Beep, beep, beep. Lydia's eyes bolted awake at the horrid sound, breathing heavily. She instantly rubbed her face, feeling the sweat dripping down her forehead. It happened again. She ended up dreaming of that place again. The place she was taken to and tortured for weeks to the point that Lydia thought she was never going to make it out alive.

Lydia had only just started working for S.H.I.E.L.D. two months before she was taken. Her head laid on her pillow as she stared at the ceiling and those terrifying weeks replayed in her mind.

My captors wanted information on missions S.H.I.E.L.D. handled, weapons and any other information they could get out of me. I never budged. They locked me in a filthy cage with no light and starved me for a week, thinking that would change my mind. The second week I was tied to a chair with a pipe leaking water on my head, making me sick and weak to even attempt to fight my way out. And then from there it just got worse. They found numerous different sized blades to cut into my skin, making me bleed out slowly and well the rest of it is to gruesome to tell.

Lydia snapped out of her nightmare when she heard her alarm clock still making that god awful beeping noise and slammed her hand down on the button for it to stop. It was 5:30 am. Lydia sat up and exhaled a breath to relax and reminded herself that she wasn't there still. That she was safe. The girl tossed the blanket off of her and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the floor until the terrifying images were no long in her head and finally she lifted herself off the bed and headed for the bathroom.

She turned the shower on and took off her black tank top and pajama shorts and climbed into the shower, wondering when the day would come when she would feel normal again.

Thirty minutes went by and she was finally out. Putting on her robe, she grimaced at the sight of her scars that covered her body. Their was a lot she didn't tell to her dad or the others for that matter about what happened to her during the time she was held hostage. Lydia then wrapped her wet black hair in a towel and left the bathroom, to her room.

She went over to her dresser to find something to wear when her phone started ringing on her bed. "Who would be phoning me, this early?" Lydia mumbled to herself and walked over to the side of the bed and glanced at the caller I.D. before picking up the phone. She couldn't say she was surprised to see the name that filled the screen and pressed the button to answer it and held the phone up to her ear.

"Hello, Director Fury." Lydia answered.

"Hello, Lydia. It's been a long time." Fury stated.

"Yes, it has." She agreed, trying to act normal, which was pointless. Director Fury is a good friend of her dad's and has known her, her entire life.

"How are you?" He asked next.

"I'm good. I'm really good." The girl replied, nodding her head at the same time, like she was actually trying to convince herself too of this.

"Are you?"

It was silent on both ends for a long time. She closed her eyes, and sighed under her breath. The truth was, she wasn't really sure if she was. She would be lying if she didn't say what happened to her month's ago had left her feeling on edge. It's been eight months since the incident and she barely felt brave enough to leave out the front door most days. But maybe going back to work was the best thing for her. " I'm okay, each day goes by a little easier then the last." She told him truthfully, trying to sound calm. "Why are you calling, Fury?" Lydia knew the real reason he called wasn't because he was concerned with how she was holding up after everything. She was positive her worried dad has been keeping him update on all that.

"We need you to come back to work, Lydia. We need you to assist Astrophysicist, Erik Selvig. Only if your ready." Fury pressed, and waited for her to give an answer.

Lydia only thought about it for less then a second. "I'm ready. When do you want me to start?"

"Right away. Your dad will be there within the hour to bring you here. I will brief you on everything when you get here." Fury explained to her.

The both of them hung up and she dropped the phone back on her bed and went back over to the dresser to find something to wear. Once she was dressed she went back into the bathroom and grabbed her makeup to put on so she wouldn't look like she had been living like a zombie the entire time. It took about ten minutes and she was done. She looked at her reflection. You could no longer see her scars but it didn't matter how much she covered them up with makeup or her long sleeve sweaters, she would have them for the rest of her life.

The young girl sat at the edge of her bed, waiting for a text from her dad to inform her, he was here, but she hadn't received anything. She got up from the bed and started pacing. Something she often did whenever she started to get antsy. Her phone was sitting on the bed and it made a ringing sound that caused her to jump in her spot. I hadn't even made out of my door and I was already losing it. She cursed at herself. Lydia rolled her eyes at herself and checked her phone. It was her dad, informing her, he was here at the apartment. She grabbed her bag and few other things she would need, and put her sunglasses on and left out the door and locked it. She made haste down the stairs and left out the main door and saw her dad waiting by the black Suburban.

"Hi dad." Lydia greeted as she walked up to him and they hugged.

"Are you sure your ready to come back?" He asked immediately. Her dad was always such a worrier. " It's okay if your not. Fury will understand. What you went through is a-,"

She put up her hand for him to stop. Lydia knew what he was doing. He was hoping to convince her that she should take more time. She didn't need more time. What happened to her would never truly leave her and she couldn't stop living her life because of it. " Dad, I'm sure. I need to go back to work. I have to work. I can't keep hiding in my apartment thinking every time I step out my door, I'm gonna get taken off the street or something." She pressed in slight annoyance and quickly gave a small smile that she didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"Okay." He said calmly. The two of them got into the SUV and headed for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters.