Chapter II - Steady Acquaintances

Skye's fingers flew over the keyboard as Hunter whistled.

"Who knew anyone could type so fast?" he said, clearly impressed by the young agents unforeseen abilities.

Skye's foot tapped impatiently as the information slowly loaded. "I'm a hacker," she defended. "That's what makes us look so cool, right?"

"Think you could teach me?"

"It depends," Skye shrugged, grinning. "Bobbi says you don't do well with instruction."

"Well, Bobbi also says my cooking is horrible," Hunter countered. "The woman who fights with me all the time is not really the most reliable source for unbiased information about me."

Coulson entered the room with a stern countenance and a crisp new tie.

"Nice tie director," Hunter greeted, stepping closer to the computer to make it look like he'd actually been doing something useful.

"Thank you," Coulson replied, then turned to Skye. "What have you found so far?"

Hunter coughed loudly. "Well, I helped too."

"Agent David Ridley," Skye began, pointedly ignoring her partner. "49 years old, attended S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy. Worked at The Hub for twenty-two years, until Hydra took over. Was married to Agent Jane Kohls-Ridley and has a fourteen year old daughter named Georgia. In his spare time, Ridley enjoys coaching a hockey team for underprivileged kids and singing in the choir at his church." Skye took her eyes off her computer and looked at Coulson. "This guy's clean. The 'evilest' thing he's ever done was getting a speeding ticket on his way to a church fundraiser."

"That seals the deal, then. No one else can find anything suspicious about them. Hunter - go help Bobbi set up two rooms for our newest members. And Skye, do some more research on the 0-8-4."

And Coulson was gone.

"He's kind of in a Melinda May mood right now, don't you think?" Hunter asked as Skye fiddled with her computer.

"Hunter, he's just being serious about this. I would be too, it's kind of weird for two strangers to show up at our base just a few hours after we secured the 0-8-4."

Hunter shrugged and lumbered off to help Bobbi. Skye shook her head, trying to conceal her laughter.

"What's so funny?"

Skye knew the voice without even turning around. And when she did, Ward was grinning at her with that goofball smile he had. Skye felt her heart melt.

"Nothing," she replied, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

He looked down at her, grinning. "Need me to get on your level?"

She scowled and stood on his feet to try to be taller. Laughing, he leaned in to kiss her when Skye realized someone was watching. David Ridley.

"Agent Ridley!" Grant greeted, extending his hand to the man. Ridley shook it, still eyeing Skye warily.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything," he smirked.

"No, you're alright," Skye replied, realizing just how red her face was. If Coulson or May found out! "I'm Skye."

"Just Skye?"

"Yes sir."

"Please, call me Ridley."

"Pleasure to meet you, Agent Ridley," Skye said.

"It's nice to meet you too, Skye," Ridley replied. "I can't seem to figure out how to get to Coulson's office, however."

"I'll show you," Ward offered, and the two men wandered off, leaving Skye and her thoughts alone in the room.

They had been so close to a kiss! Skye hoped Ridley wasn't going to the director's office to rat them out. Nonetheless, the hacker couldn't keep a smile off her face as she worked.

Georgia was very lost.

Headquarters were ginormous, and the last thing she need was to get lost on her first day. David had gone off looking for Director Coulson, leaving Georgia on her own. A nice agent named Tripp had shown her to the living room and made her some tea, but he'd been summoned to the lab for a checkup on some injuries. Georgia wrapped her jacket around her - it was chilly down here.

She wanted to stand up and look around. It had been nearly a year since she'd slept in a comfortable bed, taken a long, hot shower, or watched TV. But Tripp had told her to stay on the sofa and wait for someone to give her a proper tour and show her to her room. So Georgia sat. Her mug of tea was long gone and she was getting restless. Knowing that it would be polite to wash her own mug, Georgia stood up and got to work. She washed it thoroughly, remembering how she and Jane would wash dishes and sing Disney songs the entire time. Georgia shook her head as if to shake off the memories of her mom.

"You don't have to wash the dishes," a voice said. Georgia turned around to see a tall, female agent with wavy blonde hair and a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"Oh, I was just washing my cup," Georgia replied quickly, shoving her hands in the pockets of her ripped jeans.

The agent gave her a disbelieving look as she walked to the sink. "Agent Bobbi Morse, by the way."

"Georgia Ridley."

"Coulson asked me to escort you to your room," Bobbi said, taking Georgia's bag. "Shall we?"

They walked in silence for a few minutes, until Bobbi passed another agent. This girl was pretty young, mid-twenties at most, with long brown hair and bangs. She had a computer in her arms, and Georgia recognized her as Agent Skye, the resident computer genius.

"Bobbi - Mack was looking all over for you. Said it was really important."

Bobbi's face was suddenly serious. "Thanks, Skye."

"I'll escort Georgia, you go deal with whatever Mack's done this time," Skye offered, winking at me.

Bobbi rushed off, and it was back to silence.

"Nice lanyard," Skye noted, pointing to the girl's neon orange pass. Georgia shuddered, thinking of the gun Billy had had on him the entire time, like he was ready to shoot her if she got a question wrong. "Coulson pointed me out earlier, but I want to properly introduce myself." She stuck out her hand. "Agent Skye."

The girl shook it, "Georgia. So, you're the computer genius around here?"

"You could say that," Skye shrugged modestly. "I was a full-time hacker before I joined S.H.I.E.L.D. But I heard you're pretty good with computers too."

"More like a minor obsession," Georgia replied, and they both laughed.

"So, can I give you a hand unpacking your stuff?"

"I'd like that very much," Georgia replied, realizing that she and Skye were going to get along quite well.

Coulson had just finished a conversation with General Talbot when there was a knock at his office door.

"Come in," Coulson said, sitting down at his desk.

"Sir." It was Ridley. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Go ahead," Coulson encouraged. David hadn't changed at all from his days at the Academy, minus a few grey hairs. Ridley still wore a proud grin and small glasses that framed his worn, bearded face.

"I would like to become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent again, sir."

Coulson didn't hesitate to smile. "I'm glad to hear that. And I'm also glad to say that we would love having you on our team."

"But Georgia will need to live here too," Ridley added quickly. "I know S.H.I.E.L.D. protocols might now allow-"

"Agent Ridley," Coulson interrupted. "This is a new S.H.I.E.L.D. And we would love to have your daughter stay with us."

"Agent David Theodore Ridley reporting for duty," Ridley grinned proudly.

And the two men shook on it.