The Ebb and Flow of Change

Spoilers: All Episodes of Agents of SHIELD

Disclaimer: I only own Amanda

When he arrived at the compound he was nothing more than an infant by Inhuman terms. He was unable to handle his gift, he was scared of himself and more so sacred of hurting others. Her men reported that he was dangerous, possibly lethal on their charts as a gift such as his risked all their work. Whispers of his past and of his gift were mixed with the need to put the animal down while it was weak. She stayed back to observe him though, through the one way mirror of the observation room, determining if he was a threat as much as history made him to be. However, she saw something her men didn't or couldn't because they didn't know him the way she did.

Lincoln told her it was best she stay out of the room, that anything tended to cause the flames to arise. Only those with an immunity of some type were permitted inside, it was too dangerous and the whispers grew louder as she objected to the treatment they gave him. Her men only wanted to protect her, their leader and gateway into the human world. Eventually two weeks passed and she continued to see a scared man, fear of himself and of harming others damaging him so much more so than the past could.

So she objected on that fourteenth day and walked into the room. The man she'd known to be strong, lethal and perhaps darker than most, was doing nothing more than cowering in the corner. The flame resistant scrubs he wore his only protection in the burned room and as soon as the door opened the flames jumped to life but she paused and put out a hand. Screams of her men and orders to get her out were heard in the background.

She ignored them, reaching out to the flaming man who huddled against the stone still. He lifted his head as if to see her and the red eyes made her pause for a fraction before she continued. He stared at her, the red disappearing as brown soaked through and she found the eyes she'd once found safety in. She didn't hear the screams of her men or those rushing to try to get her out, all she heard was the whisper of a name long forgotten.

"Skye?"

She smiled knowing he knew her and she saw his innate instinct kick in, that instinct that always lay under his skin no matter the situation they found themselves in. They'd be enemies and he'd still jump in front of the bullet aimed for her, his men ordered to let her go and that threat to harm any who touched her. "I'm here Grant."

The flames died away as she touched his face, he buried his head in her chest as she leaned down to comfort him. He was silent but she sensed his heart, it became steady where the constant transdermal monitor always had it above normal, ready to beat through his chest. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." His voice was soft but full of remorse and she found herself wondering what he could be sorry for. When he lifted his head he looked at her, eyes she'd once would have drowned in staring at her as if she was water in a desert. "Kill me Skye, please so I don't hurt anyone. So I don't hurt you."

"Daisy!" Lincoln was in the room with one of the few who could create barrier shields, he stood behind her. "Are you okay?"

She turned to look at Lincoln, "I'm fine, it's okay. He won't hurt me."

"His past and gift says differently."

A hand to his shoulder, she rose and stared Lincoln in the eyes. "His past is gone, you know the laws of Terrigenesis. After undergoing the mists, our past lives are forgotten and we start anew. He's just lost like all of us were, as some of us still are and with time he'll get a handle on his gift but this treatment will end. I have chosen to be his guide, the decision is final."

Hours of training turned into days then weeks and months. She found he was timid like a child afraid putting their foot in the ocean. He listened to her, was patient as she coached him in learning to control his gift. He'd scream at her, flames spouting out as he declared his protest that he wanted to die but he couldn't. He'd spew everything at her, all his past deeds but the laws were clear, the man Grant Ward was before his change was forgotten in the past. She just patiently reminded him that he could be different, that his past was gone.

Six months after his arrival she entered the small garden one day to see him kicking a ball with a few of the orphaned children. Their gifts due to the genetic changes they underwent in the womb by way of fish oil pills during pregnancy. Parents didn't want gifted children and those in the garden were the few not killed but abandoned instead. She watched as he played with the children, gentle with them and even pausing the game to tend to a little girl who had scraped her knee. He touched her unafraid of harming her, calming her as she cried and held her close when she hugged him.

"Daisy?" She turned to see Lincoln holding out a flower and she smiled, taking it.

"Thanks."

"He's still dangerous." He stood beside her and surveyed the continued game. "One day he will regain his confidence and he will harm us."

She looked down at the flower in her hand before looking up again to see brown eyes staring at her. He'd found her hide away and merely smiled at her before being pulled back into the game by rowdy kids. "No he won't, he's changed and for the better. He was never given a chance to change, never given a choice other to be what he was. Now that he has, he'll be who he was meant to be with the pain of the past weighing him down."

"You act like you're sure of that."

"I know him and he's a good man, if only a little lost."

It's another six months before she approaches him with an offer that is both an honor and a death sentence. She sees him playing with Amanda, one of the little girls who'd become attached to him just as much as he was to her. Only a month before had he taken the young girl under his wing, to provide the support and emotional wellbeing the eight year old was lacking. Approaching him in the garden was something she often did and he would give her a smile, warm brown eyes full of hope and finally at peace. It was something she'd wish she'd once been able to have every moment of every day but that was in a past that no longer existed.

"Skye…" He refused to call her Daisy, no matter how many times she tried to correct him and eventually it become his name for her. "How are you?"

"I'm well, how are you two doing?"

