I don't own Agents of SHIELD nor will I ever. No copyright infringement intended.

When Grant heard gunshots, he thought he was hallucinating until the door burst open and Skye, Phil, and Fitz stepped in. His mouth dropped open and he stared at them in shock and fear because this couldn't be happening. "Is that really you?" he asked anyway, wincing when his voice broke.

Skye dropped to her knees as she checked over his numerous injuries. "It's us," she confirmed. When he hissed in pain, she apologized. "And we're sorry it took so long to find you."

She and Fitz helped Grant step up and then basically dragged the former specialist out of the building to the waiting quinjet and then laid him on the floor. He did a double take at Phil's arm in a sleeve. "What happened to you, sir?"

"It's a long story that we'll get to later. Right now we need to get you back to the base so your injuries can be treated."

Mike waved at him. from the pilot's seat. "Good to see you're alive, I guess," he mumbled.

"Thanks? And anyone want to tell me what took me?"

"An alien species known as Skrull. They're like shapeshifters," Fitz jumped in nervously.

Despite the fact that it hurt, Grant couldn't help but smile at both him and Skye. "It's good to see you," he sincerely told all of them. The fact that he had been kidnapped by an alien shapeshifter wasn't news but at least he had a name for what they were now. And why couldn't he stop shaking?"

Skye suddenly grabbed his hand and let him hold it so he could have an anchor. "So when did you get taken?"

"Right after I got shot," he answered.

"Did you go off with someone named Kara?" questioned Phil.

"Who?"

"That answers that question. So you were taken right after I shot you and before Kara found 'you'. And please relax, Grant. You're safe now," Skye pleaded.

The events of the past few months crashed down on Grant in an instant and he finally gave into the unconsciousness he had been fighting since the team (where were the others, however?) showed up. "Don't go," he mumbled before being pulled completely under.

"I'm not going anywhere," a tearful Skye promised as she patted one of his arms. "We need to get him back to the Playground immediately."

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Mike called back. He hated Grant but he didn't want the man to die. It wasn't right that he had been kidnapped. And at least this rescue mission had already gone better than the last.

When they arrived back at the base, the still unconscious Grant was immediately rushed to the medical bay so his injuries could be treated. Skye bit her nails and waited impatiently to get a full list.

"I know it's hard but you need to relax. He'll be fine," Phil soothed. He wasn't surprised when the sobbing Skye wrapped her arms around him and burrowed into his chest. "Almost everything's okay now." Melinda was on her way back - once she heard about Jemma and Grant's predicament, she dropped everything - and they'd find Jemma. She wasn't lost to them forever, he was sure of it.

As soon as the medical team was done treating his numerous injuries, Skye was allowed to sit down in a chair by his bedside. "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere," she promised.

Bobbi checked in on her about an hour or so later. "So you're forgiving him?"

Skye shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I only shot him so he wouldn't follow me down to the city and he didn't torture you. The blame for all his actions after Puerto Rico rests on the Skrull. And based on what it told us about Grant's past, we have a lot to talk about." They had gotten more answers from the alien than they had expected and she was still reeling from everything they had been informed of.

"Well, I still don't trust him but I'm not going to tell you what to do. Come find me if you want to talk."

"Thanks, Bobbi."

"No problem." Bobbi grinned at Skye and then left them alone.

When Grant awakened, a sleeping Skye nearly jumped out of her seat. "You should be in bed," he scolded.

"Ward, I got enough sleep. Now let me worry about you. Do I need to get someone in here to up your pain meds? May's ex-husband will probably come with her to talk to you - he's a therapist."

He shifted and groaned uncomfortably. "Skye, I'm fine. What happened to the Skrull that took over my life?"

"We killed it after getting the answers we needed. In the span of a month and a half, he started a relationship with Kara, the brainwashed girl that had May's face; kidnapped and tortured Bobbi, accidentally killed Kara - or on purpose since we never got a straight answer there - and took over Hydra to get revenge on SHIELD."

"What." He couldn't really comprehend any of that and wondered if it was just because of the pain meds he was on.

Skye scoffed. "Yeah, we didn't really understand that last part either and it bothered me especially since you told me multiple times that you were never loyal to Hydra, only to Garrett. Something felt really off so we contacted Lady Sif for information and she helped us narrow down the field of suspects." All her anger had drained away and now she was just thrilled that Grant was alive and somewhat healthy.

"And you haven't told me the full story," Grant surmised. What were they hiding from him?

Skye decided to show him a demonstration and lifted her hand up to make some medical supplies shake. "That's one thing."

He stared at her in awe and love. "Wow. That's amazing, Skye."

