A.N: This was my Skyeward Christmas gift exchange for leaf-onthewind... literally one of the most beautiful Skyewardees that I have ever met! I promised fluff, angst and babies, didn't I? I really hope you like this hunnie! Merry Christmas! :)

Christmas 2018

Skye bit her lip in excitement wrapping one of her Christmas gifts for Ward. It was supposed to be their first Christmas together since he'd returned to the team after years of working alone. But he wouldn't be home until after Christmas. Coulson had sent him on an undercover op with Kara a few weeks ago and the two weren't expected to make it in time for the holidays. Skye proudly tied the red bow on the small box, lifting it in her hand and walked over to their Christmas tree. She put the gift down near the back before sitting down on her couch and laid her head back when a chocolate Labrador puppy jumped on the couch with her. "Hey bud…" Skye smiled sadly at the dog. "I know you miss him too…" She lifted the dog, kissing his nose before putting him down so he lay down on her lap. She closed her eyes while affectionately petting Buddy, who also fell asleep on top of her.

Ward tried to be quiet when he walked into his apartment in the middle of the night. It was after Midnight on Christmas Eve but he didn't expect to find his girlfriend using their dog as a stuffed animal on their couch. He shook his head with amusement and put his duffel bag down by the door. Walking toward the couch got Buddy's attention. The dog turned toward him in curiosity.

"Go to bed, boy…" Ward whispered lifting the puppy and put him on the ground. "It's just me…"

The dog sleepily obeyed, trotting toward their bedroom while Ward put his arms under Skye in order to lift her up and cradle her against his chest. She moaned in his arms and almost woke up once.

"Ward?" she mumbled sleepily.

"It's just me, sweetheart," he whispered. "I'm home. Just taking you to bed… go back to sleep…"

"M'kay," she mumbled again before snoring softly against his chest.

She was back to sleep before he could gently place her on her own side of the bed. He watched her with a dopey grin for a few moments before getting ready for bed himself. His girlfriend loved waking up early on Christmas morning to open presents. If he was lucky, he'd be able to get a few hours of sleep before she was waking him up.

Skye blinked awake and looked at the clock on her bedside table. It was after seven. She blinked against the light filtering into the room with confusion. She was sure she'd fallen asleep on the couch. She could feel Buddy sleeping on her feet and groaned.

She yawned and turned over to find a muscular wall lying down next to her. She smirked with mischief and slowly stood up on the bed pushing the dog off. Buddy lifted his head at the movement but she lifted her finger to her lips to shush him.

Skye was about to jump when the sleeping body groaned.

"I can hear you plotting, Skye…" he mumbled against his pillow.

Skye landed back on the bed, defeated. "How did you know?"

He turned over. "Specialist… remember…."

Skye rolled her eyes. "I should date a SHIELD technician instead."

He pulled her closer to him and rolled them over so he was lying on top of her. "Can a technician make you feel this?" he kissed her slowly, swallowing her moan, before pulling away with an arched eyebrow.

"Probably not…" Skye grinned biting her lower lip. "But we should do one more just to make sure…. You know… for science…"

Nodding, "for science, eh?" He laughed when she wrapped a hand around his neck and pulled him back down to her.

When they broke apart he touched his forehead to hers.

"Welcome home," she breathed out.

"I missed you," he responded.

"Me too…." She bit her lip again. "But it's Christmas… and you know what that means!"

"Getting to sleep in because it's my first day off in 8 weeks?" he laid his head on her chest.

"I haven't seen you in a 8 weeks…. Are you really just going to sleep the whole day?" she narrowed her eyes trying to look at him.

He sighed. "No…"

"Come on…." She pushed him off. "Let's make breakfast and open presents!"

"Skye…"

"Please?"

"Fine…." He groaned. "It's not like I got in at 4AM or anything…."

"I'll make it worth your while, baby, I promise!"

He let her drag him out of bed and into their kitchen with Buddy trailing behind them. Ward started working on their breakfast while Skye turned on the coffee machine. That was the extent of her skills in helping with breakfast. She hopped on the counter and watched him cook. She was swinging her legs in excitement while he kept looking over his shoulder at her.

