Title: Satisfied
Author: snarkysweetness
Rating: R
Pairing: Skyeward with Alice, Alison, & Thomas Ward, Triplett, Fury, Kate, Clint, Nat, Maria, & Melinda
Summary: As Skye settles into her new life in the framework a surprise encounter with her mother leaves her questioning whether she will be able to complete her mission. [Part 2 of my Framework series]
Warnings: There might or might not be sex in a SHIELD conference room. I can neither confirm nor deny these accusations.
Disclaimer: If I owned canon we wouldn't need no motherfucking fanfic to fix this mess.
Author's Notes: I hope this leaves you all shook, okay? Also, I don't care about the mess that is canon so despite brushing up on it I decided it was too much of a mess to put up with so I did my own thing as always. Once again don't me about it.

As it turned out finding the team was proving harder than Skye had imagined. Call her an optimist but she thought she would have saved them by now. And the longer it took for her to do the guiltier she felt, even if it was hard to feel bad when she'd been blessed with the most magical child in existence.

"Come on baby girl, I know you can do it," Grant encouraged as he did his best to watch both her and the screen of his phone as he recorded her.

With a toothy giggle Alice reached out a hand for Skye who was sitting just far enough away that their little one would have to walk to her mommy if she wanted to get to her.

Skye held out her arms for Alice with a warm smile. "All you have to do is take a few steps." Alice took one tiny step, keeping one hand on the coffee table for support. "You can do it, baby girl," Skye cheered.

Alice frowned and took another baby step. She looked between her parents and when no one came for her she wrinkled her nose angrily the way Skye did with a large pout. "Mama!" She whined, holding both arms out.

An ache rushed through Skye's chest but she kept her resolve. She couldn't go to her now. While Alice had taken a few steps here and there she hadn't actually walked yet and it was time. Skye wouldn't be able to handle it if she missed the first time her baby walked because she was off on a mission. No, this was happening today.

"Angel," Skye cooed, giving her baby girl a smile, "mommy's right here. All you have to do is walk to her. Come on." Skye held out her arms for her to come rushing into them.

"No!" Alice cried stubbornly as she bounced on her chubby little legs while clutching the table with both hands.

Another whine filled the room and a moment later Skye's lap was filled with slobber. "Hey, old boy," she said affectionately, petting the top of Buddy's head. She was surprised he was still around. He was going on twenty and while she knew his time would be up soon Grant couldn't even think about his best friend dying.

"Puppa!" Alice cried happily, reaching both arms out and taking deliberate steps towards him.

"GRANT! Get it!" Skye ordered, covering her mouth to keep from squealing in delight. She was doing it. Just one more step and she would beat her record. When Alice took three more steps before collapsing on their poor, old dog and kissing his nose Skye nearly had a heart attack.

"Oh baby girl, you did it!" She cried happily, filled with pride. She picked Alice up and gave her a big fat kiss before Grant took her and did the same.

"Puppa, papa!" Alice complained, reaching down for Buddy.

Buddy yawned but rolled onto his side, waiting for his friend to join him for a nap.

"Fine, Princess, but remember: Buddy isn't as strong as daddy so you have to be careful with him."

Alice nodded as if she actually understood and he set her down and they watched as she crawled over to him and began patting at his belly.

"She's so perfect," Skye whispered, tears in her eyes.

Grant wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. "She takes after her mother like that."

"Now, now, she has your eyes and cheekbones," Skye teased as she glanced up at him.

The more time she spent here the more conviction she felt in her decision to stay when her mission was over. She'd fallen in love with her child the moment she'd seen her but now, spending time with her, that love was even deeper. And she'd begun to have dreams that felt like memories. The longer she stayed the more she began to remember about her backstory in this universe.

Sure, she loved Grant and being with him was almost magical but that little chubby bundle of joy was the love of her life. Skye couldn't imagine ever returning to a world where she didn't and couldn't exist.

"Knock, knock! Where's my favorite niece?"

There were exactly two people who were allowed to just waltz into their house without getting shot: Trip and Grant's baby sister by three minutes, Alison.

Alice waved her tiny fist in amusement as her favorite aunt set down her things before hugging her big brother. "Doesn't Skye make you shave anymore?" She teased as she scratched his beard like one would a cat.

Grant slapped her hand away in annoyance. "Stop, she likes it like that."

It was true, she did. But his sister didn't need to know it was because Skye enjoyed the way it felt when he went down on her.

"Where's my munchkin?"

Alice rolled onto her little diapered butt in excitement and her entire face lit up. She used Buddy to get to her feet and Skye winced at the pained look on their poor pupper's face. A moment later Alice did her best to run as she waddled over to their new guest in excitement. Once she reached him she tried to hug his leg but fell to her ass instead.

While most children would cry, Alice stared up at her uncle in amazement before he scooped her up and plastered her with kisses.

"That is bullshit, I take her every time you two need to run off last minute but he's the one she worships." Alison said as she shot Thomas a glare.

"It's because I'm so handsome," he teased, pulling out a new stuffed toy for her.

"Ugh, Thomas," Skye scolded with a groan. She was spoiled enough as it was.

"First of all; you're only handsome because you look like me. Second; she doesn't need more toys. And third; you don't call first?"

The brothers gave each other a hug and Skye felt an ache in her chest. She missed her family. Coulson, May, Jemma, Fitz, Mack, and even the Koenig's and their little fanboy obsession. But then that beautiful pair of brown eyes came into view and the longing and pain faded.

"Sorry, Alison but I don't trust anyone but you or Trip with her yet." Once this mission was done Skye was going to see about taking the rest of that maternity leave she'd apparently come back from early. And by taking the leave she'd be hacking into SHIELD to thoroughly vet every person who would ever interact with her child in the company daycare center.

She was sure the Skye that she'd replaced or…was it joined? Whatever. She was sure she'd done it but Skye still couldn't remember every detail of her life here and until she was sure Alice would be as safe as possible no one was laying a hand on her without her approval.

"I don't mind, she's no bother," she assured, taking her from Thomas.

Alice happily patted her hands on her auntie's cheeks with a grin.

"Hello to you too."

Skye smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Bye, bye, angel. Mommy and daddy need to go to work now. You be a good girl, okay? I miss you." She hated leaving her. It killed her every time. But Skye couldn't be selfish and stay with her when the world and the people she loved needed saving. She'd go do the saving and then have something to look forward to when it was all done; cuddling her perfect little angel.

An hour later she wished she'd just stayed home with their baby and dog.

"Are you sure they're on to us?" Skye hissed as Grant grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. She shot him a look of annoyance, wondering how in the hell their cover had been broken. They'd spent weeks infiltrating Hydra and she needed their cover to keep. May was one of their highest-ranking officers and she knew once she found May, Coulson wouldn't be far behind. They'd be the hardest to convince this wasn't the real world and to get to remember but they were where she had to start. She couldn't find Jemma at all in this world which wasn't a surprise; she was dead. Fitz was a billionaire so he was untouchable. And Mack…he'd been easy to find but she didn't relish ripping him away from his child so she was saving him for last.

"It's a feeling," he whispered, pulling her closer as he glanced around.

Skye frowned. "I'm not breaking cover over a 'feeling'." Sure, she trusted his instincts but there was more at stake here than their mission for SHIELD.

Grant leaned down and pressed his mouth to the corner of hers. Their cover included them being a couple to make things easier so she didn't mind his show of PDA.

"There's a bomb in the bag," he whispered, handing it to her.

"You're so getting laid tonight," she replied under her breath, appreciating his escape plan.

Skye slung it over her shoulder carefully and quickly lead him towards the floor where her office was. She happened to glance up as a familiar head of hair disappeared from view. Her heart swelled for a moment, excited to know that May was here but the creeping, tingling sensation on the back of her neck told her that Grant was right; they'd been made.

"The stairwell," Skye ordered as agents began flanking them from all sides.

Grant pressed an extra gun against her back, tucking it into her jeans before they made a run for it. The door to the stairway slammed shut behind them as Skye narrowly missed a bullet.

"Fuck!" She cursed. They'd been so close to May!

She rushed down half a flight before taking the pack off her back and ripping it open. She carefully set the bomb in place and grabbed the detonator with one hand and Grant's hand with the other. "Come on, hurry," she ordered, pulling him down the stairs with her. As soon as they heard voices in the stairwell Skye pressed the button and covered her ears as the loud explosion boomed above them.

Skye hoped May was somewhere safe; she wasn't sure what would happen if one of them died here and she didn't want to find out.

"Here, you drive," Skye called, tossing him the keys to the getaway car they'd stashed in an alley a few blocks from Hydra HQ. He was the quicker driver and it would be a miracle if they made it that far. There was a reason Hydra had managed to win this war thus far; they'd spent their time in the shadows arming themselves with better technology than SHIELD had at their disposal.

They made it out of the building and Skye released his hand so they could run faster. Another bullet missed her and she started shooting back. These assholes were not going to make an orphan of her daughter.

"Skye, get in the damn car!" Grant yelled, throwing her door open.

Skye rounded off the rest of her mag before jumping in. Grant spend off and she took a moment to breathe and calm her racing heart. Sure, nearly dying sucked but man did she enjoy the thrill of it.

"Fuck!" She cried out when she glanced at her idiot boyfriend. There was blood on his shirt which meant… "You've been shot; again." How was he still alive at this point? Honestly!

Skye ripped his shirt open to find it was just a through-and-through in his shoulder but it still didn't ease her desire to turn this car around and kill every single Hydra agent that had been shooting at her man.

"I'm fine, baby," he insisted, glancing back at the black SUVs chasing them.

"You are not, fine! You're bleeding all over the damn place! Can you get us to the safe house?" There was no going home, not until they were sure no one was following. Keeping Alice safe came first always.

"No, call it in. We're heading to HQ."

"Grant…"

"We're not losing this tail and the boss would much rather have us bringing Hydra to the door than die. Besides, we can take those guys out with help."

Okay, that part she appreciated.

"Ward! Coulson! What the hell happened?" Fury yelled over the phone.

About that: in this world, it seemed there was still an Agent Coulson only it wasn't Phil.

"We were made, boss. I'm not sure how they knew," Skye said, glancing at Grant's bleeding shoulder. "Ward's been shot and we've got five Hydra cars on our ass."

"It was Agent May, sir. I saw her before they closed in on us, she wasn't supposed to be there."

Skye glanced at him in confusion. Why would May be the one to break their cover?

"Goddammit, I should have sent in Bishop and Triplett."

"With all due respect, no one would believe Triplett defected, sir." Grant argued. "And Bishop's father ranks higher than May does; she would have been made even faster."

"Damn agents defecting left and right, damn agents with parents in Hydra, I'm sick of this shit, Ward!"

Skye and Grant's eyes met for a moment before he took a hard, sharp turn in an attempt to lose their trail.

"Sir, not everything is Ward's fault."

"Not now, Coulson. Get your asses back here. I've got Barton and Bishop on the roof and Romanoff at the front door. They'll take care of your tail."

He hung up abruptly and Skye pressed a kiss to Grant's cheek before reloading her gun. "Well then, now it's a party."

"Are you capable of getting through a mission without getting shot?" Nat teased as she poured Grant a drink. He shot her a glare but it was cut short when he winced in pain.

"Sorry, baby," Skye whispered, kissing his bandaged shoulder. She finished getting his shirt on and ran her hands over his beard before kissing the corner of his mouth gently. "No one's going to judge you if you take some pain meds," she whispered. She knew he liked to seem macho but he'd been shot for crying out loud.

