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Stepping into Director Fury's office was like putting on his favorite suit. Phil Coulson, freshly returned from his sojourn with death, smiled and tugged at his cuffs, enjoying the feel of the rightness of everything.
He was greeted immediately by the dark, one-eyed glower of his boss. Yes, everything was as it should be.
Fury's lips thinned, his glower becoming even more pronounced. "Darcy Lewis."
Stepping up to the Director's desk, Coulson met his intense gaze evenly, calmly. "Yes, sir."
"You're out of your damned mind."
"Probably."
Nick Fury glared. He wasn't expecting rebellion from his right hand, but that's what he was getting. Of course, his right hand was a changed man, for reasons well above everybody's clearance level.
"She's what, 20?"
"She's 22. She'll be 23 in November."
"Oh, 23, well that makes it so much better."
"I think the sarcasm might be a little excessive, sir." Coulson unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat comfortably in the visitor's chair. He was largely unmoved by the Director's annoyance; that happened when you got stabbed in the back by a Norse God. Apparently.
"Do you? Do you really? Because I think it's the only reasonable response to this dumbass suggestion."
"You asked for my input, Director."
"And this is it?" Fury sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Lewis?"
"Yes."
"I know who she is."
"Yes, sir, she was Doctor Foster's intern in--"
"She's Tony Stark's damned daughter," he barked.
Coulson reacted to that finally; his even smile faltering, as he blinked slowly and cocked his head at the Director.
"May I ask how you know that?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yes, sir, I think it might."
"She told me."
Coulson's reaction this time was slightly stronger, as he sat back in his chair with a slight frown. "I see."
Fury didn't have the heart to make the agent doubt his new favorite and her ability to keep her trap shut, and he relented with a sigh. He'd probably regret that later. "It was a day or two after the battle, she was calling you, trying to get to Stark Tower. I think she felt letting me know was the only play she had."
"Did it work?" Coulson asked, curious.
Fury scowled. "Yes, it fucking worked. Do you have any idea what Stark's going to say to this?"
"I actually don't."
"I like to try to avoid situations where I have to care what Tony Stark thinks," Fury said, deeply and profoundly irritated by the very notion.
"She can handle him."
The Director expressed the depths of his disbelief with a loud, amused snort.
"Explain how you knew this for ... how long? Six months? Seven? And never reported it."
Coulson looked uncomfortable and squirmed in his seat. Well, he shifted slightly, but that was down-right squirmy for him. "It was in New Mexico."
"I know that much."
"She was on the phone with her father, I had assessed her as a security risk, and felt I needed to make sure she wasn't saying anything she shouldn't. I asked to speak with him."
Fury stared for a long moment and then chuckled. "That must have been an unpleasant surprise."
"Pretty much."
"And?"
"Sir?"
"And so you got her phone and said hello to daddy and what happened?"
"He laughed, sir."
"I imagine so."
"And then he threatened me and, by extension, SHIELD. Colorfully and loudly."
"Hmm."
"I think I would have been disappointed if he hadn't, honestly."
"That doesn't answer my question about why you didn't report it."
"No, sir, it doesn't."
Fury waited for a few heartbeats, and when Coulson didn't continue, he prompted the agent with a sharp, "Well?"
"I told Miss Lewis I wouldn't include it in any reports. She was very concerned about people discovering her relationship to Stark." He paused and stared back at the Director. "I gave her my word."
Fury leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the desk and looked down at the paper in front of him. "I can respect that."
"Thank you, sir. I hoped you would trust my judgement."
"You know I do." Fury drummed his long fingers on his desk and considered Coulson. "Give me something, Phil. What's your rationale here?"
"Neither you nor I had any idea Stark had a child."
"Given his habits, I'm surprised he hasn't been slapped with paternity suits more often," Fury huffed.
Coulson hummed a little but shrugged. "That aside, he not only had a child, but was a fairly large part of that child's life. The two of them are very close. And nobody had any idea."
