Trust Me (Phil Coulson Love Story)

Free At Last...

As she walked up the stairs, she had to stop a couple times and rest. Her body felt like it was one big bruise and the pain in her head made it impossible to focus on anything. Everything was in a haze and she was just floating through everything. 
        Charlotte opened the door and stepped inside. The lights were all out, meaning that Phil was not there. Charlotte didn’t bother to turn on any lights. She just dropped her stuff on the floor in the front hall and headed to the bedroom. She slowly undressed, leaving her bra and underwear on. Grabbing one of Phil’s t-shirts and putting it on, she crawled under the covers and was asleep shortly after setting the alarm to get up for work the next day. 
        The blaring of her alarm beat through her sleep numbed mind and set her head to pounding once again. Moving in a slow haze, Charlotte took a shower and got dressed. The chill of fall was turning to winter and she put on a scarf and her warm coat before locking the front door and leaving for work. 
        Stuck alone for the next couple days was worse than the first one as she struggled to power through and get to nine, when she could close up and go back home. She closed the doors for thirty minutes to take lunch and a much needed break. 
        Phil hadn’t come home that first night and a message on the answering machine confirmed that he was going to be away for a couple days. Charlotte wasn’t sure when he would be back, but she missed him and hoped it would be soon. 
        She had been stuck running the café alone all week and she wasn’t sure how much more she could take. Someone else would be in the next day and she had every intention of spending the next day in bed. 
        It was later in the afternoon and the café was empty of customers. Charlotte took the opportunity to sit on the stool behind the counter and rest her fevered head on the countertop. 
        It felt so good, nice and cool. Charlotte allowed herself to relax more as she took a deep breath and focused on the countertop beneath her. She heard the bell jingle as the front door open, but she was beyond caring at the moment. If they wanted something bad enough, they would come up and order anyways. 
        Footsteps echoed through the room, telling Charlotte that she was going to have to get up and make something. The person approached the counter and stopped. 
        “Could you order first and then I will get up?” she asked in a hoarse voice that she had, for the most part, lost since yesterday. There was a chuckle that told her, through her fog filled mind, that her customer was a man. 
        “Or you could stay down and I could help myself.” The man’s voice suggested. Charlotte let his suggestion sink through to her mind. That sounded just fine to her. 
        Something about his voice was familiar and it took a couple minutes for Charlotte to realize why that was. She raised her head up off the counter top and looked up. 
        Phil stood there in front of her. The smile on his face faded as she sat up and he got a good look at her. Her coloring was pale all over and her cheeks were flushed from her high temperature, dotting her brow and upper lip with beads of sweat. 
        “Hi Phil” she whispered in a tired voice, trying to sound cheery, but all Phil could hear was the hoarseness from over using it while she was sick. His frown deepened as he took this all in. Charlotte caught his frown and blinked in confusion. Shouldn’t he be happy to see her? 
        “I am happy to see you, but not like this.” He answered her unasked question, reading it on her face. “How long have you been like this? Running this place sick and alone?” he gently demanded an answer, his voice left no room for argument. Before her exhausted mind could process what he had said and think up an answer, he turned and moved around the counter, coming up beside her. He reached under the counter and pulled out her jacket. Raising his eyebrows at her in question of her thin jacket, he waited patiently for an answer. 
        Charlotte took the jacket and wadded it up in her lap, looking down at the counter top. 
        “I spilled coffee all over my coat at the beginning of the week and didn’t have time to wash it right away. When it was closing time it was still wet and I was too tired to do anything about it. It is sitting in the laundry basket at home, but when I get home I have been going straight to bed. I’m too tired to do anything else.” She managed to get out in explanation. Phil sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. 
        “You have been here all week?” he asked again. Charlotte nodded numbly. 
        “Mark kept calling and asking me to take that day. He would hang up before I could say anything. I didn’t know what to do except come in.” 
        Phil looked down at her for a moment, then reached for her jacket and helped her get it on. Then he removed his coat and put it on over the jacket. He walked around and turned off the lights and all the machines and closed up the store. 
        “It isn’t nine yet. I can’t close up.” Charlotte protested as he walked back to her and helped her to her feet. 
        “You didn’t close up…” Phil murmured as he caught her when her knees gave out and picked her up in his arms, “I did.” He carried her outside, locking the door behind them. He placed her in the passenger’s seat of his car that he had parked on the curb outside. Strapping her into the seat he rounded the car and got in. 
        Charlotte was asleep before they even got to the next corner. Pulling up in front of their apartment building, Phil stopped the car and shut it off. He turned to look over at Charlotte, fast asleep. He had never been so angry in his life. At the manager of the café, for practically bullying Charlotte into working so much. Phil was sure he knew that Charlotte was sick and yet they openly ignored it. He took in Charlotte’s sleeping, shivering form again before turning away to get out of the car and round it to the passenger’s side to collect Charlotte. 
        He was also, in a small way, angry at Charlotte. She was so small and fragile in appearance, but he knew better than that. She was strong and he was quite certain, if it became nessary, she could hold her own in a fight. She would not even defend herself and he knew that she could do so easily. So why didn’t she? What held her back from standing up for herself? She could have easily said no to her boss and just left, but she stayed and let herself be pushed into doing too much. 
