So this was something I was playing with. Depending on the response, I might be willing to write a sequel. Warning, angst ahead.

-Illusinia

A pounding pain crawled through Skye's head as she slowly became aware f her surroundings, obnoxiously familiar and persistent. Ugh, I'm gonna have brain damage if this keeps up. The world felt stable for the moment, but she knew the second she opened her eyes that everything would tilt violently. If she didn't get sick to her stomach, it would be a miracle. Well, this might come close to winning the award for crappiest day of my life. No, who am I kidding? Getting shot was worse. Actually, that might be debatable. Being kidnapped by Hydra is pretty bad.

Voices began to leak into her ears from near by, faint but present. She was careful not to move, trying to focus on the sounds to determine what was happening, but they were impossible for her to identify. Great, so I'm surrounded by who knows who and I've been unconscious. So, that means I'm who knows where, in who knows who's hands. Wow, I need a better word than who. Ugh, okay Skye, play dead and come up with a plan. C'mon, you're smart, or you were before Ward decided to gift you with brain damage. Figure out a way to escape. This is the second time this has happened today, let's not make it a third!

The sensation of someone gently lifting her head up and running a hand over her skull brought Skye's attention fully back to her reality. Huh, well, that's more caring than I expected. If that's Ward though, I'm gonna punch him.

She was tempted to open her eyes, but there was no way to do that without making it obvious she was awake, and she didn't want to do that until she knew who was in the room with her. The voices had shut up by now, only speaking up occasionally and more as murmurs than actual voices. Her hearing was coming back, thankfully, so she could make out the sound of at least one woman and one man in the room. Neither voice was near her head though and both were strangely accented. It took her a second to realize she was hearing the familiar British accents of Fitz and Simmons. They were arguing from what she could tell, their words becoming clearer as her hearing returned.

So I'm with the others, they found me. I'm safe again. Relief overtook her as she felt her whole body relax and she let her eyes slowly blink open without concern.

As she'd thought, the world tilted dangerously but it was mercifully dim in the space. Coulson's worried face blinked down at her, giving her something to focus on. It helped with the vertigo-esque tipping. Seriously, she felt like she was on a ship in the middle of a storm. Despite the discomfort though, she forced her focus on Coulson. Her boss looked like he'd been through hell, and she really couldn't blame him. After what Garrett had revealed, she wouldn't look much better.

It took some effort, but she managed to raise her hand to grip Coulson's where it lay beside her head in his lap. With her eyes open, she could see they were still in that stupid escape tunnel. She was almost afraid to turn her head, to look away from Coulson. Being in that tunnel meant that Garrett's broken, bloody body was probably laying just feet away unless Ward had moved it while she was out.

Coulson looked down at her silently, meeting her eyes as he squeezed her hand. The heartbreak written across his face was painful, almost visceral. Like a punch to the gut. God, the hell he must be going through. Poor AC.

Offering him a smile and a reassuring hand squeeze, she closed her eyes and tried to sit up. One of Coulson's hands landed on her upper back, helping to guide her into a sitting position. He left it there as she took several deep breaths and tried to fight back the vertigo and accompanying nausea. Both passed faster this time though, probably because she suspected the first time she'd been knocked out that day had involved drugs and not a strike to the head. Not like this one, which had definitely been a hit to the head. Her jacket shifted as she sat up, a foreign weight pulling it to one side. What the...there wasn't anything in my pocket earlier.

Keeping her eyes closed, she slipped one of her hands into her pocket, seeking the item that was weighing her down so unnaturally. Smooth leather met her touch, her fingers tracing over a lip edge and smooth, rounded corners. A badge case, like the ones they'd all carried before Hydra came crawling out of the woodwork. There didn't seem to be anything dangerous about it though, so she left it where it was. The case hadn't been in her pocket before Ward knocked her out; that meant it was placed there while she was unconscious, probably by Ward. What the hell could he feel the need to give her?

Before she could remove the case though, there was a noise and then Simmons was shouting. Eyes shooting open, Skye came face to face with the British biochemist as the other woman began examining her eyes. A rapid line of science babble came from the smaller woman as she grabbed Skye's eyelid and tried to yank it up. Skye instinctively bolted backwards, landing on Coulson who was careful to steady her with a hand to her shoulder.

