A/N: So, this is my first AoS fanfic. I've written fics for Supernatural, but I'm super rusty, as I haven't written in a while, so please go easy on me! This was an idea I got from a friend and from my own experiences with strep. I hope you all enjoy it! Also, I meddled with the fic after my beta returned it, so all mistakes are mine!

Special thanks to my wonderful, amazing, spectacular, and beautiful beta/ BFF Kelly! She's been making my fics look pretty for a few years now, and this was no different! Thank you for the encouragement, love!

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"Damn it all to hell," Skye muttered, dropping unceremoniously onto her bed. She felt like crap. Her head was about two seconds away from exploding, she was sure of it.

"Skye, you alright?" Jemma asked, peeking in through her open door.

"Hm, yeah, I'm good," she said, scooting over and motioning to the vacant spot on her bed. "What's up Simmons?"

Simmons remained quiet for a second before she looked up at Skye shyly.

"Fitz asked me to stay with him for the weekend," she said, biting her lip nervously.

Skye smiled. "Jemma, that's great!"

"You think? I mean, what if we don't get along? What if we argu—"

"Seriously Jemma?" Skye interrupted. "You two already live together on this damn plane. If you two can survive this, than staying at his house can't be all that bad," she scoffed playfully.

"You're right. I'm being silly, aren't I?" she laughed. "What about you? Where are you going to be staying?"

Skye got quiet. That was a good question. Coulson had informed them an hour ago that they'd be getting the weekend off, because the Bus was due for some maintenance and he had "things" to take care of at the Hub. That left her in a pickle.

After everything that went down with Miles a few weeks ago, Skye was officially alone. She had no friends or family outside of S.H.I.E.L.D and her "home" was currently parked down in cargo, next to Lola. She was going to have to figure out a way to get down there without being seen. She had enough snacks stashed in her bunk to last her through the weekend, and there's a bathroom in the cargo hold; as long as she stayed quiet and out of people's way, no one would ever know she was there.

"Skye. Skye, you alright?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you sure you're alright? You're awfully spacey, and you look a little pale." Jemma said, concerned.

"What? No, I'm ok. I was just thinking…" she said pushing herself up from the bed. "I'm uh, I'm gonna go visit a friend from the orphanage; haven't seen her in a while," she said, hoping to God Jemma couldn't see through her lie.

Jemma looked at her, not completely convinced, but decided not to push it. Everyone was entitled to a little secrecy, so long as it didn't affect the team. She trusted Skye.

"Well great! I'm sure you'll have a great time getting reacquainted," she said enthusiastically. "I'll see you Sunday?"

Skye smiled. "I'll see you Sunday!"

Jemma got up and walked to the door, before stopping and turning to look back at Skye.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine Simmons, don't worry about me. You go have a fun, work-free weekend with Fitz," she reassured the bubbly scientist.

Jemma blushed and walked out, leaving Skye in much needed silence.

Aside from the fact that she didn't have a home to go to, she was grateful for the weekend off. They had just finished dealing with yet another super solider, courtesy of Centipede, and some R&R was definitely needed. For the most part, she was a healthy person, but the few times she did get sick, she really got sick, and if she didn't chill for a bit, she was sure the tickle in her throat, the dull ache in her chest, and the God awful headache that was currently taking over her brain, would turn into something more than a head cold.

"Skye!" Coulson called over the loud speaker. "Time to go, we need to clear the plane."

Skye winced, the loud speaker doing nothing good for her throbbing head. She scooted off her bed, grabbed her bag, quickly dumped her snacks into it, and trudged out of her bunk, running into a very firm Agent Ward on the way.

"Crap, sorry." She mumbled, stumbling a little.

Ward's arm shot out to keep her from falling backwards. "Watch were you're going." He said, emotionlessly.

Skye nodded, "Sorry," she whispered again, avoiding his eyes. Ward was still giving her a hard time over the Miles thing.

"See you Sunday," he said, ignoring the apology and walking off in front of her.

Skye sighed. Just a few more minutes and there'd be peace and quiet for two whole days.

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Ward glanced back, taking in Skye's slumped form and pale face. Something was definitely off about his rookie.

"Ward, keep your phone on. I don't foresee any issues, but one never knows," Coulson said, glancing at Skye, as she walked closer. "You all set?" he asked her, as she stepped up beside her S.O.

