**A/N – Hi everyone, Agents of SHIELD isn't mine, nor is the song Crying for no reason. But I hope you like what I've done with them both.
There's quite a bit of introspection going on in this fic, enjoy!**
Crying For No Reason
*I push all my problems to the back of my mind
Then they surface in my dreams, they come alive
I sweep all my issues to somewhere I can't find
In hope that I'll forget but there's just so many times*
Agent May sat in the pilot seat of the BUS, her body on autopilot as she flew the large plane over the night sky, flipping switches, turning dials and glancing at screens, but her mind was else where.
She was in a state of shock; though her feelings weren't yet betrayed by the steely determination on her face. Hours earlier, the heart of their team was very nearly torn out, her life hanging in the balance. May stared out of the window and sighed.
No one could have imagined that Skye would have been shot when they woke up that morning to start their mission. Melinda was far from thrilled when she heard about the plan to get a Quinn when Coulson had gathered the Team around the Comm-Table to discuss their latest mission, something was off…didn't feel right.
She thought she was going to be sick when she ran down the stairs to the Italian mansion's basement and viewed the scene unfolding before her. Skye lying in a pool of her own blood, white as a sheet, a hair's breadth from deaths embrace and Coulson sitting on the floor, cradling her head begging for her to stay alive barely holding back the tears in his eyes. May snapped out of her out-of-body experience to hear Jemma order everyone to pick Skye up and put her in the Hyperbolic Chamber. Everyone done as they were told and scooped Skye up and placed her on the rolling table, slid her in the chamber and shut the door on it. Coulson's hands and hers working in perfect sync as they quickly closed off the valve on the door.
Her heart was beating uncontrollably out of her chest and with each beat, came the thought, 'We can't loose our daughter, again'.
*Why can't I be strong and just confront all my fears?
When my fear is hurting you by being sincere
But how many more days can I run? How many years?
Emotions flooding and now it's all seeming so clear*
The flight to the hospital seemed to take forever and Skye's operation, longer still but in reality it was only hours. FitzSimmons sitting together quietly on the couch appearing to take it in turns to cry and comfort each other, she pitied them. They may be geniuses but their too soft for field work…maybe she was being a bit unfair, they were all suffering right now. She didn't need to look at Ward to know what he was thinking, she could feel his emotion rolling off him in powerful waves of pure anguish and helplessness. She could relate, she was feeling pretty anguished and helpless right now but that will change if she was left in a room alone with Quinn. She took a deep breath and cracked her knuckles in front of her. Before she directed her thoughts to Coulson, one of the doctors approached and told us that they couldn't save Skye and that we should get her family over to see her before she slips away.
Melinda couldn't believe what was happening, her mind spinning with what was happening around her and Phil's words stopped them in their tracks—
"We're her family…" No one but Phil and I knew how true those words were.
The doctor paused, looked around the team and softly said, "In that case, I'm very sorry."
When the doctor left the room, it was impossible for me to stay in the waiting room, knowing that Skye was beyond Skye's medical resources. When May stormed out of the room she could feel the hate and anger boiling under her skin as well as Coulson's eyes on her back. She's done with feeling helpless. She might not be able to save her daughter, but she sure as hell avenge her. Quinn's a dead man.
*Crying for no reason, feel the tears roll down
I felt strong but am I breaking now?
Crying for no reason 'cause I buried it deep
I made promises I could not keep
'Cause I never faced all the pain I caused
Now the pain is hitting me full force*May had managed to dry her eyes by the time she reached the BUS, furiously wiping her eyes with her sleeve as she stalked toward her target. She reached the living area, took a deep breath and headed down the corridor that leads to the interrogation room.
'That Bastard's mine!' She thought as she opened the solid metallic door, not knowing or caring whether it stayed open or slammed closed. The only thing that mattered was making him pay, very dearly and painfully for what he done. She didn't even here what he said when she walked in, it was all irrelevant.
As soon as she was close enough, she slammed his head off the metal table. It was so satisfying to see his face bounce off the hard surface. She didn't give him a chance to get his bearings before tearing the chair from beneath him where he crumpled to the floor in a heap and hands still cuffed to the table. He was starting to look a little helpless himself right now.
She goes to climb on top of him to continue his punishment when he shouts, "Wait-, you can't…!"
"Why, because you're defenceless? Like she was?" Melinda said as she bared her teeth, living up to the 'Attack Dog' persona she had at SHIELD. She punched him in the face, not quite satisfied with that punch, she punched again and again and kept going even after she felt his nose break, his cheek bone and maybe his brow bone, she punched him a few more times to make sure.
"May! MAY!" Phil screamed from the door, pulling May from her bloodlust, she panted with the exertion, clenched fist still aimed at Quinn's face she turned her head to see Coulson and Ward at the door. Phil's face showing a mix of pain, shock and disappointment. "Outside, now."
May started to rise from her position on top of Quinn and threw him on the floor. She turned sharply on her heel and charged out of the interrogation room, didn't care what he thought about her at this moment in time, whether it be hate, fear, disgust or envy, as Skye's mother, she had the right to put an end to that bastard.
