It was after midnight when Coulson finished completing the documents Daisy had given him earlier and put the thick briefcase in the desk drawer. He went quickly to the bathroom to change into his pajamas and, without turning the light on, went to the bedroom, where he slipped under the sheets next to the sleeping May. He kissed her on the cheek, then settled on the pillow and closed his eyes.
However, before he could drift into the sleep realm for good, he noticed that May began to wriggle on the bed. He opened his eyes and looked at her to see if she was alright. She was still asleep, but her face, lit by the pale moonlight, was strained. She was frowning and murmuring something softly under her breath. Her movements were sudden and more rapid.. She was having a nightmare.
Phil wondered for a moment what he should do. It didn't seem like that nightmare was as terrible as the ones that had bothering her before, but apparently it wasn't pleasant either. He didn't want to wake her, because he knew Melinda had to do it by herself. If he tried to bring her back to reality, she could start screaming, and Melissa, who was extremely hard for them to put to sleep that day, was in the room behind the wall.
Phil sighed. She hadn't had nightmares for so long that he thought she had managed to get rid of them completely. Apparently, he was wrong. His heart was cracking as he watched the bad dream causing her distress. He remembered all these way too many times when he heard her screams in the middle of the night and felt so powerless unable to help her, just like now. Her nightmares were the worst after...
Oh. Oh God.
Coulson felt the blood drain from his face.
Bahrain. Today was the anniversary of Bahrain.
Throughout the day he was so busy with documents from Daisy that he completely ignored the date, paradoxically, because he wrote it on almost every page next to his signature. Melinda also acted normally. And yet, she just had to keep up appearances and suffer inside, because Bahrain was something she would never forget and nothing in the world could change that. And nightmares were the result, the only thing she couldn't control in her life.
He let her carry the weight all day alone.
Phil wanted to kick himself with all his might. How could he forget something that forever changed not only May's life, but also his own?
He moved with his pillow closer to her, lay down, put his arm around her, and with his other hand he took hers and squeezed it tightly, wanting to let her know that he was right next to her to support her. That she is not alone in this fight. I'm sorry, he thought.
After some time, Phil did not know exactly how long it was, May didn't wake up, but calmed down and stopped moving rapidly on the bed, and her face relaxed. He breathed a sigh of relief, kissed her on top of her head and brought her small body even closer to him. He closed his eyes, breathing in her sweet vanilla scent.
Before he fell asleep, he felt Melinda squeeze his hand back.