"No, I need to be alert, just in case," he assured, thanking Nat when she gave him a glass of Scotch. They were in a small conference room and could hear Fury yelling from the other room.

"What crawled up his ass?" Kate asked, putting her feet up on the table and throwing her drink back in one shot.

"You two blew up half a city block," Trip reminded and Kate shrugged, holding her glass out for a refill.

"He should have specified that he didn't want us playing with our new toys," she snarked, winking in Clint's direction.

"Huh?" He was too busy staring at Nat's ass as she bent over the table to refill everyone's glasses. Kate lifted a brow before kicking him from under the table. "Oww!" He cried, rubbing his shin. "That hurt."

"Good," Nat said, glancing back at him from over her shoulder.

Skye rolled her eyes. She didn't know who those two thought they were fooling; everyone knew they were fucking. There was no point in pretending otherwise.

The boss threw the door open and stormed in followed by Hill who shot Clint and Kate a disapproving glare.

"Bishop!" Fury barked, staring at her feet and she groaned before taking them off the table and sitting in her chair properly.

"And you two!" He yelled, looking at Skye and Grant. "What the hell happened?" Before Skye answered he was ranting. "We wasted weeks sending you two in there for nothing! I'm sick of this crap! Why in the hell were you made? Why in the hell is Hydra still an issue? And who in the fuck said it was okay for you to blow up their headquarters!"

"Um…I would think you'd appreciate that last one," Skye replied. "And we didn't get nothing." As if he didn't know her better by now. Skye reached into her shirt and pulled a flash drive out of her bra, dangling it in the air before tossing it to Hill. "That's everything I've managed to gather over the last three weeks. You're welcome."

"There's better be something useful on there, Coulson," he said grumpily, hands on his hips.

"Do blueprints for all of their bases count as useful?" She asked with a charming smile.

He glared down at her for a long moment before heading for the door. "All of you idiots go home, I don't want to see any of you until that mess you made outside is fixed."

"You're welcome," Skye called, unable to help herself.

The boss stopped in the door and glance back with his one eye. "The next time you get made don't lead them to the front door."

Fury disappeared and Kate rolled her eyes in Skye's direction. "What a drama queen."

"Bishop, Barton, I need your new toys back," Hill said, earning loud protests from the two archers. "You'll get them back but tech needs to work out the kinks. And…good work today, all of you. Disaster or not there are twenty less Hydra agents to worry about and it's going to cost them millions to fix that bomb damage.

And seriously, go home. You've all earned it and you two go spend time with that adorable baby."

Skye smiled proudly. "She is really cute, isn't she? But we're going to hang out here for a while. I'm not chancing one of those bastards following us home."

"Just don't drink all the booze," she ordered, waving as she left.

"You two can stay here but I need a shower and a long nap," Clint said as he pushed his chair back. He and Nat exchanged knowing looks before he too left, followed moments later by Nat.

"Those two aren't even subtle about it." Trip shook his head and finished his drink.

"Try being roommates with them," Kate complained, pouring herself another glass. "Want to hang out at your place? Order a pizza? I do not need to listen to Nat bang his head against the wall all night."

"We can marathon Westworld?"

"Yes! You two want to come? We haven't all gotten blackout drunk since you two decided to breed."

Skye laughed and stood, gathering their glasses. "Maybe another time. I want to get home to my kid as soon as the coast is clear."

Kate stood and threw an arm around Skye and kissed her cheek. "Fine, but I'm holding you to it. Come on, Trip, I think Gino's is still open and I want an entire pie to myself. And you," she kissed Grant's cheek before pinching it, "give my niece a kiss, will you? Right on her chubby little cheek. You know, Skye, when we were kids he had the fattest little-"

"Bye, Kate," Grant interrupted in annoyance. He did not appreciate her tales of their childhood, even if Kate was the one bright spot in the shitstorm it had been.

"Bye, Douglas," she teased, leading Trip out of the room.

