Chapter Thirty-Four

A/N: Oh my gosh you guys 5k reads!!!! Thank you so much, I can hardly believe this is real!!! And just a heads up, Samantha is coming in at the end of episode one, after everything in Union Station, literally right before the events of episode two. Also, I included the layout of the Bus that I used for reference while writing this chapter in case you needed it 😄

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I weaved through traffic on my way to the airfield, wondering exactly what I was going to find when I arrived.

What I found was an enormous plane.

The cargo ramp was open, and there was plenty of space for me to pull in. A standard SHIELD car was already parked, and I saw a lab just past the garage. A spiral staircase lead up to a second floor.

"This is unbelievable," I muttered as I took off my helmet.

"What? The fact that you're never going to catch up to me in levels?" asked Grant, appearing at the top of the staircase.

I glared at him. "If I didn't miss you so much I would punch you in the face. Come give me a hug."

"You can't park there," he said, coming down the stairs.

"What? Why not?"

"Because the team leader parks his car there," he said, finally close enough to pull into a hug.

"Which is who?" I asked, once I was done hugging Grant.

"You'll see. Now move your bike so we can go upstairs and get you settled."

I glared at Grant the whole time I was moving my bike, fitting it in the space on the other side of the standard SHIELD car, then I followed him up the stairs.

You would not believe what was waiting for me there. I walked into a plushy-looking top deck, with a lounge (including a big TV), a bar, a room with computers screens that looked like a mini situation room, a bunch of small dorm rooms with more cushy chairs outside them, and a full kitchen.

"I can't believe this," I said, shaking my head as Grant showed me to my dorm.

"Which part?"

"All of it! Is this one yours?" I asked, gesturing to the crew quarters directly next to mine.

"Yes." Ours were the only two on that side of the hallway, and I dropped my bag and looked around the small area to find that the divider didn't do much. I could see over into Grant's side by standing on the bed.

"I am going to have so much fun annoying you with this," I said, popping up over the divider to smile at Grant.

"Great," he said, rolling his eyes.

I came out of the room and stood in front of Grant, staring him down and trying to catch him off guard.

"Admit to me that you were lying about being level seven."

"What? No. I wasn't lying."

"Prove it. Let me see your badge."

To my dismay, he pulled out a new badge that confirmed his claim of being level seven.

"Dammit!" I yelled, unable to help it.

"What's the issue?" asked a voice, coming out of the doorway that lead to the cockpit.

I whirled around to find myself face to face with none other than Melinda May.

"May!" I yelled happily, running to give her a hug, "Are you the leader that Grant won't tell me about?"

"No. I'm just the pilot. It's good to see you again."

"You too! Maybe we can keep training later?"

May nodded. "We will. But keep it down until then, ok?"

"Ok, sorry," I said. She nodded again before heading back towards the cockpit. I turned around to Grant, who was wearing a dumbfounded look on his face.

"I didn't realize you were so close with the Melinda May," he said.

"Grant, you've met her before too."

"In passing. How did you two get to know each other?"

I shrugged. "You know she was good friends with Phil. She helped keep me sane after... well, after the Helicarrier."

"Wow. I never realized."

"Yeah... let's go back into that big lounge room, I want to see where I'm going to be spending the majority of my time on this plane."

"We call it the Bus," said Ward as we walked back towards the lounge.

"Who's we?" I asked, starting to feel fed up.

Before Grant could answer, two more familiar faces appeared coming up from the garage area.

"FITZSIMMONS!" I yelled excitedly, running forward to pull them both into a hug.

"Samantha!" They greeted, returning my hug.

"How many people did you meet while I was gone?" asked Grant, staring at us incredulously.

"Two. I already knew May before you left." Grant rolled his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" asked Fitz excitedly.

"Joining the team," I responded with a smile.

"That's wonderful!" said Simmons, "And it seems you already know Agent Ward."

"Yeah, he was the partner I mentioned."

