"What's gonna happen to me?" Skye asked him.
"Excuse me?" Coulson said, confused.
"Come on, AC. I'm basically an alien. An 0-8-4." She crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly. They were in his office after the events of the mission at the Academy.
Coulson sighed. Skye tried again, "What's SHIELD gonna do to me? Are they gonna put me in a place like the sandbox or something? Keep me contained?" She tried to hide the fear and worry in her voice, but Coulson could see right through it.
"I don't know yet, Skye. I don't know how much Director Fury knows about you and your case."
Skye felt her eyes water. She didn't want to leave the bus. She became used to all this–people caring for each other, being together, having happy moments, and everything there is. She became used to having being in this team–this family. And the last thing she wanted was to be separated from them.
"I'm sorry, Skye." Coulson said.
"You have to stop apologizing, AC." She smiled. "I already told you, it's not something to be sorry for."
Coulson looked at her sadly. He really didn't know how much SHIELD knew. How much of Skye's life did they write for her? Skye leaving and returning back to the orphanage throughout her whole life was SHIELD's work. Was it also them who planned for Skye to live in a van? To join SHIELD? To be part of this team?
"We don't know a lot of things. But here's what I do know–we're not letting you go no matter what. You're a part of this team. You stay here with us no matter what."
Skye smiled at what he said. "Thank you, AC."
Coulson smiled back. "If anything comes up, I'll tell you."
Skye nodded before she left Coulson's office. She felt good at hearing Coulson say those words, but even with them, she still couldn't help but feel worried, scared and sad. Still with a mind full of thoughts, Skye made her way to her bunk. She didn't notice Ward sitting on one of the sofas in the lounge.
"Hey," he said to her, but Skye didn't turn around to face him. She continued to walk into her bunk. Ward grew confused. He placed his book down and followed his rookie inside her bunk. He saw her sitting down on the side of her bed, head in her hands and looking down.
"Skye?" He said. She looked up and Ward saw the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. He immediately closed the door and sat beside her.
"What's the matter?" He asked, but she remained silent. "Wanna talk about it?" He tried again, but she shook her head no. Ward sighed. He didn't like seeing her like this. Skye was always a cheerful and bubbly person. It took a lot of weight to bring her spirits down, and seeing her like this gave him the message that she was going through a really bad time– so bad that she, the girl who doesn't let anything bring her down, was crying. Yet, he didn't know what he could say. He didn't expect Skye to turn down his offer to talk, but knew he needed to respect that give her space. If Skye didn't want to talk, there was only one other option.
Gently, Ward placed his arm around Skye's shoulders and pulled her close against him. Skye tensed up at first, but soon began to relax.
Minutes passed by. Skye cried and Ward held her, patiently waiting for when she's ready to open up. Skye didn't feel herself move until she felt her back lying on the soft mattress. Ward didn't separate from her as he lied the both of them down on the bed. When he did, he pulled her closer until Skye's head was resting on his chest. He placed his left arm on her as the other encircled her waist. She placed one arm on Ward's stomach and they continued to hold on to each other. Neither of them spoke all this time. A few more minutes passed by and Ward heard Skye softly snoring. Her breathing was now more relaxed. He looked at her face. There were dry tears on her now puffy cheeks. Ward tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and sighed. He didn't know what was going on with his rookie right now. He hasn't spoken about it but he already saw that she's been different since the mission at the Academy. He had no clue what happened to her. But he vowed to be there for her through all this.