Family Reunion

by Apple Blossom

Disclaimer: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D belongs to Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, Stan Lee, ABC, Marvel Television, Mutant Enemy, and anyone else who wants to lay claim to it.

This story contains spoilers through Melinda and contains dialogue directly from the episode .

"I want to know where you're from." I ask my daughter. She is still such a mystery to me and I have so many questions for her about her life. "Did you make friends there?"

"At S.H.I.E.L.D. Yeah," Skye answers as we head out along the rocky outcropping toward the mountains in the distance. "They're like family. Or they were."

"Until you changed?" I've heard this story before. Lived it. People fear what they don't understand. "They sent agents after you."

"I don't know what happened." She looks at me, her face sad over the apparent loss of the life she knew. "I know I impaled a guy."

"Who shot at you," I reply, trying to emphasize that she was just protecting herself.

"No," Skye responds, shaking her head. "I lost control."

"Do you understand your gift?"

She looks unsure as she answers, "I ... make things shake?"

A small laugh escapes me, nervous energy as I tell her more about herself. "Well not really. Everything is shaking already. Vibrating at its own natural frequency."

Skye seems to consider this and glances down at my hand as I add, "This stone. The wood in the trees. I believe you can learn to sense those frequencies around you and resonate with them so that not everything is shaking. Only what you choose."

"Sense the frequency," Skye says, her face doubtful. "How do I do that?"

"I don't know," I tell her. "I'm not the one with the gift. I just work here."

"You think I can hear the stone?" Skye asks and I shrug. She reaches for the rock in my hand, her fingers brushing my palm slightly as she picks it up, turning it over in her hand before enclosing it within her fist. She closes her eyes for a long moment before glancing off in the distance and I get the chance to really look at her without being noticed. This is a day I dreamed of from the moment I first held her in my arms, only minutes old. Teaching her about her heritage. Training her in the ways of our kind. The wind whips around her, blowing her dark brown hair away from her face as he eyes light up in wonderment and her voice is filled with awe as she whispers, "Whoa. You've got to be kidding me."

I can't help but smile along with her as I ask, "Can you hear it?"

"No, not the stone. The mountain," she glances toward me as she gestures out in front of her. "It's the loudest thing here."

"Now take that frequency and see if you can amplify it," I tell her.

Her features grow serious as she shakes her head no. "The last time I did something like this a lot of people got hurt."

My heart aches for her as I reassure her, "You can't hurt the mountain and you're not going to hurt me. Don't be afraid."

She nods but I see the doubt in her eyes, the fear, but she steels herself, turning toward the mountain, her hand reaching out as she closes her eyes. I can't take my eyes off her as she tries to direct her gift in a specific direction and suddenly I hear the sound of snow avalanching off one of the lower peaks. Her eyes open and we both watch as a large chunk of it tumbles downward. Skye steps back in amazement and exhaustion and says, "I moved a mountain."

Our eyes meet and my beautiful daughter is excited over her gift for the first time. I'm so excited for her. That first discovery. The sense that she hasn't been cursed as she's been led to believe by S.H.I.E.L.D. "Remember that feeling. It's not something to be afraid of."

Skye nods and turns back toward her handiwork, looking at the pile of snow now collecting at the base of the mountain. We are done for now. She needs to rest a little as getting used to a new gift can be draining. We head back into the village, Skye asking, "So what happens next?"

My daughter is driven. Eager to learn. Accepting of her gift now. "Eat like crazy, then rest up. This afternoon will be much harder." She finds it hard to believe that anything could be harder than the avalanche. I hate to leave her but I have other work to attend to so we say our goodbyes for now. Impulsively I turn back and tell her, "I'm very proud of your work today."

I set up the goblets with water, each one filled to a different height. Slowly I run my finger around the edge as I tell her, "I play a note. You hold it."

"Okay," Skye replies as a melodic tone emanates from the glass. She raises her hand slowly and water bubbles in the glass that is second from the end. A lower tone joins mine and I am instantly pleased at how quickly she is picking up on her gift. Other goblets join in making beautiful music until water is trembling within all of them. She smiles in astonishment and then all of the sudden glass shatters, water and shards of glass bursting upwards in a furious explosion.

As the disaster plummets back to the table Skye steps away in fear but I can't help but smile. "Your gift is quite destructive, but look at the music you can make."

