Trust Me (Phil Coulson Love Story)

Little Rabbit

Charlotte allowed the Shield agent to help her out of the car and up to the house, and then he left. She opened the door, not at all surprised it wasn’t locked anymore. Fury had said someone would be there when she got home. It didn’t surprise her that they picked the lock or had a key or something like that.
        Charlotte removed her jacket and hung it in the hall closet. Her stomach rumbled with hunger, reminding her that she still hadn’t eaten anything yet. Walking to the kitchen, she pulled out the peanut butter from earlier and made a couple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Pouring a glass of milk, she sat down at the table and began to eat.
        She hated the taste of milk for some reason, but knew it was good for the baby, so she drank it anyways. As she finished her first sandwich, she became aware of someone in the room with her. Turning to see who Fury had sent to babysit her, she was greeted by the sight of another woman. At least Fury had the brains to not send a man.
        The woman stood there examining Charlotte the same as Charlotte was doing to her. Both women deciding what they thought of the other. Charlotte saw a tall curvy woman, who oozed confidence and Charlotte was sure she was deadly as well. Bright auburn curls made their way down her face, tangling and twisting like they had a life of their own. Her skin was pale and flawless. Charlotte was surprised to see the same woman who had been with the Avengers, standing in her kitchen. It seemed a bit extreme to have someone with her skill, protecting an ER nurse, who was no one important.
        “Natasha, right?” Charlotte smiled at the woman, making the first move towards friendship. The woman nodded and sat down opposite Charlotte at the table. Natasha smiled back at Charlotte thinking this wouldn’t be so bad after all. She had been angry at Fury for putting her on protection detail while she was in the middle of a mission, but now that she knew who exactly she was protecting; it might not be so bad after all.
        “I know this is a hard time for you, but I will do my best to make it easier for you.” Natasha told Charlotte as she looked into her eyes. She recognized the brokenness in Charlotte’s eyes. She had seen it before and it was the look of someone who admitted defeat and was ready to give up. Natasha reached forward and placed her hand on Charlotte’s arm, causing her to look up at Natasha.
        “It is going to be hard to go on without him. It feels like your reason for living is gone and there is nothing left but to die, but you have someone else to think of now. Phil left behind something for you to remember him by and he did so trusting you to be brave and continue on with your life. You have to live for your baby now.” Natasha tried to tell Charlotte what she needed to hear, hoping she had said the right thing. Charlotte stared at her for a moment and then her free hand drifted down to her still flat stomach. Natasha was right. Charlotte had her baby to live for now. That baby was going to need her and she didn’t want to disappoint Phil by giving up so easily.
        The days went by and Charlotte went back to work. She started work later in the day because she continued to have morning sickness every morning. She was always watched over at work by her co-workers and never did anything more strenuous than lifting a needle. Natasha went undercover as a new nurse and was never far from Charlotte.
        Tony continued to visit and Charlotte forgave him. She felt bad now for breaking his nose, but he wouldn’t hear an apology from her. He came over many times, something new every time he came. He wanted to hire someone to decorate the baby’s room, but Charlotte laughed at his eagerness.
        “I am only eight weeks Tony!” she said through a fit of giggles, “We don’t even know whether the baby is a girl or a boy yet!”
        Tony looked hurt, but it only served to make Charlotte laugh harder. He sat down on the couch next to her and put an arm over her shoulders.
        “There is no harm in being prepared way in advanced.” He argued, waggling his eyebrows at her. Natasha came in as he said this and scowled. Grabbing a pillow off the couch, she smacked him on the back of the head before replacing it.
        “It is too early to start shopping for the baby Stark.” She said as she sat down in a chair on the other side of the room. Tony waited until Natasha had turned around and stuck his tongue out at her.
        “I saw that” came Natasha’s voice as she gazed out the window. Charlotte burst into laughter and when she couldn’t hold herself up anymore, she collapsed onto Tony, who grinned down at her laughing form. She had been too sad in the past few months and it was good to see her laugh again.
        The next week at work was hard. There were a lot of people who came in after being shot. It seemed to be the same person every time and it was obvious that they were tortured. None of the victims seemed to remember anything other than they were stalked and isolated. Then pain, just pain.
        It was Thursday and Charlotte was going in to see the latest shot victim. He had just came in and was giving everyone a hard time, so Charlotte decided to handle it herself. Natasha was busy with a young woman who had come in an hour earlier raped and beaten half to death. Natasha was furious at the prospect of a woman not being able to protect herself and had taken the woman under her wing.
        Charlotte walked into the room that the patient was in. She went to the chart and started to look it over. She hadn’t bothered to look at the man yet. She had been told he had fallen asleep.
        Charlotte frowned at the lack of anything on the chart. Who had told her about this patient anyways? She realized now that she had never seen the nurse before. What was that all about? A sound of someone moving from behind her, made her freeze in shock. He shouldn’t be awake. He had been given a sedative, the nurse had said. Who was that nurse again? Certainty not someone she had approved.
        “I found you little rabbit” A voice from her past whispered in her ear. Charlotte felt the blood drain from her face as she froze in fear. A large hand pressed a cloth to her mouth and nose and Charlotte smelled something sickly sweet. She struggled to get away, but when she took a breath, the world tilted and her mind slipped into nothingness.