Hands That Heal Me

Disclaimer:
As always … I own nothing.

Rating:
T

Genre:
Romance/Hurt/Comfort

Pairing:
Skanner (Skye/Bruce)
Any others are open for suggestions

Lyrics Used:
Luke Bryan "Drink A Beer"
Ellie Goulding "Beating Heart"

I Wanna Hear Your Beating Heart

Funny how the good ones go | Too soon, but, the good Lord knows | The reasons why, I guess

Sometimes, the greater plan | Is kinda hard to understand | Right now, it don't make sense | I can't make it all make sense

"Sir, what are you not telling us?" Special Agent Grant Ward demanded, following his boss and mentor on to The Bus – watching as they loaded his teammate; his operative – in an EMP into the loading bay.

"We're not Skye's only family." Agent Phillip Coulson spoke in a haunting deadpan as his eyes remained glued to the young woman, before him as he answered his specialist's question.

"Whaddo you mean?" Ward questioned, curiously.

"Get the others." Phil ordered, curtly. "Meet me in the conference room." He finished, cryptically, as he wrenched his gaze away from Skye's EMP before turning on his heel to leave.

"Sir!" Leo Fitz spoke, first, as he followed their pilot – Agent Melinda May – into the conference room alongside his long-time lab partner, Agent Jemma Simmons. Turning his attention to Coulson at the head of the table, he voiced the question on his – and, quite possibly everyone's – mind. "Ward said something us not being Skye's only family?" He questioned, struggling to figure out what their mentor and friend could have meant by that. "What d'you mean?"

Sighing heavily, Phil uploaded the information from his search for Skye's parents onto the screens behind him. "Several months ago … Not long after Skye first joined this team … She confided in me her desire to find her parents." Phil began, sifting through the information to the pertinent data. "Now, it took some digging … But, I've finally managed to procure the identity of her father."

"Bloody hell." Jemma breathed, staring up at the picture of none other than Tony Stark on the screen behind her boss. "Is … that … who I think it is?!" She questioned, carefully, almost as if she didn't dare to believe it.

"Yes, Agent Simmons." Phil replied in affirmative. "Skye's father is Tony Stark. I didn't want to go to Skye with this information until I could be absolutely certain. But, my recent cross-examinations have determined that Tony Stark is Skye's father." Pausing a moment to allow the dust to clear after the bomb he'd just dropped, Phil spoke again. "Which is precisely why I've asked Agent May to plot a course for New York. I figured … if it were my long-lost daughter's life hanging in the balance … I'd wanna know."

Wanna hear your beating heart, tonight | Before the bleeding sun comes alive | I want to make the best of what is left, hold tight | And, hear my beating heart, one last time

"Mr. Stark." The crisp, clinical voice cut through the air as Tony Stark recognized it as a voice he never thought he'd hear again. Slowly turning toward the doorway to his workshop in the newly renovated Avengers Tower, the genius felt his eyes widen to the size of dinner plates as he watched none other than Phil Coulson walk through the door.

"Phil?" Tony breathed, still awestruck, as he slowly crossed the shop floor to meet the Lazarus agent in the middle of the room. "What … I don't … How …" Try as he might, Tony Stark – for the first time in his life – was truly at a complete loss for words. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here because there are a few things you need to know." However, before Phil could say another word, he was soon cut off by the engineer's snide comment.

"Ya think?!" Tony demanded, sarcastically.

"Mr. Stark, I really don't have time to play your games." Phil barked, effectively silencing the engineer. "In fact, this is really more of a courtesy call." The senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agent began cryptically. "You see … One of my new operatives happens to share a connection with you."

"Me?" Tony questioned, dumbly, still trying to figure out just where the hell Phil was going with all this.

"She's your daughter … Tony." Phil deadpanned, watching the realization dawning over the engineer's face as he braced himself on the workbench next to him.

"My daughter?" Tony repeated, breathlessly.

"Yes." Phil confirmed. "Her name is Skye. She was working as a hacker for The Rising Tide when I recruited her for my team. Shortly after joining, she confided in me about her search for her parents. I offered to help however I could. Only just recently did I learn that you were her father."

After pausing to process the bombshell of information that had been dropped on him, Tony finally spoke, his voice filled with wonder. "Can I see her?"

Sighing heavily, Phil dropped his gaze as he fiddled with his hands – in an uncharacteristically nervous gesture – before he spoke again. "That's another reason I came here, today, Mr. Stark." The senior agent's voice, alone, had the billionaire on edge. "Our latest mission went sideways … Skye was shot twice in the abdomen at point-blank range."

