Something to Fight For

Chapter 11

   That night, Daisy went home to Lincoln.

   Bobbi and Hunter stayed the night in a hotel - away from the team.

   Jemma and Fitz called their parents.

   Mack and Yo-Yo retreated to their room.

   May and Coulson had argued in the common room. Coulson won, and they slept that night in different rooms. May insisted.

   The next morning, nobody reported in for work. Coulson had filed for all the women's removal from active duty to adjust. He was able to set this as "Recovery - Post Trauma" letting the women still receive paychecks for the next three months, which then they could claim maternity leave, and then they had six to eight month break from SHIELD.

   Daisy was still with Lincoln downtown.

   Bobbi was cursing about her restrictions . . . -such as no beer or raw fish.

   Jemma and Fitz had flown to England on vacation to figure things out together, and meeting up with their parents.

   Mack and Yo-Yo were still holed up in their room, 'talking' things out.

   May decided that maybe nights alone while pregnant were a bad idea after she freaked out and suddenly realized that she had banished him from her room. The poor, hormone-ridden specialist was reduced to a blubbering mess as she crawled into Phil's bed at four in the morning, crying and apologizing for letting him be alone. He held her close that night.

   But an hour later, Melinda had thrown up on the floor, unable to make it to the bathroom in time.

   And that's how Phil found her at five in the morning, leaning her forehead on the cold ceramic as she threw up nothing but bile.

   "I just keep throwing up." Melinda sighed, sensing his presence.

   "We should take you to a doctor." he suggested, avoiding the badly cleaned up vomit on the tile floor.

   "We can't." Melinda said. "We both know that there is no way we can go without having to explain that a Kree spear-head made me conceive strait into seven months along in pregnancy."

   "We could pull the 'I didn't know I was pregnant' move."

   Melinda fixed him with a forced stare. "Phil, put on your glasses. I'm fat as a whale. There is no way in hell that we could pull that off without being drug tested."

   "You are not fat." Phil said, touching her shoulder. "You have another human in your uterus."

   "I know. An extra ten pounds of water and flesh that I'm not used to yet." Melinda sighed, brushing her hair from her eyes as she faced him. "Phil. . ."

   "Yes?" He looked up, picking up on her hesitant manor. "Melinda?"

   "I know that -technically- the baby was conceived when we were drunk last weekend." Melinda looked down, her hand sliding down her stomach.

   "Yes?" Phil nodded.

   "Do you truly feel the same? Can we make this work?" Melinda wasn't asking anything more from him.

   "I think, no, I know we can." He looked up. "I know you -we- never planned on children after . . ." he looked at her. Melinda knew what he meant. Bahrain. "But we are given a chance here. I know we aren't the youngest of parents-"

   Melinda snorted. "You'll be sixty by their fifth birthday." she realized.

   "So will you!" Phil said in defense. "Well, for you, they'll be six."