Oh, won't you stay with me?
'Cause you're all I need
This ain't love, it's clear to see
But darling, stay with me
"Stay with Me" by Sam Smith
It was only supposed to be a recon mission. They were only there to gather intel. She didn't want him to come on this mission but she couldn't deny that it was his knowledge of the location that had led them to the secret Hydra base.
"You're quiet. You're never quiet."
"I'm not being quiet. Just have nothing to say."
He snorted. "Right…"
She spun around to face him. "I thought you didn't know about any of Garrett's bases…"
"I didn't."
"Then how'd you know about this one?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"I found out about it after I…"
She arched an eyebrow. "Escaped captivity?"
He nodded, swallowing thickly.
"Why did you escape? Innocent people don't run."
He shrugged. "I never really liked prison. And I didn't exactly run away, did I?"
She eyed him with confusion. "You talk like you've seen the inside of a cell before now…"
"That's a story for another day." He walked ahead of her and looked over his shoulder. "Coming?"
She let her arms drop and followed him. "Why did you come back? You were out there… free and clear…"
"No I wasn't…" he sighed.
"You know what I meant." She mumbled.
He stopped walking and turned to face her. "Would you believe me if I said that I came back because of you?"
"Did you?"
"Would you believe it?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Not sure. You haven't really given me a reason to believe you yet."
"Why are you on this mission with me instead of May and Trip?"
"Maybe I volunteered." She raised an eyebrow.
"To keep an eye on me?" he asked.
"Something like that…"
"I told you that you'd understand some day." He told her. "I'd hoped that day would be sooner than later."
"That day might never actually come…"
"I don't believe that." He shook his head with a sad smile. "And you don't either."
"I-"
A sound down the hall cut her off.
"What was that?" she hissed.
He put a finger to his lips and signaled for her to stay close to him. The base was supposed to be abandoned. They were only there to collect intel that could help them pick up a trail on other hidden bases of operation.
Ward pushed her behind him and she rolled her eyes. She'd been training with May. She was more than capable of-
Gun shots rang around them.
Ward crouched down, taking cover, and pulling her down with him.
"I thought this place was supposed to be empty!" she told him while she pulled out her own weapon.
"That's what I'd heard." He frowned. "Looks like we walked right into a trap."
Her eyes widened when she realized the trap had been set for him. "You mean…"
He looked back at her a nodded. "S.H.I.E.L.D. and Talbot aren't the only ones with a price on my head."
"Damn it, Ward." She growled. "You're such an idiot."
"Think you can wait until we're out of here before you start insulting me?" he rolled his eyes before trying to peak around the corner.
A bullet grazed by him and he groaned.
"I count two shooters." He told her. "There could be more though."
"So what are we waiting for?" she smirked.
He shook his head with a knowing smile. "On my count…" she nodded. "3… 2…"
"One!" she yelled in his ear.
Skye rounded the corner shooting her I.C.E.R., making Ward's eyes widened. "Skye!"
The two of them together were damn near unstoppable but these hostiles had real guns. He was right about there being more of them. They'd taken down the two that were shooting earlier only to come into a room with a lot more Hydra agents than he'd hoped for. They'd taken everyone down but Skye didn't notice the last agent who was advancing on her from behind. Ward saw the barrel of the gun before he saw the man's face.
"SKYE!"
She turned around in time to see him step right into the line of fire and take the bullet that had been meant for her. Skye was there in time to catch him as he fell and lifted her arm to take her shot right between the eyes, just like he'd taught her what seemed like a lifetime ago.
She put down the I.C.E.R. in her hand and put pressure on the gunshot wound on his chest.
"Ward…" she called out. "Stay with me okay…"
She didn't know much about human anatomy but she could tell the wound was dangerously close to his heart. A few more inches and it could have been fatal. It still could be.
"Ward!"
He looked up at her with glassy eyes and lifted his bloody hand to her face.
"I did… come back… for you…"
She closed her eyes and held his hand against her face. She'd never imagined seeing him in her arms all bloodied. He was Grant Ward. Bullets barely grazed him. She'd wanted to see him suffer once. Seeing him like this hurt more than she ever could have imagined. His eyes had closed and he was barely breathing.
