A/N: This is my first AOS story and I took some liberties with the storyline. With that said, hope you enjoy!

Chapter One

Ward thought he was hearing things when walked in on FitzSimmons in the lab, and heard the most ludicrous proposition. He had his mind on the ICER, wanting to know how things were progressing with the latest redesign. He'd wanted a smoother discharge when he pulled the trigger, and the two scientists began floating ideas between them in their typical oblivious-to-the-world way before he'd even gotten out of the lab. Today they weren't talking about his gun, though. They were talking about Skye, and how she was going on her first solo mission. Which was impossible. She'd barely mastered disarming an assailant, and on a solo mission you needed to know a lot more than that.

"What do you mean Skye's going on a solo mission?" Ward snapped.

Simmon's eyes went wide, and she stammered, "Did no one tell you?"

Damn right they hadn't, Ward thought. He felt another surge of irritation at that realization. He was her SO, dammit. These were the discussions that he should be a part of. Namely so he could end them.

"Excuse me," Ward said in a low voice. "I need to talk to Coulson."

He stalked out of the lab, and made his way toward Coulson's office. He walked past May, and taking in only the set of his shoulders and his tight jaw, May warned, "Don't try to fight him on this. His mind's made up. Skye's, too."

Ward ignored her, focus set solely on his target: Agent Phil Coulson. When he got to Coulson's office, he saw that the man had company. Skye leaned against the desk, her fingers working tirelessly at her phone. She always was looking into something, and he could tell from the crease between her eyebrows that she was deep into whatever she was looking at.

"Anything good?" Coulson asked.

"I don't know about the location," Skye said, voice serious. "But, the building has a pool. Living out of a van for most of my adult life, I can't say I know much about apartment pools, but they seem like a win-win."

Ward blinked rapidly. She was about to go on a solo mission where she likely would end up dead, and they were discussing apartments? His hope that either of them would have any common sense with this situation dissipated quickly.

Coulson noticed Ward standing in the doorway and said, "Hello Agent Ward. I was wondering how long it would take for you to show up in my doorway. You can step in, you know. We don't bite."

"Hey, so guess who just got her first solo assignment?" Skye said proudly. When he didn't answer she pointed one slim finger toward herself and said, "Spoiler alert. It's me."

"I heard," Ward said warily. He turned his attention to Coulson. "And I'd like to say that I think I don't think it's a good idea."

"Hey," Skye said unhappily.

He held a hand out toward her, which she didn't take kindly, and said, "She's not ready. She's come a long way since we started, but you can't honestly believe that she's ready for a solo mission."

"I do believe she is," Coulson returned calmly. "Besides, this op was practically made for her. Actually it was. Literally. She made it herself"

Ward shook his head in confusion. "I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"Do you remember Ian Quinn?"

Ward nodded, rubbing at his jaw irritably. "Yeah, he was on Shield's radar a few years ago. What about him?"

"Recently we received intel that he kidnapped Dr. Franklin Hall. You may remember that Dr. Hall is a particularly important asset for us with his work with gravitonium."

"Yeah, I remember," Ward said shortly. "What does this have to do with Skye?"

"It turns out our intel was wrong. Hall went willingly, and is now supplying Ian Quinn with what we can only imagine is a limitless supply of gravitonium and whatever else he's worked up in his genius physicist brain."

"So, you're sending Skye to find out what Quinn plans to do with Hall's inventions," Ward said, already not liking where this was going. "How are you getting her close to him?"

"We already handled that. Turns out Quinn Worldwide's hiring."

"And you just happened to get the job?" Ward asked Skye.

"No, I didn't just happen to get the job," Skye returned, leaning against Coulson's desk. She crossed her arms over her chest. "I hacked into Quinn's email account and had him send an email to himself saying to hire me. I also snuck into the mainframe and replaced every other interview candidate with myself. Quinn called offering me the job four hours later.

"How do you know this isn't a trap?" Ward pressed.