Once they were alone Skye wrapped both arms around his neck and pressed her mouth to his. It had been a long, crazy day and all she wanted to do was unwind with him beneath her after tucking their little one in. But she'd settle for making out on a conference room table.

He moaned into her mouth and curled his fingers into her hair, pressing himself against her. A flash of memories played through her mind and a smile came to her lips as she pulled him closer.

"Grant…do we really want to risk getting caught?" They hadn't last time but surely they wouldn't be so lucky twice?

He trailed his hand up her thigh and nipped at her lower lip.

"Don't pretend the thought doesn't excite you."

They, or rather him and the other Skye, had fucked in HQ so many times she'd lost count. In stairwells, in their offices, in this conference room, even in a bathroom once. A blush rose to her cheeks as memories that weren't really hers came flooding through. She'd often wondered what it would be like to love someone so much you didn't care about getting caught because you just had to have them right then and there but didn't she already know?

She thought back to their second kiss; the one she'd shared with the real him and she reached out and kissed him again. She'd loved the real Grant Ward so much she'd been willing to fuck him on a couch in the middle of a hidden, underground base where anyone could walk in.

And while this Grant Ward was different she loved him just the same.

She would love him in any universe.

Grant broke their kiss and lazily kissed her jawline while glancing up with a small smirk. "Think we're the reason for those?" He motioned to the security cameras and Skye chuckled, wrapping her hand around the back of his neck.

"Don't ask me why but I have a strong feeling Barton and Romanoff are to blame for those."

They exchanged a mischievous look before Skye hopped off the table and pulled him into the corner of the room, out of the camera's reach. "Now, where were we?"

Fucking against a wall was nothing new for them but knowing anyone could walk in at any moment made it really hot. And really quick, because despite not giving a fuck about screwing in the workplace Grant did give a fuck about anyone else seeing her naked. He was possessive that way and it was kind of a turn on.

A smile came to her lips as he bit into her neck and another memory came to her. Skye ran her nails along his scalp before pulling his head up and meeting his eyes. "You know…I think this was how Alice was made," she reminisced. They'd still used condoms in those days and because they'd had to have each other right then and there after a mission neither had one on hand. And nine months later she'd fractured three of his fingers during labor.

"Is that your way of telling me you want to repeat that experience?" He teased before kissing her.

Skye chuckled into his mouth and tangled her fingers in his hair.

Another flash of their baby filled her mind, this time of her as a newborn and Skye kissed him harder. Maybe another baby wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

Hours later Skye and Grant entered their small townhouse, having been tailed by a SHIELD team just in case. Skye carried a case of Alison's favorite wine as a thank you for staying with the baby into the night and Grant carried in bags of Chinese take-out. They were both exhausted and ready to sleep for a week but they'd go through the motions of dinner with his siblings before doing the parent thing and then getting no sleep before it was time to get up and do the almost dying thing all over again.

"Thanks for staying with her, Ali," Skye called, setting her things on the dining table. She left Grant in the kitchen and ran her hands over the back of her neck, massaging a tension knot while she walked into the living room. "We had a crazy…" She froze in surprise as she saw her sister-in-law sitting upright on the couch, a look of terror in her eyes. "What?"

"Hello, dear." A voice called and Skye took another few steps before she came into view.

With a gasp Skye instinctively rushed for the baby but with one finger Melinda May stopped her in her tracks.

"Now, now, Skye," she scolded, running a hand over Alice's hair before handing her a small stuffed bear. "I'm getting acquainted with my granddaughter. Don't interrupt."

Tears flooded Skye's eyes as she watched Melinda play with Alice. She was her…May was her mom? It made sense. If Coulson was her dad in this world, who else would be her mother? It was what she'd always wished for in her world; to discover that the two of them were her parents. She loved them so much more than she had ever loved her biological parents. And it would be her luck to have them as parents in this world only to have her mother be the villain yet again.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Skye said finally, finding her voice. Even if this was everything she'd ever wanted she didn't want it like this.