Amanda smiled and picked up the soccer ball, throwing it to her but she merely used her ability to manipulate the air so the ball spun. Laughter erupted from the little girl and she tried to grab for the ball till her fingers tipped it enough to fall on the ground. "Again, again!"

"I'd like to ask if you were interested in being a part of something incredibly important? You can say 'no' at any time but I know you and I know that your skills and gifts would make a difference."

He put his hands on the eight year old's shoulders to stop her from bouncing but no doubt to also ground himself. "What is it?"

"I'd like you to become a Caterpillar." She smiled and waited, seeing the look of awe on Amanda's face as she turned to look at the man who had become like a father to her.

"You have to, it's a big honor to be one!" She yanked on his arm, "to be a Caterpillar is the best job ever!"

She saw him calculating before he answered and she knew despite everything, the training of years before ingrained in him no matter how much he changed. "What is a Caterpillar?"

"The best comparison would be a SHIELD Recovery Agent. We recover Inhumans, both rogue and unknown. Some of them are like Amanda, lost without anywhere to go and others have to be stopped." She smiled as she clasped her hands behind her back. "It's not without consequence though. It's an honor but it risks exposure to the world, your safety can't be guaranteed beyond those of your team."

His arms tightened around Amanda and he nodded. "Let me think about it."

"Let me know when you're ready." She smiled and touched his arm, leaving after ruffling the hair of the child that stood between them.

His answer came swiftly and she was immediately explaining the rules of gifts in the field, how missions went and introducing him to his team mates. He found camaraderie with one of the men, a man who could freeze water and it amused her at the jokes they could throw between each other. Like before he was focused, driven and on point with the mission, no diversions unless absolutely necessary. His departure was always with hugs to Amanda before the girl would take her hand and wave as the quinjet was in the air seconds later.

Two years passed and he continued to amaze her, he amazed everyone in reality as he was kind and gentle. He'd taken to adopting Amanda, as much as possible in their small world that their community created. He always came through, making the tough decisions others couldn't and never left another behind. His team came first, always no matter what and he always preserved life until the moment he couldn't.

"Cocoon inbound, we have wounded!" The radio call came in a frantic voice and she immediately had Lincoln standing by with his team of healers. She waited and watched as the team exited the quinjet and nearly gasped as she saw who was carried on the stretcher towards the infirmary. She'd never seen him so weak, so still and it scared her.

Lincoln pulled her aside hours later and told her the news, told her to say her goodbyes because all they could do was make him comfortable. The damage was too great, the Inhuman they'd been sent to capture had broken bones and weakened him beyond repair. So she went into the room and sat on the bed, taking his hand gently.

Brown eyes looked at her and a soft smile filled his face despite the pain. "Skye…"

"Shh…" she shook her head and smiled at him. "I'm here but I need to go get Amanda."

He gripped her hand as much as possible in his weakened state and she paused. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Davenport did this not you." Tears filled her eyes as he tried to move his hand to her face so she leaned down till his thumb wiped away her tears.

"I'm sorry I destroyed our future." He whispered and she knew he meant the past they'd put behind them. "I love you Skye."

"I know." She nodded and stood up. "I need to get Amanda."

The girl was sobbing by the time the moon was in the sky but they waited by his bed. They waited and spent what little time was left, Amanda left in her care as he trusted her to keep the girl safe. Eventually the monitors signaled the slowing of his heart and she leaned in to kiss him, ignoring everything around her.

"Please, please don't leave me." She sobbed openly, her strength forgotten. "I never stopped loving you."

He smiled softly, weak but his soft eyes gave her knowledge he was trying to stay with her. His fingers tightened on her hand as much as possible. "I know, stay strong my Skye."

A quick word to the little girl he loved and he was gone. The little girl sobbing into her arms and she felt anguish unlike anything before. The room shook and the paint on the walls cracked, the last thing she saw was his peaceful face as the world darkened around her. They'd had no choice but to sedate her as she had become the danger.

Waking up days later she learned her danger to the others prevented her from being able to be there for his burning. She sobbed upon hearing that, pain consumed her and she tried to find purchase in the fact she'd been able to say her goodbyes. Amanda came to her and she handed her a small folded piece of paper, saying it was tucked inside the pocket of her father's fireproof tactical gear. She unfolded it to find a picture from years before, of a girl with long locks and a clean faced agent facing each other while playing a game of Battleship.

"Tell me about it." Amanda sat beside her and she put her arm around the girl.

"It's a long story."

"I like long stories." The girl smiled, her blue eyes shining for the first time in days. "Dad told me the best stories."

She smiled and chuckled, "it was years ago before the HYDRA War…"

In the end she realized that a man who had never been given a chance to change, did when that chance was laid before him. He never wanted to be who he was, he'd been forced to make the choices he made based on the people and events around him. Given the chance, he'd become a leader, a father, a friend and most of all, he'd become the real Grant Ward. She'd also learned that love was strange, it ebbed and flows like the tide. It can grow weak or stronger but it never faded, never really left once it'd taken hold. It was the reality that no matter who she was to anyone else, she would always be his Skye and in the end, Skye loved Grant Ward till her last breath.

A/N: I just needed a redemption story and I'm not sorry!

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