"Ward!" she tried to shake him but he wasn't responsive. She touched her comm, screaming into it. "May! We need an extraction! Ward's been shot! He's…" she swallowed a sob. "I think he's dying."
"We're on our way." May's voice in her ear wasn't as comforting as she would have liked.
"Hurry!"
She held him onto him tighter, feeling almost angry at him. "I need you to stay with me… Please… don't leave me damn it… not like this…"
When the team arrived, they found Skye holding on to him tightly and refusing to let go. It took Coulson and Trip prying her away from him in order for Simmons check his wound. With May and Fitz's help, while Trip and Coulson held Skye back, they were able to get him on The Bus and into the lab.
His eyes blinked open.
He looked around the room and recognized it as a med-pod. He tried to move and groaned when the shooting pain in his shoulder knocked him back.
"Simmons said you shouldn't move."
He turned to find her sitting in a corner reading a book.
"Don't worry…" she rolled her eyes while reading. "We're not going to eject you from the plane."
He winced and then frowned when he read the title on the cover of her book.
"Why are you reading that?" he asked settling back into the bed.
She closed the book and looked down at the cover before locking eyes with him. "Maybe I… want to understand." She put the book down and leaned forward. "Why Matterhorn?"
He shrugged and his frown deepened. "I'm sure there was a lesson he wanted to teach me in there somewhere."
"Did you ever finish it?"
He shook his head. "Didn't really have the time."
She nodded sadly. "For what it's worth. It's a good book but I think he missed the point of it…"
"He probably did." Ward said looking away.
"Do you miss him?"
He turned back to her. "What?"
"It's okay if you do…" she told him before looking at her feet. "He was like a father to you and now he's gone. It's natural to mourn those we loved."
"It's a little more complicated than that." He said before looking down at the IV in his hand. "So what happened?"
She smirked. "You thought you were invincible and took a bullet for me, Superman."
"Guess I wasn't invincible after all."
"No… especially not with your kryptonite around." She said sadly.
"Skye…"
"I get it… I'm your weakness…" she continued. "But I don't want to be. I don't want to be the reason you get yourself killed out there. Because damn it, Ward, I would not be able to live with myself if that happened."
"You almost sound worried." He smiled softly.
"I care." She confessed, feeling her eyes water. "I don't want to. But I do."
"I'm not surprised." He said softly. "It's who you are. You're still that same compassionate girl that I kidnapped from a van."
She laughed softly before wiping her eyes and giving him a serious look. "I thought you were going to die."
"I'm still here."
"I thought I wouldn't get to tell you what I needed to." She stood up and walked toward the bed.
"Tell me now."
Sitting down, she placed her hand next to his. "You hurt me."
He inched his hand closer to hers but still didn't touch her. This was the closest she'd been to him since he'd returned. He didn't want to freak her out.
"I'm sorry, Skye." He whispered.
"I don't know if I can trust you yet." She told him. "But I want to give you a chance to prove you're the man you say you want to become. I want us to be friends. At least."
He let out a breath. It was more than he could have ever asked for.
"I'd like that."
She let her fingers touch his. "This doesn't mean I've forgiven you…"
He nodded, swallowing thickly.
"But… maybe one day…" she told him, taking his hand in hers.
He squeezed her hand softly. "Thank you…"
She shook her head. "No… don't thank me… please… I don't want this to feel like a free pass. Because it's not."
He nodded in understanding.
"And no declarations of love." She said. "I don't want you to tell me that you love me."
"Understood."
"I've always believed actions over words anyway." She smiled slowly and he smiled along with her. It was that infectious.
"So what do um… what do friends do?" he asked.
"If I remember correctly, you like board games, right?"
He grinned. "I do. What'd you bring?"
"Your favorite." She said lifting up the box of Scrabble. "Simmons isn't here to use her Britishness against you."
He rolled his eyes. "Simmons cheats."
Skye chuckled before pouting at him. "You're still a sore loser."
"Can you wait until I'm no longer on my death bed to insult me?"
"God no… what fun would that be, Robocop?" she shook her head before putting the game between them. "Besides… you're not on your death bed. You're going down, Grant Ward."
"I speak six different languages, you know."
"Well, in this game, you only need one."
He gave her a fond smile that made her blush.
"We'll see, rookie."