notes:

+ this was partly inspired by a little bit of DrawnToDarkness's Five Times Ward Brought Skye Flowers.

+ i'm not very good at multichapter, so expect updates to be slow. i have no idea where this is actually going, so i'm definitely open to suggestions.

+ title (and probably all chapter titles) from run by daughter. which i listened to on repeat while writing this.

+ unbetad bc i am still a lazy arse. all mistake are my own, and feel free to point them out.


She has no other choice. She uses her 0-8-4 powers in front of two dozen SHIELD agents to save them, and it just spirals from there. SHIELD doesn't like her to begin with. But a person as an 0-8-4? They request that she is immediately turned in. For testing.

The team is having none of it. Ward, Jemma and Fitz are all a little shocked at first to learn of her status, but they are nothing if not protective of her. For that, she is eternally grateful. She half-expected them to abandon her like everyone else in her life has before.

Which isn't to say that Fitz and Simmons aren't a little… wary. And curious. Skye can tell they are trying their best not to ask for blood samples. Ward is just very quiet.

Coulson spends a good hour in his office with May, shouting at the agents on the other end of the line.

Skye hides in her room and tries not to cry. She hugs her knees to her chest. If she holds on tight enough maybe she can keep herself together.

The shouting has stopped. There is a knock on her door. "Mmm," she replies, her throat too tight to form real words.

Ward opens it, looking worried. "Come on," he tells her. "Coulson wants to speak with us all."

They gather round the Holotable like it is any normal briefing. Skye wishes it was. But no matter how hard she tries, it isn't.

Coulson's jaw is set in anger. Skye doesn't remember the last time she saw him like this. "SHIELD is still requesting we turn you in for testing."

Skye wants to be sick. "I… yeah," she says, pressing her eyes closed. "Okay."

"We won't be doing that." May's expression is blank and her words short, but Skye thinks that there is an insulted looks in the woman's eyes. But maybe she's imagining it.

Skye is confused. "Are you going to let me go? Won't you get into trouble?"

Coulson laughs humorlessly. "We'll be fine."

Skye nods. She doesn't want to leave the team behind. It's hardly been a year, but there is no doubt that it has been the best year of her life so far. She's going to hate being on her own again. Before the team she didn't know what it was like to rely on anyone, to trust anyone; now she has forgotten how to be alone. "So what now?" she asks.

"We feel it will be easiest to drop you somewhere on our route to the Hub. If we landed there would be a record of it," Coulson says. "You only have about an hour until you'll have to go." He looks at her for a second, the full weight of his words hitting them all. "I'm sorry," he says, and there is something horrible, terribly sad in his voice.

"Yeah." Skye nods again. She's pretty sure if she says anything else her voice will break. SHe doesn't want her team's last memory of her to be her in tears.

"Agent Ward will be accompanying you," Coulson adds.

Skye's head jerks up. "What?" she asks.

"We can't leave you on your own," Coulson tells her softly. "As accomplished as you might be, you can't outrun the full might of SHIELD on your own."

"No." Skye shakes her head, taking a step back, her attention going to the man in question. "No, I can't ask that of you. It's bad enough that I'm getting you all in trouble, I can't ask you to throw away your life too."

"I'm responsible for you," he tells her, like it's only him being sensible, like he isn't going to ruin his life for her. "I'm your SO. I need to make sure you're protected." Skye feels like she might hear a hint of guilt in his voice for a certain near-death related incident that befell her.

"Someone needs to go with you," May puts in before she can protest. "Agent Ward is the best choice. You need to be with someone prepped for combat, and I need to stay here to negotiate your freedom with Coulson." May looks a little sorry to be saying it. Like she would have liked to be the one to go.

Skye splutters a little, unsure of how to respond. They're not going to take no for an answer. She squeezes her eyes shut, trying to clear her head. "Okay," she says. "Fine. So in half an hour Ward and I jump out this plane."

Half an hour passes far too quickly. She stands in the cargo bay, clutching Jemma tight. "It's fine," she tries to assure the scientist (even though it really isn't). "I'll be fine. I'll see you again. This will all get sorted out."

Simmons squeaks sadly, tears welling in her eyes, and pulls Fitz into the hug with them. Skye then gets a quick, chaste (but really moving) hug from May, and kind of a bear hug from a slightly teary Coulson. "We'll fix this," he assures her. Skye would love to say that she is convinced, but she's known too many broken promises in her short lifetime.

The wind rushes at them as the bay opens up to reveal blue sky and a long fall. She straps herself to Ward (and notes, despite the circumstances, that they are incredibly close and she can feel his breath in her hair). WIth one last look, they drop.