Disclaimer - Same as before, this should be read as a fan fiction!
Just a quick drabble I had lurking on my computer for a few days - totally out of character, but it is fiction after all!
"Guys, we need to talk!" Skye had called all the members of her team together in the lounge area of the Bus - she was staging a one woman intervention against all of them.
The others all looked at each other, a similar look of puzzlement passing through their faces.
Simmonds, automatically fearing the worst rushed over towards her injured friend who was slowly but steadily walking out of her bunk and into the communal area. She began barking orders at everyone to help Skye get off her feet and was sending Fitz down to the lab to grab as many medical supplies as he could lay his hands on. Ward, Skye imagined, was assessing the distance from the lounge to the lab, probably counting the number of steps he would have to take to reach it! May appeared to be turning towards the cockpit, probably to redirect the plane to the nearest hospital and Coulson just looked worn out but poised for action, having grabbed one of Skye's arms to lead her to the sofa.
"Guys stop - this is what I'm talking about, I need you all to stop fussing and start with the normal again!" Skye gratefully accepted Coulson and Simmonds help over to the sofa to sit down, but drew the line at their attempts to have her lie down.
"I'm mighty obliged for all you fussin' but I'm done lying down, I'll be ok sitting up right for a while" Skye settled herself where she was, then indicated for the rest to sit down too when she looked up to see them standing in a semi circle around her, "Seriously guys, beginning to feel like a zoo exhibit here! Sit down, lets' talk."
"It's been a couple of weeks from I was injured..."
"17 days to be exact, and I wouldn't pass it off as injured - you died more than once on the operating table" Ward interjected to the nodding heads of everyone else around him.
Skye glared at him before she continued, "As I said, its' been a while now from that particular day and we need to start getting some sense of normal back. Whatever normal for this team is or should be."
"Skye, you're injured it's going to take a while for us to get up and running again. We are a team member down, one who has a particular speciality that isn't easily replaced." Coulson knew the team being out of rotation was impacting on case turnover and morale, but Skye being injured and her recovery had become their focus of late.
"A.C. please don't think I don't appreciate how important I am - joke guys joke - but life can't stop just because I'm laid up for a while. I can hack from the lab when needed or create some highly, *ahem* illegal programmes for you to take in on operations with you. You guys are great, the best infact, but the cotton wool treatment needs to stop, as lovely as it had been!"
"Skye we just need you to get better and that won't happen while we're gallivanting round the world fighting baddies at every turn" Simmonds began fretting "We nearly lost you because we were split up during a mission - it won't happen again"
"Guys this is what I'm talking about - we need normality back, what happened can't be changed. It was my decision to go into Quinn's meeting place and mine alone; was it the outcome I anticipated - not by a long shot but what happened happened and now we need to move on from it." Skye looked round at the faces surrounding her, guessing what they were all thinking.
Deciding to lighten the mood ever so slightly "you guys are my peeps but honestly enough with the smoothering!" Before they could interject all at once she continued "I have woken up loads of times since I got back to the Bus with Fitz staring at me. No offence but this morning I woke up to a face full of crumbs falling on me!"
Fitz getting very red faced felt the need to explain his actions, "I couldn't see if you were breathing properly, so leaned over to check on you. If somebody hadn't changed the bloody toaster setting my toast wouldn't have burnt and been so crumbly."
Ward swung round to face Skye "you weren't breathing? " then to Fitz "and you didn't call us? What the hell man?"
"Ward, WARD! I was breathing just fine up to the point I got a face full of crumbs, weren't you listening?" Exasperated Skye turned to May "and don't think I don't know it was you that has hidden all my fun stuff. You took my lap top and I want it back, like yesterday" Skye cringed inwardly at the look May was giving her, but hey if anyone asks why she said decided to face down May her defence was that she was loopy on pain killers. Anyway, May wouldn't physcially hurt her whilst she was recuperating; afterwards maybe, but not now. "I was always told that laughter is the best medicine; if I've no video access how can I laugh? Well actually that brings me nicely to Jemma."
Confusion etching her features, Simmonds began querying what Skye was talking about "What have I done that is so comical?"
"Last night when I said I needed the toilet - you offered to go for me! I'm not a biology person, but I'm pretty sure if that person needs to pee only they can go!" Looking sheepishly around her Simmonds muttered "stupid bodily functions, I was only trying to help."
"I know you were and I thank you for it - it was a very generous thought! But you need to relax, you've been with me every step of the way and I can't tell you what that means to me but my goodness girl - you need to SLEEP!" Skye's words were echoed by the other members of their team who readily agreed and nodded their heads.
"Now we get to A.C., you my friend need to stop jumping every time I utter a sound! You are teaching me some pretty bad habits which needs to end otherwise I will expect you at my beck and call forever."
"I don't know what you are talking about Skye"
Looking him straight in the eye she asked, "Really, that's the game you want to play is it?"
"This isn't a game Skye, I don't know what..." Coulson's denial was cut off by him running to the kitchen area to grab Skye a bottle of water when she started to cough. When he returned he could see the triumphant look of victory on her face and the others sporting similar smirks on theirs. "Ok, ok I'll back off a bit - point taken." He passed the bottle over to Skye before returning to his original seat across from her.
"And finally, we get to Agent Grant Ward" Skye said in her best imitation of him, which made everyone around her smile and snigger including the man in himself.
"Don't think I'm not on to you buddy! I may not be able to do any physical training, I do have a pretty damn good excuse two actually, but it doesn't mean you can't either! Sulking in the lounge area waiting for me to move and carry me everywhere when you could be doing 600 push ups one handed or bench pressing Lola isn't very S.O. like and may end up with some kind of demerit on your file. What actually happens when Operation Specialists are demeritted? Do they take you away to some super secret lab and reprogramme you?"
"I'm not a robot" he deadpanned back, humouring her long running joke.
"No you're not, you, and this will likely be the only time I admit this, are a fully functioning human being who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to save this idiots life but now is time to restore factory setting, reboot and restart in normal mode. I'll be fighting fit soon enough and will be expecting you to keep up with me when I get back to training; until then practice! I wouldn't want to shame you in front of all these people when I manage to do 6 pull ups to your 4!"
Looking around at her friends Skye declared "Now as the invalid has spoken you all must obey. This is the moment normality returns to our freaky little lives and personally I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring!"