Trust Me (Phil Coulson Love Story)

Satin And Lace...

It was eleven at night. Charlotte sat on the floor of the church, at the foot of the altar. Her gown flowed around her in a pool of satin and lace. 
        Everyone was gone; they had been for hours now. No one knew quite what to say to her, so they just filed out one by one, leaving her in the dark cold church. 
        Charlotte stayed there at the church, never leaving the altar, never letting her vigil down, and always watching for Phil. 
        The sound of the door to the sanctuary opening didn’t faze her, nor did the sound of footsteps coming down the aisle. A pair of feet stopped just within her line of view. She slowly looked up and into the eyes of a woman she had never seen before. 
        The woman’s hair was dark brown, her eyes covered up by sun glasses. Her body was petite, but strong looking. Her skin was covered in scrapes and bruises. She looked like she had just been beaten badly. Charlotte noticed her suit. It was the same kind of suit Phil wore to work. 
        “Charlotte” the woman asked, kneeling down so she was eye level with Charlotte. “I am Mariah Hill. I work with Phil. I’m here to bring you to him. There was a situation with Phil’s assignment and things got out of hand. I need you to come with me.” She stood back up and reached her hand out to help Charlotte to her feet. 
 Her gown dragged on the ground and Charlotte blinked as Mariah handed her a pile of clothes to change into, but she shook her head. If Phil was hurt the stupid dress wouldn’t matter. It didn’t matter to Charlotte at the moment. All that mattered was Phil. 
        Mariah looked at her strangely, but turned and opened the door for Charlotte to get in. Charlotte gathered up the train of her dress and climbed in. 
        The whole way there Mariah kept saying something, but Charlotte only heard bits and pieces of it. When the car stopped they were outside a hospital that Charlotte was not familiar with. She didn’t wait for Mariah; Charlotte just opened the door and rushed into the hospital. 
        After getting directions and a lot of strange and confused looks from the nurse’s station, Charlotte rushed down the corridor, the train of her dress flowing out behind her, making quite a scene. She found the room and rushed inside with a swirl of skirts. 
        There was no way she could be prepared for what was waiting for her in that hospital room. She stopped just in the door way and just stared. 
There were so many wires and tubes hooked up to the figure on the bed, that it was nearly impossible to recognize. Charlotte was frozen to the spot, everything was so silent for so long that when a nurse spoke up from behind her, she jumped almost an inch in the air. 
        “His collar bone was snapped and nearly all of his ribs on his right side are either broken or bruised. His left leg was broken in three places and his right ankle was broken. We have managed to get him stabilized, but he is in a small coma…” Charlotte’s head turned and she pinned the poor nurse with an icy glare. 
        “Don’t try to make it sound better than it really is. I’m a registered nurse. A coma is a coma and that is all there is to it.” Charlotte stared the nurse down until he stepped out and left her alone with her fiancé. 
        Charlotte walked around to the left side of the hospital bed. She leaned over the railing and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. 
        Ignoring the presence at the door, Charlotte carefully crawled up onto the bed next to him. Picking her way around the tubes and wires, Charlotte settled her head on the edge of the pillow, next to Phil’s. No one dared to tell her she couldn’t be there or that she had to leave because she was not family. She wondered at that, but didn’t linger on the thought. It was, in fact, the direct order of Mariah Hill that she not be sent away or bothered. She was to be allowed to stay with Phil Coulson in the room.
        Charlotte was not sure how long she stayed there like that, staring at him before she fell asleep, but anyone who passed the room that night couldn’t help but stop and stare at the woman in the wedding dress on the hospital bed next to her love, the cascade of satin and lace spilling over the edge of the bed and over the floor. No one had the heart to even wake her up to change into something else, so they just let her be until morning.