Her eyes are haunted, staring at the ruined glasses, the water running along the table top and dripping slowly onto the floor below. The slightest of sighs escapes from her lips and I wish I knew what she was thinking. I need to reassure her that everything is okay so I tell her, "That was amazing. So what? We'll drink from wooden cups at dinner."

My words don't seem to have the intended effect so finally I ask, "What's wrong?"

Her eyes meet mine and she answers, "Nothing," but I see the fear in her eyes and finally she adds, "That's just it. Everything is great here. It feels like home, which never ends well."

"Ends?" I ask, worried she doesn't feel the connection. That she wants to leave after all. "We're not going anywhere."

"You're sure?" Skye questions and something glazes over her eyes, her face turning into a mask which I can tell is a defense mechanism. "Because mistrust of home is my other super power."

"Where is this coming from?" I ask my daughter. Even though she had been taken from me I always hoped she had a good life. A mother to love her. A father to care for her. People to make her feel as wanted as I would have.

Her eyes water as the mask drops and she tells me, "Nothing. It's stupid."

Skye takes a deep breath and adds, "I broke a crystal decanter once at a foster family's house and now," she motions toward the demolished goblets before continuing, "the glass and..."

I am incredulous. Enraged. Heartbroken. "They sent you back for that?"

"Well," Skye confesses. "I tried some of the scotch too, but yes. Something bad happens every time I feel settled somewhere. I'm twenty five and I have never spent more than two years anywhere. The second I made friends at the orphanage, gone. God forbid I called a foster family home. Pack your bags."

My eyes water as she reveals her childhood to me. This is not how I wanted my daughter to be raised. All of our lives have been filled with such misery from the moment that I was taken and Cal left her behind to find me.

Skye continues on, not realizing how her words rip at my heart. "I got the news on my birthday once, which is a complete farce because I don't even know when I was born."

I struggle to keep the tears in check as my voice, barely a whisper, chokes out, "I'm so sorry."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. was the closest I ever came to having a family. I belonged there. Saw what I could be. Even that ended with agents hunting me through the woods." She is so resigned to the fact that she will always be betrayed. That she is never good enough to be a permanent fixture in anyone's lives. That there is no such thing as family for her.

"We're not going to turn on you... or abandon you," I tell her, my voice filled with sincerity and conviction. I will never let anyone take my daughter from me again. "This is a safe place."

"See," Skye says, doubt etching her features as she steps closer to me. "You say that but I know you're not being straight with me. Why do you care if I stay or go?"

"July second," I say finally, my inner voice begging me to keep silent while my heart aches for her to know the truth finally. She looks at me in confusion for a moment and I have to turn away, compose myself as I realize what I've done. My secret it out and I take a breath, turning back before adding, "You were born on July second."

Skye looks at me incredulously but I just continue talking. "It was um... a hot night and for some reason I decided to clean the house before I woke your father."

Shock and realization that I am telling the truth are mirrored in Skye's face, tears threatening to overflow at my revelation as she whispers, "Oh my God. He said you didn't age."

"Cal," I reply as I continue the story of the greatest night of my life. "He ran over to the neighbor's house to borrow their car but didn't speak any Chinese so um... it was a mess."

Tears escape from my eyes. This long held secret is finally out and for better or worse my daughter finally knows who I am.

"It's you," Skye whispers, nodding, accepting, believing my story. "You're my..."

"Deep down I think you knew," I tell her.

She nods then and answers, "I was too afraid to hope."

Those words break my heart more than I could have ever imagined. She has needed and wanted her mother as much as I need and want her. She turns away, trying to make sense of what she's just learned. I give her a few minutes to compose herself before finally reaching out for her and asking, "Are you okay?"

Taking a deep breath I tell her, "I wanted to run to you the second I saw you, wrap you in my arms."

"Why didn't you?" she asks.

"Because you were forced into going through the mist. Joining our people had to be your choice. You deserved that."

"At St. Agnes," Skye confesses. "All the kids they would pray that their parents are out there... looking for them. You were?"

Her pain is etched into her features and the fact that she has to question this tears me up inside but I nod and tell her, "For years. After your father pieced me back together we scoured the Earth. We were ruthless in hunting for you. One morning I... woke up and I barely recognized myself. Your father was buried in the new horrible man he had become. He couldn't admit that our baby was gone. I thought I had to accept it. I'm so sorry."

