Chapter Text
Coulson and May searched through the laboratory with their guns drawn. May’s lip curled in disgust at the cages covering every surface, filled with dead animals. Both agents jerked their heads up. A small whimper. They locked eyes and converged on the largest cage in the lab. A massive wolf lay dead in the back with several small, wet piles of fur laying around her. Another whimper came again and Coulson saw the smallest pile of fur just barely move its head. Coulson moved to unlock the door but was stopped by May’s hand on his arm.
“We don’t know what these guys were doing to them. It could have a disease.” May said softly. Coulson shrugged off her hand and went for the cage door again.
“You might be right but I can’t leave it here to die.” Coulson said and yanked open the door. He holstered his gun and reached in to grab the tiny bundle of fur. “Hey, little guy, let’s get you out of here.”
May rolled her eyes as Coulson cuddled the tiny wolf close but she took the lead towards the exit. “Fury is so not going to be happy.” She muttered but she could almost hear the smirk coming from the man behind her.
“I don’t know, I think the cuteness will win him over.” Coulson teased and May just snorted as they walked past the unconscious guards.
“I can’t believe AIM killed everything and everyone in here.” Coulson said and took in the destruction around him.
“They’re evil scientists, Coulson. Of course they killed everything in sight when they realized they were going to lose.” May scoffed. “Come on, I’m sure Fury’s waiting back at the plane.”
“You ready?” Fury asked when May and Coulson finally made their way back to the plane.
“Coulson picked up a stray.” May said and climbed into the cockpit.
“Again?!” Nick yelled and sighed.
“She was the only living thing left. She’s evidence.” Coulson said and unzipped his jacket enough to show the little wolf pup. “Besides, she’s kinda cute.”
Nick grumbled but let Phil into the plane and shut the door behind them. May smirked and started her preflight sequence before taking off.
“We’re going to need to stop at a pet or farm supplies store and pick up some formula.” Nick said grudgingly.
“I already called the nearest base and they’re sending out a junior agent to pick it up.” May said over the radio and both men could hear the smirk in her voice.
“Thanks.” Coulson said and looked down at the pup still warm again his chest.
“We’re so used to this bullshit by now we’ve got a whole system down.” Nick grumbled and glared at the younger man.
“Remember that time Coulson found that colony of feral cats.” Melinda teased.
“Remember?! How can I forget? He delayed going home two days while he caught the whole colony!” Nick roared.
“I put all the adults back after the vet neutered and spayed them and I found all the kittens homes.” Coulson said.
“Two days, Coulson, two days! And I found cat hair all over my shit for weeks!” Nick said.
“You didn’t have to help.” Coulson said holding up one hand and cradled the pup with the other.
“If I didn’t help we’d’ve been there four days! I wanted my bed, Coulson.” Nick grumbled and crossed his arms.
“Prepare for landing.” May said over the headset. The plane was surrounded by techs and junior agents when it landed. One junior agent carried bags full of supplies and another carried a syringe full of formula.
“Hello, Agent May, Agent Coulson, Agent Fury. One of my friends breeds dogs so I called her up and she gave me all sorts of advice on what to get and how to care for an abandoned puppy. She said with one this young it’ll need a syringe instead of a bottle and it’s important to feed them every few hours. I wasn’t sure how long it had been since she, he, had eaten so I prepared one for when you landed.”
“Breathe, Agent. Thank you for your thoroughness.” Coulson said and gave the young woman a gentle smile. “Let’s go inside where it’s a little warmer and we’ll get this little lady fed.”
They fed the pup and brought her to the med center on base. May and Fury followed close behind, snickering at their friend. The junior agent, Agent Dean, flagged one of the doctors over and Coulson placed the pup on the bed. She immediately started to whimper and sniffed the air.
“Sh, sweetheart, it’s just gonna be a second and then I’ll put you back.” Coulson cooed.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Jacobs, what can I do for you?” A man in his forties said walking over to their group.
“I’m Agent Coulson, we picked up a stray and she needs to get checked out.” Coulson said smiling at the man.
“Coulson, Coulson picked up the stray, we didn't have anything to do with it.” Fury said pointing at the younger man.
“I’m a doctor not a veterinarian.” The man said glaring at the group.
“Please, Doctor, we just need to make sure we won’t run into any major health problems until we reach headquarters.” Coulson said with a charming grin. The doctor huffed but got his stethoscope out.
“Heart sounds good, breathing sounds good, a little dehydrated but keep feeding her on regular intervals and that should clear itself up. She should be fine until you get back to headquarters.” The doctor said, made a few notes, and walked away.