"I've got a list of people who knew." Fury waved a paper with a dozen or so names on it at the agent.
"I imagine those are people the Starks chose to tell."
Fury rolled his eye but nodded. "Alright, alright."
"One of the most famous men in the world."
"I know who he is," Fury grumbled, impatient.
"It's not entirely surprising that he could keep that secret, but it's a very large secret for a child to keep. Yet, she did. She spent weekends and vacations with him, left the country with him more than once, worked with him for years, and we never knew."
"What do you mean worked with him?"
"Director, she worked at Stark Industries for four years, two of those as his engineering assistant on the Jericho project."
Letting out a long breath, Fury sat back in his chair and drummed his fingers some more. "Is that right? And that never turned up on your background work on Stark?"
"No, sir. Though, Miss Lewis informed me that people at Stark believed she was Ms. Potts' cousin. I did hear about a young cousin, but admittedly, did not pursue it."
Fury waved a hand and shook his head. "No, no, you're not a damned mind-reader and if Stark buried it ..."
"Yes, sir. And our background on Ms. Potts was not as in-depth."
"I don't know that it would have made much of a difference. I'll assume she was in college when you were working up Stark, so I doubt she was around to give you any hints."
"Yes, sir."
"He's the biggest pain in the ass I've got, but he's not an idiot."
"Very true."
"You wouldn't have found a damned thing," Fury admitted, weary of the whole conversation. Talking about Tony Stark tended to do that to him.
"I was impressed by Miss Lewis's circumspection when I asked to speak with her father," Coulson continued on to, what he felt were, the most relevant parts of his interactions with the young woman in New Mexico.
"She was reluctant, but gave the impression of merely being obstinate, and there was little suggestion she was hiding something. She could just as easily have ended the call and I wouldn't have known." He took a slow, deep breath and looked thoughtfully out the windows behind the Director. "Afterwards, she seemed ... relieved to have somebody to talk to about her father."
Fury's fingers stilled their tapping and he looked a little less irritated than he had at any point since Coulson first stepped into the room. "She said you'd found common ground."
"Of a sort, I suppose."
Fury let that go. "I read your character reference, you said she's smart, how smart are we talking? Stark smart?"
"Not Tony Stark. Though, I would say she might approach Howard Stark. She downplays her intelligence, but she was put into college math classes at 15, and was accepted to MIT, though she went to Culver instead."
"Bet Stark loved that."
"Apparently Ms. Potts was forced to intervene."
Fury chuckled, delighting in the mental image of Stark's dismay. "Alright, go on."
"Rebecca and Paul Lewis kept her grounded, though I think Ms. Potts made some contributions there, as well."
"So, I can hope she's a well-adjusted version of Tony Stark?"
"That's ... accurate enough, I suppose. They have quite a bit in common, but she is her own distinct person, of course. As I mentioned before, she downplays her intelligence and has an aversion to showing off. She wants no part in her father's fame. Though she never said anything directly, I believe there were events in her past that left her shaken and unwilling to put herself forward. I suspect the betrayal by Stane, for one."
"Christ. No kidding."
"Yes, sir."
"Anything else pertinent?"
"She's trying to find her way, to be something more than just an off-shoot of Tony Stark. But, she's unsure of her place. Her work with Doctor Foster allows her to exercise her intelligence while keeping her out of the spotlight. One of her more obvious weaknesses is, I believe, a tendency to shy away from anything that results in others developing expectations. While she wants to contribute further, she is hesitant to push for more."
"So, you want to give her a shove."
"I think we'd all benefit."
Fury's fingers started their slow drumming again. "I admit I'd feel better if we kept her close. Last thing we need is her out of reach if some nut starts thinking she's Stark's weak-link."
"Agreed."
"Hmm," Fury responded simply, considering his options, his angles, and how to keep either Stark out of his office for his own sanity's sake.
"And, if I may, Director, with all due respect, I think it would be a very bad idea to attempt to use Miss Lewis as any sort of leverage against Stark."
