A/N: Happy Monday! I was off work today and I'll be off tomorrow as well, due to dangerous temperatures, so I figured I'd do a bit of writing with all my extra time! I'm working on a few things right now- some of which are done and just need to be revised, but I actually dreamt this (crazy, I know) last night and well, I had to write it. Hopefully you all enjoy it and hopefully it makes sense lol. This will be a 2 part fic… maybe 3, depending on how you all like it.

Warning: No beta was used, so all mistakes are mine. I apologize in advance for them.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Skye sat on her bed, her knees tucked close to her chest and an oversized hoodie- Ward's hoodie to be exact-pulled loosely over them.

She glanced down at her clock, sighing in frustration. It was almost 1:30 in the morning and she couldn't fall back asleep.

She'd woken up about an hour ago from a nightmare, tears cascading down her cheeks and sweat pooling across her forehead.

Things had been kind of rough since Coulson told her the truth about her past. Although she'd come to terms with it, she couldn't help but feel scared and alone sometimes. She knew Coulson would never let the people who were after her, take her, and she knew that the team would do anything in their power to keep her safe. But who would keep them safe?

If what Coulson told her was true, then everyone around her was at risk of dying. A whole village and two S.H.I.E.L.D teams had been massacred in order to get to her- who's to say these… people wouldn't do the same to her team?

She couldn't let that happen. She'd promised Coulson she would stop looking for answers; and she would, for now at least. But if she wanted to protect them, she had to at least figure out what her powers were.

"Powers." Skye scoffed. "Because I wasn't enough of a freak already…" she muttered to herself as she examined her hands. Had there ever been any signs? She'd never felt different or had any crazy talents that she could remember, and she sure as hell couldn't fight worth a damn, so a kick ass ninja was out of the question. Although, that would've come in handy during some of her more… intense foster home stays.

"Maybe they're wrong." She said to herself. "Maybe I don't actually have any powers. Maybe I'm just some bad omen, and people around me die."

That thought rekindled the fear she'd felt when she woke up. The thought of being the cause of Jemma, Fitz, Coulson, May, and Ward dying just shattered her.

Tears slowly fell down her cheeks as images of her teammates meeting horrible ends played through her mind.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying with all her might to stop them, but she couldn't. This wasn't a nightmare she could wake up from, because she wasn't sleeping. This was just her mind deciding to play a cruel game with her. One she was losing.

She gripped the extra material of the sweater tightly in her fists, trying to absorb the essence of Ward that still lingered on the fabric. Ward was her safety. Nothing could hurt her when he was around. He protected her, despite all their differences and bickering, he never left her to fend for herself.

Not yet anyway.

What would Ward think of her when he found out she was a 0-8-4? Would he be afraid of her? Would he throw her off the plane? Would he turn her over to S.H.I.E.L.D HQ? Would he drop her ass off at the sandbox? Or would he just kill her right there on the spot?

She supposes if she had a choice, she'd probably want Ward to be the one to do it. Even knowing that he'd kill her, she'd like to think he'd do it humanly.

"What the fuck, Skye!" she growled at herself angrily.

God, she just wanted to sleep. She wanted to stop thinking so damn much. And she wanted to not feel so damn scared all the time!

She glanced at the clock once more. Twenty minutes had gone by without her noticing.

Sighing, she pulled her legs from under the hoodie and shuffled off the bed. This was pointless. Sitting here in the dark wasn't helping, so she might as well do something. Anything would be better than thinking.

"Like sleep." She sighed, slipping a pair of purple fuzzy socks on.

She quietly slid her door open and stepped out into the dark bus, quickly heading over to the kitchen. Maybe she'd try some of that nighttime tea Jemma talked so much about, or maybe she'd find some those sleeping pills she'd heard Jemma explain to Coulson once… although that probably wouldn't be smart. There's nothing worse than not being able to wake yourself up from a nightmare.

Nope. Tea it was.

AoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoS

She'd downed the tea within ten minutes of making it, burning her taste buds right off. She didn't care though, because the tea was working. Her eyelids were heavier than before and she was having a hard time keeping her head up.

"Finally." she breathed out, setting the mug in the sink and staggering sleepily towards her bunk.

She'd kept a hand on the wall, careful not to stumble on the way, but let go as soon as she felt cool glass on her finger tips.

She stood still for a moment, her eyes focusing on the closed door in front of her. Ward.

Skye contemplated her decision for another second before throwing caution to the wind and going in.

AoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoS

Skye slid the door shut behind her as quietly as she could. Ward would probably kick her out of his room as soon as he woke up, so she wanted to get any comfort she could from his mere presence before that happened.

The second her eyes landed on his sleeping form, she felt her body relax against the door. It was ridiculous how safe one person made her feel.

And scary.

Relying on one person to keep you safe and happy was dangerous. Life was unpredictable, especially with jobs like theirs. Letting someone in could be disastrous.

And yet…

She inched closer to his bed, expecting him to wake up any second now and yell at her for invading his personal space. She couldn't help it though. She was sleepy as hell and desperate for a nightmare free sleep, and the only way she saw that happening was if she was around him. He'd protect her even from her own convoluted mind.

Skye kneeled on the floor inches from his bed, trying hard to keep her breathing as quiet as possible. God, she felt like such a creep.

She scoffed quietly. How sad was she? Who sneaks into someone's room to feel safe? Her life was so messed up.

"Skye?"

Shit. Skye froze, feeling Ward shift in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, sitting up and switching his lamp on.

