Author's Note: Hey guys! This story was certainly a long time coming. I started it over 4 years ago and the writing process has proved very slow. But now I am ready to share this with the fandom, so I really hope you guys enjoy it! And if you like it, be sure to give kaheels a good pat on the back. She hounded me about this story diligently for the past 4 years, faithfully reading and editing every chapter as I mosied along through the writing process. She motivated me and brainstormed with me to work out the canon to this story (and the next), and I can honestly say that this story would not be complete and ready to share if it weren't for her. She's the best.
So without further ado, I really hope you like this story!
Deep breath in...deep breath out...here we go!
CHAPTER ONE: The handsome part, maybe
"I appreciate you doing this," Audrey said, walking through her front door and turning on the light. She wasn't sure why, but she half expected to find him standing in her living room, waiting for her. She let out a little breath when a quick pan around the room verified that it was empty. She would still probably check all of her closets before she went to bed, though.
"It's fine," Bethany replied, following her sister into the house and setting down her duffel bag. "You'd do the same for me."
"Well...let's hope I never have to." Audrey stood in her entryway, arms crossed over her chest nervously, scanning the shadows of her house like she still expected him to appear anywhere.
"Hey," Bethany said, her voice just as gentle as the touch she gave to her sister's arm. Audrey looked at her. "It's going to be fine. I'll stay with you tonight and, in the morning, we'll call the police again...see if we can talk to someone new this time."
Audrey rolled her eyes. "Ugh, the police. You know, as a tax-paying citizen, I have been grossly disappointed with the way they've been handling this. I thought they swore an oath to help people like me. A woman is being stalked in their district and they don't care!" She yelled the last bit towards her window, as if the entire Portland Police Department was hanging out on her lawn, just waiting to hear her tirade against them.
Bethany smiled softly and rubbed the other woman's back soothingly. "Well, like I said...maybe we'll get to talk to someone new tomorrow. In the meantime, we should probably get some sleep."
Audrey sighed and looked down at her carpeted floors. She needed to vacuum. "I really do appreciate you coming all the way up here. I feel safer, having someone else in this house with me."
"Don't worry about it. It's nothing." Bethany's smile dropped slightly and she rubbed her sister's back a little harder. "But...I really do need to head back to Eugene in the morning."
"Oh, you do?" Audrey asked, trying not to let her disappointment and fear be evident in her voice.
Bethany nodded regretfully. "Jason was texting me today and it sounds like he needs help with the kids. He thinks Conner has come down with something and Tammy has her recital tomorrow evening and I totally forgot about it." Bethany added a smile as she finished, "She's so excited, says she wants to be just like Auntie Audrey."
That coaxed a real smile out of Audrey for the first time in days. "She's sweet. I wish I could be there for it, but..."
"I know, you have a concert of your own," Bethany finished, patting her sister's arm reassuringly. "And don't worry, we've already explained that to her."
"Okay, well...tell her I'll be clapping from here, though. And I fully expect a video."
"You got it."
With her spirits lifted a little, Audrey inhaled deeply and looked back over her house with less trepidation. Whoever this guy was, she wasn't going to let him make her afraid in her own house. This was her home. He wasn't allowed to haunt her here. Looking back at her sister, she smiled. "What do you say we watch a movie to unwind before bed?"
"What?" Bethany asked with exaggerated delight. "Like a real slumber party?"
"Like a real slumber party!" Audrey answered, and the two women laughed and began the preparations.
They were about halfway through the movie when there came a knock on the door. Audrey and Bethany both looked at the clock on the wall and exchanged a puzzled look when it read 10:23pm. They hesitated.
"He doesn't usually knock," Audrey observed, her hands already starting to shake.
Bethany patted her sister's hand and then slowly got up to answer the door.
She cautiously looked out the small window pane in the door and was relieved when it wasn't the man her sister had described. In fact, it was two men, and they looked like detectives straight out of a procedural drama. The older one smiled good-naturedly when he saw Bethany peer out at them.
"Can I help you?" she asked, pulling the door open a crack.
"Audrey Nathan?" the taller man asked in response.
"No, I'm her sister."
"Is your sister home? We'd like to speak with her."
From her place on the couch, Audrey craned her neck to see the face of the man talking. She had never before laid eyes on him, yet he seemed somehow familiar to her. She wasn't sure what it was, but something about the kind smile on his face made her feel she could trust him. Odd. Especially considering her present circumstances. But she felt secure all the same.
"Let them in, Beth," Audrey called, getting up to join her sister. Bethany looked back at her in surprise and Audrey simply shrugged her shoulders.
Bethany opened the door wider and the man nodded his thanks to her as he stepped into the house. The shorter man followed.
"Miss Nathan, my name is Agent Phil Coulson, this is Agent Khan." As he spoke, Agent Coulson revealed a badge within his wallet and his partner did the same.
"Are you here about that man?" Audrey asked hopefully.
