Mistakes Were Made (Avengers/James Rhodes)

26. Meeting the New SHIELD

I hurried about my new office at the Tower. Tony was nice enough to give one of his many offices to me as a birthday gift. I swore up and down that he didn't need to give me one but he did it anyway. It was just the kind of man Tony was.

I set a stack of papers on the desk so I would remember to do them later. I had begun working for Tony since SHIELD fell apart and my contact with Phil Coulson had fizzled out. My ringing phone pulled my attention away from my thoughts.

I picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey, Charlie," Phil greeted. "You changed your number."

"For safety reasons of course," I replied, sitting at my desk. "What's up?"

"I want to come to visit so we can chat," Phil answered. "I've got some surprises you might like."

I started flipping through some papers. "Yeah, I'd love you."

"Great, because I'm outside your door," Phil said. "Would you unlock it please?"

I got up to go to the door. "You're here already?"

"Yeah, of course," Phil answered. "Do you doubt me?"

I opened the door, hanging up at the same time. "No, not at all, Director. What can I do for you, sir?"

Phil smiled. "First things first, you can stop calling me director or sir. It's Phil, remember?"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Come on inside and sit down."

I returned to my seat at my desk as Phil sat down in one of my extra chairs.

"You may be wondering why I brought you here today," I joked.

Phil laughed. "How's Rhodey? Is he getting better?"

"He's doing good," I replied. "His braces are working so he's walking just fine. We've moved in together." I held up my ring finger. "We're getting married so that's good news."

Phil smiled. "Yes, it is good news."

I eyed Phil. "What are you really here for?"

"We need you," Phil replied. "You have a lot of intel about the old SHIELD that might be helpful for the new SHIELD to continue."

I shrugged. "I don't know if I can help with that anymore. I have my life here and I'm getting married to Rhodey. I don't know how much I can take."

"You can do a little at a time," Phil suggested. "I want you to meet the new crew. It could ease you into the job if you want to come back full time. I don't want to force anything on you quite yet."

"Is Daisy still apart of the team?" I asked.

"Yeah," Phil answered. "And a few new faces. You'll like them and how everyone has changed. Just come down."

I sighed, staring at the papers in front of me. I had those to do and I had a life with Rhodey. We were going to get married. I was happy. But I had a duty to SHIELD. I should go with Phil to meet the time. If I didn't want to stay, I didn't have to. Phil would understand why I wouldn't go. I could still work with him in a way as well so I would be working for SHIELD.

I met Phil's eyes. "I'll meet the crew. I don't promise I'll stay with you guys but I could do some work for you. I can keep my eyes out for you."

Phil nodded, standing up. "Do you want to come with me? My crew is in the Zephyr."

"Zephyr?" I asked as I got up.

"It's a replacement of the Bus," Phil replied as we walked out of my office. "As I said, a lot of things have changed."