"Well, how else was I going to meet my grandchild, Margaret?" She shot Skye a look that would kill a man but Skye stood her ground. "Do you know how heartbroken your father is going to be when he finds out you had a child and didn't even bother to call? But then again you broke his heart the day you decided to leave home and run off with that one."

Skye glanced back and realized Grant was behind her, hand itching for the gun in his holster. Skye shook her head, knowing that despite who May was in this world she would never hurt her own grandchild.

"Tell me, Margaret, did you really think you could get away with infiltrating Hydra? You may be a disappointment, my dear, but you're still my daughter and I know you better than anyone. You hate me and your father so much because we're not a part of your precious SHIELD, you would never defect."

Tears spilled from her eyes. No matter the universe she would always be a disappointment to her mother. A mother that would gladly trade her for power.

She felt Grant's hand on her back but she took a step forward, staring her mother down. "Did it ever occur to you that I miss you?"

Her mother gave her a look of pity and disgust. "Don't cry, Skye, it's not becoming on you. May women don't cry in public. Or at all. You're an embarrassment to this family."

Skye sniffled and turned into Grant, pretending to be wrecked with emotion. She glanced up at him and gave him a 'look', hoping he caught on. She turned, still teary and moved closer to her mom and her baby girl. "I'm sorry, mom; it's the baby, I can't control it," she wept, holding her middle protectively.

Melinda shot Grant a look of pure and utter hatred. "Dear God, another one?"

Skye nodded and let Grant take hold of her shoulder. "It was hard enough having one without you and daddy around but I can't do this again without you. I miss you and I miss daddy. I'm sorry."

Skye moved closer to her mom, as if to hug her and Melinda stood, repulsed. "You're lucky I didn't let them kill the two of you. The next time they will." She shook her head and glanced down at Alice before meeting Skye's eyes. "As for your father, he doesn't need to know about this. It's bad enough you turned out the way you did, Quake," she taunted. "He doesn't need to know you went and passed on the Inhuman gene to his grandchildren."

Her stomach felt heavy and Skye wanted to throw up. Her own mother hadn't hurt her this much in the real world. It was different with Melinda; Skye loved her more than she could ever express and hearing her say these things, even if it wasn't really her, crushed her.

"Well, mom, I wonder who I inherited the gene from," Skye spat, having always suspected May would come out of the mists even stronger. Besides, Coulson's missing hand was proof she hadn't gotten it from him.

Melinda gathered her gun and went for the door but not before stopping to get in one last punch to Skye. "Do try not to die, sweetheart; I don't want to be stuck raising your Inhuman bastards when you're dead."

Skye waited until she was out of the house to rush towards Alice and scoop her up into her arms. She wanted to throw things and weep and scream but the baby came first. She checked every hair on her head and looked her over, grateful she seemed to be fine. How had her mother found her? How had she gotten in? Was Alice in danger now?

Oh, God she felt sick.

"Ali! Where's Thomas?" Grant was looking her over, making sure she was okay.

"He left hours ago. I'm sorry, I ordered pizza and I should have checked to see who it was before I opened the door."

"No, I'm the one who's sorry. She should have never been able to find us."

Skye stared at the door and pressed her lips to Alice's temple, doing her best not to cry. She'd finally found May and instead of doing anything useful she'd just…Skye buried her face in the baby's shoulder and cried silently. Why was she destined to be hated by her own mother in every universe?

Alice squirmed in her arms and pointed to the door. "Gamma?" She pouted, reaching for the door. "Gamma?"

Skye ran a hand over Alice's hair sadly, knowing her sweet angel didn't understand that her grandma was the bad guy. "I know baby, I miss her too." She held her closed and kissed her again, rocking her gently in her arms while she stared down at the toy she'd never seen before; Melinda May could pretend to be cold all she wanted but she'd still taken the time to bring her granddaughter a stuffed animal.