“Thanks, Doc.” Coulson said and scooped the still whining pup back into his shirt. She sniffed and settled into his arms. “You’re gonna need a name.” Coulson whispered against her fur. Fury and May both groaned.
“Never name the strays.” Fury said and clapped his hand on Coulson’s shoulder.
“I think I like Julianne, Julie for short.” Coulson quipped with a shiteating grin.
“Come on, let’s get back to headquarters. I want to sleep in my own bed tonight.” May said and pushed past the two men.
Twelve hours later and they were back in a med center, this time at Shield headquarters. They took Julie’s blood, weighed her, and ran several tests. The doctors managed to corner all three agents for a physical after lots of swearing, threats, and thrown punches, and that was just from Nick.
“Alright, Agent Coulson, we’ve run every test we can think of. She’s not a wolf, but we’re not really sure what she is, there’s no DNA profile on file for her species at all. We’re pretty sure she’s healthy but there’s no way to know for sure. I’d say keep taking care of her like you have been and we’ll see what happens.” One of the scientists said to the agent. Coulson nodded and put the pup back inside his shirt.
“You’re not seriously going to let him keep it!” Fury said from his position in the next bed over.
“Her.” Coulson said with a glare. “And yes, I’m going to keep her.”
“You crazy, motherfucker. What if she’s some alien baby shit?” Fury yelled.
“Her mother died in the lab. If her father shows up to claim her then I’ll give her back. Until then she needs somebody and I’ll be that somebody.” Coulson said, clutching the pup to his chest.
“Nick’s right, you are crazy.” Melinda said and shook her head. “But, if you need help let me know.”
Julie became Coulson’s constant companion, tucked inside his shirt. She seemed to be developing much slower than a dog or wolf pup but with the same milestones. It took two months for her eyes to open and for her to start venturing a few feet away from him. She scampered right back to Coulson when she got spooked by a passing agent or her own shadow. When she was six months old she started to wander around base with Coulson, May, or Fury. If she was popular with the agents before, she was a celebrity now. When she was seven months old she was completely weaned off formula. And when she was a year and a half old Nick Fury agreed to watch her overnight for the first time.
“Do you think she’s okay?” Coulson whispered into his com as he trudged through the Brazilian rainforest.
“I’m sure she’s fine, Fury’s watched her before.” May said and Coulson could hear the eyeroll over the coms.
“Yeah, but never overnight and never for this long.” Coulson whispered back.
“Coulson, relax. She’ll be fine, Nick will be fine, Nick’s boots might not be though.” May snickered.
“She’s losing her milk teeth right now.” Coulson defended and May rolled her eyes again.
Six hours later they were containing the last of the scientists and junior agents were doing the last of the clean up. Coulson went to call Nick to check in but noticed he already had thirteen messages and twenty seven missed calls from the man.
“Coulson, your dog is doing some real freaky shit.”
“Goddamnit, man, she looks like the boiling slime monster AIM created!”
“I am NEVER watching your dog again, NEVER!”
“Oh man, oh man, oh man, her bones! I didn’t do it, Coulson, I swear!”
“Answer your phone, you crazy... MOTHERFUCKER, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!!”
“Coulson, when you get back I think we should have a conversation.”
Coulson was more concerned by Fury’s absolutely calm tone in his last voicemail than anything else.
“What’s wrong?” May asked when she saw his face.
“We need to get home, now.” Coulson said and handed her his phone so she could listen to the voicemails.
“Alright, let’s go. The junior agents can finish up here.” May said, handing Coulson his phone back. They grabbed one of the trucks Shield had brought in and raced to the airport. Coulson panicked through the truck ride, the plane ride, and all the way to Nick’s quarters in headquarters. He burst through the door and stopped cold at the sight of Nick sitting in his arms chair with a glass of whiskey in hand.
“I just got her to sleep, so shut the fuck.” Nick said quietly and took another sip of his drink.
“She’s okay though? Normally she comes and greets me, even if she’s asleep, she wakes up and gets me.” Coulson said in a rush.
“She’s okay. A little out of shape,” Fury let out a sardonic chuckle and took another sip, “I might have had a heart attack though.”
“What happened, Nick?” Melinda asked cautiously.
“Your dog is a goddamn shapeshifter, Coulson. Turned into a toddler right in front of my goddamn face. Oh, her first word was motherfucker by the way.” Nick raised his glass in salute before taking another deep drink. “I should get Uncle of the Year for this shit.”