Fury waved a hand at Coulson, dismissing his concern. "No, we're on the same page. I sure as hell don't need a war with Stark. Outside of the Avengers Initiative, the only people in SHIELD who know are you and me. I want to keep it that way."
Coulson let out a relieved sigh and sat back in his chair. "I'm glad to hear it, sir."
"Uh-huh. Barton, Romanov, Lewis ...," Fury mused, his voice a quite rumble, barely audible above the hum of the carrier. "You've got a knack for bringing in headaches, Phil."
"They've worked out," Coulson replied blandly.
"You think they'll all trust her?"
"I think they already do. To the degree that any of them are capable of trusting anybody. She seems to have become fast friends with Captain Rogers." An odd mix of consternation and pride flashed over his face.
Fury gave him an amused head shake.
"I've got Romanov training her in self-defense."
"Good," Coulson nodded. "I was going to recommend that Natasha attempt a mentoring role with Miss Lewis, anyway."
Fury rubbed at his face and sighed. "God, what a thought."
"Natasha will help her find her feet."
Fury's face twisted in bald, profound skepticism. "I can't make her a handler, not for something this high profile. The council will never bite, and they're watching the Avengers closely."
"That's why I want her, sir," Coulson argued. "I want somebody who can keep an eye on them in a more personal way. Not surveillance. But, a friend. Somebody who will take their needs into consideration."
"A babysitter."
"Well, I have no intention of telling her that."
"You want to see if she'll finally grab some initiative."
"Yes."
Fury narrowed his eye as he pondered the possibilities. "Somebody outside our usual structure."
"Yes."
Fury continued to consider it all for a long moment, falling silent and watching Coulson, while stroking the tip of one long finger over the raised print on the open file in front of him.
"She's young, she's inexperienced," he said, finally.
"She'll learn, she's adaptable," Coulson countered, sitting forward and meeting the Director's eye. "As irritating as he can be, you have to admit that Stark is charming when he chooses, and certainly isn't intimidated by anybody. She shares those traits with him, but they come with significantly less arrogance and more actual people skills. Besides, her father decided to be a superhero, I don't think she's at all fazed by the others."
"Banner?"
"Having been out of the loop, I can't, of course, say for certain. But, I suspect her response to him wouldn't be a great deal different than her father's. Though, undoubtedly with fewer attempts to provoke him."
"Well, thank God for small favors," Fury responded dryly. "And how does she feel about Iron Man?"
"She's supportive, but she worries. Though, she's indicated to me that what bothers her the most is the hole in his chest."
"Understandable."
"I think so."
"Will worrying about daddy cause problems?"
"Less so than if we attempted to restrict her access, or cut her out in any way. I think we can assume that Stark would probably tell her anyway. We should also take into account her relationship with Doctor Foster, and by extension Thor."
"And how loyal would you say she is to you?"
Coulson pursed his lips and his eyes wandered the room as he mulled that over. "I can't say. She did go to Tromsø when I asked. Though, that was largely for Foster. But, she did answer the phone in the first place, and we spoke regularly before that."
"I like stronger assurances, Agent."
"Don't we all, Director? I can only say that I did the best I could to establish a trusting, collegial relationship."
"If she's got any loyalty to you, and three of the Avengers are loyal to her ..."
Coulson eyes tightened with something that might almost be a wince, but he nodded anyway. "Yes, sir. If we don't put her in an impossible position."
"Who wins?"
"Her father, then Foster."
"You on the list anywhere?"
"I hope so. I guess we'll have to see how she takes my resurrection."
"I wish you'd stop calling it that," Fury grumbled. "Makes me Goddamned twitchy."
Coulson bobbed his head, a little bow of almost-contrition. "I'll try to remember that."
Fury narrowed his eye. "Don't be a smartass with me."
"Never, sir."
"This blows up, it's on you."
"I'll take that as a 'yes'."
"Get out of my office."
Coulson smiled as he stood, buttoning his jacket again, straightening his cuffs. "Have a nice day, Director."