Agent Coulson seemed slightly surprised by the abrupt question, but he nodded presently all the same. "We are."
"So, you're not exactly cops," Bethany observed. Cops were called 'officer' or 'detective.' At least they were on TV. 'Agent' usually meant something else. "Who are you, then?"
For the first time, Agent Khan began to speak "We're with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforce-"
"You can call us S.H.I.E.L.D." Agent Coulson simplified, handing Bethany his badge to satisfy her curiosity.
Then, to Audrey's surprise, the agent's attention was drawn to the television screen, a frozen image of a young America Ferrera holding a telephone to her ear. He smirked and approached the entertainment system, picking up the DVD case. "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? Really?" he teased.
Audrey was soon tearing the case from his hands. She shot him a look, one that accounted for both her surprise and her amusement. "Everyone's entitled to one guilty pleasure." She placed the case back on the DVD player.
"Fair enough," he conceded. "And I guess, as guilty pleasures go, I've seen worse. A lot worse, actually."
Again, Audrey was surprised by the agent. This time, though, it was just the smile. Small, but striking. The smile in his eyes seemed to be bigger than the one on his mouth somehow. She wasn't used to seeing smiles like that, but it felt like it was supposed to be telling her something. And she really wanted to know what it meant.
Unaware of the nameless exchange happening between her sister and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Bethany spoke up, carefully reading the words aloud. "Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division? What does that even mean?"
Coulson looked back at the other woman. "Our organization specializes in investigating unique events and persons. We believe the man following your sister is such a person."
"What can you tell us about him?" Agent Khan asked, his beady little eyes blinking at Audrey expectantly as he withdrew a small notebook from his pocket.
Audrey hiked her shoulders. Looking back at Coulson, she replied, "I don't really know anything about him. A while ago-"
"You called me about it on the twelfth," Bethany inputted.
"Right, so...I guess it's been a couple weeks now but, I first noticed him at one of my concerts."
"Where exactly?" Khan asked, scribbling into his notebook.
"Schnitzer Concert Hall on South-West Broadway. I'm a cellist in the orchestra there."
"So what happened?" Coulson asked.
"Well, nothing at first. He just sat there. Gave us his complete attention, clapped harder than anyone else when we closed the final movement. It was nice."
"But then he started following her," Bethany added.
"He started coming to more and more of my shows. Always sitting in the front. Always watching me. After a while, it became unnerving. Pretty soon, I was seeing him other places too. The grocery store. The bank. Then, one day, I saw him on my lawn. Right out there." She walked over to her window and pointed out to the spot. Agent Coulson followed behind her and peered out onto the grassy lawn. "I asked him to leave my property, but he just moved to the street. He wouldn't go away."
"Did he threaten you?" Coulson asked turning to look back at Audrey and taking a step back when he realized how close they were.
"No, not exactly. All he said to me was that I was his 'light in the middle of a darkness'."
"His light?" Coulson wasn't sure what that meant yet, but he was certain it was important. It was especially interesting considering what he had been reading in the man's file. This man seemed to have more experience than most with 'darkness'.
Audrey just nodded her confirmation. "Would sound romantic-"
"If it wasn't coming from a creeper," Bethany finished.
Audrey conceded to the description with a subtle expression. "I couldn't really tell it at the concerts but, after talking to him...I don't think he's totally...you know," she looked at Coulson regretfully, like she didn't want to say whatever it was she was trying to suggest. "I think he might have some kind of brain damage or something. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just..."
Coulson smiled softly at her kindness. She was trying so hard to not be offensive while describing this man's potential handicap. "Can you think of anything else we should know?" he asked gently.
Audrey thought for a moment, softly shaking her head.
Bethany spoke up again from her place by the couch. "We've tried to call the police but, since he doesn't actually enter her property anymore and he has never technically threatened her, they say he isn't breaking any laws so there's nothing they can do." The woman approached the two by the window to return Agent Coulson's badge. "But what about S.H.I.E.L.D.? Can you help us?"
"We will certainly try. We've been tracking this man for a little while now. Our goal is to bring him in and ask him a few questions. In the process, I'm sure we can persuade him to leave your sister alone."
"So who is he?" Audrey finally asked, almost nervous to hear the answer.
"His name is Marcus Daniels. He was involved in a unique event, the kind my organization is interested in investigating. As of right now, we're uncertain what kind of effect this event has had on Mr. Daniels. It's why we'd like to talk to him. Get a better idea of what exactly happened and what it means."
Audrey waited, expecting the explanation to involve more than that, but Agent Coulson grew quiet then and Audrey realized that was as much information as she was going to get. She sighed and looked out the window again. Maybe she didn't want to know any more than that anyway. "I just don't know why he's so interested in me," she confessed quietly.
Agent Coulson followed her gaze out into the yard again. His tone was also gentle as he answered, "Hard to say for sure, but...it's not uncommon for a man to be drawn to a particularly beautiful woman." He looked back at her, a slight shyness to the quirk at his lips. "In that respect, it's not so unthinkable."