"Why are you so excited?"

"I want to open presents! So hurry up!"

"Alright alright… geez!" he chuckled. "You'd think you were hungry enough for two or something…"

"Is it ready?" she countered.

"Can you set the table?" he asked her. "Should be done in a few."

"Come on, Buddy…" Skye hopped off the counter. "Let dad do his thing."

He rolled his eyes as she hurried out of the kitchen.

Later, they sat around the Christmas tree exchanging their gifts.

"When did you have time to shop overseas?" she asked him with confusion, looking at the pile of presents she had.

"Fitz and Simmons really are like Santa's little helpers…" he shrugged. "I made a list, wired them money and they bought and gift wrapped it for me. They were dropping stuff off every time they came to see you."

"Those little ninjas!" Skye shook her head. "You've got some good friends there, Agent Ward."

"The best…" he nodded solemnly.

"Hey…" she touched his knee. "You know I didn't… mean anything by that, right? We're good…. Everything is good…"

"I know," he smiled sadly.

"Fitz and Simmons don't hate you, Grant." She continued. "They love you… you know that, right?"

He allowed himself to give her a real smile and leaned in to kiss her. "I know… But thank you…"

"Merry Christmas," she breathed against his lips.

"Merry Christmas," he responded kissing her softly.

She pulled back. "So, did you get everything you wanted?"

He looked at his own pile with a firm nod. "You really didn't have to get me all of this, Skye. You didn't have to get me anything, really…."

"Are you kidding me?" she asked. "I couldn't wait for Christmas!" she took his hand and held it in her own. "It's our first together so this one is special. And we just got Buddy this year too… it's a big deal."

He laughed, looking over at their puppy who was distracted with his own Christmas present. "He really likes that bone you gave him. It's bigger than he is!"

"Yeah but he didn't like the outfit," Skye scrunched up her face. "Maybe we can at least get him to wear it for a picture."

Ward shook his head while Buddy lifted his. "No way… that's not happening."

Skye rolled her eyes. "You're both ganging up on me… I can feel it."

Ward nodded calling the puppy over. "Come on, Bud… right you don't want to wear a ridiculous elf costume for a picture?"

The dog barked once and they both turned to Skye.

"Stop it, Grant! You look just like him when you give me that look." Skye narrowed her eyes. "Oh! Before I forget! There's one more gift you haven't opened yet." She leaned over to the tree and pulled out a small box she'd wrapped the night before.

"Another one?" he asked in confusion.

"This one was kind of last minute." Skye shrugged. "I just… picked it up yesterday, I guess you could say."

"You're being evasive."

She rolled her eyes. "Just open it."

He nodded undoing the bow and ripping off the paper. He opened the small box and peered inside before looking up at Skye who was smiling nervously at him.

"Well?"

He lifted the pink stick out of the box and held it in between them. "Skye, what is this?"

"What's it look like?" she asked in confusion.

"Are-are you… pregnant?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes…"

"But…. How?" Ward asked. "I've been gone for 8 weeks!"

She sat back on her palms. "Are you suggesting that it's not yours?"

"Skye! God! No! Of course not!" he stuttered. "But… I didn't think that you and I could… because you're a… and I'm…"

"You can say it, Ward." She stood up in anger. "I'm inhuman and you're human."

"Skye…."

"Well, guess what Mr. Risk Assessment…." She glared. "Maybe you shouldn't have risked spilling your seed inside me so we wouldn't be in this situation…."

"Skye…"

"Don't bother." She cut him off making him flinch. "I'm sorry if this doesn't fit in with your perfect plan… but it happened. And now we have to deal with it."

She walked toward the front door and took her coat hanging in the closet.

"Where are you going?" he frowned.

"Out."

"You're in pajamas." He reminded her.

Skye looked down and narrowed her eyes. "I'm going to get dressed and then go out. I don't want to be here right now."

"Skye…"

But the slamming of their bedroom door told him that she wasn't listening.