"We lost Trip in Puerto Rico. My mother was still alive but after what Whitehall did, she was too far gone to be saved and so my father had to kill her. He was put through the TAHITI protocol and is now a vet - I stop by to visit him occasionally. I'm going to start my own team! That's pretty awesome, right? Coulson lost his hand because the Terrigen Crystal nearly killed him - that's how I became Inhuman in the first place. Jemma was kidnapped by an alien rock and we have no idea where she went so we're absolutely terrified and trying to find her. Then leading a rescue attempt to find you became a priority because at least we knew where you were located."

"What are we waiting for then?" Grant tried to pull himself up but gave up after a few attempts when he realized it hurt and he couldn't. "Fuck."

"Hey, don't try to push yourself. I'm sure you'll be cleared and out of here in a few days but you were kidnapped - again - and tortured for a few months. Relax," Skye encouraged. She didn't want him to hurt himself further.

"Relax is not in my vocabulary. I need to be out there," he pleaded. Grant couldn't sit on his ass and do nothing while Jemma was missing. Fuck his own injuries because she was more important.

"And you will be. Just take care of yourself for once, okay? You've been pushed to your limit." Skye hated his stubbornness sometimes.

He looked over at her and wondered if she was only acting nice to him because of the kidnapping and months of torture. Grant decided to let her off the hook. "You can go, you know? I know you hate me and Skye, you don't have to stay just because I got hurt."

She shook her head, not even upset because she could understand why he thought that after the way they left things. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, Ward. I'm here because I want to be." They'd confront him about Garrett kidnapping and abusing him later, when Grant was less likely to be on the defensive.

Grant eyed her suspiciously but decided not to press the issue. He flinched and jumped a little when Skye went to hold his hand (why would she want to? He wasn't sure) and was relieved after she pulled hers back. He wanted contact with her but touch had only led to pain (like it usually always did) recently. "Can I go soon?"

"When you can actually get yourself into a sitting position we'll talk, Grant Douglas Ward."

"Ooh, full naming me," he gently teased.

Skye rolled her eyes and went to say something else but was interrupted by the door banging open and Melinda strolling in. "What kind of mess do you get into while I was gone?"

"An epic disaster," Skye responded before standing up and hugging her S.O. and refusing to let go.

"Hey, May. You look different," Grant observed.

Melinda glared at him. "I've been on vacation and I came back to this. Clearly I shouldn't have left because none of you can do anything without me."

"That's not true, Melinda. We just completely fell apart in the wake of everything and it was a delicate balance of events that caused this. But now that you and Ward are back, we can get started," Phil told her as he joined the small group.

And that's when they got down to business and started to develop a plan that would get Jemma back.

When Grant was released by medical just two days later because he wouldn't stop bothering them, he was given a room of his own and ordered to rest since he still needed it. "What happened to the Bus?" he questioned.

Fitz cringed. "We had to destroy it as part of a plan to take down Hydra," he answered. He missed it but right now, Jemma was his priority. He needed to get her back and apologize for being so careless (he still blamed himself despite the others - even Grant - telling him it wasn't his fault).

"Oh." Grant already missed it and all the memories the Bus held. He was just surprised that Fitz was even talking to him, although the fact that he had apologized to all of them (including Bobbi and Lance, despite the fact that her kidnapping hadn't even been his fault) had probably helped some.

"We'll get a new one someday," Skye vowed. She missed it too.

"If you two could stop making googly eyes at each other, that'd be fantastic," chimed in Lance who let out an oomph when Bobbi elbowed him.

"Let them do whatever they want," she hissed.

Melinda rolled her eyes at their antics. "Let's get back to Jemma. Obviously the answer isn't going into the Kree Rock because we have no idea what would happen to us. So any bright ideas or are we just going to sit on our asses?" She didn't have the patience for this, not when she was so worried.

Grant raised his hand. "Could we try talking to it or something? It seems like a stupid idea but it's an alien rock. Maybe it'll work."

The circles around his eyes worried them - Skye had been awoken by his screams due to nightmares the night before but he refused to talk about them. Fortunately, he had his first session with Andrew soon. She laughed. "It does sound stupid but we should try every available weapon in our arsenal. Who wants to volunteer?"

"I should do it," Fitz decided. He still didn't understand why it hadn't taken him and gone after Jemma instead but he'd try his best to make it up to her when they got her back.

"Are you sure? You don't have to," Bobbi told him.

"Think about this," Phil encouraged.

"I have thought about it and that's why I'm doing this. You can't stop me."

"Then I'll be right there with you the whole time so nothing happens," Grant decided. He wasn't going to let anyone else get hurt and was determined to protect every single one of them.

"I should go too because of my powers. I don't want either one of you getting hurt." Plus, Skye wanted to keep an eye on Grant because he looked like he was ready to collapse any minute now.