"Simmons, enough," ordered Coulson calmly, keeping his hand on Skye's shoulder and squeezing gently. "You can check her for a concussion when we're back on the Bus. Right now, we need to get out of here."

"Please," choked out Skye, her voice rough as she rubbed her head gingerly. Her fingers brushed the fresh bump on the back of her head from where Ward had clocked her, making her wince. Damn, Ward. "Where's Ward?"

Simmons glanced back at Fitz, who looked a little uneasily at Coulson. Skye carefully turned her head to look back at Coulson, giving him a worried look. If they weren't talking, something was seriously wrong. Her stomach flipped at the thought that they might have seriously hurt or killed Ward. He'd been alive after he took out Garrett... "What? What happened?"

"Skye-" started Coulson, the look on his face painful as he started to speak. Shouting from behind the older agent cut him off though. Coulson glanced back at someone further down the tunnel, drawing his attention along with that of Simmons and Fitz. Carefully, Skye leaned on one of her hands to look around her boss, trying to spot whoever was coming towards them. It took her a moment to realize it was Triplett.

The specialist was jogging up the tunnel towards them, looking like he'd been going for a while. He came to a stop before them a second later, leaning forward to brace his hands on his knees and breathing hard. "Wow, that's a long tunnel." Taking a deep breath, he looked up at all four of the team members, smiling crookedly at Skye when he noticed she was awake. "Hey Skye, glad to see you back among the living."

"Triplett, any sign of him?" broke in Coulson before Skye could respond, looking worriedly at the other agent. Skye wanted to hug Coulson, he looked so miserable.

Mouth tightening to a tight line, Triplett shook his head sadly. "No sign of him. I'm thinkin' he must have used some side exit I couldn't find, because I didn't see any way out of this place."

"Ward?" questioned Skye. It was stupid, who else would they be looking for? Garrett was dead, after all.

"Yeah," confirmed Triplett, shaking his head a little and looking at something down the tunnel and off to the side. Following his line of sight, Skye could just make out the outline of an unmoving body. Garrett's, most likely. "Ward did a number on Garrett."

"Garrett threatened-," her voice broke before she could say more as the fuzzy memory of Ward taking the Beserker staff to Garrett's head assaulted her. She remembered why, too. Garrett had threatened to kill her, leave her body as a 'gift' to Coulson. Use her as bait. Ward had wanted to let her go.

"Threatened what, Skye?" pressed Coulson softly, his eyes looking at her pleadingly. "Who or what did Garrett threaten?"

"Me," whispered Skye, her eyes sliding shut again as her eyes began to tear up. She needed to get herself under control. Ward had killed a man, it didn't matter that he'd done it to protect her or that said man happened to be an intolerable asshole and psychopath. Ward had killed another person. "Garrett threatened me, and Ward just-" Her voice broke again as her mind was overwhelmed by the memory of the attack's violence. "God Coulson, what he did-"

"It's alright Skye," assured Coulson softly, drawing her into a hug. "It's okay. It'll all be okay."

"Sir, we really should be going," pointed out Simmons gently, though she didn't move from her place a few steps in front of Fitz. "Garrett and Ward may be gone, but the others are not and the military may well arrive soon."

"Right," croaked Phil, keeping his grip on Skye as he shifted to rise to one knee. He kept his arms firmly around her, carefully drawing her to her feet as he stood. The assistance was a relief, especially when her legs didn't initially want to hold her. "Skye, can you walk?"

"Yeah," stated Skye firmly, determined to not weigh her team down in their escape. Her legs felt weak and it would be tricky with her head still spinning, but she would do it. "Give me a minute to get my legs going."

"Here, lean on me," stated Triplett as he approached, reaching out with one arm while keeping his gun firmly in his other hand.

Coulson shifted to stop his approach, shaking his head. "No, I want you and May free in case we hit trouble. I'll help Skye. I've fought with injured personal leaning on me before."

"I'll be fine," broke in Skye as her head finally stopped spinning. That didn't mean moving would be easy, but hey, she could try. Her legs felt a little steadier too, though again she'd see if it held when she moved. That would be the million dollar question. "I can walk."