"Quinn likes to collect talent," Coulson said. "That's exactly what Skye is in this situation."

"I know what I'm doing here, Ward," Skye said resolutely.

Ward sighed, deciding to try a different tactic, and walked forward, laying his hands on her shoulder. "I know that you want to get out into the field. I understand that. And what you did was impressive. Frankly, it was sort of genius. Your time will come to be out in the field on your own, but it's not now. Wait. Let yourself become properly trained."

"I don't need to be properly trained," Skye said. "I'll be sitting behind a desk for months. I'm good at that already."

Ward stared down at her, suddenly catching on to why her and Coulson had been talking about apartments. He dropped his hands and looked back at Coulson. "You're sending her on a long-term op? Coulson-"

"Skye feels she can handle this. The op is happening."

"But-"

"The decision has been made, Agent Ward," Coulson said, his voice snapping with finality. "There will be no more discussion."

Ward could practically feel the cogs of his brain spin. He was used to thinking on his feet, but he was at a complete loss with how to stop what he was fairly certain would be a disastrous course for Skye. She wasn't trained well enough. She'd be fine behind the monitors, that much he knew. But what happened if something went wrong? What if Quinn got suspicious? No extraction team would be quick enough to stop the bullet that would be heading directly for her back. The mission was suicide by herself.

By herself.

"Send me too," Ward said decisively.

Coulson stared at him. "What?"

"It'll be another set of eyes to watch. To make sure that she doesn't get in over her head."

"I don't need a babysitter," Skye spat.

Ward knew that she took offense at anyone going toward her independence, so he rephrased and emphasized, "If Quinn is going to use the gravitonium, or whatever else Hall develops for him, he needs to be monitored. It's more than following the digital trail. I'm sure at some point we're going to want to get our hands on whatever Hall makes for Quinn. You need someone who can monitor the base operations. Someone who can get in and out without being detected. You need a specialist."

"Bullshit," Skye said, but Coulson was less hostile to the idea.

"You have a point," he said slowly.

Skye's head snapped toward Coulson's, and she murmured, "Seriously?"

"It would be useful to have someone on the ground there if we need to raid the headquarters at any point," Coulson explained. "And it wouldn't hurt to have another set of eyes on you."

Ward could see Skye's irritation at him highjacking her mission and he told her, "Don't worry, I won't interfere with your part in this."

Skye shook her head and pushed off Coulson's desk with the back of her heel. She brushed past him and muttered, "Whatever."

"She'll warm up to the idea," Coulson said happily. "And if not, it's going to be a long few months."

They met back in Coulson's office a few hours later to go over the details of the newly minted partner mission. Ward was feeling pretty good about himself and how the situation turned out, until he saw the cover Coulson gave them. Only his name was changed – which made sense considering Skye had personally finagled her way into a job – but Coulson added one titillating detail, and a largely unnecessary one in Ward's opinion, of him and Skye being engaged.

"There is no way anyone is going to believe that I am engaged to him," Skye said, pointing a finger at Ward. " I mean, come on."

"Then you guys will have to really sell it," Coulson returned calmly.

"Sir, are you really sure this is necessary?" Ward asked.

"Given Skye's newly acquired position at Quinn Worldwide, she will be able have access Quinn. Something that you may find valuable down the line, Agent Ward. This will give you a legitimate reason to be in the headquarters. To go to the parties and the Monday night happy hours where all the gossip happens. Trust me. This is the way to go."

"If you say so, sir," Ward said in a low voice.

"Everything you need to know about your cover is in your file," Coulson said. "You both leave in the morning."

Ward flipped open the file, grimacing when he saw his new name printed in bold.

"George Poots," Ward read aloud.

Skye reacted immediately, grabbing his file and saying, "Let me see."

"It's right there," Ward said, pointing at the name. "Poots." He shook his head. "Who comes up with these names?"

Skye shoved the file back toward him and muttered, "I am going to kill Coulson."

A/N: Would you like more? Let me know!