"He deserves to die, not her!" she said as she got to the living area.
"Agreed. But right now Quinn doesn't matter-" Coulson rounded on her.
'What?!' Melinda thought as she scoffed.
"Only Skye does and I need you to pilot the plane." He voice remaining calm and authoritive.
"You heard what the doctor said!" May stepped closer to Coulson, her eyes not leaving his.
"She said there was nothing more they could do for her. But there are doctors who brought me back from the dead, if they can do that; I'm betting they can save Skye. "
*I push all my problems to the back of my brain
A darkness deep inside where I just can't find my way
How can I walk with a smile? Get on with my day
When I deceived myself pretending it's all okay*This whole situation was Bahrain all over again. She could see the tragic incident unfolding in front of her as she sat back in the deep filled pilot chair. It was one of the reasons why Melinda turned her back on fieldwork and transferred to Administration. Her sanity was put on the line each time she went into combat. The other reason, which no one knew, not even Coulson, was to dig up any information she could find about the location of her missing daughter. She went into that mind-numbing job every day for over a decade in hopes of finding her. She could have found her in a heartbeat if she could hack like her daughter. A small sad smile played on her lips as she thought about her flesh and blood hacking into an international bureaucratic organisation such as SHIELD as easily as logging into Facebook.
*I tried my best to hold it all together, I know
The strings have worn away and now I'm all exposed
I try to hide it all away on top of the shelf
I can lie to everyone but not to myself*
The door to the cockpit opening and closing snapped her out of her thoughts. Coulson walked in and dropped in the co-pilot's chair sighing as he leant back and rubbed his face with his hands and rested them on his lap. She put her Ice Queen persona mask on to hide her feelings from Coulson, the last thing she needed right now was his pity.
They sat there in silence for nearly half an hour until she heard his breathing change. She turned slightly to face him. Phil was leant forward, elbows rested on his lap, head bowed and crying softly to himself.
Melinda activated the autopilot in seconds and knelt beside his chair to take his face in one of her hands and direct him to look at her.
Her face softened, seeing the emotions playing on his face was an accurate reflection of the turmoil going on inside Melinda at the moment. They connected as she held his gaze, tears stinging her eyes again.
*Crying for no reason feel the tears roll down
I felt strong but am I breaking down?
Crying for no reason 'cause I buried it deep
I made promises I could not keep
'Cause I never faced all the pain I caused
Now the pain is hitting me full force*
"Oh no, Melinda. Don't you cry now." He ordered, though his own tears. "You're the Tiger-Mama remember?"
"Don't call me that," she scoffed slightly as she remembered the first time she heard him call her that. It was the day she gave birth to Skye.
""But it's true." He continued to hold her gaze as both of his hands cupped her face.
"No, I failed her! I let her get taken away from us last time and now this-" Thinking of her daughter being shot, nearly dying all alone, lying in a cold chamber, looking small and fragile and so still. He cut her off with a kiss, not simply to quieten her, but to tell her it's not her fault. * I burned some bridges down
I let you down, I walked away
'Cause there were things I couldn't say to you, say to you
I'm breaking now
There must be some way out
The voices speak so loud
Will you forgive me now?*
Phil's thumb rubbed away her fresh tears. He couldn't have her breaking down on him. She was the strongest, determined and fiercest person he knew. He might be the leader of the team, but she was his backbone. She was normally the calm and focused Agent of the team and appeared to most as the one least burdened by emotion, but Phil knew better. She was just more practiced at hiding it from others.
"Come on, Mel." He ordered as he held her gaze on him still. "We will get Skye back, I promise."
She collapsed in his arms, face buried in his chest. 'How could he possibly promise that?' He wrapped his arms around her, held her close and kissed the top of her head.
"We'll get her back." He said again, conscious that they were on the floor of the cockpit. He kept that though going in his mind like a mantra spurring him on. She looked up at him, took a deep breath and another and took her place on the pilot seat and took control of the plane.
Coulson stood from his position, put his hand on her shoulder and kissed the top of her head again tenderly.
"I love you Tiger-Mama." He whispered.
Phil didn't get to reach the door before she replied, "I love you too, Papa-Bear." She didn't turn to look at him. She didn't need to, she could see his sad smile in the slight reflection in her windscreen.*Crying for no reason, feel the tears roll down
I felt strong but am I breaking now?
Crying for no reason 'cause I buried it deep
I made promises I could not keep
And I never faced all the pain I caused
Now the pain is hitting me full force*
-End-
**A/N – I hoped everyone enjoyed this piece. It demanded to be written after the double whammy of hearing Katy B's Crying for no reason and the 4-minute preview of the yet unseen ep T.A.H.I.T.I. I'm literally waiting on tenterhooks for this episode, it's unreal. I recommend watching both, they're epic! Oh, if you would be so kind as to leave me a review, I would be very grateful :) Thank you x