"You were hit in the head, Skye," stated Coulson firmly, fishing his own gun out and taking her weight on one side of his body. "We aren't going to risk it. Now, let's move."

It took them fifteen minutes to reach an exit, backtracking through the base and out a secret door rather than the way down via barber chair that she'd taken. Of course there was a back entrance, there was always a back entrance. What would an evil base be without a back entrance? At least Skye was mostly standing on her own by the time they reached the exit. Coulson was hovering like a worried hen, but it was kinda understandable. Especially since she'd stumbled a few times getting out there (the damn floor was uneven! Really...).

May was waiting out in the alley with a van. She looked irritated and a little scuffed up, though there were no bodies around. That didn't mean the bodies weren't near by, of course, and she could see some dumpsters that looked like promising targets.

The pilot nodded at them once as they approached, pulling open the van's doors and climbing into the driver seat to start the engine. Simmons and Fitz nearly dove into the back seat, Simmons turning once she was inside to help Skye in. The hacker took the offered hand, carefully ducking as she climbed inside with Coulson standing behind her, a steadying hand on her lower back.

Triplett climbed in last, pulling the door shut as Coulson ran around the van to climb into the front passenger seat. They were away in seconds, just as the sound of helicopters began to echo in the distance. Local police cars came racing into sight along with military vehicles in their rear view mirror just as they turned off the main street calmly. May gunned it as soon as they were out of sight, cutting through back streets so fast Skye was surprised they didn't hit anything.

No one spoke, choosing silence to speech in the aftermath of the day as the shock finished settling in. It was almost impossible to comprehend everything that had happened. Really, it felt like a bad dream and if it weren't for the headache and lump she was sporting, Skye might have been able to assume it was.

"Well, that was something," stated Fitz suddenly, sending Skye nearly jumping out of her seat. She glared at the engineer over the seat back, as did Simmons from beside him.

Triplett gave him a 'really dude?' look, shaking his head before leaning forward to talk to Coulson. "So what's our plan, sir?"

Up front, Coulson leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together as he stared out the windshield. His fingers folded against his lips, eyes locked on some phantom memory. "We move forward, keep hunting down Hydra."

"What about Ward?" asked Simmons softly. "We can't just leave him out there."

"We can and we will," stated Coulson quietly, his voice breaking slightly as he spoke. "We'll keep an eye out for him, but he isn't our priority. He has too many safe houses, too many places to hide. We'll never find him if he doesn't want to be found."

The words cut through part of Skye, the part that was still holding out hope for Ward. She'd seen in that day, in his eyes as he spoke to her, in the way he'd defended her against Garrett, the man he was under everything. She'd seen the good in him again, even if he'd beaten Garrett to death in the process.

"Skye?" Simmons' voice brought Skye back to reality seconds before she felt the biochemist touch her shoulder. "Skye, did you hear me?"

"What?" asked Skye, blinking back at the biochemist. Her headache was beginning to get to her a little, though the pain was gradually subsiding some. "Sorry, my brain kinda wondered off. What'd you say?"

Simmons sighed worriedly as she looked at Skye like she thought the other woman might pass out any minute. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," assured Skye, offering Simmons a smile. "My head is killing me, but otherwise, I'm better."

"No swimming vision or nausea?" pressed Simmons, the doctor in her coming out full tilt.

"Only if I move my head too fast," replied Skye with a shrug. "I think that's pain more than anything though."

Nodding slowly, Simmons leaned back a little. She still looked worried but less so. "I want to check you for a concussion when we reach the Bus. You need to stay awake until then."

"Not gonna be a problem," chuckled Skye darkly. "I don't think I could sleep now if I wanted to."

For a moment, the van went silent again as the day settled back into everyone's minds. God, had it really only been a day? It felt like three had passed.

"What happened anyway, Skye?" asked Fitz suddenly, drawing all attention in the van except for that of Phil and May's to her. She knew the older agents were listening carefully though.

Sighing, Skye leaned her head back against the seat. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and tried to figure out where to begin. Which, well, was pretty much where she started remembering things. "It's kinda fuzzy. I remember going into the warehouse, then nothing until I woke up..."