Granted, Maria only really cared about the history that was of use to her, and up until this point, ancient Rome hadn't fallen under that heading. She still gave a disbelieving snort at Carter's assessment, mostly to be disagreeable - she figured power struggles that involved armies were usually bad for everyone around them, regardless of citizen rights.
That didn't mean she didn't have it right with Potts, and it seemed that Coulson at least agreed with that. "Good luck with it, Agent Coulson," she agreed. "Happy New Year."
After he'd signed off, she leaned back and stretched, working her fingers; she glanced over at Carter, and caught her glancing over as well. "What?" she asked a little grumpily as she straightened and reached for her coffee. It was going to be a long night and a long year.