Relocating
New Jersey. He had been relocated to a town close enough for him to commute to the SHIELD headquarters in New York while still being far enough away to raise the kid wihout too many distractions. Coulson was now a resident of Montclair, New Jersey. Fury had decided it was best for Coulson to spend some time off of the radar to take care of the baby who had been forced into his arms in New Mexico.
As if the universe knew how much he hated his new assignment, it was pouring down rain when he walked out of the SHIELD hangar his plane had gone in to. He hurried to the waiting car, opening the back-passenger door and sat the baby carrier in the seat. He knew he had to buckle the thing in, but he wasn’t too sure how to proceed with it. There were a few straps that seemed unnecessary and he was getting annoyed by the pouring rain.
The baby might be an alien, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t get sick…right? He didn’t want to find out, so he quickly figured out the plethora of straps on the carrier and shut the door. He rushed around to the driver’s seat and climbed inside. He looked into the backseat when he heard her began to make little whimpering noises. He folded down the top cover that had protected her from the rain, moving the blanket around to rest around her little body.
“I know, kid, this weather is rough.” He muttered, smoothing her hair down. She seemed to settle down a little, and he turned back around in his seat to face the front. He buckled his seat belt and hit the screen on the dashboard to activate the GPS to take him to his new home.
The drive was quiet, thankfully. The only noise was the rain splashing onto the car and the quiet hum of the engine as he drove.
Unfortunately, the drive gave him time to think about his current situation.
He had gone to New Mexico, thinking he would be helping assess an object that would end up in the Fridge or launched into space per SHIELD protocol. What he ended up with was a kid he had no idea how to raise.
The baby had been put through every medical test possible, and even through a few Coulson didn’t think were actually necessary. According to the doctors, the baby was about six months old and perfectly healthy. He was relieved that she was healthy, but the relief was quickly overshadowed by his fear of causing that health to deteriorate because he had no idea what the hell he was doing.
May had bought him numerous parenting books, and he had managed to read two of them before he landed in New Jersey after a week of tests and getting things secured for his new identity.
Fury had thought it best for Coulson to spend some time with his new kid without having to worry about his job at SHIELD. So, Coulson was now, technically, on paternity leave for the next six months while he got used to being a parent.
He glanced in the rearview mirror, seeing (Y/N) was waving her little fists around and kicking randomly. Apparently, that was normal for babies to do. Something about developing their motor skills according to the books he had read.
It was still unreal to him that Fury had put him in charge of a baby. An actual child that would need a lot more than Coulson was sure he could give her. He had been given a crash course by a few of the agents who were parents before he had left New Mexico. He had learned to change diapers, how to make a proper bottle, and a lot of other skills he never though he would actually need.
The GPS told him he was close to his destination, and he scowled as he realized he was in a suburb in New Jersey. He had never seen himself as the suburb type, but here he was. And in New Jersey, no less. He felt as if he were betraying Captain America by coming to New Jersey.
As he neared his new home, he went over his new cover story in his head.
He was Phil Carter, recently widowed father to his daughter, (Y/N). He worked for a security company in New Jersey, and moved to Montclair for a fresh start after his wife died in a car accident. It was a simple enough cover, and he wasn’t too worried about letting it slip that he had never been married, that his new daughter was an alien, and that he worked for SHIELD.
He pulled into the driveway of a house that matched pretty much every other house on the block. He hit the button to open the garage door, waiting for the garage door to slide open before he parked the car inside. Once the door closed, he got out of the car and headed to grab (Y/N) out of the backseat.
She gurgled happily at him and he wondered if she was happy to see him or to just get out of the car. He didn’t dwell too much on that thought as he took her carrier out of the car and carried her into the house.
The garage door opened into a decently sized kitchen. He continued through the kitchen, carrying the baby carrier as he explored the one story home he would be living in for a while. It was a nice place, fully furnished and completely baby proofed. There were a few more parenting books sitting on the coffee table in the living room. He was grateful for that. Anything to help him get a better handle on his new surprise assignment.
Finally, he found the nursery. It was the perfect size for a child to live in, and it would be easy to change out the white crib against the wall for an actual bed once (Y/N) got older. The walls were painted a soft, calming pink and Coulson wondered if Fury had designed the place himself. It was an odd thought that made him smirk just thinking about Fury picking out shades of pink for a nursery.
(Y/N) made a whining noise, and Coulson sat the carrier on the changing station against the wall. She had a very unhappy look on her little face and he assumed it was because she was mad about still being in her carrier.
"I got you, kid.” He murmured as he unbuckled her and took her out of the carrier. She grabbed at his tie with that strong grip of hers, giggling as she tugged on it. Coulson couldn’t help but smile at the sound of her laugh. It was pretty damn cute, and you’d have to be heartless to not smile at a baby’s laugh. “You like my tie?”
She made a noise as if she were agreeing with him, and he chuckled.
“So, you like your room?” He asked as he sat down in a rocking chair. He sat her in his lap, and she began gnawing on her fist as she looked at him with those bright eyes. “If you don’t like it later, we can totally change it.”
Another noise of approval.
“Alright…so…I know this isn’t the most ideal situation for either of us,” He sighed as he bounced her a little. She giggled again, and his smile got a bit bigger at the sound. “But I’ll make you a deal, (Y/N). We’ll both promise to do our best because that’s really all I can offer you.”
She reached for his tie again and tugged, making a few babbling noises as if she were agreeing.
“Alright,” He nodded. “It’s settled. We both try our best and see how that works for us.”