"Woah, woah, woah," interrupted Grant, "I came up while you three were talking?"

"Yeah," I replied, not bothering to explain further.

"Why don't we order some food and catch up?" suggested Simmons.

"Great idea!" I exclaimed, practically jumping. Grant looked a bit more hesitant, but I was confident he would relax more once we spent some time together. After being separated for the better part of a month, I could only imagine how much his people skills had slipped without me around.

Within half an hour the four of us were sitting around the lounge area, eating Chinese food and drinking beers. Grant recounted his mission in Paris (apparently the Rising Tide had screwed him over too), and I told everybody about my experience at the academy.

"I hate to break it to you though," I said at the end of my story, "But Grant, it's kind of iffy whether I'll be invited back with you."

"Well what did you expect? Half your speech was completely opposite to everything the teachers said to us from day one."

I shrugged. "You know I've always thought those teachers were wrong."

"Yes, I know. You're very loud about it."

"Oh shut up," I said, rolling my eyes and punching him in the arm. Thankfully, before he could retaliate, a message popped up on Grant's computer.

"What's that?" asked Fitz.

"A mission. Apparently SHIELD's getting some reports of an 0-8-4. They want us to check it out."

"Cool, my first team mission. Does this mean I finally get to meet this team leader?"

"You mean she doesn't know?" asked Simmons, staring at Ward in shock.

"No. It's a surprise. Don't ruin it."

Simmons shrugged as Grant called someone, presumably the mystery leader.

"Go," said a voice on the other side of the phone. It sounded familiar, but the phone distorted the voice enough that I couldn't place it.

"Sir, we've got an 0-8-4," said Grant.

"Is that confirmed?" asked the voice.

Grant looked around at the FitzSimmons and I before responding. "They want us to go in and confirm it."

Fitz patted Grant on the back, and I laughed out loud at the look on his face. His people skills really had slipped.

Grant hung up before I could get a look at the caller ID, scowling at me for laughing.

"What's so funny Slater?"

"Your face," I replied without hesitation. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Get ready to leave," he said, not blinking as he stared me down.

These impromptu staring contests were not new, and I returned his gaze with the same intensity.

"FitzSimmons, why don't you go tell May," I suggested, not looking away from Grant. They hesitated, but left when they saw the small smile starting to appear on my face.

Grant usually won by making me laugh, but I had a new strategy I wanted to try.

I waited a minute, then quickly moved my face so close to his that our noses were touching. He flinched, and my planned worked. The flinch came with a blink.

"HA! I won!" I yelled, pulling back so Grant could see my smug grin.

"What the hell kind of strategy was that?"

"A winning strategy. Duh."

Grant growled in frustration. "We're living on the same plane now Slater. I'll get you back."

"Ha. We were living in the same apartment before this," I said, taking a sip of my beer, "You know, you were being kind of cold to FitzSimmons."

"I was not."

"You were too."

"I was not."

"You were too."

"Do you have a point?"

"Yeah, lighten up. You don't have to scowl at everyone when you first meet them."

Grant shook his head, but before he could say anything else, we heard a car pulling up outside.

"Aha! The mysterious team leader!" I exclaimed, rushing out of the room before Grant could stop me. I got to the balcony over looking the cars, and my mouth dropped open.

Phil Coulson was stepping out of his favorite car, Lola.

But that wasn't possible. I had seen him die on the Helicarrier a month ago.

"Phil?" I asked tentatively, barely above a whisper. He was on the floor of the first level, and I was on the balcony of the second, but somehow he still heard me. He looked up and smiled.

It felt like my heart stopped. I came to my senses and rushed down the spiral staircase to give him a hug.

I couldn't help it. I started crying into his shoulder, barely able to believe he was real, even though I could feel that he was warm and alive as he hugged me back.

"Samantha," he said, and I instantly realized he was the voice over the phone, "Welcome to level seven."