She steps forward, her arms going around me as I embrace my child for the first time in over two decades. "I thought if I couldn't find you... maybe I could help protect others... so I came here. I'll make up for all of it, I swear, but listen right now, this has to be our secret."

She doesn't understand. I see it in her face that she thinks I'm ashamed of her. Or don't really want people to know she is my daughter, and while that is true, it is not for the reasons she thinks. I explain to her how our people have very strict rules. How they could perceive her as a threat. We head back outside, away from the village to a gazebo overlooking the mountains where I tell her that my rules must be enforced. That I protected her from being killed outright when she went through the mist without permission. I give her an example of someone who didn't follow our rules. How she stole the Terrigen crystals and transformed without permission. Skye seems to know the story of Bahrain. Knows the agent who had to put her down, but she doesn't realize that it wasn't the woman who was the worst offender, but her child, who had a darkness inside her that rivaled the mother's tenfold. The agent was forced to kill the little girl in order to protect her team and our selection process for candidates going through the mist has been always been enforced since that time.

She finally gets it as she replies, "You made the rules and now you're afraid they'll think you broke them for me."

"Our people know too well what a woman will do for her daughter. So... we keep our secret."

"No one will ever know," Skye agrees and while I know she is sincere I see the sadness in her eyes.

"Are you sure it's the right thing?" Skye asks as we stand outside the turquoise door. "If this is some kind of weird lesson..."

"It's not a lesson," I interrupt. "This is personal. A debt I owe to your father and if you trust me on this I'll be eternally grateful."

She's afraid and I can't blame her as she says, "He's a monster."

"He was good once," I tell her. "Cal lost himself to a promise he made me. Out of love. Now he's made good."

Skye glances toward the door and it is clear that she doesn't want to do this. After everything he's done to her she wants nothing to do with him. "That shouldn't mean all is forgiven."

"No," I agree sadly. "But he never gave up on you. He deserves something for that."

I can see her mulling it over in her head so I add, "Just one dinner. Then you never have to see him again. I'll have him taken away from here."

Her eyes leave the turquoise door and land on mine. "You promise?"

I nod and she nods back in return and soon we're heading through the door. Cal is bent over the table, a bouquet of daisies in his hand. He looks up and smiles happily.

"Oh," he says, his voice soft, his eyes lit up at the sight of us standing there before him. "I wanted so badly to make everything perfect for tonight and suddenly... it is."

He stares at us both for a moment before clearing his throat and stepping forward, the flowers outstretched in his hand. "These are for you."

Skye takes them, looking from Cal back to the flowers and I feel the strain of this meeting on both of them. It is awkward. Uncomfortable. Finally he says, "I want to thank you - both of you - for giving me another shot. I know that my actions..."

She interrupts him and I'm extremely proud of her for being brave enough to stand here with him. To say the words she does. "I learned who my mother was today and she taught me things. I've never had that before. That was possible because of you."

Cal's eyes water with emotion and he nods his thanks as he says, "That's all I ever wanted for you."

Silence envelopes the room again and I know exactly the subject that will ease the two of them into conversation so I say, "Cal, Skye doesn't know when her birthday is."

He looks from me to her and his entire face lights up as he says, "I do. July second."

We enter the room then and Cal holds the chair out for Skye and then me before settling across the table from her, as he continues his story. "It was a gorgeous summer night. Beautiful big moon in the sky. 1988. Did you know, your mother, she actually cleaned before she told me."

Skye and I exchange a look as he continues on, embellishing on the story I told her earlier until she finally interrupts. "Wait, '88? I'm 26?"

Cal and I smile as yet another piece of Skye's puzzle is put into place. She laughs incredulously and says, "That's so messed up."

I see the look on Cal's face. He is so happy to have his family back together after all of this time.

"Sorry," Skye says, reaching for her wine glass and raising it up. "To 26."

"Yes," Cal agrees, joining her and we toast to her age. We all take a drink and then Cal continues on with the night Skye was born. She listens intently, smiling, happy and I wonder briefly if I will have to live up to my promise. Will he be able to win her over? He is charming when he wants to be and if I can keep him under control, perhaps they can have a relationship after all. I know it is all he's ever wanted.

The End