Skye nodded. "Yep."

"Enjoy your two days, these don't come often," he said before walking out towards the hanger they were currently parked in.

"Let's get out of here," Ward said, shouldering his duffle bag.

Skye stood still. She had to get down to her van.

"Skye, let's go," he said, gruffly.

"I uh, I forgot something in my bunk. You go ahead. I'll see you Sunday," she stammered lightly, turning to head back to her bunk.

Ward eyed his retreating rookie. Something was definitely up. He walked off the bus and into the hanger, but he didn't leave. Nope, he was going to sit here and wait for Skye to come out, and he'd make sure his J.O. didn't get herself into anymore trouble.

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Skye lay curled up on the floor of her van, her blanket wrapped tightly around her. Within the span of an hour, she'd gone from having just an annoying headache and a scratchy throat, to having a full blown migraine and feeling like she was swallowing razor blades. Why hadn't she thought about bringing some medicine down too?

Whatever. She was just going to have to deal with this on her own, like she's always done. It had been hard enough sneaking down here in the first place; what with having to lie to her S.O. again and everything. She couldn't risk getting caught and thrown out. With her luck, she'd run into May or Coulson, since they'd stayed at the Hub; lord knows how well that'd go.

"Jesus Christ, I'm dying," she muttered, curling in on herself tighter. "This can't be the flu. I've had the flu before, and it hasn't ever felt like this."

Skye reached out for her bag and haphazardly placed it under her throbbing head and wrapped the blanket around her small frame a little tighter.

"Sleep. I need sleep. It'll all be better when I wake up," she mumbled to herself. If she could just go to sleep, she'd be ok.

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Ward looked down at his watch one more time before finally giving up and making his way onto the bus. He'd given her an hour to come out on her own and she didn't, so now he was going to have to help her out.

Ward headed straight to her bunk, where she'd said she'd be. Her door was cracked open, so he cautiously peeked in.

"Skye?" he asked, sliding the door open all the way when he didn't see her.

Sighing in frustration, Ward walked out in search of his very annoying, stubborn, and sneaky J.O. She had to be on the bus; there is no way she'd have gotten past him.

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Skye tossed and turned uncomfortably on the van floor. The pain in her throat and head were reaching a critical level, and she was almost positive her insides were on fire.

"Oh god," she whimpered, unsuccessfully trying to untangle herself from the blanket. She was so hot. Why was it so hot?

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Ward had looked everywhere and still no Skye. There was no way Skye had left this plane without him seeing her. She had to be here somewhere.

Frustrated, he dropped onto the couch and tried to calm himself. Skye was going to be the death of him. How he'd allowed her to get under his skin like this was beyond him. He was a lone wolf, he didn't work well with others; he didn't need anyone… and yet.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered to himself.

He hated her for making him feel like this. For making him so angry, for making him worry, for confusing him, for making him feel. Before Skye, he only thought about one thing- the job. But now, now he spent hours thinking about Skye and that idiot Miles. He spent hours beating the crap out of the punching bag, wishing like hell that it was Miles's face instead. He didn't know why it had hurt so much. It wasn't like he and Skye were anything; not more than friends anyway. She could sleep with anyone she wanted to sleep with; he did.

Sighing, he rubbed his calloused hand over his face and stood to leave. Skye wasn't his problem. He was off the clock as her S.O.; it was time to go home and enjo—"Shit."

Home. Something Skye didn't have.

Ward cursed himself for not thinking about this sooner. No, of course his rookie wouldn't leave the bus, why would she when her home was here.

He quickly made his way down to the cargo hold, were the cars were parked. He spotted Skye's van, parked in the far right corner of the bay and quietly walked over, not wanting to spook her; she probably thought she was alone.

As he got closer, he started hearing little moaning sounds coming from inside. He stilled, his blood running cold for a minute. She wouldn't dare bring someone on here, would she?

The moaning turned into pain filled whimpers and that had Ward moving again. He cautiously slid the side door open and peered into the somewhat dark van. It took him a second to adjust to the lighting, before he spotted a clearly agitated Skye, thrashing around on the floor.

"Skye?"

Skye tossed her head from one side to the other at the sound of his voice, but did nothing else to acknowledge that she'd heard him.

He stepped into the Van, careful not to step on her or her things.

