One Year Later
Seriously, does he sleep in his suits? It wouldn't kill him to wear jeans every once in awhile. Hmm, him in jeans that would be - no! Stop it Skye.
With a shake of her head, Skye tried to dismiss that thought. A year ago she had been kidnapped by a doctor, turned mad scientist, and injected with a serum that S.H.I.E.L.D. was still trying to analyze. As near as they could figure, it was some kind of lust serum that caused her to go ballistic over AC because he was the first person she saw after she woke up.
They weren't sure what it was for, though they suspected that if Grant and Fitz hadn't found her in time, she might have lusted after that creep. Though why he wanted her to, she didn't know. It wasn't like she knew him from Adam.
Unfortunately, Doctor Silensky wasn't talking and eventually the investigation was dropped.
In spite of being assured that the serum was no longer in her blood stream, she still couldn't help the thoughts she sometimes had about her boss. Her face heated up as she remembered how they had avoided each other as much as possible after the incident. Eventually, they were able to get over it and slowly rebuilt their friendship, which was why Skye had no intentions of telling anyone that she still had feelings for him. At least she was able to control herself and was sure that someday they would go away entirely.
The door to the SUV opened and the man himself stuck his head in. "Time to go, Skye."
"Sure thing, AC," she said brightly.
The corner of his mouth lifted causing her heart to flutter. Stop that! she sternly scolded herself.
To distract herself, she slowly reached for the bag at her feet, telling her nerves to get their act together, then hopped out of the SUV next to Coulson. Skye felt this overwhelming urge to touch him and very nearly did, but she managed to make a fist in time and punched him on the arm.
He barely reacted and just smiled in that slightly vague way that he always does. "What was that for?"
Skye willed herself not to blush. "For interrupting my 'me time' before I was ready."
"You knew that we were leaving soon," he said as he walked away toward Lola. As he walked past her he let his fingers brush against the hood reverently. Skye had to fight down the green monster of jealousy.
Seriously, you're jealous of a car?
Still, she couldn't help wishing she were that car at the moment. Get a grip girl!
Giving herself a mental shake, she joined the rest of the team as they gathered around the tail section of The Bus and watched the ramp slowly descend to the ground. "Remember everything I taught you and stay close beside me," Grant told her.
She barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It wasn't like she didn't know the drill or that he hadn't told her the exact same thing every time they stepped off the plane. She had noticed how protective everyone had been over her since she had been kidnapped and Skye was grateful for that, but some days she felt like they were smothering her. Her kidnapping had been a freaking year ago!
Composing her face into what she thought was a passive one, she answered him. "Okay." She didn't think she had succeeded though when she noticed May give her a sideways glance. At least Skye never had to worry about her being all protective. That just wasn't the Asian woman's style.
Next to her Fitz and Simmons were jabbering on excitedly about their equipment when they discovered they had left something behind in their lab. Fitz dashed over to the lab and came back again with something that resembled a keypad with red and yellow wires sticking out of it. Whatever it was, Skye itched to get her fingers on it.
"Let's load up, people!" Grant announced to the group.
They piled into the SUV waiting for them outside the plane. Unfortunately, the SUV Skye had been sitting in was going to be towed away while they were gone. It had seen some action on their last mission and had several bullet holes in it. She was going to miss it and only hoped that the replacement would have the same comforting smell.
She found herself sitting right behind AC and was secretly glad for that fact. If she and Grant were to switch seats, Skye would have a clearer view of him and the last thing she needed was someone to catch her ogling him.
As it was she was a little suspicious that May already knew what she was thinking half the time. Speaking of which, the woman made eye contact with her through the rearview mirror, then focused back on the road. Honestly, that woman was so quiet she was almost creepy.
Grant turned in his seat to look at the two scientists in the back. "Are you sure you two have everything? Because we are not turning around."
"I think we have everything, do you think we have everything, Jemma."
"I believe so. We'll let you know if we've forgotten anything."
"We're not turning back," Coulson interjected.
"But what if it's really important?" Fitz asked.
With a roll of her eyes, May started the car and stepped lightly on the gas pedal. Coulson turned around and smiled at the scientists. "Make sure it's not important." His eyes swept toward Grant and lastly landed on Skye.
Ignoring the fluttering of her heart, Skye held up her trusty bag. "Don't worry, AC. I've got everything. I even have my dog leash on," she referred to the bracelet S.H.I.E.L.D. made her wear after she violated their trust.
That had happened a few weeks before she had been kidnapped. It was the tracker in the bracelet that had allowed them to find her so quickly. She still wore it because S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't trust her, but the rest of the team had gradually come to accept her again.
AC didn't seem to find the last bit funny and sat back in his seat without a word. Skye knew he had been trying to convince the higher ups to remove her bracelet, but so far he had no luck.
To distract herself from her melancholy thoughts, she turned to Grant. "So, don't you think it's strange that an alien artifact was found in New Mexico?"
Grant gave her a puzzled look. "Why would it be strange?"
Skye made a face at him. "Really? Alien activity, Roswell, Area 51, ring any bells?"
Her mentor snorted. "That's just a myth people like the Rising Tide made up to whip others into a frenzy."
"Says the guy who is going there to apprehend an alien artifact."
Grant either didn't know what to say to that or decided it would be better not to argue with her. Well, she wasn't going to let him get off that easy.
"C'mon, you haven't even thought about it? Fitz, Simmons, what do you think?"
"Well, I -" began Fitz.
"I suppose -" Jemma started to say.
Neither of them were able to finish what they were going to say because the front of the SUV suddenly exploded and the car flipped over. Skye cracked her head on the window and it shattered, raining glass all over her.
It could have been a few seconds or a few minutes later, when she regained consciousness. She tried to sit up straight and realized she was hanging upside down, strapped to the seat by the seat belt.
Skye turned her head and winced at the throbbing coming from her temple. She fingers probed where it hurt and came back coated with blood. The sight of it made her nauseous, so she decided to see how the others were.
Grant lay below her on what would be the roof of the car if it weren't upside down. The thought made her giddy and Skye wondered if she had a concussion. She couldn't crane her neck far enough to see if Fitz and Simmons were all right. May was hanging upside down like her, unconscious and AC looked to be fairing the same way.
Skye unclipped her seat belt and tumbled onto Grant. He groaned, but didn't open his eyes. She needed to call for help. Didn't AC keep a phone in his pocket?
Slowly, she crawled out of the broken window and laid on the warm pavement for a few moments as the world began to spin. How had she never noticed that before?
There was movement coming from the car, so she assumed the others were starting to come around. Then she heard another sound. The sound of screeching tires. It came closer and then stopped right in front of her.
Hoping that it was a concerned passerby coming to see if there were any survivors, Skye looked up just as the door to the dark Sedan opened and looked into her worst nightmare. Her heart stopped, her mouth went dry, and she began to shake uncontrollably. "No," she whimpered.
Doctor Silensky's mouth turned up into a wide grin. "Skye," he started to say when Grant dove out of the broken window of the SUV and fired his gun. The bullet tore through the doctor's left shoulder and he howled in rage and pain, then jumped back into the Sedan and it raced off, tires leaving a mark in the road.
"Are you all right?" Grant asked, looking her over with concern.
"I -" Skye's head slumped forward and she mercifully blanked out.