Skye swallowed, her throat suddenly going dry. Shit, shit, SHIT!

Ward frowned, looking down at her. He quickly noticed the dark circles under her red rimmed eyes, her pale face, and his sweater engulfing half of her petite body.

"Skye?" he carefully swung his legs over the edge of the bed so he didn't accidently kick her. "Why are you kneeling on my floor?"

Skye shifted uneasily, not quite sure what to do.

Ward was getting impatient. It was 2:30 in the morning and he'd woken up to find his rookie kneeling on the floor beside him, looking worse for wear.

"Are you ok?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

Skye sat back on her legs and glanced up at him nervously, biting her lip.

"Hey, talk to me." He said, his voice rough from sleep.

"I-" she glanced down, fidgeting with her nails. "I couldn't sleep." She finally said, softly.

Ward sighed, running his calloused hands over his face.

"So you thought it'd be a good idea to come wake me up? Needed some company?" he said, almost jokingly.

He regretted it instantly though when he noticed tears forming in her tired eyes.

"Sorry, I—I'll just go." She muttered, clumsily getting to her feet and turning to leave.

Ward frowned, more confused than ever.

"Wait!" he said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back. "Why are you here?"

Skye contemplated lying to him, but then she remembered her "no more secrets" rule, so no, the truth it was.

"You make me feel safe." She said quietly, looking up at him.

Ward's expression softened, hearing the slight waver in her voice. His rookie was scared.

"What's going on, Skye?" he asked gently tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Nightmare." She shrugged.

Ward's eye narrowed as he took in Skye's body language. He had no doubt she'd had a nightmare, but he was almost 100% positive she wasn't telling him everything.

"What about?" he asked, leading her to the bed and helping her sit down.

Skye wanted to tell him. She really did. But she was terrified of what he'd do. Ward was the last person she ever wanted to hurt. Not again.

Telling him would most likely get him killed somehow. Coulson was adamant about her keeping this a secret. But not telling him the truth would probably kill any possibility they had of making this friendship between them work. He'd lose all trust in her and that… well that would hurt… a lot.

"Skye, you can trust me." He assured her, taking her hand in his.

"You'll hate me." She whispered, looking over at him. "If I tell you, you'll hate me, but if I don't tell you… you'll hate me too."

To say Ward was confused was an understatement. But he remained quiet, allowing Skye to gather her thoughts. It was clear that whatever was going through his rookie's head was not good, and he wasn't going to make it worse by pushing.

"Ward?" she whispered, locking eyes with him.

"Yeah?"

"Can- I'm…" Skye sighed, frustrated with her inability to speak.

"Trust me." He said, his voice gentle and low.

She sighed, her shoulders slumping forward. "I'm so tired." She finally managed to get out, her eyes watering as she spoke.

Ward frowned, concern overriding his curiosity.

"Ok, let's get you to bed then." He said, lacing his fingers with hers and standing.

Skye pulled against his hold making him look down at her.

"Can I stay with you?" she asked, panic flashing in her eyes. "I'll sleep on the floor and I won't make any noise. I promise." She said pleadingly.

Ward didn't say anything for a few seconds, as he tried to figure out what could possibly be bad enough to scare Skye this much, and land her here in his room, seeking his protection.

Don't get him wrong, he was happy and grateful that Skye trusted him enough to come to him; to know that he'd keep her safe, because he would, no matter what. But it was hard to keep someone safe if he didn't know what he was fighting against.

"I'll tell you everything tomorrow. I swear." Skye said, knowing that she'd want –need- to know the truth if the roles were reversed.

Ward regarded her for a second before pulling her up into a standing position.

Skye's face fell, sure that he was kicking her crazy, secret keeping ass out of his room, but quickly found herself surrounded by strong arms as he pulled her small frame to him.

"Whatever it is you need to tell me, won't change a damn thing between us." He said with conviction in his voice. "I'm you're SO, Skye. But before that, I'm your friend." He pulled back and wiped a few tears from her face. "You can trust me. I won't turn my back on you; ever."

Skye squeezed her eyes shut and stepped into his arms again, wrapping hers tightly around his waist. God, she really hoped he meant it.

"Now come on. Let's get a few hours of sleep. You can't train properly if you're walking around like a zombie." He smiled softly, pushing her towards his bed.

"I can sleep on the floor; I don't want to take your bed away from you, Grant."

Ward froze at the use of his first name. Skye had never used his first name before, and God help him, he kind of liked how it sounded coming from her mouth.

"I'll just go grab my covers and then—"

"No." he said, shaking himself out of his thoughts. "You're not taking my bed. You're sharing it." He lifted the covers up and gestured for her to get in. "Scoot over." He said, slipping in after her.

Skye shuffled backwards until her back hit the wall, trying to make herself as small as she possible, so Ward could sleep comfortably next to her.

"Skye, stop."

"Stop what?"

"Just relax." He said, pulling her closer to him. "It's ok." Ward draped his arm around her shoulder and tucked her into his side.

She let out a deep breath and finally allowed herself to relax when his arm settled comfortingly on her hip. Safe.

"Thank you." She muttered sleepily.

"Shhh, get some sleep, rookie. I've got you. You're safe." He assured softly.

Skye smiled as her eyes slid shut and sleep took her under.

I know.

A/N: So… what'd you think? I hope you all enjoyed this little piece of fluff. I'm having AoS withdrawals so I'm reading and writing as many fics as I can to keep myself busy until the 4th. Anyway, please let me know what you think so far! Do you all want to see a part 2?

Much love,

Pixiee