cradle on the counter. She looked at Phil who was standing at the counter now, doing the dishes. Charlotte heaved a deep sigh, so much for a welcome-home-I-missed-you-like-crazy night.
       Charlotte walked up behind Phil and snaked her slender arms around his waist from behind. She rested her head on his back.
       “One of these days I’m going to accidently inject him with too much morphine.” She grumbled rubbing her face into the back of his shirt, savoring the smell of him, soap, shaving gel and cologne. Phil chuckled and his body shook with laughter.
       “You had better go before he scares them all witless.” He said to her, turning his head to look at her over his shoulder. She sighed and let go of him to make her way out of the kitchen and to their bedroom to change into scrubs.
       “Charlotte” Phil caught her attention before she left the room. She turned to see him smiling lovingly at her. Her breath caught in her throat.
       “I love you.” He said simply before turning back to the sink.