"Skye, hey you ok?" he asked, reaching his hand out to grab hers. "What the -?" Skye's hand was hot. Like seriously hot.

He let go of her hand and took her face in his hands. She was burning up.

"Shit. Skye, hey, come on, wake up," he said, patting her cheeks softly. "Skye, wake up!"

Skye whimpered, her eyes fluttering as she tried to open them.

"Come on rookie, open your eyes," Ward coaxed, lifting her head carefully onto his lap.

Skye turned into his touch, "Ward?"

Ward smiled. "Yeah rook, it's me. Come on, I need you to wake up," he said, pushing hair out of her face.

"Wha—where are we? Why are you here?" she asked, clearly confused.

Ward scoffed.

"I should ask you the same thing," he said.

Skye frowned.

"Ok, come on. We're getting out of here," he said, setting her down and making his way to the door, so he could pull her out.

"Where we goin'?" she mumbled sleepily.

"You can't stay here. You're sick," he said, grabbing her by her arms and gently pulling her towards him since she was making no effort to move.

"S'ma home," she mumbled.

Ward sighed sadly. He was an idiot. How the hell didn't anyone think about this? How did Coulson forget that Skye had no real home? They'd have to deal with this later, but right now, his rookie was sick, and he'd be damned if she was gonna stay here alone. No, he was taking her home.

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It'd been almost two hour since he'd made the decision to bring Skye to his place, and the small brunette had yet to wake up. He'd tried to get medicine into her system so he could maybe bring her fever down, but when that had failed, he tried ice packs.

Leaning down, he placed his hand over Skye's forehead, pulling back with a gasp. "Damn." The heat radiating off of her was now bordering on dangerous. He was seriously out of his league here.

Not having any other option, he grabbed his phone and called Simmons.

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"Ward, can I talk to you for a minute?" Skye asked, meekly.

Ward turned to her, eye stone cold.

"I'm busy," he said, turning his back on her.

"Look, I know that—"

"I said I'm busy. I don't have time for traitors," he said, angrily.

Skye gasped. Ok, she deserved that, but she was trying to make it right. She needed to make it right.

"Ward, please…"

Ward spun around, walked up to her, and pinned her body against the wall with his.

"Look, if it were up to me, you'd have been kicked off this team quicker than you could take your shirt off. But seeing as though I'm not the boss, I can't do that. What I can do though is stop being your S.O." he practically growled out. "I can't work with someone I can't trust." He pushed away from her and turned to leave.

"Ward, wait!" she called out to her retreating S.O. "Grant, please don't leave me," she pleaded, grabbing his arm.

Ward pulled his arm from her soft grip and whirled around to face her once more. His eyes held no emotion what so ever. The Ward she knew wasn't the one standing in front of her. This Ward scared her.

"Grant…"

"I'm done with you. I don't want you on this team; you're a liability Skye. Coulson can keep you here, but I don't have to deal with you. I won't deal with you. Stay. Away. From. Me," he said angrily, before storming off, leaving a broken Skye behind.

"Grant, wait! Don't leave me!" she cried out after him. "Don't leave me, please don't leave me. Grant!" she screamed.

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Grant was in the kitchen making himself some coffee while he waited for FitzSimmons to show up, when he heard Skye screaming his name. He set his cup down and quickly made his way to his bedroom.

Skye was thrashing around on his bed, his covers tangled up around her small frame.

"Don't leave me, please, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Grant, don't leave me, don't leave me," she cried, her voice boarding on panic.

"Skye, Skye, wake up," he ordered softly.

"Grant, please…"

Grant sat on the edge of the bed, and held her down gently. "Skye, come on, it's ok. I'm here, I'm right here," he assured her.

Skye whimpered and whispered Grants name once more followed by a soft sob, before coming to.

"Hey, you're alright," Grant said, pulling her to him.

Skye curled into him and cried, not really sure of what was going on, but taking some comfort in him being there.

"We need to get your temperature down," he said, deciding that waiting for FitzSimmons was no longer an option. If her fever got any higher, a hospital visit would be her only option.

"Wait here," he instructed, laying her back on the bed.

"No, Grant…" her glazed eyes locked onto his, silently pleading with him to not leave her.

Ward sighed.

"I'm not leaving you, Skye. I just need to get the water running. I'll be right back, I promise," he said, pushing some hair off her face. "Trust me."

A single tear slipped out of the corner of her eye as she nodded. "K."