Skye had left a few minutes later, slamming the front door. Ward waited a few minutes after she'd gone before calling every single person that they knew. Kara tried to tell him she'd be back soon and that she probably just needed to cool off after whatever boneheaded thing he'd said. Fitz mentioned he hadn't talked to her but that he'd try calling her too. Simmons promised to call him if Skye reached out. Bobbi didn't answer her phone but Hunter did and he just asked him if he'd pissed off Skye already cause he hadn't even been back a day. Ward hung up the phone without giving him an answer. Mack said he would help him look if he wanted but Ward declined telling the mechanic he'd call back if she didn't come home soon. May offered to talk to her for him and Coulson asked him to come to his office.

That is how Ward found himself sitting in his superior's office on Christmas Day, frantically trying to find his girlfriend.

"Has she called?" Coulson asked.

Ward shook his head. "I really messed up this time…"

"Can't be worse than that time you betrayed us for Hydra…. Can it?" Coulson tried to make him smile.

"Apparently, there are no limits to how stupid I can be."

"You're not stupid, Grant." Coulson tried. "You had a very human reaction to an unexpected turn of events."

Ward put his head in his hands. "Did you know? That Skye was pregnant?"

"Not until you confirmed it right now, no."

"So how…"

"Her habits have changed…" Coulson shrugged. "Little things… she was craving things she never used to even eat… she was sleeping more… Simmons was the one to suspect it at first. She asked Skye and of course Skye denied it. That's when Simmons came to me with her concerns. She wanted to give Skye an in house test but Skye refused. I guess she got herself tested after all."

Ward nodded, rubbing his hair. "At home pregnancy test."

"Simmons will still want to run her own tests…. To determine how far along she is…"

"She's 8 weeks pregnant," Ward answered, looking up at his superior officer.

"You mean…"

Ward nodded.

"The night you shipped off…"

"Yes, sir."

Coulson shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"I just can't figure out how it happened."

"Were you careful?" Coulson looked like he was about to throw up having this conversation but Ward appreciated it.

"Not really," Ward shrugged. "I guess I just always assumed we'd be incompatible because she's inhuman and I'm… not."

"She's not an alien, Ward," Coulson shrugged. "She's human just like you. She's just special. And Skye's dad wasn't inhuman."

"I thought… but he had strength…" Ward mumbled. "We don't really talk about her dad… not after what happened… We only just got back together after everything…"

"I don't blame her for not wanting to speak of him but he wasn't inhuman." Coulson shrugged. "And if Skye's parents could have a healthy baby girl… then so can you and Skye…. Have a healthy… boy or girl…"

"Except what do I know about being a father, Coulson? You know about my family history. It's not like I had the best role models growing up."

"Neither did she…" Coulson answered. "And this baby will get to have what you and Skye didn't growing up."

"What's that?"

"A family that loves them…" Coulson answered making Ward smile genuinely for the first time since he stepped into his office. "I know you're scared. And you have a million good reasons to be afraid. But I can only think of one good reason why you shouldn't."

"What?"

"You love Skye and I am certain you'll love this baby just as much."

"Coulson…"

"And you'll have us, Grant. We're not going anywhere. We can help. I want to help. I want to do right by you… despite our differences or the past that is behind us… you are a part of this family. You always have been."

Ward looked at the director sitting in front of him. "This baby will be lucky to have you as their grandfather…"

"Oh no… I don't expect-"

"You're the closest thing to a father that Skye and I have…. We'd be honored if you'd be our baby's grandfather. May might not like me asking her to play grandma though so I'll leave that to Skye."

Coulson chuckled. "Probably a good idea."

"You really think I can do this? Be a good dad?" Ward asked standing up.

"I think you have the potential to be the best dad."

"How do you know?"

"Because you're afraid and fear is a good thing. It keeps you on your toes and it gives you the strength that you need. Just don't let fear control you. Use it to your advantage. You're afraid of being a good dad? Fine… be the best damn father you can be…"

Ward smiled softly. "Thanks…"

"And if all else fails, we'll blame Hunter for any bad habits the baby picks up." Coulson said making him laugh.

Skye walked into their dimly lit apartment to find Ward sitting on their couch, petting a quiet Buddy who was on his lap. He looked up at her and the Christmas lights in the room made his eyes shine in front of her.

