~Disclaimer- I don't own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.~

Grant Ward concealed a cough. After being beaten and shot with a nail gun by Melinda May, he had been taken into SHIELD's "protective" custody. He had barely received any medical treatment for his broken larynx and had promptly been thrown into a cell. Ward had lost track of how long he had been in there. No one had been down to see him (which was not a surprise) and no one had even brought him any food. He had curled in the corner, knees against his chest, weak from lack of food. Coulson had been right. Now that Garrett was dead, Ward didn't really know what to do.

He barely lifted his head as he heard quiet footsteps stopping outside his cell.

"Get up." The command was cold and impersonal. Ward obeyed.

He followed May out of his cell and into another room. There was only a chair with a two pairs of cuffs attached to it. Ward turned to May, confusion flitting across his face. She gestured to the chair and Ward slowly lowered himself into it.

"What is this?" he asked, as he spoke for the first time, his voice quiet and raspy. His eyes widened as he saw the water bottle and towel May was holding. Realization sank in and Ward started to struggle, but Melinda had already fastened the restraints around his ankles and wrists.

May still said nothing as she wrapped a towel over Ward's face. He started fidgeting, though Melinda could tell he was trying not to. She unscrewed the cap of the water bottle and started to pour it over the towel. Ward started struggling, fighting with all of his strength.

Melinda stopped pouring after twenty-five seconds and let Ward take three breaths, not that it seemed to make much of a difference. The ex-SHIELD agent was still fighting and Melinda checked the restraints. She swallowed as she saw the blood slowly dripping from where Ward had jerked against the metal restraints.

After another twenty-five seconds May let up. She could see that Ward was trying to say something. Pulling the towel off his face, May waited.

"S-s-sorry…" Ward choked, his eyes darting around.

Melinda slapped him hard. She didn't want to hear his apologies that were probably not real. The force of her slap sent his head spinning to the side. When he didn't move, May firmly grasped his chin and turned his head.

"Don't ever apologize," she snapped. She was starting to feel nauseous; physical torture had never been her preferred method. However, she knew Ward probably wouldn't respond to her usual method.

Melinda rewrapped the towel over Ward's face, doing her best to ignore his muffled coughs and choked sounds.

This time, the water lasted for thirty seconds before May ripped the towel off. Ward looked up at her, any sign of awareness gone. His eyes were unfocused and as May knelt to undo the restraints, she could feel his pulse beating rapidly.

"Ward" she tried. There was no response from the ex-SHIELD agent. May sighed and left.

She returned a few minutes later with a blanket, to find Ward huddled in the farthest corner of the room. Crouching down so she was on his eye level, Melinda offered the blanket. Ward didn't even twitch, but she could see that he was shaking.

Sighing, she moved a few inches closer and awkwardly wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. Ward's glassy eyes widened at May's proximity and he thrashed weakly, entangling the blanket around himself.

May stood and backed away. She didn't want to alarm Ward anymore. The waterboarding did not seem like such a good idea any longer.

Melinda brought a laptop back with her. She slid down the wall, a few feet away from Ward. He hadn't moved since May had left for dinner. She had tried to eat, but Ward's vacant stare haunted her and she ended up throwing away most of the food.

"Hey" she said softly. Ward still didn't respond and Melinda sighed softly. She had read most of his file, which was supposed to be "classified", but with Skye's help, she had gotten in. Once she had read the file, Melinda realized why Ward was so traumatized and the thought made her feel sick to her stomach. The sick feeling had only increased until she felt as though she was in danger of throwing up.

Towards midnight, Ward started to slump down the wall. Melinda flicked her eyes over him occasionally, noticing how his eyes were starting to flutter closed, though he'd force them open every few minutes. The stress and fear from the waterboarding, coupled with everything that had already happened, was finally taking its toll on Ward.

It wasn't long before the disgraced ex-SHIELD agent had fallen asleep, still pressed into the corner. Melinda leaned her head back against the wall and against her will; her eyes slid shut as well.

Phil Coulson stretched and exhaled. He had been kept busy with paperwork and just work in general since Ward and Garrett's betrayal.

He was about to sit down again, when a terrified scream echoed through the halls.

~Author's Note~ So my first Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fanfic! Hope everyone who reads enjoys and please feel free to review!