"I'm waiting right outside the door." Melinda wasn't about to let this go down without her.

"I'll be with her," Phil sighed. He couldn't let them out of his sight either.

"Good, so we got this." Grant smirked but his false bravado was halted in its tracks when he started swaying back and forth. Bobbi and Lance helped him sit down in a chair and he put his head in his arms. "I'm fine?" he tried.

"You're not. Let's just take a few minutes." Skye debated on whether or not she should rub his shoulders but decided to against it so she wouldn't scare the shit out of him again. They had all decided that they wouldn't touch Grant unless he gave them permission to do so (and that looked unlikely to happen in the near future).

Grant felt wiped and wanted to cry (again) but he pushed those emotions down because they were on an important mission and he couldn't afford to fall apart. He had to be strong for them so they wouldn't think any less of him than they already did. "I'll be up and ready to save Simmons in five minutes."

"Take all the time you need." Phil didn't want Grant to push himself to the brink. That was unhealthy. Thank God the first session with Andrew was upon them.

Grant took a few deep breaths to try to calm himself and took comfort in Skye hovering over his shoulder, clearly worried. His time with the Skrulls had been more terrifying than his five years in the woods with Buddy (and God, his heart hurt at the thought of the dog who had been killed by Garrett to punish him). "I'll be okay." He would have bought that if his voice hadn't broken so he knew no one else did.

"Stop pushing yourself," Phil ordered. God, this kid had been through way too much in his thirty years of life and it was time he relaxed.

Grant let a few tears escape before wiping them away and then stood up with his remaining energy. "Let's go do this."

The others looked at him in concern but followed him down the hallway anyway. "Good luck in there!" Lance called as he and Bobbi waited nervously beside Phil and Melinda.

"I feel stupid doing this," Fitz muttered as he stared at the glass before sighing. "I need my best friend back - Jemma Simmons. You took her and we don't know why you needed her but she's ours. Please return her."

Grant aimed a gun at the box and hoped nobody noticed his hands were trembling. Skye narrowed her eyes when she saw and sent calming vibrations in his direction, thankful when it seemed to work. He shot her a confused but grateful look. "Please work," he murmured under his breath.

They waited for ten minutes and were just about to give up when they heard the distant sound of screams. They backed away, still aiming guns at the glass, and rushed to Jemma's side when she was spit back out onto the floor, still screaming, gasping, and shaking. Fitz and Skye dropped to her side. "Jemma, you're safe now. Calm down. Nobody's going to hurt you anymore," Skye whispered as she started to rub Jemma's back.

"I saw the universe and it's infinite" Jemma answered dreamily. They all exchanged worried looks.

"Okay. We're taking you to medical." He and Skye helped Jemma up as Grant locked the case and they all rushed down the hallway with her.

Medical had to sedate Jemma since she wouldn't stop rambling but it took a bit longer than expected to kick in. "The universe is ever expanding," she murmured. The wild look in her eyes did nothing to soothe them.

"You've said that." Skye sighed somewhat happily when the sedative finally kicked in and Jemma fell asleep.

"She doesn't appear to be injured but who knows what happened to her," Bobbi said.

"We'll take care of her." Skye wouldn't let Jemma or Grant suffer.

Grant had to grab on a startled Fitz's shoulder to keep upright once the room started spinning. "I need to sit down."

Melinda pulled a chair over and pushed him down into it. "Now you need some rest. You pushed yourself too hard, Ward."

"I warned you about this, didn't I? Grant, please." Skye just wanted him to take care of himself for once and not worry about anybody else.

"Saving Jemma was more important." His health? Not a priority at all nor would it ever be. He had accepted that a long time ago. She mattered more than he ever would.

"You're both important, you idiot." Skye hoped Andrew could start changing his opinion of himself but she was determined to help Grant start seeing life positively and that he mattered. He deserved so much better than what he had been put through.

"She's right. We care what happens to you and you need to sit down and let yourself heal," Phil told the former specialist.

With Skye's support, Grant made it back down to his room and practically collapsed on the bed, not even bothering to get under the covers. "Take care of yourself for once, Grant Douglas Ward."

He didn't know what she knew but he suspected it was more than he was comfortable sharing. What exactly had the Skrull told them? He needed to know but was too terrified to ask. He couldn't let them see him in a vulnerable position because then they would know how to hurt him again. And fuck, Grant wanted to trust them but it was hard. "I'll try," was the best he could offer.

Skye vowed to hold him to his word but decided to sit with him anyway and pretended like she was asleep when he finally broke and started crying.

When Jemma woke up, the rambling ceased but something had clearly changed and the team was afraid to address it. "It's glad to be back,' she said and then her eyes glazed over again.