She looked over at the agent in shock. Men had told her she was beautiful before, but hearing it from a total stranger was rare. The only other man who had said something remotely similar was Marcus Daniels himself. But, the difference in tone between the two was as stark as night and day. Agent Coulson's voice was so soft and kind, and when she looked at him, he just smiled at her smoothly. Still stunned, Audrey responded. "Thank you." Somewhere behind her, she knew her sister had a coy expression on her face, but Audrey chose to ignore it.
"Sir?" Agent Khan asked, lowering his hand from his ear, having apparently just received a message.
Coulson tore his eyes away from Audrey to look at the other agent.
"Satellite scan of the perimeter shows nothing. He's not here," Khan reported.
"Well," Coulson said, looking back at Audrey. "Looks like we'll be getting out of your hair then. Miss Nathan, would you permit me to post an agent outside your house to keep an eye on things?"
"You think he might really be dangerous?"
"It's possible, but until we find him and understand what happened to him, it's hard to know for sure exactly what kind of threat Mr. Daniels poses, if any. In either case though, I'd like to have a man on site, just in case he comes back here."
"I would really appreciate the extra protection. It's actually why my sister is staying the night. I haven't felt very safe here lately."
Coulson scowled subtly in disapproval. "In that case, would you prefer I make it a two man team?"
"Oh, no," Audrey assured, reaching out to touch his arm dismissively. "One agent will be sufficient, I'm sure. Thank you though."
Coulson looked down at the gesture and smiled at her politely. "My pleasure." He reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a small business card. "This is my number. If you remember anything else about him or have any questions, please, don't hesitate to call."
"Thank you, Agent..." she looked down at the card to remember his name, "Coulson." She couldn't help but smile at him. "This helps give me some peace of mind."
He returned the smile and gave a small nod. "Good. That's always our aim." Turning to his partner he asked, "You got all that?"
Khan nodded, putting his notebook back into his pocket. "Yes sir."
Coulson turned back to Audrey. "Then we'll be going. I apologize for the late interruption." He glanced back at the TV as he started to move towards the door. "Enjoy the rest of your movie."
"Thanks," Audrey said, following him to the door.
"You may be hearing more from us," Agent Coulson said over his shoulder as he exited the door.
"I hope so," Audrey replied. She wasn't even sure what she meant by that, but in the dim light from her porch, she was fairly certain she saw Agent Coulson turn and look at her once more, a soft twinkle in his eye.
Audrey waved and then closed the door. When she finally turned back into the room, her sister was smiling at her. "What?" Audrey asked.
Bethany hiked her shoulders, the smile still in place. "Nothing," she replied, moving to return to the couch.
"What?" Audrey asked again. She knew her sister. The look on Bethany's face wasn't a 'nothing' kind of look.
"It's nothing! Let's finish this movie and then go to bed. Up-all-night slumber parties aren't as manageable as they were when we were fourteen," she said, flopping onto the couch.
Audrey hesitated and then presently followed her sister and curled up beside her. She grabbed the remote and hit play. America Ferrera continued her emotional scene as the two sisters sat in silence. About three minutes passed.
"You know he's probably like, ten years older than you, right?" Bethany asked out of nowhere.
"What? Who?" Audrey replied, feigning surprise even though she already knew exactly who her sister meant.
"Agent Smirky," Bethany jutted her thumb back towards the door. "The one who was all eyes and Here's-my-card-baby-and-by-the-way-you're-beautiful." She deepened her voice to imitate a man's as she delivered the last part.
Audrey snorted at her sister's jab. "He never said 'baby'."
"He might as well have," she replied with a chuckle. They both looked back at the TV for a moment before Bethany added, "But you were kind of into him too, right?"
"What? No." Audrey swatted a hand through the air, batting away her sister's accusation.
"Then what was with all the smiles and the arm-touching?" Bethany demonstrated both as she asked the question.
Audrey hiked her shoulders, giving the defense, "I thought he was nice! That's all. And I feel really grateful that he's going to do something about this guy."
Bethany eyed her sister skeptically. "Alright," she drawled a moment later. "Whatever you say."
Audrey elbowed her sister. "Shut up. You're not allowed to tease me about men. I'm the oldest, remember?"
"Yeah, but I got married first so, I outrank you in the man-department. I have teasing privil-"
Audrey silenced her sister by smothering her with a pillow.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading my first chapter! The next one will be up soon, but in the meantime, drop a comment down below and let me know what you think so far. I love reading those. :)
Canon Inspiration for this chapter:
"I don't why, but I trusted him right away. Something about his face, the handsome part maybe." - Audrey Nathan, S1E19
"Marcus Daniels was an assistant at a physics lab, where they were trying to harness the electrical power of something called 'Dark Force.' And nothing bad ever happens when you work with something called 'Dark Force.'" - Phil Coulson S1E19