Ward swiftly made his way through the apartment and into his bathroom. He turned on the water and set it to lukewarm. Once the tub filled three quarters of the way, and he was sure it wouldn't drain out, he made his way back to his bedroom, stopping when he heard a soft knock at the door.

"Thank God," he muttered to himself. He wasn't particularly comfortable giving his rookie a bath.

"Sorry we're late. We had to stop for supplies. How is she?" Simmons asked, walking right past the agent.

"Not good. I just started a bath for her," he said, motioning towards his bedroom. "Her fever is really high. I couldn't get her to take anything, so I tried the ice packs, but it didn't help much."

"I knew something was wrong when I talked to her on the bus," she said quietly, following Ward to his room.

"I wish she would trust us more," Fitz said, setting up the supplies they'd brought in.

"Ward…"

"I'm here Skye," he said, standing by the bed. "Simmons and Fitz are here too."

"Bloody hell," Fitz said, staring at a very pale looking Skye. "She looks terrible!"

"Fitz!" Jemma scolded, before turning her attention to her sick friend. "Skye, I'm gonna take a look at you ok. Just gonna check your vitals and a few other things," she said, taking out the blood pressure cuff.

Skye simply nodded, keeping her eyes on Ward.

"Alright Skye, Fitz has to swab your throat. I apologize ahead of time," she whispered softly, as she started the blood pressure machine.

Skye waited until Simmons gave her the go ahead to sit up, and slowly raised herself up on shaky arms, and opened her mouth as instructed. She had to give props to Fitz, he sure was quick. He had swabbed her throat before she had even realized what was happening.

Fitz put the swab into a clear tube filled with some sort of liquid, and sighed when it turned dark blue.

"What is it?" Ward asked, concerned.

"I'm afraid she's got strep," he informed regretfully.

"I'm dying," Skye groaned, dropping back onto the bed.

Jemma looked on sympathetically. She'd had strep before, and it wasn't an experience she'd like to relive again.

"No one is dying. Come on, up we go," Jemma said, reaching down for her friend. It wasn't until she got that close to her, that she literally felt the heat radiating off her friend. "Jesus Skye, you're skin is on fire."

Skye sighed. Hadn't she said that already?

"Can one of you please help me get her into the bathroom?" Jemma asked, stepping away from the bed.

Fitz looked back and forth between Skye and Ward. Yea, he wasn't getting between that.

Ward stepped up, swooped Skye into his arms carefully, and walked to the bathroom, gently setting her on the closed toilet seat. Jemma followed him in and promptly shooed him out.

"I'll call you when I need you," she said, closing and locking the door behind him.

"Alright, let's get that fever down, hm?" she said, making quick work of Skye's clothes.

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"So, how'd Skye end up here?" Fitz asked curiously. Last he'd known, Ward was very angry with the young rookie. So angry that he'd been giving her the silent treatment for the past few weeks, and only speaking to her when a mission came up and it was absolutely necessary.

Ward looked up, unsure of how to go about answering him. He hadn't exactly hidden his anger towards the young hacker, so the fact that she was here, in his home, the one place he's never allowed anyone to come to before, was kind of baffling even to him.

Luckily he was saved from answering, when Jemma called him from the bathroom.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"Um, you didn't happen to grab Skye's bag, did you?" she asked, biting her lip anxiously.

"Crap."

"I'll take that as a no," she sighed. "Well, you're gonna have to give me something of yours she can wear for now until I can wash her sweaty clothes."

"Ok..."

"Well then, what are you waiting for, Ward? Bring a shirt and some shorts or something before she freezes," she said, shooing him away.

"Right, sorry." Ward walked into his room, looked through his drawers and pulled out one of his many shield training tshirts and an old pair of basketball shorts. They weren't gonna fit her, but it's the best he could do.

He handed the clothes to a waiting Simmons, and walked back to sit with Fitz. God forbid the scientist decided to explore his apartment.

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"Jem."

"Yeah Skye?"

"I don't feel good."

Jemma stopped what she was doing and grabbed Skye's face between her hands. "I know hun. Once I get you dressed and back in bed, I'll give you some medicine, and you'll start feeling better soon, I promise," she said, gently wiping some water droplets off her forehead.

"Does Grant hate me?" she asked out of the blue.