        Phil was brisk as he carried Charlotte up to their apartment. He opened the door and immediately headed for the bedroom. Lying Charlotte down on the covers, he undressed her and put her in a pair of sweats. He picked her up again and pulled the covers back and tucked her into the bed. 
        Turning up the heat in the apartment, Phil went into the kitchen and sighed as he looked around. Everything was clean and where it belonged. There was nothing in the trash to indicate that Charlotte had been eating much, if anything at all. Phil set to making some broth. It wasn’t a lot, but it was probably all that Charlotte’s stomach could handle after not getting much and being as sick as she was. When it was done, Phil poured a bowl and went back to the bedroom. 
        Setting down on the side of the bed, he met Charlotte’s eyes as she opened them to see who was sitting next to her. Phil began to spoon feed her the broth, taking it slow and making sure she ate everything. When the bowl was empty Charlotte was, once again, fast asleep.
        After cleaning up the kitchen, Phil took a quick shower and, pulling on a pair of sweat pants, crawled into bed behind Charlotte. He reached out and pulled her still shivering body close to his heat. Immediately, Charlotte turned towards him and curled into him, trying to get as close as possible. Phil smiled softly and held her small, soft body close to him. 
Two and a half weeks later found Charlotte lying on the couch clicking through the channels on the television. She was bored out of her mind and wanted to get up and do something, but she didn’t dare. Phil had been mother henning over her since he took her home from the café. He had been extremely irritated when her boss had called at six AM the next morning to ask her to work. He had answered and promptly informed the man that Charlotte would not be working there again and to find someone else to go run the café. 
        Charlotte looked towards the door and decided to chance it. She pushed the blanket off her lap and placed her feet on the hard wood floor. 
        “What do you think you are doing?” Phil’s voice asked from behind her. Charlotte jumped in surprise and let out a squeal of surprise. Phil was standing behind the couch, his arms crossed over his chest looking down at her as he waited for an answer. 
        “I’m getting my laptop.” Charlotte stated simply. Phil arched an eyebrow at her and she explained further. “Because there is nothing on tv and I am bored. I want to do something!” Phil said nothing, just stood there staring at her. This only caused her to get more frustrated with him. He could not make her stay on the couch and in bed all the time. She knew better than him if she was up to doing something. 
        “You cannot keep me on the couch forever Phil Coulson!” Charlotte went on, completely unaware that she had started to yell and also unaware of the smile that was twitching at his lips, threatening to show Charlotte just how much he had been waiting for this reaction. 
        “In fact, I think I am going to go outside for a walk! And there is nothing that is going to stop me! What do you have to say about that?” she was standing less than an inch from him now. Her eyes were flaring with anger and her hair seemed to have gotten a life all its own. Phil stared down at her for a moment longer, looking straight in the eyes, before he allowed the smile to take over his lips and stretch across his face. 
        “Good for you.” Was all he said. Charlotte opened her mouth to protest before shutting it again in astonishment. She blinked and stared at him, her eyes narrowed for the three seconds it took her to catch up and realize what he did. 
        “I am surprised that you didn’t say something two days ago, however. You seemed so mad when I told you to stay in bed, after already having been there a week. I thought you were going to hit me over the head with that book of yours.” Phil chuckled as Charlotte stomped towards their bedroom to get dressed for outside. He waited for her in front of the door and when she appeared, fully dressed, he held her coat for her to put on. As she turned toward the door, looking down as she buttoned up her coat, Phil wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close to him. 
        “Please promise me that you will never do anything that you don’t want to. When someone asks you, just say no….” Charlotte interrupted him with a sigh of irritation. 
        “They didn’t give me a chance to say anything. I couldn’t have told them “no” if I wanted to.” She retorted, wrinkling her nose at him. He waited until she had stopped talking before he reached forward and smoothed out her nose by running his finger along it. 
        “… and not do it anyways if you don’t get a chance to say anything. You cannot do that to yourself. You will get too sick one time and I can’t bare to imagine the consequences if that happened. I want you to stand up for yourself. I know you can.” Phil rested his forehead on hers, never breaking eye contact with her, “You are strong and bright and stubborn. Use that to do what is best for you, not anyone else.” 
        Phil turned away from Charlotte and opened the door to their apartment and ushered her out. When they got to the street, they walked hand in hand down the street, not looking at anything in particular, just walking. 
        Phil finally led her into a small coffee shop on a small corner and they each got a coffee and Charlotte got a large apple cinnamon muffin. They sat in silence for a while. After about ten minutes, Phil reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a large magazine. Charlotte looked at him funny until she saw what the magazine was for. Tears filled her eyes as Phil scooted closer to her and set the magazine in front of them. 
        “We are going to want to get an idea of what we want before we start planning this thing.” He whispered in her ear as she opened the first page and looked at the list of stuff that had to be considered. Flowers, cake, linens, food, dress, location, tux, vows, love, marriage. 
        “I think something traditional, in a church, with red roses and a white dress.” Charlotte whispered back, knowing that he would like it to be as traditional as possible. Phil smiled at her, his eyes lighting up at the idea. 
        “Perfect” he said, and they both started looking through the magazine together, laughing at some of the more ridiculous items. When they left, they had a good idea of what their wedding would look like and a better idea of how wonderful their life together would be.