Nothing is mine or beta'ed.

"Sir, Agent Coulson is at the door. He and several members of his team seem to be injured," JARVIS stated one night.

"Well, let them in and get the med room ready," Tony muttered distracted by the documents in front of him. Several tense moments passed by before Tony's head snapped up in disbelief. "JARVIS, run that by me again. Who is at the door?"

"Phil Coulson, former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and his current members," JARVIS replied.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered, grabbing his phone and running to the elevators just as it was opening. Out spilled Phil Coulson and his current team. Tony stamped down his fury, annoyance, and curiosity as he took in the people coming into the foyer. "You've seen better days," he said as he slipped an arm around Phil's sagging frame.

"Nice to see you too," Phil said, the side of his mouth quirking up.

"He has multiple broken ribs, a possible collapsed lung, a concussion, and a laceration on his leg," said a clearly shaken woman with a crisp British accent.

"Right," Tony said. "Any one of you a doctor?"

"I am," responded the woman. "But we didn't have the proper equipment since...S.H.I.E.L.D. fell," she said.

Tony nodded. "Anyone else hurt?"

"Yeah," replied another voice behind Phil. The young woman was carried by a curly haired man who looked like he had more than the weight of the world on his shoulders. She promptly passed out.

"Skye, Skye, c'mon, wake up, sweetheart," said the man carrying her. Tony felt sorry for the young man. It was obvious that he cared for her.

"Phil said that you might be able to help us. We have nowhere else to turn to," said a woman who emerged from the elevator. She was holding her middle and winced slightly with each step.

"Melinda May. Looks like the Cavalry saved your ass," Tony said, leading the way.

"It was the other way around," Phil said wheezing just as Melinda tartly replied, "don't call me that."

"Ooo, touchy," Tony said. "You'll have to introduce me to your new friends," he said to Phil. "And then you'll have to explain yourself to Pepper."

"Love to," Phil said as he knees buckled under him.

"C'mon Big Man, don't fail me now. You died once, you're not going to die on my watch again," Tony said.

Phil laughed weakly before losing consciousness.

Tony fiddled with his phone watching as his team of doctors worked to save Phil and the woman named Skye. Melinda stood next to him, watching them work. Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, and Antoine Triplett were cleared before being told sternly to get some rest. Tony may or may have dosed their drinks with a mild sleeping sedative. Tony winked and smirked as Melinda watched him.

"They need the rest," was all that she said before turning on her heel and leaving the kitchen.

"If he doesn't die, Pepper is gonna kill him," Tony said conversationally.

Melinda didn't respond, opting instead to narrow her eyes.

"Hey, I didn't mean that," Tony said softly, noticing the set of her shoulders. "I want answers though. And I'm sure the rest will want answers too." He didn't have to name who the "rest" were.

"There was a project...T.A.H.I.T.I. It was supposed to be a way to save a mortally wounded Avenger. But he thought it was too dangerous. All subjects began to...mentally deteriorate. Wiping the memory of the physical trauma of the project was inconsistent. Project T.A.H.I.T.I was used on Phil to save him when Loki stabbed him. Phil was dead for nearly two weeks when he underwent it," Melinda said, giving Tony the basic details.

Tony felt his blood pressure rising. "And who authorized using this "project" on him? And why wasn't the information released when Natasha set all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files out into the open?"

"Fury authorized it. It wasn't Pierce. The project files were buried," Melinda said.

"Buried, huh," Tony said.

"Literally," she said.

"We all mourned him," he said. "We went to his fucking funeral. Cried. Drank to his memory. We finally banded together because of his death," Tony said, finally letting his temper out. "Why didn't he tell us he was alive?"

"That I don't know," Melinda said, her face expressionless.

He turned to look at the woman standing beside him. "You care for him, don't you?"

"Yes."

"You're not the Cellist in Portland."

"No."

"Does he know you care?"

"Of a sort, yes."

"What's stopping you from telling him?"

"It's not like that," Melinda said.

"Huh."

"I'm hurt, annoyed, and pissed. But it's nothing compared to what Pepper is going to do to him when she gets here," he said.

Melinda finally cracked a smile. "Maria warned me of her temper."

Tony laughed. "Ah, Maria. They're BFF's. Did you know that? I'm pretty sure Natasha would be Team Pepper too if they ever met." He glanced at her again before turning to look at the procedures. "You'll most likely be Team Pepper too."

Phil opened his eyes. He gasped before trying to sit up. "Skye!" A firm but gentle hand pushed his shoulder down.

"She's fine. She's asleep. The others are still resting too," Melinda said, as his eyes focused on her.

"You should be resting too," Phil said as his eyes slipped shut again.

Melinda didn't respond.

"He's right you know," Tony said, leaning against the doorway. "Don't make me dose you too."

Melinda cracked a small smile.

"No really, go take a nap or something. You master assassins creep me out sometimes. Go. Shoo." Melinda didn't move. Tony sighed. "JARVIS."

"Yes, Sir?"

"Make sure The Cavalry gets some rest."

"Sir."

"Are you kicking me out?" Melinda asked.

"Yes, it's my tower and therefore, my rules. Out. Get some sleep. Something to eat, a change of clothes. Just...out. I'll watch over him. I promise," he said as he settled into the chair next to Phil's bed.

"You're gonna get bored," Melinda said as she walked out.

"Bored? Me? Never."

"Thank you, Tony."

"What do you mean, he's alive?" Pepper hissed as she came barreling through the door.

"Shhh, you'll wake him," Tony whispered, trying to placate her.

Pepper's hands flew to her mouth as she saw her friend, pale but alive lying in the bed. "What happened to him?"

"As far as I can tell, they went after a HYDRA agent that had infiltrated their team. He nearly killed them before Melinda took him out," Tony said, his fingers drumming on the doorframe. "God, HYDRA. S.H.I.E.L.D. was almost half HYDRA. All their...our secrets out in the open."

"Poor Phil," Pepper said and sighed.

"Poor Phil? What about poor us?" Tony said indignantly.

Pepper laughed gently. "I'm sure we'll be okay. But S.H.I.E.L.D. was everything to Phil. Everything. To know that HYDRA was secretly behind it has got to be shattering."

"You have no idea," Phil croaked from his bed.

"Phil!" Pepper said and went over to his side. "I am so angry and so happy to see you," she said as eyes filled with tears.

"Look, you've made my Pepper cry. Now, that's unforgivable," Tony said.

"Out," Pepper said.

"But."

"Out," Pepper said again, no nonsense filling her voice.

"You're gonna get it," Tony said, pointing to Phil.

Phil laughed weakly. "I can take it."

Tony just shook his head and he heard Pepper start laying into him.

"Time to go check the Science Kids out," he said gleefully.

Thank you for reading.

Reviews are nice, but not necessary to my mental well being.