"Oh God …" Tony breathed, shakily. "But … Sh-sh-she's gonna be okay, though … Right?"

"We're doing everything we can." Phil assured his old friend, gently. "But … You should know … She's currently on life support."

"What?" Tony breathed, suddenly more terrified than he could ever recall being. "What happened to her?!"

"The shots perforated her stomach and punctured the small and large intestines." Phil began listing off the young hacker's injuries almost as if he were reading out of a medical textbook. "The trauma surgeons in Zurich said that they resected what they could but … There was too much damage."

"So … What? … You're just … giving up?!" Tony demanded, his fear suddenly manifesting into anger.

"Absolutely not!" Phil responded with so much passion in his voice that Tony instinctively took a step back. As shocking as the reaction was, he was glad to know that – even if he'd never been given the chance to know his daughter, yet – at least he knew she had someone looking out for her. He appreciated that.

"So, what's our next play?" The billionaire finally asked, finding his voice, again.

"I've had her transferred to an EMP pod and loaded onto our Bus … We're getting ready to take her to Bethesda." Phil replied, steadfastly keeping his voice at a calm, clinical level.

"Bethesda?" Tony questioned, curiously. "Why Bethesda?"

"That's where my file says I was treated after the battle of New York." Phil elaborated, simply.

"With all due respect, Phil – I see they saved you – but, what makes you think they'll be able to do anything different than the surgeons in Zurich?" The engineer questioned as Phil could almost literally watch the gears turning in his head.

"Because we did a lot more than just save him." Both Phil and Tony turned to the opposite doorway when they heard the ever-familiar voice of Doctor Bruce Banner.

"Dr. Banner." Phil greeted, briefly.

"It's good to see you again, Agent Coulson." Tony watched, silently, as Bruce crossed the room to meet himself and Phil were they stood.

Shifting his gaze back and forth between the two men, Tony finally had to voice the question weighing heaviest on his mind. "What the … Am I missing something?"

"Director Fury ordered me to oversee the procedures and treatments used to bring Agent Coulson back." Bruce explained, simply.

"Wait a minute …" Tony interjected, still struggling to put the pieces together. "You brought him back?!"

"Yes, Mr. Stark." Phil replied, simply. "I did, in fact, die after Loki stabbed me. According to my file, my heart was perforated – torn in half."

"And, you fixed all that?" Tony asked, bewildered, staring wildly at the one man that could potentially save his daughter's life.

"Yes, we did." Bruce conceded, hesitantly, before turning to Phil. "What's going on, Agent Coulson? Why are you only digging into this, now?"

"Because my daughter's life depends on it, Banner!" Tony barked, earning a startled stare from the physicist.

"What?" Bruce breathed, confused. "Your daughter?" He questioned.

"Her name is Skye, Dr. Banner." Phil interjected, on his friend's behalf. "She works for me. Our latest mission went sideways. Skye took two GSWs in the abdomen at point-blank range. Perforated her stomach. Punctured the small and large intestines."

"Jesus, Phil …" Bruce breathed, listening to the laundry list of injuries.

"She's currently on life support and prepared for transport to Bethesda." Phil replied, getting right back to business.

"About that …" Bruce replied, looking somewhat guilty. "All the information in your file – the doctors, the treatment centers, the room numbers … they're all false."

Now, it was Phil's turn to be rendered speechless. "What?"

Sighing, Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose as he replied "Fury was concerned about the drugs and the treatments we used falling into the wrong hands. He wanted to protect you from anyone that may want to strong arm the information out of you-"

"A sociopathic venture capitalist just put two bullets into the stomach of one of my operatives!" Phil snarled. "The time for 'protecting intel' has long passed!"

"He's right, Banner." Tony very nearly growled. "My daughter's life is on the line! If you know something, you damn well better start talking."

Heaving a resigned sigh, Bruce crossed the workshop before pulling a thick file out of a drawer Tony'd never noticed before. "Everything you need – the correct information – to save your girl … is in this file." He finally conceded.

Eying the physicist, carefully, Phil finally accepted the file – flipping through its contents – before coming to a decision. "I think I can speak for the rest of my team when I say that we'd all feel better if you came with me. To look after Skye."

After a brief silence, Bruce finally voiced his concern. "I think we all know that you and your team are far safer the farther away I am."

"On the contrary." Tony countered. "I know I – personally – would feel better if I knew you were looking after my daughter."

Author's Note:
I hope y'all enjoyed this! Please read and review!

~Skye Coulson