Skye was sitting in one of the armchairs. It was the middle of the night and the lounge was lit only my the lights in the command center. She had a mug with hot coco in her hands and a blanket over her shoulders. She tried to fall asleep but was unable to. The events of that day kept her awake and every time she fell asleep she saw one of her team mates jump out of the plane. The moment they were gone she woke up in fear. After three unsuccesfull attempts of falling back asleep she gave up and went to the kitchen area to make herself some tea.
She was sitting there for more than an hour when her SO woke up, like every morning, making his way to the kitchen to prepare some coffee. At first he didn't spot her, but when he went to sit in his usual spot (where they play Battleship), he saw her staring at the mug in her hands. He couldn't help the pain he suddenly felt in his chest. She looked so small and fragile that Ward wanted to hold her in his arms and make whatever pain she felt in that moment go away. He sat down across from her, making sure to not startle her. But she was somewhere far away, since she didn't even notice him when he started to speak.
"Hey, Earth to Skye" Ward said, his voice softer than he even intended. Skye jumped out of her hypnotized state and looked at him surprised.
"Oh, Ward, didn't see you there" was the only thing she managed to say.
"What are you doing here? Don't tell me you wanted to surprise me this morning by getting up earlier than me" he asked mockingly, trying to cheer her up. He didn't even know why he did it. He was still pissed because of that Lydon story, but he could see she was really trying hard to gain their trust back. She did everything they asked of her, never disobeying an order, she even offered to do extra chores around the Bus, giving the others time to focus on their jobs.
"Couldn't sleep" she said, her voice almost breaking off. It almost broke his heart seeing the usual cheerfull and happy girl so broken before him. He wondered why she was so sad. He decided to just ask her. It was his job to know what was going on with his rookie. Or so he told himself.
"What's going on, rookie?" he asked and made her smile a little. He realized than it was the first time since China that he called her that. He smiled a little as well.
"I told you, I couldn't sleep" she looked up to watch his face. She knew it was futile to keep this from him. "I had nightmares. About you. All of you. Dying." She didn't need to speak any further. He understood. The events of the other day were traumatizing not just for Simmons, but the whole team. And Skye, she wasn't trained to cope after a thing like that. He knew he was supposed to say something comforting, but had no clue what to say.
"It's ok to have nightmares. We all do. But you need to snap out of it. Don't let them take over you. It'll get better, I promise."
Skye couldn't keep her tears back anymore and started to cry bitterly. Ward got out of his seat and went to stand next to her. He offered his hand for her to take and helped her up. She looked at him confused, but he ignored her and wrapped her in his arms. He held her tightly to his chest and started to rub her back soothingly.
"Let it out. You will feel better" was the only thing he said, before she completely gave in and cried her soul out. It was awkward for both of them, but Skye was thankfull he was there. Maybe he would find it in him to forgive her.