"I canceled tonight's dinner with everyone."

Skye groaned hiding her face with her hands. "I forgot about dinner with everyone! I need to call them-"

"I already took care of it. They said they'll just see us tomorrow." Ward shook his head. "I made dinner," he continued. "I didn't know what you'd want so I just made your favorite."

"Thank you…" she answered before sitting down on the loveseat next to the couch.

"I tried calling you a few times…."

"I know," she nodded pulling out her phone. "I'm sorry that I turned it off. I just needed some time to think."

"Skye-"

"No Ward, its fine." She shook her head. "I probably should have told you differently. I shouldn't have sprung it on you."

"No Skye, that's not what I was going to say…."

"What is it then?"

"I talked to Coulson today…" he started. "He says that he's suspected for a while… Simmons too… they want to check you over and make sure everything is alright."

She nodded. "I'll call Simmons in the morning." She started to stand and walk away when grabbed her hand.

"Wait…" he stopped her. "There's something else."

"What?"

"You're not the only one who had an extra gift this morning…" he felt himself smile. "I just wish you'd let me go first so this wouldn't give off the wrong impression."

"Ward?"

He got on one knee and pulled out a small box from his pocket. Skye gasped and shook her head.

"No…. you're not going to do this right now…" she shook her head more firmly this time. "Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean you have to suddenly propose!"

"Skye-"

"We don't need to be married to raise a child… hell, we don't even have to be together… damn it, Ward, no!"

"Will you let me finish?" he looked at her expectantly. When she didn't cut him off, he continued. "I bought this ring back in April."

"April?"

"For your birthday."

"My birthday…?"

He nodded.

"You mean to tell me that you've had this ring for 8 months….?"

He nodded.

"Since April….?"

He nodded again.

"But we got together in March…."

He shrugged. "That's why I've been waiting for the right time to ask."

"And you think now is it?"

He stood up and looked down at her, cupping her face in his hands. "I realized there's never going to be a right time… So why wait…"

"Ward…" she tried to push his hands off.

"No wait… That came out wrong! I'm sorry… for everything… for this morning… for this lame proposal… I was caught off guard and that never actually happens…"

"Clearly," Skye rolled her eyes.

"I reacted wrong. I let fear take over."

"The baby will be fine if you're afraid they'll coming out deformed or something-"

"That wasn't it at all," he shook his head. "I was afraid that I would be a terrible father… I've always been afraid of that. It's why I've never even imagined having kids."

She looked at him sadly and cupped his cheek. "That's not even possible, Grant."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I have never known anyone with the capacity to love as fiercely as you do," she answered before leaning on her tip toes to kiss him. "You should've just told me."

"I don't want to be like my father or Garrett."

"You won't be." Skye reassured him. "That's in the past now… no one even brings that up anymore."

"Doesn't mean it's not on everyone's minds still…"

"And it probably always will be," she shrugged. "It doesn't change the fact that they respect you as a team member and love you like family."

He pulled her in to kiss her. "I love you," he whispered against her lips.

"I love you too…" she kissed him fully before pulling back. "And I'm scared too. I needed you today. I needed you to reassure me that you were all in. That you wanted this."

He nodded against her forehead. "I'm all in. I want this."

"There's no turning back," she reminded him. "I'm having this baby, whether you want them or not."

Ward touched her flat belly with a smile. "I want this and I am all in, Skye. I've never wanted anything more than a family with you."

She bit her lip and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him down for another kiss.

"So is that a yes?" he asked against her lips.

Skye grinned into their kiss. "Yes, Grant Ward… I will marry you…."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground to deepen their kiss. "Thank God… because the ring is non-refundable…"

Skye pulled back and slapped his arm, shaking her head.

He laughed, leaning in to kiss her again. "I can't wait to marry you."

She smiled into their kiss. "I can't wait to start this family with you."

Buddy barked getting their attention.

"He's hungry." Ward muttered.

"That makes two of us." Skye's said as her stomach growled.

Ward took her hand in his, kissing her forehead. "Merry Christmas, Skye."

She smiled up at him before looking down and touching her flat belly affectionately. "Merry Christmas, baby."