I saw the latest Agents episode and you know those little clips where they tease you bout the next episode and are like GUESS WHAT NOW YOU HAVE TO WAIT A WEEK? I got inspired to write a one shot based on some of those. I've been pretty sad about Simmons' lack of care for Skye, at least she isn't expressing much, so I wanted to play with some of those snapshots of the next episode. Cause I like playing.

I don't own Agents of SHEILD.

A slender figure ran through the woods.

Lights slid in and out of the trees, one moment there was darkness, the next, a crazy kaleidoscope of blinding light and snaking, twisted shadows of tree branches.

The figure suddenly fell, but scrambled back to her feet, desperation clear in her actions.

There was a soft pop, hidden among the sounds of whirling blades and roaring engines.

The figure fell.

The lights descended upon her.

"Oh God."

Simmons' couldn't tear her face away from the screen in front of her despite her desire to be seeing anything but what she was looking at.

That was a picture of her friend being broadcasted. Skye's face was bruised and there were small cuts all over. Her chocolate eyes were dull. She was a shadow of the girl Simmons knew.

The screen switched to a video of Skye fighting to get away from several suited men, panned out and showed the rubble Skye was standing in, cutting back to footage of the world shaking and a building coming down.

"No more secrets."

A reporter came on and interviewed a man about Skye, who explained her abilities, talking about her as if she were a scientific subject…

An image of the braces Simmons had constructed flashed on the screen, then switched to an image of soldiers forcing them on Skye, the electric shock triggering and Skye's body jerking and falling to the ground…

"What have I done?" Jemma whispered.

How could she have been so horribly blind? Blind to the point of harming her own friend.

And now Skye was hurt, captured, and in mortal danger.

Skye. Their Skye.

Skye who had never had a real family. Skye who would and had taken a bullet for them. Skye who was so fiercely dedicated to them.

Skye never deserved anything that had happened to her. She had been in pain, struggling, confused…. And what had Jemma done?

Treated her like a scientific problem.

"The world is begging us to give you to them."

Skye didn't look up.

She had heard the screams, the calls for her death when they had transported her to the facility she was in. The public knew about her. They had put her on display like a specimen, with "No More Secrets" ringing after the footage of her loss of control. Her public trial was coming up and Skye was afraid.

"You used me." Skye spat. "You don't care about secrets or not. You just want the public to like your version of SHEILD. This is about power. And you're using me to get it."

"Sweetie, we didn't destroy that building," the man chuckled. "You're a freak. You aren't a human. We just decided to share that with the world. It's time people know the truth. Now that they know, we'll let them decide what to do with you. Personally, I'm on the scientific study side, but you know how people are. They like to put down things they are afraid of."

Skye didn't react when he left, but a single tear slid down her cheek.

Jemma's hands shook, she couldn't tear herself away from the images of Skye all over the screen, taken from different news outlets

"They'll tear her apart like dogs," Fitz was pacing. "Have you read what people are saying? The ignorance!" Fitz's eyes were wide with panic.

"We don't abandon our own," Coulson's jaw was set, his eyes dark. "I hope everyone understands without a doubt why we do have to keep some secrets. The world isn't ready for the truth. They will kill Skye. And not only will they kill her, they will torture her, experiment on her, and study her."

The team was sober, faces serious and anguished.

"Come on, we have an extraction to plan."

Why hadn't she seen earlier that Skye was the one needing protection from the world, not the other way around?

Later, as Jemma performed CPR on the broken and bruised body of her friend, barely snatched from the hands of a violent mob, she could only pray that Skye heard the apology that she was pouring into her with every breath she breathed into Skye's lungs.

Just a little thought/interpretation following the events of last night's episode.

I hope you enjoyed this tiny snapshot!