After making sure it wasn't bugged with anything, Skye tucked Alice in with her new bear. Skye stood next to her crib, watching her squeeze it through her tiny yawns. She would stay here all night if she had to; Skye wasn't leaving her side. Not after the scares they'd had.

Two arms wrapped around her from behind and for the first time ever she tensed. She knew it was Grant but after today she'd be on edge for a while.

"I sent Ali home with a guard. There'll be one on Thomas too. And I ordered a team for us. I'm not taking any chances. Tomorrow we can pack up and head to a safe house until we find somewhere safer to live."

"No," Skye whispered defiantly. She wasn't going to be chased away from the first real home she'd ever had. And their daughter wasn't going to live a life in fear. "My mother may be a monster but she's still my mom. She's not going to hurt her. That wasn't a threat, it was a warning; she had to have known she existed before today. We just need to be even more careful when it comes to dealing with Hydra from now on."

"Skye-"

She gave him a 'look' before returning her gaze to Alice. Seeing May in this world had brought forth more memories. Her first day of school, Melinda caring for her when she was sick, Coulson teaching her to ride a bike, the day she'd joined SHIELD and discovered who her mother really was, and the day she'd walked away from them both. She knew Coulson's heart hadn't been the only one broken that day and despite being a Hydra agent with a reason to hate her own child Skye knew in her heart Melinda would never allow anything to happen to her. And she needed to find her again, so she could wake her. She wouldn't be able to do that if they went on the run.

"Fine, but she's coming to work with us. I know you're crazy when it comes to who watches her but I'd rather have her in a SHIELD daycare than here."

"Agreed," Skye whispered, hating that she'd put Alison in danger.

Grant grasped her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Look, I know you don't like her sleeping with us because you think she'll develop separation anxiety when we're gone but I think if we keep her with us for one night she'll be fine."

Skye nodded and reached down to scoop their sleepy baby up into her arms. Skye cuddled her against her chest and kissed her head while carrying her to their bedroom. She settled into bed and did her best not to cry while she watched Alice stretch and yawn while clutching her bear. She was a miracle.

"I'll be right back," Grant whispered, kissing Alice's forehead and then Skye's cheek before disappearing into the bathroom.

Skye traced a finger over Alice's arms with a small smile. "I love you so much, angel," Skye whispered, feeling the waterworks coming again. "You are the most important person in the world to me."

"Hello, beautiful," Skye whispered through a teary smile at the angry, red baby in her arms. "I'm your mama and I love you so much."

Skye smiled at the new memory of the first time she'd held the little one in her arms.

She pressed her lips to her tiny, balled up fist and rocked her in her arms gently.

"I promise I will never throw you away for being different. You are never going to go through what me and your papa went through. We love you more than anything. I would die for you; and so would your papa."

Skye felt his eyes on her and glanced up to find him watching them from doorway. He approached the bed without a word and she was grateful. She didn't need to have this talk, not now. She was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted.

"Come here," he whispered, pulling her against his chest before wrapping his arms around them both. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Skye closed her eyes when he began to toy with her hair. He always knew just what she needed. She would sleep just fine here pressed against his chest with the baby in her arms. It wasn't the most comfortable position but she wasn't letting her go, not tonight.

"Sweetheart?"

"Hmm?" She answered, close to drifting off.

"Are you happy?"

Okay that woke her up. Skye opened one eye and then the other and glanced back at him in surprise. "Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?"

He hesitated for a moment, staring down at the baby before meeting Skye's eyes. "I just…is this life worth losing your parents over? I know you don't talk about it but I know you miss them."

Skye reached up and caressed his cheek before pressing her mouth to his. "I love you and I love our baby and I love this life. I miss them and I love them but I wouldn't trade this life with you for anything," she said honestly. "Would I be more satisfied if I got to have the two of you and two parents who loved me unconditionally? Of course, but that isn't real life. This is and I'm happy," she promised, staring up at him with a smile.

Grant brushed his lips over hers and resumed toying with her hair until they fell asleep, both perfectly content with the life they'd built here.