How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You

8| Birthday

It didn't take long for Daisy to settle in, nor did it take too long for May and Phil to make a schedule.

May had been staying over a little more than usual, both of them not wanting to leave Daisy unattended as the other slept. Most of the time, the two of them collapsed at the dinner table or on the couch, one hand reaching in the direction of the baby's bassinet.

They celebrated Phil's 24th birthday with a tiny gathering of Barton, Cooper, Hand, and Garrett in the apartment. Other than Garrett, who was nursing a broken arm, everyone got to hold Daisy for a little bit.

"She's so quiet," Barton said amazedly. "All the babies I've ever worked with cried so loud. I swear I'll go completely deaf if I keep working with them."

"Stop working social cases, then," May said with a chuckle, cradling Daisy gently.

"C'mon, May, you know I can't do that," the agent complained. "I just wanna work with older kids, the ones who don't piss in their own pants, that's all."

Cooper laughed, holding onto his arm. "Don't you think you'll change your mind when you have kids later on?"

"Maybe," Barton grumbled, "but that's a while away." A brief look of panic crossed his face as he glanced at his fiancée. "Right?"

Cooper grinned at him. "Yeah." She reached out and brushed Daisy's forehead with her thumb. "Oh, she's just precious. How are you two going to work around her with your field ops, though?"

Phil sighed, getting passed Daisy to feed her. "When I talked to my cousin, he said it wasn't going to be very long, but I don't know. If she's still staying after summer ends, we'll arrange something. May, of course, isn't obligated to watch over Daze if I'm gone." He bounced a little to get the baby to continue eating. "Fury will pull some strings and assign me undercover ops, I guess."

"Why not just get a babysitter?" Garrett butted in.

"John, we are the babysitters," May replied dryly. She walked back over to grab the empty bottle from Phil and rinsed it in the sink. "And babysitters on site are expensive."

"I've heard," Cooper sympathized. "I was talking to Jack earlier and he said he had a terrible time trying to find a sitter for Bobbi and it's half the reason why Suze chose to go inactive for the next few years."

"Speaking of the future," Phil chimed in, burping Daisy quietly, "are you two going to join us here when summer ends? And you, Garrett? Hand?"

"I'm going to get stationed at the Hub," Hand replied, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I'm going to be a lackey for one of those task forces."

Garrett nodded. "They're sending me to LA, I think," he said. "Being from there and all."

Everyone looked to Barton and Cooper.

"We're going to the Triskelion," Cooper supplied. "Covert command track and all that."

Garrett laughed wryly. "You two and your special programs, eh, Mockingbird?" He shook his head at Phil and May. "I oughta thought you guys were there too."

May shrugged. "I go where he goes, and neither of us were covert command kids. We get special treatment 'cause of Fury."

"How come I don't get special treatment 'cause of Fury?" the agent grumbled. "He was my SO too."

"Maybe 'cause he actually liked Coulson," Barton quipped with a grin. "Nah, I'm kidding. Probably because Philadelphia here is something special, and he wants to make sure his resume is sparkling clean for the next promotion."