''Hey, Melinda?" Coulson spoke walking into the kitchen. He was frowning at the stack of paper he was holding in his hand.
''Yes?"
''What's this?" he asked, turning the pages so that May could see them. The woman glanced at them briefly, then turned back to the oven where she was preparing dinner.
''Oh, this. I asked Daisy to give it to Mack to sign. She must've been distracted and put it in the documents for you. Don't worry, I'll send it to him again,"she replied, tasting the sauce. She added some sweet pepper.
Coulson tilted his head and fixed the glasses that slipped off his nose. ''You... You wanna come back to the field?"
''Yes. That's what's written in the application you're holding, silly."
''And you didn't tell me about it?"
Melinda covered the pot and turned toward him, sensing the seriousness in his voice. She shrugged, watching him closely. ''There was nothing to talk about."
''I think there was."
''Alright, then. Phil, I'm going to go back to the field. Happy now?" She smiled gently, but when Phil didn't return the gesture, she frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. ''What's up with you?"
''I don't want you to go back to work," he said, putting down the papers and also crossed his arms. May raised an eyebrow, surprised.
''Why not? You're really angry that I didn't tell you about applying for reinstatement to the field?"
''It's not about the application," he sighed.
''So about what?"
''About that you know how dangerous it is in the field. And we have a daughter now."
''Who's not a little baby anymore."
''Which doesn't mean she doesn't need both of her parents."
''She's almost six, Phil. You really thought I would give up my job in S.H.I.E.L.D. for good?"
''You don't have to give it up right away. But you can do something else."
''What for example?"
''Train the younger agents. You were good at it and you liked it."
''I did, but it's not the same as field work, you know that. I miss this."
''It wasn't a problem for you before," he snorted softly under his breath.
Melinda, however, heard him well. She took a step toward him and looked at him angrily. ''What exactly was that supposed to mean?"
''That you seemed to enjoy paperwork before, because you spend seven years with it, and apparently you didn't miss your previous job at all."
May took a sharp breath in. Suddenly, her wide opened eyes become hurt.
Oh, God.
Phil realized what he had really said when it was too late to turn back time and erase his last words.
No, no, no. It wasn't suppose to be like that.
''May, I..." he started, taking a step towards her, but she backed away quickly. She looked at him with so much pain and a feeling of betrayal in her eyes, that his heart twisted painfully inside his chest.
''You're really comparing my return to the field with the situation after Bahrain," she whispered in disbelief. She curled up in herself, looking like a wounded animal in a cage. ''You, of all the people."
Phil swallowed the bumb that formed in his throat. ''Melinda, please..." He reached out to touch her shoulder, but she jumped away from him as if burnt.
''Just... Leave me alone," she said without looking at him, and left the kitchen. He could hear her footsteps as she climbed the stairs and then the slamming of their bedroom door.
He sank heavily onto a chair, taking off his glasses, and buried his face in his hands. What had he done? He used her greatest weakness against her and, though not wanting it, hurt her in the worst way possible.
At that moment he felt like the worst husband and man in the whole world. He propably was.
He decided to respect her request and leave her alone for a while. He put on a jacket, called for Rogers and left the house with him. He was walking with the dog for over an hour before he returned. The fresh air did him good. He could calm down and think about what had happened.
''May, I'm back!" he called as he entered the house. He undressed, then went to the living room, kitchen and then dining room, but the woman was not there. ''Melinda? I'm an asshole, I'm sorry. Talk to me, please. Where are you?"
The house, however, seemed completely empty. Worried, he went upstairs. She wasn't in their bedroom. When he opened the door of Melissa's room and found none of them there, his heart went up to his throat. He searched the house a few more times, but his attempts were for nothing.
His wife and daughter were gone.