Skye was standing in front of that damn window. She could still see her own face into the glass, like it was a mirror, but her reflection was not important in that moment.
He was important.
Her eyes were on him, on his face, on his arms, on his open wounds. He was hurt, very hurt. The doctor said he wouldn't make through that night.
He was dying and she knew it.
She told herself it was nothing, that he was already dead to her after his betrayal, so she shouldn't have cared about it.
And yet, she was still standing in front of the window in that secret hospital, still staring at him, hoping that he would open his eyes and smile to her once again.
She didn't know why, she didn't know how, she was just doing it. She hated herself for it. She knew she shouldn't have feel a damn thing.
Even the others told her. Their words were "he's getting what he deserves" and those exact words were spinning around into Skye's head.
It was just like that? Ward deserved to die just for that?
Skye had never wished for that. Yes, she could barely stand the idea of his betrayal, but she had never wanted him to really die. She remembered that time when he told her he had tried to commit suicide. She felt so bad about it, but never showed it to anyone because it was no right.
She couldn't show to her new team that she cared about the traitor.
She just couldn't.
And in that moment, in front of that window, she was falling apart.
Everyone was away from there, maybe they even didn't want to know if Ward was dead or alive. Not Coulson, not Fitz, not May, not Simmons.
No one.
There was just Skye.
Maybe they were not there because it was easy to think that they have acted well, sending him away to his brother, knowing that it was the worst decision ever.
Coulson has not think about it, no one did.
«Still here, agent?».
A doctor came out from nowhere. Skye wasn't pay attention, so she didn't realize another person was next to her until she heard the sound of his voice.
«Yes, I was just— I was just waiting, I guess» she said.
«You should take some sleep. You look really tired and just standing here is not helpful».
«No, no, I— I know» she whispered. «I was just wondering if…».
«If your friend will open his eyes?».
Skye did not answer to that. She looked away for a few seconds. «He's not my friend».
The doctor hesitated. «Whatever he is» he said «I think you should be ready to say goodbye».
Skye held her breath for a while. She already knew that was going to happen, but hearing those words aloud was lethal. She didn't say anything back and the doctor left.
And again, she was alone, standing in front of the window, outside of the room where Ward was slowly dying.
Forty-two minutes passed before Skye decided to go inside.
She stopped a few steps before the bed. He was lying on it, his muscles were relaxed. It seemed like he was sleeping if a machine was not breathing for him.
Skye looked at his face and bit her lower lip, then she got closer.
«I know it's— I know it's stupid to talk now that you can't hear me» she whispered «but they say a lot of stuff about people that are in comatose and still hear voices, so… I'm gonna try it anyway and maybe just— Just pretend you can actually listen to me».
Her voice was breaking and a part of her was yelling that she still shouldn't feel that way.
«Maybe there's not even too much to say. I remember how things went the other night and you— You shouldn't have done that. You know I can protect myself now, I mean, you knew that, so why? Why you— Why you took a bullet for me? What's that? It's just an easy way out? You save my life and I forgive you? It's not how— It's not how it works, Grant, it's not how—».
Skye found herself screaming and crying at the same time. She had to stop talking because she was barely breathing. She covered her face with her hands, maybe trying to hide the tears that were streaming on her cheeks.
«You shouldn't have done that» she mumbled.
In that moment, memories hit her.
There were Ward's eyes into hers; those seconds were frozen while the blood was running on the floor.
A lot of blood.
And then his huge body fell over her and she could barely support him.
She didn't even see who pulled the trigger, she didn't realized that, like it happened before. But he was there and he saved her even though he knew she was hating him. He was always saving her.
Skye was too much important for Ward to just let her get hurt again.
Back in the room, the girl was crying. She could help herself not to do that.
She cared.
She cared so much for a man that she should have hate.
She couldn't. She cared, even if she didn't say it aloud.
And when his heart stopped beating, later, that night, Skye was still standing there because of that.
All the past seemed pointless in that moment.
A billion ways to fix things came to her mind, but, unfortunately, it was too late.
Ward died and a part of Skye died too because, deep down, she knew that some things went wrong, that she was wrong too many times and, right now, it was just too late to fix it.
