Aftermath - Chapter Twelve

Author: Milady Dragon

Author's Note: Here we are, at the end of this story. Next up, "The Trouble with Nessie" which details Josh's first ever mission with Torchwood.

8 May 2012

Washington DC

The Triskelion

Epilogue

Nicholas Fury stared down at the man in the casket, surrounded by the trinkets the family had left behind, and sighed.

Reaching toward the dead man's face, Fury gently peeled away the photostatic veil, erasing the features of one of his best friends and revealing the true one underneath. "Thank you for your service, Agent Jenkins," he murmured. "You served SHIELD one more time. Now, we'll send you home."

Fury knew that there had to be a body. Coulson's family wouldn't have rested until they'd had one. Agent Richard Jenkins had also fallen during the attack on the Helicarrier, and his body type had been close enough to Coulson's to stand in for his fallen One Good Eye.

Who should have made it to the Guest House by now.

Fury only trusted about a handful of people. And, despite what he'd often said, he really didn't like to chop off metaphorical fingers. He was going to need Coulson; something was going on that he couldn't figure out, and he couldn't lose someone who'd always had his back.

He could only hope that the TAHITI procedure would work.

He hadn't been exactly honest with Harkness when he'd proposed the exchange programme, that they hadn't done anything with all the alien shit they'd inherited from the SSR. And Fury himself had a little more experience than most with aliens…he did wonder sometimes if there was anything in Torchwood's vaunted Archives about the Kree and the Skrulls…

The hard part of TAHITI would be after the actual procedure: convincing Coulson not to tell his family or Barton. If something big was gonna go down – and Fury was fairly positive it would at some point, even if he didn't know what it was – then maybe that vague threat could make the agent keep silent. There was no way they could excise all those memories, not if he wanted Coulson to remain of use. This would also be the first time they were going to attempt only a partial mindwipe, and Fury didn't want to take so much that Coulson would be suspicious. That included those of his family and friends.

"This would have been a lot easier if you hadn't gone and got your skinny white ass killed," Fury groused quietly. Then he glanced down at the dead agent who'd taken Coulson's place at the funeral. "Not you, Jenkins. Although it would've been better if no one had gotten dead by Loki."

With delicate fingers, Fury pulled out the ultrasound scan that Alice and Patrick Delaware had placed inside the casket. Now this…this was gonna be the hard part, if the Director had any doubt. Coulson had been looking forward to the birth of his great-niece, so much so he'd practically bought out a damned baby store as soon as they'd announced the bun in the oven.

Yes, getting Coulson not to tell anyone else – even Barton – was gonna be easy compared to this.

Fuck.

At least the recovery from everything would have Coulson out of touch through the rest of Alice's pregnancy. And, maybe, if things didn't go to hell in a handbasket like Fury's gut was telling him it was going to, then he could give Coulson the word to read his family in at some point.

It wasn't about clearance. Hell, Patrick had a higher clearance than anyone but Fury himself…in the UK, it was most likely even higher. Plus, if Barton did decide to go to Torchwood – and if Fury was going to be honest with himself, it was a foregone conclusion that he would – then he'd be given a clearance level equivalent to Hill's.

Keeping Coulson's existence to Level 7 only wasn't going to be a good enough excuse to keep the man quiet.

Well, he had time to think about it and come up with a good enough reason.

"Sir."

Fury didn't turn, recognising Hill immediately. "What is it?"

"The plane is ready to take Coulson back to Wisconsin."

Her tone was somewhat disapproving, and the Director kept her from seeing the massive eye roll that only a one-eyed man could achieve. "Leave all the remembrances in the coffin when you send Agent Jenkins to his own family. Make sure the casket is sealed."

"Yes sir."

He did sigh this time, turning to face his second in command. "You got a problem, Hill?"

"Coulson wanted TAHITI shut down. The side-effects were far too extreme."

"I'm aware."

Hill narrowed her eyes, not backing down from his glare. "Then why do it? Why put a man you claim to be your friend through that hell?"

"Because I need him. He can never know, Hill. You saw what happened when the test subjects knew they'd been brought back to life."

It hadn't been pretty. Fury really had considered shutting down TAHITI, because Coulson had threatened to resign over it and the agent never did anything unless he was absolutely certain of the outcome, but in the end Fury couldn't risk it. They'd needed a fall-back plan, and this was it. It was the best they had, and he told Hill that shortly, succinctly, and rather profanely.

She didn't look at all impressed by his explanation. "If that's what you think, sir."

Fury didn't want to argue with her anymore. He was tired, and he was missing his friend. Instead, he began moving all the tiny objects, so they could get Jenkins out of the casket. He'd made all the arrangements already; the extra weights to make sure no one suspected the casket was practically empty, and having another casket for Jenkins ready to receive his body. He stepped back once he was done, allowing the two men Hill had brought with her – both Level 7s, and given some cock and bull story about it being too dangerous to let Coulson's family take him, after he'd been stabbed with a so-called magical spear. It helped that SHIELD had contingencies for such cases, and that both men would have found that excuse totally believable.

Once they'd placed Agent Jenkins in his own coffin and had wheeled it away on the cart they'd put that heavy-ass casket on, Fury bent over the now-corpseless box and carefully placed a thumb drive on the pristine white satin of the pillow, next to the bloody Captain America card that Rogers had actually signed and placed in 'Coulson's' pocket. His eyes caught on the arrow with the single rose tied to it, and if Fury had had a sympathetic bone in his body he would have regretted everything he'd done to try and break Barton and Coulson up.

How Barton had figured it out, the Director didn't know, but then he'd always been able to see more than anyone ever gave him credit for. Fury had to wonder if Coulson had cottoned onto it as well.

Well, he wasn't about to ask.

With one final look at the small gifts that he'd left in the coffin, Fury turned his back on it and ordered Hill to seal it up. It was time to get this show on the road.

She still didn't look happy, but he knew she'd follow his directions. Hill had always been a good soldier, after all.

Hill gave him a sharp nod. "I'll take care of it."

Fury began to walk away, but he stopped and turned back toward his second in command. "Hill."

She'd been perusing the objects in the casket, one hand on the lid, ready to close it. She didn't move, but then Fury didn't expect her to.

"This is all going to work out," he told her. "Just you wait and see."

Her shoulders, which had been stiff, suddenly dropped. "Sir…Nick…I only hope you're right about that."

Yeah, so was he, but he wasn't about to say that. Not when she was bound and determined to point out just how wrong his actions really were.

Spinning around, Nicholas J Fury strode out of the room they'd wheeled Coulson's casket into, and went back to work.

Fin