Jemma's eyebrows knitted in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"He hates me, right? After the Miles thing…" she said sadly. "I hate me."

Jemma sighed. "He doesn't hate you Skye; he's just a bit hurt, is all," she said, pulling Skye's arms through the sleeves.

"I don't… I don't know how to fix this."

"Don't worry about that now Skye; there'll be plenty of time to fix things later. Right now, you need to go to bed and get better."

"I don't want him to hate me, Jem," Skye insisted. "Please."

"Skye, you need to calm down," Jemma said, trying to soothe the young hacker.

"I never meant to hurt anyone, Jem. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I'm sorry," she muttered brokenly, silent tears making their way down her pale cheeks.

Jemma, unsure of what else she could say to make her friend feel better, pulled Skye to her and just held her. She knew Skye had been feeling bad about what had happened with Miles, but she didn't think it was this bad. Skye had made her rounds and apologized to everyone on the bus, and aside from Ward, everyone had pretty much forgiven her for the incident. She should've known though. She should've known that Ward's rejections would affect her the most. How could it not? She and Ward had gotten close, what with him being her S.O and all. This was such a mess.

Sighing, she pushed Skye back a little and noticed that her friend had dozed off. Poor thing looked miserable. Hopefully once she gave her the first dose of antibiotics, she'd start feeling a bit more human.

"Ward, Fitz, we're ready!" she called, trying not to rattle the sleeping girl.

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"What is that? Ward asked, motioning to the syringe in Fitz's hand.

"Antibiotic, it should help clear the strep. We'll have to give her two more doses, but this should start helping tonight," he said, gently pressing the needle into Skye's arm.

Skye winced, but didn't seem to have the energy to do much else. Her eyes fluttered every few minutes as she tried hard to fight sleep.

"Ward, Fitz and I can take Skye with us, if you, you know, have something to do or—"

No, please don't make me leave! Skye thought, peeking up at Ward. She wanted to be here; she felt safe here. She's lived in an orphanage and home after home all her life, and yet Ward was the only one who made her feel like she belonged- he felt like home. She knew it sounded crazy, especially after the crap she'd pulled with Miles, but if that mistake taught her anything, it was that she didn't want to be anywhere that her team wasn't.

"No," he said, swiftly cutting her off. "Thank you for the offer Jemma, but I'm her S.O., and she's my responsibility," he added. "I'll make sure she's ok."

Truth was, he wanted to take care of her, and not just because he was her S.O. Regardless of what she'd done, of how she'd hurt him, he couldn't help but care about her. He still had some resentment towards the hacker, but more than his resentment, there was…love. And while he wasn't ready to admit that to anyone out loud, he was ok with admitting that to himself. He loved his rookie, he loved her as a friend and he loved her as something more. And maybe someday he'd be able to tell her that.

Jemma smiled, secretly cheering on the inside. Skye would be just fine here.

"Alright then, if you're sure, Fitz and I will just be heading back. If anything changes, please call us," she said, grabbing the kit she'd brought in. "Keep an eye on her temperature, if it spikes up again call us; although, with the antibiotics Fitz gave her, you should start seeing a positive change," she added.

"Don't forget to give her the second dose tomorrow," Fitz added, opening the door and stepping out.

"I won't. Thanks guys," Ward said, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Take care of our girl, Ward," Jemma said, before walking off with Fitz beside her.

Ward closed and locked his door, quickly making his way around the apartment and shutting off the lights, before setting the alarm. It was only a little after 8 p.m. but his body was starting to shut down on him.

He quietly made his way into his room, and after contemplating it for a few minutes, he decided that sharing the bed would probably be best, so that he could keep an eye on her and to assure her that he was there and she wasn't alone.

Skye, feeling the bed dip beside her, rolled onto her side and curled into her S.O's chest.

"Ward…" she murmured softly into his shirt.

"Did I wake you?" he whispered, pulling the covers over them.

"Nuh uh. I jus' want to thank you for bringing me home." She said sleepily.

Ward smiled, wrapping his arm around her small frame. "Always." I'll always bring you home.

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A/N: Well, there you have it! I hope ya'll weren't bored by the end of this. I know it was super fluffy, but this is my way of coping with the whole May/Ward thing they've got going at the moment! I can't tell you how ready I am for that storyline to be over with. Anyway, please leave me a review if ya'll feel inclined! Thanks for reading!