Skye backed away a few feet in case things started floating around again (they suspected she was Inhuman too and had undergone a transformation but they didn't trust anyone except Jemma to run the tests, ironically enough). "Why don't you sit down?" she suggested.

"No!" and then a pillow started to float.

"Okay then. Sorry to have bothered you." Skye had a feeling it'd take a long time for Jemma to snap out of this and learn how to control her powers but they could be patient with both her and Grant. Everything had been halted so the team could take care of those two.

Grant gasped when he pulled on some stitches but watched Jemma walk around the room, various objects floating above her, in concern. "Shouldn't somebody sedate her again?" he questioned.

"We will but not right now." Melinda didn't want to alarm the girl, especially since they had no clue what she had been through.

After Grant came out of his first session with Andrew, his tear-stained face broke Skye's heart. She opened her arms expectantly but was still shocked when he dove into them for a hug. "I'm sorry," he wailed.

"It's okay, I forgive you," she comforted.

He shook his head. "I'm weak and worthless and you never should have saved me."

"That's the furthest thing from the truth. John Garrett doesn't deserve to win and that's what's going to happen if you continue to think like that. You have a team that loves you so don't you forget it." As long as she made him feel better, she'd be happy.

Grant wanted to believe her but it was hard, especially after that exhausting session. "Okay," he finally conceded, too tired and emotionally exhausted to argue.

"Okay." She grinned at him and then dragged him down to the kitchen for a snack.

"Therapy sucks, huh, mate?" Lance questioned when he saw them.

"Lance, leave him alone," Bobbi ordered.

"It's supposed to help so I guess that's why it sucks." Grant liked Andrew, however, and could see himself opening up more to the man even though he didn't want to. He just clung to the idea that therapy would help him overcome what had been through.

"We're proud of you," Skye reassured him.

He smiled shyly at her. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Stop flirting," he whispered mock-outrageously.

"Shut up!" Skye and Grant shouted at the same time before they grinned and started laughing.

"So we're not here then?" Bobbi surmised when they continued bantering back and forth. What had they done to deserve this?

"Apparently not, Bob." Lance just gave up and walked out of the kitchen, Bobbi trailing after him because she couldn't take the sappiness anymore.

The first move wasn't made until the next day when the group (minus Jemma - still under observation in the medical lab - and Fitz, who refused to leave her side) sat down to watch a movie together, their first true movie night in over a year.

Skye had just come back with some popcorn when Grant stood up and beamed at her. "Hey," he said.

"Hi."

"Are we honestly doing this dance again?" Melinda groaned. What was the matter with these two?

"Shh, I want to see what happens!" Phil didn't know why he was so invested in Skye and Grant's relationship but at this point, he had nothing better to do.

"Just kiss her already!" Bobbi already.

Skye snorted. "You heard what Bobbi said," she replied as she set the bowl of popcorn down on the table.

That was all the invitation Grant needed and he rushed to her side. He grabbed her face and they started kissing right in front of everybody, not even giving a fuck that they had an audience. "I love you, Skye."

"I love you too, Grant," she sobbed, getting caught up in the moment.

"Okay, we got it. Sit down so we can watch this movie already." Lance was already over it and would never admit that he was actually happy for them.

Mindful of his injuries, Skye and Grant curled up together on the couch. Touch was still a major issue but as long as he could initiate it, that was fine. He couldn't believe this was happening to him. He knew he had a long way to go towards redemption, to wipe the red from his ledger, but as long as he had all of them, he knew he become the hero he always wanted to be. "I'm comfortable and actually having fun for once." Grant felt like he didn't deserve any of this but the others insisted he did.

"Enjoy it." Skye yawned and watched the others with interest, trying not to think about how it could all come crashing down on them again. She just wanted to enjoy this little bit of happiness.

He felt safe and loved surrounded by these people and hated himself for ever betraying them but Grant was grateful they had forgiven him. He'd make sure they'd never regret it. Grant looked around the room and let himself enjoy the warmth. He brushed back Skye's hair and kissed her. "I'm not going to ruin this," he vowed.

Skye kissed him and beamed. "I know you won't, Grant."

Relaxing for once - for the first time in over a year - felt nice. They didn't get to enjoy downtime very often.

Things were far from fixed but as long as the team was together and supportive of one another, they could get through these hard times. If they could help it, none of them would let Jemma and Grant continue to suffer. They didn't have much time before the next crisis was upon them but that was nothing new and they'd knew they'd be able to handle it. It was in the job description after all, and they had already been through so much shit it couldn't get any worse (they'd learn to regret that statement because it got worse - the darkest before the dawn - before it got better). But they were truly a family now and nothing could rip them apart again after the past two years. They wouldn't let it happen.